Thanks to Mari and Melissa Danes. I shall now not read this book - too depressing.

(Gi) too depressing ??? Most of the stories are quite funny. As Melissa Danes says, there are "some fine stories and some odd ones in a good work" and "is characterised by a lightness of touch." She didn't mention the funniest by Robert Harris and the v. amusing one by Melissa Bank, which is v. Bridget-like. Nearly everyone of them is v. enjoyable and worth a read. However, I do disagree with her about the dog one (disliked this one) and Irvine Welsh's, which I think she got all wrong. But that's just my opinion and I don't write for the Telegraph. ;-)

"Speaking with the Angel" is worth the read even without CF's story. Esp. Nick Hornby and his brother in law's.We all have favorites and mine is the one about the Prime Minister.Hilarious.

Encore Channel in US is featuring Milos Forman in The Directors series this Wednesday at 8:00 pm (Eastern). Anyone know if this is the same Portrait of Milos Forman that some have seen? That one shows Colin in a very, shall I say favorable light (quite delish as the young Valmont in blue jeans). Even if it's not the same perhaps we may catch a glimpse of him anyway.

It was The Directors Series, so it must be the same. Yes, yes, ladies. This is a must. Mmmmmmm

Oooh, good catch, Heide! Haven't seen this one in awhile but as I recall we have CF rehearsing in jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket--sort of a Vicompte de JamesDean.;-) And the voiceover, Louisa! Very sexy and throaty, with a vaguely transatlantic accent (from all the backwoods livin' I reckon';-) Yum!

Just to say I rented MLSF and RV over the weekend, although really didn't have enough time to do justice to 2 videos. But I thought both were much better when seen for the second time, and on video. I'd missed an awful lot in MLSF...dialogue and activity...there's so much to see in some of the frames which can't be taken in at a glance. Thought that CF was very good in his portrayal of a man who really hasn't grown up...he's particularly good in the moss scene with Heloise, the way he laughs, speaks, looks is just like a child. And the final scenes with his wife. It's difficult to realise it's the same actor playing, convincingly(!), the camp companion of Julie Andrews! If you see the two movies together, the range is striking. Doesn't even look the same. MM is also very good, ditto Rosemary Harris (love the way she gets tipsy on the sherry trifle.) In fact, all the performances are good. Robbie Norman and the little boy who plays the younger brother are very cute. RV seemed more familiar...the cast all do very well, except EA and JA who is very flat in some scenes. I thought that several of Coward's wittier lines had been cut out in the screenplay. A lot depended on the cast delivering more than the actual lines. Again, it improved on second viewing. (I liked the maid, Alice!) Will rent them again over Xmas. Ann, have you had a chance to re-view MLSF?

Just to say I rented MLSF and RV over the weekend, although really didn't have enough time to do justice to 2 videos. But I thought both were much better when seen for the second time, and on video. I'd missed an awful lot in MLSF...dialogue and activity...there's so much to see in some of the frames which can't be taken in at a glance. Thought that CF was very good in his portrayal of a man who really hasn't grown up...he's particularly good in the moss scene with Heloise, the way he laughs, speaks, looks is just like a child. And the final scenes with his wife. It's difficult to realise it's the same actor playing, convincingly(!), the camp companion of Julie Andrews! If you see the two movies together, the range is striking. Doesn't even look the same. MM is also very good, ditto Rosemary Harris (love the way she gets tipsy on the sherry trifle.) In fact, all the performances are good. Robbie Norman and the little boy who plays the younger brother are very cute. RV seemed more familiar...the cast all do very well, except EA and JA who is very flat in some scenes. I thought that several of Coward's wittier lines had been cut out in the screenplay. A lot depended on the cast delivering more than the actual lines. Again, it improved on second viewing. (I liked the maid, Alice!) Will rent them again over Xmas. Ann, have you had a chance to re-view MLSF?

oops! sorry!

(Bethan) I thought that several of Coward's wittier lines had been cut out in the screenplay. But Peter's role was expanded....with terrific remarks accompanied by wonderful grimaces. I've seen it half-a- dozen times, and still laugh out loud. View it just looking at Peter, Bethan...in every scene his facial expressions are priceless...even when he's not speaking. I think Ann owns MLSF along with SLOW(two copies;-)!

Hi Bethan, no I not have seen MLSF again, perhaps I shoudl give it a second go. I know for sure that I will like it better than RV!! I watched Nostromo at the weekend and am enjoying it more and more each time I watch it but boy does Colin look hot, and in nearly every scene he is squinting!! but what an actor, again a completely different look and I much prefer his beard and moustach in this compared to SIL.

(Bethan)I'm not conjecturing (heaven forbid!) that CF would be offered these projects...just saying that there are other projects in development and that he might prefer to play an intrepid explorer or business tycoon. Why do you say that? Those projects sound good to me. ~~~~~~~~ Sorry...I thought Ann had MLSF. Karen sent them all over when they went in the sale bin in the US.

Give them both a second go, Ann. You'll be pleasantly surprised. He's an actor and has to ring the changes.

Hi Evelyn, Actually I don't have MLSF but thanks to you and Karen I do have 2 copies of SLOW, very nice indeed and although the story is a bit weak the scenery is great!!

(Bethan) He's an actor and has to ring the changes. Once again (and to transfer the thread from BJD board) the bottom line is this: there are actors who fiercely resist - and actors who are resigned to - being typecast.

Ann, you can't really count the one without sound. ;-) (although from Evelyn's standpoint that might be the better tape as she wouldn't have to listen to Missan's scintillating dialogue)

Time for some levity, gang. Two bits here: 1. Movieline Magazine includes a monthly feature called the "X and Y Files" in which they pair a male and female celeb and then identify a third celeb who could be their offspring. December issue has Colin paired with Sheila James Kuehl (remember Zelda from Dobie Gillis fame?) and their "child" is Steve Zahn! Pic of CF is a variation of one we've seen before from LA SIL premiere, looking very apple-cheeked and healthy.:-) Who says CF's publicist isn't working overtime?;-) 2. From Anne R. comes a review of the 1940 version of P&P. They couldn't help comparing it to *our* version. Second sentence cracked me up.:-) "Some female Herald staff still haven't returned to work following the conclusion of the ABC's maxi-series of the Jane Austen classic. Not a dry seat in the house, as they say, due in no small measure to the smouldering sexuality of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy. In this cheerful version, the flavour is emphatically satirical rather than a Dickensian Badedas bath commercial. Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin knocked out the screenplay from a stage adaptation by Helen Jerome, with the late Greer Garson as Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Laurence Olivier as Darcy and the redoubtable Edna May Oliver as his aunt. "Girls, take a lesson from these husband hunters!" shrieked the foyer posters. I doubt today's "girls" would be able to manage such eloquence and crisp interlocution. But at least they aren't obliged to wear vile, unflattering frocks and so manage to say most of what needs to be said simply by getting dressed."

Forgot to mention that the P&P review is from the Sydney Herald.

This is cute; just drag the pieces around with your mouse From Mickie: To see your Puzzle Postcard click here: http://www.jigzone.com/ms/pc.php?k=15ld00df4 or "copy" and "paste" the URL into the address line of your web browser.

Hate to tell you Mari, but that puzzle is missing a piece on my screen...I did it twice. Each time the piece missing is on the top...once nr. the left corner...once to the right.Anybody get it all? Who's the dude with Colin?...Cool wig...

Hmmm, I've got all the pieces for it on my screen. Evelyn, if all else fails, cheat (there's a solve puzzle button at left;-)

(Evelyn) Hate to tell you Mari, but that puzzle is missing a piece on my screen...I did it twice. Each time the piece missing is on the top...once nr. the left corner...once to the right.Anybody get it all? LOL, yes, all the pieces are there. It sounds like a piece is hiding underneath the puzzle. Try moving the entire puzzling around, you might be able to spot the missing piece. :-) And then, LOL, try one of the other options where you can specify 40 or more pieces, it'll drive you crazy! :-)

Thanks Donna... Duh... You were right , I found it hiding under the puzzle. try one of the other options where you can specify 40 or more pieces, it'll drive you crazy! :-) Are you kidding?Think how many I'd lose with 40 !

Donna - Just don't go trying the 48 piece euro puzzle. Nightmare!

Isn't it now "later in the year," time to check in with the folks at Lola? ;-)

Lololololola... Mari, that puzzle was fun. I will have to go back when I have more time.

(Moon)Mari, that puzzle was fun. I enjoyed it too, thanks, Mari.

A couple of news items, which, could, or could not, be relevant! New Euro Film House plans English feature films. BBC Films, Germany's Kinowelt and Spain's Lola films have formed an alliance to produce European films in opposition to those produced in Hollywood. The trio have a three year slate of English language films, ten a year. LA Evision and Granada UK have partnered to produce a $15million new version of Dr Zhivago, to be broadcast in 2002/2003. 2 x 100 minute episodes (ie 2 feature length films). Adapted by Andrew Davies (BJD)it's truer to the novel than the original film. No director or cast yet. Isn't it now "later in the year," time to check in with the folks at Lola? ;-) I dunno, after "Armadillo" I'm reluctant to check up on antything. Just go with the flow. Che sera sera. The Man can always say "no"!! Some actors make a career out of being typecast, giving the public what they want (ie recycling the same role, same look, same accent different situations), doing Breakfast TV, "Hello" magagazines etc. Others don't. CF is emphatically a "don't"! :-) Went to a conference yesterday at Islington Business Centre, and the taxi took me thru' Barnsbury. It's not exactly a movie star's private multi-million retreat. I know they're expensive houses, London prices, but the front rooms overlook the pavement. Ann, give youself a treat and rent MLSF. It really does grow on you...I think it's absolutely charming, and it's a great shame it was completely overlooked here. Some very funny lines which I didn't hear first time round. It's nice to see the portrayal of innocence. Little Fraser is beautiful (love that cheeky little grin thru' the window) ...did he really crawl along the ledge? It looks real, but surely wouuld have been too dangerous.

Here's a picture of Branagh, taken at a function in Reading on October 19. You can see he's gone blonde (again) for Heydrich:

Yippee, have just seen the first BBC Christmas trailer and guess who is featured quite strongly among others, yes DQ and "You know Who". I guess they think it is pretty good after all.

Great, Ann. Such a treat.

Thanks for the puzzle Mari. It was fun. Think I'll go back and do it again.

Yippee, have just seen the first BBC Christmas trailer and guess who is featured quite strongly among others, yes DQ and "You know Who". I guess they think it is pretty good after all. Goodeee!! I really want to see him getting some decent publicity. The Christmas TV mags should be out soon, and I hope there are some interviews about DQ. But I think it was a last minute decision to show DQ, and I don't know if there'll be any material ready. There's an interview with Liz Smith (Gran) in today's Times magazine, and it mentions that she'll be in a couple of Xmas specials (Royle family and A Christmas Carol), plus something in February, but no mention of DQ. There's also an interview with Jack Dee. It says "we may also see him in 2001, if a distributor is found, in Londinium, an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's novel, in which he co-stars with Colin Firth and Mariel Hemmingway". Have to say, if there's no distributor now, can't see how there will ever be. We get at least ten films on release every week in the UK, many obscure independents, with equally obscure actors. It's all down to publicity, loads of it, the more tawdry the better, and exposure!!! (Maybe CF should re-affirm his marriage vows, in front of celebrity guests, for "Hello" magazine. I wish I was being satirical, but I'm not!!!) And the title should be changed...it's the title of a well known book tracing the history of London. Someone should tell Mike Binder! :-) Also has anyone actually seen "Londinium" in the UK? I don't think DQ was ever viewed by distributors.

I agree Bethan, that airing DQ this Christmas was probably a last minute decision and that is probably why LS didn't mention it in her interview, which was probably made a while ago. Also im my most recent communication with the BBC, they stated most definitely that it was NOY scheduled for the foreseeable future!

Ann, I've just seen some of the Christmas TV mags, Radio Times and TV Quick. Not very good IMHO. Radio Times doesn't seem to like DQ very much. It's one of the Choices of the Day, but there's no photo, and the blurb says it's darkly lit and not festive cheer (wasn't intended as such!!!)and has a strong political social message(ie a bad thing). Also says has strong language, violence and strong sexual material (which will most turn people off). It's up against Robson Greene's current series (RG is on the front cover of OK, holding his baby son, and giving an in-depth interview about life with his live-in lover.) The Radio Times have done nothing to encourage people to watch DQ..quite the opposite. There's an old pic of CF in the Preview section, and a few coments from him, about problems in dysfunctional families. He says DQ is "warm, witty and moving." He also says he has no idea how he's spending Christmas. TV Quick is better. There are pix of DQ, blurb is better.

Oh don't depress me Bethan, if the RT doesn't push a BBC programme then no one will, and to think I was hoping for a picture of CF on the front page!! What about the TV Times?

And the title should be changed...it's the title of a well known book tracing the history of London. Someone should tell Mike Binder! :-) Quite right, Bethan! The Peter Ackroyd book is called, The East End : Four Centuries of London Life . Nothing to do with Londinium. How ignorant of them. It is odd that the BBC would pick DQ for Xmas. Wrong timming can kill a project and we know how much DQ has been through already.

Bad news for DQ.Agree with Moon....poor timing. I'm telling all my UK friends in my Christmas cards to watch it. Do any of those periodicals have a letters to the editor page? ...not festive cheer We hear BBC is showing "Wilde" on Christmas night.This is festive cheer? Also says has strong language, violence and strong sexual material (which will turn most people off) Wait til they see the same-gender sex scenes in "Wilde"!

Atleast there is good news in the form of the UK ladies finally getting the chance to see Donovan Quick. As for Branagh going really blond, it looked a bit green actually. Maybe it's just my cold medication. Oh well.

Oh don't depress me Bethan, if the RT doesn't push a BBC programme then no one will, and to think I was hoping for a picture of CF on the front page!! Sorry, Ann! Mind you, if the Beeb are already showing DQ in their Christmas trailers, then that's much better promo. I didn't fork out for the Radio Times, too expensive and too much to wade thru'. Anyway, I think most people rely on the pre-Xmas newspaper TV supplements for their viewing choices. I don't think DQ warrants the heavy sex/language/violence warning label though!!! Compared to some recent BBC dramas it's very innocent. And if they're worried, why not put it out on BBC2 instead?

BTW, Ann, TV Quick magazine says Donovan is charming and well spoken, and Liz Smith is wonderful. Nice pix. And even the Radio Times says CF is tall, dark and handsome. (Just needed a photo, and I've have been happy!):-)

Ann - Yippee, have just seen the first BBC Christmas trailer... Hurrah! I saw it too, v. encouraging that it is featuring so prominently. I did hear that Sky One are continuing their showing of SiL over the festive period also. Have not yet seen any of the TV listings magazines but will hot-foot it to the nearsest newsagents', loiter in the mag section and see what mentions/pix there are. Sheesh, what a girl does in the name of drool :-)

Don't think all the mags are out yet, Tracy. I noticed (whilst loitering yesterday!) that What's on TV have an ad for their Xmas edition, with three pix, one of which is CF as DQ. So that's okay! Couldn't really understand the Radio Times...I think the reviewer completely missed the point of DQ. There was some silly comment about how it wasn't really like Cervantes' "Don Quixote" because it had a (yawn) social and political message. People have written PhDs about the political message in DQ!! Cervantes endured great poverty and injustice ...he was wrongly accused of murder, had a hand chopped off and was imprisoned, became bankrupt, spent more time in prison (writing DQ whilst in gaol), eventually became famous, but made very little money and died in poverty. And he lost the only woman he loved!!

Honestly it comes to something when one videos the Christmas trailer, but I was just so excited, that that is excatly what I have done, anything to see CF on the TV!! (we get so little of him!!) Will look out for some more Christmas TV mags tomorrow, especially What's on TV, thanks Bethan.

Go rent the MLSF video, Ann! One shot I liked, which you can only catch in slo-mo, is when he wags his finger and smiles at Findlay (Fraser's little brother) as they walk with the Emperor of the Sky. I read smewhere that the little boy attached himself to CF during the filming. Haven't caught the trailer yet....what shots of DQ do they show? Driving the bus?

On your recommendation Bethan, I will rent MLSF next weekend. One scene from the trailer, is where DQ is in the office with the Boss of the Bus Co. (sorry my memory is failing me again) and DQ says something to the effect about "the buses being privatised" and the boss says "well they are privatised". Sorry it is getting late! Help me out Tracy or I shall have to go and have another look at the video!

A review of Speaking with the Angel from the Independent on Sunday (12/10/00) by Lisa Allardice: Novelist Nick Hornby has inspired a starry line-up of writers to raise money for a special needs school which his son attends. The result is delightfully unangelic. Robert Harris's revenge story tells of a prime minister who goes AWOL with a teenage girl; Helen Fielding's "Luckybitch" is a witty reversal of mother-daughter roles; and a homophobic ghost gets his comeuppance in Irvine Welsh's modern-day morality tale. Some of the sexiest young names on both sides of the Atlantic--Zadie Smith, Dave Eggers and Melissa Bank--also make an appearance. Although he shouldn't give up his day job, the dashing Colin Firth has contributed a touching tale about a boy and his grandmother, while Hornby's "NippleJesus", narrated by a bouncer-cum-art-critic, is one of the best in this luminary collection. (agree about Nick's story esp)

Some great buzz is building over SWTA (thanks, Anne R.) The Daily Telegraph Saturday, December 9, 2000 If you want to speak to the Angel, head to Soho: Saturday Premiere Nigel Reynolds THERE will be only one place the Notting Hill classes will be heading in the spring: to the little Soho Theatre. The fashionable literary success of the moment is a new book called Speaking to the Angel, a Penguin volume of a dozen short stories by a coterie of stars that includes Zadie Smith, Colin Firth, Irvine Welsh, Robert Harris, Helen Fielding, Roddy Doyle and Patrick Marber, all friends of Nick "Fever Pitch" Hornby, who also wrote one of the stories and who put the project together. The book has been out less than a month but the temperature is rising. Channel 4 is expected to sign a deal shortly to expand some of the stories - they are monologues really - into television films. A host of actors, comedians and directors want to climb aboard and the result is likely to be a hybrid of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads and that incestuous little film Peter's Friends in which Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Ken Branagh and Hugh Laurie relived their undergraduate days. First, though, will be the Soho Theatre, which will stage several of the monologues in March and April. They will be performed by different stars on different nights. Marber, author of Dealer's Choice and Closer, two of the sharpest plays of the last decade, wants to direct one himself. "These are some of the best authors in Britain and the United States, writing at the top of their form. I think it's a great idea to perform the stories live and on film - they are monologues after all," says Hornby. Speaking to the Angel is a rather remarkable project altogether. Hornby made his friends write to raise money for TreeHouse, a London school for severely autistic children. Hornby, 43, has a seven-year-old son, Danny, at the school and pounds 1 from every book sold goes towards expanding the school. Profits from the new spin-offs will help further. Hornby is so well connected that he persuaded Teenage Fanclub, one of his favourite bands, to cancel a gig in Norway to help publicise the book at Hammersmith Palais the other day. Connections made the book possible, too. Thriller writer Robert Harris, for example, is his brother-in-law, Colin Firth played the lead in the film version of Hornby's Fever Pitch, while another monologue-ist, John O'Farrell, the novelist, television scriptwriter and satirist, is an old school friend. The monologues are eclectic. Firth, Marber and, oddly, Zadie Smith, have all written about male adolescence; Irvine Welsh's piece is about a violent hater of homosexuals condemned to rape his male friends in the afterlife; Roddy Doyle writes on midlife crisis; and Hornby's piece, Nipple Jesus, is a parable about a security man guarding a piece of dodgy modern art. Nipple Jesus has already been performed on stage, by The Full Monty star Mark Addy at the Hammersmith launch. Harris's monologue was read by Griff Rhys-Jones. Addy is likely to be involved in either the television or stage adaptations.

Fantastic! You know who will be there for the production. Wonder if he'll perform? Am guessing, no, which is "blantantly pants." ;-) Thanks, Mari and Anne.

New interview here, with lots to chew on! Thanks again to Anne R. The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland) Saturday, December 9, 2000 dastardly, Mr Darcy BY GAVIN DOCHERTY Colin Firth has a habit of setting female pulses racing, so how will his fans respond to seeing him as a senior Nazi at the infamous Wannsee conference where the Final Solution was formulated? Is the move from ladykiller to mass murderer a step too far for the man for all seasons? Colin Firth slopes into the room, filling it with megawatt charm. His Erect Highness extends a warm handshake at the door of his dressing room at Shepperton Studios in London. It is early evening and he has just come straight from a film set. Still in makeup and costume, he wears a double-breasted grey worsted suit and, heaven forfend, those gloriously peaked cheekbones have been painted powdery white. The deathly pallor suggests a corpse that has just been prepared by a cosmetologist for an open casket. The effect is entirely deliberate, of course. For his latest film, Conspiracy, Firth is playing one of Germany's most senior Nazis, who in 1942 attended a secret conference at Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin, to formulate a plan to exterminate the Jews. Being a film baddie obviously agrees with Firth, though it's a role that many of his legions of fans might not be too happy for him to play. He set the female half of Britain on fire as the smouldering Darcy in the last BBC version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. How they will receive him as a Jew-killer might not be open to a lot of interpretation. But since he turned 40 this year, Firth, who is joined in this film by stars Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci and David Threlfall, has become a risk-taker supreme with his choice of roles. Dispassionately, he proceeds to nutshell the Conspiracy plot. He says 'Some senior Nazis, 15 to be exact, in January of 1942 met and discussed the extermination of the Jews. They had a nice buffet lunch and went home. Minutes of the meeting have survived and this thing is based on those. It is shattering stuff. This is utterly banal. They cracked a few jokes. Discussed whether bullets were better than gas. Whether sterilisation was better than forced emigration. Basically, the brief was no messing around with these half measures. We have to free German living space, as they put it, from all Jews so there is not one left.' No half measures for Firth then, either. Professionally, he feels he is about to peak and his forthcoming roles reflect that. He is playing Mark Darcy in the film adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary which gave author Helen Fielding a worldwide publishing hit and convinced a generation of women that they weren't alone in their 'sad singleton' status. The literary phenomenon with an obsession for fat units and fags will transfer to the big silver with Texas-born actress Renee Zellweger taking the lead role, with Firth and Hugh Grant, playing Daniel Cleaver, the main focus for her neurotic affections. But first up he stars in Donovan Quick, a film drama for BBC1, directed by David Blair, and unimpeachably the best thing to come out of BBC Scotland in quite some time. It is a dark horse among dramas, a film with a political, social and moral conscience. He stars as the mysterious noble gentleman of the title, pushed to the edge of his sanity by an incident in his past, whose selfless actions ultimately change the fortunes of a family of pathetic basket cases headed by alcoholic landlady Katy Murphy. The script decrees that lucky Katy gets to play tonsil hockey with Firth, which will make her the object of envy among a few million of his devoted female fans. This update of Cervantes' Don Quixote starts off as a humorous satire on the tribal rites of a filthy-rich Scotland-based corporation making a mint out of privatisation of the buses and railways, but leads to a very dark and bleak climax. Shot in early 1999, the film has been almost criminally neglected for more than a year by the Beeb's schedulers before being rushed with almost indecent haste into the Christmas programmes package. But let's begin with a few first impressions about Mr Firth. The mere mention of his name conjures up images of a gentleman dressed in tantalisingly soaking-wet breeches and white shirt at the moment of Pride and Prejudice's 'pond scene'. As a result, he draws out a nanny response from some women. Not having access to Dr Freud's emergency hotline number, Mr Firth has never quite worked this one out. It is suggested he might have been exposed to one too many easily flustered Bridget Jones types among the journalists who are dispatched to interview him, mostly tedious fans it seems, who lasciviously drool at the bottom lip and reverentially regard him as a potential between-the-sheets Apollo and Hercules all rolled into one. Which surely sometimes must make him wish that he had never set eyes on Mr Darcy. On the contrary, he says: 'This idea that I have fled from it or rejected it or am uncomfortable with it, I don't think I have ever felt that. And where do you get this idea about tedious female fans? There is no such thing. I like female attention. I think it is fantastic. I don't want women to think I am standoffish. If somebody finds me attractive I will take that. I love it. I am not horrified by it.' Paradoxically, he became the focus of female desire at the time when he became involved with beautiful Italian producer Livia Giuggioli, now his wife. 'Interestingly enough that whole heart-throb thing hit at the exact time when I met my wife,' he reflects. 'There were two things going on at once. It distanced it slightly because I was going into a relationship which was going to turn out to be completely stable and permanent. Basically, I was being kind of stabilised at the very moment when this potentially destabilising thing was coming along.' But to fall for a producer, someone in the business, wasn't that a bit . . . er . . . incestuous? 'It was quite deliberate to choose someone in the business, though she is not an actress,' he replies. 'It is very helpful that it gives us a connection - reference points that are in common - though doesn't give us the direct conflicting ego that it might if we were doing the same profession.' This is a veiled reference to his previous two failed relationships, with his Valmont co-star Meg Tilly, with whom he has a son Will, now 10 : and Jennifer Ehle, with whom he fell in love when she played bright and witty Elizabeth Bennet to his Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. But if costume dramas haven't exactly made him lucky in love, they have been good career moves. In 1996 he won several awards for Pride and Prejudice, and his later role of Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love. Alas, the Bafta nomination for Mr Darcy did not bring the treasured prize. The disappointment left a bitter aftertaste. 'Such awards are a pleasant little badge to get at the end of a working year,' says Firth. 'I have never got any gongs that have changed anything for me at all. I think most thinking people are at the very least a little bit sceptical of their value in real terms. Most people, if they are honest, feel good if they get one and are disappointed if they don't. This is going to sound a bit earnest and not with the times. But I wouldn't be disappointed to lose them to be honest - the whole awards system, I mean. I was shocked the first time I was nominated for a Bafta. I was convinced I didn't give a shit until I lost it. I was very surprised. I kind of thought I was being very cool not showing up to the ceremony. I didn't do that as a gesture. I was working abroad at the time. I didn't realise until somebody phoned up and said they had given it to someone else. I said, wait a minute, that is not the script. I think I secretly had hoped for it.' Yet here sits an actor who doesn't read his reviews : he measures them. He plays all his roles like a quiet bonfire. The critics adore his performances that have ranged from the homosexual Guy Bennett in the stage version of Another Country, to the part as the pilot cuckolded by Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient, to Nick Hornby's Arsenal-obsessed hero in Fever Pitch. Previous writers have tended to paint him as some kind of perfectly nice English marvy-poo chappy with a toplofty way of speaking and a knit-sweater, stoke-the-coal-grate charm. But let's cut to the chase - Firth has the kind of charismatic good looks that give women delicious dreams wherein he swings to them on a hanging vine in a loincloth no bigger than Moshe Dayan's eyepatch. At this he chuckles graciously. 'It seems an exciting time professionally. I am very lucky. I am not a frustrated actor. I sometimes wonder what the catch is. I do find it is getting more interesting with age. I do find the roles are getting a bit more interesting. I think that I have got a little bit more experience to bring to it all. Anyone who thinks I haven't got a wrinkle hasn't looked very closely. I feel quite proud of it. There is a feeling that as we get older we earn the wrinkles, and whatever we have got, whether it is a belly or the grey hairs.' With Bridget Jones, success is virtually guaranteed. Fielding's Mark Darcy was based on Firth's television appearance. She has said: 'Mark Darcy is the nearest I came in the book to writing a character with a real-life human being in mind, ie Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. So I'm completely thrilled he's agreed to do the part.' She said he had all the 'suppressed emotion and raw pulsating passion' the character needed. Scripted by Notting Hill's Richard Curtis, it's got the big money-boys at Miramax and Universal as chief backers. Which means Hollywood might next come a-knocking on Firth's door. Does he have some lamentation about the prospect of working in Hollywood? He says: 'I think I am just as healthily wry about it as most of my peers. Not jaundiced enough to turn my back on it if they come begging me to accept their dollars and all the perks that go along with it. I think I might have adopted a posture 10 or 15 years ago when I might have hoped that I would resist such things, but I don't think I am that puritan about it if it were to happen. The only time I am wistful about seeing the corporate, big business taking over the big stuff is when it is good. 'When I know there is a lot of money riding on it and there are executives flying over from LA to check up on things I feel greater pressure. I can feel fear around me when that happens. I think people handled Bridget Jones very coolly. But there are things in the past where the more money there has been, the more neurosis there has been around. I find it rather oppressive. That's the stakes being high in the wrong way. It doesn't fire me up. I feel more comfortable in a more independent atmosphere where the only people we have really got to answer to for the time being is each other and the people who are making a film. There isn't a corporation showing up saying: 'We need another love scene.' All the stuff which is actually not between the team who have actually got together to create this. I feel excited by taking risks. 'I don't know how much people understand what I mean here - I am not dropping medical supplies into a war zone. I think one does feel that the stakes are high personally when you perform. You basically have no right to any mercy when people judge you. You always do feel that sense of quite high stakes if you are going to go into untried territory like Donovan Quick. It is not that often that you read a fantastic script.' As much as Donna Franceschild's writing worked wonders for Firth, a modern-day interpretation of Don Quixote, with sidekick Sancho Panza portrayed with a truly knockout performance by learning disabled actor David Brown, must have sounded like a supremely cockeyed piece of work when it first appeared in script form. Obviously an actor of stature and power was needed to bring all the unflinching nuances of the man to the screen in a believable way. Donovan is half-clod, half-poet, and the effect of his power and sensitivity is scalding. He is a fourteenth-century gallant lost in the revolution of 21st-century callousness. He arrives at a Scots boarding house and befriends the landlady's slow-witted brother who can no longer attend day school because the transport company, without consultation, have changed the routes. Donovan commandeers an old coach and suddenly the pair are in business in a David v Goliath struggle against the big transport boys. Murphy, in the best performance of her career, gives a brilliant turn, shrieking her lines with desperate beak-like movements, a woman scorned by too many clouts on the chin by life. Firth says: 'It is so full of paradoxes. I think life is made of that. Is Donovan brave to take on the might of a big transport company or is he stupid? Is he gallant and noble or is he ridiculous and absurd? He is a walking contradiction.' In the script Firth has some memorable lines about standing up to the corporate bully boys: 'Resist them -stand up to them.' Noble words for an actor to spout - but when was the last time Mr Precious Thesp Firth had to stand up and be counted in such a way? 'I am not free of the bully,' he asserts. 'Whatever you do and whatever level you are at, I think it is very unlikely that you are going to live your life without there being a version of it somewhere. There is always going to be a bigger fish. There is always going to be corporate interests which are inconsistent with your own dreams. Certainly as an actor in my position, many of the kind of things I would like to do are the preserve of big studios who have first refusal on scripts and have a box-office consideration on casting. I won't get a look-in on the level that is above me. I will see films that I am involved with and I'm making - and this is even worse - being controlled to their detriment by executives and being hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process.' So, there is a bit of the missionary in the man whose three grandparents were missionaries in India. His parents travelled as teachers. 'My family travelled a lot and dealt with people directly. They were not converting people. One grandfather was principal of a theological college. Another got a medical training late in life and went back as a doctor. The travel and the experience is something that has been an enormous privilege. Things were discussed. Books were around. We weren't wealthy. My privilege was not material but definitely in terms of communication and expression. It was quite free and vivid.' His father was a history lecturer, mother a lecturer in comparative religion, so there was tension at the time when he was at school in the US and latterly a comprehensive in Winchester because he just wasn't interested. 'My parents had followed a path which had delivered something for them. They were afraid of what might happen if I didn't go that way.They weren't sure if my resistance to academia was nothing but an excuse. Whether wanting to be an actor was a genuine vocation I was announcing to the world or a cop-out. I didn't like school. I didn't like what was being imposed on me. I found it very difficult to do anything that I wasn't inspired to do and that, I dare say, is a weakness in me. It didn't work that way for me. I had to be into it.' His first performance was as Jack Frost in a Christmas panto. He has vague memories of wearing satin leggings and a polystyrene crown. Then a yearning to do drama kicked in for real. 'My parents are delighted. Their worry was fear. It wasn't a desire that I should do what they thought I should do or that I should follow them. That was never their agenda. They were enormously tolerant. Any parent would be nervous if their child announces that they want to be an actor. 'I remember very clearly the first relief I saw with my parents was when I was at drama school and I was firing off it. I was into it. I was stimulated. It wasn't just some lazy option. They actually saw me in an institution for the first time, coming home saying it was fantastic.' They ought to see him here now, on the set of Conspiracy. Seated at a table. Playing one of Hitler's henchmen. The SS eagles and swastika armbands abound. He and his actor pals spend all day sitting in this room while the cameras record them discussing unspeakable things. So how does he compensate for this greedy swallowing up of all these dreadful words and images from one of our worst periods in modern history? Can he remain unscarred by it, simply sauntering off to the comfort of his up-market home in Islington where he can distance himself from what has gone before? He replies: 'Oh, you can't take on all of it all of the time. There's actually a lot of humour abounding. I think it is a release of tension. In some ways you feel a terrible phony. I think all the angst and rigour of the job is terribly enjoyable. It's fun angst. We don't really suffer. 'There are some dangers if you are not careful. It can mess around with your head a little bit. If you are not careful about keeping your eye on that, you can be taken by surprise by it. We usually find that the more tortuous it is, the more irresistible it is. I'd love that to be clear when we are talking about risk. This is relatively speaking. I am definitely aware of the good fortune I have. I find this a fairly exhilarating time in my life.' Donovan Quick will be screened on BBC1 on 28 December at 9pm. Bridget Jones's Diary will be released next year. Conspiracy is to be transmitted on HBO in the US

Thanks Mari, so David Threlfall is another member of the Conspiracy cast, I must say that although the thought of Colin playing a Nazi doesn't exactly thrill me, it is a very good cast.

Great article! It seems to want to answer all our questions and allay all our gripes. Wonder why? ;-) Thanks so much for posting, Mari, and thanks for finding it, AnneR. Now into the nitpick fold I boldly go... His Erect Highness Yikes!! What was going on? ;-0 he wears a double-breasted grey worsted suit and, heaven forfend, those gloriously peaked cheekbones have been painted powdery white. "gloriously"? Isn't Gavin a man's name? BTW, in the other Wannsee film, Stuckart wore a uniform, although it is mentioned that he only did it for dress up and was only an honorary SS officer. Maybe the suit will be for a post-war scene??? Professionally, he feels he is about to peak Hurrah!!! He finally feels like he's hitting the big time. Shot in early 1999, the film has been almost criminally neglected for more than a year by the Beeb's schedulers before being rushed with almost indecent haste into the Christmas programmes package. I hope that the critical and public reaction to DQ is so favorable that the Beeb gets egg on its face...big time. (CF) And where do you get this idea about tedious female fans? There is no such thing. I like female attention. I think it is fantastic. I don't want women to think I am standoffish. If somebody finds me attractive I will take that. I love it. I am not horrified by it.' ...except when I have other commitments and then I'll duck out." ;-) Sounds like he's making nice with all of us. (CF) I am not a frustrated actor. Direct answer. (CF) 'I think I am just as healthily wry about it as most of my peers. Not jaundiced enough to turn my back on it if they come begging me to accept their dollars and all the perks that go along with it. I think I might have adopted a posture 10 or 15 years ago when I might have hoped that I would resist such things, but I don't think I am that puritan about it if it were to happen. Might have adopted a posture??? *snort* Good to see that he's open to offers now. 'When I know there is a lot of money riding on it and there are executives flying over from LA to check up on things I feel greater pressure. Leno and Letterman, here he comes!! :-) (CF) Certainly as an actor in my position, many of the kind of things I would like to do are the preserve of big studios who have first refusal on scripts and have a box-office consideration on casting. I won't get a look-in on the level that is above me. Oh dear, so much for my high hopes. :-(

Oooo-er. that's a real interview. will have to return and digest. Have one or two other tidbits to relay. (Saw the Telegraph article on Angel...pic of Colin). Also the other TV mags are much more enthusiastic about DQ than the BBC's organ!

Many thanks to Mari and AnneR for a great read.

(Karen) It seems to want to answer all our questions and allay all our gripes. Wonder why? ;-) Sniff . . . sniff . . .is that coffee I smell?;-) Lots to digest here, will be giving it a closer look.:-)

Ditto, thanks all around. Love the lovely new info straight from ODB! Shot in early 1999, the film has been almost criminally neglected for more than a year by the Beeb's schedulers before being rushed with almost indecent haste into the Christmas programmes package. Bethan, did you whisper this into Gavin's ear? Isn't validation wonderful? (CF) 'I think I am just as healthily wry about it as most of my peers. Not jaundiced enough to turn my back on it if they come begging me to accept their dollars and all the perks that go along with it. I think I might have adopted a posture 10 or 15 years ago when I might have hoped that I would resist such things, but I don't think I am that puritan about it if it were to happen. (Karen) Might have adopted a posture??? *snort* Good to see that he's open to offers now. A-HA! Isn't this just what some of us have been speculating? Validation *is* wonderful. Read an article in the Washington Post last weekend about H'wood's crunch to get movies into production in case there's a strike (Wash Post is a bit behind the times when it comes to entertainment as this is hardly news). Was ROTF at a suggestion that the global talent pool is stretched so thin that Rupert Everett is being considered for the latin lover role Robert Downey Jr. has just had to vacate (since he'll be likely otherwise engaged in the pokey). (CF) Certainly as an actor in my position, many of the kind of things I would like to do are the preserve of big studios who have first refusal on scripts and have a box-office consideration on casting. I won't get a look-in on the level that is above me. (Karen) Oh dear, so much for my high hopes. :-( Not to worry, darlin' (how's the snow shoveling, BTW?), just wait 'til after BJD comes out. (CF) I will see films that I am involved with and I'm making - and this is even worse - being controlled to their detriment by executives and being hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process.' MLSF. Harvey Weinstein et. al. (Bethan) Also the other TV mags are much more enthusiastic about DQ than the BBC's organ! Symptomology consistent with having their collective heads up their a**es continues. Karen, did you put some carpet down in here? That annoying echo is gone. Am sure it will return in due time calling itself 'choe' or 'hoec'.

WOW...what an interview...you get the idea *somebody* has been reading Drool and telling him.He comments on a lot of what we have been discussing here...except for Armadillo and that would be contrary to professional courtesy. Lots to chew on, for sure. Still in makeup and costume, he wears a double-breasted grey worsted suit and, heaven forfend, those gloriously peaked cheekbones have been painted powdery white No uniform??Why the white make-up?Isn't he pale enough? Professionally, he feels he is about to peak and his forthcoming roles reflect that Hey, hey...I hear you.Go for it! The script decrees that lucky Katy gets to play tonsil hockey with Firth, which will make her the object of envy among a few million of his devoted female fans. Tonsil-hockey....too funny. But that kiss wasn't exactly erotic. Though, don't get me wrong some of us tedious female fans(TFF) would gladly take it:-)) film has been almost criminally neglected for more than a year by the Beeb's schedulers before being rushed with almost indecent haste into the Christmas programmes package. You were right ,Ann.BBC put it on at the last minute.Perhaps after they heard Robeson Green was going to be on another channel. BBC treats Colin like s***.He should give them the "finger". I was shocked the first time I was nominated for a Bafta. I was convinced I didn't give a shit until I lost it. This would have been "Tumbledown". I think most thinking people are at the very least a little bit sceptical of their value[awards] in real terms. C'mon Colin...you know that's not true.Billboards, adverts all feature them. There is a certain respectability that goes with getting an award. You can't put a wet shirt on a mantel. Later we can take up Colin and the industry. Hasn't quite woken -up to that one yet. He needs Karen and Mari here;-) Many thanks to Ann R. and Mari.We needed this:-))

Whilst digging myself out, have been mulling this great article over. (CF) I will see films that I am involved with and I'm making - and this is even worse - being controlled to their detriment by executives and being hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process.' I think this statement deserves further scrutiny. He is talking about two categories of films: (1) ones that he's involved with and (2) others that he is making. Both being hijacked by others... Either he's developing projects or perhaps referring to Armadillo, which he was involved with. Did it get hijacked? What could A&E or BBC have done to cause him to leave the project? (Evelyn) Though, don't get me wrong some of us tedious female fans(TFF) would gladly take it:-)) Some TFFs? Ha!! Back to my ho-hum life... ;-) I do hope all the papers nail BBC to the wall for their treatment of the movie. Could've been another Croupier. Such fools.

(CF) I will see films that I am involved with and I'm making - and this is even worse - being controlled to their detriment by executives and being hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process.' (Karen)I think this statement deserves further scrutiny. He is talking about two categories of films: (1)ones that he's involved with and (2) others that he is making. Both being hijacked by others... Either he's developing projects or perhaps referring to Armadillo, which he was involved with. Did it get hijacked? What could A&E or BBC have done to cause him to leave the project? I think he is talking about DQ directly and perhaps indirectly about A. He seems to feel v. strongly about the former. The statement is vague , however. What does he mean by hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process. "Process": direction? scriptwriting?editing? Or is it post-production? It's can't be Harvey...he's the boss. You know, the Money-Bag guy. Besides he's the guy who paid for the over-production days of MLSF (per sir Denis Puttnam) and saved TEP from being shelved after another studio pulled out.*Sometimes* these people know what's going to *sell*.

(Ev) It's can't be Harvey...he's the boss. You know, the Money-Bag guy. Sure, I know that, but there's always 'the long arm of Harvey'. By MLSF I was referring to the endless tinkering, focus groups, etc. which by CF's own admission (in an interview printed at the time the movie was released in Britain) altered the movie he thought he had made. Anyway...on one thing we can always rely: we will carefully [over]analyze everything ODB says!

...we will carefully [over]analyze everything ODB says! But, but...that's part of the fun;-) Ok,Ok....I'll go back to my email-cronies... knows where she's not wanted:-(( *winkie*

Aww, c'mon, Heavy Evie. That is part of the fun (underscored by the fact that we all usually don't agree). Wish I could tell CF to continue taking all the risks he wants as long as he works regularly (which, I would imagine he must do since one can't put food on the table with frequent flyer miles).

Finally a real interview! Thanks to Mari and Anne. He is a man for all seasons. :-) Colin Firth slopes into the room, filling it with megawatt charm. His Erect Highness extends a warm handshake Damm, I love this! Either he's developing projects or perhaps referring to Armadillo, which he was involved with. Did it get hijacked? What could A&E or BBC have done to cause him to leave the project? As you know, Karen, I always thought A was stolen from him. You know, the Money-Bag guy. Definitely the producers. Most of them have MBAs and are not artistically inclined. I am rushing today so will have to find some time to read it again. Thank you Colin! PS. Who has ever heard of playing tonsil hockey? ;-)

(Karen) It seems to want to answer all our questions and allay all our gripes. Wonder why? ;-) (Mari) Sniff . . . sniff . . .is that coffee I smell?;-) Feels like the movie Contact and we've just had a return signal from outer space. ;-) (Would like further explanation on why not in Armadillo...are those the extra love scenes?) (Eileen) how's the snow shoveling, BTW? Now that I'm done and have miraculously gotten my car out of the alley (although I may not have an exhaust system anymore), the ad hoc shoveling brigade is coming around looking for work. Wot?! Were they sleeping late? (Evelyn) No uniform?? Why the white make-up? Isn't he pale enough? Maybe as I said earlier, they are shooting some post-war scenes, e.g., the car accident or Nuremberg trials or maybe he didn't wear his Nazi tuxedo costume as was shown in the other film to the conference. Stuckart was a pasty bureaucrat and the white makeup is probably necessary for the filming. (CF) I was shocked the first time I was nominated for a Bafta. I was convinced I didn't give a shit until I lost it. (Evelyn) This would have been "Tumbledown". Who'd he lose to for T'down? Can you imagine how he felt losing again to Robbie Coltrane? Argh :-( (Evelyn) You can't put a wet shirt on a mantel. *snort* Especially if it's been auctioned off for charity. hijacked by people who really have actually very little to do with the process. I think he's referring to both DQ and possibly Armadillo. The process is moviemaking and that would mean all creative types plus the backers. The other people have to be the programming bureaucracy at BBC, the heads of various divisions all working at cross purposes and to no end. (Eileen) Anyway...on one thing we can always rely: we will carefully [over]analyze everything ODB says! Is that not why we all have advanced degrees in Microfirthology? ;-)

(Moon) PS. Who has ever heard of playing tonsil hockey? ;-) Have you led a sheltered life? ;-)

Can't compare with the Herald interview (many thanks for this!) but there's an interesting interview/article with CF in TV Choice. Will try to quote at length when have more time, but, briefly, CF pays tribute to David Brown...calls him a "wonderful man" and says that he (CF) didn't mind getting beaten up himself, but was very upset at the scene where Sandy gets beaten up because it was so real. The guy who had to act the role of the attacker used to shake hands with Sandy after every take. CF also had to have driving lessons but didn't have to take a HGV licence. Very good wriite up for DQ. Ditto TV Times. Says that CF lives doesn't have a Mr Darcy lifestyle but lives in Islington and drives a C reg Nissan Cherry. So he's still got his old car?

Bethan, when you get a chance, could you please type up the articles. thanks Also, you've mentioned several times that the DQ articles and the SWTA one had pics of Colin. Are these all ones we've seen before?

(Moon) PS. Who has ever heard of playing tonsil hockey? ;-) (Karen), Have you led a sheltered life? ;-) I just thought the puck might get in the way of the stick. ;-) Rather uncomfortable. drives a C reg Nissan Cherry. So he's still got his old car? You should see the car he drives in Italy. ;-)

As you know, Karen, I always thought A was stolen from him. To be given to James Frain? The guy can't shine Colin's trainers;-) BBC is more stupid than I thought.

(Moon)You should see the car he drives in Italy. ;-) What is it? He may not drive the Nissan anymore but it was the only reference that the article writer had to go on. What do you think? Also, when talking of projects snatched or changes, would he include SLOW? Or even Playmaker?

(Moon)You should see the car he drives in Italy. ;-) (Gi), What is it? I was being facetious, Gi. (See my blinkie) I would imagine Colin takes the tube, train, taxi or walks in London and therefore would have no need for a new car. In Italy, that is a different story. There are always transportation strikes and one does need a car. Even to drive from Rome to Umbria, so I am guessing he has a nice car there.

If anyone wants to print off the article, it can be done from here: http://www.theherald.co.uk/films/films_home.html

Finally a real interview! Thanks to Mari and Anne. Hear, hear! So it seems our gripes and general humpiness may have filtered through. Have a couple of comments: 1) "slopes into the room, filling it with megawatt charm. His Erect Highness..." I love this person's turn of phrase..but v difficult to establish whether Gavin's a girly or bloke.(Gavin maybe one of those names that's been pinched from the guys I suppose.) 2)the film has been almost criminally neglected for more than a year by the Beeb's schedulers before being rushed with almost indecent haste into the Christmas programmes package So up yours BBC - at last somebody put what we've been screaming from our keyboards out in the open. He certainly seems content with his current situation but also comes across as hungry. I think he has finally rescued his light out from under that bushell and has been making regular reccies to Starbucks in the name of olefactory exercise! Not quite off the Beeb/RT bashing...and to echo (!) others comments - the general concensus from what I've heard in other organs is that DQ is a fine piece of drama. Rather than blow their own trumpet at this fact the Beeb (via Radio Times) seems to think that ODBs festive arrangements are far more interesting - though I should concede that at least they feature it in their drama highlight section. BTW here (I don't think it's been posted before but hey if it has here's another chance to see it) is the piccy that accompanies the text - I think it's a variation of the b/w RT pic from P&P days..what say the masses?

That's the pic from The Herald? You beat me to it. The hair makes it look like it would be from a while ago, but do you think it might be a Mark Darcy pic? The striped shirt seems so barrister-like and he has good color. Is there a photo credit?

That annoying echo is gone. Am sure it will return in due time calling itself 'choe' or 'hoec'. And the Compliments of the approaching Season of Peace and Goodwill to All.

do you think it might be a Mark Darcy pic? The striped shirt seems so barrister-like and he has good color. Is there a photo credit? No there's no credit. My tendency is towards a much earlier pic, he looks a fair bit younger. The RT picture it reminds me of is here: http://members.nbci.com/cftimeline/pix_magazines.html But it could well be an uptodate BJD one if other publications are using it.

Karen, I think that photo was from the TV Times, am I right Tracy? I also second everything Tracy said, the general concensus of opinion in all the TV mags is that DQ is very funny, sweet and well worth a look, even for non Firtfans. The TV Times gave it 3 stars. I am just waiting to see what HEAT magazine has to say. NOW , thanks to Donna I have just seen Camille for the first time and I love it, Colin is so cute, lik a little puppydog and all that hair! I think I shall have to go back and have another look. I can't remember who likes Camille and who hated it but from what I have seen I definitely like it and shall be pleased to add it to my other CF videos. BTW Bethan I have ordered MLSF for the weekend.

Whoops missed a bit of your post Karen, sorry the pic is from the Radio Times not the Herald.

and I also posted the wrong link...Dur! http://members.nbci.com/cftimeline/radiotimes97.html Obviously I've had a bit to much festive spirit today:-)

Consensus - silly me. That picture is definitely in the TV Times as well.

or is it, maybe it was the RT!! and I was only reading them in Tesco's this afternoon, kept expecting someone to come up to me and ask if "I am buying that magazine/s"

or is it, maybe it was the RT!! They all tend to merge into one another when your in CF scan mode! Tee hee...somebody has been overdosing on tellymags (encouraging to note it's not just me)

I think that pic is from the P&P archive. That band collar shirt looks familiar. Check out this pic fom P&P book. (Tripod won't anyone to pinch their pictures). http://members.tripod.lycos.com/djwan_2/pics/e4.jpg On the otherhand, face is thinner in RT pic. Face was definitely fuller in P&P. Thanks Trace. Ann I'm the only one who likes Camille...me'n Nan:-)) It's sweet.

I am unable to see your pic, Tracy. It does not show up on my screen. Karen the link your posted to the article goes to the one for The 6th Day. BTW, I like Colin in Camille too. The acting is vintage Colin. The movie I hate of his is ATA. He looks great in it but the acting... sorry. Even Playmaker has better moments. I am looking forwrd to seeing any new CF pic so please do scan them if you have them. :-)

Karen the link your posted to the article goes to the one for The 6th Day. Yes, Arnie has muscled Colin out of the spotlight. But you can still get to Colin by going to http://www.theherald.co.uk/ and clicking on Features, Films, and Dastardly Mr Darcy. (Incidentally, I found this article through Westlaw, a proprietary database that includes some newspapers. I didn't discover the Web link until yesterday. I didn't mean to keep anything away from you all, honest!) Karen, WHAT pictures? I don't see anything!

Thanks Donna...Ho, ho...Tripod doesn't scare you;-) Now don't you all think that's the same shirt as the new RT pic. (At least that pic is new to me.) Moon....Tracy's picture is on my screen.Wait a while and go back. and Karen's URL is the interview...hit it again.

Thanks, Anne and Evelyn. Karen, I do hope you will add the interview to The Bucket.

Here's the link to The Herald's article, bypassing all those frames and it should stay there. http://www.theherald.co.uk/films/archive/11-12-19100-22-18-18.html The article has been added to The Bucket. Go to the What's New page and scroll down to Articles. I've also excerpted the relevant stuff unto the BJD, Conspiracy and DQ pages.

(CF) I was shocked the first time I was nominated for a Bafta. I was convinced I didn't give a shit until I lost it. (Evelyn) This would have been "Tumbledown". (Karen) Who'd he lose to for T'down? ... :-( Ray Mc Anally for "A Very British Coup." TD itself got the BAFTA for best drama, though. I wish one of these days, they'd give credit where credit was due! ;-)

I, too, am partial to Camille. DB is so young and innocent in it. I especially like the scene in which he shows the glass flower to Marguerite's servant. The only scene I found seriously wanting was Marguerite's death. But, I'm no judge of quality; I quite liked SLOW, too. Re: the interview. Won't it be something when the word "Darcy" doesn't appear in the title of an article? Not that I don't adore Darcy; I just wish Colin would take on a role(and a movie)so terrific that it will push Mr. Darcy into the background.

That will take some time, Lynda. We are all hoping that Mark Darcy will be his opportunity to get those roles.

(Evelyn)Now don't you all think that's the same shirt as the new RT pic. Not I. Different stripe, different shirt.

(KJ)TD itself got the BAFTA for best drama, though. I wish one of these days, they'd give credit where credit was due! ;-) NO...the worse mistake BAFTA made was when they passed over P&P and gave the award to "The Polictician's Wife"!!I wonder how many videos Politician's wife has sold...;-)Shocking.. (Lynda)I, too, am partial to Camille. Hey....we're getting a big crowd here...big enough to take on the "anti's" Sometime we can discuss it.That might bring out all kinds of folks out of the woodwork;-) About the shirt: OK.. "Wrong again, evelyn..." I just wish Colin would take on a role(and a movie)so terrific that it will push Mr. Darcy into the background. I don't think that will ever happen in UK, anyway.

Thanks Mari and AnneR. for the article. I wish Colin would be on the talk show circuit in the U.S. when BJD comes out. It would be fun to see some interviews. I have to join the list of people who liked Camille, but I do agree with whoever it was a some time ago who said he is a SAGO (sexier as he gets older).

Finally diving into this article . . . heaven forfend, those gloriously peaked cheekbones have been painted powdery white. It's Kabuki Colin!:-) Being a film baddie obviously agrees with Firth, though it's a role that many of his legions of fans might not be too happy for him to play. Well, this fan is happy enough. Through their choices, actors have a unique opportunity to inform, inspire, remind, and shine a light on ignorance. Even when--perhaps especially when-- it's painful to do so. One need only look at the Balkans or Rwanda, or before that, Cambodia, to know that systematic extermination of a people is not relegated to the distant past. And where do you get this idea about tedious female fans? There is no such thing. I like female attention. I think it is fantastic. I don't want women to think I am standoffish. If somebody finds me attractive I will take that. I love it. Love this part. Don't worry, Colin, your Volvo-driving fans know you are always a gentleman.:-) Yet here sits an actor who doesn't read his reviews : he measures them. What do you think this means? Not jaundiced enough to turn my back on it if they come begging me to accept their dollars and all the perks that go along with it . . . Certainly as an actor in my position, many of the kind of things I would like to do are the preserve of big studios who have first refusal on scripts and have a box-office consideration on casting. I won't get a look-in on the level that is above me. No one is going to come begging, Colin, and stop sounding as though the ship has already sailed. Get moving. If he wants a shot at the best stuff--and it certainly sounds as though he does--he has to let them know who he is. Good reviews in a commercial hit would help; not sure if his part in BJD will be big enough to do the trick, but we'll see. Networking is also key, and I sense he doesn't do much of that. The mountain doesn't come to Mohammed.;-) I can surely understand why he'd want to do a High Fidelity or About A Boy instead of seeing those passed to a Cusack or a Grant. When I know there is a lot of money riding on it and there are executives flying over from LA to check up on things I feel greater pressure. I can feel fear around me when that happens. I think people handled Bridget Jones very coolly. But there are things in the past where the more money there has been, the more neurosis there has been around. I find it rather oppressive. Welcome to the world. Nobody likes people looking over their shoulder, but all of us are accountable to someone--especially those of us who work for clients. When I look at his bigger budget stuff, like TEP or SIL, no way is a Miramax going to say, "here's $35 or $45 million--just call us when it's all done." Of course they are going to monitor it. It's a huge investment. Actually, I think he may have been talking about ATA, which brings up an irony: when the film turns out well (as TEP and SIL did) nobody bitches about the interim "checking." Glad to hear that DQ is getting good press. Tracy, thanks for that new pic. Just when I thought we'd seen every variation of every pose, along comes a goodie to surprise us. BTW, I'd lay odds that Gavin is a he. Definitely a case of Erect Highness envy.;-) (Janine) I wish Colin would be on the talk show circuit in the U.S. when BJD comes out. It would be fun to see some interviews. From your lips to God's ear, Janine. See above comments on networking and letting people know who he is.;-) My fear is that Colin will continue to refuse to do these shows and that TV publicity duties will fall to you-know-Hugh.:-(

(Mari) I can surely understand why he'd want to do a High Fidelity or About A Boy instead of seeing those passed to a Cusack or a Grant. Why would he want to do those, after Fever Pitch? Not a great success, nor even a great movie...

(Janine)I have to join the list of people who liked Camille, Hear, Hear... The PRO -CAMILLE TEAM, so far.... Ann, Moon, Lynda,Janine, evelyn, Donna? Mari? Elena-where are-you? Who else?? (I know the "anti's");-)

(Mari) It's Kabuki Colin!:-) Noh! ;-) (Mari) Definitely a case of Erect Highness envy.;-) LOL! Must be, which brings me to this: mostly tedious fans it seems, who lasciviously drool at the bottom lip and reverentially regard him as a potential between-the-sheets Apollo and Hercules all rolled into one. Hmmm, sounds like Gavin's been reading the Fan Fic. A shame he doesn't realize that it's about Mr Darcy. No CF fan fic here. ;-)

(Evelyn) The PRO -CAMILLE TEAM Uh-oh, I confess :-) The only thing I like about the movie is his voice. I actually saw the movie on TV when it aired in the early eighties. I remember thinking at the time that he had a magnificent voice, but he was too pretty for my tastes and probably gay. :-) I'm definitely a SAGO gal, though I could seduce Neil Truelove in a NY minute. :-)