Who’s your current celebrity crush*? I have a big new one…
Johnny Flynn, who plays Mr. Knightley in the new movie Emma. Have you seen it? It’s a delightful confection — full of pastel dresses, flowery hats and, of course, matchmaking.
One thing I love about Jane Austen’s novels — and the movies inspired by them — is the rapt attention to tiny social cues. Lingering eye contact, furtive glances, bare hand holding while dancing! All these things add up to such heart-pounding chemistry, you almost can’t stand it. We were actually fanning ourselves at the movie theater.
The two actors’ smoldering connection was almost immediate. “I did this sort of chemistry read thing with Anya, and that felt really special,” Johnny tells Wonderland Magazine. “We did one of the arguments, and there was this energy that you rarely feel when you first meet and read with someone.”
A few more photos, if you’d like to see…
In full period dress.
And behind the scenes on set.
Another movie tidbit: Jane Austen famously said about Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” And the actress Anya Taylor-Joy interprets her as a little odd, snobby, uptight, etc — much more so than Gwyneth Paltrow’s 1996 version. “The newest Emma is the meanest Emma, which makes her the best Emma,” says Petrana Radulovic in Polgon.
Says Anya herself: “There are little paragraphs [in the novel] that are like, ‘With her hair ragged and the maid sent away, Emma sat down to be miserable. I just loved that. This woman is living in her own film, and everything is dramatic and opulent.”
So, tell me: Who is your celebrity crush these days? Here are my past ones…
* I hope you’re hanging in there and staying well with all the intense news and coronavirus updates. It’s a lot. I thought a lighthearted chat about celebrity crushes might be welcome right about now. xo
P.S. Random turn ons and nine couples with the best on-screen chemistry.