(Tookey in DM)Richard Curtis's first film as writer-director can stand alongside the great romantic comedies - and it's the most heart-warming Christmas movie since It's A Wonderful Life. Omigod. Poor Tookey. Someone kidnapped him and switched his brain with an Osmond. Why oh why does it always happen to the good ones? *Shaking fist at the heavens* ;-) Thnaks for that, Shoshana, and for that very extensive review wrap-up! (Katty)Uppercrusty man torte Colin Firth . . . I'd like to play painter with this tall elegant slice of manly yum... Love it! I'll have whatever she's having!;-)

Thanks again for everyone who donated all the reviews . .(wow, Shoshanna that was an eyeful!!) Loved : The film exists in a glossy universe of hip wealthy metropolitan folk, most of whom own fabulous apartments in fashionable neighborhoods and all of whom wear beautiful, expensive-looking sweaters. (At times you wonder if the film wasn't sponsored by the Wool Council.) Love the pic from the survival screening, Karen!!! (HA!)

Methinks Christopher van Laden was smokin' somethin' that night. LOL. He looks like one of those preachers on TV gettin' ready to lay down the law.

Nah, he's saying "You let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without even ..."

(Evelyn)He looks like one of those preachers on TV gettin' ready to lay down the law. Oh dear, Evelyn, I nearly choked on a chocolate when I read that one! I wonder if Reverend Firth also does the healing by laying on of hands...;-)

(Shoshanna)I wonder if Reverend Firth also does the healing by laying on of hands...;-) OK . .if he starts doing that . .I'm comin up to the altar first!!!

(Deb) Nah, he's saying "You let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without even ..." ROTFLMAO! You're a lipreader, right? (Tress) ODB secretly auditioning for Batman?? There must have been a Batcycle, don't you think? I can't even drive 4 blocks in 5 minutes, let alone 20 miles. *snort*

A surprisingly good review from Stanley Kauffman in The New Republic. He can be quite curmudgeonly, and is as highbrow as they come. Obviously an admirer of ODB�s work from other films. Stanley Kauffman on Films �Several Loves Actually� (Post date 11/21/03; Issue date 12/01/03) It is almost unfair. The cast of Love Actually includes Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, and Colin Firth--all of them people of such accomplishment, all of them such reminders of past pleasures, that the sheer list of their names is almost overwhelming. No matter how aware we are that films with star- spangled casts have groaned under the load, we are held. These are not stars, or not merely stars: these are actors. Can such a film possibly be unrewarding? It can't--largely because of them. The troubles with this English film are in the screenplay by Richard Curtis (who also directed), though a good deal of the writing is clever; but whatever the actors are given to do they make so delightful--or so delightfully moving--that Love Actually wins out over its wobbles. All through the (quite long) picture we get sticky bits, but then Thompson or Grant or Rickman or one of the others speaks a word with such delicacy or lights a smile from within so truthfully or reveals a complexity through such a small change of expression that we brave the bumps for the pleasures. After a while we drug ourselves with hyperbole. The film is in one sense lifelike: in order to get the good, we have to endure the lesser. Love Actually is composed of a half dozen or so stories, not often connected, simply interwoven. All of them have to do with love, one way or another, and all of them traverse the weeks before Christmas. The picture begins with a voice-over about the omnipresence of love in our lives (along with a stupid comment about September 11). This dollop of treacle is the first surprise from the screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones's Diary, both of which teased along wryly. More drips of syrup continue to spot Love Actually. But reality also persists, ranging from the ridiculous through the cynical to the sad, and in all these hues the actors are masterly. Hugh Grant plays the British prime minister, resembling the current one enough to make the idea tickle. This PM is a bachelor. He is keen on a young woman on his staff. When the American president visits Downing Street and makes a play for that young woman, Grant sounds off in a press conference about British independence from American sway. (Independence! How's that for a comic idea?) Grant wins national cheers. His sister, Emma Thompson, is a fortyish housewife and mother discovering that her successful husband, Alan Rickman, is on the verge of an affair. The tension-plus-bond between the knowledgeable wife and the differently knowledgeable husband is almost tangible. Colin Firth is a novelist who has a house in the south of France and engages a Portuguese maid, played by Lucia Moniz. The triteness of their story is freshened by Firth's grateful surprise at his response and by Moniz's dignified charm. In another story, one of the film's loveliest moments is simply Laura Linney's face as, on the dance floor, she moves for the first time into the arms of a man she has adored for two years. In his story Liam Neeson is worst served, playing a widowed stepfather who has to deal with his eleven- year-old stepson's first love--for a schoolmate. Neeson does everything possible with a role that consists largely of hugging the boy. Curtis's range includes sly absurdities. One instance: a young fellow and a girl, strangers to each other, are hired to do sex stuff for a film totally nude, mimicking it without actually performing it. (They are body doubles for the principals who won't do these scenes.) In the middle of one of the most intimate scenes, the boy shyly asks the girl for a date. On the other hand--there are several other hands--the film has some darkness. Linney's first rendezvous with her lover is interrupted by a call from her deranged brother. Curtis then extends the compass of love with a hospital scene crammed with Linney's feeling for her brother. And a quite different strand of the film is the holiday chronicle of a fiftyish, spacey, sour pop star, etched by Bill Nighy, who wickedly airs his contempt for what he does as that contempt carries him to further success- -and to an unsuspected love. That the Nighy strand and the saccharine strands are in the same picture is its success and its handicap. The debits and the credits can be tallied a bit further. The mushy endings of Grant's story and of Neeson's are debits, but Curtis's neat directing is a credit. (Note the remote office assistant behind the window in Linney's hospital scene, a cold background to what is happening closer.) The credit side of the ledger also includes much of Curtis's dialogue and all the acting by that dream troupe.

(Zing)A surprisingly good review from Stanley Kauffman in The New Republic. He can be quite curmudgeonly, and is as highbrow as they come. Obviously an admirer of ODB�s work from other films. Thanks Zing, for finding that insightful review and lovely mention of ODB's performance.

FIRTH-ER figure Megastar News, UK US magazine People might want to rethink their Sexiest Men list after they hear Colin Firth getting all gushy about fatherhood. ... http://www.megastar.co.uk/ents/news/2003/11/21/sMEG01MTA2OTQwOTAyNDU.html STARRING: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Martine ... Independent, UK ... What the best man (Andrew Lincoln) feels for newlywed Juliet (Keira Knightley) is surely a romantic infatuation, so too Colin Firth's cuckolded writer for the ... http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/reviews/story.jsp?story=465693 STANLEY KAUFFMANN ON FILMS New Republic The cast of Love Actually includes Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, and Colin Firth--all of them people of such ... http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20031201&s=kauffmann120103

(Kauffmann) Linney's first rendezvous with her lover is interrupted by a call from her deranged brother. Deranged? What an odd way to describe the brother's condition these days. :-( Curtis's range includes sly absurdities. One instance: a young fellow and a girl, strangers to each other, are hired to do sex stuff for a film totally nude, mimicking it without actually performing it...In the middle of one of the most intimate scenes, the boy shyly asks the girl for a date. Ah, someone who saw what I saw. I thought it an utterly charming piece.

(Karen)Kauffmann) Linney's first rendezvous with her lover is interrupted by a call from her deranged brother. Deranged? What an odd way to describe the brother's condition these days. :-( I was v. put off by this as well, especially since I work in MH. Glad to read your comment Karen.

Enjoying the reviews. Seeing it this afternoon - Comments later. Meta Critic has most of the reviews HERE: http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/loveactually/

I've added Linda's and my pics from the NY premiere here: http://www.firth.com/love_gal_nyprem3.html which I think are all I'm getting from this event. Enjoy! Now, only the Burns Center and maybe Bafta pics to go.

Pics are super, Drooleurs...Linda, Boss. And the only pics I've seen on a fan sight of the Metropolitan Club. Mari, I see thy head;-)) My fave: "You really think I'm too old to play MD?"

Superb photos Linda and Firth.com!!!! Lots of lashes and curls on the ear.:-))) "You really think I'm too old to play MD?" LOL Evelyn! I love the sly look;-)

Huge thanks to everyone for great pics and reviews and articles...I'm hopelessly behind but plan on printing and reading everything on the plane home to Thanksgiving (won't my seatmates be jealous, hah!) Sorry if this has already been posted, the LA Charlie Rose interview sound clip.. http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10006005&sid=aCn7K_SZGsNY&refer=charlie_rose

Thank you so much for the pictures Linda and Karen. You are both great at capturing ODB :-) Maria, thank you for the Charlie Rose interview. I haven't heard it before (and I really do try to keep up here :-))) Have a nice flight :-)

Hi all . .I know these are a but old (11/11/03). .but I got Karen's go ahead to post them . . The benefit of temping at Showtime is I can get my hands on great trade mags like Variety & the Hollywood Reporter! These two bits about LA & GWAPE come from a copy of Daily Variety all talking about pictures that made contender status for this year's Oscars . .about 27 of them . .and ODB's two films are included!!! **************************************************** "This awards season, with the Oscars moving up to February, Variety unveils its contenders a full month earlier than last year. But this doesn't mean year-end films are being released any sooner. It's only made the task of choosing the selected bunch --films with a good shot at snagging two or more noms --that much more difficult. Several pics could not be screened in their completed forms --if at all. And many films that we did see have yet to be released, thus forcing us to make rather semi-educated guesses as to what will gain traction with the voters. Many titles could not be counted based on the pedigree of their makers, while a number of smaller films could rise above the fray. With some award rules still being hammered out, this year more than ever, it's anyone's guess." Girl With A Pearl Earring By Robert Koehler A study of how Johannes Vermeer came to make one of his masterpieces might seem to be an unlikely Oscar nominee. But with talk swirling on the fall festival circuit about Scarlett Johansson�s magnetic, nearly wordless performance as the humble workmaid who becomes Vermeer�s subject, as well as tyro director Peter Webber and cinemetographer Eduardo Serra�s precise re-creation of Vermeer�s color, composition and light (nabbing a San Sebastian fest prize), �Girl With A Pearl Earring� became one of those qualifiers in that perennial Oscar category: Tradition of Quality. In its exasct replication of old master painting, pic most closely recalls Stanley Kubrick�s multi-Oscar-winning �Barry Lyndon.� �Lyndon won in creative categories including photography and art direction, which could well be replicated here for Serra (nommed in 1998 for �The Wings of a Dove�) and production designer for �Orlando�). There�s also a longer patern in Oscar history of nominating films and their lead actresses in ore-20th century, European-set dramas: Gwyneth Paltrow and �Shakespeare in Love,� Cate Blanchett and �Elizabeth,� Emma Thompson and �Sense and Sensibility, and Glen Close and �Dangerous Liasons� are examples in the past 15 years. Lions Gate�s record of bringing attention to easily overlooked performances (�Monster�s Ball,� �Gods and Monsters� helps Johansson, but her equally acclaimed work in �Lost in Translation� may siphon votes. Though much more contemplatively pitched than �Shakespeare in Love,� there are echoes here of that best picture winner: It features key players in �Shakespeare�s ensemble � Colin Firth as Vermeer and Oscar nominated Tom Wilkinson as an obnoxious patron � and it also speculates on the motives and actions of a great artist whose life remains clouded in the unknown. Working nicely on �Girl�s� behalf is that it�s one of the few non-macho period movies opening just before Christmas, and could do well with Acad voters who may have had their fill of costume action men. ********************************************* Love Actually By Matt Wolf It�s long been an Academy Award truism that comedy is Oscar�s favorite also-ran, as no one should know better than Oxford-educated British scribe Richard Curtis. Author of a string of popular London-set romantic comedies, Curtis got a 1994 screenplay nomination for �Four Weddings and a Funeral� (it also got a pic nom) only to watch his subsequent script for �Notting Hill� (1999) get blanked in the Oscar race altogether and 2001�s �Bridget Jone�s Diary� snare but a single mention, for star Renee Zellweger'� perf. Still, none of those films delivers the joie de vivre communicated by Curtis� writing-directing debut, Love Actually, �A multistoried film that deserves commendation, first and foremost, for never once succumbing to British cynicism. Though some may find the good-will factor just too insistent, the film does have charm and heart to spare, and word of mouth coupled with sure-to-be dynamite biz could carry �Love Actually� �and Curtis� script � a considerable way toward the nominees circle. Such omnibus films can be tricky, though: In a film juggling so many narratives, who or what is singled out? Despite impressive work from (relative) newcomer Andrew Lincoln and astonishing child actor Thomas Sanger, award attention could center around emma Thompson, who � playing the knowing wife of a straying Alan Rickman � runs with one high emotional scene, that perhaps more than any other, serves to anchor the film. That Thompson is a two time Oscar winner, once for her �Sense and Sensibility� screenplay, won�t hurt the much-liked thesp�s Academy chances, especially since she has been absent from the Oscar race since 1996. Collegue Laura Linney, graciously given a few choice moments of her own in Curtis�s admirably evenhanded script, will have to compete for a supporting nom with her own work in �Mystic River.� As for the rest? That depends on just how much �Love Actually� is loved, actually.

Great reviews! . .Karen, great pics!!! Evelyn . .I loved that same picture too . . . "Hello Ladies . . ."

Yummy pictures Linda and Karen! I really like the hand-to-the-mouth response to having the fan base pointed out by the ET reporter! And thanks for the CR interview from Maria! Kimberly, the Daily Variety articles are a great find! Now if only they had even mentioned ODB's name... ;-)

As much as I would've liked to go to NY, it's a good thing I stayed home. I never would have survived all that eye contact. Fantastic pictures, Karen and Linda. Eye contact! I get dizzy just looking at the photos. Thanks for the link, Maria. Have a safe trip there and back again. And everyone else who's going away for the holiday.

Karen, thanks for posting my picturs, but yours are fantastic. Thanks, again, to all for everything!!

Thanks to Karen and Linda for the fantastic new photos! Love the close-ups. Thanks Maria for the new link. Hope you and everyone else traveling this week has a safe and enjoyable journey.

OMG!! Karen and Linda! Your photos are fantastic! LOVE the hand to mouth bit with the ET guy (where we making noise down at that end of the tent? Surely not!)! And Karen....your close ups are to die for! Thanks so much for sharing those....I'm off to look again (quickly...as DH is taking me to LA!!). Danke!!!!

(Kimberley) These two bits about LA & GWAPE come from a copy of Daily Variety all talking about pictures that made contender status for this year's Oscars ." *When* did we ever think that the trades would mention two of ODB's pics in the same breath as Oscar nominations. Exhilarating. (shoshanna)Now if only they had even mentioned ODB's name... ;-) Yeah. Downside:-((( Thanks Kimberley, meaty stuff.

Closed.

(Tress) LOVE the hand to mouth bit with the ET guy Is that the one where it looks like he's ready to blow a kiss? ;-)

oops

(Kimberley) These two bits about LA & GWAPE come from a copy of Daily Variety all talking about pictures that made contender status for this year's Oscars ." (Evelyn)*When* did we ever think that the trades would mention two of ODB's pics in the same breath as Oscar nominations. Exhilarating. I know!!!!! . . . . (Variety)�Girl With A Pearl Earring� became one of those qualifiers in that perennial Oscar category: Tradition of Quality. Do ya hear that members of the Academy??? . . QUALITY Personally . .I say we go on a campagin . .ODB for Best Actor this year!!!!! Lion's Gate is pushing it . .I've already seen the ads in Variety . .hell even in Backstage! (keeping fingers ever and always crossed!!!)

Thanks to everyone for sharing their pictures. I just can't get over the fact he was looking at one/some of you when he looked like that!!!! And no more than a few feet away!! Usually he's looking at a reflection of himself in the dark lens of a camera but not that night! WOW!

E! has a one hour Holiday Movie 2003 special, which repeats at 11 AM. Colin is interviewed very briefly for both LA and GWAPE.

Not good - (If this is old, Karen, please delete) The London Times 11/3: Film: Love is all aground Talk about hard to swallow. Richard Curtis�s Love Actually is a sugary pile of sentimental schmaltz, says Cosmo Landesman It�s like being assaulted by a gang of singing cherubs wielding sticks of candyfloss; it�s like drowning in treacle and then being rescued by a puppy that licks your face; it�s like having your brain bombarded with Valentine-card clich�s. Richard Curtis�s directorial debut, Love Actually, is the look of luuurve, the sound of ick and the cheap sob of schmaltz. Don�t get me wrong: I can enjoy a sentimental Christmas film as much as the next sucker. But Curtis goes too far. His feelgood fairy tale makes Charles Dickens seem like a dirty realist. Its calculated, button-pressing cynicism is shocking. Nothing so aptly sums up Love Actually as its one good story line. Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) is an old, burnt-out rock star hoping to make a comeback with a new version of the Wet Wet Wet hit Love Is All Around (this featured on the soundtrack of Four Weddings and a Funeral, which Curtis scripted: just one of the many nods to his own oeuvre that the great man makes). Billy�s version is called Christmas Is All Around. Honest Bill says his record is rubbish and so does everyone else, but it goes to No 1 anyway. A clever guy like Curtis knows Love Actually is as terrible as this spoof song, but that is the point. It�s the sort of corny festive rubbish you�re meant to sit back and enjoy. Curtis has always had a passion for cheesy pop: his characters can�t open their mouths without quoting from some risible hit from the 1970s. Good God, Love Actually has a funeral scene featuring the Bay City Rollers� hit Bye Bye Baby. This Christmas, you can see the cheesy film and buy the spin-off cheesy record as well. Love Actually � a title so arch and English, it sounds like a Pet Shop Boys album � is set in London during the countdown to the season of goodwill. The premise is simple: the world may seem full of �hatred and greed�, as the opening voice-over puts it, but there�s lots of love about. And Curtis finds love everywhere: between a prime minister (Hugh Grant) and his tea lady (Martine McCutcheon), a writer (Colin Firth) and his cleaner (L�cia Moniz), two porn actors (Joanna Page and Martin Freeman), and even an 11-year-old boy (Thomas Sangster) and a 10-year-old girl (Olivia Olson). Curtis�s idea of Christmas has no connection to reality. Instead of the Queen�s speech, family dinner and nervous breakdowns, we get the season to open your heart, drop your trousers and shag whoever you fancy. It�s Christmas as an office-party piss-up. (While we are on the subject of realism, how come broken-hearted Firth goes to France and everyone speaks Portuguese?) As a comedy, Love Actually is like listening to an album of Curtis�s greatest hits. They are all here: the swearing, the silly dancing, the social embarrassment, the whole oh-gosh-bugger-blush of middle-class life. The sole fresh and funny joke comes towards the end, when Billy�s manager says to him: �Ten minutes at Elton John�s party, and you�re already gay as a meatball.� The most disappointing feature is how limited the characterisation is. Just about everybody we meet talks like Hugh Grant. They all cringe, shrug and crack jokes like his � even 11-year-old Sam, when he says: �Okay, let�s do it, Dad. Let�s go and get the shit kicked out o us by love.� The story involving Sam and his secret love for a 10-year-old schoolgirl reaches a dramatic climax when Curtis has the boy running through an airport, chased by security guards, so he can tell her of his love before she leaves for America. Violins swell, and so does your nausea. This is puppy love at its most loathsome: sexualised children indulging in adult notions of romance. If an American director did this, English audiences would respond with horror and hilarity. But alas, this is a Richard Curtis film, so it�s okay. This scene must be the most icky moment in modern cinema. Still, I think we should be grateful that Curtis didn�t make Sam a child with one leg, chasing his true love on crutches. As for the performances � in this stellar line-up, Nighy�s rock star steals the show. He takes what could have been a clich� and gives it real comic charm. Grant and Firth are exactly the same characters they always play. And poor Alan Rickman � has he got some sort of neural disease? He talks like a man determin d not to shlur his words. For my money, the only real emotional moment comes not from watching weeping Emma Thompson (to the sound of Joni Mitchell, no less), but from a beautifully acted scene featuring Laura Linney as she deals with the violence of her mentally ill brother. It will be interesting to see how Love Actually goes down with the public. The English have always assumed that when it comes to matters of taste in popular music and film, they are a touch superior to the Americans. Sentimentality, schmaltz and mandatory happy endings are something associated with Hollywood pap, but the gee-whizz optimism and fake feelgood fantasy of American movies are hard to swallow if you are English and raised on irony and self-deprecation. Now, though, Curtis, England�s most successful comic screenwriter, has shown that when it comes to Hollywood pap, the English can teach Hollywood a treacly trick or two. Love Actually, 15, 135 mins, One star

Oops! Supposed to be 11/23. I put my comments on the film in the spoilers area last night.

From the Chatter page of People magazine December 1st Taking Stock of his Locks In the dramam Girl with a Pearl Earring, Colin Firth plays a sexy Johannes Vermeer, the 17th-century painter. To the dismay of the British actor, the role required him to wear a shoulder length wig. "It was itchy, and I was always in danger of looking more Woodstock than 17th century," says Firth, 43, whose costar Scarlett Johansson had a tough time keeping a straight face. "Film wigs are more convincing than toupees, but if your leading lady bursts into fits of laughter at the sight of you, it's a challenge," says Firth. "Scarlett would call me Fabio. I would do a sizzling look, and all she would say was, "I can't believe it's not butter!'"

(good ole Cosmo )"Now, though, Curtis, England?s most successful comic screenwriter, has shown that when it comes to Hollywood pap, the English can teach Hollywood a treacly trick or two... " C'mon...he's just out for what sells...$$$$$$$$$

Just rented HS for the first time finally - don't think it's been posted but not a lot of stuff on the UK rental copy (may be more on selling copies?) except language/subtitle choices and a 7 minute 'making of' thing. I didn't learn anything exciting but we do get to see how they dealt with all that rain. And MD has a theory that all Canadians take happy pills. But anyway. The menu pages are vaguely interesting as they use supposed Colin Ware drawings.

Thanks for posting the articles, Kimberley. Keep your eyes peeled for the "For Your Consideration" ads and your scanner humming! (Shoshana) I really like the hand-to-the-mouth response to having the fan base pointed out by the ET reporter! Me too. Booker could only be referring to us at the time, and Colin's reaction is to be a bit embarrassed. v. cute. (Landesman) Still, I think we should be grateful that Curtis didn�t make Sam a child with one leg, chasing his true love on crutches. LMAO! Yes, he showed some restraint. Cute item in People. Thanks Darla.

(Dorine) Is that the one where it looks like he's ready to blow a kiss? ;-) Right! Either that or laughing at us! A bunch of wild, wet women calling out "COLLLLLLL-IIIIIIIN!" Love that pic!

My absolute favorite, a variation of the one Tress posted above, prompted by the reporter mentioning all his fans. He looked out way, we waved and got that great wave and smile back: Many thanks to everyone who shared their fantastic photos with us!

Living down here in the cultural hinterlands, I must reiterate just how GRATEFUL I am to all of y'all (whoops, sorry)who have taken so much trouble to share your articles, reviews, photos, and accounts of "CEFK" (Close Encounters of the Firth Kind) here. Thank you ALL!!

From boxoffice profits.com "Universal's slow rollout of Love Actually seems to be working very well. After placing sixth last weekend with the romantic comedy, the studio added 510 more venues and managed to increase on last weekend's score of $8.7 million. Love Actually landed in fifth this weekend, pulling in a gross of $9.1 million and a site average of $5,365 from 1,687 venues. That's a 4% increase over last weekend, as the film now carries a total of $30.8 million. Love Actually needs to have more weekends like this, as the film was not cheap to make, with the production budget coming in around $50 million US"

To all Atlanta area Drooleurs (and maybe even some other Southern sisters), a special screening of GWAPE at the High Museum: Special Preview Girl With a Pearl Earring Friday, December 5 8 p.m., Rich Auditorium Photographed with all the sublime incandescence of the Vermeer portrait for which it is named, Girl with a Pearl Earring lifts the veil shrouding the painter's mid-seventeenth century home life in a transfixing story told from the point of view of his young maidservant. Every frame is a triumph of composition and light inspired by the Dutch master's work. Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, as Griet and Vermeer, are striking for their inner glow of intelligence and quiet insightfulness. Based on the acclaimed novel by Tracy Chevalier, Peter Webber's first feature is a beautiful study of the glorious surfaces and emotional depths of the period." 2003 Toronto Film Festival catalogue. (Britain/Luxembourg, 2003, 95 minutes) Thanks to Lions Gate Pictures for making this screening possible. I've already bought tickets and there are some left!

Again, apologies if a repeat..DH in shower, gotta run... http://www.handbag.com/gossip/celebrityinterviews/colinfirth2/

Thanks! I will hopefully see you there. I just purchased my tickets. I am really excited! Email me if you would like to meet up!

Thanks for all the tidbits! (Hangbag.com) The thing about having kids is it gets your priorities straight. My life revolves around my boys. And when it comes to your family's happiness, nothing else really matters. I do love hearing things like this . .hearing about how dedicated he is to his family just makes me love him more and more!

I'm going to Atlanta for the GWAPE screening and would love to meet other Drooleurs there. Please email me.

(Karen)Keep your eyes peeled for the "For Your Consideration" ads and your scanner humming! Just sent you 2 ads . .if you have trouble with them, I can rescan and resend them . .

so i have a quick question for anyone who knows anything about the GWPE screenings - i'm assuming ODB will NOT be there. does anyone know if i'm wrong, or if anyone else might be there?

(mari) He looked our way, we waved and got that great wave and smile back: ah mari thank you! i was very pleased that this was the one that came out the best of all my "interview" pics. in the rest either the light is obscuring him, or else he has a very funny face ;)

Just wanted to add my thanks to Linda and Karen and all the other members of the NY contingent for sharing the photos and stories of your CEFK (Close Encounters of the Firth Kind, as coined by Eithne!). I keep marvelling at how you ladies managed to keep your cool and snap away with ODB within touching distance -- those dimples, those big brown eyes, those LASHES!!! -- had I been there I'm sure I would have self-combusted the first time he turned around to wave...

(Risa) so i have a quick question for anyone who knows anything about the GWPE screenings - i'm assuming ODB will NOT be there. does anyone know if i'm wrong, or if anyone else might be there? There are multiple screenings of everything being pushed for awards now, so it's doubtful anyone will be at any of them unless it's announced specifically ahead of time, I believe.

Here's one-third (the relevant third) of one of Lions Gate's "For Your Consideration" ads: Before anybody gets their hopes up unrealistically, studios put all the major names up. The first third of the ad was for The Cooler and three actors were put forward. I expect the last third was for Shattered Glass and mentioned most of the cast too. This is how it is done. Get the names out and see what sticks.

Ooops, thanks to Kimberly for the above ad. :)

(Karen) Before anybody gets their hopes up unrealistically, studios put all the major names up Right, remember all the people and things I listed that Miramax threw out there for consideration for TIOBE on their screener? Like they really had a chance at much, if anything, except maybe costume.

(Karen) Before anybody gets their hopes up unrealistically, studios put all the major names up ...oh, but for a chance at unreality... Thanks Kimberly and Karen (and Dorine, who clued me in on the GWAPE screening in Atlanta, but I forgot to thank)!

Today's Daily Express has an interview with Colin. It doesn't include any new information and several of the quotes have already appeared in other places, but there are others which I don't remember having seen before. I can't remember whether I've seen the main photo before or not - he's wearing a light-coloured shirt with dark stitching on the pocket and seams and it was taken by Colin Bell. Also, the Mail is reporting that LA has had one of the best ever opening weekends in the UK, taking more than �6,000,000.

Karen) Before anybody gets their hopes up unrealistically, studios put all the major names up (Shosh)...oh, but for a chance at unreality... I too like the dream.

(Barbara)I can't remember whether I've seen the main photo before or not - he's wearing a light-coloured shirt with dark stitching on the pocket and seams and it was taken by Colin Bell. Ooooh . .Ada had sent a pic from that photo shoot . .the yummy one with him looking out of the doorway right at you! You'll see the rest of the pice from that shoot here: http://colinfirth.casa-feliz.net/images/categories.php?cat_id=107 And well . .I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway for ODB to get the BA nomination . .I want to see him win something for his quality work !!!. .I saw him in Conspiracy he was amazing. . and he was nominated for an Emmy for that one, but did not get it ( well, as well as not getting the BAFTA for P&P!)

Thanks Kimberly for taking me there again... I just love *Stable Boy* Colin! Now why don't I ever find this in my woodpile? http://colinfirth.casa-feliz.net/images/details.php?image_id=1778

I just want to thank everyone for all the terrific photos and live accounts. The past few weeks have been so exciting here! I love the photos that were taken by the lovely ladies of drool. They seem so much closer and more personal than the ones taken by professional photographers. So again, THANK YOU! Now for some bad news. I had all of ODB's TV appearances saved on TiVo and my darlings DH erased them! He said they were old, they were from weeks ago, you must have watched them already! Ugh! I guess he didn't realize that I have re-watched them many times. From now on I have to be quicker converting to tape. I am bereft. He looked so good on The View!

(Bee) Now why don't I ever find this in my woodpile? LOL...I know! The last woodpile I had was in Arizona and all we got was Gila monsters (and they bite!). Nothing that good (that didn't require a hospital visit) ever awaited me!

Thanks, Kimberly for those delicious pictures I'd just love to be taken to that woodshed-hmmmm! #6 just blew me away. (Mari)My absolute favorite, a variation of the one Tress posted above, prompted by the reporter mentioning all his fans. He looked out way, we waved and got that great wave and smile back Even though, at times, my brain is still fuzzy about Thursday, November 6, 2003 that is one thing I'll never forget-when he turned and waved. Up till that point I hadn't been able to see his full face until he turned around.

No mention of ODB (Definite oversight by writer . .grrrr . .but thought you might like to read;) **************************************************** Movieline's Hollywood Life - November 2003 In the Also Showing section: Have there been any romantic comedies of note this year, aside from the agressivly likeable How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? None that we can think of, which is why Love Actually is arriving in just the nick o' holiday time. The ensemble romance showcases the loves and lives of startlingly good-looking younger stars ( Elisha Cuthbert, Keira Knightly) and always game Brit acting vets (Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson) in a series of 10 interlocking stories. (Grant stars in one as a young, single British Prime Minister who falls in love with the girl who serves him tea.) Richard Curtis, whose screenwriting pen was the impetus behind the lightening witticisms in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, makes his directorial debut with this, so we've no doubt that viewers weary of Neo, Trinity, Agent Smith et al. will find quality workmanship here.

From Screendaily: Love Actually storms UK box office Richard Curtis' directorial debut Love Actually took the UK by storm this weekend, opening at number one and grossing a massive $11.34m (�6.7m) from 477 locations. Screening on approximately 775 prints, the weekend takings - which included previews of $1.7m (�1m) - scored the biggest ever opening for UK distributor UIP. Love Actually dethroned Warner Bros The Matrix Revolutions, which saw a second consecutive 55% drop off in its third weekend. It was the fifth largest opening of 2003, after the two Matrix films, Bruce Almighty and X2, and the 16th of all time. Love Actually also qualifies as Curtis' and Grant's biggest openings in the UK. However, it is difficult to compare with films which opened on a platform release and widened later, such as Finding Nemo and Notting Hill. The film, billed as the ultimate romantic comedy, features a host of British stars including Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy. Also doing well in the UK is Buena Vista International's Brit-hit Calendar Girls. The comedy drama starring Julie Walters and Helen Mirren passed the �20m mark, equivalent to $34m, at the weekend. ~~~~~~~~ US comparison: The lone romantic comedy in the top rankings, Universal's "Love Actually," added 513 theaters, bringing its count to 1,690, and took home an estimated $9.1 million in its third weekend to place fifth. The Hugh Grant starrer has picked up an estimated $30.8 million so far.

The Toronto Star: Nov. 21, 2003 Frothy film lifts spirits as days get shorter, darker JUDY GERSTEL C'mon guys, lighten up a little. For some reason, Love Actually is turning many journalists into pre-season Scrooges. "Shallow and dishonest," hisses the New York Times' A.O. Scott. "Calloused and leering." "Cynics who prefer their twee without sugar are advised to look elsewhere," suggests the Boston Globe's Ty Burr. Even a measure of delight in the film is acknowledged grudgingly. "...it would be churlish not to tip the hat to Love Actually's genuine charm," admits Ken Turan in the Los Angeles Times, cautiously couching his praise in a negative construction. Others who confess to anything like a warm and fuzzy feeling are immediately overcome with self-loathing. "He makes me feel shallow," writes Sarah Vine in The Times (London) about Love Actually writer/director Richard Curtis, who also wrote Notting Hill and Four Weddings And A Funeral. "He may be peddling social soft porn, but I don't have to buy it. But I will ..." Oh, the guilt. Meanwhile, audiences, well, they actually love it. I bring this up not as a former movie critic but as a health writer. Love Actually makes you feel good. And, like the love and warmth it celebrates, it's probably good for your serotonin and norepinephrine levels, too Love Actually is like a flute of bubbly or a cuddle with a puppy or a string of popcorn on a pine tree. Sure, go ahead and gag, you curmudgeons and edgy postmodernists. Me, I'm not about to turn up my nose at anything that affirms what's good in life and makes me smile, even if it's contrived. (As opposed to what, Lord Of The Rings? Even documentaries are contrived.) Hugh Grant as Prime Minister Lite? London as a tunnel of love? Yeah, sneer all you want. Of course, you're not sneering at Master And Commander. Oh no. Australian Russell Crowe really is an English frigate captain fighting in the Napoleonic war, isn't he? And those storms, so real. Never mind that they all took place in a tank. Is anybody criticizing Elf because it's a fantasy? And what's so great about reality anyhow? Bryan Appleyard of the Sunday Times (London) complains that all we see in Love Actually are "smiling faces all around, people being knocked over by love rather than renegade cyclists, impossibly romantic dramas always ending happily and fantastically pally and supportive networks of friends ... Nobody gets mugged and the doorways aren't the boudoirs of the homeless." Listen up, Appleyard. After gray November days waiting for TTC conveyances packed with people wielding umbrellas, after dodging "renegade cyclists" and hellbent drivers making dinner plans on their cell phones, after using up the quarters and loonies I need for the wash by doling them out to panhandlers, after reading about a kidnapping and stray bullets and infectious diseases here and people being ripped by bombs elsewhere, I am not in the mood for more of the above on a big screen. Most people aren't. We'll gladly take two hours of fairy tale. Appleyard puts down the movie ("grotesque parade of emotionally bloated yet strangely soporific climaxes") by pointing out that the London of Love Actually "is London in the same sense that Mickey is a mouse." Precisely. Mickey is an entertaining construct, a leap of imagination � and so is the London of Richard Curtis' films. Most of us don't go to the cinema because we want to see real rodents scuffling around on the screen. Nor do we expect to find Mickey running around the slums of a real city looking for Minnie. It just won't do to complain that fantasy is fantasy. So where's the problem if writer/director Curtis takes us to a Never-Never Land London with Hugh Grant as Peter Pan in residence at 10 Downing St.? Fables are what sustain us. Even blues set to music are beguiling. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that the love we're looking for, the love that makes life worthwhile, is all around, even if dank reality and numbing routine render it invisible. Love Actually may be too sweet for sourpusses and cynics, driving them to vitriol, but for some of us, it's a treat, a couple of hours of feel-good confection and not without panache. The rest of you, go kick a puppy.

Mary - Love the review!!! My favorite part: Fables are what sustain us. Even blues set to music are beguiling. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that the love we're looking for, the love that makes life worthwhile, is all around, even if dank reality and numbing routine render it invisible. Love Actually may be too sweet for sourpusses and cynics, driving them to vitriol, but for some of us, it's a treat, a couple of hours of feel-good confection and not without panache. I mean come on people .take it for what it is a nice, fluffy piece of escapism in this down and dreary world . .stop taking yourselves so seriously .laugh, even love a litle bit for once!!!!

Of course, you're not sneering at Master And Commander. Oh no. Australian Russell Crowe really is an English frigate captain fighting in the Napoleonic war, isn't he? And those storms, so real. Never mind that they all took place in a tank. Oh, damn! I thought they were real.

Thanks for the pics Tress and Mari. I think everyone needs to go back and look at 1440 and 1441 again, quickly, one after the other. Are we really getting the entire CEFK story? I'm no expert and I wasn't there but it looks to me like he's blowing a kiss!:-) For your consideration: Colin Firth, Best Actor. For your consideration: Colin Firth, Best Actor. AAAAAHHHHHHH! Gotta love the sound of that while it lasts!;-)

(Toronto Judy)...go kick a puppy. ROFL Nice review! Oh no. Australian Russell Crowe really is an English frigate captain fighting in the Napoleonic war, isn't he? Doesn't really matter, the clothes are cool. Haven't seen it yet, but just had day killing thought (good thing it's late...) wonder if those pants get wet? (Doing Lydia-like "Ummmmmmm")

You're not sneering at Master And Commander. Oh no. Australian Russell Crowe really is an English frigate captain fighting in the Napoleonic war, isn't he? And those storms, so real. Never mind that they all took place in a tank. Here's the major difference between M&C and LA: the former is a good film; the latter isn't. ;-) I thought the photography was spectacular; never once did I feel I was in a tank.;-) I think this critic misses the point. I love many dumb rom-coms, and implausibility doesn't bother me if it's well done and if I've been made to care for the characters. My objections to LA center on: --The creepy storyline with Neeson and that strange kid, specifically the speed at which they are able to get completely over the wife/mother's death and move on to romance! How cold. --The male menopausal fantasies that permeate the film. All those young, great looking women falling for guys that are either homely or awful or both. Right. --Too many storylines, which doom them all to come up short. He should have settled on 5 or 6, and given each one a decent 20 minutes or so. --The fact that the only women who look and act like real women (Thompson and Linney) are the ones who wind up unhappy.

The storms were shot in the tank. But the shot of Russell and James D'Arcy on the top of the mast were filmed at sea on the HMS Rose. They really did the climb. Don't ask me which film I liked best of the two! I'm one of those Grinches about LA. I really liked Four Weddings and saw Notting Hill a couple of times. Curtis is a witty writer. That's why I expected more of his wit in this film. It was really too long. If they had cut out a few of the stories, it would have flowed a lot better. Still and all - the public has spoken, and LA is doing better than "Master" at the box office. And Cat in the Hat is tops for the weekend. So much for the critics' opinions on that one!

Me, I'm not about to turn up my nose at anything that affirms what's good in life and makes me smile, even if it's contrived. So, women in subservient roles makes her smile. Women taking off their tops makes her smile. I'm ashamed to be a woman if she's my role model. Personally, there are far better made films that made me laugh, smile and feel good about people in general. They're not fantasies, fables or other associated attempts at escapism and they weren't cranked out by ALT-SHIFT-ROMCOM software.

Barb: "wonder if those pants get wet?" Not only got wet, but according to historians never realy dried. They were all of wool and the seamen washed theirs in (ugh) urine and then rinsed them in sea water. I am hoping the officers used something a little more appetizing - Some sweet smelling places those ships must have been. Moving now off to Topic 92, where I should have been in the first place. Sorry, boss.

(Barb) Doesn't really matter, the clothes are cool. Haven't seen it yet, but just had day killing thought (good thing it's late...) wonder if those pants get wet? (Doing Lydia-like "Ummmmmmm") LOL...pants do, indeed, get wet....but he's no ODB. The pants fit like Col. Fitzwilliam's breeches! A bit too snug and the panel in front looks too small (on ODB that front flap is just fascinating...as it looks very wide which creates all sorts of illusions in my head). Col Fitz looked 'crammed in' and 'smushed' and the panel/front flap looked small which didn't make me think anything in particular (hence, Russell's pants didn't do it for me either, but I enjoyed the film despite my disappointment in his wardrobe)! (Mari) All those young, great looking women falling for guys that are either homely or awful or both. Right Surely you are not referring to ODB? ;-) (Mari) --Too many storylines, which doom them all to come up short. But it worked for Short Cuts (at least IMO)! It is like ADD viewing...before you get too sick of watching HG dance around as PM, it switches over to another story! Did you really want to see more of Keira? Or the little boy? See! So it works on some levels! ;-) But I did think a few stories could have been cut... I enjoyed it...it was entertaining for me and that's all I ask for sometimes. I balance it out by seeing RC in tight pants...! ;-)

Movie review: 'Love Actually' By Mark Caro Chicago Tribune Movie Writer 2 stars (out of 4) The ensemble romantic comedy "Love Actually" opens with one of its least familiar actors, Bill Nighy, as a wonderfully crooked-faced pop singer recording a lame, Christmas-themed remake of the Troggs' "Love Is All Around." The running joke, which provides the movie's most reliable laughs, is that this old-timer is so candid and good-natured about the record's crassness that the British public sends it zooming up the charts. Alas, "Love Actually" has more in common with the renamed "Christmas Is All Around," at least in terms of commercial calculation, than writer-director Richard Curtis probably would wish to admit. Curtis is the smart writer behind "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary," three of the more accomplished romantic comedies of recent vintage, so he must realize how patronizing "Love Actually" is. He's taken the most crowd-pleasing conventions of his films and photocopied them over and over in an apparent attempt to maximize the consumer-friendliness of his directorial debut. He should have called this overstuffed comedy "Love, British Style," as it interweaves eight stories in a manner reminiscent of a certain corny TV series of the early '70s. Individually, the tales wouldn't stand up as short stories. Together, they make for sporadically amusing, ultimately wearying viewing. Perhaps Curtis just wanted an excuse to work with an all-star cast of appealing, mostly British performers. Curtis has Hugh Grant, his longtime stand-in of sorts, playing England's new bachelor prime minister, a glib, likable chap (surprise!) who finds himself drawn to 10 Downing Street's young catering manager, Natalie (likable newcomer Martine McCutcheon). The movie also gets Colin Firth to do his trademark yummy-to-the-ladies, shy-guy thing as a cheated-on writer who heads to the country and falls for the Portuguese housekeeper (Lucia Moniz). Emma Thompson brings her characteristic warmth and intelligence to a housewife whose husband, played by Alan Rickman, appears to be tempted by his new seductress secretary (Heike Makatsch). Rickman also plays boss to Laura Linney's shy Sarah, who's been harboring a crush on her company's chief designer (Rodrigo Santoro) but is constantly distracted by phone calls from her mentally ill brother. The other stories involve the awkward relationship between a best man (Andrew Lincoln) and a newlywed couple (Keira Knightly and Chiwetel Ejiofor); a lovesick 11-year-old boy (Thomas Sangster) who seeks advice from his recently widowed stepdad (Liam Neeson); a happy-go-lucky twit (Kris Marshall) who hopes to hit the hot-chick jackpot by moving to Wisconsin; and a pair of porno film stand-ins (Joanna Page and Martin Freeman) who strike up sweet conversations while enacting lewd poses. Each segment has its moments, but they're rarely more than moments, and there are so darned many of them. Curtis just cuts from one to the other, never establishing depth anywhere. He's a talented enough writer with a talented enough cast that you'd be a killjoy to dismiss the whole kaboodle. Much of the dialogue is sharp, but Curtis also reveals a cutesy, precious streak. Grant's introductory voiceover, for instance, makes the pro-love case by citing heartfelt phone calls from doomed Sept. 11 jet passengers before concluding, "I've got a sneaking suspicion that love actually is all around." The movie grows more cloying and repetitive as it stretches well beyond two hours. Almost every main character boasts the same bashful, puppy-dog attitude toward romance. Three segments feature someone being ridiculed for being overweight, and characters keep pointing out that Christmas is the traditional time for declaring one's love to another. (I thought it was the traditional time for being driven nuts by your family.) If Curtis could fling cotton candy from the screen into the audience, he probably would. At one point he shows Grant doing a "Risky Business"-style dance to the Pointer Sisters' "Jump," followed by Firth trying to save his blowing-in-the-wind manuscript (ugh) by jumping clothed into a lake. The Grant scene may draw laughs, but you suspect that Curtis won't respect you in the morning. Curtis tries tying everything together neatly at the end, but he's working with too many strands. The Rickman-Thompson and Linney stories, in particular, get short shrift, and characters who appear to be close friends early on - such as Neeson's and Thompson's - don't even acknowledge one another when they're in the same place. The most satisfying relationship turns out to be a non-romantic one, between Nighy's rock star and his manager. Otherwise, "Love Actually" is too much tease, not enough satisfaction. Love Actually may be too sweet for sourpusses and cynics, driving them to vitriol, but for some of us, it's a treat, a couple of hours of feel-good confection and not without panache. Worked for me;-)

Barbara mentioned the "Daily Express" article on CF. Yes, I think there are some new quotes. He mentions "falling flat on my arse....I walked out of my hotel and there was a small - about seven people in all - but very devoted bunch of Firthfans milling around. So I signed a few autographs and walked away with my head held high towards my limousine - and fell...." Also says (at the end) "There can be times when I've actually felt incredibly picky and think I'm not going to work for months until the perfect thing comes along...and it keeps not coming along". One of the best things about Working Title movies is that they are very expertly marketed, and always raise the profile of the starring actors. I was listening to a film review radio programme the other day, and one of the "critics" (Brit based in LA) praised SJ but said that it was a pity that they hadn't got someone more A-list (on a �6million budget!)than Colin Firth , as it would limit the potential success of the film internationally. Again, one of the tabs had a report on a possible remake of "Beckett" (the original had Richard Burton as Beckett and Peter O'Toole as Henry II) with Russell Crowe and Geoffrey Rush. I'd like to see CF and Jeremy Northam, but I guess they still don't attract the money men.)-: So, all fingers crossed that the publicity and world-wide release of LA, and Oscar buzz for GWAPE, will get the right offers rolling in!

(Bethan) Barbara mentioned the "Daily Express" article on CF. Yes, I think there are some new quotes. Seems surprising, since several of the "quotes" came verbatim from our translation of the Italian Vanity Fair article; others came from the transcription of the US TV shows, like the Daily Show. I think a good portion of this one has been cobbled together from the firth.com archive. ;-) (Brit based in LA) praised SJ but said that it was a pity that they hadn't got someone more A-list (on a �6million budget!)than Colin Firth, as it would limit the potential success of the film internationally. It was supposed to be be Ralph Fiennes (who will work for peanuts). As you can see, the emphasis is always on the $$$$, i.e., how much can a given actor contribute to the box office. (Bethan) but I guess they still don't attract the money men.)-: Nor do those two have Oscars like the first two. A correlation, perhaps?? ;-)

(Tress) Russell's pants didn't do it for me either, but I enjoyed the film despite my disappointment in his wardrobe)! I balance it out by seeing RC in tight pants...! ;-) Ah, yes in jeans 6ft away.....MMmmmmm, Mmmmmm. on ODB that front flap is just fascinating...as it looks very wide which creates all sorts of illusions in my head). Col Fitz looked 'crammed in' and 'smushed' ROTFL!the (Linda) I'll never forget-when he turned and waved. I don't remember seeing him do that....and they were directly in front of me! What the hell could I have been looking at?! Maybe the few seconds I decided to watch Hugh come in and comment to Rika or Maria about him having styled bedhead. *shrug* The rest of you, go kick a puppy. LOL! (Karen) So, women in subservient roles makes her smile. Women taking off their tops makes her smile. I'm ashamed to be a woman if she's my role model. And being the butt of several overweight-related jokes without any apparent reason. I do agree with Mari that M&C is the better made film, though in some ways it is like comparing apples to oranges, IMO. I found LA entertaining, despite it's flaws. Having said that, for me, I find it the least enjoyable of RC's films/TV projects.

(CF in Daily Express) but very devoted bunch of Firthfans milling around Now wait a minute......he used the term Firthfans?!

Love Actually beats other Brit hits 21.40PM GMT, 24 Nov 2003 Love Actually has beaten the opening weekends for other Brit hits Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill to claim the number one slot at the box office. The film, starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, took �6.6 million through previews and since its general release on Friday. It is the biggest opening weekend for a British romantic comedy. And it is the highest UK opening for the companies behind the film, Working Title, Universal Pictures and United International Pictures. Bridget Jones's Diary took �5.7 million when it opened, while Notting Hill took �4.3 million. Titanic, the biggest box office success to date, took just �4.8 million in its opening weekend. Love Actually, which marks the directorial debut of Richard Curtis, is expected to become one of the most successful British films of all time after its strong debut. (Tress)on ODB that front flap is just fascinating...as it looks very wide which creates all sorts of illusions in my head). Yes, it is hugely fascinating. Its (the flap) been my constant study for many years;-) (Dorine)Ah, yes in jeans 6ft away.....MMmmmmm, Mmmmmm. Hey, ODB in jeans 6ft away wasn't bad, either. (Dorine)I don't remember seeing him do that....and they were directly in front of me! What the hell could I have been looking at? LOL, who knows?

Now wait a minute......he used the term Firthfans?! I think Karen's right! It's a cut and paste job!

(Linda) I'll never forget-when he turned and waved. (Dorine) I don't remember seeing him do that....and they were directly in front of me! I remember it! GAH! Well, you can see it in Little Bee's pic! We couldn't see him as you did when he entered (too many folks on the carpet blocking our view). Our first good look came when he got up on the ET podium...ET interviewer pointed us out...and here is where it gets all fuzzy and I felt all warm and glowy...he turned...as in slo-mo (I remember birds chirping, music swelling)...and grinned. BIG...then waved at us (and we were so composed and acted in such a respectable manner and waved our greeting back, v. v. quietly)! ;-)

As soon as I saw this: "Its sense of tradition. When I met my wife, I had to court her, present myself to her father. Until then I had never met a 26-year-old woman who still lived with her parents. I also find it an interesting contradiction that they ignore basic driving rules but are so fastidious at the dinner table. My father in law is horrified when I put pasta and meat on the same plate!" I knew where it had come from. When you work on a translation for as long as we did, certain things jump out at you, like the word 'fastidious.' We agonized over using certain words and that was one of them. Besides, Colin doesn't give interviews to the Express or the Sun to my knowledge. They've always had reprinted and rehashed stuff in the past. So why would this be any different?? I believe discussions of flaps and breeches belong elsewhere... *tut tut tut*

I believe discussions of flaps and breeches belong elsewhere... *tut tut tut* Waves hands and arms, I finally know! Darcy Drool, yes?;-)

(?)I knew where it had come from. When you work on a translation for as long as we did, certain things jump out at you, like the word 'fastidious.' We agonized over using certain words and that was one of them. LOL! Good thing you were so 'fastidious' in the translation. Who knows where your stuff will end up? Now where did they steal the 'Firthfans' from? Can you imagine Mr. Self-effacing seeing that?

Mary, thanks for the Toronto Star review, I loved it. You know, sometimes I long for the old times when we watched movies without always finding something in them that rubbed us the wrong way. When we didn't look at them from a feminist point of view, or a political, or weight, height point of view. We could look at ourselves and each other and had a good laugh at our differences. Now every single movie is offensive for certain groups of people. So there should be no more fat jokes, animal jokes, "four eye" jokes, dwarf jokes, ugly jokes, blonde jokes, Scot (sp?) jokes, and the list goes on and on. I like them. I like the ones that poke fun at my own shortcomings too. Never took them seriously. :-) And I'm a sucker for the poor girl gets the rich guy movies too, even though these days they are not very politically correct. Tough luck, Cinderella. LOL! So I wonder what kind of funny movies they will be able to make 20 years from now, because I guess every joke is going to be offensive to someone. I suppose we will have to find new things to laugh about. So maybe this old fashioned attitude of mine is the reason I enjoyed LA. Yeah, there were lots of fat jokes, but darn it, the girl did have chunky thighs, and did she ever look gorgeous? She looked like a real woman to me. Monroe, Loren, and yes, even Bridget Jones, yeah, chunky and gorgeous. Wouldn't have it any other way. I fully agree with the reviewer. I think sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Or just a simple rom-com. You take it apart, look at it from every angle, and at the end there will be nothing left to enjoy. Thanks for all the pics and reviews everyone, I'm glad LA is doing pretty well.

(Karen)I think a good portion of this one has been cobbled together from the firth.com archive. ;-) Congratulations Boss! LOL! Such an honor to be a source for a newspaper article! ;-))))

(Ildiko) Yeah, there were lots of fat jokes, but darn it, the girl did have chunky thighs I don't recall seeing her thighs well in the movie, and from 6 ft away, she was looking rather well proportioned to me. Matter of fact, one of the first things we all commented on is the fact she looked to be no more than a size 8. Of course, chunky may be a relative term. Remember camera lenses add the appearance of weight (some say 10#). I will say that the pics at the London premiere made her (and quite frankly IMO, Colin as well), look a bit on the wide side. A product of her dress pattern and possibly the lenses they used. Neither looked so in NY to me. Also, in the movie, I could see if she said her boyfriend said she was chunky if he preferred stick figures, as she definitely wasn't that. But again, in saying all this, I enjoyed the movie nonetheless, despite some obvious flaws. Hell, I'm the one who loves SLOW! A really poorly made movie that I enjoy despite the quality. Much worse than LA. My main complaint about LA is it needed some more judicious editing. So there should be no more fat jokes, animal jokes, "four eye" jokes, dwarf jokes, ugly jokes, blonde jokes, Scot (sp?) jokes, and the list goes on and on. I like them. I will be the first one to laugh at jokes about weight, animals, "four eyes", dwarves (ever see Foul Play...never laughed so hard at and about a dwarf in my life), "ugly" people, blondes, Scots (as I am part), etc. I don't by any stretch consider myself to be politically correct, but my issue is the joke needs to relate to something or someone that has the trait being made fun of, rather than stretching to just make a joke at someone's expense. Maybe they should have done different casting to make it more believable to me. I like the ones that poke fun at my own shortcomings too. Never took them seriously. :-) Me neither as I am short, "four eyes", and predominantly Polish. Think how many Polish jokes I've heard in my life. If I was so offended and couldn't laugh, I'd be shut away. ;-D

(me) Also, in the movie, I could see if she said her boyfriend said she was chunky if he preferred stick figures, as she definitely wasn't that. Oops, forgot to finish the thought.... The part that bothered me was when her parents said it out of the blue. It just seemed like a forced joke with who they cast. That's all. Devil's Advocate, over and out. ;-)

(Dorine)Remember camera lenses add the appearance of weight (some say 10#) **sigh** . . I can firmly attest, due to the many on camera classes I've taken that the lens does put a good 10 - 15lbs on you . It's sad but true . . .so just imagine how girls like Britany Murphy must look in real life, if she looks emaciated on camera! I myself am struggling to get rid of a good 25 lbs off myself . .just for camera work (though my DH loves me the way I am - 5'7 and a good 150lbs, rather curvy), unfortunately due to the profession I've chosen . .I've got to compete with the walking stick insects . . . .I'm floating about in the middle . .not skinny enough to me a model/waif . .not heavy enough to be a "heavy character actor" The pic I saw of Martine in People . .where she was wearing I assume it was the outfit from the NY premiere . .I thought she look beautiful, normal, healthy for god sake . .like a woman . . .( I also thought RZ in BJD looked like a normal woman, not horribly overweight, personally) Sorry . .just a bit of an aside . .

(Dorine) ... my issue is the joke needs to relate to something or someone that has the trait being made fun of, rather than stretching to just make a joke at someone's expense. I thought about that. I think it's the fact that everybody is commenting on the girl's being "fat" that is the joke here, not the girl herself.

(Dorine)Ah, yes in jeans 6ft away.....MMmmmmm, Mmmmmm. (Linda) Hey, ODB in jeans 6ft away wasn't bad, either. Ab-so-lute-ly not! ;-D It was a very good week, visually, all around!

(Ildi) You know, sometimes I long for the old times when we watched movies without always finding something in them that rubbed us the wrong way. We don't disagree terribly, as I love old movies and put them into the context of the period in which they were made. However, LA aspires to be more than a mere Animal House, yuk-it-up type movie. RC claims to be influenced by Short Cuts and Nashville but he made a very run of the mill movie, with I believe some very anti-female sterotyping, among other flaws. Now on a nice note, here's the "For Your Consideration" ad from Variety, courtesy of Kimberly: As you can see (sort of), they've put up everybody's names...pretty much in all important categories.

I love the bottom that says, "And all other categories." Talk about throwing out to see what sticks. ;-) For your consideration....Best gaffer, Best caterer.... ;-)

(Do)Hell, I'm the one who loves SLOW! And you have company.;-))) Now on a nice note, here's the "For Your Consideration" ad from Variety, courtesy of Kimberly: Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Thanks Kimberly and Karen.

Thanks Kimberly and Karen!!! For your consideration: Best Actor - Colin Firth! ;-) Makes me all tingly inside... and not a bad picture either! (Dorine)I love the bottom that says, "And all other categories." Talk about throwing out to see what sticks. ;-) For your consideration....Best gaffer, Best caterer.... ;-) How about Best Wig?

(Beedee) Good thing you were so 'fastidious' in the translation. That remains to be seen. It's really quite disconcerting to see something you (and a committee) wrote and rewrote and rewrote until it sounded halfway decent. I know there are parts that I took huge liberties with. And now it is being attributed to Colin. :-( [lightbulb goes off in head] Perhaps I should put more interesting "quotes" in the next articles. Hmmmm, something about wanting to work for certain directors or certain projects...

From THR today: Mama Mia! COLOGNE, Germany -- German actress Heike Makatsch doesn't have the biggest role in Richard Curtis' Christmas comedy "Love Actually," but playing sultry office temptress Mia, she does get one of the best lines. When her boss Harry (Alan Rickman) asks her about the location for the office party, Mia turns to him, spreads her legs wide and huskily says, "It's good, with lots of dark corners for doing dark deeds." Hot and flustered, Harry doesn't know where to look. For most U.S. filmgoers, "Love Actually" will be their first peek at the 32-year-old Makatsch, but her deep-set, vibrant blue eyes are well-known to German audiences. She's accustomed to getting star billing on her home turf. Makatsch stomped onto the German scene in 1993, wearing combat boots and schoolgirl braids and interviewing such pop royalty as Madonna and David Bowie for then-fledgling music channel VIVA. But her real break came in 1995, when director Detlev Buck cast her as a naive, lisping girl who dreams of being a singer in his road movie comedy "Jailbirds." "After a few years in television, it began to get repetitive, and I really felt the pressure of having to please an audience all on my own," Makatsch says, explaining her move to celluloid. "What I like about film is you are part of a team, all telling a story." It was on the set of her second film � Peter Sehr's "Obsession" � that Makatsch met British actor Daniel Craig and followed him home to London. "We've been together ever since," Makatsch says. "Coming to London wasn't a career move, it was a love move." But it was a move that certainly hasn't hurt her career. By "working in Germany and living in London," Makatsch has slowly collected a diverse and impressive film r�sum� that includes Max Faerberboeck's "Aim�e & Jaguar," Doris Doerrie's "Naked" and smaller English- language parts in Paul W.S. Anderson's "Resident Evil" and Saul Metzstein's "Late Night Shopping." But "Love Actually," with its star-studded cast that includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Colin Firth, and its pre-awards buzz, is likely to garner the most attention. "I was very, very nervous going into the casting because I read the script, and I thought, 'this is funny, it's moving, it's sad � I really want to do this film,'" Makatsch recalls. "I was just hoping that maybe the part is small enough for me to have a chance." Although Makatsch stresses she is playing "just a small role in a big film," it is a tribute to her drawing power at home that UIP is putting her front and center for the German release of "Love Actually." Several exhibitors are even promoting the picture as "the new movie with Hugh Grant and Heike Makatsch." Despite such star billing, the 32-year-old actress is realistic about translating her success into bigger Hollywood roles. "I've never been very ambitious in that way because I think for German actresses it is very hard to succeed (in Hollywood)," she says. "And, with the exception of Franke (Potente), the ones who have, haven't been in films I would want to be in. � However, it would be nice if 'Love Actually' helped me get a few more roles in English movies or even (American ones). Who knows?"