Glad CF's declaration cheered you up, Evelyn! (Eileen)Kelsey Grammer's Macbeth was trashed--said 'Macbeth has so many unconvincing personalities, he needs a shrink--and an acting coach.' Ouch! Ouch is right! Poor Kelsey Grammer. Them that can't become mean critics! KG reminds me of a younger Orson Welles. There is something so charasmatic and well, likeable, about him --- and the voice. Would love to see him play Macbeth (as OW also did). V. embarrassed to admit, still have not seen Sunshine. Am a little Fienned-out. Gabriel Byrne, now that's another story! And of course, CF is seen far too little. I am catching Euro 2000 fever. Got hair cut today, and somehow ended up in pub to catch disappointing (for me)ending to Romania-England Game. Thought of those of you who inspired me! I have no clue about the rules of the game, but sure do like the close-ups!...Boyfriend was puzzled by my sudden interest.

(Sadie) I have no clue about the rules of the game, but sure do like the close-ups!... Boyfriend was puzzled by my sudden interest. LOL!

BBC Press Release about Fall Season: The BBC will be playing it for laughs in the autumn ratings war. And leading the assault is none other than Victor Meldrew in a new series of One Foot In the Grave. The crabby old character - who is known to say "I do not believe it" rather a lot - is back with his long suffering wife Margaret, played by Annette Crosbie, and their former next door neighbours, alias Angus Deayton and Janine Duvitski. BBC comedy chiefs have spent three years urging writer David Renwick to conjure up more adventures for accident prone, tetchy Victor, played by award-winning Richard Wilson. A senior BBC comedy source said: "David, like many great writers is something of a perfectionist. He wanted to be sure he had the right material. "We are naturally thrilled that Victor is back. The character is a legend, synonymous with people of a certain age who are sick to death of being downtrodden. The cast gels so well, they just carry on where they left off." The BBC has pulled off another comedy coup in partnering actress Zoe Wanamaker - once Adam Faith's sidekick in Love Hurts - with award winning star Robert Lindsay who can also be seen ruling the waves as an officer in Horatio Hornblower. Lindsay, 50, also last seen playing Fagin in Alan Bleasdale's version of Oliver Twist, started his sitcom career as a gadabout RAF lad in Get Some In over 25 years ago. New York born Zoe, 51, the daughter of the late Royal Shakespearian star Sam Wanamaker, was herself a revered stage actress before she partnered Faith in the long-running Love Hurts as his girlfriend Tessa Piggot. The pair will be seen in the new comedy tale My Family with Lindsay playing a moderately successful dentist and family man beginning to feel the frustrations of life in middle age. Gregor Fisher is meanwhile forsaking his Rab C Nesbitt vest to portray Scottish country GP Hector Robertson in the new sitcom Brotherly Love, alongside former Lovejoy favourite Caroline Langrishe. He has to fight off his architect brother Frank (James Fleet) to win her affection in the family village of Invercorrie. Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash return in the award-winning The Royle Family and Kiss Me Kate, starring Caroline Quentin and Chris Langham , Bill Nighy and Amanda Holden will also be back on screen. Black comedy will be provided in a new burst of verbal venom from Steve Coogan and Henry Normal's production company Baby Cow. They have produced Beautiful Love, which has been written and stars Julia Davis and Rob Brydon (Bob Martin) in a series in which they play six very different dysfunctional couples. On the drama front, viewers will be tuning in to the comedy drama The Sins, starring Pete Postlethwaite, Geraldine James and Frank Finlay, which has been written by William Ivory, the creator of Common as Muck. Postlethwaite plays an ex getaway driver struggling to find his place in an unforgiving world after four years in jail. Love in a Cold Cimate, Nancy Mitford's sparkling comedy drama of manners, has been adapted by Deborah Moggach to follow the fortunes of three upper class girls whose lives are dedicated to the pursuit of love. The �3 million production is being filmed in France and England during the summer months and stars Alan Bates, Sheila Gish, Celia Imrie, Frances Barber and John Wood. The girls - Polly, Fanny and Linda - are played by newcomers Elizabeth Dermot Walsh, Rosamund Pike and Megan Dodds. Down to Earth, a kind of millennium Good Life stars Pauline Quirke and Warren Clarke as a husband and wife trying to escape the rat race with their brood of children and get a fresh start in Devon. Other People's Children starring Lesley Manville, Serena Gordon, Denis Lawson and Emma Fielding takes a close look at parenting from the step mother and step father's point of view in this adaptation of Joanna Trollope's best-seller. The Internet comes under scrutiny in dot com, a new drama from Tony Garnett's World Productions, taking a look at a group approaching their 30s working on an internet start-up company. The cast includes Claudia Harrison, Poppy Miller and ex Casualty idol William Gaminara. Among drama favourites returning are Casualty, Holby City, Silent Witness and The Scarlet Pimpernel with Richard E Grant. Former Casualty star Claire Goose makes her comeback in the new crime drama thriller Waking the Dead with Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston and Holly Aird. Sexual liberation in 1959 gets an airing with Take a Girl Like You which has been adapted by Andrew Davies from Kingsley Amis's wickedly funny novel and stars Rupert Graves, Sienna Guillory, Robert Daws, and Emma Chambers. The two big eco documentary series bound to grab attention are The State of the Planet with Sir David Attenborough, taking a definitive look at Earth and how the non-Green society is endangering our environment, and the Jurassic beneath the waves study Secrets of the Sea Dragons. Most interest, though, is sure to be devoted to the mammoth 16 part �6 million History 2000 : A History of Britain by Simon Schama which takes the best-selling author and historian on a journey back in time to chart the relationships between the peoples of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. On the lighter side 10 couples will be flying on a jet to a holiday location but only one couple will actually get the break in the arial game show Come Fly With Me. Each week they will face challenges en route to fabulous destinations such as Barcelona and Havana. The series climaxes in a frenetic end game where the final two couples have to correctly locate the room they are booked into at the hotel. The winning couple get to stay for a week - the losers fly home. Senior BBC executive Peter Salmon commented: "It is a very strong line-up - lots of established favourites, lots of great writers, lots of superb entertainment. I think we may be hearing the sound of laughter again in an area in which we have come under attack." Last updated: 16:42 Tuesday 20th June 2000.

I feel sorry for England. I know how you're feeling, Ann. But Portugal! Wow! What a team. It was very clever of the coach to let the best players have a rest and give the opportunity to the other players. And even the B-team beat Germany 3-0! You've got a luxury problem here, Gi, too many good players;-)

Thank you, Tineke. I am very happy for our players, now they'll all get good contracts :-) I'm sorry for Belgium, and also for England (this for my English friends' sake) and for Denmark (I like Peter Schmeichel who is goal-keeper for Sporting) but everyone I like cannot win... We're going to have a tough game against Turkey, but I'm still hoping to meet Italy at the final :-)

I second all your sentiments, Gi. I really thought Italy would face England in the quarter-finals, was surprised at the outcome yesterday. But it was such a good game! but I'm still hoping to meet Italy at the final :-) As you know, so am I. :-D Germany has to start from the beginning and build a new team, starting with their goalie.

Thank you, Karen for the BBC fall schedule executive Peter Salmon commented: "It is a very strong line-up I have to AGREE with him. It does sound varied and scintillating. ~~~~~~ You see, I'm reforming...[Thank you Sadie.] I'm actually getting excited about TV sit-coms, and docu-dramas. Getting psyched-up for the day they announce that ODB will have his own weekly series...I will cheer....I promise. *crossing heart...with no winkies* Will take positive attitude at any ****that comes along.

I really thought Italy would face England in the quarter-finals, was surprised at the outcome yesterday. But it was such a good game! I know v. little about soccer....but I do know it's never a good game when yyou lose.

From This is London: Mel's vendetta against England by Neil Norman Perhaps it's because he's an honorary Australian. Or maybe it's just that he is a Hollywood film star, but the small but perfectly formed Mel Gibson seems to have it in for the English in a big way. Not content with allying himself with the hairy-kneed porridge-munchers in a ludicrous travesty of British history with Braveheart, Mad Mel is now having another bash at the English with his historical epic, The Patriot, in which Gibson stars as Benjamin Martin, a colonial militiaman in the American War of Independence whose guerrilla exploits against the Redcoats in the swamps of the Carolinas earned him the soubriquet the Swamp Fox. Judging by the reaction so far to the film, which opens in the US on 28 June, the English are not only in for a thorough pasting from Mel and his band of motley guerrillas but also a comprehensive character assassination. To a man, the dastardly English are depicted as heartless toffs and machiavels, war criminals and child-killers. As Jason Isaacs, who plays the British baddie, Col William Tavington, remarked recently: "I'm Satan in this film. I'm a nasty, evil British officer and Mel comes after me like a warrior possessed." But possessed of what, exactly? Certainly not intelligent objectivity and partiality. What with traducing the historical facts (as far as we know them) into the colour of money and anti-English sentiment for Braveheart, Gibson's latest venture looks increasingly as if he has an agenda above and beyond the $25 million paycheck he allegedly received for The Patriot. It's a long way and a lot of dollars in the bank since Gallipoli, in which Gibson played an Australian athlete who joined the Anzacs in the First World War only to be sent to certain death by - you guessed it - incompetent English officers. It is entirely possible that Gibson, who was born in Peerskill, New York and did not arrive in Australia until the age of 12, has bought into the Australian legacy of English-hating - an atavistic resentment against the policy of transportation of convicts; then again, Gibson, who is a devout Catholic, possibly subscribes to a headily romantic view of Celtic republicanism that finds merit in the perennial resistance of the underdog nations (Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall) against their merciless oppressor, England. Or maybe he is just getting his own back against English critics who have failed to take him seriously enough. Then again, to pursue an anti-English agenda in Hollywood is a crowd-pleasing tactic and a cheap way of earning the plaudits (and bucks) of the home team. As every Hollywood casting agent knows, the devil speaks with an English accent. The fact that he didn't actually direct The Patriot (as he did Braveheart) matters not a jot; his involvement legitimises the enterprise and indicates an end rsement of the film's warped sentiments. Once director Roland Emmerich got involved as director (formerly of Godzilla and all points SFX blockbuster) it was clear that historical accuracy was never going be high on the agenda. With Gibson on board the primary aim for the movie was big box-office success. Therefore, it was necessary to rewrite the "hero" - the real-life Francis Marion, a thoroughly unpleasant dude who was, basically, a terrorist - to a level of palatability that is more appropriate for the wholesome Mr Gibson. A devout traditional Catholic with seven children by his wife Robyn Moore to prove it, Gibson's inclination is towards the more reactionary political sentiment. To wit, he has pronounced against abortion, has said he would encourage his own children to take up weapons in self-defence and believes that the Fabian Society is a cabal of world leaders intent on taking over the global economy. The man appears confused. Now we find him whitewashing the character of Francis Marion who, according to a recent article in the Daily Express, had a reputation as a racist who hunted Indians for sport and regularly raped his female slaves. According to Christopher Hibbert, a British expert on the American Revolution, Marion "was a wily and elusive character, very active in the persecution of Cherokee Indians and not at all the sort of chap who should be celebrated as a hero. ... The truth is that people like Marion committed atrocities as bad if not worse than those perpetrated by the British." Given his penchant for conspiracy theories (he even appeared in a film of that title as a paranoid taxi driver), Gibson may not be the most reliable ambassador for the "special relationship" that purportedly exists between England and America. But as to why he seems to have such a chip on his shoulder about the English, I am at a loss. Perhaps when you've had as many demons of your own as Gibson - including a heavy alcohol habit - one feels the need to demonise some exterior source - to exorcise your demon into another vessel, so to speak. It seems as if the English just happened to be passing at the time.

It is entirely possible that Gibson, who was born in Peerskill, New York One, that should be Peekskill and two, I thought it was Poughkeepsie (two lovely towns in the Catskills). Newsweek didn't care for this movie, BTW. Said it had too many agendas to fill, that it seemed to be writted more by a big H'wood studio than a screenwriter, and that it was a cross between SPR (same writer) and several other movies. In other words, same ol' same ol', with extra gore on the side (something about a cannonball connecting with a head). Ugh. I'll pass.

Thanks, Mari, for the article. Have been reading others similar. But now they really appear to be going after Mel...personally. *lifting one eyebrow, if I could* Then again, to pursue an anti-English agenda in Hollywood is a crowd-pleasing tactic Is this a new genre...like slashers, rom-coms, gross-out teen flicks? Wasn't aware of that. all very odd since Mel's production company (Icon Entertainment) operates out of London.

I liked the previews v. much. Historical fiction with a twist, so what? Gibson's inclination is towards the more reactionary political sentiment. To wit, he has pronounced against abortion, has said he would encourage his own children to take up weapons in self-defence and believes that the Fabian Society is a cabal of world leaders intent on taking over the global economy. The man appears confused. Another one of Blair's luuvies, I see.

I know v. little about soccer....but I do know it's never a good game when yyou lose. hey, Paul... I mean Evelyn, It is only a game. ;-))))

(Mari, quoting) It seems as if the English just happened to be passing at the time. That's probably it in a nutshell.

Paul..I mean, evelyn *Shouting out the window* "Would you stop that f******...." *Arms flailing*...... (Moon)hey, Paul... I mean Evelyn, It is only a game. ;-)))) That's what Sarah said ;-))

Very disappointed to learn that Mel Gibson is such a redneck. One more reason to be proud of ODB, who said he'd be disappointed if his son became a soldier. But why would MG pick a rapist and racist as his historical figure to base a film on? Could he not find a less repulsive figure? Such distortions amount to propaganda, and without even the honesty of Birth of a Nation (which is a hateful film). He must be laughing at us Americans all the way to the bank.

(Moon)hey, Paul... I mean Evelyn, It is only a game. ;-)))) That's what Sarah said ;-)) Score one for Evelyn! ;-)

I know v. little about soccer....but I do know it's never a good game when yyou lose. hey, Paul... I mean Evelyn, It is only a game. ;-)))) LOL! That's how we feel about it. After we lost to Turkey, the commentator was standing in front of some Belgian football fans saying "and behind me I have some disappointed football fans", he turned his head and noticed that said fans were singing and juming up and down. Commentator to fans "uhm...we lost, you know". Belgian fans: "well,they'll do better next time" and proceeded singing and partying;-) But in fact...we were very disappointed. We had not expected to lose against Turkey since they hadn't been playing very well till then. Some people were already preparing for the quarter final Belgium- Portugal.... It's not to be:-( I am now rooting for Portugal and Italy - for Portugal because they've been playing so well and for Italy because I like their shirts;-)

for Italy because I like their shirts;-) LOL! La moda italiana. :-) This EURO Cup has been so much fun, a definite contrast to the last one. The fans reflect this too. We always want our team to win but we appreciate the beauty of a fun well played-out game. And if there are lots of goals, better. This weekend I should be starting my suitcases but it looks like I will be watching the games. Keeping fingers crossed.

From Playbill News: The annual summer Gala Benefit at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, Long Island, will this year be hosted by Hamptons habitues Julie Andrews, Alec Baldwin and Chevy Chase. The event will take place July 8, beginning at 6:30 PM, on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. As usual, there will be a silent auction and a live "fantasy" auction, the latter officiated by Andrews, Baldwin and Chase. Among the items on the block: "Sparkle Plenty" diamond pave earrings from Harry Winston Jewelers; vacations in Ireland, Jamaica and the CuisinArt Spa on Anguilla; and Super Bowl tickets. Tickets for the gala, which will also feature cocktails and a sit-down dinner, are available at $250. For information, call (631) 725-0818. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Super Bowl Tickets??How about tickets to RV! C'mon Julie plug your film...we need a distrib, and one is bound to be hanging-out in the Hampton's.

For historical inaccuracy in the movies the recent WWII submarine thriller, U-571, certainly fits the bill. In that movie a band of intrepid Americans seize an Enigma machine from a German U-boat. That never happened. The British captured Enigma before the United States even entered the war. The bottom line is the bottom line. An English film with English actors would not have made the same amount of money worldwide. That is the perception, at any rate.

Thought this was kind of cute, especially example #2 ;-) THE SCOTSMAN: LOSING WEIGHT THE CELEBRITY WAY A sure sign that a star has made it is that they hire their own chef - not to prepare elaborate feasts but to keep them in trim. In the acting profession, beauty and physique are bankable assets which need to be looked after. "A lot of actors are terrified of becoming fat or having high cholesterol levels," says Barry Rey, of Wood Hall Catering. "Diets tend to come and go, and as location caterers we tend to be on the leading edge of whatever fad is fashionable. The women tend to be watching their figures, while the men are concerned with their cholesterol. That's where their personal chef, dietitian or nutritionist comes in." The Bridget Jones Diet Renee Zellweger who is to play the leading role in the forthcoming Bridget Jones movie, is feeding up to fit into what she calls Bridget's "fat jeans". Pizza, cheesecake and Guinness are what her character would term very bad. The Raging Bull diet To bulk up for his role as the boxer gone to seed in Raging Bull, Robert De Niro (top left) simply went on holiday to Italy and ate pasta until he reached the necessary weight. Protein Diet This is the hot diet in Hollywood. The central idea is that people can eat as much boiled or grilled chicken as they want and nothing else. Apparently, the weight just falls off, although no sensible GP would think of recommending such a badly balanced diet. Not popular with vegetarians. No Carbohydrates Diet Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox are said to be fans of this regime. The title is pretty self-explanatory, so no bread or pasta but almost anything else goes.

It looks like I'll just miss seeing the final in Italy, unlike Moon. I'm leaving for Italy July 4th. I can't wait:-)

Great review for SUNSHINE in today's Philadelphia Inquirer 3.5 stars out of 4. Sweeping 20th-century saga has Ralph Fiennes in 3 roles By Steven Rea INQUIRER MOVIE CRITIC It's a Ralph Fiennes festival! In Sunshine, Istvan Szabo's epic tale of a Hungarian Jewish family - spanning the downfall of a monarchy, two world wars and the Communist revolution - the English actor gets to play three roles, of three generations in the Sonnenschein clan: Ignatz, a scholarly and ambitious lawyer; his son, Adam, an Olympic fencing champion; and his son, Ivan (whose narration runs through the film's three hours), a concentration-camp survivor who becomes a Communist official bent on exacting revenge against his country's Nazi sympathizers. It's an ambitious, sweeping saga, but by focusing on the one family - and by having the key roles performed by the same man - Sunshine succeeds in showing the tumult of the 20th century from a deeply personal perspective. This is a story of filial identity, of engaged intellects buffeted by the senseless rage of antisemitism, of failed assimilation and, ultimately, of survival. Szabo, the Oscar-winning director (Mephisto, Colonel Redl) who wrote the screenplay with Israel Horovitz, manages to convey the intimate struggles of a close-knit Jewish family, the secret passions of lovers, the tragic mistakes of brothers and sisters, father and son, mother and daughter. And how fate - and war, and politics and religion - shapes the course of one's life. In addition to the obvious symbolic continuity supplied by Fiennes, Szabo casts JENNIFER EHLE as Ignatz's beautiful red-headed cousin, Valerie, and Rosemary Harris, Ehle's real-life mother, to play the same character in later years. THE TWO ACTRESSES ARE EQUALLY SPECTACULAR. Indeed, although Sunshine succumbs, here and there, to somewhat corny narrative convention, the cast is outstanding: James Frain, as Ignatz's idealist brother, radiates brooding intensity; Rachel Weisz, as Adam's brother's wife, secretly and desperately in love with the champion swordsman, is dark and destructively alluring; and even William Hurt, as a Communist investigator in the film's final section, shows a restraint, and regret, that is affecting. Miriam Margolyes, as the fiercely proud Sonnenschein matriarch, Rose, and David de Keyser, portraying her husband, Emmanuelle, provide linchpin performances, and Deborah Kara Unger turns up as a steely, but sultry Communist comrade who falls into a doomed affair with Ivan. Sunshine takes its title from the name Sonnenschein, and the herbal tonic Taste of Sunshine - a shimmering elixir that brings the family great wealth. Its recipe, scrawled in a black notebook, becomes a symbol not only of inheritance, but also of loss, as the name Sonnenschein is changed to the non-Jewish Sors, and as the book itself is hidden away, forgotten and ultimately destroyed. It's a powerful symbol, in a powerful film. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steven Rea's e-mail address is srea@phillynews.com ***1/2

Hey Evelyn! Sunshine is playing at 3 theaters in the area. According to the ad last week, it was only listed to be at one. It's on two screens at my place. Here's Michael Wilmingston's review from the Tribune (3-1/2 stars): When a celebrated moviemaker sets out to make his magnum opus - which is obviously the intention of Istvan Szabo in "Sunshine" - he runs the risk of seeming a pretentious overreacher. I hope that's not the fate of Szabo over "Sunshine," an incredibly ambitious film and one of the most highly accomplished of the year. "Sunshine," which lasts three hours and follows five generations of a family called Sonnenschein ("Sunshine" in German), is a film that sets out to be nothing less than the great national epic of Hungary in the 20th century. But it's also a deeply personal work. The Sonnenscheins, who make their fortune with a soft drink called Sunshine, are a family much like Szabo's own upper-middle-class Jewish forebears - who went through a similar rise and decline. The movie opens in the 19th century, starting with the provincial tavern owner Aaron Sonnenschein (Balazs Hantos), who invented Sunshine's recipe, and continues to the 1960s. It focuses mostly on three generations: the children first born into wealth, during the latter period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the next generation, which came of age after World War I, under a regime increasingly cozy with Hitler; and the post-WWII generation, who were adults under communism. Along the way, the younger Sonnenscheins assimilate and change their name (to "Sors"), while the family business collapses, after the original Sunshine formula vanishes. There are two constant threads through all three acts. One is the presence of star Ralph Fiennes - who plays, in succession, imperial judge Ignatz Sonnenschein; then Ignatz's son, charismatic Olympic fencing champion Adam Sors; and then Adam's son, embittered communist policeman Ivan. There is another crucial thread: the continuing character of Valerie Sonnenschein, (a.k.a. Sors), first Ignatz's cousin (and adopted sister), and later Ignatz's wife, Adam's mother and Ivan's grandmother. Valerie, an idealistic photographer and loving matriarch, is played by two actresses: Jennifer Ehle in her younger years and Ehle's actress mother, Rosemary Harris, in later life. The loveliest and most inspiring character in "Sunshine," Valerie is our only human link between all the events. Thematic threads weave through, too. "Sunshine" is about anti-Semitism, the scourge that the Sonnenscheins endure through each political change. Even when they try to assimilate, changing their name and religion (to Roman Catholicism), bigotry in some form, from street beatings to the Holocaust to waves of Stalinist anti-Semitism, keeps recurring - never more horrifyingly than when we see Adam, a national hero (based on an actual Hungarian fencing champion), beaten and hosed to death in a camp, before his young son Ivan's eyes. Szabo has been Hungary's preeminent director since the '60s, progressing from warm, experimental films like 1966's "Father" to his Oscar-winning 1981 breakthrough "Mephisto" to his underrated 1991 English language debut film, "Meeting Venus." Szabo met his great constant colleague, cinematographer Lajos Koltai, in 1979 on "Confidence," and "Sunshine" marks the peak of their collaboration to date. It is a ravishingly shot film, a succession of extraordinarily beautiful or evocative period images that richly summon up the major phases of Hungarian history. The blissful, naive isolation of the first rich Sonnenscheins - with sad-eyed patriarch Emmanuel (David de Keyser) and volatile mother Rose (Miriam Margolyes at her most Dickensian), providing a temporary haven for young Ignatz, Valerie and Ignatz' socialist doctor brother Gustave (played as a young man by James Frain and later by John Neville) - gives way to the combats and struggles, under the Horthy regime, of peerless swordfighter Adam. And that increasingly fascist milieu leads straight to the Holocaust and, after World War II, to the brutalities of the communist government. Szabo, who spent most of his career under Marxist governments, has never before shown one with such scathing criticism and scorn. What Szabo wants to show - and often does brilliantly - is that each regime collapses in turn into tyranny and bigotry while most of the Sonnenscheins (like the Finzi-Continis in Vittorio De Sica's 1971 film) procrastinate or delude themselves. When "Sunshine" goes wrong, it is simply because it tries to do too much, too fast. The movie is three hours long, and I think it would have been better at six, perhaps in two parts. Because of that scope and breadth, Fiennes has been unjustly criticized as the great glowering stone face, dourly serious to the end. Yet Fiennes plays all the roles with deep understanding, burning intensity and rich contrast, if not quite enough compensating lightness or irony. The mother-daughter team of Harris and Ehle are joys from beginning to end. (Our last views of the elderly Valerie are devastating; we simply don't want her to leave.) And there are fine smaller performances throughout: by de Keyser and Frain, by Deborah Kara Unger as Ivan's adulterous lover, and by William Hurt as a Jewish Stalinist cop tragically caught in a web he helped to weave. Some plot twists in "Sunshine" collapse under scrutiny - like the mysterious loss of the Sunshine formula when Emmanuel dies. (Did no one else ever see or use it?) Certain devices are overused, like the dinner table discussions and rapt piano scenes. The film might have been better or more persuasive (though less popular) if Hungarians had taken the lead roles, instead of Britons and Americans. But "Sunshine" falls, I think, in the category of those films that should not be dismissed for their flaws, because they give us so many dramatic and cinematic riches. This film constantly renews itself, always redeems its shortcomings. Life also renews and redeems itself, which is one of the positive themes of "Sunshine." There have been a number of great movie family epics - from Germany's "Heimat" to America's "Godfather" trilogy. But "Sunshine" is one of the most powerful and visually beautiful of the lot. Szabo really does tell the story of his country's century. And, it's easy to forget how beautiful, various and terrible that century was.

Here's the Boston Globe's review (2-1/2 stars): A few dim spots don't diminish 'Sunshine' Boston Globe Published: 6/23/2000 By Jay Carr, Boston Globe Few filmmakers have so consistently brought to historical subjects the beauty and craftsmanship that Istvan Szabo has over a long, distinguished career. ''Sunshine,'' his most ambitious film yet, is a heartfelt and handsomely wrought three-hour saga of a Hungarian Jewish family over three generations, covering more than a century. It's neatly divided into three acts signified by three ruling regimes - monarchial, fascist, and communist - all multiplying the family's woes. Yet some of the tragedies endured by the Sonnenschein family are brought on by the repeated desire of its more conservative members to put an end to their outsider status and become assimilated into the establishment. This is in large part a vain hope, but the family keeps regenerating its mistaken urge to belong, once the family establishes itself comfortably in a beautifully burnished turn of the century world on the strength of a patent medicine. The elixir's formula is borne to Budapest by Emmanuel, sewn into the lining of his coat when he leaves his village. But Emmanuel passes on a desire to be respectable, and it keeps costing his family. This is where Ralph Fiennes comes in. His contribution would in the hands of other actors be called a tour de force. But showiness is antithetical to Fiennes. He plays Emmanuel's son, grandson, and great-grandson with fire, but it's interiorized, except when it erupts in a passionate sex scene, which happens once in each character's life. Emmanuel's son, Ignatz, becomes a lawyer and judge, but at the cost of his identity. He changes his name from Sonnenschein (German for Sunshine) to Sors (Hungarian for destiny). He also converts to Catholicism. It works so far as his career goes. He gets his judgeship and even an audience with Emperor Franz Josef as he goes off to World War I, but his personal life crumbles. Jennifer Ehle's Valerie, a free spirit who is his cousin and was raised as his sister when her own father died, is passionately drawn to him. She acts on her passion. He responds, and they marry, despite the misgivings of his parents. But when Ignatz makes his deal, she denounces him as a sellout, comparing him unfavorably to his social reformer firebrand brother, Gustave. In the next generation, Fiennes turns up as Ignatz's son, Adam, who becomes a champion fencer, but finds his advancement blocked and must make the same decision as his father as Hungary cozies up to the Nazis. So, too, does Adam's son, Ivan, also played by Fiennes. In contrast to Adam's fiery elegance, Ivan is a grim ideologue, driven by guilt at having survived World War II when his father didn't and determined to revenge himself on fascists as a communist witch-hunter. Until, of course, he, too, finds politics blowing up in his face. Each man in each generation is guilty of moral or emotional betrayal, and Fiennes impressively dimensionalizes all of them. Such dimension is needed because while Szabo's partly autobiographical chronicle has breadth, it can't always be said to have equivalent depth. As the years pile up, its schematic nature becomes ever more apparent and the characters threaten to grow emblematic. One big reason the last part, depicting Ivan's struggle to replenish his soul by making contact with his roots, doesn't evaporate is a pair of outstanding performances by William Hurt and Rosemary Harris. Ehle's mother in real life, the invaluable Harris plays Ehle's character, Valerie, in old age. Her serenity and magisterial spirit buoy the film no end. So does Hurt's performance as a damaged man, but a worthy one, who begins as Ivan's superior and finds himself on the wrong end of a purge. In a film climate starved for substance, I wish I could be more enthusiastic about Szabo's latest film. It's rich and committed. It's studded with juicy performances. Its themes matter. Even the sex scenes are urgent, especially the ones involving Ivan and Deborah Kara Unger, whose status as the wife of another Party member makes her a highly risky proposition, which possibly contributes to their abandon. In short, there's much to admire here, yet one can't help harboring reservations stemming from the scanting of character development. The film sometimes hyperventilates in an effort to put it there, and the characters sometimes speak in comic-strip balloons, clumsily illustrating the historic significance of what we're seeing. The Sonnenscheins pay a heavy price to learn that you've got to be yourself, and ''Sunshine'' sometimes brings a heavy hand to their story. Still, ''Sunshine'' is a cinematic journey worth taking, even if it does stumble.

Great reviews for the ladies and "Sunshine" at The San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle(?) Times. I have to say that his film seems to have received much better reviews in the US than in the UK, apart from The Telegraph which praised Jennifer and wanted to start a competition in her name!

And here's the Boston Herald's review (3 stars) `Sunshine' is dark fable, murkily told Movie review/by James Verniere Friday, June 23, 2000 "Sunshine" Rated R. At the Nickelodeon and Kendall Square Cinemas. Istvan Szabo's novelistic drama ``Sunshine'' is a conspicuously dark fable about a shattered dream of European assimilation. Charting a Jewish-Hungarian family's calamitous destiny in 20th century Europe, this three-hour English-language film was co-written by Hungarian Szabo and American playwright Israel Horovitz and features Ralph Fiennes in three roles and a fine supporting cast, including John Hurt. If the protagonists, the misguided, internally divisive members of the eponymous Sonnenschein clan (sonnenschein means ``sunshine'' in German), aren't the equals of the house of Atreus in terms of classical tragedy, it's not a fatal flaw. The story starts with a bang, literally, and an evil omen when a Sonnenschein elder blows himself to smithereens in a village in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-19th century. He had been pursuing the family business, distilling a popular alcoholic tonic dubbed ``A Taste of Sunshine.'' But the dead man's son Emmanuelle (David de Keyser) prospers in Budapest, thanks to the family's secret recipe, a rather plodding metaphor, and his brilliant, ambitious son Ignatz (Ralph Fiennes) is named a judge around the turn of the century. Although he is asked to change his name to something less Jewish if he wishes to rise in his profession, Ignatz remains steadfast in his admiration for Emperor Franz Joseph, whom he meets, and the emperor's vision of a more tolerant Empire. Against his parents' wishes, Ignatz has also married his virtual sister Valerie (Jennifer Ehle), a free-thinking, free-spirited cousin and photographer raised by Ignatz's parents. Part Cassandra, part Circe, Valerie may also have had an affair with Ignatz' hotheaded brother Gustave (James Frain), a physician and political extremist fighting for the rights of the poor. The patterns set into motion - brother against brother, brothers sleeping with each other's wives, catastrophic political affiliations - repeat themselves in the second half, with the Sonnenschein family tormented by the Nazis and then by the Communists. You may find yourself watching these events, including a grotesque murder at the hands of Nazis, thinking the Sonnenschein family is cursed, but not sure by what. Ignatz's son Adam (Fiennes), a dashing, gold medal-winning fencer at the 1936 Olympics, is given a chance to elude fate when he's asked to coach a fencing team in America. But a mix of hubris, stupidity and tradition holds him fast to his nominal Hungarian homeland, even after he and his family hear the news of the Nazi laws against the Jews on the radio in one unforgettable scene. After World War II, Adam's son Ivan (also Fiennes) dedicates himself to the Communist cause, only to be tormented by the party's deadly Stalinist machinations. Szabo (``Mephisto,'' ``Colonel Redl,'' ``Hanussen'') is an able storyteller and filmmaker, and ``Sunshine'' can be favorably compared to Bernardo Bertolucci's epic ``1900'' (1977) and Luchino Visconti's ``The Leopard'' (1963). But Fiennes' performances are uneven and opaque (he's turning into Laurence Harvey). And just as Ignatz fails to heed his father's advice to ``take nothing on trust; see everything,'' Szabo fails to grasp his story's meaning. ``Mephisto'' (1981) is a more satisfying variation on similar themes chiefly because of the bravura per-formance by Klaus Maria Brandauer as its actor-hero. In addition to Fiennes in three roles, ``Sunshine'' features Ehle's mother, Rosemary Harris, as the elder Valerie. She's the voice of matriarchal wisdom in the film's reconciliatory closing scenes. But it's hard to know what to make of Valerie's dedication to photographing ``what is beautiful in life.'' The photographs of death camp victims taken by a Nazi collaborator are far more enlightening than Valerie's pretty pictures. Her aesthetic sounds like an intellectual death sentence.

We're suckers for schmaltzy epics. ;-)

*evelyn on her knees* There is a God!! Thank you Mari and Karen.Looks like a winner....not for everybody, I repeat.It is R-rated:"sexuality, violence, torture, language and nudity". No kidding. Don't go expecting Jane Austen.And three hours of Rafe can be "off-putting" too. ~~~~~~~~ Chicago Tribune:The movie is three hours long, and I think it would have been better at six, perhaps in two parts. Whaaat??Hey...last year at this time we were trying to find a distributor for three!! At the risk of being unpopular, I am thrilled for Rafe too...he needed a winner.He keeps slogging away at these artistic films that get panned.

Oh!

we're suckers for schmaltzy epics Oh, again.

My Paramount rep called and said Paramount doubled the cities for release.

Where else it it playing Evelyn, we have had San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas (forgot to mention that there is a very good review there as well), Washington (not so good), anywhere else?

Evelyn, you really must check out the San Franciso Chronicle, it is really excellent for JE.

San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/06/23/DD3813.DTL&type=movies ~~~~~~ "JE the sunshine in SUNSHINE....." I'm gonna send this guy a bunch of roses :-) WOW, what a year for her....Paramount picked a good week. Me Myself and Irene and Chicken Run (good reviews here)are the only competition. Don't know where else it's playing besides the cities you mentioned.. Dallas (forgot to mention that there is a very good review there as well This reviewer is a big P&P fan, don't forget.He gave MLSF a good one too. Likes both of them. Playing in 3 theatres in the SF too.

Also in Detroit. Not a good review for the film or Rafe, but I liked this part: The firewall is the fine performance by Ehle, star of the "Masterpiece Theatre" version of "Pride and Prejudice," and her mother, Rosemary Harris, who plays Valerie as the decades roll on.

Good one (4 out of 5 stars) in the Arizona Republic (so I guess Phoenix, Tucson and environs) http://azcentral.com/rep/movies/articles/0623sunshine23.html Also playing in San Diego. Review is so-so, but good for the ladies.

Evelyn, you owe this guy flowers too.:-) From the Portland, Oregonian: Sunshine' illumines family's walk into darkness Friday, June 23, 2000 Grade: A- Cast and crew: Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Jennifer Ehle, William Hurt, Miriam Margolyes, Rachel Weisz, Deborah Unger, David De Keyser; directed by Istvan Szabo Rated: R for language, nudity, sexual content, violence; mature teens only Running time: 174 minutes The lowdown: A truly epic film, deserving of every bit of its nearly three-hour running length. Fiennes plays three generations of Hungarian Jews who struggle to fit into society even if they must deny themselves and their gifts to do so. The sprawl of history is on display, but so is human lust, regret and vindictiveness. Plus it's beautiful to watch: a real sleeper and a treat. By Shawn Levy of The Oregonian staff Sonnenschein means "sunshine" in German, but for the Sonnenschein family of Budapest, Hungary, there seems hardly ever to be a cloudless day. The Sonnenscheins have the mixed fortune of being clever, prosperous, talented and comely people of Jewish descent in Eastern Europe during the 20th century, a place and time in which virtually all their good traits are likely to evoke fear, suspicion, jealousy and genocidal mania in those around them. "Sunshine," which tells the story of four generations of the Sonnenscheins, is one of those rare films that not only merits its three-hour running time but demands it: Not only does "Sunshine" depict the travails of one star-crossed family, it also encapsulates a full history of modern Hungary and, indeed, Europe. The film is a tour de force for Istvan Szabo, who directed and co-wrote with Israel Horowitz, and for Ralph Fiennes, who extends his string of solid performances in period films by playing three scions of the Sonnenschein family: Ignatz, the nebbishy judge who dearly loves Emperor Franz Josef; Adam, the haughty fencing champion imprisoned in the Holocaust; and Ivan, the rabidly anti-fascist policeman who joins the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in a startling turn of heart. That said, the film is so filled with riches that it seems a bit unfair to single out Szabo and Fiennes, no matter how outstanding their work. Two actresses, for instance, play the role of Valerie Sonnenschein, cousin and wife to Ignatz, mother to Adam, grandmother to Ivan. She alone spans all the generations of the story, and it's Szabo's great inspiration and fortune to have Jennifer Ehle play her as a spirited lass and Ehle's real-life mother, the great Rosemary Harris, portray the character later in life. There are fine turns by William Hurt as a communist policeman with a wise and forgiving heart and Miriam Margolyes and David De Keyser as the founding mother and father of the Sonnenschein dynasty -- hardly a role isn't well-played. tIn spots, the film sags, but it reawakens through Szabo's continual return to the central theme of masking, hiding and assimilating: Whether it's Ignatz's decision to change the family name to Sors (Hungarian for 'fate'), Adam's donning of the protective mask of the amateur swordsman, or Ivan's attempt to avenge the family's suffering through the guise of officialdom, the Sonnenscheins are haunted by the need to seem other than what they truly are. And the viewer, too, is haunted by this vital, sprawling and intelligent story. ******* Also playing in Minneapolis, MN. Bad review, and the writer's name is Colin--for shame!;-)

Thanks Mari...interesting what different reviewers focus on...I rather go with: The story of a century. Arizona Republic issues the warning that I posted on Virtual Views. "This film is not for everyone..." ~~~~~~ June has been a lucky month for Jennifer:-)

v. long and complimentary article about Gary Sinise in The Times. His One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will be at the Barbican from July 27 to August 5. I've seen it and it's very, very good. Amy Morton, who played Nan/Lina in 3DOR, does Nurse Ratched. http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/06/24/timmetmfl02001.html

Jennifer Ehle made Entertainment Weekly's "It List--The 100 most creative people in entertainment." This is the June 30/July 7 issue. They have her listed as "It Brit." Gorgeous full-page photo. Copy: Age: 30 Why her: Best known in the U.S. for playing Elizabeth Bennet in A&E's Pride & Prejudice, Ehle was genuinely stunning in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing--which won her a Tony against formidable competition (like her mom, stage legend Rosemary Harris). Work Ritual: Diet Coke and a shower. Worst Career Moment: In a production of Crimes of the Heart, "I walked onstage with my skirt tucked into my knickers, and just felt this draft. It was like a big signpost: This is a comedy." Dream Collaborator: Meryl Streep. "Me and every other actress in Equity. She should just do a mass crowd scene, put us all in it, and make us happy." Dream Project: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Influential Movie: "Xanadu--I just wanted pastel leg warmers and roller skates." Next: She's currently on screen with Ralph Fiennes in Sunshine.

Interesting that her dream project is COAHTR, as is was rumoured a couple of years ago in the Baz B (Daily Mail) column that she was to take the lead in a Peter Hall? production.

(Tineke)I am now rooting for Portugal and Italy - for Portugal because they've been playing so well and for Italy because I like their shirts;-) ROTFLOL! That's one hell of a reason to root for a team :-) German and English kids in Albufeira all go around in Portuguese shirts with 7 FIGO written on them... I hope you have a great time in Italy, Moon and Tineke. I envy you :-)

Thanks, Gi! BTW, I hope you have a great #1 wedding anniversary. Tineke, email me and let me know where you will be. Influential Movie: "Xanadu--I just wanted pastel leg warmers and roller skates." Huh? LOL! Congratulations on the reviews, Evelyn!

Boy, when you're hot, you're sssmmmmmokin'! Jennifer Ehle is also featured in a full-page article in this weekend's Parade magazine (Sunday newspaper supplement included with major papers throughout the U.S.) Sorry, I'm in a real rush here and won't have time to post it until tomorrow night at the earliest, but maybe someone else will. Moon, you'll be happy to know that David Leveaux also made the EW "It 100 List" as did Sandy Powell, the costume designer who won the Oscar for SIL.

Moon, you'll be happy to know that David Leveaux also made the EW "It 100 List" Of course! But is there a picture? :-D

Jennifer & her mother are also in the Weekend magazine of the Daily Mai here, large article and lots of photos and a great one of Rosemary and young Jennifer, one we have not seen before and RH looks very young indeed and it is uncanny how alike they are. Aishling is sening it to Evelyn, and if it is okay with you Karen I will scan it and send it to you, perhaps you could put it up here.

Here is the picture that Ann's husband scanned in:

Entertainment Weekly June 30-July 7th The It List... The 100 most creative people in entertainment IT BRIT

ODDS and Ends for sure... Our favorite Lisa Zane (Femme Fatale) in the news, see 4th paragraph. This from NY Post: FOR now, 21-year-old Australian actor Heath Ledger can get around town without a posse and without being set upon by eager fans. He should enjoy the moment, because by the time Independence Day has passed, he will have lost his own independence. Ledger is about to become a huge star, this year's Leo DiCaprio, thanks to his performance as the son of fellow Aussie Mel Gibson in Sony's about-to-open "The Patriot," the movie everyone thinks will be this summer's blockbuster. I saw it the other night, and it is terribly good. It's long, for sure, but I don't think the many old fans of the dashing Gibson - and the many new fans Ledger is going to attract - will complain. Ledger comes across as a very sensible, down-home kind of young man. But he seems to already know his way around Hollywood. When he arrived there, wet behind the ears some three years ago, he was "adopted" by the smarter of the Brat Pack. Within a very few months, for example, Liza Zane (sister of "Titanic" star Billy) had dumped her boyfriend, and she and young Heath became an item. Then the breaks started coming. He made "10 Things I Hate About You" (an adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew") and was deluged with offers to do more teen-oriented movies. He held out, living on noodles and water, going back to Australia for a few roles and, finally, being offered "The Patriot." He says Gibson taught him a lot, and that they had fun on the set talking in Down Under slang, which is incomprehensible even to those who've seen "Crocodile Dundee" a dozen times. Next up, he stars in "A Knight's Tale," which has Ledger dashing around in armor and jousting with superior forces. If it smacks of Gibson in "Braveheart" and the other current Aussie sensation, Russell Crowe, in "Gladiator," so be it. Heath was just one of the crowd at Henri Bendel's benefit performance of "The Donkey Show" (a disco version of "Midsummer Night's Dream") the other evening. Fellow guests Monica Lewinsky and Lisa Ling got far more attention, but that won't be the case next week.

JE is featured in a full page interview and pic in this Sunday's "Parade" magazine. Ann, you'll like the pic ..."creamy-dreamy-Ehle".The above one is artistic Vanity Fair does lots of those. Also full page in July's "Interview" magazine. What with this weekend's spread in the Daily Mail magazine.... Looks like she's; Flavor of the Month"!!

Evelyn, what did you think of Sunshine, I am dying to know!! Aishling is going to send you the Weekend Magazine article, it's a lovely interview with RH, brought tears to our eyes.

SUNSHINE is a haunting film. The film made an impact on me long after I left the cinema.On the plane trip home, I couldn�t read....I kept thinking about the characters and the incidents that molded their lives. It�s the story of the century and a romance with Hungary. This film could only have been made by a European director and I�m glad Istvan Szabo had the guts to undertake it; his good fortune was to find the flawless cast. RF just blew me away....sorry folks, no one else on the planet could have played these three roles. I don�t know how he can be ignored for an Oscar nomination...but he probably will. The film is chock full of symbolism which I haven�t deciphered yet. (KJ needed here!). Lavish costumes and Budapest interiors, sweeping sountrack. I thought every detail had been attended to, til I spoke to Karen who pointed out some flaws in Jewish culture. .Three hours long, but it should have been four with an intermission. Sadly , the film has some holes, due to drastic editing. Jennifer was superb..just like the reviewer said..�the sunshine in Sunshine�.William Hurt also delivered a tremendous performance.The director was lucky to get her and Mum. And Jennifer was lucky she met him at a party in London for Glen Close. One never knows where the next break is gonna come from.

Thanks for your review Evelyn, but you didn't say anything about RH, I thought she was wonderful at the end, she had a wonderful rapport with RF's character (sorry name escapes me)and the scene where she collapses whilst they are looking for the recipe was so moving, imo. My only complaint would be that the film lagged a bit at times, particularly all those fencing scenes and towards the end. Also, the "joy" really did go out of the film once Jennifer morphed into her Mum, she really does light up the screen. Also some scenes at the end where quite unnecessary imo.

or at least one particular scene, but Aishling and I had to "chuckle" to ourselves, say no more.

Karen, I would love to hear you opinion of RF's performance, has your opinion improved upon acquaintance!

RH's performance was excellent...but IMO RH as Valerie was the thread that held the family together....picked up the pieces of broken china. Jennifer had less screen time, but more actual acting time.Jennifer dominated the first third of the film. RH's lines were short, philosophical. by the time she came on the scene, Adam's life was developing and Valerie sort of stood around. I LOVED the fencing scene.Almost a ballet...in the sumptuous surroundings,with the tittillating undercurrents of love. I was not offended by the sex scenes. Lust and power are the themes of the film....in all forms.The film never lagged for me...I was in awe of the story of this century in Hungary.And inserting the newsreels gave it more of a documentary feeling...so one had the feeling that *perhaps* this did occur after all.

PARADE Magazine 6/25/00 Interview copy: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/4820/ehle_int/parade.html

I was not offended by the sex scenes -, nor was I, it was just that one scene in particular seemed a near impossibility, hee hee.

Evelyn, I like this Parade pic much better.

Overall, the sex scenes were disappointing, I was expecting some really hot stuff. :-)) Just kidding ladies. But after all the talk about them, they were actually a lot tamer than I thought they would be. I think there was some serious editing for our virtuous American sensibilities. Oh please, pass me the smelling salts. Sex against a tree, oh my. :-))

but it was a physical impossibility, wasn't it!

Evelyn, I like this Parade pic much better I do too....but I find it's a 'generational call'....the v. v. young prefer the Entertainment Weekly pic....they say it's "cool".LOL ~~~~~~~~ From Playbill: FANYS "Friends of NY Theatre Award" presented yesterday. To:BEST PLAY of the season: Noel Coward's"Waiting in the Wings"(bodes well for RV ) BEST LEADING ACTRESS: Rosemary Harris....(Yeay!!Jennifer was not in competition...but Judi Dench from Amy's View from last year was....!) TRT lost out to Kiss Me Kate in Best Revival Reporter commented: "The since-shuttered Wings had two wins -- the top play award and Outstanding Actress in a Play for Rosemary Harris. Harris, not competing against her daughter, The Real Thing's Jennifer Ehle, recalled a scene from The Royal Family where the mother of Gwen tells her daughter, anxious to leave the theatre profession, that she must stay on because one day she will be the very best of the family of actors and "I will be so happy." The gracious Harris was obviously happy to be honored herself after losing the Tony Award to her child. " and Sarah Woodward from TRT also lost out on Best Supporting..

Evelyn, I was on Broadway Saturday. well not me personally, but took my daughter to see Footloose, it was great! Saw the Barrymore (really wanted to get the discount Real thing Tix, but it's definitely not a show for kids. SO.. Am going back next month with mom and gonna see The Real Thing!!!) Spent weekend in NYC with Beck's SHE LOVED TIMES SQUARE!! Don't think she's ever seen so many people (strange ones too like one guy with wings;)!) Ended up in middle of gay pride parade (5th ave) (lots of fun) we were doing the touristy things, Empire state building, Statue of Liberty (nice sunburn, btw). We stayed CPW up by Columbia University, (I drove into NYC) Parked car in garage overnight and had a wonderful time. (Next time guys, eat at Langans on W. 47th and Broadway. It's amazing, and the staff is wonderful!!!)

(Laura)Am going back next month with mom and gonna see The Real Thing!!!) Watch your email...I've sent you a ticket discount offer from the Producers. Wait for Jennifer after the show...stage door to left of main entrance.She likes to meet her fans.(But don't take a pic).Have fun:-))

Good showing for Sunshine over the weekend. The film took in about $350,000 on just 58 screens, making it the #18 film in the country. Average per screen was a v.v. good $6,000.

Rebecca got the autographs of all the "male" stars of Footloose! We're going to see nsync next month (nah, she's not spoiled;)). Okay, mommy, got all the autographs of the male footloose cast;) I was gonna head over to W.47th to see JE come out of theatre, but Beck's and I were tired and Times Square was a zoo (as usual). Got email, Thank you Very very very very much!!!

Seems like you had a lovely time in NYC, Laura,great! :-)

It's great to see JE getting so much recognition. I guess I'm not v.v.young anymore, I don't pass the "cool" test. Like Gi and Evelyn, I prefer the Parade photograph. Say, for Americans out there (of a certain age), doesn't toddler JE remind you of Tabitha in that shot? I know this is changing the subject, but I made a joke the other day to the bank teller after she asked me for my phone code. I said, "shouldn't we have the cone of silence for this?" She didn't understand the reference! She was too young! I grow old, I grow old I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled.

Sadie, if you're old, then so am I. And I'm only 21;-) I'm with Ann, Gi and Sadie, I'm not too fond of the Entertaiment Weekly pic. Moon, my sister saw Del Piero and another Italian player in Antwerp last week. Apparently the Italian team is staying in Antwerp during the tournament. According to my sister they looked very macho, shimmering black hair (all that gel), cell phone,...

According to my sister they looked very macho, shimmering black hair (all that gel), cell phone,... Must keep in touch with la mamma, macho or not. ;-)

Today is William's (WER's) Birthday, in case anyone wondered...

(Sadie) "shouldn't we have the cone of silence for this?" LOL, Sadie! Someone made a "cone of silence" reference at work the other day and several of us had a good laugh. Then I looked over and noticed one of my younger colleagues looking very perplexed, obviously not getting the joke. Sigh, I've officially joined the older generation ;-).

What's the "cone of silence"? I've led a sheltered life.

OK - here's an explanation of the infamous "cone of silence," but it's one of those gags where you sort of "had to be there." It was a running gag on the old Get Smart series with Don Adams playing secret agent Maxwell Smart. Whenever agent Smart and the Chief had to discuss a secret, they would sit at a desk and this big plastic bubble would be lowered from the ceiling, the cone of silence, where the 2 could discuss top secrets. Of course once inside, neither one could hear the other and they had to shout. A very Monty Pythonesque, silly running gag.

Whenever agent Smart and the Chief had to discuss a secret, they would sit at a desk and this big plastic bubble would be lowered from the ceiling, Oh...you mean like the Inner Board on Spring;-)

Great explanation of the cone of silence's highly technical functioning, Donna. Now that I am thirty (gulp) I know it will only get worse --- saying things that no one understands because they're too young. And I just got used to saying things that no one understands because they're too old! As mentioned on other boards, I'm goin'camping. Leaving today. Am wondering: how hard can it be in the woods, when I've survived big American cities on long weekends? We'll be there for two weeks, as boyfriend has determined it's not real camping unless you stay long enough for your cooler to run out of food. Sure hope he knows as much about this scene as he claims! I'm a city girl. Will miss the wildness of you all at Drool.

Try to enjoy yourself, Sadie! I am not the camping type either, I feel for you. I am also not the lost in the woods, amist the bears, cabin girl either.;-) Wishing everyone a lovely summer, I am off to Italy tomorrow. Happy Birthday to all the summer firthettes. Arrivederci!

Have fun, Sadie. Make sure boyfriend gets all bitten up by flying or crawly things, then find closest motel with swimming pool/ bar and enjoy your wilderness experience. ;-)

Sadie & Moon...we'll miss you both:-( Hurry back, Moon so we can do AZ....we've been saying that for three years! And who knows...upon your return we might have news of an exhilarating Colin-project.(Ever Hopeful)

Have a great and fruitful time, Moon. Will be eagerly anticipating stories of your adventures.

Have fun in the wilderness, Sadie. Why don't you watch the Blair Witch Project before you leave?;-) unless you stay long enough for your cooler to run out of food I'm going camping as well, but we're not bringing a cooler. There's no room for it on our bikes;-) And Moon, I wish I could be more specific about my trip, but now it seems we won't be able to leave on July 4th after all. You know, we may even end up in England instead;-) Have fun!

Sadie, have a great time Camping it up!;-) We're doing Yosemite in a few weeks, but definitely *not* roughing it. To me, the outdoors is something I have to go through to get from my house to my car.;-) ;-) Moon--Arrivederci, Luna! Spero che vi divertiate!

Psssst! I heard Tineke passed her exams with honours. Good for you!!

Sadie, what can I say? I hope you come back unscathed ;-) Moon, have fun in Italy. I've just watched the Portugal vs France game, and am feeling very low; I hope Italy is more fortunate. Auguri!

Sadie, my idea of going camping is visiting the park. Beware of the flies, mosquitoes, and gnats. I hope you come back unscathed. Moon, may you and your family have a lovely time in Italy.

I'm sure I missed you both, Moon and Sadie. Have fun, stay safe and come on back. Congratulations Tineke on a successful academic year. Are you continuing with your studies? Have fun on your bike trip. And Mari's leaving for Yosemite soon. Driving out? I always wanted to see the USA in my Chevrolet. Sheesh, I'm spending my vacation next week at home painting and it won't be art, folks.

Yeah, Tineke!!! (we don't remember what happened two years ago right???) Just one other thing, are you making the money in the basement at university? Because if you are, send some my way;)) Have a wonderful trip and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

INTERVIEW Magazine: July 2000 Interview:http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/4820/ehle_int/interview.html

Nice pic. She should have worn that dress to the Tonys.

I liked the Tony dress more. Don't like pattern evening clothes.IMO

I agree with you, evelyn. THAT dress would've been too um, loud??? :)

How about this dress? Better? INTERVIEW Mag July issue Mari...what designer did you say this was?

I may be a little late with this, but what the heck ;-). Gi, let me congratulate you to such a brilliant football team - I was so sad when they lost to France. For me they are the winners of Euro 2000. And not only because they are the best looking team (Nuno! Vitor! Joao!) in their darkred/green trikots. ;-) Now my heart is with Italy (Moon, are you happy?). I liked the match between Netherlands/Italy because the players of the opposite teams were so friendly together.

The blue coat is by Louis Vuitton, the pattern evening dress is by Versace. Moon, are you happy? I'm sure she is. I must confess I had to laugh quite a few times during the match last night. I couldn't believe the Dutch missed 5 penalties out of 6!

(Tineke) I couldn't believe the Dutch missed 5 penalties out of 6! Especially after Kluivert had been brilliant in the game against Yugoslavia. BTW, do belgians have the same mixed feelings about the dutch as we have towards the spaniards? ;-) (Renata)Gi, let me congratulate you to such a brilliant football team - I was so sad when they lost to France. For me they are the winners of Euro 2000. And not only because they are the best looking team (Nuno! Vitor! Joao!) in their darkred/green trikots. ;-) Thank you, my dear My personal favourite is Luis Figo, but I admit the only ugly one is Dimas, and I could help him there ;-) I was very disapointed when they lost. They *are* a good bunch and played beautifully. Calling a penalty was cruel at that stage, when the move was apparently only instinctive.

EW online has put the It List up, but only about 20 of the people profiled. No Jennifer. http://www.ew.com/ew/feature/0,1917,219,itlist2000.html

(Karen)EW online has put the It List up, but only about 20 of the people profiled. No Jennifer. I complained...though I hated to since they gave her such a good review in Sunshine. "The classy cast includes James Frain, Rachel Weisz, and William Hurt. And none is classier than recent Tony Award winner Jennifer Ehle as free thinking Valerie Sonnenschein, the story's bright center. Another bright detail the luminous Ehle's glowing mother, Rosemary Harris. Grade: B+" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Is England out of the running for the Euro Cup? Then I'm cheering for Italy...ODB's other home.