Odds & Ends - Part 8

Wonder if they'll be something on short socks too ;-) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3397149.stm The feedback is hysterical.

ROTF! Thank, Karen. White sports socks with trainers...they are ok. White socks of any kind with anything other than trainers.. bad, bad taste. Mark H, UK I've been saying it for years. And David Letterman looks ridiculous in his white socks and penny loafers with those double-breasted suits.

White sports socks with trainers...they are ok. White socks of any kind with anything other than trainers.. bad, bad taste. Mark H, UK (Moon) I've been saying it for years. Moon, that was the one I was going to use! White okay with (and only with) trainers. I'll go one more...no colored socks with trainers...so it's white or nothin' when it comes to tennies. ODB is guilty of the colored socks with trainers infraction...just doesn't work (IMO). Scroll halfway down http://www.firth.com/articles/ladailynews52202.html ...crikey! At least he matched sweater to socks (I'll give him that...) and the adorable half-smile will make up for a bit of it...just a bit ;-)

(Tress)I'll go one more... I'll raise you....white socks with sandals...Peeeeeoooowwwww. Now, I've seen those in summer in Europe. Always makes me think the person has athletes foot.

(Evelyn) I'll raise you....white socks with sandals...Peeeeeoooowwwww. Oh! Another good one! That one always perplexed me... Now, I've seen those in summer in Europe. I've seen it here! Thanks Karen...amusing article and the responses are hilarious....has got me thinking on some important matters! ;-D

I'm afraid these are my favorite answers: From a country where prostitution is legal and drugs are tolerated? (Glenn, St. Louis, USA) I have nothing but utter respect for the Dutch people and here again they prove their worth. Some might say that anyone with a sense of style knows when white socks look alright and when they don't. They're wrong. White socks 'never' look good unless you are deliberately trying to look like a clown. (Guy Thackeray, London, UK) People who wear white socks cannot be trusted. I once knew someone who wore white socks and he was very sneaky. The Dutch Finance Ministry is absolute right to instigate a witch-hunt against sartorial criminals of this kind. If we tolerate white sock wearing, where will it all end? The world will go to hell in a handbasket, you mark my words. (NK, UK)

(Tress)I'll go one more... (Evelyn)I'll raise you....white socks with sandals...Peeeeeoooowwwww. I believe I'll raise you both...dress socks with sandals! (seen on old fogies at the beach)

People who wear white socks cannot be trusted. I once knew someone who wore white socks and he was very sneaky. The Dutch Finance Ministry is absolute right to instigate a witch-hunt against sartorial criminals of this kind. If we tolerate white sock wearing, where will it all end? The world will go to hell in a handbasket, you mark my words. (NK, UK) Agree with Karen on this one. Although when I read his signature (NK, UK) I "heard" the Three Stooges going "Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk".

Karen . .too funny. My favorite response: One of the few publicly accepted hatreds is White sockism. I dream of a world where all socks are equal. Daniel, Chipping Sodbury Erp . .I have to admit . . Hello my name is Kimberly and I am a WSW . .a White Sock Wearer . .I've been wearing white socks for oh god to many years to count now . .and I admit, I have a problem . . .(**puts head down on desk and sobs**) I have not gotten to the socks with sandals stage . .and I never will . .I will nip this in the bud now . .I shall conquer this, I shall . . .

(ADA)I believe I'll raise you both...dress socks with sandals! (seen on old fogies at the beach) You beat me to that one. LOL. I've seen them on some young fogies, too. I used to live at the beach. Made me want to barf. The best is socks, dress or white with flip flops...and they force the sock around the toe thingie. Thanks Karen, I love it when we have such intellectual discourse on these cold, cold days;-) (Kimberly)Hello my name is Kimberly and I am a WSW Hello, Kimberly.

ROTF!! What a riot! In addition to the "hell in a handbasket" comment, these are my top picks.... ** Dress codes are just a conveniently superficial way for the stupid to make judgements about people ** The only reason that white socks are 'not done' in Britain, is that the Brits have milk white legs, which actually makes the socks invisible, and suggests that people go barefoot. **This is from the country that gave us...clogs. The runnners-up..... white socks (unless worn with shorts or for sport) are an affront to decently dressed people everywhere. The problem is people wearing trousers too short for their legs! Besides, you buy enough of the same type, you won't have to worry about having just one sock. [Would solve my problems ;-)] Without a doubt, the Dutch are the worst dressed nation within the EU! It's not entirely their fault though....over there the clothing quality is abominable - but the cost is exorbitant. Cut 'em a break. (Or else send in the Italians to teach them how to dress! It makes me sick seeing this! (So do ugly ties, but that is another war.) If you don't want to wear 'respectable clothes' find a job elsewhere. Don't try to bring the rest of the world down to your degenerate level.

(Kimberly) Hello my name is Kimberly and I am a WSW . .a White Sock Wearer . .I've been wearing white socks for oh god to many years to count now . . LOL! Good for you Kimberly! When I was a teen ...er..., over 20 years ago back in Hungary, knee length skirts with white socks and sandals were the rage and I loved it! I don't know who started it, some said it came from the French, but girls started wearing it and it spread like wildfire. It was pretty, comfortable, and good for our feet too. Enjoy your white socks, never mind if some find them unfashionable. If you like them then you are all right. :-)

(Tress)White okay with (and only with) trainers. I'll go one more...no colored socks with trainers...so it's white or nothin' when it comes to tennies. ODB is guilty of the colored socks with trainers infraction...just doesn't work (IMO)...crikey! At least he matched sweater to socks (I'll give him that...) and the adorable half-smile will make up for a bit of it...just a bit ;-) I'm sorry. I know I'm fashion impaired, but his trainers (what happened to calling them sneakers?) are gray and navy/black. Shouldn't they be worn with darker socks? (Of course, I thought the blue suit/brown shoes would have been OK if the shoes just weren't so scuffed up.) (Kimberly) Hello my name is Kimberly and I am a WSW . .a White Sock Wearer . .I've been wearing white socks for oh god to many years to count now . . . (Ildi)LOL! Good for you Kimberly! When I was a teen ...er..., over 20 years ago back in Hungary, knee length skirts with white socks and sandals were the rage and I loved it! Should I be ashamed to say that I still wear outfits like that? ;-) Anyway, if the pants are long enough and the boots high enough, then why not wear socks that are fun? I do have this pair of socks; actually, I wore them yesterday. They were given to me by a friend and are warm and fluffy. (Linda)Thanks Karen, I love it when we have such intellectual discourse on these cold, cold days;-) Hear hear!!!

Hmmm, doesn't look v.g. for Eduardo Serra... Epics are focus of ASC noms By Sheigh Crabtree According to their cameraman peers, the top lensing in the field of cinematography this year was seen in epic films of both historical and fantastical nature. The five contenders cited Tuesday by the American Society of Cinematographers for the feature film category of the 18th annual ASC Awards are Russell Boyd for 20th Century Fox's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," Andrew Lesnie for New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," John Schwartzman for Universal Pictures' "Seabiscuit," John Seale for Miramax's "Cold Mountain" and John Toll for Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Last Samurai." "According to their peers, these five outstanding filmmakers have set the highest standards for artistic excellence in feature film cinematography during the past year," said Owen Roizman, chairman of the ASC's awards committee. Roizman noted that the nominees all demonstrated extraordinary abilities to create a sense of place and time and to visually punctuate moods and other emotional content. "There is no easy or precise way to judge artistic achievements in cinematography because it is a subjective and collaborative art form," Roizman said. "Many people equate strikingly beautiful pictures with artful cinematography, but that isn't necessarily true. Great motion pictures can also be dark, and the images can be ugly and menacing. It has more to do with the emotions they evoke than what the audience sees." Toll won the ASC outstanding achievement award for "Braveheart" (1996) and "The Thin Red Line" (1999) and was nominated for "Legends of the Fall" (1995). Seale took top ASC honors for "The English Patient" (1997), with additional nominations for "Rain Man" (1989) and "The Perfect Storm" (2001). Lesnie and Schwartzman each earned an ASC nomination in 2002 for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Pearl Harbor," respectively. This year is Boyd's first nomination. There are 215 ASC members and another 135 associate members who work in ancillary businesses. The 18th annual ASC Awards will be preceded by an open house at the organization's historic Hollywood clubhouse and by an Internet chat, both set for Feb. 7. The winner will be named at the organization's awards gala Feb. 8 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

(Do's list)** The only reason that white socks are 'not done' in Britain, is that the Brits have milk white legs, which actually makes the socks invisible, and suggests that people go barefoot. This is my flat out favorite!:-)) (Do's list)** ***Besides, you buy enough of the same type, you won't have to worry about having just one sock. [Would solve my problems ;-)] This is my *real* reason for buying them! I agree with Tress about white socks and trainers! Only (mostly?) white will do. Am reminded of the trivia factoid that Gene Kelly used to wear white or light socks during his dance routines because they drew the eye to his feet and highlighted his foot work.:-)) Thanks Karen

None of the contenders are indies, are they? They all seem to be big movies, big budgets, sweeping cinematography. I guess that walk in the woods with Peter and Griet didn't count;-)

I see LOTR all the way. Seabiscuit? It seems to me that a scene that comes alive to match a famous painting is not easy to do and worth noting. That was a bad call on their part. Maybe most members didn't see GWAPE. They lose in credibility by just going for the big Hollywood budget pictures, IMO. I'm very interested in the IFC nom. I think they announce them today.

It doesn't rule GWAPE out for an Oscar nom, as this was the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) and membership in the Academy branch for cinematographers is likely wider than that. Seabiscuit? Still haven't seen that one; may have to break down and rent it, but on Ebert & Roper's Memo to the Academy, it was singled out for the racing footage - best he'd ever seen. Whatever... The omission that surprises me is Northfork, one of those stylized ones (like the Man Who Wasn't There) that screams cinematography.

From THR: New firms hit Sundance By Ian Mohr and Chris Gardner PARK CITY -- For seasoned Sundancers, there are certain constants in Park City's snow-globe universe every January: the dressed-down auteurs, the black Mercedes-Benzes dotting wintry Deer Valley and star sightings at Zoom. But this year, the business landscape surrounding the festival also is displaying some significant changes, with familiar faces chartering unfamiliar ventures. And acquisitions aren't even at the top of all the participants' to-do lists. "Most of our business is set up to do production," indie vet Mark Gill said from a Paris movie set a couple of days before heading to Park City for the first time as head of Warner Independent Pictures, the new specialty arm of Warner Bros. Pictures. "If we find something, it would be great. It's certainly a lot easier than producing movies." Yet another seasoned vet of the scene who will hit the slopes -- this year, on the other side of the bargaining table -- will be Howard Cohen, who exited ICM last year to launch Roadside Pictures with "Lovely & Amazing" producer Eric d'Arbeloff. Their company will be looking to acquire films as part of IDP, joining Samuel Goldwyn Films in the hunt for new titles. Add to the list of familiar faces with new aims this year former USA senior vp acquisitions Steven Raphael and veteran entertainment attorney Ira Schreck, who have teamed to handle three films: competition entry "Book of Love," "Brother to Brother" from writer-director Rodney Evans and "Lbs." by Matthew Bonifacio. Because of the large number of films this year by relatively unknown directors, Sundance is expected to be something of a maze for acquisitions execs -- especially because, for fear of piracy, there have been fewer advance screeners to help chart the course. "In a general sense, people don't know a lot of the specifics of each film because the majority haven't seen the movies," CAA's Kevin Iwashina said. "There aren't a lot of tapes out there, which has led to a general optimism among the buyers." And that's a good thing, said Iwashina's colleague Jennifer Rawlings: "You can lose a lot of the audience (when tapes circulate), and you really have to be careful because you never know. You could send out a bad (quality) tape, and it influences the kinds of people that show up at your Sundance screening. And as a filmmaker, you want not just the potential buyers to show up but other actors, other filmmakers to be a part of it." Said Miramax Films acquisitions head Agnes Mentre: "For me, Sundance is the most difficult festival to judge on paper because there are always the most first-timers. In Cannes or Toronto, you know the filmmakers, you know the casts." Said Lions Gate Films Releasing president Tom Ortenberg: "There are certainly a number of films that are worth checking out very seriously. We'll find out soon enough if they live up to the hype." Said Samuel Goldwyn acquisitions vp Tom Quinn: "Looking at this year's slate, it's not the dot-com era, it's not the digital era. It's really back to basics." Even though the directors' names may be new, many of the stars at Sundance are not -- from Kevin Bacon ("The Woodsman") and Natalie Portman ("Garden State") to Naomi Watts ("We Don't Live Here Anymore") and Billy Bob Thornton ("Chrystal"). Myriad Pictures is bringing "Eulogy," which stars Ray Romano and Debra Winger. Myriad president Kirk D'Amico said of the current indie fascination with recognizable stars, "Really interesting material and cast with recognizable (names) helps pretty dramatically, in terms of our ability to sell the film and then the distributors' ability to market it, as (Fox Searchlight) did so well with 'The Good Girl.' " [Ed note: But he doesn't mention that he's bringing Trauma :-( ] But for all the optimism in the air, some lament the outbreaks of frenzied dealmaking that inevitably occur at the fest -- even when companies swear they're going to forego bidding wars. "We look as Sundance as a great place to launch movies," said Sony Pictures Classics co-topper Tom Bernard, whose company will have four films in the festival this year. "But it's the worst place on Earth to attempt to acquire a movie. I think it would be much easier if the festival set up some sort of virtual marketplace" like the one for Cannes. Said Shaun Redick of ICM's indie film department: "This year doesn't have the feel of a buyer's festival, but could be a showcase of exciting debut filmmakers with a plethora of original concepts and story lines. More than ever, it's difficult to get a sneak preview of a Sundance selection, so with what seems to be a Sundance record of first-time directors, there is a lot of anticipation from the distributors."

I liked Seabiscuit very much. Too bad it came out so early in the year. MAJOR surprises in the SAG Award noms, which were just announced. All the indies got in; hardly any big stuido fare. As Nelson on The Simpsons would say: "HA-ha." When the nominations were annonced this moring for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, it was the small that was rewarded. Small movies, like Miramax's "The Station Agent;" small stars, like its star Peter Dinklage, and small studios like Newmarket Films, United Artists, Fox Searchlight and Lions Gate, which all netted best female actor noms for movies like "Whale Rider," "Pieces of April", "Thirteen" and "The Cooler." Miramax and Warner Bros. tied with four noms apiece, with Miramax's "Station Agent" and WB's "Mystic River" each providing three of the four. In primetime television, NBC dominated with 13 nominations overall, followed closely on the heels by CBS and HBO, with 10 noms apiece. In the television movie or miniseries category, cable shut out network, with "Angels in America," performing especially well with six noms; "Everybody Loves Raymond" also earned six noms in three categories. The most lauded thesp was Patricia Clarkson, rewarded with three nominations, one for her supporting role in "Pieces of April," and two for "Station Agent" for the lead actress and as part of the cast. The 10th annual Screen Actors Guild awards will air Sunday, Feb. 22, on TNT at 5 p.m. Pacific. And the nominees are... Actor Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (BV) Peter Dinklage, The Station Agent (Miramax) Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog (Dreamworks) Bill Murray, Lost in Translation (Focus) Sean Penn, Mystic River (WB) Actress Patricia Clarkson, The Station Agent (Miramax) Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give (Columbia) Charlize Theron, Monster (Newmarket) Naomi Watts, 21 Grams (Focus) Evan Rachel Wood, Thirteen (Fox Searchlight) Supporting Actor Alec Baldwin, The Cooler (Lions Gate) Chris Cooper, Seabiscuit (Universal) Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams (Focus) Tim Robbins, Mystic River (WB) Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai (WB) Supporting Actress Maria Bello, The Cooler (Lions Gate) Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider (Newmarket) Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April (United) Holly Hunter, Thirteen (Fox Searchlight) Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain (Miramax) Cast In America Emma Bolger, Sarah Bolger, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Samantha Morton (Fox Searchlight) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Noble, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Elijah Wood (New Line) Mystic River Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins (WB) Seabiscuit Elizabeth Banks, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy, Tobey Maguire, Gary Stevens (U) The Station Agent Paul Benjamin, Bobby Cannavale, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Dinklage, Raven Goodwin, Michelle Williams (Miramax)

Best Actress: Naomi Watts, 21 Grams Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams Games playing. Sorry, I don't buy this structure. The three actors all had equal roles. Three leads. By putting BDT in this category, someone like Bobby Cannavale from The Station Agent, got bumped. BDT should've gotten Johnny Depp's slot. I can't believe they'd reward that kind of cartoonish performance. :-(

The three actors all had equal roles. Three leads Yep. But that's how they had their studios put their names forward. Happens all the itme.

I know, doesn't mean I have to like it. ;-) Don't you think Johnny Depp actually deserves the Cyril Ritchard Memorial Award?

the Cyril Ritchard Memorial Award Thanks. Now I'll be singing "Never smile at a croc-o-dile" all day.

Am v. glad to see In America nommed for Best Cast (SAG's equivalent of Best Picture). A really good film, but that reminds me...Djimon Hounsou deserved a slot for Best Supporting Actor.

For ODB... John Gress for The New York Times Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, whose EP is up against Radiohead, Sigur Ros, the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a Grammy. CHICAGO, Jan. 13 � Two hours before the White Stripes and the Flaming Lips ushered in 2004 with their double-bill New Year's Eve concert at the historic Aragon Ballroom here, the Flaming Lips were onstage blowing up oversize balloons, posing inflatable robots and setting up a giant video screen and confetti machine for their extravagant multimedia show. By contrast, Jack and Meg White, who make up the White Stripes, were mostly backstage until performance time, their roadies, in black suits and bowler hats, guarding their dressing suite. The White Stripes are rock stars, and stars are not supposed to do stagehand work. The same cannot be said of the members of the Flaming Lips: Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Steven Drozd. A psychedelic pop band from Oklahoma City, the Flaming Lips have been toiling largely outside the notice of the mainstream for 20 years. But while most rock bands flare and disappear like Roman candles, the Flaming Lips have survived, steadily building a following, winning the praise of critics (ed note...and YKW) and selling ever more discs with each release. Now they find themselves in elite company, nominated for a major Grammy Award along with some of the biggest names in rock: Radiohead, Sigur Ros, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, yes, the White Stripes. The nomination is for "Fight Test," an extended-play disc that Flaming Lips released in April on the Warner Brothers label. Even with just two new original songs (and five remixes and covers), it was nominated for best alternative album. Picture and the rest is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/14/arts/music/14LIPS.html?th

Supporting Actress- Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider (Newmarket) Now this is just silly. I understand the reason for shifting categories to increase nom chances..... but really. Though I'm thrilled to see her recognized. That movie cames out "eons" ago (in movie time). Thanks for posting that article, Linda. Read the print version yesterday and forgot to search online and post it when I got home.

#$*&^#! There.

Hmmm, hadn't noticed that one. Guess I didn't care about the category. Pathetic. :-( Interesting article about American films: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/2004_01/nosex.php

Yet she has lead parts in French movies that have her characters' particular predicaments at the centre of their stories. Which no one goes to see in France. They go to see American movies. SOS. They just don't get it..Studios make movies that people want to see. And moreover *pay* to see them. Tell BFI: 1-800-Richard Curtis

The Art Directors Guild (ADG) today announced nominations in six categories of Production Design for motion pictures and television competing in the ADG's Eighth Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards for the year 2003...Deadline for final voting by the 1,000-members of ADG is February 11. Black-tie ceremonies announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 14, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2003: Period or Fantasy Film Girl with a Pearl Earring, Production Designer: Ben Van Os The Last Samurai, Production Designer: Lilly Kilvert Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Production Designer: Grant Major Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Production Designer: Brian Morris Seabiscuit, Production Designer: Jeannine Oppewal Contemporary Film Kill Bill Vol. I, Production Designer: David Wasco and Yohei Taneda Lost in Translation, Production Designer: K.K. Barrett and Anne Ross Mystic River, Production Designer: Henry Bumstead Something's Gotta Give, Production Designer: Jon Hutman Under the Tuscan Sun, Production Designer: Stephen McCabe EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION FOR 2003: Single Camera Television Series 24, Production Designer: Joseph Hodges Alias, Production Designer: Scott Chambliss Carnivale, Production Designer: Bernt Capra C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation: Production Designer: Jon Hutman Las Vegas: Production Designer: Peter Politanoff Multi-Camera Television Series Arrested Development: In God We Trust, Production Designer: Dawn Snyder Coupling, Production Designer: Thomas E. Azzari King of Queens, Production Designer: Scott Heineman Life with Bonnie, Production Designer: Robert Strohmaier Will & Grace, Production Designer: Glenda Rovello Television Movie or Mini-Series Angels in America, Production Designer: Stuart Wurtzel Helen of Troy, Production Designer: James F. Allen and Miljen Kljakovic Hitler: The Rise of Evil, Production Designer: Marek Dobrowolski Napoleon, Production Designer: Richard Cunin The Reagans, Production Designer: Barbara Dunphy Variety or Awards Show, Music Special, or Documentary 37th Annual Country Music Awards, Production Designer: Rene Lagler 45th Annual Grammy Awards, Production Designer: Bob Keene 75th Annual Academy Awards, Production Designer: Roy Christopher Dinosaur Planet, Production Designer: Mark L. Walters Moments in Time: Valley Forge - The Crucible, Production Designer: John R. Mott

Change afoot on 'Six Feet Under' Fri Jan 16, 6:19 AM ET Add Entertainment - USATODAY.com to My Yahoo! William Keck, USA TODAY When Six Feet Under returns to HBO on June 6, the Fisher clan will be thrown into "life-altering experiences and sexual experimentation," promises executive producer Alan Poul. "Our intention is to return to the lighter, unpredictable tone of the first two seasons." Expect familiar faces in guest roles: � Mena Suvari (news), who worked with show creator Alan Ball in the movie American Beauty, joins the cast in the second episode as an art-school friend of Claire (Lauren Ambrose (news)). "Mena's character is a provocative performance artist and a strong feminist who doesn't care what anyone thinks," Poul says. � Ben Foster returns as Claire's bisexual boyfriend, Russell. � Claire's former boyfriend Gabriel (Eric Balfour) may not be as dead as viewers were led to believe, though this is unconfirmed by the producers. �Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle bad guy Justin Theroux returns as musician Joe, who will strike up a serious romance with Brenda (Rachel Griffiths (news)). Poul says to expect a love triangle with Nate (Peter Krause (news)) as the season evolves. Poul says David (Michael C. Hall (news)) and Keith (Mathew St. Patrick (news)) will try to save their rocky relationship by pursuing separate life paths. For Keith, that means bodyguarding a Britney Spears (news)-type pop princess, played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Michelle Trachtenberg (news). In the third episode, the pop star makes a "guest appearance" on The Ellen DeGeneres (news) Show, with DeGeneres playing herself. Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy) will face a more complicated life with the return of sister Sarah (Patricia Clarkson) and mischievous friend Bettina (Kathy Bates (news)). She also will have to deal with new husband George (James Cromwell (news)). She will "realize she might not know this man as well as she thought she did," Poul says. As for the imaginative opening deaths, Poul says one will involve an interaction with a sex toy.

No prima donnas at the Morning Ray By Nancy Hobbs Special to The Salt Lake City Tribune Jabbing fun at the pomposity of some Sundance festivalgoers has brought Morning Ray Cafe owner Jason Sanford more than a little attention, not to mention customers and money. And yet he does it, he says, to maintain some sanity through the 10-day festival "zoo," when the streets of Park City are filled with "pushy people who want it yesterday" and take everything -- particularly themselves -- too seriously. He started posting a list of "rules" for festival patrons dining in his cafe several years ago, and though they are generally considered funny, Sanford says he does enforce them. Take, for example, his rule on general decorum: "If you are pushy, rude, abusive or otherwise obnoxious or unpleasant, you will be asked to leave immediately," it states. "Don't believe us? Try it -- we could use the space." Another reads, "Please bear with us: We are trying our best in the face of utter chaos. Whining will not help your cause, nor ours." Sanford refuses to tolerate boorish behavior and has booted more customers than he likes to count. "I don't buy that the customer is always right. They can meet me halfway," he says. "The customer is important, but respect is a two-way street." Apparently others agree. Last year, in a further display of cheekiness, Sanford and staff greeted patrons on the first day of the festival wearing black T-shirts with, "Do you have any idea who I am?" printed on the front. On the back: "Good. Then we're even." By 8 a.m. the following morning, all two dozen of the shirts he had made were sold off the staff's backs, and an order was placed for another 27 dozen -- with the Morning Ray logo, of course. They sold out in three days. No doubt lots of those customers will return to the Morning Ray during this festival, as they have in years past. Though he is best known for his attitude, Sanford says his food -- particularly the breakfast, vegan and vegetarian options -- are popular with the film crowd. "And I am thankful for that."

Need an Addled Old Rocker? Call for Bill Nighy Fri Jan 16, 8:58 AM ET By Paul Majendie LONDON (Reuters) - When it comes to drug-addled rock dinosaurs, no one does them better than Bill Nighy. Now Oscar glory beckons for Nighy who stole the hit comedy "Love Actually" with his riotous portrayal of the dilapidated rocker who said: "Wouldn't it be great if the number one hit this Christmas wasn't some smug teenager but an old heroin addict?" But at the ripe old age of 54, the self-deprecating Englishman is not getting carried away by Hollywood hype. "I handle it with a packet of salt," he told Reuters before flying out to Hollywood to receive his Best Supporting Actor award next week from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (news - web sites). "It is the capital of the movie world and for them to spell my name properly is a serious leap forward and I am very grateful." But what about the chances of an Oscar for the angular actor who built his career on the British stage but has now blossomed as a screen star from a vampire in "Underworld" to an eccentric writer in "I Capture The Castle" "I have great difficulty in imagining me getting an Oscar. The odds are so long that it is best to let other people think of it," he said. "They don't often give big prizes for comic performances." The raffishly thin Nighy may be endearingly apologetic about his acting ability but the smart money could be on him after the L.A. critics unusually gave him the Best Supporting Actor award for his body of work over the past year. In 1998's "Still Crazy," Nighy won plaudits playing the insecure and frightened leader of a British 1970s band on a comeback tour. In "Love Actually" he is on the comeback trail again as outrageous rocker Billy Mack. Nighy has a talent for looking as if he is having huge fun on screen but he confessed: "I have an averagely anxious disposition. I have difficulty persuading myself it is a good day to act." Still, the assignment was not that tough. "Posing by a fake mountain and fake snow flanked by seven models in four-inch heels and mini Santa Claus outfits does wonders at my time of life," he admitted. He has no hang-ups about being typecast. "It is what you get offered. People think of tired, knackered old rockers when they look at me. (Comedian) Billy Connolly (news) told me I had rock 'n' roll legs. You need them to get into tight velvet pants." Costumes have a lot to do with him never wanting to do Shakespeare. He has no burning desire to be the definitive Macbeth. "It is the clothes. I cannot relax in a pair of balloon trousers. And those tights are out of the question." Nighy is refreshingly frank talking about the intricacies of acting but it is always a struggle. "You have to deal with self-consciousness and fear," he said of his craft. "I just like good material and paying the rent," he concluded. "I have been luckier than most. I want to do things you feel good about and give you some dignity."

Now Oscar glory beckons for Nighy who stole the hit comedy "Love Actually" with his riotous portrayal of the dilapidated rocker I agree. Thanks for the articles, Dorine, Mari and Murph!

(BN)I just like good material and paying the rent," he concluded. "I have been luckier than most. I want to do things you feel good about and give you some dignity." Just another jobbing actor;-)

The Producers Guild of America is pleased to announce the nominated motion picture and television productions and honorees for the 2004 Producers Guild Awards, taking place on Saturday, January 17th at the Century Plaza Hotel. The nominees are: 15th Annual Event to be Held Saturday, January 17th Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures Cold Mountain (Miramax Films) Sydney Pollack William Horberg Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa The Last Samurai (Warner Bros.) Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick Tom Cruise & Paula Wagner The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema) Barrie M. Osborne Peter Jackson Fran Walsh Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Twentieth Century Fox) Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Peter Weir Duncan Henderson Mystic River (Warner Bros.) Robert Lorenz Judie G. Hoyt Clint Eastwood Seabiscuit (Universal Pictures) Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Gary Ross David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (HBO) Joshua D. Maurer Mark Gordon Larry Gelbart Hitler: The Rise of Evil (CBS) Peter Sussman Ed Gernon John Ryan My House in Umbria (HBO) Frank Doelger Robert Allan Ackerman Ann Wingate Normal (HBO) Cary Brokaw Lydia Dean Pilcher The Pentagon Papers (fX) Joshua D. Maurer Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Drama Alias (ABC) J.J. Abrams John Eisendrath Ken Olin Sarah Caplan C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation (CBS) Jerry Bruckheimer Carol Mendelsohn Anthony E. Zuiker Ann M. Donahue Jonathan Littman Danny Cannon Cynthia Chvatal & William Petersen Louis Milito Six Feet Under (HBO) Alan Ball Alan Poul Robert Greenblatt & David Janollari 24 (FOX) Joel Surnow Robert Cochran Brian Grazer Howard Gordon Norman Powell The West Wing (NBC) Aaron Sorkin Thomas Schlamme John Wells Alex Graves Christopher Misiano Llewellyn Wells Neal Ahern, Jr. Danny Thomas Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Comedy Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) Ray Romano Philip Rosenthal Lisa Helfrich Jackson Ken Ornstein Malcolm In the Middle (FOX) Linwood Boomer Jimmy S. Simons Matthew Carlson Gary Murphy & Neil Thompson Michael Glouberman & Andrew Orenstein Michael Borkow Alex Reid Rob Hanning Scrubs (NBC) Bill Lawrence Randall Winston Sex and the City (HBO) Michael Patrick King Cindy Chupack John P. Melfi Sarah Jessica Parker Jenny Bicks Jane Raab Will & Grace (NBC) Max Mutchnick & David Kohan James Burrows Jeff Greenstein Jhoni Marchinko Tim Kaiser Producer of the Year Award in Reality /Game/Informational Series The Amazing Race 4 (CBS) Jerry Bruckheimer Bertram van Munster Elise Doganieri (by Petition) Jonathan Littman Jon Kroll Hayma Screech Washington Anthony Dominici Rick Ringbakk Evan Weinstein (by Petition) Brady Connell Julian Grimmond Shannon McGinn Michael Norton Michael Noval Jym Buss (by Petition) Glenn Stickley (by Petition) Bill Pruitt (by Petition) Nancy Gunn (by Petition) Scott Owens (by Petition) American Idol (FOX) Simon Fuller Nigel Lythgoe Ken Warwick David Goffin Biography (A&E) (Various Independent Producers) Project Greenlight (HBO) Ben Affleck Matt Damon Chris Moore Sean Bailey Dan Cutforth & Jane Lipsitz Eli Holzman Tony Yates Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo) David Collins Michael Williams David Metzler Lynn Sadofsky Survivor: Pearl Islands (CBS) Mark Burnett Craig Armstrong Tom Shelly Vittoria Cacciatore Holly M. Wofford Douglas McCallie Maria Baltazzi Adam Briles Cathrine Nilsen Conrad Riggs HONOREES Milestone Award being presented to Warren Beatty David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures being presented to Dino De Laurentiis David Susskind Achievement Award in Television being presented to Lorne Michaels Vanguard Award Sponsored by Intel and United Airlines Recognizing outstanding achievement in new media and technology being presented to James Cameron Visonary Award Sponsored by Future Media Recognizing the producers whose work demonstrates a unique or uplifting vision or quality being presented to Mike Nichols and Cary Brokaw for ANGELS IN AMERICA Stanley Kramer Award Recognizing an achievement or contribution that illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion being presented to Jim Sheridan and Arthur Lappin for IN AMERICA http://www.producersguild.org/pg/awards_a/

Tress here....Hello all! Dorine and I are in Sundance...have done a preliminary walkabout on Main Street. No Colin, but several others...within first five minutes we saw Tim Daly and Minnie Driver (who spotted Dorine and turned and ran into a tea shop...but not before I began to covet her really 'interesting' and personlized Uggs. Pink...with "Locals Only" on the back. Wearing cute white parka too...). Saw Mare Winningham (twice), the Nip/Tuck guy (Julian McMahon) and some blonde girl we can't remember the name of, being interviewed on the street. An assortment of REALLY attractive men with beautiful blue eyes (sorry for yelling, but they are REALLY good looking!). Dorine here!.... reporting live from the Park City Marriott..... Let me tell you, I'm beside myself at the thought of seeing Ashton and Demi tonight! I am all anticipation! ;-D Signing off for now!

Good to hear from our intrepid Sundance reporters.... LOL. Glad you could identify these glitzy folks... but hey, go hang out at the loo and look for the guy with the chocolate brown eyes...and dimples;-)

Hi to our Sundancers!! Glad to see that you got there safe and sound and am looking forward to your reports from the high country!

Godspeed Dorine and Tress..May the force be with you!

Dorine and Tress...glad you made it safely! Don't trip over all the uggs, take lots of pics and keep warm with some martinis (or Irish coffees..whichever is in style this year);-)!

Tomorrow's the big day for Trauma. Crossing my fingers for you two and our third representative, Sandi! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Looks like there's one member of the Hollywood Foreign Press fighting back; interesting bit about Richard Curtis too: How the world warmed to the Globes The once maligned Golden Globe awards are now second only to the Oscars in importance. Voter John Hiscock explains why I have marked my ballot, sealed it in an envelope and dropped it in a Federal Express collection box for delivery to Ernst and Young, the Los Angeles accountants who tally the votes for the Golden Globe awards. Whether or not my choices coincide with those of my 89 fellow voters in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, I won't know until the winners are announced at the awards ceremony on January 25. The Golden Globes evening has long been known as a giant party: a star-filled, champagne and cocktail-fuelled orgy of back-patting and table-hopping where the world's leading actors, actresses and directors relish the informality of an event where there is always a feeling that anything can happen. In previous years Jack Nicholson mooned the audience, Ren�e Zellweger was in the ladies' room when she should have been picking up her Golden Globe and Ving Rhames insisted on passing his trophy on to Jack Lemmon because, he said, he was more deserving of it. The star turnout far surpasses that for the Oscars, partly because of its reputation as a zany, let-your-hair-down evening and partly because the Globes ceremony hands out more awards � there are separate categories for best drama and best comedy or musical � and embraces television, too. But in recent years the Globes have also come to be viewed as a vital part of the film industry, second in importance only to the Oscars and having a great impact on a film's financial success. As Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein says: "A successful awards season can mean the difference between a movie grossing $5 million and grossing $20 million." Veteran publicist Tony Angellotti believes the Golden Globes have become a major force over the past decade. "The Golden Globes are one big, huge promotion for the motion picture industry," he said. "Also, the Globes act as a benchmark and launching pad for the awards season and bring to the attention of a whole lot of people who vote for other awards films that they did not see." In the past the Globes have proved to be a fairly reliable forecaster for the Oscars, and only once in the past decade has there been a best picture Globe winner that did not win the Oscar: 1996, when Babe and Sense and Sensibility won Golden Globes but Braveheart took home the Oscar. The ceremony will be of particular significance this year because, due to a calendar shuffle, the Globes will be handed out only two days before the Oscar nominations are announced and will certainly influence the 6,000 Academy voters' final choices. This year's Golden Globes ceremony will be the 61st hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of journalists � of which, for the past seven years I have been one � who were fortunate that their predecessors who founded the organisation doggedly persevered with the Globes despite setbacks, derision and accusations of corruption. Although everybody now knows of the Golden Globes, not many are familiar with the background and the organisation behind it. There is no mystery. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association was founded in the early 1940s by a group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists in an attempt to gain more clout with the studios and make it easier to get access to stars. Today it has 90 members from 55 countries, most of whom are working journalists, with the odd retired schoolteacher and engineer left over from the days when conditions of entry were not so strict. Now only bona fide journalists are admitted. In the early years of the Golden Globes, few nominees bothered to attend the ceremony and the association had to fend off charges of "selling" Globes to those who provided the best gifts or laid on the best parties. The association gained a reputation as being freeloaders who, as one journalist put it, "would sell their votes for a vodka and tonic and cross the Alps for a hot dog". Although it happened more than 20 years ago, the association is still dogged by the Pia Zadora fiasco, when she was voted most promising newcomer after members had been flown to Las Vegas and wined and dined by her casino-owner husband Meshulam Riklis. And it was rumoured to be no coincidence that Sharon Stone won the best actress award in 1995 for Casino shortly after she sent every member of the association an expensive money clip and a hand-written note. But since NBC began televising the Globes in 1996, the rules have tightened up. Members must now sign an agreement that they will not receive valuable gifts, and, four years ago when Sharon Stone drew attention to her performance in The Muse by sending everyone a �250 watch, the gifts were immediately returned. Even invitations to parties are strictly vetted, and if they are seen to be aimed at influencing Golden Globe votes, they are declined. To avoid any accusations of collusion or corruption, voting is done under the aegis of Ernst and Young, which this year mailed out the nomination ballots to every member on December 5. Each member listed his or her top five nominees in every category and the ballots were then returned by Ernst and Young by December 15. The nominees were announced on December 18 to a packed ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. There were no big surprises this year apart from welcome recognition for The Office and Ricky Gervais and a slew of nominations for the turgid two-part television series Angels in America. During the year, like all entertainment journalists, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association members are deluged with T-shirts, baseball caps and promotional items which usually end up in car boot sales or as gifts to the children of friends; but the real benefit of being a Golden Globe voter comes from the willingness with which studios and publicists offer up their stars for interviews. In the weeks leading up to the nominations, stars who would never be available the rest of the year are suddenly sitting down for interviews to promote their new film, and screenings of the films become lavish affairs. In early December Christmas cards started arriving from Sophia Loren, Rob Lowe and other celebrities I had never met who had a film or television show eligible for Globe consideration. This year some of us received telephone calls from Harvey Weinstein who was not, he assured us, promoting his own films but was calling on behalf of his brother Bob's production Bad Santa. The film was not nominated. Some filmmakers are more subtle. Writer-director Richard Curtis, whose Love Actually has received two nominations � for best comedy and best screenplay � adopted the reverse strategy of praising the merits of another. In a letter to every member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, he thanked them for the nominations and took a jab at his British critics. "Over here in England I've had some sternly cynical reviews and therefore got very used to the idea that this film was for crowds not critics," he wrote. He added in a PS: "Also so thrilled about Ricky Gervais and The Office � if it's a choice between him and me on the night, definitely pick him � he'll make a much funnier speech." For that, both Curtis and Gervais got my vote. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/01/17/bfglobes17.xml&sSheet=/arts/2004/01/17/ixartright.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=29860

Tress and Dorine best of luck. Keep your eyes open, hang out at the loos, and have a grand old time. Hope Trauma keeps you rivited to your seats. Can't wait to hear more.

Dorine here!.... reporting live from the Park City Marriott..... Let me tell you, I'm beside myself at the thought of seeing Ashton and Demi tonight! I am all anticipation! ;-D Hello Tress and Dorine, watch out you're not PUNK'D! Will be awaiting your reports.

Hi all! Intrepid Sundance reporters here!! Dorine speaking.... First off, Ashton sends his love and Demi sent her regrets.....seems she wasn't in the mood to walk the red carpet....or maybe she heard what we were told from the security guard at the front door of the theater, "You don't want to see this (The Butterfly Effect), it sucks!" Other red carpeters.....Paris Hilton, who seemed camera shy and not wanting to pose for any of the 200 pictures we were able to get. A very shy girl ;-). Also graced with the presence of Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster), Amy Smart, and a big guy who was in Remember the Titans....and presumably this one. Last night sightings on Main St....Hank Azaria, and Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys standing in line at ICM party....he's rather short, like a hand puppet according to Tress. Mariott sightings yesterday....Mario Van Peebles and dad, and everyones's favorite critic, Richard Roeper, and the guy from The Guardian (help me out on the name ;-)). This mornings, literally had just set foot our of the taxi and saw Mark Ruffalo (Tress loved his hair) then Danny Glover (who wears Dansko clogs). Shared taxi to Marriott with Jeff from Canadian consulate (Johnny Depp lookalike), who invited us to the Canadian hospitality suite for happy hour. We're so there! Drinks and (hopefully) food before we try for rush tix for Robert Redford's flick, The Clearing and The Machinist with Christian Bale. Saw a *fabulous* film today called Maria, Full of Grace with rush tix. Was World Premiere, cast and director did Q&A. American director, in Spanish, with subtitles. It's about drug trafficking using mules. Are off to search for pic of Marc Evans, but feel free to help us out. :-)

Here you go:

Good to hear from DDs on the scene!!! Am very jealous of the excitement, and wish you the best! Hopefully, this might help the hunt. ;-)

I'm on a roll...

And one more for good measure;-) Enjoy the party!!!

WOO-HOO for the Sundance Kids!

Talk about Witness Protection Program photos... Dark Marc ain't v. purdy.

Nothing wrong with him. Besides, he's on the other side of the camera.

On this day in history... posted by bean January 17 1820: (Birthday) Anne Bront�, author of Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) and Agness Gray (1847), and sister of Emily and Charlotte Bront�, born at Thornton in West Yorkshire. (BTW, according to one website, the Bront� birthplace is (or was recently) for sale -- just for those of you house hunting right now).

BAFTA nominations are out... 10 for GWAPE! And even some for LA Best film Big Fish Cold Mountain Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Best British film (Alexander Korda award for the outstanding British film of the year) Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring In This World Love Actually Touching the Void Best director (David Lean award for achievement in direction) Tim Burton - Big Fish Anthony Minghella - Cold Mountain Peter Jackson - The Return of the King Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation Peter Weir - Master and Commander Best actor in a leading role Benicio Del Toro - 21 Grams Bill Murray - Lost in Translation Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Jude Law - Cold Mountain Sean Penn - Mystic River Sean Penn - 21 Grams Best actress in a leading role Anne Reid - The Mother Naomi Watts - 21 Grams Scarlett Johansson - Girl with a Pearl Earring Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation Uma Thurman - Kill Bill Vol. 1 Best actor in a supporting role Albert Finney - Big Fish Bill Nighy - Love Actually Sir Ian McKellen - The Return of the King Paul Bettany - Master and Commander Tim Robbins - Cold Mountain Best actress in a supporting role Emma Thompson - Love Actually Holly Hunter - Thirteen Judy Parfitt - Girl with a Pearl Earring Laura Linney - Mystic River Renee Zellweger - Cold Mountain Best film not in the English language The Barbarian Invasions Belleville Rendez-vous Etre et Avoir Good Bye Lenin! In This World Spirited Away Original screenplay 21 Grams The Barbarian Invasions Finding Nemo Lost in Translation The Station Agent Adapted screenplay Big Fish Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring The Return of the King Mystic River Carl Foreman Award (for special achievement by a British director/producer/writer in their first feature film) Sergio Casci - American Cousins Jenny Mayhew - To Kill A King Peter Webber - Girl with a Pearl Earring Emily Young - Kiss of Life Short animation Dads Dead Dear Sweet Emma Jojo in the Stars Nibbles Plumber Short film Brown Paper Bag Bye Child Nits Sea Monsters Talking with Angels Make Up & Hair Big Fish Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring The Return of the King Pirates of the Caribbean Visual Effects Big Fish Kill Bill The Return of the King Master and Commander Pirates of the Caribbean Sound Cold Mountain Kill Bill The Return of the King Master and Commander Pirates of the Caribbean Editing 21 Grams Cold Mountain Kill Bill Return of the King Lost in Translation Costume design Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring The Return of the King Master and Commander Pirates of the Caribbean Production design Big Fish Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring The Return of the King Master and Commander Cinematography Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander Music (Anthony Asquith award for achievement in film music) Cold Mountain Girl with a Pearl Earring Kill Bill The Return of the King Lost in Translation

Thanks for posting the list, Emma. From Empire: "Given his credentials, Richard Curtis was conspicuous by his absence in both directing and writing categories. 'I can't, apart from my own film, see any huge omissions in the list.' said Love Actually's producer Duncan Kenworthy who as Chair of the BAFTA's Film Committee attended the press conference."

I see they didn't nominate RC for Best Actor;-))))) Big night for SJ , Peter Weir & Sofia... Glad for GWAPE even if....:-(((

I see they didn't nominate RC for Best Actor;-))))) They couldn't guarantee that his acceptance speech wouldn't be cut.;-) I see a big omission: Ben Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog. Not sure why Cold Mountain is a British film.

So this is where he was yesterday;-))))) AP COSTNER BIG ARSENAL FAN "Actor Kevin Costner celebrated his 49th birthday Sunday by cheering for Arsenal during its 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in an English Premier League game. When Costner arrived in London on Saturday, he immediately asked where Arsenal was playing. He made arrangements to fly by helicopter to the game. "My first introductioin to English football was in 1990, when I was over here making Robin Hood," Costner said.. "Having watched sports all my life in America, there was no comparison in terms of the emotion that was in the stadium that day."

I tend to agree with much of the below. Why didn't any of the Best British Films make into the Best Film category? Makes the former appear to be a second-rate category. Brits miss out as Bafta hopefuls By Neil Smith British talent has been largely passed over by this year's Bafta film awards. Jude Law and director Anthony Minghella have been recognised for Cold Mountain, and there is a strong showing in the supporting acting categories. But there are some notable absentees that suggest Britain's traditional dominance at this event may be on the wane. The mood was defiantly upbeat at Monday's nominations announcement, with host Stephen Fry trumpeting the British nominees. "The shortlist demonstrates the depth of British talent," said Fry. "There's a diverse talent in Britain still, which any other nation apart from America must envy." But a closer look at the nominations reveals that UK films have been largely sidelined in favour of big-budget blockbusters from the US and Australasia. Working Title production Love Actually, the most successful British film of 2003, gets two best supporting actor nominations and a nod for best screenplay. [Ed note: Huh?] But while it is up for the Alexander Korda award for outstanding British feature, it failed to make the shortlist for best film. Neither did UK-Luxembourg co-production Girl with a Pearl Earring, despite being recognised in 10 categories - the highest number of nominations after Cold Mountain and The Return of the King. British comedy Calendar Girls is a surprise omission, with both Helen Mirren and Julie Walters overlooked for acting honours. So are Hugh Grant for Love Actually and Colin Firth for Girl with a Pearl Earring. And there is no nomination for Sir Ben Kingsley, despite his Golden Globe recognition for House of Sand and Fog. Dinner Ladies star Anne Reid can be proud of her best actress nomination for BBC-funded The Mother. But she is an outsider to win as Scarlett Johansson's two nominations make her the clear favourite in this category. Best actor nominee Law is also unlikely to triumph over stiff competition from Bill Murray and Sean Penn - who, like Johansson, is nominated twice in the same category. Britain's best hope for a gong lies in the supporting actor field, where four out of the five nominees - Sir Ian McKellen, Albert Finney, Paul Bettany and Bill Nighy - hail from these shores. Love Actually's Emma Thompson and Girl with a Pearl Earring's Judy Parfitt make up the British contingent in the best supporting actress category. Perhaps the most interesting British nominee is In This World, nominated for both British film of the year and best film not in the English language. But the recognition given to this low-budget asylum seeker drama is the exception to the rule in a year where Bafta voters have largely snubbed homegrown fare. "Bafta voters have shown themselves over the years to be very independent and have a global outlook," Bafta chairman Michael Atwell told BBC News Online. "We are quite prepared to be critical of homegrown British talent." The Baftas have traditionally been seen as a partisan event and for many years took place after the Academy Awards. But the decision to move the ceremony to a date before the Oscars means the awards are now taken increasingly seriously by Hollywood. The tastes of Bafta and Academy voters often differ though. Last year's best film at the Baftas - Roman Polanski's holocaust drama The Pianist - failed to repeat its success at the Oscars, as did Bafta best actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Moreover, distributors' fears over piracy have made it increasingly difficult for Bafta voters to see films that later figure on the Oscar shortlist. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3409241.stm

"The Baftas have traditionally been seen as a partisan event..." I applaud the change. "Best is Best" in the Enlish-speaking category. Don't they already have a "Best in Britain" category? So all is not lost. ...besides, they get the Hollywood stars to attend ; one year the best they could do was Andie Mac Dowell.

(Evelyn) I applaud the change. I only see the change as they're being star-struck or brain-washed. Big Fish gets a Best Film nomination? I see it as a total lack of integrity and run the risk of becoming the next Hollywood Foreign Press. ;-)

From someone perhaps slightly less influential, a Top 10 list from WDET Detroit/Wayne State University. I'm not even quite sure how I found this one. ;-) Martin Bandyke's Top 10 Films | 2003 1. 21 Grams 2. American Splendor 3. Capturing The Friedmans 4. Girl With a Pearl Earring 5. The Barbarian Invasions 6. Tom Dowd & The Language of Music 7. Lost In Translation 8. Mystic River 9. The Fog Of War 10. To Be And To Have

Thank you, Emma. British comedy Calendar Girls is a surprise omission, with both Helen Mirren and Julie Walters overlooked for acting honours. So are Hugh Grant for Love Actually and Colin Firth for Girl with a Pearl Earring. And there is no nomination for Sir Ben Kingsley, despite his Golden Globe recognition for House of Sand and Fog. Well if YKW had to be omitted at least he was omitted in good company;-( (Mari)Not sure why Cold Mountain is a British film. Raised my eyebrows, too. Various movie sites have it listed as US so what criteria makes a film eligible in the British film category?

Not Russell's year for awards -- but he doesn't need them - he's got little Charlie. Variety: BAFTA favors 'Cold Mountain' with 13 noms while the 'Lord of the Rings' grabs 12 By ADAM DAWTREY LONDON -- "Cold Mountain" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" lead the race for this year's British Academy Film Awards, with 13 nominations for Anthony Minghella's Civil War drama and 12 for the final part of Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy. All that separates the two movies is a nomination for "Cold Mountain" in the best British film category, for which "Return of the King" is not eligible. These two pics are competing in for the best film prize with Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" (eight noms), Peter Weir's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (also eight) and Tim Burton's "Big Fish" (seven). Peter Webber's "Girl With a Pearl Earring" won 10 nods, despite missing out in the best film and best director categories. Scarlett Johansson was nominated twice in the best actress race, for "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and "Lost in Translation." Sean Penn had the same honor in the best actor category, where he was nominated for "Mystic River" and "21 Grams." Johansson is running against local veteran Anne Reid ("The Mother"), Naomi Watts ("21 Grams") and Uma Thurman ("Kill Bill: Vol. 1). Penn is up against Benicio Del Toro ("21 Grams), Bill Murray ("Lost in Translation"), Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl") and Jude Law ("Cold Mountain"). Shock omissions included "Cold Mountain's" Nicole Kidman, winner last year for "The Hours," but not nominated this year in the actress race, despite the virtual clean sweep of the film in the other sections. Also missing is Russell Crowe, another recent BAFTA winner, whose performance in "Master and Commander" clearly didn't find favor with Brit voters this year. And there were no nominations at all for "Calendar Girls" on its home turf. Its failure to make a mark even in the actress or supporting actress category, where British thesps are usually heavily favored, was particularly unexpected. The strong showing for "Big Fish," which has yet to open in Blighty, was perhaps the biggest surprise. It was the only movie from a major studio to be sent out to voters on tape. Testifying to Quentin Tarantino's perennial popularity in Britain, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" picked up five nods, as did "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "21 Grams." "Mystic River" and "Love Actually" managed three apiece. The BAFTA film awards ceremony takes place Feb. 15 at the Odeon Leicester Square.

(Variety) Testifying to Quentin Tarantino's perennial popularity in Britain, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" picked up five nods,... *snort* Look who's saying *America* likes violence. *rolling eyes* ...."as did 'Pirates of the Caribbean'" Puh-leeze.

Hi all! Dorine here, with my trusty sidekick, Tress! Just a quick blurb on spottings..... Yesterday Willem Defoe and yes, that's right.....Mr. Sundance himself....Robert Redford!!! He dissed us fans, but still has awesome hair (those of you who know me well, know I wanted my hands through it :-P). He's also not so craggy as he appears on the big screen. Looks quite good actually. Also saw Christian Bale at his new movie, The Machinist, last night. He lost 63 lbs for the role, looked like he was anorexic. Was in much better shape last night, having gained the weight back and then some. Today we saw Simon West (The Guardian guy again) being interviewed in the street, and Kyle McLachlan walked by us. Got our Trauma premiere tix for tonight!! Woo Hoo!!! Will post more on Spoilers tomorrow sometime later, and hopefully have something to report on CF topic.

Howdy Dorine and Tress! Have a great time this evening and keep warm! I have my fingers, toes, etc. crossed that the jammy git will show. ;-)

(Mari)Not sure why Cold Mountain is a British film. While the criteria defy nailing down, it probably has something to do with Mirage, the production company set up by Minghella and Sydney Pollack.

Bafta pledge on movie preview ban Some Bafta voters were affected by the ban on preview tapes A leading Bafta official has promised action to try to combat the impact of any future Hollywood ban on film preview tapes going to awards judges. Duncan Kenworthy, who chairs Bafta's film committee, said the anti-piracy ban on distribution of "screener" tapes by US studios had been "ill conceived". He told BBC News Online UK-based Bafta voters had been penalised by the move. It was later overturned by a judge after some producers said it would hurt their chances to win awards. Mr Kenworthy said: "It hasn't proved to be a catastrophe - we have survived. But it's hard to say whether that's because the ban was overturned on time, or because our members have somehow managed to find their way to these films." He said Bafta members who lived outside London had been penalised because they had not been able to get to screenings of some shortlisted films. A number of people didn't see enough films this year to vote. That's not a good situation Duncan Kenworthy, Bafta "Members of Bafta in Scotland, the Midlands, East Anglia, Cornwall find it particularly hard to see all those films, particularly ones that qualify at the last minute. "I know from my e-mails that a number of people didn't see enough films this year to vote. That's not a good situation and I hope it will be overturned next year." He said Bafta had already made "strenuous representations" to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which enforced the ban. The MPAA relaxed the rules for the Oscars - as long as voters signed an agreement to keep their copies safe. "Obviously we are all opposed to copyright piracy but I hope that some way can be found to protect the system of sending out screeners to our members," he said. Mr Kenworthy, producer of the hit romantic comedy Love Actually, hailed the film's inclusion in Bafta's best British film category. There are also mentions in supporting roles for two of the film's co-stars, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson. "I'm thrilled," said Mr Kenworthy. "Normally comedies aren't thought to be award fodder, and I'm delighted for Richard Curtis who wrote and directed the film. "It's strange to say that at the age of 52 Bill Nighy has made a career-making performance. Suddenly he's on the list of every casting director in Hollywood." Love Actually had experienced "an extraordinary run in the UK" and was loved by British audiences, he said. "I would much rather have audiences love it than critics or audience review boards I must say, so I am happy." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3409783.stm

Update from the Sundancers: Just got a call from Tress, Dorine, and Sandi...they were in a hurry getting ready to go in and see Trauma. They spoke to ME and asked why the date was pushed back in the UK. He said because there wasn't enough time...Dorine said he was a bit vague as to what that actually meant. MS there taking pictures with everyone. Colin is definitely not there. The ladies are having a blast in spite of that and will post on Spoilers tomorrow.

Thanks for the update, Linda. I'm so glad you got to talk to the front-line troops. I've been glancing at the clock trying to calculate when the first Trauma would be over and when they could possibly post. This little tidbit will allow me to get some sleep while I wait to hear the news.

Hi all, We were told by ME at the introduction that Colin is busy filming Mr. Darcy in TEOR, and was there in spirit. I have posted some small info on Spoilers, and will be up for a bit, but will await Dorine's post in the morning as well. Sandi

Sun Jan 18 ADAM DAWTREY (Variety) "Pride and Prejudice" is looking good to go in 2004 for Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner's Working Title Films, now that the Universal-owned company has signed up rookie helmer Joe Wright to direct its version of Jane Austen's classic 19th century romance. Wright previously directed two acclaimed BBC mini-series --- the historical biog "Charles II" and contempo drama "Nature Boy." Novelist Deborah Moggach ("Tulip Fever") wrote the first draft of the "Pride and Prejudice" script, and "Billy Elliot" scribe Lee Hall is now buffing it up. "We're trying to do something that pleases the enthusiasts and the Austen fans, that's a faithful adaptation but with a bit more muscle," says one WT insider. Pic is not yet greenlit, but is expected to shoot this summer. Working Title's confirmed production slate for 2004 includes Sydney Pollack's "The Interpreter," currently shooting with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn; and "Nanny McPhee," set to start in April with Emma Thompson starring as a magical nanny, directed by Kirk Jones ("Waking Ned Devine"). Stephen Daldry's "Everest," Paul Greengrass's "Birdsong" and Shekhar Kapur's sequel to "Elizabeth" are all pencilled for 2005.

Karen- Thanks for the blurb on the new adaptation of P&P to be directed by Joe Wright. However... Historically, and on rare occaisions, there are some dramatic interpretations that are so beloved by the theater going public that they almost become the actor's 'property' in a manner of speaking. Curently we see this occuring in New York with "The Producers"...NL and MB have become Bialystock and Bloom...so much so that it's hard to fill the theater in their absence. IMHO...ODB is Darcy. It would be very hard to buy into anyone else filling those shoes.

Keen Eddie debuts tonight on Bravo aft Queer Eye.

Stella at the BBC's report on Day 3 - Ouch for I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. Hope for better for Trauma: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/sundance/sundance_diary_3.shtml

(Leslie) NL and MB have become Bialystock and Bloom... Funny you should mention this. Just last night I mentioned to the DH I was looking forward to the screen version of this since the stage version got such raves. He said (and I agreed) it will take some getting used to since Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder *are* Bialystock and Bloom for us but maybe it will not take all that much getting used to after all.

Ev: Here's the TV GuideInfo on KE: 1:00 AM Channel 44 BRAVO Wednesday, 21 Keen Eddie Pilot Episode 60 mins. NYPD detective Eddie Arlette (Mark Valley) is sent to London, where he looks for a woman and a chemist who ruined a drug bust in Manhattan. Rudy Alexander: Alexei Sayle. DA Jonah Rosenthal: Yul Vazquez. Marylyn: Lisa Barbuscia. Fishy: Martin Hancock. Bernard: Simon Startin. Cheap Trick: Nick Malinowski. Fiona: Sienna Miller. Monty Pippin: Julian Rhind-Tutt. Superintendent Johnson: Colin Salmon. Cast: Mark Valley, Sienna Miller, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Colin Salmon, Alexei Sayle, Yul Vazquez, Lisa Barbuscia, Martin Hancock, Simon Startin, Nick Malinowski Rating: TV-PG Content: Suggestive Dialog, Strong, Coarse Language, Explicit Sexual Situations, Violence Release Year: 2003 ******************************* Anyone watch the L Word? I enjoyed it, though it was more voyeur than anything else. I kept picturing all those men out there drooling at their TV's and "tivoing" away.

Cathing up . .(damn broken computer at home) Thanks as always for all the articles . . Tress, Dorine & Sandi . .top notch Sundance reporting and star sighting info! Sorry ODB is not there Have a friend from Showtime that was also at the Trauma premiere last night @ Sundance. .just missed him when he called into the office . .very eager to hear his take, from what I heard, he enjoyed it very much . . .hope to hear from him again to day to get more details. Off to check spoilers;)

Eugene Hernandez from IndieWire wrote: "What are you doing later," I asked the star of a big Sundance film during a brief morning conversation this weekend here in Park City. "Getting over this major hangover," the young star said in a low, gravely voice. That must account for Dorine and Tress' absence. ;-)

"Getting over this major hangover," the young star said in a low, gravely voice. .......(Karen)That must account for Dorine and Tress' absence. ;-) That would be my guess..;-)

ok ok, I have a HUGE spoiler posted! Sandi

Hi all! Quick note here.... Yesterday's sightings.....at dinner last night... Came "this close" to Peter Krause (Six Feet Under - pretty hot!) and Laura Dern while I was trying to get to bathroom downstairs through a crowded private party. Today's sightings..... Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard sitting next to us at breakfast, Kyle McLachlan again getting coffee in lobby Starbucks counter (rather graying). That's it for here. :-)

(Dorine)Came "this close" to Peter Krause (Six Feet Under - pretty hot!) and Laura Dern while I was trying to get to bathroom downstairs through a crowded private party. It's all about the loos . . .that and the potted plants . .;) . .So that's the secret . . .

Amongst the O&E found in a Sundance column... BITTER BYSTANDERS: As a small crowd gathered to watch actress Mena Suvari doing a photo shoot, one young man muttered, "She's mean." What, did he date her or something? We don't think so.

Nothing on Trauma. Ebert's column from Sundance: http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/cst-ftr-ebert20.html and for those who know me, column is rather relevant. ;-) Roeper's has a funny bit toward the end about fake titles: http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep21.html

Speaking of Seinfield, We saw the actor who played "BABU" the restaurant owner who has a bad run-in with Jerry Seinfeld. We wanted to say "Sienfeld, veddy, veddy bad man" but just couldn't do it.

Sandi: Did you see "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead?"

No, Trauma was it for me, but I am a new fan of the festival and will return next year for sure! Sandi

Karen, please excuse me for using the board this way. ;-) As the grad school interview season warms up, I get to (hopefully) travel all over the country, and I thought it might be a good way to also meet more DDs. I will be at Temple University in Philadelphia February 8 and 9 and should have some free sightseeing time on Sunday. Anyway, if anyone would like to talk more, please email me. Now back to your regularly scheduled Odds and Ends.

From CF topic... (Karen) Question for the Sundance Droolers: How do they determine what gets the audience awards? Is there balloting (which is actually counted) or do they use ticket sales? When we saw Maria, Full of Grace, they handed us a ballot as we went in as it was in Dramatic Competition and returned it a box when we left. We rated 1 to 5 (Bad to Best). We didn't get any for the other 2. Other than that, I'll have to look in the book we got, or the website.

If anyone missed Keen Eddy's debut on Bravo Tuesday night (like, moi)it repeats tonight at 8 pm.

And next week's show apparently is one of the episodes that never aired. Was going to say that "we haven't seen" but reworded. See how easy it is? ;-)

Well, I watched it, based on the reco's from this board, but I must say that I couldn't get into it. Eddy's UK sidekick detective with the long hair looked interesting, until the scene in the sex bar stripped down to black leather undies. I may give the show one more episode or two, but I dunno, Ladies.

Now I find this interesting...I found The Machinist (or my reaction to it) very similar to Trauma, but this reviewer seems to like The Machinist more. I found the set up very similar in that you're never sure what is real or not, it was very interestingly shot, had a similar style and tone, and the puzzle pieces were put together in the end. And he likes this more. I liked them both, but Trauma is definitely the more commercial of the 2. I'd be surprised to see it released, frankly, unless the Christian Bale association is somehow a selling point.

Oops, forgot the review.... Jan. 20, 2004 The Machinist Christian Bale is a haggard machine shop worker who hasn't slept in a year in "The Machinist." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Duane Byrge Sundance Film Festival PARK CITY -- Director Brad Anderson has forged an expert horror-of-personality tale in "The Machinist." It's a brilliantly honed tale of dementia, starring a skeletal Christian Bale as a tormented insomniac wasting away and terrorized by his irreal existence. In the Premiere segment of Sundance, "The Machinist" notched strong and appreciative audience recognition in its world premiere here. In this unnerving saga, Trevor Reznick (Bale) toils away at a machine shop, performing a drudge-like function but a dangerous one. The machinery is steely and scary, and Trevor is losing his grip, physically and emotionally. Freaking his co-workers with his sunken frame, he's out-of-whack in his conversation also. When he causes a harrowing accident -- a co-worker loses his arm -- Trevor is completely ostracized and threatened. He realizes he's losing it, and his condition keeps getting worse. He hasn't slept in a year. Haggard, bug-eyed and prone to hallucinations, Trevor can't tell up from down, reality from delusion. In its very calibrations, from Scott Alan Kosar's edgy, spooky script to Anderson's provocative visualizations of Trevor's disintegrating mind-set, "The Machinist" is a gem. In particular, the film's look -- a combination of stark Germanic-style Expressionism and gritty film noir -- musters up an unsettling, paranoid atmosphere. It's a perfect depiction of Trevor's chaotic, frightening world. Under Anderson's shrewd hand, the technical contributions are masterful, including cinematographer Xavi Gimenez's nervy compositions and chiaroscuro shadings and Roque Banos' Bernard Herrmann-like score, lush with foreboding strings and an eerie bass clarinet undercurrent. Bale's performance, including his startling weight loss, is a brilliant meld of dysfunction, paranoia and fear. Jennifer Jason Leigh brings an apt tranquility to a portrayal of Trevor's Rock of Gibraltar, a generally addled hooker who soothes his demons. The supporting cast is well-selected, including most aptly some frightening-looking individuals seemingly just stepped out of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." THE MACHINIST Filmax Entertainment A Julio Fernandez production for Castelao Prods. Credits: Director: Brad Anderson; Screenwriter: Scott Alan Kosar; Producer: Julio Fernandez; Executive producers: Carlos Fernandez, Antonio Nava; Director of photography: Xavi Gimenez; Line producer: Teresa Gefaell; Art director: Alain Bainee; Sound: Albert Manera; Editor: Luis de la Madrid; Music: Roque Banos. Cast: Trevor: Christian Bale; Stevie: Jennifer Jason Leigh; Marie: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon; Ivan: John Sharian; Miller: Michael Ironside; Jackson: Larry Gilliard; Jones: Reg E. Cathey: Mrs. Shike: Anna Massey. No MPAA rating, running time 98 minutes.

Tress and I thought we'd give you a sneak peek at our Sundance Diary to give you a little more insight into some of the silly things we saw, heard, and did. Cigarettes smoked: 0 (v.v. good!). Cigarettes smoked second hand: about 8 packs (v. bad!) Kyle MacLachlan sightings: about 8. Number of times we thought we should file a restraining order against Kyle M for stalking us: 2. Number of times Tress was too afraid to go to Starbucks counter to order latte: 1 (Kyle MacLachlan was standing close by waiting for his own latte). Number of times Tress asked Dorine how to spell MacLachlan/MacLachlin/McLaughlin: about 8 . Number of times Dorine fell asleep at a restaurant: 1 (it was late and our first night there!) Number of times there was spillage on the cobbles: 1 (Dorine landed squarely on her ass on the ice getting out of Sundance van). Number of times Tress tripped over "Patagucci" (actually Patagonia) bag: at least 15. Number of times we witnessed Marc Evans tripping over his bag: 1 . Number of free tickets to films: 7. Number of times Dorine got shot in the eye with lime by bartender: 2. Number of free drinks for Dorine after lime shot in eye: 1, a Manhattan! Number of hats lost: 1 (Dorine's). Number of lost hats recovered: 1. Number of gloves lost: 1 (Dorine's). Number of lost gloves recovered: 0 (seems silly little glove wanted to stay and party in Utah!) Number of seconds people look each other in the eye at Sundance walking on street or in restaurant to ascertain celebrity status: 3-4, Number of seconds people look each other in the eye in NYC: 1 millisecond. Items stolen by us: one Dr. Dolittle tape (but it was for a good cause) Number of times we eavesdropped: at least 20 (v. v. bad!) Times we had to chew our food in front of celebrities: at least 3 Number of ODB sightings: 0. Minutes spent mourning lack of ODB sightings: about 1 (we had too much fun and too much to do to lament him not being there)! Bottles of Chardonnay consumed: ooooooohhhhhh thousands! Number of regrets: 0 (v.v .good!!!) ;-D Best quotes from Sundance (those said to us or overheard): "It's cold here....not a NYC cold, but a moor cold! "(overheard on Main Street) "Oh! Main Street is great! Between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. it's a celebrity petting zoo!" (told to us by Suzanne. A Tommy Flannagan fan [who knew there were any ;-)] waiting for 10 p.m. showing of Trauma at Sundance) "We call the lesser celebrities, the below par ones.....sub-lebrities" (again, Suzanne in her 'Tommy Flannagan Celtic Rock Confessions' to us) Best rumor that turned out to be untrue (v.disappointing): Orlando Bloom is at Sundance! **this rumor was obtained when eavesdropping on cell call made to 12 or 13 year old girl** Best bit about being at Sundance: Getting better acquainted with each other and meeting other Droolers.......and then.....Trauma and fireside chat with Marc Evans! Most frequently asked question of us: Who are you with? **next year we tell them "Horse and Hound"** Most frequent question we asked each other: Isn't that _____ ?? (fill in the blank)

(Dorine)Number of ODB sightings: 0. Minutes spent mourning lack of ODB sightings: about 1 (we had too much fun and too much to do to lament him not being there)! Bottles of Chardonnay consumed: ooooooohhhhhh thousands! Number of regrets: 0 (v.v .good!!!) ;-D ROTFLMAO! Thanks for the early morning belly laugh Dorine and Tress! What a fun way to start my day.

Can I second Bee's ROTFLMAO? V. v. funny Tress and Dorine!!!

Who are you with? **next year we tell them "Horse and Hound"** I LOVE THAT!!! Good goin', Ladies!

Good news (eventually) for MI5 fans... BBC Press Release: Rupert Penry Jones and Tim McInnerny join the cast of Spooks as a new series starts filming for BBC ONE "Slick and stylish" (The Express) "Fantastically entertaining" (Heat) "Splendid spy stuff" (Financial Times) "Spooks is total commitment TV" (Sunday Telegraph) Bafta award-winning, top-rating Spooks is back � as topical and timely as ever � for a new season of dynamic, cutting edge drama this autumn on BBC ONE. Paul Connolly, writing in The Times, said: "The BBC's drama output is back on form. The most recent success has been Spooks. Last night's series finale was spectacular. This was an hour of relentlessly exciting and beautifully constructed television and quite possibly the best hour of television I have seen this year." MI5's crack team of spies Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), Zoe (Keeley Hawes) and Danny (David Oyelowo) has long guarded its hard-earned reputation for infiltrating and thwarting the machinations of arms smugglers, international terrorists and drug dealers. But their own secret and compelling world was itself rocked to the core and their personal allegiances under threat of extinction when Tom's erratic behaviour caused his closest partners to doubt him at the end of the last series. The third series opens at the exact moment the last episode ended. Tom has sensationally disappeared, Harry (Peter Firth) is critically injured and the team is in disarray. Was it treachery? Will they ever see Tom again? And how will they begin to discover the truth? Newcomer Adam Carter (Rupert Penry Jones) is recruited by Harry from MI6 and his casual confidence galvanises the group into action. Spooks also features return appearances from Megan Dodds, Nicola Walker and Shauna MacDonald, as well as a new character, Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny). And in the opening episode Frances Tomelty features in a Machiavellian cameo role. Written and created by David Wolstencroft, Spooks is also written by Howard Brenton, Rupert Walters, Ben Richards and Elizabeth Anne Wheal. Spooks is currently filming in London for transmission later this year. The producer is Andrew Woodhead and executive producers are Simon Crawford Collins, Jane Featherstone for Kudos and BBC Head of Drama Commissioning Gareth Neame. Spooks is a Kudos production for BBC ONE.

Thanks so much to our own Hole-in-the-Wall Gang! Definitely, Horse and Hounds next year. ;-)

Smaller Pics Penciled for WGA Nominations Fri Jan 23, 1:33 AM ET LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Small films loomed large among the original screenplay nominations for the Writers Guild Awards Thursday, while bigger releases -- including "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Cold Mountain" -- featured prominently in the adapted screenplay race. Original screenplay nominees for the 56th annual Writers Guild Awards were: - Gurinder Chadha, Paul Berges and Guljit Bindra for Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Bend It Like Beckham," a lighthearted look at women's competitive soccer; - Steven Knight for Miramax Films' "Dirty Pretty Things," a gritty immigrant story; - Jim Sheridan and daughters Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan for Fox Searchlight's "In America," an intimate portrait of a family struggling with the loss of a child; - Sofia Coppola for Focus Features' much-honored "Lost in Translation"; - and Tom McCarthy for Miramax's moody drama "The Station Agent." Adapted screenplay nominees were: - Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman for HBO Films/Fine Line Features' "American Splendor," based on the comic book series by Harvey Pekar and novel by Pekar and Joyce Brabner; - Anthony Minghella for Miramax Films' Civil War-era drama "Cold Mountain," based on the novel by Charles Frazier; - Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson for New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien; - Brian Helgeland for Warner Bros. Pictures' "Mystic River," based on the novel by Dennis Lehane; - and Gary Ross for Universal Pictures' "Seabiscuit," based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand. For the first time in the event's history, nominations went to a father and his daughter -- or in this case, two daughters -- with the nod for "In America." It was the third WGA nomination for Jim Sheridan, who was recognized in 1994 for "In the Name of the Father" and in 1990 for "My Left Foot." The trio have already won the 2003 National Board of Review prize for best original screenplay. The WGA considered 110 films eligible for original screenplay nominations and 78 films for adapted screenplay. Winners will be announced Feb. 21 at the Writers Guild Award ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles.

Probably enough time for implants...from Variety via Playbill: Now Nicole Belt: Kidman to Play Ulla in "Producers" Film Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman will play Ulla in the upcoming film of the Broadway musical "The Producers." Variety reports that the actress, currently on screens in "Cold Mountain," has landed the role of the blonde bombshell secretary originated on stage by Tony winner Cady Huffman. Susan Stroman, who directed the Broadway musical and who will direct the film, told the industry paper, "I'm so excited, [Kidman's] so versatile." Variety also says that Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan are currently writing the film's script, and shooting is scheduled to begin next February. The motion picture � starring the previously announced Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick � is scheduled for Christmas 2005.

British helmers to honor Curtis By Stuart Kemp LONDON -- The Directors' Guild of Great Britain said Thursday that Richard Curtis, the writer-director of boxoffice hit "Love Actually," will receive the outstanding contribution to film and television award at the guild's inaugural presentation this year. The DGGB will also present nine other awards in categories that include British, international and foreign films as well as a short-film award. Other award categories include telefilm or serial, 60-minute television drama, 30-minute TV drama, single documentary and commercial. At the inaugural event, contenders for the international film award are "Cold Mountain," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Lost in Translation" and "21 Grams." Vying for the British film award are "Girl With a Pearl Earring," "In This World," "The Magdalene Sisters" and "Young Adam." Best foreign film will emerge from Brazil's "City of God," France's "Etre et Avoir" (To Be and to Have), Germany's "Good bye, Lenin!" and the French-Pakistan-Bangladesh co-production "Matir Moina" (The Clay Bird). Curtis' career spans more than 40 years, beginning with the creation of cult television series "Blackadder." His screenwriting credits include "Notting Hill," "Bean" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." He has also written for numerous television shows, including "The Vicar of Dibley" and "Spitting Image." The organization's first awards ceremony will take place Feb. 21 at the Curzon Mayfair cinema in London and is scheduled to be hosted by veteran director Michael Winner. Organizers said Thursday that Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein is expected to attend to hand out the British film award. The guild represents directors in film, television, theater, radio, opera, commercials, corporate, multimedia and new technology. The full list of nominations will be available today.

The organization's first awards ceremony will take place Feb. 21 at the Curzon Mayfair cinema in London I saw LA there the day before New Year's Eve...just down from our hotel. Very small though.(only two screens). I guess it won't be a huge crowd?

(Sundance Kids)Number of times there was spillage on the cobbles: 1 (Dorine landed squarely on her ass on the ice getting out of Sundance van). Makes me think of Bridget falling out of the taxi. Tress, did you say, "drive on, she's fine"? Hilarious reading, thanks ladies.

SJ is on the cover of HOLLYWOOD LIFE Feb issue. Gorgeous pics and long interview."Scarlett Woman" Does not mention Colin On GWAPE: "Q. How are you handling all this revved-up awards attention for both Lost in Translation and GWAPE . A.......I've done a lot of pre-Oscar stuff, which is draining but it's for a good cause....so my publicist says.[Laughs] ....Neither of these are big movies where you might expect it. We thought people might go and see Lost in Translation but when we made it, it was just a small, crazy weird experience. Who knew? Girl with a Pearl Earring had more of a built-in audience of people who liked the book or appreciate Vermeer or like period movies or who watch The View. [Laughs] I wanted Girl with a Pearl Earring to do really well because I really think it's good. Everybody worked so hard on it. We just feel it deserves to be seen." In print she comes across as a committed actress who knows how to channel her career.

See THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD If anyone wants to see a beautiful film, you must see The Whole Wide World (1996) with our own Bridget, Renee Zellweger, and Vincent D'Onofrio. This is the film that got her Jerry McGuire. I just saw it last night and was simply blown away by it. I don't think any film has moved me so much in a long, long time. It was so real, so touching, so sweet and so sad. I don't think Renee can ever top this performance. It's too bad few people saw it, but those who did, know just how special it is. I'm sure anyone with great enough taste to love Colin Firth will love it, too.

I also want to add that The Whole Wide World has one of the best screen kisses I've ever seen. (Maybe Renee inspires them, since hers with Colin was probably HIS best.) Colin should see it and take notes.

The London Times - Mena Suvari January 25, 2004 Cover story: Bye-bye, Miss American Pie She made it big as small-town America�s bathing beauty, then just as quickly lost it again. Several stinkers later, Mena Suvari is back in production � minus the rose petals � with an all-new grown-up look. But will it wash, asks Garth Pearce Mena Suvari, the teenage temptress in American Beauty, became the subject of one of the most popular Hollywood film stills since the days of Marilyn Monroe. You know the one: the teasing blonde, her naked body covered with red rose petals, with sultry, come-to-bath eyes. The film won five Oscars, with Kevin Spacey voted best actor and Sam Mendes best director. Suvari�s freeze-framed impact, though, has somehow been more lasting. But such curious fame has brought its own problems. Suvari admits that, thus far, her other films have all fast gurgled down the plughole. She has been spinning around in search of anything to take her to the next stage: something grown-up, respected or successful. There have been eight movies in the 4 years since American Beauty, and all of them, apart from a sequel to the high-school comedy American Pie, have sunk without trace. �I have not made the best choices since American Beauty,� she says, with disarming candour. �The film gave me recognition, but I was just not ready for it. Did I really want to open up, play the game and be seen everywhere? Or did I want to go back to just quietly learning and building up a career that was worth having? I was caught in the middle and took parts because they were there. I should have waited and thought more carefully.� Such lack of care saw her playing the daughter of a porn king in American Virgin. It earned her more notoriety, of sorts, as a pub-quiz answer: the only actress to have starred in four films with �American� in the title (American Pie, American Beauty, American Pie 2 and American Virgin). American Virgin also earned a mightily fast exit from the handful of cinemas where it was shown. Her record since has hardly improved. Hands up those who recall her 2000 film, the aptly named Loser? No? Or Snide and Prejudice, in 2001? Thought not. How about Sonny (2002), or the dreadful Spun, which closed without trace? Some of the most damning reviews were reserved for a lavish 2001 version of The Musketeer, in which she played alongside respectable actors such as Stephen Rea and Tim Roth. �A dire version of the original story,� reported one; �Unspeakable dialogue,� said another. �In each of the films, I have tried to improve myself,� Suvari says defiantly. �I have not been personally slaughtered � yet � by the critics an have tried to hold onto my self-belief. If I did not think it will turn around for me soon, I would sit back home in Los Angeles with the doors closed and the phone off.� Her confidence seems ingrained, almost from birth. The daughter of an Estonian psychiatrist, she was brought up first in a gothic mansion called Hilltop in Newport, Rhode Island, then at a splendid colonial home in Charleston, South Carolina. She was educated at Ashley Hall, Barbara Bush�s alma mater. The mixture of wealth and education sits easily on shoulders that she admits are dressed in everything from Prada to Burberry. Her brushed blonde hair, blue eyes and cheerily elegant manner are what used to be called �preppy�. Criticism does not stick. She has conviction � from her ramrod-straight back, as she sits bolt upright, to her clear eyes, which still seem to carry a mixture of wonder and awe that she is earning a good living from a business that is riddled with desperation and insecurity. Her self-belief in keeping her head above the mire, when others have had theirs buried in it, helped her selection as the co-star for Colin Firth in the upcoming Trauma. It comes in the wake of rave tributes for another of Firth�s young co-stars, Scarlett Johansson, in Girl with a Pearl Earring. �If I can get that sort of reaction, I will be delighted,� says Suvari. The jury is still out on Trauma, a thriller-cum-ghost story, with previews currently being set up. Firth�s character, Ben, has woken from a coma following a car crash that killed his wife. He moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour, Charlotte, played by Suvari. But all is not as it seems, and he is constantly haunted by visions of his dead wife. Is Charlotte helping, or adding to his pain? And does all this sound like well-trodden ground? �It�s a well-told story, with a lot of surprises,� Suvari says. �But it is difficult to talk about it without giving away the story. Let�s just say there is a twist � and I didn�t see it coming when I first read the script.� Her performance led to another piece of casting: as the female lead in a love story to be filmed in the spring by Richard Attenborough. It co-stars the veterans Peter O�Toole and Dennis Hopper. �I look at the performance rather than the films she has been in,� Attenborough tells me. �She has a talent that is obvious and immediate. She has the ability to make an audience fall in love with her.� Suvari, who will be 25 on February 9, has fallen in love herself. She met a divorced cinematographer, Robert Brinkmann, who is 17 years her senior, and secretly married him. It would be tempting to observe that, like her fast slew of films, it might have been a quick decision, regretted at leisure. But, with a fourth wedding anniversary coming up in March, she insists that this is her best role yet. They met while working on another of her dud films, Sugar & Spice, in which she played a cheerleader. �I was coming out of a long-term relationship that had turned really bad,� she recalls. �So I did not notice Robert. I just was not looking, because I wanted to be single. Then he asked me out. I thought, �Why not?� Our relationship grew so close, so fast, just at a point when I was not expecting that.� They married within the year: just the two of them, plus a minister and a couple of witnesses, at a spot overlooking cliffs near Big Sur, two hours north of her Los Angeles home. As with their relationship and engagement, it was strictly low-key. �The cast and crew in the film had no idea,� she says. �We would work normally, then see each other at night. We did not advertise the fact that we were a couple. We did not even hold hands until after the film wrapped.� Her father and mother knew nothing about the wedding, either. �My mum knew I was engaged, but I did not want to wait for a big announcement or ceremony,� she says. �I felt bad, but that�s just the way I wanted it.� She is less apologetic about the age gap, which meant her husband celebrating his 40th birthday two years ago, when she was 23. �My parents have a 20-year age gap, so none of us thinks anything of it,� she says crisply. �He is my best friend, and it is no effort to be with a man much older. I have learnt a lot from him and we have our own lives, which is nice.� But it was not, she insists, a case of life mirroring art after her role in American Beauty. As many will recall, she played a school cheerleader, Angela Hayes, who encourages her best friend�s father, Lester Burnham, played by Spacey, to pursue her. She finally allows herself to be seduced by him, only to ruin the key moment by revealing that she is not sexually experienced and that this is her first time. �When I saw my nude scene in the script, I thought, �Help,�� she says. �But I didn�t get too nervous about it. Kevin Spacey is a kind, sensitive guy.� Suvari has not always talked so glowingly about her men. When she was playing the choirgirl Heather in American Pie, she agreed to be interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, along with two other actresses. During the chat, which concentrated on their sex lives, she blurted out that she had lost her virginity at 15, but had regretted it ever since. �It was not a good experience,� she said. �When I moved to Los Angeles, I had a great boyfriend for about a year and wished I had saved the moment for him.� She then became embarrassed and stopped the interview. �It was a little degrading. That conversation with Rolling Stone crossed the line,� she recalls now. �I was speaking about things that I had not shared with anyone else. It is always tempting to boast about your sex life when you are in your teens, but I never did. I thought it best to keep quiet about my early experiences.� She has had to mature quickly, from the moment she was spotted, aged 12, by a modelling agency and started part-time work, escorted by her mother, along America�s east coast. When the family moved to LA, a couple of years later, she worked on commercials, then in minor roles in television series such as Boy Meets World, Chicago Hope and ER. She began her film career at 17, in Nowhere, the first of her high-school roles, alongside Heather Graham and Christina Applegate. Since then, her roles have hardly graduated out of the class- room: Kiss the Girls (1997), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) were all released before she created box-office gold in American Pie and American Beauty. �I have always looked several years younger than I really am,� she asserts. �That is great � so far as it goes. But being the schoolgirl fantasy is wearing a little thin.� After shedding this image in Trauma, she filmed a comedy, Standing Still, alongside James Van Der Beek, and a drama, Living and Breathing, with Tom Wilkinson, Anjelica Huston and Lisa Kudrow. �I have grown and changed so much since American Beauty,� she says. �I just need the meatier roles to prove what I can do. I feel everything is just beginning for me all over again.�

The jury is still out on Trauma, a thriller-cum-ghost story, with previews currently being set up. Hmmmmm.... Thanks, Mary. Given the bits and pieces I've read here, I wonder if they're going to rework it a bit.

I've been swamped with work lately, but I just want to thank everyone for the interesting articles. So any GG predictions? Karen? I know how accurate yours are. :-)

For those interested: Thriller 'Primer' Wins Top Sundance Honor Sunday January 25 1:52 AM ET The high-tech thriller "Primer," about two get-rich-quick inventors whose time-travel device complicates their lives, won the top dramatic honor at the Sundance Film Festival. Sundance jurors gave the documentary grand prize to "DIG!", director Ondi Timoner's portrait of the friendship and rivalry between musicians Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols. Awards were presented Saturday night, with top winners expected to screen one last time Sunday as the 11-day independent film showcase ends. "Primer" written and directed by Shane Carruth, who co-stars won the grand jury prize as well as the festival's Alfred P. Sloane Prize, a $20,000 cash award for films that showcase science and technology. The audience award for dramatic films, chosen by Sundance moviegoers, went to "Maria Full of Grace," writer-director Joshua Marston's Spanish-language tale of a young Colombian woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) in peril after she becomes a "mule" carrying heroin to the United States. "Born Into Brothels," which examines the hardships endured by impoverished children of prostitutes in Calcutta, won the documentary audience honor. The film was directed by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski. The directing prize for dramatic features was given to Debra Granik for "Down to the Bone," her tale of a lower-middle-class wife and mother struggling to kick a cocaine habit. "Down to the Bone" star Vera Farmiga also earned a special jury prize for her performance. Morgan Spurlock won the documentary directing prize for "Super Size Me," his indictment of the fast-food industry that chronicles the deterioration of his health during a monthlong experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food. The festival's jurors for drama entries were actors Danny Glover and Maggie Gyllenhaal, director Lisa Cholodenko, producer Ted Hope and cinematographer Frederick Elmes. Serving on the jury for documentaries were filmmakers Rory Kennedy, Robb Moss and Chris Smith, photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark and cinematographer Robert Shepard. Among other winners: _ The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award went to Larry Gross for "We Don't Live Here Anymore," a marital drama starring Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Peter Krause. _ The world-cinema dramatic audience award went to "Seducing Doctor Lewis," a French-language film by Canadian director Jean-Francois Pouliot about a remote fishing village conniving to keep a Montreal doctor in their midst. _ Another Canadian film, "The Corporation" directors Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott's study of the pros and cons of modern corporate structure, won the documentary audience honor for world cinema. _ Nancy Schreiber won the dramatic cinematography award for "November," a cryptic thriller starring Courteney Cox as a woman experiencing strange visions after a tragedy. _ Ferne Pearlstein received the documentary cinematography award for "Imelda," chronicling the life of former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos. _ The Freedom of Expression Award, given to a documentary that examines social or political issues, went to the Korean film "Repatriation," director Kim Dong-won's exploration of North Korean communist inmates held in South Korea. _ Special jury prizes were awarded to "Brother to Brother," director Rodney Evans' drama about black gay artists, and "Farmingville," a documentary by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval about culture clash in a Long Island community with a large migrant-laborer population. _ The jury prize for short films was shared by "When the Storm Came," directed by Shilpi Gupta, and "Gowanus, Brooklyn," directed by Ryan Fleck. The British film "Tomo," by director Paul Catling, won the international jury prize for short films.

Thanks for the award info, Ada. Saw the name Evans (albeit Rodney) and the heart skipped a beat. ;-) (Moon) So any GG predictions? Karen? Moi? Surely you jest. I don't bother predicting this group's awards. If you have a list of gifts sent by the various studios, then maybe I could. ;-) Hmmm, probably should turn on E! to see neverending rerun of Joan and Melissa on last year's GG Red Carpet... Note to self: Keep TV on Mute. ;-)

Thanks for the articles! Dorine - love the Sundance diary!! sounds like all of you had a fabulous time! . . .wonder who made off with your Dr. Dolittle tape? Kyle McLaughlan was everywhere? . .How does he look in person? . .was a v. big Twin Peaks fan b/c of him;)

(Kimberly) . . .wonder who made off with your Dr. Dolittle tape? Kyle McLaughlan was everywhere? . .How does he look in person? . .was a v. big Twin Peaks fan b/c of him;) Ummmm.....we didn't have a Dr. Dolittle tape to steal....we kinda nicked one! The boss will be getting it soon. Was a midnight emergency with Trauma clips running on the channel that hosted Sundance coverage (some short clips from the film)....we had to MacGyver it. No tape so I peeled off label to place over the tab so we could tape over it (surely I'll be going to hell after all this, but I told Dorine I'd take the fall). Kyle was quite tall....and looked really amazing with salt and pepper hair! Very distinguished. He blocked the Starbucks counter for about ten minutes though...when I was in crutial need of caffeine! Stood there chewing on a stirring straw. We saw him about three times at the Marriott and endless times on Main Street just cruising around.

Hmmmm, haven't been following this Dr Doolittle business at all... So, could you tell if Kyle had been keeping up on his tummy crunches? *snort* I remember reading how he had to get in shape to be on SATC for all those shirtless (and worse) scenes. ;-)

(Karen) Thanks for the award info, Ada. Saw the name Evans (albeit Rodney) and the heart skipped a beat. ;-) I heard that Trauma was not up for consideration. Many films were not running for awards. I think ME was just wanting to get T out there....and troll for distribution.

(Karen) Hmmmm, haven't been following this Dr Doolittle business at all... You should be the proud owner of a Dr. D tape shortly. Dorine has it and will probably get that to you fairly soon. So, could you tell if Kyle had been keeping up on his tummy crunches? *snort* I remember reading how he had to get in shape to be on SATC for all those shirtless (and worse) scenes. ;-) He looked pretty fit....though he was layering. Was a bit chilly for ab inspection ;-) Sorry to post twice!

Well I'm going to give the GG a shot. I do think there might be a tie in some of the acting categories but this is how I think it will go: Picture - Drama The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King Produced by Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Frances Walsh BP - Comedy Lost In Translation Produced by Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz Actor In A Leading Role - Drama Sean Penn in Mystic River Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Bill Murray in Lost In Translation Actress In A Leading Role - Drama Charlize Theron in Monster Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Scarlett Johansson in Lost In Translation Actor In A Supporting Role Tim Robbins in Mystic River Actress In A Supporting Role Ren�e Zellweger in Cold Mountain Director Peter Jackson for The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King Screenplay Lost In Translation Written by Sofia Coppola Original Score The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King Composed by Howard Shore Original Song "Into the West" From The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King Music and Lyric by Annie Lennox, Howard Shore, Frances Walsh Foreign Film The Barbarian Invasions Cecil B. DeMille Award Michael Douglas I don't watch TV so I leave those to the experts: Television Series - Drama C. S. I.: Crime Scene Investigation Nip/Tuck Six Feet Under 24 The West Wing Television Series - Musical Or Comedy Arrested Development Monk The Office Sex and the City Will & Grace Mini-Series Or Television Movie Angels In America Actor In A Leading Role - Drama Series Michael Chiklis in The Shield Anthony LaPaglia in Without a Trace William L. Petersen in C. S. I.: Crime Scene Investigation Martin Sheen in The West Wing Kiefer Sutherland in 24 Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series Ricky Gervais in The Office Matt LeBlanc in Friends Bernie Mac in The Bernie Mac Show Eric McCormack in Will & Grace Tony Shalhoub in Monk Actor In A Leading Role - Mini-Series Or Television Movie Antonio Banderas in And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself James Brolin in The Reagans Troy Garity in Soldier's Girl Al Pacino in Angels In America Tom Wilkinson in Normal Actress In A Leading Role - Drama Series Frances Conroy in Six Feet Under Jennifer Garner in Alias Allison Janney in The West Wing Joely Richardson in Nip/Tuck Amber Tamblyn in Joan Of Arcadia Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series Bonnie Hunt in Life With Bonnie Reba McEntire in Reba Debra Messing in Will & Grace Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City Bitty Schram in Monk Alicia Silverstone in Miss Match Actress In A Leading Role - Mini-Series Or Television Movie Judy Davis in The Reagans Jessica Lange in Normal Helen Mirren in Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone Maggie Smith in My House In Umbria Meryl Streep in Angels In America Actor In A Supporting Role - Series, Mini-Series Or Television Movie Sean P. Hayes in Will & Grace Lee Pace in Soldier's Girl Ben Shenkman in Angels In America Patrick Wilson in Angels In America Jeffrey Wright in Angels In America Actress In A Supporting Role - Series, Mini-Series Or Television Movie Kim Cattrall in Sex and the City Kristin Davis in Sex and the City Megan Mullally in Will & Grace Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City Mary-Louise Parker in Angels In America

Gaah, E!s expert just pronounced that she didn't think Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise or Nicole had a chance this year. Durrr! Get me this woman's crystal ball. ;-) I think everyone knows it will be LOTR's year to pick up Best Film/Director to recognize Jackson's overall achievement on the three films. OK, back to that nitwit and nitwit jr.

Moon, I did not totally keep score, but looks like you were pretty closely on. Putting my hand up here: everything LOTR gets, I cheer for it. You go JRRT and PJ...you've earned it.

(Moon)Well I'm going to give the GG a shot. I do think there might be a tie in some of the acting categories but this is how I think it will go: Hey Moon! Great job! Not 100% but better than I would have done. (Karen)I think everyone knows it will be LOTR's year to pick up Best Film/Director to recognize Jackson's overall achievement on the three films. You got that right. Gotta admit that it was a wonderful field this year. Any one of the films could have won in a less competative year.

Congratulations, Moon. Very impressed with your GG calls. Might you be free for a trip to Vegas anytime soon? Would love to have your prediction skills at one of the tables there. Although I was disappointed for SJ and LA, I thought the competitors were very worthy. A tough year with all those great films and performances. Wonder what the Oscars noms will bring this week?

(Tress)Kyle was quite tall....and looked really amazing with salt and pepper hair! Very distinguished. Hmmm nice . . . too bad he was too layered to inspect those abs! Re - the DR. D tape . .bravo! . .Droolers who think quick on their feet . .Richard Dean Anderson would be proud! (was a big MacGyver fan in the 80's too!) . .you won't go to hell . .you were operating with all the best intentions of spreading the word about this film! (since ODB wasn't there . .guess it's up to us to do some of the PR work . .)

The Razzie nominations have been announced and, as expected, Gigli cleaned up: WORST PICTURE CAT-IN-THE HAT CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY GIGLI THE REAL CANCUN (New Line) WORST ACTOR Ben Affleck / DAREDEVIL, GIGLI and PAYCHECK Cuba Gooding, Jr. / BOAT TRIP, FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS and RADIO Justin Guarini / FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY Ashton Kutcher / CHEAPER by the DOZEN, JUST MARRIED and MY BOSS'S [sic] DAUGHTER Mike Myers / THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT WORST ACTRESS Drew Barrymore / CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE and DUPLEX Cameron Diaz / CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE Kelly Clarkson / FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY Angelina Jolie / BEYOND BORDERS and LARA CROFT TOMB RADER: THE CRADLE of LIFE Jennifer Lopez / GIGLI WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR Anthony Anderson / KANGAROO JACK Alec Baldwin / THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT Al Pacino / GIGLI Sylvester Stallone (Whose 5 Roles Could Fill This ENTIRE Category!) SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER Christopher Walken / GIGLI and KANGAROO JACK WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Lanie Kazan / GIGLI Demi Moore / CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE Kelly Preston / THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT Brittany Murphy / JUST MARRIED Tara Reid / MY BOSS'S [sic] DAUGHTER WORST SCREEN COUPLE Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez / GIGLI Eric Christian Olsen & Derek Richardson / DUMB AND DUMBERER Justin Guarini & Kelly Clarkson / FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY Ashton Kutcher & EITHER Hilary Duff (CHEAPER by the DOZEN) Brittany Murphy (JUST MARRIED) and/or Tara Reid (MY BOSS's DAUGHTER) Mike Myers & EITHER Thing One OR Thing Two / THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT WORST EXCUSE for an ACTUAL MOVIE (All Concept/No Content!) (New Category) 2 FAST, 2 FURIOUS CHARLIE'S ANGLES: FULL THROTTLE THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY THE REAL CANCUN WORST REMAKE or SEQUEL 2 FAST, 2 FURIOUS CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE DUMB & DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY (Remake of WHERE THE BOYS ARE �60 and WHERE THE BOYS ARE �84) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE WORST DIRECTOR Martin Brest / GIGLI Robert Iscove / FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY Mort Nathan / BOAT TRIP The Wachowski Brothers / Both MATRIX Sequels Bo Welch / THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT WORST SCREENPLAY THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT, Screenplay by Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, Screenplay by John August and Cormac & Marianne Wibberley, �Story� by August DUMB AND DUMBERER, Screenplay by Robert Brener and Troy Miller, �Story� by Brener FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY, Written by Kim Fuller GIGLI, Written by Martin Brest NOMINATIONS PER PICTURE: GIGLI � 9 CAT-IN-THE-HAT � 8 FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY � 8 CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE - 7 BOAT TRIP, DUMB & DUMBERER, JUST MARRIED, MY BOSS�S [sic] DAUGHTER and THE REAL CANCUN � - 2 Each

I'll just get this out of the way: I thought Nicole's get up was awful, hideous, ridiculous and loved Sarah Jessica Parker's, Kim Cattrall's and Charlize. Glittery Kidman Stands Out at Globes By ERIN HANAFY, Associated Press Writer Nicole Kidman stopped traffic on the red carpet in a backless, cut-down-to-there gold sequin dress that stood out among the mostly ladylike fashions at the Golden Globe Awards. "I sort of like that it's got a sort of slight Salome feel to it," the actress told Joan Rivers on E! Entertainment Television at Sunday night's awards show in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevin Lennox, associate fashion editor of Glamour magazine, said Kidman's gown, designed by Tom Ford in his last collection for Yves Saint Laurent, would likely be the most-talked-about dress of the evening. "I think it's sort of out of left field for her, but I think it's interesting," said Lennox. "I feel like she's feeling a little kooky." Kidman's gold sequin bodice, with a neckline that plunged to her waist, was held together with nude fabric and paired with a flowing, pale chiffon skirt. Her loose curls were held back with a gold headband. "I like her for wearing what she's wearing," Lennox said. "She's like 6 feet tall or something and 10 pounds. It's great that she takes chances and doesn't just do the run-of-the-mill." His favorite outfit of the evening was Charlize Theron's ultrafeminine, pale yellow ruffled gown. "She is my favorite for the night," he said of Theron, who transformed herself to look like serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film "Monster." "Especially because you have the contrast of her in that movie and the way she looks tonight." Aside from Johnny Depp, who wore a brown suit with a black shirt and a brown fedora, most men wore traditional attire, if a little casual. Many wore suits instead of tuxedos, and Elton John appeared to have left home without his tie, wearing an open tuxedo shirt with a black overcoat. Goddess gowns were popular on the red carpet. Presenter Jennifer Lopez (news) � who appeared at the awards just days after her breakup with Ben Affleck was announced � wore a tangerine gown with silver straps, her hair pulled up in a loose ponytail. "It looked very pretty on her. Sometimes she doesn't play up the pretty softer side of her, she wears harsher things," Lennox said. Goddess gowns also gave a romantic flair to both "Lost in Translation" director Sofia Coppola, who wore Azzedine Alaia, and Kim Cattrall, in vintage Valentino. "It's just very cool," Lennox said of Coppola's black vintage gown. "I think it looks great, but looks great from a different perspective." Glam maternity clothes were worn by Cate Blanchett, in a flowing deep-red cap-sleeved gown, and Debra Messing, in a black empire waist gown with an elegant lacy jacket. New mother Mary-Louise Parker thanked her son for giving her the bosom to fill out her revealing black gown. Most stars wore loose, pretty hair and long, lavish earrings with dresses that revealed just enough to be sexy, including Uma Thurman's satin lavender gown and Queen Latifah's flowing pale pink gown with a sheer wrap. But some stars played it a little too safe, Lennox said. "The `Sex and the City' girls, they all four looked gorgeous tonight," he said. "But it's not like I'm really going to say tonight or tomorrow, `My God, Kristin Davis!'" Lennox also cast a critical eye at Catherine Zeta-Jones, who wore a black satin gown. "She has the safe up-do, she has the safe gown. It's just gorgeous because she's a gorgeous woman. But it's par for the course." Youth had a stylish place on the red carpet. Scarlett Johansson wore a nude-colored corset gown, Evan Rachel Wood was dressed in a simple metallic gray spaghetti strap gown with loosely pulled-up hair, and Amber Tamblyn chose a pale apricot corset gown with a handkerchief train by designer Reem Acra. Elisha Cuthbert's strapless, pale pink organza cocktail dress by Monique Lhuillier was accessorized with a small bouquet of roses at the waist. "It's a little prom queen but I love it," Cuthbert told Melissa Rivers on E! "I wanted to do simple, I didn't want to do too crazy." Lennox gave Rivers � who did fashion commentary with her mother, Joan � a failing grade because of the busy, colorful V-shaped stripes on her dress. "I find it interesting when she's wearing something goofy and she's critiquing everybody else," he said.

Ooooh, didn't see this on the Red Carpet. Love it! Diane Lane...

"Aside from Johnny Depp, who wore a brown suit with a black shirt and a brown fedora, most men wore traditional attire, if a little casual." Kevin Costner looked like the proverbial "un-made bed". Al Pacino is too old for a pony tail. " "It's just very cool," Lennox said of Coppola's black vintage gown. "I think it looks great, but looks great from a different perspective." Cool!! Yeah, sure esp with those flat shoes.LOL. Kim Cattrall #1.SJ way up there. So why didn't Bill Murray thank his co-star. Bad form. Nice of SJ to mention Colin to Joan Rivers. I like glitter, so I thought Nicole Kidman looked stunning, though she looked uncomfortable in the cut-out dress. Did you catch Sienna Miller (Keene Eddie) with Jude Law.

PS. Was told that Dawn in "The Office" ,which won as Best Comedy on TV, is Lucy Davis....Maria Lucas in P&P!! She appeared on the stage with the cast last night. Diane Lane in a dress from Walmart would look good.

Rachel Weisz I don't know about you, but I was getting sick of seeing Clint Eastwood's wife hovering next to his ear every time the camera showed him. Somebody should've strapped her into a child's seat.

Rachel Weisz Yeah, sure esp with those flat shoes.LOL. Dress looked like a sack to me.

(Karen) I'll just get this out of the way: I thought Nicole's get up was awful, hideous, ridiculous.. I agree. Did you notice her awkward attempt at re-arranging when her left breast nearly fell out while she was presenting an award?? I'm not crazy about her new funkier looks..they seem to have appeared about the time she started hanging with Lenny Kravis..another *fashion icon*. (Karen) Goddess gowns also gave a romantic flair to... "Lost in Translation" director Sofia Coppola Perhaps I missed something...but I was trying to figure out what that get-up was all about. Looked more like an ill-fitting black barrel attached by shoulder straps to me....thought the black ballet flats were the ultimate kiss of death for this outfit... Who knew it was actually the height if fashion??? (karen) I was getting sick of seeing Clint Eastwood's wife hovering next to his ear every time the camera showed him.. LOL. Did you notice she also got the credit for his musical talents during the red carpet interview?? Why pay a manager when she's around? And for my final 'witchy comment'...would someone please tell Al Pacino that he's beginnng to look like he needs to be de-loused??? With all the people that get paid to advise these folks, why hasn't someone given him a mirror?? MEEOWW....

(Evelyn)Was told that Dawn in "The Office" ,which won as Best Comedy on TV, is Lucy Davis....Maria Lucas in P&P!! THANKS A MIL, EV! She looked SO familiar and I couldn't figure out why...

(Barb), Hey Moon! Great job! Not 100% but better than I would have done. Missed 2! Foreign Film (should have gone with the PC Osama) ;-) and I am happy Diane Keeton won Best Actress, she was great. The dresses: I loved Melanie Griffith dress, Kim Catrell, Kate Blanchett was stunning, Charlize. The girl of Joan of Arcadia and a presenter named Molly (I don't her, but loved the gown). Did not care for Nicole Kidman's dress, not a good fit. Did not like Scarlett's dress, what was she thinking? Love Jude Law.... mantra. ;-) And hooray for LOTR! Lost in Translation is going to sweep the IFC awards, IMO.

Nicole's dress with nude inserts reminded me of the costumes worn by figure skaters. (Leslie) Looked more like an ill-fitting black barrel attached by shoulder straps to me.... Think I called it a paper bag last night when I was recapping with Ev. About those "goddess" gowns, they were vintage, right? Think I remember people like Elizabeth Taylor or Gina Lolabridgida wearing that ancient Greek look back in the '60s. Hmmm, maybe it was post-Cleopatra... (Leslie) would someone please tell Al Pacino that he's beginnng to look like he needs to be de-loused?? *snort* He was bad, as was his speech.

*snort* He was bad, as was his speech. I find him very conceited and full of himself.

(Leslie) And for my final 'witchy comment' Surely you should have something to say about Dick Clark? Somebody put this man back in his embalming fluid. Hated when they'd break away for his commentary.

Oooh, thought of another low light of the evening. When the pres of the HFP gave his speech and we were somehow to be impressed by the fact that they'd given away $700K to whatevers. Sheesh! I think that's less than the combined value of three goodie bags. ;-)

Ooops...please forgive my ignorance...noticed I mispelled Nicole Kidman's former flame...I meant Lenny Kravitz, not Kravis. Just goes to show how much of a fan I am. LOL about Dick Clark, Karen. Does anyone know how old he actually is?

Love the comments. Always the best part of these things. Just looked at People's worst dressed list -- Scarlett is first up. When I first saw her, she was standing in profile and she looked so "top heavy" I wondered she could keep her balance. Renee Z is on the list too. Did not think she was that bad but thought of the "make Bridget look worse than she is" trick of having the clothes a size too small. (Happy she won.) Favorite thing 1 -- Jane Fonda on the red carpet cutting off questions about her--there for her son. Favorite thing 2 -- Have never been huge Michael Douglas fan, but the tribute they put together was good, Sharon Stone seemed to start of kooky but reined it in quickly and thought MD showed lots of class by mentioned Karl Malden right off. Most favorite thing -- LOTR and Peter Jackson thanking the professor.

He's 74 -- my DH & I wondered the same thing last night. Here's some bio info: http://www.history-of-rock.com/clark.htm

Favorite thing: Bill Murray's acceptance speech. Most tasteless thing, outside of anything said by Mother and Daughter Nitwit, Danny DeVito's quip about knowing him longer than some men's wives' ages. She did not look amused. *muted the rest of the tribute to Michael Douglas and read*

Worst: --Nicole Kidman. She looked so uncomfortable. The dress wore her. --Cynthia Nixon's hair. Looked like someone tacked a red mop onto the back of her head. --Sofia Coppola. Sack dress and ugly flat shoes. Poor thing. --Diane Keaton. She always does that covered head to toe combined with Michael Jackson gloves thing. Bad. Best: --Renee Z. Elegant as always and very curvy. Beautiful color. --Diane Lane. Gorgeous floral, very flattering, fit her like a glove. --Sarah Jessica. Loved the dress, but the hair was bad. Lots of bad hair last night. Others: --Scarlett. Not thrilled with the corset look, but she's young and gorgeous and can get away with it. Jude Law told Joan a huge lie when she asked who he was with. "Just my friend Simon." Gee, Simon looks just like Sienna Miller.;-)

Worst male: Peter Jackson. He always looks so unkempt. Most boring: Anything to do with LOTR. Good riddance already. Loved Bill Murray's speech. Was surprised he showed up. Forgot Cate Blanchett--she was stunning.

In defense of Sofia Coppola. As a writer/director, she's not required to be as glam as the actors and though the shoes looked ridiculous, bet she was comfortable. ;-) (Mari) Jude Law told Joan a huge lie when she asked who he was with. "Just my friend Simon." Gee, Simon looks just like Sienna Miller.;-) Yeah, I heard that too, but maybe it's not a lie. Maybe it's his nickname for her: Si-enna M-iller??? Really loud dress :-(

(Krn), Favorite thing: Bill Murray's acceptance speech. Loved it! To bad Sean Penn didn't show, but I knew that. ;-) Diane Keaton's: la di da. Looks like she was expecting it. Hey, I got Danny Devito's brick joke! ;-D Ever since Ren�e was on Letterman wearing a tight red dress showing cleavage, he observed that she should always wear that dress when she coms on his show, and she's showing it! I could swear that blue dress was a copy with very minor changes.

(Karen)Oooh, thought of another low light of the evening. What was up with that stupid opening song incorporating peeps from the red carpet? A lousy cheesy way to open show. (Mari)Renee Z. Elegant as always and very curvy. Beautiful color. I agree. I loved the dress, the color and her cute self up there. I loved her Ruby which was the personification of the Ruby in my mind when I read it. (Karen)In defense of Sofia Coppola. As a writer/director, she's not required to be as glam as the actors and though the shoes looked ridiculous, bet she was comfortable. ;-) Bunions! Was my first thought when I saw those shoes (as it would be;-))

Beedee....Bunions! By Heaven, I think you've got it!!! What else could it be? LOL. Thanks for the Dick Clark link, Karen.

BTW... I vote 'thumbs up' for RZ's recent fashion outings...both the red Letterman dress and the one she wore last night. Both of these outfits were pretty retro. Wonder if she's just trying to find the best way to present her temporarily inflated self? IMO those outfits are pretty reminiscent of all the fuller pin up girls from the past...Grable, Hayworth and Monroe. Worked pretty well for them, no?

Fashion Police on tonight on E! "Lose the weight Renee...you'll start getting "mother" roles...like in "Leave it to Beaver" Saw "Big Fish"...they shudda called it "Big Yawn".

Kudos to Mary Louise Parker--who was dumped right before giving birth 2 months ago, showed up looking fabulous, and got a well-deserved win for AIA. Way to go, honey. (leslie)IMO those outfits are pretty reminiscent of all the fuller pin up girls from the past...Grable, Hayworth and Monroe. Very much so! Hey, she's curvy and she's working it! To me, her dresses aren't too tight, it's just that the media is not used to seeing actresses who are not size 2. BTW, Nicole looks ill. And golly, weren't you all surprised that RZ showed up because, after all, they are filming TEOR now. ;-) Was LOL a Joan's shaming of Kevin Costner over that microscopic engagement ring on his honey's finger. I guess after alimony and the divorce settlement it was the best he could do.;-) Also enjoyed her query to said honey: "Christine, what do you do?" "Um, er, I, ah, design bags." And Barbra was there! Looking like buttah!;-) Good for her for sporting her furs. PETA can go pound.

Didn't sit and watch the GGs but caught bits of the fashion parade this morning on the talk shows . . Charlize was beautiful . .Nicole looked a bit washed out in her sequin number . . liked the lavendar that Uma wore (am partial to many shades of purple & blue;) . .thought J-Lo's coral/tangerine didn't flatter her color wise . .saw Sofia flat shoes and shapless black dress . . .she looked comfy at least! . .anyone have a pic of RZ? Didn't see one of her . . . or of SJ . .only saw Scarlett sitting down . .

(Karen)I don't know about you, but I was getting sick of seeing Clint Eastwood's wife hovering next to his ear every time the camera showed him. LOL, I didn't think much of it the first time or two, but after that it was so obvious. Maybe she should design bags or something, too;-) Agree-Nicole looked awful. RZ was wonderfully curvy, and Sofia needs help before the Oscars. I did think that both Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola not mentioning Scarlet was a bit sad. At least the second time SC went up she did mention her, but I think it was because Scarlet stopped her on the way to the stage and gave her a hug.(like don't forget me this time) I really think it's going to be Charlize all the way. I'm anxious to see who gets bumped from the Best Actress category,tomorrow.

Speaking of LOL, I had to laugh at Harry, the guy on CBS Morning Show, who interviewed RZ and pointed at two purple jewels she had on our dress straps. He said, "Are those real?" And RZ looked down at her chest and said "Which ones were you referring to?" She then laughed, paused and said. "The answer is yes, and yes."

My yearly rant: Except for extenuating circumstances, think people who don't show up should not be given awards. Refreshing to see the cute cast of "The Office" on stage. Enthusiastic, self-deprecating, appreciative....and they came all the way over the pond. RC came from his ranch in Australia, Richard Curtis & Ben Kingsley from UK and all they got was a goodie-bag. Jeeze, even Johnny Depp graced our shores all the way from France.

(Moon) To bad Sean Penn didn't show, but I knew that. ;-) He attended the Broadcast Film Critics award show a couple of weeks ago. (Leslie) IMO those outfits are pretty reminiscent of all the fuller pin up girls from the past...Grable, Hayworth and Monroe. Worked pretty well for them, no? Excellent point. (Mari) Kudos to Mary Louise Parker--who was dumped right before giving birth 2 months ago I had heard that she and Billy Crudup were no more, but didn't know the details or the fact that she was pregnant. Really must read those gossip papers more... ;-) (Mari) And golly, weren't you all surprised that RZ showed up because, after all, they are filming TEOR now. ;-) *snort* There are just some things a person will do for a, say, Anthony Minghella, as opposed to a Marc Evans. ;-) (Linda) I did think that both Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola not mentioning Scarlet was a bit sad. I'm anxious to see what they show of backstage interviews today on Access Hollywood, ET and Extra. If no one mentions her, when less frazzled as their excuse, then I have to jump to some ominous conclusions. :-( (Evelyn) My yearly rant: Except for extenuating circumstances, think people who don't show up should not be given awards. And my yearly response: Irrelevant Speaking of which, there was one category where it almost appeared no one was there. Supporting Actress for TV movie or similar which had Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith and somebody else not there. Whenever I see Diane Keaton with her gloves, it reminds me of East of Eden and Jo Van Fleet as the mother who had severely arthritic hands and wore gloves all the time.

(Karen), He attended the Broadcast Film Critics award show a couple of weeks ago. Yes, but I'm sure the speech he might have made at the GGs would have been Interesting? (Linda) I did think that both Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola not mentioning Scarlet was a bit sad. Sofia did thank Scarlett, Bill did not, I found that odd. Maybe my comment about he whispers in her ears in LiT is true! LOL! Even Leo Di Caprio showed up! And he's filming in Rome. In fact, there are a few films wrapping up in Rome right now. Will keep my eyes open. Hugs to all, arrivederci! I'm off to Italy for three weeks tomorrow, will keep my eyes open in Rome. ;-)

Excuse my mistakes, am doing too many things at once.

(Ev)Refreshing to see the cute cast of "The Office" on stage. Enthusiastic, self-deprecating, appreciative....and they came all the way over the pond.. Weren't they cute! The funny thing is that this is the only show that nominated that I get to see fairly regularly. Loved Ricky Gervais the second time too. Very witty. Arrivederci Moon, you lucky duck!

Ev says: RC came from his ranch in Australia, Richard Curtis & Ben Kingsley from UK and all they got was a goodie-bag. If RC means Russell, he wasn't there. He is staying with baby and Dani until the last minute. Will go to Japan for promo for M&C Feb 4 and 5, and then to the DGA's before Toronto to start filming. I was appalled that Fox had NO representation there for M&C, and wasn't crazy about Robin Williams intro. Loved Cate Blanchett's look, and Amber Tambyln's. If that was her Dad Russ with her, he sure has gotten older --- as have we all. Love Diane Keaton's acceptance speech (though the gloves were a bit much), and Streep's. So happy for Geoffrey Wright, and Tim Robbins. Peter Jackson was the dumpiest man there - even worse than Pacino. And I am not a fan of the off-beat brown-fedora Depp look. We all should look as glamorous and beautiful as Ellen Burstyn at over 60. Poor Joan Rivers! I never have the TV sound on for her, but that face! It is etched in stone. Something happened to her mouth on the last nip/tuck.

I think Peter Jackson may need some slack, I heard an interview that he did once and he said something to the effect that after working for all those years on LOTR that he shouldn't have been surprized, but was, that he ended up looking like a Hobbit

Slack? What's that? ;-) Couple of other comments on the men. Thank goodness Michael Douglas isn't a strawberry blonde anymore. ;-) Also, didn't Tom Wilkinson look younger?

(Karen)Thank goodness Michael Douglas isn't a strawberry blonde anymore. ;-) You got that right! Looks like he had some skin work too. Also, didn't Tom Wilkinson look younger? I thought so too. Younger than in years. Was anyone able to get a pic of SJ standing up? I came late to the ball;-)

(Karen)Thank goodness Michael Douglas isn't a strawberry blonde anymore. ;-) And he has some new front teeth;-) Oops, cudda sworn I saw Russell Crowe;-) (Murph) I was appalled that Fox had NO representation there for M&C,.. Someone leaked the *bad news* to Fox. Why waste your time....they shudda told the other RC. ...and wasn't crazy about Robin Williams intro. Someone should put Robin williams and Jack Nicholson on a dog sled and send them off to the Alaska tundras.

(Ev)...and wasn't crazy about Robin Williams intro. Someone should put Robin williams and Jack Nicholson on a dog sled and send them off to the Alaska tundras. LOL! Any room for JIm Carrey on that sled?

(Karen) If no one mentions her, when less frazzled as their excuse, then I have to jump to some ominous conclusions. Just finished watching the evening shows. There wasn't hide 'nor hair of SJ anywhere. What might those conclusions be?? I'm a bit confused...most of her press thus far has been pretty glowing.

Just picked up on People magazine's worst dressed list for the GG. SJ is at the top of the list with RZ following close behind. http://people.aol.com/people/pop_up/0,10772,579281_1_photos,00.html

Thanks for the link leslie . .hmm I liked SJ's dress . .just the color made her look a bit washed out that's all . .what's with the pale pale colors??? . .the style was great . .Need to find another pic of RZ's dress . .looked fab to me;)

(Leslie)There wasn't hide 'nor hair of SJ anywhere. What might those conclusions be?? I think the only conclusion is that ET and AH were too busy focusing on people who weren't even nominated! Hello JLo, Jessica, Nick. SJ was interviwed on E! News. Renee said on one of the shows that she was off to Austria tomorrow for TEOR.

Saw SJ at one of the parties. She was *with* Sofia and SJ was holding the GG statue. The whole thing is rather bizarre IMO. Also, saw Bill Murray being interviewed (can't remember which show) and he was asked about the "honor" of working with SJ. He responded that he really didn't think in terms of the honor of working with a 17-year-old but that it was a fun experience.

UK buzz about GG's is all about The Office - which reminds me, Lucy Davis said in 'The Making of The Office' that she had been in P&P, but her small role had gone unnoticed as nobody had managed to take their eyes off CF for more than a second. Thought RZ looked glorious, personally, to judge from the stills. Paris Hilton is the UK tabloids' "worst-dressed", with Joely Richardson a gallant British runner-up.

(Karen)..he really didn't think in terms of the honor of working with a 17-year-old OUCH!

Say what you want about the GGs, on the TV side they've historically championed new shows and helped them gain a following, such as Sex $ The City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc. Was glad The Office won, Ricky Gervais is unfortunately not that far off from some bosses from hell that I've had. Mark, do you get Nip/Tuck over there? That's Joely's show, was really pulling for that to win, I'm completely hooked.

I'll fill in with the lessers. GWAPE nabbed a few. Complete List of Oscar Nominations 4 minutes ago By The Associated Press Complete list of the 76th annual Oscar nominations announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites): AP Photo Slideshow: Academy Awards 1. Best Picture: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Lost in Translation," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Mystic River," "Seabiscuit." 2. Actor: Johnny Depp (news), "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"; Ben Kingsley (news), "House of Sand and Fog"; Jude Law (news), "Cold Mountain"; Bill Murray (news), "Lost in Translation"; Sean Penn (news), "Mystic River." 3. Actress: Keisha Castle-Hughes, "Whale Rider"; Diane Keaton (news), "Something's Gotta Give"; Samantha Morton (news), "In America"; Charlize Theron (news), "Monster"; Naomi Watts (news), "21 Grams." 4. Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin (news), "The Cooler"; Benicio Del Toro (news), "21 Grams"; Djimon Hounsou (news), "In America"; Tim Robbins (news), "Mystic River"; Ken Watanabe, "The Last Samurai." 5. Supporting Actress: Shohreh Aghdashloo, "House of Sand and Fog"; Patricia Clarkson, "Pieces of April"; Marcia Gay Harden (news), "Mystic River"; Holly Hunter (news), "thirteen"; Renee Zellweger (news), "Cold Mountain." 6. Director: Fernando Meirelles, "City of God"; Peter Jackson (news), "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"; Sofia Coppola (news), "Lost in Translation"; Peter Weir (news), "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"; Clint Eastwood (news), "Mystic River." 7. Foreign Film: "The Barbarian Invasions," Canada; "Zelary," Czech Republic; "The Twilight Samurai," Japan; "Twin Sisters," The Netherlands; "Evil," Sweden. 8. Adapted Screenplay: Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, "American Splendor"; Braulio Mantovani, "City of God"; Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"; Brian Helgeland, "Mystic River"; Gary Ross, "Seabiscuit." 9. Original Screenplay: Denys Arcand (news), "The Barbarian Invasions"; Steven Knight, "Dirty Pretty Things"; Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds, "Finding Nemo"; Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan, "In America"; Sofia Coppola, "Lost in Translation." 10. Animated feature film: "Brother Bear"; "Finding Nemo"; "The Triplets of Belleville." 11. Art Direction: "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "The Last Samurai," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Seabiscuit." 12. Cinematography: "City of God," "Cold Mountain," "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Seabiscuit." 13. Sound Mixing: "The Last Samurai," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Seabiscuit." 14. Sound Editing: "Finding Nemo," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. " 15. Original Score: "Big Fish," Danny Elfman (news); "Cold Mountain," Gabriel Yared; "Finding Nemo," Thomas Newman; "House of Sand and Fog," James Horner; "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Howard Shore. 16. Original Song: "Into the West" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox (news); "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from "A Mighty Wind," Michael McKean (news) and Annette O'Toole; "Scarlet Tide" from "Cold Mountain," T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello (news); "The Triplets of Belleville" from "The Triplets of Belleville," Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet; "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from "Cold Mountain," Sting. 17. Costume: "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "The Last Samurai," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Seabiscuit." 18. Documentary Feature: "Balseros," "Capturing the Friedmans," "The Fog of War," "My Architect," "The Weather Underground." 19. Documentary (short subject): "Asylum," "Chernobyl Heart," "Ferry Tales." 20. Film Editing: "City of God," "Cold Mountain," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" "Seabiscuit." 21. Makeup: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." 22. Animated Short Film: "Boundin'," "Destino," "Gone Nutty," "Harvie Krumpet," "Nibbles." 23. Live Action Short Film: "Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket)," "Most (The Bridge)," "Squash," "(A) Torzija (A Torsion)," "Two Soldiers." 24. Visual Effects: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Complete Oscars List ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA Charlize Theron - MONSTER Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN Ren�e Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM BROTHER BEAR FINDING NEMO THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT CINEMATOGRAPHY CITY OF GOD COLD MOUNTAIN GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT COSTUME DESIGN GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT DIRECTING CITY OF GOD THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING LOST IN TRANSLATION MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD MYSTIC RIVER DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BALSEROS CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS THE FOG OF WAR MY ARCHITECT THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT ASYLUM CHERNOBYL HEART FERRY TALES FILM EDITING CITY OF GOD COLD MOUNTAIN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS EVIL THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI TWIN SISTERS �ELARY MAKEUP THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL MUSIC (SCORE) BIG FISH COLD MOUNTAIN FINDING NEMO HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MUSIC (SONG) "Into the West" - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" - A MIGHTY WIND "Scarlet Tide" - COLD MOUNTAIN "The Triplets of Belleville" - THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE "You Will Be My Ain True Love" - COLD MOUNTAIN BEST PICTURE THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING LOST IN TRANSLATION MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD MYSTIC RIVER SEABISCUIT SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) BOUNDIN' DESTINO GONE NUTTY HARVIE KRUMPET NIBBLES SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) DIE ROTE JACKE (The Red Jacket) MOST (The Bridge) SQUASH (A) TORZIJA ([A] Torsion) TWO SOLDIERS SOUND THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL SEABISCUIT SOUND EDITING FINDING NEMO MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL VISUAL EFFECTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) AMERICAN SPLENDOR CITY OF GOD THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MYSTIC RIVER SEABISCUIT WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS DIRTY PRETTY THINGS FINDING NEMO IN AMERICA LOST IN TRANSLATION

Well, I'm thrilled. Just goes to show how ridiculous IMO the GGs are. Good to see GWAPE get three noms in the expected categories: Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design. I really like nearly all the actor noms (with the exception of Johnny Depp) in all four categories, though I can't say about Diane Keaton since I still haven't seen that one. ;-) Loved that they recognized Keisha Knight-Castle, Djimon Housou, Samantha Morton, the woman from House of Sand & Fog, as well as the ones who were obvious choices (Tim Robbins, Alex Baldwin, Patricia Clarkson, Naomi Watts, Charlize Theron, Sean Penn, etc. Pesonally, am gloating that Cold Mountain and M&C (sorry Mary) didn't rack it up. I didn't think they were all that special. Much preferred the Last Samurai in the category of historical epic.

Mari: Mark, do you get Nip/Tuck over there? Mari, it just started on Sky (satellite/cable), so much less audience potential than terrestrial TV. Audiences about 1m, I believe, which is good for Sky and would be very weak for BBC or ITV.

Disappointed that GWAPE didn't get a nomination for its score but it wasn't expected. As I've said before, this is the most incestuous category in the group. Same names year after year no matter what they churn out or how bland. :-( BTW, after what Clint Eastwood said, I think he's shamed the Academy voters into voting for Sean Penn over Bill Murray.

(Karen)BTW, after what Clint Eastwood said, I think he's shamed the Academy voters into voting for Sean Penn over Bill Murray. Hmmmmm. Interesting point. Will be interesting to watch.

I forgot to say thanks to those on the ball pals who posted the Oscar lists so quickly, you know who you are:-))

They're an easily influenced group. For example, Julia Roberts' campaign for Denzel and recent smear campaigns against popular contenders.

Ug. Oscars *so* predictable this year. Glad "21 Grams" got some recognition. Thrilled for Renee and GWAPE. RC getting robbed....again. M&C nommed for what...ten nominations and not the star? Get Out! Reminiscent of Beautiful Mind. Red Carpet will be dull with a bunch of no names prancing in. If it wasn't for Billy Crystal and Elvis Costello I wouldn't watch. Katie Couric and the guys on E! exclaiming surprise that SJ was not nommed. (Leslie) People magazine's worst dressed list for the GG. SJ is at the top of the list with RZ following close behind SJ shudda worn the GWAPE premiere dress, the one with the black rose at the waist.Stunning Have to agree about Renee. Looked like she told the dressmaker she was a size 10 when she's more a 14.

(Karen)recent smear campaigns against popular contenders. Ooo, ooo, Who? So waddaya think the thinking was w/J Depp? I had no problem with it at the GGs as they had a *mirthful* category but jeeze. And I do like him and admire his choices. OT, BTW, I caught Lost in LaMancha and found it facinating.

(Beedee) So waddaya think the thinking was w/J Depp? I'm at a loss. Have to say drugs. ;-) Smear campaigns in recent past.

(Karen)recent smear campaigns against popular contenders. (BD)Ooo, ooo, Who? So waddaya think the thinking was w/J Depp? (Karen)I'm at a loss. Have to say drugs. ;-) Glad you put a winkie....drugs would disqualify most of the industry. ....at least Johnny Depp shows up. Even if only to get the Worst Dressed Man Award from Fashion Police last night, LOL;-) I thought he looked pretty distinguished ;-) and so did he.

(K)I'm at a loss. Have to say drugs. ;-) Taken by nominators or Johnny?..;-)

Ev: Re RC - At least he was nominated for A Beautiful Mind! I can't feel too bad, though. It is a rich acting field this year, though I would have picked Russell over Jude Law as a nominee. Keisha - the youngest ever to be nominated for best actress. Way to go. Charlize will win that category. Now will root for Robbins and Penn.

There's not a performance in the Supporting Actor category that I didn't love. I know I posted that Tim Robbins' virtually screamed Oscar to me right after I saw it way back when, but Djimon Hounsou's in In America will rip out your heart. And this has to be a first! I have actually seen something in the Film Short (animated) category! Saw 'Destino' before another film at the Chicago FF; its pedigree is extremely interesting: a collaboration between Disney and Salvador Dali that was started in the mid-1940s but was only finished now.

I'm so surprised Samantha Morton was nominated. Though she was excellent, there was no buzz for her at all, and her role was more a supporting one. The little girls completely overshadowed the adults. She wasn't even nominated for Golden Globe, BAFTA or SAG. I just don't understand it. In this case, the nomination went completely against the grain. I sure wish SJ had her spot but being the "It" girl - and deserving it - just wasn't enough. Sorry to disagree, but I just didn't like Penn's performance. He's a great actor, but in this one his acting seemed so showy and over-the-top and too typically Penn. He could have interchanged the same character in half of his other films. I never once forgot he was Sean Penn acting a Sean Penn character. I'd like to see him - for once - surprise us and UNDERPLAY a role. (Please don't blast me - just my humble opinion.) I did, however, think Robbins was amazingly good. Master and Commander, to me, was boring. Russell Crowe is one of the best actors in the world, but he wasn't much in this one and I'm glad he wasn't nominated. He was, however, robbed when he didn't win for A Beautiful Mind. Before I get booed off the stage, I'd like to say that I loved Johnny Depp in Pirates. His interpretation was so original and daring. He could have been just another Captain Hook type, but he took it to another level and made it so hilarious, mischeivous, surprising, clever and hilarious. Depp is so beautiful one forgets what a great actor he is. He BECAME Jack Sparrow and engraved that character into our memories. Now I'll exit before the tomatoes hit.

Hey, they'll have to boo me off, too, because I thought Depp was fantastic in Pirates. Without him, it's just another swashbuckler (albeit a handsomely made one). Very surprised at Cold Mountain and Minghella's omission. I think they were deserving. Lost In Translation is, IMO, overrated--except for the excellent Bill Murray. I thought Last Samurai was surprisingly good, a beautifully made epic, and I thought Tom Cruise was great. Good to see Ken w. get in there, at least. I also really enjoyed Seabiscuit. Any of the actors would have been deserving, especially Jeff Bridges, but that Supporting Actor category is always chock full.

(Murph)Now will root for Robbins and Penn. I'm rooting for Bernicio, JL...and "Finding Nemo";-) (Katty)He's[Johnny Depp] a great actor, but in this one his acting seemed so showy and over-the-top and too typically Penn. He could have interchanged the same character in half of his other films LOL. That's what some of the critics said; a "Johnny One-Note" Hey, if it works once...milk it;-) (Mari)Lost In Translation is, IMO, overrated--except for the excellent Bill Murray. Agree. Didn't even think SJ was a stand-out in that one...though she was in spades in GWAPE.

(Evelyn) LOL. That's what some of the critics said; a "Johnny One-Note" Hey, if it works once...milk it;-) Jack Nicholson has been doing it successfully for years. Glad to see the GG's and AA's didn't reward him for it this year.

oops

(Mari)Lost In Translation is, IMO, overrated--except for the excellent Bill Murray. (Evelyn)Agree. Didn't even think SJ was a stand-out in that one...though she was in spades in GWAPE. Agree and Agree. I saw LIT the weekend it opened just to see SJ and what I might expect from her in GWAPE. I was disappointed in her and the film...except for Bill Murray. However I really did think she was great in GWAPE. But I am surprised that after two GG noms that she didn't make the cut. (Evelyn)Refreshing to see the cute cast of "The Office" on stage. Enthusiastic, self-deprecating, appreciative....and they came all the way over the pond. I am so hooked on this show. I never thought it would win-let alone two awards. RG looked as shocked as I did;-)Bravo to them for being there, and RC, too!! ...programing note: don't forget Keen Eddy, tonight.

Anyone here a Grobanite? From the Seattle Times--the rest is here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001844257_superbrites27.html ...Anyway, if you're not sure if you're a Grobanite, take this simple test: If you think the highlight of Sunday's Super Bowl will be Kid Rock's halftime performance, run away, dude. If, however, you enjoy movies starring Hugh Grant AND Colin Firth, you just might be a Grobanite.

Editor and Publisher.com: Two Thumbs Down on Movie Blurbing By Allan Wolper (January 13, 2004) -- This is about The Blurbing of America, where film critics are packaged by the film studios, aided by newspaper advertising departments hungry for the full- page ads that are part of huge movie budgets. The salespeople even send out advance copies of their newspaper's reviews or feature stories to studios, to give them extra time to prepare promotional or advertising copy. Or perhaps to warn them that their movie might be panned. For example, The New York Times e-mails its movie reviews to studio publicists three hours before they are posted on the newspaper's Web site. The Times claims that its editorial integrity is not compromised because the reviews are already locked into the printing process, and can't be changed. But the message is clear: the alleged firewall between the newspaper's business and editorial sections has been breached. The arts sections of many big-city newspapers are replete with advertising blurbs which studio ad agencies surgically remove from the critics' reviews. There is evidence that many critics and the publications they work for enjoy the notoriety that those blurbs bring to them. When Rolling Stone interviewed writers for the critic's job that eventually went to Peter Travers, the magazine made it known that it wanted its reviewer to be featured in newspaper ads, according to numerous journalists. The reasoning was obvious: Rolling Stone saw the blurbs as free advertisements for itself, as well as a selling point with studio ad agencies. Travers has made it big in Blurb Journalism, second only to Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, the "Two Thumbs Up" Guys. Newspaper critics allege the dynamic duo of Ebert & Roeper, both of whom work for the Chicago Sun-Times, are studio-friendly because their syndicated television show and annual Film Festival at Sea are both sponsored by Disney. Those innuendos grate on Ebert. "I'm on the level," he said. "I won The Pulitzer Prize. If you talk to anyone who knows me, they will tell you I am an honest person." He views the criticism of his Disney connection as the reactive rants of writers jealous of his fame and fortune. "We are quoted more than anyone else because we are the most popular movie program in the country," he said, adding, "If a movie is really shitty, we won't review it." Stephen Holden, a New York Times film critic, said that kind of relationship would not be tolerated by his superiors. "That's a clear conflict of interest," Holden told me. "That's dangerous. But that's the world we live in today. Our newspaper would never approve that arrangement." Roeper said Holden doesn't understand the needs of a syndicated television program or the ethical constraints involved. "We are Disney employees, but we don't tout their movies more than anyone else," he said. "In fact, we go out of our way to show movies of other studios on our cruises. If someone is going to syndicate a television program, they are going to have to find a media conglomerate like Disney to sponsor it." The studio publicists, sensitive to the ethical hand-wringing of the critics, routinely call reviewers to get their approval for the blurbs. But that makes those critics part of the promotional process. The advertising rewrites of the reviews are an effective way of negating bad press. The studios were much more up-front during the old days: "The publicists used to send us cases of fine wine," recalled Rex Reed, a film critic for The New York Observer. "It was done as courtesy, not a bribe. But they don't do that anymore." It is a fact of consumer life -- especially during the latest rise in ticket prices -- that readers use the blurbs to help them make their movie decisions. Some readers tend to skip the actual reviews until they've seen the movies because they give away too much of the plot. That is why I shut my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears during those endless coming attractions. The blurbs are so important that three years ago Sony executives created a fake movie critic, known as David Manning, to promote the studio's worst films. Rita Kempley, film critic for The Washington Post who retired this month after 25 years, said Allied Advertising once told her that her career would suffer if she didn't become more quotable. "I guess they couldn't figure out how to blurb me," Kempley said. It is considered an ethical no-no for newspapers to publish reviews before a movie has officially opened. No reviewer wants to be seen publicly as an extension of the studios. Which is why film festivals have become so important. These festivals, once a haven for low-budget independents looking for a promotional lift, are now routinely used by big studios to harvest positive reviews that can be used three to six months later, right before the movie premieres. Movie critics argue at length that reviewing a film at a festival before it opens is not the same as reviewing a movie before it opens. Just as questionable is the practice of film-critic organizations handing out awards that become part of the studio ads in newspapers -- an obvious attempt to influence the Academy Award nominations. "It's disgraceful," said Jack Matthews of New York's Daily News. "Sometimes the awards are handed out before the films are released." Two thumbs down to that. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/ethics_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2066671#

If you're not familiar with Grobanites, they're kind of like Deadheads, except they're more likely to do glasses of Merlot than bong hits before shows, ...... ... If, however, you enjoy movies starring Hugh Grant AND Colin Firth, you just might be a Grobanite. Ha! I never knew myself;-)) Wine and Colin are my favorites and I would surely enjoy Josh too.

closing the proverbial tag;-) I hope..

(Bee)Wine and Colin are my favorites . . . Mmmmm . .not a bad combo, Bee . .I'm with you on that one;)

Linda- thanks for the KE note. That show is growing on me. ;-) All- I have really been enjoying the GG/Oscars discussion. Now if it could only be a DD on the red carpet instead of icky Joan and Melissa Rivers. Continuing my journey around the US for interviews, I will be heading to Columbia, MO, to visit Mizzou. If there are any Drooleurs in that neck of the woods, please contact me. Grazie.

(Karen) Also, saw Bill Murray being interviewed (can't remember which show) and he was asked about the "honor" of working with SJ. He responded that he really didn't think in terms of the honor of working with a 17-year-old but that it was a fun experience. I believe "fun" was not the operative word (or sentiment) from SJ's point of view when speaking with someone "in-the-know". Bravo, Academy re:Keisha Castle-Hughes!!! :( Had more comments that got lost and no time to repeat. Not important.

(Dorine) I believe "fun" was not the operative word (or sentiment) from SJ's point of view ... Funny...we've heard/read many interviews where SJ has sung the praises of working with Colin, but I don't remember any similar tid bits about Bill Murray. Can it be implied that this wasn't a great experience?? Wonder what the issues were?

"Fun" may or may not have been the word Bill Murray used either. Can't recall exactly, but whatever he did use, the idea was the imbecility of someone asking him (an established actor and comedian) about the "honor" or privilege of working with a 17 year old girl, a newcomer. From his POV, so what if she's the flavor of the month. Frankly, I've never set great store by actors referring to how much fun it was working with somebody...even SJ's comments. Prefer when they comment on the other's acting.

I believe they're running 'Destino' in front of the "Triplets" in my area: Disney's grateful to Dali for original 'Destino' idea By Sheigh Crabtree Combine rare Salvador Dali paintings with a healthy dose of Walt Disney movie magic and you've got one of the most interesting offerings in the 2003 animated short film Oscar race. Executive produced by Roy E. Disney, the former vice chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., and directed by Dominique Monfrey, who had been based at Disney's now-shuttered Paris studio, the short film "Destino" began with the unlikeliest of partnerships, one which dates back to 1945. That's when Walt Disney, the studio's founder, first proposed a collaboration with Salvador Dali, the celebrated Spanish surrealist. That original teaming was abandoned in the following year because of the studio's financial setbacks after World War II. But the project was revived again 54 years later by Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney's nephew, when he came across Dali's original artwork and story sketches while he was overseeing the re-release of "Fantasia." Almost overnight -- if you set aside that 54-year hiatus -- the project was revived and became a six-minute short film that has since gone on to become the toast of the animated film festival circuit. "The story sketches had to be reinterpreted by an animator of today," Disney said Tuesday. "It was a labor of love. You get into these things and you begin to realize it's something special and you want to do right by what was clearly an amazing idea. Surrealism in 1945 was a modern art movement that not a lot of people understood." Disney recounted the story about Dali who said, when he came to Hollywood in the 1940s, he had met the two great American surrealists: Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney. "I've thought about that since and if you look at a lot of the film that was made in those days, in the 1940s, there's a tremendous amount of surrealism in it: dreamscapes and weird pink elephants on parade in 'Dumbo,' for instance," he said. Attempting to explain his creative process, Dali often said that he simply woke up from dreams, realizing that he'd just come up with a great idea. Disney cited that explanation Tuesday and added that when he himself awoke on this particular morning, he was delighted to learn of the Oscar nomination for "Destino." "But my dream was a little bit more concrete," he said. "Recognition of all that hard work by your peers is thrilling." He said he planned to drink champagne and celebrate the combined work of Disney's animators and the great surrealist.

This is one I couldn't praise enough, when it played the first time around. I even managed to get my subtitlephobic brother in law to see it and he came out in awe. Now, *this* is a disturbing film and a brilliant film: Oscar pays homage to 'God' By Ian Mohr NEW YORK -- What a long, strange pilgrimage to the Oscars it has been for "City of God," Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles' explosive story of boys growing up in a dangerous neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Although the film was submitted for last year's Oscars by Brazil, it failed to earn a nomination as best foreign-language film -- a fact that some insiders attributed to its visceral violence. Miramax Films, which became involved in the project at the script stage, opened the film in U.S. theaters in January 2003. Because of its 2003 theatrical release, the film then became eligible to compete in the other Academy categories. Critics lauded it, but it never expanded beyond 108 theaters. Nevertheless, Miramax has kept it in limited release for more than a year. By year's end, "God" still had not climbed above the $5 million mark, but it topped the foreign-film list of a handful of critics groups and was nominated for a Golden Globe as best import. And now -- a year after the Academy first turned a thumbs down on it -- "City of God" has re-emerged with four nominations in major categories -- best director, best adapted screenplay, best film editing and best cinematography. "I'm not surprised," said Meirelles, who spent a decade in commercials before venturing into film. Speaking Tuesday from London, where he is prepping his next project, he quickly contradicted himself, adding, "I am shocked! (Last year), I thought that this was not the kind of film for the Academy." In May, Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein made a stand -- literally -- at the Festival de Cannes on "City's" behalf. At the mini-major's annual international distributors' luncheon by the seashore, he vowed to rerelease Meirelles' movie in the United States in December for Academy Awards consideration. "In America, it's doing OK," Weinstein said at Cannes. "And in additional territories too. But I am frustrated, and I am going to rerelease it for Academy season. You never give up on the things you love." The movie mogul even asked his distribution partners to hold back releasing "God" to home video to get the campaign going. "Harvey was into the film," Meirelles said Tuesday. "We hear a lot of stories about Miramax. But he loves the film, and this is not big business for him. It's much more his (passion) for the movie." "I'm so proud of 'City of God,' " Weinstein testified Tuesday. "We resisted putting it out on video, and the minute the screener ban was lifted, we sent it out. We worked hard to let Academy members know that though the film wasn't eligible last year, it is eligible in other categories this year. Now, we're going to be putting the movie out on 200 screens, and we'll eventually get that number up to 500 screens." In recent years, the Academy has become more willing to honor foreign-language films in the major categories. Last year, for example, Sony Pictures Classics pulled off a coup with "Talk to Her," directed by Spanish helmer Pedro Almodovar. Although it was not recognized as the official Oscar foreign-language entry from Spain, the distributor fought back by waging a war in the major categories, which brought Almodovar two nominations -- for best original screenplay and best director -- and a win for screenplay. Said Meirelles: "The other nominations, in a way, explain the success of ('City'). This film had a lot to do with the actors, and they are all almost amateurs. They are real -- there is a freshness to their acting."

Empire has announced its 2004 awards nominees. A few for Love Actually (2 newcomers: Martine McC and Andrew Lincoln; Best British Actress: EmmaT; and Best British Film) - again second rate status. Full list and details here: http://www.empireonline.co.uk/news/news.asp?story=5315

(Karen) This is one I couldn't praise enough....... Now, *this* is a disturbing film and a brilliant film Agree!

I've got two Oscar-related articles from Variety today on site. Both mention GWAPE, and in the first, LA too: http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/variety-2004-3.html

Interesting articles,Murph. " Many others predicted that the usual December logjam may be a thing of the past." I hope so. The rest of the year is like a desert.

No Scarlett fever PK Goodhand Oscars snub for Scarlett As the world bemoans the lack of Cold Mountain action in the Oscar nominations, we turn our wrath to more pressing complaints. Like where the dickens champagne-quaffing cutie Scarlett Johansson? Us Brits seem to have got it sown up, by nominating the pant-wearing Lost in Translation lady, not once, but twice for a best actress BAFTA. After all, shaving off your eyebrows and watching paint dry with Colin Firth in Girl With A Pearl Earring is worth another gong, surely? But is the bee-stung-lipped curvy miss in the running for a Best Actress Oscar? Is she heck-as-like! Instead, we�ve got to choose between Whale Rider�s Keisha Castle-Hughes (whale-y good star of sea mammal epic � apparently), Something�s Gotta Give�s Diane Keaton (being pursued by Jack Nicholson � isn�t everyone?) and Monster�s Charlize Theron (a honey, but can she act?). Naomi Watts is also nominated for 21 Grams, so as best chum of Nicole Kidman that�s one in the eye for the lanky ginger lady who is conspicuous by her absence. Leaving us to put money on, with gusto, Brit girl and In America star Samantha Morton, in a self-confessed case of misplaced national pride. The choice of fellas comes down to Bill Murray, Sean Penn, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law and oo-arrghh-me-'earties Pirates Of The Caribbean star, Johnny Depp. Of course, on the film side of things, as if we need to bother saying, Lord of the Rings gets the most votes, nominated in 11 categories, which will give director Peter Jackson another big event to turn up to without washing his hair. Master and Commander, starring everyone�s favourite rufty-tufty Russell Crowe, bagged 10-nominations and Cold Mountain, alongside horse-fest Seabiscuit, is mentioned in seven categories. Which everyone seems to think isn�t enough. Greedy. What about Scarlett? Did we mention she�s not nominated? We think we might've done. http://www.megastar.co.uk/ents/news/2004/01/27/sMEG01MTA3NTIyMjI5MjA.html

(Linda's)What about Scarlett? Did we mention she�s not nominated? We think we might've done. LOL! That's one way to put it:-)

shaving off your eyebrows and watching paint dry with Colin Firth I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Oooh Evelyn, he might show up after all;-)... Penn To Attend First Oscars Actor Sean Penn will attend the Academy Awards for the first time ever this year - to support his film Mystic River. Penn, who shunned Sunday's Golden Globe awards in favor of a night in with his daughter, has refused to attend the Oscars in the past, despite three previous Best Actor nominations for I Am Sam, Sweet And Lowdown and Dead Man Walking. However, the 43-year-old - who created controversy in Hollywood last year for his high-profile Anti-Iraq War stance - will now go to the glitzy ceremony in Los Angeles next month after being nominated for his leading performance in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie. A friend tells the Pagesix website, "(He) wants to stand up for Mystic River"

"(He) wants to stand up for Mystic River" Yeah, some people do that. ;-)

It made me laugh, outrageous as some of it is.... LA Weekly -- Deadline Hollywood - The Dwarf Got Dissed: Why this year�s Oscars suck more than usual by Nikki Finke http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/10/deadline-finke.php

WARNING!! Move back from your monitor! Santoro Wows Fashionistas at Latin America's Big Show Wed Jan 28, 5:41 PM ET SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Movie actor Rodrigo Santoro stole the show at the opening of Latin America's biggest fashion fest in Sao Paulo on Wednesday when he traipsed down the catwalk clad in the creations of the Brazilian president's personal stylist. Celebrities clapped and whooped when Santoro--best known internationally for his role as Laura Linney's love interest in the British hit "Love Actually"--made two appearances in the parades and upstaged supermodel and compatriot Gisele Bundchen. He was modeling for Ricardo Almeida, who is known as Brazil's Armani and has overseen President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's style transformation from a bejeaned union militant to a sharply dressed statesman. Almeida's styles on display on Wednesday aimed to attract young executives wanting to look like "well-dressed bad boys"--leather jackets and form-fitting pants in brown and black. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&ncid=579&e=10&u=/nm/20040128/en_nm/leisure_fashion_brazil_dc You can see a couple of others here: http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=rodrigo+santoro

Mmmmm . .Karen thanks for that pic . .I'm getting flashbacks of those undies he wore in LA! . .who has those as keeps??? Just a bit here on another of ODB's costars: "Black Dalia" Gets A Tinge of Scarlett by Michael Fleming & Cathy Dunkley Variety Today - Thursday, January 29, 2004 Scarlettt Johansson has signed on to star in "The Black Dahlia," opposite Josh Harnett and Mark Wahlberg for Director Brian De Palma. In the fictional account of the notorious 1947 murder, Johansson plays Kay, a doppelganger for the title character, and the object of affection for two police officers ( to be played by Harnett and Wahlberg) investigating the brutal murder of Hollywood starlett Elizabeth Short. The film marks a reteam between helmer DePalma and producer Art Linson after "The Untouchables." Combination investment Pic, to be produced by Linson with Rudy Cohen and Moshe Diamant, was financed through a combination of foreign sales by Signature Pictures and an investment from the German film fund Apollo Media. The film is in process of securing a domestic distribution deal. Adapted for the screen by Josh Friedman from JAmes' Ellroy's bestselling novel, pic will start shooting May 24 in LA. Johansson will star in "Dahlia" after she finishes with the Weitz brothers film "Synergy," which she starts shooting in March. Johansson, repped by WMA and manager Melanie Johansson, will next be seen in Paramount's "The Perfect Score" and has also completed production on "A Love Song For Bobby Long."

Thank you boss..nice way to warm up a cold day! (Kim)..who has those as keeps??? Not me that's for sure..grrr;-)

(Kim)..who has those as keeps??? (Ada) Not me that's for sure..grrr;-) Laughing proudly. Scarlettt Johansson has signed on to star in "The Black Dahlia," opposite Josh Harnett and Mark Wahlberg for Director Brian De Palma. What, is this the high school version? :-(

(Karen)WARNING!! Move back from your monitor! Thanks for the Warning/disclaimer Karen! This is so that if I had spilled my afternoon hot beverage on my lap you would not be liable, right;-)) What a lovely hunk.

A couple more articles about SJ . . .can we get ODB her publicist? Girl with a Golden Future Despite this week�s Golden Globes snub and lack of Oscar nominations, actress Scarlett Johannson is well on her way to major Hollywood stardom. By Annlee Ellingson And Colin [Firth, her co-star in Girl] and I, we have a different relationship. We don�t need each other � we want each other.� �And you think that my character could survive anything,� Johannson adds. �She could survive another world war. She�s so strong that Colin [as the painter Vermeer] does not help her come unscathed out of the household. It�s her own inner strength that does.� http://www.filmstew.com/Content/Features/Details.asp?Pg=1&ContentID=7815 A Study in Scarlett Posted by: aday on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 11:01 AM By Stephen Rebello http://spin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=265&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

WARNER INDEPENDENT PICTURES 2004 PREVIEW BEFORE SUNSET - JUNE 25, 2004 Nine years ago, two strangers met by chance, spent a night together in Vienna, and parted before sunrise. Now, they�re about to cross paths again � in Paris -- where they will get the chance we all wish we had � to find out what might have been. The only problem is they have just a few hours to figure out if they belong together. Directed by Richard Linklater (�Before Sunrise,� �School of Rock�), the film reunites Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD JULY 23, 2004 From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours comes a story that chronicles a dozen years in the lives of two best friends who couldn't be more different. From suburban Cleveland in the 60s, to New York City in the 80s, where they meet an older woman, the film charts a journey of trials, triumphs, loves and losses. Now the question is: can they navigate the unusual triangle they�ve created and hold their friendship together? The film stars Colin Farrell, Robin Wright-Penn, Sissy Spacek and Dallas Roberts--and is directed by Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of �Thoroughly Modern Millie." WE DON�T LIVE HERE ANYMORE AUGUST 13, 2004 (North America and UK; in post-production) Mark Ruffalo (�You Can Count on Me�), Laura Dern (�I Am Sam�), Peter Krause (�Six Feet Under�) and Naomi Watts (�21 Grams�) star in the story of two couples in a New England college town whose lives become inextricably intertwined and turned upside-down in a tide of passion, suspicion, humor, anger and stunning revelations. The film is directed by John Curran (�Praise�) from a screenplay by Larry Gross, based on two short stories by Andre Dubus II (In the Bedroom). CRIMINAL SEPTEMBER 10, 2004 John C. Reilly ("Chicago"), Diego Luna ("Y Tu Mama Tambien") and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Secretary") star in a contemporary caper movie set in Los Angeles. It's the story of an extremely odd couple: a young Latino man who will do anything for his family (Luna) and a 30-something scheming white guy who will do anything to his family (Reilly). One wants to save his father. The other wants to get rich, in any way possible. So when they come across one of the most valuable pieces of currency in U.S. history, they're suddenly stuck together, and that's just . . . criminal. All they have to do is sell it, which is where the real problems begin. And of course the only way out is family: the one person who can help them, hates them: the schemer's sister (Gyllenhaal). �Criminal.� is directed by Gregory Jacobs. AROUND THE BEND OCTOBER 15, 2004 Four generations of men are suddenly brought together by the chance to uncover the truth about their family�s past. It�s a journey that takes them out on the road to a world full of surprises � some comic, some dramatic, and all of them personal. The film is written and directed by Jordan Roberts and stars Michael Caine, Christopher Walken, Josh Lucas, Jonah Bobo and Glenne Headly. A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT NOVEMBER 26, 2004 From the director and star of �Amelie� (Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Audrey Tautou) comes a very different love story: �A Very Long Engagement,� based on the acclaimed novel by Sebastien Japrisot. The film is set in France near the end of World War I in the deadly trenches of the Somme, in the gilded Parisien halls of power, and in the modest home of an indomitable provincial girl. It tells the story of this young woman's relentless, moving and sometimes comic search for her fianc�e, who has disappeared. He is one of five French soldiers believed to have been court-martialed under mysterious circumstances and pushed out of an allied trench into an almost-certain death in no-man's land. What follows is an investigation into the arbitrary nature of secrecy, the absurdity of war, and the enduring passion, intuition and tenacity of the human heart. The film also stars Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon and Jodie Foster.

And Colin [Firth, her co-star in Girl] and I, we have a different relationship. We don�t need each other � we want each other.� LOL! Isn't that obvious? He is soooooo grounded. ;-)

(Karen) LOL! Isn't that obvious? He is soooooo grounded. ;-) Ummm...er...you know...he's like...just...um...**shrug**...window shopping! ;-D

I thought this part of an article I read today was interesting. It continues the SJ and honors discussion. Oscar first marks rise of third generation By STEVE MURRAY The Atlanta Journal-Constitution While Sofia Coppola was making Academy Award history, her parents were sleeping. She woke up at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Los Angeles Four Seasons Hotel and turned on the TV to watch the Oscar nominations, along with her "Translation" producer Ross Katz and Bart Walker, her agent. "We ordered room service and screamed," she said. After the screaming, she called Bill Murray, who earned the film's fourth Oscar nomination, for best actor. "He was so happy. He said he was going to be very different now and throw some tantrums. I think he's been strutting around all day." Murray's co-star, 19-year-old Scarlett Johansson, didn't get singled out. "We couldn't have gotten that best picture nomination without her," Coppola said. "But I can't say I'm sorry for her, because everyone has really been talking about her talent. And she has a lot of time ahead of her." Of the five best picture nominees, "Lost in Translation" is the only low-budget, independent film. It has no wizards or battleships, no special effects, no killings, no horse races. "No plot, even," Coppola said wryly. It's true. Her movie is a sort of emotional tone poem better experienced than described. "It was really unexpected," she said about the film's traction with audiences. "I love the movie, but I never expected it to be out there so much. We made the movie we wanted to make, and people connected with it. People say that it really stayed with them." One thing that has stayed with viewers is the mystery of what Murray whispers to Johansson in their final scene together. Coppola won't say. "Bill says it's something between lovers. Everyone can make it what they want it to be." But now, as a best picture nominee, that secret exchange could be a prime target for Oscar host Billy Crystal's wit. Coppola paused, considering the possibility. "I never thought of that," she said quietly. "Oh my God, it's so surreal, the whole thing . . . " http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/content/movies/news/0104/29coppola.html

(Karen) LOL! Isn't that obvious? He is soooooo grounded. ;-) (Tress) Ummm...er...you know...he's like...just...um...**shrug**...window shopping! ;-D Don't you just know that, as a result, Colin's next co-star will be, like, Vanessa Redgrave or similar. ;-) "We couldn't have gotten that best picture nomination without her," Coppola said. "But I can't say I'm sorry for her, because everyone has really been talking about her talent. And she has a lot of time ahead of her." Talk about your inadvertently bitchy comments! Personally, many could say the same about Sofia with the "unknown" last name who has only made one other film. Doesn't seem fair that she is going to get the honor of being the first woman director to be nominated for an Oscar, when there are so many others who have been overlooked. It has no wizards or battleships, no special effects, no killings, no horse races. "No plot, even," Coppola said wryly. It's true. Her movie is a sort of emotional tone poem better experienced than described. *snort*

29 JANUARY 2004 The new hero of British comedy, Ricky Gervais, got so excited after winning two Golden Globes last weekend that he forgot to acknowledge his co-workers. But the self-effacing actor is obviously keen to make amends for the oversight, because he has taken out a full page ad in showbiz magazine Variety to offer them his thanks and congratulations. "I would have made a better effort if I thought I was going to win," said the 42-year-old, who plays paper mill boss David Brent in The Office. "I'm sorry I did not have something better to say� I'm more surprised than I have ever been in my life!". Ricky looks set to become a major force in the US, where he is currently working on an American version of the show. (ed.note-that never works, remember Coupling?) After last weekend's awards Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein described him as a "genius" and he has also filmed a part in the spy series Alias. Comic Steve Carell will play Brent in a pilot for the new show, but NBC apparently wants Ricky himself to reprise the role when filming begins on the series proper. And the self-styled "fat bloke from Reading" has reportedly received a flood of acting and writing offers since his victory at the Globes. Indeed his run of glory has even extended back to Britain, where town planners in his hometown have decided to name a street after him. http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2004/01/29/rickygervais/

(Karen) LOL! Isn't that obvious? He is soooooo grounded. ;-) (Tress) Ummm...er...you know...he's like...just...um...**shrug**...window shopping! ;-D (Karen)Don't you just know that, as a result, Colin's next co-star will be, like, Vanessa Redgrave or similar. ;-) Ooooh, look out...I think there's some, umm, channeling of red fingernails going on...or, you know, whatever... (Karen) Doesn't seem fair that she is going to get the honor of being the first woman director to be nominated for an Oscar, when there are so many others who have been overlooked. The first? Really? OK, nevermind that, I know that you know, but really? I had no freakin' idea. Do you suppose Halle will present? (Slapping self...)

(Karen)Doesn't seem fair that she is going to get the honor of being the first woman director to be nominated for an Oscar, when there are so many others who have been overlooked. Isn't she the first AMERICAN female director nominated? Jane Campion was nominated and maybe Leni Wertwhatever?

v.g. Louise. Yes, it is first American female director. Lina Wertmuller was the first female director. I hadn't thought that Jane Campion got that nom, only possibly for screenwriting, but she did.

What about Barbra Streisand? Wasn't she nominated for Prince of Tides or something like that? I might remember wrong, it was a loooong time ago.

No, she was snubbed (film was nominated for Best Picture but she was not); that's when the issue came to light.

A little misstep for the "It" girl. Though no matter. Everyone has them. Review: Imperfect vision derails 'Perfect Score' By Melinda Ennis, Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service Friday, January 30, 2004 The Perfect Score gets some passing grades for acting, but ultimately it flunks the final. Starring the "it girl" of the moment, Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Girl With a Pearl Earring), in a role she signed on for before she became "it," the plot revolves around a group of high school seniors who scheme to steal SAT questions. This dubious plan is justified in the film by the underlying assertion that the SAT is an unfair, racially and sexually biased barometer that puts undue pressure on otherwise promising teens. Despite the serious subject matter, director Brian Robbins can't decide whether this is a drama, a satire or an American Pie-style teen spoof, and the film dissolves into a shapeless, weightless mass. Kyle (Chris Evans, Not Another Teen Movie) is a 3.7 GPA student whose determined dreams of a Cornell architecture degree are stymied by a respectable but imperfect PSAT performance. His cohort in crime is his buddy, Matty (Bryan Greenberg, of The WB show One Tree Hill), whose university yearnings are focused on joining the girlfriend who has left him behind for the University of Maryland. The teens recruit four other students to help break into the Educational Standards Testing building where the SAT tests are produced, conveniently located in their neighborhood of Princeton, N.J. The group's academic (and acting) abilities are as diverse as its predictably varied ethnicity. This Breakfast Club-ish crew includes Anna (Erika Christensen, Traffic), a pretty, straight-A achiever; Desmond (NBA star Darius Miles), an African-American basketball hero whose court prowess doesn't mitigate his poor classroom performance; and Francesca (Johansson), a poor little rich and pouty punk chick. The only fly in the formulaic ointment is Roy (newcomer Leonardo Nam), an Asian-American who is a pothead instead of an overachieving academic, as might be expected in this clich�d concoction. Yet Nam gets the film's few laughs, while supplying some dramatic motivation for his drug-hazed lifestyle. The talent of Johansson and Christensen so outshines the material -- and their costars (especially Miles, who acts as if reading lines from cue cards) -- that it sometimes seems as if they were in a different film. Johansson's portrayal of a parentally abandoned and jaded teen shows the promise delivered in her more lauded roles of late. And her luminous screen presence is intact, even when dressed in a slacker-slut ensemble. Similarly, when she's allowed, Christensen brings depth and dimension to her role as a brilliant, creative student pressured by her parents' tunnel vision of Ivy League success. The movie flip-flops between feeble attempts at humor, righteous indignation and moralistic messages about the SAT issue. The power that this test wields over the children and parents of 21st-century America is a thought-provoking premise. Regrettably, the only thought this movie provokes is wondering when it will be over.

Starring the "it girl" of the moment, Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Girl With a Pearl Earring), in a role she signed on for before she became "it," the plot revolves around a group of high school seniors who scheme to steal SAT questions. When I saw the trailer for this several weeks ago, I thought, "Ahhh! Here's the typical high school fare someone of her age usually does." Since Peter Webber mentioned in one of the interviews he went to talk to SJ while she was making this (finished before GWAPE), you can kind of surmise it wasn't going to be a winner as both of her subsequent films have already been released.

I read yesterday that Perfect Score was supposed to have been released almost a year ago, but was held back. So, SJ can be forgiven; believe me, she won't be making films of that ilk anymore.

For Fans of "The Office" - Martin Freeman (ie John from LA )signed on for this: Variety - Friday, January 30th Cast gets thumbs up for "Hitchhiker" gig by Cathy Dunkley "The Office" star Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel and Mos Def top the cast of Spyglass Entertainment/Walt Disney PIcture's feature version of Douglas Adams "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy." Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith (aka Hammer and Tongs) will direct the pic, which starts shooting April 19 in London. Adams, who penned the adaption prior to his death in 2001, will have a posthumous producing credit. Spyglass partners Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber and Johnathan Glickman will produce with Jay Roach and Goldsmith. Exec producers are Derek Evans, RObbie Stamp and Adams. Buena Vista Motion Pictures prexy Nina Jacobson and exec VP of production Jason Reed will oversee the project for the studio. The story centers on Arthur Dent (Freeman), who is whisked off the planet by Ford Prefect (Def) an undercover alien researching "The Hitchhiker's Guide." just before Earth is destroyed to create a new hyperspace freeway. Deschanel will play Trillian, girlfriend of Zaphod Beeblebrox, a two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and current president of the Galaxy. That role hs still to be cast. The property has been previously adapted as a radio serial and TV series (both for BBC) as well as a videogame.

Miramax's Weinstein Blames Oscar Snub on Timing Sun Feb 1, 6:06 PM ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was quoted on Sunday as blaming the timing of the release of "Cold Mountain" for the film's failure to win an Oscar nomination in the best picture category. In interviews with Time and Newsweek, Weinstein said he opened the highly acclaimed Civil War epic starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law at Christmas time so that Oscar nominations would fuel box office sales. "With the early (Oscar voting) this year, we fell short. There's a lot to do for Academy members and I don't know how many members we got to. We just plain ran out of people who had seen this movie," Weinstein told Time Magazine, which hits newsstands on Feb. 2. But "Cold Mountain" did win seven other Oscar nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences including best actor for Jude Law and best supporting actress for Renee Zellweger. It is the first time in 12 years that Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax does not have a best picture nominee at the Oscars but the studio still racked up the most nominations of any studio -- 15 -- for the third year in a row. Citing the fact that the Oscars will be held in February this year instead of March, Weinstein told Newsweek, "I think the whole positioning of movies has changed because of this." Other than "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," every best-picture nominee was released prior to December, he said. As a result, Weinstein said Miramax would move up the release of J.M. Barrie's "Neverland" starring Johnny Depp to October and would aim to release Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" in November instead of late December. Weinstein also told Time that he will be directing his own film "pretty soon, probably the fall." He said the script is finished and the film will be produced by Martin Scorsese and Anthony Minghella, who directed "Cold Mountain."

Weinstein also told Time that he will be directing his own film "pretty soon, probably the fall." He said the script is finished and the film will be produced by Martin Scorsese and Anthony Minghella, who directed "Cold Mountain." Hmmm . .wonder what that project is and how it will turn out . . .

Emma's top actress, actually By Luke Leitch, Arts Correspondent, Evening Standard It was the night one of our most celebrated actresses and a 15-year-old schoolboy shared the limelight. Emma Thompson, star of Love Actually, and Master And Commander's Max Pirkis were outstanding winners at the Evening Standard British Film Awards - the only awards dedicated exclusively to celebrating British talent. While Love Actually lost out as best film, Thompson bagged the best actress award for her performance in it. Ms Thompson, 44, wearing a daring backless pink Maria Grachvogel gown, said: "I thought I've only got a few more years left to wear things like this so I might as well make the most of them." Eton schoolboy Max Pirkis, aged 15, was named ITV London's most promising newcomer for his part alongside Russell Crowe in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Pirkis admitted his schoolfriends tease him about his new-found fame. He said: "This was the first acting I had ever done. The film's producers just came to our school and auditioned some of us. My schoolmates are quite amused - and they do bring it up in class." Many of the recipients of the awards spoke in defence of the BBC following the Hutton Report. Best actor winner Paul Bettany, 32, whose wife is actress Jennifer Connelly, said: "I would like to thank the whole of the BBC. I'm married to an American so it's nice to have somebody that tells things as they are." He received his award for performances in Master And Commander and The Heart Of Me. Director Ken Loach presented the best film award to Kevin Macdonald for his true story of a mountaineering expedition, Touching The Void. Mr Loach said: "It is very important that the BBC retains its independence for all of us because for those of us who make films, the independence of broadcasting television is not negotiable." Comic Jack Dee, who presented the 31st awards, joked to the audience at the Savoy that he helped out with the writing of the Hutton Report. He said: "That great punch line at the end - 'it was the BBC's fault' - I wrote that." Bill Nighy was named winner of The Peter Sellers Award for comedy, for his role in Love Actually. He joked: "I thought awards were divisive and damaging until I got one and then they became strangely meaningful and real." Best screenplay went to Gregor Jordan, Nora Maccoby and Eric Weiss for Buffalo Soldiers, a comic portrayal about US soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The technical achievement award went to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey for the Nicole Kidman film The Hours. The award was presented by Nip/Tuck star Joely Richardson. The awards, to be screened on ITV London on Thursday, were hosted by Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley. [Ed note: I'll never understand this...] She said: "I'm sure you will have noticed there is one important person who is not here this year. I refer to Alexander Walker, the Evening Standard's film critic for 43 years until he died so suddenly last summer. "Above all he was the most passionate and most respected movie fan in Britain. To honour the contribution of Alex made to the standard and just as importantly to the British film industry I am proud to announce a new award tonight - the Alexander Walker Special Award." It was won by the director Michael Winterbottom. Olivia Williams, Emilia Fox, Emily Woof and Romola Garai were among th leading ladies at the Savoy. The ceremony was also attended by Stephen Daldry, John Hurt, Richard Curtis and Simon Callow.

I heard that there were several articles in the WSJ about Miramax and Harvey. The consensus seems to be that black-balling Cold Mountain for Best Pic was backlash at Miramax for their heavy-handedness in previous years. Also apparently Miramax did not send out screeners to Academy members to cut down on piracy. " Many of the recipients of the awards spoke in defence of the BBC following the Hutton Report." Why am I not surprised;-)

Just a programming note here: BAFTAS Live, commercial free, and exclusive coverage of the star-studded Orange British Academy Film Awards airs Sunday, February 15th at 4 pm/et, 1 pm/pt. BBC America

Re: Extras' pay Saw this on a bulletin board, inviting people (no experience req'd) to be extras in a Nic Cage movie being filmed here: The film shoots in Chicago/Suburbs from Feb 23rd � May. All types are need and all positions are paid. For consideration, please attend the Open Casting Call on Sat. Feb 7th. Compensation: $55/8 hrs

Thanks to a Crowe fan: Opinions?? Variety -- Keep your shirt on, Oscar. Not even the traditionally well-behaved Academy Awards ceremony is immune to the storm over indecency that is lashing the broadcast biz. For the first time ever, ABC wants to impose a delay on its telecast of the Oscars, so that inappropriate material can be edited out. ABC approached the Academy of Motion Pictures & Sciences about using a five-second delay. On Tuesday night, the AMPAS board voted not to change its plans for the show, but will not fight the web execs: "It's up to them," said an Acad spokesman. Unlike other live telecasts, the Oscars have never been subject to a delay -- a point of pride for the org. While board members understand the web's concerns, they decided to make no changes to their Oscarcast strategy. ABC first approached the org last week about a possible delay, even before Janet Jackson's breast-baring during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show. Networks were already skittish about live events, thanks to such occurrences as the expletive from U2's Bono at last year's Golden Globe awards on NBC. Throughout Tuesday, the Super Bowl spectacle continued to engulf CBS in controversy. Still in full damage control, Eye announced it will employ an unprecedented, enhanced tape and video delay when televising Sunday's Grammy Awards. Delay could be as much as five minutes and will utilize a complex mix of computer software and automatic tape machines. Also, insiders said CBS and Grammy officials are in constant communication regarding whether or not Janet Jackson will participate in the awards show. Talks continue, with several industry insiders suggesting CBS would prefer Jackson not appear. The networks use a five-second delay on most live events, which allows them to edit for audio. "The network has made it clear they're feeling enormous pressure to institute a delay," AMPAS exec director Bruce Davis said. "ABC may factor in the board's decision, but has indicated that it will not necessarily feel obligated to follow it." In theory, a five-second delay would not affect the ceremonies at the Kodak Theatre. But a network exec would have his finger on the bleep button, which is a consideration. "We would be very concerned about a delay that would raise possibility of a network representative deciding that remarks like Michael Moore's last year would be inappropriate," Davis said. "We don't want that kind of censorship. The ability to edit out a single word or a body part is different; that's not the same kind of concern, although some would see it as the camel's nose moving into our tent." Given the current climate, ABC may be willing to go against the Academy's wishes if it means protecting its affiliates and its owned & operated stations. What game? And the network wants to protect the event itself: One ABC exec noted that talk about the actual Super Bowl, which was an exciting game, has been easily overshadowed by talk about Jackson. With indecency already on the minds of Washington regulators sitting down to watch the Super Bowl, Jackson's stunt couldn't have come at a worse time for CBS, which maintains it had no idea that she had arranged for singer Justin Timberlake to pull her top off. Show was produced by sister company MTV. The CBS Affiliate Advisory Board held a conference call Tuesday and afterward demanded the net do something to ensure that Sunday's Grammy telecast would be free of content that would raise red flags at the FCC or in Congress. In a letter to CBS chair-CEO Leslie Moonves, with copies forwarded to Viacom prexy Mel Karmazin and CBS head of affiliate relations Peter Schruth, affils lambasted the net for allowing the indecent content in the halftime show to take place and informing Eye execs they plan to "cooperate fully" with the FCC investigation and any other inquiries. "The CBS Affiliates regard themselves as partners with the network," CBS Affiliate Advisory Board chair Bob Lee wrote in the communique. "In what should have been a triumphant occasion for that partnership, the network let us down and embarrassed us in front of our public. It was not just one incident in the halftime show; from beginning to end, the show was in poor taste and reflected poor judgment," said Lee, GM of WDBJ in Roanoke, Va. Affiliates have good reason to worry -- they could each be fined $27,000 for airing the bawdy halftime show. The agency Monday sent CBS a formal letter of inquiry, which alerts the net of the investigation and asks execs to provide their version of events in a timely manner. The question that agency officials are now pondering if whether to fine all of the affiliates or just the network owned-and-operated stations, FCC sources said. If the agency fines all CBS stations, penalties could exceed $5 million. "We are just as outraged as the affiliates are," CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said. MTV Networks chairman-CEO seemed equally upset over the incident. "We were really ripped off. We were punk'd by Janet Jackson," Freston said at an industry panel in New York Tuesday, referring to MTV's reality show that makes celebrities the butt of practical jokes. Insiders said CBS was equally outraged at the prospect of Jackson appearing at the Grammys. CBS could use its leverage to make sure she doesn't. Jackson is scheduled as a presenter. As of Tuesday afternoon, Jackson had not been asked to bow out by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which administers the Grammys. Justin Timberlake will perform as planned. "There's a big difference between a stage on a football field and the Grammy awards," a Recording Academy spokesman said. "He's nominated for his music and that's what he wants to celebrate." Gripes roll in The FCC has received 100,000 email complaints about the Super Bowl so far; that figure doesn't include any complaints arriving via regular mail; the D.C. government post office is shut down because of the ricin discovered in a Senate mailroom Monday. The complaints were not focused entirely on Jackson's exposure; some referred to the dirty dancing, Nelly's crotch-grabbing, the lyrics in some of the songs and Kid Rock's cutting up the flag and wearing it as a shirt. Before the FCC considers whether it will fine owned-and-operated stations differently than regular CBS affiliates, the agency must decide which parts of the halftime show constitute indecency violations. "They all say we're just passing on network programming, but at the same time they'll say we're the broadcaster," said the FCC's media legal adviser Jonathan Cody. "We have to consider whether or not to go down this road, whether the O&Os should be subject to different kinds of fines because this is so new from a legal perspective." Cody added that he did not know if the agency has the authority to treat different types of stations differently. The agency also has the power to fine Jackson directly for planning and pulling off the stunt; Cody said while that is possible, it is not probable. Some industry observers has speculated that the heavy fines and outrage over the Super Bowl could force the championship game off the public airwaves entirely and could be available in the future only the pay-per-view status. "I certainly hope that's not what this comes to," Cody said. "I hope smarter heads prevail. That's a question for the NFL and CBS. My personal opinion is these guys have to go figure how to go about doing this. We've had 30 some Super Bowls broadcast over the public airwaves ... but I don't know if there's another 30 years in it. Whether it's cable or not, you still have the interest in protecting children." Agitated affils In their letter to CBS brass, Lee also demanded an immediate accounting as to why the net allowed the show to occur and what steps it is taking to prevent any kind of a repeat performance. "We regret that in this instance we cannot support the network, which normally we are proud to be affiliated with. Because we are on the frontline of CBS' relations with millions of Americans, we ask that you give us a full and immediate information about your own efforts to identify where the planning and implementation of the halftime show went awry and the steps CBS is taking to assure that no episode of this kind will ever occur again," the affils wrote. (Timothy M. Gray and Phil Gallo in Hollywood and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)

What's a 5 second delay....who cares? But ABC is worried about a lot more than that.... From TIME this week article by Richard Corliss "With all the indie nominations, some big stars and big moviews were orphaned. 'There's fear at the Academy about ratings,' says an industry consultant. 'Johnny Depp and Renee Zellweger are the biggest stars. It's really going to be about the presenters'. Also:Seems as if No Show Sean might be changing his mind;-))) "Some movie mavens predict that Sean Penn's absence at the Golden Globes last week could have a crippling effect on his shot at the Best Actor Oscar for Mystic River. When Penn won the Globe for Best Actor in a drama, Eastwood, accepting the award for him, mentioned what a commendable fellow Penn is. A few days later, after his Oscar nomination was announced, the star's handlers said he would attend several industry functions" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040209-586244,00.html

(Karen)Compensation: $55/8 hrs eesh . .that's how much they pay non-SAG in Chicago? . . .after taxes that's a pittance . .we get a tad bit more here in NYC about $75 Saw this in HollyWood Reporter Feb 3 - 9 2004 For Droolers in the LA area: The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising http://www.fidm.com/features/gallery/museumfoundation.html#ns 12th Annual Exhibition: The FIDM Museum Galleries Present �The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design� Exhibition Saluting Year 2003 Costumes Designed For Film Presentation Internationally Exclusive Los Angeles, California: The Museum Galleries at The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM will open their 12th annual exhibition saluting � The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design� on Monday, February 2, 2004. This annual, major exhibition pays homage to the creativity of the costume designer for film with a museum show of outstanding costumes and Oscar nominated designs. On view will be year 2003 actual costumes from outstanding motion pictures. The 2004 Exhibition features over 100 costumes from 25 plus films from 2003, including five Oscar nominees for Costume Design . The Oscar nominated costumes are from Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Seabiscuit . Other films represented in the collection are: The Haunted Mansion, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, The Missing and many more. Free Exhibition: Public Dates/Times Opens to Public: Monday, February 2, 2004 ends Thursday, April 8, 2004 Gallery Hours: 10-4 p.m. daily, including Saturday. Closed Sundays Location: The FIDM Museum Galleries On The Park, 1st Level, The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM, 919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (Corner of Grand Avenue & 9th Street) Parking: Under college building. Entrance on 9th Street Admission: Free. Group tours can be arranged� 213-624-1200, ext. 2225 Public Information: 213-624-1200, Ext. 2224 Media Contact: Shirley Wilson 213-624-1200, Ext. 2625, Voice Page: 213-994-1278 A Bit of Exhibition History Twelve years ago, with the help of The Costume Designers Guild, The Museum Galleries at The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM planned an exhibit honoring the work of the talented men and women costume designers in the film industry. This modest first effort met with such success, that in each succeeding year, the number of movies and costumes grew. Three years ago, the college opened an entirely new museum with 11,000 square feet of space, expanding the scope of the exhibition. Today, the exhibit receives international publicity, thousands upon thousand of people visit the Museum Galleries, tour groups travel far distances, including hundreds of students from high schools and colleges all over California and surrounding states. This indeed, is a tribute to the skill, dedication and talent of those artists we showcase each year. The Museum at FIDM is very proud of its association with the creative people who produce their costume magic for the film industry. As always, we salute their efforts, triumphs and art. Media Contact: Shirley Wilson 213-624-1200, ext. 2625 or 213-994-1278 11/7/03

Started going to my film class again last night and almost fell out of the chair or jumped to the ceiling when the teacher started talking about the bonus movie this weekend. He started to describe it (without using the title as he is wont to do) as a complex, edgy British film whose director and 2 of the stars were flying into town this weekend for press over the next week and were available to come to class on Sun. Was thinking "Yeah!! Trauma found a distributor!!"...and he happened to get it early. I was on that thought train because When I got the notice for the current mini-term, when I got back from Sundance, Trauma was listed as one of the possible movies. But alas, it's a movie called Collusion. Good viewer reviews on imdb.com (yes, Mari, am getting to Trauma review for AICN, etc ;-)....may have more time than I know what to do with next week to get to it.) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295838/#comment I called my teacher when I got back from Sundance and saw the movie list to tell him I'd just seen Trauma and ask how he'd be getting it without a US distributor (knowing full well movies are put on the list as a draw not a definite), but had to leave a message and never heard back. Didn't have time to speak to him last night. I don't think most of the people in my class would like it really. We had Jack Foley (head of Focus Features....Lost In Translation, 21 Grams, Sylvia) as guest last night. He's very enthusiastic and sometimes childlike when talking about the game of strategizing releasing movies and how that changes week to week. Talked about LIT as an example. At one point, mentioned they were concerned about LA's release affecting them. More later, gotta run.

Response 1168 of 1170: EmmaB (emmabean) * Thu, Feb 5, 2004 ( News about old things: any one else in the UK seen the ads on channel 4 for Regency House Party? New reality show starting soon I think we heard about here, to match single people up JA style. Well they've set up at least some of it to be seriously Andrew Davies' Darcy-esque - we have a guy in the same clothes with a wet shirt clinging to him strolling across a grassy bank. see here: http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/regencyhouse/index.html

Forgot to say...interesting story, Dorine. How did Trauma even get listed for your class as a "possible"? Were you whispering in someone's ear? ;-) Well they've set up at least some of it to be seriously Andrew Davies' Darcy-esque There was an article in the Telegraph's magazine that had the last Colin article about the program, and there was a picture of two guys on horses with a big house in the background. Reminiscent of a certain opening scene.

If anyone wants to see a little video about the making of this year's Vanity Fair Hollywood Portfolio issue: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/extra/0204/02_02c.html No Colin of course, and I believe it is significantly shorter than what I saw on TV...or maybe it was another infotainment show. http://et.tv.yahoo.com/celebrities/2004/02/02/janetjackson_vanityfair/

Looks like Dorine's honey, Sam, has been cast in a film for which Colin's name was once bandied about (probably without any basis either): Rockwell hitches 'Galaxy' ride Sam Rockwell should have a lot of face time in Spyglass Entertainment/Walt Disney Co.'s "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" -- a big-screen adaptation of the cult hit novel by Douglas Adams -- because he'll be playing Zaphod, the two-headed president of the galaxy. "Galaxy" begins shooting in April in London with Garth Jennings at the helm. Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and Martin Freeman also star. Mos Def plays Ford Prefect, an alien disguising himself as an out-of-work actor who sets out on an intergalactic journey with his best friend, mild-mannered earthling Arthur Dent (Freeman). The duo hitch a ride through space with Rockwell's Zaphod, the beautiful and brilliant scientist Trillion (Deschanel) and a depressed robot while on a quest to discover the meaning of life.

I think I'll stick with Babette's Feast or Big Night...Now Mari, What exactly did you say to that poor man again? ;-)) Move over, Hannibal Lecter, Hugh Grant is here. What? Yes, you read it right. The British romantic-comedy king, who has headlined such classic chick flicks as �Four Weddings and a Funeral� and �Bridget Jones' Diary,� is looking for a role with a little more meat. Grant is reportedly using his film production company to get the rights to the story of the German cannibal, Armin Meiwes, who after putting out a newspaper advertisement, killed and partially ate a man with the victim's consent, videotaping portions of the episode to acquit himself of long-term prison charges. Grant plans to play the lead character, and wants Brad Pitt to play the part of Bernd Brandes, the cannibal's victim. A friend of Grant's told the London Daily Star newspaper that Grant thinks this role is Oscar-worthy material, and that he's ready to break out of his typecasting as a romantic-comedy hero. About Brad Pitt's taking on this role, Grant said he'd be perfect. After all, who wouldn't want to take a bite out of Brad Pitt? http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/eFAZ/docmain.asp?rub=%7BF040FFD3-897B-46DF-9603-752DD6405389%7D&doc=%7BC94285CE-C5A6-43A3-8C66-D0DB80B57A9A%7D

Thanks for the Hugh Grant article, Maria. I've often thought ODB's been very fortunate not to have been as severely typecast as HG. Not sure if it's a result of obvious talent, careful planning or just luck. Am very grateful that we continue to get to see him in a wide variety of genres.

A friend of Grant's told the London Daily Star newspaper that Grant thinks this role is Oscar-worthy material, and that he's ready to break out of his typecasting as a romantic-comedy hero. Oscar-worthy may be pushing it, but at least he's going to try. It's going to take some effort though and he may not succeed at first. But he really has to. Can't be a rom-com hero forever.

I have "not -too- fond" memories of Extreme Measures. I say , he has a niche that no one else can equal.

The first episode of the second season of the Forsyte saga airs this Sunday, Feb 8. Discussions take place on: http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/drool/164/new

(Karen)Oscar-worthy may be pushing it, but at least he's going to try. It's going to take some effort though and he may not succeed at first. But he really has to. Can't be a rom-com hero forever. (Evelyn)I have "not -too- fond" memories of Extreme Measures. I just saw Impromptu and he played a prissy Chopin. I think he has it in him to do more and better.

(Karen)but at least he's going to try Yes, bravo Hugh. But I thought he wanted out;-)

(lindak)..But I thought he wanted out Ditto. I remember him being quoted extensively last year (particularly in a high profile Vanity Fair article) about how he'd had it with acting and the industry. Wonder what happened? New mortgage payment perhaps?

Yes, he had been saying it, but I forget on which program he admitted his friends had told him he'd made a mistake in making that comment.

Not that this wasn't expected: 3rd DGA nom is a charm for Jackson By Gregg Kilday "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" continued to build awards season momentum as Peter Jackson took home the top honors for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film at the 56th annual DGA Awards held Saturday night at the Century Plaza Hotel. Jackson, who also received nominations for each of the first two installments of his epic trilogy based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, claimed his first DGA award for the trilogy's grand finale. He prevailed over a competitive field of nominees that included Sofia Coppola for "Lost in Translation," Clint Eastwood for "Mystic River," Gary Ross for "Seabiscuit" and Peter Weir for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." In accepting the award, Jackson said, "I am so proud to accept this for making a film that, thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien's book, promotes the values of courage, of friendship and faith." The DGA award makes Jackson the front-runner in the current Oscar race -- where he is nominated as best director and New Line Cinema's "King" is up for 11 awards -- since only six times since 1949 has the winner of the DGA award failed to win the best directing Oscar. Jackson also picked up a Golden Globe as best director. In addition, "King" has scored the Producers Guild of America's Golden Laurel Award, earned a best drama Golden Globe and was named the year's best picture by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. In the category of movies for television, Mike Nichols was honored for the HBO miniseries "Angels in America," which picked up five Golden Globes. Nichols was a double winner at Saturday night's event because he was also the recipient of the guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. In presenting the award, Buck Henry, who has frequently collaborated with Nichols, credited him with "enormous curiosity, far-ranging intelligence, a diet rich in fiber, a boundless affection for actors -- and some actresses. I firmly believe that he is just at the beginning of his amazing career." Nichols, currently filming "Closer" in England [Ed note: too bad he can't work with Emma again on Nanny], accepted the award by videotape and paid tribute to such mentors as Billy Wilder, William Wyler and George Stevens, calling them "my heroes." He added, "I'm still thrilled to be doing the same job they did." Christopher Misiano picked up the directing award for nighttime drama series for "25," an episode of NBC's "The West Wing," while Timothy M. Van Patten took home the comedy trophy for the "Boy Interrupted" episode of HBO's "Sex and the City." The winner for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary proved something of an upset with Nathaniel Kahn taking the prize for "My Architect," a portrait of his father, architect Louis Kahn. In the DGA competition it was up against such highly regarded docus as Sam Green and Bill Siegel's "The Weather Underground," Andrew Jarecki's "Capturing the Friedmans," Errol Morris' "The Fog of War" and Jose Padilha's "Bus 174." With the exception of "Bus 174," all the films are also competing in the current documentary Oscar race. Carl Reiner, adroitly serving as master of ceremonies for his 19th consecutive year, lent an air of spontaneity to the event, introducing a new element to the usual awards show thank-yous by allowing winners a "mulligan" so they could return to the stage to thank anyone they forgot in their initial remarks.

In the "Gimme a break and stop complaining category"... Weinstein: 'Cold' shunned because of location By Stuart Kemp and Scott Roxborough BERLIN -- Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said Thursday that he believes the low Oscar-nomination count for "Cold Mountain" was due in part to stories in the U.S. press attacking the moviemakers' decision to shoot it in Europe and not America. Weinstein, who jetted in to support the Anthony Minghella-directed Civil War story, which kicks off the Berlin International Film Festival, hinted that there had been a whispering campaign against the production because the filmmakers chose to shoot largely in lower-cost Romania rather than the United States. Said Weinstein: "I'm proud of 'Cold Mountain' being a European film. The movie has done $80 million at the U.S. boxoffice so far and is on its way to $100 million. But I think it (being shot in Romania) did hurt us with the Academy (voters)." Weinstein stopped short of calling it a boycott by voters but said negative press may have resulted in "a move to deny the movie awards." The film received seven Oscar nominations. Said Minghella: "There has been a reaction in America and a real campaign to stop movies leaving America to shoot." While Minghella said he understood the criticism, he defended his decision to shoot in Romania on economic terms. "It was a choice between making the movie (outside America) or not," he said. "We still spent nearly $20 million in the U.S." Weinstein also attacked what he called American "discrimination" against European films and cited an example of how few are seen in the United States. "We believe in European quotas because European movies are discriminated against in America," Weinstein said. "The major networks in America have not shown one single European movie in 25 years." The news conference saw Weinstein face down a question on why the movie's three principal stars -- Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger -- failed to travel for the evening's gala. He said Law and Zellweger are shooting movies in London, and Kidman had returned to Australia because of a "family situation." Weinstein said he had offered to buy out the production of "Closer," which Law is shooting, in order to secure the actor's presence in Berlin. "You know my reputation," Weinstein joked. "If I couldn't get them out (to Berlin), nobody could." He played down any suggestion that the stars weren't supporting the movie's European rollout, which begins Monday on a release tour of the continent's capitals. Law and Zellweger will be traveling with the film, while Kidman is gearing up to do satellite interviews upon her return to New York. Other attendees at the news conference included the movie's Philip Seymour Hoffman and Brendan Gleeson. ~~~~~~~~~ Did it never occur to him that five other films could be better?

The news conference saw Weinstein face down a question on why the movie's three principal stars -- Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger -- failed to travel for the evening's gala. Maybe Renee wasn't there for the gala, but I saw a photo of her on Yahoo this morning for a photocall in Berlin for the festival. Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said Thursday that he believes the low Oscar-nomination count for "Cold Mountain" was due in part to stories in the U.S. press attacking the moviemakers' decision to shoot it in Europe and not America. Weinstein stopped short of calling it a boycott by voters but said negative press may have resulted in "a move to deny the movie awards." I've heard it was the unions, not the press. But they still got some noms anyway. Weinstein, who jetted in to support the Anthony Minghella-directed Civil War story, which kicks off the Berlin International Film Festival, hinted that there had been a whispering campaign against the production because the filmmakers chose to shoot largely in lower-cost Romania rather than the United States. Whispering nuthin', email/letter campaign from what I've seen and heard. Peter Jackson took home the top honors for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film at the 56th annual DGA Awards Great! No one else deserves it more this year, IMO. Not saying it's my favorite movie, though heads above the other 2, but he more than deserved it. To film 3 movies, at one time, out of sequence, over the course of 5 years can't be beat.

Said Minghella: "There has been a reaction in America and a real campaign to stop movies leaving America to shoot." Best Picture nominees: LOTR - not made in the US Lost in Translation - not made in the US Master & Commander - not made in the US Mystic River - Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval Seabiscuit - All American as Apple Pie Award Weinstein also attacked what he called American "discrimination" against European films and cited an example of how few are seen in the United States. Talk about an idiotic argument by a man who will only drop two copies of foreign films in NY and LA most times. Can't see what you're not given the opportunity to see.

"Said Minghella: "There has been a reaction in America and a real campaign to stop movies leaving America to shoot." He's a bellyacher too. Surprised he didn't blame Bush. Can see why they're disappointed ,CM was my fave over the ones nominated. But what do I know? I see what I like.

Weinstein stopped short of calling it a boycott by voters but said negative press may have resulted in "a move to deny the movie awards." Last week he said the movie failed to get a best picture nod because it was released too late in the year and voters hadn't had a chance to see it. From now on, he said, nothing Oscar-bound goes out later than November. Now he goes to Berlin and changes his story to something that would appeal to the locals. Which is it, Harve? Be a man: there were five movies the voters liked better. The LOTR pics were financed with American studio money--yet no one complained that they were filmed in New Zealand, nor is anyone denying them awards because of it. Too bad the media covering the fest weren't savvy enough to call him on it. BTW, Renee flew in for one day, yesterday. Jude will make a command performance on Wednesday. Harvey always gets his way.

If I remember, for SIL only Colin showed up at the Berlin FF.

You're correct, Evelyn, CF represented SIL. Said Minghella: "There has been a reaction in America and a real campaign to stop movies leaving America to shoot." No shit. Just like there's a campaign in every other country to try to get US movies and TV shows to film there, and they even hand US studios fat tax breaks to do so. Everyone wants to see their people employed--their actors, craftspeople, etc.--plus they want the boom to their local economies--hotels, restaurants, support functions--that a big movie set brings in. Why is it wrong for Americans to want those same things?

(Mari)Harvey always gets his way. Was if for BJD London premiere that he flew Colin in from Rome?

Actually, that would've been Universal's transport, as it had intl distribution for BJD, as it does for TEOR too.

The Sydney Morning Herald - More Cold Mountain - This is cute: Movie violations By Maggie Alderson February 10, 2004 Okay, as we are fast approaching the Academy Awards season, here is a topical quiz: who won the Oscar last year for Best Make-up? What about the year before that? Or the one before that? Bet you don't know - I certainly don't. Which is wrong, because the right slap and hair makes an enormous difference on the big screen. It must do, because when it's bad, it can totally ruin a film. To wit, the movie version of I Capture the Castle (one of my top five all-time favourite books) was destroyed for me by the stupid red wig that Rose Byrne, the Australian actress playing Rose, was forced to wear. Likewise Hermione's ridiculous thatch in the Harry Potter films. The B-52's classic track Wigs was all I could think about when I watched those movies. (It goes like this: "What's that on your head? A wig. Wig! Wig! Wig!" And I make no apologies for mentioning it in this column for the second time. It is legendary.) The thing is, if a wig makes a person's head look as large as a kewpie doll's and if it has a telltale, hide-the-join fringe, a la Sir Elton, you can forget the subtleties and nuances of acting. All you can think is: Wig! Wig! Wig! Then, just last night, Cold Mountain was completely wrecked for me by Nicole Kidman's fingernails. Which was quite an achievement, considering that I am now so in love with Jude Law I might have to desert my family and devote the rest of my life to stalking him. The irony is that his hair and slap totally make the film. You thought he was a cutie as the clean-cut rich kid in The Talented Mr Ripley? Just wait till you see him down and dirty, scarred and bloody as a wounded Confederate soldier. Hoo-wee, pass my fan, Scarlett. You could smell the dirt and sweat on him and I'm first in the queue to... Oh, never mind. Anyway, so there's Jude looking thrillingly filthy, those sensitive pale blue eyes madly emoting out of his unshaven face (oh, God) and along comes Nicole with a perfect manicure and totally ruins the climax of the entire film. I won't destroy the plot for you, in case you haven't seen it yet, but it's fairly common knowledge that the story involves Ms Kidman - or Ada Monroe, as she is called in it - living off the land for several years to survive the American Civil War in a remote mountain settlement. So she's diggin' vegetables, milkin' cows, choppin' wood, killin' hogs, etc, with her bare hands. Yet, she has perfect nails - with top coat. Not much to eat up there in Cold Mountain during the killin' an' the fightin', but clearly an excellent supply of Jessica nail products. She already had me offside in the opening scenes for wearing copious amounts of eye shadow, eyebrow pencil and mascara, which I really don't think they went in for back in the 1860s. Especially not the refined daughters of preacher men. But it was the nails that really did me in. (Possibly, also, because they were touching Jude Law.) Funnily enough, her wigs weren't too distracting, and I liked the way that, even at the beginning, before the war, her hair was a bit flyaway and imperfect, so you got the idea that she - Ada, not Nicole - had done it herself. So what I don't understand is how could they get that right and the make-up so disastrously wrong? Especially as no other woman in the film seemed to be wearing it. The wonderful, wonderful Renee Zellweger looked like she had been sleeping with the hogs throughout the film and I sincerely hope she runs off with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Or at least Best Supporting Make-up. This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/09/1076175089417.html

Re: Minnie Driver Sweatshop article on CF topic...Driver says she wants corporate leaders to carefully consider their buying practices. Garment workers modeled clothes bearing large tags reading "Made in Cambodia ... by us ... US$0.25 per hour." I'm curious where those ugly pink boots of hers that she wore at Sundance came from. The irony is that his hair and slap totally make the film. You thought he was a cutie as the clean-cut rich kid in The Talented Mr Ripley? Just wait till you see him down and dirty, scarred and bloody as a wounded Confederate soldier. Hoo-wee, pass my fan, Scarlett. You could smell the dirt and sweat on him and I'm first in the queue to... I'm right there with her on this one. He was more attractive in the movie than onscreen to me. Like his hair darker and longer...and with stubble, not that full beard he had a lot. Thanks, Murph, that was cute.

You thought he was a cutie as the clean-cut rich kid in The Talented Mr Ripley? Sorry, but the sweaty Inman doesn't trump a Dickie Greenleaf lying on a beach chair, with a porkpie hat singing Americano, or looking mahvelous anytime else. ;-) ROFLOL Mary! I noticed Nicole's makeup (also thinking it not appropriate for a preacherman's daughter!), but didn't check out her perfect manicure. Must've been tough after killing those hogs with her bare hands. What a woman! ;-)

You'll never get my bloomers off, Mr Darcy - I'd rather do it myself Larushka Ivan-Zadeh enjoyed her Regency era reality TV show - once she had bared all Sunday February 8, 2004 The Observer Volunteers for Channel 4's Regency House Party, inspired by the house party at Netherfield in Pride and Prejudice, could apply to be 'an aspiring Miss Bennett' or 'a dashing Darcy'. For nine weeks we could be ourselves (this was reality TV after all) but must also be our 'Regency selves' - characters who must obey the morals and manners of the time. When I was picked to be part of this bizarre living novel I little realised how dashed difficult that might be. I entered Kentchurch Court, Herefordshire in modern garb - jeans, Converse trainers, waxed hair and vest top - and emerged in full costume as a Regency 'countess'. And I mean full costume. Jane Austen never mentioned knee-length split crotch bloomers, I thought crossly as I struggled to wrap the tapes around my corseted waist; then hyperventilated as I pulled up thigh-high wool stockings. In fact there was a lot Jane hadn't mentioned about Regency life - like the chamber pot in the corner of my boudoir. Luckily, wealthy Mr Everett spotted an advert in our weekly Regency Gazette (our one source of news) and purchased an antique (sorry, new-fangled) flushing loo. I was given a fictional biography based on the person I might have been 200 years ago. Since, on my father's side, I am descended from Russian nobility, I was to re-adopt my ancestral title and be known as 'Countess Griaznov'. She/I had apparently 'lived an exciting life despite my youth' and 'with the confidence of a titled lady' was 'fully aware that you can get away with breaking rules in a way which would cause a girl of less consequence to be dismissed from the house'. However, contrary to appearances, she/I was practically penniless due to my family's financial support of Tsar Alexander. It was imperative this 'shameful fact' remained a secret. Status dictated everything from seating at dinner to the thread count of bedsheets. And being top of the tree wasn't all larks. Since it was 'perfection of good breeding to know your place', hierarchy constrained friendships. Protocol forbade any women to walk alone (unless before breakfast), to interrupt a man, to wear make up, to show our teeth while smiling, to drink unless moderately at dinner, to loll, to smoke (particularly hard on Miss Hopkins who had a pack-a-day habit), to breathe too hard - the list went on. The narrow round of permitted activities: 'a walk around the corridor to view the portraits', needlework, pianoforte practice (to entertain the gentlemen in the evening) was hardly stimulating and quickly exhausted. Six modern independent girls slumped into a Regency lethargy. Relieved of all work and responsibility, most became little girlies who giggled over hot chocolate after lights out (11pm) while I found myself climbing trees like a tomboy. Our infantalising party frocks were more likely to tempt Mr Darcy to give us a balloon and a pat on the head than a proposal of marriage. A battalion of servants catered for our every whim, but after two listless, repressed weeks I wondered why on earth any sane woman would actually want to live in a Jane Austen novel. It felt to me that the only people having real fun at this 'party' were the gentlemen who lived inside a parallel Tom Jones universe of ale for breakfast and endless freedom. Since we were not meant to be alone with a man unchaperoned (though posies were placed on pillows, love notes passed via footmen) there were few opportunities to get to know them except at dinner. Almost by default they became romantically intriguing figures. We would gaze wistfully out from our gilded cage as they hawked by the Temple of Apollo or, for want of excitement, sneak behind bushes and watch them learn to wield sabres on horseback. But otherwise our two fictional lifestyles barely met. This was ridiculous, I thought, as I counted down the hours until dinner - I'd come to the Regency seeking escapism and adventure and it was time I found it. When a director suggested I recreate Lady Caroline Lamb's daring stunt of serving herself up naked as dessert at Lord Melbourne's birthday I barely hesitated. Until now the naughtiest thing I'd done in the House was sniff snuff with Miss Conick in the Billiard Room. As I lay on the candlelit dining table, my body covered only by sugar, fruits and the odd exotic peacock plume, I knew I'd leapt not just outside the restraints of Regency protocol but into the utterly fantastical life of 'countess'. From then on I demanded to do the fun stuff I'd only watched the gentlemen play at: pistol shooting, riding, and drinking Madeira. I rebelliously tanned myself and, disguised as a boy I learnt to sabre-fight. Gossip items appeared about me in our Regency newspapers. It was strangely exhilarating, like being the heroine of my own novel. Of course, no woman really controlled her life story in the Regency. Not least because one in three women died in childbirth. 'Marriage', as my character profile had told me from the start, 'is the only honourable career open to a lady, the only means by which she can increase her wealth.' At 27, my impoverished countess was 'only too aware of the fact that a woman of nine and twenty left unwed can never hope to feel or inspire affection again'. So much for storybook escapism. From the first I'd seen 'countess' mainly as my Modesty Blaise alter ego. Nine weeks on, and faced with a final round of match-making, she stood before me as a real Regency woman who desperately needed to marry money before her poverty was 'exposed' in the national press. Did I live happily ever after? You'll just have to wait and see. � Regency House Party starts on C4 on 14 Feb.

Karen says: Sorry, but the sweaty Inman doesn't trump a Dickie Greenleaf lying on a beach chair, with a porkpie hat singing Americano, or looking mahvelous anytime else. ;-) I agree. Dickie Greenleaf was sublime. I listened to the Ripley sound track again the other day. He and Matt had such fun with Americano. I imagine his upcoming role in Closer will give him a chance to be cute - and raunchy!

Top ASC nod to Schwartzman By Sheigh Crabtree Thanks for the article about Regency House. Wonder if they ladies were told about wetting down their bodices? ;-) ************ Now this was is rather surprising... "Seabiscuit" director of photography John Schwartzman found himself in the winner's circle at the 18th annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards gala Sunday night at the Century Plaza Hotel. Schwartzman, ASC nominated for "Pearl Harbor" in 2002, was one of two American DPs along with John Toll ("The Last Samurai"), nominated in a five-film race that included three Australians: Russell Boyd for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," Andrew Lesnie for New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," and John Seale for Miramax's "Cold Mountain."

Karen says: Sorry, but the sweaty Inman doesn't trump a Dickie Greenleaf lying on a beach chair, with a porkpie hat singing Americano, or looking mahvelous anytime else. ;-) Yeah, he was gorgeous in TMR (and in every other film he's made including W), but IMHO, shallow Dickie doesn't hold a candle to honorable Inman. JL's portrayals of both were perfection, but there was so much more to Inman for him to capture - and he did in every sweaty, bearded scene;)

Shall we take the debate over "shallowness" and other character flaws over to Jude's topic? ;-) http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/drool/144/new

Don't know if anyone from UK has posted here about "Angels in America" which we had this weekend past. You all had it early Dec. right? I was glued to the video and then the tape ran out boo hoo :-(( Anyone tell me how it ended after Harper was on the plane chasing the moon across America? Guess I only missed a few minutes. Thanks.

Personal view - Kudos to them! From Movie City News: Statement Re: Tape Delay From AMPAS President Frank Pierson At their February 3 Board meeting, the Academy governors considered a request from the ABC network to impose a five-second delay on the telecast of the 76th Academy Awards that would allow the network to delete unscripted and objectionable language from the show. The Academy Awards have never been subject to a tape-delay, and in fact have a 50-year track record of maintaining high standards of taste and decorum. The governors found themselves balancing a pair of crucial concerns. Even a very brief tape-delay introduces a form of censorship into the broadcast - not direct governmental control, but it means that a network representative is in effect guessing at what a government might tolerate, which can be even worse. There was also a concern about just how slippery a slope the Academy might be setting its foot on. This year's five-second delay would be aimed at individual words. Once the principle of a delay has been accepted though, how much broader a scope might be sought in subsequent years, and how long before not only words, but ideas become subject to deletion? The First Amendment concerns were weighed against the Academy's own longstanding objective of offering a tasteful, sophisticated event which parents can encourage their children to watch without concerns about elements of coarseness. The threat of massive fines of dubious legality present ABC with a serious financial, legal and moral dilemma, and we're sympathetic with them. But our resolve is absolute. A "live" show is either alive or not. Free speech is free or it is not. Viewers are free to use their remote or Tivo. Parents are responsible or they are not. The Academy has no contractual ability to refuse the network's decision to bow to government pressure. But we cannot endorse a delay. We will present the show live, a celebration of achievement, with a little glitz, a little glamour, as always. If it comes with a bleep, we are all losers.

But it seems.... Oscar Delay Won't Deter Political Remarks 1 hour, 24 minutes ago By ANTHONY BREZNICAN, AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES - The producer and director of the upcoming Oscar telecast said the ABC's 5-second delay will be used to shield viewers from any unlikely profanity or nudity � but will not interfere with any political statements winners may make. The safeguard measure for the Academy Awards (news - web sites) is the latest fallout from the uproar over Janet Jackson (news)'s breast-baring Super Bowl performance, which has provoked an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites). "At the nominees luncheon yesterday, I spoke with the nominees and just said that, when they come up, they're all under this microscope, unfortunately, because of these events a couple weeks ago," Oscar telecast producer Joe Roth told reporters Tuesday. Asked if the delay could be used to block political statements � like documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (news)'s scathing criticism last year of President Bush (news - web sites), which drew both cheers and boos from the theater audience � Roth responded: "No, it applies to the use of profanity." The producer, who's head of Revolution Studios, said he wants to encourage a sense of freedom and spontaneity � as long as winners are interesting and generally wholesome, he won't seek to interrupt their speeches. ABC always maintains a watch over its live events, said Oscar telecast director Louis J. Horvitz, who has worked on the show eight times previously. "ABC standards-and-practices has always gone out on the red carpet and looked at the gowns the women are wearing and I'm sure if a guy's coming in with a jock strap they might say something, like `When you photograph him on his entrance would you do a waist(-up) shot," Horvitz joked. But it's happened before. In 1974, David Niven (news)'s Oscar introduction of Elizabeth Taylor (news) was suddenly interrupted as a naked trespasser flashing a peace sign raced past him onstage. Niven famously quipped to the audience: "Just think, the only laugh that man will probably ever get is for stripping and showing off his shortcomings." More innocently, sometimes an actress shows up in a dress that becomes see-through in the bright stage lights � which is what happened to an embarrassed Meryl Streep (news) at the recent Golden Globe Awards (news - web sites). Horvitz said he can deal with that through tighter close-ups or adjusted lighting without cutting or blocking the image. The Academy Awards are set for broadcast from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Feb. 29. Billy Crystal (news) has signed on as host.

Wasn't this one of the projects that was broughtup briefly just a few weeks ago as one that maybe Colin could do, until Hola said Dennis Quaid was set? Look who he would have had the pleasure of working with again. ;-) Selma Blair, David Paymer Find 'Synergy' in Comedy Wed Feb 11, 3:59 AM ET By Borys Kit LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Selma Blair (news), Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall (news) and David Paymer have signed on to appear in "Synergy," a comedy from "American Pie" filmmakers the Weitz brothers. The Universal Pictures project follows the uneasy relationship between a 50-year-old businessman (Dennis Quaid (news)) and his new 26-year-old boss (Topher Grace (news)). The younger boss is having an affair with the older man's daughter (Scarlett Johansson (news)). Blair will play Grace's unhappy wife, whom he has just wed, while Gregg will appear as Grace's boss, who wants Quaid fired. Hall portrays the head of an auto-supply chain that Quaid is trying to get as a client, while Paymer has been set as Quaid's co-worker, who has his own set of insecurities. Paul Weitz will direct from his script, with Chris Weitz handling producing chores. Blair, who recently wed Ahmet Zappa, next appears in "Hellboy." Her other credits include "The Sweetest Thing" and "Cruel Intentions." Gregg's recent credits include "State and Main," "We Were Soldiers" and "Lovely & Amazing." He also wrote "What Lies Beneath." Hall's numerous credits include "Bruce Almighty," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights." Paymer is appearing as a mobster in ABC's "Line of Fire" and will make his television directorial debut on an upcoming episode of "Everwood." Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Thanks for the articles are the Oscar broadcast in the wake of Nipplegate. Idiocy, udder idiocy. ;-) Glad they voted against a delay. Excellent article in this week's Time, entitled The Hypocrisy Bowl. (Dorine) Look who he would have had the pleasure of working with again. ;-) That was another indication to me that he *wouldn't* be in this.

Glad they voted against a delay But ABC has the final word, and from the article Dorine posted, they're going with the delay. What a craven bunch. I hope Billy Crystal rips them to shreds. I personally don't know anyone who gives a damn about JJ's boob. And shame on the media for giving it all this attention--which is, of course, exactly why she did it in the first place. The need to fill news network airtime 24/7 is partly to blame.

(Mari) I hope Billy Crystal rips them to shreds. Yes, another thing to look forward to. ;-) Perhaps by the time of the telecast, ABC will have backed off. I liked the statement they made. (Mari) And shame on the media for giving it all this attention And bigger shame on the government for wasting my tax dollars investigating this. Here's the Time article: The Hypocrisy Bowl A sunburst exposes the game's sex-sells ethos. Let the bogus outrage and culture wars begin! By JAMES PONIEWOZIK It was meant to be a super Sunday like any other. About 143 million people gathered to enjoy a wholesome evening of giant men knocking the living hell out of one another, cheered on by busty dancing women in skimpy uniforms, with occasional messages from crude talking animals entreating them to buy intoxicants. Instead, something offensive happened. In a jaw-dropping denouement to the MTV-produced halftime show, Justin Timberlake sang, "I gotta have you naked by the end of this song," reached across Janet Jackson's black leather bustier and exposed � well, yes. But he exposed more than that. What the Super Bowl incident (Nipplegate? Boobytrap? The Tempest in a C Cup?) also revealed was the hypocrisies of the entertainment and sports industries, the commercial culture and even the viewing public. After what Timberlake euphemized with the NASA-like "wardrobe malfunction," the accusations flew like flags on a late hit. The NFL blamed CBS and MTV. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blamed the networks not just for the "reveal" but also for a halftime show that included rapper Nelly grabbing his crotch and sexual grinding between Timberlake and Jackson. The networks blamed Jackson, who said she cooked up the stunt at the last minute. Nonetheless, after the game the MTV website crowed that "fans of Janet Jackson and her pasties were definitely in the right place." (Actually, Jackson's right breast was adorned by a metal "nipple shield," the event's other gift to the lexicon.) Jackson apologized but blamed her outfit; she said it was supposed to reveal a red bra, which "collapsed." The defenseless undergarment, alas, could not speak up for itself. The league said, however, that it had concerns about the tone of the show, and Timberlake's song, that MTV never addressed. "MTV did not live up to their end of the deal," said NFL executive vice president Joe Browne. "They told us, 'We'll address your concerns,' and then things never changed." But MTV Networks chairman and CEO Tom Freston said the league and the networks together reviewed the songs, costumes and choreography. He noted that MTV also produced the halftime show three years ago. "If you go back and look," he said, "you'll see the artists doing similar types of music with similar choreography. You even have guys in 'N Sync doing crotch grabbing. But none of it fell under the microscope." (CBS executives refused requests to speak for this story.) MTV can make a case that the show, minus the pop-out, was not beyond the pale for TV. Just look how far MTV has moved the pale. At its Video Music Awards (V.M.A.), rapper Lil' Kim has sported a pastie-accessorized outfit that showed no less than Jackson, while Britney Spears has stripped down to a flesh-colored body stocking and has kissed Madonna on her publicity-hungry lips. And MTV has what CBS and the NFL want badly: young, especially young male, viewers. The Super Bowl fiasco showed how tough it is to assemble a giant mainstream spectacle for today's niched audience. Even the audience reaction ranged from deep offense to bemusement. Bill Cleaver, of Pittsboro, N.C., watched the performance with his wife Julia and their daughter Annie, 10. "I'm not a Boy Scout," he said, "but I know in public what is appropriate manners and what is vulgarity." Then again, TiVo, the digital-video-recorder maker, said the event was the most replayed ever among its users. In a TIME/CNN poll, 47% of respondents said the incident marked "a new low in bad taste"; yet 68% said the government should not fine CBS. Attempting to please a torn audience has put all the big networks through growing, or rather shrinking, pains. Under fire from conservatives, CBS last year canceled its mini-series The Reagans, although it claimed the cancellation was not caused by the pressure. This, combined with the network's apparent quid pro quo offer to Jessica Lynch � a host of Viacom deals in exchan e for her story of capture in Iraq � and reports of a similar offer to obtain a Michael Jackson interview, has put CBS's credibility at a low point. But you can't eat credibility, and CBS is the most watched network on TV largely because it has rejuvenated its audience with edgier shows. Survivor is MTV's The Real World redone as a game show, and 33 million people watched the post � Super Bowl debut of Survivor: All-Stars, with the return of player Richard Hatch, who spent much of the episode nude (albeit pixelated). CSI, TV's most popular drama, may be the goriest show in broadcast. So what's a ratings-greedy mogul to do? The answer, say some TV insiders: Be very afraid. The scandal awakened the FCC, which had been lenient on both standards and corporate consolidation under chairman Michael Powell but announced an investigation into the halftime show. This week House and Senate committees will hold hearings on broadcast decency. So the story swung from action (video delays instituted on the Grammy and Oscar ceremonies) to overreaction. Under pressure from affiliates, NBC cut a scene from Thursday's ER that briefly showed the breast of an 80-year-old heart-attack patient. "I think our viewers are intelligent enough to make their own decision as to whether their children should watch or not," complained executive producer John Wells. Hollywood is a favorite target in election years (in '92, Dan Quayle vs. Murphy Brown; in '96, Bob Dole vs. Ice-T; in 2000, Joseph Lieberman vs. Eminem). But some in the industry cheer the Super Bowl investigation. "I think everybody should be fined," said Vin di Bona, executive producer of Americ 's Funniest Home Videos. "The networks, the artists, and if you really want to clean it up, fine the local broadcasters." The government's investigating a one-second flash as though it were the Iran-contra scandal does seem a bit preposterous. Whatever is turned up, the crimes were committed long before, and by many hands. The NFL, for instance, has not exactly been dainty in courting those vaunted 18-to-34-year-old men; before the indecent exposure, it was parading the bodacious Coors Light twins like game trophies. If the league has expressed any reservations about the sponsors' objectifying messages, it has been hard to hear them. (Asked about the beer-ad and cheerleader culture, NFL'S Browne demurred, "Let's stay on the halftime.") And if the NFL knew what it was getting � and wanted � from MTV, the music network's corporate sib CBS has even less reason to be shocked, shocked. MTV's defense is that it was betrayed by an attention-seeking artist looking to jump-start her career. But MTV is a prime mover in a celebrity culture in which young female singers and actresses, however accomplished, increasingly have to go near-naked � on the V.M.A.s, in videos, on the covers of Maxim, Stuff and FHM � if they want to keep their CDs moving, their ratings up and their movies packed. Now MTV says it got played? It helped invent the game. Meanwhile, some of MTV's culture-warrior critics are eager to leverage public outrage to push their own agendas. "This is going to change things � finally," said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, a conservative Ohio advocacy group. The Parents Television Council called on the FCC to fine NBC affiliates if they ran the uncut ER episode. "American families," said council president Brent Bozell, "are disgusted by this unnecessary nudity on broadcast television." They are? ER ran an episode last October that included an elderly woman's breasts � and reran it the week before the Super Bowl � without a public outcry. Back in 1977, ABC aired bare breasts in the classic mini-series Roots. The Jackson stunt was juvenile, but so is the all-boobies-are-dirty equivalence. (Not to mention the silly anatomical parsing it leads to: Are nipples seen through an Oscars gown O.K.? Nipples covered by metal? Bottom of breast? Side?) The message from the TV industry's critics resonates with parents who feel attacked by pop culture's sexuality and are concerned about raising kids with appropriate values. But one such value is accepting personal responsibility. To have seen the ambush-by-mammary, you had to have sat through the entire, supposedly not-fit-for-families halftime show. Argues TV producer David Salzman: "It's like being a pacifist and complaining when you watch a World Wrestling Entertainment event." That didn't stop a Knoxville, Tenn., lawyer from filing a class action on behalf of Super Bowl viewers, claiming "outrage" and "serious injury." From lunging to avoid Jackson's nipple? We spent too much time last week talking about the what of the "malfunction" and relatively little about the how. Even at MTV's risque V.M.A. shows, the naughty acts usually involve women artists taking off their own clothesthat is, controlling their sexuality. Jackson's flashing was not, despite press descriptions, a "striptease." It was Timberlake ripping off her cup and exposing a breast to hang out like a chuck roast as she cowered in real or feigned shame. It wasn't erotic; it was violent. It wasn't adult; it was preadolescent. It wasn't sexual; it was a choreographed sexual assault. Two microns of red lace over Jackson's areola wouldn't have made that any better. That's the thing about obscenity: you can't find it on an anatomical chart. It's about context and tone, a subtle and very subjective judgment. Arguably, Jackson's lightning flash was no more offensive than several ads that ran during the Super Bowl and focused on humiliation, especially sexual humiliation, especially of women. In spots for Bud Light, a woman on a date was farted on by a horse; another was hit on by a horny monkey. Is this kind of TV crudity going to wane after the Jackson incident? Absolutely. Just as surely as Columbine ended screen violence, the Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? scandal finished reality TV and the Sept. 11 attacks killed irony. Betting against the transgressiveness of pop culture is like shorting the market: you may be right for a period, but over time you will lose. Even if the FCC does leash the big networks meaningfully � a long shot � viewers remain free to go to cable. "It's acceptable for Tiger Woods to curse on ESPN," notes NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker, "but not on NBC at the same golf tournament." If the viewers go, the ratings pressures will return. And with them? Bring on the bursting corsets! In a way, Justin and Janet did us a favor. They spelled out the subtext of the game and its surrounding culture. A culture that tells young men they can't formulate a thought deeper than "Show us your tits." A culture that pushes young women to put out for the market, then ridicules them when they do. A culture swinging between cynical sex-sells greed and moral parentalism. A culture obsessed by, and terrified of, a human organ that gives sustenance to babies. And a culture that apparently can't tell the difference between contextually appropriate nudity and a rape fantasy. By the end of Jackson and Timberlake's song, that culture was naked.

" And if the NFL knew what it was getting ? and wanted ? from MTV, the music network's corporate sib CBS has even less reason to be shocked,.. Truer words have never been spoken... Let's face it.."coarseness" is in. And we all stand by and applaud it.

'Master and Commander' Wins British Critics' Awards LONDON (Reuters) - "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" sailed to victory at the London Film Critics' Circle awards Wednesday, beating Oscar favorite "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" to the best film title. The sea-faring tale also scooped prizes for Paul Bettany (news) as best British actor, and for John Collee and Peter Weir (news) as best screenwriters. "The British are an island race, which is probably why 'Master and Commander', a rip roaring tale of life at sea in the age of sail, swept the board in our awards," said William Russell, chairman of the Critics' Circle. Just days before Sunday's Baftas, known as the British Oscars (news - web sites), the Americans also scored well, with Clint Eastwood (news) taking the best director accolade and Sean Penn (news) named best actor for U.S. murder story "Mystic River." British romance "Love Actually" took some honors with Emma Thompson (news) winning best British actress in a supporting role and Bill Nighy scooping best British actor in a supporting role. But despite being tipped for Oscar glory after winning four U.S. Golden Globe awards (news - web sites) last month, the final installment of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was overlooked by the 100 British critics who make up the Critics' Circle.

I'm good today..... Move from 187 (Karen)"Smut," of course. ;-) For filth (I'm glad to say) is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, Everything is lewd. (I could tell you things about Peter Pan, And the Wizard of Oz, there's a dirty old man!) LOL! and I thought it was gonna be: Everybody Eat (?) Everybody eat! Every niece and every nephew even if you're deaf you'll hear them digest. Kiddie's by the dozen from local zoos Someone's second cousin but god knows whose. Everybody feed For example there's an uncle who when he's drunk'll be a real pest. And cousin Julia is actin' childish to put it mildish. Hey you kids I don't know who just did that but it's gross Then Al begins to smoke and tells a dirty joke when Grandma's comatose. Oh everybody's swill. And put up with uncle Gordon video recordin' everyone here. Now they've all gone away And we're so happy to say They won't be back for a year. But I love Smut and New Math. Wish he would make a comeback!

For those of you who were highly impressed by Oliver James, Colin's soccer-watching buddy in WAGW, you might be interested to know what he's up to. His next movie is with another teen queen, Amanda Bynes' rival Hilary Duff, in Heart of Summer, currently in production. It's set in a performing arts high school, so he'll probably play a similar character, romancing the teen girl and singing. Guess he's found a very lucrative niche.

Poor guy. He'll be stuck in that muck. He's got more talent than that ...like YKW.

And both of them look good on a motorbike.

Poor guy. He'll be stuck in that muck. Oliver is an unknown actor to anyone who hasn't seen WAGW, his first and only significant professional job. Whether he can go beyond being the "cute guy in a Hillary Duff/Amanda Bynes film" remains to be seen, but at this point in his career the main thing is to be given the opportunity to show his stuff. I was beginning to think he wasn't going anywhere at all, but this is a big boost for his career. Not every actor can have Another Country as a springboard. Even Johnny Depp started in 21 Jump Street, and he didn't too badly...

Another British crime drama starts tonight on A&E. They're calling it "With Malice," but I gathered it aired in the UK as "M.I.T." (Murder Investigation Team). Not much on the A&E website, but here's info: http://www.memorabletv.com/onthebox/profiles/mit.htm

FYI Oliver James has appeared with the RSC. There are greater things in an actor's life than appearing in a Hilary Duff movie. But I bow to your conclusions. What do I know?

(Evelyn) FYI Oliver James has appeared with the RSC. Really? I didn't know that. I thought he was on the verge of becoming a member of an N'Synch-type band when Dennie auditioned him (not that he couldn't have done RSC, too). Thought that was all he'd done. Didn't memorize his bio. (Katty) WAGW, his first and only significant professional job. For semantics sake.... his first and only significant professional *film* job. Maybe that's more accurate. (Evelyn) There are greater things in an actor's life than appearing in a Hilary Duff movie. True, except when you are a young actor aspiring to filmdom and wanting mass exposure. I thought it was a smart move. Her movies aren't *that* bad. But they are high profile.

From the Telegraph: Another string to his bow - Mendes turns impresario By Nigel Reynolds Filed: 13/02/2004 Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning darling of the London theatre, unveiled a new identity yesterday - as a big-time impresario. In a deal thought to be unique in British entertainment, the man who brought a naked Nicole Kidman to the stage and then won a directing Oscar for his debut film, American Beauty, announced that he is to start a new company producing both films and theatre shows. His ambitious first slate includes seven film projects, almost a dozen plays and a big-budget musical. A film of the Sondheim stage musical Sweeney Todd and, in a neat reverse, a stage musical of the hit film Shrek are among the projects. Mendes, 38, who made his name running the small Donmar Warehouse theatre in London and whose career is closely followed on both sides of the Atlantic, has been unwilling to be pigeon-holed as a theatre director, a Hollywood director or a producer. His new London-based company, Scamp, will allow him to combine all three roles and it has high-powered backing. DreamWorks, the Hollywood studio founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, has a first-look deal for all of Scamp's film productions. Mendes, married to the actress Kate Winslet and now a father, will direct both for the theatre and cinema but, almost a year on from his last project, a Broadway revival of Gypsy, he is keeping his cards close to his chest about his next task. He is likely to direct only a handful of the projects announced yesterday but bring in others to do the job. Caro Newling, a director of Scamp, said: "Sam is a rare bird and producing has always been something he has done. He's great at it and enjoys the collaboration. "Lots of people assume that he's run off to Hollywood and is not doing theatre any more. But he's passionate about both, he wants to do both and he doesn't want to go off and become a jobbing freelance director." Variety will be the name of Mendes's game. The films will be co-productions in Britain or America; some plays will be new commissions, others revivals and they may be staged on either side of the Atlantic. Among the films are The Kite Runner, a story about two childhood friends set against the background of Afghanistan, based on a novel by Khaled Hosseine; Lifestory, about the race to discover DNA, to be written by William Nicholson and directed by David Yates; Tom Fool, a thriller about the adventures of a 17th century court jester written by Tim Firth, who wrote Calendar Girls; and a Second World War spy thriller by Peter Moffat, writer of the BBC television series Cambridge Spies. The theatre projects include Edward Hall directing the first London revival of Howard Brenton and David Hare's Pravda; the UK premiere of Anna in the Tropics, Nilo Cruz's 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning play; a stage adaptation of the 1942 Ernst Lubitsch film To Be Or Not To Be, a comedy about a ramshackle theatre troupe who outwit the Nazis; a new Owen McCafferty version of J P Miller's play Days of Wine and Roses; Katie Mtchell directing Macbeth; and a new play by Heidi Thomas (who adapted I Capture the Castle for television) about the Russian royal family's last days before their assassination. Producers on Broadway have made the unusual announcement that Sam Mendes's �5.6 million revival of the musical Gypsy is to be reprieved. They had previously said it would close this month. In the interim, ticket sales have picked up and cast and crew have agreed salary cuts.

Thanks, Karen. Sounds like some interesting projects on his plate. UK premiere of Anna in the Tropics Hope it does better there than here. Producers on Broadway have made the unusual announcement that Sam Mendes's �5.6 million revival of the musical Gypsy is to be reprieved Through May 20, so far, if anyone's coming to NY to catch shows.

I think this pretty well answers the question on some people's minds: Host of stars set for Orange Baftas A host of stars are set to attend The Orange British Academy Film Awards in London on Sunday night. Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen and director Peter Jackson are among the celebrities who will be at the awards in Leicester Square. Love Actually writer and Director Richard Curtis will also be at the awards where he'll be joined by two of the stars of the film - Emma Thompson and Bill Nighy. Also attending the event at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square will be Paul Bettany, Benicio Del Torro, Jude Law and double nominee Scarlett Johansson. Renee Zellweger, nominated in the Best Supporting Actress role for Cold Mountain, is also due to attend. Uma Thurman, Tim Burton and Holly Hunter are also confirmed for the awards ceremony. The Orange British Academy Film Awards, which is being hosted by Stephen Fry, will be shown on BBC1 at 9pm.

From my friend Gill (Is Colin not in the country?): Got this off a media related message board so can't say whether it's totally true, but look like at least one of your lads will show up this year. Hosted by Stephen Fry, nominees confirmed to attend include: Paul Bettany, Tim Burton, Sofia Coppola, Richard Curtis, Benicio Del Toro, Holly Hunter, Peter Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jude Law, Laura Linney, Sir Ian McKellan, Anthony Minghella, Bill Nighy, Judy Parfitt, Anne Reid, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Peter Webber, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger. Confirmed citation readers for Sunday's ceremony include: Pedro Almodovar, Lord Attenborough, Helena Bonham Carter, Billy Boyd, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Isaacs, Val Kilmer, LL Cool J, Thandie Newton, Clive Owen, Joely Richardson, Miranda Richardson, Dougray Scott, Alicia Silverstone, Patrick Stewart, Jon Voight, and Olivia Williams.

FYI: For those without BBC America, the Baftas will be shown on Monday morning (8:30amish) on E! But from what I remember of two years ago, E! will edit the program and you won't see all the categories, just the main ones. I think they did a little montage bit with the winners of the lesser awards (hair & makeup, etc.)

BBC America has a one-hour red carpet show starting at 7 PM, Eastern time, on Sunday. So who's England's answer to Joan Rivers? ;-) Also, despite their bizarre claims of "live" coverage, the BBCA show starts at 8, so it could not possibly be live,. Then again, I hear it's not being shown live in Britain either. Just a heads up to stay away fomr your computer if you don't want to know the winners in advance. (Murph)Is Colin not in the country?) He's not out of the country, he's just out to lunch. :-( Some cool casting news for Nip/Tuck fans: Joely R's mom, Vanessa Redgrave of course, will do three episodes next season, playing . . . Joely's mom. She comes to Miami to get a facelift performed by Sean, but there are complications. New season starts in June.

(Dorine)Hope it does better there than here. It opened in Princeton about a month before it went on to NY-same cast-terrible reviews. Thanks for the BAFTA news. I'm quite put out;-(

(Mari)Also, despite their bizarre claims of "live" coverage, the BBCA show starts at 8, so it could not possibly be live,. Then again, I hear it's not being shown live in Britain either. Just a heads up to stay away fomr your computer if you don't want to know the winners in advance. I checked my Directv magazine yesterday and it's listed to show Baftas on Sunday at 4:00 pm to 6:00 and again from 8:00 to 10:00.

Did anyone catch With Malice last night? I turned it off after 20 minutes. I thought the characters were very cold. I know it was the nature of the show, but I felt as though I had no reason to care about them or their work. I'm enjoying Wire in the Blood series on BBC America much more. I tune in to that each week for both the characters and the story.

WAGW, his first and only significant professional job. FYI Oliver James has appeared with the RSC. Oliver only had minor work in plays, commercials, tv, and a newly-forming boy band, so that movie WAS his first big break of any kind. He himself said "I'd done t.v. spots but nothing noticeable, just back in the U.K. My background is in stage really. I trained at an acting school and then when I left I'd done a few commercials and stuff but mainly in theater. Not huge jobs in theater but just kind of learning my craft." (http://www.oliver-james.net/articles/article040403b.html) Denny Gordon talks about "discovering" him. So basically he made a big leap from being a virtual unknown. Anyway, at least he has a chance to be seen again by millions of people and show his stuff, even if it is in the shadow of the latest teen queen. The vast majority of aspiring actors never get that chance, and he's getting it twice already.

(Mari) Also, despite their bizarre claims of "live" coverage, the BBCA show starts at 8. (Beedee) I checked my Directv magazine yesterday and it's listed to show Baftas on Sunday at 4:00 pm to 6:00 and again from 8:00 to 10:00. I'll be watching the live feed starting at 3:30ET at the BAFTA party. BAFTA-LA must be on @ 12:30 PT. I wonder why 4. And I wonder why they don't show it live in the UK. Jason Isaacs, Clive Owen, Dougray Scott, Nice consolation prizes! ;-)

(Beedee) I checked my Directv magazine yesterday and it's listed to show Baftas on Sunday at 4:00 pm to 6:00 and again from 8:00 to 10:00. (Dorine)I'll be watching the live feed starting at 3:30ET at the BAFTA party Thanks, ladies. Neither can be "live" though because that would mean the show doesn't start until 8:30 PM or 9 PM in London--and I believe their website says 6:30. I think in this case "live" really means simultaneous with the BBC broadcast--which isn't live, it's delayed 2 hours. Gah, am so confused . . .;-)

This is from empireonline: Two Hour Delay For BAFTAs If you don't want to know who's won - look away now 11 February 2004 UK film fans are once again being given short shrift when it comes to the televising of the BAFTAs. Although the British Academy Awards are widely regarded as the UK's most prestigious movie event, for the second year running they will only be shown on TV once the live ceremony is over. This will, of course, allow film fans to find out who the winners are before the television show commences. The event, which kicks off at the Odeon Leicester Square on Sunday evening at 6.30pm, will only be broadcast in edited form on the BBC at 9.00pm � with a break for the news. Given the American Academy's outrage at a measly five-second delay between The Oscars and its broadcast transmission on ABC, it's amazing that the British have put up with this with nary a whimper. And while the BBC won't be revealing the winners on its own 10-o'clock News, which cuts into the televised ceremony, any fool with a remote control or access to the internet will be able to either switch channels or go online to find out who's won. 'It's the best possible scheduling,' a BBC spokesperson told Empire Online, blithely unbothered that knowing the results in advance would take all of the suspense away from the show. Rant aside, it promises to be another brilliant year for the BAFTAs, with a large number of stars flying over to London for the event. Confirmed attendees include Uma Thurman, Scarlett Johansson, Naomi Watts and Jon Voight. And that's just for starters. Anyone wanting a glimpse of the stars should be heading down to Leicester Square to secure their patch roughly � er � now. Coverage On The Night As you've come to expect, Empire Online will be there on the red carpet this Sunday night, communing with the Hollywood massive and chinwagging with Britain's finest. We'll be bringing you the winners as soon they're announced (which of course you'll have to ignore if you're planning on watching the show), and we'll have a full review on the ceremony up on the site later that evening.

The OC (my guilty pleasure) comes to the UK (brief Colin mention in there): The future's Orange County The hottest show in the US is the teenage-obsessed OC. It will be the new Sex and the City, says Hadley Freeman Friday February 13, 2004 - The Guardian Nature may well abhor a vacuum, but not as desperately, I would wager, as do television schedulers. Following the announcement of the demise of the publicity-friendly Sex and the City, "the new Sex and the City" became the TV producer's favourite cliche. Any new show in which one or more of the characters mentioned sex (cue Kenneth Williams' pursed lips) or wore something more adventurous than a hooded Gap top was immediately deemed to merit this much sought after crown. Contenders included The Mind of a Married Man (aka Sex, Lies and Misogyny) and Miss Match (aka What Clueless's Alicia Silverstone Tentatively Did Next). But all this misses the point of what made the original programme such fun: despite its title, it was not the sex, nor, for that matter, the endless, adoring shots of Manhattan - both of these have long been supplied by the film industry. Rather, it was the show's shameless trashiness (only 80s movies starring Judd Nelson had cheesier soundtracks and close-ups) combined with its understanding of the meaning that overly style-conscious women (and men) attach to fashion. Thus Samantha's bold and blowsy Matthew Williamson and Ungaro equals her less uptight American, more easy-going European approach to relationships and sex, and the disastrous afternoon when Carrie ran into her ex's new wife in the Marni changing room equals ultimate humiliation as she realises that she will not even have a better outfit than the Stick Insect. Now, though, a proper new Sex and the City is about to arrive (and yes, ma'am, that is a trumpet fanfare you hear in the background). The OC is not, despite what its name suggests, another hospital drama, but an abbreviation for California's Orange County, and it is a truly worthy pretender to the throne. Ryan is a kid "from the wrong side of the tracks" - so wrong, in fact, that it is called "Chino". "Uh, Chino?" sneers one of his new snotty friends on learning of Ryan's human stain. "Ewww!"And frankly, who can blame her? He is adopted by an "idealistic public defender", taken back to his new luxurious house where he is not, surprisingly, forced to work as a rent boy, but where, to quote the press release, "nothing is quite what it seems" (in other words, the rich kids all take drugs and stay out late and the parents exchange meaningful glances with people other than their spouses). Oh my lord, it is Fresh Prince of Bel Air meets Melrose Place in one glorious package. It is the kind of programme in which teenagers say, "We're from different worlds", without even a smidgen of Dawson's Creek-style irony or self-analysis (thank God). As for the fashion, the first episode revolves around a charity fashion show and the trials such events entail: "What are you doing putting my daughter in Calvin Klein? She was supposed to be in Vera Wang!" wails one mother. Ah yes: the old dilemma: is fashion self-obsessive or just a bit of fun? The show's basic take is that it is only the former when fashion love tips over into vanity, such as when one mother solemnly asks her pre-pubescent daughter, "Do you like my hair this straight or is it too Avril Lavigne?" All a far cry from carefree Carrie tripping about in head-to-toe Chanel. Admittedly, The OC's decidedly West Coast approach to fashion (cropped tops, micro-minis, beaded flip-flops) might be problematic, temperature-wise, for British fans to copy but, heck, we are the country that tricked out Topshop versions of Oscar de la Renta couture and Dior saddlebags. Set in California, as the theme tune pointedly reminds us, the emphasis is on bare shoulders and tummies that are flatter than the Midlands, as opposed to Sex and the City's pinched waists and perfect pedicures. There is much smoking of odd-smelling substances, but little of tobacco, and a wholesale disinterest in trying to be - say it with me - the new Sex and the City, and, as all fashion-followers know, those who try too hard are doomed to fail. But, most importantly, the show is fantastically timely. The emphasis is decidedly on the under 18s, just as the current focus in Hollywood and on the radiowaves is, too. After belatedly rediscovering the power of the youth market in the wake of the success of American Pie, it is tempting to think that this is the only market that American film producers are interested in, judging by the focus on the likes of Ashton Kutcher (25), Kirsten Dunst (21), Jake (23) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (26), Eva Green (23), Scarlett Johansson (19) and Keira Knightley (18). As for the pop charts, Britney Spears (22) now being a bit past it, take your pick from the likes of Joss Stone (16), Amy Winehouse (20) and Katie Melua (19). Melua's recent song, The Closest Thing to Crazy, has provided the frontrunner so far for this year's inadvertently most amusing song lyrics. In it, she croons about "feeling 22, acting 17", the early 20s perhaps representing wizened decrepitude (and perhaps they do: Knightley recently said she would cons der plastic surgery "in about five years"). One could take a disapproving sniff about all this, but if one looks determinedly past the current weirdness of Chris Moyles extolling the joys of Stone every morning on Radio 1, and Colin Firth nuzzling Johansson's neck on the poster of Girl with a Pearl Earring, it is more reminiscent of the joyously teen-friendly late 80s and early 90s, from the Brat Pack films and the Cosby Show kids to Beverly Hills 90210. And this homage to the young is why OC is a more worthy aspirant to SATC's crown than any show about dating and vibrators could ever be: it is representative of the age we live in, and fun to boot. We all got into a lather at the prospect of Diane Keaton (58) having sex on screen in Something's Gotta Give, but SATC did not cause any seismic change in our culture - it just reflected the changing demographics of that period, which meant that more women were beginning to stay happily single for longer. Now we have a renewed interest in the teen market and, voila, a teen-focused show. If SATC left any legacy, it is an assumption of the audience's knowledge of fashion ("Where's my Betsey Johnson?" is wailed like a refrain throughout The OC), and one that can still be seen on the British high street. "Every day's a fashion show for these kids," grumbles The OC's teenage misfit. Welcome to the post-Carrie generation.

Two Hour Delay For BAFTAs They've come a looooong way. A few years ago, they used to telecast it 2 days later, LOL.Talk about old news. I lay my gauntlet down on: Oliver James. Enough already. Who cares? I've posted the four films that Rafe has in pre-production on #40. Jeremy Northam has "Toyer" (horror) with Juliette Binoche directed by Brian Di Palma. With luck one of them will bow out and Colin can get it;-) They are all Colin-type roles.

I wrote someone at BAFTA for clarification and was told..... As far as I know, the BBC-America telecast begins the same time as our transmission, 4 PM, which I believe is the same time that London gets it. (It's slightly delayed from the live event to allow for some editing for time). I had seen on the web invite or somewhere that our party starts at 2 (which it does), but that the show started at 3:30. Had made a mental note at the time to make sure to get there earlier before the show started to mingle. We went late-ish last year and couldn't chat much before it started, discovering that people actually sit and pay attention to the show, rather than mill about the room chatting. Who knew??!

All I know is BBC America is advertising Live at the BAFTA's Sunday, 4PM EST. I even changed a Valentine Brunch to make sure I was home in time. I really thought that a certain YKW would be there...yeah I know I sound like a broken record. Won't mention it again:-(

From The Telegraph: Scarlett at Bafta awards So lofty is Scarlett Johansson's star these days that it's even causing logistical - and egotistical - problems for the movie moguls who've helped make her name. Having been nominated for Best Actress for her roles in two films - Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation - the New Yorker will undoubtedly be the star of tomorrow's Bafta ceremony. The problem is that Johansson's two flicks have been made by two different production companies - Path� and Elemental Films respectively. And both firms want the kudos of having the star as their guest, rather than the other outfit's. An embarrassing stand-off was looming, but Spy hears that a compromise has now been arrived at. "There was frantic behind-the-scenes politicking between Pathe, Elemental and the organisers, but thankfully they seemed to have sorted it out," says my source. "Scarlett will arrive with the Elemental people and be photographed on the red carpet with them. She will then sit on a table with the Path� lot.'' Even that deal was apparently only made possible by another factor being removed from the equation. "Scarlett got on very well with Colin Firth when they were doing Girl with a Pearl Earring together," adds my source. "If he'd come along to the Baftas, I rather think that Elemental wouldn't have had a look-in, but he's decided to give it a miss."

It's really too bad. They could sit at the Humbert Humbert table. ;-)

In the totally OT department. It occured to me when I was watching SATC last night that Brady's name would now be Brady Brady since Miranda gave him Steve's last name as a first name. Now that they're married, surely the kid wouldn't keep Miranda's last name, as in Brady Hobbes, anymore. Some things are keeping me up at night. ;-)

(Karen) It's really too bad. They could sit at the Humbert Humbert table. ;-) LOL is that where Ashton and Demi are to be seated (no...wait...that's something else entirely, isn't it?? ;-D)....maybe he's staying away cuz there are no martinis or....maybe he is staying away as the last time Scarlett was in London she had scary hair....enough to frighten anyone away! Hopefully her rain-repellent Bob's Big Boy Hairdo won't be needed at the Baftas. What's the weather like there right now?? ;-)

....maybe he is staying away as the last time Scarlett was in London she had scary hair....enough to frighten anyone away! Hopefully her rain-repellent Bob's Big Boy Hairdo won't be needed at the Baftas. What's the weather like there right now?? ;-) Or maybe he is staying away as the last time Scarlett was with him she was photographed giving him googo eyes in manner of wife:-0

(Tress) is that where Ashton and Demi are to be seated (no...wait...that's something else entirely, isn't it?? ;-D) No, they're seated with Mrs Stone from Rome. ;-)

(Karen) No, they're seated with Mrs Stone from Rome. ;-) Oh! Forgot about Mr. Williams' version...I was thinking Charles Webb....humming "Mrs. Robinson" right now!

Elemental wouldn't have had a look-in What exactly does this mean..."look-in?" "Scarlett got on very well with Colin Firth when they were doing Girl with a Pearl Earring together," So? She couldn't bear to sit apart from him? Ohhhhh, the tragedy. ;-) (Karen) It's really too bad. They could sit at the Humbert Humbert table. ;-) (Tress) LOL is that where Ashton and Demi are to be seated (no...wait...that's something else entirely, isn't it??) ;-D Yes, at least he's out of his teens. ;-D

"If he'd come along to the Baftas, I rather think that Elemental wouldn't have had a look-in, but he's, decided to give it a miss." So, 'he'decided to give it a miss. Sheesh. I guess the French Riviera just couldn't wait! (Dorine)So? She couldn't bear to sit apart from him? Ohhhhh, the tragedy. ;-) I think the red finger nails took care of that problem.

(Linda) So, 'he'decided to give it a miss. Sheesh. I guess the French Riviera just couldn't wait! Uhhh...no offense to the Baftas, but I think I'd rather be lounging by that pool too (though there was no date on his "mini-break" and he could have been there last year for all we know)! ;-) (Linda) I think the red finger nails took care of that problem. LOL...yeah...she got her man to take her to the Riviera.....I'm sure he's not thinking about that bubble gum snappin', see-through shirt wearin' woman-child there. His mind is more agreeably engaged, I'm sure. ;-)

Wishing all Drooleurs or at least a nice box of Godivas to tuck into! ;-)

Thanks, Karen! Back at ya! (Leslie, moved from RF topic) The jury's still out on Jeremy Irons, though. Is he also busy at things I am unaware of or is he at home waiting for the *right script*? Saw him at Lincoln Center last Fall or Spring season (forgot which) where he was in A Little Night Music at NY City Opera. He was even "singing!" I hear he's a "window shopper," at least, if you catch my drift.....;-). I sat 2 seats from SATC's Miranda...didn't recognize her til someone started arguing about seats next to us.

The jury's still out on Jeremy Irons And he's older, so not a valid comparison either.

What exactly does this mean..."look-in?" A chance. It means she would have dropped the Lost in Translation people like a hot potato if CF was coming.;-) I'd love to see her win for GWAPE but with two noms in the same category, she'll probably cancel herself out. Still can't believe the Oscar idiots didn't nom her. As much as I like Samantha Morton, she had relatively little to do in In America. SJ carries GWAPE.

Thank you for your Valentine's Day greeting Karen, same to you and everybody else. Also thanks for the lovely Mark Darcy greeting at the main page. Those are some of my fave pics of him. Mmmmm...

As much as I like Samantha Morton, she had relatively little to do in In America. SJ carries GWAPE. I completely agree with you. Samantha did an excellent job, but hers was more of a supporting role, and was overshadowed by the amazing performances of the two little girls. She had no individual SAG, BAFTA or Golden Globe nominations like Scarlett had. There was no buzz about her at all, so her nomination was a complete surprise. I still can't figure out how she beat out Scarlett. Guess people just loved In America and wanted to nominate someone from it.

(Me) What exactly does this mean..."look-in?" (Mari) A chance. It means she would have dropped the Lost in Translation people like a hot potato if CF was coming.;-) Thanks, I thought that was the gist of that statement, but was still a bit unsure with that term. Wouldn't any of us drop anyone like a hot potato if Colin was in the vicinity? ;-) Wonder where "the source" got that inference from. ;-) (re:SJ) Still can't believe the Oscar idiots didn't nom her. And SAG didn't nom her either! Curious.

Dropping by a day late to thank you for the Valentine greetings and lovely (sadly whiskless) montage of Mark. Hearts and flowers by the bucket load;-))

According to an article in today's Observer, tickets to the Baftas are �300 and �650 each (there's a dinner afterward at the Grosvenor House Hotel). As Dorine mentioned, the producers (in this case Pathe) would be paying for their people to attend, so it wouldn't be out of pocket to Colin in any case. Other info here: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1148280,00.html (Lizza) (sadly whiskless) I always save that for your birthday. ;-)

Here's Scarlett: and Renee: and Joely: Emma: and the "scary" Emma:

Thank you, Karen for the up to the minute red carpet photos. I think Renee looks much better than she did for the GG's, but Scarlett looks like she's aged a bit...maybe it's the hair or the suntan?

No Linda it's the lippy! Awwwful on the close up. I really like ET but does she ever study pics of herself. There's one of her calling to the crowd and she twists her face so.... really unflattering. Still she's got 25 years on SJ and I think she looks great in her backless dress, go on Nanny McPhee! Like RZ's choice too.

Good to see Bill Nighy winning for LA!

Sofia: Really bad lipstick choice: And a couple of lightweights:

Hey Karen it's your old friend from Ziegfeld ;-)

Looks like Scarlett's boobs are too big for the dress....shouldn't that seam hit below? And what is the thing hanging from the side (a bow? Looks like faux fur) Would be prettier without it. She looks 'womanly'....older than her teen years..... (Lizza) No Linda it's the lippy! Awwwful on the close up. Yes! She chooses interesting colors at times (and she has such full lips you really notice). She should have gone with straight red IMO. RZ looks good (I'm not a big lace fan but the dress suits her...she looks great all filled out). I agree Lizza, ET looks great in the backless dress! But I think the fur thing can go.....whatever it is..... Boy...they think Joan and Melissa are tough...wait til this is all over! ;-)

Glad to see Renee has something to add to her GG! Rounding off quite a week for her;-)

(Tress) Yes! She chooses interesting colors at times (and she has such full lips you really notice). She should have gone with straight red IMO. Definitely agree. This is one of those colours you find in nail polish on the discount table - the throw-outs! It's harsh. ET has a great bod and the dress has the wow! factor. RZ looks a little slimmer than GGs but she needs to perfect the non-squint look. She always reeks of - where the hell are my glasses?

First impressions of SJ and RZ on the podium as presenters.... lippy actually doesn't look too bad, not as harsh as expected, but she's under 20 so gets away with it. Renee's hair is just on the edge of too messy, she's looking good tho' so no need for those glasses Locarol.

Am surprised and pleased for SJ at the BAFTAs. I felt she gave very strong performances this year but didn't think she stood a chance. I thought the award would have gone to someone else given Scarlett's age and the other very fine and more seasoned talent she was up against. However, IMO GWAPE was a better performance. Perhaps my judgement is clouded by inherent CF bias, but I thought her peformance in GWAPE was technically more difficult and far more subtle than LIT. Also thought it interesting in light of the fact that many of the accolades she received for LIT referenced her 'minimalist performance'. But then again, I think I'm the only person in the universe who thought LIT was a very good film, but not a great one. Perhaps I'd read far too much *hype* before seeing it which often leaves me feeling let down.

Lots of "near the knuckle" comments from the inventive Stephen Fry. Hope they made it on to your coverage!! We have finished here.

RZ's dress looks great on her. Though do wish she spent more that 15 seconds on her hair. Tress, I agree SJ should have gone with a red, probably with a coral undetone. That color she wore has too much blue in it and makes her look washed out,IMO.

(Lizza)Lots of "near the knuckle" comments from the inventive Stephen Fry. Hope they made it on to your coverage!! Yes they did, thank God the thought police ignore cable TV!:-) Really laughed at Stephen's comments about having slept with Jude Law (in a movie) and that pregnant pause afterward. Enjoyed his "notes from mum" about the Best Pic nominees. Good job by SF as usual. Sofia Coppola looked about 1000% better than at the GGs. Scarlett stayed too long in the tanning bed, I think, but her hair looked better than usual. Would like to see her wear more color on her body instead of on the lips.;-) I liked Renee's dress, not crazy about the hair, and a nice diamond necklace would have set things off better. I liked Joely Richardson's look, color was great on her, let's hear it for red carpet color! These people go all beige or black and it gets boring. Good for Emma for going backless down to *there.* Work it girl, if you've still got it, flaunt it! BTW, did anyone catch her allusion to McPhooey, something about have to wear warts on her nose? Is that in the book? There goes my dream of Nanny/employer romance in manner of Maria and Capt. Von Trapp.:-(

I thought the award would have gone to someone else given Scarlett's age Age discrimination????;-) Shocking. I didn't think her performance in LIT compared with GWAPE, but I be the latter helped her get the award. But did the presenter have to degrade GWAPE by prefacing the award with: "Not for Girl With a Pearl Earring, but for LIT, the award goes to SJ" Bad form. Her acceptance speech was lovely. No notes! What poise and she'l lost all the uh's and um's. Happy, happy for Renee. She deserves it. JL gets more handsome every day. I guess Johnny Depp only smiles when they pay him. Thankgod for Bill Murray's speech for an otherwise boring show. Hoorah! We're finished with LOTR. Sadly , we have the Oscars to go with more of them.

So, what did he present? This eager mind wants to know. Thanks! Saw GWAPE today. Put my thoughts in the film spoilers thread.

(Mary) So, what did he present? This eager mind wants to know. There were 5 awards that didn't make the BBC cut; Clive presented two of them. I think they were for film editing and sound. Dougray and Thandie presented another one of the invisible awards and that Office person (Mackenzie and someone else) did a couple of others for small, invisible and/or animated films.

Haven�t read any of your comments, but here are mine....... Why was LL Cool K there? Did Scarlett have a fake tan? Tons of hair spray? It didn�t move when she looked down. ;-) Glad Bill Murray won. Most of room clapped when he won. Only time that really happened. *What* was Sofia Copppola wearing? As the person next to me said, she doesn�t have the presence to wear a dress like that. Went too far the other way from the sack. Renee looked great! Funny Harvey didn't hug or kiss her when she won. And she said unexpected?! Puh-leeze!! She's been the frontrunner since they were announced. I love her, but the false modesty's a bit much. Biggest surprise.....Peter Weir for Best Director. Steven Fry very funny as usual. And yeah, what ever happened to Pretty Young Things? Was looking forward to it. Bill Nighy � glad he won, but surprised Tim Robbins didn�t. Maybe they figured he�d get Oscar anyway. Big venue, they probably could have squeezed Colin in. ;-) Colin couldn�t be there (or here), so of course, I met his sub.....Matthew Modine!! ROTF!! He was sitting next table over. Came stag. LOL!! I didn�t even have the desire to meet him, nothing to say, but a friend of mine had met him earlier, and insisted introducing me when MM walked by our table after the show. Told him I wanted to meet him, but was too shy. ROTF! Yeah, right! Obviously he (my friend) doesn�t know me well enough to know if I really wanted to meet MM and had anything to say, I�d have been on him like white on rice! I mentioned to MM that I�d seen him at a few Knicks games and we talked about the Knicks and Yankees for a minute, then he left. Mentioned who he voted for in one category for Oscar, but forgot now. I was surprised at whatever it was. He�s extremely tall. Alec Baldwin there before the show. Helped give out several door prizes. Looks as he does onscreen. Didn�t have anything to say to him, so didn�t introduce myself. Had ample opportunity. Just realized as I�m typing this, could have given congrats on the Oscar nod and say I really liked his performance in The Cooler. C�est la vie. Nice to see several Colin clips, esp with LA. Surprised PW didn�t get first time director award. So were others at my table. My goody bag not so posh as those at awards. :-( It included..... Fodor�s London �04 guide A lined large journal from IFC/WE/AMC Latest edition of Variety A little Walker�s Shortbread Winter catalog from Savoy/Claridge�s Cadbury Caramel Egg $100 Gift Certificate at Gloss Day Spa toward the following: laser teeth whitening, airbrush body bronzing package, detox facial treatment, or silver star/microdermabrasion treatment. Tangerine Altoids This weekend�s FT A map/ travel wallet from a travel agency ( they also contributed a door prize of 2 nights at Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes-Orlando....just had my weeklong meeting there.....saw John Travolta. They have an awesome spa!! (which is what he was there for)). A CD of Lyra�s Oxford performed by author and full cast (by the author of His Dark Materials....????). And a DVD of the first year of The Office from BBC America (last year was Coupling). Didn�t win the best door prize ;-(....2 Virgin Atlantic business class tix to London. Will now check your comments during the show. :-)

From CF topic.... (Lizza) shame tho' when lots of his co-stars are present tonite. He would have made a great presenter, I agree. RZ, LL,and SJ, when's he going to have another year of opportunity like this again? Next year when he (and RZ and HG) have the high profile TEOR to promote. (Linda) Lots of Hugh, too. Everybody's wondering where ODB is, no one wonders where HG is? He's bigger really. (Bethan) Perhaps he wasn't invited? Now why didn't I think of that? ;-) (Lizza) Stephen Fry's (more and more a Harvey lookylikey!) First thing I said was what was up with that haircut?!

At least her nail polish matches her lipstick. ;-)

(Karen) As Dorine mentioned, the producers (in this case Pathe) would be paying for their people to attend, so it wouldn't be out of pocket to Colin in any case. Oh, actually when I was referring to producers, I meant the show producers, not the studios. And ouch on those ticket prices. I liked RZ's hair, obviously no fuss-no muss, unlike the super do's of SJ and LL. Serious curls/waves and hairspray/ mousse. Did LL go with Tim Curry? I was also surprised about SJ's win for LIT vs GWAPE, but she won anyway. (Leslie) I think I'm the only person in the universe who thought LIT was a very good film, but not a great one. I agree, but thought Bill Murray was a *great*. Helluva performance. The movie was his, IMO. (Mari) BTW, did anyone catch her allusion to McPhooey, something about have to wear warts on her nose? Is that in the book? There goes my dream of Nanny/employer romance in manner of Maria and Capt. Von Trapp.:-( LOL!! Caught that almost under the radar reference. (Evelyn) I guess Johnny Depp only smiles when they pay him. I thought he looked quite yummy anyway. :-P (Me) Why was LL Cool K there? Um, that's LL Cool J. Murph, thought Clive was quite handsome in the quick glimpse I got of him. Ok, think I'm caught up.

Dying to know what they talked about;-)

SJ reminds me of Marilyn Monroe at a glance there. Hair just needs to be platinum.

(Dorine)SJ reminds me of Marilyn Monroe at a glance there. Thought so myself. She seems to be modeling MM frequently these days. Her costuming in the recent Vanity Fair shoot was very much a la Marilyn. The magazine editors/authors even made reference to it in their comments about the shoot. From the article... "Scarlett Johansson seemed to be channeling Marilyn Monroe when she arrived at VF's cover shoot with platimun hair and bright-red lipstick to match her name."

GAH! Forgot Red Carpet show on at 8am. Turned on with 10 mins to go. :-( Not repeated tonight it seems. What is this with a show like this at *8AM*!?:-( I know who Mackenzie Crook is now that I've seen him.

Baftas 'may influence Oscar vote' By Chris Heard BBC News Online BBC News Online assesses what impact Sunday's Baftas may have on Oscar voting in two weeks' time. US Academy members watched the prestigious Bafta award for best film being handed out in London on Sunday with their usual interest. But to what degree, if any, will the British Academy's choice have an impact on the Oscars two weeks later? It could be significant, according to some industry watchers who say this year's race is more wide open than many have made out. The Return of the King, the final part of Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings trilogy, is favourite among most commentators to sweep the board in Hollywood on 29 February. It dominated the Golden Globes - the first major pre-Oscars testing ground - and won five Bafta awards including best picture. But if it had been overlooked in London on Sunday, Oscar voters may have been be swayed away from Middle-earth towards something more cinematically realistic, say film experts. Steven Gaydos, executive editor of Variety movie industry magazine, said: "I think this is an odd year - there is no clear consensus across the board and that's where the Baftas could have some impact. "You can't say Lord of the Rings is a sure thing at the Oscars. A fantasy film has never won in 76 years, and a lot of people in the acting branches are not impressed. They will be leaning more towards Mystic River, driven more by reality and a social element." Charles Gant, film editor of Heat magazine, believed Rings would sweep the board at both ceremonies, but said if something else had happened on Sunday, it could have made everyone think differently. The Baftas are now been staged in advance of the Oscars - a move that has dramatically increased their profile and influence in Hollywood. Before 2001, when Bafta trailed in Oscar's wake, they were seen as an anti-climax - and would barely have registered among many Tinseltown movers and shakers. Now, though, in a turnaround described as an act of "genius" by some observers, Bafta helps set the international film agenda and can affect the choice of Oscar voters. It does all this while proudly proclaiming an independence of spirit and maintaining its vital PR role for British movie-making. Actors and film-makers take advantage of the ceremony's red carpet exposure to give their movies a final push in the run-up to the Academy Awards. Last year, A-listers such as Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore flew to London to promote their films - with the attendant possibility of swaying undecided Academy voters. Peter Jackson is up for a prize for directing The Return of the King This year, Oscar voters will become conscious of who and what Bafta chooses to honour a full nine days before their own ballots close. Mr Gaydos said it was important for movie stars to show up at the London event. "Everyone is watching the awards season. We look at all the awards and see how they might be predictors, if the voters would be influenced. "If 250 critics have said Finding Nemo is one of the best films of the year, no Academy voter is going to ignore that when it comes to choosing the best animated film category." Mr Gant was agreed on the potential impact of the British prizes on Hollywood's jurors. 'Endgame' "Bafta is a very good way of catching (US) Academy members in the UK," he said. "Having the star come over and attend screenings is the process by which votes are sought. The endgame is to scoop up Academy members." This year the voting process on both sides of the Atlantic has been hit by the "screener" row - a ban on preview DVDs of fancied films for Academy voters, instigated by studios fearful of internet piracy. The ban was later lifted but it led to some voters missing out on seeing certain films. "Bigger companies like Warners didn't send out tapes and it meant that Mystic River didn't get a nomination because not enough people saw it," said Mr Gant. "I think Warner Bros missed a trick there." Whatever and whoever Bafta honours, the awards are firmly established as the most glamorous night on the UK entertainment calendar - and an event the world now takes even greater notice of.

Thanks, Karen re Clive O. Apparently you saw him in the UK broadcast at the very end of the show giving an award to Ronnie Ancona (not sure who she is or what the award was for):

Oops!

Glamour on Bafta's red carpet By Chris Heard BBC News Online entertainment staff Thousands of UK film fans gave some of Hollywood's finest a raucous welcome at the 2004 Bafta awards in London - and BBC News Online was there to see it all. Cheering crowds thronged Leicester Square to join the celebrations for the British entertainment world's biggest night of the year. It made for a rousing atmosphere as some of the cream of the world's actors and film-makers got briefly close to their adoring public. Providing the red carpet glitz were a wealth of movie talent: among them Johnny Depp, Holly Hunter, Jude Law, Scarlett Johansson, Benicio Del Toro, Emma Thompson and Naomi Watts. They were joined by a string of leading directors competing for the night's prizes including Peter Jackson, Anthony Minghella, Tim Burton and Sofia Coppola. All were greeted warmly - but by far the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp. Depp, nominated for best actor, emerged from his limo as a conspicuous last-minute arrival - defying speculation that he might not show up. Asked about the crowd's overwhelming reaction, he jokingly told BBC News Online: "I paid everyone, I paid everyone." Emma Thompson, in a show-stealing Maria Grachvogel dress with fake fur stole, admitted to feeling the chill of the cold February night. "I'm freezing, darling" said Thompson, competing for best supporting actress for Love Actually. "I've been outside for an hour in a frock that essentially is a front and no back and will turn into a sausage skin at about midnight." Her fellow Love Actually star Bill Nighy, nominated for best supporting actor, said he was amazed by the reception. "It's wild. I had no idea it was quite so big," he said. "I thought the premiere for Love Actually was big. It's a very big deal and I think it's getting bigger and bigger. Anything that celebrates British film, we need it. We have always had acres of talent - it must be in the DNA." Peter Jackson, director of the evening's big winner The Return of the King, was also thrilled by the audience's appreciation. "We've had our premieres here for the last three years and the Leicester Square crowd give you a hell of a reception, that's for sure," he said. "It's very important to us that Mr Tolkien (Lord of the Rings author) was born here and we have tried to adapt his story with the integrity that he put into it himself." Rings star Sir Ian McKellen said Leicester Square had been transformed into "a street party". "It's about drawing attention to the film industry and the British film industry," he said. "It's a party. It's end of term. It's people patting each other on the back. There should be more of this going on." One visitor apparently less comfortable with all the noise was 21 Grams star Naomi Watts, who admitted she was not used to so many people calling her name. "It's scary!" she said. "I don't think it's a natural experience. You get a little bit more used to it with time but I'm still pretty new at this!" Mystic River star Laura Linney - nominated as best supporting actress - seemed more relaxed. "I'm very proud to be here, it's very nice," she said. "It's different (to the US) in a really nice way. I love it here. I'm certainly not expecting anything - I'm rooting for Emma (Thompson), but I'm just thrilled to be here." Sofia Coppola, whose film Lost in Translation won best actor and actress awards for Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, said she was excited to be at her first Baftas but had no expectations: "I'm happy to be here." Cold Mountain director Anthony Minghella, whose film had led the shortlists with 13 nominations, said making the movie had been a reward in itself. "I'm thrilled that we got so many nominations. I feel like they are 13 arrows pointing at the movie and to audiences to say it was worth getting the movie out." Peter Webber, director of Girl with a Pearl Earring, was in a similar frame of mind: "To a first time film-maker (the Baftas) means a lot. You get the chance to make another film - that's the prize I've had already." While some observers remarked that this year's guest list did not live up to last year's stellar turnout (Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore), there was still plenty of star quality in evidence in central London. Despite the absence of big-name nominees such as Uma Thurman, Sean Penn and Bill Murray, fashion-watchers were at least reassured by the high designer count. Joely Richardson in Dior, a Prada-clad Scarlett Johansson and Jerry Hall wearing Vivienne Westwood were deemed to be among the evening's shrewder couture choices.

(BBC) But to what degree, if any, will the British Academy's choice have an impact on the Oscars two weeks later? My assessment: zippola! C'mon, does anyone really think LOTR and Peter Jackson will not win? Obviously, it will have no influence on Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, and RZ is considered the frontrunner anyway for Best Supporting Actress though articles have said the woman from House of Sand and Fog has momentum (I'm pulling for her over RZ, though I'd prefer Patricia Clarkson). (Mary) Apparently you saw him in the UK broadcast at the very end of the show giving an award to Ronnie Ancona (not sure who she is...) It was on the BBC America broadcast, at the very end. The woman in the pic is Sarah Flack, editor of Lost in Translation. He also presented the Sound award as well.

Her costuming in the recent Vanity Fair shoot was very much a la Marilyn. She looked like MM in looks, but a hideous dress.Vile! I like her in champagne color. Let Joeley wear orange;-/ Who was sitting next to JL ? Sienna Miller is supposed to be his squeeze but this gal was a brunette. (Dyed her hair for Alfie?) Odd that nothing was exchanged between Harvey and Renee when she won. Major shut-out for Mystic River;-/ (Dorine)I liked RZ's hair, obviously no fuss-no muss,.. You mean: "I'm just running over to Safeway look"? ;-)

(Karen) I'd prefer Patricia Clarkson Me too. Obviously, it will have no influence on Best Actress Just saw Monster last week. Anyone see that? She was incredible. Such a tragic story and life. Was wondering (and confused) about JL's seat mate,also. (Dorine)I liked RZ's hair, obviously no fuss-no muss,.. Sometimes the do's are a bit too done-up for me. LOL at the fashion commentator saying HBC reminded her of Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

The new PREMIERE Mag has a list of the best 100 Films last year : "The nation's top critics rate the most noteworthy films of 2003" 1. Finding Nemo 2. LOTR 3. LIT Hey, Murph....M&C came in #8 50 GWAPE 59 LA And for all the tomato- hurlers out there.... Gigli was *not* the worst movie of the year.....came in #97;-) Lara Croft Tomb Raider #98 Alex & Emma came in #99 And Cat in the Hat #100. (ATA received that place in '98!) Kangaroo Jack was not rated ;-)

(Evelyn)I didn't think her performance in LIT compared with GWAPE Neither did I, but I'm still glad for her. Her acceptance speech was lovely. No notes! What poise and she'l lost all the uh's and um's. One forgets that she's just a kid. Lots of poise, as you said. Hoorah! We're finished with LOTR. Sadly , we have the Oscars to go with more of them. What a bore. Can't believe they gave the adapted screenplay award to them for that bloated, pompous mess. Ahead of Brian Helgeland for Mystic River?! Was glad for Tom McCarthy who won original screenplay for Station Agent; terrific script, and he was good looking and funny.:-)

(Dorine)Bill Nighy � glad he won, but surprised Tim Robbins didn�t. I was also. Tim Robbins is just heartbreaking in MR, really. It's a beautiful performance. Surprised PW didn�t get first time director award. So were others at my table. I was shcocked. Poor PW got screwed. (Karen)My assessment: zippola! Agreed. The Oscar ballots are due in this week and I think I read that over 80% of them have been returned already. Still, it's smart of them to go before the Oscars; once the AAs are done, people have had it with awards shows. (Ev)Odd that nothing was exchanged between Harvey and Renee when she won. LOL, she didn't even look at him! I guess she figured it was bad enough she had to sit next to him.;-) Nice that she ran back to hug Anthony Minghella. Again, recognizing how much you owe to a good director. that was Sienna next to Jude. Her hair is just darker now.

I hope the producers of the Oscars learn something from the Baftas. It was so much better than any Oscar show I"ve seen yet.

(Dorine)Surprised PW didn�t get first time director award. This definitely calls for a song--though a slightly mutilated one: "Oh, I'm goin' to Colorado in my mind." Back to Colorado. Back to September. Back to a golden sunset. Back to the days when LIT was appropriately overlooked and GWAPE was the toast and talk of the town. Oh, how can this be? Did I read everything correctly? GWAPE got 10 noms and no awards? There was only a glimpse of PW broadcast? I won't get to see him and Andy do an acceptance speech? I honestly try to keep my bellyaching to a minimum but really, this is too much to be borne. Oh, I desparately hope GWAPE gets an Oscar just to show those BAFTA voters they should support the home team especially when its that good!!!

Long but interesting New film challenges full-frontal taboo Monday, February 16, 2004 NEW YORK (AP) -- A smitten young man in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" steals a photo of his inamorata and puts it next to his private parts, then is understandably embarrassed when she forcibly peels off his tighty-whiteys and discovers it. Rather than being appalled, she appears quite complimented by this different kind of Kodak moment -- a close-up that leaves nothing to the imagination as the picture gently catapults toward her. Such scenes got an NC-17 rating slapped on the new film by the director whose oeuvre includes the 1972 X-rated "Last Tango in Paris." But in the three decades since then, scenes with full-frontal male nudity usually can be timed with a stopwatch while those with nude women can be measured with a sundial. Even in "The Full Monty," filmgoers didn't get the full monty -- not even for a split second. Pop-culture observers maintain that's because a de facto sexism still exists in Hollywood, where women can parade around in the altogether but men can't. The instances of actors in mainstream American movies swinging in the breeze are so rare that movie buffs can catalog them off the top of their heads. Harvey Keitel has let it all hang out at least twice ("The Piano" and "Bad Lieutenant") and Ewan McGregor at least four times, including the upcoming "Young Adam." Bruce Willis in 1994's "Color of Night," Kevin Bacon in 1998's "Wild Things" and Geoffrey Rush in 2000's "Quills" as well as the prosthetically enhanced Mark Wahlberg in 1997's "Boogie Nights" are among the few others. Sarah Riddick, an English professor who heads the film program at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, attributes it simply to the industry's gender makeup: "It is still a male-dominated business, and men are more likely to show female nudity." Only actresses with great clout such as Julia Roberts can insist on a no-nudity clause. Elayne Rapping, a professor of women's studies and media studies at the State University of New York, Buffalo, said it's such as it ever was: You can look back to classic paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries and see fully clothed men with nude women. "That's been a constant of Western culture for centuries in representational art -- that women have been presented as objects for what in film theory is called 'the male gaze.' The assumed viewer is male, and the woman is to be looked at for male pleasure," she said. She said another reason there are few full-frontal male nude scenes is that it raises an issue of vulnerability for men. "For a man to reveal his private parts is to be reduced to the position that women have always been reduced to -- which is to be examined, to be judged. And I think that's a scary thing," she said, adding: "When a man is flaccid, it's not a very virile thing." Sexuality in movies One theory holds that while women have several areas to satisfy scopophilia -- the term sometimes used in feminist film criticism that literally means the "love of looking" -- men really have just one, where size matters. So a woman might have a beautiful face or legs that offset, say, her breast size, but if a man has a certain shortcoming, a handsome mug or six-pack abs fail to make up for it. Yoko Ono once joked: "I wonder why men get serious at all. They have this delicate, long thing hanging outside their bodies which goes up and down by its own will. If I were a man I would always be laughing at myself." For a male view, there's Jim McBride, aka Mr. Skin, who runs a Web site that's a compendium of movie nudity. He was quoted recently as saying he prefers his silver-screen sex "without a guy in the scene." Rapping suggested that men also may be afraid of the "male gaze" for homophobic reasons. "The fear of male homosexuality is the fear of the loss of male dominance in our society -- if everybody gets equally sexualized and equally open to having sex with everybody else then the whole system of male dominance gets called into question." Fox Searchlight's release of "The Dreamers" -- uncut and with an NC-17 rating -- has refocused attention on the issue of sexuality in movies. When the distributor decided to go ahead with the unbowdlerized version, Bertolucci alluded to the expression "Make love, not war" from the late '60s (when his film is set) by saying: "After all, an orgasm is better than a bomb." "Americans are much more comfortable with extreme violence in their movies than any sexuality," observed Stephen Gilula, Fox Searchlight's president of distribution. Gilula, who attributes Bertolucci's comfort depicting sex to his European upbringing, said his company decided to release the film with an adult rating because while NC-17 has become "sort of a scarlet letter ... We felt it wouldn't be the liability everybody perceived it was." Unrated films with comparable -- and even more explicit -- content are playing in U.S. theaters anyway, he said, and Fox Searchlight research has dispelled the long-held notion that newspapers won't carry ads for NC-17 movies and movie chains won't show them. In the past 15 years or so, many porn theaters across the nation have closed because home video -- not to mention the Internet -- took their market away, he noted. "There is no longer any real issue about pornographic material in movie theaters," Gilula said. "It's really an issue (of): Can filmmakers make adult subject matter and utilize the NC-17 rating without having to go unrated?" Power of television, cinema Bertolucci's movie may help destigmatize the rating, he averred. "I think it opens the door for the possibility for distributors to consider using the rating without assuming it's a liability." Time was, even an X rating wasn't a drawback: John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" won the 1969 best-picture Oscar despite it. "How is it in 2004 we are more puritanical than 30 years ago?" Bertolucci said. And even before the exposure of Janet Jackson's right breast at the Super Bowl halftime show, Bertolucci talked about how kids at home in their rooms see what he deems an incredible amount of sex and violence. So he wonders why movies are so persecuted? "The power of television is much, much greater than the power of cinema," he said. After Philip Kaufman directed "Quills," his wife made a joke while they waited for the Motion Picture Association of America rating (which turned out to be R). "She said they should just put on, 'Not for children of all ages.' ... The movie was made for adults," Kaufman recalled. Still, the director of the first film to get an NC-17 rating -- 1990's "Henry & June" -- questions whether, if you take away topless shots, women are exposed more often than men. Even at that, he pointed out that his upcoming movie, "Twisted," shows more male nudity in the sex scenes involving Ashley Judd (none of it full-frontal). He also raised the question that many ask: Do women really want to see more male nudity? "Maybe, in fact, just because of the nature of our society and so forth, more male nudity is about to come," Kaufman said. When NC-17 supplanted X -- mostly because it had been proudly commandeered by the porn industry -- it retained a smutty stigma. But maybe that will change, Kaufman said; NC-17 will yet be matter-of-factly applied to films of "higher motive." Gilula of Fox Searchlight certainly hopes so. And he thinks "The Dreamers" might be the watershed. "It's a film of very serious intent. It has sex in it. But it's also about music, it's about politics, it's about relationships. It's about a lot of things. And it's about movies," he said. "Anyone who's going for any salacious intent I think will probably be disappointed."

Just popping up to comment on "The Dreamers." It wasn't the nudity, sex, incest or whatever their relationship was, it was the bad hygiene. Ugh!!!

Time was, even an X rating wasn't a drawback: John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" won the 1969 best-picture Oscar despite it. "How is it in 2004 we are more puritanical than 30 years ago?" Bertolucci said. Unrated films with comparable -- and even more explicit -- content are playing in U.S. theaters anyway, he said, and Fox Searchlight research has dispelled the long-held notion that newspapers won't carry ads for NC-17 movies and movie chains won't show them. V. interesting article, but I don't think the point was made firmly enough that MC" in '69 X rated content was hardly equivalent to today's NC17. If memory serves even Brenda Vacarro wore a coat in the post-coital scene. Bertolucci's comment seems self-serving. Americans are much more comfortable with extreme violence in their movies than any sexuality," observed Stephen Gilula, Fox Searchlight's president of distribution. So true. I remember JI on the Today show for HoS a few years back and they showed a clip from it where his character knocks the wee out MS's character but the expletive was deleted. JI commented that it was odd that on American TV, the curse was unacceptable but the violence wasn't. Elayne Rapping, a professor of women's studies and media studies at the State University of New York, Buffalo, said it's such as it ever was: You can look back to classic paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries and see fully clothed men with nude women. "That's been a constant of Western culture for centuries in representational art -- that women have been presented as objects for what in film theory is called 'the male gaze.' The assumed viewer is male, and the woman is to be looked at for male pleasure," she said. So true too. As this is, appropriately, the Odds & Ends topoic I will present my theory on why *some* actors (even when they're young and need the money) don't do full frontal at least in period pieces: circumcision. Thank goodness for Ewan McGregor. (At some other time, I will relate the unfortunate incident of my last minute visit to the mini-plex snack-bar for a hotdog to enjoy while viewing the "Pillow Book.")

(Mary Ann)It wasn't the nudity, sex, incest or whatever their relationship was, it was the bad hygiene. Ugh!!! I have to agree Mary Ann . .the nudity or sex scenes didn't bother me . .but erp . .what was it that grossed you out more . .the toothbruch incident or the aftermath of the girl's first sexual experience on the kitchen floor?;)

(Kimberley) what was it that grossed you out more . .the toothbruch incident or the aftermath of the girl's first sexual experience on the kitchen floor?;) OK, I had this movie on my 'must see' list after Ebert and Roeper this weekend but I might choose to take a pass after such lovely imagery. Sex and violence?? No problem. Bad hygiene? *Yuk!*

There is a long interview with Bernardo Bertolucci in this month's PREMIERE mag in which he says: "Why can a nine year old child go, with his family and see the most violent movies around---decapitation, lakes of blood--and they are afraid of sex"? Mr. Bertalucci does not have any children ... But movies with violence are rated PG-13 here. I don't know about France or Italy. And frankly I don't want to take my 9 yr old grand to see; "...scene of Theo masturbating...or the scene in the kitchen when Matthew and Isabelle make love and the other scene when Matthew is exploring the body of Isabelle and when he gets to her pubic area and says 'Ah'" I also don't take him to see "Columbine". Even with the farting maybe "Kangaroo Jack" wasn't so bad after all.

I've been seeing the trailers for this film for eons and it didn't grab me at all, but the all the controversy is pushing me *toward* seeing it. Now, that I know what it's about, the trailer is not doing it justice. Anyway, I thought the article made a few good points, several of which I hadn't really considered. I always chalked up the inequity to male objectifying and its acceptance. I hadn't thought about: "For a man to reveal his private parts is to be reduced to the position that women have always been reduced to -- which is to be examined, to be judged. And I think that's a scary thing," she said, adding: "When a man is flaccid, it's not a very virile thing." One theory holds that while women have several areas to satisfy scopophilia...men really have just one, where size matters. So a woman might have a beautiful face or legs that offset, say, her breast size, but if a man has a certain shortcoming, a handsome mug or six-pack abs fail to make up for it. But when I got to Yoko's quote, I knew I had to post this article because it was hysterical! Yoko Ono once joked: "I wonder why men get serious at all. They have this delicate, long thing hanging outside their bodies which goes up and down by its own will. If I were a man I would always be laughing at myself." (Louise) but I don't think the point was made firmly enough that MC" in '69 X rated content was hardly equivalent to today's NC17. No and NC-17 still isn't X. That rating still exists for porn. The idea behind NC-17 is that the film isn't porn (depictions of people having sex with a mere excuse, if any, for plot) but "film" with adult content, whether it be situational, drugs, sex, nudity or violence. Because such a category didn't exist in 1969, the comparison is not totally analogous but it's the best they can do under the circumstances. MC was rated X at that time; if there had been an NC-17, then it might have gone there (all thiings being equal). But I don't disagree that the criteria has changed over the years as well. Anyone watching HOTPig could see that it would never be an NC-17 rated movie today as the MPAA rated it then. (Louise) I will present my theory on why *some* actors (even when they're young and need the money) don't do full frontal at least in period pieces: circumcision. You think they don't do it because of authenticity or what? (Louise) Thank goodness for Ewan McGregor. LOL! I have to agree and love his attitude toward it.

Re: The Dreamers My friend and I went to a BAFTA screening of this earlier this month . . . we left a bit puzzled . .I guess trying to figure out the main point of the film . . . My take of it was he was trying to exhibit that human need for wanting, belonging, and any sort of love . .it is that particular need, I think which draws in this American kid (Matthew)into the lives of the two French twins (Theo & Isabelle) It was facinating how Bertolucci intercut older black and white films with his "real time" actors . . . it showed how the twins and Matthew kind of lived in their own fantasy world . .realtity didn't seem as tangible to them as the cinema and the ideas . .Matthew, to me, first seemed to be the voice of reason/reality, until he really got sucked in by these kids, their sexual and mind games . .and he succombed to his vunerability, his own need for love . . . and then at the end of the film, he was harshly brought back into reality again. Sex was abundant, whether it be actual sex, masterbatory moments, implied incestual realtionships, an implied possible homosexual moments . . (the kitchen scene, Ev, my friend and I almost laughed at though there Matthew and Isabelle are going at it, with Theo watching, when in the middle of it, Theo goes and starts cooking eggs . .continuing to glance over every now and then . . .) (That website that had taken apart/found all sorts of "questionable" parts of GWAPE . .sexual and otherwise . .oh they will have a field day reviewing this film!) The sex/nudity didn't bother me at all . .but then, again, I wouldn't be taking any kids to see it by any means . . (Oh, BTW, was lovely to see Anna Chancellor as the twins mother!) As to Ewan McGregor . . . From a couple of his interviews: Which raises the question: Is there anything he won't do in front of the cameras? "I really don't think you can know that," he says. "I couldn't consider myself truly an actor if I had a list of things I won't do. There are actresses and actors who've said, 'I won't do any nudity ever again,' and you think, well, how do you know? What if there's a [expletive] amazing part and you're naked in the whole play or the whole film, how do you know you won't do it?... You could be denying yourself the best role in the world that could be your role, the role of a lifetime. But because your bum's in it, you're not going to do the part. That's stupid." (Ewan McGregor, Up for Anything by Alona Wartofsky - Special to The Washington Post / Sunday, May 18, 2003; Page N01) Given your past nude moments on the screen, are you thinking more about keeping your clothes on in future films? I've never understood actors who have rules against nudity. I wouldn't consider myself an actor if I had a list of things I won't do. It staggers me how big a deal everyone makes of it. In my everyday life, I'm naked a lot of the time--probably eight hours of my 24 hours are spent naked. Interacting with my wife and children at home, I'm quite often naked. And yet the second we put it onscreen, everybody f--king s--ts themselves. I don't get it. (Once-Swingin' Family Man Talks Love, Going Nude and Everything but the Episode III Script by Jeanne Wolf | May 14, 2003) http://ewanspotting.com/ewannews/archives/25.html I'm with you Karen, love his attitude toward it . .hey if you're comfortable enough with yourself . .just go for it . ..

(Louise) I will present my theory on why *some* actors (even when they're young and need the money) don't do full frontal at least in period pieces: circumcision. (Karen)You think they don't do it because of authenticity or what? I would say authenticity - unless the character is supposed to be Jewish;) I've noticed (only for scientific research, of course) that in historical dramas all exposed wahoos have been un-circumcized. This subject reminds me of the film, Angels & Insects, when the husband walks in on his wife inflagrante with her brother. When the Brother flees the bed and attempts to put on his pants, said brother's membrum virile is in a state of "agitation" - supposedly a first in a mainstream film. Entertainment Weekly had a little blurb on it entitled "What's My Motivation Here?" ROTFL

(Evelyn)But movies with violence are rated PG-13 here. And those with "decapitation, lakes of blood" are rated R--older teens and up. I'd like to know what his film is rated in Italy. And what's his beef anyway? This film is in large markets throughout the country, in mainstream cinemas. The only place they refused ads for it was Salt Lake, and you know what? That's their right. Sounds like he was pissed at the NC-17 when he thought it would affect the $$$$$$$ he'd make. Schmuck. (Ewan McG)Interacting with my wife and children at home, I'm quite often naked. Your older daughter is 8 years old, pal. If you think a young girl that age wants to see her dad's penis, then you're an even bigger ass than I've always thought you were.

(Mari)And what's his beef anyway? Yes, he's been heralded as a cinematic genius. But I can't help but think that in some ways his approach has been about titillation and provocation as a means to sell tickets. There are many talented directors who've made profound artistic impacts without grossing people out. It's a cheap trick, IMO. (Mari)If you think a young girl that age wants to see her dad's penis, then you're an even bigger ass than I've always thought you were. Well said.

(Louise) Angels & Insects...supposedly a first in a mainstream film. Entertainment Weekly had a little blurb on it entitled "What's My Motivation Here?" LOL! Must rerent this one, as I don't recall. However, I thought the first was Patrice Chereau's Intimacy in 2001...or maybe it was the first by a bona fide actor as opposed to the porn stars used in Catherine Breillat's films. BTw, Intimacy is a wonderfully acted, though sad, movie. (Evelyn)But movies with violence are rated PG-13 here. (Mari) And those with "decapitation, lakes of blood" are rated R--older teens and up. Yet parents think nothing about dragging their younger children along because they're too cheap to get a babysitter. Re: those Christian websites and their reviews Why would they even bother with this one? It would be so clearly unacceptable. The reviewer would never stop jotting down each and every frame of the film.

"The fear of male homosexuality is the fear of the loss of male dominance in our society -- if everybody gets equally sexualized and equally open to having sex with everybody else then the whole system of male dominance gets called into question." That's a stretch. I don't see how the equally sexualized, and sexy with everybody else, in films, calls male dominace into question.

Kimberly S: what was it that grossed you out more . .the toothbruch incident or the aftermath of the girl's first sexual experience on the kitchen floor?;) Yes and menstruation. I thought there was too much blood for their first time, and I thought they forgot that it should be mixed with something else. Now Scarlett (at the Brit Awards)... boy she's really showing off her curves ... not too sure about the eye shadow.

(Louise)said brother's membrum virile is in a state of "agitation Yes! I was watching A&I just the other night; I think HBO has been running it. Bro is at about a 90 degree angle. Maybe 80. Anyway, these shots are never close enough or lingering enough for me to tell if they're circumcised or not. And I've tried.;-)

Marianne - . . and menstruation Yes that bath scene was . . well not necessary I think . .bleah! I totally agree with you about the "first time as well" . .was thinking, good lord, get a torniquet for her . .she losing too much:). . SJ looks pretty . .I liked her dress the other night too. .but what is it with these very fair girls wearing champagne and other light colors that seem to wash them out? . .reminds me of NK at the GG . .she looked like a ghost! Guess I'm just a sucker for something with a bit more color . . .

(Mari) Anyway, these shots are never close enough or lingering enough for me to tell if they're circumcised or not. And I've tried.;-) Then, here's something for you to rent: It is probably the best performing penis ever to appear in a non-pornographic film, worthy of an Oscar in its own right - and it belongs to the star of the film, Mark Rylance. http://www.musicomh.com/films/intimacy.htm

I caught part of Intimacy the other night! Was on Sundance, I think. I guess I changed the channel too soon.;-) (Kim)was thinking, good lord, get a torniquet for her LOL!

Your older daughter is 8 years old, pal. If you think a young girl that age wants to see her dad's penis, then you're an even bigger ass than I've always thought you were. If a child is used to seeing her father naked, I don't think it'd be a question of "wants to see" his penis. It would be as natural as seeing any other part of him, and she wouldn't even notice it. In Europe it's very common for people to swim in the nude - and that includes people of all shapes and sizes and ages. They think nothing of it. In Japan families traditionally soak in tubs together, even though they were very modest in other parts of their lives. It's really all about what you're used to. I'm not used to walking around naked, so I would never want my kids to see me that way, but I think it'd be a healthier society if nudity wasn't such a big deal, and nakedness was a natural thing. I think the problem is that nakedness in our society is too synonymous with sex, when they are really two separate things. As for that Angels and Insects movie, I coincidentally saw it last Friday, and was pretty surprised by that perpendicular penis scene. It was definitely appropriate for the storyline. I feel uncomfortable about how far movies should go with this kind of thing. After a while it gets to be too much like pornography and prostitution when real sex is involved.

Interacting with my wife and children at home, I'm quite often naked. Ok. Ewan lives in England. Can anyone here who lives there tell us if it's the norm for a father to walk around naked in front of his 8-year old daughter when he's "interacting" with her at home.

Changing this fascinating subject....(Though I recommend renting "Close My Eyes" for some fontal and rear young Clive Owen - I disagree that pecs and a penis are all men have to offer. Some of them have great butts (think Colin). ******************************** Funny interview, but ultimately sad: The Guardian - Carrie Fisher -- 'Get me to the funny bar' Her childhood was catastrophic, her husband left her for a man, and she has battled with alcohol, drugs and manic depression. But Carrie Fisher can't understand why celebrities are such whingers... http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1148943,00.html

Re: Christian Movie Review websites. As an adult I never go there. But an agnostic liberal who is v. close to me regularly does to check on the films he takes his kids to;-) They do an exemplary job for parental guidance; "PG" doesn't give the details. And PG-13 is often v. deceiving in the interest of selling to a wider audience.

*SPOILER*SATC....This past Sunday: Methinks Alexander Petrovsky is French toast;-)

Methinks Alexander Petrovsky is French toast;-) With short-ening on top.;-) In the wise words of Miranda: "Go get our girl." Am still thinking Carrie will wind up with neither Big nor un-Big.;-) I'm going to miss the girls. Ok, Intimacy re-airs on Sundance Channel at 11 tonight. My cable guide says it's rated R; would you say that I'm not getting the, um, uncut version?;-)

(Mari)Am still thinking Carrie will wind up with neither Big nor un-Big.;-) I'm going to miss the girls. Ditto.But I missed the early ones and they will not doubt start them again. The four of them reflect the female population. So one has to remain single. Charlotte and Harry will either adopt a bi-racial or physically challenged child. Samantha stumps me though. I like Smith, but like she says:"I don't know whether to blow him or burp him." BTW was the Breast Cancer fundraiser party a hoot.

(Mari) My cable guide says it's rated R; would you say that I'm not getting the, um, uncut version?;-) The "best performing penis" must have been been circumcized. The DVD appears to be uncut.

(Mari) Ok. Ewan lives in England. Can anyone here who lives there tell us if it's the norm for a father to walk around naked in front of his 8-year old daughter when he's "interacting" with her at home. I doubt anybody can tell you what the norm in England is, because IMO there is no such thing, no matter what country you live in. I would think that these sort of things are 'family specific'. What's normal for one family seems weird to the other, and that I find perfectly normal. I have 2 boys at home and never bothered to cover myself while they were young. We dressed together and showered together, and none of us gave it a thought. It was perfectly natural for all of us. It was our norm. So if Ewan goes naked before his kids and they are comfy with it (and he should know, he is their dad) I have no problem with it. Lots of people find nudity natural, just look at the european topless and nudist beaches. If people can go naked 'in public', why shouldn't they do it at home? If that's their norm...

A norm is a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group (according to my dictionary). As such, there's no such thing as an "individual norm." Anyway, at some age, your sons stopped dressing and showering with you; the reason why is the point.

(Mari) A norm is a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group (according to my dictionary). I agree. And a family is a social group, so whatever the McGregors are doing is their norm. I stopped going uncovered before my boys at one point because I made the decision that it's time to separate the boys from the 'girl'. I could've gone the other way, I see no problem with it. By covering up I don't think I did the right thing, I simply made a choice. Ewan made a different one, and if it suits his family..., that's fine. Families make the norm for themselves IMO.

(Karen) It is probably the best performing penis ever to appear in a non-pornographic film, worthy of an Oscar in its own right - and it belongs to the star of the film, Mark Rylance. I didn't think Sundance cut movies - I taped Intimacy and intend to research this on-going topic thoroughly. And thanks for that link, Karen. It delineates exactly how to know if the version you're watching is expurgated. BTW, Mark Rylance was the husband in A&I. (Note to self: visit IMDB and see what other movies this guy is in.)

(Louise) BTW, Mark Rylance was the husband in A&I. I caught that immediately, but you said it was the brother with the agitated appendage, right? I just saw Rylance (in the flesh) playing Olivia in Twelfth Night. Hard to see what was going on under his dress. ;-)

Personally, I think the "nudie" situation is a *class* thing.

(Louise) BTW, Mark Rylance was the husband in A&I. (Karen)I caught that immediately, but you said it was the brother with the agitated appendage, right? Right. That was Doug Henshaw who got caught with his pants hanging on a chair. IMHO the exposure of the weenie in A&I was entirely appropriate in its context. It was the perfect exclamation point to a shockin moment. I didn't mean to imply that it was MR's (his love scenes were explicit, but not graphic), it just suggests to me that MR's film choices are worth a look if one is disposed towards such exposure:-D

(Evelyn) Personally, I think the "nudie" situation is a *class* thing. Meaning what? Upper-middle-lower class, or people who go nude have no class? ;-) Scarlett Johansson has just been chosen as the fragrance girl for Calvin Klein. She is the IT girl all right, now her face will be all over the place more than ever. Good for her.

(Louise) it just suggests to me that MR's film choices are worth a look if one is disposed towards such exposure:-D Unfortunately, he hasn't done many films, as theater (Shakespeare/Globe Theatre) is his main thing, but he does that brilliantly. His Olivia was a riot.

(Louise)I taped Intimacy and intend to research this on-going topic thoroughly. Well, what's the verdict...Sundance, tonight at 11 or Blockbuster?;-)

I don't think Blockbuster carries NR (not rated) films or NC-17. In some cases, Blockbuster has its own versions of movies that have been edited down to the R level. Too bad it's not on HBO or Showtime. :-(

(LindaK) Well, what's the verdict...Sundance, tonight at 11 or Blockbuster?;-) I just checked out the first 10min. and it showed a sex scene where MR pulls out a condom but it fast cuts to grappling around. Since the description on the webpage says it shows one actually being rolled on a penis, I suspect we have a no-go on the un-cut version. :(Karen)I don't think Blockbuster carries NR (not rated) films or NC-17. In some cases, Blockbuster has its own versions of movies that have been edited down to the R level. Too bad it's not on HBO or Showtime. :-( I take it that this a roundabout way of saying Sundance can't be relied on? I'm shocked. What's the point of the channel then? (Rhetorical question) I am now on a mission to see this, any other ideas?

Sorry to double-post, but I did notice a familiar face playing MR's (I suppose) wife - Susannah Harker, aka Jane Bennet Bingley

(Louise)any other ideas? Amazon has two versions--unrated and R. I don't know if the unrated is NC-17, but it does say not sold to anyone under 18. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000BWVD9/qid=1077128196/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-8825126-3799129?v=glance&s=dvd

(lindak)Amazon has two versions--unrated and R. I don't know if the unrated is NC-17, but it does say not sold to anyone under 18. Thanks, it looks like that's the one. However I don't think I'm gonna plunk out onwards to 20 bucks to satisfy my prurient interest;) I have my principles, even if they are montetarily founded:-D

I checked Blockbuster online and there was a listing but no details, then I checked to see if they carried Requiem for a Dream, another nonrated movie, and it was there. Hollywood Video only carries the R version. What about that Netflix place? DVDs by mail?

I think they carry alternate versions. Haven't ordered any to be sure though. ;-) On a another note, this just struck me.....a BIG oops! http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=599&e=1&u=/nm/20040220/media_nm/art_britain_raphael_dc

A good read... How Harry met Sally The movie that brought fake orgasms to the world's attention is getting the West End treatment. Writer Nora Ephron reveals that the two leads were inspired by her relationship with the film's depressed, womanising director Nora Ephron Friday February 20, 2004 The Guardian It began in October 1984, when I got a call from my agent saying that Rob Reiner and his producing partner Andrew Scheinman wanted to have lunch to discuss a project. So we had a lunch, and they told me about an idea they had for a movie about a lawyer. I've forgotten the details. The point is, it didn't interest me at all, and I couldn't imagine why they'd thought of me in connection with it. I remember being slightly perplexed about whether to say straight off that the idea didn't interest me, or whether to play along for an hour so as not to have that horrible awkwardness that can happen when the meeting is over but the lunch must go on. I decided on the former; and we then spent the rest of the lunch talking about ourselves. Well, that isn't entirely true: we spent the rest of the lunch talking about Rob and Andy. Rob was divorced and Andy was a bachelor - and they were both extremely funny and candid about their lives as single men in Los Angeles. When the lunch ended, we still didn't have an idea for a movie; but we decided to meet again the next time they were in New York. And so, a month later, we got together. And threw around more ideas, none of which I remember. But finally, Rob said wanted to make a movie about a man and a woman who become friends, as opposed to lovers. They make a deliberate decision not to have sex because sex ruins everything; and then they have sex and it ruins everything. And I said, let's do it. So we made a deal, and in February Andy and Rob came back to New York and we sat around for several days and they told me some things. Appalling things. They told me, for instance, that when they finished having sex, they wanted to get up out of bed and go home. (Which became: HARRY: "How long do I have to lie here and hold her before I can get up and go home? Is 30 seconds enough? ... How long do you like to be held afterwards? All night, right? ... Somewhere between 30 seconds and all night is your problem." SALLY: "I don't have a problem.") They told me about endless excuses they had concocted in order to make a middle-of-the-night getaway (SALLY: "You know, I am so glad I never got involved with you. I just would have ended up being a woman you had to get up out of bed and leave at three o'clock in the morning and go clean your andirons. And you don't even have a fireplace. Not that I would know this.") They also told me the reason they thought men and women couldn't be friends was that a man always wanted to sleep with a woman. Any woman. (HARRY: "No man can be friends with a woman he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her." SALLY: "So you're saying a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive." HARRY: "No. You pretty much want to nail them, too.") I said that these things were appalling, but the truth is that they weren't really a surprise; they were sort of my wildest nightmares of what men thought. Rob and Andy and I noodled for hours over the questions raised by friendship, sex, and life in general; and as we did, I realised that I had found a wonderful character in Rob Reiner. Rob is a very strange person. He is extremely funny, but he is also extremely depressed - or at least he was at the time; he talked constantly about it. "You know how women have a base of make-up," he said to me. "I have a base of depression. Sometimes I sink below it. Sometimes I rise above it." This line went right into the first draft of the movie, but somewhere along the line Rob cut it. A mistake, I think, but never mind. The point is that Rob was depressed; but he wasn't at all depressed about being depressed; in fact, he loved his depression. And so does Harry. Harry honestly believes that he is a better person than Sally because he has what Sally generously calls a dark side. "Suppose nothing happens to you," he says in the first sequence of the movie. "Suppose you live there [New York] your whole life and nothing happens. You never meet anyone, you never become anything, and finally you die one of those New York deaths where nobody notices for two weeks until the smell drifts out into the hallway." Harry is genuinely proud to have thought of that possibility and to lay it at the feet of this shallow young woman he is stuck in a car with for 18 hours. So I began with a Harry based on Rob. And because Harry was bleak and depressed, it followed absolutely that Sally would be cheerful and chirpy and relentlessly, pointlessly, unrealistically, idiotically optimistic. Which is, it turns out, very much like me. I'm not precisely chirpy, but I am the sort of person who is fine, I'm just fine, everything's fine. "I am over him," Sally says, when she isn't over him at all; I have uttered that line far too many times in my life, and far too many times I've made the mistake of believing it was true. Sally loves control - and I'm sorry to say that I do too. And inevitably, Sally's need to control her environment is connected to food. I say inevitably because food has always been something I write about - in part because it's the only thing I'm an expert on. But it wasn't my idea to use the way I order food as a character trait for Sally; well along in the process - third or fourth draft or so - Rob and Andy and I were ordering lunch for the fifth day in a row, and for the fifth day in a row my lunch order - for an avocado and bacon sandwich - consisted of an endless series of parenthetical remarks. I wanted the mayonnaise on the side, I wanted the bread toasted and slightly burnt. I wanted the bacon crisp. "I just like it the way I like it," I said, defensively, when the pattern was pointed out to me - and the line went into the script. But all that came much later. In the beginning, I was more or less alone - with a male character based somewhat on Rob, and a female character based somewhat on me. And a subject. Which was not, by the way, whether men and women could be friends. The movie instead was a way for me to write about being single - about the difficult, frustrating, awful, funny search for happiness in an American city where the primary emotion is unrequited love. This is from my notes, February 5, 1985, Rob speaking: "This is a talk piece. There are no chase scenes. No food fights. This is walks, apartments, phones, restaurants, movies." When Harry Met Sally started shooting in August 1988, almost four years after my first meeting with Rob and Andy. What had been called Just Friends and then Play Melancholy Baby went on to be called Boy Meets Girl; Words of Love; It Had to Be You; and Harry, This is Sally, to name just a few of the titles. Rob suggested that we try inserting some older couples talking about how they met. How They Met was another title we considered for at least a day. And gradually, the script began to change, from something that was mostly mine, to something else. Here is what I always say about screenwriting. When you write a script, it's like delivering a great big beautiful plain pizza, the one with only cheese and tomatoes. And then you give it to the director, and the director says: "I love this pizza. I am willing to commit to this pizza. But I really think this pizza should have mushrooms on it." And you say: "Mushrooms! Of course! I meant to put mushrooms on the pizza! Why didn't I think of that? Let's put some on immediately." And then someone else comes along and says: "I love this pizza too, but it really needs green peppers." "Great," you say. "Green peppers. Just the thing." And then someone else says: "'Anchovies." There's always a fight over the anchovies. And when you get done, what you have is a pizza with everything. Sometimes it's wonderful. And sometimes you look at it and you think, I knew we shouldn't have put the green peppers on it. Why didn't I say so at the time? Why didn't I lie down in traffic to prevent anyone putting green peppers on to he pizza? All this is a long way of saying that movies generally start out belonging to the writer and end up belonging to the director. As Rob and Andy and I worked on the movie, it changed: it became less quirky and much funnier; it became less mine and more theirs. And much as I would like to take full credit for what Sally says in the movie, the fact is that many of her best moments went into the script after the three of us began work on it together. "We told you about men," Rob and Andy said to me one day. "Now tell us about women." So I said: "Well, we could do something about sex fantasies."' And I wrote the scene about Sally's sex fantasy. "What else?"' they said. "Well," I said, "women send flowers to themselves in order to fool their boyfriends into thinking they have other suitors." And I wrote the scene about Marie sending flowers to herself. "What else?" Rob and Andy said. "Well," I said, "women fake orgasms." "Really?" they said. "Yes," I said. There was a long pause. I think I am correct in remembering the long pause. "All women?" they said. "Most women," I said. "At one time or another." A few days later, Rob called. He and Andy had written a sequence about faking orgasms and they wanted to insert it at the end of a scene. A few weeks later, we had our first actors' reading, and Meg Ryan suggested that Sally actually fake an orgasm in the delicatessen. We loved it. It went in the script. And then Billy Crystal, our Harry, provided the funniest of the dozens of funny lines he brought with him to the movie; he suggested that a woman customer turn to a waiter, when Sally's orgasm was over, and say: "I'll have what she's having." The line, by the way, was delivered in the movie by Estelle Reiner, Rob's mother. When a movie like When Harry Met Sally opens, people come to ask you questions about it. And for a few brief weeks, you become an expert. You give the impression that you knew what you were doing all along. You become an expert on the possibilities of love, on the differences between men and women. But the truth is that when you work on a movie, you don't sit around thinking: we're making a movie about the difference between men and women. You just do it. You say, this scene works for me, but this one doesn't. You say, this is good, but this could be funnier. And then they go off and shoot the movie and cut the movie and sometimes you get a movie that you're happy with. It's my experience that this happens very rarely. Once in a blue moon. Blue Moon was another title we considered for a minute or two. I mention it now so you will understand that even when you have a movie you're happy with, there's always something - in this case, the title - that you wish you could fix. But never mind. � When Harry Met Sally opens at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, tonight. Box office: 0870 901 3356. The screenplay of When Harry Met Sally by Norah Ephron will be published shortly by Bloomsbury books.

Just wanted to add (Sorry if I am wasting a post!) that I love Odds and Ends. It gives me a chance to share film things I find surfing around. It is great to have a place that is a true meeting of minds.

Moving this from topic 187 (Bee)Hey! I've been here a year! Thanks to each and every one of you who have made this a delightful year and to ODB not least of all for connecting me with all of you Happy Anniversary Bee, you've made it pretty delightful too:-)! On the topic of anniversaries...well, actually birthdays, I contacted Rika about renewing the birthday list (btw, she says hello to everyone and she'll be popping back in sometime soon:-)) as there are so many new drooleurs. If any of you would like to email me and give me your date of birth, I'll make sure it gets onto the new list. Oops..almost forgot, thanks for the segue Bee;-)!

Well, now. This is one way of looking at it February 17, 2004 After years of recurring Colin Firth, dreams, I finally had a different one last night. And you know what? It�s a lot more comfortable without the bustle. (I once had a real-life boyfriend who was into costume drama. It got old pretty fast. I called it quits once I realised that, if I didn�t dress up, he�d have trouble maintaining his art direction. But I digress.) When I am at the movies, I simply lust after Colin Firth. Which is easy, especially when he gets that confused little look between his eyebrows, and he looks just like � well, just like everybody else I�ve ever gone out with, actually. But when I am dreaming, I am ashamed to admit, I am in love with Colin Firth. And I don�t just mean I dream I am in love with him. I am in love with him. I can feel it. When I awake, I can even see it: a fine mist of dopamine and testosterone and norepinephrine suspended over the bedclothes - like a scene from A Midsummer Night�s Dream, played at an all-night chemist. In the latest version of the dream, Colin and I meet at the Fremantle Aquatic Centre. I spot him in front of the waterslide. We lock eyes, and I can feel something dragging me down, down, down. I knew I should have waxed! The pool is crowded with lesser mortals. But does this stop us from diving right in? It does not. As we head for the Leisure Lane, my resistance - to chlorine, to Colin, to anything - vanishes. I know with absolute conviction that I would follow him anywhere. Even to the stagnant end of the kiddie pool. (O, the madness! Oy, the germ count!) Is that the sound of my heart beating, I think to myself, or are the kids playing the soundtrack from Jaws again? The point of the dream, of course, is that it�s never safe to go back in the water. It�s important to be reminded of that every now and again - fun, too, as long as you are careful to stay unconscious. That�s probably one reason I�ve fallen so hard for Helen Fisher�s new book, Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. If you can�t sign up for stroke correction with Colin - and I got there first, remember? - Why We Love is probably the next best thing. (Having said that, I�ll confess that I haven�t actually read the whole book yet. Then again, I haven�t actually shagged Colin Firth yet, either. So what does that prove?) Fisher, an anthropologist based at Rutgers University�s Center for Human Evolutionary Studies in New Jersey, argues that love, like so much else in life worth having - from margarita mix to a McDonald�s milkshake - is a largely chemical cocktail. �With orgasm,� she explains, �levels of oxytocin go up in women and vasopressin in men�. (I love it when anthropologists talk dirty.) These �satisfaction hormones� give a sense of calm, peace and cosmic wellbeing - sort of like the Department of Homeland Security, but at a fraction of the cost. Ergo, if you have enough orgasms with somebody, you�re going to feel attached to them. (Mmmm. So this is why so many guys can�t get over themselves.) But mess with the delicate chemical balance, and you�ve got a prescription for disaster. Take �lifestyle antidepressants�, such as Prozac and Zoloft. (Everybody else seems to.) These SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, may not douse the flames of love. But they can sure throw cold water on the Bunsen burner of lust - and the two are more closely related than you might have dared imagine. The depressing thing about antidepressants, Fisher points out, is that they dampen the ability to have orgasms. Bottom line (and just a little to the left)? �If you�re not having an orgasm with omebody on a regular basis, you are not juicing your brain with attachment chemicals.� Couldn�t we just buy frozen concentrate and be done with it, one wonders? Apparently not, especially if we are female. Fresh-squeezed seminal fluid contains a veritable pharmacopoeia of feelgood chemicals, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, testosterone, oestrogen. Now, if only they could figure out how to add the chocolate. The biological link between love and sex, and between sex and attachment, is the good news in Why We Love. The bad news is that, if love is a drug, sooner or later most of us will end up in rehab. Extensive cross-cultural research suggests that pre-historic humans were hardwired (and chemically sharpened) for serial monogamy, with the average reproductive relationship lasting only till Pebbles or Bam Bam was ready for preschool. Even today, interestingly, divorce is most prevalent in the fourth year of marriage. (Of course, some of us are just precocious.) Personally, I�m sceptical that science will ever get to the bottom of it all. As Pascal reminds us, the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. And that goes double for a few other organs I could mention. Now, where did I put my flippers? http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8702776^17063,00.html

(Mary)...I love Odds and Ends. It gives me a chance to share film things I find surfing around. It is great to have a place that is a true meeting of minds. (Linda's article)I know with absolute conviction that I would follow him anywhere. Even to the stagnant end of the kiddie pool. (O, the madness! Oy, the germ count!) Is that the sound of my heart beating, I think to myself, or are the kids playing the soundtrack from Jaws again? .....ROTFLMAO! I love Odds & Ends too! It serves up such a wonderfully eclectic array of tidbits! Love the tidbit

SALLY: "So you're saying a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive." HARRY: "No. You pretty much want to nail them, too.") I said that these things were appalling, but the truth is that they weren't really a surprise; they were sort of my wildest nightmares of what men thought. Kind of like the toothbrush bit in The Dreamers! Betcha anything Bertolucci (or whoever wrote the screenplay) heard of that happening. Not that it wasn't a totally EOWWW! moment for all the women in the audience, I didn't exactly detect any men cringing, but laughing. Men will use anything as a toilet because they're able, considerably harder for a woman. But I digress... ;-) Thanks, Murph, for the article and all the other "wonderfully eclectic tidbits." Back to The Dreamers... I am eagerly awaiting Moonerella's take on the film. From my standpoint, it was an interesting look at the era. The sex/nudity was no big deal, but did anyone else notice that the guy who played Theo's full frontals were all from a distance. With the exception of the one tight shot of Matthew's "photo album" (which could've been a body double), the male nudity was far more circumspect than the woman's. Bet if I clocked it, there was more (timewise and skinwise) for the woman. Being nowhere near a cinephile as those in the movie, I did enjoy the intercutting of famous films; it was so much a part of their lives. I saw an Irish film in which the characters enacted that same scene from Godard's Breathless. It was called "When Brendan Met Trudy." (LOL at coincidence!) But I really didn't understand the parents and how they would just leave? Granted they may have been somewhat Bohemian, given the times, but still, it seemed rather bizarre to me.

Where's the mention of you dancing on the tables at this party, Dorine? BAFTA BONANZA: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) East Coast held its fourth-annual British Academy Awards party on Sunday at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. More than 300 guests (including actor Matthew Modine and novelist Tama Janowitz) dined on a buffet lunch, sipped champagne and wine, and settled into their tables to watch the live telecast of the BAFTAs on BBC America. Actor Alec Baldwin was a surprise special guest at the New York event. As he took the podium to announce door prize winners, he joked, "I'd like to thank the British Academy for selecting me as your raffle drawer. It is a particular honor." (He wasn't nominated for a BAFTA award, but he's garnering more and more steam for his Oscar nod.) Baldwin then joked that prizes included a "12-month supply of haggis and stilton shortbreads." Highlights from the actual ceremony, over in London, were host Stephen Fry threatening that his "breasts may fall out" if acceptance speeches went on too long; Bill Ni hy winning for his portrayal of an aging rocker in "Love Actually," and Sofia Coppola reading a hilarious acceptance speech for best actor winner Bill Murray. The BAFTAs aren't always a good predictor for the Oscars -- as in the case of underdog original screenplay winner Tom McCarthy for "The Station Agent," snubbed by the Oscars -- but film of the year honors went to "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." In a surprise move, the BAFTA award for best director went to that other Peter -- Weir -- for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_040220buzz.html

LOL! I knew the right people to pay off. ;-) Second year in a row that director win was a big suprise.

(Karen)I did enjoy the intercutting of famous films; it was so much a part of their lives. I saw an Irish film in which the characters enacted that same scene from Godard's Breathless. It was called "When Brendan Met Trudy." (LOL at coincidence!) I agree . .the intercutting was facinating . .liked the bit where the kids were running through the museum (was it the Louvre?) Which part was the Irish film shown in? (As an aside, I had a realization while watching one of the intercutting segments. .the one where Isabelle was dancing around w/ the mop (the clips shown from the Marlene Deitrich film (Blonde Venus) . .Joel Schumacher had copied that same scene when he did Batman & Robin . .down to Uma Thurman in the gorilla suit.) (Karen)But I really didn't understand the parents and how they would just leave? Granted they may have been somewhat Bohemian, given the times, but still, it seemed rather bizarre to me. I think it was something they've done before . .I thought I recalled the father, when giving the kids the check or mentioning the money they were leaving, said something like :"Don't spead it too quickly again . ." or something like that. The father was a poet/writer, correct and they left b/c it was a book tour of some sorts. Perhaps every time he had these tours, they just left the kids . . It's been awhile since I saw the film. How long were the parents gone again? A month?

Question: Did "The Machinist"get a distributor at Sundance?

Not to my knowledge. I believe I mentioned I thought that out of the two, Trauma was the more commercially viable film. I see The Machinist as a festival film then to DVD (if it gets as far as a DVD release).

Thanks Mary and Linda for the articles. Thoroughly enjoyed them both.

"Intimacy" is available at Netflix in the "raw" version. I have an "Economy" subscription, and I really enjoy it.

(Kim) Perhaps every time he had these tours, they just left the kids I meant after they've returned and see what had gone on...the living room tent. liked the bit where the kids were running through the museum (was it the Louvre?) The Louvre got a credit at the end. Which part was the Irish film shown in? You mean, which scene from Breathless? This one: There were all sorts of reenactments - from Sunset Blvd and others. (Katty) "Intimacy" is available at Netflix in the "raw" version. I have an "Economy" subscription, and I really enjoy it. Yeah, I had suggested that before, didn't I? Anyway, I'm glad that you too found it enjoyable. The character portraits are fascinating and the acting is so good. A really desperate group of characters, but... Did you realize that was Marianne Faithful?

(Karen) Did you realize that was Marianne Faithful? I did, right off. But, I did just *barely* recognize Susannah Harker (Jane, P&P).

Yeah, I had suggested that before, didn't I? Anyway, I'm glad that you too found it enjoyable. Sorry, I meant I enjoy my subscription, not the movie, which I haven't seen. But all this talk has piqued my interest and I have it on order. The lead guy who was in Angels and Insects sure doesn't seem like the prime candidate for that kind of role - he was pretty wimpy in A&I - but maybe that was just good acting. That Colin Firth dream article in The Australian was hilarious. The writer has great wit as well as great taste.

(Katty) he was pretty wimpy in A&I - but maybe that was just good acting. Mark Rylance is the artistic director of the Globe Theatre in London. He's RADA and RSC and won Oliviers. Nevertheless, it still may not be your cup of tea, but the cast (Rylance, Timothy Spall and Kerry Fox) made it a cut way above the other films which had pushed the sexual content envelope at that time. I felt more assured that it wasn't being done for titillation or other mercenary purposes, plus the story was written by the guy who did My Beautiful Launderette. This was a serious film with explicit sex and serious actors and therefore more worth my time to see than the others. I suggest people read the reviews (of serious critics) before attempting to rent it.

Here is the Rotten Tomatoes page of reviews for Intimacy: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Intimacy-1110561/

Thanks, Karen, for your take on Intimacy. It sounds like a film worth seeing for much more than its sensational aspect. Mark Rylance is probably unrecognizable in Intimacy if all I know of him is the character in A&I, and that is ultimately the goal of a great actor - to disappear into his roles.

Kim) Perhaps every time he had these tours, they just left the kids (Karen)I meant after they've returned and see what had gone on...the living room tent. Ahh . .yes THAT part! . .Maybe the shock of it all made the parents leave . .. .though something in me had a feeling those kids have gotten into sticky situations before . . . maybe that check was more of a payoff for Matthew to leave and forget it happened . . .?:)

Hello ladies, I'm back! Sorry to cut in but why is everyone discussing such an old movie? I remember seeing it because of Marianne Faithful. If you want to see her in an earlier film by one of my favourite film directors, Nicholas Roeg, check out the film with Mick Jaegger when she was his girlfriend and very beautiful, "Interview".

(Moon) Sorry to cut in but why is everyone discussing such an old movie? Esp. when Spring has a Movie Topic;-q http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/browse/movies/all

(Moon) why is everyone discussing such an old movie? Intimacy? Yes, it's ancient!....a whole 3 yrs old. ;-) Welcome back, Moon!! Missed ya, and sorry you missed ODB. :-/

Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! Sean Penn's probably cursing CE and all the people who made him go to that shindig.

Anyone want to dish on the Sex & The City finale? All I can say is . . . thank God for caller ID!;-) (Dorine)Intimacy? Yes, it's ancient!....a whole 3 yrs old. ;-) LOL, didn't realize there was a statute of limitations on film discussions. Moon, if you really want to know why, you need to look back further to see how the topic first came up. Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! Not me, was shocked. I liked Tim Robbins's speech; I noticed he has the same publicist as Colin. Was that the same dress RZ wore to BAFTA? Can't imagine she'd repeat, but was certainly very similar. Glad she took my advice and wore diamonds with it this time.;-) Think she can be persuaded to share John Carrabino with someone we all know and love who could use some sage career advice?;-)

(Mari) I liked Tim Robbins's speech; I noticed he has the same publicist as Colin. I liked the speech,too, but tacky how they kept moving the spot off him to get him to stop. Good for him to keep talking. I'm pretty generally aware of the issues he and Sean Astin were talking about. And how about John Rhys-Davies shoving SA over to get him to stop. If I were Sean, that guy would be gettin' a piece of my mind backstage. ;-) One thing that impressed me at a LOTR Q&A and on the show tonight, is how articulate and obviously intelligent Sean Astin is. It's more pronounced when you hear the Hobbits all together. I didn't totally listen to all the people Tim Robbins mentioned. Was that the same dress RZ wore to BAFTA? Can't imagine she'd repeat, but was certainly very similar. *Thank* yoU! That was my *first* thought when I saw her, but just figured I'd mixed her up with someone else. I loved that necklace. See the guy behind Peter Krause when 6 Ft Under won? Chewing his gum like a cow. :-( Was flipping back and forth on SATC, so missed a few tidbits here and there that I'll catch tomorrow night. Glad to see her with Big. I think most people wanted it that way. They just finished editing it the middle of last week...think they were reading around the internet to see what people wanted and went with that. I think it would've been the wrong way to go if Carrie hadn't ended up in a (hopefully) decent relationship like the others. She's had too many dysfunctional ones. I think it would've shown a lack of growth, esp after Big showed growth by apologizing and finally owning up to his feelings. Granted she was in a relationship already, but they were in 2 totally different places, like she and Big were until he got his emotional act together. Think I'm rambling... Good job by Anne Meara...tagged her for a stroke immediately. She gave some good, subtle physical clues, beside the obvious cognitive issues.

Hmmm, took me longer to catch up with the night's offerings than all you guys. Had to submit the TV schedule to the Supercomputer Lab in Champaign to work out what I'd watch from when to when, what I'd tape, when I had time to go the bathroom... ;-) (Moon) Sorry to cut in but why is everyone discussing such an old movie? (Evelyn) Esp. when Spring has a Movie Topic;-q That's where you discuss children's movies. ;-) (Dorine) Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! Ya gotta know that I surely didn't. Pathetic, truly pathetic. (Mari) All I can say is . . . thank God for caller ID!;-) I knew it! I knew it! OK, not how but what they were going to reveal. The retrospective gave it away. The writer mentioned that Carrie didn't know him; didn't know his name. I almost called Ev when the show was over to tell her. The finale was absofuckinglutely great. Didn't let me down at all. (Mari) Was that the same dress RZ wore to BAFTA? My first thought too. (Dorine) See the guy behind Peter Krause when 6 Ft Under won? Chewing his gum like a cow. :-( Yessssss!! Betcha his mother called him right after the show to *chew* him out. What an idiot. (Dorine) Good job by Anne Meara...tagged her for a stroke immediately. She gave some good, subtle physical clues, beside the obvious cognitive issues. I thought so too. It was well done. More in the a.m.

And, Moon, context is rather important. ;-)

Re SATC -- I am happy with the way everything wound up. The Big thing was expected (So his name is John!), but since Miranda and Sam are my favorites, I loved their final moments - Miranda washing Ann Meara was so on target and so full of love and caring (I have done that with my mother in law myself in years past.) And Smith coming home to Sam - what they said to one another? Just grand. Loved that Sam's final words were a very satisfied scream of delight. I was surprisingly sad at the final moment. I came to the show late, but it got to me. Two weeks --- Tony is baaacck! Anyone else like "Curb Your Enthusiasm?" Larry David is such a klutz, and so hilarious.

(Dorine), Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! Sean Penn's probably cursing CE and all the people who made him go to that shindig. LOL! Totally! I doubt he'll be at the Oscars. I guess for SAG members, more is more. And in that sense, I'm happy about LOTR. And for once, I thought all the ladies looked very nice. (Dorine),And how about John Rhys-Davies shoving SA over to get him to stop. I'm glad he did. Sean should write an article on V or THR about it. Tim had said it very well already. (Mari), didn't realize there was a statute of limitations on film discussions. Moon, if you really want to know why, you need to look back further to see how the topic first came up. I know that! I just wanted to re-enter with a bang. ;-) (Evelyn) Esp. when Spring has a Movie Topic;-q (Karen), That's where you discuss children's movies. ;-) You've got that right. ;-)

Are we up for a discussion of The Passion of Christ? Or would it be too devisive? Early reviews from Time, Newsweek and The Hollywood Reporter are in. (Finally! I am sick to death of the pre-publicity surrounding this film) I have excerpted some of what the reviewers had to say and added my own comments. Will not post until I hear what our leader wants.

(Karen) absofuckinglutely *Loved* when he said that, was ROTF. Just struck me funny. (Murph) Two weeks --- Tony is baaacck! Looks great, too! Anyone else like "Curb Your Enthusiasm?" Larry David is such a klutz, and so hilarious. I can't take him on a weekly basis. I've found it uneven, but have enjoyed it. So his name is John! How cute, it rhymes with the real Big's name...Ron. Are we up for a discussion of The Passion of Christ? Or would it be too devisive? Might get relegated to a closet. ;-) 'I won't comment til I've seen it and I'm not going til the hubbub goes down. Who's going to be able to get near a theater unless you belong to a church group. They're buying up all the tix. (Moon) I thought all the ladies looked very nice. For the most part, me too.

(Karen) absofuckinglutely (Dorine) *Loved* when he said that, was ROTF. Just struck me funny. Another thing given away from the Retrospective show, emphasizing the ending of the pilot episode. Alexandr's ex-wife was Carole Bouquet. Remember her? "For your eyes only..." Would Anne Meara's character have "good days"? I didn't think so with a stroke. SAG favs: definitely Charlize (hair too!) and Naomi and I liked Laura Linney's too. Lots of purple of various shades. Do you think the ladies of SATC planned theirs out. Kristen and Kim's even looked like the same fabric. Cynthia's might have been to blend, as she couldnt' have worn that color with her hair. Re: Discussion of TPOTC I don't care, though everything surrounding its notoreity annoys me.

(Dorine) Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! (Karen)Ya gotta know that I surely didn't. Pathetic, truly pathetic. Why pathetic? I approved. The winners last night, Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Renee Z. all went outside the box and excelled in pattern-breaking roles.No cookie-cutters for them. I didn't really like Pirates of the Carribean, but JD was superb. Beats me why Jack Nicholson keeps getting awards for the same ole. (Karen)The finale was absofuckinglutely great. Agree. I laughed, I cried. (Told you Charlotte and Harry would adopt a bi-racial baby...adorable. )Will watch this one again . (Murph) Are we up for a discussion of The Passion of Christ? It's a movie, isn't it? I won't comment til I see it. Evelyn) Esp. when Spring has a Movie Topic;-q (Karen), That's where you discuss children's movies. ;-) (Moon)You've got that right. ;-) We-el, You wouldn't let me discuss Titanic, seven years ago;-/ Loved RZ gown and ...hair;-) liked the speech,too, but tacky how they kept moving the spot off him to get him to stop. Good for him to keep talking. I'm pretty generally aware of the issues he and Sean Astin were talking about. Of course, everyone is aware of the issues. But I look at award shows to know the winners and hear them thank their grandmothers;-) Not *issues* or *tenets of Scientology*. Right on who ever said that stuff belongs in the trades. Paid for. Not on the cheap.

From today's Guardian: A bigger slice of the action This Sunday could see the first woman director to win an Oscar. Why has it taken so long? Natasha Walter talks to leading female film-makers about the battles they face Sofia Coppola's Oscar nomination for best director this year for her second film, Lost in Translation, has been taken as something as a breakthrough for women. This weekend we shall find out whether she is the first woman ever to win. But how can it be that this is only the third time that a woman has even been up for this award - 30 years since Lina Wertmuller was nominated for Seven Beauties and more than 10 years since Jane Campion was nominated for The Piano? What is stopping women making the sort of films that take the highest honours? Women directors at the peak of their careers say that of course women in film have faced all the barriers that women in every sphere have faced - from encounters with outright sexism to the struggle to balance work and family life - but that the industry is now changing. Gurinder Chadha achieved a mainstream hit two years ago with Bend It Like Beckham, and is now about to release Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood take on Jane Austen. It took her a long time to break through; after she directed her first film, she didn't direct another feature for six years. "I did meet resentment when I started out," she says, "but look, this is a hard industry for everyone. And I feel that the attitudes of an older generation have changed." Beeban Kidron, who has just finished filming the second Bridget Jones film, has also felt barriers come down. "When I started it was so unusual for a woman to be directing," she says. "On my very first film I fired the assistant director after he called me 'the little lady'. But now I feel I have respect for what I have achieved. The only thing that I'm upset about is that I'd like to make a Bond film - and I know I'd do a good job - but that's always pooh-poohed." Indeed, even if women don't face blatant sexism any more, they often say that they are still being ever so gently funnelled into making certain kinds of film. Women directors tend to complain about this more in the US, where the big money goes into the films that glimmer with gore and shimmer with special effects - the sort the boys make. Even if they aren't itching to create those gut-wrenching spectacles, many women say that they are trusted less to handle budgets that men would take for granted. Catherine Hardwicke, who was an experienced production designer before she broke into directing with her heartfelt film about teenage life, Thirteen, was struck by how hard she found it to get her first film financed. "It's harder, it is definitely harder," she told an online film magazine. "The other screenplays that I've written before this, you know, I had them really planned out ... [but] people would just say, 'You're never going to make that as your first movie. A $5m movie, you're never going to direct that!' And I'm thinking to myself - argh! How many first-time directors have I worked with, and they had way bigger budgets than $5m, and they're all guys? I do think it makes a real difference." Other women echo Hardwicke's sense of frustration. Scottish director Alison Peebles, whose first feature film, Afterlife, was released last year, says she can already sense the same thing happening around her. "If I come up with a proposal for a film that involves more of a budget - maybe a period feature or something with higher production values - they might well say, 'Well, you haven't got the experience.' But I don't see that stopping them giving it to a man who doesn't have the experience either." If women are being pushed into making smaller-scale, more intimate films, they are showing that they can succeed within those limits. At this year's Oscars we can measure the growing success of women directors in a way other than Coppola's nomination - and that's in the performances that women directors are generating. In 2002 only 7% of US films bore the stamp of a woman director, but this year's Oscars show that they are yielding the majority of nominations for best actress. [Ed note: Durr! And that's because only women directors will give good, meaty roles to women. Not going to find any worthy of a Best Actress nom in a male-oriented blockbuster f/x type.] And these are performances you can't forget. Nancy Meyers has drawn the performance of her career from Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give, getting her to drop her actressy, brittle gestures for something more lively and vulnerable. Niki Caro got the 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes not so much to act her heart out in Whale Rider, as to live, apparently unconscious and unfettered, in front of the camera. And then there is the favourite for the award, the transformation of Charlize Theron from glossy starlet to compelling antihero in Patty Jenkins' film about a lesbian serial killer, Monster. Hardwicke, whose film yielded a best supporting actress nomination for Holly Hunter, recently said: "So many movies directed by men last year are laden with special effects. Movies by women are about feelings, relationships and character." She says actors can recognise the difference between the way she directs and the techniques of her male peers. "These actors tell me, 'Male directors don't let us go there; we want to go there.'" This place that women directors are keen to take their characters is not necessarily somewhere conventionally feminine. Although Coppola was keen to focus on the feminine beauty and sweetness of her actress, Scarlett Johansson - for which Johansson won best actress at the Baftas aswell as an Oscar nomination - other women directors are playing around with the usual view of women on screen. Patty Jenkins was particularly set on breaking what she saw as traditional constraints on an actress when she started work on Monster. "We pushed it as far as we could go," she says. "We didn't want the sort of performance where a beautiful actress is meant to be playing an alcoholic but everything about her suggests that she isn't; you don't see the physicality of it." More unusual than Theron's bad teeth and heavy flesh, though, is her violent fury, which is neither glamorised nor excused. "Men around the film got quite nervous. They said we couldn't give audiences such an unsympathetic female character, that we needed to show her in a more sympathetic light. But I said no - you wouldn't say that to Martin Sheen. We can't shy away from this, she killed people." All the women directors I have spoken to talk about their fascination with trying to get the sharpness and complexity of human emotion on to the screen. Peebles was an actor herself before she moved into directing, and says, "I think I am more simpatico with the actors than some directors." Shona Auerbach is another director on the brink of mainstream success. Dear Frankie, a quiet and moving first film, has been bought for distribution by Miramax; it centres on the relationship between a single mother and her son. "I am very attracted to films in which human relationships and emotions take centre stage," she says. But like many of the other directors, she was wary of saying she felt that had anything to do with being a woman. "Sure, I've been inspired by Jane Campion, but also by Kieslowski." The challenge for the future is not just that women should be allowed to make more films, but that they should be able to make any kind of film. Indeed, what women screenwriters and directors keep saying is that they don't want to be boxed in by anyone's expectations of what they should be doing. With women from Lynne Ramsay to Gurinder Chadha and Sofia Coppola to Beeban Kidron gaining international attention, it feels as though we are only now seeing the start of a new generation of female film-makers who can work confidently across a range of styles. This isn't happening only in the English language market; the Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf is just 24 and has already won two jury prizes at Cannes, for Blackboards and At Five in the Afternoon, both of which have political as well as personal themes. Patty Jenkins sees the future struggle in this light. "More than just getting work for women directors, I feel that the battle line that is most difficult right now is trying to make universal stories if you are a woman. It's not about being a woman director and so feeling that you must make women's films - or, indeed, going into action films as a reaction to that. I want to make universal films with universal, powerful heroes." Looking at it like that, it seems almost a pity that the Academy has chosen to nominate Coppola and her pretty-pretty vision of a girl in pink knickers falling for a witty older man, rather than some of the more striking visions that women directors are giving us. If only Coppola was on the list this year next to Makhmalbaf, Hardwicke and Jenkins, then the true range of women's achievements would be getting more honest recognition. That time will surely come. http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1153995,00.html

But they didn't even mention Dennie Gordon;-) One would think that with so many women now CEO's of the big studios, they would lend a hand to a female. If you watch the credits, there are lots of women directors on TV.

(Murph)Miranda washing Ann Meara was so on target and so full of love and caring That was so well done, as was the entire episode. I said from the start that the Russion was a nogoodnik.;-) Him and his anxiety attack. What a baby. Everything was always about him. How sad was it when she went to the restaurant and saw that her "fanclub" had departed, and even left her book behind. Anyone else like "Curb Your Enthusiasm?" I do! Hilarious. "It's a mullatto doll." He's such an ass, but he has me in tears of laughter every week. Last week's was particularly funny, when he picked up that hooker as a way to use the carpool lane going to Dodger Stadium! I have excerpted some of what the reviewers had to say and added my own comments I'd love to read it. Other than Ebert & Roeper (who gave it raves), I haven't read any of the reviews.

(Evelyn) One would think that with so many women now CEO's of the big studios, they would lend a hand to a female. No, they're playing in a "man's" world and those women are the "new men." In order to succeed in business, women have had to become men, a truly sad commentary on the what the feminist movement has produced. Besides, being head of a studio is business and money is the bottom line.

From the AP: Carrie returns to Mr. Big on final 'Sex and the City' NEW YORK -- Torn between two lovers, Carrie Bradshaw returned to Mr. Big and New York, ditching Aleksandr in Paris, on Sunday's finale of "Sex and the City." Her big decision settled a question this HBO comedy had been building toward for six seasons: What man, if any, would Carrie end up with? The satisfying answer: Carrie (series star Sarah Jessica Parker) chose the on-again/off-again businessman beau (Chris Noth) with whom she first struck sparks on the series' premiere. But first, she had to confront her mistake in leaving her world behind to move to Paris with Aleksandr, the self-involved, neglectful artist played by Mikhail Baryshnikov. "I am someone who's looking for love, real love ... can't-live-without-each-other love -- and I don't think that love is here," Carrie tells him. Moments later, Big, who has come to his senses and raced across the ocean to bring her home, finds her, alone, in her hotel lobby. "It took me a really long time to get here," he says. "But I'm here. Carrie, you're the one." After nearly 100 romantic and often raunchy installments, "Sex" closed the book with a top-secret, much-hyped conclusion that made good on its promise to resolve the love life of New York sex columnist Carrie. Meanwhile, it nicely tied up some details concerning her three gal pals: -- Miranda, the hard-nosed realist played by Cynthia Nixon, remained a happy mother and the wife of bartender Steve, living in Brooklyn (where she opened her heart to Steve's ailing mother, inviting her to come live with them). -- Charlotte, the idealist (Kristin Davis) and her husband, Harry (formerly her divorce lawyer) got their wish, at last: they'll be adopting a baby girl from China. -- And hot-blooded Samantha (Kim Cattrall) was solid with her boy-toy hunk, Smith, despite the loss of her sex drive from treatment for breast cancer. In a tender moment, he declares his love for her. "You've meant more to me than any man I've ever known," a tearful Samantha replies. Voila! A few scenes later, she's her lusty self, nude in the sack astride Smith. Her final line is a howl of pleasure. Back in New York, Carrie surprises her friends at the coffee shop where they've exchanged so many confidences with one another (and viewers) through the years. Then, as a special treat at the fadeout, the man Carrie dubbed "Mr. Big" so long ago phones her and, for the first time, viewers learn his real name, displayed on the caller ID: John. "The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself," says Carrie in her role as narrator. "And if you find someone to love the you you love," she concludes, "well, that's just fabulous." The Manhattan-set series, which premiered in June 1998, became a cultural phenomenon, defining a new breed of modern woman who wasn't afraid to talk about men -- and her desire for them -- with raw honesty even as she placed top priority on friendships with other women. But as the announced end neared, accompanied by a flood of eulogies, a contradictory message was gaining volume: Maybe this won't be the sure-nuff end of "Sex," after all. The series' top executive, Michael Patrick King, and the show's cast are in discussions with HBO about a movie that would continue the saga, HBO spokeswoman Tobe Becker confirmed Thursday. The details remained in doubt. Indeed, in addressing the question two weeks ago, co-producer Parker unleashed a flood of conditionals befitting a politician on the stump. "I haven't made any decisions about how we might revisit this show and in what medium," she said, listing several unrelated projects that might occupy her for the immediate future. "It's very important to me that we are dignified and graceful in our exit from the (current) series," Parker declared. "After that, if we hear a cry from the public, I think we have to respond to that, if we can do right by them."

(Karen) Would Anne Meara's character have "good days"? I didn't think so with a stroke. Certainly. Depends on many factors....where and how significant the damage is, fatigue level, and current medications among others. Just like those with early to mid-stage Alzheimer's. Dementia, no matter the etiology, can be a wildly fluctuating condition. Makes consistent progress in rehab rather challenging for both the patient and the therapist. Another thing given away from the Retrospective show, emphasizing the ending of the pilot episode. Glad I didn 't watch it if they were giving so many clues. Liked discovering it for myself. Dorine) Johnny Depp...SAG award! Who saw *that* coming?! (Karen)Ya gotta know that I surely didn't. Pathetic, truly pathetic. (Evelyn) Why pathetic? I approved. I didn't disapprove per se, loved him in it, but was just floored that he won. I was rooting for and believe Bill Murray is the best out of that group. Bet anything, the Oscars will be back to a horse race between Bill M and SP. We don't know the percentage of SAG members that voted for JD and there's a significant amount of Oscar voters who aren't SAG members. Curious the percentage of voters who already have their ballots back vs ones who will wait til the last minute on Tues, who may be influenced in the least by the SAG awards. (Evelyn) Of course, everyone is aware of the issues. But I look at award shows to know the winners and hear them thank their grandmothers;-) Not *issues* or *tenets of Scientology*. I say get your message out to your target audience while opportunity is knocking....a captive audience. Can't beat them when they're free and the world's press is there. Though squandering your time and rambling about it is another thing. Thank your grandmother, make your point and leave. ;-)

(Dorine) Just like those with early to mid-stage Alzheimer's. Dementia, no matter the etiology, can be a wildly fluctuating condition. I know more than I ever wanted to know about AD, but thought once a stroke affects certain areas of the brain, that was it. They're gone. Certain motor skills can be relearned, but brain damage is brain damage. Hmmm, fast-forwarded through the LOTR acceptance speech. Wasn't in the least interested. Guess, I'm going to have to check out SA and what went on. Even though the Best Ensemble award is SAG's equivalent for Best Picture, I find it completely hypocritically for the LOTR's cast to have won when so little of the movie has ever been dependent on actors or acting. Note the dearth of acting noms for any of the three films. IMO, the SAG members sold out their profession with that award, as well as the one for JD.

(Karen) Certain motor skills can be relearned, but brain damage is brain damage One of the wonderful qualities of the brain is it's plasticity. Nerve pathways can regenerate to a degree as well as reroute themselves. Otherwise no stroke or traumatic brain injury sufferers would have much or any recovery, such as Robert Lawrence (Tumbledown) for instance. ;-) Now how much recovery there is after a stroke depends again on many factors...amount and quality of rehab, amount of effort/motivation by patients themselves, the location, severity, and type of event, etc. SAG members sold out their profession with that award, as well as the one for JD. I know you didn't like POTC. I did despite it being too long (as was all of the LOTR films), but IMO, JD saved that movie. I absolutely would have thought it crap if he wasn't in it. Same can be said for Once Upon a Time in Mexico with he and Antonio Banderas. I think both movies were raised above being just mediocre or downright awful because of him. I find that to be a gift.

Kirk Honicutt in the Hollywood Reporter - In early scenes and the flashback, Caviezel has the look and gravity to portray the warm and compassionate rabbi that Jesus was. But we get only these snippets of his humanity. (One bizarre flashback focuses solely on his former occupation, that of a carpenter.) More troubling is Gibson's decision to make Jesus into a victim of political intrigue, thus denying him his martyrdom. Why do so many disciples follow this man? What does his promise of eternal life mean in the context of these events? Gibson's intense concentration on the scourging and whipping of the physical body virtually denies any metaphysical significance to the most famous half-day in history. http://hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000441264 ************************** David Ansen - Newsweek: This peculiar, deeply personal expression of the filmmaker's faith is a far cry from the sentimental, pious depictions of Christ that popular culture has often served up. Relentlessly savage, "The Passion" plays like the Gospel according to the Marquis de Sade. The film that has been getting rapturous advance raves from evangelical Christians turns out to be an R-rated inspirational movie no child can, or should, see. To these secular eyes at least, Gibson's movie is more likely to inspire nightmares than devotion. It's the sadism, not the alleged anti-Semitism, that is most striking. (For the record, I don't think Gibson is anti-Semitic; but those inclined toward bigotry could easily find fuel for their fire here.) There's always been a pronounced streak of sadomasochism and martyrdom running through Gibson's movies, both as an actor and as a filmmaker. The Oscar-winning "Braveheart" reveled in decapitations and disembowelments, not to mention the spectacle of Gibson himself, as the Scottish warrior hero, impaled on a cross. In "Mad Max," the "Lethal Weapon" movies, "Ransom" and "Signs" (where he's a cleric who's lost his faith), the Gibson hero is pummeled and persecuted, driven to suicidal extremes. From these pop passion plays to the Passion itself is a logical progression; it gives rise to the suspicion that on some unconscious level "The Passion of the Christ" is, for Gibson, autobiography... It's fascinating that the most understated sequence is the Resurrection itself. Rendered in obliquely crisp cinematic shorthand, it brings the movie to an anomalously muted conclusion. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4338528/ ********************************** David Van Beima in Time: "With due respect for his desire that Christ's sacrifice be understood by all and for the gratitude among Christians that a Hollywood deity has finally made an accomplished and utterly unironical Christian film, one can only hope that he has it wrong. The Christian story includes joy, astonishment, prophecy, righteous wrath, mystery and love straightforward as well as love sacrificial. The Passion of the Christ is a one-note threnody about the Son of God being dragged to his death. That may be just the ticket for some times and for some benighted places where understanding human torment in terms of God's love is the only religious insight of any use. But in a culture as rich, as powerful, as lucky and as open-minded as ours � one might even say, as blessed � it is, or should be, a very bad fit indeed. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040301-593591,00.html ********************** These reviewers state my main criticism of the film, (based, I admit, on articles and reviews and more publicity than we need. I haven't seen the film), said better than I could say it. The moments that counted and still count in Holy Week happened not during the horror-filled hours of the crucifixion but on Easter Sunday with Christ's rising from the dead. Redemption, for those who believe, happened then, the joy of knowing that there is life after death. If you are going to graphically show the death of Jesus, then you must make all that suffering lead to his resurrection - the main event - the true heart of why this God/man chose his manner of death. - Murph, a Catholic who is very happy with the English Mass and Vatican II.

(Karen) Certain motor skills can be relearned, but brain damage is brain damage (Dorine) One of the wonderful qualities of the brain is it's plasticity. Nerve pathways can regenerate to a degree as well as reroute themselves. And the same can apply to some degree to SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) sufferers,as well, at least when the spinal cord is only bruised or has an incomplete cut vs. a complete cut. Sorry for the medical lesson. ;-) Neuro rehab was my specialty and favorite area of interest. Did Orthopedics, too, but not as inherently interesting (no offense to those with hip and knee replacements ;-)).

Voila! A few scenes later, she's her lusty self, nude in the sack astride Smith. Her final line is a howl of pleasure Did you love the way the accompanying "flowers[spring] not yet blooming" that Smith sent started to bloomonce blossom at a time... til the last howl when there were flowers all over the place. Nice touch. Clever writing, directing. Just heard on the news that the commercial networks want to run the series...with lots of cutting and cleaning. Won't be the same. I say get your message out to your target audience while opportunity is knocking....a captive audience. What captive audience? I'm not a union member, and what's more, I don't care. Sometimes that type of "in-your-face" behavior serves the opposite effect. Networks hate it because, in all fairness, the opposition requests equal time.

(Mari) I said from the start that the Russion was a nogoodnik.;-) Him and his anxiety attack. What a baby. Everything was always about him. (a) you have to wonder why Carrie stayed so long at the museum; I'd have cut out and gone to my party when I realized I'd been abandoned. (b) remember the ex-wife's comment and surprise that Carrie had her own fame and that Alexandr was fine with it? Made me wonder whether there would've been an anxiety attack at all if he hadn't known about Carrie's party. Bet he would've left her in the hotel under normal circumstances, saying *he* had to unveil the pieces to the curator and would be home later. Personally, Miranda has been my fav this last season. She became the spokesperson for the group. I can't forget how she said last week to Big, "Go get our girl." Just the way she looked, as the one who knew what Carrie was going through in Paris. (Dorine) One of the wonderful qualities of the brain is it's plasticity. Nerve pathways can regenerate to a degree as well as reroute themselves. Otherwise no stroke or traumatic brain injury sufferers would have much or any recovery, such as Robert Lawrence (Tumbledown) for instance. ;-) Yes, yes, yes. But I was talking more about memory loss, and I'm excluding amnesia or anything caused by traumatic or psychosomatic events. Anyway, the events on SATC took place probably within a week's time.

(Murph) These reviewers state my main criticism of the film..... The moments that counted and still count in Holy Week happened not during the horror-filled hours of the crucifixion but on Easter Sunday with Christ's rising from the dead. Redemption, for those who believe, happened then, the joy of knowing that there is life after death. If you are going to graphically show the death of Jesus, then you must make all that suffering lead to his resurrection - the main event - the true heart of why this God/man chose his manner of death. I was curious when watching some stories about it on CNN and other places this weekend, if they dealt with the Resurrection or just stopped when they took him down from the cross. The one main point I see MG making, is to *really* illustrate the depths to which Jesus willingly sacrificed himself for the world. I don't know whether a grand Resurrection scene will be necessary, but it is the whole point of the suffering, isn't it? I think the reality of that brutal sacrifice, such as it would have been back then, is very much lost on most people. Sure people go to church, recite the same prayers about it, ruminate on the sermons about it, but do they **truly** understand what it all meant and would have been like. I didn't for one. Got a good idea so far from the trailer, and I'm astounded, quite frankly. I believe I'll find it quite powerful (if my feelings after the trailer were any indication) regardless of how it ends. I may or may not need the rest of it. How it fits in to the rest of the movie nd whether there is a "payoff" at the end with a satisfying depiction of the Resurrection, I obviously won't be able to comment until I see it. Ironically, I'm a lapsed Catholic and presently consider myself an agnostic. My aunt, who is a nun, won't be seeing it due to the extreme violence. So much for not commenting til I'd seen it. ;-)

Glad you found reviews that agreed with your criticism of the film, Murph. I'll wait til I see it to comment. Meanwhile this seems to be the consensus of opinion...including Rabbi Geldman on CNN yesterday. .. those inclined toward bigotry could easily find fuel for their fire here.) Hey,we don't blame all the Italians for Mussolini.

(Karen) But I was talking more about memory loss Doesn't matter what skills are affected, cognitive or physical (excluding trauma if you wish...though a stroke/cerebral hemorrhage is/can be considered a "traumatic" brain injury, too). Same conditions and principles apply. (Dorine)I say get your message out to your target audience while opportunity is knocking....a captive audience. (Evelyn) What captive audience? All the SAG (and AFTRA) members who were there (and watching at home)!

(Dorine) My aunt, who is a nun, won't be seeing it due to the extreme violence. This was the subject of a Nightline last week that caught. You've got all these church leaders encouraging their congregants to take their children regardless of age, when the film is rated R for its violence, even though it was contextual violence. They had two guys, a reverend from Missouri and a child psychologist (or an educator) from Yale, debating the correct age to expose children to this movie. I was appalled at the hypocrisy again. Just because the subject matter is religion, toss out the "recommended" ratings. Even MG evidently stated the film is not for under 17/18, but these church groups are telling parents to take their 8 yr olds. :-(

(Karen) Even MG evidently stated the film is not for under 17/18, but these church groups are telling parents to take their 8 yr olds. :-( Yikes! The DH and I won't even see it in the theaters. I will need the option of breaks/pause or full stops cause I don't want to be a captive audience. I can't imagine not giving youngsters the same options.:-(

I'm going to see TPOTC...to see what the fuss is about (of course). I'm surprised that so many think it is too violent. From what I remember of one of my history classes, the Romans did this quite a bit...and very well. I bet MG didn't capture even half of how violent it truly was... (Dorine) Ironically, I'm a lapsed Catholic and presently consider myself an agnostic. Wow...and I learn something new about you! Ironically, I'm a lapsed Methodist and presently consider myself an agnostic as well... (Karen) I was appalled at the hypocrisy again. Just because the subject matter is religion, toss out the "recommended" ratings. Even MG evidently stated the film is not for under 17/18, but these church groups are telling parents to take their 8 yr olds. :-( I'm surprised too...I heard that some churches were encouraging people to take their kids to see this. Find it so odd that sex is a big no-no, but violence is okay...though from the looks of the trailer and all the hype, it sounds ulta-violent, but even better if it has a religious theme. Though that won't keep junior from having nightmares. Feel sorry for the kids who will be seeing this...I remember being terrified of the 'candy man' in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this goes a bit beyond that.

The New Yorker -- NAILED by DAVID DENBY Mel Gibson�s �The Passion of the Christ.� Issue of 2004-03-01 In �The Passion of the Christ,� Mel Gibson shows little interest in celebrating the electric charge of hope and redemption that Jesus Christ brought into the world. He largely ignores Jesus� heart-stopping eloquence, his startling ethical radicalism and personal radiance�Christ as a �paragon of vitality and poetic assertion,� as John Updike described Jesus� character in his essay �The Gospel According to Saint Matthew.� Cecil B. De Mille had his version of Jesus� life, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Martin Scorsese had theirs, and Gibson, of course, is free to skip over the incomparable glories of Jesus� temperament and to devote himself, as he does, to Jesus� pain and martyrdom in the last twelve hours of his life. As a viewer, I am equally free to say that the movie Gibson has made from his personal obsessions is a sickening death trip, a grimly unilluminating procession of treachery, beatings, blood, and agony�and to say so without indulging in �anti-Christian sentiment� (Gibson�s term for what his critics are preading). For two hours, with only an occasional pause or gentle flashback, we watch, stupefied, as a handsome, strapping, at times half-naked young man (James Caviezel) is slowly tortured to death. Gibson is so thoroughly fixated on the scourging and crushing of Christ, and so meagrely involved in the spiritual meanings of the final hours, that he falls in danger of altering Jesus� message of love into one of hate. And against whom will the audience direct its hate? As Gibson was completing the film, some historians, theologians, and clergymen accused him of emphasizing the discredited charge that it was the ancient Jews who were primarily responsible for killing Jesus, a claim that has served as the traditional justification for the persecution of the Jews in Europe for nearly two millennia. The critics turn out to have been right. Gibson is guilty of some serious mischief in his handling of these issues. But he may have also committed an aggression against Christian believers. The movie has been hailed as a religious experience by various Catholic and Protestant groups, some of whom, with an ungodly eye to the commercial realities of film distribution, have prepurchased blocks of tickets or rented theatres to insure �The Passion� a healthy opening weekend�s business. But how, I wonder, will people become better Christians if they are filled with the guilt, anguish, or loathing that this movie may create in their sou s? �The Passion� opens at night in the Garden of Gethsemane�a hushed, misty grotto bathed in a purplish disco light. Softly chanting female voices float on the soundtrack, accompanied by electronic shrieks and thuds. At first, the movie looks like a graveyard horror flick, and then, as Jewish temple guards show up bearing torches, like a faintly tedious art film. The Jews speak in Aramaic, and the Romans speak in Latin; the movie is subtitled in English. Gibson distances the dialogue from us, as if Jesus� famous words were only incidental and the visual spectacle�Gibson�s work as a director�were the real point. Then the beatings begin: Jesus is punched and slapped, struck with chains, trussed, and dangled over a wall. In the middle of the night, a hasty trial gets under way before Caiaphas (Mattia Sbragia) and other Jewish priests. Caiaphas, a cynical, devious, petty dictator, interrogates Jesus, and then turns him over to the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), who tries again and again to sp re Jesus from the crucifixion that the priests demand. From the movie, we get the impression that the priests are either merely envious of Jesus� spiritual power or inherently and inexplicably vicious. And Pilate is not the bloody governor of history (even Tiberius paused at his crimes against the Jews) but a civilized and humane leader tormented by the burdens of power�he holds a soulful discussion with his wife on the nature of truth. Gibson and his screenwriter, Benedict Fitzgerald, selected and enhanced incidents from the four Gospels and collated them into a single, surpassingly violent narrative�the scourging, for instance, which is mentioned only in a few phrases in Matthew, Mark, and John, is drawn out to the point of excruciation and beyond. History is also treated selectively. The writer Jon Meacham, in a patient and thorough article in Newsweek, has detailed the many small ways that Gibson disregarded what historians know of the period, with the effect of assigning greater responsibility to the Jews, and less to the Romans, for Jesus� death. Meacham�s central thesis, which is shared by others, is that the priests may have been willing to sacrifice Jesus�whose mass following may have posed a threat to Roman governance�in order to deter Pilate from crushing the Jewish community altogether. It�s also possible that the temple �lite may have wanted to get rid of the leader of a new sect, but only Pilate had the authority to order a c ucifixion�a very public event that was designed to be a warning to potential rebels. Gibson ignores most of the dismaying political context, as well as the likelihood that the Gospel writers, still under Roman rule, had very practical reasons to downplay the Romans� role in the Crucifixion. It�s true that when the Roman soldiers, their faces twisted in glee, go to work on Jesus, they seem even more depraved than the Jews. But, as Gibson knows, history rescued the pagans from eternal blame�eventually, they came to their senses and saw the light. The Emperor Constantine converted in the early fourth century, and Christianized the empire, and the medieval period saw the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. So the Romans� descendants triumphed, while the Jews were cast into darkness and, one might conclude from this movie, deserved what they got. �The Passion,� in its confused way, confirms the old justifications for persecuting the Jews, and one somehow doubts that Gibson will make a sequel in which he reminds t e audience that in later centuries the Church itself used torture and execution to punish not only Jews but heretics, non-believers, and dissidents. I realize that the mere mention of historical research could exacerbate the awkward breach between medieval and modern minds, between literalist belief and the weighing of empirical evidence. �John was an eyewitness,� Gibson has said. �Matthew was there.� Well, they may have been there, but for decades it�s been a commonplace of Biblical scholarship that the Gospels were written forty to seventy years after the death of Jesus, and not by the disciples but by nameless Christians using both written and oral sources. Gibson can brush aside the work of scholars and historians because he has a powerful weapon at hand�the cinema�with which he can create something greater than argument; he can create faith. As a moviemaker, Gibson is not without skill. The sets, which were built in Italy, where the movie was filmed, are far from perfect, but they convey the beauty of Jerusalem�s courtyards and archways. Gibson, working with the cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, gives us the ravaged stone face of Calvary, the gray l ght at the time of the Crucifixion, the leaden pace of the movie�s spectacular agonies. Felliniesque tormenters gambol and jeer on the sidelines, and, at times, the whirl of figures around Jesus, both hostile and friendly, seems held in place by a kind of magnetic force. The hounding and suicide of the betrayer Judas is accomplished in a few brusque strokes. Here and there, the movie has a dismal, heavy-souled power. By contrast with the dispatching of Judas, the lashing and flaying of Jesus goes on forever, prolonged by Gibson�s punishing use of slow motion, sometimes with Jesus� face in the foreground, so that we can see him writhe and howl. In the climb up to Calvary, Caviezel, one eye swollen shut, his mouth open in agony, collapses repeatedly in slow motion under the weight of the Cross. Then comes the Crucifixion itself, dramatized with a curious fixation on the technical details�an arm pulled out of its socket, huge nails hammered into hands, with Caviezel jumping after each whack. At that point, I said to myself, �Mel Gibson has lost it,� and I was reminded of what other writers have pointed out�that Gibson, as an actor, has been beaten, mashed, and disembowelled in many of his movies. His obsession with pain, disguised by religious feelings, has now reached a frightening apotheosis. Mel Gibson is an extremely conservative Catholic who rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican council. He�s against complacent, feel-good Christianity, and, judging from his movie, he must despise the grandiose old Hollywood kitsch of �The Robe,� �The King of Kings,� �The Greatest Story Ever Told,� and �Ben-Hur,� with their Hallmark twinkling skies, their big stars treading across sacred California sands, and their lamblike Jesus, whose simple presence overwhelms Charlton Heston. But saying that Gibson is sincere doesn�t mean he isn�t foolish, or worse. He can rightly claim that there�s a strain of morbidity running through Christian iconography�one thinks of the reliquaries in Roman churches and the bloody and ravaged Christ in Northern Renaissance and German art, culminating in such works as Matthias Gr�newald�s 1515 �Isenheim Altarpiece,� with its thorned Christ in full torment on the Cross. But the central tradition of Italian Renaissance painting left Christ relatively unscathed; the artists emphasize not the physical suffering of the man but the sacrificial nature of his death and the astonishing mystery of his transformation into godhood�the Resurrection and the triumph over carnality. Gibson instructed Deschanel to make the movie look like the paintings of Caravaggio, but in Caravaggio�s own �Flagellation of Christ� the body of Jesus is only slightly marked. Even Goya, who hardly shrank from dismemberment and pain in his work, created a �Crucifixion� with a nearly unblemished Jesus. Crucifixion, as the Romans used it, was meant to make a spectacle out of degradation and suffering�to humiliate the victim through the apparatus of torture. By embracing the Roman pageant so openly, using all the emotional resources of cinema, Gibson has cancelled out the redemptive and transfiguring power of art. And by casting James Caviezel, an actor without charisma here, and then feasting on his physical destruction, he has turned Jesus back into a mere body. The depictions in �The Passion,� one of the cruellest movi s in the history of the cinema, are akin to the bloody Pop representation of Jesus found in, say, a roadside shrine in Mexico, where the addition of an Aztec sacrificial flourish makes the passion a little more passionate. Such are the traps of literal-mindedness. The great modernist artists, aware of the danger of kitsch and the fascination of sado-masochism, have largely withdrawn into austerity and awed abstraction or into fervent humanism, as in Scorsese�s �The Last Temptation of Christ� (1988), which features an existential Jesus sorely tried by the difficulty of the task before him. There are many ways of putting Jesus at risk and making us feel his suffering. What is most depressing about �The Passion� is the thought that people will take their children to see it. Jesus said, �Suffer the little children to come unto me,� not �Let the little children watch me suffer.� How will parents deal with the pain, terror, and anger that children will doubtless feel as they watch a man flayed and pierced until dead? The despair of the movie is hard to shrug off, and Gibson�s timing couldn�t be more unfortunate: another dose of death-haunted religious fanaticism is the last thing we need.

Sorry about the breaks in the text.

(Time)The Christian story includes joy, astonishment, prophecy, righteous wrath, mystery and love straightforward as well as love sacrificial. The Passion of the Christ is a one-note threnody about the Son of God being dragged to his death. Could be. But that's the movie MG chose to make and the part of the story he chose to focus on. I see no point in questioning why he didn't make a different movie. Obviously, I can't comment on a film I haven't seen, so I'll confine my comments to an optimistic hope that this will all promote more dialogue. As a modern Catholic, taught that *all* are guilty and that Jesus died for all the sins that were ever committed and all that would ever be committed, it wouldn't even occur to me to assign blame to any group. I know non-Christians who were not aware of that teaching. At the same time, I've recently learned more about how such depictions have been twisted and perverted throughout history to persecute people and fuel bigotry. As for taking 8 year olds, that's just plain nuts.

Mari, I'd quote you, but I'd just be dittoing your whole thing. Very well said, thank you. To Mari's point: (Rabbi Geldman on CNN yesterday... ) .. those inclined toward bigotry could easily find fuel for their fire here.) I'm afraid he could have as easily said *will* find fuel. I hope I'm wrong. As an Episcopalian, I've already seen the grief that can be caused by well meaning people. And I've not gone back to see who said it first (Maria?) but I will not see this in a theater either for the same reason I did not see Saving Private Ryan.

(Karen), Even though the Best Ensemble award is SAG's equivalent for Best Picture, I find it completely hypocritically for the LOTR's cast to have won when so little of the movie has ever been dependent on actors or acting. Note the dearth of acting noms for any of the three films. IMO, the SAG members sold out their profession with that award, as well as the one for JD. Pish, posh. I happen to like JD very much and add that LOTR would not have worked for me if there were no acting involved. - Murph, a Catholic who is very happy with the English Mass and Vatican II. I can't wait to see The Passion and will probably go Thur. Moon, a Catholic who is not very happy with the English Mass and the Vatican II. I still pray in Latin. I would love to have a strict Jesuit Pope next, but it will not happen. I have read a lot about this film in Italy recently, but will not comment until I see it.

(Tress)I'm surprised too...I heard that some churches were encouraging people to take their kids to see this. Find it so odd that sex is a big no-no, but violence is okay..., As a catholic, presently practicing, I don't find the hypocracy surprising at all.

(Karen) I was appalled at the hypocrisy again. Just because the subject matter is religion, toss out the "recommended" ratings. Even MG evidently stated the film is not for under 17/18, but these church groups are telling parents to take their 8 yr olds. :-( Not my parish! In fact my husband and I are going to see it first and see it we should have the boys see it. (Dorine) Ironically, I'm a lapsed Catholic and presently consider myself an agnostic. I am more gnostic.

(Karen) all these church leaders encouraging their congregants to take their children regardless of age Now I consider that beyond irresponsible of both the church leaders and the parents, if they take them. Does anyone wonder why I'm a lapsed Catholic, as well as an agnostic? ;-) (Tress) I'm surprised that so many think it is too violent. From what I remember of one of my history classes, the Romans did this quite a bit...and very well. I bet MG didn't capture even half of how violent it truly was You haven't seen any clips I take it. MG may not have captured the full effect, but what's there is hard to take.....in the few minutes I've seen. I bet there are slasher/horror movies that may be worse, but still.... I have wondered whether I'd be able to sit through it or need to do like Bee and wait for DVD. My curiosity about it over the past year is overriding any qualms I have. Wow...and I learn something new about you! Likewise! :-) I remember being terrified of the 'candy man' in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The guy with the net? The Childcatcher? Oooh, me too!! ;-) (Mari) it wouldn't even occur to me to assign blame to any group. Me neither. Was surprised when all this controversy first started up. I've never heard anyone fixate on blaming any particular group. And I went to a Catholic school from first grade through high school graduation. If anyone did bring it up, I apparently discarded that notion and have forgotten about it. Who knows, maybe I'll find the movie "blames" a certain group. (Denby) Gibson is so thoroughly fixated on the scourging and crushing of Christ, and so meagrely involved in the spiritual meanings of the final hours, that he falls in danger of altering Jesus� message of love into one of hate. I suspect he may have missed MG's ultimate point, but can't say til I see it. And there is an element of hate in the whole story. Otherwise, no one could possibly do something like that to other human beings, nor would that set up the Resurrection for our redemption. We'll see what happens in the film. But how, I wonder, will people become better Christians if they are filled with the guilt, anguish, or loathing that this movie may create in their souls? I would think they would or could, as hopefully they might have increased insight into Jesus' suffering for everyone and in the future strive to be better people, so as not to feel that His suffering was in vain. Just a guess. Will revisit that article after I've seen it.

Closed

(Me)Does anyone wonder why I'm a lapsed Catholic, as well as an agnostic? ;-) (Evelyn) Pssst...Dorine...don't let other people's actions impact on your moral convictions... or to put it differently.... Don't *blame* other people for what you think /do. That was a jokinginly rhetorical question, hence the winkie. My dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church, and religion in general is much deeper and more personal than that. Not a particular person(s)/event(s). Maybe a variety of them. The above would be an oversimplified, and somewhat invalid reason to go away from "the church." Just an evolution in my views on spirituality and methods of worship over the years. It's a very personal thing for each person, and each one goes with the one that works for them, be it in a group setting, or not. That's all. :-) Was just telling my aunt a smidge of what we all have been talking about on TPOTC. She mentioned it was too hard for she and I to discuss on an IM forum and I concurred. I love to talk religion and politics, but I did almost post earlier, that this is a subject that's quite difficult to discuss on a message board due to the sheer volume of conversation that can and may be generated.

And I didn't miss your winkie, either. ;-)))

RE: MG's Passion of Christ... (Karen) all these church leaders encouraging their congregants to take their children regardless of age I think you may be referring to more of the fringe, ultra-orthodox, right wing Christian sects. I don't know too many 'mainstream' Catholic churches that are pushing their under-age congregants to see this film en masse. (Mari) As a modern Catholic, taught that *all* are guilty and that Jesus died for all the sins that were ever committed and all that would ever be committed, it wouldn't even occur to me to assign blame to any group I agree. I also consider myself a modern Catholic. Was raised in the faith but like many in my position, I tend to *pick and choose* those tenants by which I lead my life. I'm also raising 2 kids in the Catholic church. I was never taught that the *Jews* *murdered* Christ but am surprised to learn how many non-Catholics think the Catholics teach and promote this anti-semitic view. Even my DH (who is Jewish) was always brought up to think the Catholics promulgated this belief. (It took a long time to convince him otherwise.) My concern about this film is that it will merely fuel the flames of the virulent anti-semitism that's the root of so many global problems right now. I can't help but suspect MG's motives given his affiliation with Opus Dei (a bunch of wackos, IMO), and his father's well documented vilification of the Jews. MG has been 'on record' on more than one occaision supporting his father's positions. I have doubts about him making this film merely for the 'love of Christ', as opposed to furthering his extreme religious agendas. The Christ I was taught to follow was accepting of all comers.

(Dorine)I know you didn't like POTC. I did despite it being too long (as was all of the LOTR films), but IMO, JD saved that movie. I absolutely would have thought it crap if he wasn't in it. Same can be said for Once Upon a Time in Mexico with he and Antonio Banderas. I think both movies were raised above being just mediocre or downright awful because of him. I find that to be a gift. I just finally caught POTC on Sat ala DVD . .and I agree . .other than JD, the film itself was really nothing that great . .some neat special effects and all . .his performance made the film for me. Did you catch any of JD on The Actor's Studio? Found it interesting how he starts on his characters via flashes of images he gets . .hard to describe it exactly the way he did . .also as an actor, do enjoy how varying his roles are, how he broke away from being a Hollywood product and took his career into his own hands . . RE: The Passion - Am curious to see the film, as is my DH . .and will also wait to give commentary aafter we see it. But given our spiritual backgrounds/current spiritual paths, it will be interesting seeing it in my current mindset, as opposed to say it coming out 6 years ago or so. (Both of us are former Catholics, DH more an agnostic now, with a penchant for Buddhism and I consider myself an eccelctic spiritualist/pagan;)

Sam Mendes is listed for Charlie Rose tonight for anyone interested.

Oops, CR just said Sam Mendes will be on later in the week.

(Karen) all these church leaders encouraging their congregants to take their children regardless of age Teens to See 'Passion' With Church Groups Mon Feb 23, 5:41 PM ET By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer CHICAGO - At first, Emily Schemelia wasn't sure she wanted to see "The Passion of the Christ," fearing that Mel Gibson (news)'s movie about the crucifixion might give her nightmares. "It looks scary!" the 13-year-old from East Windsor, N.J., says of the film that has some wondering if it's too graphic and violent for young people. Still, despite its R-rating, she and many other youth will be among those flocking this week to see the film � with their parents' blessing. Emily decided she wants to go because "it's true; it's in a different language; and it's supposed to give you the effect that you're there." Some teens will see the film with church youth groups that have booked tickets well in advance. Others are going with their parents, often Christians who see this as a chance to reinforce biblical teaching or to spur discussion. "I'd want to see the movie, anyway," says Novel Tooley, a Baptist from Atlanta who plans to accompany 13-year-old stepson Ray and his church youth group when they see the movie this weekend. "And I think it's going to be an important experience for him." Ray agrees. "I'm excited and curious to see what it's about," says the teen, who viewed clips from the film at his church over the weekend and thought it was "pretty true" to the biblical story. His youth group is one of a few that will view the film while taking part in a "30-hour famine," a fast and hunger fund-raiser sponsored by the nonprofit group World Vision. Some Christian publishers, such as Michigan-based Zondervan, also are providing discussion guides for students and others who see the movie. But even with its religious theme, not everyone thinks most young people are ready to see a movie that a Time magazine reviewer said was best suited for "true believers with cast-iron stomachs." Some worry that the movie has anti-Jewish undertones, which Gibson has denied. "I think many kids are going to come out of the film asking 'Why did the Jews hate Jesus so much?'" says Jonathan Schwartz, assistant director of the American Jewish Committee's Chicago chapter. He saw the film at a screening at a Christian church last month. "Because the film reasserts so many hurtful and discredited anti-Jewish characterizations, it troubles us." At the same time, he remains hopeful that the film could spur positive interreligious dialogue. Still others think Gibson's movie focusses too much on the prolonged gore of Christ's death to be suitable for young people � and not enough on his life. "He is a powerful director who's too obsessed with blood and rage. And that doesn't sit well with the adolescent tendency toward extreme emotions," says Marc Gopin, director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Jimmy Lee, a youth pastor at the Chinese Evangelical Church of San Diego, says parents were "definitely" concerned when he suggested teens from the church see the movie. In the end, church leaders and parents decided to let them go, concurring that "the violence has a message and a purpose. And it does not glorify evil," Lee says. But, he adds, each teen who attends must have a permission slip signed by a parent. At least one child development expert says that parents should be trusted to know their children � and whether violent images tend to trouble them. "Parents know their children better than anyone," says George Scarlett, an assistant professor at Tufts University in Boston whose work includes research on spiritual and religious development. "Violence for one child may be a very different experience than violence for another." Mary Chastain, a United Methodist youth minister in Eureka, Mo., saw the movie at a conference last fall. She doesn't think children younger than 10 should see it. But she calls it a "wonderful, wonderful film" � and plans to take her church's youth group to see it Friday. (The age range on the registration page for the film's Web site starts at 13.) Chastain says youth in her group have been asking her, "'How bloody is it?'" "And they did want to know also if I felt it was truthful � if I felt it was according to the Bible and historic fact," she added. She does. Fran Capo, a Roman Catholic in New York, says she gets that same sense. That's why she plans to take 15-year-old son Spencer to see the film. "Mainly," she says, "I don't think there is really going to be anything new that wasn't already in the Bible." [Ed. note - Boy has she got another thing coming, I suspect.] On the Net: Official film site: http://www.thepassionofchrist.com/ http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&e=2&u=/ap/20040223/ap_en_mo/film_passion_youth

(Moon) LOTR would not have worked for me if there were no acting involved. The best acting in movie 2 was by that computer-generated character IMO. Still haven't seen #3. Must go this week sometime. ;-) (Irvine AP) At least one child development expert says that parents should be trusted to know their children � and whether violent images tend to trouble them. "Parents know their children better than anyone," says George Scarlett, an assistant professor at Tufts University in Boston whose work includes research on spiritual and religious development. "Violence for one child may be a very different experience than violence for another." Does no one question why there are Bible books for children? :-(

Here's Roger Ebert's review: THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST / **** (R) February 24, 2004 BY ROGER EBERT FILM CRITIC If ever there was a film with the correct title, that film is Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Although the word passion has become mixed up with romance, its Latin origins refer to suffering and pain; later Christian theology broadened that to include Christ's love for mankind, which made him willing to suffer and die for us. The movie is 126 minutes long, and I would guess that at least 100 of those minutes, maybe more, are concerned specifically and graphically with the details of the torture and death of Jesus. This is the most violent film I have ever seen. I prefer to evaluate a film on the basis of what it intends to do, not on what I think it should have done. It is clear that Mel Gibson wanted to make graphic and inescapable the price that Jesus paid (as Christians believe) when he died for our sins. Anyone raised as a Catholic will be familiar with the stops along the way; the screenplay is inspired not so much by the Gospels as by the 14 Stations of the Cross. As an altar boy, serving during the Stations on Friday nights in Lent, I was encouraged to meditate on Christ's suffering, and I remember the chants as the priest led the way from one station to another: At the Cross, her station keeping ... Stood the mournful Mother weeping ... Close to Jesus to the last. For we altar boys, this was not necessarily a deep spiritual experience. Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ rose again, we were redeemed, and let's hope we can get home in time to watch the Illinois basketball game on TV. What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of. That his film is superficial in terms of the surrounding message -- that we get only a few passing references to the teachings of Jesus -- is, I suppose, not the point. This is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion. Take it or leave it. David Ansen, a critic I respect, finds in Newsweek that Gibson has gone too far. "The relentless gore is self-defeating," he writes. "Instead of being moved by Christ's suffering or awed by his sacrifice, I felt abused by a filmmaker intent on punishing an audience, for who knows what sins." This is a completely valid response to the film, and I quote Ansen because I suspect he speaks for many audience members, who will enter the theater in a devout or spiritual mood and emerge deeply disturbed. You must be prepared for whippings, flayings, beatings, the crunch of bones, the agony of screams, the cruelty of the sadistic centurions, the rivulets of blood that crisscross every inch of Jesus' body. Some will leave before the end. This is not a Passion like any other ever filmed. Perhaps that is the best reason for it. I grew up on those pious Hollywood biblical epics of the 1950s, which looked like holy cards brought to life. I remember my grin when Time magazine noted that Jeffrey Hunter, starring as Christ in "King of Kings" (1961), had shaved his armpits. (Not Hunter's fault; the film's Crucifixion scene had to be re-shot because preview audiences objected to Jesus' hairy chest.) If it does nothing else, Gibson's film will break the tradition of turning Jesus and his disciples into neat, clean, well-barbered middle-class businessmen. They were poor men in a poor land. I debated Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" with commentator Michael Medved before an audience from a Christian college, and was told by an audience member that the characters were filthy and needed haircuts. The Middle East in biblical times was a Jewish community occupied against its will by the Roman Empire, and the message of Jesus was equally threatening to both sides: to the Romans, because he was a revolutionary, and to the establishment of Jewish priests, because he preached a new covenant and threatened the status quo. In the movie's scenes showing Jesus being condemned to death, the two main players are Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest. Both men want to keep the lid on, and while neither is especially eager to see Jesus crucified, they live in a harsh time when such a man is dangerous. Pilate is seen going through his well-known doubts before finally washing his hands of the matter and turning Jesus over to the priests, but Caiaphas, who also had doubts, is not seen as sympathetically. The critic Steven D. Greydanus, in a useful analysis of the film, writes: "The film omits the canonical line from John's gospel in which Caiaphas argues that it is better for one man to die for the people [so] that the nation be saved. "Had Gibson retained this line, perhaps giving Caiaphas a measure of the inner conflict he gave to Pilate, it could have underscored the similarities between Caiaphas and Pilate and helped defuse the issue of anti-Semitism." This scene and others might justifiably be cited by anyone concerned that the movie contains anti-Semitism. My own feeling is that Gibson's film is not anti-Semitic, but reflects a range of behavior on the part of its Jewish characters, on balance favorably. The Jews who seem to desire Jesus' death are in the priesthood, and have political as well as theological reasons for acting; like today's Catholic bishops who were slow to condemn abusive priests, Protestant TV preachers who confuse religion with politics, or Muslim clerics who are silent on terrorism, they have an investment in their positions and authority. The other Jews seen in the film are viewed positively; Simon helps Jesus to carry the cross, Veronica brings a cloth to wipe his face, Jews in the crowd cry out against his torture. A reasonable person, I believe, will reflect that in this story set in a Jewish land, there are many characters with many motives, some good, some not, each one representing himself, none representing his religion. The story involves a Jew who tried no less than to replace the established religion and set himself up as the Messiah. He was understandably greeted with a jaundiced eye by the Jewish establishment while at the same time finding his support, his disciples and the founders of his church entirely among his fellow Jews. The libel that the Jews "killed Christ" involves a willful misreading of testament and teaching: Jesus was made man and came to Earth in order to suffer and die in reparation for our sins. No race, no man, no priest, no governor, no executioner killed Jesus; he died by God's will to fulfill his purpose, and with our sins we all killed him. That some Christian churches have historically been guilty of the sin of anti-Semitism is undeniable, but in committing it they violated their own beliefs. This discussion will seem beside the point for readers who want to know about the movie, not the theology. But "The Passion of the Christ," more than any other film I can recall, depends upon theological considerations. Gibson has not made a movie that anyone would call "commercial," and if it grosses millions, that will not be because anyone was entertained. It is a personal message movie of the most radical kind, attempting to re-create events of personal urgency to Gibson. The filmmaker has put his artistry and fortune at the service of his conviction and belief, and that doesn't happen often. Is the film "good" or "great?" I imagine each person's reaction (visceral, theological, artistic) will differ. I was moved by the depth of feeling, by the skill of the actors and technicians, by their desire to see this project through no matter what. To discuss individual performances, such as James Caviezel's heroic depiction of the ordeal, is almost beside the point. This isn't a movie about performances, although it has powerful ones, or about technique, although it is awesome, or about cinematography (although Caleb Deschanel paints with an artist's eye), or music (although John Debney supports the content without distracting from it). It is a film about an idea. An idea that it is necessary to fully comprehend the Passion if Christianity is to make any sense. Gibson has communicated his idea with a singleminded urgency. Many will disagree. Some will agree, but be horrified by the graphic treatment. I myself am no longer religious in the sense that a long-ago altar boy thought he should be, but I can respond to the power of belief whether I agree or not, and when I find it in a film, I must respect it. Note: I said the film is the most violent I have ever seen. It will probably be the most violent you have ever seen. This is not a criticism but an observation; the film is unsuitable for younger viewers, but works powerfully for those who can endure it. The MPAA's R rating is definitive proof that the organization either will never give the NC-17 rating for violence alone, or was intimidated by the subject matter. If it had been anyone other than Jesus up on that cross, I have a feeling that NC-17 would have been automatic.

That his film is superficial in terms of the surrounding message -- that we get only a few passing references to the teachings of Jesus -- is, I suppose, not the point. This is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion. Take it or leave it. Amen! No race, no man, no priest, no governor, no executioner killed Jesus; he died by God's will to fulfill his purpose, and with our sins we all killed him. The mob killed Jesus. Thanks, Mari! A level headed Ebert comes through.

A nonsectarian, commercial interlude: ;-) N.Y. Jeweler to Launch 'Sex' Necklaces When Carrie Bradshaw broke her Russian lover's heart and the necklace he'd given her in the "Sex and the City" finale, the jewelry had a stunt double. The real necklace, consisting of nine diamond beads on a platinum chain and valued at $55,000, remains intact, said New York jeweler Fred Leighton. A crystal and silver version was used in the scene in which Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, ends her romance with an artist played by Mikhail Baryshnikov. The 20-carat diamond piece was designed for the HBO show at Parker's request, said Leighton, whose Fred Leighton Rare Collectible Jewels has supplied other pieces to the series that ended its six-season run on Sunday. While "Sex and the City" started other fashion trends, serious cash is required for those who want this bauble. Leighton is making a 10-carat, $25,000 version and has already sold a half-dozen. Is he prepared for knockoffs? "Probably. Who cares? Then we go on to the next thing," he said Monday. In the series, Carrie is happy to end up with Mr. Big (Chris Noth) and a simple nameplate necklace spelling out her first name. But Parker is interested in obtaining the diamond piece, Leighton said. The actual necklace from the show remains at his store and it's uncertain if it will be sold, said Leighton, who has a private collection that includes pieces owned by the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson.

(RE)I myself am no longer religious in the sense that a long-ago altar boy thought he should be, but I can respond to the power of belief whether I agree or not, and when I find it in a film, I must respect it. (RE)This is not a criticism but an observation; the film is unsuitable for younger viewers, but works powerfully for those who can endure it. And I respect RE for being a voice of reason. Thanks, Mari.

Yesterday Murph posted an article from TIME on "The Passion of Christ". But it was not a review, it was a Viewpoiint article. Here is the review written by Richard Corliss entertainment editor of TIME. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040301-593580,00.html

(**applauds Ebert**) Very nice write up! Thanks for posting it Mari!

(Evelyn) Beats me why Jack Nicholson keeps getting awards for the same ole. Thank you! (Moon) Pish, posh. I happen to like JD very much... POTC isn't a great movie but it's entertaining, fun and a good pirate movie. And JD made it work. Actors are always saying how comedy is so much harder than drama. It's about time they walk the walk and show their appreciation when peers pull it off - this from someone with a low opinion of awards shows ;-) (Moon)... and add that LOTR would not have worked for me if there were no acting involved. (Karen) The best acting in movie 2 was by that computer-generated character IMO. Thanks to the acting talents of AS. The LOTR cast as a whole did a wonderful job. Besides, even Finding Nemo needed actors. Machines may rise but they will never take over! Well, not in my lifetime anyway ;-) (Irvine AP) At least one child development expert says that parents should be trusted to know their children. (Moon) In fact my husband and I are going to see it first and see it we should have the boys see it. That's called parenting. You go girl!

Now for some utter fluff... the AOL Moviegoer awards! Hottest song - from Love Actually "The trouble with love is" by Kelly Clarkson. Oh yeah, JD won best actor too;-)

Only read part of the review at from the NY Times print edition this morning of TPOTC, but he (A.O. Scott) gets the point/my point from earlier regarding showing it as it realistically may have been vs "showing the love" per se. Can't post it as I've been knocked offline at home and I have only time where I'm at for a quick check in for mail and peeking here. Not sure when I can check back in. :-(((

You can read reviews from the major news outlets at metacritic; the NY Times one is there also, Dorine. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/passionofthechrist/

Am not surprised; this got great reviews at Sundance: The Machinist Operating at Paramount Classics Source: The Hollywood Reporter Thursday, February 26, 2004 Paramount Classics has snapped up distribution rights from Filmax International to Brad Anderson's Sundance Film Festival selection The Machinist, starring Christian Bale. The speciality division has aquired rights to the film in North America, the UK, South Africa, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. It is planning a late-2004 release. The film, which also recently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, stars Bale as factory machinist Trevor Reznik, who has not slept in a year. His lack of sleep has led to a deterioration in his physical and mental health, and he struggles to come to terms with his breakdown. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Ironside, Aitana Sanchez Gijon and John Sharian also star.

This was too juicy not to share. From the NY Post's Page Six column: WHICH Broadway hunk lost his chance at being the next James Bond because of rumors he's gay? The movie's producers found out he was a little too close to his male assistant, and were worried about the secret getting out and weakening the Bond machismo . .

LOL! So who was on that list again?

*hint hint* Broadway hunk. "When my baby smiles at me, I go to Rio, Rio de Janeiro. Oh me oh my O..." (Mari) This was too juicy not to share. When I read that I was sure you were going to post this item: New Line Cinema has picked up North American distribution rights to writer-director Mike Binder's The Upside of Anger, a dramedy about an alcoholic suburban housewife raising four headstrong daughters, with an ensemble cast headed by Kevin Costner and Joan Allen. After being abandoned by her husband, Allen's character finds her life changed when a once-great baseball star (Costner) steps in as her drinking buddy and becomes an ad-hoc member of the dysfunctional family. The film also stars Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt and Binder.

(Karen) *hint hint* Broadway hunk. "When my baby smiles at me, I go to Rio, Rio de Janeiro. Oh me oh my O..." Gotta be Hugh Jackman?

I need to reboot spring.net today, there will be about 5 minutes of downtime at 11 am. Please be patient at this time.

(Karen) *hint hint* Broadway hunk. "When my baby smiles at me, I go to Rio, Rio de Janeiro. Oh me oh my O..." Gotta be Hugh Jackman? You mean it's not Barry Manilow?

Gotta be Hugh Jackman? That was my first thought too, but what a pity. So the marriage is scam, or is his wife a dike who wanted to conceive a child? Where's Bush when you need him? ;-)

(Moon)Where's Bush when you need him? ;-) He's at my house counseling the DH to pick up his socks and come in to dinner in a timely fashion. ;-))

(Moon) So the marriage is scam, or is his wife a dike who wanted to conceive a child? I have a good friend who is gay, married, a father, and very devoted to his family. I think some people very much want a conventional life and the same things that most of us want--a home, family, children, etc. My friend is determined to have those things even though it means sublimating a part of his character. So . . . it does happen, and probably more often than we might think. As for Hugh, I still think he'd make a great Bond. He's a star.

I really don't think that HJ is gay. I suspect this is one of those nasty rumors sparked by jealousy or just a nasty soul who needs something to do. The fact that he's playing a pretty "out there" character right now could also contribute. BTW, (in case anyone's interested" Hugh's son is adopted. Yep, he'd make a pretty good Bond, but I think there may well be another X-Men movie in the (early) works.

I have never thought of HJ as gay either. I first met him some years ago before he was married and he gave no indication at all of being gay. His leisure interests were totally female.

I really don't think that HJ is gay. I suspect this is one of those nasty rumors sparked by jealousy or just a nasty soul who needs something to do. The fact that he's playing a pretty "out there" character right now could also contribute. BTW, (in case anyone's interested" Hugh's son is adopted. Yep, he'd make a pretty good Bond, but I think there may well be another X-Men movie in the (early) works.

(Moon)LOL! So who was on that list again? Do you really want to know?;-) (Karen)Mike Binder's The Upside of Anger, a dramedy about an alcoholic suburban housewife raising four headstrong daughters, with an ensemble cast headed by Kevin Costner and Joan Allen Was holding my breath until I read KC and JA. Everytime I see Mike Binder's name I get a panic attack.

(Linda), Do you really want to know?;-) LOL! Just give it Jeremy Northam. :-) (Eithne), in case anyone's interested" Hugh's son is adopted. Oh! The mystery deepens. ;-)

(Moon)So the marriage is scam, or is his wife a dike who wanted to conceive a child? Fraid Hugh is very straight and very devoted to his wife. (actually adorable story . .how they met on one of his early acting jobs straight out of drama school - a television movie - Corelli, she was an actress at the time). She is some years older than him . .and was having troubles conciveing a child when they tried naturally. .so they adopted. . . they had the mother of the child live with them some time as the pregnancy progressed, so they could bond with her as well. People like to suppose he's gay b/c of his success in musical theatre . .and they are just plain jealous of his growing career, I say . . . He'd make a good Bond . .but I think he is a bit too good looking . .now Clive Owen . .he would be a great edgy Bond, in my book

Again, my friend is also very devoted to his wife and child. Anyway, it doesn't matter one way or the other to me. I think Hugh is fantastic and was more impressed than ever after seeing him in Boy From Oz. He is an all around entertainer--can act, sing, dance, do drama, comedy, and what a dynamic personality! Charisma to burn.

(Mari)He is an all around entertainer--can act, sing, dance, do drama, comedy, and what a dynamic personality! Charisma to burn. Well said! A silly thing that it's an issue one way or another.

(Moon) So the marriage is scam, or is his wife a dike who wanted to conceive a child? I'm still pondering the second half...huh? But, no, I don't believe he's gay but he sure was never on my list for Bond.

Article about the guy who did the soundtrack for TPOTC, John Debney, who you'll recall also did Relative Values. Strange, it isn't mentioned here though: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/music_reporter_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000444578

My Oscar predictions: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Charlize Theron - MONSTER ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Ren�e Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM finally added this category FINDING NEMO ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING CINEMATOGRAPHY MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD COSTUME DESIGN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING DIRECTING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD DOCUMENTARY FEATURE MY ARCHITECT DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT CHERNOBYL HEART FILM EDITING THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS MAKEUP PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL MUSIC (SCORE) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MUSIC (SONG) "Into the West" - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING BEST PICTURE THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING VISUAL EFFECTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) AMERICAN SPLENDOR WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) LOST IN TRANSLATION

(Moon)My Oscar predictions: ....... ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING From your keyboard to God's ear;-)) We'll talk on Monday!

Here are the IFC Spirit awards nominations. I predict it will be a battle between Lost in Translation and American Splendor plus some obvious ones such as CT for best actress. The show airs on Sat. night. Award given to the Producer) American Splendor; Producer: Ted Hope In America; Producers: Jim Sheridan, Arthur Lappin Lost in Translation; Producers: Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz Raising Victor Vargas; Producers: Alain de la Mata, Robin O'Hara, Scott Macaulay, Peter Sollett Shattered Glass; Producers: Craig Baumgarten, Tove Christensen, Gaye Hirsch, Adam Merims BEST DIRECTOR Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, American Splendor Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation Jim Sheridan, In America Peter Sollett, Raising Victor Vargas Gus Van Sant, Elephant BEST SCREENPLAY American Splendor; Writers: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini Lost in Translation; Writer: Sofia Coppola A Mighty Wind; Writers: Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy and the cast of A Mighty Wind Pieces of April; Writer: Peter Hedges Shattered Glass; Writer: Billy Ray BEST FIRST FEATURE Bomb the System; Director: Adam Bhala Lough; Producers: Ben Rekhi, Sol Tryon House of Sand and Fog; Director: Vadim Perelman; Producers: Michael London, Vadim Perelman Monster; Director: Patty Jenkins; Producers: Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron, Brad Wyman Quattro Noza; Director: Joey Curtis; Producer: Fredric King Thirteen; Director: Catherine Hardwicke; Producers: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Michael London JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000) Anne B. Real; Director: Lisa France; Writers: Lisa France, Antonio Macia; Producers: Josselyne Herman, Luis Moro, Jeanine Rohn Better Luck Tomorrow; Director: Justin Lin; Writers: Ernesto M. Foronda, Justin Lin, Fabian Marquez; Producers: Julie Asato, Ernesto M. Foronda, Justin Lin Pieces of April; Writer/Director: Peter Hedges; Producers: Alexis Alexanian, John S. Lyons, Gary Winick The Station Agent; Writer/Director: Thomas McCarthy; Producers: Mary Jane Skalski, Robert May, Kathryn Tucker Virgin; Writer/Director: Deborah Kampmeier; Producer: Sarah Schenck BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Blue Car; Writer: Karen Moncrieff Monster; Writer: Patty Jenkins Raising Victor Vargas; Writers: Peter Sollett and Eva Vives The Station Agent; Writer: Thomas McCarthy Thirteen; Writers: Catherine Hardwicke & Nikki Reed BEST FEMALE LEAD Agnes Bruckner, Blue Car Zooey Deschanel, All the Real Girls Samantha Morton, In America Elisabeth Moss, Virgin Charlize Theron, Monster BEST MALE LEAD Peter Dinklage, The Station Agent Paul Giamatti, American Splendor Sir Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog Bill Murray, Lost in Translation Lee Pace, Soldier's Girl BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog Sarah Bolger, In America Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April Hope Davis, The Secret Lives of Dentists Frances McDormand, Laurel Canyon BEST SUPPORTING MALE Judah Friedlander, American Splendor Troy Garity, Soldier's Girl Djimon Hounsou, In America Alessandro Nivola, Laurel Canyon Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass BEST DEBUT PERFORMANCE Anna Kendrick, Camp Judy Marte, Raising Victor Vargas Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas Nikki Reed, Thirteen Janice Richardson, Anne B. Real BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Elephant, Harris Savides In America, Declan Quinn Northfork, M. David Mullen Quattro Noza, Derek Cianfrance Shattered Glass, Mandy Walker BEST FOREIGN FILM City of God - (Brazil); Director: Fernando Meirelles Lilya 4-Ever - (Denmark); Director: Lukas Moodysson The Magdalene Sisters - (England/Ireland); Director: Peter Mullan The Triplets of Belleville - (France); Director: Sylvian Chomet Whale Rider - (New Zealand/Germany); Director: Niki Caro BEST DOCUMENTARY The Fog of War; Director: Errol Morris Mayor of the Sunset Strip; Director: George Hickenlooper My Architect; Director: Nathaniel Kahn OT: our town; Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy Power Trip; Director: Paul Devlin

From Dark Horizons re The DaVinci Code 'The Rascal' was at a talk with best-selling author Dan Brown the other day who spoke out about Imagine Entertainment's planned adaptation of his already famous "The DaVinci Code" about a murder investigation which leads to uncovering of all sorts of ancient conspiracies and religious secrets: "Brown said that he was wary of selling the rights to the book. He was first courted by Harvey Weinstein, but found his meetings with him to be distasteful. [Ed note: Perceptive guy!] Eventually he agreed to sell the rights to Ron Howard. Brown indicated that Howard was deciding between Russell Crowe and Tom Hanks for the part of Robert Langdon. Tom Cruise was trying to acquire the rights but is NOT under consideration by Howard. Although Brown has a veto right over the choice of lead character, he said that he will not overrule Howard, saying: �how am I supposed to tell an academy award-winning director that he�s wrong when I don�t know anything about movies?� If Brown could choose anyone, he said he�d like to see Ralph Fiennes play Langdon, but said that he knew that Fiennes wasn�t a big enough B.O. draw to be seriously considered for the part. The budget is set at $100+ million and filming will be on location in Paris and England".

If Brown could choose anyone, he said he�d like to see Ralph Fiennes play Langdon, but said that he knew that Fiennes wasn�t a big enough B.O. draw to be seriously considered for the part. Just finished reading this...you can only imagine who I was thinking in the part of Langdon. ;-) Enjoyed the book. Had actually heard some of the MM stuff before... Interesting remark about Weinstein (will Brown ever eat lunch in that town again??). Is one allowed to say such things? ;-)

(Tress)Just finished reading this...you can only imagine who I was thinking in the part of Langdon. ;-). Me too, eh, you don't mean that tall, skinny guy with the dark curly hair who parades around in wet shirts from time to time-speaks with a posh British accent, likes to say "jobbing" a lot? If Brown could choose anyone, he said he�d like to see Ralph Fiennes play Langdon, but said that he knew that Fiennes wasn�t a big enough B.O. draw to be seriously considered for the part. Oh well that leaves out the tall, skinny guy...but where there is a RF...

(Linda) Oh well that leaves out the tall, skinny guy...but where there is a RF... or a younger Jeremy Irons. ;-)

PS- I don't think HJ is gay, either, but having seen him in TBFO in January while in NY, he seemed the victim of the referenced gossip.

"He was first courted by Harvey Weinstein, but found his meetings with him to be distasteful. [Ed note: Perceptive guy!] Eventually he agreed to sell the rights to Ron Howard." Methinks Dan Brown is reading the same book, I am;-) (Strongly recommend reading..."Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" by Peter Biskind) for all Miramax dirt from its inception. I recommended YKW (with a dialect coach;-)for Robert Langdon's role 6 months ago and was shot down by all:-(( Look forward to Ron Howard's direction though. OK...now I'm reading "Absolute Friends" the new John Le Carre book and once more cast YKW for the leading role of Ted Mundy"...failed writer, and expatriate son of an Army Officer used to be a spy....."[Needs no dialect coach!] But it too *screams* RF. I'm always casting Colin in Le Carre books ,but either RF or Pierce Brosnan get 'em.Loved "Tinker, Tailor...." All the respected directors love Rafe. But really, "da Vinci" is not his type of drama. As long as it isn't Harrison Ford! ....(Karen)or a younger Jeremy Irons. ;-) *snort*

(Evelyn) I recommended YKW (with a dialect coach;-)for Robert Langdon's role 6 months ago and was shot down by all:-(( I remember that! I had no opinion at the time as I had not read the book. I'll not shoot you down Evelyn! ;-) But, why would he even need a dialect coach? I say keep the posh voice. I didn't think that Langdon's being an American was neccessary to the plot. He could just as well still be a prof at Harvard and be from the UK. Hope this hasn't been posted yet. Scarlett is presenting on Sunday (and now why-oh-why woudln't they have YKW there to present with her??) Scarlett Johansson will make her first Oscar show appearance as a presenter. She currently can be seen in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "Lost in Translation." http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2004/04.02.25.html

(Evelyn)(Evelyn) I recommended YKW (with a dialect coach;-)for Robert Langdon's role 6 months ago and was shot down by all:-(( No way. Really? I can definitely see those skinny legs running down the halls of the Louvre. (Tress)I didn't think that Langdon's being an American was neccessary to the plot. He could just as well still be a prof at Harvard and be from the UK. Absolutely! See, now. It's all worked out. (Tress-again)Scarlett is presenting on Sunday (and now why-oh-why woudln't they have YKW there to present with her??) You mean that tall skinny guy with...just kidding. Hell, he should have been a presenter at the BAFTA's GWAPE had 10 nominations, there. But, I agree it would have been great to see him present with SJ on Sunday. (Evelyn)I'm always casting Colin in Le Carre books I've cast him as Justin Quayle in The Constant Gardner, and one of my favorites, Barley Blair in The Russia House.

(Tress) Scarlett is presenting on Sunday LOL! hope she gets the lipstick right then! Would love to see the man with the amazing digits co-present;-) Me, I'd never get as far as the (Linda) Skinny legs myself ! which is why I admire our R, but........ ;-))

(Evelyn) I'm always casting Colin in Le Carre books ,but either RF or Pierce Brosnan get 'em. I said that in 1997 (which beats your 6 months ago).

Inside the Actor's Studio on Bravo: Eastern Times: Sun, Mar 7 8:00 PM HUGH JACKMAN Sun, Mar 7 11:30 PM HUGH JACKMAN And according to the schedule, it doesn't repeat in March.

Thanks, Evelyn! But frankly, how much has he done? I don't care if he is the talk of Broadway. Colin certainly has a longer CV. I saw a brilliant film last night: The Cuckoo. It is from Lapland and done in that language, Finnish and Russian. These three characters talking to each other and not understanding a word each says whilst the action progresses. Has any one seen it?

(Moon) But frankly, how much has he done? I don't care if he is the talk of Broadway. Colin certainly has a longer CV. What has that to do with anything in view of this year's guest slate? They had Charlize and Naomi, relative newcomers, and even Jay Leno (what was that about?). It is quality vs quantity and what these actors, who have received critical acclaim can impart to the audience. There's not a whole lot on Colin's CV worth talking about to an acting school IMO.

Okay. Remind me. What's CV? (Then I can slap my head and say, "THAT's right!)

Louise- CV = Curriculum vitae A fancy word for resume, most often used by medical and/or academic professionals to list their credentials and publications. I thought actors used 'resume', no?

(lesliep)CV = Curriculum vitae A fancy word for resume, most often used by medical and/or academic professionals to list their credentials and publications. I can't even give myself a slap on the head for that one - nevah heard of the term. Thanks for the enlightenment. (Karen)There's not a whole lot on Colin's CV worth talking about to an acting school IMO. Huh? Surely, I have misunderstood what you are saying. CF's resume isn't worth talking about to an acting class? Care to expound?

(Karen)and even Jay Leno (what was that about?). It is quality vs quantity and what these actors, who have received critical acclaim can impart to the audience. I agree, the Jay Leno thing was v. strange -and IMO didn't belong on ITAS. More of an A&E Biography or Headliners and Legends or whatever that MSNBC show is called. In light of Leno's appearance then I'd have to say that suggesting that Colin should be a guest is not that far out in left field. I've e-mailed JL, ITAS, and Bravo several times concerning Colin. Always get the standard computer generated reply-- due to the volume of mail...blah, blah, blah. This last time I listed as many of his roles, BAFTA noms, Emmy nom, Royal Television Awards and noms, appearances in Oscar winning movie noms--when you put it all together it really is impressive-to me, anyway;-)And I would think that could possibly be more interesting to an acting class than Jay Leno. IMO. Of course BRAVO may have a different opinion;-)

(Moon)But frankly, how much has he done? Hugh's CV:) - http://www.jackmanslanding.com/filmography.html Re: ODB on ITAS Well, speaking as an actor . . (putting biases aside and all) . .I find Colin's career quite interesting . .the people he has worked with, the types of projects he has done, his approaches to acting (as he described in that Backstage interview) . .and just the fact that he has been a working "jobbing" (sorry to coin his phrase) actor for all these years would be enough for me to want to hear him talk to any class I was in. So many in our profession are working our tails off to get a fraction of the work he gets . . . Now, as Linda has mentioned . .he might not be worthy to televise for Bravo . .but to talk to an acting class . .I'd definitely line him up. As an aside . .a great book for anyone to read about the blue collar/working actor that I've always recommended for a good laugh: "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" by Bruce Campbell If you don't know who Bruce is - http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0132257/ http://www.bruce-campbell.com/

(Kimberly) If you don't know who Bruce is - LOL...Ohhhh....I know who Bruce is! I don't know if I should admit that! My DH's good friend is a huuuuuuge fan (and into Troma and all that too). I promised to see Bubba Ho-Tep with 'the guys' (they did go see TIOBE with me and it was payback time). Not as bad as I thought it would be....just v. v. cheesy (definite B movie stuff).

(Leslie) A fancy word for resume, most often used by medical and/or academic professionals to list their credentials and publications. I thought actors used 'resume', no? In England, CV is the more prevalent. I remember when an old boss of mine talked about updating his CV, but he was a pompous ass. ;-) (Louise) Surely, I have misunderstood what you are saying. CF's resume isn't worth talking about to an acting class? Care to expound? Maybe my eyes are going bad, but can you point to his Oscar nominations, wins or similar? Also, if you watch the show, the people interviewed are 180 degreees away from calling themselves "jobbing" actors. Not one of them I've seen recently viewed his/her profession as a paycheck. They've all displayed tremendous commitment and passion toward his/her art.

(Karen)Maybe my eyes are going bad, but can you point to his Oscar nominations, wins or similar? Also, if you watch the show, the people interviewed are 180 degreees away from calling themselves "jobbing" actors. Not one of them I've seen recently viewed his/her profession as a paycheck. They've all displayed tremendous commitment and passion toward his/her art. I don't recall HG having any Oscar nods, nor do I recall that he has he expressed any commitment and passion for his "higher art." He has, however, periodically claimed he was going to quit acting altogether. For a TV show IMO, it is far more important that he is highly entertaining. Okay, I get your beef now, but that "jobbing" actor remark CF makes doesn't really bother me. I just consider it a self-deprecation and not one that would top directors would take seriously either. (If I had the HTML icon for "head ducking," I would insert it here;-D) I do recall an interview early on with HG who observed that the British tendency towards self-deprecation was taken at face value rather than as modesty by US interviewers and had gotten him in trouble a time or two. I really don't know what the criteria is for an invite to AS, I had been of the opinion that neither passion nor charm was the key. He/she had simply to be a respected actor with something to contribute - but Jay Leno visit kinda blows that notion outta the water:-D

(Karen) Not one of them I've seen recently viewed his/her profession as a paycheck. They've all displayed tremendous commitment and passion toward his/her art. I'm trying to figure out how Melanie Griffith got invited to the party....;-)

In England, CV is the more prevalent. Just popping in the say CV is the only word in the UK unless talking to Americans ;-)

(Louise)Okay, I get your beef now, but that "jobbing" actor remark CF makes doesn't really bother me. Bothers me. Not self-deprecating at all..in fact, it diminishes the craft. The inference being :"I do anything for $$$$" Any professional knows better. Poor PR. But as I've said before: He talks too much.

(Evelyn) But as I've said before: He talks too much. By his own admission, he is "loquacious". Best that he doesn't talk too much about his private life. Once he got started, he'd probably never stop.....then he'd have some 'splaining to do when he got home! ;-)

Karen, what about your Oscar predictions? We always have fun with those. I did mine on Friday so that I wouldn't be influenced by others. My local critic gave the supporing actress to the Iranian woman and best actor to Sean Penn. I read an AP article last week that quoted Renee as saying that she deserved the Oscar. She'll be mighty PO if it doesn't happen. Here are mine once again: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Charlize Theron - MONSTER ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Ren�e Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM FINDING NEMO ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING CINEMATOGRAPHY MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD COSTUME DESIGN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING DIRECTING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD DOCUMENTARY FEATURE MY ARCHITECT DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT CHERNOBYL HEART FILM EDITING THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS MAKEUP PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL MUSIC (SCORE) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MUSIC (SONG) "Into the West" - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING BEST PICTURE THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING VISUAL EFFECTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) AMERICAN SPLENDOR WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) LOST IN TRANSLATION

Sinse you only asked Karen, I won't post mine.;-)

(Moon from Friday) Here are the IFC Spirit awards nominations. I predict it will be a battle between Lost in Translation and American Splendor Was a massacre. ;-) Loved the Independent Spirit Awards show; so entertaining. John Waters' opening bit was hysterical and the Sing Alongs were great too. I remember last year, when Jennifer Tilly's Sing Along stole the show. Best part was actually seeing Francis Ford Coppola singing along with the bouncing ball. Everyone else was too cool. The In America bunch didn't look too amused with their tribute, but Kyra Sedgwick and Zoey Deschanel doing Gilbert & Sullivan was adorable. The best had to be Erika Christensen and Michael McKean doing I Am Sixteen Going on Seventeen for LIT. what about your Oscar predictions? Don't get your knickers in a twist. Have just printed off my ballot and will mark it now. Always do it on the day of. Back in a flash.

(Karen)Loved the Independent Spirit Awards show; so entertaining. Me too. Even though I only had seen LIT and 21 Grams. Don't think I've ever seen the show before. ('cept for the clothes...you wudda died, Moon. They made Walmart couture look good.What was Naomi Watts thinking when she put that outfit on.) The Sing-a-long was a hoot.Papa Coppola , so proud of his little girl. Did you see him whistling when she won! Big night for LIT, where was SJ? Nice that the cast for 21 Grams showed up in support of the film for special award. Liked the speech by Director Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu. That's what I call a classy acceptance speech centered around his craft! Agree with your predictions, except I think Sean Penn will win. Though I would like to see Bill Murray.

(Evelyn) What was Naomi Watts thinking when she put that outfit on.) That was pretty hideous. Looked like a vintage child's party dress or a maternity top with those capri pants. Ugh! v. bad OK, here are my predictions and I'm sure I put much too much effort into them since there's an inverse relationship between research and accuracy. ;-) Best Picture: LOTR will (Mystic River should) Best Director: Peter Jackson will and should (for the three-year effort) Best Actor: Sean Penn should and will Best Actress: Charlize Theron should and will but there has to be an upset somewhere and it usually occurs in the supporting actor category (Please note: I said usually, not always. Anyone can find exceptions.) Best Supporting Actor: Tim Robbins should and will, but I would love to see Djimon Hounsou get it Best Supporting Actress: Shohreh Aghdashloo will upset RZ, but I'd still like to see Patricia Clarkson get it Adapted Screenplay: LOTR crowd (been nominated three times with no wins in this category), though I agree with Moon that American Splendor should've Original Screenplay: Sofia's no matter what Cinematography: Seabiscuit, though my pref would be City of God or GWAPE Documentary: Who knows Foreign Language Film: I'd pick The Barbarian Invasions but the people who vote in this category (and documentary) are rather strange and more likely to pick something terribly obscure Animated: Finding Nemo Original Score: Not a clue and not a single memorable one in the bunch. Both Horner and Shore won in the last two years, so maybe it is Thomas Newman's turn. Original Song: A Mighty Wind. Ooops! Not nominated. I guess they'll give it to the LOTR one. Art Direction: LOTR Costume Design: The Last Samurai Film Editing: City of God Makeup: Pirates of the Caribbean Sound: Master and Commander Sound Editing: Master and Commander Visual Effects: LOTR for three years running

A Mighty Wind's song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" is nominated for best Original Song. It was written by Michael McKean (a Christopher Guest regular) and Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent of Smallville), who are also husband and wife.

And, most importantly, I want to nominate Carson Kressley to do E! Red Carpet events. He's far more entertaining than Joan and makes the effort to know what the people have done. Plus the guy can recognize a Prada dress at 50 ft and doesn't have to ask, "who are you wearing?" ;-) Which reminds me, has anyone else watched Comedy Central's takeoff on Queer Eye? It's called A Straight Plan for the Gay Man. Pretty funny, though it isn't meant to inspire lifestyle changes, i.e., the gay guy is supposed to pass for a straight one at a designated place. The first guy who worked in fashion on Seventh Avenue had to be a blue-collar worker and they tested him at a meat packing plant. They took him to shop for clothing at the Salvation Army and he was going to pass out.

A Mighty Wind's song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" is nominated for best Original Song. Yes, I know but I didn't like it. Thought it was sappy as all get out, but fit what they were trying to do. I prefered the final song, A Mighty Wind. It was good, classic and meaningful folk music.

(Karen)I would love to see Djimon Hounsou get it Oh me too. His acceptance speech was darling. Was so appreciative. Nice when they aren't arrogant and self-centered. Karen) I want to nominate Carson Kressley to do E! Red Carpet events. Definitely. Does his homework and is v. gracious, and hilarious in a non-caricature way. But does he have to keep telling the audience/interviewee he's gay.....it doesn't make any difference. He's terrific in that job. The nail-biter IMO is Best Actor

(Evelyn), The nail-biter IMO is Best Actor Totally agree. (Karen)Loved the Independent Spirit Awards show; so entertaining. I always enjoy it! Love the sign along, John Waters... Loved Carson and other on the red carpet. They knew what and who they were talking about. Also hated Naomi's outfit. And wasn't crazy about the Prada dress Laura Linley wore, but I'm not a fan of Prada. BTW, I loved the editing in City of God, and would love to see PeterJ get best director, but I am also a huge fan of Peter Weir and he might take it over. (Mari), Sinse you only asked Karen, I won't post mine.;-) LOL! Now you get right back here and post. I was only reminding Karen. ;-D

(Evelyn)Bothers me. Not self-deprecating at all..in fact, it diminishes the craft. The inference being :"I do anything for $$$$" I always thought the "jobbing actor" inference was "I don't want to be called a 'movie star.'" Even in the "biz" the PC term for acting seems to be the "work" (as in "I love your work" "I'm just in it for the work."). Personally, when I hear actors prattling on about their "art" or their "craft" the inference is that they're a pompous a**;-D

Red Carpet comments. I think SJ looks good in the green - but the satin fabric - hmmm, not so good imo. It reflects a bit too much over body parts. Adore Nicole's Chanel, do not like Charleze's hair - better at SAGs, Samantha Morton looks great, Michael Douglas looks old. Uma looks like she found a Last Sam costume and bleached it. But tell me who would put Joan next to Tom Brooks? Obviously Tom has been bad this past year and this is his punishment. On diet now!

(Karen) I want to nominate Carson Kressley to do E! Red Carpet events., Yes, yes, yes. I really can't take Joan anymore. She isn't funny anymore, I think she's just rude. I love CK-funny and knows his stuff. (Evelyn)The nail-biter IMO is Best Actor, Yep, and I'm thinking Best Supporting Actress could really be the upset. Keeping my fingers crossed for at least one win for GWAPE. Too bad it didn't win a thing at the BAFTA's;-( Oh, Diane Keaton-I know it's her style, but please! and MGH looks like she should have delivered two months, ago. I'm outta here until tomorrow. Good luck with all the predictions.

Renee looks fantastic and has obviously not eaten since rap party for TEOR.

Just as I was signing off Renee came on, she did look lovely and much thinner, but I like her better in vivid colors or black. I think she washes out in light colors. Her dress was beautiful. OK, goodnight!

Will wait and read tomorrow...too tired for now...and too much Jack (Daniels)... I mean Sparrow... I most wanted "adapted screenplay"...sry to those who are ready to be done with JRRT...but am postively giddy. WTG Scarlett, if there was a time to pull it all together and to look drop dead gorgeous, now was the time. Renee, now I may well have to watch that damn movie. Tim Robbins...glad you won, but will still not watch that damn movie. Peter Jackson...just wish we could clean you up....and thank you for making those damn movies. Angelina Jolie...*thank you* ...so much better than the Morticia thing... And Billy Crystal is LOL wonderful. (Except Nicole, I want to be you...to cut Joan on "E"...priceless.)

(locarol) Uma looks like she found a Last Sam costume and bleached it. She looked like a frumpy St. Pauli girl....wearing a mussy dirndl....she should have been serving at an Oktoberfest! One of the worst outfits of the evening, IMO....if not the worst! Diane Keaton looked like she was ready for an 80s party. (Linda) I really can't take Joan anymore. She isn't funny anymore.... LOL...oh Linda...she was never funny! ;-) And someone should speak to her plastic surgeon. I remember years ago when she did her stand up routine and would just rip on celebs (Liz Taylor) who had too much surgery. Now she's a freakish example of what can go wrong.... (Linda) MGH looks like she should have delivered two months, ago. Twins....and Livia was pretty big with just one! Nicole looked lovely.....so many beautiful dresses. Renee looked thinner (but agree she looked washed out). Really liked the back of the dress (and can't believe I said that...it was a bit 'busy' with that huge bow, but looked wonderful, I thought). Liked the color on Scarlett, but not the all the pleats. Holly Hunter, stunning in Vera Wang. Charlize...beautiful dress, but her lips looked washed out and not a big fan of the sprayed on tan. The men...so many neck ties! LOVED it. Very sharp looking gentlemen this evening. Johnny Depp cleaned up nicely. Adrian Brody was a hoot presenting best actress.

A few comments... Hands down for worse dress of nominee or presenter: Uma Thurman. What was that? Alpine couture? I noticed our WGN was having a Red Carpet Show too. Don't know who the people were but they were very decent with their questions. Seems like the receiving line went from right to left: Joan, BBC, and then these nameless people. SJ's dresses never fit her properly. Lots of great dresses and the best ones were vintage. What does that say for today's couture? ;-) After a full week of watching the entertainment news shows segments on the jewelry, where were all those pieces? All the big colored stones and chunky necklaces that they said people were wearing. Hmmmm, looking more like commercials... Billy Crystal's opening number a la LOTR: Return of the Host was great, and the surprise bit from Something's Gotta Give was hysterical. Adrian Brody spraying breath freshner: a high point!

(Karen) SJ's dresses never fit her properly. Agree. It's as if, because she is nineteen, they don't allow for enough bust room, because she couldn't possibly need it, right? She always has a seam going at some odd angle across her chest.....or she's smashed in or 'dangling' (LA GWAPE premiere dress...not flattering IMO, she looked lopsided there). (Karen) Billy Crystal's opening number a la LOTR: Return of the Host was great, and the surprise bit from Something's Gotta Give was hysterical. Agree! So funny. Really liked the whole segment, but the "Something's Gotta Give" bit was particularly amusing...also liked the little hair toss he did when dressed as Legolas. The bit with him in the back of the car (Mystic River "Wait, this isn't the way to the Oscars!") was just wrong...but ooooooh so funny!

(Tress) She looked like a frumpy St. Pauli girl Yes! That's it. A St. Pauli girl. I liked the crystal beaded dresses worn by Charlize and Naomi. Thought Charlize looked great, a cross between Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard. While Naomi was being interviewed on the Red Carpet, Heath Ledger kept stroking her neck and ear. Oooh, very sexy.

What is it with Sofia Coppola not thanking Scarlett at the Oscars? There are only 2 stars in the movie. Does she dislike her?

(Katty) What is it with Sofia Coppola not thanking Scarlett at the Oscars? There are only 2 stars in the movie. Does she dislike her? I noticed that too, and when Bill Murray won at the GG's. Not a mention of Scarlett by either of them. Very poor manners by both of them IMO. Sofia gives the impression of being a very cold fish indeed. Her interviews on the red carpet were virtually monosyllabic. I thought the women looked stunning tonight (with a few exceptions like Uma). I particularly liked Jennifer Garner, Renee, Nicole, Diane Lane. Billy Crystal is fantastic as the AA host. He didn't miss a beat and his opening number was a delight. I also enjoyed his tribute songs to the best picture nominees. Best moments: Adrien Brodie's breath freshener, Blake Edwards' entrance All along I have thought that Sean Penn's absence from award shows was due to arrogance. But his comments tonight about being uncomfortable in a crowd of people he barely knew reminded me of Darcy - a man so paralyzed in social situations that his reserve was taken for arrogance.

Re the comments on the ages of Colin's fan at the Colin Droll thread -- I recently did a small poll on Crowe fans' demographics. Thought it was interesting that his on-line fan base seems to lean toward later middle age. What is your age (generally) Answers Votes Percent 1. Under 18 (2) 1% 2. 18 to 30 (25) 7% 3. 30 to 45 (115) 34% 4. 45 to 60 (156) 46% 5. Over 60 (43) 13% I remember years ago at the old Firth group, we did an age thing, and, if memory serves me correctly, most of us were in that same later 40-60 group.

What was up with Michael Douglas and the sun glasses? Was he a stand-in for Jack or did he have cataract surgery? (Katty)What is it with Sofia Coppola not thanking Scarlett at the Oscars? I noticed that too, Sofia did thank her at the GG's the second time she went up for the award-but that was only after SJ grabbed her on her way up to the stage to congratulate her. Maybe all was not happy on the set? Or just Sofia not able to focus in front of the camera? Loved Billy Crystal and Adrian Brody

(Linda) What was up with Michael Douglas and the sun glasses? Was he a stand-in for Jack or did he have cataract surgery? I think he was wearing the magical Jack Nicholson sunglasses Billy Crystal had from the opening number.

Probably the most predictable Oscars in years, but I'm happy with the LOTR sweep. Loved Billy Cristal. Adrian Brody is always so relaxed and cool up there. I agree that Uma and Keaton were the worst dressed. I wasn't too happy with the overall putty color gowns and washed-out lipstic colors. Charlize always looks good but remember her purple gown at the SAG awards? That worked really well with her complexion. Also looking rather washed-out were Naomi Watts and Julianne Moore. Even Nicole's lovely gown could have benefitted by a more defining color. Renee's gown was lovely and hid her weight very well, still nothing I would ever wear. And, I loved Angelina Jolie's necklace and Charlize's earrings. Catherine ZJ looked good in red but I preferred her gold gown from the SAG awards. The best dressed IMO were: Sandra Bullock, Liv Taylor(loved her hair too), Diane Lane and Jennifer Gardner in Vintage Valentino: Did anyone notice Jim Carey's elf-like ears? LOL! Nic Cage and Sir Ian had very ill fitting jackets. Jude Law looked great and I was happy to see Sean Penn in a tux instead of a tie. I wish Tim Robbins had doen the same. (Karen) SJ's dresses never fit her properly. And this dress was the best fit yet! I agree she should get a new stylist. While Naomi was being interviewed on the Red Carpet, Heath Ledger kept stroking her neck and ear. Oooh, very sexy. He was actually undoing her hairstyle! I kept thinking put that hand down. LOL!

(Sandy) Sofia gives the impression of being a very cold fish indeed. She gave me the impression of someone very nervous. She didn't talk well, and looked uncomfortable. I enjoyed watching the Oscars, loved Billy Crystal, but thought this year the show wasn't as lively as I expected. Loved the opening number, and several other bits here and there, but the musical performances bored me (maybe because I haven't seen the movies), and some of the speeches went on waaay too long. I was sad GWAPE didn't get anything. I'm happy for the LOTR people, but wished the 'smaller ones' could've shared the glory. Renee's dress: I thought she looked great on the front, but hideous at the back. And as she was standing on the stage she looked like she was about to fall over. I too thought she'd looked better in darker colours because of her blond hair and fair skin. I smiled through her speech, she was so nervous, so overwhelmed, I was very happy for her. Charlize looked great, so did Scarlett. I thought the green colour went very well with her blond hair. Lovely. And Catherina Zeta-Jones still looks like one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen on the screen, until she starts talking. That voice somehow just doesn't go with that lovely face. Jonny Depp looked so normal it surprised me, and Pierce Brosnan..., oh did he ever look dashing? Cool and handsome. I wonder if they'll ever find another Bond like him. On the Colin front, I know he wasn't there, but did I ever get a thrill to see him up on the screen twice as the nominated movies were presented? Not the real thing, but thrilling nevertheless. I wished he presented though, of all the presenters no one would've sounded as great as he. I could easily imagine his rich voice with that lovely accent resonating throughout the auditorium. Mmmmm.

(Barb)Sun: Will wait and read tomorrow...too tired for now...and too much Jack (Daniels)... I mean Sparrow... Tim Robbins...glad you won, but will still not watch that damn movie. Mom AM: LOL. Totally agree...and I haven't even had any Jack Daniels!! Hooray for Renee*doing dance of joy*!! Anybody see the GMA ? They went to all the parties. Renee holding court. Oprah getting the biggest hug of all. Gorgeous dress. Now has to drop 10 more . I want her to fit into the Chicago dress. (I know this board likes 'em chubby;) Not me. I want my movie stars to look like *stars*, not the checker at Walmart.) Catherine ZJ looks like a 20-something now that she lost her weight. Fashion police tonight on E!. Didn't see LOTR, but it was refreshing to see all those Kiwis up there. Not the usual jaded, Botoxed, Hollywood types.

(Evelyn) Not the usual jaded, Botoxed, Hollywood types. But it would've been nice if two of them (who shall remain nameless) had combed their hair and not looked like they shopped at the Salvation Army. ;-) From the weekend news at Dark Horizons: Fever Pitch: Mira Nair, PJ Hogan and Luke Greenfield are candidates to direct. Drew Barrymore is attached to star and its scheduled to begin in July.

Oscar Slips of the Tongue Mock Network Censors (Reuters) - Can I say that? The burning question of Oscar night on Sunday was how far to push network censors who had insisted on a five-second delay to avoid a repeat of the Feb. 1 Super Bowl debacle involving singer Janet Jackson's now-infamous bared breast. Uppermost in the minds of many stars walking the red carpet and taking the stage at the Kodak Theater seemed to be a perceived backlash against vulgarity and sex on TV--although most poked fun at the new standards of decency. When asked by local TV presenters how he had voted in the Oscar contests, comedian Robin Williams declined to answer, and descended into the profane when pressed. "I'm not gonna do that s---," he said, then added: "Oh sorry. I can't say that." Comedian Jack Black seemed unsure of whether he had strayed over the line of good taste while telling another interviewer of his regret that his film, "School of Rock," was not being considered for a prize. "I was very upset that we didn't get nominated for best song because it was a kick-ass song," Black said. "Can I say that?" And "Starsky & Hutch" castmates Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller wrapped up their red carpet shtick by asking a glamorous TV presenter in a low cut dress if her breasts were real. The verbal debauchery continued backstage, with two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks describing a nominee's typical pre-show jitters thusly: "There's a lot of upchucking going on in some rooms and white pills being taken in others." During a pre-show interview, Nicole Kidman chided "Cold Mountain" castmate Renee Zellweger over a supposed slip of the tongue. "I think you just swore," Kidman told Zellweger. "Did I swear?" Zellweger said. "I did not!" "I thought she said something," a laughing Kidman told the interviewer. "I'm hearing things." Even host Billy Crystal flouted the new atmosphere of propriety by paying tribute to the incident that spurred it. "And Smeagol pops out like the right boob of Janet," Crystal sang onstage in a parody song about Best Picture nominee "The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King." Actor Jim Carrey apparently did not get the memo--he blithely told the worldwide television audience of a childhood incident in which he attacked his older sister "while she was having sex with my brother-in-law."

Oscar Slips of the Tongue Mock Network Censors (Reuters) - Can I say that? I didn't think lack of profanity diminished the Oscars;-) Billy Crystal was the only stand-out IMO Robbin Williams is on my sled to the tundras anyway. The night before on Independent Spirit Awards Nia Kardalos said she had taken some coke so she could sing the "machine-gun" sing-a-long. Funny. She wasn't cut-off.

This AP article probably contains the most info on the clothes (designers) that I've seen thus far. Hadn't a clue that Jude Law's tux was midnight blue. Oscar Red Carpet Is Nod to Old Hollywood Glamour. Glamour. More Glamour. The red carpet fashions at Sunday's Academy Awards were a throwback to Oscars past as stars wore sophisticated and classy gowns, such as Naomi Watts' stunning nude-colored Versace dress. The gown was adorned with huge teardrop-shaped crystals. "It's the Oscars and there's so much tradition, I wanted to go old-school glamour," said Watts, who wore her hair in an updo and simple, dewy makeup. Her accessories? Dainty drop earrings and boyfriend Heath Ledger, who wore a Gucci tuxedo and oversized sunglasses. Charlize Theron went with a sentimental favorite: a nude beaded Gucci gown by Tom Ford, who just showed his last collection for the label. "I've always been a huge fan of his work. I thought if he's leaving, I want to wear one more dress," Theron said. Theron's silver purse was done by a fellow South African, Lana Marks, and her drop earrings by Chopard featured 46 diamonds and were nicknamed "The Shooting Star." Many stars seemed to go for neutral colors as a way to show respect for the Oscars, said Cindi Leive, Glamour magazine's editor in chief. "It's kind of incredible how retro glam the whole thing is. ... There was nothing rock 'n' roll," Leive said. Scarlett Johannson's green Alberto Ferretti gown was "apropos for her moment in time," said Reeve Chace, author of "The Complete Book of Oscar Fashion" (Reed Press). Renee Zellweger again looked to Carolina Herrera, wearing a white strapless column gown with a draped bodice and back bow. She also wore almost $1 million worth of Cartier jewels, including a 73-carat oval and pear-shaped diamond necklace with a 35-carat diamond bracelet. "I loved the elegant and regal look of white on Renee," said Tom Julian, fashion commentator for the Web site Oscar.com. Julian also praised Susan Sarandon's black cap-sleeve, silk satin Gucci dress and Oprah Winfrey's sea foam green wrap gown by Gianfranco Ferre. But Julian said the exotic and ethnic look of Uma Thurman's white layered gown with a bolero jacket and colored sash "wasn't exactly right on." Keisha Castle-Hughes, 13-year-old star of "Whale Rider," wore a beaded whale barrette in her hair. She also gave a boost to designer Liz Mitchell from her native New Zealand in a classy, age-appropriate pink dress with Swarovski crystals in the shape of a New Zealand fern on the bodice. A sheer pink capelet was the perfect topper. "I feel like I'm floating. It's like I'm having a total out-of-body experience," said Castle-Hughes. Veteran Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo wore a red lace gown with a train by Iranian designer Simin. "I did this on purpose. My heart belongs to Iran." The embroidery on the bottom of Nicole Kidman's light green satin Chanel gown took more than 400 hours to do. The top of the strapless dress was simple, with just a touch of lace at the top of the bodice, allowing a necklace of 195 carats of natural green diamonds custom designed by L'Wren Scott for Bulgari to really shine. Sandra Bullock's ivory silk faille gown was based on a design shown in a recent Oscar de la Renta fashion show. It featured bows on the pockets and two tiers of ivory feathers. "I love the feathers! It was a very easy decision," Bullock said. Julianne Moore's Versace dress was a light gray sheath with a lace spider's web embroidery with crystals and pearls. Stella McCartney designed the 1930s-inspired ice blue, silk satin dress that transformed Scottish singer Annie Lennox into a Hollywood princess. Diane Keaton showed up in an "Annie Hall"-style suit by Ralph Lauren, complete with a black bowler hat and black gloves, polka-dot tie, matching handkerchief square and white carnation. An elegant Jude Law wore a navy three-piece tuxedo from Dunhill. "I'm a fan of old-school tailoring. They told me tuxedos used to be made in midnight blue so I just went along with the tradition." Jamie Lee Curtis, who normally favors dark, subdued dresses, wore an uncharacteristically sexy Monique Lhuillier blue ombre silk chiffon strapless gown with ruching at the bust and scarf ties. "I've now broken every rule I ever set for myself." Also in blue was a pregnant Marcia Gay Harden, who said she didn't want her Badgley Mischka gown with antique beads around her waist to disguise her burgeoning belly. "I'm so proud of it," she said. Marc Jacobs frequently cites Sofia Coppola as his muse, so it was no surprise that she chose a black dress by the designer. Catherine Zeta-Jones raided the Versace archives to find the inspiration for her fiery red scoop-neck gown. A blond Julia Roberts, wearing a bronze Giorgio Armani gown with a deep V-neck and a gathered waist decorated with a jewel, said her new hair color was "just for work." Other outstanding looks were Diane Lane's white gown with silver beaded cutouts, complemented by simple-yet-elegant 6-carat diamond stud earrings from Harry Winston; Patricia Clarkson's high-neck, nude-colored beaded gown by Michael Vollbract for Bill Blass; Angelina Jolie's plunging white V-neck by Marc Bouwer; and Liv Tyler's black Givenchy Couture dress with its low back and long train. For the most part, Oscar's men went with classic tuxedos � noteworthy because stars such as Sean Penn and Johnny Depp normally shun traditional red carpet garb. This time, they showed up in Armani.

Williams, Curtis Hold Off Oscars Censor By ANTHONY BREZNICAN, AP Entertainment Writer In some of the last rehearsals leading up to Oscar night, Robin Williams stood in the wings of the Academy Awards stage trading off-color jokes and awaiting his cue. Soon he would be in front of the cameras to practice a presentation, but for the moment he was just goofing around. He took a few jabs at California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's opposition to gay marriage, while joke writer David Steinberg lobbed quips back at him from the shadow of a gargantuan Oscar statue. "Good luck getting anyone to decorate Sacramento," Williams said. "It's going to be 'early camouflage.'" Then the lights and music came up, and a still-laughing Williams strutted to center stage. "My job is to pump him up," Steinberg told a stagehand. Williams then continued to deliver an obscenity-laced rehearsal Saturday night that had the scattered Oscar workers roaring. When trophy handler Berglind "Icey" Olafsdottir walked out holding two Oscars, Williams stared at the small cross dangling in the cleavage of her low-cut bustier. "Oh! Mary Magdalene!" Williams shouted. He clutched the two Oscars to his chest like erect nipples. "Even Oscar is excited!" he declared. His routine continued, profane as ever. "The ABC censor just went, 'Eeech!'" Williams said. Well, she WAS standing just offstage. Susan Futterman cringed a little, but tried to keep up a good front as Williams came back to meet her, still cracking jokes. Was he going over possible gags for approval? "No, we were just joking around," Futterman told The Associated Press. "I've worked with Robin many times and he never does in rehearsal what he will do onstage ... That doesn't mean I don't have to worry." If it was Steinberg's job to pump up Williams, it was Futterman's responsibility to tone it down. The Oscars begin at 8:29:55 p.m. EST, and those extra five seconds are built in to give Futterman a chance to push a button that will eliminate any racy material. It's the first time the Oscars have been subject to that scrutiny � thanks to Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt at the Super Bowl. Futterman remained on the prowl for nipples all day. "Excuse me, Miss Curtis?" Futterman said, stopping Jamie Lee Curtis backstage after a rehearsal. "I need to ask you about your gown?" Curtis listened, waiting. "It's not see-through, is it?" Futterman asked. "No, it's very elegant." "Nipples covered?" Futterman insisted. Curtis gawked at her, then called over a camera crew that was recording backstage activity for "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Curtis asked Futterman to repeat the question, then answered: "My nipples are going to be completely covered. I'm the mother of two!" "Not transparent?" Futterman asked again. "It's fabulous," Curtis said. "No, I'm going to look elegant and lovely." Futterman went on her way. "OK," Curtis said after she left. "That was scary."

(Moon)Catherine ZJ looked good in red but I preferred her gold gown from the SAG awards. That gold gown was a knockout--Ellie Saab. Gorgeous. (Karen)But it would've been nice if two of them (who shall remain nameless) had combed their hair and not looked like they shopped at the Salvation Army. ;-) You mean Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh? Terrible. Hey, even if you're not a glam Hollywood type, there's no excuse for not washing and combing your hair. There's something SNL can spoof this week.;-) Mostly everyone else looked great. After the GG debacle, Nicole redeemed herself and is firmly back on top as fashion icon. Superb. Ditto Naomi Watts. Loved Renee's dress, but prefer her in a color. Seems like she's dropped some of the BJ weight; looks perfect as is, IMO. Where can I get boobs like Susan Sarandon and Jamie Lee? Yowza! And how cute was Tim Robbins's little boy, spieling on about the environmentally friendly car they arrived in? Looks like mom, but with dad's dimples. Sweet. Kudos to Samantha Morton, my vote for most improved. Vintage lilac lace--stunning. Scarlett . . . liked the color a lot, but the fit of her stuff always seems a little off. How cute was John Travolta? He's keeping the weight off, looks great. Cheers to Billy Crystal, who did a superb job as always. The Something's Gotta Give tackeoff was hilarious. As was Adrian Brody and his breath spray--LOL! He's a sweetie.

(Evelyn)didn't think lack of profanity diminished the Oscars;-) Billy Crystal was the only stand-out IMO Stand-out? Is that because he was nude during part of the opening spot? Funny there's no mention of that;-))

Stand-out? Is that because he was nude during part of the opening spot? Funny there's no mention of that;-)) ROTF. Pitiful little bod. BC has never been offensive when I've seen him. Robbin Williams show on HBO.....whole different story. But cable doesn't count.

(Mari) Loved Renee's dress, but prefer her in a color. Seems like she's dropped some of the BJ weight; looks perfect as is, IMO. I agree. She looked neither chubby nor thin, just right. It must be hell though to play around with her weight like that. Doesn't that affect one's skin? Strech and shrink..., one might be able to do that at twenty, but over thirty it must be a risky business. Dunno why but I like Oprah with a bit more weight. Is that because thinness makes her face look drawn, or I simply saw her chubbier most of the time and I'm simply used to her like that? Hmmm. (BeeDee) Stand-out? Is that because he was nude during part of the opening spot? Funny there's no mention of that;-)) LOL BeeDee! I wondered about that myself. I guess nude is okay in front of a few million people, just don't do it at home... ;-) In a few articles about the Oscars some people fretted about Billy's 'look' in the nude. I thought it was great that he was willing to make fun of himself this way. Hilarious stuff. BTW: What's the difference between the sight of Janet J.'s breast with her nipple covered with a metal shield and Billy's entire nude body barely covered at the most 'sensitive' part with his hands? Why is one okay and the other a scandal?

...allowing a necklace of 195 carats of natural green diamonds custom designed by L'Wren Scott for Bulgari to really shine. Loved Nicole's necklace! Also loved Angelina Jolie's.... Shohreh Aghdashloo's dress was beautiful. Moon, that picture you posted of Jennifer Garner! Beautiful. Everything about it was perfect. The style, the color. She looked radiant. "Nipples covered?" Futterman insisted. ..."My nipples are going to be completely covered. I'm the mother of two!" "Not transparent?" Futterman asked again. That was scary! LOL! Did notice that Angelina was smuggling peanuts! Am I allowed to say that here or should I be put on five second delay? ;-D

Does anyone know who was the man sitting between Nicole and Renee at the Oscars last night? There was a shot of him when Renee got up to accept her award.

That was John Carrabino, Renee's manager. She mentions him in every acceptance speech. Also caught him "doing" his job on one of the post shows. He was pulling her away from some reporters to get her into the Vanity Fair party. Speaking of seat assignments, I kept my eye on Scarlett, who was sitting next to Sean Connery. They didn't look like they'd developed any sort of rapport. Of course, his wife was seated on the other side of him. Did Jude bring his mom? No Sienna so far as I could see.

(Ildi)I wondered about that myself. I guess nude is okay in front of a few million people, just don't do it at home... ; BTW: What's the difference between the sight of Janet J.'s breast with her nipple covered with a metal shield and Billy's entire nude body barely covered at the most 'sensitive' part with his hands? Why is one okay and the other a scandal? I have a sneaky suspician that it has more to do with the first being a young attractive woman with perky breast and the other was a middle-aged flabby male (I like BC but that's not the point). Perhaps there's a titillation quotient at work here, but what do I know?;-))

The embroidery on the bottom of Nicole Kidman's light green satin Chanel gown took more than 400 hours to do. Shame it was on the bottom-I never saw it. (Karen)Fever Pitch: Mira Nair, PJ Hogan and Luke Greenfield are candidates to direct. Drew Barrymore is attached to star and its scheduled to begin in July. I thought GP was doing it? (dalec)Does anyone know who was the man sitting between Nicole and Renee at the Oscars last night? Her manager, John Carrabino, I believe.

(Tress)Am I allowed to say that here or should I be put on five second delay? ;-D ROTF!! We could all agree to count to 5 before reading your posts;-))

(Ildi) What's the difference between the sight of Janet J.'s breast with her nipple covered with a metal shield and Billy's entire nude body barely covered at the most 'sensitive' part with his hands? Why is one okay and the other a scandal? Well, for one, her actual breast was shown, whereas you saw nothing but skin on the naked body used for Billy Crystal. BTW, I'd bet anything it wasn't really him. The entire segment was special effects and they just superimposed his head on the body. However, you will not get any argument from me. Remember, I'm the one who posted the Time article called "The Hypocrisy Bowl."

(Karen), Did Jude bring his mom? No Sienna so far as I could see. She went with him to the VF party. There are pics on wire site.

Thanks. Not too crazy about her brown hair, but maybe he prefers women with it. ;-) A very Greek goddess dress she's wearing, nice, complete with arm bands. Mum probably had to go to bed. (Mari) Hey, even if you're not a glam Hollywood type, there's no excuse for not washing and combing your hair. That layer of Middle Earth should've been rinsed off. ;-)

Thanks Karen. I like her better as a blond. Think brown hair for Alfie? Handsome couple;-) BTW I see that "Keen Eddie" moves to Wed on March 10th. http://www.bravotv.com/Keen_Eddie/episodes_list.html

Wire Image shows Sienna as a blond in Jan. at GG party.Spectacular cerise gown. Brown in Rome. Cute "huggie" pics too;-)

This is all IMO of course...and Karen, if this is too much, please delete. I know I have used a lot of "visuals" The Good...(missing pic that I thought was good, Jennifer Garner (but Moon already gave us a look at hers)) The BAD... The the ugly.... And these are the fashion police?! V. v. ugly outfits IMO...

LOL, Tress! When Joan introduced Melissa she said my very pretty daughter... she looks like a scarecrow. I really loved Liv Taylor's dress as well as Sandra Bullocks.

(Tress)And these are the fashion police?! V. v. ugly outfits IMO... Joan looks sorta Zsa Zsa and M looks like she's a channel on Cable I don't get:-/

Agree with your picks, Tress. Look how gorgeous Charlize, Renee, Naomi, and Nicole are. Spectacular. (And I love that they have only-first-name-needed status.;-) I have to add to your Ugly heap; this is just plain scary:

I thought this was unusual and very pretty, too, on Samantha.

The "fashion police" above look like they wore everything they own, at the one time. ;-) They forgot the golden rule of dressing. Get dressed, turn around twice and take off the first accessory that takes your eye and anything that makes a noise. As for the pale lipstick choices - well that's the thing this year. So the make-up artists follow the trends just like the stylists. I like RZ in pale colours. I think strong colours cloud her face and overwhelm her. The back detail was perfect if one was inclined to think their rear view might be still a little larger than wished for. She was surpremely elegant. And I still think Charlize's hair was better at the SAGs. As for Peter, et al! Egads, tidiness is next to godliness, isn't it? Frankly I don't know how he stands his hair over his face all the time. Obviously they think Bohemian is a stand out fashion statement - very middle earth.

(Mari) I thought this was unusual and very pretty, too, on Samantha. It was vintage. Circa 1959 but I cannot remember the designer. I'm not a big lace person, but I thought it was beautiful too. Her earrings didn't match though (picky, picky, I know!) And LOL at Peter and the missus...my friend said she looked like Peg Bundy. Moon, Liv's dress was pretty (but rather matronly with the high neck), but I didn't like her hair! Looked like two different styles. Sandra looked nice...but I did like the top half better than the bottom of her dress...she kinda lost me after the little bow on her hip.

Thanks for that picture, Tress! Liv's dress had a beautiful backside, not matronly at all, very sexy. Her hair was pure glamour with a touch of originality. Sandra's Oscar della Renta is elegant and pure fun. Both very chic. Samantha's dress was from Givenchy's first couture show in the '50's. She's tiny enough to pull it off.

(Moon) Liv's dress had a beautiful backside, not matronly at all, very sexy. Here ya go Moon: (Moon) Samantha's dress was from Givenchy's first couture show in the '50's. Thanks! I had forgotten that she said that (I think she was being interviewed by my fav, Joan)! I love most of the vintage gowns (remember Julia Roberts Valentino from a few years ago...stunning). Samantha looked v. nice indeed!

Thanks for bringing in the pictures, ladies. Re: the Fashion Police, dear Melissa had a wardrobe malfunction before the Red Carpet even started. The strap broke on her $$$$$ Stuart Weitzmans. LOL! Her dress was by Elie Saab, the one who did Halle Berry's Oscar gown (one I didn't like, but I recall lots did). (Moon) Sandra's Oscar della Renta is elegant and pure fun. Both very chic. Dunno about that. Looks more like a dress designed by a committee. Somebody stuck a bow on it. Another added feathers. One wanted a straight line for the bodice; another wanted it to flare. A compromise dress, designed by committe.

(Ildiko)Zeta-Jones still looks like one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen on the screen, until she starts talking I agree that she's a stunner, but I think her voice is very breathy and affected. Gives me the impression that she's trying too hard to channel Liz Taylor back when Liz was the cat's meow.

(Mari) I thought this was unusual and very pretty, too, on Samantha. Agreed, I thought it was lovely, funny how *those-in-the-know* are panning it. I can't love Nicole's though, I just look at it and think "mermaid". And I keep thinking of floating stairs -- you know, the ones engineered to appear to have no visible means of support? Same thing. Definitely some engineering went on there.

(Karen) Dunno about that. Looks more like a dress designed by a committee. Somebody stuck a bow on it. Another added feathers. One wanted a straight line for the bodice; another wanted it to flare. A compromise dress, designed by committee. I must agree with this about Sandra's dress. Designed by a committee of people sitting in an office. (Barbs) I can't love Nicole's though, I just look at it and think "mermaid". And I keep thinking of floating stairs -- you know, the ones engineered to appear to have no visible means of support? Same thing. Definitely some engineering went on there. And must disagree here. I thought it was an exquisite dress on a great bod. Underwear optional. One thing about Uma is that it's a good feeling to see that those with all the money and all the stylists can still mess it up. It can only be a morale boost for the rest of the population. ;-)

Personally, I couldn't care less how rumpled Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh looked. I just have so much admiration for them. They have more important things to think about than the image they project. Their trilogy has taken spectacle, mythology and passionate film-making to a whole new level, and far from being tyrannical geniuses, they are beloved and respected by all who worked with them. They are who they are, and to me their realness adds to their charm. I can just imagine the criticism of Albert Einstein if he were to stroll down the Red Carpet, too.

(Ildi)Doesn't that affect one's skin? Strech and shrink..., one might be able to do that at twenty, but over thirty it must be a risky business. It must . .at 28 I'm harping at stretch marks on my thighs from ying yang weight loss! "Nipples covered?" Futterman insisted. Completely freaky . . . Old Hollywood glam some reporter called it . .it was beautiful!!! . .loved RZ & SJ,NK & JG . .couldn't stop thinking how handsome JD also looked with his hair cut;) . .oh so very love the vintage looks;)

Old guy, long frizzy hair, droopy mustache? Never heard of him.;-) They have more important things to think about than the image they project Image? I'm talking basic grooming. IMO, unless you're home sick in your bathrobe, there is no excuse for dirty, stringy hair and unkempt clothes. As my mom used to say, what does a bar of soap and a comb cost. Being neat and well groomed is not mutually exclusive with being "real."

People view the same thing and see something different. I didn't see any dirty, stringy-haired, unkempt man in need of a bath. I saw a rumpled (but clean) teddy bear of a man, uncomfortable in his tux but enjoying with his dear friends the triumphant end of a long six-year journey. For the fashion-conscious, he actually did put out what was a lot of effort for him - he wore shoes.

Slate: Lights, Camera, Action A post-Oscars reflection on the state of American acting. By Lee Siegel Lee Strasberg: always ready for his close-up The Oscars have come and gone, and the awards for best acting have been handed out. So now, after discussing Charlize's dress, and Diane's hat, and Johnny's hair, and Benicio's beard, it's time to talk about ... acting! It's time to talk about acting because acting as an art with a history of evolving styles�acting as a highly developed discipline that demands specialized training�almost never gets discussed. When it does you'll find vague references to the Method, the naturalistic style of acting imported from Russia into this country by Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio in the 1940s, which changed American acting, and which, in one permutation or another, still dominates the teaching of American acting. But rarely is there mention of the fact that there were two antagonistic versions of the Method: Strasberg's emphasis on how actors should draw from their own experience to inhabit a character; and Stella Adler's insistence that actors must pay closer attention to the play's circumstances than to their own memories and emotions. Nor does anyone bother to observe that David Mamet has devised the only successful alternative to the Method, training his actors�William H. Macy, Rebecca Pidgeon, Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna�i a style that consists of a high, though subtle, degree of deliberate artifice. No, the skill or lack thereof with which an actor inhabits a character on the silver screen usually gets cursory treatment: "So-and-so played Ted's father with exactly the right mixture of surprise and anxiety that one would expect to find in a 44-year-old tax lawyer who wakes up one morning and finds himself in the middle of a peasant revolt in 1282." Then it's on to the movie's themes, to its place in that particular director's work, to its relationship to other movies, etc. When critics do touch on acting, their discussion usually consists of a superficial comparison of an actor's portrayal of a fictional character to how that character would behave in real life if "he" or "she" were an actual person�and stops right there. The analogy would be a critic reviewing a Rembrandt retrospective and praising the paintings as having "figures that seem to have stepped right out of 17th-century Holland," while ignoring just what it is that makes them work in aesthetic terms: the balance of colors, the deftness of the brush, the technical and symbolic nature of Rembrandt's use of light and darkness. Writing in the New York Times two weeks ago, A.O. Scott, one of the most astute critics around, made the same omission when he asserted that we are now in a "golden age of screen acting." His evidence was that many of today's films are distinguished by "the dense, believable humanity of the people who inhabit the stories." What he didn't do was define what it is that makes a character on scree believable. Film criticism infrequently considers whether real life is a valid criterion for judgment. It almost never reflects on the possibility that what makes a performance memorable can be precisely what makes it not believable: i.e., the larger-than-life mannerisms and bits of business with which an actor will embellish a role. Critics praised Sean Penn for the realism of his "prison yard hunch" in his Oscar-winning performance of Jimmy Markum, the ex-con in Mystic River. But why are hunched shoulders the sign of having been in prison? How many reviewers are familiar with ex-cons? Penn's prison yard hunch is as much a fabrication as Marlon Brando's Godfather mumble, and probably just as far from reality. It represents our idea of something, not necessarily the thing itself. The Method's so-called naturalism mostly consists of the imaginative embellishment, which makes a star a star the way a trademark image or brushstroke establishes an abstract painter's reputation. Such embellishments are not the overblown thea rical gestures you find in a silent film like The Birth of a Nation (1915). But they are "made up." They are the imagined representations of what our intuition tells us would be plausible�regardless of whether anyone actually ever behaved like that. The question of representation brings us to the question of training and style. Some actors are trained in television; others in the theater; others in film itself. If you make "believability" the standard against which to judge an actor's performance, you have to address the fact that verisimilitude is better suited to television than to film, and that it is suited only to certain kinds of film. Helen Hunt, a wonderful TV actress, has not been able to flourish in film after her appearance in As Good as It Gets, and her frustration in that industry has a lot to do with her training and experience. TV actors always act more naturally in serious TV fare because television is a familiar, domestic medium; watched at home, in private, its function is to immediately connect with the viewer's ordinary expectations of human behavior. The most innovative shows on television�The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm�are rightly celebrated for their closeness to the issues and conduct of everyday life. Go t a play, however, in which the actors come from the different backgrounds of television, film, and theater, and you'll see why careers made in one medium often don't translate to the other. Watching the recent production of Proof on Broadway with Len Cariou, a great stage actor, and Anne Heche, a great film actor, and several TV actors was like watching six psychotics, each of whom thinks he is Christ, in one room. No one related to anyone else. This is why few actors who have established themselves in TV roles truly make the transition to film. They have absorbed the small-scale verisimilitude of television too intractably. When a TV actor does make it to film, often the tool that helps him goes unmentioned: the Camera. For what really revolutionized American acting wasn't the Method's naturalism. It was the emphasis Strasberg placed on facial expression. Ironically, Strasberg, who hated what he considered Hollywood's commercial corruption of artistic values, is the man who trained two generations of American film actors, from Paul Newman to Al Pacino (Brando, in fact, studied under Stella Adler). Strasberg believed that the essential instrument of an actor's creative expression was the face, and the result of his doctrine was to send generations of stage actors running to the camera from the stage, thus transforming the static, glamorous close-up of Bette Davis' day�in which the actor's face was motionless and timeless, existing for a moment outside the storyline�to the busy, emotive, and strategically timed close-up of today, in which the face and the camera work together to create thematic meaning and push the story forward. On stage, the hardest thing for an actor to do is to keep the emotion on his or her face after s eaking the lines�the camera removes that hardship simply by moving off the face. The fact is that no one has ever surpassed the eerie naturalism of Brando in On the Waterfront (1954), or Paul Newman in The Hustler (1961). To the extent that acting does seem more real today, it's because the camera moves so fast off the face that it shaves off any sliver of inauthenticity. When certain actors win the Oscar for best acting, they should thank the Lens and the Viewfinder, not Mom and Dad. So, instead of talking about actors' clothes, or their hair, or their Oscar-night shticks and gaffes, it might be more meaningful if we started talking about acting as the demanding art form that it is. And that would mean, in part, distinguishing between movies where the actors act and movies where the camera does the acting for them. Lee Siegel is the television critic for the New Republic and a contributing editor to Harper's.

vis a vis - that rumpled look: The Washington Post -- ABC Cuts Off Oscar To Wear Ratings Ring - By Lisa de Moraes ...And, you have to admit, even 43 million viewers would be an incredible accomplishment for a four-hour broadcast that was monopolized by a fat, rumpled, dreary little man -- given that most people watch the Academy Awards to spend quality time gazing on beautiful, slender, glamorous and, at least superficially, interesting movie stars. We're speaking of "LOTR: ROTK" director Peter Jackson, who kept taking the stage to impress upon the star-strewn audience at the (film company name) Theatre in Hollywood, and viewers at home, how honored he was to clean up. You want to show the film academy how honored you really are, Mr. Jackson? Try running a comb through your hair. (It's official, I have turned into my mother.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21212-2004Mar1.html

(Barbs) I can't love Nicole's though, I just look at it and think "mermaid". (Carol) I thought it was an exquisite dress on a great bod. Underwear optional. I thought the dress and her entire look (the hair) was marvelous, though wish I could see some close-up detail for the bottom of the dress. But I'd have to disagree about the bod. Having seen it in The Human Stain most recently, she's way too thin and has no figure whatsoever. It made me cringe. My ideal of a woman's body is not that of a 14-year-old boy. (Katty) I can just imagine the criticism of Albert Einstein if he were to stroll down the Red Carpet, too. Oh, was he there too? ;-) Equating Peter Jackson to Albert Einstein... Hmmm, the synapses of my brain have frozen up, just as they do when Tress compares Colin to Paris Hilton. ;-) (your secret is out) Great article(s), Mary. Thanks! So true. Watching the recent production of Proof on Broadway with Len Cariou, a great stage actor, and Anne Heche, a great film actor, and several TV actors was like watching six psychotics, each of whom thinks he is Christ, in one room. No one related to anyone else. I experienced the same thing for The Violet Hour, which I had seen here at the Steppenwolf and thought was brilliant, but on Broadway, it sucked. You had one stage actor and a few TV actors. They were not up to the material.

On last night's Tonight Show, Ross the intern's footage from the Vanity Fair party was shown. It ended with Ross and Scarlett J. He was going on and on about having met Oprah, and Scarlett said, "I've gone on vacation with Oprah (or similar)," and raised her eyebrow. It was cute.

"Fashion Police" last night on E!....hilarious. Joan Rivers: "Last night , the Oscars....today, reality. Back to rehab the unmarked bus picks them [actors] up at the door and wisks them off to Mexico". She is outrageous. But oddly enough I like her niche. This is fun...we're not talking nuclear proliferation here! Someone has to quit bowing down to these actors and make them feel they're more like gods than they think they are. Apparently Kate Winslet refused to be interviewed and now Joan refers to her as "The fat one from the Titanic"!

(Washington Post) Try running a comb through your hair. (It's official, I have turned into my mother.) LOL, Murph, thanks. I know *I* have turned into my mother, as evidenced by my soap and comb quote above. Jay Leno last night: "The only two people Peter Jackson didn't thank were his barber and his personal trainer. (Karen)"He was going on and on about having met Oprah, and Scarlett said, "I've gone on vacation with Oprah (or similar)," and raised her eyebrow. And how about Ross's reply to that? "Bitch!" I was ROTF.

From The Mirror today: BULL'S EYE ON A BABE SHE'S sexy, sassy and still sweet nineteen - so it's no wonder the Hollywood studs are all over Scarlett Johannson like a rash. Add to that the fact that she's also one of the movie industry's hottest properties and it's like a red rag to a bull. Or to one bull in particular - Benicio del Toro. The Latin hunk - whose name means Benny the Bull - was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 21 Grams, but lost out to Tim Robbins. But on Saturday night, before his big disappointment, the Latin stud was looking for some action - which he found in the arms of young Scarlett. Our spies caught the pair walking into the exclusive Chateau Marmont hotel on Sunset Boulevard at 3.30am with their arms wrapped around each other before getting into a lift to go somewhere a little more intimate. "They didn't care who saw them," says our source. "They walked through the hotel lobby where there were quite a few people hanging about and didn't seem at all embarrassed to be spotted with their arms all over each other. It was quite extraordinary. She looks so young and he could easily pass for her dad. "They then got into a lift together. At that time in the morning they couldn't have been heading to the hotel pool, put it like that. They were clearly going to the rooms. "You would have thought they'd want their beauty sleep as the ceremony took place later that afternoon, but clearly not." Puerto Rican Benicio, 37, apparently likes his ladies young. The sexy actor once smooched with British supermodel Sophie Dahl at a New York club when she wasn't much older than his newest squeeze. Lost In Translation star Scarlett who presented an Oscar at the ceremony has been likened to Marilyn Monroe and lived up to the comparison on Sunday night when she showed off her curvaceous figure in a 50s-style gown. When she arrived on the red carpet at the Kodak auditorium, last year's Best Actor winner Adrien Brody pounced on her, telling her how much he admired her work. Nice try, Adrien ... but not good enough to keep the Bull from the pastures.

(Mari) And how about Ross's reply to that? "Bitch!" I was ROTF. Oh yeah! Exactly! That's why I never tell jokes. Can't remember the punchlines. Which fashion mavens were criticizing Samantha Morton's dress? I hadn't seen any. In fact, I watched the rerun of Oprah's show last night and Isaac Mizrahi had her in the top 5. I think Nicole has been given Best Dressed Emeritus status now (except for the GG faux pas), making room for Jennifer Garner at the top.

(Karen)Which fashion mavens were criticizing Samantha Morton's dress? I hadn't seen any. In fact, I watched the rerun of Oprah's show last night and Isaac Mizrahi had her in the top 5. Joan and Melissa were just on The View and Joan said SM was her pick for best dressed. I didn't see E! last night so I don't know if she mentioned it there, as well.

I jotted down a bunch of comments on the Oscars in the Spring's movie conference (linked to porch). Angelia Jolie made the biggest impact on me, not just the sexy silk, nipple revealing dress. I just got the feeling that she's on a much bigger mission and had a lot to say but couldn't because she was only a presenter and not a winner. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins have stuff to say and they were winners. They just gave mealy mouthed acceptance speeches. Did anyone see Jon Stewarts take on this on the Daily Show? I think BarbS wants to put Peter Jackson on Queer Eye for the Straight guy for a makeover, but he looks more like he belongs on Survivor as a contestant. Peter Jackson is comfortable in a pair of long shorts and a t shirt and this may be the only time he ever dresses up (for award shows). Looking forward to the Hobbit movie. Slate makes a good point, they should post a sign in all Academy voters offices that says "It's the acting, stupid!" But back to the superficial. Julia Roberts looked stunning, she was a close second to Angelina for her dress. And she gives every guy hope, I mean, she married Lyle Lovett. Every guy thinks when they see her, "that could have been me. I had a shot!" Billy Crystal was terrific and he has unlimited potential for pulling off a surprise. He's like a master quarterback, making moves and drawing from material as the show unfolds. He draws from about a thousand jokes and pulls out 20 to 40 or so, like a quarterback does from his playbook. Did anyone see him make these comments on the Oscar version of the Baba Wawa special? I've still got it on tivo, the show. Maybe I'll add some time to the expire date. I kind of dozed off on the last half hour so I'll at least watch that again.

Slippage, sign of a happening topic!

(Karen)Which fashion mavens were criticizing Samantha Morton's dress? What I saw was in a People Magazine report, they have her listed (#2 after Diane K) as a "worst". Here's the comment: SAMANTHA MORTON: Best Actress nominee Morton shined in the understated film In America, but the same can't be said for the British star's turn on the red carpet. Morton's 1951 Givenchy silver-and-gold couture gown hid her petite frame under voluminous material.

(Evelyn)She is outrageous. But oddly enough I like her niche. This is fun...we're not talking nuclear proliferation here! Someone has to quit bowing down to these actors and make them feel they're more like gods than they think they are. Agreed! Well said, Evelyn. If I want to see/hear celeb fawning, I'll watch ET or AH. She dares to say what a lot of us viewers at home are thinking. Good for her. So she doesn't always do her homework in terms of the actors' work--big deal, that's not why she's there. As Julia Roberts told her the other night, "Joan, I could tell you I was nominated this year and you'd say Congratulations!"

(Linda)Joan and Melissa were just on The View and Joan said SM was her pick for best dressed. I didn't see E! last night so I don't know if she mentioned it there, as well. She mentioned it on E! News Live last night. On the Fashion Police show, Melissa and Jennifer Garner's stylist weren't as crazy about it as Joan because they said they didn't like the fit. However, one of the guys pointed out that while many celebs say they're wearing vintage, they really mean that it's from the '80s. Big deal, not true vintage, he sniffed, whereas Samantha's was--from '51, from an original collection and they are *not* about to alter that dress in any way (though he said they *might* for someone like Nicole). The thing is like a museum piece; Joan said on E! Live that it belonged in the Met.

(Karen) Hmmm, the synapses of my brain have frozen up, just as they do when Tress compares Colin to Paris Hilton. ;-) (your secret is out) LOL! Hey! That was in reference to self promotion...how some are pros and some take a sort of laissez-faire attitude toward it all...and now how you could just knock me down with a feather that a certain person is doing SNL when he has nothing to promote...except himself... (Evelyn) Someone has to quit bowing down to these actors and make them feel they're more like gods than they think they are. I watched Fashion Police too...but noticed how not one of their guests critqued the Rivers outfits! I think Joan looked like she was in a dressing gown from the 40s (or thought she was going to be coronated) and Missy looked like Sigmund (from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters for those who remember Sid and Marty Kroft). I say this as I sit in my jeans and sweater...LOL... (Linda) Joan and Melissa were just on The View and Joan said SM was her pick for best dressed. I didn't see E! last night so I don't know if she mentioned it there, as well. The guest fashionista on with Melissa and Joan said that the 'dress wore her' instead of the other way around. But said that she loved it...and that SM seemed to love it...'because, really, when are you ever going to be able to wear a 1951 Givenchy couture again'. I earlier said 1959, but was mistaken. The dress is 1951 and from their first couture show. Samantha was wearing history...very exciting for her and I was happy to see her do it! Anyway, that was the most negative thing I heard about the dress...and that's not too bad!

I missed it. Watch the Natalie Wood story. When I did change the channel all they were talking about was the men. They did spend a lot more time on them I guess. Overall, the dresses in those muted colors of "old Hollywood style" were predominant. Too many of them = not enough variety = boring. It has been more interesting in years past. Low on the bling bling too.

ere is one hopeful sign however

Sorry everyone was typing out article on fashions at Oscars, which was very amusing when I lost it! It's entitled "It's enough to make you long for Cher." It concludes "There is one hopeful sign however, amid all these butter-wouldn't melt, goody-goody pretty dresses. This year Uma thurman chose a bizare lace flamenco-milkmaid hybrid - white, but anything but demure and added a big blue sash for good measure. If that's a taste of looks to come, then perhaps things are looking up." Thanks for all the pics and comments posted, I really enjoyed them:-))

(Karen)But I'd have to disagree about the bod. Having seen it in The Human Stain most recently, she's way too thin and has no figure whatsoever. It made me cringe. My ideal of a woman's body is not that of a 14-year-old boy. Okay Nicole is thin but she's always been thin so I guess I accept it in her more than I do in people who have lost a lot of weight in the last few years of "thin is best" actors. I think she dresses for her bod. Maybe I'm just used to her in the same way I'm more used to RZ being as she is now rather than so very thin in Chicago. As for the bottom detail of Nicole's dress. The best descriptions I've received from those who actually saw it say that it was "shards" of silk chiffon sewn in layers with beading behind on the main dress. Each piece of chiffon was cut on the bias giving a wavy effect by slight stretching and was kind of triangular shaped with torn edges so that they floated over the beading.

Carol, you have friends that got that close for such fantastic details? Pray tell, the hermits from NZ? ;-) Details sounds lovely.

Think my favorite outfits are Jennifer Garner and Charlize....but.... Was trying to find just a close up of the bottom of Nicole's dress but was unsuccessful. Here is another look (thanks locarol for the description). I think she looks fantastic in this...hair and make-up v. nice too! And a closer look at the necklace...just love this, think it is beautiful:

(Tress)I think she looks fantastic in this...hair and make-up v. nice too! Thanks for the photos Tress, but what is keeping that dress up???

(Bee) ...but what is keeping that dress up??? Magic! CGI??? ;-D

(moon) Carol, you have friends that got that close for such fantastic details? Pray tell, the hermits from NZ? ;-) Work colleagues and friends. (Bee) ...but what is keeping that dress up??? Really good boning hidden in that side fold. Still....she wouldn't want to turn quickly as the dress may be left behind. ;-) Adore the necklace. I always think the ladies must hate sitting down - just think of the creases in silk etc. Nicole has a few across the front just from the sitting in the limo.

Only read a couple of posts from yesterday's Oscar comments, but here's a couple of mine... John Travolta.....I saw him exactly 4 weeks ago from 12 feet away and I will say that he either shampoos with Miracle Gro or he's a Chia actor. ;-) Favorite dress among many....Jennifer Garner. Best thing she's ever worn. Emphasized her femininity much better than past dresses. Loved seeing one of my other honeys....John Cusack. *sigh* I typed up a bunch of other comments last night thinking I'd have home internet soon, but it seems it will be later next week, so my comments will then be obsolete. :-(

(Tress) LOL! Hey! That was in reference to self promotion *hee hee* Yes, I know. But there are some concepts I have a hard time getting my mind around: Colin Firth and Paris Hilton or Peter Jackson and Albert Einstein. ;-) (Carol) Okay Nicole is thin but she's always been thin A number of the commentators mentioned that it looked like she'd lost more weight. (Dorine) Jennifer Garner. Best thing she's ever worn. Emphasized her femininity much better than past dresses. I have to agree and you've pinpointed it well. In the past, so many of her dresses have made her look like a female bodybuilder at a competition. thinking I'd have home internet soon, but it seems it will be later next week Awww, hang in there. We miss you.

Imdb has pics of all the award shows including Sundance. With 8 photos of "Trauma"event...all MS. http://imdb.com/features/rto/2004/photos Some films hosted parties....jeeze you wudda thought Little People, or whatever their name is, coulda at least given out cans of Miller lites.

Another Oscar note....see the obvious look of disappointment on Bill Murray's face when Sean Penn won? Saw Hidalgo (with Viggo Mortensen) on Sunday. Disappointing, IMO. Think the director told most of the main actors to act devoid of most, if not all, personality. Omar Sharif was a bit more expressive, but still dampened. Or be somewhat stereotypical (the evil ones). Uneven tone...is it a kid-ish adventure movie that has some adult appeal, or an adult movie that has some comic bits to appeal to kids? Plot holes. Think the story needed reworking to increase suspense and drama factor, but would still be appealing to a broad audience. Won't mention more, that's the general idea. It's enjoyable enough for some I'm sure, but the issues I had with it made it seem too long, too. Also saw a little Danish/UK production filmed in Scotland, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself. Think it's the first Dogme film directed by a woman....or something significant like that. She was there to introduce the film. Cute film...melancholy and quirky. I found it morally ambivalent. Stars Shirley Henderson (Jude in BJD). And lastly.... Goodbye, Lenin! was a good German comedy with subtitles. (coming to you from friends office at NY City Opera. I feel like an internet vagabond. ;-))

(Lizza)It's entitled "It's enough to make you long for Cher." So true, Lizza. I also miss Demi Moore in her satin biker shorts, covered in black chiffon. Those were the days. Almost all of them have personal stylists now, so they don't make the awful mistakes they did in years past. Frankly, it's taken some of the fun out of it for me, but every do often a scruffy hobbit and his missus come along and the life of the fashion cop is once again worth living.;-) The guy on Joan R's Fashion Police show said Uma's dress looked like a collection of oregami placemats made out of Depends. Someone else called it a Maria von conTrapption!

(Dorine)(coming to you from friends office at NY City Opera. I feel like an internet vagabond. ;-)) Bravo! How resourceful!

...equating Peter Jackson to Albert Einstein Jackson and Einstein are/were very famous people with very messy hair. A contains X, and B contains X. That does NOT mean A equals B. But I understand where the critics are coming from. It's a lot more fun and amusing to cut people down and focus on the negative and the superficial. Whole industries thrive on this. But I'm obviously in the minority, so I'll shut up (as I duck the tomatoes).

(Katty) It's a lot more fun and amusing to cut people down and focus on the negative and the superficial. Peter Jackson is a fantastic filmmaker IMO. I didn't mean to be 'negative' of his talent. It's just that this is the red carpet. An event that others take the time and energy to get glammed up for...(It's the Superbowl of award shows, you can't afford a wardrobe malfunction). IMO, it just shows a respect for the event. And maybe some think it shouldn't be that way, but the reason I watch is to see Hollywood types look like...well....Hollywood types. I'm not a 'dresser' and live in jeans and t-shirts. It isn't like I don't understand the need to be comfy, but when you are on a red carpet, you're representin'. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for me, watching at home, in my jeans, it is what the Oscars is all about....seeing who wears what. And I won't throw tomatoes...it's all good!

(Katty)It's a lot more fun and amusing to cut people down and focus on the negative IMO his 11 Oscars for 11 nominations have been noted and praised around here-in a positive manner, but sorry, his appearance was a negative and noted as well as some of the other fashion gaffes--and fashion home runs.

(Dorine)Also saw a little Danish/UK production filmed in Scotland, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself. Ahh wanted to ask you if you had caught it . .was unable to make that screening due to appt up in Westchester that night . .is it something you think is worth spending $$ on to see in theatre . .or wait to see if gets on DVD in the future?

(Evelyn) Kate Winslet refused to be interviewed and now Joan refers to her as "The fat one from the Titanic"! Well, she did just have a baby recently, so if she has a little extra weight now, that's certainly understandable. But..... Saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind last night in class. Stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst. The latest Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) script. What a warped mind he has. Definitely his most complex yet. Can't say I liked it per se, though appreciated the complicatedness of it. It definitely helped to have a discussion with the 2 producers after...Steve Golin, Andrew Bregman. They said 90% of the script was filmed as written. Can't imagine trying to read it. I think it will open well on the names, but I can't imagine word of mouth will be great. It's by no means a linear story. Jack Foley, head of distribution of Focus Features, called it a "little sci-fi" movie. It's not in a strict sense. But some odd concepts. Very curious about the reviews. They are nervous about it, it seems. My point to mentioning this was I did pointedly notice during one scene how great Kate Winslet's legs looked and wondered how much running and weights I'd have to do to get those. ;-) Also, was opening night for this class term at a new theater down at NYU. The professor's 35th year of doing this class. State of the art. Had some interesting guests in the audience..friends of his there to support him....Cliff Robertson, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, Eli Wallach and his wife, Glenda Jackson, Joe Piscopo, Michael Imperioli (Sopranos). Also, a big Hollywood agent we had as a guest a few weeks ago and I think a producer that showed up on this week's Queer Eye to watch a play the "straight guy" had written.

(Dorine) "Saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind " Thanks for the report, Dorine. Coming to me in April at the Museum of Art. Sounds like a matinee movie; hold the martinis.

(Dorine)...how great Kate Winslet's legs looked and wondered how much running and weights I'd have to do to get those:-) None apparently Dorine! I have on good authority (close friend) who has seen her out and about recently a few times, its wheeling a trolley around a downmarket supermarket, and lolling about on the quayside ;-)) Maybe she does run along Brighton seafront as well! (Evelyn) hold the martinis Thought matinees was mimosas?

Dave Poland at Movie City News on the after Oscar bashes: "Gossip pages reported sex between Benicio del Toro and Scarlett Johansson, which would produce a gorgeous mocha baby with a voice so low and mumbly that it could only be heard by certain ancient animals in the Amazon."

Hmmmm. A little PI, IMO:-(((

On Sunday I went into some strange awards-show frenzy, and watched nothing but awards and pre-awards shows from afternoon until almost midnight. Tonight I finally had a chance to read all your comments, and they certainly were enjoyable! I think all of you should be hired to do the red-carpet commentary. Some of my favorites: (Beedee) Joan looks sorta Zsa Zsa and M looks like she's a channel on Cable I don't get:-/ ROTFLOL! You're spot on, Bee! (Moon) Sandra's Oscar della Renta is elegant and pure fun. Both very chic. (Karen)Dunno about that. Looks more like a dress designed by a committee. Somebody stuck a bow on it. Another added feathers. One wanted a straight line for the bodice; another wanted it to flare. A compromise dress, designed by committe. (Tress) Sandra looked nice...but I did like the top half better than the bottom of her dress...she kinda lost me after the little bow on her hip. LOL! The top was lovely... the bottom was most strange -- reminds me of something Ginger Rogers might have worn in one of her movies with Fred Astaire, but those dresses were designed to look good while being whirled around. In fact, in looking over all the pictures posted here, many dresses have strange touches at about the calf area. Must be a trend. (Mari) The guy on Joan R's Fashion Police show said Uma's dress looked like a collection of oregami placemats made out of Depends. Someone else called it a Maria von conTrapption! ROTFLMAO! What was she thinking, or what was the "designer" thinking?! I can't love Nicole's though, I just look at it and think "mermaid". And I keep thinking of floating stairs -- you know, the ones engineered to appear to have no visible means of support? Same thing. Definitely some engineering went on there. (Beedee) Thanks for the photos Tress, but what is keeping that dress up??? Super Glue? I never have cared for gowns that defy gravity -- they make me nervous (as if a Janet Jackson accident might occur any second). (Dorine) Jennifer Garner. Best thing she's ever worn. Emphasized her femininity much better than past dresses. (Karen) I have to agree and you've pinpointed it well. In the past, so many of her dresses have made her look like a female bodybuilder at a competition. Absolutely! She's a lovely lady, but sometimes she looks strangely mannish. The cut and color of her gown suited her perfectly. (Dorine) Another Oscar note....see the obvious look of disappointment on Bill Murray's face when Sean Penn won? I felt so bad for him. He was marvelous in LIT, and will probably never have such a fantastic role again. This was a tough year in the Best Actor category. Thanks for all the great comments and pictures!

reported sex between Benicio del Toro and Scarlett Johansson I'm sorry, but I don't find BdT the least bit sexy. And since SJ is still under legal age, isn't this stupid, risky behavior on his part?

(Deb) And since SJ is still under legal age, isn't this stupid, risky behavior on his part? She's nineteen now.....she can shag away. Am surprised at trampy behavior by the "It Girl" actually, thought she was a bit smarter than that, but I guess not (and two weeks ago I read she had 30, 31 year old boyfriend....?? Whatever happened to him?). Don't think Benicio is very good looking....but like his voice. All grumbly and such....still, don't think he's shag-worthy.

(Deb) And since SJ is still under legal age, isn't this stupid, risky behavior on his part? Deb, isn't legal age for sex 14 or something? At 19 Scarlett is sure old enough to roll in the hay with anybody. She is probably underage for drinking (which is sort of funny). I wonder why the media feels the need to report on people's sex life though. It's nobody's business really. Oh yeah, I forgot about the 'sensational' aspect of it. :-(

(Tress), Don't think Benicio is very good looking.... And he's competing with Peter Jackson with the slob look. I did read that they were all over each other at two parties and ended up in the hotel together. Has anyone seen the new ad for Cold Mountain? No wonder Renee keeps thanking Jon Carabino. I've never seen this done before. It is her picture holding the Oscar from that night.

You think maybe Scarlett has decided she likes wild-haired Byronic types?

That did cross my mind. Should Livia be worried? ;-)

These are my favorite pics of the day. Couldn't resist them.

(Tress), Don't think Benicio is very good looking.... I do.Love his voice. SJ and I have similar taste:-))) (Tress) Am surprised at trampy behavior by the "It Girl" actually, thought she was a bit smarter than that,... B-But SATC girls do it all the time;-D

(Evelyn) B-But SATC girls do it all the time;-D Yeah. And they are fictional characters (whose antics don't end up by the supermarket check out stand)! I guess what I meant was, don't care that she is shagging Benicio, but thought that with the Oscars going on....and every entertainment reporter and journalist on the planet watching her, she would be more discreet. Unless she likes her publicity that way. Ildi mentioned that it should be no ones business and I agree, but unfortunately that is what the media likes to report (they actually seem to live for the juicier tales). She's so young and talented, just don't want to see her go the way of (here ya go again Karen) Paris Hilton or similar.

(Tress), with the Oscars going on....and every entertainment reporter and journalist on the planet watching her, she would be more discreet. Exactly! Thy were acting that way at parties filled with photographers. Those two are not naive. Although, it makes for great gossip and it puts her relationship with Colin on another plane, IMO. (Karen), These are my favorite pics of the day. Couldn't resist them. Who are they?

That's Jamie Lynn Sigler (now Discala) and her husband (and former manager who is ten yrs older than her); she's the daughter on the Sopranos. He's quite the hunk and look at her hands!

My 21-year-old daughter thinks BdT is the sexiest thing on 2 legs. He may look awful in photos, but in interviews and onscreen he shows a genuineness, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that is both masculine and sweet. And under the scruffiness there's a combination of sparkle and smoulder that is apparently irresistable to a lot of women. Regarding Scarlett, we shouldn't take one reporter's gossip as fact. But whatever happened, anyone that adores Colin and vice versa is okay with me. (What does SATC mean?)

(Karen), These are my favorite pics of the day. Couldn't resist them. I can't see them...;-( I'm just getting the ol' boxes of death. Will have to look to see if they show up on home computer. (Evelyn) I do.Love his voice. Really like his voice...very low and throaty. Love it when he speaks Spanish too... Sometimes I think he looks good: Then other times he just scares me...and I can't get the scary images outta my head:

(Katty) My 21-year-old daughter thinks BdT is the sexiest thing on 2 legs. He may look awful in photos, but in interviews and onscreen he shows a genuineness, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that is both masculine and sweet. And under the scruffiness there's a combination of sparkle and smoulder that is apparently irresistable to a lot of women. Yeah! Let's hear it for latin men;-D Sex and the City.

Besides...even *if* the tabloid reports are true... They are both single....No one is getting hurt here. And why is the T-word (like in "tramp") used for SJ, and not for him;-) I'm telling ya'...Sexism Lives!

(Evelyn) And why is the T-word (like in "tramp") used for SJ, and not for him;-) Because men who do such things are referred to by other names, like dog, scum, cradle robber and others too numerous to mention. ;-) The salient point is that she's been seen with lots of guys from coast to coast. However, I haven't been following Benicio's exploits very closely or hers for that matter. May we please limit our discussion to our own opinions, i.e., those who are registered to post here. I am sure we all know others who have other views, but...once again...they are not members of this discussion group.

(Evelyn) And why is the T-word (like in "tramp") used for SJ, and not for him;-) I didn't call her a tramp...I said she was exhibiting trampy behavior (lots of nice girls act trampy occasionally). So was he...I guess I should have just said so...(but the word I use for 'he tramp' isn't probably allowed here). ;-) (Evelyn) Let's hear it for latin men;-D In celebration of Latin men (is Spain considered Latin? Am fuzzy there, but I'll post pic anyway...another voice that I love):

The Spring's Bush2004.com is for sale. http://bush2004.com/press

Music related and typography related - This is beautiful: http://www.ni9e.com/typo_illus.html

(Murph) Music related and typography related - This is beautiful: Very cool! Just had to share that with some friends. Thanks!!!

I need some help in spreading the word about http://bush2004.com. Is anyone here poltically oriented and able to volunteer? This is a domain name sale that will pay for our next generation server and provide for many, many upgrades that we could ordinarily not afford. Email terry@bush2004.com please. Press release at http://bush2004.com/press

Lots of reports in our press too about BT and SJ. There can be nothing less sexy than a man who looks so vitamin depleted and dehydrated;-((

No one talking about the Sopranos? Little Spoilers... Tony has turned into a weird, dark blimp of a man! Not sure I like the Melfi/Soprano turn of events. Did like the last shot outside in the dark, with cigar and gun, waiting for the bear. (Liked the bear too)

Scarlett J will be on the Craig Killborn show tonight. (12:30 p.m. EST) Wonder if he'll ask about the post-Oscar partying? http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/guest/

Sorry, it's a rerun of Kilborn.

For those who like to see different versions: Catherine Deneuve plays a 1960s Madame in WE's "Dangerous Liaisons" BRIDGET BYRNE, For The Associated Press Monday, March 8, 2004 French star Catherine Deneuve falls back on her native language to describe the role she plays in WE's "Dangerous Liaisons." "A great amoureuse," says Deneuve, whose English is good but distinctively accented. She says that translates to "a woman in love with the idea of love ... really living for that." The role is Madame de Merteuil, the wealthy aristocrat whose sexual games and desire for revenge -- in collusion with her equally decadent part-time lover, Valmont -- ultimately destroy many lives, including her own. In this latest adaptation of the 18th century French classic, Rupert Everett stars as Valmont. Natassja Kinski plays Marie de Tourvel, the decent married woman ultimately seduced by Valmont. And Leelee Sobieski is the ingenue Cecile de Volanges, also a victim of the evil sophisticates. The four-hour miniseries airs March 15-16 (8 p.m. (ET). "Dangerous Liaisons," which never seems to go out of fashion, was adapted at least four times prior to the WE production: * A modernized 1959 French miniseries, directed by Roger Vadim, starred Jeanne Moreau, with Gerard Philipe as Valmont. * Stephen Frears' 1988 film featured Glenn Close, with John Malkovich as Valmont. * Milos Foreman's 1989 film version, "Valmont," starred Colin Firth in the title role and Annette Bening as de Merteuil. * Roger Kumble's 1999 "Cruel Intentions," a contemporary adaptation set among American prep school students, starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as a youthful Merteuil and Ryan Phillipe as her co-conspirator. WE's version takes place in early-1960s Paris, where high society still clings to hypocritical proprieties. Deneuve, 60, believes the "insouciance" of this era is an apt setting -- when "social rules were different, a lot of things were not possible, there was no contraception, less freedom for women." Judith Orlowski, vice president of acquisitions for WE, admits there's an escapist fascination with this oft-told tale, in whatever era it's set. "It's a story that totally makes sense for our audience. They love a miniseries. They love Deneuve ... you get to see incredibly attractive people in fabulous clothes in fabulous settings ... it's a little bit of eye candy," Orlowski says. In Hollywood to promote the miniseries, Deneuve used a reference to her character to discuss the risks of saying too much in media interviews. She noted that early in the movie, de Merteuil's voice-over muses how the only thing she really has control over are her thoughts. "That's been a classic theme from a lot of philosophers and authors," Deneuve said. "Everything you keep is your hostage, everything that you say is your slave ... It's true the more you say the more people know about you." Although she tries to protect her privacy, Deneuve doesn't object to interviewers "trying to pull things out of me." The actress does get upset, however, if something is written about her that hasn't been checked first hand. The daughter of actors, Deneuve first came to prominence playing the virtuous role in Vadim's 1962 movie "La Vice et la Vertu." She and Vadim had a son, Christian, who in the WE miniseries plays Edouard, de Tourvel's jilted husband. Deneuve's great beauty brought her to Hollywood's attention in the late '1960s, when she starred opposite Jack Lemmon in the romantic comedy "The April Fools." In 1993, she was nominated for an Oscar for her leading role in the epic love story "Indochine," which won the Foreign Language Oscar. From the very beginning, Deneuve was associated with innovative directors, including Jacques Demy ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"), Roman Polanski ("Repulsion"), Luis Bunuel ("Belle De Jour") and Francois Truffaut ("Le Deniere Metro"). And her risk-taking continues today. She recently costarred with Bjork in Lars von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark." In the upcoming "Marie Bonaparte," she plays the dictator's great grandniece, the woman who championed the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Away from work, Deneuve grows classic strains of roses, and she even has a hybrid named after her. But she admits the flower's shape and pink color are "not really my favorite" and she wouldn't mind if someone named a new strain after her. "I especially think for someone who likes roses as much as I do, I deserve better."

This is clever - Link thanks to Green Cine Daily: The Passion of Curly

In the upcoming "Marie Bonaparte," she plays the dictator's great grandniece, the woman who championed the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. The dictator? Is that what the modern world calls emperors now? I'd sooner call Freud a dictator. ;-D Vive le Roi!

Another funny column by Joanne Scanlan about being in LA: http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1157577,00.html She mentions Peter Biskind and his books.

The dictator? Is that what the modern world calls emperors now? "Emperor" is what dictators call themselves!

Love the JS column!!!! . .ah an actress after my own heart . .have been debating the LA trip for pilot season myself . .haven't gotten the courage yet . .wonder if I did if i could meet hola lola and other Droolers?:)

From Dark Horizons: MI5 (aka. Spooks): Daytime actress Olga Sosnovska of ABC's "All My Children" will replace Keeley Hawes as the new female lead in the third season.

JS article diary too funny, Karen. I like this: "What really freaks me out is that they have all watched their screeners of Girl with a Pearl and appear to know us. Hope something comes of it...but doubt it 'cept for the leads. Also like the part of watching BBC America in US. When I'm in UK I run from American TV.

I get a plus-size beige thong and a jar of olives and he gets a computer game and a packet of Tylenol painkillers. Perfect end to a perfect day. February 4 I begin to acclimatise to the look of the older women in Beverly Hills. The surgery gives their faces a strange vulnerability, which instinctively makes me want to go get them a glass of water, kneel beside them and say, "Don't worry, it'll all be all right." LOL! My favorites! If the acting doesn't work she could be a writer. I'd look for her work.

Wow, she is a shoo in to get her own topic in 'babes'?

Slippage is good.

He's Hired! Donald Trump to Host 'SNL' NEW YORK - Real estate mogul Donald Trump will take over "Saturday Night Live" on April 3, NBC announced Wednesday. NBC's "The Apprentice" features Trump and contestants vying to work for him. Trump also serves as executive producer with Mark Burnett ("Survivor").

Apparently, the Americanized version of Touching Evil has Americanized the female lead's part. :-( Creegan lands at the special crimes unit, where he's paired up with the usual sultry femme partner (Vera Farmiga, last seen looking more model- than cop-like in NBC's "UC Undercover")....Buoyed by a strong supporting cast, "Evil" lopes along well enough before a rather flat ending. Donovan possesses a certain amount of charisma--mixing goofball behavior with a dark streak, in a Mel Gibson-in-"Lethal Weapon" sort of way0--and Farmiga pensively pouts just fine, which is about all she has to do in a thankless role. Proving again, it isn't possible to be a normal, average looking woman on TV. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1946&ncid=1990&e=6&u=/variety/20040311/va_re_al/touching_evil

(Karen)He's Hired! Donald Trump to Host 'SNL' I don't think I'll be in line at 4;30 for this one, but I'd love to take a tour and see him rehearse. I bet he'll do a good job.

Linda ..and see him rehearse One to keep your eyes closed for tho', no delicious eye candy like last weekend:-))

I can't think of anything of Carrie's that I'd want, but... New Yorkers Shop for 'Sex and the City' Castoffs By Michele Gershberg (Reuters) When sex is over, there's always shopping. On Thursday, hundreds of women lined up outside a New York consignment shop, clamoring for castoff clothes from the trendsetting TV show "Sex and the City," which ended last month after a successful, haute couture-drenched, six-season run. Well-heeled professionals and working girls skipped out on their jobs to buy some of the garments of the show's foursome--Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda--whose romantic escapades made it seem sexy to be over 30 and single. "We had people offering us $1,000 to come and shop the night before," said Ina, owner of the downtown shop that bears her name. Many of the show's signature outfits, from top designers few women could afford, have already been claimed by cast members. Other chic pieces were auctioned by cable network HBO for the actresses' favorite charities. That did not deter self-confessed addicts from pawing through racks and bins of leftovers, hoping the aura of sexual adventure and outlandish couture would rub off on them. "I'm in heaven. I'm just beside myself," gushed Chris Robillard, 31, as she triumphantly held up a pair of red-beaded strappy heels stuck with a $275 price tag. "These really signify the show for me," she said. "I know they're Samantha's because I checked her size before I came." A black sequined Chanel minidress was the priciest item at $5,000, while a pair of red silk hot pants was billed at $70. Many items were purchased by the show's costumers but never used, and Carrie's beloved Manolo Blahnik stilettos were nowhere to be seen. [Ed note: I heard her say she got to keep them all.] Ladies who could not fit into the size "2" worn by actress Sarah Jessica Parker (news), who played Carrie, said they would be happy with a memento, or might resell an item online at online auctioneer eBay. "It makes me laugh a little," said Karen Kim, 28, juggling seven garments, including a gray silk skirt with a trailing hem. "Women try to pick up cues from the show on how to dress and it doesn't always work. You end up being a lemming." For die-hard collectors, several pieces carried a snapshot of the scene in which they were worn, or tags with written instructions by costumers, like a pink slip nightie Carrie donned during a late rendezvous with her Russian lover, Aleksandr Petrovsky, played by Mikhail Baryshnikov. "I got Carrie's hot pants!" crowed Rene Ortega, brandishing the shiny pink trousers she insisted Parker wore in a favorite episode. "I've got no spending limit. This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

"I got Carrie's hot pants!" Whatever rocks your boat. Doesn't do a thing for me. But if there's ever a sale for a certain Englishman's cast-offs, well that's a whole different matter. Can you imagine the frenzy???

I wish I would have known . .since I was in the city yesterday . .I couldn't have bought . .no way can I pay for stuff like that on an actors salary . .but would have been interesting to see what was on sale;) Deb - Ah since that sale isn't happening . .our keeps list is a nice highlight of what could be:)

Val Kilmer on Charlie Rose at the moment. Looks better than the other night. He has a family? He mentioned how important they are to him. Didn't someone say he had ragged out looking chirpies with him? Maybe his wife, assuming he has one? Didn't get around to mentioning earlier that I saw Secret Window (with Johnny Depp) in class the other night. David Koepp, screenwriter/director (and co-writer of Apt Zero) was the guest. Very down to earth and funny. Got to ask a couple of questions. Was scanning audience as soon as I heard he was guest....he's still friends with ODB from what I can tell. Wasn't sure he was still in town, but didn't hurt to scan, though couldn't appear uninterested. It's supposed to be a thriller, but I found it to be thriller-lite. Found it too amusing (thanks to JD) to be scary or overly thrilling. Also found it rather predictable. Great cast though. Johnny Depp definitely made that movie. DK said JD was his first choice and the studio wasn't overly excited over that choice. They started filming just before POTC came out and when it did well, the studio says, " Aren't you glad we insisted you get JD?" Typical. ;-)

(Dorine Didn't someone say he had ragged out looking chirpies with him? Maybe his wife, assuming he has one? It wasn't me, but several chirpies left with him. Jeffrey Lyons gave SW a v. lukewarm review. He said to go see any other movie playing in the theater next door. He said the film used too many of the over-used Stephen King special effects. (Dorine)Wasn't sure he was still in town, Wonder if hair lady knows?;-)

(Dorine)Val Kilmer on Charlie Rose at the moment. Looks better than the other night. He has a family? He mentioned how important they are to him. Didn't someone say he had ragged out looking chirpies with him? Maybe his wife, assuming he has one? If it wasn't me it sure could have been! He played a *Star* show on the side walk and then left with all of the folks he was playing to:-/ V. different from what your experience was inside I think.

I believe Leslie mentioned his chirpies . .I thought I noticed only one really that seemed to be really with him . .and she was older . .perhaps his wife???

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Tom cans top gun in sect spat By JOANNA MOLLOY DAILY NEWS GOSSIP COLUMNIST Saturday, March 13th, 2004 Tom Cruise has fired one of his closest advisers in a split that rocked Hollywood. The "Last Samurai" star canned Hollywood megapublicist Pat Kingsley this week after months of strained relations about his involvement in Scientology, sources said yesterday. "He was talking more and more about Scientology," a source said. "She was counseling him not to. It became an issue." But Kingsley insisted to the News last night it was an "amicable parting." "I adore the guy," she said. "I have the greatest respect for him professionally and personally. We've had a great ride." Kingsley became Cruise's spokeswoman 14 years ago with "Far and Away." She dealt with controversies such as the end of his marriage to Nicole Kidman. Kidman says she learned of her own breakup from a Kingsley press release. Cruise, a member of the Church of Scientology for years, has been talking more recently about its controversial beliefs - saying, for instance, "psychiatry should be outlawed." "He's surrounded himself with Scientology factotums now and so she had to go," a source said of Kingsley. But Cruise's sister LeeAnne Devette, also a Scientologist, says: "That is completely untrue. It was an amicable separation and the two remain friends. He still cares a great deal for Pat. Clearly, it was time for a change. It was a decision he came to." As for Cruise's role in Scientology, she said: "In earlier years, he didn't talk about Scientology, and everybody said he was keeping it a big mystery. Now, he talks about it and it's wrong. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't."

I've just gotten this month's Vanity Fair out of the mailbox to find that Sophia Coppola has been named to the 2004 International Best-Dressed List. The issue also contains a high profile piece on Marc Jacobs - the article is accompanied by a 2-page title photo of him spanking a scantily clad Sophia. She's touted as one of his primary muses. Talk about head slapping forehead.... I was all set to give her the 'frump of the year' award after that goddess thing with the flats she wore to the SAGs. (It was the SAGs where she wore that number wasn't it?) Didn't think her Oscar ensemble was that much better. Perhaps if she just stood up straight - those slumped over shoulders can kill even the greatest of looks IMO.

ODB: It is the Ides of March Tim Calhoun: Hide the starch? ODB: No! The Ides of March. Tim Calhoun: Theeeee....Idessssss....offffffff....Marrrrrrch? ODB: Oh, nevermind, just wish Barb a Happy Birthday!!! Tim Calhoun: Happy Birthday Barb!!!!

For JE fans: JE will co-star with Ed Burns in "The River King" based on the NY Times besteller by Alice Hoffman. "Supernatural thriller concerns a small-town cop probing a suicide at a posh kids school." Shooting starts tomorrow in Nova Scotia.

Barb, Happy Birthday! And I'm sorry...I tried, I really did, but do you know how hard it is to find those boots from Nostromo? All I could manage were these. Ah well, hope you have a wonderful day:-)!

No f**ing kidding? . .It's Barb's b'day?? Please forgive me, I almost forgot!! Have the happiest of days today, Barb!!!

Barb, Have a great day Sure you will if this party is a taster ;-)

All these contemporaries Wot? No Fitz to tear up the topiary Are breeches, vest and boots To be part of your birthday loot ODB present in any way Is sure to brighten the gloomiest day And from me in sunny Florida Good wishes to you in Indiana

Best wishes on your birthday Barb!

"Now, cut that out! I'm saving myself for Barb, as a *very* special birthday present!" Happy Birthday, Barb!

Sometimes it's hard getting out the words.... Happy Birthday Barb!!!

Hi Barb, we've all come to help you with your homework! And when we're done we can party! Happy Birthday Barb!

Ooops, I left out the beverages.......;-)

Hey, Barb! Now that Rachel's gone, the stage is open just in time for your birthday for you to get into a corset thing and go to town on some English dude! Oh happy day! Have a great birthday!

Have a wonderful, wonderful B-Day!!!! Haven't learnt to attach things yet so you'll have to use your imagination..... After all...wouldn't a little creme brule and a Margurita go down nicely about now!! (just a pinch). Laura

I can't believe it. I f---ed up, again. This isn't a costume party, is it? That's OK, I'll change later...much later-after we make those... Then we can have some......... Happy Birthday, Barb

Happy Birthday, Barb! Hope you have a GREAT time!

What a lovely party! Thank you all! Et especially tu Tress! Hide the starch? LOL That yummy attorney can whisper in my ear any old time he wants to! Hope he's not billing by the hour though... And Ada, thanks for digging up the keeps pictures you *did* find, and as for the boots, it's the thought that counts...and I like giving them lots of thought! As for the motorcycle, you know just what a girl wants! The thought of him astride that motorcycle makes me all rumbly in my.... ummm ... tummy (yeah, that's the place!) Thanks! Thank you too Kimberly, especially for the lovely hand picture! How nice you all have these wonderful SNL pictures to remember your adventure and we get to play with them too! Thanks! And Sonia -- Drool's poet laureate, you're right about ODB's day brightening power! And well you can boast of sunny FL, we've got 3-6 inches of snow forecasted for tonight. Of course, that is of no account with the right boots ;-) LOL Mari, I'll try not to leave him with such a pained expression, tired is more what I have in mind...a very special birthday present indeed! Thanks for the thoughts Karen, but you know, I'm not sure he has to say a thing! And if he insists, as long as it's soft and low and in that accent, I'm a goner. (Eeuuuwww, just had this vision of Paul Lynde whispering in my ear!) Thanks! Oh Beedee, now *that* is totally not conducive to doing homework! But it's my birthday, I gave myself the day off but he can hang around to "help" later (soon as he loses the kid looking over his shoulder... the rating is *not* likely to be PG!) Thanks Lora, he looks amazing there! What a picture--a little low lighting, a nice little v-neck sweater, a little "Come Away With Me" (I'd make sure to get to pick the song...) I am so there.... LOL Linda, I love fireworks, I'm getting my ooohs and aaaahs warmed up as we speak! And thanks to Lizza, Odile, Laura and Eithne for the good wishes, it's been lovely so far, thanks! Special thanks to SNL for all they did to make this possible...how very nice of them! And to all the DD's who can make any day a party, it's been a fun and exciting year, think next year can top it? I'll drink to that! Thanks all!

Happy Birthday, Barb.

My most sincere apologies for my late arrival to your birthday fiesta, Barb! There was a revolution, and corrupt soldiers tried to execute me, and some rabble attempted to steal my lovely boots, and then I had to ride all the way here on a horse the size of a Chihuahua.... Again, my apologies, Mademoiselle! Perhaps if I just freshen up and put on a new starched collar, we can celebrate your birthday more appropriately. Or there is this great mine cavern for a more intimate party...

Barb, hope your birthday was ab-solutely fantastic. How could it be otherwise with Nigel, Paulie and Co. in attendance?

I wanted to surprise you on your birthday Barb....I tried out for the new Village People. I was told it was the happening boy band. And although I have never heard of them before, I thought I'd give it a go..... This guy, who said his name was Fericito, said I was a shoe in....but he may have been keeeeeding! But things didn't go as smoothly when I tried out with the rest of the group....I was a hit with the bellboy and the manager, but the police officer said my pants were too low and kept trying to give me a wedgy.... They said they would let me know tomorrow if I made the group or not....but that will be too late for a "Happy Birthday" serenade! Apologies all around! Hope you still have a very.......

Thanks Lucie! And thanks Shoshana for bringing dear, lovely, flawed Charles. The poor thing, such long legs and they put him on such a short horse. Silly people. And the cave scene...Oh! Charles! Are you glad to see me or is that a stalagmite in your pocket? And Hen, it's been the best, thanks for the good wishes! ROFLMAO Tress!! No keeeeding from me, he's got my vote any old time he wants! (Love that first picture!) Thanks!

Barb! Baby! Sorry for being late, had to change into my other outfit for my gig as ... And I brought something to keep this party goin� You Americans have heard of margaritas, haven't you? Happy Birthday, Barb!!

So sorry I�m late to congratulate you, Barb. Hope you�ve had a great birthday. To make up, I bring flowers: and wine: and a special guest to toast you Happy Birthday!

Hi Barb Happy Birthday. I'm sure you've enjoyed the party.

Happy Belated Birhday Barb! It took me a while to arrange a South Florida outing... so forget the snow, I'm on my way!

For GWAPE fans - Essie Davis will be coming to Broadway soon. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/16/1079199221056.html

Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers" with Simon Russell Beale (West End's Golden Boy) directed by ....hey Moon...by David Leveaux! Previews April 6th opening April 25th at the Brooks Atkinson theatre. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/84917.html

PS This will be SRB's Broadway debut. Get the Tony ready;-)

Another interesting bit of info about a GWAPE co-star of Colin's . . Just heard from a friend that Cillian Murphy's film, Intermission will be premiering here in NYC Thursday evening . . . Funny I got news about it wil listening to my GWAPE soundtrack!

(Evelyn), directed by ....hey Moon...by David Leveaux! PS This will be SRB's Broadway debut. Get the Tony ready;-) What a combination! David is definitely the best there is. And he's just so AFG!

Thought I'd be nice and share my M.Leveaux with you. :-D

Since this is an odd I'll post it here ;-) I just want to thank everyone who makes this such a delightful place with your posts and caps, good humor and creativity. Y'all are making my solitary foray into a new location and job bearable. My wonderful DH is manning my escape hatch back home (in case this job doesn't work out) while I'm trying to get adjusted to a new job, climate, et. al. I look forward every night to getting home from work and reading the latest. You have made me laugh out loud (which scares the cat and makes the neighbors wonder) and made this transition a little easier for me. So...Thank you, my Drool family, from the bottom of my heart.

(Eithne)So...Thank you, my Drool family, from the bottom of my heart. Very good luck with your new job and the move and we'll be here (with ODB) when you get home till your DH moves in. Maryland, is it?

Thanks for your sweet note, Eithne. Change is difficult, but am sure things will work out well for you. And if they don't, just remember what my dear Dad told me as he was about to walk me down the aisle: "If it doesn't look right, come home." (And I married a guy they liked!;-) Did anyone see Ioan Gryfudd last night on Craig Kilborn's show? He wasn't nearly as funny with Craig as Colin was, but he is a sweetie. Has a new series called Century City on CBS in which he plays an attorney with a law firm in the year 2030. Looks interesting, I caught some of it last night flipping between that and American idol. BTW, his American accent is v.g. Anyway, he mentioned that his "Internet fans from all over the world" recently had a Hornblower convention in London. I thought it was nice of him to mention.

Century City sounds interesting, is it scheduled yet?

Yes, it debuted last night. Is on Tuesdays at 9PM, Eastern. Has anyone in the UK seen The Last King, about Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell? It plays here on A&E this Sunday night and I was wondering if it's worth the 4-hour investment.

(Mari) Did anyone see Ioan Gryfudd last night on Craig Kilborn's show? He wasn't nearly as funny with Craig as Colin was, but he is a sweetie. Has a new series called Century City Aha!! When watching the commercials for the program I thought it looked like him. I taped the show last night but haven't watched it. Anybody watching Significant Other on Bravo. This is really good. All improv fromw what I've read, which makes what they're doing even more incredible. There are only six shows in the can and I don't know if they're planning to do more.

Saw Ioan on Kilborn, too. Liked how he said CK was the only one who'd gotten the pronunciation of his first name right. You're right, Mari, he wasn't as funny, but was endearing. And he does do a good American accent. Maybe Colin could use his voice coach should it be needed. ;-) What screamers were there for him. That's nice for him. I missed that part with the convention. Was flipping back and forth to Karen Sisco. Did he take part in some way or just knew it was happening? I watched about 15 mins of Significant Others. Didn't realize it was heavy improv. I did find it amusing, but must not have been in the mood for it, 'cause I also found them grating and switched it.

( Kimberly) For GWAPE fans - Essie Davis will be coming to Broadway soon. My DH and I saw her in London in this play-she's very good playing Dorothy. I think the rest of my observation should go to Spoilers in case MG's plan to see this when it hits Broadway . They may have to change it a bit, though, to appeal to a non-British audience. Kind of like how Starlight Express was a huge hit in London and bombed in NY. I saw both of those productions and loved it each time, but it wasn't well received in NYC.

Has anyone in the UK seen The Last King, about Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell? It plays here on A&E this Sunday night and I was wondering if it's worth the 4-hour investment. I'd like to know, as well. Our Sunday TV supplement gave it a decent review, (though it leaned to boring) and some of the same old tired stuff about period pieces. I think I'll give it a try, anyway. (Bonnie)They may have to change it a bit, though, to appeal to a non-British audience I know, we Americans...;-)Thanks, Bonnie I'd love to see ED in this.

(Dorine)he wasn't as funny, but was endearing. . . Did he take part in some way or just knew it was happening? Endearing is the perfect word, Dorine, definitely. He said he didn't take part in the convention but two of the attendees landed on his doorstep. He was cute, talking about how he was embarrassed because he was dressed in old sweats "and I had my glasses on." LOL. Anyway, he invited them in, and he said they kept referring to things in his apartment that had been mentioned in articles. "Oh, there's your ratty old red sofa. And you must be Joe, his roommate." I think Ioan is Welsh for Yummy.:-)

I've been counseled to keep JUMPERS comments here , so if you plan to see it on Broadway don't read it! BEWARE!!!!!! SPOILERS AHOY!!!!!!! As I stated in my previous post here, we saw Jumpers with Essie Davis and Simon Russell Beale while in London in February. Essie Davis is very good in her role as Dorothy, a considerably younger entertainer wife of an academic. The husband is throughly caught up in his own little scholarly box and doesn't notice what's going on around him . He is also incapable of connecting more than one thought at a time to write his doctrine. This has been going on for years. Dorothy is on the downhill slope of her career and is bored and sulky. She has parties every night on the top floor of their apartment and sinks deeper and deeper into melancholy. The plot becomes quite complicated, and although I don't recall all of the particulars, I can tell you this is written for a British audience. I have the glossy flyer from which that picture of Essie Davis ( on the website posted by Kimberly ) is taken lying prone on the bed. The audience at our attendance-a Wednesday matinee- loved the show, and there were only about two dozen seats in the very back of the theatre unoccupied. The age reprsentation was actually quite varied-it was their " winter break" ( as we discovered once we hit London)-so there were a goodly number of high school and college aged students in the mix. The humour is British, and although I laughed, my DH just didn't get most of it. The sets are on a rotating stage, and they change scenes smoothly by this device and by dimming the lights. The first act has ED's character (flamboyant) teetering on the edge of sanity. She slips out of her glitzy evening gown to a full frontal while the stage rotates. That grapped DH's attention! ED does a superb job of playing this flaky singer, but IMO the plot has tediouly S-L-O-W moments. I can't fathom this version making it on Broadway... and I liked it. It wasn't my favorite play of the eight I saw while there, but it was better than others.

(Bonnie)ED does a superb job of playing this flaky singer, Not surprising. I thought she was excellent as Vermeer's flaky wife. At times, she had that wild look in her eyes like someone ready to skate off the edge. I can really imagine her doingteetering on the edge of sanity, quite well. Thanks, again, Bonnie

Oooooh! We did get to see Harriet Walter (Fannie Dashwood in ET's S&S and the "witch" in ODB's THOTP) and Adrian Lukis ( Wickham in ODB's P&P and classmate in DG) in another dark comedy entitled DINNER. Adrian Lukis has put on weight over the years. The scene where he takes the stage in his wifebeater undershirt is not all that appealing.

Thanks, Baonnie! I wonder if David Leveaux plans many changes for Broadway? I hope you get to see it and give us a detailed comparison. (Mari), Has anyone in the UK seen The Last King, about Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell? It plays here on A&E this Sunday night and I was wondering if it's worth the 4-hour investment. As I always say, if it's a costume drama, it is worth watching. ;-) Thanks for the heads-up Mari!

(Bonnie)I can tell you this is written for a British audience. (Moon)I wonder if David Leveaux plans many changes for Broadway? He and Tom Stoppard have worked together before...remember, TRT? And TS always tweaks his plays before they hit B'way. I saw TRT at the Donmar, Albery and Barrymore and they each had a different twist. (Also the actors play it differently in each place.) But this is not the first time Jumpers has played here. I saw it at the Kennedy Center years ago. I plan to see it again. Can't get enough of Stoppard.:-)))) Thanks Bonnie.

Pg 74 COSMO (March)has pic of SJ and YKW at the Mishimoko party ;-)

(Mari) Has a new series called Century City on CBS in which he plays an attorney with a law firm in the year 2030. Looks interesting, I caught some of it last night flipping between that and American idol. BTW, his American accent is v.g. Caught some of it but it didn't keep my attention. Guess I was expecting more than just another show about lawyers. Agree, Ioan's accent is v.g. Wasn't impressed by the show though I liked the septuagenarian boy band. Kept switching to the DC's 7 Wonders of Rome, more interesting than CC, imo. (Dorine)I watched about 15 mins of Significant Others. Didn't realize it was heavy improv. I did find it amusing, but must not have been in the mood for it, 'cause I also found them grating and switched it. Same here. The commercials for the show were more fun. Maybe I need to tape it and watch it as 5min skits.:-/ Did anyone catch Dangerous Liaisons w/RE and la Deneuve? Couldn't take more than a few minutes. Never was a fan of la D. Though setting the story in the 50's (or 60's) was good, what little I saw of the acting RE, Deneuve, Kinski and Sobiesky wasn't.

http://usa.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template=index&country=usa&film=&start=Y Clive Owen is here....

Would this be an O&E????? Found a blurb on a new Working Title pic . . if YKW wants a new . .perhaps shoot em up pic . .perhaps he should get his agent on this?:) Dome diamond heist heading for big screen /b 13:29 Monday 15th March 2004 Working Title Films has reportedly bought up David Logan's script about the Millennium Dome heist. Variety says The Rip is loosely based on the failed attempt to snatch �200 million worth of diamonds from the Dome. The November 2000 was foiled when 100 armed police officers lay in wait as the gang ram-raided their way into the tourist attraction on a digger. The action film focuses on a thief who is hired to steal the diamonds from the Dome, but uses the initial theft as a diversion for a job that's twice as big. Variety says James Gibb will produce the project with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_891794.html?menu=entertainment.films

closing tag

Ahh, before I forget to say . . .to all the Droolers . . Happy St. Patrick's Day! "When Irish Eyes are smiling . . ."

Since I can't resist...To all my fellow Drooleurs and of course ODB I wish you all Beannachtai na Feile Padraig! Slainte!

(Eithne) Beannachtai na Feile Padraig! Right back atcha, Eithne!

(Dorine)I watched about 15 mins of Significant Others. Didn't realize it was heavy improv. I did find it amusing, but must not have been in the mood for it, 'cause I also found them grating and switched it. (Sonia) Same here. The commercials for the show were more fun. Maybe I need to tape it and watch it as 5min skits.:-/ Yeah, the people are hideously dysfunctional, but that's why they're all in therapy. I'm sorry but I find it hysterically funny and admire what they're doing. These actors are very talented to pull this off.

Has anyone in the UK seen The Last King, about Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell? It plays here on A&E this Sunday night and I was wondering if it's worth the 4-hour investment. I watched the whole thing (which was shown in 4 parts , and called Charles II: The Power and the Passion here), and that in itself says that it's not bad. Of course, I use this stuff as a form of interesting history lesson, to counteract one area of my ignorance, but it works very well. I'm not sure I could have taken a full 4-hr sitting, as period stuff is more my DW's domain. Interestingly, the female characters were much the most interesting part of this dramatisation (I particularly remember Shirley Henderson and Diana Rigg's performances) - but that could be because I did my usual thing of not being able to identify which male character was which, particularly once they started taking their wigs off. There was probably too much sex to be believable, but it made it reasonably entertaining! Overall, I'd just about recommend it.

(Mark) There was probably too much sex to be believable, but it made it reasonably entertaining! ....Overall, I'd just about recommend it. Hey, I'm on!! Thanks Mark. As Moon says..."It's a costume drama, isn't it?";-) Also "Jolyon Forsyte" is in it:-)))))

Oooh, Rufus Sewell *and* "Jolyon Forsyte?" Yum! Though, "JF" wasn't looking quite so great when I saw him here in The Elephant Man a few years ago. Hey, if Angus McFadden's in it, I might tape it! ;-) Thanks for all the info about Charles II. I was wondering when it was going to show up here. (Mark) too much sex to be believable ??? Can't imagine there's such a thing! ;-) (Karen) I'm sorry but I find it hysterically funny and admire what they're doing. These actors are very talented to pull this off. Oh, I completely admire people doing tons of improv and doing it well. I love what they do on "Curb Your Enthusiasm too, though it's a hit or miss show for me depending on my mood. Seen too many improv shows that didn't work and it's painful. But why are you sorry to find something funny? ;-)

(MarkG) There was probably too much sex to be believable, but it made it reasonably entertaining! (Evelyn) Hey, I'm on!! But it's on A&E here. It'll all be cut out because our pure eyes can't be allowed to see such stuff. (Dorine) But why are you sorry to find something funny? ;-) What does it say about me that I like a show about a bunch of truly dysfunctional people? ;-0

(MarkG) There was probably too much sex to be believable, but it made it reasonably entertaining! I don't think we'll have to worry about that on this side of the pond, but thanks, Mark. I'll tune in for sure. (Karen)What does it say about me that I like a show about a bunch of truly dysfunctional people? ;- LOL, I'll not touch that with a 10 ft. barge pole--at least not around here;-) Did anyone catch this week's segment of Talking Movies? There was a brief interview with Paul Bettany (The Reckoning, A Beatutiful Mind, Master and Commander, and due out, Wimbledon)I watched it then taped the repeat segment. If I have time, today, I'll type up the transcript. The interview was all about being bankable in Hollywood and his take on Hollywood and, art house films not standing a chance against the big budget films. It was short but interesting.

(Linda) ...a brief interview with Paul Bettany Thanks, Linda. I'd love to hear his take on it. Maybe we can get wind of a new spin to apply to all the analyzing we do re: ODB's career. Easier still, do you think it's going to be re-aired? I'll check the listings on my end.

FYI, James Lipton was on Conan last night, talking about having tried for 10 yrs to get Barbra Streisand on Inside the Actors Studio. She finally wound up taking Whoopi Goldberg's bus across country (one of those who doesn't like to fly) and the session lasted for 5 hours. It'll be another of the 2-hr broadcasts.

(Karen), It'll all be cut out because our pure eyes can't be allowed to see such stuff. How true. :-( Did anyone see Courtney Love on Letterman last night? She pulled a Drew and flashed him about 4 times. She's very entertaining. Says she learned to flirk by watching his show and brought up Terry Garr and Sandra Bernhart. I always loved when Terry G was on the show for the same reason. Those two had an incredible chemistry which he no longer has with another actress, IMO. After all that flashing Dave said to Courtney, "I'm glad a have a son" was ROTF!

Thanks for the Charles II recommendation, Mark. Sounds like it's worth postponing my Sopranos viewing until the Monday night re-run. Just this once.;-) I saw the Paul Bettany interview on Talking Movies, and frankly, I thought he came across like an old girl's blouse. (Mark, did I get that right? I heard Kate Winslet say it on Letterman the other night and thought I'd try to build it into my cross-cultural repertoire.;-) Anyway, the guy is such a whiner, IMO, and not just based on that brief interview. I think he's pompous and full of himself.

Karen, when does Significant Others air and on what network? I saw a good show last night on Fox, called Arrested Development. Funny stuff, great ensemble cast of Julia Louis Dreyfus, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Amy Poelher from SNL, etc. Somewhat Curb Your Enthusiam-esque. Am in major CYE withdrawal; I thought the way they wrapped up the season with The Producers tie-in and Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft doing the play within the show was brilliant. Anybody see it?

Significant Others is on Bravo. Its regular slot is 9:30 ET but they do repeats through the week. The first night, they showed two episodes back to back, then this week, they replayed #2 and showed #3 in the 9:30 slot. Next week, TV Guide shows it the same way. Repeat at 9; new at 9:30. Check out the site, especially the Couples section to learn about the characters, in character: http://www.bravotv.com/Significant_Others/ From the "About" section: Significant Others is a comedy about couples in and outside of marriage counseling; a hysterically honest look at marriage and the rewards � and costs � that come with being in a committed relationship. More real than traditional comedies and more imaginative than reality shows, this six-episode series features a talented ensemble of improvisational actors and comedians who, quite literally, script themselves. Thomas, Casting Director Francene Selkirk-Ackerman, and Associate Producer Allison Kingsley saw roughly 500 actors and comedians to cast couples with the right combination of inventiveness, training and chemistry needed to pull off the on-the-spot performances required of the series. Each episode starts with a storyline that takes its shape from the creative give-and-take between the actors, Thomas (who serves as both therapist and director), Co-Producer Jordana Arkin and Tortorici. Brian Palermo (Daddy Day Care) is all-business James � a financial analyst who has it all except the confidence to believe it, something his more spirited and free-loving wife Chelsea, played by Andrea Savage (The West Wing) finds endearing...sometimes. Faith Salie (Sex and the City) is the scholarly Eleanor, whose pregnancy and the pressure of impending fatherhood prove too much too soon for husband Ethan (Herschel Bleefeld, Six Feet Under). Jane Edith Wilson (Curb Your Enthusiasm) plays the organized and seemingly predictable Constance, who finds her world unraveling when her husband Bill (Fred Goss, South Park) loses his job in full midlife freefall. Chris Spencer (Vibe) and Nicole Randall Johnson (Miss Match) are Devon and Alex � two parents doing their best to balance the demands of work and their 9 year old son; they are fairly sure that they don't have "issues" but are checking in just in case.

(Mari) Sounds like it's worth postponing my Sopranos viewing until the Monday night re-run. Just this once.;-) Isn't really necessary, as A&E usually repeats its programming, if not the same night (not for a four-hr deal) but on another night, plus next week, etc. BTW, Deadwood's debut on HBO follows The Sopranos and it had an excellent review at THR.

Mari: like an old girl's blouse. (Mark, did I get that right?) Close but no cigar (I think I got that right) - the phrase, for some reason, is "...like a big girl's blouse." Hey, don't ask me

http://www.bravotv.com/Schedule/search.bravo?month=2005-12&keyword=Significant%20Others&start=today If you click on Schedule, all four episodes will replay in a row (which may be way too much for Sonia!) on March 29, starting at 9 ET.

I think Mark's spot on re Charles et al. We had it as sunday night viewing if I remember correctly. RS does a good job and there are lots of good cameos, excellent costumes etc but then we only had to watch it in smaller doses!

(Karen), Significant Others is on Bravo. Check out the site, especially the Couples section to learn about the characters, in character: Sorry but I can't understand why people would give a damn about these losers that are in therapy. Lighten it up!

Blind Flight Allan Hunter in Edinburgh Dir: John Furse. UK. 2003. 96 mins Exceptional performances from Ian Hart and Linus Roache lend a compelling authority to the true story of hostages Brian Keenan and John McCarthy. Both actors get under the skin of two very different characters, capturing their individual personalities but also illuminating the common humanity that allowed them to endure their ordeal as long-term captives in the Lebanon. Based largely on Keenan�s bestselling memoir An Evil Cradling, Blind Flight marks an impressive feature debut for writer-director John Furse. His spare, unsentimental account of the men�s captivity and friendship is tightly focused, well-balanced and always absorbing. Positive reviews should ensure a healthy theatrical life and good long-term prospects for a modest, sensitively handled project that is released in the UK on April 9 after festival exposure at London and the Celtic Film Festival in Scotland. Extensive media coverage of what befell Keenan and McCarthy might make some British audiences feel that they know this story well enough already. It was dramatised for television in David Wheatley�s docudrama Hostages (1993) with Ciaran Hinds and Colin Firth. Blind Flight has had considerable involvement from Keenan and McCarthy and one of its virtues is the way in which it encourages you to think again. It works by reducing the story to the basics of two men enduring four years of shared imprisonment in which they managed to remain sane and resilient. Just like the hostages themselves, the viewer has little sense of events in the wider world or indeed a grasp of the passage of time. Claustrophobic and intense, the film rarely ventures outside the various buildings in which the men were held. The story begins in 1985. Keenan (Hart) is working as a teacher in Beirut. One day he is bundled into a car and abducted. Moulded by his experiences of the troubles in Northern Ireland, he takes a defiant stance towards his captors revealing an unwillingness to co-operate with them or be seen as a victim. Some time later he is relocated and finds himself sharing a room with fellow captive John McCarthy (Roache in a role originally announced for Joseph Fiennes), a gentlemanly English journalist who has a more pragmatic view of the situation. Over months of captivity in roach-infested cells, the two strangers develop a deep bond. The angry Keenan finds some sense of balance in McCarthy�s calm manner. McCarthy�s political naivety is informed by Keenan�s worldly wisdom. Political attitudes are tested, personal details are traded like precious commodities. Through physical decline and emotional hardship, each one gives the other the gift of seeing beyond the despair of a particular moment. Blind Flight ultimately emerges as a deeply moving portrait of friendship and solidarity in the face of appalling deprivations. The film also takes a sympathetic approach to their Arab jailers who are sometimes friendly and sometimes sadistic in a confused desire to assert their dominance of the situation. A production that makes the most of its modest resources, Blind Flight reveals a mature judgement in the handling of material, refusing to sensationalise or wallow in melodrama but staying true to the dramatic truth of the events. The physical commitment and emotional acuity of the performances are further testimony to Furse�s assured touch and the overall merit of the film. http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=16852&r=t

Hope that this movie opens here. Thanks Linda! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love these kinds of columns: NO DIVISION THIS DEEP SINCE THE RED SEA PARTING Mick LaSalle, Sunday, March 14, 2004, �2004 San Francisco Chronicle sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/14/PKGL65CP0U1.DTL When I was a kid, my mother used to say, "Never get into a discussion about politics or religion." To which I'd say, "What else is there to talk about?'' But these days you can talk about religion or politics all you want. It's talking about movies that's dangerous. Today if two acquaintances disagree about a movie they will, within three short exchanges, usually find a way to pretend they see the merits of the other's position: "Yeah, I see what you mean." "Yeah, it's a little like that, you're right." To a surprising extent, a movie is no longer seen as an artwork but as a collection of values, a philosophical proposition to be endorsed or denied. So people tread lightly, not wanting to offend. I don't know when movies became such a sensitive topic [Ed note: when they're about religion or abortion, idiot! ;-)], but I think it may have happened within the past generation. Today it seems that millions of Americans, maybe even a majority, find imaginative release and spiritual nourishment not in their faith, their work, their hobbies or their social contacts but only in popular culture. This is a depressing state of affairs, made even sadder by the fact that today's popular culture is of such limited emotional and spiritual range as to hardly nourish a housefly, much less a sentient human being. It's one thing to argue passionately over the relative merits of Chaplin and Keaton, as do the young cinephiles in "The Dreamers." But to get into a heated discussion about, say, Johnny Depp's performance in "The Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" could only be degrading, an admission of too much time and too little to think about. Now we're in the midst of a national discussion over "The Passion of the Christ," one that has been framed from the beginning as an argument over not aesthetics but values. Director Mel Gibson set the tone early by suggesting before the film's release that anyone against the film was anti-Christian. The strategy worked beautifully. A week before the film's premiere, I got my first irate voice mail. It was from a woman, identifying herself only as a schoolteacher, who said that she and her class had decided that I was going to give a bad review to "The Passion of the Christ" because, according to her, I lack religious values. "Now don't disappoint us," she said, and then hung up. The idea that there really may be idiots out there collecting salaries for standing in front of classrooms and discussing Mick LaSalle's forthcoming reviews is chilling, but a topic for another day. The issue here is that this woman was calling on behalf of a movie she hadn't even seen. That's when I knew Gibson had accomplished something extraordinary: He had convinced a lot of susceptible people that liking his movie was concrete evidence of virtue. Even more alluringly, he had convinced them that everybody who didn't like his movie was going to hell. "Now don't disappoint us," the woman said, thinking she was being arch, when actually she was telling the deeper truth. Her enthusiasm for the movie thrived on her illusion of persecution and her fantasy of moral superiority. This may be the first time that the promise of moral superiority has been used in film marketing, though the promise of intellectual superiority has been used many times. If people go into a Godard movie believing that, if they don't like it, it probably means they're stupid, the vast majority will figure out a way to like that Godard movie, no matter what. Similarly, once people bought into Gibson's good versus evil dichotomy, it was hard to imagine many of them opting for the red horns and the pitchfork. The day my review came out--mixed, not a hatchet job--the e-mail arrived in a deluge, at a rate of about one a minute. Most were outraged tirades--nasty, condescending and, of course, anonymous. The ones that made sense dwelled on one of two points. Some people wrote to say that, until "The Passion," they had never been able to imagine the Crucifixion. They were apparently sincere, though I still don't understand it. How can anyone ever sit in a church and face an altar without imagining the Crucifixion? Others wrote to complain that I said that any movie ending in the Resurrection should send people out in a joyful or at least hopeful state. They wrote to tell me that sending people out feeling hopeful was not Gibson's intention. I'd figured that one out on my own. The issues surrounding "The Passion of the Christ" highlight a cultural divide in this country, but not one between Christian and secular, or moral and immoral, as some would have you believe. Actually, if "The Passion of the Christ" has a problem, it's that it isn't Christian enough, and by that I don't mean that it doesn't contain enough of Jesus' philosophy or that it doesn't make Jesus come across as a liberal politician. I mean that it's bereft of spirit, that there's no glory in the Resurrection, that it has none of the ecstasy that's the essence of Christianity--a crucial aspect that has been more or less captured by every other Jesus film ever made. No, the cultural divide at play here is more subtle. The people who are responding to Gibson's literal, surface rendering of the Crucifixion, and who say they never could have imagined it otherwise, are people who feel comfortable with surfaces and don't like subtleties. And the people who are coming away feeling empty are the ones who want to see past the surface and are skeptical, not necessarily of religion (though some are), but of people and their motives. This tension has been playing out on the national level for several years and will continue to play out over the coming months. Some people respond to calls for patriotism, others to acts of patriotism. Some respond to declarations of virtue, while others insist on not being lied to. Some are comforted by the sight of a man in a flight suit, while others want to know whether he can really fly the plane. In the same way, some watch "The Passion of the Christ" and think, "I am watching the Lord," while others think, "Why am I still sitting here watching Jim Caviezel get beat up?" Neither way is Christian or anti-Christian. Both are just ways of looking at movies, and life.

(Mari re: Paul Bettany) I think he's pompous and full of himself. Someone told me after I saw him at a Q&A here, that he was being a "diva" in the VIP room prior. James Lipton was on Arrested Development last night as a prison warden, too. Unfortunately I haven't been able to catch this show regularly as it shows on Sunday night when I watch Alias, so not sure if it's a recurring role. (Moon) Did anyone see Courtney Love on Letterman last night? No, but read about it today while reading the story of her being arrested last night at an East Village bar at 2:30 am after throwing a mic stand and injuring someone in the head. (Karen) BTW, Deadwood's debut on HBO follows The Sopranos and it had an excellent review at THR. Is that the Western? If so, that's the one I want to see with Ian McShane in it. He used to play the title character in the show Lovejoy. A UK show that used to play on A&E. Was bummed when they quit playing it. (Mark) Close but no cigar (I think I got that right) Excellent! ;-) See what ODB started? We're all learning something new everyday.... -- "...like a big girl's blouse." -- Close but no cigar -- that maybe maybe a movie can have too much sex to be believable. Our possibilities are endless! ;-)

(Mark)the phrase, for some reason, is "...like a big girl's blouse." I *knew* I'd make a hash of it--cheers, Mark.;-) (Screendaily)The film also takes a sympathetic approach to their Arab jailers That's a relief. I'd hate to think they were portrayed unfairly.;-) (SF Chronicle)Some are comforted by the sight of a man in a flight suit, while others want to know whether he can really fly the plane. ROTF!

(Karen)Re: Streisand...and the session lasted for 5 hours. It'll be another of the 2-hr broadcasts. Not for me. *Yawn* (Linda) Re; Paul Bettany"The interview was all about being bankable in Hollywood and his take on Hollywood and, art house films not standing a chance against the big budget films. " Makes one wonder if he's seen Lost in Translation. Or "In the Bedroom"... What a whiner...

Re: Bettany His take is his take. Doesn't make it right or even halfway knowledgeable. ;-) However, the guy has been in both and been exposed to some of the big guns. But the fact that he's doing the rounds shows that he's wised up some.

(Karen) (which may be way too much for Sonia!) LOL. You take such good care of me :-) Thanks for the warning. (Mick LaSalle) The idea that there really may be idiots out there collecting salaries for standing in front of classrooms and discussing Mick LaSalle's forthcoming reviews is chilling, but a topic for another day. Indeed. Thanks for the article, Karen. Liked where the guy was coming from. (Screendaily)The film also takes a sympathetic approach to their Arab jailers who are sometimes friendly and sometimes sadistic in a confused desire to assert their dominance of the situation. That came across in Hostages. Reminds me of a closing comment in Bravo Two Zero "As for those who tortured us, they had a job to do as well, it's just that some enjoyed it a bit too much. If I met any of them tomorrow and thought I could get away with it, I'd slaughter them." There's understanding a jailer's need to asert dominance and there's understanding. (SF Chronicle)Some are comforted by the sight of a man in a flight suit, while others want to know whether he can really fly the plane. (Mari) ROTF! ROTFLOL. I may use that line when meeting new people. "Are you the type to be comforted by ..." Thanks for the Charles II info. Will set vcr in case I need to pull a Brit and watch in smaller doses.

Just caught the repeat of "The Seducers" with YKW. Besides "Da'Man" I would say Denzel Washington is second. Rafe not too shabby (those eyes!). Though I preferred him with Julianne Moore in "The End of the Affair" to the Ice Queen in TEP.

Whiner, complainer, pompous ass...Will the real Paul Bettany please stand up? The only reason I sat and listened to this interview was because of the intro...32 year old, British born, now considered able to carry a film, had done a lot of art house... I wanted to compare his take on things to that other 40-something British born...YKW I mean. (except that he hasn't yet proved he can carry a film, here...soon, though--I hope) Anyway, I haven't seen any other PB interviews, I only saw him in ABM. I had never heard anything about his personality so I can only type up what I heard. IMO, after watching several times to transcribe this I didn't feel he came off as terribly abrasive or whining-I thought he was down to earth and answered the questions. But, as I said that's my take, and my prior knowledge of him is v. limited. Intro by Tom Brook (and I've only included the relevant part, here) ...If nothing else this picture (The Reckoning) proves that Paul Bettany, in a leading role, can carry a film. This 32-year old British born actor is getting a lot of attention for his work. He gave a really strong performance as a husband who strays in The Heart of Me, a period drama that was sadly overlooked. (mentions his roles in Master and Commander and A Beautiful Mind) TB: You do a really excellent job in this film. I know it was made before you did a lot of work in Hollywood. But do you think the Hollywood studios would see you as bankable, in terms of being a leading man, now? PB: I don't think they look at movies in that way. I think that's slightly too generous. I think they look at the recipts, and then they (he points, yeah he can do it). I'm not sure it's the way it works. I think more likely people will be looking after Wimbledon comes out cause its more that kind of movie, you know what I mean? Its less of an art house movie. TB: What about Master and Commander? Were you disappointed you didn't get an Oscar nomination? PB: No, its a really hard question to answer cause when you answer it honestly as I'm going to you sound like you're being gracious (laughs heartily) which is not my intention.(laughs, again) I think they're very odd-awards shows and awards. I think, on one hand, the purist in me is thinking well, there shouldn't be any competition between artists--what's this all about? The needy bit in me goes--this is all rather nice-pat myself on the back. I guess the truth is somewhere in the middle--You've made employee of the month. TB: You do some really good work, and there's one film I saw called The Heart of Me which I thought you...thought the whole film was very compelling, actually, and you did a great performance. PB: Thank you. TB: It didn't really go anywhere in America. Does that frustrate you when you work so hard on a project like that and it really doesn't reach an audience? PB: (stutters, ye...yes. It's beginning to. (laughs) PB: I mean I came for the premiere of it, here, and I walked into the premiere up the red carpet and the whole side of this sky scrapper had X Men 2 on it, and I just thought how can you compete? How can a small film compete with the enormous marketing budgets that these movies have? It's a shame because it's a sweet, really well-made film, and I'm proud of it.

now considered able to carry a film Like what?! The Reckoning is an art house film with middling to decent reviews that will be seen by next to no one. Sound like someone we know? ;-)

Oops, sorry, should've read all the way before I posted last time.... TB: What about Master and Commander? Were you disappointed you didn't get an Oscar nomination? I was. Had him pegged for one when I saw it. Thought he was fantastic, very moving. My heart sank when his character's did everytime RC's character reneged on a promise to him. Thanks for typing that up, Linda.

Thanks for transcribing the PB bit. For me, it only reinforced my impressions of Tom Brook, who is obsessed with the concept of bankability, yet shows absolutely no understanding of it. ;-) Am having a glass half full/empty experience after watching the Bravo Seducers program. Glass half full: Colin was mentioned. Glass half empty: his grouping :-(

TB: What about Master and Commander? Were you disappointed you didn't get an Oscar nomination? (Dorine) I was. Had him pegged for one when I saw it. Thought he was fantastic, very moving. My heart sank when his character's did everytime RC's character reneged on a promise to him. I was probably snoozing because it hardly registered with me, but then again, I already had three strong candidates in that category already. ;-)

As I wrote before, my view of PB was formed before that interview which admittedly is not that revealing. I've seen him on other talk shows and read interviews, and I don't care for him. (Dorine)Someone told me after I saw him at a Q&A here, that he was being a "diva" in the VIP room prior. See, I knew there was something.;-) I walked into the premiere up the red carpet and the whole side of this sky scrapper had X Men 2 on it, and I just thought how can you compete? Sorry, but a billboard full of Hugh Jackman is, IMO, a damn fine billboard. The X-Men movies did well because they're entertaining. And I assume it was ok when the big billboards were up for Master & Commander? (Tom Brook on The Heart of Me) It didn't really go anywhere in America. It didn't go anywhere in Britain either. Check the numbers at the imdb. BBC review: "it's more like a party guest who's turned up so late, they've become a complete embarrassment. . . Trudging from one clich� to the next - pregnancies, confinements, accusations, repressions - "The Heart of Me" rarely convinces." Guardian review: "I really don't think I've seen a film as purely and simply miserable as this one . . ." Yeah, they'd line up around the block for that one.;-) But do you think the Hollywood studios would see you as bankable, in terms of being a leading man, now? Tom Brook has a real hang up about this. He always pulls this crap on the British actors. I recall him asking Colin, why aren't you a big star in Hollywood. What are people supposed to say to that? And why doesn't he ask it of American actors he interviews who are on about the same "fame" level as these guys? Evelyn, at the next premiere, I think you're going to have to have a word with him.;-)

(Evelyn)Just caught the repeat of "The Seducers" with YKW. Besides "Da'Man" I would say Denzel Washington is second. Whew! I'm with you Evelyn :-P''' (Karen)Glass half full: Colin was mentioned. Glass half empty: his grouping :-( My feeling too. And I wish he could have moved:-(

(Mari)Evelyn, at the next premiere, I think you're going to have to have a word with him.;-) How about a bushel of tomatoes...Oops...sorry, tomahtoes;-) ... now considered able to carry a film *snort* Paul Bettany couldn't open up a can of tuna fish, let alone a movie.

Was playing star links, and finally found a score of "3" with Colin Firth...Stephen Colbert of Mr. Goodwrench and Daily Show fame. Have tried for years to get a score over 2 with anyone and CF, he has worked with everyone who has worked with everyone else. http://oracleofbacon.org/oracle/star_links.html

(Mari)And I assume it was ok when the big billboards were up for Master & Commander? I'm sure, however, his response was based on the premiere for The Heart of Me. But he should be used to it as any actor who has been on both sides of the fence-art house vs big budget. That's the way it is.

(Karen)Glass half full: Colin was mentioned. Glass half empty: his grouping :-( What? You have something against nice guys? ;-) At least they wisely didn't put him in the best kiss category. :-( (Evelyn), Paul Bettany couldn't open up a can of tuna fish, let alone a movie. LOL! I can't even place him.

Ebert gave The Reckoning 3 stars and another newspaper critic mentioned The Advocate (and Rhe Name of the Rose) as another of the same genre in his review. I'm going to see it. BTW, Young Adam got an NC-17 rating and will be released uncut in April. Hoorah! We get to see it as-is. I don't understand articles, like this: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1173483,00.html which contain such erroneous information. NC-17 is not X. Debbie Does Dallas 2 would not have an NC-17 rating because it would never be submitted to the MPAA, which hold the copyright to those ratings. "Debbie" would have an X or Triple X or whatever they put on them. Why do people equate NC-17 with porn? *shaking head*

(Moon) You have something against nice guys? ;-) He was the only example of unlikely sexy guys from the good guys category, then they went on to show other "unlikelies." Those included people like Jason Biggs from the American Pie films, Austin Powers, Woody Allen, and several other geeky types. Hardly droolable company. Huge had a much better placement.

Spotless Mind got tops 4 stars from the Miami Herald. Go Charlie! It is directed by the man who did his first, Human Nature, which was most brilliant.

(Karen)Huge had a much better placement Yes he did, and it was a bit jarring to go from Colin to Mike then on to Woody;-) I didn't quite understand what the blonde was trying to say, here, LOL "He's got that real sexy like you can maybe really bump into him and really see a guy like him. ..OH he's hot". LOL, at least she got the Hot part clear. The category may not have been good, but at least he was in the same segment as Paul Neumann.

(Karen)He was the only example of unlikely sexy guys from the good guys category, then they went on to show other "unlikelies." No, he was a "nice guy" shown as a counterpoint to the preceding "bad boys" epitomized by Brando, Paul Newman, etc. End of segment. Then they went on to the unlikelies. Anyway, good to see him in there. (Karen)Why do people equate NC-17 with porn? *shaking head* Agreed. I think it's purely rhetoric to try and get their way with the ratings board. Another ill-informed statement: "newspapers in more devout regions of the country would almost certainly refuse to carry advertising for the film while a number of mall multiplexes would pull it from their screening schedules." This was the old conventional wisdom but it doesn't happen anymore, as we just saw with The Dreamers.

(Linda)"He's got that real sexy like you can maybe really bump into him and really see a guy like him. ..OH he's hot"....LOL, at least she got the Hot part clear Eh, but you *could* have almost bumped into him in Rockefeller Plaza if I recall and then, and then did actually bump into him in a bar;-))

(Linda) The category may not have been good, but at least he was in the same segment as Paul Neumann. But Newman and Brando were the examples of Bad Boys. Colin was the Nice Guy (stiff and starchy who ultimately stands around and then gets the girl). Overall, it was an idiotic show. Is there really anyone who wasn't mentioned? ;-) And so many of the people who commented...WHO were they?? I also watched the Top 20 Sexy Movie Scenes show. Pathetic. True, they had the good ones in there (both Thomas Crowns, The Big Easy, Against All Odds, L scene from Risky Business) that could not be overlooked and I wouldn't quibble with No. 1 (Body Heat), but some of the others were ludicrous IMO. FYI, Colin's portion, which showed stills from BJD, was not the only one. The English Patient was stills only. I'd say it was a Miramax thing, but there was a clip from The Unbearable Lightness of Being, also Miramax.

FYI, Bad Boys were part of the Unlikely group.

(Moon)Spotless Mind got tops 4 stars from the Miami Herald. Go Charlie! Same from the Philly Inquirer and many other papers. Charlie Kaufmann can't seem to set a foot wrong. Haven't looked that closely at the credits, but it doesn't seem as though "Donald Kaufmann" was involved.;-) (Linda)But he should be used to it as any actor who has been on both sides of the fence-art house vs big budget. That's the way it is. Agreed. It never ceases to amaze me how people who work in or report on the film industry just don't "get" the business end of it. Master & Commander cost well over $100 million to make, so of course they'd spend another $40 million to advertise it (am pretty sure my numbers are close). You have to spend money to make money. They couldn't let it fly under the radar or they'd never have a prayer of a chance to get their their investment back. Ditto X-Men. On the other hand, they're not going to spend $40 million to advertise a film that probably cost less than $5 million. It's like slaying a housefly with an atomic bomb. Weird analogy, but you get my drift.

(Karen) BTW, Young Adam got an NC-17 rating and will be released uncut in April. Hoorah! We get to see it as-is. NC-17 is not X. Debbie Does Dallas 2 would not have an NC-17 rating because it would never be submitted to the MPAA, which hold the copyright to those ratings. "Debbie" would have an X or Triple X or whatever they put on them. Why do people equate NC-17 with porn? *shaking head* They may *say* they are rating it that way for the fully clothed scene, but will bet my last dollar it's for the one or 2 scenes with Ewan's full frontal nudity. Not very lingering shots, but still there....at least when I saw it. Tilda Swinton is also fully nude, if I recall correctly, but of course, that's no problem. Also, there's a very odd scene where he's throwing all kinds of food and stuff all over his girlfriend that I imagine they could take umbrage with.

(Moon)Spotless Mind got tops 4 stars from the Miami Herald. Go Charlie! (Mari) Same from the Philly Inquirer and many other papers. Charlie Kaufmann can't seem to set a foot wrong. Haven't looked that closely at the credits, but it doesn't seem as though "Donald Kaufmann" was involved.;-) You know, I've seen nothing but stellar reviews for this movie and I want to know, how many of these people went into this movie blind like I did? How many didn't read they're press kits or something about it before going? Because I'm curious if they would've been able to keep track of everything that was going on without some tips. I knew nothing about it other than the name and a few of the stars. I was not that enamored of it throughout, mainly because I found it all over the place. Had a hard time discerning reality and memories and their meaning and order. Lots of jumping around. As I said before, it was an incredibly complex and ambitious script by Charlie Kaufman, and I appreciate that. But it wasn't til we had the discussion after, with 2 of the producers, that most of it made more sense and I sort of started to like it. Maybe I was just dense. Definitely one that will need a repeat viewing on DVD. (Mari) Master & Commander cost well over $100 million to make, so of course they'd spend another $40 million to advertise it (am pretty sure my numbers are close). You have to spend money to make money. They couldn't let it fly under the radar or they'd never have a prayer of a chance to get their their investment back. Domestically I don't think it did as well as they hoped, so they actually probably didn't or won't unless international and DVD sales were awesome.

This is just a FYI from Entertainment Weekly, March 5th. Eh, now I know why I never got around to posting. It's 2003 The Year in Box Office. Since it's 132 films and multiple columns, I'm only going to give the placements for a select few--my select few;-) Through Feb 22, 2004. Top 5: LOTR, Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix Reloaded, Bruce Almighty. Last 5: House of Sand and Fog, Confidence, Winged Migration, House of the Dead, and last, Swimming Pool.(132) Information included domestic box, foreigh box, total. Now my two selections for further elaboration;-) #50 Love Actually Domestic 59.5, foreign 176.0, total $235.4 #78 What A Girl Wants Domestic 36.0, foreign 4.4 total $40.4.

Colin was the Nice Guy (stiff and starchy who ultimately stands around and then gets the girl). He had me at hello. ;-) (Dorine), Had a hard time discerning reality and memories and their meaning and order. Lots of jumping around. As I said before, it was an incredibly complex and ambitious script by Charlie Kaufman, and I appreciate that. Hurray! A film that makes you think! Anytime over those reality based Indies of late. Secret Lives of Dentists? Oh, please! (Dorine), They may *say* they are rating it that way for the fully clothed scene, but will bet my last dollar it's for the one or 2 scenes with Ewan's full frontal nudity. And Ewan has stated so many times that he likes being naked in films. And he should be, looking vvg. :-) (Karen), they had the good ones in there (both Thomas Crowns, The Big Easy, Against All Odds, L scene from Risky Business) that could not be overlooked and I wouldn't quibble with No. 1 (Body Heat), but some of the others were ludicrous IMO. Agreed!

and the limo scene from No Way Out. All so memorable.

Colin was the Nice Guy (stiff and starchy who ultimately stands around and then gets the girl). (Moon)He had me at hello. ;-) He had me at Ding Dong!;-) Well, it was somewhat earlier than that... (Karen), they had the good ones in there (both Thomas Crowns, The Big Easy, Against All Odds, L scene from Risky Business) that could not be overlooked and I wouldn't quibble with No. 1 (Body Heat), but some of the others were ludicrous IMO. (Moon)Agreed! Oooo, Body Heat:-P I much agree and wonder what Adriane Lyne paid to get so many of his films in these shows? His willingness to show up for the interviews, perhaps.

(Karen) ...., they had the good ones in there But they missed one of my faves...Harrison Ford and Greta Scacchi on the desk in Presumed Innocent.

(Beedee) I much agree and wonder what Adriane Lyne paid to get so many of his films in these shows? His willingness to show up for the interviews, perhaps. LOL! No, I don't think so. That's Adrian Lyne's stock in trade. He's only made 8 films: 1.Unfaithful 2.Lolita 3.Indecent Proposal 4.Jacob's Ladder 5.Fatal Attraction 6.Nine 1/2 Weeks 7.Flashdance 8.Foxes and most have a common denominator. Hey, the guy has limited interests, but he does it so well.

(Karen) Why do people equate NC-17 with porn? *shaking head* Agree....There is a definite difference (IMO). (Dorine) They may *say* they are rating it that way for the fully clothed scene, but will bet my last dollar it's for the one or 2 scenes with Ewan's full frontal nudity. I love how they said that...As if they don't want to appear too 'stuffy'. A few years back (just a few), there was some fuss over the rating for Atame! (Tie Me Up Tie Me Down). I remember hearing that Almodovar wanted an R but was being told it would be an X. There were a few sex scenes and the board was saying that those, combined with the 'subject matter' (a young girl is essentially kidnapped and held captive by a man who wants to 'keep' her until she falls in love with him) made it a candidate for an X. Well...Almodovar or Banderas (cannot remember which now) made statements about how that exact theme was present in a G rated film (sans sex of course)..."Beauty and the Beast". Some time after those statements were made, the board granted them an NC-17 (something that Pedro couldn't really complain about...it was definte NC material...and his films in Spain often have the "no one under 18 admitted" mark on them (remember seeing this on "Law of Desire")). I think this film was one of the first to get that rating?? I may be wrong?? Does anyone know the first film?

(Tress)Does anyone know the first film? I don't know but here's a site for his filmography http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7946-1042593,00.html

LOL, (sorry) that URL isn't for Almodovar, but for the next part of my post concerning the release of the LA DVD in the UK. Here's part of it the rest is here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7946-1042593,00.html Grant arrives five minutes late, takes a call from his golf coach and is still great value, pouring amiable scorn on any scene involving Colin Firth. But perhaps the most telling moment comes in an interview with the producer, Duncan Kenworthy, who admits to insisting that Laura Linney�s object of obsession be a smouldering Latin type. His reason? Nobody could fantasise for two years about an Englishman. Here is the one for Almodovar: still LOL http://www.foreignfilms.com/person.asp?person_id=1003&hp=1

Linda! You helped answer my question! I read a few reviews of Atame! and one of the reviewers mentioned "Henry and June". That is the first film to receive the NC-17 rating (don't know how many saw it, but I think I slept through most of it when it came out....zzzzzz....). and a waaaaay too long (but somewhat interesting and often amusing) article from the BBC regarding American ratings: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A220537 I think this foot note is my favorite: 4 However, any movie firm not in compliance is browbeaten into submission and sent to their room without any supper. If they persist, they will inevitably find themselves bankrupt. So much for freedom of choice. I, personally, will always go for unrated and uncut DVDs. Am still a bit miffed that Europe got to see the 'real' version of "Eyes Wide Shut" and we (even in DVD format) had to be 'protected' and were given a version that was cut and modified.

Good article on the MPAA, Linda. Always enjoy something so dripping in sarcasm. Thanks for posting. The difficulty here is not with the ratings system, but how the public perceives the ratings system, and how they react to it. So true, except for its far greater tolerance of blood, gore and violence. It's there for you, because in the 20th Century we all know how busy you are and how difficult it is to be an informed parent. Oh man, good one! ;-) (Tress) Am still a bit miffed that Europe got to see the 'real' version of "Eyes Wide Shut" Same here, but I got even more miffed when I found out that the European version of Tomorrow Never Dies contains the steamier love scene betweem Pierce Brosnan and Halle that was mentioned in the news. I may have to get that code-free DVD player in order to complete my collection of 007 fare, as I will absolutely *not* buy the American one now. Since PB is IMO the best screen kisser out there, I want to see this scene. ;-)

The fact that the public today tends to treat 'NC-17' in exactly the same way they use to treat 'X' Not me. X is still X. I see a lot of foreign films that are U (unrated). Those are always fun. ;-) But in Italy I have to monitor the TV my boys watch at night because of all the porno that is freely available as of 11pm. It is out-of-control there. Thanks for the article, Linda!

(Karen)Since PB is IMO the best screen kisser out there, I want to see this scene. ;-) ...especially when we get the back view of him on those marble stairs--I think that scene made it in both nights for Seducers and Seductive scenes.;-)No nice guy category, there.

Nice article on RZ . . . think it's OK to put here on O&E . . . Boss, please move/remove if I'm incorrect . .there was just a slight blurb about BJD/TEOR http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/21/1079823235751.html With a British accent to die for and showing tremendous guts to even tackle the role, she was the very funny, weight-battling Bridget Jones, desperately seeking love in Bridget Jones's Diary. (It earned her her first best actress nomination.) Recently she wound up the Bridget sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (to be released on December 26), teaming up again with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, both once again battling for her hand. Looking glamorous and every inch the international movie star, Zellweger admits that she's still trying to lose the extra kilograms she had to put on to do the Bridget Jones sequel. "I had to gobble up all sorts of things to get that weight on again," she said. "You name it: ice-cream, doughnuts, pizza and pasta - I ate the lot." But the second time around was a much sweeter experience than when she first tackled Bridget. "This time I was so much more confident," she said. "Last time when I went to England they were out there with the knives because they were outraged that an American actress was playing this British icon. I could see they wanted a hometown girl in the part, because Bridget is the quintessential young, modern English working woman." But when the film came out everyone agreed that Zellweger proved she had the guts, the talent and the perfect accent to pull it off. And early word is that she's done it again in the sequel. "It was like old home week," she said of her return. "And this time they welcomed me with open arms."

(a) I am not a moving company or anybody's servant. (b) If it is about Bridget, it would go on TEOR page and, since the rest of the article isn't relevant, a link to it how to go. (c) I'm just deleting in the future. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saw both The Reckoning and Eternal Sunshine. The Reckoning is amazingly similar to HOTPig insofar as the plot is concerned (dead boy, woman accused, weird lord of the castle, played by Vincent Cassel) but it has a more serious tone and the look/feel is closer to The Name of the Rose, with a touch of Illuminata for the backstage look a troupe of actors. That was the part I found most interesting: how the acting troupe put on its reenactments, the makeup, the costuming, and then development of a new play based on the murder they found in this village. The actors' discussions about whether to do something so radical and then the actual play, seemingly done off the cuff but complete and in verse. Really interesting. The village/castle sets looked terribly fake. FYI, a cute touch was Matthew MacFadyen (Tom from MI-5) who played the King's Justice. Some things never change. ;-) Oh yes, Paul Bettany was very good, and Gina McKee hardly had a part. Eternal Sunshine was definitely a film to admire for its uniqueness, but I've always liked Jim Carrey in his serious roles, like this one. I can't picture anybody else being able to pull this off. He and Winslet are wonderful. Was I confused? Yeah, some, but I'm pretty sure I knew what was going. I'd probably get even more out of it on a second viewing. (Moon, this is the same director who did Human Nature with Kaufman.)

(Moon, this is the same director who did Human Nature with Kaufman.) I had posted this info two days ago. ;-) I liked Eternal Sunshine. There was wonderful chemistry between the two. It is quite easy to follow, I was never confused. But I do have years of film classes behind me. It was a treat ot see a film that was worth a film class analysis once again.

Re: Moving Messages Apologies if my message sounded mean. I'm just tired of people always telling me to move something if I don't think it's on the right topic.

I'm sorry I didn't find this earlier . .. .The cast of Fraiser doing a staged reading of TIOBE - happened already though (ergh march 15th)- http://www.playbill.com/news/article/84933.html http://www.taperahmanson.com/show.asp?id=255

Am feeling v. smug.... Have been to see a sneak preview of Lars von Trier "Dogville" ahead of indi-literati on this board;-) This is a story (fable) about Grace (Nicole Kidman), a woman who wanders into the isolated Rocky Mountain hamlet of Dogville during the Depression. The town's residents don't know what to make of her, but young Tom (Paul Bettany,again) urges them to give her a chance and she agrees to work in exchange for shelter. All goes well til one day they find out she is wanted by the police, and from there it is all downhill for poor Grace, (and I might add the poor audience). I found the sparse setting facinating. Chalk lines indicating the houses, street names and gooseberry bushes. V. Brecht-like and Our Town in form. It is all fake and it becomesclear it is allegorical. The acting was terrific. Though I'm getting a little overload on Nicole Kidman (of the eyeliner). Paul Bettany is ordinary, Particia Clarkson v. good and the narrator (John Hurt)pretentious. On the surface this is a film about violence and intolerance in our society , but you soon get the idea that it is anti-bourgeoisie with a generous sprinkling of anti-Americanism thrown in for good measure. Mind you von Trier has never been to America (is afraid to fly) and plans to write two more films on America in this triology. I was not offended by the anti-American sentiments (am inured to them by now, perhaps) .The ending dialogue with NK and James Caan was so absurd, that I joined the audience laughing. Adding to the confusion was a photomontage depicting the squalor in the depression and recent photos (including a Richard Nixon photo[huh?]) that is scored to David Bowie singing "Young Americans." I can?t imagine anyone seeing this film except the arch-devoted artsy crowd, and socialists with an axe to grind. I say employ the (bring- a- tush...)3 hours looking at espisode 1, 2.&3.

LOl, that should be..."Bring a cush".. but if you have an extra "tush", it will come in handy;-)

Evelyn - Lucky lucky!!! I tried rsvcp-ing for the BAFTA screening of Dogville here in NYC but was too late . .Dorine was telling me that she also thought it was as long as you say . .ergh . . Perhaps this will wait till I it comes out on DVD and I can sit my tush on my v. comfy couch! Thanks for your insights on the film.

If I had checked my alt paper earlier yesterday, I could've seen it here too (plays again on the 24th, as part of the annual European Union FF at the Siskel Center). But I can wait until it opens....if not later. ;-) I had a feeling it wasn't all that good since it fell flat at Toronto and Lions Gate delayed its opening from the 4Q of last year.

For those in a quandary over tonight's programming, A&E will rebroadcast The Last King afterward, which will would be 12 midnight Eastern. I plan to tape it then, so I can watch it in more manageable segments and FF through the commercials. It'll then be reshown on Friday, starting at 8.

(Karen)Lions Gate delayed its opening from the 4Q of last year. Had it received better reviews I was afraid Lions Gate was going to push it ahead of GWAPE for Oscar noms. What was the story of Dogville at Cannes? I don'tremember that it was received there v. well And I would have thought it would be their cuppa.

(Karen)It'll then be reshown on Friday, starting at 8. I just looked that up in the TVWeek and it shows The Last King as only being 3 hours long then. I am confused. Are they throwing in an hours worth of commercials? Of course, I plan to tape it and FF, but I'm just a bit confused.

According to A&E website/schedule, it's on from 8-12 am, then 12-4 am. But, then on Friday March 26, it is on from 8-11 pm, then 12-3. More listings: Saturday 27 March: 1-4 pm Sunday 28 March: 11-2 pm

Thanks for the heads up re Dogville, Evelyn. Am seeing it either this Thurs night or next Sunday morning. Will be a long night for a 7pm screening. Maybe No-Doze is in order? ;-) All I remember about it at Cannes off the top of my head was that she'd said she'd do the others in the trilogy, but then said she wouldn't later. I think he tried to make her to promise to not smoke at Cannes either, but she dissed him on that, too. ;-) Thanks for the repeat info for The Last King, too. The wig on Rufus Sewall looks ok enough, but on Rupert Graves.....:-(.

Thanks for posting the additional showings of The Last King. My 13 day old telly went belly up Thursday evening so I have been TV free for some time. Took advantage of the time to indulge in embroidery and some of ODB's DVDs (no player, I watch on computer). As soon as I get my UPS Store mailbox, I can order some of the ones that I love or haven't been able to get at the local Blockbuster (Fever Pitch??? Try in the horror section. Yeah right, sonny) In the meantime, they should be bringing the replacement Tuesday eve, after work. Hopefully, this one will not die such an early death.

For anyone who'll be in the NYC area May 1-9.... Haven't decided if I'm volunteering again. :-/ May be too late now anyway. Maybe offhand chance a certain movie will be playing, though sounded like ME wasn't going this route. FROM: TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 375 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10013 GOVERNOR GEORGE E. PATAKI, ROBERT DE NIRO, JANE ROSENTHAL, AND CRAIG HATKOFF ANNOUNCE 2004 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL * * * Festival to Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Democracy in South Africa, Announces Year-Round Cultural Exchange Initiative [New York, NY � March 5, 2004] � Governor George E. Pataki and Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff joined together today to announce that the blockbuster festival will once again return to downtown, bringing a broad array of gala premieres, independent films, compelling panels, and a reprise of the highly successful Family Festival. Also announced today were the first round of jurors for the 2004 Festival. They include Ellen Barkin, Chad Lowe, Chris Noth, Mary Louise Parker, Eddie Izzard, Bingham Ray, and Jeff Skoll. The Festival will also spotlight great Latin American filmmakers such as Academy Award nominated director Hector Babenco. Additionally, Elia Kazan, an award winning filmmaker, who died earlier this year, will be remembered with a tribute screening. The Festival will present an exclusive preview of DreamWorks� new animated comedy Shark Tale, featuring selected scenes from the movie and a special appearance by some of the film�s all-star voice talent. Opening nationwide on October 1, Shark Tale stars the voices of Will Smith, De Niro, Ren�e Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Scorsese. Also shown will be United Artists� Coffee & Cigarettes, an ensemble comedy presented in a series of vignettes all revolving around discussions held over coffee and cigarettes, the topics of which include Nicola Tesla, alternative medicine, Paris, the movie industry, and more. The film features a diverse starring cast including Bill Murray, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and Cate Blanchett. In production since the 1980s, the film is in black and white. The Festival will also be reviving one of its most popular programs: panel discussions by a wide variety of industry leaders. In 2004, the Tribeca Film Festival will host over 15 conversations and discussions with some of the most provocative filmmakers, directors, actors, producers and writers in the entertainment community. This year's schedule of panels will feature two discussions relating to music and film. Scorsese, a director who has made music a focal point in his films, will join with Vanity Fair contributing editor Lisa Robinson for a one on one conversation about the influence of music in his movies. In Music Fit for a King, Academy Award winner Shore will discuss his work on The Lord of The Rings trilogy. The Festival will also showcase, as one of several themed categories, the work of great Latin American filmmakers. Academy Award nominated director Babenco�s film Carandiru, a Sony Pictures Classsics Release, will be shown and is a film based on the real life experiences of doctor Drauzio Varella inside Brazil�s dreadful state penitentiary Carandiru. The Festival will also screen Prisoner of the Iron Bars: Self Portraits, a separate film comprised of video captured when some of Carandiru�s inmates were given camcorders to document their experiences. Other films coming to the festival include an adaptation of Dorothy Allison�s novel Cavedweller directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Bacon, Sedgwick, Aidan Quinn, and Sherilynn Fenn, the psychological thriller The 24th Day directed by Tony Piccirillo with Scott Speedman and James Marsden, and A Hole in One, the debut film by writer/director Richard Ledes that stars Michelle Williams and Meatloaf. The festival will run from May 1 through May 9. Once again, there will be a family festival that runs concurrently with the festival on the two weekends (May 1-2 and May 8-9.) There will be several films including Thunderbirds, a new family action adventure from Universal Pictures and Working Title, starring Bill Paxton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Anthony Edwards and others. The street fair will be a fun-filled experience for families that will unfold along Greenwich Street with food entertainment, and family activities all day long. From 10am to 6pm on May 8, there will be special performances on multiple festival stages, along with crafts, games, storytelling, art shows, and character appearances. ... the Festival�s program consists of more than 150 features, documentaries and shorts, screened alongside gala premieres of major studio releases. The Festival offers the excitement of premiere screenings with directors and stars in attendance weeks or months before their movies are released commercially, as well as the opportunity to see some offbeat, hard-hitting movies that may not resurface for years. For the filmmakers who participate, it�s a chance for both beginners and veterans to present their work to an audience of New York�s uniquely diverse and curious viewers. Tickets for film screenings, panel discussions and other events will be on sale to the public in mid-April. For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival and to purchase tickets, the public should visit the Tribeca Film Festival website at www.tribecafilmfestival.org or call 1-866-941-FEST (3378). The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by De Niro, Rosenthal and Hatkoff to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking capital and to contribute to the longterm recovery of lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11, 2001. American Express is the Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. As part of an ongoing collaboration with the Fondazione Prada, highlights from the Festival will travel to Milan in late May for a three day festival from May 25-28, 2004.

Dorine . .I may join you if I'm free . . Will keep fingers and toes crossed that ME may decide to show Trauma there (oh please, oh please oh please! . .)

(Dorine)Maybe offhand chance a certain movie will be playing, though sounded like ME wasn't going this route. Uh, you mean the one with the problems in the narrative?;-)Count me in if that happens. as well as the opportunity to see some offbeat, hard-hitting movies that may not resurface for years Well????

Server went back up a little while ago. We had one of our second channel hard drives crash and now we need to replace it. But our main drive is intact and, contrary to an early diagnosis, our motherboard is intact. No data was lost. The second drive was mirrored and even it's data was preserved. Sorry for the 4 hours of downtime, it's a rare and unusually long outage for us. And a good wakeup call!

Is the stuff on the boards backed up or archived somehow anyway? I remember reading waaaaaay back in the old topics about stuff getting lost. I'm sure the technology is pretty different now, just curious. I'm still bummed there's some stuff that was referred to in the archives from the beginning that can't be retrieved anymore. :-(

AH! Sigh of relief-boards are back up so can take a long, slow calming breath!!!!

Oooh! I can't wait to see this one. Love Sayles' work: Newmarket stumping for Sayles' 'City' By Ian Mohr Just in time to capitalize on what promises to be a contentious run for the White House in the fall, Newmarket Films has sealed a deal to acquire North American distribution rights to indie auteur John Sayles' political satire "Silver City." "City" stars Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Daryl Hannah, Danny Houston, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Kay Place and Tim Roth. Set in Colorado during a state gubernatorial race, the film follows a grammatically challenged, born-again candidate who is the scion of a formidable right-wing political dynasty. The candidate is in the midst of fumbling his way toward elected office when an unexplained corpse emerges to threaten his campaign, his family's empire and the special interest groups that pull his strings. " 'Silver City' is John Sayles' best film yet and will really shake up this political season with its spirited sense of mischief-making," Newmarket Films president and partner Bob Berney said. "I loved every character in the film, and John has put together a truly amazing cast, all delivering inspired performances." Sayles also wrote and edited "City." Maggie Renzi produced the film through the Anarchists' Convention banner. "John Sayles and I are thrilled to join the Newmarket juggernaut straight through to the Nov. 2 election and beyond," Renzi said. Negotiations on the "City" deal were led for Newmarket by company principal William Tyrer. Attorney Sue Bodine repped Anarchists' Convention. "On behalf of my partners and myself, I can honestly say that we could not be more proud to be in business with John Sayles," Tyrer said. "He has created some of the most memorable and important films of the last few decades, and we believe 'Silver City' will be the latest addition to this group."

The NY Times review of Dogville, by A.O. Scott: It Fakes a Village: Lars von Trier's America DOGVILLE, the setting for Lars von Trier's new film of the same name, is a tiny, obscure town in the Colorado Rockies. The adult population numbers about 15, and during the Great Depression, when the film takes place, these people's lives are busy, joyless and harsh. The hard-bitten folk who inhabited the Northwestern factory town in "Dancer in the Dark," Mr. von Trier's previous foray into Americana, at least had a community theater, but the most Dogville can offer is some meetings presided over by a self-styled intellectual named Tom Edison Jr. (the English actor Paul Bettany). Dogville is, in short, a place where life seems to have been reduced to its crude minimum. A modern American happening upon "Dogville," which opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, will quickly become aware of what has been omitted. "I deliberately took out religion," Mr. von Trier said in a recent telephone interview. Also, he might have added, such quintessential American passions as sports, popular culture and politics: one of the citizens does own a radio, but he snaps it off as soon as one of President Roosevelt's fireside chats comes over the airwaves. In "Dancer in the Dark" you could glimpse a framed photograph of President Eisenhower hanging on the wall, a curious touch in a movie supposedly set in 1964, but nonetheless a scrambled signal of some connection between the fictitious characters and the actual political entity they are supposed to inhabit. In the 1930's in Dogville, where the brief appearance of a constable is the only sign of the existence of the state, there are no pictures of F D. R. hanging on the wall. Then again, there aren't any walls. Nor are there any trees or houses or enclosed physical structures of any kind. There is nothing, in short, to mark Dogville as a place, American or otherwise: aside from one or two skeletal structures, an outcropping or two of painted styrofoam and a few pieces of furniture, Dogville is conjured out of chalk outlines and stark stage effects. The floor plans of the tiny houses are stenciled on the ground, as are invisible streets and phantom landmarks like the prized gooseberry bushes and the nonexistent dog whose nonetheless audible bark signals the arrival of a stranger. What happens to that stranger � a woman named Grace, played with a flawless combination of vulnerability and cunning by Nicole Kidman � constitutes Mr. Von Trier's latest American tragedy. Young Tom Edison, worried without any obvious reason that the town is in need of "moral rearmament," wishes for a test of its virtues, a real-life "illustration" (one of his favorite words) of his vague notions of community and responsibility. Grace, who is fleeing from big-city gangsters, seems to offer a perfect opportunity. She is reluctant to impose on the town's kindness but also utterly helpless. Dogville rises to the challenge of her presence by opening its arms in generosity, and then enclosing her in a pious, self-justifying embrace of indentured servitude, humiliation and, eventually, sexual slavery. It has been frequently noted that Mr. von Trier, a Dane, has never been to the United States. It was so frequently noted in discussions of "Dancer" that he was provoked to conceive an entire American trilogy, and to pre-empt objections by noting, in press materials, that the makers of "Casablanca" had never been to Morocco. Nor had Kafka been to the United States while writing "Amerika." "I must say I'm very fond of this idea that Kafka didn't go to America," Mr. von Trier said. "For me it's about America, even though it's about what he had seen in Europe. Somehow America is a canvas that you can use. Of course the film is, like Kafka's book, inspired by my own meeting with not Americans but mostly Danish people. It could be a place anywhere." Tom Edison, who is at once Mr. von Trier's alter ego and, ultimately, his villain, might endorse this interpretation. Toward the end of the movie, after the true, ugly nature of the town and its people has been revealed, he conceives a novel � maybe even a trilogy � about the experiences of a town just like it. "Why not just call it Dogville?" Grace asks. "No, no," he says, "it has to be universal. A lot of writers make that mistake." It is a mistake Mr. von Trier is far too clever to avoid. What makes "Dogville" so fascinating, and so troubling, is the tension between the universal and the specific. "You mean, why not just call it Denmark?" Mr. von Trier responded, mockingly, when asked about his choice. Because, of course, it couldn't possibly be Denmark. It's America. The script may have been written in Danish and then translated into the strange, mock-literary English the characters speak. The characters themselves may be played by a motley, international collection of actors ranging from Lauren Bacall to Chlo� Sevigny to Stellan Skarsgard. (You can hardly expect a man who once cast Catherine Deneuve as a factory worker named Kathy to care much about authenticity.) But the clothes and folkways of Dogville harken unmistakably back to the land of John Steinbeck, Mark Twain and Sherwood Anderson, whose observations have been filtered through Mr. von Trier's equally unmistakable European sensibility. The movie presents a curious blend of the alien and the familiar: it is a fantasy of America, b t not an American fantasy. The sight of actors all occupying the same barren stage, and the knowledge that the camera will never leave this spot, induce a squirming, suffocating sense of claustrophobia, which may be part of Mr. von Trier's point. In his pitiless view, everyone lives in a fundamental state of isolation, but no one is ever alone. The illusion of intimacy is sustained by the shaky close-ups that have become hallmarks of his intrusive, unnerving camera style, but even the most secret moments seem at the same time to occur in full public view. One of the film's grimmest scenes, the first of several rapes, takes place in one of the houses, and the camera pulls back through the invisible walls to the streets of the town, where the other Dogvilleans are going about their desultory business. Their obliviousness to what is taking place in the children's bedroom over at Vera and Chuck's house seems like a malign and active refusal to acknowledge it, a symbol of the repressive, willed innocence that is among the town's many sins The people of Dogville are proud, hypocritical and never more dangerous than when they are convinced of the righteousness of their actions. Grace, as it happens, may not be much better. Who are these people? What is this place? The formal audacity of "Dogville" is hard to separate from the provocations of its story and setting. Mr. von Trier, who has never seen the United States, nonetheless seems to suggest that he can see through it � through us. It is hardly surprising that some Americans have taken this personally, and responded to this brutal allegory in a defensive tone. Last spring in Cannes, where geopolitical tensions between Europe and the United States hung in the air like a bad smell, Mr. von Trier courted accusations of anti-Americanism � which, unlike awards, were numerous. Todd McCarthy, the chief film critic for Variety, wrote that "the identification with Dogville and the United States is total and unambiguous." He concluded that "through his contrived tale of one mistreated woman, who is devious herself, von Trier indicts as being unfit to inhabit the earth a country that has surely attracted, and given opportunity to, more people onto its shores than any other in the his ory of the world." Mr. von Trier does his part to further this reading. The film's violent denouement is followed by a sudden, gear-grinding shift from allegory to documentary, as the screen fills with photographs of destitute and miserable Americans, starting with Dorothea Lange's dust bowl families and running through the present. The pictures, accompanied by David Bowie's jaunty "Young Americans," seem to taunt us with a reality we would prefer to ignore, and to scold us for believing, like those benighted Dogvilleans, in our own unshakable goodness. Or something like that. The coda is so heavy-handed it's hard to take it seriously at all. "Of course, it's cheating a bit to put these pictures up, you might say," Mr. von Trier conceded. "But I can't deny that I am by heart a socialist, and therefore the American system as I see it would make a situation like this more probable, maybe push people more quickly to the wrong side. My primitive view is that if a system is partly built on the idea that you are the maker of your own happiness, then of course poor people are miserable in the sense that they failed completely. Whereas in other countries, you might look at that more as a failure of the society." To take "Dogville" primarily as the vehicle for this view, however, is to make it a much less interesting movie than it is. You might as well say that "Dancer in the Dark," which has a bizarre plot involving blindness � and which ends very badly, indeed � is a treatise against privatized health care and capital punishment, aspects of modern American society most likely to appall the citizens of Western European social democracies. Expanding the possible interpretation of "Dogville" (if not his view of human nature), Mr. Von Trier offered, "I think the point to the film is that evil can arise anywhere, as long as the situation is right." It is the pervasiveness of that evil � the thoroughness of the film's pessimism � that may seem most alien of all to doggedly optimistic American sensibilities. "Dogville" belongs in the company of other European dreams about America � Kafka's "Amerika," of course, but also Bertolt Brecht's plays set among the gangsters of Chicago and films like Wim Wenders's "Paris, Texas" and Michelangelo Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point." To call these various works dreams is to caution against taking them too literally, and also to suggest that they may be most interesting for what they reveal about the dreamers. In spite of being led by James Caan, who once played Sonny Corleone, the black-hatted thugs who roll into Dogville have more in common with Brecht's gangsters, who were Nazis in disguise, than with our own tradition of sentimental, mama's-boy mobsters from "The Public Enemy" to "The Sopranos." And the citizens of Dogville, for all their exaggerated frontier folksiness, seem to have been projected from the anxious unconscious of Europe. They are rooted to the spot, immobilized by habit and prejudice, incapable of flight or self-invention, and the social pathology to which t ey � and Grace � fall prey looks more like fascism than like our homegrown forms of viciousness and intolerance. "Manderlay," the middle film in Mr. von Trier's American trilogy, will tackle a more identifiably American problem � racism and the legacy of slavery � and it will be interesting to see what European demons haunt its spartan stage. It is also interesting to note that, now that Ms. Kidman has moved on, the part of Grace will be played by Bryce Howard, a young actress who, as Mr. von Trier perhaps coyly put it, "turned out to be the daughter of an American director, Ron Howard." And while it may be going too far to suggest a link between Dogville and Mayberry � or, for that matter, between Dogville and Whoville � Mr. von Trier's austere art film may be closer to the mess and ruckus of American popular culture than he knows, and not only because of his fondness for populating his allegorical landscapes with movie stars. Part of being American is participating in an endless argument about what America means, an argument to which "Dogville" adds an unignorable, if curiously accented, voice. And Dogville may be closer than we think. Shortly after a recent screening of the film, I turned on the television and stumbled on another small town in Colorado, rendered in a self-consciously minimalist style, where American piety is subjected to systematic and brutal deconstruction. Sometimes travel to a strange place gives you a new perspective on home, and a new appreciation for it. After Dogville, South Park will never look quite the same.

"the nonexistent dog whose nonetheless audible bark signals the arrival of a stranger" "Moses". LOL. I didn't know he was non-existent. " The coda is so heavy-handed it's hard to take it seriously at all" I'm telling ya' the audience laughed. A museum audience....not the cineplex crowd. [LvT]"But I can't deny that I am by heart a socialist" Now...how could anybody guess that... "And the citizens of Dogville, for all their exaggerated frontier folksiness, seem to have been projected from the anxious unconscious of Europe. They are rooted to the spot,immobilized by habit and prejudice, incapable of flight or self-invention,..." *snort* (I didn't say that , boss...AO Scott did.) Oh , but that we could all be as flawless as Danes;-)

LOL! Knew you'd get a kick out of it. I liked the title of the piece and his justification for setting the trilogy here, without ever having been here. VT sets his Americana movies in places that aren't as accessible to foreigners. One can easily portray a NY or an LA, but a small town in the NW (Dancer in the Dark) or wherever Dogville is supposed to be. No, ain't going to happen. But let's not forget not to lump all Danes in the same boat, eh, Annette? ;-)

(karen) But let's not forget not to lump all Danes in the same boat, eh, Annette? ;-) Of course. Present company is always excluded. I mean't to put ;-/ ..meaning LvT. If #2 is on Racism and Slavery, wanna bet # 3 is on Capital Punishment? #1 put us all in the "Sopranos" category...with uzuzzi's(?) in every home. BTW the last episode of The Sopranos had some magnificent accent . The final scene between Tony and Uncle Junior was stunning. So how come no one has commented on "The Last King" Loooong...esp the first half. Second half moved along.

I thank you, Karen :-) Lars Von Trier is not what some of us would call a typical Dane. I for one, am not a big fan of most of his movies.

(Annette)I for one, am not a big fan of most of his I liked Dancer in the Dark (bleak) and Breaking the Waves (painful to watch). Hmmmm, maybe liked isn't the right word. Admired ? He seems to portray his women characters as victims of humanity.

You're welcome, Annette. Am very sensitive, sympathetic and nice person. ;-))))) (Evelyn) So how come no one has commented on "The Last King" I thought it was great, especially if you took it in two sittings. Rufus was excellent, though nobody aged at all. Quite a different portrayal of Charles from the movie Restoration and others. Other than his desire to be an absolute monarch (a natural inclination, of course), he came off extremely well: very wise and astute and a responsible king. Is this revisionism at its best?

Saw the new Coen Bros. movie The Ladykillers last night. I liked it for the most part with some reservations. *Loved* the woman in it, Irma P. Hall. I liked it a heck of a lot better than Intolerable Cruelty. I had such high expectations for that one and it fell flat for me. One of the big things that really bothered me in this is the overuse, really, of cursing by Marlon Wayans character. An occasional, f-word or m-f or bitch is ok, but when it's used very frequently, it's a bit ridiculous. He was supposed to be a lower class and of the street, but still.... I just now noticed this is R, which is really unnecessary if they didn't have all the cursing. Also, the designated stupid, dunce-like guy was a bit too so for me. I wondered how he could get dressed in the morning. Now the music!....Loved the gospel music. That T. Bone Burnett is sharp in picking out the soundtrack and score. Love his wife's (Sam Philips) music, too, though it's not in this movie. I've read the opinions that the original of this movie is excellent. I'll have to check it out sometime.

Boy, talk about counterprogramming.... Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' Set for Re-Release Tue Mar 23, 9:03 PM ET By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Coming back soon to a theater near you -- a controversial film about a Jewish guy from Nazareth who is worshiped as the Messiah and crucified by the Romans. No, it's not Mel Gibson (news)'s "The Passion of the Christ." It's Monty Python's "Life of Brian." Inspired by the runaway success -- and public furor -- over Gibson's portrayal of the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus, the creators behind the 1979 biblical satire about an anti-Roman activist who spends his life being mistaken for a prophet are planning a 25th anniversary re-release next month. "Life of Brian" will open at the end of April in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to other cities across the country, Rainbow Film Company president Henry Jaglom (news), whose distribution arm is reissuing the film, said on Tuesday. Jaglom, a writer-director whose partner, John Goldstone, produced the original film, said trailers for the comedy would appear in theaters starting on Good Friday. "We decided this is an important time to re-release this film, to provide some counter-programing to 'The Passion,"' Jaglom told Reuters. "I intend it, hopefully, to serve as an antidote to all the hysteria about Mel's movie." He said marketing for the re-release would play off Gibson's film by adapting such taglines as "Mel or Monty" and "The Passion or the Python" -- "we want to give people a choice." The members of the Monty Python comedy troupe -- John Cleese (news), Terry Gilliam (news), Michael Palin (news), Terry Jones (news) and the late Graham Chapman (news) (who played Brian) -- all shared writing credits on the film and won back theatrical rights to it several years ago. Jaglom said the surviving members "all agreed this was a good time" to re-release the film and would help promote it. Owing to a heavy turnout by Christian moviegoers and weeks of intense media attention, Gibson's film opened to blockbuster success on Feb. 25 -- Ash Wednesday. "The Passion" has gone on to generate nearly $300 million in North American ticket sales alone, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. "Life of Brian," stirred an uproar all its own 25 years ago, with some Christians condemning the film as blasphemous. The film only got made when former Beatle George Harrison (news) stepped in to finance the picture after EMI Films withdrew from the project, fearing that it was too controversial. The movie focused on the fictional Brian of Nazareth, a Jew who is born in the manger next-door to Jesus and grows up to join an anti-Roman separatist group called the Judean People's Front but ends up being mistaken for the Messiah. The film's creators have said it was meant as a spoof on Bible films and intolerance rather than Christianity. But that distinction was lost on some who were offended by the irreverent flavor of the film, including a scene in which several crucifixion victims sing and whistle the tune "Look On the Bright Side of Life" while hanging on crosses.

(Dorine) One of the big things that really bothered me in this is the overuse, really, of cursing by Marlon Wayans character. An occasional, f-word or m-f or bitch is ok, but when it's used very frequently, it's a bit ridiculous. So, you must not like Kevin Smith's films, right? Speaking of language, anybody watch Deadwood on HBO? The language floored me too. Not only the frequency, but the anachronistic nature of it and other details. It was like the Sopranos in the wild wild west. I'm sure the language used was coarse, but it just seemed like the wrong words for that place and time. Every other word was the F word or the compound C-S word. Maybe it's my formative years, growing up watching sanitized westerns on TV. Who knows, but I don't recall any of the other dark and more realistic filmed westerns bothering me this way. More anachronisms! I started writing them down, as I watched. Besides, the curse words, one guy talked about someone being a "motivated seller." I guess he must've worked for Century 21 or ReMax back in the big city. ;-) Another said he had performed his "due diligence." Then the cost of items was so out of whack for that time period. Someone was selling prospector's equipment off the back of his wagon and shovels were like $8. Two guys were bidding for another's claim and it went to like $20,000. Are they kidding? This is the time when a guy paid $1 for night's room and board and two bits for a poke. ;-) Someone did not do their homework.

(Karen)Am very sensitive, sympathetic and nice person. ;-))))) Pssst...you forgot "humble":-/ BTW boss, Big Group Hug for alerting DD's to Drool outage. *kiss* *kiss*

Marlon Wayans was on the Today Show this morning. Katie said she was going to wash his mouth out with soap and told him it's your fault I couldn't bring my daughters to this one.:-) Dorine, you didn't mention Tom Hanks. He seems really funny in the commercials; that accent and those teeth crack me up. He was on the Daily Show yesterday promoting this; Jon Stewart is really getting the big names. I plan to see it; the Coens and Tom Hanks--I'm there. Re: The Last King. I did it all in one sitting, though fell asleep on the last half hour; will have to catch up on the re-run. I liked it well enough; it held my attention for 4 hours, so that's saying a lot. Rufus Sewell did a good job, I thought. One thing that struck me was his visits among the common folk during the Plague and then the great fire. I'm not saying that a king wouldn't do this--but royalty of that time has never been portrayed on film as being overly compassionate, that I can recall. The outside sets were very cheesy.

From THR, now, this is a creative solution: ShoWest: Fithian presses tolerance of NC-17 By Gail Schiller LAS VEGAS -- Arguing that theater owners can show NC-17 films and that studios can successfully advertise them, National Association of Theatre Owners president John Fithian on Tuesday urged Hollywood to release more NC-17 fare in an effort to make the controversial rating more viable. Speaking at the opening ceremony of ShoWest, Fithian also said that Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and the controversy over the film that played out in movie theaters nationwide proved that when filmmakers have something to say, they still choose to do it first in theaters. Fithian said he was delighted to see at least three studios releasing NC-17 films this year: Fox Searchlight's "The Dreamers," Lions Gate's "High Tension" and Sony Pictures Classics' "Young Adam." "Every rating in the system has a function, and the viability of the whole system depends on the appropriate use of every single rating," said Fithian, who noted that Fox Searchlight discovered with its February release of Bernardo Bertolucci's "Dreamers" that "the myths about why the NC-17 (rating) won't work are simply that--myths." "First of all, theater owners will play NC-17s. On a case-by-case basis, (with) good pictures that fit the audience in their marketplaces, they will use that rating. Secondly, there's a myth you can't get NC-17s advertised," said Fithian, adding that Fox Searchlight debunked that notion by advertising the film in virtually all the markets it had targeted. An NC-17 rating--no one 17 or younger admitted--has long been considered a stigma on theatrical releases that damages boxoffice and video sales as well as advertising. "Dreamers" was the first film released by an MPAA signatory company with an NC-17 rating in six years. Addressing an audience of theater owners, Fithian invoked the success of Gibson's "Passion" as proof of the ongoing viability on their business despite the onslaught of new home theater technologies. [yadda yadda, other comments about the changes, trends, and challenges affecting theater owners.]

(Dorine) One of the big things that really bothered me in this is the overuse, really, of cursing by Marlon Wayans character. An occasional, f-word or m-f or bitch is ok, but when it's used very frequently, it's a bit ridiculous. (Karen) So, you must not like Kevin Smith's films, right? Not sure if there was supposed to be a winkie there or not ;-).... Irregardless, I'm a huge fan of KS. Dogma one of my all time favorites. Saw him at a Q&A last year and literally every sentence he said had the f-word at least once. But I will say, despite that, he was *very* f-ng funny. ;-) In the context of his movies, I expect that language. In the Ladykillers, it seemed so out of place because, except for when he taunted one of the other guys into cursing a bit, too, Gawain (Marlon Wayans) was over the top compared to the rest. It was just too big a counterpoint to the Prof (Tom Hanks), who was the genteel Southern gentleman. I liked Tom Hanks for the most part, but at times it seemed he was trying too hard to me. He was a great with the old woman though. And that laugh of his was pretty amusing, too. Because of the Deep South characterization aspect, my mind kept coming back to George Clooney in O'Brother Where Art Thou...thinking how incredible I thought his performance was and I didn't think it was quite as good. Nor did I think it was close to Forrest Gump as the ads keep touting. And a movie in my top 10, probably Top 5, with over the top violence and language....Pulp Fiction. Brilliant film.

(Dorine) And a movie in my top 10, probably Top 5, with over the top violence and language....Pulp Fiction. Brilliant film. My Top 5 too... Also like Reservior Dogs and Trainspotting (load me up with bad language and/or violence). Clerks (badly acted, but the dialogue is hilarious) and Dogma are favorites as well. Really like Kevin Smith a lot (for a good laugh, I recommend his website. Click on the cartoon and take the Office Tour, otherwise you get stuck looking at the merchandise...but if you want a Buddy Jesus, this is the place to go) http://www.viewaskew.com/

Kevin Smith should write and not direct, but have always liked his movies from Clerks through Mallrats through Chasing Amy and Dogma. Never saw Jay & Silent Bob and doubt will see Jersey Girl. Love his Roadside Atrractions shorts on Leno's show. However, I am having a change of heart about him, as a result of reading Biskind's book. As for Tarantino, not a real fan. Pulp Fiction was fine, but his schtick is not my schtick. All style (does it look cool?) and no substance.

(Mari)I liked it well enough; it held my attention for 4 hours, so that's saying a lot Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorites, Martin Freeman, from LA and The Office. I think, though, I'm more partial to him in comedy. Shirley Henderson's voice began to get on my nerves. I was expecting Harry Potter and gang to surface;-) Favorite line, from Charles when she arrives to marry him..."They've brought me a bat." The hair, Louisa;-) P&P moment-Charles watching Catherine from the upstairs window as she frolics with the dog. I know there was another one, but I can't remember at the moment-will have to catch it on my VHS.

(Annette), Lars Von Trier is not what some of us would call a typical Dane. That's not a bad thing, is it? ;-) I'm a fan of the DOGMA movement and consider "Dancer in the Dark" a masterpiece. (Karen), As for Tarantino, not a real fan. but his schtick is not my schtick. All style (does it look cool?) and no substance. I agree! I think Pulp Fiction is overrated, much preferred Resevoir Dogs, although, it is not my schtick. (Mari)I liked it well enough; it held my attention for 4 hours, so that's saying a lot I agree! Was surprised he did not annul his marriage and was very surprised that he converted to Catholism on his death bed. It must be said that he tried to work with Parliament before they began to blackmail him for his power. He did the right thing to claim absolute power, but following tradition and standing by the Duke of York as his succesor did him in. Just think, even back then the mob was calling to an end of tradition. :-(

I thought the first half of The Last King dragged for me, but picked up once the story left the bedroom;-) Thought Rupert Graves was terrific....'cept for the blond wig. Didn't you like 'em both with heads shaved:-))) I hope Diana Rigg takes over from Judi Dench roles. Poor Charles, had a barren wife who didn't speak English, the London fire and the plague... Got awfully tired of the religion stuff, but I guess it was important in those days LOL. I guess here too til JFK. (Tress)Also like Reservior Dogs and Trainspotting (load me up with bad language and/or violence). Lars VT would love you;-) I don't like anything about or by Tarantino.

(Moon) Was surprised he did not annul his marriage and was very surprised that he converted to Catholism on his death bed. Ya gotta wonder what went on in those days for a mere fever to result in women never being able to conceive again. Seems like it always happens in the movies. ;-) Not annuling the marriage and finding some nice Protestant lady was probably his worst judgmental error. He knew what having his openly Catholic brother as his successor meant and it flies at odds with everything else he did to heal a nation that had experienced such upheaval. That he converted on his deathbed didn't surprise me. Loved the scene at the end when he got all regally dolled up in order to dissolve Parliament. Strangely enough, I found I knew the words. ("Gentlemen, you may go home.") Must have read them somewhere some time ago. ;-) (Linda) Favorite line, from Charles when she arrives to marry him..."They've brought me a bat." The hair, Louisa;-) That was precious! (Evelyn) Got awfully tired of the religion stuff, but I guess it was important in those days Can you say understatement? ;-) But it was far more than Kennedy-era fears of Papal influence. The history of Europe was the history of the Catholic Church. Until the rise of the modern nation state, religion was key to understanding the geopolitics of Europe.

I had noticed after checking this on the TEOR topic . . A contest from Working Title -win a free Love Actually DVD (I'm assuming the contest is still on since it's still on the site:) http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/nusite.php

Last night I did a complete, full backup of all the websites, including firth, spring and austen, and am currently in the midst of backing up the bbs. I will be testing and doing backups all day today. I am also researching the need to "spare" parts in the event of a motherboard failure on our server. Recent experience has shown us that it would take 3-4 days to order and get a spare motherboard shipped to our colocation facility. I'd like to raise the funds to get a spare motherboard on hand and replace the crashed hard drive that is continuing to cause problems on our system.

Last night's Keen Eddie featured the same kid in "About a Boy" who hooked up with HG. Same role too. Cute show. I like the fact that they don't take themselves seriously. Some of these shows think they are larger than life. (Terry)Recent experience has shown us that it would take 3-4 days to order and get a spare motherboard shipped to our colocation facility. *Overnight* Express ?

Please post your messages elsewhere on Spring for the other conferences. Drool has done its thing. Also, this isn't the place anyway. (Evelyn) Last night's Keen Eddie featured the same kid in "About a Boy" who hooked up with HG. When I was flipping channels, I noticed he looked familiar then placed him. Gotten v. tall, hasn't he? Will watch the taped KE today. ;-)

(Mark) I agree there's no UK comparison to SNL, certainly not in terms of longevity. Our sketch shows tend to go for a maximum of about 4 years That is always been the crux of the issue: longevity. In the US, if a program is successful, it goes on as long as possible, plus a full TV season requires 26 episodes. In the UK, only half that amount are made, which accounts for why the programs are not picked up by US networks. Also, the longevity of our programs makes them iconic. Programs that have been on for 10 years or longer tend to be like that. ;-) But so many successful UK programs only do a few years. Last night, Ricky Gervais was on Letterman and talked about how they've stopped doing The Office. It's only had three seasons. That wouldn't happen here to a popular, award-winning program. That Was The Week That Was (known by devotees as TW3), Monty Python, The Two Ronnies, Three of a Kind, Not The Nine O'Clock News, A Kick up the Eighties, Smack The Pony, The Fast Show. Many of these have shown here (pre-BBC America) on PBS or Bravo. Ernie Kovacs: name rings a vague bell, but I couldn't identify him. Before you were born, I'm sure. My dad's fave....the Nairobi Trio. "da da da, da da da da, da da da da, da da da da. boom."

She's going to be everywhere it seems... Suvari Takes Own Chair in 'Beauty Shop' Thu Mar 25, 1:20 AM ET By Liza Foreman LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - From "American Beauty" to "Beauty Shop" ... Mena Suvari (news) is joining the cast of Queen Latifah's "Barbershop" spinoff, which is set to begin shooting next month. The MGM project revolves around a beauty shop run by Gina (Queen Latifah) where there's more interest in the talk than the haircuts. Alicia Silverstone (news) plays the sole white staffer, while Djimon Hounsou (news) plays the leading man. Suvari will play Joanne, an upper-crust opinionated socialite. Bille Woodruff ("Honey") will direct. Suvari was most recently in theaters with the 2002 movie "Spun." Upcoming releases include "Trauma," "Closing the Ring," "Living and Breathing" and "Standing Still." Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

I think I've developed a "heterosexual woman crush" on Kate Winslet after last night. Allow me to explain.... At film class last night and was looking around the theater for the Professor, just as it was supposed to start, to see if he was around and getting ready to start. I look up to the diagonal, top corner from me and see who I thought was Sam Mendes standing there. It was a bit away, so it was hard for me to tell for absolute certain. I was trying to rack my brain to figure out if he had a movie coming out that I'd forgotten about and maybe missed him talking about on Charlie Rose a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't think of anything, but became more certain as I looked at him and was excited as I figured he was the guest. So the Prof gets up to do his usual spiel about whatever subject would relate to the movie we would see (he never tells us what the movie is until after his spiel). 45 mins later, he mentions Eternal Sunshine...and that he had said that night we saw it, he planned to have a star from it at a later date. That's when I realized it was Kate Winslet! I had seen him come in with 2 women, but couldn't make out either one as they were starting to bring the house lights down. She is probably one of the *least* affected and most charming and endearing A-listers I've ever seen (George Clooney is another off the top of my head....and do we count ODB as A-list now that he's done SNL? *note no winkie*). She's a gabber, too! I saw her on Actor's Studio a couple of weeks ago and remember finding her very charming then too, but can't remember how she was overall, though the part about Harvey Keitel's death scene was a riot. There's quite a bit I can't really mention on a public board as it was some more personal stuff for her...about her family in England, herself and family with SM, and other rather personal stuff I was surprised he got into. Seems the director on Eternal Sunshine was very open to having them collaborate on setting up and running scenes, very improvisational at times. Says she takes tons of notes on scripts and has little post-it notes all over her scripts. Gets worried when she doesn't see it in others, but was relieved when Jim Carrey had *tons*. To help her get her back to or just to the proper emotional plane of a particular scene, she'll write on the blank side of the page opposite the scene she's shooting that day what was the last thing that was happening so she can match it and not have to flip back and forth in the script. With this script, since the scenes were so jumbled around and flicking back and forth, she needed it especially with this film to keep her own continuity. Said if she looks stiff or scared in the scene that they took the ad picture for, it's because they were on a frozen lake at 3am shooting and because of the heaters and weight of all the equipment, a big crack occurred under her and went right by her head. They all laughed at her, because they knew it wouldn't be a big deal since the ice was so thick, but she was just trying to get through it quickly. I could tell the teacher was so enamored of her too, because the interview ran for over an hour and a half when they are usually only 45 mins, occasionally an hour. It ran *so* long, we didn't have time for a film! He wouldn't even tell us what it was supposed to be, but said it was kinda long. :-( I was exhausted so I was glad he didn't show one. It would have to have been one special movie for me to stay the whole time. They also talked about the Oscars, the red carpet (the local lane for somebodies, and express lane for nobodies, LOL!). She mentioned how annoyed she was at Billy Bush this year inside the theater...said she was mortified for poor Johnny Depp and Keisha Castle-Hughes for being put on the spot like that, as usually it's a relief for all of them to get into the theater as it's been generally off limits to press like that. Gives them time to relax, such as it were, and compose themselves before it starts. The teacher told a v. funny story about when he went to the Oscars one year as guests of someone there....he was walking up the red carpet and Joan Rivers spotted him and wanted him to come over. They had met at a dinner party sometime prior to that, sat next to each other and spoken briefly. Unfortunately, Joan realized too late that even though she knew him, he was a "nobody". At that point she had to run with it and asked him who he was wearing. He pointed to his jacket and said "Today's Man," and to his pants and said "Loehmann's" (a Brooklyn shopping institution of more downscale clothing). The whole room was ROTF! She talked about the post-Oscar parties as not really parties, but press manipulations for whoever is putting them on...Vanity Fair, In-Style, etc. At the end, she was given a plaque of appreciation, and while we're clapping, she was spoofing crying and thanking her family, dog, etc. Kind of a joke on what she'd been talking about earlier about getting 3 noms and no wins. She also said playing Clementine affected her quite a bit. Also, said she loved her clothes, she was just rummaging throught the storage bins where the costumes are kept to get Clementine's wardrobe. She thought she should start dressing more fun like her, rather than for function as she's used to doing (pointing out the coat she had on as an example of trying to be more fun. Just a long cream colored coat with thin strands of mutlicolored stitching.Like a very large, loose plaid maybe. Hard to describe. It was a nice coat.) She said discovered it's fun to dress for fun. She also talked about having to get used to paparazzi, though it's not so bad now, as they must think she's just a boring mom and family person. That's about it, at least for now.

Thanks, Dorine! Have alwsys liked her too. I've always felt she should have been Bridget Jones, and I still do! She said discovered it's fun to dress for fun. I always thought that to be "The" British way for fashion. What a great class! So what film was to be shown? (Karen), Last night, Ricky Gervais was on Letterman and talked about how they've stopped doing The Office. It's only had three seasons. Never got into that show. I can not understand why it's so successul.

(Moon) So what film was to be shown? (Me) He wouldn't even tell us what it was supposed to be, but said it was kinda long. :-( I was exhausted so I was glad he didn't show one. It would have to have been one special movie for me to stay the whole time.

(Dorine)I think I've developed a "heterosexual woman crush" on Kate Winslet I can see why, have you told her yet? She sounds like a charming, very down to earth person. (Evelyn) Last night's Keen Eddie featured the same kid in "About a Boy" Saw that, too. I thought the other kid was cute, too--Fiona's co-worker's brother. Another new episode next week. I wonder if they'll do anymore?

Dorine, thanks for the Kate news! Since I can't be a Metro Gal I have to live vicariously through your posts. Sounds like a great evening and that she was very 'up front' in her answers. Always great to hear stories like that about celebs. (Evelyn) Cute show. I like the fact that they don't take themselves seriously. Last Saturday, a cable guy came to my door and I have not been the same since. I now have digitial and have more channels than I know what to do with....but I saw my first episode of Keen Eddie last night (missing Nip/Tuck as I totally spaced it, so now must consider TiVo to catch both). Anyway, loved it. Loved the AAB boy (who is growing! His voice is deeper and he's tall and his face is thinning out!) and the dog that likes crisps and Eddie. What a riot. Great show and I'm looking forward to next week, a 'fight club' episode.

(Tress) missing Nip/Tuck as I totally spaced it Oh, crap!! Are they rerunning those and I'm missing them? Needed to tape them for someone. Can't wait til June for the new ones.

(Dorine) Oh, crap!! Are they rerunning those and I'm missing them? Yup! And I missed a few episodes and dont' know which one they showed last night. But.....they are showing the pilot on Sunday (28th) at 11:00 p.m. my time (Pacific). I'd check you listings, you should be okay with taping. Looks like Sundays and Wednesday nights (so I'm assuming I missed the pilot last night and they rebroadcast on Sundays).

Thanks, Dorine. Charming account of KW at your class. So what was Sam doing while his wife was in the spotlight? Did he hang around at the back of the room? She mentioned how annoyed she was at Billy Bush this year inside the theater...said she was mortified for poor Johnny Depp and Keisha Castle-Hughes for being put on the spot like that I've read other criticisms of that as well as when he sat down between Nicole and RZ. "Loehmann's" (a Brooklyn shopping institution of more downscale clothing). Downscale? How about last season's designerwear? Re: Nip/Tuck I wanted to watch the rebroadcast of the pilot (or at least tape it), but there were too many conflicts. Sunday, you say? Maybe, I'll catch it then. I once watched part of an episode and wasn't enthralled. Will give it another go.

From Variety: Focus widens lens with Rogue David Rooney, STAFF Focus Features, looking to expand into mainstream commercial territory, has created Rogue Pictures, a label devoted to upscale action, thriller and urban fare with franchise potential. [Ed note: isn't this what parent company--Universal--does?] Focus co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus announced Rogue at ShoWest on Wednesday, giving the 2-year-old Universal specialty unit additional muscle to compete with more established players like Miramax and New Line. Unlike Miramax sister unit Dimension Films, however, Rogue will be run by the same executive team as Focus, rather than by a dedicated staff. Rogue releases will be overseen by Focus distribution prexy Jack Foley, who honed his genre skills on the "Scream" series while at Miramax. While the first-year lineup includes three or four pics, Focus has not set an annual quota of titles for the division. Like the Focus slate, Rogue's output will tilt more heavily toward features developed inhouse than acquisitions. The genre arm will debut with the wide Halloween-weekend release of horror sequel "Seed of Chucky," now in production with series creator Don Mancini writing and directing. The fifth deadly doll installment stars Jennifer Tilly, Redman, Hannah Spearritt, John Waters and the voices of Billy Boyd and Brad Dourif. The first domestic acquisition for Rogue is an untitled Jet Li starrer produced by Luc Besson's Europa Corp., currently in post. Directed by Louis Leterrier, the action drama about a violent killing machine who attempts to break from the mob also stars Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. Focus parent Universal will release the pic in the U.K., Germany, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa through UIP. Also on the inaugural Rogue slate is director Jean-Francois Richet's remake of John Carpenter's 1976 "Assault on Precinct 13," which starts shooting April 5. Rapper Busta Rhymes has joined the cast, which includes Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, Drea de Matteo, Gabriel Byrne and Brian Dennehy. "In the same way we've carved out our niche as Focus in the last two years, Rogue will stick very much to our basic model," Schamus told Daily Variety. "On the same day we hear that the average MPAA studio release costs over $100 million, we realize there is a real place in the market right now for sanely budgeted and marketed, audience-specific movies that aren't necessarily arthouse. We've given it long, hard thought." "We still perceive it as a specialized business, but what Rogue represents is an organic growth of that kind of business," he continued. "We don't have to assume in our plans that any of these films will be wild successes, but what we can assume is that every release will get the chance to be so." Talent focus Despite the emphasis on more commercial genre fare and far wider, more aggressively upfront releases than the distrib's standard platform approach, Rogue will retain the key Focus mandate of seeking material- and filmmaker-driven projects that utilize established and breakout talent. "The same rules still apply, which is that the one kind of movie we'll never make is the movie for everybody," Schamus explained. "We realize that there is added value to building a brand and in not confusing what people have come to associate with the Focus name to date, but instead trying to re-create the same kind of pedigree with this other part of the movie landscape." As part of the branding of the nascent division, Focus will set up strategic corporate alliances, Internet marketing and outreach to genre and niche media. Worldwide rights to the majority of Rogue titles will be held by Focus Intl. Focus, in addition to spawning a string of specialty hits and awards honorees--including "The Pianist," "Far From Heaven," "Lost in Translation," "21 Grams" and the current "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"--has developed a thriving international business that lends stability to the domestic operation. Hatched out of Good Machine Intl., Focus Intl. has shepherded $100 million-grossing hits from titles like "Lost in Translation" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero." This year, the division has international rights to Pedro Almodovar's Cannes opener "Bad Education" and Zhang's "House of Flying Daggers," which also is among titles under discussion for the French fest. Balance sought "Domestic and international both function as anchors for each other," Schamus said. "When you make the kind of movies we make, they have to work internationally--look at '21 Grams.' When you take the kind of aesthetic risks we take in the normal course of business, you must be able to leverage those against what you know is a more available international marketplace." The introduction of Rogue means that titles previously sold off, like last year's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake--which went to New Line during the transition from Good Machine to Focus--now will remain inhouse earners. Focus' expanded configuration inevitably draws comparison with the Miramax of some years back, before it ventured more forcefully into studio-style fare. However, Focus now arguably has less overlap with its parent company in the style of films it is producing than Miramax has with Disney. Up to now, Focus has had less association with foreign-language pickups than some of its competitors. But the unit indicated a commitment to that area with its high-priced domestic acquisition at Sundance of Walter Salles' young-Che Guevara pic "The Motorcycle Diaries" (headed for a competition berth at Cannes), which could be one of the major foreign-language crossover titles of the year. Rogue projects in active development include "The Horsemen," a murder mystery written by David Callaham to be produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes with Ted Field's Radar Pictures; an update of 1979 ghost tale "The Changeling," adapted by Dave Kajanuk, to be produced by Joel Michaels and exec produced by Amanda Klein and former Focus head of production Glenn Williamson; and "Revolver," a thriller penned by Adam Sussman to be produced by Ray Gun's Aaron Ryder. While no deals are in place with regular suppliers, Schamus points to projects in the pipeline with partners like Bay, Besson and "Chucky" producer David Kirschner as the kind of relationships Rogue will nurture.

Like the Focus slate, Rogue's output will tilt more heavily toward features developed inhouse than acquisitions. Up to that point, I was holding out hope for Trauma;-( Thanks, Karen

Except for the fact that everything shown on the slate were "acquisitions." Another irreconcilable bit to this article.

(Karen) So what was Sam doing while his wife was in the spotlight? Did he hang around at the back of the room? He was sitting in the seats where I saw him heading to initially. She would glance up that way periodically when mentioning him by name or allude to him. He was not pointed out though....her night. And judging by comments I heard around me, esp by the guy I mentioned my initial sighting to, people didn't know they were married, or together at all probably. Thanks for the Focus interview. (Me) She mentioned how annoyed she was at Billy Bush this year inside the theater...said she was mortified for poor Johnny Depp and Keisha Castle-Hughes for being put on the spot like that (Karen) I've read other criticisms of that as well as when he sat down between Nicole and RZ. The one that ticked me off is when he leaned his whole body over Alec Baldwin to get to Sandra Bullock, so that AB had to lean forward. I would've been livid if I were AB to have to lean over like that for so long. Too rude. Re: Nip/Tuck I wanted to watch the rebroadcast of the pilot (or at least tape it), but there were too many conflicts. Sunday, you say? Maybe, I'll catch it then. I once watched part of an episode and wasn't enthralled. Will give it another go. Oh, yes, stick with it! I saw maybe the second or third episode first and didn't catch up to the pilot til later. Am glad it worked out that way as I made a mental note in the middle of the pilot that I may not have stuck with it had I seen that one first. I thought it kept getting better, or at least increasingly compelling and fun as the season went on and you got to know them better.

(Linda)...Fiona's co-worker's brother. Oh the Bar Mitzvah kid...hilarious. So tongue in cheek..I loved it. And what about the look on the kid's face when he noticed the sparring between Fiona and Eddie...he's figured it out. (Dorine)Loehmann's" (a Brooklyn shopping institution of more downscale clothing). LOL. That hurt, Dorine;-( Once on Fifth, they are over on 17th &7th, I think. Got all my prom dresses there a million years ago. (Dorine)She would glance up that way periodically when mentioning him by name or allude to him. When James Lipton asked her "What turns you on". Kate W. said:"My Husband". She sounds like someone who would be fun to be around. Doesn't take herself seriously. Thanks for this, Dorine.

(Evelyn)And what about the look on the kid's face when he noticed the sparring between Fiona and Eddie...he's figured it out. I like how he tried to become Eddie-poor Fiona, she had two of them. I do love the sparring-they're both great at it.

(Linda) poor Fiona Okay, being new to KE, is she always painting her toes? Also love Dozer's (isn't that the dog's name?) affection for Fiona's fur coat. LOL! "I think they've been to third base!" And the Scotland Yard detective (Eddie's partner)...I've seen him in other things and it's been killin' me. I guess I should just "google" him. Might take the mystery out of it.

(Tress)And the Scotland Yard detective (Eddie's partner)...I've seen him in other things and it's been killin' me That's Julian Rhind Tutt. I recognized him from Laura Croft and MT's Reckless, and Tomorrow Never Dies. http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-95650 (Tress)Okay, being new to KE, is she always painting her toes? LOL, yes, but she's good at other things, too.

(Tress)Okay, being new to KE, is she always painting her toes? (Linda)LOL, yes, but she's good at other things, too. IRL, she's Jude Law's squeeze; cute.

(Tress) I've seen him in other things Think Horse & Hound

FYI, the rabbi was Henry Goodman, one of Evelyn's fav guys. ;-) He was also brought over to be Nathan Lane's replacement in The Producers and it lasted, um, um...

(Dorine)Loehmann's" (a Brooklyn shopping institution of more downscale clothing). (Evelyn) LOL. That hurt, Dorine;-( Once on Fifth, they are over on 17th &7th, I think. I go by the one in Sheepshead Bay fairly frequently, not a bastion of upscale shopping. ;-) The one in Palm Bch Gardens,FL was popular for the sales. I just meant it wasn't Armani, Saks 5th Ave, or Barney's....at least now. By the same token, it's also not Century 21 (the store, not the realtor ;-)), which is along the same idea of TJ Maxx or Marshall's, but not a chain...just 2 to my knowledge (again 1 in Brooklyn). I have to say I have tried desperately to get into Keen Eddie, but failed miserably. :-( (Karen) He was also brought over to be Nathan Lane's replacement in The Producers and it lasted, um, um... Blink and you missed him territory. Thanks for the info 'bout Julian Rhind Tutt, Linda. It was driving me crazy, too, about where I'd seen him. Initial impressions of Dogville... I'm surprised at myself. I was considerably more compelled by it than I thought I would be. That may not be saying much as I wasn't in the mood for it...bad day...and didn't expect to like it much anyway. Found the setup very intriguing including the foley work (sound) with the door sounds (opening/closing) and occasionally the steps on particular types of floor (wood vs. carpet). My film class teacher's pet subject seems to be foley work as he talks about it frequently and went into a long discussion of it last night again. The camera work was initially annoying, but subsequently only intermittently disturbing. What a bunch of shallow, two-faced, hypocritical, mean, selfish people in that town. I was rooting for NK in the end, although she was just as selfish as they were in her own way. I think I found NK a bit too understated for my taste and her character's penchant for basically sacrificing herself and her dignity by not standing up for herself annoyed me. The movie could've been considerably shorter I think if she had defended herself. ;-) I was actually too focused on how great she looked (bothered me more than Cold Mtn). Was lovin' her short hair. Actually the way it was going, I think if the first hour was expanded a bit to under 2 hours, it would've made a decent movie in itself. I liked the music with the chapter titles, which got a bit more amusing near the end. Odd end credits. I really liked James Caan in the end, but what a bizarre conversation.

(Karen) He was also brought over to be Nathan Lane's replacement in The Producers and it lasted, um, um... (Dorine)Blink and you missed him territory. Just in time for me to see him in it (with Steven Webber) and I thought he was good. What a fun production!

closing tag I hope..

now why not?

(Dorine)I think I found NK a bit too understated for my taste and her character's penchant for basically sacrificing herself and her dignity by not standing up for herself annoyed me. The movie could've been considerably shorter I think if she had defended herself. ;-) Oh, but she's goodness personified Several reviewers compared her to a female Christ;dragging the wheel around etc.

(Dorine) her character's penchant for basically sacrificing herself and her dignity by not standing up for herself annoyed me. Sacrificial females seem to be a recurring theme (Breaking the Waves and Dancer).

Ah, I wouldn't have picked up on that as I've never seen those.

I can't comment on whether NK's character is supposed to be Christ-like but, in the other two movies, the sacrifices were made on behalf of specific individuals: husband and son, respectively. These women would do anything and even fought against help from others, at least in Dancer (can't remember if that happened in BTW too).

(Evelyn) Several reviewers compared her to a female Christ;dragging the wheel around etc. So, then would the end be considered The Apocalypse, after she is set free? She did border on providing "absolution" with her own "Resurrection," but then it went the other way.

Ah, I wouldn't have picked up on that as I've never seen those. By all means, rent them, Dorine! Sacrificial females seem to be a recurring theme (Breaking the Waves and Dancer). Karen gets an A+

Note: If you can't stand Drool Fashion Police comments, don't read. ;-) When I first saw pics of Gwynnie from ShowWest, I thought, "oh, what a nice, flattering dress for being nearly due." (see below) Then I caught the shoes! Why?????

The dress was ok....til I saw that elongated front. Would've been cuter as a shorter sundress, I think. Jude needs his pants hemmed, too. Looks like he has a broken ankle.

Think Jude just needs a box to stand on instead of his tiptoes.

This is the group that would've had "first look" at Trauma and passed. Its guiding principle: "Smart movies for grown-ups" ;-) Low-key WIP aims for grown-up moviegoers By Gregg Kilday March 26, 2004 LAS VEGAS -- At ShoWest 2004, hoopla is the name of the game -- much of the week has been devoted to stars, stunts and goody bags. But amidst the carney atmosphere, Warner Independent Pictures, the newest studio-based specialty films unit, opted for a low-key approach as it made its first visit to the theater owners' convention. Setting up shop in a suite on the 34th floor of the Paris hotel, the WIP team -- led by president Mark Gill, exec vp distribution Steven Friedlander and exec vp publicity/marketing Laura Kim -- simply let the films speak for themselves as they previewed upcoming trailers for visiting exhibitors. It's been just over six months since Warner Bros. president Alan Horn and production president Jeff Robinov tapped Gill, a veteran of Miramax Films and the Stratus Film Co., to head the new venture. And WIP already has six films scheduled for release in the second half of this year. Its first offering, "Before Sunset," a sequel to Richard Linklater's 1995 feature "Before Sunrise," reunites the original's Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy nine years after their one-day encounter in Vienna as they meet up again in Paris. WIP plans to open the film in the top 10 markets nationwide July 2, daring to offer it as adult-oriented counterprogramming on the same weekend that "Spider-Man 2" sets down in theaters. Aware that the company's first few releases could serve to establish WIP's brand identity, Gill has a simple formula for WIP's aspirations -- "Smart movies for grown-ups" is how he puts out. The WIP team says their initial meetings with both art house operators and more commercial theater chains suggest that there is a ready market. "Art market people are just famished for more quality films for adults," Gill says. "There is still a shortage. Also, it's a matter of pure demographics. Look at the aging baby boomers: Their taste has matured, and they have far more disposable income than their parents did. The other thing that's so telling, with DVD and video growing so explosively, people have seen more films and they are more film literate. And therefore, their demand for more sophisticated fare grows." Seconds Friedlander: "Many of the circuits now are dedicating two or three screens in their multiplexes solely to art (films). They're calling it by a separate name with a separate booker, different decor, separate concession stands. Anecdotally, it's always been said the adult audience doesn't buy as much popcorn per capita. But they do now tend to be more than a once-a-month audience -- art films have become a 52-week-a-year business." Subsequent months will see WIP roll out "A Home at the End of the World," theater director Michael Mayer's adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about an alternative family starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn and Sissy Spacek; "We Don't Live Here Anymore," John Curran's adaptation of two Andres Dubus II short stories starring Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts; "Criminal," a contemporary caper movie starring John C. Reilly and Diego Luna and directed by Gregory Jacobs; "Around the Bend," a search into a family's past written and directed by Jordan Roberts and starring Michael Caine, Christopher Walken and Glenne Headly; and "A Very Long Engagement," a new film from the "Amelie" team of actress Audrey Tautou and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Grown-up moviegoers are forewarned.

(Moon) Then I caught the shoes! Ooooohhhh...poor thing! Is that what they mean when they say 'her belly was so big she couldn't see her shoes?'! Surely Gwen must have not known what she put on! ;-)

Then I caught the shoes! I think they're Jimmy Choo's. I'e seen them in Vogue Hey, when you're that big, the only thing that you can buy and and not feel like Dumbo is shoes. Trust me. I think she looks stunning. What was the event? I hope she won for Sylvia.

I don't really want to talk about the ending of "Dogville" ...because it will spoil it for others. But aft everyone sees it , would be fun to talk about the allegorical aspects. Will email you, Dorine.

At ShoWest (the trade show for theater owners), Gwynnie was named her Female Performer of the Year and Jude was Male Performer of the Year.

(Evleyn) Hey, when you're that big, the only thing that you can buy and and not feel like Dumbo is shoes. And purses. ;-)

(Ev)Hey, when you're that big, the only thing that you can buy and and not feel like Dumbo is shoes. LOL, good point! She must be due soon I'd imagine. I'm a bit surprised at how tiny Jude looks. Not just height-wise, but the narrowness of his frame. I saw the two of them on ET last night; different outfits. No wonder they want teensy female stars; most of these guys are shrimps.

(Mark), Think Jude just needs a box to stand on instead of his tiptoes. How very clever of you! And smart of him. (Evleyn) Hey, when you're that big, the only thing that you can buy and and not feel like Dumbo is shoes. Not crazy about the shoes or the dress. She does look great with more cleavage. And Jude... he's a dreambeau. ;-)

Un petit dreambeau. ;-)

Oui, Mari! By now, I'm sure you know my infatuation with vampires and how sad I am that Angel will be cancelled, well read this: Villagers dig up, 'kill' vampire corpses Romanian vampire slayers ask police: If they were already dead, what's the big deal over cutting out their hearts? BY MATTHEW SCHOFIELD, Knight Ridder News Service MAROTINU DE SUS, Romania - Before Toma Petre's relatives pulled his body from the grave, ripped out his heart, burned it to ashes, mixed it with water and drank it, he hadn't been in the news much. That's often the way here with vampires. Quiet lives, active deaths. Villagers here aren't up in arms about the undead -- they're pretty common -- but they are outraged that the police are involved in a simple vampire slaying. After all, vampire slaying is an accepted, although hidden, bit of national heritage, even if illegal. ''What did we do?'' pleaded Flora Marinescu, Petre's sister and the wife of the man accused of rekilling him. ``If they're right, he was already dead. If we're right, we killed a vampire and saved three lives. . . . Is that so wrong?'' Yes, according to the Romanian State Police. Its view, expressed by Constantin Ghindeano, the chief agent for the region, is that vampires aren't real and dead bodies in graves aren't to be dug out and killed again, even by relatives. PROBE EXPANDING Ghindeano doesn't really have much more to say on this case, other than noting that Petre had been removed from his grave, his heart had been cut out, and it was presumed to have been consumed by his relatives. Ghindeano added that police were expanding the investigation, which began in mid-January, to include the afterdeaths of others in area. ''The investigation is ongoing, and we expect to file charges later,'' he said, referring to possible charges of disturbing the peace of the dead, which could carry a three-year jail term. ``We are determining whether this was an isolated case or whether there is a pattern in the village.'' Romania has been filled with news of the vampire-slaying investigation, and villagers admit there's a pattern, but they argue that's the reason these matters shouldn't make it to court. There's too much of it going on, and too few complain about the practice. On a recent afternoon, the village's single store, which also serves as its lone bar, was filled with men drinking hard as they explained the vampire facts to a stranger. Most had at least one vampire in their family histories, and many were related to vampire victims. Most had learned to kill a vampire while still children. HOLLYWOOD MYTHS Theirs is not a Hollywood tale, and they laugh at Hollywood conventions -- that vampires can be warded off by crosses or cloves of garlic, or that they can't be seen in mirrors. Utter nonsense. Vampires were once Catholics, were they not? And if a vampire can be seen, the mirror can see him. And why would you wear garlic around your neck? Are you adding flavor? No, vampires are humans who have died, commonly babies before baptism or people unfortunate enough to have black cats jump over their coffins. Vampires occur everywhere, but in busy cities no one notices, the men said. Vampires are obvious when dug up because while they will have been laid to rest on their backs, arms folded neatly across their chests, they will be found on their sides, even their stomachs. They will not have decomposed. Beards will have continued to grow. Their arms will be at their sides, as if they are clawing out of their coffins. And they will have blood -- sometimes dried, sometimes fresh -- around their mouths. PREY ON FAMILIES But the biggest tipoff that a vampire is near is his or her family, for vampires always prey on their families. If family members fall ill after a death, odds are a vampire is draining their blood at night, looking for company. Ion Balasa, 64, explained that there are two ways to stop a vampire, but only one after he or she has risen to feed. ''Before the burial, you can insert a long sewing needle, just into the bellybutton,'' he said. ``That will stop them from becoming a vampire.'' But once they've become vampires, all that's left is to dig them up, use a curved haying sickle to remove the heart, burn the heart to ashes on an iron plate, then have the ill relatives drink the ashes mixed with water. TRIES TO ESCAPE ''The heart of a vampire, while you burn it, will squeak like a mouse and try to escape,'' Balasa said. ``It's best to take a wood stake and pin it to the pan, so it won't get away.'' Which is exactly what happened with Petre, according to Gheorghe Marinescu, a cheery, aging vampire slayer who was Petre's brother-in-law. Marinescu's story goes like this: After Petre died, Marinescu's son, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter fell ill. Marinescu knew the cause was his dead brother-in-law. So he had to go out to the cemetery. Marinescu said he found Petre on his side, his mouth bloody. His heart squeaked and jumped as it was burned. When it was mixed with water and taken to those who were sick, it worked. His son Costel called what happened next a miracle. After weeks in bed, Costel got up to walk. His head wasn't pounding. His chest wasn't aching. ''We were all saved,'' he said. ``We had been saved from a vampire.'' But how could he be sure a vampire caused his illness? ''What other explanation is possible?'' he asked.

(Mari) I'm a bit surprised at how tiny Jude looks. Not just height-wise, but the narrowness of his frame. I saw the two of them on ET last night; different outfits. No wonder they want teensy female stars; most of these guys are shrimps. I was surprised when I saw him at the BAFTA Q&A how slight he was. He seemed so built up in the movie we'd just seen (and yes, he was also 20ft high ;-))...though he did say he had to bulk up for that movie. There's a pic of them in today's NY Post with the different outfits and his hair slicked back at the screening of their new movie, whatever it's called. The Sky Something, or whatever. Don't care to look it up now. (Moon's article) Romanian vampire slayers ask police: If they were already dead, what's the big deal over cutting out their hearts? LOL!!! A logical question. ;-) "Before Sunrise," reunites the original's Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy nine years after their one-day encounter in Vienna as they meet up again in Paris. WIP plans to open the film in the top 10 markets nationwide July 2, daring to offer it as adult-oriented counterprogramming on the same weekend that "Spider-Man 2" sets down in theaters. A not so hot move IMO, unless they really don't expect much. Adults and kids alike like Spiderman, I believe. They'd have to for the amount they did just in opening 3 and 5-day gross last year. Subsequent months will see WIP roll out..."We Don't Live Here Anymore," John Curran's adaptation of two Andres Dubus II short stories starring Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts A Sundance entry this year.

"Before Sunrise," reunites the original's Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy nine years after their one-day encounter in Vienna as they meet up again in Paris. (Dorine) A not so hot move IMO, unless they really don't expect much. LOL...and that's one I own on DVD! I liked it because it seemed so real. Half finished thoughts and random encounters...a bit like real life (also liked White so enjoyed Delpy in this...though Blue and Red were the better of the trilogy). I'd go see "BS the sequel" ;-) (was one that left me thinking "I wonder....??").

I own it, too and wasn't making a judgement call on the quality or whether it will be liked or desired to be seen *at some point*........ given the choice, unless Spiderman is sold out, I'm sure it will be *at least* a second choice on opening weekend for a vast majority of people. Spiderman will be a $$ machine and Lord help whatever throws itself out there at the same time. And I'm certain they'd have fairly conservative expectations, too.

(Dorine) And I'm certain they'd have fairly conservative expectations, too. I'm surprised that it is being put out as an alternative to Spiderman (though I guess some film has to be 'it'). I would think it would be art house stuff...wasn't the original? I can't remember where I saw it. Spiderman will probably be in every third theater when it's released...my head already hurts...those who face sold out shows and are anxious to see Spidey will hardly think of BS as a good alternate, I think. LOL...something (slightly) related, a co-worker (randomly) just said over her cube wall to me "You know what the best part of Thelma and Louise was? The fact that they drove their car off the side of a cliff so we wouldn't have to see a sequel" (A-ha, it all becomes clear....her son is asking to go to Scooby Doo 2 this weekend).

(Tress) I'm surprised that it is being put out as an alternative to Spiderman (though I guess some film has to be 'it') Not necessarily. Possibly they aren't happy with it (I have NO idea of that...just throwing it out there) and think it may do better as counterprogramming to something so different vs. throwing it out with likeminded product and coming up short that way. (Tress) those who face sold out shows and are anxious to see Spidey will hardly think of BS as a good alternate, I think. My point exactly.

Moon, that Vampire article had me in stiches! LOL thanks for sharing! btw -have you ever read Christine Feehan? best vampire fiction around (imho) :-)

Many thanks girls for the above articles and stuff! . .Have enjoyed catching up! Dorine - I do love KW as well .caught her Actor�s Studio episode . .she seems to be one of those quality real down to earth girls . .more of a girlfriend than a �movie star�! Hey luv gwyenth�s shooes!!! . .I�m just amazed she could balance baby and all on them . .I have trouble walking on heels and I�m not even pregnant! (Mari) No wonder they want teensy female stars; most of these guys are shrimps. Dooooom! . .one does not want to be American stick insect to continue in this profession! (Not to mention, I like my food too much!)

closing tag

According to my cable schedule, Charlie Kaufman is supposed to be on Charlie Rose tonight.

hmmm...so are we up yet?

(Ada)so are we up yet? If we're not-this is the twilight zone;-)

I see you all. ;-)

That's a right! Drink up! Article in this week's Time about the upcoming princess movies: The Princess Paradox Hollywood's newest Cinderella stories seek to inject some feminist messages into the age-old fantasy. But can you really wear your tiara while spurning it too? By JAMES PONIEWOZIK It's the recurring nightmare of high-minded modern parents of daughters. You ask your relatives to lay off the pink pinafores at the baby shower. You give your daughter Legos and soccer balls, not Barbies. You encourage her to play fire fighter and immerse her in Dora the Explorer videos. Then one Halloween rolls around, and your empowered, self-confident budding Marie Curie tells you that she wants to be...a princess. Call it nature or nurture, harmless fantasy or insidious indoctrination, but Hollywood is discovering that it still pays not to fight the royal urge. Following 2001's $108 million � grossing The Princess Diaries, Hollywood has waved its wand and conjured a set of Cinderella stories for girls, including next month's The Prince & Me and Ella Enchanted, as well as A Cinderella Story in July and a Princess Diaries sequel in August. That's not to mention other fairy-tale projects (Shrek 2) and transformational stories like 13 Going On 30, in which a gawky teen is magically morphed into a fashion-plate magazine editor played by the perpetually miniskirted Jennifer Garner. We've come a long way, it seems, from the girls-kick-ass culture of just a few years ago (Charlie's Angels, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) in which a 360� flying-roundhouse kick was a girl's best friend. (On the proto girl-power cartoon, Powerpuff Girls, one of the heroines' worst enemies was a spoiled brat named Princess Morbucks.) But brush off the fairy dust, and you find a new kind of Cinderella, one who would rather save Prince Charming, thank you, and who has learned the lessons of feminism � or at least learned to pay lip service to them. You can have the girly dream of glass slippers and true love, these films say, as well as the womanly ideal of self-determination and independence � and any contradictions between them are no match for the movies' magic. Ella Enchanted, for instance, is a spoof of Cinderella in which the title character (Diaries' Anne Hathaway, Hollywood's queen of princesses) spends her free time protesting the discriminatory anti-elf and -giant policies of the family of Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy). What she wants at first is not love but to free herself of a fairy's curse that forces her to be obedient. In The Prince & Me (what, The Prince & I would have been too egghead-y?), Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is a workaholic soon-to-be medical student who rolls her eyes at friends rushing to get their M.R.S. degrees. When she falls for Eddie (Luke Mably), a rakish-but-sweet exchange student who turns out to be Danish Crown Prince Edvard, the prospect of becoming queen upsets her dreams of working for Doctors Without Borders. (Stiles, who played Ophelia in the 2000 film Hamlet, should know that dating the prince of Denmark can be a pain.) "The Cinderella story has always frustrated me," Stiles says. "What I like about The Prince & Me is that my character is a lot more active and is ready to live a life by herself and be independent." SPOILER ALERT: Skip this paragraph if you don't want to know how these movies end. O.K., here's the shocker � they end happily. What is surprising, however, is that, in the original ending of The Prince & Me, Paige broke up with Edvard to go to med school (in the final version, she gets to have both the guy and the career). And what's downright shocking is that Paramount approved the first, decidedly non-fairy-tale ending. "But when I saw it," says director Martha Coolidge, "I knew it was wrong. What was wrong about it was not what we thought � whether she got together with him or not. The real issue was about him making a compromise and the monarchy making a compromise." Reinventing fairy tales has been a favorite project of feminist authors from Angela Carter (The Bloody Chamber) to Marlo Thomas (Free to Be...You and Me), who understood that wish-fulfillment stories are about teaching people what they should wish for. Among an earlier generation of women, the wish was to be able to do everything men could. For the modern Cinderellas' audience, which takes that freedom as a given, the wish is to also be able � unashamedly � to fall in love and go to the ball. Indeed, in Prince, Paige realizes that she needs to be "rescued" from her disciplined but single-minded careerism as much as she needs to assert her independence. Girls asserting their right to choose the fairy-tale ending is not a bad thing, says Thomas, since now the movies are balanced by varied depictions of young women in films from Whale Rider to Blue Crush. "What women have tried to achieve for other women," she says, "is choice in every step of their lives." But to succeed on both the feminist and the fantasy level, the new Cinderella has developed rules and conventions as strict as a Joseph Campbell template. She should be pretty, but in a class-president way, not a head-cheerleader way. She should be able to stand up for herself (recall the Crouching Tiger moves of Shrek's Princess Fiona). She must be socially conscious � a result, says Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries books, of Princess Diana's charitable work. And she should above all not want to be a princess � at least until she changes her mind. In Diaries, Prince and Ella, it's not the girl who must prove herself worthy of princesshood; princesshood must prove itself worthy of the girl. There's something a little have-your-tiara-and-disdain-it-too about making your protagonists ambivalent about the very fantasy that people paid $9 to see them live out. But that may make the fantasy more palatable to parents and filmmakers: men and, especially, women who are educated professionals. "I don't want to sound like an archfeminist," says Sherry Lansing, chairman of Paramount, which produced Prince, "but it really is important that it imparts contemporary values. It's a good love that allows both people to remain whole in it." Still, the fantasy couple that this earnestness yields in Prince is more yuppie than romantic: she, committing to years of med school; he, giving up his love of car racing to strap on a necktie and negotiate labor disputes. Goodbye, Chuck and Di; hello, Abbey and Jed Bartlet. But it's easy for someone who has been through college to say a diploma and career are not cure-alls. The movies' audience of young girls makes the filmmakers much more message conscious � at least as far as the girls are concerned. The princes in these stories have fewer options than their Cinderellas. Edvard and Charmont are both reluctant to become king, but they learn, through the love of a good woman, to mature into the role and use it for good. The girls fight to control their destiny; the boys good-naturedly learn to accept theirs. Of course, they're not the target audience. "It's nice to have something that's not toxic or repellent to men," says Nina Jacobson, a top executive at Disney (Diaries' studio). "But we know we don't need guys to make a movie like that successful." You just need a feisty girl, a prophylactic dose of skepticism and a fabulous ball gown � about which no ambivalence is necessary. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out the website for the cartoon image: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040405-605501-1,00.html In The Prince & Me (what, The Prince & I would have been too egghead-y?), Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is a workaholic soon-to-be medical student who rolls her eyes at friends rushing to get their M.R.S. degrees. When she falls for Eddie (Luke Mably), a rakish-but-sweet exchange student who turns out to be Danish Crown Prince Edvard, the prospect of becoming queen upsets her dreams of working for Doctors Without Borders. (Stiles, who played Ophelia in the 2000 film Hamlet, should know that dating the prince of Denmark can be a pain.) LOL!

Nice to have Drool back�.. I got to thinking a bit when I heard Alistair Cooke died yesterday. The news of his passing brought to mind many fond recollections of Masterpiece Theater on Sunday nights long ago and how I became enthralled with British costume drama. This, of course, led to an introduction to the BBC, Monty Python, and all those wonderful shows. Now here I am with a total obsession for a tall dark and handsome British actor searching for all sorts of creative ways to disguise just how much time I actually spend on the computer each day in search of a �fix�. Sound familiar, anyone?

(Leslie) I got to thinking a bit when I heard Alistair Cooke died yesterday. In addition to introducing us all to the best in UK television he also stood for integrity in journalism as well Alas...the last good friend the US had on the BBC. We all mourn his passing.

Glad to see you all back! I've been dreadfully busy and missed my quick Drool fixes!

(Leslie)I got to thinking a bit when I heard Alistair Cooke died yesterday. First time I saw Alistair Cooke, I had been watching the Poldark series and I thought he had the loveliest voice. Before I forget, birthdays for April - April 4 - Lora April 8 - Kim April 25 - Eithne Please let me know if I've forgotten anyone:-)

I missed you, too, I'm so hooked on Drool! I've filled the time with watching ODB in WAGW. Now, before y'all are all amazement that I haven't seen it before this, remember, I'm rather new to the world of OCD. Two of the best scenes were out takes tacked onto the special etiquette feature. Jonathan Pryce had me choking on my tea when he, in all seriousness, told Henry that Libby wasn't what he thought she was, et.al. I just wish there had been a better shot of ODB cracking up. BTW, doesn't he fill out a Saville Row suit nicely? Yummy! And for you Brosnan fans, NBC is showing Thomas Crown affair Saturday night. Glad you're back!

Hooray we're up again! Saw on the temporary drool sight Karen brought up the subject of accents again . .am currently reading "Shooting the Actor" by Simon Callow . .and ran into some rather humorous exercpts on his expereinces working with accents/dialogue coaches in a prticular film . .I'll try to type it up for your reading enjoyment . . .

From Empire: Kaufman Cusses Clooney There's no love lost there 01 April 2004 Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is a man with a grudge � and the object of that grudge is none other than the former scrubs-wearing TV doc turned Hollywood A-lister George Clooney. It seems that Kaufman, whose latest film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is out this month, is still irked by the way Clooney treated his script for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. In an interview in the May issue of Arena magazine, Kaufman explains the situation. �I was upset by the fact that he took the movie from me and then cut me out after that. I�m unhappy with the end result. And I�m unhappy with George Clooney. I had a movie that I wrote and that isn�t it.� Clooney�s big mistake, it transpires, was to take Kaufman�s script and tinker around with it. �I�ve always been involved in the process with Spike (Jonze) and Michel (Gondry),� Charlies says. �If there�s any rewriting to do, I do it. But with Clooney it was different�even the end of the movie is different. I mean, Clooney went on forever about how my Confessions�screenplay was one of the greatest scripts he�d read. But if someone truthfully felt that way they they�d want the person who wrote it to be onboard offering their thoughts and criticisms. But Clooney didn�t. And I think it�s a silly way to be a director.� Thankfully Kaufman isn�t letting his Clooney chagrin keep him from planning new ways to bemuse and befuddle cinema audiences the world over. �Spike and I recently pitched this idea for a scary movie to Sony pictures. I don�t have a title for it yet and I�m not even sure what the plot�s going to be. But that�s the way I write: without knowing where something is going.� You can read the full interview with Charlie Kaufman in the May issue of Arena which will be on newsstands Friday 2 April 2004. http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/newsstory.asp?news_id=15727

'Century City' collapses CBS has pulled the plug on midseason drama "Century City" after four airings. The Universal Network TV series, revolving around a futuristic law firm in Los Angeles, had little ratings traction for CBS in the Tuesday 9 p.m. slot, where it went up against Fox's "American Idol." Goodbye, Ioan.

Trailer on BBCA of "State of Play" looks like it stars Bill Nigh (in non-aging-rocker role)and David Morrissey. Starts Apr 18.

(Evelyn)Trailer on BBCA of "State of Play" looks like it stars Bill Nigh (in non-aging-rocker role)and David Morrissey. Starts Apr 18 Thanks, Evelyn. I wanted to mention this a few days ago before drool went down. Looks like it might be OK. Wasn't Keen Eddie a rerun? I thought they advertised it last week as all new?

(Kaufman)I�m unhappy with the end result. And I�m unhappy with George Clooney. I had a movie that I wrote and that isn�t it.� Hey, I *liked* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as did the critics. Did anyone see Kaufman on Charlie rose last week? Very bright and articulate, as you'd expect, but oddly huumorless and intense, given his body of work.

(Linda)Wasn't Keen Eddie a rerun? I thought they advertised it last week as all new? They showed two in a row. The first was a repeat from last week, and the second was new (at least to me). Several weeks ago there was discussion about connotations with the name Colin. I was very ammused by this article, and wanted to share it, both for the Colin reference (though not ODB) and the word highfalutin. The name game Traditional and unique monikers rise and fall in popularity with trends By BILL HENDRICK The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/31/04 Funny. You don't look like a Bertha. But if that's your name, smile � you're being complimented if someone tells you that. Once one of the most popular names in America, Bertha no longer ranks in the Top 1,000. In our society, it's come to mean fat, severe, dour. If someone says you look like a Bambi, it's OK to feel insulted. Sure, it connotes perkiness and cheerfulness, but it's more closely associated with strip club lap dancers and ditsy mob molls. Alas, what's in a name is a lot. And experts urge prospective parents to be careful, asserting that the names they choose could come back to haunt them. Ask Laura and Gary Eaton of Brookhaven. Gary Eaton, 47, wanted "Benjamin" for their unborn child � fairly common at 28th in the Social Security Administration's Top 1,000 names for boys. But his wife quickly nixed it. "I was like, 'Are you kidding?' He'll be called Ben," says Laura Eaton, 39. "Think of it. Ben Eaton, like 'been eating.' You want people calling him that? He'll be teased for life. Now we're looking for something different. We don't want him to be one of three Johns." The Eatons, says Cleveland Kent Evans, a psychology professor at Bellevue University in Nebraska and leading member of the American Name Society, are representative of a new trend: Increasingly, Americans are turning their backs on family names that honor ancestors and trying hard to come up with uncommon monikers � or even unique ones. In a look-alike culture where every suburb, every mall, every school feels the same, new parents are seeking ways to distinguish themselves and their offspring. It's a trend that started a few decades ago but has gathered steam, spawning a cottage industry of books and Web sites. One indicator: For the first time in history, the Top 50 names account for less than half of the names given to baby boys each year, according to research recently released by Evans. And less than 40 percent of girls are getting one of the 50 most popular names. For now, the Eatons have settled on "Elliott," which ranks 544th. And if the child, expected in four months or so, turns out to be a girl, they're thinking "Catherine" � which ranks 100th. Kristen Gates, 30, and her husband, Steve, 31, of Acworth also wanted a "different kind of name. We have friends whose dog is named Cooper. We like that. We're 95 percent the baby will be Cooper." They know it'll be a boy but never considered naming him Steve � "they're everywhere in his family" � or Junior. And that's good, says Evans. "Studies show there are negative things about being a junior," he says. "It sounds like somebody who is never going to grow up, who's always inferior to what senior is. Young men with 'junior' after their name, compared with Roman numerals, are a bit less responsible, get lower grades in school." It's also not smart to give a child a nickname that sounds, well, juvenile, like Billy or Jimmy. "It's harder to take a Billy seriously, we know," Evans says. "That was a little bit of Jimmy Carter's problem. I think the fact that he kept that form allowed people to see him as ineffectual or incompetent. It was easier to stick him with those labels." Out of the mainstream But names can be harmful in many ways, says Bruce Lansky, author of many best-selling baby books, including his latest, "The Mother of All Baby Name Books," which contains 94,000 names, their origins and meanings. Lansky, who also released a survey about Americans' attitudes toward their names this month, contends some parents make mistakes by trying too hard to find unique names for their offspring. Lansky, 62, says, for example, "an African-sounding name can cause perception problems when people are looking at r�sum�s. Sure, it's wrong, but an aggressively African name could communicate negative stereotypes. A name way out there might even have the effect of sort of thumbing your nose at normal rules and regulations." Rigorous research supports this belief. Economics professor Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago found in a recent study that employers apparently do discriminate based on whether names on r�sum�s sound "white" or "black" � even when other credentials are equal. They found that r�sum�s with white-sounding names generated twice as many callbacks as those with conspicuously "black" names like Jamal. That wasn't a factor for Pam and Marc Buchanan of Stockbridge, who named their new son Caleb Meyah-Nwing. Their 2-year-old daughter's name is Faith Nening. The couple picked the names to reflect their Christian faith, but also her roots in the African country of Cameroon. But for many African-Americans, the possibility that names could hold their children back does affect their decisions. Richard Brooks, 36, of metro Atlanta and his wife, Pamela, said they intentionally chose "unisex" names for their daughters, Kaila and Kelsi. "I feel there's a bias against women in the workplace," said Pamela Brooks, 40. "The thought of giving them African names never was a factor. It didn't have anything to do with our pride. We just wanted beautiful names." Pop culture weighs in Research also shows that people with desirable or attractive first names are treated more favorably by folks with unattractive names, says Albert Mehrabian, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and an expert on names. He says smart prospective parents will study meanings and possible impressions of names before making selections. Bubba, for example, connotes redneck. So does Floyd. And favorite names can rise and fall in popularity according to the images they evoke in American culture. Monica has gone down in the ranks since the name made headlines along with Bill Clinton in early 1998. It was the 97th most popular girl's name that year but sagged to 179th in 2002. Its negative connotations far outweighed positive notions evoked by the "Monica" character on the hit sitcom "Friends." On the other hand, Evans says, "Colin" � an old and highfalutin English name always rare in America � has climbed from 150th to 116th since Secretary of State Colin Powell became famous during the first Gulf War. This means he's well-liked. (Question: How are they pronouncing the names of these boys? COL-in or COH-lyn?) Jacob is the top boy's name, except in Georgia and several other Southern states where William remains No. 1. "The South is the William belt," Evans says. "This has to do with the original ethnic makeup of the South. English." And he says Williams are about equally divided by race. "In the South, there is more pressure to name sons after ancestors than in other parts of the country. You're going to have more Michaels in Roman Catholic areas." Girls' names move up and down more than boys' names do, he says, because male names are more boring. And that may not be all bad. Evans says he's found a boy in Florida whose first name is "Tragedy." A baby in Michigan was named Jon Blake Cusack 2.0, obviously by techie parents. Lansky worries that "the really far-out names" could be harmful, but on a positive note, points out that it's not hard to change your name. That's what Raymond Allen Gray Jr. did. The Illinois man grew up with the nickname Bubba and last fall decided he liked it better than his other names. So now he's officially Bubba Bubba Bubba.

(Lilnda) Wasn't Keen Eddie a rerun? I thought they advertised it last week as all new? There were two episodes last night, both not new. Next week's will be new. (Kaufman)I�m unhappy with the end result. And I�m unhappy with George Clooney. I had a movie that I wrote and that isn�t it.� (Mari) Hey, I *liked* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as did the critics. But you/they might've liked it even better, had he made Charlie's original film. Did anyone see Kaufman on Charlie rose last week? Very bright and articulate, as you'd expect, but oddly huumorless and intense, given his body of work. I saw it. Could C Rose fawn over him any more than he did? I don't think so? As to his personality, I wasn't surprised he wasn't LOL funny in a traditional standup comedian way. I'd say his word perfectly reflects his personality. It's all about strangeness, oddities, bizarreness, not pie-in-the-face humor. That's why Jim Carrey appearing in Eternal Mind will be classified as one of his serious works, as opposed to his usual comedy stuff.

(Karen)But you/they might've liked it even better, had he made Charlie's original film. Or I might have liked it less.;-) Re: Charlie the K--I wasn't expecting Soupy Sales. But generally people who write with humor are not so intense. Maybe Charlie Rose made him nervous with all his boot-licking.;-) Anybody here watching 24? Tuesday's episode was the best of the season, IMO. Sopranos is having a great season as well.

Just wanted to say I recommend State of Play, really enjoyed it when it was on here. I think I just heard it was nominated for some tv BAFTA's, too.

I caught all of the episodes of SO Monday night and watched this week's installment on Tuesday.....LOVE IT ! Will not tolerate future viewing of *canned performances* on sit coms ! Now, they tell me next week's installment is the season finale? Wot? Boll**ks.

(Kaufman)I�m unhappy with the end result. And I�m unhappy with George Clooney. I had a movie that I wrote and that isn�t it.� (Mari) Hey, I *liked* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as did the critics. (Karen) But you/they might've liked it even better, had he made Charlie's original film. I *loved* Confessions as is. Possibly it could have been even better, but I don't recall any standout complaints on my part. Was one of my favorite films that year actually. I'm sure there's always nitpicky things. I am surprised to read that though, as CK generally gets *much* better treatment than most writers, who are indeed locked out of the filming and rewriting process. I thought CK was a lot more relaxed than I expected he'd be after reading frequently how uncomfortable his is in public and with interviews. I was fascinated to hear his writing process.

Romola tops Austen shortlist By Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail 2 April 2004 Romola Garai is top of the shortlist to play the spirited Elizabeth Bennet in the first big screen version of Pride And Prejudice in more than six decades. The fast-rising young star is one of several British actresses being considered by director Joe Wright and executives at British studio Working Title. Last year, Romola was seen in BBC TV's Daniel Deronda and in the films I Capture The Castle and Nicholas Nickleby. She's now appearing in the play Calico in the West End, which finishes its short run tomorrow. Jane Austen's novel is one of the best loved in English literature. When Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred in a BBC version ten years ago, as Elizabeth and the haughty Mr Darcy, the tale of their repressed love for each other gripped the nation. But the latest adaptation, by Deborah Moggach and Lee Hall, will be even sexier - although not explicit. The last time Pride And Prejudice was seen on cinema screens was in 1940, when Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier played the will-theywon't-they? couple. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha has shot her Bollywood all-singing, alldancing version, calling it Bride And Prejudice. It opens later in the year and it could be an Oscar contender. Working Title's P&P will begin filming in the summer. But no cast member will be contracted until a major leading hunk is cast as Mr Darcy. Everyone from Brad Pitt to Orlando Bloom is being considered. Working Title is behind the Bridget Jones movies, and author Helen Fielding based her Mark Darcy on Colin Firth's portrayal. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/showbiz/articles/10047047?source=Daily%20Mail

Oh my....it's a sad day when The Rock is a guest on Charlie Rose before ODB. :-( (That being said, I actually kinda like The Rock, or at least have nothing against him. He's come across very articulate the few times I've seen or heard his interviews).

Speaking of The Rock, he was on Letterman last night. Before the opening sequence, they had Dave and The Rock backstage talking together. Dave asks: So, what's your new movie, Walking Tall, about? The Rock replies: It's based on a Jane Austen novel and I play the tall, dark, handsome hero, named Willoughby and I win the girl. Dave looks blank and doesn't know what to say. The Rock says: No, I was just kidding. I really take out a baseball bat and beat guys silly with it. Dave smiles excitedly. Something tells me they were making fun of me.;-) Guess Dave's target audience is not Jane Austin fans.

LOL, Caribou! (Kaufman)I�m unhappy with the end result. And I�m unhappy with George Clooney. I had a movie that I wrote and that isn�t it.� Clooney did a great job! What a whiner. Working Title's P&P will begin filming in the summer. But no cast member will be contracted until a major leading hunk is cast as Mr Darcy. Everyone from Brad Pitt to Orlando Bloom is being considered. Heaven forbid! I will make an exception for Vigo. I do like him with dark longish hair. I bet Colin is thrilled that someone else will be Mr. Darcy. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha has shot her Bollywood all-singing, alldancing version, calling it Bride And Prejudice. It opens later in the year and it could be an Oscar contender. Really? As much as I love Bollywood movies, I can't imagine them as Oscar contenders.

Oh Lora . . . You�re here! It�s your birthday! My heart is soooo full! Have the happiest of days today!

Isn't it tomorrow, the 5th?

OH! . .I thought it was the fourth that was her b'day . . I'm really early then!

(Ada)Before I forget, birthdays for April - April 4 - Lora April 8 - Kim April 25 - Eithne Please let me know if I've forgotten anyone:-)

Yes, I know. But my printout from last year says the 5th.

LORA, BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO YOU Early or not, they carry lots of good wishes for a fun filled day ;-))

(Karen) Yes, I know. But my printout from last year says the 5th. LOL...is this the same printout that gave me a birthday in September and January? ;-D (will go hide now.....will try not to be so cheeky)!

Leave Lora alone, she's in the kitchen making my latkes;-) I saw a recipe on TV for sweet potato latkes that one eats with applesauce....yummmmm

Evelyn, wrong holiday. ;-) Now I do make lots of lovely flowerless confections like walnut cookies and chocolate-almond macaroons that I'd be happy to sharewith all.

LOL! She should know the difference. We were just talking about kugels the other day...though she only knows about luchen kugels and not the matzo farfel ones for this holiday. I've got gefilte fish cooking on the stove right now and have opened up the door to air the place out. Oh man, I need an exhaust fan! ;-)

(Shoshana) Evelyn, wrong holiday. ;-) (don't like walnuts/chocolate) Drats...No latkes,..but kugel is a fave... ...how about apple- matzoh kugel:-)))) (Got cha'...no flour there.)

(Karen)Isn't it tomorrow, the 5th? Karen is right as usual, it is on the 5th. Somehow last year it started on the 4th by mistake. But thanks for the early greetings anyway since today I can still eat regular birthday cake and tomorrow night it will have to be Passover sponge cake ;-). Thanks Kimberly and Lizza for the warm wishes. Shoshana, sorry for the confusion. Evelyn, don't worry I'm saving you some of my special chocolate chip, coconut macaroons and matzah ball soup!

(Lora) it will have to be Passover sponge cake ;-). My condolences. ;-) At least you have a cake. Every once and awhile, mine will fall on Yom Kippur and you know what that means...NO cake. You really should look into making just a basic flourless chocolate cake and then you never have to torture anybody ever again with a sponge cake. ;-)

(Karen)You really should look into making just a basic flourless chocolate cake and then you never have to torture anybody ever again with a sponge cake. ;-) Yummmm, that sounds really good. Thanks for thinking of a cake like that for my birthday and Passover. There are definitely some wonderful aromas emanating from this topic today ;-P!

(Karen)then you never have to torture anybody ever again with a sponge cake. ;-) Pssst....*I* like that nice yellow, eggy sponge cake...yummmmm. Thank you Lora for saving some of the seder goodies for me. Can you drink-ie tomorrow....I have a bottle of bubbly chilling....;-))))

Happy Birthday, Lora, and may you have many more! Mazel Tov! And for those who will be celebrating, may you have a blessed Passover!

(Evelyn)Can you drink-ie tomorrow.... But of course, with lots of Manischewitz to go around ;-). Thank you, Eithne, for your happy birthday wishes.

Well Lora . . I'm just going to have to wish you another happy b'day tomorrow . .perhaps's I'll get the pic to work next time around . . Chocolate Chip macaroons you say? Mmmmmmmmmm;) Flourless Chocolate cake, another yummy idea. .Shosh, do you have a recipie for one of those too?

I'll put the roadmap back up so as not to affect Lora's party. Okie doke?

(Me)April 4 - Lora Oops..so sorry Lora, my bad. I hope this birthday pic makes up for the confusion:-). Happy Birthday! with grateful thanks to firthissimo

Ooops! I've been caught sampling Lora's prebirthday birthday cake. I wasn't too keen on having the dreaded sprongecake. Happy Birthday Lora!

Hang on, hang on!! Get that mic between us, so we can all sing Happy Birthday to Lora!

C'mon everybody...take a piece...this one is legal...no flour, no dairy , even steamed:-((( Happy Birthday , Lora

For Karen, Shoshana, Lora and anybody else who gonna pig out on the seder...;-) Enjoy the season!

Wow, thanks for all the happy birthday and Passover messages. Thanks for putting the roadmap back up too, Karen. I assume "roadmap" means we get lovely pictures. And it just wouldn't be a birthday celebration without the birthday wishing face of ODB ;-). Ada, thanks for my favorite tuxedoed happy birthday wisher. I'll take him anyday! Karen, LOL at that sneaky Colin snagging my pre-birthday cake - the only real birthday cake that I'm getting! At least he made up for it by singing happy birthday to me with Scarlett and Peter. Will definitely wear pearl earrings tonight for Seder ;-). Evelyn, you make virtual sponge cake look really good - will be thinking of you when I eat it tonight. Happy Passover to Karen, Shoshana, and all who celebrate it.

Happy Birthday Lora! First, a rose for the birthday girl! Now, my specialty... a flourless chocolate cake called a Chocolate Oblivion Torte! Totally pesadic (only dark chocolate, sweet butter, and eggs), it tastes like a mixture of a Godiva truffle and a chocolate mousse!!! I made it especially for you, Lora. Just don't eat too much... you need the space for *yum* dry, tasteless matzah! ;-)

While Colin is whipping up some of his famous curry for you, Lora, thought we'd have a few last tortilla chips and this: I had the guy at the next table try it out: hope it isn't too spicy for you. ;-)

(Shoshana)First, a rose for the birthday girl! Thanks so much! And I believe, correct me if I'm wrong Ada, that it's actually that very rose that belongs to me in keepsakes. I claimed it from TIOBE when it first premiered - the one ODB catches at the dance hall when he first gets to the city to see Algie. Did you know that I had claimed it Shoshana? I guess it's more than a coincidence since your name means rose in Hebrew (so I'll share it with you)! And Kimberly and Karen thanks for mentioning the flourless chocolate cake yesterday. Looks like Shoshana does have an excellent recipe for it, kosher and all! It looks quite yummy - and anything that tastes like a Godiva truffle and a chocolate mousse has got to be amazing. Hmmm, chocolate and ODB what more could I ask for ;-).

Ay, Dios Mio! A song and a dance for Lora's Birthday! "You say she's witty I say she's pretty You say she's funny I say she's sunny Witty! Pretty! Funny! Sunny! Let's all wish Lora a Happy Birthday!

ROTFLOL, Karen! And bring on the virgin daiquiris too! Spices and booze give me a headache. Just give me rich chocolate and a spicy ODB!

Happy Birthday Lora!!! Millions of people heard me introduce Norah as Lora. It was most unconsciously done but, it could not be helped. All I kept thinking about was you in Southern Florida I was anxious to get to you and take you dancing. Yes I had learned a few salsa steps from mi amigo Ferecito. So my dearest loveliest, Lora, I�ll be right over.

Psssst.....Have you heard?? It's Lora's Birthday!!!We've got to get ready!!! Party hat...checkCake....check Cocktails...check ...and a birthday toast!"To Lora, just as she is!"

Oh, I love the song, Mari! My favorite dancing pair! So glad they didn't end it with, "we're jees keeding" ;-D! Thanks so much for the new birthday song they/you put together for my birthday. I'm going to keep it in "my favorites!"

(Shoshana), it tastes like a mixture of a Godiva truffle and a chocolate mousse!!! Yum! There's nothing better! Happy Passover, Karen, Lora and Shoshana!

Everytime I answer a birthday wish, another one appears! (Moon)but, it could not be helped. All I kept thinking about was you in Southern Florida Can you hear me sighing down here in South Florida? I love it, especially that last picture with that great smile. Thanks Moon for a wonderful birthday message. Tress, thanks for your birthday wishes too. Love the birthday hat and your message is finger licking good to the very last morsal...I mean picture ;-))).

I mean "morsel" I appreciate all your efforts for a fun birthday party. You've already made my day! Thank you!

Happy Passover Shosh, Karen, Lora and everyone else celebrating!

(Lora)that it's actually that very rose that belongs to me in keepsakes. I claimed it from TIOBE when it first premiered - the one ODB catches at the dance hall when he first gets to the city to see Algie. Did you know that I had claimed it Shoshana? But of course, Lora, it's your red rose straight from Jack's/Ernest's hand! I guess it's more than a coincidence since your name means rose in Hebrew (so I'll share it with you)! Yup, rose or lily of the valley! In regards to TIOBE, I'm partial to Jack's buttonhole. ;-)

My dearest Lora, it's been two years since I've seen you at the Paris Theatre in New York...promise you'll come to the Bridget premiere next November Happy Birthday , Lora.... I looked all over Islington, and found some

Awwwww shucks Lora . . . I�m slightly embarrassed I got the day wrong . . . but early is better than late, right! So I�ve been on my mobile to Livy To tell her I�ll be late coming home tonight . . . Cause� I�m just going to pop over to your party for awhile;) Wouldn�t miss it! Happy Birthday, darlin�! ********************** Just to copy my last b�day post: Oh Lora . . . You�re here! It�s your birthday! My heart is soooo full! Have the happiest of days today!

Thought I'd pop back to the party before I pop into the seder to say thanks for all your birthday thoughts: (Shoshana)it's your red rose straight from Jack's/Ernest's hand Wouldn't have it any other way. But on special occasions he can use it as a buttonhole if you'd like (no matter how I tried to word that it sounded off color, sorry ;-\). (Evelyn)I looked all over Islington ROTFLOL! It must have taken him all day! And I love that TIOBE pic with his fist to his chest, one of my favs. (Kimberly)It�s your birthday! My heart is soooo full! Don't worry, Kim, early is on time and on time is late ;-)! And it was worth the wait for "my belahved!" ;-))) You guys are so clever. Thanks for all the great gifts of words, song, and charming pics of ODB!

Lora, hope you like my new shades. I bought them for all that sunshine...and they work great for hangovers, too. Can't wait to party with you. Wishing you a healthy and peaceful Passover, too! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Lora abd a blessed Passover.

After lotsa, lotsa matzah...just want to thank you Linda for the happy birthday and Passover wishes with "Shade Man" doin' that thing he does. Thanks Lucie for your happy birthday and Passover wishes too! It's been a lot of fun. Thanks to all of you!

Jack�s in black, tails and top hat HD�s in a tux. A feathered hat, yes I saw that And ODB pulled it off. Shosh even baked a chocolate cake So good I bit my screen. May have broke tooth, no, it�th juth looth Man oh Manischevitz. The dancing two made it official too We are having a ball. If you celebrate this Passover date Good wishes to you all. It wouldn�t be right to end this night Without more to say, To you dear lady, hope it was dandy Lora, Happy Birthday.

Lora, cannot miss the chance to say "Happy birthday!" Best wishes for your new year!

Am very late to the party, but Happy Birthday, Lora!! Sorry I have no great pix, just lots of good wishes. I appear to be jinxed - all attempts to post images recently have failed miserably

Sussen Pasach Happy and Yummy holiday wishes and a belated Happy Day to Lora!

The coincidence of this appearing today: The Office stars 'used tongues' in final kiss Lucy Davis has admitted that she "used tongues" when she kissed The Office co-star Martin Freeman in the final episode of the show. She told Heat magazine: "Well, you have to don't you? At the end of the day two people like Tim and Dawn are going to use tongues. "That's how I kiss, it would be weird, it would look weird - even though I hope no-one could see a tongue. "Martin and I had to do it a million times because it was like: "That's a bit short, can you do it longer." And she added: "Martin's good looking which makes the kissing scenes easier." Lucy says their on-screen passion must have been convincing because lots of people believe they are a real life couple. She added: "It always surprises me how much people believe what they see on TV because they all know we're actors. But if you love something you don't want to ruin that little fantasy, I suppose."

Wow, my point exactly. Funny bit though.

I hope this hasn't been posted here yet?? Question is....can she act???? Pink takes a little piece of Renee's 'Heart' with Joplin project April 5, 2004 BY BILL ZWECKER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Word has it, newly crowned Oscar winner Renee Zellweger is seeing red over the news rock star Pink is planning to make her big-screen debut in a film based on the life of Janis Joplin -- rivaling Zellweger's own Joplin feature, "Piece of My Heart," being developed by Paramount Pictures and Chicagoan Tom Rosenberg's Lakeshore Entertainment. Daily Variety reports that Zellweger -- a lifelong Joplin fan -- is driven by the passion of someone who "grew up in Texas worshipping the singer." At this point, it looks like the Pink project could go before the cameras first. Penelope Spheeris is set to direct, the Joplin family has endorsed it and Pink (whose real name is Alecia Moore) has put together a screen test as Joplin that's generating lots of big buzz in Hollywood. Apparently Pink's imitation of Joplin's gravelly voiced singing style is amazing -- so much so, music mogul Clive Davis is already planning a soundtrack deal at Pink's label, Arista, where he signed Joplin to her first major record contract.

I had read that her screen test was amazing. Penelope Spheeris is probably the best choice to direct. I felt that Renee took Bridget away from Kate Winslet. Those things do happen.

(Sonia)no, it�th juth looth Man oh Manischevitz. LOL! Thanks for summing up the occasion with your great celebration verse! Thanks Barb, Leslie, and Beedee for the birthday and Passover greetings too. It was a fun day with firth friends like all of you.

Brosnan done with 007: Pierce pal By BRUCE KIRKLAND -- Toronto Sun HOLLYWOOD -- Pierce Brosnan is finished with James Bond, according to his friend, neighbour and one-time 007 co-star, Michael Madsen. "Pierce lives right down the beach from me. Our kids play together," Madsen said during interviews for his own new movie, Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1. "And he told me he doesn't want to do another one. "I also heard that they bought him out. I really don't know but an impasse is an impasse." Madsen said he was told that Brosnan will be replaced with an Australian, although he did not know who and could not confirm if it was Hugh Jackman, who has been touted as a possible future Bond. So has Englishman Clive Owen. Madsen's comments seem to put in stone something that Brosnan has only hinted at. The Irish-born actor admitted last month that, while he was willing to do his fifth Bond picture if the filmmakers could get a decent script written and find a director for the project, the negotiations were not going well. Neither was the script development. "We've reached an impasse with the producers," Brosnan said in March. "They seem to be paralyzed and cannot move forward. If they want me, they know where to find me. "I was prepared to do a fifth film and then walk away. I made that very clear to the producers. We had started negotiations and I want to follow through, but conversations and telephone calls have dried up." Madsen said he himself is interested in the new Bond because he was supposed to get a role in it. He last worked with Brosnan as Bond in Lee Tamahori's Die Another Day (2002), playing Damian Falco. Now Madsen is wary. "Well, I was going to do it with Pierce but, now that Pierce is out of the Bond picture, I don't know what is going to happen. If (producer) Barbara Broccoli calls me up and says: 'Michael, I want you to be in the James Bond picture,' I'll probably go do it, but I'm not going to call her. "I don't know the new Bond guy. I've never seen anything he's done. I don't even know what he looks like. I can't remember the guy's name. I would have to feel like he's going to be a good Bond for me to want to do it." Madsen, who plays the assassin Sidewinder in the Kill Bill films, said that watching Brosnan on Die Another Day taught him how torturous it is for the star on a 007 set. "You know, making a Bond film is not an easy thing to do. That's a heavy shoot, man. That's a long, long, big, big, heavy thing. The Bond thing is a tremendously gigantic production and the last one was hugely successful. "For Pierce, that was the fourth one that he did. He's tired, man. You know, he's James Bond. He doesn't have to do another one. Why would you? Why would you bother?"

So is the portion of the Negotiation Show where there's an impasse in the private talks and one party decides to go to the press (themselves or surreptiously through a third party) to force the other's hand publicly? ;-)

This is not quite Odds & Ends, just Odd. I think "Happy Passover" has just about been pounded into the ground, but having had my required four glasses of wine and then retreating to the DVD player, I started thinking about what ODB's four glasses would be. Somehow I came up with something that makes me dislike Manishevitz a little less. ;-) Please enjoy! L'Chayim and Mushimoko!

Not sure if anyone's interested in The Alamo, but I saw it last night. Jason Patric introduced. Funny, when he got there, he walked right up to me where I was behind a table waiting to start checking people in. Guess I was looking all busy and important and like I knew what was going on. ;-) The BAfta biggies were standing nearby in a huddle. All I was actually trying to do was avoid eye contact with the increasing crowd chomping at the bit to start going in. His adorable grandmother I had the conversation with last year after the Narc screening was there again. It wasn't bad, I did like it, but wasn't anything to write home about either. Of all the stars, I liked Billy Bob Thorton the best as Davy Crockett. Dennis Quaid as Gen. Sam Houston and most of the rest of the main high profile characters were a bit overwrought I thought. Heavy handed direction. Think it could've been shorter if some lingering shots were cut. I've managed to catch more bits of Significant Others and it is indeed v.v. funny, but it still annoys me, too. Might be the editing. Karen, have you seen any more of Nip/Tuck? Thanks again Tress for the heads up on the repeats for that. I'm so thrilled! Can't wait for the new season.

Re: Alamo I figured something was wrong with it since the release has been delayed so long. Nope, haven't watched Nip/Tuck yet. I guess I must keep forgeting about it.

Shoshana, that was lovely! That must have taken some work to pull together, such dedication is admirable! Thank you!

LOL! I just saw this: Epic Film 'The Alamo' Fights for Respect By ANTHONY BREZNICAN, AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES - The shooting was relatively painless on "The Alamo." The cutting was where things started to hurt. Production was finished and the Christmas release date loomed, but director John Lee Hancock wanted more time and money to edit his film of that memorable Texas battle. Disney's studio bosses gave him an extra $3 million and three more months � during which Hancock felt like he was performing the old vaudeville act of balancing dishes on sticks. "Most epic films have one character. You follow his or her journey and everything feeds their journey. This was an epic film with at least six main characters. That's difficult because you realize you can add a little bit of this, and what does that do to the whole story? It's a little like the guy on `The Ed Sullivan Show' spinning plates. You can spin one really, really fast and then look and you're about to drop another one." A few of the story lines he had to juggle: Dennis Quaid as Gen. Sam Houston, Jason Patric as Jim Bowie, Patrick Wilson as Col. William Travis, Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, Jordi Molla as Tejano hero Juan Seguin and Marc Blucas as garrison officer James Bonham. In October, Disney screened an early print that ran more than three hours. Studio boss Dick Cook acknowledged the movie was being groomed for Oscar contention, but decided it wasn't close enough to being finished for the planned Christmas release. Cook told The Associated Press in December: "There were deadlines ... and we just honestly felt, the filmmakers and all, we're not going to get this movie done in two weeks ... We said, `You know what? Looking at the landscape let's not kill ourselves." Hancock took over "The Alamo" after "A Beautiful Mind" filmmaker Ron Howard dropped out of directing, taking Russell Crowe with him. Primarily a screenwriter who wrote the Clint Eastwood film "A Perfect World," Hancock directed Quaid in the true-life baseball story "The Rookie" and had done some script work on "The Alamo" when it was still Howard's project. Howard had planned to start filming in November 2002, but the studio and Howard clashed over how bloody and expensive the film would be, with Howard seeking a reported $125 million budget plus his standard sizable percentage of the movie's box office. Disney wanted a PG-13 movie, a less expensive production budget, and a smaller part of the profit pie for Howard and would-be star Crowe. But Cook couldn't persuade them to lower their asking prices. Cook wanted "The Alamo" to be an example of a cost-saving epic in an era of out-of-control movie budgets. So Howard and Disney parted ways � which left an opening for Hancock. "We sort of have a mantra around here that we like to make the right movie at the right price," Cook said. "Some people have misinterpreted it that we're not going to make big movies. Clearly we're going to make big movies, but hopefully those big movies will be the right big movies to make for the right price." Hancock said he received Howard's blessing to move into the director's chair, and had no problem with the budget Disney was offering: $95 million. "Honestly there's not a penny that's spared on the screen," Hancock said. "It's just that Ron and Russell Crowe are a far more expensive than Dennis Quaid and I are." Hancock's cameras didn't get rolling until January 2003, and the Texas-born filmmaker's ambition in chronicling the many Alamo heroes placed that Dec. 25 release date in jeopardy almost from the get-go. "Billy Bob told me during production, `There is no way in hell you're coming out at Christmas,'" Hancock said. Then the postponement of the movie's release surrounded Hancock and Disney with bad buzz. Numerous stories questioned what was wrong with the film. Sometimes, delays mean a troubled movie. "The Alamo" director expected negative press but was glad to have more time to craft what he considered to be a better movie. "I knew that with the press reaction we'd take a hit," Hancock said. "But ask the most pertinent question: `What are you reshooting?' We didn't reshoot one frame of film, we didn't shoot any additional footage. It was me playing with well over a million feet of film we shot." In the editing room, Quaid's role as Houston became more of a bookend for the story, the character of Bonham was practically eliminated and the character of Seguin was reduced to a smaller supporting role. Meanwhile, the conflict between Travis and the dying Bowie became prominent, while Thornton's supporting role as Crockett became the film's "heart and soul," Hancock said. Now the fate of "The Alamo" lies in the hands of ticket buyers. But the film already has one high-profile admirer � Richard Bruce Winders, curator of the Alamo museum and author of the new book "Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas Revolution." "Given that this had such pre-release negative expectation because it was delayed and all the talk about what was wrong with the film, I think most people came out thinking it was better than they thought it was going to be," he said after seeing the final print. He doesn't feel that way about all Alamo movies, especially the 1960 version with John Wayne as Crockett, which he described as "real bad history." "It's hard to believe that Hollywood would do a movie where there was so much historical information in it," he added. "If you're expecting a remake of John Wayne's movie, you're going to be pretty much surprised by what you'll see."

Meanwhile, the conflict between Travis and the dying Bowie became prominent, while Thornton's supporting role as Crockett became the film's "heart and soul," Hancock said. I liked the conflict between Travis and Bowie. Travis was the officer in charge, but most of the men wouldn't listen to him unless Bowie gave the word. BBT was at times, the subtle comic relief. He got the throwaway amusing lines. Wasn't Patrick Wilson the guy Scarlett Johannson was supposedly seeing at one time? Jordi Molla as Tejano hero Juan Seguin Boy, can I tell you I was really bummed he wasn't in it more. Pretty much disappeared halfway in then reappeared at the end, but genereally didn't have a lot to say anyway. He is one hot tamale, IMO. ;-P Bet he wouldn't appeal to many here though. Marc Blucas as garrison officer James Bonham. I saw his name in the credits and wondered if I blinked an missed him. He was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer series for a time for those wondering who he was. He was really bland in the series to me. When Jason Patric started to speak for the intro he said he didn't know what he was supposed to say and just said there were no SFX for the most part, it was just old fashioned movie making like a David Lean epic [reaching just a bit ;-)]. I did think the battle scenes were very well done, but not on the scale and quality of the one in Cold Mtn. *That* was something. I'd read about all the problems about this movie back around the holidays, so I wasn't overly enthusiastic about seeing it, but I did enjoy it. I think most people there did from comments I could hear, though I don't think anyone was overjoyed with it either.

Was looking at the Indie box office report at indieWire and there are some very interesting pie charts: For the week ending April 5, (1) There were 62 indie films being shown, up 3 percent from the previous week, which represented 49.6 percent of the total out now. (2) But the total gross from indie films was $12.68M (down 15 percent), which is only about 10 percent of the total box office. (3) This naturally corresponds to the number of screens. Indies played on a total of 4,535 screens nationwide (down 9 percent), which is 11 percent of the total. Wow, I had no idea the relationship was that lopsided, but if I thought more about the math, it should have.

According to the ZReview, the Australian actor referred to by Michael Madsen is Heath Ledger: Rumours are now circulating that Barbara Broccoli is now looking at siging Heath Ledger up to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond! Apparently "they're" going for a young Bond to lure them into longer contracts.

Interesting article about the movie development process at big studios: http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists/klady/2004/gb_040408.html Good line: In the spoof Hollywood Boulevard, the filmmakers created the fictional studio Miracle Pictures and provided it with the motto: If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle. ;-))))))

"....Heath Ledger up to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond! Apparently "they're" going for a young Bond to lure them into longer contracts." The "Knight's Tale" guy? He's a mere child. I think they're going for the teeny audience .A PG-13 Bond

HL as Bond . .even a young one? . .Sorry .I just don't see it.

according to my mantlepiece, it is now officially the 8th, so it means it's time to wish kim a *very happy birthday* i know my little boys (aka animatronicolins) have been pretty quiet these past few months, actually i believe they have been invisible since one of them showed up at dorine's infamous cocktail party last december... (warning : a humongous file awaits you at the other end of this link) it means they missed a couple of celebrations already, tress's & barbs' come to mind (i'll make it up to you somehow)... well, to be honest, they also missed lora's birthday, which is why this one chose to show up so early in the morning, in order to make amends. so, without further ado, lora & kim, a few people here would like to wish you a happy birthday (warning again : this is a 700 ko file) enjoy.

That was fantastic, Sophie! I can't believe I had missed Dorine's Xmas one. I absolutely ;-) loved it! Tu est genial! Rumours are now circulating that Barbara Broccoli is now looking at siging Heath Ledger up to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond! Apparently "they're" going for a young Bond to lure them into longer contracts. I wonder who he'll push t be his Bond girl? ;-) They better dye his hair black. I read tha The Alamo had terrible audience responses when they startedescreening it eons ago. It was supposedto be a Xmas release. That's one film my DH wants to see. Interesting article, Karen, thanks!

(Moon) I wonder who he'll push t be his Bond girl? ;-) MaryKate or Ashley? Or maybe both...

(Barb) MaryKate or Ashley? Too funny. :-)

Oh, what shall I ever come up with as a fitting gift for Kimberley�s birthday tomorrow?? Perhaps one of these for her role as �Ace Reconnaissance Agent��... A nice way to recognize her deft talents for unearthing obscure background info whenever breaking news occurs. Secure party locations?? Obscure theatrical scripts?? No problem for our �girl in the know�! Naaah, I think a nice �wet one� will do the trick best��. Have a great one tomorrow, Kimberley!!!!

*clap clap clap* for your newest animatronic Colin, Sophie. Your collection could've been the Smigel cartoon on the show had they known about them. ;-) (Moon) I wonder who he'll push t be his Bond girl? ;-) (BarbS) MaryKate or Ashley? Or maybe both... LOL! And I hope they throw in somebody from those WB shows as the villain. ;-)

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen I must confess that ever since Kimberley called me DARLING I have thought of nothing else but how wonderful it would be to co-star with her in my next film. (The one after the Nanny of course). So Kimberley on your birthday rest assured that I working on it. Now, come join me and take a bow. Happy Birthday Kimberley! PS. Today is my son's birthday too.

That's odd. It's Kim's birthday, yet she's given *me* a present--a gift certificate for kissing lessons! What's wrong with how I kiss? Look how effectively I gave Katie my cheek when she tried to zoom in for some action. Even Matt wants to get in on the act! Hugs and (chaste) kisses on your Birthday, Kimberly!

Westchester to the Big Apple Our Metro Gal in the know Proved to be Emma�s equal On stakeout of a certain show. Soon we�ll see premieres With her film on the marquee ODB and our Kim, you wait it�ll be. Until we can look back And say we knew you when Birthday wishes you won�t lack Happy Birthday, my friend.

My dearest and loveliest Kimberly,may you have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Wot? Sure, I'm dressed and ready to go to Kimberly's birthday party! But I insist on being her date . . . We're going to do a litttle private transcribing and practice our kissing techniques Happy Birthday!!

Heeeey theressss....we hurrrd it wassss your birshday!I seemed to be misshing my olive....did you get it Sharlettt? I might haff to move onto margarittaaas! Happy Birthday, Metro Gal! Party like you'll never run out of garnishes!

Look, there's Kim--up in the balcony, the one with the red and white scarf. You must help me get a message to her. Tim: Whaaawhat shshould I I sssay? Colin: Repeat after me. Colin: Happy Tim: Happy Colin: Birthday Tim: Birthday Colin: Dearest, loveliest, Kim Tim: Could you repeat that? Colin: Happy Birthday, dearest, loveliest, Kim

(Shoshana)L'Chayim and Mushimoko! I love your four cups of Colin! You even managed to show "the simple son," "the rebellious son," "the wise son," and "the one who does not know how to ask a question!" ;-)))) Very well done, Shoshana, you clever girl. For my next birthday, can you put him in a kippah? ;-P Okay enough of Passover... Sophie, thanks so, so much for the animatronic Colin. It's an honor to receive one! It's terrific the way he counts and then blows out the candles with N-Lora and Ana-Kim by his sides! ;-) So glad to share one of Sophie's lovely creations with you,Kimberly (I'm working on my birthday wish to you, fellow Aries). Btw, Sopie, so glad you brought up Dorine's b-day since I totally missed it in December. I want to sneak in a very belated happy birthday wish to a very deserving firth fan.

I'm channeling someone having a birthday today. Just practicing a little Reiki ;-). Heard you know how to put some "iggy" on something you really want. Well, I'm doing the same because I really want you to have a very happy birthday! Happy Birthday, Kimberly!

Sophie - I am in awe of your animatronicolins...have never seen them before and boy, did I enjoy 'em. This group is just amazing!!

Hi all!! . .Been sooo swamped with work! Wanted to second with Lora . .v. nice montage Shosh . . . I�m belated with Passover wishes . .I hope all celebrating have a wonderful one;) Re: The many wonderful B'day wishes . . Sophie - yay an animitronicolin!!! . .I so love these!!!!! So glad that ODB, Laura . .(er I mean Norah ) and Ana could wish me & Lora a Happy B'day. And Yay . . v. happy to share it with Lora (hurrah to a fellow aries!). Liked that you used the SNL pic . .He's wearing that shirt . .*sigh* one of my SNL keeps. Leslie - Aww shucks, an Oscar? . .didn't think I'd get one this early in my career;) . .but well . .a nice little kiss from Colin is v. v. nice too! . .now would that be considered a fish kiss??? Moon - Oooh Colin, really? . .be a co-star in your next film?:) (Yes, please after The Nanny! - No offense to Emma) . . .Then I want it to be Toyer . .outta my way Juliette! My DH is the love of my life, but you will be "My Darling" forever . . . Mari - Hmmm . .I was wondering if he had opened that note I slipped him. . He must have if he found that gift certificate;) Memories . .*sigh again* of my first real sighting of "Colin in the Wild" . .just wonderful to relive Sonia - To Sonia, my dear I must stop now to say Many thanks for your poem That I received here today It was thoughtful and sweet And it showed lots of heart I know I�ll never forget All the support from the start That I�ve received from the Droolers Both near me and far So keep an eye out there girls For that next fancy car That ODB does step out from At his latest premiere You might just be surprised Can�t you see . .can�t you hear . . Standing by Colin�s side ,who it might be? For as Sonia suggests As had others, you see Colin�s next leading lady Well, might just be me;) Evelyn - Oh , Mr.Darcy . . . . did you say what I thought you did?:?? (*insert here one visceral groan ala SNL opening monologue*) .Birthday wishes from you I shall always treasure, down to my last days. . .I do know that look . .I know it�s usually for Lizzie, but I�m happy to have it today on my b�day . . I�ll sing to you too . .I know the same song . in Italian;) Karen - And you brought Mark . .! Mark, so glad you were able to make the party!:) Lovely just lovely. I do think you are awfully dashing in that tux. Now, don't over exert yourself, darling, chasing that nasty bastard Daniel all over the place . . . I need your rested and ready for that private transcription meeting . .ah . . .just whisper sweet nothings into my ear, my dear, and I'll take down all sorts of dictation;) . .of course then, a hot, sweaty out-of-breath Mark . .well I could find ways for you to relax . .wind down;) Don't pass out . .may just have to give you mouth-to-mouth. Tress - A v. squiffy Colin, I see . .and hello, Scarlett, glad you could join the party too . .Now you don't mind if I just squeeze in there between the both of you (* takes hip and body checks Scarlett out of the way*) . .Whoops! Clumsy me ! . .One too many martinis for me too I think . .are you alright? . .Just hold me up Colin . let me just place my arm around your waist to steady myself;) . . ..I think I have an olive somewhere for you . . . Leeenda - (whispering) Ooooooh nooooooo! Is my FP scarf giving me away?:) I wear it only so you can identify me from afar, Colin . . but if it's a bit too conspicuous, I may have to hide it for awhile . . Many thanks to Tim Calhoun to being our go between, in a matter of speaking. Lora - Ahhh are you a Reiki practitioner too?:) . . . . .well, would love to give Colin a private session . .do you think he'd lie still on the massage table for me?:) Must run . .my DH is taking me out for a b�day dinner . . will try to get back later to post more about Toyer on the Companion pieces . .if I�m not too squiffy by then! Thanks for the b'day wishes, everyone!

Happy Birthday KIMBERLY! Hope the day is fabulous, you wild woman, you!

Hey, Jimmy, who was that girl I just waved to up there? The one with the red and white scarf. Is she with that group that made that noise when I said, �Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth� in the monologue? Seems like I had something to say to her. Oh, I remember! Happy Birthday mah bee-luv-ed, Kimberly!!

(Lora)Heard you know how to put some "iggy" on something you really want. Let me tell you, from a front row seat, her iggy is hot stuff! Sophie, great job with animatronic Colin. You have out done yourself. It was fun reliving Dorine's animatronic Colin, too. (Kim)if I�m not too squiffy by then! It's your birthday, go ahead and get squiffy! Hope you have a great dinner.

Pssst, Darcy! You are in grave danger of being late to an important function! Blast! Must change for Kim's party! Ahh, now I'm ready. Where is that Darling Kim? I've been wanting to get a light from that lovely girl since I saw her Live that Saturday Night! Hope you had a BEE-utiful Birthday! Have some lovely Bee Cake!

It was the White Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a great hurry, muttering to himself as he came, "Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won�t she be savage if I�ve kept her waiting!" There's to be a mad hatter party for Kim...it's not her unbirthday today! Hmph, she can wait, someone took my knife! Well I'll be there as soon as I finish my cigarette. I'm busy right now chasing after housekeepers...by the way, where's my mug? Tis better to be late than never arrive at all...here, go pay the taxi why don't you. I've been here, in the kitchen trying not to choke on my tie. And I'm here too...playing the piano. Are we all here, then? Some still missing, you say? I think we've got enough for tonight. Let's get squishy! Happy Birthday Kim! Hope you had a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Kim! Hope it's been a great one. Have a great year!

My dear Kim, knowing your tracking and reconnaissance skills, I thought I�d just give you directions for a birthday treasure hunt! First, through the side door of Rockefeller Center (no, the other side door), down half a set of stairs, left of the security guard and not far from the planters of flowers, but not as far as the women�s restrooms. You there yet? Good. Look down. Your first clue. Now, shout �Alert!� and run to the Nautica store� actually an AP building entrance in disguise. You may have missed the tall, long-legged stranger but what�s that �wedged� in the revolving door? Your second clue. On the trail yet? If you need another hint, just step into the Borders� down the street and look at the special DVD sale item. OK. Got it? Just got to get though the door� Who�s that inside? Oops. Well, as there are no photos available from inside the party, this guy was second in line and in desperate need of some energy manipulation. Hope he�ll do. ;-) Happy Birthday Kim!!!

Crikey! Dropped my lime! ;-)

Never got back to the computer last night . .bit squiffy and tired . .DH took me and a friend out for Thai food and we were there all night. Also love lovely DH . .got me a copy of the book TumbleDown by Robert Lawrence . .sent to the UK for it;) . .nice pic of Colin & Robert Lawrence on the front . . TD now one of my tops faves list . . Eithne - many thanks for the b�day wishes . .did have wonderful day! Dorine - .I knew I was being a bit loud;) . .but to get a happy b�day from my own �bih-luv-ed� It was worth it. Will never forget him waving to us. And still will admit, loved that skit . .it was my favorite of them all (nice blond Colin!) Bee - Colin, I�ll keep the party going until you show up . .never fear about being late! A light you say . .let me just get that for you (* sidles up, with a lighter, smiling*). Do love the smell of a good cigar. And bee cake! . .been craving one of those! Ada � Oh my, oh my, oh my . .so many faces of Colin . .so many keeps in my hope chest (so many tributes still owed!!) . .in every incarnation I do adore him. But the final one . .just as he is, I thnk is the best! Shosh � Hurrah! A treasure hunt! (* flips on Mission Impossible theme music to get in the mood*) This was just fabulous the clues were just right . .and the directions led me to the prize that was hidden at the back of the resturant . .my the stairs that led to the loos. .and what a prize at the end! . .Well, Richard Courtois . .Reiki you say? . .Let me just dim the lights, light a few candles, some incense . .get the Reiki oil. Now lie back and let me do all of the work . . . Love lovely Droolers for many wonderful b�day wishes! Thanks so much!

Moon . . I forgot to add . .I hope your son had a v. happy b'day as well!!!

Oops . .and a thanks to Barb S too for her b'day wishes!!!! (sorry for all of the posts, Karen!)

More Bonds and Bond Girls and India? Kaun banega hamara Bond? NIKITA DOVAL TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, APRIL 09, 2004 05:47:33 AM ] The name still remains Bond but the most loved spy in literature and celluloid history is undergoing an identity crisis. As the studio bosses deliberate on the new face, websites are conducting country-wide polls to find The Replacement. While USA votes in favour of Hugh Jackman, the Brits have placed their bet on Colin Firth. And India? It�s a divided house, back home. Most of our desi Bond buffs would like purana Pierce to continue. Photographer Tarun Khewal feels Brosnan ��fits the bill perfectly.�� The fatigue factor does figure and so do the wrinkles, fast catching up with the 50-plus Brosnan. ��But that�s okay, even a master spy can grow old,�� feels Khewal. Sunny Sarid also gives his nod to Brosnan. ��He�s a cool, composed guy and that�s an integral part of Bond�s persona.�� Sarid feels that after Sean Connery, it�s Brosnan who fits the image of the Ian Fleming spy! However, actress Amrita Rao would beg to differ. She feels Brosnan is ��simply outdated.�� Her choice is Keanu Reeves. ��His poker face which does not let on anything will be perfect for a spy!�� Another contender? Jude Law who could slip in beautifully in the spy�s role, feels dress designer Mandira Wirk. ��He has a �stiff upper lip� look about him and with his killer looks, he fits the role perfectly." But Brosnan still has some desi gals swooning. Monisha Bajaj and Shilpa Shetty give him a thumbs up. ��He�s perfect. Sean Connery made the character his, but Brosnan has managed to carve a niche for himself,�� says Shetty. And the Bond girl? ��The only pre-requisite of a Bond woman is that she has to be really hot,�� says model Aparna Behl. Actor Himanshu Mallik has a definite choice. ��No, not Kylie or Britney. They are both has-beens. It�s got to be Charlize Theron. She�s one hot chick!" http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/608117.cms

I would pick Jude Law over Keanu Reeves any day. Charlize isn't a bad choice, really. Thanks, Linda. I don't see the Heath Ledger thing either from that blurb that Karen mentioned from Z Review (and loved the pics of Christian Bale as the new Batman over at Z Review....Tress, looks like he lost some weight since Jan. Maybe it's just 'cause he shaved off that heavy beard. ;-))

"She feels Brosnan is ??simply outdated.?? Ditto. In fact, so is Bond, IMO TIME review of "Dogville" EMPTY SET, PLOT TO MATCH Dogville is a fascinating experiment, but it fails to produce any breakthrough in entertainment "Actors are weird. It's part of their job description. What other trade compels a person to travel halfway around the world, get up at 5 a.m. each day, dress and talk funny, gain or lose 40 lbs. and make simulated love or war with a near stranger? " Whole review: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040412-607794,00.html

uhoh... guess what, there's more, well, i means it seems kim forgot something and we have a couple of leftovers from the party to attend to... how careless of you, kim !

sophie!!!!!! How could I have not seen it . . ! I was just riding on such a Colin high that I plumb forgot it was lying there. Silly Kimberly . . . However, to be greeted this morning by that fellow at the door . . I love it! That animitronicolin is priceless! Woo hoo!!!! The after party continues! *waving dollar bills around, trying, not very discreetly, to tuck them in his towel*

LOL, sophie! (Dorine), I would pick Jude Law over Keanu Reeves any day. Charlize isn't a bad choice, really. I agree. So Keith Ledger was a rumour? It's amazing that Colin's name is going around as the UK choice for Bond. Surely some Brocolli must be paying attention? Althought I see Colin more as a Mr. Bean type Bond. He is a bit clumsy. ;-) Thanks, Linda!

A very Happy and Serene Easter to all! Don't overdo. :-D Or the hen will get mad. ;-)

Happy Easter to all those celebrating!!! Five Second Delay Please: May you all get a little tail! BTW, Sophie! That Colinatron is hilarious!!!! Thanks!!!!

oooppssss...hope that fixed it!

Blast! I hope that got it! Sorry Karen!

A little something from Paulie:

LOL, Karen. I'm going to be thinking of Paulie and keesters in church, tomorrow. I just know it!

Pauline pointed out this article from the Sunday NYT. I'll post the entire thing, just in case it goes behind the registration buffer at some point: April 11, 2004 Gore's Daughter Pulls the Sheet Off Washington By ALEX KUCZYNSKI LIFE as a Senate aide is grueling, sometimes mind-numbingly boring work. But to hear Kristen Gore tell it in her first novel, it can also be littered with cold-eyed romantic encounters, epic drinking, seedy campaign-trail sex, pot-smoking octogenarians and treachery worthy of the sudsiest soap opera. Ms. Gore, 26, one of Al Gore's three daughters, has written a novel from inside the political fishbowl. The book, "Sammy's Hill" � Bridget Jones in high-wonk Washington mode � is to be published on Sept. 1 by Miramax Books. And, yes, there is a fishbowl, that ubiquitous metaphor for any number of insular industries, on the jacket. Although Miramax has not yet released bound galleys, copies of a 486-page manuscript have been distributed to foreign publishers and movie producers. As outlined in one such copy of the manuscript, "Sammy's Hill" is the story of Samantha Joyce, a 20-something health-care analyst for the junior senator from Ohio. The first line reads, "The party really started to rock when Willie Nelson and Queen Nefertiti began pouring shots." [Ed note: Is this indicative of the caliber of the writing? Gaah!] To insiders on the Washington-New York-Hollywood axis, however, the more compelling story may turn out to be the one about how "Sammy's Hill" came into being and what it reveals about the happy consequences of being connected and the calculations of publishers. The book was the brainchild of Harvey Weinstein, the co-chairman of Miramax Films, and Jonathan Burnham, the editor in chief of Miramax Books, who decided that what the world needed was a Bridget Jones-goes-to-Washington novel. "Harvey and I had this idea that there is this gap in the, what, the chick-lit market," Mr. Burnham said, speaking in a crisp English tone not especially suited to the phrase "chick lit." "There was no, what we call in house, D.C. Bridget. All these chick-lit novels were set in Manhattan, usually in the office of a magazine or a publishing company. And somehow the trend missed Washington D.C." That may be because Capitol Hill, with its buttoned-down manner, is not the best setting for a story about a sexy young woman. Especially one who works as a � zzz � health-care analyst. Or as Jay Leno put it last year, announcing her novel, "It's about a Capitol Hill staffer who works with a congressman on a health care subcommittee." Mr. Leno noted, "Apparently, that boring gene doesn't fall far from the tree." Ouch, but nevertheless, last spring Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Burnham decided they must publish their brainchild Washington novel. But they needed a writer. And they also needed a manuscript. Three weeks later, in April, Mr. Weinstein ran into Ms. Gore at a reception for the Association to Benefit Children, Ms. Gore recalled. (Her sister Karenna Gore Schiff is the director of community affairs for the organization and is also writing a book � nonfiction � for Miramax.) Ms. Gore had been living in Los Angeles writing for the animated Fox show "Futurama" and was deciding whether to write for television or to try a novel. "And suddenly there he was, and he said, `What are you doing?' " Ms. Gore said last week. "And I said, `Well, I guess I'm going to write television, but what I really, really want to do is write a novel.' And he said, `What a coincidence.' It was this great serendipitous moment." The novel's debt to "Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding is evident in the first few pages. Samantha is late for work and hung over. She cannot find matching shoes. She is a touch neurotic. And the plot is familiar: girl meets boy, falls for boy, realizes boy is a loser and discovers another boy � the one who was under her nose the whole time. [Ed note: And they're giving Helen Fielding credit for the storyline?] But this time a vivid political backdrop colors the story. While working on a health-care bill, Samantha falls in love with Aaron, a dashing young speechwriter for a senior senator. Both the senator and Aaron turn out to be back-stabbing, mudslinging political operators. Samantha dumps Aaron. Briefly depressed by the breakup, she is cheered when Senator Gary, a clean-cut politician who evokes images of the writer's father and Senator John Edwards, is chosen to be the vice-presidential candidate for his party. (Ms. Gore avoids overt labels like Democrat and Republican, but it is pretty easy to figure out who the bad guys are.) On the campaign trail, she has an affair with Bob Espin, an older hotshot political consultant. But the affair sours. She falls in love with a Washington Post reporter. But he has a girlfriend. On election night, however, the reporter dumps his girlfriend. He and Samantha spend the night together. Her candidate wins. She has found love! She will go to work in the White House! The end. Miramax Books has announced a first printing of 100,000 copies. Except for the last bit about the White House, there are similarities between Ms. Gore and the character of Samantha. Ms. Gore campaigned for her father for president in 2000, traveling widely with him. In the novel, Samantha travels on the campaign trail with her boss, the idealistic senator. Samantha's mother loves the Beatles. Tipper Gore loves the Beatles. In the novel, Samantha has an affair with a Capitol Hill staffer. In real life, Ms. Gore is engaged to an aide to Representative Martin T. Meehan of Massachusetts. (Since writing the book, she has moved from Los Angeles to Boston to be with her fianc�.) In the novel, Samantha has an affair with Bob Espin, the hotshot Washington political consultant working on the campaign. In real life, Ms. Gore is friendly with Carter Eskew, the Washington political consultant who was a senior adviser to her father's campaign. Wait a sec. Does that mean? "I love Carter Eskew," Ms. Gore said firmly. "But I did not choose to immortalize him." "It's fiction," she said. But readers should not be surprised to find bits and pieces of, say, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger or Arianna Huffington or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Certainly, I have had a lot of experience, and I also have an active imagination," Ms. Gore said. "I make things up for a living. It has all just been put into a blender and came out. It's not like this character is that person, and that character is this person." Her final manuscript is slimmer than the one in circulation, Ms. Gore said, especially since she cut long talky passages about health care. "I got way too into some of that stuff," she said. Ms. Gore joins a small but publicity-worthy group of political relatives who have tried their hand at fiction. Margaret Truman, the daughter of President Harry S. Truman, wrote a series of popular thrillers, including "Murder in Georgetown" and "Murder at the White House." Patti Davis, daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, has written novels like "A House of Secrets," about a liberal writer, whose father, a conservative governor of California, becomes president and whose mother is a control freak. Sometimes, however, the pairing of political family ties and fiction backfires, as it did in the case of Lynne Cheney last week. New American Library, a division of Penguin Group USA, planned to reissue a novel by Ms. Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, titled "Sisters," originally published in 1981. The book, a steamy Gothic romance set in the frontier days of the American West, includes lesbian love affairs, murder and rape, and has become a lightning rod for gay activist groups, who cite it as evidence of Mrs. Cheney's unvoiced sympathies for gay rights. But Mrs. Cheney and her lawyer asked the publisher not to release the book. New American Library retains the legal rights to publish it, but complied. Mr. Burnham said he did not think "Sammy's Hill" would be any cause for embarrassment. "She came through beautifully," he said of Ms. Gore's writing. And Ms. Gore said that her parents had read the book. "They really loved it, and they have always been supportive of pretty much any creative effort," she said. The Gore name will certainly help get the book into stores, no easy feat for a typical first novel, said David Rosenthal, the publisher of Simon & Schuster. "Whether those copies leave the store in the hands of consumers is going to depend on the reviews and the word of mouth," Mr. Rosenthal said. As much as Miramax encouraged Ms. Gore's muse, it will not make the movie. Screen rights were sold last month to Columbia Pictures and Red Wagon Entertainment. Matthew Hiltzik, a Miramax spokesman, said Miramax had passed on the rights to "Sammy's Hill" because the studio is producing similar movies, including "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," due out this year, along with adaptations of "The Nanny Diaries" and "I Don't Know How She Does It." But Ms. Gore gets to write the screenplay. After that, she plans to write another novel. "Whether people will read me remains to be seen," she said.

Here's hoping we hear some good news about interesting projects for ODB this year! Happy Easter!!

On election night, however, the reporter dumps his girlfriend. He and Samantha spend the night together. Her candidate wins. She has found love! She will go to work in the White House! The end. Yeah...but does she run through the snow in her knickers to go after him? And where is her urban family? It's all about the friends! Thanks Karen....I think I'll pass on Sammy's Hill. Too many good books to read to spend time on chick lit knock-offs.

Geeze, Dorine! ROTF! Dam...now I've got to clean my keyboard again ;-) Do any of the rest of you find the term "chick lit" to be somewhat irritating? Think I'll join Tress and take a pass on Ms. Gore's book. Finally, hope all of you that celebrate are having a wonderful Easter, and those who don't are having a wonderful weekend.

Very interesting article, Karen. Some people get to win the lucky sperm contest and use another persons ideas too :-/ ************************************************** On a brighter note: Happy Easter to all who celebrate it today. Enjoy the time with family and friends (and chocolate too). LOL at your bunnies, Dorine!

(NYT article)Both the senator and Aaron turn out to be back-stabbing, mudslinging political operators. Can't buy those as capital offenses. More like capital par for the course. Perjury, bribery,extortion, embezzlement--you know, something against the law, maybe but back-stabbing, mudslinging, and operating politically, nevah! Tress, you left your Lost Empires quote off your Easter greeting. Uncle Nick to Richard: "You're just out of the egg, boy.";-)

I hope today has been a lovely Easter for all!!

(Me)Tress, you left your Lost Empires quote off your Easter greeting. Sorry, Tress. I should have taken more time in composing my post. I did not mean to imply that your posting was in anyway deficient-quite lovely, actually. If I had it to do over, I would say: LOL! So cute, I'll picture that every time I hear Uncle Nick say to Richard: "You're just out of the egg, lad." :-) :-) Happy Easter!

(Eithne) Do any of the rest of you find the term "chick lit" to be somewhat irritating? Since there's another genre called "lad-lit" (with Nick Hornby being the most famous writer in it), I don't mind it as much as I do the term "chick flick," which is never positive IMO and viewed as some sort of second-class material, aimed at soft-hearted, snively and weepy females. However, any fictiom aimed at a female audience is viewed as second class (chick-lit, romance novels, etc.), whereas I don't see the same aimed at readers of sci-fi, fantasy, pulp detective, westerns, etc. You may find this interesting because this site asks the authors of Chick Lit that same question. Interestingly, I've been reading quite a bit of Chick Lit lately. Some good. Some bad. Some hilarious. Some cringe-inducing. Right now, I've started "Girls Poker Night" by Jill Davis, a former writer on the Letterman show. v. funny, with LOL lines. She reminds me of Fran Lebowitz ("Metropolitan Life"), who was merely viewed as a best-selling humorous writer in 1978. Must have been a label-less time, which gave authors their due. ;-)

Oops, forgot the url: http://www.authorsontheweb.com/features/0402-chicklit/chicklit.asp (haven't read any of the women on that Roundtable though)

(Karen)I don't mind it as much as I do the term "chick flick,"... Vs. "dick flick";-/

"And suddenly there he was, and he said, `What are you doing?' " Ms. Gore said last week. "And I said, `Well, I guess I'm going to write television, but what I really, really want to do is write a novel.' And he said, `What a coincidence.' It was this great serendipitous moment." Yeah, right. Sounds a bit fishy to me. (Karen)(haven't read any of the women on that Roundtable though) Only one was vaguely familiar-Carole Matthews. I read her Bare Necessity a while ago. Not bad. (Eithne)Think I'll join Tress and take a pass on Ms. Gore's book. My thoughts, exactly. (Evelyn)Vs. "dick flick";-/ ROTFLOL.

Well . .for all in the Metro Area, the program for the Tribeca Film Festival is now up . . I can't recall if Dorine's already posted this . . . No Trauma . .boo hoo:( http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/opencms/opencms/tff/home.jsp Stage Beauty looks like an interesting one, IMO

Overheard in the Washington DC Metro (subway) this weekend.... A twenty-something girl talking to her twenty-something male companion. Both avidly discussing the Victorian authors. The girl states that she finds Austen's books repetitive but does like the films made from them because they frequently include (sic) Colin Firth. My young son who's been listening in turns to me and asks quite earnestly, "Mom, do all the woman in the world take a Colin Firth pill or something?"

(Leslie)"Mom, do all the woman in the world take a Colin Firth pill or something?" Yes dear . .yes we do;) . .actually it disolves well in our cups of Free Trade Coffee that we imbibe every day. Your son is adorable!

Fab Five to Channel Four By Steve Brennan British TV viewers will be getting a triple scoop of Bravo's hit makeover show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" with a licensing deal for Channel Four to air all episodes of the U.S. show beginning in June. This comes on top of an existing deal with Flextech-owned LivingTV for a cable outing in the United Kingdom for the U.S. episodes as well as for a local British version of the reality series to begin airing next month (HR 2/22). The Channel Four deal was confirmed Monday by an NBC Enterprises spokesman. NBCE is distributing the reality series and the format worldwide. In addition to the Channel Four deal, NBCE also confirmed a sale of "Queer Eye" to South African cable and satellite outlet MNET that involves a pan-African broadcast arrangement for the U.S. episodes. A new deal with Hong Kong's TVB for all episodes of the series also was confirmed Monday. "Queer Eye" has now been cleared in almost 50 territories worldwide, said Leslie Jones, vp international sales and format production at NBCE. Although Jones declined comment on the latest U.K. deal, it is known that Channel Four begins airing the U.S. episodes next month on Fridays, while LivingTV will broadcast the local U.K. version of the show on Thursdays. At some point both outlets will be airing the U.S. episodes, but they will not overlap. NBCE also is understood to be negotiating deals in France and Spain for local versions there of the "Queer Eye" format.

April 13, 2004 Teaming up for laughs at the BBC By Steve Brennan Award-winning American comedy writer-producer Fred Barron is heading up a highly successful venture to introduce the American studio production system to the British comedy process. His hit BBC comedy "My Family" has now led to a second sitcom, "Everything I Know About Men," which is heading into production at the network under Barron's oversight. The new sitcom represents the second phase in a most unusual move by the BBC to have Barron pioneer American team comedy writing there, something entirely new in Britain, where TV sitcom writers usually work solo. Barron, whose executive producer credits include "Seinfeld," "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Caroline in the City," has been headquartered at the BBC for the past four years, charged with developing and showrunning new team-written sitcoms. But it's only now that he feels comfortable declaring the experiment a success. With "My Family," the first comedy in the United Kingdom to use team writing, he believes he has proved how successful the "table writing" system can be. His show is known as the "Friends" of the United Kingdom, with an average audience of 8 million, often peaking at 10 million. It debuted in the United States this month on BBC America. The comedy centers on the antics of the Harper family, which is headed up by a harassed dentist whose character is based on Barron's late father. Barron insists that he did not move to London to overturn the British production process. "I am not looking to replace great solo writers like David Renwick ('One Foot in the Grave,' 'Jonathan Creek') and John Sullivan ('Only Fools and Horses'), who are creating one classic series after another, or Ricky Gervais ('The Office'). "But I felt (the U.S.) system was a good way to have young writers come up through the ranks here, and I also felt the U.S. system is very important if you want to produce episodes in volume. For instance, (the British comedy) 'Only Fools and Horses' is a terrific show, but it took them 11 years to get 40 episodes. We now have 50 episodes of 'My Family' (which is in its fifth season). Last year alone, we did 26 episodes with six writers working together." In the Uk a writer typically delivers a package of completed scripts ready to go directly into production. In the US The writing team, led by a showrunner, is in place throughout the entire production period, constantly rewriting up until the recording of the show. Barron and the BBC came together more by chance than by design. "At the time, the BBC wanted to try something new and to experiment with ways to produce in greater volume," Barron says. At the same time, Barron was becoming frustrated with the American networks, which had passed on his series idea based on his father called "My Family" because, as they put it, "Nobody wants to see a show about a dentist." A native of Boston, Barron had recently overcome cancer and was still mourning the death of his dentist father when he came up with the idea for "My Family," based on his own memories. "The U.S. networks loved it but said the central character should not be a dentist because dentists are not popular," Barron says. "I said, Yes, he does have to be a dentist because that was the reason I wrote it." Unwilling to compromise, Barron headed for Britain and the BBC with his idea, his craft and his reputation. "I was expecting greater differences between the British and American production systems," he says. "But there were far more similarities than I had expected. I think I learned more from the writers I was teaching than they learned from me. I would say, We need more jokes here, and they would say, 'No, let the moment live.' It was a learning curve for all of us." "My Family" was produced with the BBC by DLT Entertainment U.K. in association with Rude Boy Prods. Now that he is moving on to his next BBC project utilizing the table writing system, Barron has handed over the showrunning duties of "My Family" to the two British writers whom he brought on board and trained into the U.S. writing system, James Hendrie and Ian Brown. "I have my fingers crossed that the show succeeds without me and that this will open the door for this method of bringing people up so they can in turn bring up new showrunners," Barron says. "Of course, the overall goal is for the BBC to create multiple episodes and get longer-running series that people can embrace." For his new BBC sitcom, due to go into production next month, Barron says he has hired a team of writers who have not previously worked full time in television. The new show will focus on twentysomething secretary Rebecca "Bex" Atwell, who is struggling to understand her boyfriend, boss and father. "I have a young team, mostly from radio," he says. "The goal is to get as many talented people as possible and to bring them in. I am not saying that my way of doing it is better than anybody else's, whether it's 'The Office' or 'Fawlty Towers.' I'm simply saying that there is an alternative (system) and the BBC now seems to be enjoying that alternative."

hit BBC comedy "My Family" I caught my boys watching this show and they say it's the funiest thing on TV. Have been after me to watch. The accent is American, but it's done for the BBC? (Leslie)"Mom, do all the woman in the world take a Colin Firth pill or something?" LOL! I'm sure mine would be looking for the antidote. ;-)

'I genuinely feel the work could all dry up tomorrow' He has been nominated for a Bafta next weekend and f�ted for his portrayal of Gordon Brown, but even on the eve of a new project, David Morrissey, Britain's least-known best actor, still panics if the phone doesn't ring Simon Garfield Sunday April 11, 2004 The Observer Eating dinner at a Turkish restaurant not far from his house, David Morrissey does not yet look much like an archetypal owner of a Lancashire amusement arcade, the role he is to start filming this week in a BBC comedy series called Blackpool. Then again, a week or so before he started filming The Deal, I saw him walking around and he didn't really resemble the Chancellor, and a few days before he flew to Cephalonia to appear in Captain Corelli's Mandolin he didn't strike me as much of a Nazi captain. The part he most resembles over stuffed green peppers in north-west London is that of potential Bafta winner for his portrayal of the MP Stephen Collins in the thriller State of Play, although he does his best to hide it. Occasionally, he says, people smile at him in the street, perhaps because they have recognised him from something on television, or possibly because he has a nice, open face and looks unthreatening, despite his height and outhouse build. At 39, he may be our least-known best actor and the most infrequently rewarded by the industry that, by consensus, adores him. Until he was given a Royal Television Society award for best actor in The Deal last month, Morrissey had never won anything in his 24-year career; he claims not to have cared. Bill Nighy, a fellow Bafta nominee for his role as the newspaper editor in State of Play that every journalist wishes they had in real life, told Morrissey he'd always been down on awards until he'd won one. This, Morrissey concludes, 'is something I can quite understand'. A few weeks ago at the National Film Theatre, director John Madden, who directed Morrissey in Captain Corelli, told an audience that, even though he had worked with him three times, he really had 'no idea how he does it'. Madden said that Morrissey was admired by even the most envious of colleagues: 'You won't find a more sceptical audience for an actor's work than another actor, because when they watch other actors work they're looking for the tricks, which, of course, they all know, and they're looking for the wheels turning. With David, you can't see the wheels turning and it's a pretty extraordinary compliment.' I've known Morrissey as a friend for a few years and I've always been struck by his modesty, which I think comes across in his professional career, and his humour, which I'm not sure always does. On television, he tends to choose roles with a certain amount of desperation and crack-up involved - sympathetic but conflicted men with broken careers and ruined marriages, or with dilemmas beyond their experience and ambitions beyond their station. Only the last of these may be said to be drawn from Morrissey's life. Born in Liverpool to a father who worked as a cobbler and engraver and a mother who worked at Littlewood's catalogue company, he was the youngest of four children. His father died when Morrissey was 15 and a year later he left school with two O-levels and only one career opportunity beyond shelf-stacking. A cousin encouraged him to try out for the Liverpool Everyman Youth Theatre. He remembers standing around being intimidated by the self-confidence of his peers. The golden period in the main house - Willy Russell, Julie Walters, Alan Bleasdale - was soon mirrored in the junior house, and Morrissey was struck by the impact on the local community of a play he appeared in about the Liverpool riots; most of his friends were forming bands, but acting also appeared to have some sort of social value and appeal to women. Willy Russell him alongside his pal Ian Hart for a successful television series about two Scousers on the lam, and from there it seemed a fairly uncluttered path along grand thespian way - Rada, the RSC, the National. But in 1991, he hit a period he shudders to recall. 'I did a version of Robin Hood, and it wasn't a bad film,' he says. He played Little John; a little-known Uma Thurman was Maid Marian. The problem was that Kevin Costner's Robin Hood came out just before it, so it got buried. 'I didn't work for eight months after that, and I remember thinking, "That's it; I will never work again." The auditions dried up and those I did get I was increasingly nervous at. I didn't know what had gone wrong. It panicked me.' He had just used the Robin Hood money to move from the White City estate to a flat in Crouch End, north London, and had a film actor's mortgage. 'The most significant part of my day was coming back from going to the shops or a walk and seeing if the answermachine was flashing, wondering if that was my agent. It never was. I didn't have anything else in my life - the job informed me totally. Bugger all else I can do - work in a bar perhaps.' He relied on his friends and family, and eventually landed the part of a policeman in a BBC drama called Clubland. A week into rehearsals, his appendix burst and he awoke from the opera tion to find someone from the production by his bedside. 'He was saying that they'd have to recast, but all I could see was me losing my flat. So I got up to show him I was OK. I filmed the entire thing with my stitches in.' It is not true that he's been working ever since, but it certainly appears that way. Directors and writers are eager to re-employ him whenever they can. 'He embodies the qualities of straightness and integrity,' says Tony Marchant, the writer of Into the Fire and Holding On, both of which featured Morrissey in roles that required great emotional transformation. 'When he goes off the rails, it's always more disturbing than anyone else you might cast. When he starts to unravel, you absolutely believe it. But it's a very hard thing for actors to pull off without looking as though they're showboating.' Last month, James Nesbitt showed similar qualities in Passer By, Marchant's drama about a man forced to re-evaluate his entire moral and personal code after learning of a rape he could have prevented. This was Morrissey's second major directing job and Marchant was impressed with the precision he took with each scene. 'He was the most prepared director I've ever worked with. Because he's fairly inexperienced, he knew he couldn't just wing it. And he made the actors feel that he understood what they had to go through.' Morrissey told me that the actors he admires most are those who choose roles they fear may be beyond them. 'As a director, I learnt that nine times out of 10 actors really want to help you out. You don't have to mollycoddle them - just trust them and be with them. I've worked with directors who are patronising and intimidated by actors. That's no help to anyone. Some actors who are apparently pains in the arse are not - they just want to do their job right. If they have to be bolshie to get what they want, that's fine by me.' Marchant believes Morrissey is less happy on public display than he is on either side of a camera: 'The most uncomfortable I've ever seen him is when I won a Dennis Potter Award and he was presenting it to me and had to make a speech. He isn't at ease in public situations and, in a way, I trust that because other actors have this professional persona that they bring to their public life. A lot of actors want to be loved all the time, but David doesn't express that need publicly, or let it get in the way of a performance.' Last year was his best yet, with three defining parts in pieces that are all up for Baftas. For his role in This Little Life, he consulted premature-birth specialists and drew on his own experience as a father of two, while in The Deal and State of Play he immersed himself in Westminster with the help of MPs and newspaper columnists. As he mastered Gordon Brown's jaw-drop and hair-smoothing, I remember him wondering whether he hadn't made a big mistake. 'I thought the script would work, but was having difficulty with the tone of the piece, how you pitch it. It couldn't be an out-and-out impersonation. Would the public accept a drama like this of the two most powerful politicians in the country or would it be laughable?' He gained almost two stone for his role. 'When I first went round to Michael Sheen's house [Sheen played Tony Blair] I started to realise it's a Shakespearean tale about two men who admire and love each other and then it all goes sour when another man becomes involved - Mandelson.' He has had no word on whether Gordon Brown has seen the programme - 'I'd like to know what he thinks, though he does have quite a lot on his plate' - although he was pleased with the reaction from political journalists. 'I think they were expecting to find it ludicrous and inaccurate. What they found was something illuminating.' Peter Mandelson let Morrissey shadow him for a day while he was researching State of Play and the actor was struck by how seductive Westminster can be to the young politician on the make. 'The eagerness to be liked and known - I can see how someone like Stephen Collins would be affected, having a constituency in Manchester and coming to London and being completely flattered. It's not difficult to forget the roots of why he was a politician in the first place and to compromise your ideals to get on. 'I look for men who have a complex nature, perhaps if they have a secret,' Morrissey says. 'But it's a particular mainstay of British drama that the central characters are always going through some sort of traumatic experience or crisis, so that's perfect for me.' His secure domestic set-up may be the best clue to his ability to unravel so effectively on our screens. He has been with novelist Esther Freud for 10 years and the recent purchase of a Renault Scenic has officially announced the imminent arrival of their third child. He credits her with improving his professional discipline. They are determinedly not a showbiz family for they have lived with fame for a while. Their annual houseparties are packed with talented actors and writers, all feigning coolness in the paint-splattered presence of Lucian Freud. Their sitting room used to display a family snapshot taken while Morrissey was filming Captain Corelli, but the photo has since become the subject of curiosity. 'We never used to have any decent photographs of the four of us together,' he says, 'because either I'm taking it or Esther's taking it or the kids are putting their tongues out. And so we're in Cephalonia, and one of the Italian guys there takes a photograph of us all together and it turned out to be really lovely of all of us. The kids are smiling, Esther looks beautiful and I look great, apart from the fact I'm dressed entirely in a Nazi uniform.' Despite the success, Morrissey says he remains insecure. Occasionally, there are minor setbacks - his role in Girl With a Pearl Earring was excised during editing - and he doubts whether even winning a Bafta will have much impact on his career. 'You're constantly vulnerable,' he says. 'I've hardly met an actor who doesn't think the current job might be the last.' I raise my eyebrows. 'No. I genuinely feel all the time that it could all dry up tomorrow.' As it is, tomorrow he starts filming his new role, a comedy with musical numbers in which he plays a man with wedge sideburns and a daughter dating a man the same age he is. 'I'm bricking it,' he says. 'Normally, rehearsals are spent getting to the heart of the character, but on this I'm being whisked away to learn dance steps. I can't dance at all. Of course, it may all be quite beyond me.'

(Morrissey)'You're constantly vulnerable,' he says. 'I've hardly met an actor who doesn't think the current job might be the last.' I raise my eyebrows. 'No. I genuinely feel all the time that it could all dry up tomorrow.' Ain't that the truth. Thanks for posting the article, Mary!

hit BBC comedy "My Family" Moon: I caught my boys watching this show and they say it's the funniest thing on TV. Have been after me to watch. The accent is American, but it's done for the BBC? The BBC "My Family" is all-English-accents (Robert Lindsay, Zoe Wanamaker, Kris Marshall) and, IMHO, very feeble. If this is meant to be a superb advert for teams of UK comedy writers, yuck! But then again, I haven't watched it in the last year... Moon, I hope your boys were watching a better American version...

From the UK Times: "...The Duke and Duchess will now be hoping that association with Brideshead will have the same magic on visitor numbers at their home. They will be hoping to cash in on the "Colin Firth" factor. This was observed after a BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice showed the actor emerging dripping wet from a lake. Visitor numbers at the National Trust property, Lyme Park, Cheshire, where the scene was filmed, immediately soared." Whole story here: http://murphsplace.com/crowe/uktimes6.html

A list, a list, a veritable list! Of the 100 greatest movie characters, according to Premiere magazine: http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=1539&page_number=12&preview=

From The Independent, this is one way to transition to a younger Bond, though Heath Ledger may be a bit too old for this one. *snort* Bond is back - as a teenage agent By Jonathan Thompson 11 April 2004 There will be no vodka martinis and no Pussy Galore. James Bond is to reappear in a new adventure next year - as a teenager. Penguin Books, the publisher of Ian Fleming's original Bond series, has commissioned two prequels on the nation's most celebrated spy. Written by the actor and novelist Charlie Higson, they will tell the story of a 13-year-old Bond and his escapades while a pupil at Eton. Higson, 45, is best known as the co-creator of BBC2's The Fast Show, but has a number of adult thrillers and screenplays to his name. He described the chance to write about a teenage James Bond as "too good an opportunity to turn down". He said: "I've grown up with Bond, and while I've had to finally accept that I'll never play him in the films, writing about him is even more exciting." Higson has already begun work on the first book, which is due for publication in March next year. Set in the 1930s, it will see the future 007 travel to a remote Scottish castle, where, according to Penguin, a wealthy American has been conducting "some very disturbing experiments". The book will also describe the young Bond's struggle to come to terms with the premature death of his parents in a skiing accident - a tragedy often cited as the driving force behind his later evolution into Fleming's ruthless government assassin. Penguin hopes that the prequels, published under its children's arm, Puffin Books, will capitalise on the success of series such as JK Rowling's Harry Potter - which saw an increase in boarding school applications - and Anthony Horowitz's tales of the boy spy Alex Rider, which have sold more than 1.1 million copies. http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/story.jsp?story=510459

Anyone want to get tix? ;-) 'Hamlet' gets a makeover By Charlotte Cripps 14 April 2004 Trevor Nunn returns at last to Elsinore with a youthful cast and a fresh approach In Trevor Nunn's new production of Hamlet, Gertrude (played by his wife, Imogen Stubbs) carries a Gucci handbag and has make-up by Mac and Est�e Lauder on her dressing-table. The majestic set is almost operatic in scale, and the invasion of Denmark by Norway not only features guns and swords, but helicopter sounds. This is Trevor Nunn's first Hamlet since his RSC production of 1970, which starred Alan Howard as Hamlet and Helen Mirren as Ophelia. His latest prince is played by a 23-year-old Ben Whishaw, who was Brother Jasper in Nicholas Hytner's His Dark Materials at the National Theatre. Ophelia is played by a 19-year-old Samantha Whittaker, who is reading English at UCL, but is taking a break to make her stage debut although she has appeared on television, in Casualty (as Kirsten) and The Bill (as Amber). "Something extraordinary happens when the characters who are students in Shakespeare's story are being played by people of student age," says Nunn. Tom Mannion is playing Claudius and The Ghost of the King. "Playing a younger Claudius, young Hamlet's uncle, means that the sexual tension is heightened. He and Gertrude still have a voracious sexual appetite, and that will perturb the young Hamlet even more. "And when I appear as the Ghost of the King to tell young Hamlet to take revenge, it isn't a spooky scene with scary lights, rather a father and son farewell, warm and tender." How are rehearsals going? "It has been fantastic so far," says Mannion. "But that is the idealist in me speaking. It is running far too long. This is a week of major surgery to try to cut it down. But I'm glad we have done all the work first so that we know what we are losing." Rehearsals of Hamlet are taking place in the top rehearsal rooms at the Old Vic, which "look like a big, old church hall," explains Mannion, "and there are lots of friendly ghosts around there - the room has echoed to Hamlet's words many times, from Richard Burton to Laurence Olivier". Indeed, when the National Theatre began in 1963, the company was based at the Old Vic and its opening production, directed by Olivier, was Hamlet, starring Peter O'Toole. The tragedy also featured a 23-year-old Michael Gambon as a spear-carrier. Other great Hamlets at the Old Vic include John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Alec Guiness and Derek Jacobi. "I have never actually been in Hamlet before, and I acquired rather an aversion to the play at school," admits Mannion, "but I have always wanted to work with Trevor Nunn, and it has been a fantastic learning process. "For the first few weeks, it was a bit like living in an Open University programme. There are so many famous phrases that I never even knew came from Hamlet - such as 'caviare to the general' and 'to the manner born' - so the whole experience has been very illuminating." 'Hamlet', Old Vic Theatre, The Cut, London SE1 (020-7928 7616), from 17 April

Sigh . .wish Colin would try again to do Hamlet . .would pay quite a bit to fly over to catch him to do it . . .;) In Trevor Nunn's new production of Hamlet, Gertrude (played by his wife, Imogen Stubbs) carries a Gucci handbag and has make-up by Mac and Est�e Lauder on her dressing-table. The majestic set is almost operatic in scale, and the invasion of Denmark by Norway not only features guns and swords, but helicopter sounds. Sometimes it does marvel me at the spins people take to make Shakespeare "fresh and new" Where do they come up with some of the ideas?:)

Thank you so much for all the wonderful info/pics you have provided in the past! The gallery is still there.

(Kimberly) Sigh . .wish Colin would try again to do Hamlet . .would pay quite a bit to fly over to catch him to do it . . .;) He had his chance! Silllllly boy. I actually got to hold a ticket for the defunct production in my hands. Was a bit exciting and sad all at the same time. :-( (Kimberly) Sometimes it does marvel me at the spins people take to make Shakespeare "fresh and new" Where do they come up with some of the ideas?:) I dunno, but I'll admit I loved Baz' version of Romeo and Juliet. Thought Harold Perrineau Jr was fantastic as Mercutio (and he looked lovely in that dress).

90. John Malkovich of Being John Malkovich Wow! That's an honor. I'm happy to see Dude from The Big Loboski. I love that movie!

(Mark), Moon, I hope your boys were watching a better American version... Thanks, Mark! The show my boys watch is called Family Guy. My mistake. Thank you ladies for the articles.

The Duke and Duchess will now be hoping that association with Brideshead will have the same magic on visitor numbers at their home. They will be hoping to cash in on the "Colin Firth" factor. Did I miss something? Does this mean that CF will star in the remake of Brideshead? All detectives on the case!

(Moon)Did I miss something? Does this mean that CF will star in the remake of Brideshead? LOL, I got all excited, too until I read the article. I think they want the Firth factor to spill over to Chatsworth a la Law and Bettany. Chatsworth, which each year attracts 600,000 paying visitors as well as several royals, will be hosting Jude Law and Paul Bettany, who play Sebastian and Charles respectively, for a five-day filming session in June Thanks Murph.

A very belated happy birthday Kimberley.

Guys, I have a bit of a problem and I need to give a warning. In the last couple of days I've been getting some emails from people I never heard of thanking me for my email. I've also been getting returned emails I never sent and notices from Norton Antivirus that my message to this and this person was infected, etc. I have virus protection, it's up to date, but I thought maybe it's a new one, one that sends out an infected email to everyone on one's contact list. But no one I'm in touch with ever received one. So it seems to me that someone's sending out infected emails using my email address to people. How does this concern anybody here? Recently I got a notice that my mail to Moon was undeliverable (never sent her anything), and most returned mail was from the UK. So I'm wondering if these mails with my addy in the address box were sent to people on this board. So I have to say this: if any of you guys get an email from zgiczi@sympatico.ca please don't open it. It won't be from me, and most likely will contain a virus. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this might have caused to some, I wish I knew who's responsible for it. Unfortunately these a**holes are never caught.

Actually IIdiko, I've been getting these for the last few weeks. Anything in the header starting with Re:, and has no text and only an attachment I immediately delete. I've even got some mail from myself - don't know what's causing this, but its a real nuisance.

Recently I got a notice that my mail to Moon was undeliverable (never sent her anything) The same is happening to me. I am also deleting them. I wonder if this has anything to do with the black-out at Spring? Any ideas Terry? I ask this because my password to check my mail at spring.net has been erased and I am not able to check the mail.

I've been having the same problem but it has been going on for longer than a few days. My antivirus program is up-to-date too.

IMO, it's all to do with supposedly clever spamming programs and nothing more. We are all registered at myriads of sites where our email addresses are no doubt accessible to those who do this sort of thing. I have been getting hundreds of emails a day for months now and probably 95% of them are as you described. I just delete them. In fact they are so numerous now that I filter all my known emailers to their own boxes and simply delete the remainder in the IN Box. It's annoying, time wasting and will never go away. It's the strange attachments that annoy me the most. I don't use a Microsoft email program and use a Mac so I know I'm not infected with the usual junk. There's no reward in writing a virus for a minority!

I believe this is a virus that is making the rounds. I get several of these daily, always with subjects "Re: Your [letter, document, website, whatever]". These always have an attachment (NEVER EVER open unexpected attachments especially ones with .exe, .zip and a few other extentions) and it's the attachment that contains the virus. I've gotten bounce notices from mail I've supposedly sent out (I didn't, of course)from all over the US and Europe. The best thing you can do is RELIGIOUSLY keep your virus protection up to date, scan your machine regularly (weekly is good), use a firewall if you have one (and consider getting one if you don't, especially if you are on a cable ISP)and DON'T open attachments that you're not expecting. And, if I have a file (attachment) that I want to send you, I will send you an email first, asking your permission before I send the attachment. It's a dirty world out there, dearest Drooleurs, so practice safe computing!

Not sure how many will be interested in this... Saw Kill Bill, Vol 2 earlier tonight (or last night as the case may be ;-)). I LOVED it, more than the first one which I liked, but took me 2 viewings to appreciate and enjoy it more. More exposition and background into characters relationships in Vol 2. Less comic book-y, which I did like in Vol 1, but I enjoyed this much more. Many amusing bits, reminded me of Pulp Fiction in that respect, but not as much so (guess that would only apply to those who found PF funny at times. Depends on your sense of humor and the absurd, too). Only one portion in the last quarter that almost brought it to a screeching halt, though a necessary piece. Both volumes seem very separate in tone, though I've read of a screening or two where they were played together and it was reported that they played very well as a whole. David Carradine fantastic, I thought. Soundtrack well done as always, though not as many catchy tunes as his other films. I must see it again. I taped, but haven't seen The Apprentice finale yet. Trying to avoid seeing who won on the internet news, though I'd bet it was Bill. After the screening tonight, went out for a snack with someone else who was there and totally by chance found ourselves sauntering on 5th Ave across the street from Trump Tower where there was a premiere/party setup and crowd for The Apprentice people. We stood there for 5 minutes or so, but as it was 10:30 and we figured the show wasn't over yet, no one would be showing up for a bit. We went back by an hour later and apparently Omarosa had just gone in as she was at the beginning of the step and repeat line. Also saw Kwame and I can't remember the other girl's name, will have to look on Wireimage or ET. I was guessing Kwame didn't win as he was smiling, but didn't appear to be beaming or more animated, as I would think he would be if he won. We were across 5th Ave, so it wasn't overly close to really tell.

Women's rites For strong women characters, you simply can't beat a dollop of Trollope, top TV writer Andrew Davies tells Brian Case Jealousy, marriage on the rocks, financial chicanery and divorce � all the ingredients of the 21st-century soap opera are present and correct in the BBC�s latest literary adaptation of Anthony Trollope�s sprawling novel He Knew He Was Right. The man charged with condensing the original�s 930 pages for the small screen is Andrew Davies, whose adaptation of Trollope�s The Way We Live Now added yet more awards to a mantelpiece already groaning with Baftas and Emmies. He Knew He Was Right tells the story of a marriage that founders on the baseless jealousy of Louis Trevelyan over his wife Emily�s gentleman caller, Colonel Osborne. Few Victorian novels deal with marriage, particularly marriage on the rocks, but Trollope also delves into the morbid obsession that started the rot. The novel owes its origin equally to the Divorce Bill of 1857 and Othello. �I do sympathise with the husband because he�s trying to be a Victorian tyrant and he hasn�t got what it takes,� Davies explains. �He does more harm to himself.� Emily was raised in the distant colonies, far from the strictures of London society, which she refuses to recognise. She is contumacious. He fails to dislodge the insidious Colonel from his wife�s drawing room, they separate, he employs an odious private detective to watch her, snatches their child, and heads off to Italy, where his mind crumbles. The novel took Davies six months to adapt. �When I first start, I don�t even know if I�m going to do it or not. There�s a very basic nitty gritty of dividing the number of pages into the minutes you have, and seeing how it comes out. With endings of episodes it�s how you cut the pack.� Colin Firth, who played Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, remarked that Davies didn�t have �that absurd, academic reverence that people have for a great work of literature�. Indeed not. He adds, subtracts, makes the text speakable. Sometimes he�s bawdy. In the field of TV classics, the 67-year-old Cardiff-born writer has cornered the market in strong women. Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Vanity Fair, Moll Flanders, Middlemarch, Tipping the Velvet, Boudica. He laughs. �The British television drama world is dominated by women. They are strong and they�re certainly interested in tasty geezers, and they�re very interested in choosing strong, independent women.� Which he duly delivers. �The unifying theme of He Knew He Was Right is women who are quite strong and decide for themselves, and men who can either cope with that or can�t.� Trollope�s novel offers a spectrum of women�s prospects. The self-sufficient Priscilla, with whom the estranged Emily ends up lodging, wants nothing to do with the male sex. �She�s almost deliberately withdrawn from the cattle market thing,� says Davies. Her expectations are frugal indeed. An old gown, a pair of gloves for church, bread and cheese. Thirty per cent of Victorian women would remain unmarried, a solitary condition that Priscilla�s sister, Dorothy, dreads. �They are not anything particular to anybody, and so they go on living until they die . . . a man who is a nobody can perhaps make himself somebody . . . but a woman has no means of trying. She is a nobody, and a nobody she must remain.� The quotation is close to John Stuart Mill�s treatise, The Subjection of Women, and though Trollope favoured the right to work, he opposed the vote, likening fem nists on the American model to �unclean animals�. There is a superb part for Anna Massey as the unmarried, meddling Aunt Stanbury, who is exasperating, endearing, and a somebody. She thoroughly disapproves of chignons, pipes, penny newspapers � and holds the purse strings. And, struttingly, Bill Nighy plays Colonel Osborne as a sexual predator. With his walk, the tilt of his topper and cane, he is altogether priapic. �I think he greatly enjoys the notion that people think he�s actually having sex with Emily,� chuckles Davies. �And that man knows how to operate a walking stick, doesn�t he?� It�s a performance that makes explicit what Trollope merely hinted at. �My instinct is to push things forward a bit. People always accuse me of churning up sex, which I don�t mind really. Bill Nighy was giving me just what I was hoping for.� Trollope wrote more than 50 novels. Davies must be approaching that with screenplays. �I like to keep busy, certainly, but he must have been really driven. He did 3,000 words every morning before going to work. He set himself targets. He�d take a day or two off between novels. There aren�t many novels around now that give you a deep satisfaction to read. Maybe it�s a sign of getting old, but I don�t find many that stand up to the big Victorian writers. Trollope understood the world, how things work, how you get into debt, how you get into Parliament, the whole range of society. There is no one today you could compare him with.� The same might be said of Andrew Davies. He Knew He Was Right, Sunday, BBC One, 9pm http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7946-1075094,00. Go Bill Nighy! He seems to be everwhere these days. Am looking forward to State of Play Sunday night, BBC America. I'm looking forward to this one, too. Anyone know when it will be seen, here?

(Andrew Davies) �And that man knows how to operate a walking stick, doesn�t he?� ... �My instinct is to push things forward a bit. People always accuse me of churning up sex, which I don�t mind really. Hmmm. Remind anyone else of another actor's performance in an Andrew Davies television drama? ;-) Thanks Linda!

(linda)Am looking forward to State of Play Sunday night, BBC America. I'm looking forward to this one, too. Anyone know when it will be seen, here? According to BBC America Sundays at 9 starting this Sunday the 18th or April http://www.bbcamerica.com/genre/drama_mysteries/state_of_play/state_of_play.jsp

Any Helen Mirren/Jane Tennison fans out there? PBS will be showing the new "Prime Suspect" Sunday night at 9. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/primesuspect6/index.html I caught it when I was in London last November -- gave up two nights on the town to watch TV in my hotel room, that's how gripping it was. Now to figure out which one to watch (Prime Suspect? State of Play?), and which to tape...

(Zing) Now to figure out which one to watch (Prime Suspect? State of Play?), and which to tape... PS is being shown in 2 parts so taping sounds like the better option. BBCA usually repeats its program overnight so SOP will end up on tape as well. Besides, I hate sitting through commercials.

(Kim)According to BBC America Sundays at 9 starting this Sunday the 18th or April Thanks, Kim, I have that info since I'm a BBC American;-) I was wondering if there was any programming info on He Knew He Was Right. I hope our UK friends will share their opinions if anyone happened to watch this evening. Thanks Zing I am a huge HM/JT fan. I think I will tape both--just in cases.

"State of Play "was excellent. Even though I had the usual problem with Kelly Mac Donald 's Scottish accent. But why does BBCA have to give a summary of the story every half hour, at least. Give the viewer a little more credit for memory! They announced an encore on Friday evening. The surprise of the evening was "Spartacus" on USA channel.(To be completed tonight) Wow! Brilliantly done. James Frain (as in "Sunshine")is Jewish again! Don't know many of the TV actors but they seem to have it all together. And no eyeliner on the slave girls; a plus. Some of the dialogue is spotty..."You don't make the moment,the moment makes you" Please.

(Evelyn) The surprise of the evening was "Spartacus" on USA channel.(To be completed tonight) Wow! Brilliantly done. James Frain (as in "Sunshine")is Jewish again! I'm sorry, were there other people in it besides Goran V (aka Dr. Kovac on ER)? ;-) Whoa baby in those little shorts!! :-P

(Dorine) I'm sorry, were there other people in it besides Goran V (aka Dr. Kovac on ER)? ;-) Whoa baby in those little shorts!! :-P Well, there was Ian Mc Neice ,thankfully, not in shorts;-/ Actually,(like Conspiracy) it was a Euro/American-pudding cast, with the ususal conglamoration of accents. Which bothers me.

lindak: I was wondering if there was any programming info on He Knew He Was Right. I hope our UK friends will share their opinions if anyone happened to watch this evening. I saw very little of this, but my DW said it was absolutely gripping; one of the best period pieces on for ages (that was once it was over, she flat out refused to talk to me from when I came in until it finished).

It was very well done. Excellent casting. The attitudes of the couple at the centre of the plot were rather dated. Kept thinking, why don't these two people just talk to each other? But had me and my DH gripped. Defintely have my place on the sofa booked for next Sunday.

This seems fairly timely: Gervais crowned 'king of Baftas' Ricky Gervais has been crowned King of the Baftas for the third year running. The comic won best comedy performance and best sitcom for The Office Christmas Special. And the victory was all the sweeter because Gervais was almost missed off the shortlist after an administrative error by BBC bosses. Gervais, who stars as David Brent, has won the same two awards for the past two years. His rivals for best comedy performance included Office co-star Martin Freeman, who plays lovelorn Tim. Jonathan Ross was another double winner, taking home prizes for best entertainment performance and best entertainment programme, both for Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. Coronation Street was named best continuing drama, beating The Bill, Casualty and Holby City. Rival soap EastEnders did not even make the shortlist. Comics Matt Lucas and David Walliams were celebrating after their sketch show Little Britain won best comedy. Love Actually star Bill Nighy won best actor for his role in political thriller State of Play. Julie Walters was named best actress for her performance as a bawdy actress bedding a toy boy in The Wife of Bath, part of the BBC's modern ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seems like Bill Nighy is "catapult to stratosphere" now. ;-)

Well Bill deserves it. Good for him. (Evelyn), why does BBCA have to give a summary of the story every half hour, at least. Give the viewer a little more credit for memory! LOL! Can you not think why? ;-) I stuck in a tape thinking I was taping He Knew He Was Right, instead got State of Play. :-( Does anyone know when He Knew He Was Right will play here?

From Sunday's Observer: Blue-stocking author storms America with historical tale Film-makers vie for rights to British novel by highbrow TV arts pundit Sarah Dunant Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent It was a city of opulence and breathtaking craftsmanship, but also a repressive city, where murder and sexual deceit lurked around every corner. This is the Florence recreated in a British novel that has conquered America and is about to be made into a lavish film. Dominating the bestseller lists across the Atlantic, it is already repeating the extraordinary international success of Tracy Chevalier's historical hit novel Girl With A Pearl Earring and it has even been tipped to achieve the enduring status of Umberto Eco's haunting whodunit, The Name Of The Rose. The title of the book is The Birth Of Venus, but the real surprise is the identity of the author. Writer Sarah Dunant is better known in this country as a highbrow arts pundit on BBC2's The Late Show in the early Nineties. The sudden success of her new book has transformed Dunant's life: she is expected to be a millionaire by the end of the year. As a writer, she had quietly established herself with a series of acclaimed, small-scale works of crime fiction. Her first historical novel has changed all of that, reflecting the current vogue for literary costume drama. US publisher Random House has just signed the author up for two more books in a 'substantial' six-figure deal, while two Hollywood film companies are jockeying for lead position in the race to produce a big screen version. The book remains at the top of the New York Times bestseller list and is dominating West Coast lists too, running at number two in San Francisco this weekend. 'I was really surprised,' said Dunant this weekend. 'I just thought about how I could write something serious in quite a compelling way. That is perhaps what I have learned from thriller writing.' Dunant believes part of her success is due to the fact the US reading public has no preconceived ideas about her. Caricaturing her British image as that of 'an intellectual harridan', she said: 'In this country people are slightly suspicious of me as some sort of high-brow commentator, whereas in America, they don't know me.' Her book tells the story of a teenage girl's love for a mysterious painter who comes to work in her father's family chapel. It is set in the late fifteenth century during a period of religious persecution in the era of Savonarola, the zealous and malevolent Dominican monk. The 15-year-old heroine, who film executives suggest might be played by the young British actress Keira Knightley or by Penelope Cruz, undergoes an arranged marriage to a distant older man. [Ed note: with a Fabio wig] However, the pattern of all their lives is altered by the turbulent political and religious climate. 'It is the original 'Bonfire of the Vanities' story,' said Clare Alexander, Dunant's literary agent, who points out that the book, which has been bought up for translation in 17 countries, is doing increasingly well in Britain too. The paperback edition has sold an unexpected 75,000 copies in a two-month period. Alexander believes the British public will have to forget its image of 1980's Dunant as 'the blue-stocking in the big red glasses'. She believes the popularity of The Birth of Venus can be put down to the creepy atmosphere of Florence and the character of Alessandra, the heroine who, at the macabre opening of the novel, we meet as an old nun at the end of her life. 'The heroine feels very modern,' Alexander said. 'So women are able to imagine themselves into her life. Sarah has always done feisty heroines; she has just taken this one into the context of an historical novel.' The book has accidentally capitalised on a growing trend for historical novels and films. The film version of Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring was a box office hit and not as expensive to make as the traditional costume extravaganza. A Ridley Scott version of Patrick S�skind's bestseller, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer, set in eighteenth century France, is also now in production. British film makers were initially wary of buying the rights to Dunant's book because of the cost of recreating Florence on the big screen, but its impact on US readers has sparked a bidding war this month. Dunant ascribes her success in the US to the power of independent bookshops there. 'They don't have the kind of domination that we do from just a few chains of bookshops,' she said. 'Local bookshops in the states are also the heart of bookclub country, and they are very powerful now.' Dunant also recognises resonances in her book with the political mood in America. She believes the fact that publication coincided with the release of Mel Gibson's film The Passion Of The Christ has helped too. 'It has rung bells because of the debate about Christian fundamentalism that The Passion has provoked,' she said. 'People have been looking at what Christianity really means and reacting to the almost mediaeval religion in that film. 'Like the Florence of Savonarola it sees pain and suffering as the route to salvation, rather than the idea of beauty and learning being as much a part of salvation as piety.' Understandably, Dunant's next book will also be in the genre of historical fiction, and will be set in Venice. But the author is wary of trying to live up to the success of The Birth of Venus . 'To be honest that thing about success inhibiting writers seems to be true,' she said. 'I am atrophied with terror at the thought I may never be able to write again.' http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1194420,00.html

(MarkG) but my DW said it was absolutely gripping; one of the best period pieces on for ages (that was once it was over, she flat out refused to talk to me from when I came in until it finished).. I don't blame her, I hate answering questions in the middle of period pieces;-) Thanks, Mark, your DW, and Allison...I hope we get it soon on this side of the pond. (article and Karen)undergoes an arranged marriage to a distant older man. [Ed note: with a Fabio wig] Oh this could be perfect. He's already had the art lessons and the wig already falls correctly. They can save a ton of money.

"Love Actually star Bill Nighy won best actor for his role in political thriller State of Play." So far he's not in it that much. I think the young journalist (John Sim) is better. Neither A&E or BBCA have He Knew He was Right listed yet. Probably in the autumn. Late in the season now. Trollope/Andrew Davies...sounds like a winner.

Weinstein Honored by Queen Elizabeth II LONDON - Miramax Film chief Harvey Weinstein has been awarded an honor by Queen Elizabeth II. Weinstein was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, in recognition of his contribution to the British film industry, the British consul-general in New York, Thomas Harris, said Monday. The British consulate said Weinstein's honor would be bestowed at a ceremony in the coming months. Miramax, founded by Weinstein and his brother, Bob, has co-funded many British productions, including John Madden's "Shakespeare in Love" and Stephen Frears' "Dirty Pretty Things." In 2002, the Weinsteins were awarded the British Film Institute's highest accolade, the bfi Fellowship. "My life and my career have been greatly influenced and enriched by great British filmmakers and authors, and so I am especially honored and humbled to be receiving the CBE," Weinstein said.

This is way too funny! If anybody read Biskind's book on how Harvey so totally screwed everybody with The Crying Game, they'd lock him in the Tower rather than give him a CBE. A joke. A total joke. Dressing up a pig...

" Weinstein Honored by Queen Elizabeth II " Hard to believe. He is universally hated in the industry.

He is universally hated in the industry. Since when has that stopped anyone getting a gong in the UK? Our honours system is a very poor joke :-(

Anna was part of a group yesterday that tried out a local cinema that does Monday matinees for mothers-and-babies. They had a good time, and plan to go back next week - guess what's showing? So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do. Tchah.

(Mark) So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do Way t'go Emma!! I know she'll love it;-)) In fact, I propose Emma for Honourary Drool Darling!

(Evelyn) He is universally hated in the industry. (Allison) Since when has that stopped anyone getting a gong in the UK? Our honours system is a very poor joke :-( Hatred isn't my point. It was his financial dealings with UK partners. As you'll recall, The Crying Game is what put Miramax on the map and that was one Harvey renegotiated after the fact in order to cheat them out of everything. And what has he done since? Yes, he's made a number of movies in England, about England, with English talent. But so many of those films had government financing. What are they rewarding? (Mark) So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do. She's smart enough not to wait for the DVD release. ;-)

(From Karen)From Sunday's Observer: Blue-stocking author storms America with historical tale... The title of the book is The Birth Of Venus.. Thanks Karen. Very interesting. I recently read this and it was a fun read. Guilty pleasure and informative.

(Mark) So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do. Good training starts early! Brava, Anna. (Allison), Since when has that stopped anyone getting a gong in the UK? Our honours system is a very poor joke :-( Sad, but so true!

(Mark) So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do Too funny! Hope Emma enjoys it (and your wife too!). (Mark) Anna was part of a group yesterday that tried out a local cinema that does Monday matinees for mothers-and-babies. BTW, this is a very good idea! They just took away all our cry rooms here and I have a friend who has an eight week old and she (my friend, not the baby...though the baby might actually like a film, we don't know yet!) is dying to see a film.

(Mark) So my 11-week old daughter Emma will see GWAPE before I do. It's never too early to start those mummy and daughter drooling sessions;-) Mark, is GWAPE still around or was that just for the matinee? It just left one of our local theaters this past Friday. It had been there since the first Friday in February.

Rafe wants to play Hamlet, again. I posted an April 5th Daily Mail blurb on #40, RF's topic.

No Colin, but they haven't announced the Directors Fortnight section, which is what Marc Evans had mentioned, as I recall: Cannes reduces Competition, includes toons By Stuart Kemp LONDON -- With a slimmed down Competition section and fewer French titles, organizers of the 57th Festival de Cannes on Wednesday unveiled an official lineup that carries a no-nonsense, solid feel to it. Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux has continued with his habit of selecting animated movies in Competition this year by selecting feature-length toons for not one but two of the slots in this year's 18-strong competition lineup. Dreamworks' "Shrek 2," directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon has drawn a Competition berth alongside Japanese animation "Innocence" from director Mamoru Oshii. With the number of Competition slots this year reduced to 18 from 20 last year, Cannes is mirroring the decision by Venice International Film Festival organizers to cut the number of movies in Competition. One consequence is that the number of French titles securing a Competition place has fallen to three from the five in last year's edition. French titles securing a spot are Agnes Jaoui's "Comme Une Image" (Look At Me); Olivier Assayas' "Clean"; and Tony Gatlif's "Exils" (Exiles). Movies from the U.S. have a solid presence in Competition with the Coen brothers returning to the Croisette with "The Ladykillers," and a visit by documentary maker Michael Moore to unspool "Fahrenheit 911," in addition to the return of the green troll. The festival also closes with an Out of Competition screening for Irwin Winkler's "De-Lovely" on Saturday May 21 and the Palm D'Or prizes before Sunday's gala screening of the eventual winner. U.S. titles also have four Out of Competition slots set to guarantee powerful star wattage on the Riviera during the festival's run with Brad Pitt starrer "Troy," and Uma Thurman and the cast of "Kill Bill Vol.2" all prospective visitors to Cannes. Also unspooling Out of Competition is Zack Snyder's "Dawn Of The Dead" and Terry Zwigoff's "Bad Santa." This year also sees a return to the Croisette by a German title after an 11-year gap from the festival. Hans Weingartner's "Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei" (The Edukators) marks the first time since 1993--when Wim Wenders took "Far Away Is Close"--that a German film has secured a competition slot. This year's jury, presided over by Quentin Tarantino, is made up of directors Jerry Schatzberg and Hark Tsui; writer Edwidge Danticat; actresses Emmanuelle Beart, Tilda Swinton and Kathleen Turner; actor Benoit Poelvoorde; and film critic Peter Von Bagh. Cannes runs May 12 through 22. OFFICIAL SELECTION: Opening (Out Of Competition) Bad Education--Pedro Almodovar Closing (Out of Competition): De-Lovely--Irwin Winkler IN COMPETITION: 2046 -- Wong Kar-Wai Clean -- Olivier Assayas Comme Une Image" (Look At Me) -- Agnes Jaoui The Motorcycle Diaries -- Walter Salles Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei (The Edukators) -- Hans Weingartner Exiles -- Tony Gatlif Fahrenheit 911 -- Michael Moore Innocence -- Mamoru Oshii La Femme Est L'Avenir de L'Homme (Woman Is the Future Of Man) -- Hong Sang-Soo La Nina Santa -- Lucrecia Martel Le Consequenze Dell'Amore (The Consequences Of Love) -- Paolo Sorrentino Nobody Knows -- Kore-Eda Hirokazu Old Boy -- Park Chan-Wook Shrek 2 -- Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon The Ladykillers -- Joel and Ethan Coen The Life and Death of Peter Sellers -- Stephen Hopkins Tropical Malady -- Apichatpong Weerasethakul Life Is a Miracle -- Emir Kusturica OUT OF COMPETITION: 10E Chambre Instants D'Audiences (10th District Courts - Moments Of Trials) -- Raymond Depardon Bad Santa -- Terry Zwigoff Cineastes A Tout Prix (A Director At All Costs) -- Frederic Sojcher Dawn of the Dead -- Zack Snyder Five -- Abbas Kiarostami Flying Daggers -- Zhang Yimou Kill Bill Vol. 2 -- Quentin Tarantino La Porte du Soleil (The Door of the Sun) -- Yousry Nasrallah Mondovino -- Jonathan Nossiter Our Music -- Jean-Luc Godard Salvador Allende -- Patricio Guzman Troy -- Wolfgang Petersen

Miramax Film chief Harvey Weinstein has been awarded an honor by Queen Elizabeth II. Weinstein was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, in recognition of his contribution to the British film industry, the British consul-general in New York, Thomas Harris, said Monday. Now I know why Thomas Harris (Consul Gen) and his wife had to cancel coming to the screening on Monday....they fainted away when they heard the news and hadn't sufficiently recovered that evening. ;-) (Evelyn) He is universally hated in the industry. (Allison) Since when has that stopped anyone getting a gong in the UK? Our honours system is a very poor joke :-( (Karen) Hatred isn't my point. It was his financial dealings with UK partners. As you'll recall, The Crying Game is what put Miramax on the map and that was one Harvey renegotiated after the fact in order to cheat them out of everything. And what has he done since? Yes, he's made a number of movies in England, about England, with English talent. But so many of those films had government financing. What are they rewarding? All I can say is that he's *very* supportive in many ways of BAFTA East Coast, at the least, both professionally and to some people there, personally. I can't speak to his involvement with the other branches. (Karen) No Colin, but they haven't announced the Directors Fortnight section, which is what Marc Evans had mentioned, as I recall: Yes, he did. Thanks for the update....was checking the Cannes site for this info a week and a half ago myself.

Oh my! There was just a clip of Colin being kissed by Aurelia in LA on Good Day Live on Fox! I think they were referring briefly to Kelly Clarkson at the end of a segment on American Idol (was barely paying attention to the show). I have to say I almost never watch TV in the daytime and especially this show. It's a live show like a totally entertainment/fashion/etc Today Show that comes on in LA at 9am. Saw it once or twice while visiting in LA and it's repulsive. The hosts are beyond campy. That chick, Jilian Barbieri from one of the NFL pregame show is on it and I don't like her any better on this.

(lindak) It's never too early to start those mummy and daughter drooling sessions ;-) What a wonderful choice Mark! She will have impeccable taste in films from the earliest age. We expect her to be an "extra" soon too ;-))

Merci, Karen! Ze Frenchis vill luv Bad Santa. ;-)

I saw 13 Going on 30 last night in class and *loved* it! Like WAGW, it did have the requisite group dance scene (to Michael Jackson's Thriller, same dance from the video), playground on the swings scene (though with a "couple" not father/daughter, even one of the same songs from WAGW (though I don't know the name of which one it is). Soundtrack is late 80's/early 90's pop/rock mostly. The music brought back lots of memories. Jennifer Garner was great, Mark Ruffalo v. good, also. It was fun and well done I thought. A few minor quibbles I won't bother talking about. I thought it had a bit more depth than many rom-coms. I could really relate to the 13 year old wanting to be 30. For our guests, the director Gary Winick (Tadpole)...kind of an endearing geeky guy you'd never think in a million years would direct a movie like this, the 2 women producers (who also have done Benny and Joon, America's Sweethearts, and one or 2 more big one I've forgotten at the moment), and as a surprise, the director brought Mark Ruffalo with him who is his longtime friend. Great interviews. Said the script was heavily reworked from when they first got it, and a lot of good ideas came out in rehearsal. The director was very open to suggestions from people during shooting, too. Gary Winick went from directing a $300K movie to a $37 million movie. His first big studio film. He started the company InDigEnt...they make small independent films, all digital. For Denzel fans, saw Man of Fire Monday night. Supposed to open wide tomorrow, but for some reason at last minute on Mon they decided to open NY/LA on Wed. Bunch of critics there. I was checking in at the door when Lisa Schwartzbaum of EW came up (always curious what she looked like). I wanted to ask I why I've never felt like we've seen the same movie after reading her reviews. ;-) For some reason, I was pretty excited to meet A.O. Scott of the NY Times. I like his writing/reviews.... but what a doof I am sometimes. :-P It was a great story and v. good acting from DW and the girl, Dakota Fanning, but it got lost somewhat in the length (easily 20 mins too long) and the frenetic stylishness the director seemed to feel the need to use. Was like a music video at times. Sometimes it was straight up shooting, other times, videolike. It was really unnecessary in my opinion. It stood on its own as a good story, I thought. 2nd half is pretty violent when he goes for revenge. An almost boring turn from Christopher Walken, he just had a pretty mellow character. And was surprised to see Mickey Rourke, almost didn't recognize him. Small part, but well suited to it.

Thanks, Dorine. I saw the previews of 13 going on 30 and it looks very entertaining. I am not a fan of Mark Ruffalo, though. Not man enough to tempt me. ;-) Am also looking forward to the Juliene Moore/ Pierce Brosnan film. What a fun preview that was!

Gary Winick...started the company InDigEnt...they make small independent films, all digital. Works with Campbell Scott then, who has made a several films with him and I think Rebecca Miller's was an InDigEnt title too. saw Man of Fire Monday night. Supposed to open wide tomorrow, but for some reason at last minute on Mon they decided to open NY/LA on Wed. I saw trailers for this ages ago. Seems like one they've had doubts about and have pushed back more than once. when Lisa Schwartzbaum of EW came up (always curious what she looked like). I wanted to ask I why I've never felt like we've seen the same movie after reading her reviews. ;-) *snort* I wish you had. ;-)

Am also looking forward to the Juliene Moore/ Pierce Brosnan film. What a fun preview that was! When is that out? I see it tomorrow night, Q&A with director after. Apparently it was shown in my class 2 weeks ago when I wasn't there. Didn't hear a great report about it, but will see for myself tomorrow. Was told JM comic timing not there.

(Moon)Am also looking forward to the Juliene Moore/ Pierce Brosnan film. Me too! It's called Laws of Attraction, opens next Friday. Great review in Variety: Attention Eve! Adam wants his rib back. "Laws of Attraction" plays by the rules sheet so gainfully employed in the battle-of-the-sexes comedy classics of Hollywood's golden age. Here, the sparring duo --- that once might have been played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn --- is essayed by Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore in enjoyably change-of-pace roles. While slight comic concoction is so airy it seems in danger of floating right off the screen, the pleasant retro vibe and a handful of effervescent moments carry this film no self-respecting heterosexual male would dare see except on a date. Opening April 30 after some fest dates, decent chick-flick coin should precede many court dates as a vid and tube staple. Audrey Woods (Moore), a high-profile Manhattan divorce attorney with a penchant for candy corn, believes divorce proceedings don't have to turn into nasty, name-calling free-for-alls. Daniel Rafferty (Brosnan), an even higher-profile lawyer with an impeccable track record, has a reputation for flying by the seat of his disheveled, roguishly charming pants. They meet cute when they find themselves representing opposing spouses in a divorce case. He invites her to dinner; she, thinking she can work the situation to her advantage, accepts. Then, in a moment of weakness, she ends up spending the night with him; the next morning, he shows up in court with case notes written on her missing panties. Woods and Rafferty continue to square off on a series of headline-grabbing cases, until they find themselves representing their highest profile clients to date: spaced-out rock star Thorne Jamison (Michael Sheen) and his tempestuous fashion-designer wife, Serena (Parker Posey). After initially courting Woods to be her advocate, Serena jumps ship and decides to go with Rafferty. Woods moves in and lands Thorne as her client. Thorne and Serena pretty much agree on who's entitled to what except, that is, for the sprawling Irish castle they call their home away from home. So, naturally, it's off to Dublin for our intrepid heroes, where they each plan to depose the Jamisons' servants in an effort to determine who deserves to keep the estate. "Laws of Attraction" is a welcome change-of-pace for Hollywood product; it runs under 90 minutes not including the lengthy main and end title sequences. Scripted by Aline Brosh McKenna and Robert Harling, "Laws of Attraction" desperately wants to approximate the sustained screwball rhythms of a Lubitsch, Hawks or Wilder farce and only very occasionally comes even close. But the charming chemistry of the leads and the lightness of tone achieved by director Peter Howitt ("Sliding Doors," "Johnny English") keeps the whole enterprise afloat. Liberated from his usual brand of spygame skullduggery, the de-Bonded Brosnan appears wonderfully at ease, while Moore, relieved of the melodramatic burden of her best-known roles, positively sparkles. They're helped by Frances Fisher as Woods' conniving, botox-injecting, former-beauty-queen mother. In a brilliant perf, Fisher amps up the entire movie's energy level whenever she's on screen. Asked at one point if she's really 56 years old, she replies, in a Mae West-worthy retort, "Parts of me are." Likewise, pic is appropriately polished in the tech department, with Adrian Biddle's widescreen lensing lending the Manhattan scenes a particularly glossy glow, while composer Edward Shearmur contributes a bouncy, brassy Gershwinesque score that sounds like an ode to skyscrapers and taxicabs.

Laws of Attraction being discussed on the Pierce Brosnan topic.

Sorry, I lose track of the myriad boards here. (Dorine)saw 13 Going on 30 last night in class and *loved* it! That one looks cute. I don't normally go for that genre, but occasionally they're well done and worth a look. Similarly, I rented Freaky Friday the other night and what a pleasant surprise that was. Smartly written, and Jamie Lee Curtis was great.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised by Freaky Friday, as well. I was predisposed to like 13 Going on 30 as I love Jennifer Garner in Alias, but wasn't sure how she'd be in something with such a different tone. She looked like she had a blast making it. She was pretty funny on an episode of Dinner With Five, too. Surely, someone got this on their alerts, but thought it too embarrasing or ridiculous to post. I have no shame. ;-) *Interesting* (*cough cough*) choices, to say the least. Marsters, Knightley Voted Favorite Romeo and Juliet Thu Apr 22,10:44 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. actor James Marsters (news) and British actress Keira Knightley (news) are favorites to play Romeo and Juliet, according to a poll by Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company on Thursday. The online poll on the eve of Shakespeare's 440th birthday asked visitors to the theater company's Web site who they would ideally like to see play the bard's most famous lovers. Marsters, who plays Spike in the TV series "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" was a clear winner to star as Romeo, the RSC said. Knightley, star of hit movies "Love Actually" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" pipped Kate Winslet (news), Nicole Kidman (news) and Scarlett Johansson (news) for the role of Juliet. Other contenders for Romeo included Orlando Bloom (news), Ewan McGregor (news), Jude Law (news), Johnny Depp (news), Colin Firth (news) -- and Ozzy Osbourne. More than 2,000 people voted for over 150 actors.

Colin Firth (news) -- and Ozzy Osbourne. LOL! You've got to be kidding! I'm not a fan of Keira and love Spike as a vampire, but really, R&J???? Kate W and Jude Law would work for me. (Mari), I rented Freaky Friday the other night and what a pleasant surprise that was. Me too! Was a vg laugh.

(Dorine) but thought it too embarrasing or ridiculous to post. I have no shame. ;-) And I have no shame in commenting! LOL....Love ODB, but he is a bit long in the tooth to be playing Romeo (though the SNL snippet was quite fun to watch). R & J were about 14 years old or something. Though...I'd love to see Ozzy doing Shakespeare (would you be able to tell if he was blowing his lines??).

(Tress)....Love ODB, but he is a bit long in the tooth to be playing Romeo That was my first thought, too. Anyone over 20 would seem long in the tooth for two young lovers not being able to overcome parental restrictions. I thought the Talking Movies segment on Cinderella movies coming out like Ella Enchanted and The Prince & Me was interesting. LM seemed pretty favorable to both-bottom line about how young girls are portrayed in these films and how they emerge strong at overcoming a situation that is perhaps forced on them. I thought WAGW did an equally nice job of that. In the end both young girls end up with their man and one is getting married. She questioned how much independence that really showed... Daphne ended up with her boyfriend and was going to Oxford to boot;-) I don't quite remember what Talking Moives had to say about that. Laura Metzger takes a look at the new breed of �Cinderella Stories� coming out of Hollywood. Recent films like ELLA ENCHANTED and THE PRINCE & ME that boast stars ANNE HATHAWAY and JULIA STILES have injected a feminist spin into the traditional princess fantasy. But critics ask will the mix work -- can these tales balance female independence and a true love fantasy? http://www.bbcamerica.com/genre/movies_specials/talking_movies/talking_movies.jsp

There was a new book reviewed in this week's Entertainment Weekly (April 30)I would have posted it here, but the website is behind. The book is The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. I found a review of it on Amazon: A sublime comedy of contemporary manners, this is the novel Jane Austen might well have written had she lived in twenty-first- century California. Nothing ever moves in a straight line in Karen Joy Fowler's fiction, and in her latest, the complex dance of modern love has never been so devious or so much fun. Six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her finely sighted eye for the frailties of human behavior and her finely tuned ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships. Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy. From EW...here is a bit of their review. If I can't find it online by Sunday, I'll type up the whole thing- "The novel tracks the romantic escapades of these characters--and concludes with a marriage, the classic Austen finale. Appropriately enough, a tongue-in-cheek appendix lists discussion questions for book groups tackling both Austen and The Jane Austen Book club. Each character suggests topics... You may want to go back and read Austen after you put down this book. More likely, you'll want to track down more Fowler". A- If you're intersted here is the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399151613/104-8825126-3799129?v=glance

time to celebrate, party and drink and drool (but not at the same time) happy birthday Eithne ! a very special occasion calls for a very special event. yes, you are about to witness a glimpse of mr. f's latest project. he was extremely eager to pay his respects by way of rehearsing his latest shtik just for you, oh well, you just see for yourself... animatronicolin, version 2.9 (how time flies !) : -the jobbing actor, or "where have all the thespians gone ?"- mode on. *warning to all slow connexions* : my biggest boy so far (!), this one weighs 820 ko nota bene: as you might have noticed, animatronicolins are very capture-consuming. the fact that i haven't been able to supply one to everybody in the past year is in part due to this simple fact (also, it takes a lot of time to build the animation loops, about a full day for each of them, and, mind you, i still have to work on a regular basis to pay the rent). plus, there's the inspiration, for some captures are better material (helloooo mushimokooo !). so, to make a long story short, i know there's a whole bunch of birthdays coming up in may-june, and i can't promise an animatronicolin for everyone, it all depends on my free time (very scarce these days). it is not case specific, meaning if you don't get one, it's not because of you, it's just... mektoub. since i hit my first drool anniversary a couple of days ago, i wish to thank all those who provide captures and photos : KathyC's excellent SNL set comes to mind as a real treasure trove... so, on behalf of "free animators for drool" (see last year's birthday extravaganza for details), thanks very much ! i also wish to say hello and welcome to all newbies, yeah, i know it's not the right topic but hey, i'm saving a precious entry here !

ROTF, Sophie!! Capital! Capital! Thank you again for my animatronic, as well. :-) And (a very simple) Happy Drool Anniversary to you!!

Eithne, I know you were going to try to knit this yourself. . but, well . . I thought perhaps you�d like me to bring over the real thing . .and give you both that and a birthday hug to keep you warm. Have a Happy Birthday today!

CF: Do you know what, Scarlett . .I�ve heard it�s sophie�s Drool anniversary . . CF: You know her . .she makes those funny little dancing images of me . .*hic* whater they called again??? SJ: Animitronicolins . .they�re awful cute . . CF: Wot? Ami-nal-oni-polins??? SJ: (snickering) Ani-mi-troni-colins CF: Hannah-me-polly-holland? SJ: (groans) Ani-mi-troni-colins. . .umm perhaps you�ve had one too many of those martinis Colin . .I think you�re a bit squiffy. CF: Pffftt . .don�t be reeeediculous Scarlett. Never had a martini before in my life . . . sophie knows that;) SJ: Then what�s that? CF: Oh nothing . . .nothing atoll . .don�t know wha�cher talkin about . . .Sophie, thanks so much for all the pani-mi-poli-me-thingys you�ve made and for bringing so much laughter to the board! *hic*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EITHNE You're next

Bravo, Sophie. Simply amazing. Happy first anniversary!!

So happy to have you with us, sophie, you rock! J'�sp�re bien pour mon anniversaire en juin. ;-D Happy Birthday, Eithne! Here I am in Dublin, waiting for you to start the celebration. Come quickly.

Fantastique Sophie!! Can't stop shaking it all about. ;-) I remember those animators very well from last year. Have they recovered? They were drunk and disorderly and most passed out under the table before the birthday cake was served. BTW, it would have to be a fictional Colin, as we know he only drinks white wine. ;-) Eithne!! Ooops! He's starting to shake his booty...must run! ;-)

Wot?! Did I hear that right?? It's Eithne's birthday!??!! Well, let me get ready for the party! I'll be with you in a moment! Let me help you mix the frosting...we're going to be late!!!Eithne!!

Sophie! Bravo!!! Too funny.....and a little something to go with it (This was written by Jeff Brechlin for a contest at the Washington Post. The contest was to write instructions for something in the style of a famous person and this was his entry) and since ODB is a "classically trained actor" to quote an SNLer, I thought this might be somewhat fitting: The Hokey Pokey O proud left foot, that ventures quick within Then soon upon a backward journey lithe. Anon, once more the gesture, then begin: Command sinistral pedestal to writhe. Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke, A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl. To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke. Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl. The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about. -- by William Shakespeare

You are a bunch of very talented girls :-) Animatronics, pictures, witty dialogue, Shakespeare and what have you. Sorry to have missed so many birthdays, will try to pay more attention. But for now: Happy Birthday, Eithne. Hope you'll have a great day!

(kim)CF: Hannah-me-polly-holland? rahaahaaa-heehee, just as hard to say as Mushimoko, errr... wait: mishimoto, no that's not it... hahaw dang ! (polly-anna in holland park ? duh !) (tress)(quoting brechlin/shakespeare) A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl heehheeheeee, that reminds me of something... thanks everybody for the wishes, but"Wait a minute, who's the star here ?" a scowling Henry wants to remind you part of the burden of being in this family : "Now you behave, and get going ! it's Eithne's birthday for Christsake !"

closing tags, sorry.... i'm off to bed, i can't even get my tags right !

can't believe i blurped again

Aurelia, can you say Happy Birthday Eithne? Oh forget it, you can't understand a thing I say. I'll just have to go it alone Happy Birthday, Eithne!

Sophie, I know you've gone to bed, but I'm still partying...In fact I can't quite remember what I had to drink, or where the hell I am, but just want to say "Happy Anniversary" to the woman who brings me to life.

�Yes, Yes, Yes�It�s Eithne�s Birthday!!! Hope today was filled with all sorts of wonderful things.

Where to start...I forced myself to wait all day before I checked the board, because I knew that I'd really need to laugh after I shipped the DH back to Florida this evening. Boy, am I glad I waited (also glad that I left the tea in the kitchen). Thank you all, so very much, for your wonderful birthday wishes! Sophie: Geeze, my very own animatronicolin! I'm deeply honored! And he's so cute, hokeying about (wanted to say pokeying, but I'm trying to behave myself now that I'm a year older). Thank you! And Henry, do chill! I'm very happy to share with the very talented lady who "moves him". Evelyn: What can I say? Next, indeed! Dare I risk it? Yes, yes, yes;-) Moon: Waiting in Dublin? Great! Let Colin know that I know exactly where the Aer Lingus gate is at BWI and I'm on my way, so start building that pint! Karen: Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes and for taking care of this wonderful group of people! Kimberly: Thanks for sending Colin *and* the sweater over. It is a bit chilly here, tonight and with the DH gone back home, I can use the hug! Tress: So nice of "himself" to get all cleaned up for me! I would've gladly lent a hand with the scrub brush, or with the wine ;-). And Johannes, no need to rush the frosting, perfection does take time. And Tress...Sophie's poem was truely hysterical. I"m still laughing! Annette: Thanks for the lovely bouquet and birthday wishes! Linda: Thanks for sending Colin and Aurelia over with the birthday wishes. Aurelia can keep Scarlett company. Leslie: Yes, yes, yes! Even though I had to return the DH home today, it has been a wonderful day, made more so by my dear friends at Drool! If I have forgotten *anyone*, please forgive me. I really appreciate my first Drool Birthday party. So, let's load up some tunes, put the bartender to work, and parrr-teeee!

(The Birthday Girl) So, let's load up some tunes, put the bartender to work, and parrr-teeee! I love that these pictures will never go away! LOL! Hope it was a good one! Have a great night!!!!

My most sincere apologies, Eithne, on my late arrival to your party. It took me forever to find the perfect present (I hope) and then I was most distracted by Sophie's talented dancer! As you have claimed the position of official Cat Hair Custodian on any future Firth films, you might want an accessory to assist in the unfortunate but necessary job of removing cat hair. This item, specifically made for such a purpose, is marked under the name Love Glove. (I promise I am not making any of this up!) In case you are unsure how to use the Love Glove, instructions are provided in the package. Description One size fits all! Besides removing loose hair while gently massaging and grooming, Love Glove is also great for removing hair from furniture, carpet, upholstery and car interiors. Makes quick work of hard to groom areas like legs, tail, and underside. Technical Information To use, secure on glove with adjustable strap and gently stroke. Using slow and long movement, loose hair will cling to the Love Glove. Hair can easily be peeled off or rinsed away with cold water. Love Glove can be hand washed with warm water and soap. Rinse clean. Do not use hot water or place in dryer. Now that you are properly equipped, I'm sure you will be able to manage, in a most pleasant manner, any cat hair problems that might arise. I do have one question, though... did you offer to work with a black and white tuxedo CAT or artful, young CAD in a black tuxedo and white tie? These two were a bit confused. Happy Birthday Eithne!!!

I�m beside myself that I almost missed your birthday, Eithne! Ok, well technically, I did ;-) So I thought I'd quickly whip up a present for you.... ....but, it didn't come out quite the way I'd planned. So I'll just send along my heartfelt birthday wishes! All the lovely Droolers and I will keep you company in your DH's absence. ;-)

Eep, after midnight! Eithne, I'm so sorry I'm late but I hope you had a wonderful bithday. Hope this makes up for missing your day:-)

Eithne WHAT A SWELL PARTY THAT WAS Hope ypu had a fantastic day popping by , belatedly , to say hope you have a great year ahead and lots of happy drooling to come.

Just read this at Dark Horizons: Ocean's 12: The sequel has been seen shooting at Chicago's Old Orchard Shopping Center, same location as Nic Cage's "The Weatherman". Oh man, that's the shopping center of my youth (though it's not in Chicago). I can't imagine anybody filming there. Parking situation is awful enough as is. ;-)

The original Variety news item: Next tour of duty taking Mendes to Persian Gulf Sat Apr 24, 8:00 PM ET Michael Fleming, STAFF Sam Mendes (news)' next movie will be "Jarhead," a Universal drama based on Anthony Swofford's Persian Gulf-set Marine Corps. memoir. "Cast Away" scribe William Broyles wrote the script, and Red Wagon partners Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher will produce. Shooting begins in the fall. Drawing on his own experiences as a Marine grunt in Vietnam, Broyles wrote a script that studio and producers felt captured Swofford's voice and vivid descriptions of war. While Mendes has no background in soldiering, he liked the script enough to commit after reading a draft and doing some work on it with Broyles. His production shingle Scamp also will be involved. "This is new territory to me, but I hadn't spent two days in American suburbia when I directed 'American Beauty,' " Mendes said. "I only knew the script had an unusual and original voice and it was a challenge I wanted to take on. "This is equal parts black humor, honesty, rage, lyricism, profanity and the mixture of machismo jarhead culture. With the exception of 'Three Kings,' this is a war that has been overlooked but which has a burning relevance to what is happening right now in the Middle East," he added. The producers said "Jarhead" raced to production faster than any project they can remember. U bought the book in a seven-figure deal last fall (Daily Variety, Oct. 24). Key was hooking Mendes, who is highly selective and takes his time between film assignments. "Sam was our first choice," Wick said. "This book creates such a completely distinct world, one that had a specificity of voice and contradictions everywhere you look." Fisher said they'll start casting and scouting locations right away, with the deserts of the Southwest a possible destination, after they made a convincing backdrop for "Three Kings." To tackle "Jarhead," Mendes will have to postpone film adaptations of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd" and Khaled Hosseini's novel "The Kite Runner." Mendes, who followed his Oscar-winning debut film "American Beauty" with 2002's "Road to Perdition," hasn't made a film since. But he said he is still enthusiastic about the other projects and might accelerate his pace to make them in the near term. "My process is slow and I enjoy it too much to rush," said Mendes. "And I like to return to the theater between films. But after not doing any movies for a few years, perhaps I might do two in two years."

Frears stages Dench's saucy show 04/25/2004 Adam Dawtrey, STAFF In her 20 years as a grande dame among British producers, Norma Heyman has never had a project so hotly pursued by financiers as her latest, "Mrs. Henderson Presents." Given its fruity cocktail of elements, it isn't hard to see why. Directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Martin Sherman, the film will star Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in the true story of how London's Windmill Theater began staging nude shows in the 1930s, and became famous during the Blitz as the theater that never closed. Hoskins brought the idea to Heyman, with whom he previously produced "The Secret Agent," and they turned to former FilmFour topper David Aukin to share the producing chores. Pathe Pictures and BBC Films are in exclusive talks to bankroll the $15 million movie, although the Hollywood specialty arms are also banging at the door. "It's nice to be wanted for once, instead of having to beg like we usually do," laughs Heyman. Shooting is set for September. Dench will play Laura Henderson, the extraordinary old lady who bought the Windmill after her return home after years in imperial India. Her manager (Hoskins) spotted a loophole in Britain's censorship laws that permitted stage nudity as long as the performers didn't move. He added naked tableaux to the bill of conventional variety acts and transformed the theater into a scandalous success. "It's accessible, funny and moving," says one of the few execs to have gotten a peek at Sherman's closely guarded first draft. "It's a celebration of the human spirit, and it's got Judi Dench and Stephen Frears for a good price." Contrary to one press report, however, Dench will not be baring all in the movie. After finishing "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Frears will go straight on to shoot "The Queen" in early 2005, a followup to his recent political telepic "The Deal." Where "The Deal" dramatized into the relationship between Brit prime minister Tony Blair and his chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, "The Queen" will delve into the reactions of Blair and the royal family to the death of Princess Diana. When the royals initially refused to make any ostentatious displays of grief, it was Blair who seized the public mood and forced them to open up. As with "The Deal," script is by Peter Morgan for Granada Prods. Channel 4 bankrolled "The Deal" and is likely to do so again with "The Queen." It's unclear at this stage whether the project will be made for TV or might have the prospect of a theatrical release. "Man to Man" survives It's been a scary couple of months for the producers of Regis Wargnier's "Man to Man." But they finally learned last week that their project is safe. This $28 million Anglo-French co-production, starring Joseph Fiennes and Kristin Scott-Thomas, started shooting Feb. 18, despite having lost 30% of its budget a week earlier when the British government abruptly closed a tax loophole that was being used to finance its production. The producers -- France's Vertigo and the U.K.'s Skyline -- pushed ahead regardless with the first leg in South Africa, in the hope that they could plug the gap before the money ran out. Their plan was to combine a U.K. sale-and-leaseback deal with a bank loan against sales estimates. But crucially, this depended on getting the pic approved by the U.K.'s Dept. of Culture, Media & Sport as an official co-production. The DCMS, which recently rejected a similar application from the Anglo-Canadian project "River King," initially raised doubts about "Man to Man." But the greenlight finally came through April 20, just in time for the pic to start the British leg of its production in Cornwall and Scotland. "Man to Man" is an original screenplay by Brit novelist William Boyd (news), based on a idea by Wargnier, about a Victorian scientist who mistakenly believes a pygmy he discovers in Africa is the missing link between men and apes. Perry ruled out Contrary to a previous report, former British Screen topper Simon Perry is not a candidate for the chairmanship of the U.K. Film Council. He did put in an application -- but missed the deadline by two days and was therefore disqualified.

Older news, but I hadn't seen it: Inside Move: Elvis to leave building Wed Apr 21, 8:00 PM ET Pamela McClintock, STAFF In another shakeup for the New York Time's culture pages, A.O. Scott will ascend to Janet Maslin's former post and soon be named chief movie critic, while film reviewer Elvis Mitchell is expected to depart the Gray Lady altogether. Move downsizes the triumvirate that put Scott, Mitchell and Stephen Holden in charge of movie criticism when longstanding lead reviewer Maslin stepped down at the end of 1999. The Times declined any comment on the matter. There have been longtime rumblings of dissatisfaction at the Times with Mitchell, who was even rumored at one point last year to be among those under consideration to run the nascent Warner Independent Pictures. Mitchell, who cultivates a dude-about-town image, apparently irked some at the paper with his numerous outside activities, such as recently hosting Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray events. Mitchell also is a visiting lecturer at Harvard U.'s African and African American Studies Dept. There's some speculation that Mitchell has already turned in his resignation. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

'Jumpers' Mixes High Jinks, Low Comedy Sun Apr 25, 9:30 PM ET By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic NEW YORK - Put on those thinking caps, folks, it's time to face "Jumpers," Tom Stoppard's high hurdle of a comedy filled with dense philosophical discussion, impossibly clever quips, deliberately bad musical numbers and one dead gymnast. The revival, which opened Sunday at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre, comes from Britain's National Theatre, where it was a big hit last summer. Stateside, however, American audiences could be flummoxed by Stoppard's ornate wordplay that seems to be forever calling attention to itself and the play's very specific English references that will have non-Anglophiles scratching their heads. Along with all that dazzle, "Jumpers," which had a short run on Broadway 30 years ago, exudes a certain smugness as Stoppard spins his rarefied tale of intellectual high jinks and low comedy. The plot is overstuffed with language and physical movement. Even designer Vicki Mortimer's intricate turntable setting never seems to stop moving. The story revolves around George, a rumpled professor of moral philosophy who is preparing a paper on the existence of God and who dictates his thoughts to a silent but efficient secretary. Stoppard's verbal dexterity is astonishing as he lays out George's argument for the presence of a higher power. These thoughts make for some lengthy monologues which Simon Russell Beale (as George) delivers with remarkable finesse. Beale is making his Broadway debut in "Jumpers" although the actor is known to New Yorkers from his sterling performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in such classics as "Twelfth Night" and "Uncle Vanya." Here, perhaps to compensate for the esoteric material, Beale tries a bit too hard to be ingratiating. His portrait of the unraveling George is bigger, broader and filled with more bits of stage busyness than it was in London. That said, Beale does capture the essential sadness of a man desperately trying to repair a damaged marriage with the insecure, appropriately named Dotty, played by the voluptuous Essie Davis. It's the one note of humanity in a play that, despite the laughs, is cold and chilly. Among other things, "Jumpers" is a murder mystery: who killed the yellow-suited gymnast? The man, along with a squad of fellow philosopher-athletes, was performing at a party given by Dotty when he was shot. Dotty, of course, is the prime suspect. She is a promiscuous, mentally fragile woman who walked out on her musical-comedy career in mid-song. Now she's having an affair with Archie, a vice chancellor at the university as well as her psychiatrist. As the wanton � and often naked � wife, Davis is a comic delight. [Ed note: But, really, would anyone want to see Beale naked?] She's sexy and vulnerable, particularly when perched atop a crescent moon high above the stage and singing songs about the moon. The other supporting players are equally adept: Nicky Henson as the unctuous, urbane Archie; Nicholas Woodeson as Inspector Bones, a policeman right out of Agatha Christie by way of Monty Python; John Rogan as a doddering servant, and Eliza Lumley as the mute secretary. Director David Leveaux worked wonders with his recent Broadway revivals of "Nine" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Both were carefully rethought. Leveaux is a smart, savvy director, and "Jumpers" never looks or sounds less than elegant. Yet Stoppard's metaphysical musings are hard to make theatrical. And for a lot of the time, they somersault right over the heads of the audience.

A rave from the New York Times: THEATER REVIEW | 'JUMPERS' Odd Brits A-Leaping With Bodies or Brains By BEN BRANTLEY NY Times Acrobatics aren't just for athletes in the high-flying revival of Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," which opened last night at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. Though the show features an enthusiastic team of bouncing gymnasts, everyone in "Jumpers" jumps in one way or another � verbally, emotionally, morally. Life is a state of unending, bounding restlessness in the world portrayed here. And with a cast headed by Simon Russell Beale, in a dazzling Broadway debut, such exertions turn this 1972 comic mystery of murder, marriage and metaphysics into one of the most entertaining exercise sessions available in a city that loves a good workout. Leaps of faith; back-flipping politics; somersaulting, self-inverting words and free-falling nervous breakdowns are all on offer in "Jumpers," which depicts a quasi-mythical England where a group called the Radical Liberal Party has ushered in a new era of relativism. The director, David Leveaux, appropriately serves up a show that never seems to stop spinning, from its chic revolving set to the frantic, farcical movements of its characters. But at the same time, this luscious import from the National Theater of Great Britain, which also stars the divine Essie Davis, finds a wounded, hungry heart beneath the razzle-dazzle of wit and vaudevillian showmanship. And a play often dismissed as too clever by half now registers clearly as a poignant acknowledgment of the limits of cleverness. In summary, "Jumpers" can still sound off-putting. (It was given the nickname "Sleepers" during its first and brief run on Broadway in 1974 in reference to its narcotic effect.) Where's the excitement in a play about a bumbling, self-centered philosopher, one George Moore (Mr. Russell Beale), who spends much of his time dictating a lecture on whether or not God exists? Granted, the people around this hapless fellow (who is not, as he irritably explains, the more famous philosopher named George E. Moore) are a lively lot. Most of his fellow academics are acrobats, and even his secretary is first seen flying on a trapeze. But George belongs, as he puts it, to an old-fashioned school, "which regards all sudden movements as ill-bred." Yet there is nothing static about the performance of Mr. Russell Beale, a London stage star of sharp inventiveness and peerless emotional depth. (He has been seen as Hamlet and Vanya in visiting productions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.) Even as his George tries to make a case for a solid metaphysical core in a crazy, mixed-up universe, his hands rove to pick wax from his ears or to trace circles on his protruding stomach. He cannot complete a phrase, it seems, without doubling back to amend it or erase it or contradict it, while his sense of self slides between giggly complacency and pained doubts. His wife, Dorothy (Ms. Davis), a prematurely retired musical star teetering on the brink of madness, calls him "the last of the metaphysical egotists." And in dealing with others � from the wife who keeps him from her bed to his beloved pet tortoise and hare � he winds up violating most of his stated principles. Still, there are moments when his fussy, stuffy professorial persona falls away, to reveal an achingly sincere faith in goodness. Mr. Russell Beale's performance beautifully mirrors the play as a whole. Like George, "Jumpers" can seem all too swept up in its own cerebral whimsy. But it is also like George in the seriousness that underlies its diverting surface. What keeps "Jumpers" from twirling off its shiny axis is its profound respect for what George calls the "mystery in the clockwork" of existence. In pursuit of this cosmic enigma, Mr. Stoppard has shaped "Jumpers" as a more mundane kind of mystery, the good old detective story. The play begins with a celebratory blowout for the Radical Liberals at George and Dorothy's lavish Art Deco digs, where one of the title characters, part of a floor show of academic acrobats, is shot and killed. Bones (Nicholas Woodeson), the delightfully inept police inspector who comes to call, confronts a Clue-game-like range of suspects: the high-strung Dorothy, who is called Dotty for a reason; her doctor, Sir Archie Jumper (played with superhuman glibness by Nicky Henson), who is also a government official, George's academic rival and possibly Dotty's lover; George's cryptically silent secretary (Eliza Lumley), and � a long shot � the building caretaker (and part-time metaphysicist, natch) Crouch (John Rogan). The antic criminal investigation is descended directly from the farces noires of Joe Orton, while the precocious schoolboy puns and self-congratulatory epigrams evoke a blend of musical hall routines and Oscar Wilde. But weaving these elements together is Mr. Stoppard's distinctive feeling for the shiftiness of all things human. Puns, for example, are words with more than one meaning. "Jumpers" itself eludes pigeonholes. Mr. Leveaux, who is also represented on Broadway this season by the less felicitous "Fiddler on the Roof," here dexterously juggles all the play's different identities. And with the highly skilled assistance of Vicki Mortimer (set designer), Nicky Gillibrand (costumes), Paule Constable (lighting) and Corin Buckeridge (music), he combines wildly different genres into one glossy, eye-popping package that never forgets the elusive darkness beyond. More than any production of "Jumpers" I have seen, this one locates the pathos in George's and Dotty's marriage, a sense of genuine affection and complicity undermined by helpless egotism. Tellingly, this couple is most at ease when communicating through games of charades. The silences that overtake them in between resonate with a sad, frustrated loneliness. Whether poured into a silver flapper dress or vulnerably (and exquisitely) naked, Ms. Davis's Dotty provides the perfect, plaintive counterpoint to Mr. Russell Beale's George. This production makes the parallels between the two explicit, while underscoring the sad reality that parallel lines don't connect. Just as George can never quite arrive at the clinchers of his philosophical arguments, neither can Dotty remember the lyrics to the songs that made her reputation. (The onstage band that follows her wayward performances is terrific.) Most of those songs, by the way, are about the moon, which Dotty believes has been stripped of its poetry since astronauts landed there. Just as George shuffles through names of philosophers, Dotty comes up with her own desperately delivered catalog of poets who once hymned her dear silvery moon. Don't worry if you're not up on your Keats or Milton, or for that matter your Plato or Wittgenstein. For all its intellectual name dropping, "Jumpers" � like Mr. Stoppard's "Real Thing" and "Invention of Love" � is ultimately less a showoff demonstration of what Mr. Stoppard knows than a humble contemplation of what he and all humankind can never know. This production presents the theatrical clockwork of "Jumpers" with scintillating style and polish. But it also pauses to hear the brimming silences of the mystery beneath the mechanical ticking.

"American audiences could be flummoxed by Stoppard's ornate wordplay" No kidding. I saw it years ago...have tickets for May. Tried reading it again. No comprendo. Am now reading a Drama Analysis on Stoppard's works. But he's worth it. Diana Rigg was the first Dotty. Since then , the role has not had any good actresses. I think Essie Davis either won or was short listed for an Olivier. Thanks Karen.

Dang, I almost forgot Eithne's birthday! Happy Birthday to mah beloved! Hope it was great!

(Mari) A rave from the New York Times: THEATER REVIEW | 'JUMPERS' Odd Brits A-Leaping With Bodies or Brains By BEN BRANTLEY NY Times Ben Brantley doesn't throw around the accolades often. Looks like we have a Tony winner here in the Revival category. With the leads taking best actors. Hey Moon, this might even be David Leveaux's year!!

"American audiences could be flummoxed by Stoppard's ornate wordplay I hate it when Americans flummox so easily;-( Thanks Karen and Mari for the Jumpers reviews. Anyone catch the second installment of State of Play last night? It's really heating up, now. More Bill Nighy than last week. IMO, excellent show.

No, I watched last week, but couldn't get past David Morrissey's helmet hair, which looks like a cross between an '80s news anchor and Chad Everett in Medical Center.;-) Then Kelly MacDonald started to speak Martian and I went "click!" Seriously, I thought it was a one-off; can't make a commitment to any more continuing series right now. Speaking of which . . . Did anyone watch The Sopranos last night? LOL at Carmella reading her mother the riot act about "cultured Italians." Can't believe she slept with Tony, though.

Was watching CNN last night and they had on a story about a new exhibit at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled "Dangerous Liaisons." Seems they've taken elements of their 18th century costume displays and posed the mannequins in interesting positions. Think Valmont writing letters.;-) They did show a brief scene from the Frears version of DL.

(Linda)Anyone catch the second installment of State of Play last night? It's really heating up, now. More Bill Nighy than last week. Hmmmmm... getting a little soap opera-ish,IMO. I like "Keen Eddie" mobetta;-) Will check-out the Dangerous Liaison exhibit at the Met.Thanks

Mari - re Dangerous Liasons exhibit. Hmm intersting . .do love the Met . .may make a trip for this one. Here is all that's on the Met webpage so far regarding this . . http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={9FA99BE0-39CD-48AF-9514-84531AF6C5A3}

Dang!!!! . .the link seems to not work . . Paste . .here is the main website: http://www.metmuseum.org/ After you enter, just go to: "More special exhibitions" and then "Upcoming exhibitions" And it is listed at the top: Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century April 29, 2004�August 8, 2004

OK, my verdict on Laws of Attraction....Eh! If it wasn't for Pierce Brosnan, it'd be right down with Two Weeks Notice for me, which *really* didn't do anything for me rom-com-wise. I really wanted to laugh more and sometimes I think I laughed at things on the sheer will of wanting them to be funny. Can't say I heard a huge amount of laughter overall. Thought JM was somewhat bland doing comedy...drama is definitely her strength. Frances Fisher was amusing as her mom, despite the one-note joke with her trying to look/act as young or younger than her uptight daughter (JM). Amazingly, I found Parker Posey pretty annoying, which is unusual, b/c I've liked her in everything else. In truth, I found the director, Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors, Johnny English) funnier during the Q&A than the movie itself. Kim was there. She may have a different opinion.

French and Saunders Return to BBC One Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are returning to BBC One for what will be their first sketch show series together for six years. The show will feature not only their much loved sketches, but will also see these sketches bound together with a narrative thread (like the glue between objects that otherwise wouldn't be held together, unless you used sella-tape instead). This narrative backdrop will take the form of a behind the scenes documentary which takes a look at the duo working together to write their shows. Much of this behind the scenes action takes place in French and Saunders new private office which they now share at the BBC. (although due to not reading their contract properly they only have one parking space). We will see them arriving at the office, battling with security and hanging around studios and lifts watching for celebrities to persuade to be in their shows. There are also an 'above average' number of trips to the BBC tea bar. But don't think of this new series as a documentary (that's what the Discovery channel is for), as it is still a sketch show at heart. The series will have their usual brand of parodies and sketches which will include tributes to Cold Mountain, Girl with a Pearl Earring and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. http://www.funny.co.uk/news/art_72-2174-French-and-Saunders-Return-to-BBC-One.html

Eithne, so sorry I forgot your birthday yesterday... But you see, the cat got my tongue and I just got it back! So now I can say, "Happy Birthday, Eithne!"

OMG!! Shoshana! Where did you find that? Just think of the possibilities...no, wait...better not (fanning self). By the way, the cat picture is almost the spitting image of my cat. Must get more ice for tea. Dorine, one can nevah have too many versions of ODB! I really must start charging royalties when they show that portrait of me. Oh! You didn't know I was the life model for that one and on one of my better days, too. I usually don't look that good ;-) Ada, thanks for the great picture of ODB. He just never looks un-delicious. Lizza, thanks for the kind birthday wishes. It continues to be a wonderful birthday! Mari, thanks to both you and "Rhett". It's been a wonderful day! Thanks, Drool! You ALL are the greatest! (of should I say Y'ALL?)

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Lora! And that picture! Proof that he has one even if the cat did get it (talk to cat about bringing trophies to his "Meowmie" and not returning them to their "owner") ;-D

The director, David Leveaux, appropriately serves up a show that never seems to stop spinning, from its chic revolving set to the frantic, farcical movements of its characters. (Evelyn), Hey Moon, this might even be David Leveaux's year!! My baby is doing very well. Now I must find a way to him. ;-) *smooch* (Dorine), my verdict on Laws of Attraction....Eh! How disappointing! :-( But you also kinda liked The Alamo, so... ;-) Thanks for the links and articles, ladies!

From FL hot and sunny Now settled in Baltimore You�ll need that nubbly cardy To keep you nice and warm. ODB and droolers Were there for the feast Which DVD was favored As your birthday treat? Happy Birthday Eithne So sorry to be late Wishes I send to ya Hope the day was great PS: everyone here make parties such a treat. Sophie - animatronicolin was AFGreat. Kimberly - Colin and Scarlett, too funny. Evelyn - your fault I missed the party. Showed up, saw Joe Prince, passed out, hit head on keyboard (I know that because I still have keys imprint on forehead.) Still recovering, and he wasn't even looking at me :-(. Eithne, you lucky girl! (Mari) ...Chad Everett in Medical Center.;-) LOL, you bring back memories. Then Kelly MacDonald started to speak Martian and I went "click!" ROTFLMAO.

(Moon) How disappointing! :-( But you also kinda liked The Alamo, so... ;-) Pfft! The only thing off the top of my head that I've enthusiastically liked (or not disliked in some major way) in the last couple of months was Kill Bill, Vol. 2 and 13 Going on 30. Surely there must be one or 2 more, but they aren't coming to me at the moment.

Durr . .forgot to say when I last posted . .as Dorine mentioned, saw Laws of Attraction w/ her & my DH. I liked it . .I enjoyed myself . .not saying I'd run out and buy the DVD and watch it over and over again. . .but I did not think it was wretched or anything. Pierce Brosnan was my favorite in it all . .charming, handsome . .a little scruffy at times w/ the longish hair and rumpled suits. . .I also liked Julianne Moore . .the last light fare I had seen her in was that god-awful one she did with Huge where she and he had the baby together . .this I liked 10 times over that one. My DH was more with Dorine . .he did not like it thought it was too predictible . .he did not like JM, did like PB . .and both he and I agree with Dorine . .the best part of the night was just listening to the director . .v. v. funny man! . .v. down to earth . .with whom Dorine did get to exchange a few words with;) . .would love to work with him in the future . . .

(Mari) Then Kelly MacDonald started to speak Martian and I went "click!" Have to admit, of all the stuff being posted here over the past day or so, this line totally cracked me up too! RE: Laws of Attraction Most of the critics are saying that JM can't do comedy...but I'm not going for her. ;-) Before I toss it, ran across this interview with Helen Mirren in last week's TV Guide: Q: I interviewed Eric Stoltz, who played your young lover in Showtime's The Passion of Ayn Rand, and he said, "I made love with Helen Mirren!" [laughs] A: I made love with Eric! How lucky am I? Q: He said you asked specifically for sex scenes. A: Yes, I did. But often I'll say a sex scene isn't necessary. In fact, there was a sex scene in Prime Suspect that I didn't think was necessary. I said, "Let's lose that." It didn't advance the character or the story. Q: You've always been comfortable taking your clothes off on screen. A: I don't care anymore. I'm a great admirer of Gerard Depardieu. I would see myself in a perfect world as a female Gerard Depardieu. He's very chunky, but he doesn't have that attitude of "Oh, my God, I've got a nude scene. I've got to work out."

An article about the Dangerouso Liaisons exhibit at the Met: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&ncid=529&e=12&u=/ap/20040427/ap_en_ot/dangerous_liaisons

From THR: FCC indecency has Bochco in 'Blue' mood By Ray Richmond A couple of seasons ago on "NYPD Blue" -- one of the few stable shows currently residing in the ABC universe -- the show's creator and executive producer, Steven Bochco, recalls that Susan Lyne (ousted last week as the network's entertainment chief) urged the show to try a little experiment. "Susan wanted us to start using the word 'bullshit' in our episodes," Bochco said last week in a telephone interview. "And so we did -- not gratuitously, but in character. We received not a single phone call. Not one little peep. No letters of protest. Nothing. Zero. "I thought, what a nice sign that is, that a 10 o'clock drama can occasionally access some of the casual profanity that's absolutely familiar to anyone over the age of 7." It was yet another content victory for a series that had written the book on controversy, that had famously stood down the watchdog groups and affiliate rejection to survive its first season in 1993-94 and, more than a decade later, outlive virtually all of its critics. But as "NYPD Blue" rolls to the end of its 11th and possibly final season, the gritty cop drama has found a foe that it can't compete with in the federal government. The so-called indecency crackdown has hit "NYPD" hard, Bochco explains. At ABC's insistence, the show has been forced over the past two months to alter or eliminate visuals in four sex scenes. "We've also had to dial back some of our language issues," he says. Mind you, Bochco relates these facts with more sadness and resignation than outrage, like a man who cannot believe he's still fighting the same battles nearly 25 years after bringing "Hill Street Blues" to NBC. He's philosophical about it -- but not at all pleased. "We unfortunately live in a time where we no longer have broadcasting philosophies," Bochco believes. "We have divisions of giant companies who do staggering amounts of business with the government. Because of their size and responsibility to shareholders, they're prepared to accommodate anything rather than take on the government in ways that could cost money and damage their relationship with advertisers." That's the new reality. And what upsets Bochco perhaps more than anything isn't the fact his show has to relinquish hard-won freedoms and water down his product 11 years in; it's that he's the victim of what he sees as mere political jockeying. "I'd bet my house that the overwhelming majority of politicians banging this drum haven't watched us or anyone else who's being scaled back," he believes. "In typical lemming fashion, it's just, 'Oh boy, here's an opportunity to get some ink, to get my face out there in an election year.' They get to take easy shots at a slow-moving target." Bochco suspects that the "self-appointed cultural arbiters" will move on to new issues and the crackdown will dissolve after November. "Every election cycle, this issue rears its head," he says. "But right now, it's as scary as it's ever been. If it doesn't dissolve, this will be 'NYPD Blue's' last year. If we have to keep reining ourselves in like this, it just wouldn't be worth continuing to do the show." Bochco perhaps states the obvious when he maintains that you couldn't put an "NYPD Blue" on the air today. "Not a chance," he believes. The outrage is that the overwhelming majority of citizens in this country subscribe to cable, and many of those to premium cable. They don't make a distinction between what is free and commercial and what's fee and controversial. To insist otherwise is simply to delude oneself. Then again, they seem to be doing a pretty good job of that in Washington these days.

Thanks for the Met Review...Now if they only had featured YKW;-) "Jumpers" Yahoo report. "Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers" opened Sunday at the Brooks Atkinson and has confused everyone I know who's seen it. But it has pulled in nothing but raves across the board, including ones from the New Yorker, the New York Daily News and the all-important New York Times......" I'm telling ya', not an easy ride.

The US Fever Pitch looks to be a go. From the Boston Herald: Meanwhile, Mass. Film Bureau bigwig Robin Dawson reports Fox Pictures wants to shoot in and around Fenway Park in the late summer for "Fever Pitch," a love story about a boy, a girl and a perpetual losing team! "It's adorable, I can tell you that," Dawson said. The movie, based on the autobiography of "About A Boy" scribe Nick Hornby, first hit the big screen in England in 1997 and starred "Bridget Jones" stud Colin Firth. It was the story of a British teacher's obsession with his girlfriend and his local soccer team. In the American version, a Bostonian named Ben meets a gal named Lindsey. They fall in love and everything's hunky-dory until baseball season rolls around and Lindsey discovers the horrifying truth: Her boyfriend is a diehard, Nomar-lovin,' Yankees-Suck-chanting, Sox-obsessed psycho. But, as "Still, We Believe" so aptly illustrates, there's really no other kind . . . . http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=543

British teacher's obsession with his girlfriend Actually, wasn't the problem that he *wasn't* obsessed with his girlfriend? Barely had eyes for anything but soccer. The irony about this now is the Sox are in first now, I believe. Maybe they should make it about the Montreal Expos. They'd have a new excuse for having to shoot in Canada vs the US. ;-)

I thnk this one has some real potential for Colin: Disney Mounting Swiss Family Robinson Remake Wednesday, April 28, 2004 Walt Disney Pictures is mounting a remake of its 1960 family film Swiss Family Robinson, which starred John Mills and Dorothy McGuire, says The Hollywood Reporter. The new project will be set in its original time period, around the beginning of the 19th century. The script will be written by Greg Poirier, whose credits include Rosewood, Gossip and See Spot Run. The classic story, which first originated as a novel by Johann David Wyss, finds the Robinson family washed ashore on an uncharted tropical island following a stormy shipwreck. ;-)

LOL!!! Welllll.....if most, if not all of Colin's clothes could be washed away rather than washed ashore with them, I'd be *so* there! ;-D

Dean Jones, here we come ;-)

Shouldn't this be on CF News? ;-) Good one, Mari. Now, if there were an uninhabited island set somewhere off the District line, I'd say it was a done deal.

Oh, but there is Euro-Disney, a bullet train away. ;-) Good call, Mari! LOL!

Heads up..... Tina Fey of SNL is being interviewed on NPR's Terry Gross show as I write. She has a new film out but is also giving a very interesting insiders view of the workings of SNL. Especially interesting to me is how decisions are made about what skits make it to the final show.

Check this out, a total hoot! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343#ebayphotohosting goes to Mari's comment about Kelly MacDonald speaking Martian too. ;-)

LOL! I saw that yesterday and passed it around at work. When we saw it his counter was at 18,000 (and the dress was selling for $241.00)! Today it's over 3 million hits (and $15,000)! Crikey! Was just informed by co-worker when I told her what the count was at that this auction was mentioned on the news last night...this guy is too funny! My favorite bits: I took the liberty of blacking out my face - not to protect the ex-wife but to protect me from my bar buddies and co-workers finding out about it. I would never live it down. Actually I didn�t think my head would fit in the neck hole, but then I figured she got her Texas cheerleader hair through there I could get my head in it. And this: Ladies, you won�t regret this. You may regret the dude you marry but not the dress. Thanks Karen! This is too amusing...glad to see the guy may be able to get season tickets to the Mariners (not just the two he was hoping for!).

I heard this guy was on the Today Show this morning and had the hosts and crew in stitches. Wish I'd known.

(Dorine)LOL!!! Welllll.....if most, if not all of Colin's clothes could be washed away rather than washed ashore with them, I'd be *so* there! ;-D Well, than you for finding the silver lining.

(Beedee) She and Lorne Michaels were on Charlie Rose last night, too. Was too sleepy to listen by the time they got on in the second half. The first guy was too dull. ;-) The repeat is on in a few minutes, maybe I'll try to catch it. And Terry Gross puts her interviews on a web archive, too, I think, so I'll look for it there. Thanks. That ad on eBay is hysterical! Love his add-on posts.

Gah!! Hadn't done that in a while.

From an NBC station, make sure you click on the slide show to see him model the dress from all angles: Man Sells Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress For Beer Biker Tries On Gown For Cameras SEATTLE, Wash. -- An online auction is turning a burly, bearded Seattle biker into a blushing bride. Slideshow: Images Of Biker In Wedding Gown Larry Star is selling his ex-wife's wedding dress. But Star says he needed to show potential buyers what it looked like, so he tried the gown on. Star's wife left him two years ago. She kept the ring, but left the dress. Star was going to burn the dress. But instead, he decided the best way to get revenge was to put the dress up for auction on eBay and make some cash on it. Star has already received around 100 bids on the dress. Among those bids are a handful of marriage proposals. But Star says he will not accept any of those proposals. The gown is a size 12 and sleeveless, the best way to accent Star's tattoos. Star says he plans to use the money from the dress to buy some beer and see a Mariners game. http://www.nbc10.com/news/3245813/detail.html I couldn't find any video on the Today Show site. :-(

(Dorine)And Terry Gross puts her interviews on a web archive, too, I think, so I'll look for it there. Thanks. Fresh Air usually repeats at 3PM EST, as well. That bit about the skits for the final show would be interesting. I remember that was one of the questions I wanted to ask Colin...of course I didn't think of it until the train ride home;-(

Hysterical!!! Love the guy with the wedding dress. Dorine, if most of Colin's clothes washed away, I sure hope he's got some sunscreen (volunteering to administer sunscreen) because that fair English skin will peel off him in strips without something between him and the sun (also volunteering to sacrifice own body to protect ODB from sunburn and other assorted solar induced ills). Geeze, I love you guys!!

Sorry for the double post... Durr! Almost forgot to thank Sonia for her great birthday poem! DVD of choice for the birthday evening was Advocate. (sigh)

Check your email, Ada.

Before I get old and forget again, here's the birthday lists for May and June... May 2 - Me (yes I'm turning 40..and no I'm not happy;-)) May 7 - LindaK June 7 - Lizza June 14 - Moon June 17 - Beedee June 23 - Shoshana And somewhere in these 2 months is Annette's birthday but she's not saying when:-).

40? Been there. Done that. Happy Birthday Ada!

Wait wait! I've still got 24 hours, thank you;-D!

Ooops! Did I jump the gun again? Good, then I'll continue tomorrow.

(Ada)May 2 - Me (yes I'm turning 40..and no I'm not happy;-) LOL, I'm turning 50 and really it isn't so bad. See you tomorrow Ms. Keeps

My Ada, my Darling The Mistress of Keeps To be 40 is charming Don't let it give you the creeps. I'd give you a poem if master the words I could but alas, no such talent I have, or I would. Hope your day will be merry with presents and joy so glad, we may share it along with "our boy". Ada - congratulations! I'll stick to what I know, and send you my best wishes along with these flowers:

Happy Birthday, Ada Aw, you're a babe!

Ada, one of your fellow mistresses wanted to wish you a happy birthday, but she was a little busy, tending to her duties: Instead, she's giving you her favorite pet to help you with your responsibilities:

Rupi has nothing on me now! ;-) Ada my dear you keep my things as you keep me: close to your heart. It is with heartfelt delight that I wish you a very Happy Birthday!

hey ada: mistress of the keeps' not enough for you ? you're gone *spanking* now ? oh well, it seems consistent with the lint roller/rubber glove fad that has developed these past weeks, hey ? let's not rub in (with or without rubber glove) the fact that you turned 40 today. instead, let's celebrate your achievements and give a clear view of your duties to newbies, with a littel help from animatronicolin 3.0 ("oh god, i'm gonna fail the test and get spanked" mode on) (btw: forgive the master instead of mistress : it sounded more SIL that way... and i'm getting confused switching from french to english sometimes) **happy birthday Ada !** keep up the good work !

His Lord Wessex proudly proclaims himself Defender of Our Lady Keepmistress and All Her Treasures Thou sottish plume-plucked rabbit-sucker! Nay, sir, you shall not toucheth Milady Keepmistress's treasures! One stepeth further and I shall slicest off thy bollocks, roast them til toasty and serveth them to my swine! Verily, though, I feareth they shall still be hungry. Thou mewling lean-witted flax-wench! Dust thou thinketh that thy can offereth up a bribe? A boon? Ye wish snother subject's keep?! Prithee, taketh this hag awayeth! Mayhaps, I must hieth to my sentry duty at the Drool vault: But not until I giveth all a peek at Milady's greatest treasure::

Come along, Bridget! It's time for Ada's Birthday Party!! Happy Birthday, Ava!!! Hope you enjoy your cake! thanks to firth dot com for the picture

Oh, bugger!!! I meant Ada. But you knew that...right?

Darling Ada, if you hadn't given my belt away I wouldn't have had to come to the party with my pants down. Happy 40th Birthday to the loveliest mistress of all.

Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you

Darling Ada, if you hadn't given my belt away I wouldn't have had to come to the party with my pants down. Happy 40th Birthday to the loveliest mistress of all.

Happy Birthday to the one who protects things most dear. Thank goodness you take better care of important notes than someone else we know�. Have a fabulous day, Ada!!! (Thank you, Firth.com for the great images)

Oh my goodness! Such a day...roses, chocolates, bare nekkid bums and spanking mistresses! ROFL! I never thought turning 40 would be so much fun! Annette, thank you so much for your lovely poem and roses. Hearing my name from those lips makes me smile too:-) Evelyn, are you sure you didn't you hear my bones creak this morning...my brother said he heard them all the way over in Italy;-)! Karen, ROFLMAO!! Oh wondrous boss...pray tell me where you found such a whip! I need a replacement for my old one;-DD! Moon, mmmm...I love that look of his..thank you. Sophie, I'm loving it..heehee..I got an animatron! Master, mistress, who cares. I got an animatron:-DDD! Thank you so much! Karen, Lord Wessex and a chocolatier?! Oooh, I've died and gone to heaven! Eithne, heh..I knew that...Thank you honey. Now give me back that cardigan;-P! Linda, now honey, I didn't give his belt away. Colin came with his pants down because he knew how much I love his knees;-)! Leslie, heh..if you only saw my notes! Ladies,you are all the wittiest lovliest and most caring Colin compatriots out there! Thank you so much for making my day so special:-)

And the best of all possible worlds...a chocolate marble cheesecake with sprinkles! Hope you left room for this!

Ada, As you do for others, I looked around trying to find one of your keeps in honor of your big day. Afraid I fixated on the spoon one: spoon, lips, lips, spoon, do you blame me? Searched high and low for it. My intentions were good, but I guess I got waylaid, didn't find the spoon but found this... Hope it was a happy day! Thanks for being the Mistress of the Keeps, you're a champ! Barb

Keepsmistress Ada, On this, the anniversary of your momentous entry into the world, I bestow unto you a tribute I composed while inspired by one of your keeps. It is but a trifling gift presented as a token of my high esteem. That which thy noble neck enclosed, Has now thy lovely throat exposed. Unrequited, rejected, cast down in dismay; Cravat is unbound and collar torn away. Thwarted passion moistens thy brow; A drop slowly wends its way, and now Near shirt half-shed in agitation Anoints thy suprasternal indentation. Far grander than famed chimney place Is strain�d emotion afflicting thy face; But shy from her Ladyship�s rude attention Lest thy love meet her gracious condescension! Though thy unhappy repose en dishabille To baser feminine urges may appeal, Thy exposed body reflects thy agony; Both shirt and man are treasured by me! (by me I mean you, since this is a gift to you, though I like both as well!) Happy Birthday Ada!!! Please excuse the very silly, flowery, and overwrought language above. I've been reading far too many historical novels recently. ;-)

Surfing the net you�ve found quite a lot Pics, reviews and I know not wot. Thanks for your efforts to search and delight Ada, keepsmistress, to me you�re alright. This year is Olympic, set your vcr Swimmers �n divers in speedos aren�t far. Til then you�ll contend with boxers and tights On Essex and Ware, could more be in sight? Cheasecake �n chocolates, tomorrow you�ll fast How great to be 40! I was in the past.

So WAGW, a cute little 'tween rom-com, is now the epitome of its genre? Apparently Dennie Gordon seems to think so. ;-) Time Is Right for Olsen Twins' 'New York Minute' LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Dennie Gordon is happy to have made the Olsen twins' first major studio feature, "New York Minute," which opens nationwide Friday, even if her joy took a minute or two to set in. "I knew early on what I was getting into because there was a big huge twins backlash," says Gordon, whose credits include "What a Girl Wants," starring Amanda Bynes (news), and "Joe Dirt," starring David Spade (news). "But there is also this unbelievable jinormous fan base. They are the 600-pound gorillas of all the other girls out there, the Lindsay Lohans, Amanda Bynes, Hilary Duffs and all these girls. They are in a league completely all their own, but there is a backlash." Gordon thinks the backlash can be turned around if "New York Minute" is a big hit. "When I met them, they were extraordinary," she says. "I thought this is the next Reese Witherspoon (news) and the next Cameron Diaz (news). If I play my cards right, and we get the script right, I will watch them become movie stars. And they already have a massive target audience and a massive built-in audience, and it's global." But, to get there, Gordon and her girls must help continue the return of teen girl movies, sparked by the current No. 1 showing of "Mean Girls," starring Lohan. "There has been this spate of teen girl movies that have tanked, and I'm sort of proud to say that they were recycled versions of 'What a Girl Wants.' I mean do we really need 'Ella Enchanted' and 'The Prince & Me?' I felt we said everything about that last year with 'What a Girl Wants."' Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Ding Dang it! I missed it!!! So sorry Ada . .due to various technical difficulties at home, seems like I missed the party ! Hmph! Very sorry I missed your actual b�day. Hope this can make up for it . . . A belated tribute to you: She is mistress of the keeps generous kind wise with patience and foresight she doles out the precious items for our adoration our link to the man himself keeper of the treasures holder of the key to the vault of the items so desired by us all with reverence I write this and bow in supplication to you dear mistress on the occasion of your natal day Hope your birthday was just lovely darling!

'Good' deal for Hornby bestseller 04/29/2004 Adam Dawtrey, STAFF LONDON -- Columbia has optioned the movie rights to Brit writer Nick Hornby's bestseller "How to Be Good," for Laura Ziskin to produce. Columbia paid mid-six figures for the option. Ultimate purchase price if the movie is made reportedly exceeds the $3 million Hornby was paid for the film rights to his previous novel, "About a Boy." "How to Be Good," published in 2002, is a complex moral comedy about a couple on the brink of divorce. The wife is a well-meaning doctor whose sense of superiority to her angry, cynical husband is undermined when she has an affair, and he suddenly decides to become "good" in the fashion of the Gospels. When that turns out to mean redistributing the family's possessions to the needy and inviting poor people to live in their house, she discovers that she misses the man he used to be. Leslie Morgan, senior VP of production for Laura Ziskin Prods., will shepherd the development, together with Columbia exec VP of production Amy Baer and co-prexy of production Matt Tolmach. His bestselling "High Fidelity" was successfully relocated to Chicago for the eponymous Stephen Frears pic starring John Cusack (news); "About a Boy," starring Hugh Grant and directed by the Weitz brothers, kept its original English setting. Hornby's autobio "Fever Pitch" was also turned into a low-budget Brit pic, and an American remake is in the works at Fox. Hornby is working on a new novel and is carving out a career as a screenwriter. His original script "Fast Forward," co-written by Emma Thompson, is in development at Working Title, which co-produced "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy."

His original script "Fast Forward," co-written by Emma Thompson, ODB is in the "click". ;-)

Ada, Hope you had just a wonderful day....... and here's another wish that you will have a superb year full of fun and frolic with ODB;-) BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES

(Moon)ODB is in the "click". ;-) Yes he is-my thoughts,exactly. Isn't he usually on a movie set, a restaurant, his couch-when he hears about these things?

His original script "Fast Forward," Must be a confessional about a Colin Firth fan who is called upon to use that button frequently.:-) It's brilliant really. I can see the sequels now. "Pause" -- the Firth Fan has an epiphany and stops using FF button and "Slo Mo" when the viewer tries to get on with life after said epiphany but can't.;-) Happy Belated Birthday, ADA! I had dreaded the big 4-0 for so long that it was quite a relief to be 40 and realize the big 5-0 was too far away to worry about.:-) Hope you have a great beginning to your new decade.

His original script "Fast Forward," (Caribou) Must be a confessional about a Colin Firth fan who is called upon to use that button frequently.:-) It's brilliant really. I can see the sequels now. "Pause" -- the Firth Fan has an epiphany and stops using FF button and "Slo Mo" when the viewer tries to get on with life after said epiphany but can't.;-) LOL! Brilliant Caribou! You're likely correct. Nick met many of us FFs while on his book tour of the US. I think anytime a women showed up with a Fever Pitch anything, he'd ask, "Are you a Colin Firth fan?" OK, the neon sign on my forehead might have been slightly overboard. ;-)

Ohhhhhh noooooooooo......I feel just awful.....I missed the party! Happy Belated Birthday Ada! I was all 'wrapped up' (seriously!) these past few days! Hope you can forgive me!

(Karen)I think anytime a women showed up with a Fever Pitch anything, he'd ask, "Are you a Colin Firth fan?" Did he say it in the very British way Peter Webber used to throw me off? "So, you're a Colin Firth fan, are you?" "You like Pride and Prejudice, do you?" And, don't forget Emma's recent experience with Fervent Firth Fans.;-) It was too hot to sleep last night and I entertained myself with thinking of more movies in the Remote Control Button Series: They could do one with Colin about a luvvie who puts together a perfect career by starting over after every stinker--"Rewind". Not sure of the storyline but I thought some might like "Mute". If it starred Colin and was NC-17, several might enjoy "Display".;-);-);-);-)

(Caribou) Did he say it in the very British way Peter Webber used to throw me off? "So, you're a Colin Firth fan, are you?" "You like Pride and Prejudice, do you?" No, I think it was more direct and to the point: "Are you a fan of Colin Firth?" Nick is pretty soft spoken; he seems a man of few words, unlike Webber, who likes to yak, is more demonstrative. Right? Any ideas about a movie called "Zoom In"? ;-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Empire: New State of Play BBC drama leaps to the big screen 04 May 2004 Last year's essential TV viewing, State of Play is to make the leap from small screen to big. The BBC drama about press and political corruption was adored by critics and won itself a rabid fanbase � so much so that it sparked a bidding war for the film rights Scott Rudin, most recently the producer of School Of Rock, emerged victorious from the fray, clutching a contract signed by BBC Films head David Thompson. Rumour has it that the story will be Americanised (cue howls of British outrage) and made in the mould of All The President's Men. For anyone not in the know, the plot concerns the efforts of three journalists to uncover a political conspiracy while treading the fine line between fearlessly seeking truth and holding onto their jobs. Paul Abbott, who wrote the series, was initially reluctant to sell the film rights because of concerns that a two-hour adaptation of a six-hour series would be, well, a load of arse. Still, Abbott is now onboard as an executive producer, and he can take comfort from the example of Traffic, which managed to work in both formats. Meanwhile, fans can content themselves with the thought that State of Play 2 is on its way to a TV screen near you. Star Bill Nighy told us recently, "It�s almost written. I do know the plot and I am not at liberty to divulge it. It�s a cracker, it�s wild, and if it were anybody other than Paul Abbot you�d think they were insane, but you know that he�ll pull it off."

"The BBC drama about press and political corruption was adored by critics and won itself a rabid fanbase ..... "fans can content themselves with the thought that State of Play 2 is on its way to a TV screen near you." Not near me. I must be missing something here. I could care less what happens to the disreputable characters in this series, except for Kelly Mac Donald and I can't understand a word she says.

LOL, Evelyn! I'm with you all the way. BTW, what I want are more period pieces. ;-D

I know that this is against the rules but I got *sasser wormed* this weekend and couldn't get out! So please forgive this late wish as I don't want Ada's cake to get too stale! Glad you had a great day Ada!!

Attended a screening of Troy last night. First off, where was the nudity I was promised? I kept hearing and reading reports that there would be male nudity in this movie. I wasn�t expecting a full frontal, unless it would be some unknown extra, but at least a bare backside. What I saw was just a sliver of a bare backside, and with very poor lighting! I will admit that what I did see of Brad Pitt�s Achilles, Eric Bana�s Hector and Orlando Bloom�s Paris was drool-worthy � they really worked out and were amazing looking, but that�s nothing new. I apologize for my previous lackluster response to Brad Pitt � I guess I�ll have to rent some of his movies. He owned this role. Eric Bana was at last night�s Q&A. He is breathtaking. Very tall. Humorous. Self effacing. And well dressed! There was a teensy part of me that wanted to run my fingers through his thick hair, and telling him that needs a haircut � I must be getting old. � He joked about doing publicity with Brad, likening it to being in the Beatles, with him as Ringo Starr (if you saw Oprah on Monday, oh my poor baby Eric). � He spoke about being offered the role of Hector and how immediately he leapt at the role then seemed to back away thinking who does he think he is to be able to play that role. When he finally met with Wolfgang Peterson (mimicking a German accent), WP asked him which role he was interested in. EB said Hector, and WP replied that lucky for him BP wanted the role of Achilles. � He had to learn to ride for the role. WP said that Hector rides like the wind, and asked him if he too can ride like the wind. EB said that he thought of bluffing, but decided that he wanted Warner Brothers to pay for his lessons, and that he didn�t want to shame in his mother-in-law (a dressage rider) in front of her friends. � There were no stunt doubles for their fight scenes, and yes BP did have to pay him for every unintentional hit � he thinks it�s $500.00 and that BP injured himself as well. � The moderator told EB that WP said he was comparable to a young Robert DeNiro and how did he feel about? EB was speechless, he would start to say something, catch himself, eventually saying that it was very nice. And if it were true, how come it wasn�t reported � He freely admitted that he doesn�t have anything lined up next, and has been just relaxing at home in Australia with his family and likes it that way. And did I mention he was great in this role? He is. All the other actors were wonderful. Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox, and the brilliant Peter O�Toole. Why doesn�t this man have an Oscar (not the lifetime achievement kind) or been knighted (is it cause he�s Irish?)? I was crying at his scenes � well a lot of the scenes, but that�s spoilerish. He has this wonderful line � and I hope I�m not mangling it cause I can�t quote it verbatim, too busy crying at the time � �Even enemies deserve respect.� The way he says it, the way he looks when he says it was just heartbreaking. I liked the fact that all the roles seemed fully realized. You didn�t have to guess at a back story.

Thanks, Marianne! I saw Eric Bana on Leno last night. He is easy on the eyes. I had rented a 4 hour Helen of Troy last year and liked it very much. So much, in fact, that I did not see the need to do another one, but I will take your word and see it. But first it's Van Helsing. :-)

Today's New York Times discusses 'Blind Flight' a film playing at the Tribeca Film Festival tonight. It tells the in-depth story of the relationship between Brian Keenan and John McCarthy during their 4 1/2 year ordeal as hostages in Beirut during the 80's. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/movies/05NOTE.html If people remember, the film 'Hostages' was based on this story. Colin played the role of John McCarthy. Seems like this film goes into far grittier detail and may be v. interesting for those seeking more information. As to whether the film will ever make it to distribution.....who knows?

(Leslie)Today's New York Times discusses 'Blind Flight' a film playing at the Tribeca Film Festival tonight. Thanks Leslie, I'll look for that. I think that Hostages is a great film and as the review you pasted states, the subject is very timely. I also recently read Brian Keenan's book which was difficult but touching.

Thanks Marianne. Am looking forward to Troy. Moon, did you rent the USA Network's series? I passed when it aired, the TV ads were tolerable I suppose but not handsome enough to tempt me. Leslie, thanks for the NYT article. Hope BF is distributed. (NYT) "Whore" (from Spain) is a forced, pseudo-serious study of the world's oldest profession that mixes the observations of (presumably real, mostly female) hookers with a dull fictional subplot starring Daryl Hannah. Something about this sentence just cracks me up. And for those of us Keen on Eddie, Bravo is airing a KE marathon this Saturday starting at 12:00n eastern.

Saw it, too, on Monday with Kim and Little Bee. (Marianne) First off, where was the nudity I was promised? The 3 or 4 butt shots (side view mostly) were good for me. And was somewhat fond of the more frontal shots where the frame rested just below his hip bones and *just* above....well, you know where. ;-) More would've been good, too, but what was there was enough to tempt me. ;-) I'm not a particular BP fan, but it's rare to see a body that amazing. :-P And EB was pretty awesome looking, too. Eric Bana was at last night�s Q&A. He is breathtaking. Very tall. Humorous. Self effacing. And well dressed! There was a teensy part of me that wanted to run my fingers through his thick hair, Mmmmm, sounds like my kinda guy, without the haircut. I'm soooooo jealous you had him there. We had WP and the one who played Helen. I remarked to the others that WP seems to have a man-crush on BP. ;-) (if you saw Oprah on Monday, oh my poor baby Eric). LOL, yes I did. He didn't get any time to talk. :-( Funny about the betting on getting hits. As far as the movie goes, I was getting worried by 45 mins that I wasn't all that compelled. Ok, there had to be some intro to the characters, but I couldn't believe I looked at my watch after about 30 mins, then looked again thinking another 45 mins had gone by and it was just 15 mins. :-( It picked up for me when the first major battle ensued between Greeks and Trojans. Virtually flawless CGI in the movie, IMO, esp in the big battle scenes. I was getting tired of all the closeups of BP glowering in or out of helmet in the first hour. I was beginning to think he had only one expression for the whole movie. He branched out later. I mentioned to the others that I wasn't sure if some parts were intentionally or not intentionally humorous. More than occasional and less than frequent snickering around the audience. Though Brian Cox as Agememnon was a hoot. Sean Bean was good and looking pretty good, too, except for an odd poofiness in the top of his hair at times. The best scenes for me were the fight between Hector and Achilles....excellent choreography and impressive that they did it all themselves; and the scene not long after with Peter O'Toole asking for Hector's body back that Marianne referenced. Heartbreaking scene. Oddly enough, many of P 'OT's scenes almost came off almost kinda campy because of his wide-eyed look. That got a few snickers at times. These are the 2 scenes that WP pointed out were his favorites before the film. the brilliant Peter O�Toole. Why doesn�t this man have an Oscar (not the lifetime achievement kind) Funny, that's the exact conversation several of us were having in the bathroom afterward. WP was supposed to do a Q&A after but did a little one before instead as he had to go do a show on CNN or something, then catch a flight, I think. I found Helen insipid, self-absorbed, naive. Not sure if that's the intention of how Helen should generally come off, but she did to me. The Helen in the miniseries did, too. I asked her for clarification about her portrayal according to what WP wanted without coming right out and asking if she was supposed to be like that, but didn't get enough of the specifics I wanted. I found Saffron Burrows as Hector's wife a tad bit annoying also. Fortunately, she wasn't in it much. It runs 2:40 and I give it a thumbs up after the first 45 mins or hour.

I will admit it was a little too long. And that my high opinion of the film was most likely caused by Eric Bana. But yes, my friends and I were snickering over the fact that there were a few too many shots of BP, and why oh why did Paris do what he did, cause we didn't think Helen was worth it. ;)

(Marianne), and why oh why did Paris do what he did, cause we didn't think Helen was worth it. ;) That's the question. ;-) (Dorine), The best scenes for me were the fight between Hector and Achilles....excellent choreography and impressive that they did it all themselves Then I guess I'bve seen the best scene already. That's the clip they are milking on the talk shows. (Sonia), Moon, did you rent the USA Network's series? I don't know, but it was 4 hours and I liked it. Do rent it.

I saw Helen of Troy TV mini with Rufus Sewell and "Georgiana" as Cassandra; it was excellent . As was Spartacus with Goran Visnjic:-)))

Here's someone who didn't like HKHWR-- ANDREW Davies had high hopes for his latest Trollope TV adaptation, He Knew He Was Right. There was even talk that it could reach six or seven million. But it managed only four million on Sunday, down 400,000 on the previous week, despite a star cast which included Anna Massey at her most splendidly disapproving of manipulative aunts and promising newcomer Laura Fraser as the suspected wife. It�s a long way from Davies�s Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy emerging dripping from the lake, which pulled in a massive 12 million. http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=512442004 ...and more on the P&P half-baked remake: Pitt to 'bend it' with Keira in Austen's Pride and Prejudice! New York May 06, 2004 4:04:35 PM IST Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt will play the role of the aristocratic Mr Darcy in the latest adaptation of the classic, Pride and Prejudice. Pitt will be seen in the attire of a typical English gentleman of the past, wearing breeches and a waistcoat, according to imdb. Keira Knightley of Bend It Like Beckham fame will star as Jane Austen's intelligent heroine Elizabeth Bennet. The 1995 BBC television adaptation was a huge success worldwide and launched Love Actually star Colin Firth to fame.(ANI) http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=37497&cat=Entertainment

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0506people0506.html Ever ready with a quip Hugh Grant was being his puckish self when he recorded the commentary for the newly released DVD Love Actually. Filmmaker Richard Curtis tells the LA Daily News that Grant showed up at the London recording studio "in very wicked form. His primary aim was to be extremely rude about Colin Firth. "When we see Colin wearing a turtleneck (sweater), he says, 'He's wearing that because his neck's gone, you know. He has a turkey neck.' And when we see Colin hailing a taxi, Hugh says, 'See, if you don't set him very complicated tasks, he's a wonderful actor.' " Ed.note-I was really hoping to hear him say, "bloody Colin";-)

" Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt will play the role of the aristocratic Mr Darcy " The guy is gonna be 41 in December, fergodsakes. He should be taking "hunk daddy" roles;-/

LOL, Evelyn. Somebody quick tell Brad that his romantic lead days are over. BTW, that Pitt as Darcy story originated with the ever-reliable (*snort*) imdb and of course all the rags are dutifully regurgitating it. I don't believe it.

(Evelyn) I saw Helen of Troy TV mini with Rufus Sewell and "Georgiana" as Cassandra; it was excellent . As was Spartacus with Goran Visnjic:-))) Rufus Sewell was a more menacing Agamemnon than Brian Cox, I thought. No humor in RS's characterization if I recall correctly. Kim and I were wondering what happened to Cassandra in the film. And LOL about this thing you have with Mr. Spartacus, GV. Will say you have excellent taste. ;-)) In the miniseries, if I recall correctly, Paris didn't come off as such a cowardly fop and Menelaus wasn't a very strong personality or warrior as they were in the film. (Mari) Somebody quick tell Brad that his romantic lead days are over. OMG, if he's washed up as a romantic lead at 41, then ODB has no hope. ;-)

It's Linda's Birthday!!! (better she than me) So let the festivities begin!

Happy Birthday, Linda Your wish is my command: http://www.fan-sites.org/scans/itw0401-11.html A rose is a rose is a rose, but a Linda-rose should be perfect for you Henry is waiting to have breakfast with you Matt has promised to find a nice restaurant in the South of France, were you can have lunch and while you�re lunching with Matt, Earnest is getting ready to take you to a grand birthday dinner Hope you�ll have a great day, Linda :-)

Linda, I found this guy, who has something to tell you (I believe he borrowed his words from Shakespeare). LIVE with me, and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, And all the craggy mountains yields. There will we sit upon the rocks, And see the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers, by whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. There will I make thee a bed of roses, With a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroider�d all with leaves of myrtle. A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs; And if these pleasures may thee move, Then live with me and be my love.

It may be my birthday, but I'm still hard at work trying to tack down this Pitt as Darcy nonsense. Mari, I think your observations are correct: It�s been wall-to-wall Brad and Jen this week, with Jennifer Aniston sobbing over the Friends finale and Brad Pitt baring almost all to promote his new film, Troy, but showbiz insiders can feel a controversy coming on. What are all the Colin Firth fans going to say about Brad snaring his role of Mr Darcy in yet another big screen version of Jane Austen�s Pride and Prejudice? Bend it Like Beckham�s Keira Knightley will play the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, and a jolly nice job she will make of it. But Darcy was the part that made Firth, who had women around the world swooning over his performance in the 1995 BBC adaptation. Brad is the producer�s favourite, but hasn�t yet signed on. Perhaps he wants to check out how he looks in a tailcoat and britches.(ed note-quit while your ahead, Brad). http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=103402172&p=yx34xz878

I know this is the second double post in 24 hours, but what the hell, you only turn 50, once. Thanks, Karen, for the kick off of festivities. I think I shall go over the hill by rolling down it, slowly, with those gorgeous men who have come so early to take me to breakfast, lunch, and dinner...LOL, better me than you Annette, do you have ESP? How did you know I wanted that man in the grey shirt;-)?? Wow, wot a picture. ODB looks like he's going to jump right out of my computer. But, I must pull myself away so I will be on time to have breakfast with HD. Hmmm, I know what I want on the menu--and it isn't even fattening;-) Then lunch with Matthew in France-oooh la la. I hope I'll still be hungry for Earnest, uh make that hungry for dinner with Earnest... The roses are lovely, and I'd live and be Lord Wessex's love any day of the week.

Hey, Ms Crumb Cake.... May the next 50 be as much fun!

"YESSS! Linda is here! I knew this trip would be worthwhile." And here is what he wrote: "Happy Birthday to Linda, a most devoted member of my fan base. Loyal, intelligent, discerning . . . and hot!"

My dearest, loveliest Linda..... I just had to show up for your big day like you showed up for mine. Had to stop to pick up your present first. I tried to write a poem for you, but the one from Lord Wessex was much more eloquent. So here's a toast to the birthday girl! May you have plenty of your own Mishimooko....Mashimoto....Mati Hari....well, you know. ;-) Happy Birthday, Linda!!

Happy Birthday Linda! I had to take a break from filming to be able to be here with you on your special day as I know you've done for me in the past. Love you lots.

Linda, I'm making up some coffee to start out the day. So grab your birthday mug and relax!

Happy Birthday, Linda!

Let's see if this works better for Mark's posting:

ROTF! Mark, that is hilarious; let's see if we can get it to show up:

�Sorry Gwendolyn, it�s been nice but today is Linda�s birthday�: And we all know �what a girl wants� for her birthday is what she should have: �How�s �bout I pick you up, say around ten, for a late dinner and then some?�: Have a great day, Linda!!

Thanks, boss

Anytime. There are some pretty funny ones there and some not so funny.

Oh my Linda! It�s your Birthday! A good day to remember special events and places of your year� * * It seems like yesterday that you were on patrol in Rock Center� * * and that we were wandering around the Rock lobby scoping out a game plan�. * * and we were having such a good time that I fancy that we might have looked somewhat like this� * With lots of clothes of course as it was winter

Opps! This is what we might have looked like;-))

You guys are a riot. Evelyn, I can't wait till we break crumb cake together, again. Mari, I'm so glad Colin thought his trip to NY was worthwhile-after all I think Mr. Brown's role was hatched in Nanny's mind that evening...careful what I wish for--Next premiere-no more silly ass grins for me;-)I'll have to remember to be sultry. Dorine, SNL with you was probably the most outrageous night of my 49th year! Hope we have many more ahead. I can't wait to read Jamie's poem. In a few hours I'll be joining Colin for a few Very Dirty California Vodka Martinis-plenty of mishi moshi mashi for me!! Karen, I love my mug of coffee especially since it was prepared so lovingly by AFGMFT (Mr. Fair Trade) Moon, How wonderful that Mr. Brown decided to make his appearance today, and taking a break just for me. I'm so honored! It looks like he's looking for me, too. I think I'll join him for a stroll on that lovely beach. Mark, Oh holy Je--s! Please ask Colin to hang on, I'm on my way. I hope they aren't holding MDB in that shed. How in the world did he get there? Hey, now wait a minute... Actually, if he's being held hostage-he just might not be able to finish NMP? Hmmm. I may need to hold off a bit;-) Mark, you're amazing and I want to know the facts behind the photo. ROTFLOL. Thanks so much for stopping by...and to the boss for assistance. Leslie, Thanks for getting Ernest away from that prissy, possessive Gwendolyn. He's mine, today! And my Henry in those AFGBLP-you really do know what I want. Just imagining HD and me in the limo... Yes, this is turning out to be a pretty amazing day. Thanks so much for all your wishes.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS FROM ACROSS THE POND Have a truly fabulous day Linda and here's to the next frenetic, fantastic fifty years of drooling (hey give that Brad a miss and go get some hunk daddy instead) Have a great day

Knowing how much Linda likes a man in a kilt, it's time for her special birthday entertainment!! Grab your martoonis, here we go! Your own Kiltboy! Phew! I'm not sure how much a 50-year-old can take, but....

That is too funny, Karen! Anyone you know? ;-) Mark, brilliant! And that soldier looks like Jim Caviesel too.

*hee hee hee* I think he Highland Flung it off! ;-)

You probably thought I was waiting for the paint to dry before I wished you a Happy Birthday! Not so! I was waiting on this guy....the one you seem so fond of.... He was so busy 'taking care of business' we were a bit late!But then he realized what was truly important in his life and got his booty really in gear... So here we all are...to wish you a very.... ...and too funny Mark! ...and are you certain that that he is a true Scot Karen? I heard they don't wear white g-strings under those things! ;-)

Bee, oh to live March 4,5,and 6th all over again. I'm kicking up my heels like a Rockette just thinking about it. I wonder if any Rockettes are Firthettes? And to think we were together November 5, 6, and 7th. What a year. Lizza, thanks so much for the wishes from across the pond--don't worry--I'll find some way to railroad Brad. Maybe I can offer him up in my hostage negotiations for Colin. You know, exchange The Pretender for the legitmate heir to the throne or vice versa. I'm a bit confused and bothered by that kilt guy! Karen, Oh my giddy Aunt! How on earth does one respond to that? LOL, I'm so discombobulated I just may be using improper english. Looks like he was going to take it all off...however, real men don't, you know. I'm sure Edward Pettigrew didn't;-) Tress, my one handed friend. So glad you could make it...and you brought Johannes and Henry what a combo. I don't know how I'm going to deal with those BLP...while Itake care of Henry, eh business. Sorry;-))

The FDA has completed its testing and confirmed that the sheer number of candles on your cake ensures it has no carbs and is South Beach Diet-compliant. So enjoy! You may want to check out this website: http://www.50plusfriends.com/ Please note: you can enlarge the text font size with just a click of the mouse. ;-)

Linda, I wish I could be at your party today, but I�m filming �that nanny movie.� As you can see, I�m very enthusiastic about making this film with seven adorable children, all of whom are riding the bus with me to the set. Wot? You don�t care? Why, surely you realize that the nanny is an archetype in literature, as well as the cinema and television --not that I ever watch television, of course. Here�s a shot of the children with their nanny. Oh, hang on--wrong family! How in the #&*%! did that happen? Well, this illustrates my point of the timeless, universal appeal of a widower and his children in need of a nanny to put things right�.not to mention the timeless appeal of Julie Andrews. Here we have the uber-nanny, from which all other nannies spring�again played by Julie Andrews. Why it�s a veritable nanny leitmotiv: A nanny with magical powers who swoops in and saves the March family. Please don�t make me spell that super-cal-a-whosis word! Turning our attention to television, there was Phoebe Figalilly, played by Juliet Mills, on a short-lived comedy, The Nanny and the Professor. Perhaps you saw it as a child? No? Ah well, once in a while everyone makes a clinker. The nanny idea was sound. Must have been in a bad time slot�. With out further ado, I�d like to introduce Emma Thompson, screenplay adapter and star of Nanny McPhee�..Er, Emma? Hullo, Emma? Wot do you mean she�s no longer playing the lead? Who could possibly replace her?�. Who? �. I have no idea who you are talking about? Fran? And my name�s being changed to Sheffield? Sorry??���. Happy Birthday, Linda!

Bridge, wot are you doing??? I�m just ringing Leenda up on my mobile . .just wanted to wish her the happiest of happy birthdays! Crikey . . .I almost forgot! I�ll just head on over to the party for a bit. . . Hope you have a wonderful one!!!!

I hope that you are having a lovely birthday Linda! I can�t get our last outing to NYC out of my mind and am amused remembering you thus� calculating the exact place and positions that our group had to be in at every step of the NBC studio tour so we could be front and center at the window to be able to watch ODB rehearsing! How grateful I was to be the benificairy of your calculations! And then the ultimate prize!! But!!! I do have a great fear that our poor darling boy will look like this at the end of your birthday celebrations� Enjoy but leave a little for us!! Happy Birthday!

Ach! Those cheap geocities folks! Hope the links works... http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/scipgphoto2.JPG

Linda, you must allow me to wish you a very happy 50th birthday! By the way, I have to agree, the actor they're suggesting for Darcy is the Pitts. ;-) Here's one for Ada. Sorry I missed your big day. You must allow me to properly pose a happy birthday wish to you, too!

Before I continue my thank yous'...My step-son just stopped by and you won't believe it. I'm now the proud owner of a Colin Firth pillow case and T-shirt all the way from E-bay. He even bought a new pillow to display it! Like his dad, he's a gem. This could be the start of a new premiere tradition;-) I'm going out for a few hours with the other gem...the DH...must keep him happy as I will be v. busy later on with YKW. I will apologize in advance if, when I return, I'm a bit squiffy? squishy? Well anyway, I'm off to have those dirty mishi moshi mikooko martinis. See you all later, and party on party on. I will share ODB with all of you while I'm gone, but remember when I get back...off you go;-)Grazie and Ciao, for a bit, dahlings. LOL, Karen. I know you have such "noble intentions", but are you implying that I might need larger font because my eye sight has gone? (remember what goes round, comes round)*singing...I'll be with you in apple blossom time*.... And the cake, Lousia. I'm going to need NMP, Mr. Brown and all seven children to help me put out the fire on that one. Maybe I should blow out those candles before the martinis, no? But thank goodness it's South Beach approved...I'm dying for cake, literally! Lisa, our darling looks so depressed on the Nanny set...I'll think of something to cheer him up. Guess wot, being 50...I remembered everyone of those freakin Nannies. I can't believe another one is added to the mix. I wish to thank Julie for starting the whole mess and for stopping by.**sheesh** Kim, OMG. Mark Darcy-my all time favorite...and he's walking the walk to my party. Oh what that man makes me wanna do. Oh, and thanks to Bridget, too. But she'll have to move on for the evening as I'm going to be v. busy and important. Bee, Bee, Bee...let me tell you--getting Colin to look like poor tortured Ben will be my ultimate pleasure;-) I'm so glad you liked my little NBC tour within a tour. I sure hope all the old timers that we knocked over and that one little boy on crutches that Leslie mowed down are all in recovery. Is that cake carb-free? Well I'll have some anyway since the boss's cake is now barbecued with all those candles. Lora, OH my! Colin wishing me a happy day from Rome. Brava. Now I'll be able to have him whisper sweet Italian nothings in my ear all night long.

LINDA ! *** Herzlichen Gl�ckwunsch and Happy Birthday *** What a start:   Yesterday I joined drool and today I can celebrate your birthday !!! Hurrahhh !

Hmmmm...so it's the Troublemaker's birthday eh? And she's 50 not 40? Well for this extra special day I'd better get out the good pics;-)! You say it's Linda's birthday...do you think she'd mind if I came to the party all hot and sweaty? I'd be there already if I could just find my bloody robe! Uhm, Sammy...have you seen my ring? Lord, I have to play piano at ANOTHER birthday party? Am I going to get paid this time? ed note. Okay so this is my spoon but I couldn't find one with yours...deal with it;-)! I've lost my shirt! If he's coming without a shirt I'd better the smelling salts HAH! I've got my shirt;-)! Aurelia,I can't play with you anymore...I want to play in Linda's paddling pool now. And last but not least;-) Wot do you mean I can't have the coat? Ah, Linda has it. No? Karen does? No, Linda...no,Karen. Dammed coat..I'm getting dizzy..just tear the thing in two! Hope you've had a great day Linda! with very grateful thanks to Firthissimo,the Bucket and several other places

Happy 50th Linda. You're not getting older you're getting better. Did you have a party like Oprah to celebrate?

I've been toying with it all day... fingers on lens yearning...fantasizing And after much reflection Realize I can only be happy by spending this day with the special birthday girl Linda! Happy 50th Dear Leeenda!!!

Ok, Ok, I'm back and feeeling quite squiffy and squishy. Bine, Welcome and thank you for the birthday wishes. You are so not a newbie in posting. It took me months to learn how to do that. I lost sleep over Colin's first birthday. Ada, yes it's the troublemaker's birthday...so what of it? huh? I can't believe you have chronicled all my keeps. I can't believe I'm still trying to spell after 3, count em, 3 dirty martinis and a port wine....Oh lord. I'm trying to be so good, here. All my keeps were trouble but legit. LOL, I've even forgotten a few of them, but nevertheless, I love Colin, FWD, Mark, Johannes, HD, Matthew, Peter and Ernest...all hot and sweaty, and that spoon is mine--all mine-so is the coat and the shirt and and...oh just wait till I wreak havoc on you in 2005. I'm claiming Mr. Brown--all of him. Remember, dahling--age before...well you know. Maria, oh wot can I say? Toying, Reflecting, Fantisizing, and Remembering. And the yearning, Lousia, the yearning...Actually, the yearing sums it all up!!;-)) Love your wishes, Lucie. Oprah can only hope she's had a birthday like this.

Annette, did you realize the significance of the poem you attributed to Shakespeare via Wessex? It was a hilarious and v. clever joke. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love was written by Christopher Marlowe, the rival of Shakespeare and the mistaken enemy of Wessex. I don't know if you did that intentionally, but it has delighted me all day! Linda, I just couldn't think of anything clever for your 50th birthday celebration. I wanted to find something that best expressed the excitement of the last year, but I think that's been done supurbly by the other DDs. A birthday cake from one of my baking idols seemed like a good beginning. And AFG pics of Colin are always nice. Then I tried to think about one thing that was particularly noteworthy and came upon an interesting fact that, I think, qualifies as one of what Kim would call a Karmic Colin Firth Sign. There was a full moon at the time of the LA premiere. There was a full moon for SNL. And this week has had this month's full moon, nearly coinciding with your birthday. So, it only seemed right to give you the full moon in all its glory... (Please forgive me, Boss, if I just broke Drool's rules of decency.) Happy Birthday Linda!!!

Crap. Sorry.

Is that better? *Sigh*

Is there decency here? If so, I'm in the wroonnnnng place. ;-)

ARG! I'm following the full moon with simple wishes for (or at this point congratulations on) a very happy birthday! Sounds like it's been a good one, hope it will set the tone for an enjoyable year to come!

Alert! It's Linda's B'day!!!! (OK . .now due to the time, it is just after her b'day) But I forgot to give you one of your gifts . . For the next time you are in NYC . .we can get come coffee right by 30 Rock . .perhaps you'll spot another tall, handsome stranger walking by!!!

Out of the Blue in 2002 You decided to delurk It may seem insane yet we are the same For Matthew we go beserk Doing your part right from the start To bring Ernest some success Let it be known to those who are grown To you Darcys are the best The BLP kept you in a transe WAGW is on your shelf Live on a Saturday you found the way To see the man himself Go on celebrate (so sorry I'm late) Share with Peter your martini Happy Birthday Linda, as they say in Italia Ma? 50 anni!

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Was the subject of one of my favorite Valentines. It had the requisite pastoral scene on the front, with the line, "Come live with me and be my love. (yadda yadda) " Inside it said, "But you have to marry me first." ;-) (Shoshana) if I just broke Drool's rules of decency. Afraid so. It separates this place from *cough* other classless places. ;-)

Shosh, all full moons on those dates? Wow. A karmic Colin in all his glory is always in order;-)I've always believed that full moons were a sign. I just can't remember why?? Kim, Dean and Delucas is the new official Reiki headquarters! Dorine, is there decency anywhere? Sonia, such a verse...a true summation of all my days, here! Oh, having seen the man himself live on a Saturday Night still makes me tingle;-) And now, a party favor for each of you to take home and put under your pillow... And good night

Lets try that again,

(Linda) A karmic Colin in all his glory is always in order;-)I've always believed that full moons were a sign. I just can't remember why?? I thought it was rain that was the Karmic Colin sign. ;-)

Barb, I didn't mean to leave you out. Thanks for the wishes. I was a bit squiffy and squishy in the early AM. Hope you enjoyed your party favor.

(Linda)Lets try that again, *Thud*! The face that launched a thousand....(oh millions!) posts! Thanks for the party favor!

Annette, did you realize the significance of the poem you attributed to Shakespeare via Wessex? It was a hilarious and v. clever joke. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love was written by Christopher Marlowe, the rival of Shakespeare and the mistaken enemy of Wessex. I don't know if you did that intentionally, but it has delighted me all day! Shoshana, I'm afraid I was mislead :-( But - it can't be all bad, having provided you with a days delight :-) I own the Stratford Shakespeare, but decided to search online, so not to have to type it all. This is were I found the poem: http://www.bartleby.com/70/index2.html Linda, it was a great pleasure to attend your birthdayparty. So many wonderful guests :-)

Anette . .as another intersesting aside to that wonderful poem by Marlowe . . Sir Walter Raleigh had written a response: The nymph's reply to the shepherd If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love. Time drives the flocks from field to fold When rivers rage and rocks grow cold, And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complains of cares to come. The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields; A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,� In folly ripe, in reason rotten. Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love. But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age no need, Then these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/nymphsreply.htm

Oh, Gawd! I can't believe I missed Linda's Birthday! Please forgive me, Linda? You DO forgive me?? YES!! Hope it was a great one!

To all the Moms Enjoy the day!

this is a quickie - just wanted to wish all the moms on Drool a VERY happy Mother's Day. i'm grateful my own mom exposed me to you all! and most importantly: HAPPY MOMMALA DAY, BEEDEE

Down With Love was on the TV last night and I was only half listening while busy with other things. I was ab-so-lute-ly stunned at one point when I could have sworn it was not Ewan McGregor but rather ODB doing his Cold Mountain skit from SNL. I think it was the best part of the movie!

Sandy - re: Down With Love I love that movie . .it's so so cute and kitchsy . .i got it on DVD b/c I loved EM & RZ performances . . . The outtakes were hilarious on the DVD as well as the cute little song/music video that RZ & EM do at the end . .

Thanks, Eithne Plese no tears from Colin Ware...can't have those gorgeous eyes all puffy and red. Happy Mother's Day, ladies

Sandy - re: Down With Love (Kimberly)I love that movie . .it's so so cute and kitchsy Me too. But that makes only three of us;-(( I just saw "Ella Enchanted". The Guardian called Hugh Dancy "the next Colin Firth". Escapes me....but what do I know.

Happy Mother's Day!! Some Tribeca FF notes..... Went to the House of D premiere Friday night, debut film from David Duchovny as writer/director. Have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Ironically I bought a ticket not expecting much. Turns out I liked it very much. I just read on the imdb message board that it was picked up by Lions Gate (or rather, Lyin Gate ;-)), grabbed before it was screened on Friday. It's the first film ever to be bought at the TFF in its 3 years of existence. Stars of the movie who were there.... DD (small role..in beginning and a little more at the end), Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda (very cute girl, decent little actress), Magali Amadei (I don't know her), Orlando Jones (chewing gum like a hyperactive cow). Tea Leoni was in it, but wasn't there. The story is about DD's character as a 13 year old. TL played the boy's mother and it was the first thing I've seen that I've ever liked her in. To kill time before it started, I went out to watch other stars arrive on the red carpet including Billy Crystal (posing for cameras like one does running stops at stop signs, never truly stopping completely, at least at the beginning...but not so bad as Rowan Atkinson at the LA premiere by blowing straight through. ;-)), Julianne Moore and her DH, Tim Blake Nelson, Tim Daly, and much to my surprise Christopher Reeve and his family. http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=GLS====61528&nbc1=1&str=&styp=&sfld=&sortval=3a&PageNum=1 One of my panels, Sex and the Cinema was good. Had John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry), Steven Shainberg (Secretary), and Glenn Close subbing for Sharon Stone who didn't show for some reason. Moderated by someone at NY Times. Got into discussion of the totally arbitrary rulings by the MPAA. Steven Shainberg kept bringing up Young Adam as he'd just seen it the night before and was surprised at the rating it got for the little bit (not literally ;-)) that was shown of EM. Porn frequently popped up into the discussion, too. JCM talked about the film he's currently filming. I suspect it will end up Unrated, if not NC-17. My other panel on Creativity on Cable wasn't nearly as interesting, though had good people...Edie Falco, Kim Catrall, Tom Fontana (creator of TV shows Oz and Homicide), Tim Daly, and another guy who develops shows. The moderator, again from the Times, was awful. Almost as bad as Janet Maslin. The Sex panel made me late for another premiere of Stage Beauty with Claire Danes, Billy Crudup, and Rupert Everett. Got in the waitlist line and they let the last 12 of us into the theater, *then* told us there was no room, to go to the other theater showing it. I just went home. Long day, I was beat. Seems women's rooms are the place to talk about how amazing an actor Peter O'Toole is. Heard another one after a screening of a remastered print of Becket. I am aghast this man has never won a real Oscar. And what a film.

(Sandy) - re: Down With Love (Kimberly)I love that movie . .it's so so cute and kitchsy (Evelyn) Me too. But that makes only three of us;-(( Make that 4. I just watched that again a few weeks ago. I love it...the music, the colors, the campiness.

Dorine - thanks for the TFF update . .let me know how you like Stage Beauty . .that was the only one I was interested in seeing . .but my dang schedule is not permitting me to get down there . . Hurrah for fellow DWL fans!;) . .now it makes me want to watch my DVD again;)

(Sandy) - re: Down With Love (Kimberly)I love that movie . .it's so so cute and kitchsy (Evelyn) Me too. But that makes only three of us;-(( (Dorine) Make that 4. I just watched that again a few weeks ago. I love it...the music, the colors, the campiness. Me five!! Own DVD and watch it frequently! Great wardrobe! Cheeeeesy and funny!