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Charlotte Bront's most popular work, Jane Eyre, published in 1847, has been adapted many times and in numerous ways, and the best Jane Eyre movies feature excellent performances. The novel's discussion of Christianity, social class, feminism, and romance caused ripples when it was published that have lasted until today. Despite taking place in Victorian England, the story of a young woman's journey towards independence and love is timeless and people can still connect to that story.

Unlike Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice or Emma, Jane Eyre hasn't been adapted nearly as many times into movies. It did start with stage productions and radio plays before being adapted for the screen. Most of the best Jane Eyre movies adhere to the story presented in the novel, but there are some very interesting adaptations of the novel that take creative leaps. The biggest strength of the adaptations has been in the performances of the actors.

For 19 seasons, the gifted contestants on Bravo’s Emmy-winning “Top Chef” have been thrown into the reality competition show deep end with the show’s signature Quickfire Challenge. While the Quickfire Challenge is not as diabolical as, say, “Chopped’s” baskets, it’s fast-moving, and constructed around themes or local ingredients or even cooking utensils (or lack of).

What usually emerges are memorable bites. But who comes up with the challenges? The “Top Chef” producers — all as passionate about food and storytelling through the culinary arts as the cheftestants — spill the beans.

“When coming up with Quickfire Challenges, I first start off with, ‘What’s a fun fact about our host city? Is it known for ramen? Was the fajita invented here? Does it have the largest Nigerian population? Is their local hero a sports star?’” says Thi Nguyen. “From there, I dig deeper into the backstory to develop a challenge around it.

Kitty Gordon: Actress in silent movies and on the musical comedy stage. Rediscovering a long-forgotten silent film star: Kitty Gordon It seems almost unthinkable that there are still silent stars who have not been resurrected, their lives and films subject to detailed, if not always reliable, examination. Yet I am reminded by Michael Levenston, a Canadian who has compiled what is best described as a “scrapbook” of her life and career, that there is one such individual – and not just a “name” in silent films, but also from 1901 onwards famed as a singer/actress in musical comedy and on the vaudeville stage in both her native England and the United States. And she is Kitty Gordon (1878-1974). 'The Enchantress' and her $50,000 backside Kitty Gordon was a talented lady, so much so that Victor Herbert wrote the 1911 operetta The Enchantress for her; one who also had a “gimmick,” in that...