Sony Pictures Classics has just spent in “the mid-seven figures” on Stephen Frears’ adaptation of the graphic novel Tamara Drewe.  WOOHOO!  Bring on the ninja vampires and octopus f’ck parties!  …right?

Up-and-coming Brit starlet Gemma Arterton will play Drewe [the extra 'E' is for 'English' -Ed.], a young newspaper columnist who returns to the country village of her youth and stirs up dark passions among the locals. Guardian cartoonist Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel, a collation of comicstrips published in U.K. newspaper the Guardian, is a modern reimagining of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel “Far From the Madding Crowd.”  [Variety]

So… by “dark passions” you mean, like, werewolves and lesbians and sh’t, right?

The art captures British frumpiness so well it’s scary; middle-age spread hulks through this book like sad weight, but it’s less skilled with beauty; Tamara’s looks don’t sway the reader the way they sway the characters in the book. But the view on how feminism has failed in moneyed Britain is priceless. [Amazon/Publisher'sWeekly]

See da main characta, Moira, she’s a shoe shoyne lass she is.  But den one day whoilst ‘avin a cup a tea, she ‘as an epiphany, she ‘as.  An’ she finks to ‘erself, “Oi, oy weren’ meant ta be da shoe shoyn lass!  Oy’s meant to be droivin’ a lorry!”  An’ da next fing you know, pow, as Bob’s your uncle, Moira’s become a lorry droiva.  So den da rest a da book’s mostly Moira droivin a propa lorry, which is well funny ‘cos she still looks loike a shoe shoyne lass she does.  Can you imagine dat?  A shoe shoyne lass droivin a propa lorry?  Oi, an’ oy reckon da movie’ll be well funny ‘cos we’w get Eddie Izzard ta play Moira we wew.   A bloke, dressed as a bird!  Can yous imagine dat?