Besides “X-Men” and “Alice,” there’s also “Love & Friendship” at the box office this weekend. That’s Kate Beckinsale’s new comedy set in 18th century England. Deco’s good friend, Chris Van Vliet has all the lovely deets.
Lynn, Shireen … in “Love & Friendship,” Kate Beckinsale is a woman of high society and questionable virtue. It may be a man’s world — but Kate plays by her own rules.
“Love & Friendship” is based on an early work by legendary English author Jane Austen. Kate Beckinsale is Lady Susan Vernon, dodging rumors of her many affairs. The lady could be bitter and cold, but she’s not.
Kate Beckinsale: “In that my character is quite naughty and ruthless and manipulative and cunning and actually, the whole movie is sort of not what you expect ’cause it’s very, very funny.”
It didn’t take much to get Kate to commit to the role. It was love at first sight.
Kate Beckinsale: “I love the characters where you’re looking at them on the page going ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe she’s doing this stuff,’ yet at the same time, you’re also applauding her for her spirit and all that. I’m attracted to those kind of characters.”
Lady Susan’s views on love and marriage seem very modern … but that’s not the case, says the woman who’s come to know her quite well.
Kate Beckinsale: “She is of her time. She’s very much observant of all the social codes and conditions. It’s just that she’s found very clever ways to kind of subvert them and kind of squeak past them.”
Chloë Sevigny plays Lady’s Susan’s close friend, Alicia Johnson. The two worked together on “The Last Days of Disco” back in 1998, so “Love & Friendship” was a reunion for them.
Kate Beckinsale: “There wasn’t this kind of gulf of several decades in between. We did sort of quite easily fall back into a fairly familiar pattern with each other, which was lovely.”
Dressing up in 18th century clothing was part of the job for Kate on this film, and it took a bit of getting used to.
Kate Beckinsale: “It’s quite difficult walking around in those costumes, especially if the doorway’s very wide. I had some outrageous hats on quite a lot, so you know, you’d have to devise a sort of special technique to get through doors sideways.”
You can find “Love & Friendship” in theaters now. And if you’re going to have a celebrity crush, do they get any better than Kate Beckinsale? Kate “Hot-insale” as I like to call her? Isn’t she the best??
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