I missed out on seeing The Crucible at the Old Vic because of Streetcar
The actress gives her top cultural picks on film, books, music and exhibitions

By Charlotte Cripps
Independent UK: 14 October 2014

Film
I saw A Most Wanted Man, which I liked very much on many levels. Since being introduced to Eleanor Wachtel and her interviews with John le Carré, I have fallen in love with him. That, and the fact that I've loved Philip Seymour Hoffman for decades and have seen pretty much every film he made. It was such a pleasure to see him delivering yet another outstanding performance. A massive loss to us all.

Books
I am reading The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt) and 200 pages in can already say it's one of my very favourites ever.

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Bookends Bookstore in New Jersey still has some copies of A VISION OF FIRE in stock. Call them at 201-445-0726 to order.

You can currently pre-order from VJ Books.

Signed copies will also be available from the following retailers but, since Gillian just signed them today, it will take a few days to get the information up on their websites:

Premiere Collectibles
Simon & Schuster
Mysterious Galaxy

Q&A with Gillian Anderson: Former 'X-Files' star talks about her foray into literature as co-author of 'A Vision of Fire'
BY Nicole Hensley
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
October 6, 2014

Gillian Anderson's debut into literature, "A Vision of Fire," hits bookstore shelves Oct. 7. The "X-Files" and "Hannibal" star teams up with sci-fi veteran Jeff Rovin for book one in a trilogy that pits a child psychologist against an impending nuclear disaster. Anderson spoke to the Daily News about the need for strong female characters in fiction, breaking out as an author, and the way the Internet has changed how people and cultures connect.

Why did you put such an emphasis on viral videos in your story?

That's what happens these days. Everyone has a phone, even in developing countries. Every second or every day they bear witness through their video and that is how stuff gets on the Internet. That's how stories are spread. That's how events are reported sometimes when the press can't get in. Sometimes mobile networks are shut down because of it.

It's a global story. ... Our intention was to include as many different cultures and continue to throughout the trilogy and show different aspects of humanity on our planet. It's not just one-sided views on certain countries. We're attempting to draw human beings and hopefully the characters are relatable enough and universal enough that as readers will get to care about them and what the events that are transpiring in their lives.

On the one hand is science fiction and the other is social consciousness, and that's what's important to me. I think we achieve that.

Read the full interview…

By Kirsty Lang
Daily Mail UK: 4 October 2014

Since returning to Britain from America in 2002, Anderson has established herself as one our most compelling actresses, playing a succession of ballsy women in a man's world, from Agent Scully in The X Files to the tough wife of a missionary doctor in Uganda, in Kevin MacDonald's film about Idi Amin, The Last King Of Scotland.

Her latest is the high-powered detective in The Fall, BBC2's most popular drama in 20 years, which returns this month for a second series. A psychological thriller about a serial killer in contemporary Belfast, the first series won plaudits for its creepy, tension-building plot. But there were also complaints about the violence against women.

I had gone to interview Anderson with some trepidation, having been warned that she can be frosty and hates being asked anything personal. Perhaps she is more comfortable with women, but for most of our interview I found her to be warm, funny and quite open.

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Gillian Anderson stars in film prequel to A Streetcar Named Desire
Short film written by Andrew O’Hagan and also directed by Anderson imagines Blanche Dubois’s story before the events of the Tennessee Williams play

By Chris Wiegand
theguardian.com
2 October 2014

Gillian Anderson is resuming the role of A Streetcar Named Desire’s Blanche Dubois.

She does so in a short film directed by herself, written by Andrew O’Hagan and made for the Young Vic Shorts series, which presents companion pieces to productions that have been staged in the Young Vic theatre.

Entitled The Departure, the film – according to Anderson – “imagines the circumstances leading up to Blanche arriving at her sister’s house in New Orleans”. Anderson said that she and O’Hagan “have had the opportunity to delve further into the life of this iconic character and create something which can be seen by audiences across the globe”.

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