Coriolanus

Three years ago, a handful of Old Globe Theatre patrons heard that Earle Hyman, the black actor who plays Bill Cosby's father on "The Bill Cosby Show," had been cast as the lead in "Julius Caesar." They demanded their money back. Two years ago, when the La Jolla Playhouse production of "The Tempest" used a black actor as Ferdinand, the love interest of the white actress who played Miranda, letters of protest were mailed to artistic director Des McAnuff.

Actor, and now director, Ralph Fiennes has given us war and politics on a grand operatic scale in his ambitious and at times thrilling rendering of one of Shakespeare's lesser known works -- "Coriolanus. " For his first foray behind the camera, Fiennes has started off right by surrounding himself with a superlative cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain and an exceptional Brian Cox. He has taken the title role for himself, Caius Martius Coriolanus, in the story of a war hero wading into the political arena only to be undone by his hubris.

Fiennes to direct film After two years of struggling to win funding amid the global financial crisis, actor Ralph Fiennes said Wednesday that he would start filming his directorial debut of a Shakespeare tragedy next week in Serbia. Filming of "Coriolanus" will start in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 17 in the country's highest-profile movie project in decades, and is expected to last two months, the British actor said in an interview. In addition to directing, Fiennes will play the leading role of Coriolanus, a Roman general who betrays his native city Rome and allies with his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius for revenge.

William Friedkin's film of Tracy Letts' play"Killer Joe" is nasty, brutish and just short enough to concentrate its fiendish energies for maximum wincing effect. As enthralling as it is repulsive, the movie seized hold of my attention with the ferocious tenacity of T-Bone, the pit bull chained to a neighboring trailer home in the trashy Dallas outskirts where the story is set. But when the brutality was finished and the lights came up, I had to wonder about the point of sitting through so much casual bloodshed and prolonged sexual humiliation.

You won't find the phrase Who are you, man? in Shakespeare. Or the word amigo . Or even He's a real fighting machine . But you'll find them all in the "Coriolanus" that opened Thursday on a smoky, smoldering, apocalyptic stage at the Old Globe. This sleek and shifty adaptation of the Shakespearean text won't be to all tastes.

For many directors, there is often one key scene that pulls the whole film into focus. It's the moment that spurs the action of the rest of the film, or sets the tone for the storytelling, or sometimes it just reassures a director that everything will come together in the end. We talk to five directors about what scene in their new films put them on the right track. But if you haven't seen their movies, beware of minor spoilers ahead. Bennett Miller ("Moneyball") Storyline: Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt)

As long as arrogant generals and politicians strut through public life, Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" remains a play that's as pertinent as it is powerful. It should be seen much more frequently than it is. A Noise Within staged it in the Glendale company's second year, 1992, and has now made it the first of Shakespeare's plays the troupe has revisited. That 1992 production was in modern dress, as were most of the play's other rare appearances on Southland stages in the last 20 years.

When Michael Eugene Fairman decided to mount a modern-day version of "Coriolanus," he didn't intend to do it as a gender-bender. "It all happened because I had announced to the company that I would hire the best actor for any role, regardless of gender or race," said the actor-director. "And Mary Eileen was just phenomenal in the part."

A Noise Within in Glendale has announced its fall 2003 and spring 2004 repertory seasons. Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" will open Sept. 26, to be joined by Moliere's "The Miser" on Oct. 10 and Arthur Miller's "The Price" on Oct. 31. Next spring, Euripides' "Electra" will open March 5, followed by Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" on March 19 and Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" on April 9.