OH MY GOD! How did that happen? Must be a sign to be patient ;-P

Has anyone seen this site (Karen, there's a link to your BJD pages)? http://www.portowebbo.co.uk/nottinghilltv/BRIDGET.htm It's a Notting Hill newspaper...says that the shoot was 10 and a half weeks. Didn't they have rehearsals at first? Shoot started mid-May? Still makes it over-run.

Yes. They wrote their article based on my pages and used my pic of Cafe Rouge, which I photographed myself.

Well, obviously a site with good taste: used Karen's pic and site link, have v. nice photo of CF, and mention his name before HG's. Classy all round!

You can say that again!

Absolutely, good to see they have their priorities in the right order ;-) Zellweger was a waitress in a topless bar... Really? I didn't know that. She'd get better tips now ;-) Writers and self-publicists Salman Rushdie and Jeffrey Archer also appear in the film playing themselves. 'Self-publicists' LOL! Karen, didn't all those pictures come from your page?

Yes, but I can't claim ownership to the others. ;-) says that the shoot was 10 and a half weeks. The summary page was put up on August 3rd.

I think it's an ugly page with a hideous yellow background. And they had some nerve using your Cafe Rouge pic without your permission.

(Evelyn)I think it's an ugly page with a hideous yellow background. Agree. Didn't feel like I wanted to go beyond the opening page.

I seem to be having trouble with people answering my posts at RoP. Hmmpphh!! Has anyone read the other Bridget Jones type books such as: 'Love:A User's Guide', 'Getting Over It', 'Watermelon', 'Girl's Guide to HUnting and Fishing Are these books any good? Your response is greatly appreciated. Sarah

i agree with everyone else by saying Karen's page is far more superior to that thrown together page. (patas)Agree. Didn't feel like I wanted to go beyond the opening page. I didn't go past the opening page either.

Thanks, ladies, but that place is not a Bridget site and there aren't any pages beyond that. It merely is a recap of news-to-date, and I think they did a good job summarizing the relevant parts of all the stories.

Sarah, i read the first 1/2 of Watermelon - it didnt interest me enough to finish it. Although i have a couple friends who really injoyed it. Havent read the others, sorry. :-) -Esbee oh, and there is a new one, just released this month i think, that is also a wanna be BJD, called Lucy Somebody is getting married. Havent read that yet, either.

Wasn't that a TV series shown awhile back?

(Sarah19)'Love:A User's Guide', 'Getting Over It', 'Watermelon', 'Girl's Guide to HUnting and Fishing Sarah, sorry I can't help you - haven't read any of these books, don't even know anyone who did. ;-)

Heard they were BJD knock-offs, so I haven't read them either. 'Girl's Guide' has been on various bestseller lists in the US for awhile, though.

Article in the Guardian (8/25) about Lewis Taylor. Here's the relevant part: If the guitar-heavy, synthesised soul of Lewis II only appeals to his small yet fanatical cult following, there is always his soundtrack work to pay the bills. So far, he has provided songs for Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels; this year cinema audiences will hear Taylor's voice on a reworked version of Todd Rundgren's I Saw the Light, for the forthcoming adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary. He even gets to croon New York, New York - "a horrible song," he winces - in a new British gangster movie starring Ian Hart called Strictly Sinatra. You can read the complete article here: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4054900,00.html

Click to listen to the Todd Rundgren version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0000032WL001001/026-1239541-3475662 It will be *perfect* :-)

It doesn't appear to work from outside the site. You can copy the above url and go to it and that will work or try clicking on this link to Tower, which seems to work OK: http://www.towerrecords.com/ra/hurlPNM.exe?/towerlink/~m-450351/1577525912000a01.ra

(Sarah19)'Love:A User's Guide', 'Getting Over It', 'Watermelon', 'Girl's Guide to HUnting and Fishing Sorry Sarah, I'm not much help either. I've been meaning to read 'Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing'. I saw an indepth interview with the author. She sounded cool to me. Apparently, it was her first novel! She worked at some other job by day and wrote by night. I understand it's quite different than BJD, and I didn't get the impression that it was a deliberate copycat effort, although it's interesting to see a whole genre spring up around being a thirty-something Singleton. (Hmmm, so I've got that goin' for me at least.) As I said though, I don't think it's like BJD; it's not wickedly funny or even trying to be that. That was my impression, anyway. Hope that's some help.

(Sadie) although it's interesting to see a whole genre spring up around being a thirty-something Singleton So you think it has. spored. a. confessional. gender?

Can't swear, but I think this Todd Rundgren "I saw the light" is the song I saw RZ singing up at a window from the street. Not up to much, IMHO. Both "Watermelon" and "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married" (which was an eight-part TV drama here in the UK a few months ago) are by Marian Keyes, and quite entertaining. The book shops here are awash with a whole flood of yellow- and pink-covered search-for-love books, half of them by Irish authoresses, chronicling the ditzy struggles of new-urban trendy girls - This is the. gender. spored. by BJD (I quite like it personally). As for confessionals, I was reading yesterday about a slim volume called "100 ways to scare off a man" or similar, already released in the US, in which the two LA authoresses claim to have unwittingly achieved all 100 in their personal experience. Originally a pamphlet which they shared with their friends, they were persuaded to get it published and it has taken off. Sounds like a laugh.

(Renate) So you think it has. spored. a. confessional. gender? LOL! BTW, what's your favorite color? ;-) Agree, Karen, 'I Saw the Light' will be *perfect*! Thanks for providing the link--it's one of those songs I knew that I knew yet I couldn't put my finger on it. (Mark) Can't swear, but I think this Todd Rundgren "I saw the light" is the song I saw RZ singing up at a window from the street. Not up to much, IMHO. Well, this takes some of the air out of my balloon--as long as she's singing to Mark, not Daniel, it'll be brilliant. ;-)

Well, this takes some of the air out of my balloon--as long as she's singing to Mark, not Daniel, it'll be brilliant. ;-) Thought the exact same thing when I read MarkG's post above. Any connection with Daniel would be sooooo wrong. Just look at the lyrics: It was late last night, I was feeling something wasn't right, There was not another soul in sight, Only you, only you So we walked along, though I knew there was something wrong And the feeling hit me oh so strong about you Then you gazed up at me and the answer was plain to see, 'Cause I saw the light in your eyes Though we had our fling, I just never would suspect a thing 'Til that little bell began to ring in my head, in my head But I tried to run, though I knew it wouldn't help me none, 'Cause I couldn't ever love no one, or so I said But my feelings for you were just something I never knew 'Til I saw the light in your eyes But I love you best, It's not something that I say in jest (ha ha) 'Cause you're different, girl, from all the rest in my eyes And I ran out before, but I won't do it anymore Can't you see the light in my eyes

(Karen) Any connection with Daniel would be sooooo wrong. Indeed. And singing up at a window beats the he*l out of 'I'm just a girl...' crap.

Small snippet in Daily Express,although the info in it is probably already known. Helen Fielding Favourite word: Singleton Why:It is replacing the derogative and outdated word "spinster" with its ridiculous connotations of shelves,spinning wheels,rejection and failure which have nothing to do with the lives of modern single woman.everyone thinks I invented it in Bridget Jones Diary,whereas in fact it was PG Wodehouse.

And singing up at a window beats the he*l out of 'I'm just a girl...' crap. LOL Eileen! Yes Gi, I do think it has spawned a new --- blue, my favourite color is blue of course! I don't think our dear Bridget should be confused with something that's always been around; I'm thinking most recently of that aweful book about The Rules (how to catch a man), and all the endless COSMO articles I grew up reading telling me what new ways I could entice, capture etc..As though finding happiness with a man was all my responsibility, and none of his! To me, Bridget is just too basically honest a soul, too endearingly and sincerely seeking to be categorized like that, even though Fielding does a good job showing how that social climate keeps our Bridget a little neurotic. (You can tell I am v. fond of her!) O.K. so she's massively insecure, but I can relate to the shakey feeling of being alone in a world of coupledom. Fielding really manages to capture the ironies of being of a generation with more freedom than any other generation of women have seen, and yet not really knowing what do to with it, or how to it love into it. There's just a growing number of us searching, trying to figure that out, so it's only natural that published stories would follow. Hmmmm, am beginning to make Fielding sound like an existentialist, sorry!

hmmm, that should read "how to find love in it". System is making words disappear... Could be divine hint?

RZ interview in Saturday s Telegraph:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001533513654540&rtmo=V6Dw8qJK&atmo=YYYYYYYp&pg=/et/00/8/26/tlrene26.html This is the role that will turn her into another Julia Roberts? What about ODB? No mention of him. According to this article they are still filming.

I'd guess the interview was done awhile ago. Mari pointed out that picture from People, where RZ is walking along the beach in California with JC. We should see quite a bit of her in the press as Nurse Betty opens after Labor Day.

Thanks for the links, Karen and Moon. And for your comments, Mark, which were very elucidating.:-)

There's another interview with RZ in The Observer's Life mag.Its much of the same with no mention of ODB.HG obviously gets his usual mention as they refer to it as "effectively,the third instalment of a trilogy, made by the same gang". I'm unable to direct you to it as my browser won't let me in.

Here's the article: http://www.observer.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,359655,00.html Definitely think there's a pattern here. Every two weeks... ;-)

LOL, yes which one's next? (thanks for finding it Karen my browser's useless for things like that)

Here's a good part: When it was announced in February that the role of the very British Bridget Jones would be going to an American, the newspapers had a field day. 'As Bridget approaches 40, she is to be played by a pert-breasted nymphet barely out of her teens,' said The Times. 'Of all the clunking, Hollywood idiocy. The only funny thing about Bridget Jones is that she's not young and perfect,' piled on The Evening Standard. 'Casting her as a young and perfect thing is like remaking The Elephant Man with Jude Law.' According to Jonathan Cavendish, producer of the film, the decision to go with Zellweger was not taken lightly. It was a two-year search to find the right actress. And though they met the obvious candidates ('all the people you'd expect us to look at'), it was Zellweger who knocked them out. 'The problem with something that is so defined in terms of people's perception as the character of Bridget Jones is that we had a very clear idea of who we were looking for,' he explains. 'They had to be the person. When Ren�e walked into the room, Sharon [Maguire, the director] and I looked at one another and said, "This is Bridget."' It makes marketing sense, too. Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill scored massively overseas courtesy of their American stars, Andie MacDowell and Julia Roberts. Bridget Jones is, effectively, the third instalment of a trilogy, made by the same gang (Richard Curtis, Hugh Grant, et al). Helen Fielding - who now lives in LA - has given Zellweger her blessing. As executive producer (not to mention a big mate of Curtis and Maguire's), she had a consultant role in casting ('She was kept very closely informed all the time,' says Cavendish). Fielding and Zellweger get on well (the author turned up on-set to hobnob recently). When Fielding appeared to criticise the project at a book function, Zellweger interpreted the comments as a joke. 'They ah sked her about this American girl, this actress being cast, and she said she was just upset that they hadn't ah sked her ,' says Zellweger, all Liza Dolittle again. 'Not that they hadn't ah sked her about casting, but that they hadn't ah sked her if she'd play Bridget Jones. That's what she meant.' 'Helen's been nothing but entirely supportive,' Cavendish asserts. [...] Next spring, when she comes back to do publicity, the British public will get their chance to determine whether she's pulled it off. 'We'll see, I guess, won't we?' she chuckles. 'If I'm lynched and hanging off Tower Bridge, we'll see...'

(Judy) LOL, yes which one's next? *looking into Madame Eileen's crystal ball* The Independent ;-)

(Karen, quoting RZ)'Not that they hadn't ah sked her about casting, but that they hadn't ah sked her if she'd play Bridget Jones. That's what she meant.' I'm glad someone finally cleared that up :-)

Thanks Judy and Karen for this next article. Regarding HF comments, some rumours really die hard! Hope this one is laid to rest.

Karen, thought I heard you choking on this line: [from the article] Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill scored massively overseas courtesy of their American stars, Andie MacDowell and Julia Roberts. Yeah, we all ponied up to see 4W because of Andie. *snort*

(Eileen) Yeah, we all ponied up to see 4W because of Andie. *snort* Isn't that a riot? Almost as funny as the part that speculated that what's held RZ back is her supposedly "unpronounceable" surname (geez, what would they say about *mine*?). BTW, Renee will be on David Letterman's show on Tuesday, September 5.

Article in the Express about that adorable split-up couple (Hugh and Liz) on holiday on Sardinia. Says: Hugh, star of the film Notting Hill, appeared to have been working out since the "separation," his slender frame looking well toned. Now, I ask you, people, does this look well-toned? Can read rest of sordid details, with no mention of Bridget or CF here if want: http://www.lineone.net/express/00/08/28/news/n0320-d.html

(Karen) Hugh, star of the film Notting Hill, appeared to have been working out since the "separation," Getting in shape to convince us he can credibly play a Wimbledon winner? (Karen)Now, I ask you, people, does this look well-toned? Welllll, I'm not a particular Hugh fan but there does seem to be some pectoral definition going on there. Can't tell whether or not he's sporting six pack abs though ;-).

(Jana2) there does seem to be some pectoral definition going on there You are looking at the person on the left, aren't you? ;-)

I thought Elizabeth Hurley looked fairly defined;)

(LauraMM)I thought Elizabeth Hurley looked fairly defined;) No doubt about *that*...

Its as I've always thought, people with fat thighs shouldn't wear white pants. BTW how tall is he-he looks a short arse on this one short & dumpy.

Lookin' at the faces--*squint*--don't think those two are HG and EH. However, the fellow does look 'in trim'. ;-)

Hm ... when Hugh and Liz have split up, why are they together on holiday? (I read Hugh comment somewhere that all this split-up business was a spoof) Not that this woman looks a lot like Liz, and the man could be anybody. But what is Tom Selleck doing in this picture? There's a report on Whatsonstage that the Caretake is revived, with Michael Gambon and Rupert Graves (forgot the third name). Donald Pleasence is mentioned but guess who is not. http://www.whatsonstage.com/

Teletext has an item from the UK press junket for Nurse Betty: In addition, the busy actress has had to work on mastering an English accent. "But it's a great part, I'm having a ball. I love the character and I love the book. I'm actually deep into it." She's reading the book now? Well, I suppose you wouldn't want to get confused over how things are portrayed in the book and what's in the script she had to work from. So what does the new boyfriend make of her fuller Bridget Jones figure? "He wasn't grossed out, he's actually just fine with it." *hee hee* Sounds like JC is pretty normal. ;-)

(Karen) She's reading the book now? The quote sounds a little dated to me, perhaps from the time NB screened in Cannes (??).

Oh, no! Cornel will be wild(e);-) From the imdb: Dicaprio Increases Presence Leonardo DiCaprio has stunned the Italian public with his new image... a stomach big enough to brand him a new Brando. Leonardo - currently filming his new movie in Italy - proved to onlookers that he may have sank his teeth into a few too many plates of pasta while enjoying sights such as the Colisseum in Rome. Leo is starring in the new Martin Scorsese movie Gangs of New York, The (2001) about Italian immigrants travelling to America and getting caught up in violent riots. ******* Tsk,tsk . . . all that hard work. . .gone like so many fusilli;-) What won't these guys do for their art.;-) BTW, I rented The Beach tonight to check out Cornel's work on Leo: v.v.g. pecs; arms (not bad, making good progress); legs (best to wear long trousers);-)

LOL Karen! Did she think JC would say, ooh gross, their huge! (Mari)Oh, no! Cornel will be wild(e) LOL Mari! And outbrandoing Brando, no less! Does anyone remember that Chris Elliot skit, where he imitated Brando? He danced around the floor, occasionally uttering "Bananas" as he circled around, well, bananas. Somehow, this Leonardo article made me think of that.

Ack! This I gotta see.

I think it was on Dave Letterman Karen. Was years ago now, but it stayed with me.

From This is London. Projecting a March release for BJD in UK. Cannot believe One True Thing went straight to video there. The Tex factor by Marianne Gray Had things been slightly different, Ren�e Zellweger might have been writing this interview instead of me. If she'd stuck to her original career choice of journalism, that is. But after taking an obligatory acting class for her literature degree, hey presto! - suddenly acting became her new career choice. Now she's acting's 'everything to everyone'. This week she's a psychotic nurse in the very dark comedy Nurse Betty, and in three weeks she's the girl on the run with Jim Carrey in another gross-out comedy from the Farrelly brothers (of Dumb And Dumber and There's Something About Mary fame) called Me, Myself & Irene. Then, due out next spring, she's the absolutely British Bridget Jones in that much-vaunted diary movie of Helen Fielding's bestseller, with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant as the gents who vie for her affections. As Betty in Nurse Betty, directed by Neil LaBute, the man behind controversial comedies In The Company Of Men and Your Friends And Neighbors, she plays Betty Sizemore, a soap opera-addicted Kansas waitress. Traumatised by the murder of her heartless husband (Aaron Eckhart), she begins to believe she's a nurse and the ex-fiancee of a doctor (Greg Kinnear) in her favourite soap. LaBute, who saw her as the loyal secretary who thawed Tom Cruise's heart in Jerry Maguire, knew she had to be Betty. 'I told them I didn't know what she meant in box office terms, but I wanted her,' he says. 'There were no qualms about that for me. There was no reading. It was just, "Can we get her?"' 'Betty's not a role people would normally see me right for,' says Zellweger, in her Southern-fried Texan drawl. 'The film is about a woman accidentally living her dreams. She's delusional and from being a generous dreamer she falls into a state called "dissociative fugue", which is something that can happen to protect the conscious mind after experiencing an unmanageable emotional trauma. It allows the person to continue to function by taking on a new identity and also wipes out their recollection of their past. 'I'm not a soap fan like Betty. In fact I didn't watch television beyond the seventh grade. I didn't seek out soap fans for my research although I have to admit to watching Days Of Our Lives while shooting and loving it. Nurse Betty, however, is no soap opera. Nor is it a Doris Day-ish kind of comedy.' And neither is her next film, Me, Myself & Irene with her off-screen love Carrey playing a schizophrenic Rhode Island cop who has to escort the felonious Irene Waters (Zellweger) across state lines to answer her warrant. (Apparently Carrey and Zellweger had met at a friend's dinner a couple of years ago and not clicked, but during the shooting of the film Carrey, according to Peter Farrelly, fell in love with her. However, Zellweger's trepidation against on-set relationships meant they had to wait till after they'd wrapped.) 'This is a very different comedy, the sort where you have to be honest with the character and the comedy takes care of itself,' explains Zellweger. 'And then, of course, there's good taste, there's bad taste and there's Farrelly taste. You can't imagine some of the stuff these guys came up with. I still can't believe it. My dad's not going to believe this. In fact my dad can't see this movie!' Seeing her in Cannes earlier this year, if she hadn't been there in an official capacity to promote Nurse Betty, Zellweger could have been just another petite (she's 5ft 5in tall), sparky blonde with a ponytail who swigs her mineral water from the bottle and has a laugh that projects across the room. For a small, slim, innocent looking girl, Zellweger's got one helluva chuckle. But then she's earned it. She is, after all, only 31 and since her first film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (made with another now A-list actor, Matthew McConaughey, when they were both at the University Of Texas), she has had plenty to laugh about. She says she still has the scars from the chainsaw, although nowadays her scars are more likely to be caused by Hollywood agents flinging scripts at her. The Zellweger story starts some time before Jerry Maguire. 'I never took acting classes,' she says in her girly voice. 'I just went along to auditions until somebody said OK and eventually the walk-on roles became a few words. Then suddenly I was cast in Jerry Maguire. That came like a bolt from the blue. I mean, really, I'm a dork. The idea that a dork was in a Tom Cruise movie is hysterical! 'I got a call saying, "You should go and meet this guy Cameron Crowe [director of Jerry Maguire] who's directing a big movie." I went along, had a really good time with Cameron in Los Angeles, then headed straight home to Austin, Texas, thinking the role of Dorothy was a little outta my league... Then I got another call to go back to read with Tom. I had to keep my hysterics at bay. The day before I'd run out of money in the laundromat and had to dry my clothes by hanging them around my living room. And then here I was reading for a role with Tom Cruise.' Suddenly she was living in Hollywood, the new honey with the funny name. ('If Arnold Schwarzenegger and Helena Bonham Carter can keep their names, I can darn well keep mine!') Zellweger comes from fleck-on-the-map Katy (pop 8,005) in Texas. Her mother Irene is Norwegian, a former nurse and midwife, her father Emil is a Swiss-born engineer who was raised in Australia. They met on a trip to Denmark and emigrated to America in the Sixties. On 25 April, 1969, Ren�e was born. Growing up in a rural town with no cinema, she and her older brother, Drew, enjoyed a seemingly idyllic childhood of tramping through the woods and fishing. A true tomboy, she became basketball and track champ and football cheerleader. She says she can still change a tyre and fix the oil in her car, and is happier hiking the Hollywood Hills with her dog, an 11-year-old collie-labrador called Dylan, than going to a premiere. She seems remarkably grounded and when she says she's coping with fame well, you really do believe her. 'I can't separ te myself from it and I can't be objective about it,' she says, pondering the fact that right now is her moment. 'I can't see that my life is different. All I see is that every now and then a person will stare and point and whisper. Usually that means you've got gunk on your face or your fly is undone, but nowadays it's more about people coming up and saying, "Weren't you in that film, oh what was it called? Danny Maguire?" or something like that.' Her post-Jerry Maguire films come in as odd choices: noirish thriller Liar with Tim Roth, directed by her (then) boyfriend Josh Pate; playing a Hassidic wife in A Price Above Rubies, co-starring Christopher Eccleston; One True Thing opposite Meryl Streep and William Hurt (straight to video here); and the feeble Bachelor with Chris O'Donnell. (The story goes that until Bridget Jones she refused to accept jobs where she couldn't take her dog, which might explain her choices.) 'I'm ambitious to do good work, not to be famous. I'd rather stay home and hone my writing skills if I haven't got the right sort of film to do. I feel I'll soon write a novel because I've got one story that keeps coming back. I've had it on my mind for a few years and it grows and grows.' With Bridget Jones almost in the can, the publishing world shouldn't seem too strange. 'Shooting it in London I finally got to use my college degree prepping for my role by working under the name of Bridget Cavendish in a truly British publishing house called Picador. Because Bridget Jones is obsessed by her weight I had to eat loads to pack it on and I wasn't supposed to do any exercise or run or anything in case I burnt off too many calories. I look forward to no more teabreaks of cream-filled doughnuts and evenings downing pints of Guinness.' Nurse Betty opens Fri 1 Sep, Me, Myself & Irene opens Fri 22 Sep, Bridget Jones's Diary is due for release in Mar 2001.

Thanks for the article, Mari. It points out (as others have) that Neil and Aaron are tighter than George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. (The story goes that until Bridget Jones she refused to accept jobs where she couldn't take her dog, which might explain her choices.) OK, that explains her choices...

(Mari)Nurse Betty opens Fri 1 Sep, Me, Myself & Irene opens Fri 22 Sep, Bridget Jones's Diary is due for release in Mar 2001 Astonishing. Me Myself & Irene has been in the theaters here forever, nobody even heard of Nurse Betty yet, and I wonder what'll happen to BJD...

((Mari)The story goes that until Bridget Jones she refused to accept jobs where she couldn't take her dog, which might explain her choices.) (Eileen)OK, that explains her choices... My kind of girl ;-)

In general, it seems most UK critics like Nurse Betty and RZ. Here's the Teletext review, which I'm posting because of the HG comment at the end. I think somebody needs to take him out back of the woodshed.;-) Review by Victor Olliver Here's your chance to size-up the Zellweger woman who's playing Bridget Jones in the movie of the Helen Fielding creation. Terribly sweet, seemingly untouched by life, she's the antithesis of bitter and twisted Jones. But, meanwhile, what of Nurse Betty? Cannes loved it and awarded a prize for the script. Cannes loved LaBute, who's a literary film-maker with a sharp line against misogyny (see his In The Company Of Men). And Cannes loved Zellweger, who gave cutie-pie interviews - and she's going out with Jim Carrey. Stellar comedy couple! She plays waitress Betty, who's obsessed with TV soap character Dr David Ravell (Kinnear). When he says on the box "I know there's someone special out there for me" her heart strings twang as she serves up the muffins and espresso. But it's not until she witnesses a violent killing in the diner at the hands of two hitmen (Freeman and Rock) that she pops off into shock and succumbs to fantasy. She drives off to meet her TV hero - with the two killers in hot pursuit. There's so much that's good here it's hard to know where to begin. Freeman and Rock make a wonderful double act, dreaming up wildly comic fantasies about Betty, while sundry bit players such as a Latina called Rosa, deliver many funny oneliner volleys. It all works largely because of the screen presence of Zellweger, who imbues the light satire (mainly of soaps) with naturalistic feeling and unworked compassion. It's a must-see film - and she'll make a great Bridget Jones (despite what her co-star Hugh Grant reportedly thinks). 31/08/00

Thanks for the article Mari,I for one don't care what HG thinks but I think its going to be another of these stories (along with the HF one) being trotted out every time BJD is mentioned.I've not seen much about NB,the film getting all the attention seems to be Snatch,its on the radio,billboards etc.However, yesterdays Daily Mail gave it 2 stars,its verdict being'Skilful comedy is less of a joke than it thinks' The RT doesn't mention it & TV times gives it 3 stars and says of RZ 'Zellweger just shines as the simple girl chasing her fictitious dream,confounding everyonewith her combination of naivete and innocence. I've not seen ant of the weekend papers though so hopefully/naively there might be more in them.I would like this to be a success for RZ over here to give an extra boost to BJD.

re Teletext review - "bitter and twisted Jones"? Sheesh, suppose that's a typically male viewpoint on singleton women. Nice to see this positive publicity on RZ in the UK which can only help. This film's gonna sink or swim with Renee's appeal. Besides, would hate to see her hanging from Tower Bridge.

From a review on http://www.virgin.net/movies/whatson/ "Zellweger just simpers feebly: if she's this wet as Bridget Jones the diary will be waterlogged."

Uh oh, Arami. Looks like the folks at virgin.net have already written their BJD review. The BBC was much much kinder--one of the nicest reviews I've seen anywhere: Splicing together an American road trip and an American story about succeeding is to risk wringing any remaining life out of both genres. Weak films which take to the road are generally reduced to on-the-road encounters of forced eccentricity, while most American films which are pumped out week after week contain a central character who wins through, a reality perfectly clear from scene one. Yet Neil LaBute - rightly praised for "In the Company of Men" (1997) and "Your Friends & Neighbors" (1998) - is hardly your average American director. Having created splendid roles for men in both films, he now turns his attention to Ren�e Zellweger - who successfully cut her creative teeth on "Jerry Maguire" (1996) - and presents her with a rich, tasty role which depends on her ability to swing from tearful soul-searching through frivolity and charm to girlish exuberance. Zellweger grabs the chance and so turns "Nurse Betty" into her best film to date. She is required to pack her character with all kinds of nuance and ever misses a beat. This is also true of LaBute himself who brings a variety of intriguing, different, even eccentric details to a scene without once removing it from the realms of reality. The reality here is that Betty, an obsessive fan of a particular TV soap, is so traumatised after witnessing her husband's scalp being removed by criminals that she wishes for the handsome soap doctor to become hers. Even when she is in the thick of the TV studio in Los Angeles, she still earnestly believes that the soap world is real. LaBute ensures that the two worlds cross imaginatively and that other actors - even when not on screen all the time - have full roles too. Morgan Freeman is particularly amusing as a low-key, warm-hearted killer who starts lusting after Betty, but it is Zellweger - perfect as the innocent waiting to be mauled by life - who makes you realise that another star, and great actor, has been born.

(Mari)I think somebody needs to take him out back of the woodshed.;-) LOL! and thanks for posting both the Teletext and BBC reviews. (Judy)I for one don't care what HG thinks but I think its going to be another of these stories (along with the HF one) being trotted out every time BJD is mentioned. Ditto on HG, and agree, the stories get tiresome but persist. (Heide commenting on Teletext review)"bitter and twisted Jones"? Sheesh, suppose that's a typically male viewpoint on singleton women. I can't imagine where he got this idea though. It's so bizarre! I can only conclude he's never read the book himself, and maybe he found out about the story by playing "broken telephone" in a pub while on a bender?

Thanks Mari for the BBC review...that and The Times are the only ones that carry any credibility IMO. Re: virgin.net review..... Who are these people, anyway? Related to the airlines??

CONGRATULATIONS KAREN Yahoo has your BJD Page listed and before that ugly one with the yellow background ;-) http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Movies_and_Film/Titles/Comedy/Bridget_Jones_s_Diary/ Way to go!!

RZ has got almost universally good reviews for her performance, sometimes better than the film review itself.. Check out the Guardian site http://www.filmunlimited.co.uk for the reviews...."RZ emerges as a very accomplished performer and comedian" Even the venomous Anne Billson of the Sunday Telegraph likes her and urges people who doubt that she'll be a good BJ, to go see it. Th critics like her, which will go a long way to ensuring the success of BJD. It's important for the the male critics in the movie mags give a good rating and to give RZ rave reviews,(forget what they say about HG and CF) then the multiplex crowd will go, and see CF as a handsome romantic lead, at long, long last !

Congrats on the Yahoo placement, Karen! I've told you before, they should hire you for the official site. So glad that RZ is gaining critical credibility in the UK. That can only help the reception for BJD. When I saw that her best work (One True Thing) only showed on video in the UK, I started to understand some of the initial skepticism. Nurse Betty doesn't open here until Friday, but I expect the reviews will be good here as well, where LaBute is a critical darling and RZ is well-regarded. Bethan, I can't find the Anne Billson review--is it available online?

Re: virgin.net review..... Who are these people, anyway? Related to the airlines?? Used to be. Richard Branson (Virgin boss) has just sold the Virgin ISP business to a cable telecom company.

Congrats on the Yahoo placement More to do with the alphabet than any other factor. ;-) I'm sure they put Nurse Betty off until after Labor Day, as it is traditionally a very low turnout weekend. *polishing up my BBQ for tomorrow* ;-D All the reviews I've seen have pretty much liked RZ's performance, although Chris Rock's appears to be the standout of the movie. Apparently, AE does his usual and customary turn as a despicable one. Wonder if he's involved in the one scene of gratuitous violence (?) mentioned. Probably.

Congradulations on your page being listed Karen! (Bethan)Th critics like her, which will go a long way to ensuring the success of BJD (Mari)So glad that RZ is gaining critical credibility in the UK. Just wanted to add my gladness too. Thank you for posting the review link Bethan.

Pardon if this has been posted already, but RZ is scheduled to be on Rosie O'Donnell's show this Friday, Sep 8th. (And a reminder, she's on Letterman on the 5th.)

Can always use reminders, Donna. Didn't know about Rosie. Probably on the early morning shows too, as will be in NY.

Probably on the early morning shows too, as will be in NY. Thanks Donna & Karen...RZ is a great at film publicity , she and HG will do the same for BJD I'm sure.

I just saw RZ on Good Morning America...she's looking pretty svelte. I'd say she's lost her 2 stones (she was wearing black!!). after they finished discussing Nurse Betty...Matt Lauer (host) zeroed in to BJD..."I expected to see you waddling in..."She described her regimen for gaining weight..then he said I heard the British press went after an American for portraying BJ.. did that bother you? She was v. cool about the answer.. said she understood their feelings after being over there ...small market and lots of British actresses etc.It seems to me he also made a remark about how odd that is since so many British actors get parts over here...the tone was pseudo-hostile anybody else get that feeling. So early in the game, this seems to be part of the publicity.Not good.But it was bound to happen.

Barry Norman in this weeks RT has some decent thingsto say about RZ in his review of NB RZ a pleasingly round-faced actress from Texas,is theunexpected & possibly controversial choice to star in the screen version of BJD.The controversy arises because Ms Jones is,of course,quintessentially EnglishBut,on the evidence of NB & assuming she can get theaccent right ,I think Zellweger will do it very well.Theroles are quite different,but Betty & Bridget share similar romantic yearnings & mild ditziness.... ....Good as the others are,it is very much Zellwegers film & she comes across with just the kind of warmth & appeal that we would hope for from BJ.

(Barry Norman) she comes across with just the kind of warmth & appeal that we would hope for from BJ. Isn't that exactly what we've been saying from the beginning? ;-D

(Karen) Isn't that exactly what we've been saying from the beginning? Yup. I didn't see the Today Show, Evelyn (had GMA on). Sorry I missed it.

(Eileen)I didn't see the Today Show, Evelyn (had GMA on). Oops...I mean't Today Show. RZ is scheduled to be on Letterman tonight , and Rosie on Friday (thanks Donna). Keep watching GMA, I bet she's on it this week too.I know her voice irritates Moon ( I don't like MT's!), but I find it endearing...

E! will have a "Behind the Scenes" show for Nurse Betty on these days/times (all Eastern): Sat Sep 9 02:00P Sun Sep 10 03:00A Mon Sep 11 03:30A Fri Sep 15 08:00A Fri Sep 15 06:00P

Both DH and I saw the interview with Matt Lauer on "Today". I didn't think the questions or answers were hostile. What struck both of us was a decidedly clipped accent, which Renee didn't have before. We LOL, because we knew where it came from! Perhaps a few more weeks in the States, and she'll lose it...

Article on RZ in Scotland on Sunday (3 September) by Garth Pearce. Lots of same old, same old stuff rehashed, but liked the lead-in: The secret diary of Renee Zellweger Cigarettes: none (v.good); Alcohol: 12 units (bad); Weight gain 15lbs (aargh!); Love interest: Jim Carrey (aargh!); Career: Jerry Maguire to Bridget Jones's Diary; Prospects: Excellent. Here's a paragraph about the casting: "Hugh Grant plays Bridget�s office lover, Daniel Cleaver; Colin Firth, in a nice casting twist, is the gallant Mark Darcy and supportive friend Sharon is Sally Phillips, first noticed as the acerbic receptionist in I�m Alan Partridge and then co-host of comedy series Smack The Pony. With Gemma Jones playing her mother, Pam, rediscovering her sex life at 60 and Jim Broadbent as the long-suffering father, Colin, there were a few cultural shock waves during filming. But Zellweger insists that her nerve held." Also says at end that the movie opens early next year... Is very long, so here's the link: http://www.arts.scotsman.com/cfm/film/headlines_specific.cfm?rankuniqueid=101

Colin Firth, in a nice casting twist, How could CF be a nice casting twist when HF practically screams his name out in the book? Where do these people live? Thanks, Karen!

Possibly because Garth is only familiar with Colin's work as a masturbatory village pervert. ;-D

(Meredith) What struck both of us was a decidedly clipped accent, which Renee didn't have before. Sounds as though Renee had an easier time losing the weight than losing the accent. Lucky her! Will try to get hubby to see Nurse Betty this weekend. He usually brands anything I want to see as a 'chick flick' (what can I say, he can actually sit through a Steven Segal movie without vomiting).

Saw RZ last night on Letterman. She looked slim to me. Was wearing *black* and side of slacks had vertical black stripe (satiny), possibly more helpful illusion. Her upper arms however looked a tad flabby but not fat. I didn't notice anything about her accent. BTW, she only mentioned BJD once and that she'd been living in England for 7 months. Letterman is NOT noted as being a serious interviewer, just silly.

Renee was just interviewed on a show called Homepage (on NBC). Looks like it was taped from the Nurse Betty junket. On BJD: gained 17 pounds, a "character decision" made by her and Sharon Maguire. Said it reflects BJ's drinking and eating habits, which she uses to comfort herself. There will be an article in this Sunday's New York Times on her. The clips I've seen of Nurse Betty look really good--will try to see it this weekend. Anyone here seen it yet? U.S. reviews are starting to come in and are mostly raves. Working Title got her cheap! LOL!

Just got back from seeing Nurse Betty - most timely: You get the impression that this film was more an offbeat comedy in the making that somehow became a really sweet (almost uplifting) film because of Ren�e Zellweger's qualities. Eileen, tell your hubby that there is more than one helping of utterly brutal violence. This seems quite out of place in the film, except that it provides some excuse for the peculiar post-traumatic stress condition into which Betty lapses, which is of course the hinge of the plot. Aaron Eckhart is a sadly short-lived swine, but some excellent characters are created by RZ, Chris Rock and the phenomenal Morgan Freeman. Betty's survival in her new character from her first meeting with her screen idol Dr Drake Ramore, oops I mean David Ravell (yes, not hard to see where the plot idea came from, Friends-lovers) is deftly scripted, and allows RZ full scope to offer up her perky vulnerability. I enjoyed it, and felt that if it wasn't for MF, you would have to say that RZ carried the whole film. Greg Kinnear for instance plays his actor character quite as cardboard as his actor's screen role (and where did they get the idea for a heartthrob doctor acted by a George, ER-lovers?). The sentimentality is sometimes over-ladled (bad for Eileen's hubby) and the plot is a bit glib at the end of the day, all of which will mean that this will not act (in the UK at least) as a film to prep the public for RZ as BJD - about 30 people watched the 1pm sitting at the most central of its ten London venues today - and I think it's only showing for two weeks.

(Moon)How could CF be a nice casting twist when HF practically screams his name out in the book? CF could have refused and then what? But he accepted and there's your nice casting twist, no?

Thanks for the NB review, Mark. I look forward to seeing it.

CF could have refused and then what? But he accepted and there's your nice casting twist, no? (Shaking head), you are quite right. Thanks, Mark! Will try for this weekend too.

Time to complain to Harper's--outrageous. From Excite UK: 'Bridget Jones' too fat for fashion mag� Renee Zellweger, the star of the film version of Bridget Jones' Diary, has been dropped as next month's Harper's Bazaar magazine cover girl because she is overweight. Zellweger pounds put on because she plays a weight-obsessed character in the film of the Helen Fielding book . The 31-year-old American actress is now back in the US after spending almost a year in London filming 'Bridget' with Hugh Grant. She had to put on weight for the role - a feat she said she accomplished by wolfing down peanut butter sandwiches and pizzas. The New York Daily News reports that the new look has proved too much for the fashion magazine's editors, who dropped her after the expensive cover shots had been taken. Her agent told the newspaper: "The reason why Renee is not on the October cover of Harper's Bazaar is because (editor) Kate Betts and her staff felt that the weight gain, which was for a movie role, was not the image Harper's wanted to present to the public - an actress 10 pounds overweight. "

Oooh, I have a feeling this one is going to take off!

Here's the NY Daily News article: http://www.nydailynews.com/today/News_and_Views/Daily_Dish/a-79239.asp Pic taken Wednesday at the Nurse Betty premiere. Note upper arm ;-D

Thanks for the link and pic, Karen. Good for her agent for exposing their piggery (new word;-) to the media. Would love to see Rosie bring this up on today's interview--is Rosie live or taped in advance? Must dash to work--will need someone to fill me in! It's Weightgate!;-)

Kenny Tynan's review in the LA Times: "Nurse Betty" is a masquerade that doesn�t work. A noticeably sour fairy tale that mixes violence and cynicism with once-upon-a-time qualities, it was never fated to be "Snow White." But having Neil LaBute as the director has made the worst of the situation. As demonstrated by "Your Friends & Neighbors" and "In the Company of Men," pictures LaBute has written and directed, this filmmaker has an ice-cold sensibility that divides its bemused contempt between the characters he creates and the audiences who have to spend time with them. "Nurse Betty" marks the first time LaBute has taken on a script he didn�t write himself but, in a perverse tribute to the auteur theory of directorial authorship, his frigid fingerprints can be found all over it. Given that the film includes bloody shootouts and a graphic scalping, "Nurse Betty�s" John C. Richards and James Flamberg script (which managed to win a prize at Cannes) always had designs on being as edgy as it is fantastical. But with the addition of a director whose sensibility does not connect with all aspects of the material, who has to be dragged more or less kicking and screaming toward the film�s minimal needs for warmth and humanity, "Nurse Betty" seems more like a charade than it should. Though it manages to be involving and even amusing in fits and starts, its warped, disconnected sensibility makes for an oddly distant piece of work. For rest: http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/review_betty000908.htm

From CNN today: Renee Zellweger takes on Betty, now Bridget By Donna Freydkin NEW YORK (CNN) -- For Renee Zellweger, thin most definitely is not in. The actress, an elfin woman with a big pouf of blonde hair untidily pulled away from her round face, is doing her best to pack on the pounds. But if pigging out looks this good, the diet industry is in serious trouble. "Trust me, this is just a really good dress," she sighs. Actually, it's not. The frock in question is, in fact, a snug wraparound black creation, hugging Zellweger's petite frame. Gallingly enough, the months of gluttony haven't left their mark. And not too many of us can pity an actress who, in the name of high art, has to stuff herself full of pasta, chocolate and junk food. So why the great weight debate? Zellweger, 31, was most recently in London shooting "Bridget Jones' Diary," a film based on the massively popular tale of one neurotic Londoner's quest for thinness, confidence and true love. And to stay true to her character, whose weight fluctuates throughout the novel, Zellweger had to plump up. "I was very successful until we started to do night shoots," she said. "They just leave you so fatigued and with absolutely no appetite and I was repulsed at the thought of those obligatory Snickers bars." But for now, Zellweger's days of forced feedings and faux Brit accents are over. ... http://www.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/07/renee.zellweger/index.html CNN's lead-in to the NB review: Writer-director Neil LaBute's latest picture, "Nurse Betty," is an intentional change of pace, although not the complete 180 degree turn that press releases are trumpeting. First-time screenwriters John C. Richards and Flamberg have created a comedy about identity and self-delusion that contains enough brutal, distastefully intimidating moments to keep LaBute's morbid cult happy.

New York Times loves it..... 'Nurse Betty': Fragile: Handle With Dreams' ...". This whimsical rose-colored fairy tale with tragic undercurrents suggests a contemporary "Wizard of Oz" for grown-ups. It is easily the finest American comedy since David O. Russell's "Flirting With Disaster," another road movie that never ran out of poignantly funny surprises. " "None of it would work if Ms. Zellweger's Betty weren't such a perfectly blended mixture of sweetness, innocence and stubborn determination tinged with a streak of petulance. Utterly likable but never saccharine, flighty but not dumb, Betty is a contemporary grown-up Dorothy Gale skipping down the yellow brick highway to meet the wonderful wizard." "Nurse Betty" is as much a triumph for Mr. LaBute as it is for its cast, because its success is so dependent on its sustaining a precarious balance between humor and pathos, realism and fantasy. Compared with his vicious examinations of yuppie sexual cruelty, "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors," which went for the jugular, "Nurse Betty" is almost warm and fuzzy. Yet the director gives the film enough of a misanthropic edge to hold sentimentality at bay." [Hey...Renee's sticker price just went up...Working title got a bargain!] ""Nurse Betty" is as much a triumph for Mr. LaBute as it is for its cast, because its success is so dependent on its sustaining a precarious balance between humor and pathos, realism and fantasy. Compared with his vicious examinations of yuppie sexual cruelty, "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors," which went for the jugular, "Nurse Betty" is almost warm and fuzzy. Yet the director gives the film enough of a misanthropic edge to hold sentimentality at bay." [Let's hope ole Neil keeps the warmth in Possession too.] Entire review.... http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/08/arts/08BETT.html?fl0907

Holden (NYT) is the first reviewer who had anything good to say about the violent murder scene. He must be a card-carrying member of LaBute morbid cult. ;-D "The brilliant and terrifying murder sequence at the beginning of the film establishes its deliberately bipolar mood and lays out its vision of modern America as a land of colliding, television-fed dreams of romance and upward mobility."

La Bute sounds like a creep. It seems that the reviewers are concentrating more on him than the film itself. It must be great for his ego. How on earth did he manage to snag Possession? He is not worthy. Karen I saw RZ on Letterman and thought her thighs were big. I get Harpers B. and their attitude is unacceptable. I hope they get flooded with letters. I will send one. Thanks for the articles.