Spring Awakening Opens, more articles

Spring Awakening has opened at the Oxford Playhouse! In case you were wondering, the character Anna is officially playing is called Wendla Bergman.

Check out the Official Website, for behind-the-scenes pics and a great blog by the director - Springinoxford.co.uk

Tickets and Showtimes - OxfordplayHouse.com

And if anyone had the oppurtunity to see it, or has pics, details etc - be sure to contact me at alexx@apopplewell.org wink

There are also some more articles/interviews popping up..Thanks SubOrbital and others for tips.

"Studying this character has been a real challenge and comes with the added difficulty of having to reach the same emotional intensity every night on stage. It's very different to working in film."
BucksHerald.co.uk: Previously censored tale arrives at the Oxford Playhouse.

Have you always wanted to be an actor?

Anna: Well, it wasn't as if when I was six years old, I suddenly said, "Mom, I want to be an actor!" I’ve always wanted to be one. I really enjoyed acting ever since I could remember.
Philippine Star: The Other Kids of Narnia.

Since a lot of the spectacular visual effects were done through CGI, Anna and Peter discussed having to act opposite tennis balls to represent the computer-generated characters that were added later in the process. "Some tennis balls are better actors than some human actors," Peter joked.

"Some of the tennis balls are," Anna jokingly agreed to laughter from the journalists. “It’s always a challenge to act to things that are not there."

(I wouldn't trust the validity on this article, however, especially from this sentence: "Since there is budding romance between Prince Narnia and Lucy, William was asked for an update on romance in his own life. " - haha way off)!
Inquirer.net: 'Narnia' actor reveals 'bizarre' fan mail; actress in Oxford .

*EDIT* I've found another interesting new article on Anna (click read more to view all the pages

"I don't think my friends really think of me as a movie star," Anna says. "The people I'm friendly with are very cool about it, and not particularly interested in it, really. I mean, I'm sure they'll see the film, but it's not like they're sitting around talking about it all the time. I mean, I don't walk down the street in London with huge sunglasses and a sign that says, 'Look at me, I was in Narnia.' I lead a pretty regular life."
The Cinema Source: Anna Popplewell Interview.

Also, I've added a new scan to the gallery, it includes a higher quality pic from the new photoshoot. From Skandarfan.com

22438 Comments

Posted on 30 May 2008 by Alexx

Daily Mail Interview & Photoshoot

There is a FABULOUS new article on Anna, where she was interviewed by the Daily Mail, also including a jaw-dropping new photoshoot!! Thanks to Mogi, SubOrbital, and Shayy for the tips:

The Daily Mail - Anna Popplewell: out of the lion's den .

"...To be honest, although I’ve had a really wonderful time making the movies, I sort of feel ready to move on. There’s not so much pressure as there must be with Harry Potter, because those films are all sequential with the same three lead actors.

And I’m happy doing my degree, which is really interesting,’ says Anna, who sat her A-levels (she got three A grades) in the middle of the Prince Caspian shoot. ‘And although I think I would like to be a full-time actress one day, if I hadn’t gone to university now I think I would get to 25 or 26 and wish that I had gone at 18 or 19 like most other people. So while it would have been really good fun to do another Narnia film, creatively I would like to do something else,’ she says. ‘I’m reading other scripts at the moment, but it’s a question of trying to fit things into my summer holidays.'"

There is also mention again of her new boyfriend, and a very interesting bit about paparazzi and what "celebrity" means to her!

A must-read!!! Click above, or READ MORE below for the article in full! The stunning photos have been added to the Gallery:

Read more • 1167 Comments

Posted on 28 May 2008 by Alexx

Gorgeous New Photoshoot, New Interview mentions Boyfriend, sex

Today we have one of our juiciest updates ever!!!

The Swindon Times has a new article about Anna in Spring Awakening, where Anna talks about how she's nervous about some of the sex scenes, animals in Prince Caspian, and even mentions a boyfriend!!!

Fortunately for Anna there are no mice in Spring Awakening - her current play - only plenty of challenges.

"It is very different from Narnia but exciting to do as it is performed so rarely," she said.

"It is an incredible story about young teens who live in a repressed society. They face a more complicated way of learning about sex.

"Today we have sex education in schools but these kids don't know anything and they don't get any support," she said.

Anna's family are all coming to The Playhouse to see her in the drama but she is a little worried about her grandmother seeing her being raped on stage.

The actress is not only juggling a film and stage career but taking an English degree at Oxford University at the same time.

"I love it," she said. "University is brilliant and stimulating and you meet people from all over the world."

Anna is studying at Magdalen College and her boyfriend is also up at Oxford but she likes to keep his identity under wraps. Swindon Times: Anna Popplewell at Oxford Playhouse until May 31

The amazing, fabulous, wonderful staffer Caitlin has found these drop-dead gorgeous photos of Anna from a recent photo shoot by famed celeb photogropher Andrew Macpherson:

Caitlin also found these exclusive HQ Susan pics:

4120 Comments

Posted on 24 May 2008 by Alexx

Newish images, site section redux, and more articles

New article with interview from the cast, mostly stuff we already know, but Anna talks about adjusting to Oxford Uni, the on-screen kiss, and joining in on the battle scenes:

"I started university about three weeks after we finished filming the first movie and I did get a few funny looks at lectures but, you know, just because you’ve been in a film, doesn’t mean you are not a normal person and I think people recognize that and treat you accordingly...Also, I think that if you strutted around in huge sunglasses the whole time ... I don’t think you are going to make any friends anyway.It’s important to have balance."Malaysia Star: Famous four return to Narnia

There is a Caspian special on TV New Zealand, on the Susan section, some new photos from the film and breif clip of some of her scenes. Added to the gallery. New Zealand Caspian special.

MQ and HQ from PC New York Premiere:

^^ thanks to Shootastic for lots of the HQ's

Also, I'm in the process of revamping the entire "Site" section. I have updated and discarded old affiliates, and we are looking for new ones now, too, so apply to be AFFILIATES laughing

5 Comments

Posted on 22 May 2008 by Alexx

Excellent new Anna interview, Spring Awakening

Thanks so much to Kawna, we have an Absolutely (pun intended tongue

) amazing new interview that Anna did for BBC Oxford. At the start, Anna is asked to draw a Narnia-esque picture of reporter Tim Bearder, while conducting the interview at the same time! Talk about multi-tasking! She talks about her start on stage, the promotion she just finished for Prince Caspian in America, and her new play Spring Awakening.At the end of the clip Anna's artwork is revealed. This is a must see laughing

! Also can be viewed in higher quality (click):

Kawna has also found the accompanying public report, where BBC Oxford mentions more about Anna in Spring Awakening:
"The world Wedekind represents is certainly a very different one from Lewis' Narnia," she explains. "Wendla is a really interesting character, precocious and outgoing but caught in the confusion of adolescence. She doesn't really understand what sex is and, in the repressed society she is brought up in, the adults around her are reluctant to explain. Studying this character has been a real challenge and comes with the added difficulty of having to reach the same emotional intensity every night on stage. It’s very different to working in film."
BBC Oxford: Profiles - Anna Popplewell in Spring Awakening.

To all you lucky ducks in the UK - BUY TICKETS:
Spring Awakening
The Oxford Playhouse,
Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 May
Box Office on: 01865 305305
or online at oxfordplayhouse.com