...and EW's editor replied...how? ;-)

The March issue of Premiere magazine has a very flattering article on Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Entitled "The British Are Cunning--Their movies have made $1.6 billion worldwide. They're the toast of London and the envy of Hollywood. . . " Several BJD mentions, in passing. Some interesting quotes: From Hugh Grant (who it seems was born knowing how to smell the coffee;-) "They are energetic--not naive, not arty-farty, not up their own ass, 'Let's make a film that will please six people in Hampstead or the Upper East Side of New York. It's extraordinary to walk into a British film company on Oxford Street--trendy London architecture and all the female staff unbelievably beautiful--and it's run with complete L.A. efficiency, instead of it being a bunch of ex-BBC, very nice amateurs." Article calls WT "a unique hybrid, a British independent backed by a Hollywood studio with global distribution clout." Talks about their plummy deal with Universal (which inherited them when Universal bought Polygram)--$150 million per year in financing, power to greenlight films under $25 million, and lots of creative autonomy. This is interesting: "Thanks to Miramax's aggressive multipicture talent deals, archrival Harvey Weinstein has inserted himself into three of their upcoming movies: Correli, BJD, and 40 Days And 40 Nights. Watching Bevan and Weinstein maneuver around each other has become something of a spectator sport. Last fall, Weinstein tried to push Corelli into late-year release for Oscar consideration, but Bevan and Universal chairwoman Stacey Snider didn't want to rush the movie. Adds once source close to 40 Days, "Thank God we had Tim to protect us every step of the way." Lots on their past successes, 4 Weddings, Notting Hill, Bean, Fargo, Dead Man Walking, O Brother, and about how people like Richard Curtis and the Coen brothers won't work with anyone else.

Thanks, Mari. Speaking of magazines, the March Talk magazine had a 4+ page spread on Corelli. Am expecting similar if not better coverage for BJD in the April issue.

More on the article: "How have Bevan and Fellner come so far? Some say they've coasted on massive charm and remarkable luck.According to one wag, the classic WT movie is a contemporary incarnation of the ivy-trimmed Merchant-Ivory film, offering movie-goers wish-fulfillment fantasies worthy of Martha Stewart." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't think you'll catch them making "arty-farty -old war-horses " ;-)

To UK Fans, Richard Curtis is on Steve Wright in the Afternoon, on BBC Radio2 on Friday, 23rd 2-5pm. Let's hope he says something about BJD.

Article in the Financial Times (Feb 20, 2001) about Working Title: Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, the two film producers who run Working Title, were driving around Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago talking about their future. It looked like more of the same. "In 20 years, we'll still be going round in the same old rental car," says Bevan, with his hands on a big imaginary steering wheel. "Still going round trying to work out how to make some money from this thing." Fellner chimes in, adopting a wavering old man's voice and making his imaginary pitch to the next generation of Hollywood studio bosses: "We were producers once, you know." They both laugh - and well they might. In the perishable world of British movie-making talent, they seem to have struck on an enduring formula for success. Working Title's films - from their first blockbuster, Four Weddings and a Funeral, via Bean, Notting Hill and Fargo to their recent hit, Billy Elliot - have grossed more than Dollars 1.6bn. The company's standing looks set to be illustrated this Sunday when the British movie business dresses up for the Baftas - London's equivalent of Los Angeles' Oscars. Working Title films - Billy Elliot, O Brother Where Art Thou? and High Fidelity among them - have secured 18 Bafta nominations. So, while the quaint picture of two pensioned-off producers pootling around LA looking for work is a frightening possibility for some British moviemakers, it does not look as though Bevan and Fellner are set to sink back into anonymity in Hollywood. "There are 20 producing units in the world which Hollywood considers viable - we are one of them," says Bevan, who has spent the past few months focused on the forthcoming Captain Corelli's Mandolin, starring Nicolas Cage. Fellner, who has been concentrating on Bridget Jones' Diary, which stars Renee Zellweger, ups the boast: "We are in the top 20. Or, let's say, the top 10." Bevan and Fellner are now thought to be eyeing new areas, specifically opportunities in TV music. They are not keen to talk about their plans, but it is not hard to speculate about where they are going when you think about where they come from. By a quirk of corporate fate, Working Title has long had a distribution deal with Universal, the Hollywood studio owned until last year by Seagram of Canada, and Canal Plus, the French television and movie business controlled by Vivendi. When Vivendi merged with Seagram in a Dollars 34bn deal last year, therefore, it was a merger of Working Title's patrons. In fact, Vivendi and Seagram had little other overlap of businesses. "It was just a bizarre coincidence that the only place that these two huge organisations met was little old Working Title in London," says Fellner. The vision of Jean-Marie Messier, chief executive of the combined company Vivendi Universal, is to reach consumers via every kind of medium: TV, mobile phone, cinema screen and the next generation of portable devices. If the main prize of acquiring Seagram was getting hold of Universal Music, the next test for Messier's empire is developing content for the screen - small and large. Working Title, therefore, might well be expected to make a substantial move into television. The company already has a small TV arm, but working with Canal Plus there is a potential to bring Working Title's story-telling skills to small screen. Bevan and Fellner are also thought to be investigating opportunities to develop ancillary businesses spun out of Working Title's movie successes. One such area could be soundtracks; both men clambered into film from music videos. Fellner, the tall lanky one who sports something between a beard and a five o'clock shadow, went from studying theatre at Guildhall to making music videos with the likes of Ultravox to Kajagoogoo in the early 1980s. He made his first movie, Sid and Nancy, in 1985. Bevan, the chunkier one, who seems to support the mildly eccentric look of wearing his shirt sleeves buttoned down to his wrists and his sweater rolled up above the elbow, made his first movie in 1985. It was My Beautiful Launderette. They started working together in 1991. Although loquacious personalities who work in an ego-infested industry, they seem to enjoy operating together. In conversation, they cut each other up and finish each other's sentences, yet there does not seem to be any one-upmanship. When Bevan launches into his theories on content creation in the new media age, Fellner sits back on the sofa and chuckles: "I think I'll leave him to it. I can see he's on a roll." By working together, they say, they get more done. They make the big decisions together - which movies to do, who to approach about casting and direction and so on - but then one or the other of them takes on the day-to-day responsibility for project management. "You can only really concentrate on two projects a year - this way we do four," says Bevan. Their latest project is the film adaptation of About a Boy, the Nick Hornby book. While one of them was talking to Hugh Grant about his possible involvement, the other was talking to the Weitz brothers of American Pie fame about directing. Getting this many movies made requires working "a lot of hours in the day", says Fellner, but also the special relationship Working Title has with Universal. Under the terms of the deal the company has with the Hollywood studio, Universal covers overheads, development costs and production. Fellner and Bevan are not naturally coy, but they get shy, even defensive, when talking about the financial workings of producing movies. They "benefit from the success of successful movies", says Fellner, reluctant to elaborate. Working Title is said to have the right to "greenlight" a Dollars 25m budget movie without having to consult Universal; if it wants more, it can talk to LA and Bevan and Fellner usually get it. "We have not had any trouble greenlighting anything for a long time," says Bevan. That lucky position is partly thanks, they say, to the fact they were protected in their early years by Michael Kuhn, their patron at what was then Polygram Filmed Entertainment. He backed them, they say, while they learned from their mistakes - movies such as Loch Ness and Romeo's Bleeding. The significance of the Universal deal is that the studio is responsible for the crucial business of movie distribution - which is to the film business what refrigeration is to the ice-cream industry. "Any production entity outside Hollywood wants to harness the might of the studios," says Bevan. He says the studios give a UK production business the extra strength it needs in marketing, distribution and picking up talent for projects. Bevan and Fellner say one of the reasons for their success was that they started doing the rounds in Hollywood early. "We were going round in the 80s. We did not treat them as enemies. We thought going to LA was a laugh," says Bevan, adding that the friends they made back then are now pretty powerful people in Hollywood. There is an argument that this kind of reliance by talented British producers on powerful American studios is a sad reflection on the UK film industry. Since the gradual demise nearly two years ago of Polygram Filmed Entertainment, plenty of people have argued that the absence of a substantial British distribution company to champion British movies has meant the UK has become, in movie-making terms, a vassal of the US. When the broader issue of British film comes up, Bevan says he cannot comment because he is on the Film Council, the Lottery-funded body charged with re-invigorating the industry. But he is only briefly demure - the old argument about the sorry state of film-making in Britain clearly gets on his nerves. It is "bullshit", he says, adding that British-made cars are not made by British-owned companies. British film-makers need to think globally, he argues, which means creating a relationship with the mighty studios to distribute their product internationally. "If Eric and I, who are not geniuses, have become a production entity for a major studio, then in the next five years there should be production arms for the other major studios which are also British," says Bevan. "That is my future for the British film industry." There are a number of wannabe Working Titles hoping to replicate the model relationship with Universal. BBC Films is looking at how to deal with the studios; Channel Four has a relationship with Warner Bros, but it does not have the same freedom to greenlight medium-sized movies. But to become a British version of Imagine, the Ron Howard and Brian Grazer production team which is also signed to Universal, requires a track record. Working Title is one of the few production companies in the UK - perhaps the only one - to have a long line of successful movies behind them. Working Title has become a brand which, they say can attract star actors to work for a little less up front - as is believed to be the case with Nicolas Cage in Corelli - because they crave quality work. Bevan and Fellner have, of course, had their flops. (Plunkett & Macleane did not trouble cinema screens for long). But they have found a successful formula - films which are neither big budget, nor student experiments; neither art-house nor mainstream action pictures. On reflection, Fellner says, correcting Bevan's earlier faux-modesty, "Perhaps, we are geniuses." And they laugh.

But they have found a successful formula - films which are neither big budget, nor student experiments; neither art-house nor mainstream action pictures. I couldn't agree more! I am curious how they will develop that music thing they want to do with TV. We'll see if they are genuises. ;-) Thanks, Karen, I enjoyed that.

Don't you wonder if they alternate working with Huge or has one been assigned full-time duty? ;-D

That's a very good point because I do not see HG in "About a Boy" at all. He must truly be the biggest name they can push to the LA bigwigs from the UK.

Working Title is one of the few production companies in the UK - perhaps the only one - to have a long line of successful movies behind them. In this business, successful means $$$$.A movie that isn't successful reflects on the cast and director. Only Kevin Costner gets away with that. Thanks Karen.

From PeopleNews: Archer faces a cruel cut Peer�s Bridget Jones cameo at risk Will Jeffrey Archer be dropped from the forthcoming Bridget Jones film? The rogue peer was set to appear in a cameo role, playing himself at a literary drinks party and jovially chatting to novelist Salman Rushdie. However, in the wake of his latest bout of bad press (being photographed on a South African beach with a mystery blonde, while his long-suffering wife Mary was under the impression that he was working on his latest novel) it looks as though this honour may be withdrawn. Sources at Working Title, the studio behind the adaptation of Helen Fielding�s bestselling book, whisper that Lord Archer no longer has the kind of image that they wish to associate with the production - starring Renee Zellweger - and say that his part may well be axed. Working Title say: �When you shoot a film you invariably shoot much more footage than you will end up using. There is absolutely no guarantee that Archer will appear in the final cut.� If the scene is dropped, it seems unlikely that Jeffrey and Salman will ever jov ally chat again. ~~~~~~ And so goes Salman's scene... ;-D

I thought they already had the final cut? Haven't they been screening this film? Salman and Archer off are no big deal, IMO. Although those two womanizers have a lot in common with D. Clever. ;-)

Salman and Archer off are no big deal, Agree. Who cares? No one in the US would recognize them anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if this was contrived publicity from the beginning.

being photographed on a South African beach with a mystery blonde Okay, I know I am cheap, but where was this story UK droolers? I should keep up with the tabloids. I just like anything that ditches the "fragrant" Mary fallacy. Droolers outside the UK please ignore the foregoing. It is of no relevance, as you rightly say, to BJD.

Most of the tabloids on Monday carried this. Yesterday's Mirror featured a front-page expos� of the "mystery woman" revealing her to be a 51-year old twice-divorced mother of two. The best part of the story is that they say Mary Archer thought he was researching his next novel. They obviously speculated that the new woman was more fragrant.

For your daily dose of Archer gossip from today's PeopleNews: (and, btw, am more than curious about *fragrant*) ;-D 'Wounded' Mary stands by Jeffrey Archer Kingdon 'held together by plastic surgery' Even though her husband was caught on camera as he strolled hand-in-hand on a Cape Town beach with his lover, Mary Archer appears to be standing by her man. Multimillionaire novelist and Tory politician Lord Archer hit the headlines when it was revealed that he had enjoyed a romantic break in Africa with trawlerman's daughter Nikki Kingdon. She returned to Britain on Monday to her �250,000 home in south-west London - Archer, 60, remained abroad ahead of his trial for perjury at the Old Bailey, apparently working on his next novel. But friends of the former Tory Party vice-chairman sharpened their knives for Kingdon, 51, and signalled that Lady Archer, 56, would stand by her husband. A friend of the Archers' told a UK newspaper: 'Kingdon is a social climber who's held together by plastic surgery. Unlike Mary, she has no natural beauty or intellect. It would take a lot more than her to end a marriage.' Another friend said it would take more than 'a passing fancy' with thrice-married Kingdon to split up a coup e married for 35 years. ~~~~~~ PeopleNews file on Archer says he lives in Rupert Brooke's old house in Grantchester, Cambridgeshire. A little tidbit for fans of CF's radioplay "One Before the Last."

'Fragrant' refers to Jeffrey's first trial, in which he was accused of, er, perverting the course of justice, I think. He had given Monica Coghlan, a prostitute, a bag containing two thousand pounds at Victoria Station. She claimed it was payment for her services, he that it was blackmailed out of him because he did not want her pretending there had been any goings-on. After several days of testimony, Archer was acquitted by the jury, following an unbelievably one-sided summing-up, in which the judge reserved special praise for Mary Archer. "This fragrant woman", he felt, had been cruelly forced to testify about such ludicrous and offensive charges. A few years later, of course, Archer was convicted of perjury and deception. Other things Jeffrey has been accused of are: insider share dealing, plagiarism, lying about his athletics exploits at Oxford and persuading friends to lie to the police and in court.

Thanks for the additional info, Mark, but why would the judge call her fragrant? Nothing 'smelly' attached to her? Oh well, a new pic of Mark Darcy for you all!! Love this serious pose. Wonder if this is after the fight (note stain on shirt...blood???)

Oh, how cute is that?? I love it--thanks, Karen! Wonder if this is after the fight (note stain on shirt...blood???) Either that, or after an unfortunate run-in with a taco.;-)

Lovely pic, thanks Karen :-)

There are seven other new ones that I've put up at the Screening Room page. However, the one above is the BEST!! http://www.spring.net/karenr/mdbro/bjdgal.html

However, the one above is the BEST!! LOVE it! Thanks Karen.

Love most of them... Thanks!

Oh the poor baby, he looks so serious. Lovely pic, thanks Karen.

Great pix, Karen! He looks so much better with his shirt slightly open. :-) Will check the others now.

V. nice picture, Karen. Thank you--cheered my day right up. (Can hardly wait-am whipping myself into a BJD frenzy!)

Can see the froth dripping from your mouth. ;-D

Lovely pictures, thanks Karen Report from Baz today: Bridget Jones: Here�s one you must mark in your diary. There�s a moment in the movie BJD where Colin Firth, as Mark Darcy if you please, tells RZ (as our anti-heroine) that he likes her just the way she is � she�s not a perfect size ten, her hair�s a disaster, she chain-smokes, likes a bevvy and can�t cook. The scene, like the film, has stayed with me because we are normally bombarded with the images of an idyllic woman who is desirable because she's x-ray thin and drop-dead gorgeous but, oh, so shallow. Real men like curves and personality. RZ�s Bridget works because she�s an everywoman figure (cue Chaka Khan belting out I�m Every Woman on the great soundtrack). It�s worth noting that you forget in about 20 seconds RZ is Texan. Kate Winslet was going to do it, but became pregnant. HF�s book was too girlie for me, but the movie, to my great surprise, works on many levels and blokes will get a kick out of it. HG plays Firth�s love rival, a publisher who typifies the Great English Bastard. It�s Grant�s most successful role in several years, for we have long tired of his foppish wimp. The other good news is that BJD, opening in April, was made by first time feature director Sharon Maguire and she has a sure touch, though aided by a fine screenplay from Fielding, AD and RC Ms Maguire hails from Coventry and read English and drama at Aberystwyth University. The fictional Ms Jones attended Bangor University. As Ms Maguire travelled to Shepperton to complete fin-tuning the picture, she told me �It always breaks the ice at parties when I�m with Oxbridge types and I brag: �I went to Aberystwyth!�� She believes the book tacked loneliness dressed up as a comic anecdote. �It also has a truth about it,� she says. �The producer kept saying �It�s a comedy, right? It�s a comedy?� Yeah, yeah�, she quickly reassured him. Casting the three main leads � Z, G and F � pushed the budget from an independent film to something that had Universal Pictures and Miramax Films grabbing a chunk of the spoils from Britain�s Working Title company. They all turned up the heat on Ms Maguire. �Amazingly, I was allowed to direct it, but with so many people putting their money in, everybody has had a piece of it� she says. �They�ve all got their ideas and you�ve got to negotiate through them and that�s really hard. In the post-production phase, there was a lot of input but I am still here� she said wearily. �Some directors get locked out of the cutting room. I know at times people tried to do that to me, but I stayed whether they wanted me to or not�. The movie�s a triumph for her, and for Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan, the guys from Working Title who set it all up. What with Billy Elliott and Captain Corelli�s Madolin, these two unsung heroes of British film are riding high. There is quite a large picture of Bridget singing with mike in one hand and fag in other. The caption is: Believable: Renee Zellweger is a brilliant Bridget Jones.

Thanks Aishling, great news but I do wish he has said something more about Colin!

Wow!! That's a great review, Aishling. Looks like I'm going to have to start my Reviews page (argh...more work).

Thanks Aishling for taking the time to type the article. Sounds like a winner for sure. Kudos for everybody.Unusual for Baz to write a review, isn't it?

I do hope this ISN'T how he really looks (or anywhere near this), especially as the BJD promo work is beginning!! (Remember, this is a mocked up photo) Hugh loses the fringe ... but sadly this isn't a real photo It is the end of an era. England's foremost floppy fringe is no more. According to numerous reports, Hugh Grant, the star of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, has taken the plunge and had his most readily identifiable characteristic removed. Sadly, a real photograph of his newly shorn hair - described by eyewitnesses as a 'longish crew cut' - wasn't available so, thanks to the wonders of technology, here is a rough idea. Grant's spokesmen at Simian Films (the production company he runs with his ex Liz Hurley) were so cagey about the alleged chop that they refused to return calls, leading to speculation that Hugh might not be overjoyed with his new look. Exactly what prompted this radical change of image is not known, but some suggest that it may be due to the influence of Hugh's new girlfriend, Ally McBeal-star Portia de Rossi.

Thanks Aishling. Now I'm even looking forward to HG's performance ;-)

Thanks, Aishling! It's nice to see that he starts with CF. Probably die to all the e-mail he gets from us. (I know I'm guilty of writing to him on many occassions) ;-) Poor Hugh, if he has to cut his hair to please a girl. (!)

Uh-oh, he better not be going after the same roles as another gent we know!

LOL, Donna! Those sideburns have got to gooooooooo But, really, is that (or similar) how they pictured Will, the main character in About a Boy??? Click to hear Chaka Khan singing I'm Every Woman. BTW, Whitney Houston sang it too in the Bodyguard. http://www.towerrecords.com/ra/hurlPNM.exe?/towerlink/~v-50351/0153038_0101_00_0002.ra http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/7733/real_audio/im_every_woman.ram

There�s a moment in the movie BJD where Colin Firth, as Mark Darcy if you please, tells RZ (as our anti-heroine) that he likes her just the way she is Ahhh . . .sort of like MisterRogers Neighborhood.;-) Wonderful article, thanks Aishling. And bless Baz! Word on this film couldn't be better--and April 13 can't come soon enough!:-) (cue Chaka Khan belting out I�m Every Woman on the great soundtrack). Glad to hear they're using at least one original artist, instead if the re-do's we've been hearing about (*still* smarting over the misappropriation of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw The Light." Harumph;-) It�s Grant�s most successful role in several years, for we have long tired of his foppish wimp. I suppose we'll be wading through many column inches devoted to Hugh's new screen image as well as "Hughie With(out) The Fringe On Top." ;-) Was just reading that Tina Brown is jetting over for the BAFTAS and is throwing a big pre-show soiree from Talk Mag that Hugh will attend. Between this and their hanging out at the GGs together, wanna bet which BJD guy gets the big Talk spread in the coming months?:-(

Mari, you are so right. But as Karen has said, the other one doesn't travel, or do the walk, or talk the talk. ;-) (*still* smarting over the misappropriation of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw The Light." Harumph;-) That was one perfect song! I remember as a teenager going to Central Park on TR's birthday when he would always have a concert. They should have gotten him to produced the soundtrack!

Big music day. Here's a clip from that Gabrielle song 'Out of Reach' (sounds rather trite to me) http://212.162.58.4/asx/msn/outaudio.asx

Gabrielle's new single, 'Out of Reach', was chosen over exclusive tracks by Robbie Williams, Geri Halliwell, Texas, and Craig David as the lead track for the forthcoming movie 'Bridget Jone's Diary'. Based on the Helen Fielding bestseller and produced by the makers of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and 'Notting Hill', 'Bridget Jones's Diary'is set to be the biggest British film of the year. The film stars Renee Zellweger as the neurotic 30-something, Chardonnay-swigging, chain-smoking, hopelessly romantic Bridget, Hugh Grant as the dashingly sexy but dangerous love-rat Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth enigmatic yet aloof family friend Mark Darcy. The supporting cast includes Jim Broadbent as Bridget's timid father; Gemma Jones as her over-bearing mother; Sally Phillips as fiery Shazza; Shirley Henderson as disillusioned Jude, James Callis as extrovert Tom, Embeth Davidtz as Bridget's nemesis Natasha, and the legendary Honor Blackman and Celia Imrie, both of whom cameo as Bridget's parents' hilarious friends. 'Out of Reach' is released in the UK on April 2nd, and 'Bridget Jones's Diary' will be released by United International Pictures across the UK and Ireland on Friday April 13th 2001.