As you say, it's not as bad as Pan, but I found it pretty awful too. It was so far from Barrie's vision that it was risible. Oliver Twist channelling Harry Potter, and confusing plot lines which just didn't make sense. There's nothing wrong with creating a prequel, but I just wish someone would use Barrie's material (from Peter Pan in Kensington Gardensto create something more in tune with the original story of Peter Pan. It doesn't have to be over-sensational and fantastical, and please - not Peter Pan as an orphan/hero who saves the world. He's just a boy, selfish and mischievous, adventurous and daredevil, but capable of heroism and empathy.

It does exist, and indeed was written by Andrew, a great take on the story. Unfortunately, it's only been performed in France but perhaps Andrew could upload the script on the database?

I saw when it was broadcast on TV. I liked it very much and liked the way the film intertwined the story of a patient at Great Ormond St Hospital with the story of Peter Pan, as she dreams herself in the latter. Stanley Tucci was excellent as Capt Hook - but I wasn't very keen on Paloma Faith's Tinker Bell.  The children actors were great. I also liked the way the girl/Wendy re-imagined Tiger Lily as a princess from India, because that's the way she interpreted "Indian princess". I thought the way they worked the scene of Tink being revived by people believing in fairies was very clever and very moving. This adaptation is also much darker than the Disney version (not difficult) and the 2003 film, and closer to Barrie's  spirit. You can view the trailer on YouTube and the DVD is available.

I'm wondering what the Disney remake is going to be like? It will obviously follow its own storyline and will have Peter as an elf with pointy ears rather than a normal boy.

I had a look at Come Away trailer and agree with you. It looks good and an interesting angle! I hope they don't do a "Pan" and reimagine a completely unbelievable origin story (with shades of Harry Potter & Dickens) that bears no relation to Barrie's vision!

I suspect the LD boys didn't get on with the Asquiths because Simon and Michael were very spoilt and full of themselves. Cynthia was a snob and full of a sense of superiority because she was the daughter of a lord and daughter-in-law of a lord and Prime Minister, and she most probably looked down on the LDs whom she would have considered from a different class. It's likely that she passed on her snobbishness to her sons.

Here's a bit of trivia: Michael's son Stephen married Nicola Scott, daughter of Sir Peter Scott (son of Captain Scott and Kathleen Bruce, and Barrie's godson), who was brought up in Barrie's house in Bayswater, Leinster Corner.  Kathleen and her second husband Hilton Young bought the house in the 1920s and her descendants lived there until it was sold a couple of years ago. Small world.

As Andrew pointed out, there are no restrictions on topics for discussion here (apart from the ones he lists) and the subject of Barrie's sexual orientation has been discussed in the past. The accusation of paedophilia has come up, in particular due to Piers Dudgeon's dodgy so-called biography, where he happily twists the facts to suit his theories. Barrie did indeed like the company of children, but he also had many adult friends, both male and female. He was attracted by female beauty, as evidenced by his marriage to Mary Ansell and his friendship with Sylvia LD - although these never lead to sexual relationship. In his lifetime, there never was a whiff of scandal about him.

It is believed he may have been asexual. When asked pointedly, Nico Llewelyn Davies asserted that Barrie felt "no stirrings in the undergrowth for anyone: man, woman, child or dog".

Going back to the "pretty boys" article, I think Barrie's humour was quite particular to his time and doesn't always work 100 years later!

According to Nicola Beauman's biography of Cynthia Asquith, both Michael and Simon were a disappointment, as neither were a success academically nor did they follow the kind of career she would have wanted. She later acknowledged that she probably thoroughly spoilt them when they were young and they felt entitled! Apparently, in Cynthia's latter years, her relationship with Simon had completely deteriorated. She tried to set up Simon in a publishing career in the publishing firm of James Barrie (nephew of JMB) but that didn't work out. Peter and Nico Llewelyn Davies didn't get on with the Asquith boys, so they never maintained any relations with them after Barrie's death.

The only interview I've heard of was with Janet Dunbar when she was researching her biography of JMB. One thing is for sure: Michael and Simon didn't waste any time to make money from Cynthia's inheritance and they promptly sold her archives and letters. They also enjoyed the royalties from Barrie's works which they inherited on her death and that would have amounted to a nice income, as his plays were still very popular up to the end of the 20th century and Barrie's copyright expired in the UK and Europe in 2007.

For information on their family and descendants, here are some links

http://www.thepeerage.com/p6986.htm#i69855
http://www.thepeerage.com/p6987.htm#i69866

Hope this helps!

Hi Sylvia8. Your English is fine, no apology necessary!

First of all, I would like to point out that Finding Neverland is a complete travesty and work of fiction  which bears little resemblance to Barrie's life and the story of his relationship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Andrew Birkin's BBC drama The Lost Boys is the best film on the subject by far.

The article on pretty boys was one Barrie wrote when he worked on the Nottingham Journal in 1882-83 (long before he met the LD family) and was meant to be humorous - although it seems many readers did not appreciate his sense of humour! I don't know when it featured in Finding Neverland film, and in what context so am not sure what explanation you're looking for,  but if you want to read the full text, it features on page 13 of Andrew Birkin's book JM Barrie and the Lost Boys, based on the BBC series.

Yes, it's a lovely film. I don't know if it originally came from the J B Priestley website, but was posted on YouTube by the French Barrie site sirjmbarrie.com (which incidentally is a treasure trove of Barrie information).

I haven't been able to find much about Barrie's friendship with Priestley, but he was godfather to Priestley's son, so it must have been a close one. It was Priestley who unveiled the plaque placed in the chapel of Great Ormond Street Hospital in memory and gratitude to Barrie after his death.