BOSTON – If Gary Cooper is unavailable, who do you hire to play The American? What is it about Henry James’s novels that filmmakers find irresistible? Learn this and more on the companion Web site to The American, the second offering in ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre’s new American Collection series, premiering on PBS on Wednesday, January 3, 2001 at 9pm and encoring on Sunday, January 7 at 9pm. http://www.pbs.org/masterpiece/americancollection
Here’s a sampling of what the new Web site offers:
Interviews with the film’s stars, Matthew Modine (Christopher Newman) and Diana Rigg (Madame de Bellegarde), and with Michael Hastings, who adapted The American for Masterpiece Theatre.
A moving timeline of the life and times of Henry James. Select the events you want to explore further on this Flash-based learning tool.
A James family tree. Henry was not the only brilliant member of the family. Find out more with biographies and excerpts from personal letters and diaries.
A step by step journey from novel to film. See how the scene was written in the novel and the screenplay, then watch it come alive in the film using Real Media or Apple Quicktime Player.
A Teacher’s guide to help high school and college teachers introduce their students to the genius of Henry James.
Extensive learning links that will complete the world of Henry James (quotations, journal writings) and his contemporaries.
The MASTERPIECE THEATRE Web site is produced in association with WGBH Interactive, Boston, which produces Web sites supporting WGBH national series such as NOVA, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and ARTHUR.
WGBH Interactive also produces WGBH ONLINE http://www.wgbh.org, updated weekly for WGBH viewers, members and listeners throughout the Northeast.
