Cheryl, thanks for the latest on RC. I'll be interested to hear the speech tomorrow. Hope your cold is better!:-) Re: Proof--it doesn't have to take place in Chicago, although there are a lot of references to University of Chicago, Northwestern, surrounding towns, etc. Those could be substituted, of course, but I don't see why they'd do that. Too bad the male math PhD role is more in his late 20's than late 30's ;-( LOL, I was thinking the same thing when I saw it, Laura! Did you see it in NYC, or in a touring company? I saw it on Broadway with Jennifer Jason Leigh in the lead. She was pretty good, but I'd loved to have seen her predecesoor, Mary Louise Parker, who I believe won the Tony for it. And why do these people all have three names?;-)

Sorry, bad day, meant to type "Lora" not Laura. Gah . . . and I really do know how to spell predesecc . . .predecces . .pre . . .the person who came before her.;-)

(Mari)Did you see it in NYC, or in a touring company? I saw it in Miami in a theater that has always brought a lot of Broadway here (for 40 years or so). Sometimes the big names come (the ones from NY) and sometimes unknowns. This particular company were unknowns except for the director who was David Auburn, the author of the play. It was very well done, and the daughter was played by Anney Giobbe (only 2 names ;-)).

(Karen) is Chicago vital integral to the story or can NYC, for example, be substituted? You would be able to substitute Chicago for another big city like New York or London, but you would need to have an old family house in a neighborhood near a major University with a good math department with another University across town. For some reason when I read that Gwyneth was going to do the play in London and then I read she would work with John Madden in the movie, I was hearing her British accent. You're right though there's no need to change the city. I was also thinking about how Nick Hornby's London has been changed to Chicago and Boston to suit the audience (and actors) ;-).

The England-to-US thing is more common, unfortunately, when a US company buys the rights to an English book than the reverse. My guess is that, since Miramax bought the rights expressly for GP, and John Madden has a directorial agreement for a few more films with Miramax, they wanted to try out the material first onstage with the two of them. Given that Proof is playing in NYC and Madden is in England, they could easily do a short run at the Donmar, which has ties with the principals at Miramax and probably Anita Waxman. That's possibly much more than you'd ever want to know, but there are ties around all these people, a network so to speak. That locale take place in a number of cities. What was the supposed across-town university? Northwestern?

(Karen)What was the supposed across-town university? Northwestern? Yes. It needs to be a significant commute away from family home.(hope I'm not spoiling this for anyone)

Ooof, I hadn't read Mari's message closely where she already mentioned NU. ;-D It is a fairly significant distance from Hyde Park to Evanston.

If I may put in two cents about Proof (I saw the original Production at the Manhattan Theater Club) � I don�t think the setting could be changed to NYC nor London. There is a relevant dialogue about moving to NYC in the Claire � Catherine interaction. The location, in my opinion, is significant to the psychological make up of the characters (Claire�s Brooklyn studio thing). Of course screen adaptations quite often significantly change characters, but it would be a shame. Once I�m here: I�ve seen two awesome productions this past week in NYC (NYC�s stage has been particularly generous this winter): The Crucible w/ Liam Neeson, directed by Richard Eyre at the Virginia Theater. If you like Miller, and you have the opportunity, this production is worth a trip to NYC (mind you, I saw a preview!). If you do come don�t miss Kevin Bacon in An Almost Holy Picture at the American Airlines Theater (Roundabout).

Oscar contenders "Gosford Park" and "A Beautiful Mind"...won the top prizes Saturday during the 54th annual Writers Guild of America Awards ceremony held simultaneously in Beverly Hills and New York. Julian Fellowes earned the original screenplay laurel for USA Films' "Gosford," director Robert Altman's social comedy about a weekend at an English country home. Akiva Goldsman won for adapted screenplay for Universal/DreamWorks' "Mind," based on Sylvia Nassar's book about schizophrenic Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash Jr. While the film winners should benefit in their quest for corresponding Academy Awards because Oscar ballots are in voters' hands, their wins are not necessarily an indicator of Oscar gold -- especially because such Academy-nominated screenplays as Christopher Nolan's original script for "Memento" and Rob Festinger and Todd Field's adapted screenplay for "In the Bedroom" were not eligible for WGA consideration because those films were not guild signatories.

Sigh. I always pictured Colin in this role, opposite Gwynnie. Was half right.:-( From Ananova: Russell Crowe in line to play late poet Russell Crowe is being lined-up to play the late poet Ted Hughes in a play about his life, according to reports. The BBC film is centred around Hughes' real life love affair with Sylvia Plath. It is thought that Gwyneth Paltrow has been approached to play Sylvia. The �10 million movie has the working title of The Beekeeper's Daughter. It will be shot in the autumn by the BBC, reports the Sunday Times.

Each of these news services varies the level of commitment. The first I read of this, they were only "approaching" RC for this role. Check out the Sunday Times, as I recall. Besides, does he even have an opening for it in his busy schedule?

Pray all his windows of opportunity are firmly closed....please;-) Just like my Dylan Thomas rant Boss ;-)))

Looks like London is going to be overrun by Cows on Parade this summer! Cow sculptures take over London Hundreds of sculptures of cows will be placed throughout London as part of an art event. CowParade London will be launched in June and run until September. Brighton, Jersey and Carlisle have also asked to take 20 cows each. More than 800 designs have been submitted for what will be the biggest exhibition of commissioned art ever held in the UK. Cow sculptures will be placed in streets, parks, outside major buildings and other high profile attractions in London. One painted cow, by Keith Wallace, has already been unveiled outside the National Gallery. CowParade is the world's largest public art event. It began in Chicago and New York in 1999 and has since expanded to Australia and Uruguay as well as London and other US cities. "These bovine beauties are helping make a difference in our community. For each cow sponsored, donations will be made to Childline and Rural Relief," said a spokesman for the event. "At the conclusion of the event, the cows will be sold at live and internet auctions, with proceeds benefiting Childline." Anyone interested in becoming an event sponsor or artist can contact clare@cornucopia-group.com.

Since you started the cow trend, Karen, I will just have to share this. How important are cows in the Int'l political scene? A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor. Then you covet it. A SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his. A DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you. A REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So? A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour. A FASCIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage, which ultimately blows up the cows. CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows. DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government. AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the 2 cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts that you have reduced your expenses. Your stock goes up. A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch. Life is good. A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school. A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year. AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good. A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka. You produce your 10th, 5-year plan in the last 3 months. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have. A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge for storing them for others. If they give milk, you tell no one. A TALIBAN CORPORATION: You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which is two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. At night when no one is looking, you milk both of them. Then you kill them and claim a US bomb blew them up while they were in the hospital. A POLISH CORPORATION: You have two bulls. Several people are killed while attempting to milk them. A FLORIDA CORPORATION: You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who like the brown one best vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which is the best looking one. ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. ROTF! Everytime I read this.

The one thing that i've always wondered, is -why cows? i mean not that i have anything against them, but it just seems an odd choice to me. were cows picked randomly from the animal kingdom? or is there a deeper meaning that i'm missing??

I assume it is because cows provide a large canvas to paint on. They are also peaceful and vegetarian. ;-)

(SBRobinson)The one thing that i've always wondered, is -why cows? i mean not that i have anything against them, but it just seems an odd choice to me. were cows picked randomly from the animal kingdom? or is there a deeper meaning that i'm missing?? Must be to boost the market after last year's hoof and mouth disease. Not to be left out of the international art scene, we in New Mexico have the same thing going on but with painted horses. They are displayed at the Albuquerque Airport among other places. Wonder who had the idea first.

I suppose it is written by an American capitalist ;)

Actually, the cows originated in Zurich, but it appears the Chicago event was so large and spectacular that it garnered the most news. But, Tineke, it has now been entrusted to, yes, an American capitalist corp, CowParade WorldWide, Inc., headquartered in Hartford, CT. ;-D Loved the definitions, Moon. *moo*

Milton Keynes had them decades ago.

LOL Moon, great reading. Thinking of the Italian one I could imagine it being "You see a beautiful woman with a baby" in CF's case, thinking of him in BC ;-)

Thanks for the udderly terrific laughs, Mooooooooon. ;-) Very funny stuff.

Thanks for restoring me, Karen! I have missed drool...

MARCIA!!!! Hey Chica! How ya been??? *big hug*

They are also peaceful and vegetarian. ;-) ] If they were vegetarian, then why were they fed sheep with mad cow disease???? :)

Marcia - finally you made it back. Moon - that's a classic. Thanks.

If they were vegetarian, then why were they fed sheep with mad cow disease???? :) You answered your own question, Laura. They were fed.

I noticed that the Bradford Film Festival has opened. Here's an opportunity for those living in the north to see some better films. There's even a rare screening of Richard Burton's Hamlet tomorrow for certain people who have been comparing Danes recently. http://www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk/filmdiary.asp

Continuing with this Shakespeare theme... if the film Scotland PA is playing in your area and you want a good laugh, go see it. The film is based on Macbeth, using the names and basic plot, but is set in the early 70s and in the vernacular. There are only a few lines from the actual play and they're spoken in the background. Totally a hoot, especially with the McDonald's allusions. Very updating.

so the CD and LDC version of R&J wasn't any good???? *gag, HATE R&J anyway*

You're right, Moon, they were fed, but if they were vegetarians, wouldn't they complain?????? :)

If anyone is in London...beg, borrow or steal a ticket to see Jude Law in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus.(Sold out)And you won't have to pay $80 to see it either, like the B'way dramas....19� front row and center for a mesmerizing performance. Stage design by the same guy who did Lion King. And oh...for the Donmar gang...the Luna Nuova is closed. (Try not to cry, Boss;-))

(Try not to cry, Boss;-)) OK, I'll mourn privately. ;-D Yeah!!! He's got it. Excellent news: Ron Howard has been honoured by the Directors Guild of America for A Beautiful Mind. The award is considered to be one of the most accurate indicators of Oscar success. In the 54 years since the guild began distributing its prize, the winner has gone on to win the best director Oscar all but five times. Howard said: "I have my fingers crossed for the Oscars, but I'm just enjoying this award right now." He was the only American nominated for the award. The other nominees were Peter Jackson, Baz Luhrmann, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott. [which doesn't mirror the Oscar slate that has Altman instead of Nolan] Russell Crowe, who stars in A Beautiful Mind, also attended the awards, as did Nicole Kidman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big doings tonight with the SAG awards. It will be broadcast on TNT and there's a Red Carpet show with everyone's favorites, Joan and Missy, on E!

YUCK! How could Ron Howard possibly beat out the other four nominees? I don't mind if ABM sweeps the acting awards, but best directing? Against LOTR, MR AND Memento? Even BHD? That's purely a safe choice for the DGA. Opie is such a nice guy, with a good body of work and they screwed him for Apollo 13. The reason why I hate Oscar as much as I love it, it has nothing to do with the acting body of work we speak of. Oh well, at least they have a great imagination - I mean John Nash's life is nothing like the film. I will retch if he wins on Oscar night, including best pic. I think there may be a backlash coming for ABM though - it's uniformally hated on GoldDerby.

One important thing to keep in mind about the Oscars is that the criteria for Best Picture has absolutely nothing to do with "Critics Best"-type lists. There is such a thing as a film that has Best Picture written all over it, and ABM does. It is precisely the type of film that would win and I think deservedly so. Howard's direction was outstanding and highly creative. I don't care one jot whether the bio was accurate or not. I don't rely on films for factual situations or, as Roeper/Ebert said last night, read the book for that. ABM isn't the first film to play fast and loose with a person's life and won't be the last. Actually, this so-called "backlash" is likely the result of one studio's dirty tricks campaign. Just FYI, sci-fi and fantasy films, no matter how epic in scope, are not Oscar fare. Loved how Roeper said last night that he hoped LOTR would get shut out completely. It topped his list of the one he wanted to see at the Oscars. Ebert's was for Altman to win. (I would imagine GoldDerby is populated by the same type of film geeks that frequent such places as AICN and who are major sci-fi and comic book types.)

Wot a load of horse manure! Ben Kingsley is the 900 lb gorilla in the Supporting Actor category. From the Sunday Times: Hollywood patriots target Oscar Brits by John Harlow SOME of Britain�s top actresses are set to lose out at the Oscar ceremony this year because America has been gripped by patriotic fervour and wants to reward its own stars. Oscar-nominated performers such as Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench could be passed over because giving them gold-plated statuettes this year might be regarded as unpatriotic by American film fans scarred by last year�s terrorist attacks. British men, by contrast, have been largely ignored by the Hollywood spin doctors behind the campaign. Sir Ian McKellen, who has been nominated for best supporting actor for his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, is believed to be unassailable. The 5,000 voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who return their postal ballots next week for the most widely viewed awards ceremony in the world, are being wooed by teams of highly paid academics, studio bosses and marketeers. One studio economist estimated that �50m is spent on advertising, screenings and parties in the 12 weeks before the Oscars. Over the past few days promoters have broken cover with a technique known as �ring o� roses� � phoning up old friends. A retired British director resident in Los Angeles said last week that he would complain after he was phoned at 11pm by a former studio executive who spent 20 minutes being rude about Gosford Park, a story of 1930s British life nominated for best film. �He had forgotten I was a Londoner as he dismissed Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren as �Little Englanders� and worse,� said the director, who asked not to be named. Another victim of whisperers is the Durham-born director Ridley Scott, whose film Black Hawk Down was welcomed by the White House as an endorsement for the Afghan war. Two months later, however, Oscar voters are worried by its overt warning about Americans underestimating Arab enemies. �Now we have American soldiers falling out of helicopters to be slaughtered on the ground, both in the film and on television news, it has become a bit too tough for us to deal with. It does not help that Black Hawk Down was made by a foreigner,� said one. Studio insiders say this Oscar race is the most jingoistic since 1960 when John Wayne, promoting his self-financed western The Alamo, declared that a vote for rivals such as Sons and Lovers, based on the DH Lawrence novel, and The Apartment, a sex comedy by Austrian-born director Billy Wilder, was a vote for �debauched foreign liberalism�. The Apartment swept the board. Today the Hollywood spin doctors are more subtle and effective. They include renowned promoters such as Tony Angellotti, who helped turn the little New York film-distribution firm of Miramax into a regular Oscar winner. His most famous coup was swinging victory for Shakespeare in Love over Steven Spielberg�s Saving Private Ryan in 1999 by charming voters in neglected enclaves such as a retired actors� home. Oscar nominees receive �rule books�, vetted by psychologists who recommend key phrases to be repeated during interviews for maximum effect. This year�s magic word, admitted one insider, is �American�. Tom Wilkinson has been nominated for his role as a Maine doctor in the revenge thriller In the Bedroom, which is being promoted to voters as �a film for an angry America�. A Beautiful Mind has already fallen victim to a whispering campaign, with the media alerted to unpalatable facts left out of the film version of the life of the schizophrenic mathematician John Nash. These include reports that the real Nash was anti-semitic. Homosexual voters have been stirred up by the exorcising of Nash�s bisexuality from the movie. Overt polling of Oscar voters is banned by the academy, which shrouds voting lists in secrecy. However, the results of a sophisticated focus group analysis run by a leading studio that claims an 80% accuracy rate in predicting winners suggests The Lord of the Rings, based on the saga by JRR Tolkien, is set to win best picture. This may, however, be an exception. Dade Hayes, veteran columnist with the Hollywood trade paper, Variety, said: �The mood is against the British. The films are too small and the events in the world too big. British actors are deeply respected, but this is not their year.�

Karen - imaginative? I can't see it. Tell me we are seeing the same film?! My point about them leaving out a lot of Nashs' real life is that it is completely contrived and uninspiring. A lot of films are, that's the biz and that's what people generally pay for at the theatres, but when it is written with the intent to be an emotional, 'let's tug at the strings of Oscar voters' film I see nothing creative about that. To quote someone from Gold Derby who said it best 'White bread. Simple. Unassuming. Safe. Uninteresting. Causes blockage. Ron Howard's ABM direction.' I am sure that the DGA don't think this is his best work - we know it really has nothing to do with his current project but his body of work. He's also the only American nominated. Hmmm. GoldDerby is definitely not filled with sci-fi fans. It's run by Tom O'Neil who is the film expert on E! and a bunch of other critics from Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek and so far. It's actually a popularity war between LOTR and MR, with ITB thrown in. As much as I love LOTR, I would actually be happy if any of the other four films took home Oscar as they are deserving. Maybe ABM deserves a nomination, but it is most certainly not the best picture of the year.

Safe? I beg to differ. I've heard the comment about the story pitch and how the studios were salivating to make a film about a shizophrenic mathematician. ;-D That fact that it succeeded so well tells me that Howard did a brilliant job. He made the subject matter not only interesting but understandable (that games theory visualization was incredible), and unless you had read the book, you had no clue that the Paul Bettany and Ed Harris characters were in his imagination. He elicited superb performances from all his actors and put together a film that touched you at an emotional level. My bias is firmly against F/X films in case you haven't noticed. To me, they are not the mark of a great film. I look to great writing and acting as the key components and F/X films rarely have those in spades. I do feel MR was a fantastic film and a leading contender, although Luhrmann got the snub in his category. In the Bedroom does rate highly with me because of the aforementioned categories. And when I said that GoldDerby being populated by the younger geek crowd, that would apply to the people who post, not the person who runs it. BTW, I finally watched HP last night (someone gave me a tape) and was falling asleep by the end...and it was fairly early. ;-D [P.S. This is not arguing, merely a discussion.]

I take no offense, Boss! I enjoy a lively film discussion. You should check out GoldDerby - you would be surprised. As many intelligent and articulate people there as there are here! I would love for Moulin Rouge to take it home because I adore Baz (I still can't believe they left him out), probably as equally as LOTR. You could say the same thing about Peter Jackson with his direction - have your read any of the Trilogy? It was quite a feat for him to turn such an complex book into a throughly enjoyable and intelligent film. Have you seen it yet? Cause you are also talking to someone who is not the greatest F/X film fan either. I waited two months to see it cause I was so prepared not to like it. It's magical. And you say the acting isn't great - it's uniformally excellent. Ian McKellan is superb and Elijah Wood brings so much heart to the film. I think it breaks the trend of films loaded with technical effects and not much else. I can only hope the remaining two films will be as good.

I haven't seen LOTR yet and was never interested in the books from way back. Regardless, I don't think Tolkien is Hollywood Oscar fare. Fantasy however good isn't likely to win. See 1939, possibly one of the greatest years in film-making for Hollywood. I try to separate what I like and what I think the Academy voters will go for. I'm not 100% accurate (Hillary Swank over establishment actress Annette Bening), but I am staunch in allowing the Academy to judge by its own criteria of "Best" vs my own or any other critic. A Best Picture is the sum of its parts. The fact that ABM is gathering in the best director, writing and possibly acting (we shall see tonight) awards is going to factor heavily in the way the Oscars go IMO. (I disregard the GGs as an indicator of anything BTW.) Plus I want ABM's score to win. It was so incredibly distinctive and perfectly showed the linkage between music and math. A great example is The English Patient. I didn't particularly like it, but walked out of the theater knowing I had seen the Best Picture of the year. On another note, on one of the infotainment shows, someone commented about the age factor and how very few women over X age had won Oscars within the last X number of years (had no affect on men however apparently). This bodes very badly for Sissy, which would make Halle the front runner (or Nicole).

It was quite a feat for him to turn such an complex book into a throughly enjoyable and intelligent film. I agree with you Rebecca about LOTR. And I would love for it to win. Baz (I still can't believe they left him out), Neither can I. I hope it wins Best Cinematography. The Man Who Wasn't There might be a strong contender here, but if these people had seen early German Expressionist cinema, they would know what can really be done with b&w film. (Karen), That fact that it succeeded so well tells me that Howard did a brilliant job. He made the subject matter not only interesting but understandable (that games theory visualization was incredible), That technical effect was well done, but, ABM is not RH's best film. Memento which also dealt with mental illness (in a sense), was a better film. Hollywood patriots target Oscar Brits Thank you for the interesting article, Karen. The Brit Press always complain. Maybe they can turn this into their new "Cause Celebre" and leave the Fortunato thing alone. ;-) Directors Guild of America [which doesn't mirror the Oscar slate that has Altman instead of Nolan] They were right in picking Nolan over Altman. Must we hear one more time how he doesn't direct? (calling John Nash...) ;-)

I want ABM's score to win. It was so incredibly distinctive and perfectly showed the linkage between music and math I agree! This bodes very badly for Sissy, which would make Halle the front runner (or Nicole). So you don't think Renee has a chance? I do.

Oscar-nominated performers such as Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench could be passed over because giving them gold-plated statuettes this year might be regarded as unpatriotic by American film fans Agreed, Karen, it is horse manure. I don't see why some writers persist in presenting everything in a "us vs. them" way. I was just looking at the Oscar noms to refresh my memeory, and 50%--yes, half--of the acting noms went to non-Americans. And lots of people were surprised that actors such as Billy Bob Thornton and Steve Buscemi got overlooked. Also, American film fans don't vote for the Oscars, and most could not care less about the nationality of who won, so this guy's argument is just plain stupid. Very glad for Opie! And yes, I saw both LOTR and MR. I liked ABM very much, and have been disappointed at the potshots it's now taking by certain members of the media--who, let's not kid ourselves, *always* have their own agenda-- who are serving as mouthpieces for the behind-the-scenes machinations of a rival studio. Too bad Todd Field has been overlooked for In The Bedroom. No pyrothechnics in that film, just brilliant writing, acting, and unconventional directorial choices in all the key scenes.

I meant to add: with 2 more Rings movies due out, I suspect the DGA feels it will have ample other opportunities to honor Peter Jackson. As for Baz--MR is an amazingly directed film (some say over-directed, to the point of chaos). And I think that's the bottom line--a lot of people didn't like the movie.

The "Vote America" campaign certainly showed in the SAG awards. ;-D Let's see, Best Supporting Actress Helen Mirren hails from which of our 50 states? And what about Sir Ian McKellan? Or Russell Crowe, or for that matter Best Cast for Gosford Park. Hmmm, the only American to win, Halle Berry, was in the minority. For the time being, I've rationalized McKellan's win over Kingsley's as payback for not having won on Gods & Monsters. ;-D BTW, caught Inside the Actors Studio before the SAGs and they had an hour with Ben Kingsley. It was wonderful. Do try to catch it when it is replayed.

If LOTR wins, it will be because of this campaign of dirty tricks: 'Mind'-bending reports out of line, Uni claims By Gregg Kilday (THR) LAS VEGAS -- With Academy Awards voting entering its final days -- ballots are due March 19 -- a new attack launched this week against Universal/DreamWorks' "A Beautiful Mind" has led Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider to deplore what she considers unethical tactics used by some of the combatants in this year's Oscar contest. "There's been a shocking absence of self-restraint," Snider said in an interview in Las Vegas, where she was attending ShoWest 2002, at which "Mind's" Ron Howard was named director of the year Thursday night. "Lines that should be clear to all of us have recklessly been crossed. Filmmakers who have done honest work that was never engineered to win an award now are having to defend their intentions." The latest salvo in what many view as a no-holds-barred Oscar contest that has descended into mudslinging began Tuesday morning when Internet columnist Matt Drudge led his Web site with a headline declaring, "Nash 'Jew Bashing' Left Out of Film." In the accompanying story, Drudge accused the filmmakers behind "Mind" of eliminating anti-Semitic remarks that the movie's real-life subject, Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash Jr., made in 1967, for fear of offending Academy voters. An earlier Drudge report, published when the nominations were first announced, accused the filmmakers of ignoring Nash's adultery and alleged homosexuality. Drudge wrote, "Producers who also wiped out Nash's homosexual past for the film were cognizant that the chances of winning Oscar gold would be lessened if their film's protagonist was a basher of a religion that is disproportionately represented in the Academy voting pool. Director Ron Howard and Co. apparently opted to create a composite schizophrenic whose illness would not offend the voting public." Said Snider: "I've never met John Nash. But a 73-year-old man who has gone through hell and who agreed to entrust us with his life shouldn't have to go through these attacks. To take statements out of context, which were said at a time when he was a self-admitted schizophrenic, seems shameful. We never set out to sugarcoat his life, but I don't think it's a misrepresentation of that life to have concentrated on the facts that try to get to the essence of his life." Universal, which saw the Oscar prospects of its 1999 biopic "The Hurricane" damaged when that film came under attack for its historical accuracy, took a proactive stance when "Mind" was released in December, explaining up front that the movie was not intended as a literal recounting of Nash's life. But that hasn't prevented broadsides from being launched against the film. The latest volley picked up momentum Thursday when Roger Friedman, a columnist for FoxNews.com, reiterated Drudge's charges and went on to write, "There's something weird about 'A Beautiful Mind.' It's a movie on autopilot for self-destruction. Between the revelations about Nash and Russell Crowe's bad behavior at the British Academy Awards, it's slowly becoming the Gary Condit of movies." "The timing of these latest missives and their orchestration has to be calculated," Snider said. "It can't be inadvertent." Asked if his story had been suggested by a rival Academy campaign, Drudge said, "I'm not going to reveal my sources. I was approached by an Academy voter who knew about (the anti-Semitic remarks). I've been poring through the book and I took another look at it and it jumped out at me. I go where the action is. (Whether the latest charge originated in a rival Oscar campaign camp) is neither here nor there to me. Albeit I didn't name the Academy member, I have now heard from three members who said they switched their votes because of Nash's views regarding Jews." Snider declined to say where she suspects the attacks might have originated, but she did say she has spoken to rival studio executives, encouraging them to stick to the high road and discourage their staffs from launching stealth campaigns. "I have chosen to try to appeal to our competitors on a personal level, to urge them not to tumble down this moral slope," she said. Saying that Howard "feels wounded" by the charges, she added: "So many people among the moviegoing public at large have spoken to him about how meaningful the film was to them that there is a real dissonance between that reaction and what we are encountering now. The attacks are so inflammatory and easily reduced to sound bites. The movie has led to meaningful articles published about schizophrenia, but these are just tabloid headlines. If you are a responsible writer, you don't take statements out of context that someone made during a 35-year battle with schizophrenia." The decidedly nasty nature of this year's subterranean Oscar campaign -- which in some quarters has taken on the tone of a brutal political campaign -- has been a frequent topic of conversation among many of the marketing executives gathered at ShoWest. "There have always been whisper campaigns directed against films, but this year, the whispers seem to have turned into shouts," one of them observed. "There should be a place for showmanship in the Oscar campaigns," Snider added, citing New Line's campaign on behalf of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" for its approach toward celebrating that film's achievements. "But however this race plays out, the winners should feel that the wins are meaningful. You don't want to win because somebody else was attacked unfairly and so late in the game with salacious and inflammatory accusations."

"There should be a place for showmanship in the Oscar campaigns," Snider added, citing New Line's campaign on behalf of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" for its approach toward celebrating that film's achievements. If LOTR wins it will be because of its accomplishments, which are not few. ABM has a happy ending and it is thanks to his wife. I guess that does not go down well with the ultra-liberal gay crowd. Why doesn't someone turn the tables and critize them for it? And now the Jews are not supposed to be voting for it either because of of JN? This thing is way out-of-hand, it's only a film telling the story it of the script.

"SOME of Britain�s top actresses are set to lose out at the Oscar ceremony this year because America has been gripped by patriotic fervour and wants to reward its own stars." Bunch of whiners....RC American? Aw...they just want to sell newspapers.

The movie has led to meaningful articles published about schizophrenia, but these are just tabloid headlines. If you are a responsible writer, you don't take statements out of context that someone made during a 35-year battle with schizophrenia." Good for Stacey Snider for speaking out. Who do you think is behind this? Miramax? New Line? It's typical Matt Drudge slash-and-burn "journalism." Here's some perspective from the woman who actually wrote the book; she doesn't seem to mind that they haven't filmed the book verbatim: Oscar Push Getting "Dirty," Says Studio The writer of the book A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash has accused Internet gossip Matt Drudge and other columnists of writing "untrue and very injurious things" about Nash. In an interview with today's (Monday) Washington Post, Sylvia Nasar said that anti-Semitic quotes attributed to Nash were made by the mathematician while he was mentally ill, "at a moment in time when he not only felt threatened by Jews and Israel, he thought he was Job and Esau and the emperor of Antarctica, and the messiah ... What he believed at that time were symptoms of his illness and paranoid delusions." The Post, suggesting that the Nash quotes were planted as part of a "down and dirty" campaign to smear Nash and hence the movie during the Oscar voting period, quoted Universal spokeswoman Terry Curtin as saying, "It's out of control. ... It's unfortunate that some people are stooping to that level. It's gotten to be so dirty. The last pure place that you thought you could go is completely tainted: the Academy race."

(Moon) If LOTR wins it will be because of its accomplishments, which are not few. Oh, Moon, you have no idea how powerful that strategy could be. The Genome Project has identified precisely which chromozone houses our guilt gene. ;-D Hopefully, the Washington Post's expose will counter the effects. ~~~~~~~ In other news today... U.K. Actors Reach Contract Deal LONDON (Variety) - The phantom strike by British film actors is over. Actors union Equity voted Monday to approve a landmark film contract that gives Blighty thesps the right to residual payments for studio and indie pictures shot in the U.K. for the first time. "This is one of the biggest achievements in Equity's history," said one union official. "The contribution of U.K.-based performers to the financial success of feature films has been acknowledged." Equity has technically been on strike since its contract lapsed Dec. 1. But the union struck interim deals with individual producers, ensuring no movie was blocked by the labor dispute. Equity and PACT, which represents British producers, have agreed on two contracts -- for studio pics and for indies. For most independent films, actors will receive a flat 2% of net profits. However, there are more complex formulas for films budgeted between $1.4 million and $4.2 million, and those under $1.4 million. For studio movies, actors have won a share of worldwide video/DVD revenues, as well as a slice of TV income everywhere except in the U.S.

(Karen), The Genome Project has identified precisely which chromozone houses our guilt gene. ;-D The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international research effort to characterize the genomes of human and selected model organisms through complete mapping and sequencing of their DNA, to develop technologies for genomic analysis, to examine the ethical, legal, and social implications of human genetics research, and to train scientists who will be able to utilize the tools and resources developed through the HGP to pursue biological studies that will improve human health.

Here's the full Washington Post story on the dirty campaigning. It's not Miramax behind it apparently; Universal has exonerated them. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5484-2002Mar10.html

One more, from Roger Ebert: Campaign directed against 'Beautiful' is ugly, unwarranted March 11, 2002 BY ROGER EBERT Chicago Sun-Times Judging by the attacks against it, "A Beautiful Mind" is the most reprehensible film of the year. Amazing it was made, let alone nominated for an Academy Award. The mugging of this film is the most disturbing element of this year's Oscar season. Ron Howard's film stars Russell Crowe as John Forbes Nash Jr., a schizophrenic who won the Nobel Prize for mathematics. We see him struggling with demons and fantasies, aided by a loyal wife (Jennifer Connelly). Like Nash, the audience is sometimes deluded about what's real in the story, and what is a phantasm. The film is well written, directed and acted. But the film's detractors see more, or less. They charge: * Nash has been whitewashed; the film suppresses the facts that he fathered a child out of wedlock, and refused to support it, was bisexual, and faced molestation charges after an incident in a public toilet. **A book about Nash reports him making anti-Semitic comments. Joy Behar on "The View'' said the movie should have included that behavior. Would she have preferred a movie about an anti-Semite who wins the Nobel? * Russell Crowe, angry that the British Academy Awards telecast edited out four lines of poetry in his speech, pushed and shoved the director of the program. **Press Release: "Claiming that the film 'A Beautiful Mind' distorts the life of John Nash, a coalition of 100 mental health advocacy groups issued a public statement today to Universal asking for an apology and retraction." The coalition is angry about a USA Today article reporting that "this brilliant mathematician stopped taking antipsychotic drugs in 1970 and slowly recovered over two decades.'' My thoughts: **The movie is caught in the controversy between those supporting drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia, and those interested in other approaches. The coalition is really disturbed not because the movie changed the facts, but because it didn't change them enough; in the film, Nash speaks of "newer medications" that in real life he was not taking, so they should be calling for an apology from USA Today, not the studio. **A schizophrenic has a serious mental illness, yet Behar and others hold him to the standard of a healthy person. Who knows what he thought he was doing, or saying, during the episodes involving sex and anti-Semitism? In the film, he lives with imaginary characters for years. To say he should have "sought treatment" is to assume he was sane enough to do so, and to ignore his belief that medication would cloud his mathematical work. **Crowe has a hot head, but he also has a point. Awards shows are inflated with endless gassy lists of people the winners want to thank. Crowe read four lines by Patrick Kavanaugh that directly express his humility as an artist. Cutting them made his speech pointless. Are the attacks against "A Beautiful Mind" orchestrated? "I'm not going to reveal my sources," says the Web's Matt Drudge, whose report on the anti-Semitic remarks caused an uproar. His statement tips his hand: He didn't find out about the statements himself, but was told about them. Isn't he missing the real story--that someone came to him with a vested interest in hurting the film? "If you are a responsible writer," says shell-shocked Universal chairman Stacey Snider, "you don't take statements out of context that someone made during a 35-year battle with schizophrenia." True. "A Beautiful Mind" is a parable about triumph in the face of disaster, not a drive-by shooting.

Equity has technically been on strike since its contract lapsed Dec. 1. But the union struck interim deals with individual producers, ensuring no movie was blocked by the labor dispute. LMAO! Some strike! Glad they got what they wanted anyway.

It's not Miramax behind it apparently; Universal has exonerated them. Of course, what fool would think Miramax was behind it? One only has to look at which studio would most benefit: New Line or Fox. I'd put money on Fox.

I'd put money on Fox. ] righto, they're even worse when it comes to the television show. So much that WB is dropping every Fox show....

Yes, but we all remember the computerized voting at the last minute that overturned BJD's commanding lead in that Hollywood Films award that gave it to Moulin Rouge.

what fool would think Miramax was behind it? LOL! Just ask the studios/producers that have been targeted by Miramax in the past. Ask Steven Spielberg.:-( Agree that's it's likely Fox and I also thought about their systematized cheating on the ET "poll." Baz and Nicole were just on Leno's show, campaigning. Where is RZ? She's been the invisible woman in this contest, not that she ever really had a shot at a win anyway.

(Mari) Just ask the studios/producers that have been targeted by Miramax in the past. Ask Steven Spielberg.:-( But that only works if Miramax had a *real* film in contention. Besides, all they've done is lobby very hard and bought the nominations/awards. Have they gotten down in the dirt like this? Actually, the most similar situation was what happened to Denzel Washington for Hurricane.

(Karen), I'd put money on Fox. Well at least you have exonerated New Line. ;-) the most similar situation was what happened to Denzel Washington for Hurricane. This happens all the time. Is Smith's performance in Ali better than Guy Pearce in Memento? I think not.

(Moon) This happens all the time. Is Smith's performance in Ali better than Guy Pearce in Memento? I think not. My point was that there was a smear campaign against the film Hurricane because it did not give an accurate portrayal of Ruben "Hurricane" Carter. Denzel was a strong contender at the time the nominations were announced and then he dropped off the radar. IMO he should've won that year. (I haven't seen Ali)

Ooooh! This should stir up lots of anti-GP sentiment. From Ananova: Gosford Park director says past Oscar winner was 'dreadful' Robert Altman has savaged two previous Oscar-winning films. He says Titanic was "dreadful" and has also criticised American Beauty. Altman is up for Best Director for Gosford Park. He told Los Angeles Confidential magazine: "Titanic I thought was the most dreadful piece of work I've ever seen in my entire life. "Another film that I think is equally bad was American Beauty. So badly acted and directed. But people like that."

The smear campaign is ugly, I agree. But I still think LOTR should win. Did you ever think that all this publicity might indeed give ABM the Oscar? Who was it that said there's no such thing as bad publicity?

So badly acted and directed. But people like that." Like Mr. T, Mr. Altman? I have only liked two of his film MASH and GP. I am not a fan.

Karen, take another look at the Post article. Miramax was the first one to talk to Drudge about ABM, and they worked the phones to bad mouth MR. Re: Denzel and Hurricane. The circumstances are somewhat similar, but Carter was a public figure and his trial a matter of public record, and therefore one could argue that it should be held to a different standard than John Nash's story. Characters and motives in H. were invented (such as crooked cops and DAs) so it wasn't just a matter of leaving some things out. One thing that I can't understand is the accusation that ABM is a whitewash. ABM contains some very negative stuff about Nash--the guy almost shot his wife and nearly let his child drown. Yet certain members of the media would have us believe that these "incidents" are somehow less damaging that an admission of alleged homosexual encounters. They certainly have their agenda; Moon you have converted me!;-) Re: Altman. I've said it from the start: he's an egomaniacal ass. Where does he get off publicly criticizing someone else's work at a time when 2 of his actresses are up for awards? He should be talking up GP and supporting his actresses--not needlessly infuriating potential voters with his meaningless pontifications. On a brighter note: did anyone see Dennis Quaid on Larry King's show last night? Yum! And he seems like a genuinely good guy, too.

(Mari), Where does he get off publicly criticizing someone else's work at a time when 2 of his actresses are up for awards? He should be talking up GP and supporting his actresses--not needlessly infuriating potential voters with his meaningless pontifications.he's an egomaniacal ass This is typical Altman. When he loses the BD Oscar, he'll have something else to whine about. Talk about setting up a scene!!! Yet certain members of the media would have us believe that these "incidents" are somehow less damaging that an admission of alleged homosexual encounters. They certainly have their agenda; Moon you have converted me!;-) It seems so obvious. Why isn't this issue addressed in the media? Because they are all chicken s... to be politically incorrect. See how far "their" agenda has grown. The right to freedom of speech has gone underground and I don't see anyone making paper chains around The Advocate's office. ;-) Thanks for understanding, Mari.

OK, I've reread and see the paragraph in question re Miramax's involvement. Still, it would make no sense to me, given ITB's poor chances and Miramax's releationship with Universal, co-partners on numerous films (like BJD). The elimination of homosexual references came out at the same time as the film. My take on this whole thing is not a gay conspiracy, but rather that the criticism based on these omissions was ineffectual and wasn't going to keep ABM from winning. Therefore, they pulled the R (not race, but religion) card. Trust me, this one would've done it with a large percentage of Academy voters. Waddaya mean the crooked cops and DAs were invented? Going to put my Bob Dylan album on now. ;-D

My take on this whole thing is not a gay conspiracy Oh, I don't think it's a gay conspiracy either. I do feel that many members of the media pounce on anything that is not politically correct, and the film's detractors therefore knew exactly what buttons to push. This is a film about a guy who said and did (or attempted to do) some nasty things when he was mentally ill. I don't have to like him (or like the person he was while he was ill) in order to enjoy the film. Was there an outcry from women's and children's advocacy groups, or more to the point, any attempt to orchestrate discontent about the film among these groups? No. Because their constituencies don't vote for the Oscars! Actually, I think you and I are saying the same thing. Moon and Karen, read Charles Krauthammer's column in the new issue of Time. It's excellent. It's about how political correctness is driving public policy in the area of airport security--and how self-defeating and potentially dangerous this is. Waddaya mean the crooked cops and DAs were invented? Dan Hedaya's character was a complete fabrication, nothing like the cop who actually worked the case who was, by all accounts, honorable and fair. But showing that in the film wouldn't stack the deck in Carter's favor, would it. Also, Carter never was exonerated--in fact, in all likelihood (and I'm being generous here), he was guilty. He got off on a technicality. It's a matter of public record. By the time he reached adulthood, he had a record of violent assault a mile long. As for Bob D's song, the answer my friend is blowin' in the sports pages.;-) Carter was a mediocre boxer at best, lost many of his fights, never in a million years would have been the champ, and was fairly beaten by Joey G.--he was not the victim of bias in that fight. But then again, that wouldn't make for a good song. :-(

As for Bob D's song, the answer my friend is blowin' in the sports pages.;-) LOL! (but Denzel was excellent, which is my point, and whose chances of winning were no better than a rolling stone ;-D once the critics took out after the movie's inaccuracies.)

The innuendoes are flying in here today!!!

[R. Altman]"Another film that I think is equally bad was American Beauty. So badly acted and directed. But people like that." LOL.You 'n me both,Bob.

Monitoring the casting front Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen is in talks to star in a new film about the Borgias. Director Neil Jordan is planning to start work on the production in the summer. Mortensen is in line to play Cesare, a priest who furthers his family's power by plundering the nation. Also a Nash update John Forbes Nash, the schizophrenic mathematician whose story inspired the Oscar-nominated film A Beautiful Mind, is to talk publicly about the movie for the first time on US TV. The interview will be shown on the CBS network's 60 Minutes programme on 27 March. The Nobel Prize-winning mathematician has been the subject of a war of words recently, with US newspapers publishing claims and counter-claims about his alleged prejucides and adultery. Oscar-nominated director Ron Howard has defended the film for omitting certain episodes of Nash's life, saying he intended to capture the essence of Nash's life, not to produce a biography.

Ann Hope you have a marvelous birthday today and that it continues for a few more days. Wish I could be there. ;-D

Happy birthday, Ann!

A very Happy Birthday, Ann!

Jumped the gun...We celebrated Ann's B'day last night at The Ivy!! Lotsa' Chardonnay! Hope you had a super day, Ann.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANN! I hope you're sending Evie home sober!:-)

Thanks everyone and a special thanks to Donna and Evelyn and especially to Evelyn, I would recommend The Ivy to anyone, the food is wonderful, Colin has good taste.

Sorry to be a little late to wish you a very happy birthday, Ann. It's still March 14th on this side of the Atlantic so it's still your birthday here! Glad you got to celebrate with firth friends and good food!

Happy Belated Ann! The Ivy is a great place....you guys must have had connections to get a reservation! Or know Elton John... ;-P

Happy birthday Ann. Hope it was the best one ever.

Hey, if I can sneak in here before the topic changes, the ever-late Caribou can wish you many returns of the day, Ann. Wish we all could have been there to celebrate at Hamlet. Now, if they will just find a screenplay for CF to say that one in, we'll have a collection.:-)

Being rather new to this site, some of the abbreviations used are beyond my ken. I can work out some of them,ODB,etc, but others I find impossible. Would it be possible to print out an list, or is this already available? Hope I posted this under the correct topic.

Unfortunately, there is no list. :-( Our abbreviations fall into two categories: standard internet and Drool or Colin specific. I'm not sure which baffles you. The standard type are ROTF(etc) or LOL type, which you can find at websites if you do a search for internet emoticons and acronyms. The Drool or Colin type mainly consist of initials that represent actor's or author's names or movie titles or similar. If you're in doubt, feel free to ask.

Review of "About A Boy" in ScreenDaily: Dirs: Paul and Chris Weitz. UK/US. 2002. 100mins Will Britain's latest semi-confessional romantic comedy be the new Bridget Jones's Diary? It certainly has the right ingredients: a powerful combination of best-selling novelist Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant and the confident, commercial touch which co-producers Working Title have brought to this genre in their three previous outings with Grant (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones). Released in the UK on April 26, About A Boy has not - yet - been trumpeted by the massive media blitz which announced Ms Jones's arrival. But prospects look bright, thanks to all of the above elements, plus the film's overall polish and the apparently bottomless public appetite for this material: a BBC adaptation of Tony Parsons� Man And Boy, also about single fatherhood in North London, is broadcast later this month. It will be revealing to see how the film opens internationally without, as with the other films, a major American star or even a significant female character (it's released in the US on 17 May as ounter-programming to Star Wars: Episode II � Attack Of the Clones). Still, Grant, seeming to get better the further he's allowed to extend his range, delivers a terrific central performance, as acerbic but more complex than his sexy snake in Bridget Jones. Grant plays Will Freeman, the archetypal Hornby anti-hero: a commitment-phobic North Londoner in his thirties who prides himself on his terminal hipness. Living on the proceeds of a novelty Christmas hit written by his father years ago, he idles the days away in his gadget-filled apartment watching afternoon quiz shows, playing CDs and reading style magazines. "I like to think I'm an island," he muses. "I like to think I'm pretty cool. I like to think I'm... Ibiza". There's a huge chasm between his suave self-image and the sad reality. Reasoning that single mothers are the perfect no-strings date, since they're panting for sex but prevented by their child from getting too involved with a man, Will joins a single parents' support group, inventing a young son for the purpose. Here, a chain of events leads him to Marcus (Nicholas Hoult). Marcus is 12, going on 40. His depressive mother, Fiona (Toni Collette), has raised him with hippy values and a grisly haircut which make him a target for bullying at his new school. Even the playground nerds reject him. When Fiona attempts suicide, Marcus realises that two is a dangerously small family unit and decides to expand it. Unfortunately for Will, he happens to be around on the fateful day. Working Title made Hornby's previous novel, High Fidelity, with a British director, Stephen Frears, and an Americanised story, transposed to Chicago. About A Boy takes the opposite tack. It returns to London (trendy Clerkenwell this time, rather than Hornby's grungier stamping grounds of Holloway and Finsbury Park). But the directors and co-writers are Americans. Paul and Chris Weitz, who previously made American Pie, seem at first an odd choice. But they keep the action moving along nimbly - often using wipes to zip between the various characters - and show an empathy for the British setting. Besides, American Pie was beneath the gross-out humour, a sweet-tempered comedy of embarrassment involving emotionally arrested males: in fact, not unlike this. Hornby's writing - so effortless on the page - presents a minefield for the screen adaptor, with its ambiguous mix of New Lad bravado and New Man anxiety. The film of Fever Pitch failed completely to capture it; High Fidelity used the uneasy device of having the protagonist speak straight to camera. About A Boy is even trickier, since the book is told from two points of view, with alternate chapters following Will and Marcus. The film weaves together their contrasting thoughts in voice-over and, while Will's inevitably dominates, Nicholas Hoult as the quirky, isolated Marcus definitely holds his own. It's elegantly done, though the film constantly threatens to turn into a male bonding two-hander, at the expense of the secondary roles. The smart screenplay is full of lines not in the original novel but exactly nailing its sentiments. The most fundamental change is the loss of a major subplot triggered by the 1994 suicide of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, presumably because the setting has been updated to the present - and also because the writers felt one suicide bid was quite enough for a light comedy. While well handled, their alternative is a little pat: the essence of a Hornby novel is the unresolved messiness of his people's lives. It also has the effect of marginalising a number of characters, including the most forceful female one, Marcus's rebellious schoolmate Ellie. Hornby's novels have always appealed to women, but translated to the screen, his female characters tend to come across as bit players (High Fidelity) or whining killjoys (Fever Pitch). It was a good move here to cast a powerful presence like Toni Collette as the potentially draggy Fiona, but Rachel Weisz, as Will's love interest, enters the story late in the game and has a struggle to establish herself.

The smart screenplay is full of lines not in the original novel but exactly nailing its sentiments. Very critical. Poor NH. *** Angelina Jolie is quoted in the Miami Herald today saying that Beyond Borders is the best script she has ever read. Was Colin ever offered a role in this or not? Could he have turned it down?

"I like to think I'm an island," he muses. "I like to think I'm pretty cool. I like to think I'm... Ibiza". Pfft! That's very funny, actually. I wonder if it's from the book. Sounds like Huge has himself a winner. I wonder what anecdotes he'll repeat ad nauseum this time on the talk show circuit.:-( I saw the Jolie quote in my local paper, too, Moon. Could he have turned it down? I don't even want to think about this possibility.:-( I keep coming back to the quote from the GQ article, post-BJD: "I suppose I should have gone to LA and bagged something." Yep, you should have. Clive Owen sure did. Did anyone watch the 60 Minutes interview last night with John Nash? I liked Ed Bradley's piece on Judi Dench, and enjoyed seeing her in all those old clips; he did a much better job than Charlie Rose. They said Judi has work lined up through 2003. Amazing.

(Mari) I wonder if it's from the book. It doesn't sound like it, but I haven't read the book for a couple of years. I saw the Jolie quote in my local paper, too, Moon. Actually, I think the quote originated in a much longer article a few days back about how the Ethiopian govt was complaining because they were filming in Namibia. Let me see where that might have been...Be right back... Here it is: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020315/ap_en_mo/angelina_jolie_3 I watched 60 Minutes last night as well and taped it for Ev. Didn't like that they showed Judi crying though. I wonder about the future work plans, as she's recently made statements about taking a break.

Didn't like that they showed Judi crying though. That's always a tough call to make. In the context of the conversation, it wasn't exploitative. And it did add to the profile. I'd imagine if she objected, they'd have edited it out. I wonder about the future work plans, as she's recently made statements about taking a break. Her definition of taking a break probably differs from that of some others. ;-) Here's a woman who has worked 2 jobs simultaneously on more than one occasion, and who leaves herself 2 days off between projects. I think she absolutely loves what she does and, therefore, time off isn't the plum that it may be for some.

I think the quote originated in a much longer article a few days back about how the Ethiopian govt was complaining because they were filming in Namibia. It did, I skipped that. I didn't want to bore anyone here with politics. ;-) Didn't see 60 Min. (Mari), Judi has work lined up through 2003. Amazing. The sad truth is that many other actors do too. Does anyone know anything about the play Madonna will be doing in London?

http://www.empireonline.co.uk/news/news.asp?3796 I see that Huge will be in another Richard Curtis film. Now what exactly is a 'luvvie'? I've heard certain other Brits use the term frequently but can't find a specific definition. I can't wait to see the Inside the Actor's Studio interview. I'm not fond of the host but it's a good forum for a witty actor.

I found a definition: luvvie n. A luvvie is a rather overexuberant (and almost invariably gay) thespian. Referring to actors as luvvies or luvvie darlings is rather scornful and demeaning - it's true, though, that a few of the older, camper actors do indeed refer to each other as "luvvie". Seems to me it's more of an endearment these days.

Russell Crowe: Will Beautiful Acting Beat a Moody Mind? LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - He may be moody, rude, prone to outbursts of temper and a drink too many -- after the cameras have stopped rolling. But there is no question that Russell Crowe sure can act, not just act up. Crowe, the Australian-raised actor barely known to world audiences four years ago, could be on the brink of joining Hollywood's most beloved next Sunday by winning two best actor Oscars in a row -- an honor bestowed only on Tom "Mr. Nice Guy" Hanks, and curmudgeonly 1940s and 50s leading man Spencer Tracy. Three stellar performances in three years -- from the whistle-blowing tobacco executive in "The Insider" to the noble Roman soldier in "Gladiator" and now his riveting performance as schizophrenic math genius John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind" -- have brought Crowe his third consecutive Oscar nomination. Which should leave voters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science with a clear choice if, in a perfect world, the Oscars were only about top performances and best movies. But ever since the Academy Awards were invented in 1929 as a way of promoting the new talkies to a worldwide audience, the Oscars have been as much about image as talent. "The movies and the performances are just part of what the Academy voters are looking at here. This is an award that decides who's in and who's out, who's cool and who's not," said Tom O'Neil, host of the goldderby.com Web site. [Rebecca's fav] OSCAR SUICIDE? And many industry experts are wondering if Crowe, 37, may have blown his chance to join that elite club because of an angry confrontation last month, seen by only a handful of people but reported round the world, with a BBC producer who cut a poem from Crowe's acceptance speech at a British Academy of Film and Television Awards broadcast. The ugly outburst seemed to confirm long-standing industry gossip about Crowe as a man with a reputation for loutish behavior and was reported just as ballots landed in the mail boxes of Academy voters. Crowe both apologized to the producer and testily dismissed the incident. "The Oscars are supposed to be about the performance you've given. I'm not nominated for a Worst Argument with an English TV Executive," he told reporters at the Sydney premiere of "A Beautiful Mind." Others are not so sure. "It is possible he committed Oscar suicide -- the gladiator literally falling on his sword of hubris -- because your performance off the screen is as important as your performance on screen," said O'Neil. But as Time magazine critic Richard Schickel notes, the incident didn't affect his chances with the Screen Actor's Guild last week, where Crowe carried off a best actor award to add to those he has already garnered from the British Academy and the Golden Globes. "It's a pretty damn good performance," said Schickel of Crowe's portrayal of the quirky, mentally ill Nobel laureate. "At some point it may well be that they (the Academy) will just vote for the performance. I think people have already discounted the fact that he's hot-tempered and slightly vulgar fellow in his own self, and say okay, but he's still an awful good actor," Schickel said. WASHINGTON IN THE WINGS If Academy voters are looking instead to reward both a beautiful actor and a man of charm, they need look no further than Denzel Washington. Washington, a 6 foot, handsome, 47-year-old has politely displayed his versatility over the years in roles ranging from black activist Malcolm X in the 1992 movie of the same name, to a homophobic lawyer in the AIDS courtroom drama "Philadelphia." He is nominated this year for his role as a cop gone bad in the violent "Training Day." The role is a change of direction for Washington, an actor better known for playing strong but sympathetic characters that seem to reflect his own persona as a modest family man, father of four, and discreet worker on behalf of charities such as the Boys and Girls Club of America and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Many felt he was robbed of an Oscar in 2000 for his powerful portrayal of boxer Rubin Carter in "The Hurricane", and with the Academy apparently eager this year to redress its past neglect of black movie talent, Washington would be a worthy candidate to succeed Sidney Poitier, the only other African-American to be awarded a best actor Oscar -- and that was in 1963. The Reel.com movie Web site said few actors had gone against type as spectacularly as the "normally beatific" Washington in "Training Day." "Rather than play it safe, Washington ditched his increasingly cliched, overly noble African-American hero persona and embraced his dark side. By doing so, he became the seductive nature of evil made flesh and his bravery should be rewarded," it said.

Wow!!! Are they all this hard on Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington? Or is this well deserved? I need to go check their topics. I watched them get their awards and was captivated. Perhaps, I was only blinded by their personae?

I my mind the Oscar should go to Tom Wilkinson, with Russell behind him. I am not too sure about rewarding Denzel for his past losses. He's a great actor, but a Best Actor this year? But yes, it is all about politics. I am sure the ABM stuff may actually help them not hurt them. Every best pic is taking pot shots so I don't know what the big deal is here.

My vote would also go to Tom Wilkinson, Becka. If Russell loses (and I predict he will) it will not be because of the ABM bad-mouthing (people still like the film), but because of his behavior at the BAFTAs. Sure, it should be solely about the performance, but when you have human beings voting, they take personalitites into account. The irony, of course, is that sometime in the near future, Russell will be nommed again, and people will say, oh he got cheated out of it for ABM so let's reward him this year. ;-) Anyone want to do some Oscar predictions in the major categories? And also add who your vote would go to?

Murph's Crowe site (Prose and the Passion) is singled out in USA Today! Go to: http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/2002/03/18/web-celeb.htm

I thought this was cute, from the imdb. Evelyn, I wonder if "wheelchair parts" take center stage in nursing home movies? ;-) ;-) Age No Barrier In Dench's Hollywood Dame Judi Dench's recent Oscar successes keep her in movies - something that she is more than happy about. The Iris star believes that Hollywood provides more opportunities to older actors than the stage can. She says, "There's more for people of my age in Hollywood, I think. There's always somebody shuffling across in the background. Wheelchair parts. I'm not proud anymore. Now real wheelchair parts - they're a real plus because you don't even have to learn the moves. Crikey. I could do with one now." Dench is up for another Oscar, this time for Best Actress, at the Academy Awards ceremony next Sunday having previously been named Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for her role in Shakespeare In Love.

Congrats, Murph! I just read that Penelope Cruz is co-starring with Jude Law in his next film. She'll get another chance to botch up a part. Anyone want to do some Oscar predictions in the major categories? And also add who your vote would go to? Oscar picks: BP, Moulin Rouge-- me LOTR BD, Opie-- me LOTR (forgot his name) BA, Russell C-- me RC Ba, Nicole K-- me NK B FF, Amelie-- me Amelie