WOW! The pictures are fantastic. Loved the report of last evening's Q&A. Can only imagine how Pauline felt during eye contact.

Cute video though unfortunately dial-up quality streaming with my cable modem. :-( (Lora) Was that our "fan base" in the background during the interviews? You mean Colin's "peeps" who were seen and heard in the background. ;-D A whole gaggle of us! Or would that be herd, or flock, or ....?

(Mari) Did anyone catch Huge on the Today Show just now? Interesting - he was originally supposed to be on the show on Tuesday and I wondered what happened. Huge was also on The Early Show on CBS today - busy morning for him. When asked about TEOR, he did his standard "Colin is too old for the role" joke. They showed two stills from TEOR - one of Mark and Daniel fighting, and one of Mark with Bridget. Thanks, all, for the pictures and reports! That latest set of Wireimage pictures is... well, I don't need to say it.

What is SWTA?

Speaking With the Angel. It's an anthology of short stories edited by Nick Hornby. Colin wrote one of them.

(Karen) Bee, you did pick out the absolute best pic IMO. (Dorine)The *only* reason the one I posted edged out Bee's for me, is I love the little hint of what looks like amusement in eyes and mouth. It was a hard one to call. ;-) There's one there for every kind of mood, I think. I plan on having revolving favorites.;-))

(Eeene1) The *only* reason the one I posted edged out Bee's for me Hon, you don't have to defend your choice. Tomayto/tomahto. Besides, art is so subjective. (Katty) What is SWTA? Speaking with the Angel, the anthology Nick Hornby compiled to benefit autistic children that contains Colin's short story, The Department of Nothing.

Any other questions, Katty? ;-))))))) Anyway, there's been a mushrooming of pics from the GWAPE press conference. If you'd like to check it out, here they are: http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=SRH&str=colin+firth&styp=&sfld=C&PageNum=1&lg=Y I'll get the larger ones up in the "flashes of flashes" (or whatever that was).

(Dorine) You mean Colin's "peeps" who were seen and heard in the background. ;-D LOL...his 'peeps' were representin'! I can't view the video at work to see which Droolers are peering over ODB's shoulder...but if it is Reuters I won't be visible...and I'm guessing that if Maria is, she looks a bit like Camille ;-D Poxy work computer keeps zapping it cuz it thinks it's a pop-up! How can it not tell the difference between ODB and porn!!???

Okay, have added the last little flourish of cinnamon... Two new ones are at the bottom of this page: http://www.firth.com/gwape_lapconf1.html and the rest are here: http://www.firth.com/gwape_lapconf2.html

This is just so wrong...I cannot function...there should be some sort of rule about putting this stuff up without some sort of warning (I know, I know...show some self restraint and don't look...but how can I not??)!! LEGS!!!!! And this one is so funny that it's adorable (with added bonus of hand): THANK YOU Karen!!!!

Good God!! Honestly I just don't know if I have ever seen a group of pictures of him that have all been so flipping beautiful, or if this is just a continuation of the joyous feelings of the past week making every tidbit and post seem absof***inglutely FABulous, but I am mush here. Thanks so much Karen for the pics and for Pauline's account, Drool lately is like a magic hat, I close out of it to go back to work and prest-o change-o! Go back in and a whole new world of wonders awaits!

Have we talked about the colors of these pics yet (as I'm in full obsession mode and cannot stop looking at them)? The colors he is wearing, combined with the background? Unbelievable...someone should walk behind him and hold a fabric swatch that exact color over his head at all times (not that he doesn't look absolutely gorgeous at every given moment, but that combo has me melting...in a new way, as I usually melt in other ways every day...). I'll volunteer to hold perfect color over his head for the first shift...anyone else?? ;-)

I haven't got J registered yet, but here is her account: (Tress: pay attention! And Evelyn, another DH award) ;-))) Colin appeared for a Q&A after a showing of GWAPE at the Burns Film Center. I had never heard of this place even though I live about a half hour away and I checked out their website and called them and they said that it was sold out but that I could come and be on a stand-by list and I did and I actually got in! They showed GWAPE and after it was over I ran out to go to the restroom before the Q&A started and I opened the door to the lobby and HE was standing there smiling and posing for pictures and signing autographs for the theater staff! And I think I went into shock. It seemed so unreal like it couldn't possibly be him right there and I didn't want to stare and gawk and act all uncool, so I just went past him and went to the restroom and when I came back he was gone and I went running into the theater where my husband was and he and Scarlet Johansson were just walking out on the stage and I had a seat in the second row. And he was lovely and charming and funny. He had on the same clothes he had on on the View earlier in the day. I asked him a question too! People were asking technical questions about the lighting and that sort of thing (that the director could've better answered) and Scarlet Johansson was asked a lot (about her other movie Lost in Translation) and I wanted to get the focus back on Colin. The guy going around with the microphone was right next to me, and I asked for it. And I was so afraid of not being able to speak--to get the words out--I've never spoken into a microphone before. But I took deep breaths and did it. I asked something like" You've done a lot of great things that are maybe lesser known like the Advocate and Apartment Zero, what are some of your favorite roles from the past?" and he answered and brought up how A Month in the Country" was a favorite and how it was similar to GWAPE in that the love is unconsummated and he looked right at me, while he was answering, but I don't even remember all that he said because it was so surreal and even when it was happening I didn't believe it was happening. I was in the 2nd row off to the right side. Many people were taking pictures during the Q&A and since I had sent my husband out to get a disposable camera earlier I took some too. Afterward, people went up and he signed autographs and I got one. He smiled and made eye contact when he handed me back my paper and he is just lovely and incredible and his smile is so radiant and he's sweet and kind and just so nice! I will regret forever walking right past him in the theater lobby! I will never have this opportunity again. I just should have said something like "you are a great actor and there are people all over who really appreciate it" or something and I didn't. But I did get to see him up on the stage and to get his autograph. He is really a lovely person.

("J") ...after it was over I ran out to go to the restroom before the Q&A started and I opened the door to the lobby and HE was standing there smiling and posing for pictures and signing autographs for the theater staff! ROTFL! Seems if you loiter by the loo, you are bound to spot ODB! He shows up near toilets an awful lot! Think I'll go hang out by the door down the hall...hmmmm....maybe if I wait long enough..... ;-D Thanks Karen and "J"! Too many goodies today! Great stories and pics everyone! Thanks so much!!!

Hi Check out the cute picture of the Firths in the new issue of US Weekly. Will come back with more shows and dates and news after our junket next week. Colin's schedule is a bit crazed at the moment so there is still lots of juggling going on. Take care!

To Everyone: Again, I've been out of internet reach for a couple of days, and ALWAYS happy to return to this great group. The information and photos are just stupendous!! Next time, any of you are going anywhere, count me in!! Will be sure to save us all spots on the way to the loos.... I did get a chance( via TiVo) to see some of his appearances...loved him on The View, but didn't love the shirt, at all. If he's out in LA, he's sure to see Will. Was a little disappointed that he didn't mention Will on The View, just Luca and Mateo, when Viera commented that he had another son. Gotta check out those press conference photos again. They are awesome.... Is the Craig Kilbourn visit off?

(Tress) Have we talked about the colors of these pics yet *waving hand wildly* and ignoring that "we" as am sure there must be a correlation between constant beautiful picture gazing and loss of finger dexterity whilst typing. ;-) Hola: More shows?!! More dates?!!! Oooh, fantastic. VCR is getting dusted and oiled.

Who caught any of his appearances on all these talk shows? I caught the Daily Show interview with my hubby . .Colin looked . .(**sigh**) just wonderful . .poor thing fell outside his hotel before getting there to the show. . . wish I had been there to help him up and ask him where it hurt! I didn't tape it . .sorry!!!!! . .I'm going to try to tape the A&E Breakfast with the Arts interview. Did anyone catch him on any of his other appearances?? . .I was at work and had no access to TV!

(Maria) is (this) just a continuation of the joyous feelings of the past week...? If you mean NYC feelings, I suppose I would have to *feel* your feelings to appreciate the depth of them but I feel pretty doggone good and I wasn't even there...(LOLing here) but I'd say you all are getting one hell of an afterglow! prest-o change-o! Karen will have to insert ta-da at the top of the next bunch! (Tress)colors (general perfection, etc) I was thinking the same thing... the hair, the clothes, the color. I was just noticing, the background seems especially complimentary to what was (I believe) called his Italy tan. (Karen channeling J) I ran out to go to the restroom before the Q&A started and I opened the door to the lobby and HE was standing there... (Lady of the Loo) ROTFL! Seems if you loiter by the loo, you are bound to spot ODB! Thought of you immediately! (Hola Lola) more shows and dates Be still my heart. Are the planets in alignment or something?

(Karen) *waving hand wildly* and ignoring that "we" as am sure there must be a correlation between constant beautiful picture gazing and loss of finger dexterity whilst typing. ;-) Apologies all around! My brain is in melt down and I'm not functioning properly....too little sleep, too much work, and all that beauty before me...can't be expected (though I try) to make any sense or type properly ;-) So I take it you are not opposed to swatch duty? ;-)

Thanks for the reports Pauline and "J"! Thanks for the pictures Karen! Thanks for the Reuters clip Maria! So much fun!!! (Lora)Was that our "fan base" in the background during the interviews? (Dorine)You mean Colin's "peeps" who were seen and heard in the background. ;-D (Tress)LOL...his 'peeps' were representin'! I can't view the video at work to see which Droolers are peering over ODB's shoulder... I just had to look at that Reuters clip again and again. ;-) I definitely can identify some Drooleurs! How surreal!

(Maria) And Karen, bless you for the profile pic! You mean the one on the Drool page? I don't bless her;-)...pic is not flattering IMO. There are better ones in that group...like the last two on your page. J. and Pauline *clap, clap* for Tuesday night reports. A week ago tonight...

(Tress) So I take it you are not opposed to swatch duty? ;-) Not opposed to it, though would be incredibly impractical, as I'd need to carry a stepladder around with me all the time. ;-) Actually, I believe I mentioned the background color early this a.m. when Bee posted that one pic. Since I always like to cross something off my mental "to-do" list, here's the first of the transcribed interviews: http://www.firth.com/int/03dailyshow.html Ada has done the Today Show and is working on The View. If there are any other talented transcribers out there, you're always needed. I hate doing transcriptions. Hate them, hate them, hate them. Am I being too subtle? ;-)

Need for clarification: Will tomorrow's Fresh Air interview be a repeat or a new one?

(Evelyn)A week ago tonight... I've been thinking about that all day. (Karen)Need for clarification: Will tomorrow's Fresh Air interview be a repeat or a new one? I think it's a repeat. I believe they are doing some type of best of TG's interviews. I searched the NPR website but it's only current through today. But I did come across this review of LA. Scroll down it's at the bottom of the page. http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=11/07/2003

Oops, thank you for all the lovely pictures and lightning speed posting, boss. Hola, we'll anxiously await more TV news. Thank you. "J" great job at the Q&A!!

Hey gang...The E! Behind the Scenes of LA is worth a look.(Thanks Linda for the alert) Lots of Colin with glasses. Looks like the LA junket from LA. They show that glorious scene:"My favorite time of day....my saddest part of the day". Which has to be the LA counter-part to "I like you just as you are..." Richard Curtis did say he picked Portuguese because there is a Portuguese community in Marseilles. Big accolades for Colin: "sweet, bottomless, kind". "He let us take pictures of him kissing every woman on the crew. We thought we'd have tee shirts made 'I kissed Colin Firth.' He's lovely." Repeats tomorrow AM , Sunday .

Re: NPR (Linda)I think it's a repeat. I believe they are doing some type of best of TG's interviews. It's almost surely the repeat. Fridays are always Terry's repeats.

(***Sigh****) Oh those GWAPE conference pics are just yummy!!!!! . .I found my new screensaver at work!!! Thanks so much for posting them . .I LOVE your site!

Oh my goodness..., sigh! Gorgeous, gorgeous pictures! Thank you so much! Tress, I'm with you, the ones with the legs are incredible. Love the closeups too, but those legs... :-) Beedee, the Colin/Vermeer pics are to die for. What a great pair! And thank you lucky girls for those exciting "on the scene" reports, thanks to you I almost feel I was there too. I'm thrilled for all of you for your wonderful experiences, and grateful for thinking of the rest of us while you were having the time of your lives. Are there any pictures taken of you guys at the premiere/Q&A session we could look at? Or that kind of thing is not done here? I would love to see your lovely - and deliriously happy - faces. A Drooler Group Shot maybe? And has anyone met Hola

OOops, hit enter accidentally. Sorry! Anybody met Hola Lola at the premiere? Karen, thanks for transcribing the show, I know it's a lot of work. I've done it once and wowed never to do it again. It takes forever, especially when one can only type with two index fingers. :-)

Alas . .pardon my posts . .you are all on the ball . .I'm still trying valiantly to catch up!!!! . .I certainly came to the right place when wanting up to date info on Colin!

(Barb)but I feel pretty doggone good and I wasn't even there Actually, I'm feeling that I need a cigarette...and I don't smoke;-)! Thanks to Pauline and "J" and everyone I haven't thanked before this, for all the reports, articles and pics. I can't tell you how much fun it's been to come here or how much I appreciate all the hard work you've all done. Now, before I get too goopy, I'm off to search for more new pics;-)!

*Grin* I'm all aflutter! Went to the movies with the DBF (I suggested LA but he thought it might not be good for my mental health... LOL). Saw a v. bizarre movie (Bubba Ho-Tep) at one of the artsy theaters in town. Really strange movie. Anyway, there was the trailer for GWAPE!!! It was lovely!! DBF suggested that maybe that movie ("with your guy, I forget his name") might be OK to see twice. He was oddly ammused when I informed him I had already seen it once (and plan to see it many more times!) Harumph! Guffaw! Dear Evelyn, I'm really trying to write short posts. Really. ;-)

(Linda)I searched the NPR website but it's only current through today. Just checked again (after midnight) and now he's listed for Friday's program. Here's what it says: Actor Colin Firth. He starred as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and in Bridget Jones' Diary he played a part that was an homage to his portrayal of Mr. Darcy. Now he�s co-starring in the film Love Actually. Also, according to the site, Richard Curtis was on the show last Saturday.

The press conference from the Dorchester in London interviews are finally appearing in a painfully slow manner...here is one of HG.. With Grant back at work, 'Love' is in the air November 14, 2003 By ANGELA DAWSON Advertisement LONDON -- Hugh Grant, the British actor who became a star with the romantic comedy ''Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' collaborates for the fourth time with ''FWAAF'' screenwriter Richard Curtis, who makes his directorial debut in the ensemble comedy ''Love Actually'' -- billed as ''the ultimate romantic comedy.'' In it, Grant, 43, plays a newly elected British prime minister who inadvertently gets caught in Cupid's cross hairs. The hunky actor recently addressed the press at London's historic Dorchester Hotel to talk about life, love, acting and his new movie, actually. Q. You and Richard have been working together for so long. Can you talk about your collaboration and what makes it work? A. Well, first of all, I should tell you that Richard wanted Alan Rickman to play the part in ''Four Weddings and a Funeral.'' And I fought very hard for that. [Laughs] ... I had a desultory, Euro-pudding career going and was saved entirely by the fact that he wrote ''Four Weddings and a Funeral.'' And I would still be doing four-part French miniseries if it wasn't for Dickie and [producer] Duncan [Kenworthy] coming along with that film. Q. How have you changed since ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''? A. I'm just a little bolder now. As I was saying, in my Euro-pudding phase, one was just so lucky to get a job at all. You didn't quarrel with what came along at all. You just said, ''Script? Money? I'll do that.'' And then the more you do films, the more interfering you become. For instance, on this film, I did go to Richard and say, ''It's all a very hilarious script and all, but ... '' I have really enjoyed in the last few films being not so nice. I have found that girls at parties fancy me more. [They say] ''Could you not make him too nice?'' And Richard did accept that. Q. This is a real ensemble movie. How did you like sharing the screen with so many other actors? A. I am going through a phase in my life where I am not really keen to act at all, especially not in lead parts. I just find it too stressful. I would rather sit home and watch the telly or play golf. So, in a way, it's ideal. There is no grand idea of sharing or diluting myself. Q. So you hoped [co-star] Colin [Firth] would be bad? A. I always hoped Colin would be bad -- and ugly. And, indeed, I think he is. Q. In regard to women, there are so many different kinds of women who are idealized. What do you think? A. I think there is a lesson in this film. Richard really believes that people can fall in love [and] do fall in love. Oddly enough, people like me find it quite hard. It just helps to be reminded of that sometimes. When you are in France or Italy, where romance is very high on everyone's daily agenda, much higher than television or golf or going to get sordid in the pub or eating a lot of curry or being nice to your dog, gardening it somehow makes every woman you meet in life more potentially of romantic interest, sexier. It just raises the kind of romantic and sexual atmosphere. And if this film does that a bit in our drab sort of Protestant-British culture, then fantastic. And then maybe that will apply to America as well. I do feel that the Catholic countries have a better time in that way. But that is a whole other thing. Q. Why are you not keen to act? A. I don't know. I just got tired. I think that is really all it was. I keep thinking every day I am going to wake up and go, ''Oh, yes, let's go and make a film.'' But I don't particularly feel that way. ... I think you just go a bit mad after a bit. You want a bit of privacy. Or I did, anyway. Q. You are tired of being a celebrity? A. Well, I wouldn't go that far. [Laughs] But you do. There is a part of you that wants to switch that off, and that desire to want to switch that off becomes more and more kind of urgent. Q. Did you work with a choreographer for your dance scene in the movie? A. No, that was all me and as a result of this film, I will never ever dance again as long as I live. Generally speaking, [making movies] might protect yourself from seeing what you really do, and in this one, there was more of it [shot] than there is [in the final cut]. I never looked at the playback on the monitor. I was hearing good laughs and smiling faces around the monitor, and then, in the end, I thought, Well, I'll go have a look. I saw this slightly overweight, unhappy-looking middle-aged man dancing completely out of time, and I will never ever dance again for as long as I live. Q. Do you think that your character was suave and the film was schmaltzy? A. I don't think that ''schmaltzy'' is the right word. I think the right word is ''warm,'' and it's incredibly brave from that point of view because it can be argued that it's not fashionable to make positive statements in any art form and particularly in cinema. As Richard often says, why is that when it's about a man who gets out of prison and goes and murders all these children, everyone calls that a grisly reality? Whereas here, I think that anyone can sympathize, and the reality is that people are going to love their wives and families and fall in love with people instead of chopping them up. So, in a way, you can call this searingly realistic, and I think that it probably is. The challenge was that there are nine stories. So, you're inevitably going to have an accumulation of sentiments, which you don't get in a film where one guy is going to go to one person and ask one girl to marry him. We had to do that nine times.

(Shoshana)Dear Evelyn, I'm really trying to write short posts. Really. ;-) The only way I know how, these days. Thank you all !! :-)

And this is related to the last post...and still looking for the main course, of course... over story: Love for sale 09 November 2003 A day in the company of the lovely, celebrated cast of Richard Curtis's new romantic comedy Love Actually helps Jo McCarroll discover her inner cynic. For several years I have accepted money to spend short periods of time with strangers in hotel rooms. I don't feel I need to justify that; it's how I make my living. Perhaps this career choice has made me somewhat cynical about people but I don't think what we are doing demeans them or me. I like to think I'm providing a valuable social service, a brief distraction for you people who would otherwise have to face up to the stupefying monotony of your lives. Celebrities don't interview themselves you know. Of course in the weird reality that is the film publicity junket, celebrities don't do anything themselves. Scores of blonde Stepford publicists anticipate their every desire, bringing them food and bottled water, ushering them deferentially from room to room and interrupting them if they absentmindedly start to tell you about that time they got arrested for having sex with a hooker in the back of a car. Because of course the publicists' real job is to get Hugh Grant et al to talk less about the sex in the car stuff and more about "the film". Which in the case of this particular junket is Love Actually, written and directed by New Zealand-born light entertainment heavyweight Richard Curtis. It's more difficult than you'd imagine because the naughty journalists do these film junkets all the time and it makes us rather cynical of yet another actor saying why yet another film is the greatest film he has ever been involved in, no really. We hardly ever want to talk about the film - we always try to bring the conversation around to, let's say, the actors' rumoured affair with a co-star or battle with eating disorders/alcohol/weight/ prescription medication. And while you may think that's because we are only one step up from vultures feeding on the carrion of human misery, really it is mainly because it's quite boring going on and on about a film, especially since no one reading your piece will have had a chance to see it yet. For instance Grant tells us he dreaded filming the dance scene in Love Actually. "I thought it was funny on paper but unactable because those things are so spontaneous," he says. "It's like blushing, you can't act blushing." And then he says that he can't do physical comedy and Richard Curtis demurs and says he can, and Grant demurs back (but completely fails to act blushing) and then we have a long (but meaningless if you haven't seen it) conversation about why the scene worked. The film distributors know the journalists don't want to write about the film. So the distributors of Love Actually have taken precautions. The media present in a London hotel have been warned they'll be blacklisted from future interview opportunities if they write up the ensemble interviews as the individual profile of just one celeb ? Hugh Grant or Emma Thompson, say. All media have to interview all 11 cast members as well as the writer/director and the producer; we're not allowed to cherrypick the "proper" famous ones and dismiss, say, just-known-from-telly types like Andrew Lincoln. This way, the distributors believe, the international media ? in my group there's an Irish girl, an Argentinian, a French guy, an Israeli, a Swede, a Belgian, and a Dane, this is the United Nations Light Entertainment division ? will be compelled to write ensemble interviews about a diverse group of people who have nothing in common apart from the fact that they have all appeared in the same film. And so that will keep every ne nicely to the topic of Love Actually and how much everyone involved enjoyed making it. And by everyone I mean Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, and let's not forget Andrew Lincoln. There is such a constellation of stars that I understand the distributors' reluctance to allow media to focus on just one. "Mind you, now that I've seen it and it's testing so well," Grant says, in a very rare moment of Love Actually film junket irony. "I have taken a much higher role in its publicity." But this promiscuous boy-meets-girl romantic comedy follows no less than 22 characters in at least 10 different love stories. You have the prime minister (Grant) falling for the unspoiled charms of his Downing Street tea lady (McCutcheon); you have a heartbroken writer (Firth) who falls for his non-English speaking cleaner; you have a schoolboy in love with the most beautiful girl in his class; and so on. The film doesn't confine itself to just romantic love: there's also a widowed stepfather (Neeson) trying to connect with his forlorn 11-year-old; the love of a girl (Linney) for her mentally disturbed brother; and a has-been rock star (Nighy) who's released a blazingly cynical rehash of Love Is All Around as Christmas Is All Around ("You know as well as I do that the record's crap," the character says in a radio interview "but wouldn't it be great if Number One this Christmas wasn't some smug teenager but an old ex-heroin addict searching for a comeback at any price?") and his reluctantly admitted love for his long-suffering manager. Love Actually is written and directed by Curtis, who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral, which was the most successful British film in history until he wrote Notting Hill, which held the title until the release of Bridget Jones's Diary, the screenplay of which was co-written by Curtis. He also wrote or co-wrote Not the Nine O'clock News, Blackadder, Mr Bean and The Vicar of Dibley. Love Actually will almost certainly become the most successful British film ever, at least until Richard Curtis does another one. It's sweet and very funny and - how to put this? - if you liked Four Weddings/Notting Hill you are probably going to like Love Actually. It's familiar ground. Very, very familiar ground. And no wonder - it's the same production team as Four Weddings, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones, a similar cast (Grant's been in all the aforementioned films - he admits he had to be talked into playing another floppy-haired nice guy since "girls prefer me at parties" now he's started playing edgier roles) and some pretty bloody similar plot devices (there's a subtitled love scene near the end which is eerily reminiscent of the sign language scene at the end of Four Weddings, and I could go on). It is unashamedly and successfully feelgood. "Our films have absolutely no relation to reality," Grant says. "Do they Richard? You've never concerned yourself with that." In fact, Curtis describes the film as "scorchingly real" but then he also considers The Sound of Music to be "quite a realistic piece of work" (in that it shows that good people hated the Nazis and people fall in love and love their children). "But there isn't any cynicism in it," Curtis says. "I'm very optimistic about the world . . . It's meant to make you feel that if you see love anywhere you should go for it." Having seen the film, I did think it was sweet and enjoyable. It was only after these endless interviews with every single member of the cast or crew in which they all bulldoggedly insisted that love is the answer, kumbaya my lord, that I started to tip over the edge of sweetness into diabetic coma. To sum up, the stars all loved this film. It will undoubtedly make some of them an enormous amount of money but that is not why they love it; they love it because love really is the most important thing in the world and without real human connections (like those skirted over so glossily in Love Actually) life is pretty much meaningless. A jaded and cynical hack who's spent a bit too much time in hotel rooms might say that this interview process seems designed to absolutely minimise any chance of any real human connection, and that since the purpose of them is to sell tickets to a film (which you really should go and see and Hugh Grant says so) that might undermine the purity and integrity of this message. But I shouldn't think like that. That's cynical and cynical is bad. "There's enough of cynicism to go around," Thompson says, and I believe her absolutely, but then she has won a couple of Academy Awards. "We don't need any more of that in our diet. Cynicism is like salt." Love is so often "packaged and sold" by film and television, says Thompson, with no awareness whatsoever of any possible irony, "in so many deeply manipulative and cynical ways". Young people, says Thompson, getting really quite impassioned, don't want to grow up and walk out into a world "where there's nothing but f�-ing war and people making money". "Young people are deeply idealistic and what they want is to be told that there is a world out there which is not cynical," she says. "And that is your job as well. It's (the) artists' job and it's (the) journalists' job to remind ourselves and remind our children that the world also contains other things." Like this film, which is not just another repacking and selling of love to the masses, not even a teeny tiny bit. Love Actually is like a newborn lamb, touched by the freshness of spring, and if the likes of me can't see that then really I should just pack up my mint sauce and go. So let me say that Love Actually is lovely. Seeing this film and meeting its lovely, lovely cast has made me a better, deeper person. My heart overflows with genuine love for this film and everyone involved in it. Especially the distributors. Really.

I had a desultory, Euro-pudding career going Yup, looks like Hugh's got a new phrase of the week;-)! Maria, thanks for the articles. I quite liked the second one..makes me want to rush out and go see the movie;-).

"we're not allowed to cherrypick the "proper" famous ones and dismiss, say, just-known-from-telly types like Andrew Lincoln" Pretty dishy, IMO.(I'd rather "cherry pick" him than AR.) (Emma) "And that is your job as well. It's (the) artists' job and it's (the) journalists' job to remind ourselves and remind our children that the world also contains other things." Oh my. But would they do it for nothing...I-don't-think-so. Hey, it's an entertaining movie, we're not talking Titanic, here.

"blonde Stepford publicists anticipate their every desire, bringing them food and bottled water" Hey, I'm blonde -- I think I've finally found my true calling!! "So let me say that Love Actually is lovely. Seeing this film and meeting its lovely, lovely cast has made me a better, deeper person. My heart overflows with genuine love for this film and everyone involved in it. Especially the distributors. Really." MEEOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

I just called WHYY in Philadelphia, the woman I spoke to could not confirm if the Fresh Air interview is a repeat or new. She did, however, seem to think it could be new because of the mention of Colin Firth starring in LA for the promo. This program airs in the PA, DE, and NJ areas at 3PM today and again at 7PM tonight. I will be ready with radio and cassette for recording just in cases;-) Lots of Colin in the E! Behind the Scenes. LA is also one of the selections for E!'s Coming Attractions. I happened to catch the very end of it while I taped Behind the Scenes. Will go back and set up VCR for this, Just another busy day here in Colinworld.

(Hugh) I have really enjoyed in the last few films being not so nice. I have found that girls at parties fancy me more. LOL...I know I do...Enjoyed him best in BJD and About a Boy. (Hugh) You just said, ''Script? Money? I'll do that.'' ODB and Hugh have some things in common! (Hugh) I always hoped Colin would be bad -- and ugly. And, indeed, I think he is. ROTFL....Hugh's alright. He's got a bit of a bite to him and I can appreciate that. I think the torch is being passed. At least that is what I saw in NYC. I don't know if it was a surprise to them or not, but I was pretty amazed at how little of a response Hugh got....and how huge the response for Colin was....nice. (Jo McCarroll) For several years I have accepted money to spend short periods of time with strangers in hotel rooms. I don't feel I need to justify that; it's how I make my living. Perhaps this career choice has made me somewhat cynical about people but I don't think what we are doing demeans them or me. I like to think I'm providing a valuable social service, a brief distraction for you people who would otherwise have to face up to the stupefying monotony of your lives. Hmmmm.......thank Gawd she is on this planet to save me from myself. Wow. A piece all about her, but wrapped up in Love Actually. Nicely done. I feel so badly for her....poor thing. Her job sucks and she must suffer through her day to make me happy. Maybe she'd like my job? She can be a technical writer and see if that cures her of cynicism. ;-) Thanks Maria! Must dash....Behind the Scenes is on right now!

Karen, Do you still need help transcribing??? Would love to pitch in and be useful member of Drool Conference!!!!!!

(karen) However, I (...) can see lots of uses for them in the future. and so do i... lots and lots of new animatronicolins ahead ! thank you, thank you, thank you !

Just saw Behind the Scenes....if you can catch it, it is pretty good. Must say (again), love the specs. Thank you Karen for the transcribing! Just had a moment to read it and it made me laugh....wish I could have been there to help him dust off his bum after his spillage on the cobbles! ;-)

A dear friend let me know there's a lovely photo in the new In Touch mag. Especially if you like a profile and his left ear! Signing autographs at the LA premiere. If one of you is the fan shown then you're very lucky! (shoulder length, straight blonde hair with white top and dark coa The caption reads: Sign Here, Sir Gorgeous Colin Firth was happy to meet his fans, but their screaming made him blush. "I'm enjoying it," he said, "but no one warned me!" Also, has this RC interview been mentioned? http://www.npr.org/movies/index.html

Fresh Air comes on at 11 am (minutes from now) here. You can listen to it at my station's site: http://www.wbez.org/ So we shall soon know if it is new or a repeat.

It's a repeat of the 2001 interview, with some updating info in the lead-in.

(BrendaL) A dear friend let me know there's a lovely photo in the new In Touch mag. Especially if you like a profile and his left ear! Signing autographs at the LA premiere. If one of you is the fan shown then you're very lucky! That is one of our party...and you can see my french manicure (far left) and hair. KathyF's book is obscuring my startled face (thank you Kathy!) and ODB is signing my mini-poster with my "Pen of Love"! ;-)

Gorgeous Colin Firth was happy to meet his fans, but their screaming made him blush. "I'm enjoying it," he said, "but no one warned me!" That's cute. Glad we could be in there for him. Linda you were right about thinking the rain lucky. Even if you said it just to help us find some positivity beforehand when things weren't looking good. ;-)

(Dorine) That's cute. Glad we could be in there for him. So am I! He seemed pleased? Embarrassed? To have such a fuss made over him! His 'fan base' was certainly lucky to be in the press tent (all dry, warm, fuzzy and so 'close to the light')! ;-)

Where do I even begin to catch up here after only one day?! Gorgeous Colin Firth was happy to meet his fans, but their screaming made him blush. "I'm enjoying it," he said, "but no one warned me!" Sweet. Thanks, Brenda, am off to the newsstand! But . . . wot screaming?;-);-) Lola, there's going to be more?? "Saints preserve us.";-) In the dog days of August if I start complaining of dearth of Firth, somebody smack me.;-) Pauline and "J", I enjoyed your Q&A reports so much! Would love to hear more about how Colin responded to the excellent question about reviews. I think it's funny that Janet Maslin tried to shut it down (no wonder the NY Times "retired" her) but you held fast onto that mic! Was probably one of the more interesting questions they got and it sounds like Colin and Scarlett really warmed to it.

BeeDee, I loved your juxtaposed pics of Vermeer and Colin. "AFG through the centuries!" ;-) Karen, thanks so much for the Daily Show transcipt. That was a terrific interview, these two guys really seem to click. LOL at Jon's observation that in NY, the bomb would probably be stolen.;-) Here's the bit from the new Us magazine that Lola mentioned, with the pic of Colin and Livia at the premiere: Colin Firth's Amore In the new romantic comedy Love Actually, Colin Firth falls for a woman whose language he doesn't speak. Turns out, Firth, 43, had the same experience in real life! His wife, filmmaker Livia Giuggioli, 33, is Italian. "I learned her language, went after her, and married her as well!" Firth told Us at the film's New York City premiere. The couple, who met on the set of the British miniseries Nostromo in 1996, have two sons. "I'm still working on my Italian," Firth confessed. "It isn't as good as my Portuguese in the film."

(Mari) To have such a fuss made over him! And not Hugh!! ;-D

(Dorine)Linda you were right about thinking the rain lucky. Even if you said it just to help us find some positivity beforehand when things weren't looking good Things were always looking good...we just didn't know it at the time;-) My Grandmother always said that rain was a lucky sign. I believe it now!!! (Karen)It's a repeat of the 2001 interview, with some updating info in the lead-in. Drat! When I called the station this morning, one of the menu choices for Terry Gross was suggestions for future guests. I think I need to make a suggestion. This is TG's perfect type of thing. However, Colin's TIOBE interview from All Things Considered program was good, too. (Tress)So am I! He seemed pleased? Embarrassed? To have such a fuss made over him! His 'fan base' was certainly lucky to be in the press tent (all dry, warm, fuzzy and so 'close to the light')! ;-) Ditto. I thought it was neat that all the fuss was being made in front of his peers. ...Always willing to help with the transcription duties, boss. I was all set to spend the evening with transcribing the NPR interview. Oh well, maybe soon we'll have a new one.

(Linda) Ditto. I thought it was neat that all the fuss was being made in front of his peers. Yes! Emma T. was so happy for him (And Hugh! LOL! "Thanks for coming out to see me!" Said with great sarcasm after Mari's question about what it was like to work with Colin)! And the press kept pointing it out (like they needed to...I really don't think the tent was loud enough!) and ODB was so nice as to keep turning and waving to placate us until he could make it over to sign/chat...

(Tress)I really don't think the tent was loud enough!) and ODB was so nice as to keep turning and waving to placate us until he could make it over to sign/chat Yes, and I loved when he put up both hands, after speaking with BBC America Tom Brook, and said "Enough" (to the rest of the press down the line) and immediately turned and walked over to our side of the red carpet. Bravissimo! (Tress)And Hugh! LOL! "Thanks for coming out to see me!" Said with great sarcasm What a good sport he was. I rather enjoyed his time with our group.

Sorry, Evelyn, but this is going to be long. Take a nap if you must. ;-) (Ildi) Are there any pictures taken of you guys at the premiere/Q&A session we could look at? Or that kind of thing is not done here? I would love to see your lovely - and deliriously happy - faces. A Drooler Group Shot maybe? That type of thing would never be posted publicly here at Drool. Many people just don't want their faces all over the internet. Ask that Hilton chick! ;-) If pictures are posted, the urls are sent out via email and are for private viewing only...and are not for sharing. Thanks, Maria, for the very eye-opening article from the film critic. Wow!! That's one woman who should hang it up. (Jo McCarroll) I like to think I'm providing a valuable social service, a brief distraction for you people who would otherwise have to face up to the stupefying monotony of your lives. Jaw dropping to floor! (JMcC)And while you may think that's because we are only one step up from vultures feeding on the carrion of human misery Now, I definitely do. (JMcC) The media present in a London hotel have been warned they'll be blacklisted from future interview opportunities if they write up the ensemble interviews as the individual profile of just one celeb--Hugh Grant or Emma Thompson, say....There is such a constellation of stars that I understand the distributors' reluctance to allow media to focus on just one. So, she's solved that problem by writing about Hugh (mainly) with a little Emma tossed in toward the end and a lot of herself. (Mari) But . . . wot screaming?;-);-) How soon we forget. "Col.....in!!! Col......in!!" (Tress)And Hugh! LOL! "Thanks for coming out to see me!" Said with great sarcasm (Linda) What a good sport he was. I rather enjoyed his time with our group. Ditto. He was great and I liked how startled he was Mari's question. (Kimberley) Do you still need help transcribing? Would love to pitch in and be useful member of Drool Conference! Bless you, my child. :) We're sort of caught up right now with the three TV appearance transcriptions, but hopefully there will be more...either from LA and/or GWAPE. *********Drool/firth.com is always looking for people to pitch in********** (1) People in all countries with scanners, who know how to use them or who *know* people who know how to use them; this would include children who can be bribed to keep their mouths shut and not tell daddy what mom is up to. (2) People in all countries who subscribe to magazines or who like to visit newsstands daily or every couple of days to read quality publications. Bags to cover one's head can be supplied for flipping through lesser-quality publications. (3) People in all countries with VCRs, who know how to hit the record button. (4) People in select countries with cameras, who know how to take pictures, get them developed (if necessary) and scanned (see #1 above) or digitally transmitted. People with other, specialized skills (like Sophie's animatronics and dewatermarking expertise) are always appreciated and should be listed on your C.V.

(Linda)What a good sport he was. I rather enjoyed his time with our group. He has come up many notches in my book since last week! Good sport indeed.

(Lindak)...and immediately turned and walked over to our side of the red carpet. Bravissimo! That purposeful stride in our direction (I do so love watching him 'in the wild' and in 3-D...he's so unpredictable...)! I think it only took him one giant step to be there...**big sigh** I, too, loved the little gesture he gave to the press to hold up for a moment, so that he could come over to 'our side' ("Come to the dark side Colin....cut your fans a break....walk away from the light"). ;-) Hugh was a very good sport. I found him charming (those twenty seconds he spent in front of us)!

Argh!! Have to go to a meeting and want so much to stay and play instead of fend off my narcolepsy( I self diagnose quite a bit evidently ;-)) Anyway, hope this isn't a repeat, I havn't been able to listen with sound... LA Featurette - http://ktla.trb.com/entertainment/movies/stv-movies-review-mmx-loveactually,0,1909240.story?coll=ktla-entnews-2

Looks like the beginning of publicity for LA in the UK. On Sky, a 20-minute preview of Richard Curtis's new romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman. Bonus: Love Actually - Nov 18 13:40 on Sky Movies 1 Bonus: Love Actually - Nov 18 19:40 on Sky Movies 1 Bonus: Love Actually - Nov 20 08:45 on Sky Movies 1 Bonus: Love Actually - Nov 20 15:20 on Sky Movies 1

Here is Tom Brook's report from the NY Red Carpet: http://www.bbcworld.com/content/template_talkingmovies.asp?pageid=665&co_pageid=2 There's a link to watch his report, but I keep getting an error message and it closes down. :-(

Sorry, Evelyn, but this is going to be long. Take a nap if you must. ;-) Actually , I found most of what you said rather interesting;) Gorgeous Colin Firth was happy to meet his fans, but their screaming made him blush. "I'm enjoying it," he said, "but no one warned me!" He was shocked. Doesn't anyone have a pic of him when he turned around to the chant: "Col-in, Col-in". Hugh Grant didn't get down to me ...but Shoshanna and I have a gorgeous pic of Greg Wise.He posed.... twice ;-) Poor guy was thrilled to be asked. He was tired of being Mr. Emma Thompson

(Evelyn) Doesn't anyone have a pic of him when he turned around to the chant: "Col-in, Col-in". Was that when he was at the ET podium? I have a pic of that (but you'll die when you see his hair! The 'light' behind him made it look all goofy). I promise to get those off to Karen this weekend.

(Evelyn) He was tired of being Mr. Emma Thompson Especially when the photogs screamed at him to, "Get the F%$# out of the way!" :-( Evelyn, you might as well log off....I've got *a lot* to say about goings on in the past week. Now is it anything of substance? Well, you know I like to hear myself post. ;-)

OHHH, waited for this for a looooooong time: From Entertainment Weekly's Shaw Report In: Colin Firth Five Minutes Ago: Colin Farrell Out: Colin Cowie ...but EW gives LA a B-

WOW! Spend the day getting major car repairs to return to plethora of news,reviews, photographs and lovely links! (Plethora is the wrong word as can never be oversupply of CF items). Thanks you everyone for all of the wonderful goodies. I agree with whoever suggested hearing more about the response ODB gave ,specifically, when answering the inquiry about negative reviews(at the Q&A). How do they resolve that kind of rejection which, even though they are professionals doing a job, is so personally and publically directed at the actor in question ?

From Entertainment Weekly's Shaw Report In: Colin Firth Five Minutes Ago: Colin Farrell Out: Colin Cowie Hoorah!! Hadn't looked at mine yet. Curious which reviewer did LA. OG isn't as hard and just out of whack on reviews like LS. A B- can be decent for one of them and not very good with the other. (Bonnie) I agree with whoever suggested hearing more about the response ODB gave ,specifically, when answering the inquiry about negative reviews(at the Q&A). I can add a little more, I think. Have to read over the others again. He gave a rather long answer. He was in a very chatty mood that night.

Anyone belong to this? http://www.kameraone.com/index.jsp Looks like they have a seven 1/2 minute video from the premiere...

In: Colin Firth Five Minutes Ago: Colin Farrell Out: Colin Cowie It's about @#$%ing time, inspired by Mr Five Minutes Ago. ;-0 (Maria) Looks like they have a seven 1/2 minute video from the premiere... There seem to be two (of marginally different lengths) if you search on LA. The company is in Stockholm though.

(Ada)Actually, I'm feeling that I need a cigarette...and I don't smoke;-)! I think Colin feels the same way! ;-) (sorry couldn't resist - everytime I see this picture I think the caption should be, "Has anyone seen my ciggie?" Must be remnant posture from the old days ;-D) Thanks again for all the articles, pictures, recap of Q&A's, and reviews! (Linda)OHHH, waited for this for a looooooong time: It's great! Our CF is "in" and that other CF is finito!

darn, closing

Trying again... (Ada)Actually, I'm feeling that I need a cigarette...and I don't smoke;-)! I think Colin feels the same way! ;-)

(Lynda)...but EW gives LA a B- LOL. So do I, but it's still am entertaining film. Colin's segment saves it, IMO. Is this where I go into my mantra: "Not all films have to be Oscar contenders." Jeeeze. Spill, Dorine, we haven't heard much outta you....Don't hold back...take it away..... Hey Boss....Bee just sent me a terrific pic of Colin's wave. No one else is in the pic...hair looks good, Tress...would it harm to post it here? No commercial photog took that one. Personifies the magic.

Hi Ev, that was Little Bee's pick and it does have id factors. Please wait till she sends it herself.:-)))

(Evelyn)Spill, Dorine, we haven't heard much outta you....Don't hold back...take it away..... Have been thinking the same thing ;-) Dorine, here's something to get you going...you've been found out ;-). "Is that you, Dorine, in the Q & A audience yet again? It ab-so-lute-ly is!"

Here's a short one, Evelyn. ;-) (Lora) "Is that you, Dorine, in the Q & A audience yet again? It ab-so-lute-ly is!" ROTFL!! Ironically, that may be too close to the truth. Not sure if that's ok. Oh well, at least I wasn't wearing red.....or pink! ;-) Love his hands in that pic, too. I don't think there's one of those pics I dislike. They all have something.

Fresh Aire is a repeat. It is from 2001. You can hear it here: http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml;jsessionid=HOY1DSDIIKKPRLA5AINSFFQ?todayDate=current

OK, just a few thoughts 'bout premiere night, Thursday, November 6, 2003. ;-) And weekend in general..... Some people have asked me how this compared to TIOBE. This was sooooooooo much bigger than TIOBE, as well as it should be expected, considering the talent and studio involved in this project. After we got inside, I have to say I was much more nervous about the prospect of getting relatively close to him, as it was guaranteed this time that at one point, he would be no further than 6 or 7 feet away...and I wouldn't have to stand on a "potted palm," or be soaking wet. ;-) It was a complete fluke last time to get so close last time. No time to think about it. Plus, I�d only had time for one drink, as we had a crappy waiter and I waited too long to get a drink from the bar. :-( I have taken myself by surprise at the thought that I was extremely nervous each night once I got next to him to talk to him. I felt like a freakin' idiot and probably looked and sounded like one, too, LOL! Partially because of the aforementioned lack of alcohol, but maybe more so that this wasn�t a social situation like it was at the party. The events of the past week have an inherent intangible (as well as tangible one at the premiere) "barrier" set up separating fan and star. It�s a certain type of "relationship." That�s not to say that I don�t believe he/they don�t put on their pants one leg at a time like the rest of us either. But I doubt I�d be quiet so bad in a more "normal" situation, with less people demanding his attention all at once. As I think Maria or Rika said, we were standing at the "elbow" of the red carpet and could see the backs of people as they walked through and posed in the gauntlet of photogs. After he and Livia got to the end, to the ones facing the entrance, I think she must have walked on or backed off, because of course, I saw no one but him talking and posing for the last of the photogs before he would turn to walk up to the ET podium. Since virtually no one else had really seemed to pay much attention to us (incl AR, unfortunately for the nice girls next to us who came to see him), I didn�t figure he�d stop and they�d just whisk him up on that podium. Just as the photogs quieted down since they�d gotten all of Colin�s pics and no one was imminently behind him, I yelled "Colin!" And I think some of you might know now I have a big mouth. Comes in handy once in a while. (I don�t honestly know if anyone else was yelling, but me, either.) He didn�t seem to hear the scream until the third time, at which point he tu ned around. I held up the cover of one of his older movies that had the pen hooked to it all ready to go and gave a kind of smiling, pleading face and mouthing "Please." Probably the visual equivalent to Tress� whine in Toronto, LOL. We�d make a good team in persuading stars to come over. ;-) Then he walked over and as Maria said, that "light" just blinded my senses as soon as he smiled. He was a foot and a half or so from my face. (Strangely, I felt no urge to kiss him....hmmm). I tested my pen previously to make sure it worked, but lo and behold, he started to write and nothing came out! Bugger! Bugger!!! Can you say "panic?," because I know he doesn�t have much time and has other press to do, and I was just *so* grateful he came over at all. *I* didn�t want to be the git of the group. ;-) I thought I said to *myself*, *in my head*, "OMG, the pen doesn�t work!," but it seems Maria heard me say it out loud (talk about a lack of self-awareness at that moment, LOL!). The pen started to work, and as he signed I pointed on it and told him, �you completely blew me away in this.� He gave me a very appreciative smile, said �Thank you, very much,� and started to back away until a book from someone came from the side of my head like a magician pulling a coin out of my ear...or so it seemed. Then off he went to the podium. It was funny a couple of days later, we were talking about it and Maria asks, "What did he say to you?" I was like, �He spoke to me?" GAH!! Other than his thanks, didn�t hear a thing if he said it. The things he could've said that I might have missed, such as, "Do you and your friends want to come to the party as my guests?" or....a variety of things in my imagination. Yeah, I know....keep dreamin'! ;-D Just want to say I had such a blast with everyone this weekend!!! Got to go to several places I�ve wanted to go, but for some reason never did. I�m glad to have met, online and in person, such *ab-so-lute-ly* wonderful people and call them my friends, now, and I�m sure for a long time to come. :-D For that, I thank *you*, Colin.

Evelyn, forgot to warn ya. ;-D Read it over 4 times and still typos, *sigh*. Working on Burns Center Q&A stuff now. This took me a while. Am trying to get the other done before BAFTA-LA stuff starts rolling in.

Well done, Dorine. Reading your account makes realize that, yes, we were really there (it wasn't a dream or imagined, and what magic we lived. (Dorine)I�m glad to have met, online and in person, such *ab-so-lute-ly* wonderful people and call them my friends, now, and I�m sure for a long time to come. :-D Absolutely!

(Dorine) For that, I thank *you*, Colin. Well said Dorine!! ODB is one special guy, but his 'peeps' made the "journey" complete! It was a joy to meet each and every Drooler...f**king fantastic....actually! ;-)

(Kimberley) Do you still need help transcribing? Would love to pitch in and be useful member of Drool Conference! Bless you, my child. :) We're sort of caught up right now with the three TV appearance transcriptions, but hopefully there will be more...either from LA and/or GWAPE. Karen - No prob . .just say when. I do also have a scanner . .and would be more than happy to help in anyway. BTW - would you want any of these? I can scan or type up and email you these . .or post here, if you like Black and White Love Actually ad from NY Newsday (11/14/03) - has critics quotes on how they love the film. .on the borders are pics of the stars (ODB included of course!) - just like on the movie poster. From November 2003 Premiere Magazine: (For the Bridget Jones topic)Interview w/ Renee Zellwegger (honored as one of the important Women in Hollywood From November 2003 Premiere Magazine: Little "On Location" blurb about Trauma . .nothing big, but I can scan it for you if you want.

Preliminary thoughts.... Needed to go back a bit, as I missed these posts before and they relate to the Q&A. Missed The View due to my own incompetence and lack of sleep. VCR was set and ready to go, but was watching the next channel up when, silly me!, I fell asleep. Totally forgot about it in the morning as I woke up with 15 mins to be out of the house to meet boss. :-( If I didn�t remember to brush my hair before I went out (which was mercifully flat and not like a windblown Bridget), I wasn�t going to remember to recheck the VCR/TV. (Kate) Just saw Colin on the View. Who dressed him this AM? That shirt is hideious!!!! (Karen) I didn't think the shirt looked bad at all. Nice to see him wearing something different for a change (Hen) I thought he looked fantastic, flowered shirt and all. (Kate) Who dressed him this AM? (Evelyn) Some hispanic bell-boy. [LOL!!] But agree, it was a change from the black tee-shirt. I can�t comment how it looked on TV, but up close, he looked pretty hot. I think it was the whole relaxed attitude he had, to go along with the untucked and open collar look I am always *very* fond of. Liked the different look of the shirt, too. I thought it made him look/seem younger, actually. ;-) Maybe he�s looking that way from hanging out around little Miss Almost-Self-Professed older man magnet. Though he always looks younger anyway. I�m sorry Shoshana I missed your posted questions. Went out at 8:30 am and back in at 10:45 pm. Couldn�t check last minute posts. :-( Must point out, he said "erotic" *twice*. One thing to imagine him saying it, another to hear it from the horse�s mouth. Mmmm. The notes could be all over the place. A lot was said and I know I didn�t get it or will remember it all. But it helps to have J�s and Pauline�s accounts. Thanks!

Premiere Mag Dec. doesn't have a single pic of the Toronto FF party. Can't believe it considering they sponsored the aft party. Only the often seen one of SJ with black dress and pearls. They review LA , give it two **. I won't bother typing it all up. You know all the negative stuff. Some new stuff: "As for me, there were times watching this movie when I felt I was being force-fed 30 pounds of creme brulee. Which isn't to say I choked on every minute:I chortled heartily at the thread about the comeback of the washed-up rock star (Bill Nighy), ....was touched by the tale of Colin Firth's not -lost in translation discovery of new love [ed note:"Take that Ebert!] ...." Also a featured interview with RC "In the Name of Love" on the set of LA when all the stars join in...somewhat like TIME write-up. "This afternoon's topic of conversation on the LA set is who should play the Clintonesque (read: lecherous) US President in a handful of scenes...Various suggestions--including Tom Selleck, David Hasselhoff, and Tony Curtis---are being bandied about by producer Duncan Kenworthy [ ed note:he was at the premiere],script editor Emma Freud,[ed note: Mrs RC?] and actor Colin Firth. 'Too ancient?' says Firth of Curtis. 'Too camp? What about Bill Clinton? He can't have much to do'". ~~~~~ I read someplace that they originally wanted John Travolta, but agent declined. I thought Billy Bob was alright. But that gold satin tie, and the purple one...ug. ~~~~~~~~~~ Anothe Firth quote: "When people made phone calls on Sept 11, they were all love messages says Firth, who plays a novelist.....We haven't got any record of anybody who left a messge of resentment or of practical advice, 'The gold is in the dot dot dot' or 'I never could stand you'. It seems everybody loved somebody" See? Long postings are catching;-q

Well then, brace yourself, there will be several. ;-P The Jacob Burns Center is a very nice place in a very quaint little town, what I could see of it in the dark. Seem to have very interesting programs there. Might join. I thought the announcer said he was the Program Director of the Center, but I didn�t hear what he said at first. He intro�d Janet Maslin [ugh! � had her for a couple of other Q&A�s, not enamored of her], she spoke of upcoming program with Jeff Bridges [he sounds interesting and amusing], then left so we could watch the movie. My first bathroom break, if needed, is the beginning. Went out to the lobby and struck up a conversation with the Prog Dir, noting that I agreed AMITC was indeed a gem, one of my favorites, and very difficult to get but that as of a year ago, I got it in a Blockbuster which surprised him. Told him I�d seen GWAPE already and he presumed I was there for YKW. I brought up Apt Zero which he didn�t know, but another guy standing there, who possibly worked there, chimed in, and we started talking about that for a few secs til I went off to the loo. [Wasn�t missing anything earth shattering in the first 10 mins anyway, at least not the 3rd time]. On my way back, they were still gabbin , so I threw out Tumbledown as an example of one of his better things, too, which of course I knew he wouldn�t have heard of. I�m not putting these in any particular order that they were addressed. And quotes are close, but not necessarily exact. They talked about the painting...if the long shot [ of it that starts in close on the light on the pearl earring] was the real thing or a digital reproduction or print. This came up at BAFTA , too. They said it was a high resolution print. It was very detailed, down to the cracks. What was rather jaw-dropping to me, was JM asked if the real painting was cracked like it is in that close-up. Pffft! It�s 400 years old! Thinkin� maybe there might be a few. I mean, could it have been a dumber question? From the *moderator,* no less. Another less than brilliant thing JM said was to note how different they here....rather gregarious vs. they way they were in the movie....brooding or rather humble. She started a question, then stopped herself and said, "Well, you are actors, aren�t you." Well, DUUUH!! Bet she was stunned by how gorgeous Colin was sitting next to her and couldn't think straight. I'd let her slide for that reason. ;-) Or maybe she was stunned by those stupid boots Scarlett was wearing. She had on some kind of mid-shin big, thick moccasins. They discussed the relationship of the Master to the maid, body language and use of eye contact. They were given lessons in how 17th Century people in these situations would move and look, or not look at each other. They were asked to walk down the hall, passing each other, like a master and maid would, while avoiding eye contact. Then they were asked to repeat that, but this time make brief eye contact. Scarlett said that as they made eye contact, her heart skipped 3 beats as she saw Colin's look. Actually mine skipped just hearing about it. Oh, the thought of it. *sigh*

My new favorite picture curtesy of little Bee....

The idea was to show how they went from being disconnected to connected to each other [other than physically]. Colin discussed how their intimacy really manifested itself when he accepted Griet moving the chair, which ultimately influenced his work. She had crossed the line into forbidden territory. Also, will apologize if I repeat stuff they covered on Monday. They discussed the possibility of morphing into the picture of the painting from Scarlett�s pose, but decided against it since Scarlett doesn�t look like the painting as much when compared directly to it. [Though some prominent features of Scarlett greatly resemble the painting such as the eyes, and the lips to a lesser degree to me when she turns around in "the pose"]. Colin joked that morphing them came out looking like Margaret Thatcher, to what SJ looked out in the audience and said, "Who?" Of course she was kidding....I hope. ;-) Colin discussed portraying someone about which virtually nothing is known, including what he looks like. He said the only painting that comes close to being a self-portrait is one in which a woman is sitting with her back to us, her face reflected in a mirror [this painting was rather extensively discussed in a PBS show on Vermeer a couple of weeks ago]. A smidgen of easel and what he said was Vermeer�s toe, was the extent of his self-portrait. So that was the extent of his inspiration for Vermeer....a toe. It was rather amusing the way he discussed it. I can�t capture that. :-( The use of accents came up. JM asked why Scarlett sounded English. [Gee, I don�t know, maybe so she wouldn�t sound so out of place with the others?] Colin had a long answer about how they got to the accents there were considering they weren�t going to speak 17th Century Dutch. Basically it came out to making sure the accents weren�t distracting, no matter what they all used. Someone expressed surprise about Luxembourg as a location, and Colin mentioned that there were quite a few productions filmed there at that studio. He started to try to name some, hesitated and said, "Well, at least, you know, that Venice one." Got a big laugh from the audience. Quite the comedian he was that night. They were asked about how this film would be promoted. Colin said that while he doesn�t know much about the science of marketing or what Lions Gate had planned, he felt it would and should be a word-of-mouth, as it�s definitely an art house film. He said the worst thing would be to overhype it as a "bodice ripper," though he did note they had the "It" girl of the moment to sell it.

I like that one, too, Bee! And little Bee! ;-) As far as promoting the film, it was interesting when JM said that Colin had been on the TV PR wagon this past week with the assumption it was all for LA. He said not necessarily. On the Today Show, they were supposed to talk about GWAPE and he had a clip, but they only showed BJD/EOR clips and stills. He was rather surprised it seemed. The subject of EOR came up. He said it was going well and Renee was so fantastic as Bridget, that he could see it going on. [Gasp!!] Matter of fact, he thought there was enough material that there could be 2 more! [Holy cow. ] JM and Colin discussed about a rumor that Helen Fielding was writing a third book. When JM brought up HG, Colin said he liked Hugh (in response to a question), but slipped in again, almost as an aside since he said it so fast, that he kicked Hugh's a$$ a week ago. I think it's funny how he keeps mentioning that. Like the little boy on the playground who beat up the bigger kid who everyone pays attention to. Someone asked a question about the film stock, that they acknowledged PW would be better equipped to answer, but did say it was a special kind. Scarlett talked about Eduardo Serra, cinematographer, how talented....and quiet he was. He knew what he wanted, could determine it �like that� and just did what needed to be done quickly and quietly. Wasn�t a lot of talk about it. She also mentioned Ben van Os the production designer. Colin had some stuff to say here, too, but I don�t really remember much more than this.

(Karen) People with other, specialized skills (like Sophie's animatronics and dewatermarking expertise) are always appreciated and should be listed on your C.V. Karen I bake a mean cheesecake, does that count? (Lora)I think Colin feels the same way! ;-) He can share my ciggie, I don't mind;-DDD (Dorine)Well then, brace yourself, there will be several. ;-P (paraphrasing badly)We no care about no steenking badg..uh...typos, hurry up, girl! ;-) (Bee)My new favorite picture curtesy of little Bee. (paraphrasing badly again) Please sir, uhm, ma'am, can I have some more? Thank you ladies!

Dorine, HA! That'll teach me to be cute. I'm typing mine up and you post 2 (count em 2) more times! Please forget the steenking typos remark;-)! Thank you so much...sounds like it was a great evening.

J and Pauline had very good questions, as was posted. I remember J as she was sitting across the aisle one or 2 rows down. He made a little face and sound when The Advocate was mentioned. He said AMITC was similar to GWAPE, small film, character study. Said the shoot on AMITC was 5 weeks, but kind of rushed as it rained the whole time, while the setting was supposed to seem like summer. They had to shoot with whatever bits of sunlight would come through. They�d wait for a break in the clouds which might last for only 30 secs. A question came up about career choices. No idea what she said....sorry. He said over his career, he was offered a bunch of paranoid depressive roles, then roles in breeches, then fluffy comedies. He says he does refuse many scripts, but aftter a while just takes whatever because, "I gotta work." He tries to pick and choose, which he doesn't think he's very good at, but then gives in craving work. He did mention seeming to have a run of poor judgement, which he looked rather....regretful [is that a word?], maybe. Kind of tried to chuckle it off, but obviously not happy about it. Maybe a tad uncomfortable in admitting it...possibly to us and himself. Pure speculation there on my part, as I can only imagine. (Pauline) My question is general in nature. When you film something you think is brilliant and the critics call it rubbish and trash you and the film, what do you as an actor do to work through this type of rejection? How do you exorcise the bad reviews? For example: as an ordinary person when I have a performance review, its between me and my boss. I can shred it or file it and no one will ever know unless I tell them. Colin and Scarlett are artists and by nature much more sensitive to criticism. Look, we just saw a mesmerizing film. He spoke eloquently, gave examples, told an hilarious anecdote, mugged, covered his face while peeking out between his fingers. He spoke for quite a while about it. Just staying under the radar of getting wound up about it, IMO. He mentioned how personal the reviews can get by attacking the physical aspects of the actor personally, their family friends, etc. The inclination being to not read them, basically as protection of some peace of mind. He told a story about a famous actor (no names) who said he didn�t read reviews and would passionately refuse despite his friends trying to get him to read even a great review. Colin was very animated telling this story, moving around and practically jumping out of the chair, at one point, demonstrating what the actor in his story would do. Finally the actor caved, he said. He said, for him, sometimes (for the bad ones I think he said) he�s just got to call up people he knows and read them to them, to laugh about them, rather than avoid them. I think I got all that right. He stated several times it was a real problem.

What fabulous positings this evening! Many thanks to all of you. Love the photo, Beedee and Little Bee! My own little bit is the picture article from "US Weekly" that I picked up today (Nov 17th issue). There's a photo spread on LA's "Gorgeous Leading Men". Rodrigo Santoro, Liam Neeson, Hugh (of course) Andrew Lincoln, and Colin. The other pictures were OK, but the one of Colin really struck me as his hair is positively auburn and his skin looks almost as if it had been dusted with something vaguely orange. He's wearing what appears to be a leather bomber jacket and looks windburned and half frozen. Wish I had a scanner (sigh, maybe Christmas). Interesting omission...Alan Rickman.

OK, I think that's pretty much it. If there's more, I'm blank at the moment. I have some pics I can't get off the camera at the moment. Will try to get them out onto another computer this weekend.

Hey Bee, do you know where he was standing when your little bee took that pic? Judging by knowing where she was, was he down by the elbow? Before getting to the ET podium?

Dorine, thank you so much for typing these great descriptions of what must have been a wonderful evening. I'm so thrilled, he mentioned AMITC as one of his favourite movies. It has allways been at the top of my list :-) Bee, great photo! Thank you for sharing :-) And Evelyn, loved your "ed-note" :-) Thank you for the Premier Mag-notes. About helping out: As I have fretted about ealier, there isn't much to contribute from this part of the world. And since I don't have any special talents, I'm so grateful for those of you who are willing to share yours :-)