http://www.iagofilms.com/ Not quite sure what this is, exactly, but I saw a bunch of bookmarks fly past my feeds this morning that referenced “Iago Films”, so I knew I had to check it out.  Shakespeare’s words aptly come to life in I Will Avenge You, Iago!, a comedy about great actors and their on and off stage dramas and farces including adultery, burglary, suicide and murder. A great stage performance almost costs Jack Bandrowsky (Larry Pine – Melinda and Melinda, Vanya on 42nd Street, The Royal Tenenbaums) his life when a naive and confused audience member, Marvin (Keith Nobbs – Phonebooth, 25th Hour, It Runs in the Family) goes backstage to kill the villain Iago at the end of “Otello”. In a desperately improvised and inspired performance, Bandrowsky convinces Marvin that the real villain is not him, but instead — the Duke, who killed his beloved daughter Gilda.

http://www.warlordccg.de/blog/2008/05/22/and-let-slip-the-dogs-of-war/ I have no idea what game that card is from, but I don’t think I’d want to see him on the field of battle.   (That reference is small on Shakespeare, large on Geek. :))

http://www.boston.com/ae/events/articles/2008/05/21/campus_calendar/ I find this link (courtesy my coworker Beryl) too late to be of much use since it’s happening tonight, but you never know who’s listening.  Kenneth Starr, he of Clinton/Lewinsky infamy, is dong a reading of King Lear to be followed by discussion of “how the political and legal issues in the play pop up oin state, national and international levels”.  Free, but tickets are required.  Contact info at the link.

http://stellascript.blogspot.com/2008/05/adapting-shakespeare-part-i.html A bit of a twist on the old Shakespeare Anagram idea – take anagrams of a play’s title to create titles for new, fictional works.  Then write a summary of what that work would be.

http://wherethelongtailends.com/archives/chimes-at-midnight I don’t think Matt is in the habit of blogging about Shakespeare, but after a post like the above I wish he was.  After admitting that he prefers adaptations to originals (“Why watch King Lear when you can watch Ran instead?  Or read Dream when Gaiman’s Sandman beckons me?”), he confesses that his initial introduction to Shakespeare is, in fact, the Taming Of The Shrew episode from Moonlighting (everybody remember that show?) So when he starts in on his praising review of Chimes at Midnight, I was hooked.  As I mentioned previously, I had a copy of the film on my iPod but never watched it and eventually let it get deleted.  Well now I want to see it again.  You’d think it difficult to review a film like this.  Not only is it Welles’ own version of the several Henry plays (so it’s not like you can say “Oh, ok, I know this play…”), it is considered by some (Rosenbaum among them) to be one of the greatest Shakespearean performances ever put on film.  None of that scares Matt away.  His review is a well balanced combination of professional movie reviewer (noting particular directorial choices and camera shots he likes), just enough story telling to not give anything away, and praise for Welles’ Falstaff, all while keeping the same tone as the guy who just a minute ago was singing the praises of Bruce Willis as Petruchio.  The final “Perhaps its time I give ‘ol Billy another try,” seems to sum up just how much Matt liked the film. I can’t wait to see it.