(Rex Reed) "rare treasures" Goodness . .am getting very excited to see GWAPE this evening!!!! Can't wait!

Is this the particular area?

Maria!! Thank you!!! OMG...he is adorable. If you click on the smaller images, they 'blow up' to amazing proportions! But...but....is ODB wearing black socks with white pants? What's going on there? Love him when he can't dress himself!

karen - Yup! I think that may be me, to the left of the today sign . .I think that was about the time the women let me squeeze up in front with them . . .there were 3 of them w/ the santa hats . .one of them took off her hat . .there's a chance it might be her . .but I have an odd feeling it's me;)

Sorry, still looking at BAFTA pics, doesn't Scarlett look like Rosie the Riveter??

Tress: But...but....is ODB wearing black socks with white pants? He was wearing khaki colored trousers.

(MarianneC) He was wearing khaki colored trousers. On closer inspection (those large pics are wonderful...a bit grainy, but still pretty impressive) I can see they are khaki (thanks Marianne!) and I was told by another source that those are his brown boots (not socks) that he was wearing...much better!

More on GWAPE from Film critic.com Girl with a Pearl Earring--3 stars A film review by Christopher Null - Johannes Vermeer lived in a time of enormous creativity yet produced so few paintings � 35, exactly � that it�s surprising he�s remembered at all. Unlike the romanticized �starving artist,� Vermeer�s household (in 1600s Netherlands) was extremely well-off, though little much else is known about him. Based on the popular novel, the film imagines the circumstances that might have led to the creation of Vermeer�s most famous painting, �The Girl with a Pearl Earring,� produced in 1665. Unlike most recent movies about artists � Surviving Picasso, Pollock, Love Is the Devil � there�s hardly a lick of truth to be found in Earring. Most scholars figure the girl in the picture is one of Vermeer�s daughters (of which he had many), while the film posits the girl is a quiet maid despised by Vermeer�s wife and lusted after by the artist and his sponsor. It certainly makes for a better story than a movie about a guy painting a picture of his kid. Colin Firth plays a smoldering Vermeer. Though it�s colored by Firth�s usual display of repression, it�s one of his better performances through sheer virtue of its uniqueness in his oeuvre. Scarlett Johansson is the spitting image of the titular girl, and though she has little to do in the film, she also turns in a worthwhile performance, casting aside her dusky rumble for the first time in exchange for a British(?) accent of sorts. Barely 90 minutes long, the movie�s only real failing is that it never develops a terribly compelling story. Vermeer recruits a maid to be a model? Teaches her how to grind stuff into paint, and develops an unhealthy fixation on the girl? I guess that�ll pass for a plot, but it�s hard to get caught up in the interplay between the two leads. They don�t have a ton of chemistry, and the May-December/student-mentor story�s been done to death. Earring plays out pretty much as you�d expect, which is funny, since it�s completely made up. At last Earring is a well-made film. Its cinematography, score, and the acting of supporting players are all top-notch. Earring will likely try to become The Hours of 2003 � making a play as an intense tale of love gone wrong amidst a period backdrop. Too bad that kind of intensity rarely comes across in a movie rated PG-13. http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/d1eef39d2aceec7288256dec0065ea0a?OpenDocument Thank you, Maria. (Tress)Love him when he can't dress himself But he's looked pretty darn AFG, lately;-)

Thank you Maria, the pictures are great! (Tress) ...they 'blow up' to amazing proportions! They certainly do! (Two Towers cast is on later pages, may I just say Orlando Bloom blows up nicely too.) doesn't Scarlett look like Rosie the Riveter?? LOL...she sure does, that must explain it. I saw this one and wondered about the look she was going for...

"there�s hardly a lick of truth to be found in Earring. I wonder what's his source of "the truth"? I thought the point was that hardly anything is known for sure, thus even "Most scholars figure the girl in the picture is one of Vermeer�s daughters" is only speculation at best. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that Christopher Null (film reviewer extroadinaire) found ELF inciteful, truthful, and kept him on the edge of his seat until the exciting climax. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

(Linda) But he's looked pretty darn AFG, lately;-) No doubt! He could be wearing a potato sack (or lack thereof) and look pretty hot! He's been especially scrumptious of late! I just get tickled when he makes 'interesting' clothing choices. Makes him more adorable that he sometimes appears to need help getting it all together....

(Tress)I just get tickled when he makes 'interesting' clothing choices. Makes him more adorable that he sometimes appears to need help getting it all together.... I know . .just wants to make you take him by the hand over to his closet and say . .here, sweetheart . .this goes with this . . .no not that . .this . . (I do that with my husband ALL the time)

LOL Tress about Rosie the Riveter!! Have to agree with you ladies, he is looking AFG and unbelievably more adorable all the time. As for his needing help dressing... pretty sure an army of deeply motivated PA's would have made sure that gloves were in the pockets of his coat before sending him out in that weather... Nevah hoid of Slant Magazine but they saw fit to do a review so.... Peter Webber�s gorgeous Girl With a Pearl Earring is a work of lightweight conjecture. Based on Tracy Chevaller�s award-winning novel of the same name, this fictionalized story attempts to reveal the events surrounding the paintings of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), whose life scholars know very little about. When the gruelingly polite Griet (Scarlett Johanson) goes to work at Vermeer�s home, she quickly catches the eye of no less than three men: the hermetic Vermeer; horny butcher boy Pieter (28 Days Later�s Cillian Murphy); and evil patron of the arts Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). Steeped in remarkably obsessive period detail, the film observes how Griet makes food, washes clothes, and mixes colors for the various inhabitants of Vermeer�s gloomy abode. The details are so rigorous it�s as if the filmmakers have been slowly chipping away at the cracked surfaces of Vermeer�s paintings to reveal the history buried beneath. Every frame in the film is meant to evoke one of the artist�s now-famous w rks (the actors all stand and sit in the right place, sunlight is its own dynamic character), and as such Girl With a Pearl Earring quickly reveals itself, perhaps appropriately, as a cinematographer�s creation. But the film�s only sense of wonder is the recognition of Vermeer�s paintings coming to life (at the critic�s screening I attended, fans of his works were quick to respond with �oohs� and �aahs�). Not surprisingly, the film�s story (class issues and poverty get the Cliffs Notes treatment) and performances (all stolen glances, hushed tones, canal-side cat-walking, and Phantom of the Opera gondola transport) aren�t quite as finicky as the color palette. Essie Davis and Judy Parfitt, as Vermeer�s wife and mother-in-law, respectively, bring to mind the hysterical mother-grandmother tag-team from Flowers in the Attic. If this banal soap opera noticeably lacks a soul, it bears mentioning that the film still features the best shot of the year. Griet walks into a room where a suspicious Catharina (Davis) is playing Solitaire (of course!), and watches the maid setting plates on a nearby table from the corner of her eye. The camera pulls back to reveal Vermeer sitting next to his wife, starring at the maid he�s enamored with. Again the camera pulls back, this time revealing Maria Thins (Parfitt) to the left of Vermeer, starring at her son-in-law looking at the maid. What with Webber�s remarkable use of silence and offscreen space, it�s this one scene in the film that truly attempts to understand the emotional and psychological baggage of the aesthetic surface. http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=894

(Maria)pretty sure an army of deeply motivated PA's would have made sure that gloves were in the pockets of his coat before sending him out in that weather... Hmmm . . shall we all inquire to see if there are any positions available?

Firth Class By Dany Margolies Honestly, it's not just his quintessentially tall, dark, and handsome appearance that has won him fans. Colin Firth is a superb actor, and he has created characters as remarkable for their paradoxical intensity and gentleness as they are for their romantic appeal. This year his on-screen performances are even richer in spirit. Yet while his professional career began with more than a little luck, he still struggles for roles like any working-class actor. The Brit came to acting gradually, performing in a few school plays. "I liked them," Firth recalled. "But I always felt a bit of a fool. It wasn't exactly a very cool thing to do, school plays, a lot of the time. My school wasn't exactly particularly inclined towards the arts. But I did some amateur stuff, as well--extracurricular. And I enjoyed that." Firth then attended the Drama Centre London, which he described as a "tough school." There he studied a Stanislavsky/Strasberg-based curriculum, which was "very unconventional in English terms," he admitted. "It was very much motivated by the extraordinary personalities of the men who ran it; they were hugely charismatic and very powerful, and rather frightening teachers. It certainly galvanized a lot of us into taking our energies to a different level." Also at Drama Centre he studied with Yat Malmgren, a student of the man who formalized dance notation, Rudolph Laban. Said Firth, "Yat took Laban's notation into acting. We studied movement psychology and its notation. We didn't use the notation particularly, but the notation is based on principles of putting psychological concepts into space, into action, into the physical world. "It all sounds terribly alienating and full of shit, really, to people who don't subscribe to it," he continued. "I found that after a couple of years of it, it started to make an enormous amount of sense; it came as close as anything anybody really can to teaching acting. I think it's very hard to teach acting. You certainly can't teach talent. It made sense to me, and I still use it." Another influence on Firth's early years was Christopher Fettes. "Best theatre director I ever worked with," the actor said. "He would constantly challenge you to ask questions, not only about your character and your performance but about what you're doing as an actor: Who are you doing it for? Are you alive enough to the world around you? Are you reading newspapers? Are you listening to voices? Are you going to galleries? Are you absorbing things that will stimulate you? And if not, why not? Why aren't you asking questions? Why aren't you pursuing things? What right do you have to be standing up and watched if you're not watching the world yourself?" As Firth recalled, "It was an incredibly vigorous process, where you'd get rather pleased with yourself about what you were doing, and he would challenge you. He would give you cowardice. He would tell you to throw it all away. I remember, at one point, I thought I was doing extremely well. We were doing Tartuffe; he put a very dark spin on it. We'd been rehearsing for weeks. I felt quite smug about where I'd got to. At the end of one week he gave general notes, and he just said to me, 'I want you to come back on Monday with something different. I want you to throw it away. I want to see what happens.' And it was a torturous weekend. I just risked a completely different physicality. He was a healthy dose of a mixture of fear and respect that he engendered. He still has it over people even now." Although he worked hard in drama school, Firth admitted that his first job came quite easily. "I didn't pay my dues in the sense of struggling to get employed," he said. "I think that is soul-destroying, and I admire anyone [who goes through it]." At his first audition, although the circumstances were daunting, he earned a role in a long-running West End production of Another Country that had also launched the careers of Rupert Everett, Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis, and James Wilby. Firth took over Day-Lewis's role. "They held these enormous auditions," Firth said. "They put out ads in a stage newspaper. Thousands of boys came to try out. There were guys dressed--they tried to put the costume on, which doesn't sell, I don't think. And it's a really superbly bad idea; it's far too keen-looking. I think rules are a bit different here than they are in England. I think they like a bit of self-effacement and deference in England. If you were to sit before the director and were a bit skeptical about your own chances for the role, they tended to like that. Here you're out the door if you do that. Anyway, I got past first base. It was a classic thing. I don't know if it happens anymore, but it was the darkened auditorium and the light on the stage." Firth said the opportunity provided him not only with the work but also with an Equity card and an agent. "Everything happened at once," he admitted. "So I have not paid my dues. I landed on my feet right from the beginning. And my second job was film version of that play." Firth first came to the attention of American audiences when he portrayed Mr. Darcy in the BBC's 1995 miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy's cool exterior couldn't quite hide a slowly burning love for the story's heroine; irritation at her uncouth family, frustration with her other potential suitors, and a warm brotherly heart counterpoised his character's apparent haughtiness. The English Patient followed, in which he played the sadly accommodating and genial husband of Kristin Scott Thomas' passionate Katherine. In 1998 he played Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love, showing menace as he demanded the hand of Gwenyth Paltrow's Viola, showing humor as he skidded to an obsequious halt in front of Judi Dench's Elizabeth I. In Bridget Jones's Diary he earned Bridget's respect for his grounded, persistent nature; he earned ours for a sensitive, subtle limning of a seemingly bland good guy. Yet he still reads for roles. "I haven't read anything in England for decades," the actor said. "Here, oh yes, and I probably still would again. A lot of the work I've done here, it's required. A lot of the work I didn't get required reading as well. I have failed on a grand scale." And he, like so many actors, has exited auditions wishing he'd done something differently. "I've known I've had a bad day," said Firth. "I'm not a great auditioner, actually. I think I did one really good audition in my life, which got me started. I think most jobs I auditioned for I haven't got. It's just a different skill. It's almost a stupid thing to do--to audition actors. I don't know how much you can really tell. You can dazzle at an audition, and then you can't function for the length of a film shoot. Spielberg doesn't audition people, and I think that shows great confidence and wisdom." On one occasion early in his career, he had the opportunity to watch other actors read for the role of Lewis Carroll in Dream Child, the story of the real Alice of Alice in Wonderland. "I watched four actors come in and, one after the other, be utterly brilliant," Firth said. "It was quite an amazing thing. I would not have wanted to make those choices. It was an extraordinary privilege to just watch completely different but brilliant interpretations by actors--one of whom is a continually successful actor, another of whom I never heard of again, and one who is a successful director. Firth said he continues to use his drama school training but with additional techniques. "I'll take anything I can get," he admitted. "My school was a little bit purist about not working from the outside in. I've tended to disagree with that over the years. I think they made things very difficult. I had to play King Lear as a student. I was 19 years old. Particularly my kind of 19. There were two other actors playing the role; both were a lot more manly than I was at that age. They could grow facial hair, which I couldn't. They were big, which I wasn't. One of them was a rough Scotsman; the other was a big Canadian with an operatic voice. They grew beards. I couldn't grow a beard. And they wouldn't let me stick anything on. This was in our student production, and we weren't allowed any accessories or anything to help us. I knew that if I could have just done something--costume, beard, just something to help me suspend disbelief--that would have connected something with the inside, and I could have worked ba k out again. Mirrors were banned in my school, even in the dance school. There was one little mirror in the bathroom. They just didn't want you working according to the external imagery. "And I think they're slightly misguided," he continued. "I think people can, if it works, use it. I really don't see any point in imposing something just to make an orthodoxy out of it. Forage. Go where you can. Copy. Steal from other actors. Find things in the street. I've sometimes found that I've been saved at the very last minute by hearing a voice in a bar that makes me think, That's useful. I haven't got a start for him; I haven't got a character; and I just heard this guy. It just gives me an idea. It gives me something to refer to. So I honestly think, Yeah, great, use disciplines, pursue them, and be as rigorous about them as you can. And I think it can be very rewarding. But cheat--all the time, if you need to, wherever you can. That's what I find you have to do. Your stimuli can come from the most unexpected places." In person Firth is not unlike his screen persona--well spoken and gentlemanly. But he'll become uncharacteristically riled when asked about the on-set shenanigans of some actors. "What-on-earth job would tolerate people showing up late and behaving badly?" he began. "I don't see what on earth gives actors the right to behave any differently from anyone else. There's no need to. It's bullshit. There's absolutely no excuse for it, and nobody respects you. It does nothing but drag you down, and it makes your work worse. Just stay off that." And a few minutes later he added, "I'm sorry, I just came back to the behavior thing. If you work in a bank or you're a policeman, no one's going to tolerate--you can't throw tantrums and show up late. It's just basic human respect, for one thing. It's embarrassing to watch people not behave themselves. And also, with filming, there's a lot of money riding on you if you're playing an important part in something. People are putting their necks on the line, and I think a bit of commitment is expected. People don't come out of their trailers, and stuff. I hate it. It really gets me. It pisses me off when I hear stories like that." Firth must be doing everything right. His 2003 credits are numerous: the popular favorites Hope Springs and What a Girl Wants, the artistic gem Girl With a Pearl Earring, and the universally appealing Love Actually. In Girl With a Pearl Earring he plays Johannes Vermeer--the 17th century Dutch artist whose 35 canvases brought painting out of the religious Gothic style and into a new world of color and light and simply portrayed secular people in daily activities. Firth likewise breaks ground here, crafting perhaps his deepest, darkest portrayal yet. Indeed the film's director, Peter Webber, told BSW he cast Firth because he would bring a tenderness to the role. "And there's a mystery about him," Weller added. "He's both human and complex." As for Firth's performance, the director said, "You believe he's interested in the girl as a person. I knew he wouldn't overplay it." Firth said he found the key stimulus for his character in the paintings. But he readily admitted it's difficult to explain the process of absorbing a character from an object. "And I don't know how much it helped, actually," he added. "I'm not saying one can. I think one can take what you can whenever you can. Christopher Fettes had us observe, when we were doing Tartuffe, any religious art from the Renaissance, partly because of the eroticism of them, the strange homoeroticism of some of these--the Caravaggios, even in the earlier stuff. They're very suggestive. It's just, I thought, this is a guy whose paintings withhold a great deal, and yet they contain enormous passion. He sets himself at a distance from his subject a lot of the time. They're works that refuse to give up their secrets. All I could do was hope to see the way he saw. I wouldn't have been able to do that if we didn't have his paintings to articulate what he saw. But I think he found--the value of an artist like Vermeer is like he saw with a unique eye, and he imparts that vision to us via the paintings. So I had that benefit. I could see these extraordinary soft surfaces, of garments and skin, removed from us, and I just thought, Well, don't try to act looks and attitudes; just forget the camera and try to see like that--and hope they capture them when they photograph it." Those who've seen his portrayal of Vermeer would agree that Firth is at his natural best creating the aura of the mysterious painter. In Love Actually Firth gives us perhaps his most buoyant portrayal yet. He plays a man disappointed in love who flees to the South of France to mend his heart while writing a crime novel. Firth's character slowly falls for his housekeeper. Neither speaks French--he speaks English, she speaks Portuguese. It's perhaps our first chance to see the actor at his most ebullient. And did all of his Stanislavsky training work for Firth's performance? Firth recalled, "I didn't think so much about it, to be honest. I just put myself in [director] Richard Curtis' hands and went to France and had a good time. Sometimes it's like that." BSW http://www.backstage.com/backstage/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2049081

I can't believe she swung it! Colin will be answering questions from his fans tomorrow about his upcoming role in GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and other topics. All the info you need is right here: http://chat.msn.com/msnlive_feature.msnw?id=artist/colinfirth Remember, it's 9PM eastern standard time (6PM pacific), not 8PM as the site states.

OMG Karen!!! Incredible!!! Thanks so much!!

Blurb from Decmber 15 - In Touch Magazine Listed in the "Best of the week" section Saturday 12/13 Film: Behind the Muse A Girl With A Pearl Earring is a movie (starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson based on a book (by Tracy Chevalier) based on a painting (by Johannes Vermeer). Johansson is a servant who gets an art lesson in sexual tention when she poses for a portrait for her married master, Vermeer (Firth). First Bill Murray, now Colin Firth: Scarlett sure has a way with older guys!

Not sure anyone could get a better birthday present, huh, Mari? Must be because it is precipitous outside now. ;-) You nail'em, hon!

Karen! . .That is fabulous!! Hooray Colin!!!!! Thanks for agreeing to it! Dang . .I am unfortunately going to be stuck in a rehearsal at that time . .If I think of any questions, may I email them to you to ask on my behalf? Never took part in one of these before . .will they keep all the questions and answers posted on line for us to read afterwards?

(Kimberly)Never took part in one of these before . .will they keep all the questions and answers posted on line for us to read afterwards? Um, not that I should admit..but they did when there was a chat with Amanda Bynes...;-)) (I have flutterbies!)

(Kimberly)Never took part in one of these before . .will they keep all the questions and answers posted on line for us to read afterwards? (Maria)Um, not that I should admit..but they did when there was a chat with Amanda Bynes...;-)) (I have flutterbies!) Oh please, oh please, I hope they do . . fingers crossed that they keep them posted . .I won't get back to the house till probably after the chat is done! !!! I'd like to see what people asked and how they all reacted!

(backstage.com) Yet he still reads for roles. "I haven't read anything in England for decades," the actor said. "Here, oh yes, and I probably still would again. A lot of the work I've done here, it's required. A lot of the work I didn't get required reading as well. I have failed on a grand scale." And he, like so many actors, has exited auditions wishing he'd done something differently. "I've known I've had a bad day," said Firth. "I'm not a great auditioner, actually. I think I did one really good audition in my life, which got me started. I think most jobs I auditioned for I haven't got. It's just a different skill. It's almost a stupid thing to do--to audition actors. I don't know how much you can really tell. You can dazzle at an audition, and then you can't function for the length of a film shoot. Spielberg doesn't audition people, and I think that shows great confidence and wisdom." I think that answers a lot of questions. And he's mentioned before how he went in to talk to Spielberg and it didn't go well. Of course, I wouldn't have liked the movie he was up for (a Jurassic Park), but still, he's admitting he doesn't test well or make a good impression on the decision-makers. :-(

Colin will be answering questions from his fans tomorrow about his upcoming role in GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and other topics. GAH!!! I have a screening to go to (and "work" at), with rumored Q&A with Helen Mirren and possibly others. Hmmmm. Do they print transcripts of chats? Or must I leave early (with appropriately fabricated excuse of why I'm leaving)? Holy cow!! Thanks, Karen!

(Kimberly)Oh please, oh please, I hope they do . . fingers crossed that they keep them posted (Dorine)Do they print transcripts of chats? If I have any wits about me tomorrow (don't hold your breath with ODB involved!) I will try and cut and paste into an email or word doc, but I know they did keep the transcript the last (and only other) time I participated...

(CF) said Firth. "I'm not a great auditioner, actually. (Karen) he's admitting he doesn't test well or make a good impression on the decision-makers. :-( The reason he may not have tested for Sylvia? (Thank God, too. That thing sunk like a stone.)

Maria - Must thank you so much for the Backstage article .. .as an actor . .I'm clipping and keeping this one in my journal. . . Will check tomorrow's Backstage (east) just to see if it's printed there as well . . .It should be . . .

Not sure anyone could get a better birthday present, huh, Mari? I've fainted straight away. First the Santa cap on live TV, now he's dabbling in this newfangled technology.;-) I'll be ready . . .if I can figure out how to use it! Do you type in your questions, and then you listen to his answers? Or are his answers typed out and there's no audio? And he's mentioned before how he went in to talk to Spielberg and it didn't go well. No, he said he met with him, but nothing came of it--not that it went poorly. And, he made it clear it was not an audition.

Forgot to say, thanks, Karen, for bringing this news to us!!:-) Maria, thanks for the Backstage article--very interesting insider-ish stuff, definitely things we haven't read before.

(Mari)Do you type in your questions, and then you listen to his answers? Or are his answers typed out and there's no audio? Mari, if I remember correctly it goes at a fast and furious pace (he will probably have someone typing for him??) so have your questions ready...We type the questions in and then certain entries are chosen and answered...

(CF) said Firth. "I'm not a great auditioner, actually. (Karen) he's admitting he doesn't test well or make a good impression on the decision-makers. :-( The reason he may not have tested for Sylvia? (Thank God, too. That thing sunk like a stone.) Didn't he also decide not to audtion for Posession? . .Or am I getting actors mixed up?

(Mari) Or are his answers typed out and there's no audio? Yes. Thanks for the Backstage article, Maria! What I've skimmed over is different and interesting. Will read it when I get back later. What happened to all of our questions for Colin that were compiled eons ago?

Karen...thank you!!! Wonderful news. I was going to see GWAPE tomorrow (special screening starts at 7:30) but may have to forgo that and stay to 'chat'. Even if I don't get into the 'inner circle' it may be too much fun to watch it unfold. Will have to see GWAPE in NYC next week! But, but....isn't ODB to be at the GWAPE premiere in LA tomorrow evening? What time does that start? Maria, great, fantastic, wonderful article! Love hearing Colin talk about his craft and what he does for a living! Very interesting stuff talked about with some new revelations regarding auditioning and how he 'channels'...and steals from others....LOL! Thanks for all your finds today!!!

We type the questions in and then certain entries are chosen and answered... Oh no, that means there's a gatekeeper and I'll be censored.;-) ;-) Thanks, Maria and Dorine for responding so quickly. Tress, the Los Angeles GWAPE premiere is tonight!

(Mari) Tress, the Los Angeles GWAPE premiere is tonight! Ohhhh....that means I watch WireImage and Rex this evening to see if pics are up from prem! Isn't something going on tomorrow then? A Q&A maybe?? I'm all flustered as I am excited about the pending chat!

Karen, Help!! When I click the link, it states that MSN Chat has been closed in the UK since October. Is there any way we in the UK can access this?

If you follow the Boss's link to MSN, you'll see an index down the left side of screen to lead you to archived transcripts of previous chats: http://chat.msn.com/msnlive_feature.msnw?id=artist/colinfirth (Karen) I can't believe she swung it! So, to whom do we owe this honor? Was this HolaLola's doing?

After a long night of catching up, just wanted to thank you all for the articles, reviews, transcripts and pictures. Would have loved to join the chat (as if I had any chance of asking a question worth answering :-))), but MSN Denmark just closed the chatroom, to provide better service to parents. Rats - I'm a parent and I want chat!!!! (at least tomorrow). So - Maria, if possible would love to see a transscript !

Hmmmm.... it looks as though Australia's IP addresses are being redirected to a different chat system. :-((((

(Karen)Colin will be answering questions from his fans tomorrow about his upcoming role in GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and other topics. (Tress)I'm all flustered as I am excited about the pending chat! (MSN)This chat event will begin in only 1 days, 2 hours and 27 mins When it rains, it pours! Wow! What a happy day.

According to this: http://join.msn.com/?page=features/es_chat&xapid=1820&DI=341&HL=from_chat_page it looks like MSN chat is a subscription service. I've sent off my emails for verification.

Just went into some celebrity chat going on at MSN. It looks just like the one Amanda did last April, there is a moderator that introduces the guest and then opens it up for questions. When you pose a question, you get this message, 8Thank you! Our guest has received your question and will make every effort to answer it. However, due to the large number of questions submitted, not all questions can be answered. Meanwhile you are watching others questions coming through and the guests answers... The questions must be 50 words or less...

OK,the chat I surveyed lasted one half hour, 11 questions were answered, and a link for the transcript is provided at the end of the session. we have got to make these questions goooooood!!!

Saw this to the right of the Chat page that Karen had linked up... MSN Live stays a free site!Find out more! When I clicked on it, it sent me to another page with this info... To all the fans from around the world who have joined us since 1998, we are pleased to announce that MSN Live, your home for Celebrity Events, will remain a free site. You can still expect the same high quality chat events with the biggest stars from film, music and television hosted by your favorite MSN Live hosts! Then there was a bunch of FAQs, how to ask questions, etc.. here's the link for anyone interested http://chat.msn.com/msnlive_feature.msnw?id=artist/faq_free

Oh Fantastic news. Thank you, Karen. I'll be up all night just thinking about this. Maria, thanks for the great article.

(CF)" Yet he still reads for roles. "I haven't read anything in England for decades," the actor said. "Here, oh yes, and I probably still would again. A lot of the work I've done here, it's required. A lot of the work I didn't get required reading as well. I have failed on a grand scale. I'd like to know what roles he read for...in the US. Fascinating article...wonder how the interviewer got all that out of him. Colin online chat? Whoa....the guy is finally coming into the 21st Century. Hey, boss, looks like you have to register and get a "net passport".

After beating my head against cyberwalls and giving up based on AOL's inability/refusal to "talk" to MSN and going through Internet Explorer, got to MSN chat area and clicked the link to access the "room" for the CF chat...the message said: The chat's topic is: (FREE, courtesy of MSN) Actor Colin Firth of Girl With Pearl Earring and Love Actually Thurs., Dec., 11 at 6pm PT, 7pm MTN, 8pm CT, 9pm ET Still probably need the .net passport thing but looks like the $19.95 subscription may not be necessary.

Oh, oh, oh! That is definitely our flashiest of (news) flashes!:-) Many, many thanks to she who swung it! I will miss the event but I went over to see if I could get through, just in cases. Follow Karen's link and try to enter the chat room. You definitely need the .net passport with a valid email account. If you don't have one, do it now because they will email verification. Then, you also have to have an unique-to-their-system nickname and it might take time to get one verified. Then, I had to let it download the chat software--took two attempts. All in all, it took at least an hour but then I did see a chat going on and was given the frame to ask a question w/o paying anything. Have a great time ladies! I hope he takes this opportunity to let his sense of humor shine.

Can questions be submitted ahead of time (like now)? Or do they only take questions actually submitted during the chat?

Thanks Karen for the exciting news about tomorrow night's event! I can't wait to see the questions he chooses to answer and his responses. Finally, the fan base gets to interact with the man. This is going to be a blast! Maria, love the Backstage article. Thanks again for all your great finds. I think research is your true calling.

WooHoo! I just checked, entered the chatroom, and I'm in. Hopefully I"ll be able to duplicate this again tomorrow night. If I do get in, anyone have a special question I can submit for them?

(LisaHen) I can't wait to see the questions he chooses to answer and his responses. Finally, the fan base gets to interact with the man. While out with Kimberly and Risa (Little Bee) tonight, Risa said she was familiar with the setup for chats and said that 2 people (one may be an agent) act as filters for questions during the chat before it gets to him. She could explain more if she has time. And Mari, I don't believe they take questions early.

Johansson: Unfazed by fame By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY NEW YORK � It's fair to say that having Scarlett Johansson play a demure 17th-century maiden is seriously casting against type. The style-savvy hipster can proudly sing Will Smith's entire version of Just the Two of Us. She's madly in love with her new BMW Z4 Roadster, waiting for her at home in Los Angeles. She's a huge Prada fan who can cover entire city blocks in soaring heels. And her Oscar night plan of attack? "I'll be eating pizza at home and watching everyone on television," she says. "I would go if I was nominated, but I won't just show up. But I'll go to the after-parties, because they're just hysterical." Chances are, though, that Johansson, 19, won't be a mere bystander at this year's Academy Awards, thanks to dual performances that have struck a chord with critics. First, she played a frustrated, lonely wife stuck abroad in Japan in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. And on Friday, she's hesitant, humble Griet, the Dutch maid who goes to work in the house of Johannes Vermeer and becomes the subject of one of his most famous paintings in Girl With a Pearl Earring. Johansson utters few words in the film and has to convey delight or desire with a toss of her head and a downward glance � no easy task for a woman who's "noisy, irreverent, witty, opinionated, just an amazing force of nature, really," director Peter Webber says. The real Johansson is "alive and intelligent and communicative," says Colin Firth, who plays Vermeer. "She treated me with a fairly healthy disrespect." Particularly when it came to the pantaloons Firth had to wear as part of his period costume. "Scarlett would start singing the Oompa Loompa song," says Firth, referring to the plump creatures in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And when she saw his long, artistically disheveled wig, "she would say, 'I can't believe it's not butter.' Fabio became my name for a while." As for Johansson, she's not craving the sort of celebrity that would make her a household name, nor has she ever starred in by-the-numbers blockbusters. When talk turns to Britney Spears, Johansson shudders at the thought of not being able to grab a hot dog at Gray's Papaya without being mobbed by fans or reporters. "If I'm on downtime, I can still go to Starbucks and order a latte. But you realize people are recognizing you, and that's a little bizarre," she says. Johansson has had ample time to get used to the recognition, which she has been earning since playing a traumatized teen in Robert Redford's 1998 drama The Horse Whisperer. Now she's finishing up A Good Woman, based on Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, on Italy's Amalfi Coast. She loves the location, sure, but it takes more than a gorgeous view to bedazzle Johansson. She's played opposite Redford, Bill Murray in Translation and John Travolta in the upcoming Ladder 49 and it's safe to say that it's hard to faze her. "I'm kind of regular, but in a certain way I'm jaded because I can't not be," she says. "I've been doing this for 11 years." But there are certain moments that bedazzle her. Like the time musician Elvis Costello recognized her at a party and told her he loved her in the 2000 black comedy Ghost World. "But something that's been truly surreal is shaking Neil Young's hand in Toronto. I was like, 'I'm a young person and I like your music!' " she nearly shouts Johansson is that rare breed of actress who would rather bash Hollywood's Botox obsession, chat about her black stilettos or discuss just about anything than ardently hype her own movies. "I can run a marathon in heels," proclaims the native New Yorker, who just bought a place in L.A. She's remodeling it with the help of her architect dad. And don't bother even mentioning the distinct possibility that Johansson might earn not one but two awards nominations this year. "That would be crazy," she says. "If you start to expect something because people are constantly telling you, it can be disappointing."

I've put up the pics of Colin at the Women in Film and Televison Awards lunch: http://www.firth.com/p_eye013.html There will be better ones, once that pesky watermarking is removed.

Hmmm...awaiting ODB on Craig Kilborn and his 5 questions with trepidation. CK said he was a fan. Interesting. We'll see by his banter and questions. ;-)

I'm devastated! I want so much to participate in the Chat tomorrow but I don't seem to be seeing what others are seeing when I click on Karen's link. All I get is a red MSN screen with clickable links to other MSN pages. I do have an MSN passport and I have participated in other MSN chats. Can anyone help me?

OH MY! Does he look AFG!!

He seems very relaxed on this one-and is so funny!

He looks AFG and also pretty comfortable in that seat! Love the gray suit and white shirt.

(Bonnie) He seems very relaxed on this one I think he's nervous...how many times has he run his right index finger down the side of his face? And quite ansy in his chair. ;-) and is so funny! Too right about that! LOL!!

You talking to Me? My I'm laughin' off my jollyhose!

I thought that was jolly ho's! ;-)

(Dorine)I think he's nervous...how many times has he run his right index finger down the side of his face? And quite ansy in his chair. ;-) You're right..he did that on R&K too....

He's getting better on his reparte'(sp?), though. Maybe he feels better on Pacific Time...was this pre-recorded from his visit two weeks ago?

That's ok, I was nervous for him. Love the question about British food vs British porn, LOL!! I wonder how many people wanted to get up and leave after he did. ;-)

Excellent appearance on Craig Kilborn, and he was so funny! What a week: --Santa hat --MSN chat --Colin doing DeNiro impressions and getting "bleeped" several times in the midst of Raging Bull dialogue: "You f*ckin' my wife? You been f*ckin' my wife? Hey, you wanna f*uck my wife?" Told several funny anecdotes, especially the one about the angry penis. Must be that California sun.;-) Good show, Colin!

No, it was just before the premiere tonight.

Despite the squirming in the chair, he really pulled off a good appearance on that show. Told the "lying bloody" story (as expected) and I loved the impressions and so did Craig. Thumbs up!

Great interview on the Kilborn show! Nice to see CF get a very loud ovation from the audience, who not only stood when he came out for his interview, but also after the interview concluded. Much of CF & CK's convo had me in stitches! So glad I didn't have to work tonight! :-)

He's so cute when he becomes earnst and crosses his arms.

(Karen) Despite the squirming in the chair, he really pulled off a good appearance on that show. Absolutely!! I'm glad the Fabio comments didn't pop up when talking about the wig. Over that already.

I've created the next topic, but please don't start using it until after we hit 1999 messages here, which will be the last one at Topic 184. http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/drool/187/new And whoever posts message 1999, turn out the lights.

I agree about the Fabio comments being a thing of the past..better buried!!!! I originally thought he was relaxed, but upon reflection realize he was quite the opposite..just becoming acquainted with his mannerisms and paying attention to body language during telly spots-it's too easy to get caught up in watching his face and listening to that voice. Look forward to news of the premiere in LA from DD....

Thank you Marianne!!! Lovely! Looks like a fine evening in Los Angeles!

Thanks, Marianne! Been looking for some all night. Scarlett has the Livia pose down....looking up at him. She looks quite enamored. ;-)

Wonderful photos! Thank you! :)

To everyone that is going to join in the 'chat session' enjoy! I worked out that 9pm eastern is 4am for me, so I'll give this a miss, but would love to hear about how it was.

Chiming in about CK show..Fron CK's glowing intro of ODB to ODB getting so excited he kept cutting CK off (Damn cute!) it was a very enjoyable appearance! I was giggling and smiling throughout! Some new GWAPE pics , only one of Vermeer- http://movieweb.com/movies/gallery2.php?film=1646&id=1315

(Mari)Excellent appearance on Craig Kilborn, and he was so funny! What a week: Boy I'm a mess. 1/8 of an inch concealer on my eyes and 4 hrs sleep but worth every minute! I was LMAO! So AFG, so funny! Who says he can't do an american accent? As long as it's De Neroesque and there's a lot of f**k, LOL!! Where's the coffee?

Two galleries of pics: http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====44764 http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====44759 Will do large ones when I return and I'm going to slap a few hands

I like this one... here's the link for more... http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/CFW/imageResults.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState|0|15|0|1|||0|0|0|0|7|colin+firth&p=7

(Mari)Excellent appearance on Craig Kilborn, and he was so funny! What a week: Wot a week indeed. I loved his appearance early this morning. I set the alarm to wake up as I had gone to bed early. Wonder why I never did get back to sleep;-) I loved hearing him say Penne Arrabbiato. That's my favoite pasta dish, and I enjoyed it the first night in NY last month...I'm in heaven. It thought he did an excellent job, and I couldn't believe the bleeps. LOL,I kept thinking is this ODB or that other *^%$#**? Wish they hadn't bleeped him, though-y'all know that I love hearing him say that word. (Dorine)Scarlett has the Livia pose down....looking up at him. OMG, you took the words right out of my post;-) Have my netpassport, and this girl is ready to fly. Thanks Karen and Marianne.

Thanks for all the pics, Karen. I love to see him dressed up. Must have taken a lot to make him wear a tie at the Women in Films lunch. Cute on the Kilborn show. The View is still my fave though.

Wire Images from last night:

Penne Arrabiata 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes -- or more if brave 1 stem fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried 5 fresh basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried 1 large can crushed tomatoes 1/3 cup red wine Salt and pepper 1 pound box penne pasta or rigatoni, cooked according to package directions In skillet, saut� garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes in oil. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat. When sauce begins to bubble, stir and add basil. Reduce heat; cook for 15 minutes or until thickened. Toss with cooked penne or rigatoni. Makes 4 servings

What a bust....missed Kilborn (and hence missed ODB getting bleeped?? I'm saddened....I long to hear the bleep) and have now found that I can chat using MSN, but my evil Mac will not allow me to see the celebrity chat (meaning I cannot participate. Not that I would get in, but the anticipation, and the hope...that little sliver of joy at the thought of getting a question answered....gone!). I can, on the other hand, view archived chats and see the celebrity home page from work....but our server won't allow chat. I'll have to 'read all about it' after it is over....but my fingers and everything else will be crossed in the hope that Droolers get questions answered! Two bright things today....the lovely Johannes greeted me (thank you Maria!) and it's Mari's birthday!

Oooo, yeah...he's really hating life here. ;-) I like this one... Wow! And who would've recognized Essie Davis and the one who played Tanneke on the street... Something or someone seems to have made him unhappy in the series of pics with Scarlett starting with this one. It seems to get worse. :-( http://web8.wireimage.com/images/preview/1932046gomezdo1211200395608AM.jpg

Oh, wow. Sorry, didn't realize they'd be so big. :-( Thanks for all the pics and links Karen and Murph.

(Dorine) Something or someone seems to have made him unhappy in the series of pics with Scarlett starting with this one. It seems to get worse. :-( Wow....something/someone did seem to bring his mood down for a bit, I just looked at the wireimages in order and he does seem to be responding to something (note that the missus isn't there....I still think he does better when she is around at these events). Thank you for all the pics and links ladies!!

Whoops . .I already started posting on Colin Firth - 18!!! Karen - some stuff there might be redundant . . . the wireimage links . . .did find out SJ may be on Charlie Rose this Friday, they responded to my email asking them to interview ODB about GWAPE Oh, Essie Davis in that pic reminds me a bit of Melisa Mccarthy (who plays Sookie St James on Gilmore Girls)

whoops . .i mean, not essie davis . .I mean . .the woman who played Tanneke . .

(Evelyn) Thanks for all the pics, Karen. I love to see him dressed up. Must have taken a lot to make him wear a tie at the Women in Films lunch I'm with you Evelyn, I like to see him dressed up too. And now that you brought it up, I have felt for a long time that if the ladies can dress formal for a premiere, why can't he at least put on a bleeping tie!! A tux is to die for.

Just a question: is there going to be a coordinated question formation effort, or is it every DD for herself? Thanks ;-)

Love this one of him and Hart Bochner--they must have remained close friends from the AZ days. Yo, Adrian!;-)

Oh! Thank you for that one Mari! Great picture (ODB's smile) and Hart looks pretty good too! AZ is a fav.....Dorine...where are you?? Whatcha think??

Girl With a Pearl Earring PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 12/11/03) Tracy Chevalier�s 2001 novel Girl With a Pearl Earring imagined the story behind the famous painting of the same name by 17th-century Dutch artist Vermeer. The film version of the book, directed by Peter Webber from an Olivia Hetreed screenplay, is a fine adaptation that perfectly captures the novel�s quiet moodiness. Like the novel, which was not great literature but a good story told well, Girl With a Pearl Earring the film is not cinematic art, but a good movie, told well. In 1665 Holland, a peasant girl named Griet (Scarlett Johansson) is forced to find work after an accident leaves her tile-maker father blind and crippled. She becomes a maid at the bustling Catholic home of the not-so-prolific painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), who is soon inspired by her artistic eye and fine bone structure. The artist�s fascination with Griet, in turn, inspires the opportunism of his mother-in-law, the envy of his child, and the ire of his wife. Throughout, Griet struggles to control her own feelings, to keep her place in the household and maintain her honor and dignity. The film is well-paced and surprisingly suspenseful, but it�s clear from the start that Griet�s real threat comes not from the artist, but from his jealous wife and lascivious patron (Tom Wilkinson). Firth�s scraggly wig is awful, but his Vermeer seems far too decent to take advantage of the help. The odd, gentle relationship that develops between him and his soon-to-be model is a nonstandard romance, powerful and true, without a sexy situation or treacly sentiment in sight. Take that, Love Actually. �Kelly Borgeson http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=1360

Also, there are some pics at Globe, but too many of the guests and not enough of the guests of honor (IMO).. http://www.globephotos.com/scripts/kws30pre.exe?site=GLOBEPH&maxhits=12&picktype=GfxOnly&type=GfxOnly&search=K34379EG&hmessage=GIRL+WITH+A+PEARL+EARRING+L.A.+PREMIERE+AT+THE+ACADEMY+OF+ARTS+AND++SCIENCES,+SAMUEL+GOLDWYN+THEATRE,+BEVERLY+HILLS+CALIFORNIA+12/10/2003&ShowTotal=on&fmaxhits=&submit=lsearch

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