Culver City, CA (July 20, 2009) –After an almost 10-year hiatus, director Stephan Elliot (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) is back with Easy Virtue, a lavish adaptation of a play by Noel Coward. Starring Jessica Biel (The Illusionist, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), Colin Firth (Mamma Mia!, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Stardust) and Academy Award® nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (1997 Best Actress in a Leading Role, The English Patient; I’ve Loved You So Long), Easy Virtue will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 15 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This Sony Pictures Classics film will be available for an SLP of $39.95 for Blu-ray and $28.96 for DVD. Special features on both versions of Easy Virtue will include deleted scenes, a blooper reel and commentary by Director Stephen Elliot and Writer Sheridan Jobbins.
Noel Coward’s Easy Virtue was written in 1924 and had only been filmed once, as a silent production directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1928. In adapting Coward for modern audiences, director Elliot says, “We wanted to make a modern film for modern audiences so we tried to give it a really contemporary voice.” To that end, the filmmakers scored the film with period songs from the likes of Cole Porter and then added contemporary songs that were re-recorded with a 1920’s flavor, several of which are sung by cast members Biel and Barnes.
Synopsis
Jessica Biel, Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth bring Noel Coward’s witty comedy of manners magnificently to life in this “deliciously cheeky” (Ella Taylor, The Village Voice) adaptation from director Stephan Elliot (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert). When British playboy John brings his new wife Larita – a race car-driving feminist from Detroit – home to meet the family at their country estate, pretty much everyone’s expectations are disappointed. His snooty mother is offended by Larita’s carefree American ways, while Larita does everything she can to get her mother-in-law to loosen up, which only annoys her even more. John’s sisters have diametrically opposed feelings about their new sister-in-law, but his father is intrigued to have finally found another who sees through the family’s façade – and takes great perverse pleasure in watching his wife meet her match.
BLU-RAY AND DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
· Deleted Scenes
· Blooper Reel
· Commentary by Director Stephen Elliot and Writer Sheridan Jobbins
Easy Virtue was directed by Stephan Elliott, from a screenplay by Elliot and Sheridan Jobbins, based on the play by Noel Coward. The film stars Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ben Barnes. Produced by Barnaby Jones, Joe Abrams and James D. Stern.
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