So I don't know if this is just paving the way for a redemption scene or what, but Downton Abby is making Lord Grantham kind of a stuffed shirt idiot..
Before my socialist Brit friends go off that they entire aristocracy were idiots, let me just say that they didn't start with him being an idiot. Stuffy - yes. Tied to old ways of doing things - yes. Self-involved, gold digging skirt chaser - point taken. But not an idiot.
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I get the feeling Julian Fellows (the writer creator) kind of despises him. Apart from walking on water (or the audience having extremely short memories - which is true), I don't see how they redeem him.
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Two Post Scripts here.
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First, I love this promo picture of Dan Stevens for his "Why I left Downton Abby" interview. The pose says Serious Actor. The washed out coloring (faded shirt, faded desk, supersaturated colors) says I Don't Want to Play Period Pieces Forever (Helen Bonham Carter did a similar picture after Merchant . Ivory). Playfully tussled hair says I Am Still Young and Not Stuffy. But the deep eye stare says If You Liked Me on Downton, Wait Till You See Me Tonight, Baby.
It is the quintessential portrait of heart-throb doesn't want to break up, but has too; it will be better for both of us.
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Second, every time an American reads the name Julian Fellows, this is what they hear...(we forget that it it Brian - we just remember him screaming "I'm Julian / Brian Fellows!".
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LINK on YouTube