film a fresh interpretation of macbeth called the tragedy of macbeth, starring denzel washington and frances mcdormand. the world premiere of this new macbeth definitely created excitement. the film was shot in black and white on a los angeles soundstage. it all unfolds artfully within a hermetically sealed world. directorjoel coen, working solo without his brother for the first time in his career, has certainly created a visually striking movie. but it's his actors who bring it to life, his wife frances mcdormand as lady macbeth and denzel washington as macbeth, two leads at the forefront of a large ensemble of well—rehearsed american, british and irish actors. we got a chance to rehearse it like a play, well, we actually started working, fran and i and joel, i don't know, a year out, we started reading and sitting down and rehearsing it, but then the company rehearsed for about a month before we started shooting. as the director of the new york film festival told me, audiences will find joel coen�*s macbeth faithful to sha kespeare�*s original work. they'll see a film that very much connects with and hews