(Karen) Perhaps I should put more interesting "quotes" in the next articles. Hmmmm, something about wanting to work for certain directors or certain projects... Capital idea! A little something about heavy Oscar buzz for him....the possibilities are endless. ;-) Speaking of Oscar....and not baloney yes, I know there's a different spelling...;-) (How was this for a segue? A stretch I know. ;-)) Just a small mention... With Holiday Movies This Week Comes Oscar Buzz Mon Nov 24,10:18 PM ET By Bob Tourtellotte LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The holiday season starts this week, conjuring up images of a white Christmas, but in Hollywood the color being dreamed about is gold -- Oscar gold. 'Tis the season for awards in Tinseltown starting in mid-December when movie critics begin naming their favorites of 2003 and climaxing on Feb. 29, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites) gives out the Oscars (news - web sites). To be sure, several contenders are now playing such as "Seabiscuit," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and "Mystic River." But the holidays bring out Hollywood's big gun movies targeted directly at the golden boy, along with a slew of crowd-pleasers meant to goose the box office. On Wednesday, the Oscar hunt begins with director Ron Howard (news)'s tale of abduction in the Wild West in "The Missing," starring Cate Blanchett (news), and on Dec. 5, comes "The Last Samurai," with Tom Cruise (news) as a U.S. Civil War veteran asked to train Japanese soldiers in western battle. "I think you'll see that Tom does some things internally that he has never done before. He ceases to be the movie star and becomes the character," said "Samurai" director Ed Zwick. Opening in a few cities on Dec. 10 then widening through January is Tim Burton (news)'s "Big Fish," a mystical tale about a son, Billy Crudup (news), discovering the measure of human greatness through the eyes of his dying father, Albert Finney (news). One week later, the season's most anticipated adventure, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," hits theaters as the climax to the trilogy of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's tales of an epic battle for middle Earth. Jack Nicholson (news) and Diane Keaton (news) headline romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give" on Dec. 12 and one week later Julia Roberts (news) portrays a teacher who inspires her students to greater heights at all-female Wellesley College during the early 1950s in "Mona Lisa Smile." . Finally, on Christmas Day, Oscar kingpin Miramax Films opens Civil War tale "Cold Mountain" with Jude Law (news) playing a Confederate soldier journeyeing home to reunite with his love, Ada, portrayed by Nicole Kidman (news). AID FOR THE INDIES Those movies and their actors will get the major Oscar campaigns, but there are always a few low-budget and independent films that rise up to catch Oscar glory. "We're in a period where, for better or worse, the only way to get independent films into the wider public eye is to release them through awards season," said director Jim Sheridan, whose tale of personal and family redemption "In America" is one movie seeking the attention awards bring. "In America," a semi-autobiographical tale for the director of 1989's "My Left Foot," begins its run Wednesday alongside another indie Oscar hopeful, "The Cooler." That film stars William H. Macy (news) as a casino worker whose luck is so cold he is paid to sit near winning gamblers and "cool" their streak. Dark human drama "House of Sand and Fog," opening Dec. 26, fits into the risky category with its tale of an Iranian immigrant played by Ben Kingsley (news) who fights for the ownership of a rundown California bungalow from which its previous occupant, played by Jennifer Connelly (news), was evicted. "It's not a safe movie," said Connelly. "If it were, it would have been boring. Other indie films with performances that could rise through the ranks are "21 Grams," "Lost in Translation" and "The Barbarian Invasions, which are already playing, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Dec. 12) and "Japanese Story" (Dec. 31). Of course, not all holiday movies aim for Oscars. There are some mainstream titles meant mostly to make audiences laugh or cry or simply please crowds with action and adventure. Among big budget family fare are Disney's spooky "The Haunted Mansion," starring Eddie Murphy (news), opening on Wednesday and a new live action version of the classic "Peter Pan," which debuts on Christmas Day. Also opening on Christmas Day are "Cheaper by the Dozen," starring Steve Martin (news) and Bonnie Hunt (news) as couple with 12 children, and thriller "Paycheck" starring Ben Affleck (news). Reuters/VNU

(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.... ;-) (Shoshanna)How about Best Wig? More like Best Wig Wrangler . . . gotta blame somebody for putting that thing on ODB's head!

The Daily Trojan (USC) David Radcliff It�s OK to be a guy and to want to see �Love Actually� In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me just say thanks to all four of you who have followed my columns so closely this semester. Whether you are members of my family, or members of my family, it's always really encouraging to have such broad and loyal readership. Each week, it's people like you who inspire me to write with care and wit, and then toss it all behind me and get to work on my column. The reader mail has been great, too, by the way. Thanks for sending the cookies. Today, though, I'd like to dedicate my column to a demographic that is in desperate need of our support this holiday season. A group that, I think, really just needs a warm hug and one of those supportive, empathetic nods of the head. For reasons they themselves can't understand, these guys no doubt feel lost, confused, vulnerable or downright wimpy. Many of them are our fellow Trojans. They walk among us, largely indistinguishable from the rest of the student body. I'm talking, of course, about the straight, single men who kinda sorta maybe want to see "Love Actually." Guys, I want you to know it's OK. In fact, I am proud � dare I say, honored � to count myself among you. After all, we can't really help ourselves, can we? The advertisements are pretty persistent, and the reviews have been, well ... really good. The other day, on my way to a class, I heard a critic on the radio actually speak the words "'Love Actually' is so good, if it's not playing in a theater near you, I will personally drive you there myself." A frightening thought, but I suppose it speaks well of the movie. Still, I cannot ignore the fact that "Love Actually" falls into a category that usually doesn't interest me. With exceptions like "The Princess Bride" or "When Harry Met Sally," films in the romantic comedy genre have gradually become like the tracks on my Barry White album � it's not that I don't like them, it's just that they all sound a lot alike. So when Richard Roeper proclaimed that the film was "like a symphony of greatest hits" in romantic comedy, you can imagine I was a little put off. Just not as much as I'd thought I would be. In the hands of writer-director Richard Curtis (who also wrote hits like "Bridget Jones' Diary," "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and the alarmingly boring "Notting Hill"), "Love Actually" has quietly adopted a larger-than-life, you-have-to-see-this-movie sort of stature. To my surprise, it looks funny, unthreatening and unusually guy-friendly. As an added bonus, its cast is as classy and as charmingly British as anyone could hope to find: Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant are just some of the names attached, so at least we can be sure this flick won't come off feeling like some soggy high school melodrama. When I'd first heard of "Love Actually," though, I had quickly filed it in the "Eh, whatever" section of my brain � a place where you'll find stuff like "Timeline," or "The Last Samurai" or the Michael Jackson court case. But sometimes I slip up. Last summer I stuck "Pirates of the Caribbean" in there, and ended up feeling like an idiot after seeing it twice in theaters. I don't know that I'll see "Love Actually" multiple times, but just the fact that I'm interested in giving it a shot at all is more than I'd expected. Maybe I should point out that I used to be a little biased against Hugh Grant films. It wasn't until "About a Boy," in fact, that I was able to see him as more than the foppish, jittery and insecure man-child characters that he plays. Ironically, in a film in which those man-child characteristics are celebrated in full, Mr. Grant turned out the most mature and confident performance that I've ever seen him give. "About a Boy" was about growing up, even after you're already a grown-up, and who better to headline that film than an actor who had spent years perfecting the "charming," spineless stammer of a middle-aged man who, despite looking like a movie star, has no skill with women. "About a Boy" was a romantic comedy that surprised me � it wasn't too mushy, it wasn't too heavy-handed and even as I knew my emotions were being manipulated, the writing was so tight and so smart that I just didn't care. I hope "Love Actually" will provide the same sort of surprise. I've agreed to wait until after Thanksgiving to see it with some of my friends, so until then, I guess I could get the requisite testosterone rush from something like "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." It looks like there's plenty of screaming and tension and high-seas action in that one. It's been getting great reviews, too, and at least it won't make me feel like such a softie. http://www.dailytrojan.com/article.do?issue=/V150/N64&id=03-ok.64d.html

(Kimberly)More like Best Wig Wrangler . . . gotta blame somebody for putting that thing on ODB's head! Wig wrangler of course! Is that the person who breeds and raises wigs? ;-) Oh, but after seeing ODB as Vermeer, I love that wig. *sigh*

Before when Maria posted this link for the Anatomy of a Scene for GWAPE on Sundance Channel, the specifics weren't up when I looked. They are now in a pop-up box, for those who haven't checked recently. http://www.sundancechannel.com/schedule/?schedDate=12/28/2003+06:00:00 Has several showings. I'm really looking forward to this. I love this show.

A new GWAPE trailer here *sigh* http://www.mymovies.net/trailers/trailer_play.asp?TRID=1519|1182

(Karen)A new GWAPE trailer here *sigh* ***Triple sigh*** ..."Make time" I think this will be my favorite line of the film. Thanks, Karen. Now I can spend all of the holiday weekend thinking GWAPE.

Just received a book club mailing today, featuring GWAPE, "Soon to be a Major Motion Picture!" (Ooooooh, let's hope!)

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT for Sydney Drooleurs: There are two scheduled "preview screenings" of LA that I know of so far in Sydney - one on Dec 10 at Fox Studios (RSVP.com had a contest to win tix, but don't know if any are available for sale - perhaps you can contact Fox Studios directly to find out). The second is on Dec 14 at the Orpheum, and it's a benefit for the National Trust (a very worthy cause!) tickets are on sale now, so don't delay: http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/loveactually.html Have already booked tickets for myself and a friend. Please do email me if you'd like to meet up at the screening. Sounds like a class act - champaigne and strawberries for the show!

(Karen) A new GWAPE trailer here *sigh* Oh my. That was lovely. Thanks Karen! I wish they would put this one up at the official website, it would be a much better quality then. I thought I liked the other trailer better because this one's a bit all over the place, a cut here, there, everywhere, but that close up of Colin is a killer. "Lick your lips." Naaah, I'd rather lick yours. Bad Ildi. :-) I loved the way they morphed Scarlett into the GWAPE. It looked fantastic. I thought the painting looked younger, and more innocent.

Karen - thanks for the GWAPE trailer! . .grr . . . am having trouble with computer, for some reason did not see anything, only heard audio . .ahh but just hearing ODB's voice out of the darkness is enough . .can't wait for the screening on 12/10 in NY!

(Dorine)..link for the Anatomy of a Scene for GWAPE on Sundance Channel I plan to subscribe to Sundance for this ...I see it's on Christmas Day at 8 PM and Dec 28th at 7 Pm. when else? (I suscribed to HBO for Conspiracy...now it's be replaced by Sundance!)

Anatomy of a Scene for GWAPE on Sundance Channel Once more on 12/31 Thursday 12.25.2003 8:00PM Sunday 12.28.2003 7:00PM Wednesday 12.31.2003 3:30PM

December openings. GWAPE preview from Guy Flatley's interesting film site - Scroll a bit: http://www.moviecrazed.com/ultimate/dec_2003.htm

In case anyone is organizing LA walking tours, here's some info on a non-CF scene from yesterday: Herne Hill actually By Richard Evans, South London Press WERE you wondering where Hugh Grant searches for Martine McCutcheon in his latest movie? It was Herne Hill, actually. Film producers picked Poplar Road, near Loughborough Junction, for the scene in Love Actually, which stars Hugh as a love-struck Prime Minister. Residents in the street had a chance to earn some cash by putting up Christmas decorations outside the season. One resident even had the film crew in her house. Marian Byfield, 83, had the honour of Hugh singing in her garden. She said: "He was singing the carol in my front garden. I do not know why they picked me, but they came around and decorated my walls. "On Friday, I happened to look at the television and they were showing the bit when he was here. "I liked him very much. When he came around, I said 'hello, Hugh', and he asked me how long I had lived here. "Margery Mason was in the film and came in and sat on my settee with me. She talks to Hugh in the film and was waiting for him to knock on the door. "They kept changing my window and changing the number on the door so it looks like it is several different houses." St Paul's Church in Rectory Grove, Clapham, was also used as a set for the film. Juliette Gawade, the church warden, said: "It was very exciting but also quite demanding. "Justine Allain-Chapman, the vicar of the church, had her sitting room used as a kind of green room by Liam Neeson. Also, a couple of extras in the film are from St Paul's." Juliette has yet to see the film, but there will be an outing from the church to Clapham Picture House to see it tonight. She added: "It was fantastic to be used. The money was much-needed, given the huge roof restoration fund we had recently." And to complete the South London presence in the film, Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and City Hall also appear.

New article and a very stylishly clad CF: http://www.firth.com/articles/03interview_decjan.html I like his take on Vermeer and how he used Griet.

OK, here's a notice for Drooleurs in the UK: There is a contest to win a video of HS, which ends TODAY - so if you're interested, better go and register right away. It's on at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/competitions/04_competition.shtml

Oh MY! ODB up on a pedestal - and looking very scrumptious! Love the coat...

Hmmm, I may have to switch the pics, so that I can do a bigger pedestal one...

Thank you for that, Karen! And I've just received an invitation to the Dec 10 screening of LA! WOOO HOOOO! To all Australian Drooleurs - you can sign up for the preview screenings (throughout Australia) by becoming a "member" at hoyts.ninemsn.com.au - it's free, and they only send me an email once a week, so you don't get spammed.

Juliette has yet to see the film (LA), but there will be an outing from the church to Clapham Picture House to see it tonight. Uh-oh, I think the church folks have a bit of a shock coming. ;-) Thanks for the pic and the article Karen.

Thank you Karen for the great article!!! I love how the cord is omnipresent. (The Sun)Curtis makes films the whole family can sit down to watch, without having to worry that Granny might be offended. (Mari)His granny must like simulated sex scenes and say f*ck a lot.;-) (Ildi)Uh-oh, I think the church folks have a bit of a shock coming. ;-) Oh, to have a review of LA from the sweet grannies and church folks. LOL!

Just a little tidbit from MI-6 Actor News - 27-11-03 Two James Bond's make it into the top ten suavest star list... Two "James Bond"s have made it into the top ten of a new style poll. 8000 people we polled by Burton's Formal Hire Service in the UK to find the suavest star. The original Bond - Sir Sean Connery - came third in the poll, and the current 007 Pierce Brosnan came in fourth place. Movie idol Cary Grant was voted the most suave star of all time, with crooner Frank Sinatra coming in second place. The rest of the top ten were: Pulp Fiction's Samuel L Jackson, rock star David Bowie and film hunks Colin Firth and George Clooney. Sinatra's Rat Pack pal Dean Martin came ninth and Hugh Grant tenth. http://www.mi6.co.uk/livenews/fullstory.php3?topicid=991&t=&s=news LOL, well at least ODB beat GC, DM and HG. Thanks for the article from Interview, Karen. (CF)I never found him (Vermeer)it was a constant chase... My unasked question from the BAFTA Q&A. *sigh*

The rest of the top ten were: Pulp Fiction's Samuel L Jackson, rock star David Bowie and film hunks Colin Firth and George Clooney. Sinatra's Rat Pack pal Dean Martin came ninth and Hugh Grant tenth. OMG! A dead guy! Nuf said....

The leash again under the Hugo Boss gray shirt. Must have some permanent status when he doesn't even remove it for a modeling gig. (CF on Vermeer)"There is a cruelty in his relationship with her. " Some of us maintained that during the book discussion, but were disputed. So there;-)

*lol* linda and I must have posted that article link simultaneously - but mine went into Odds & Ends, fearing the Boss' wrath... I just got off the phone with the membership office of the Australian Film Institute. Was attempting to weasel out information on the Australian launch of "Love Actually". The girl on the phone said that she'd heard Colin's going to be in Melbourne for the Aussie launch (but she didn't know anything 'for certain', and couldn't even pronounce CF's name...). May have to book tickets to Melbourne in Dec... am trying to work up the nerve to call UIP's offices to find out: A. If he's coming to Sydney, too and B. What the exact date is of the premiere in Melbourne

(CF) I don�t think Darcy really exists as a fully rounded creature. He�s more of a suggestion, and it�s difficult to develop a character based on an enigma. ...wrapped in a mystery, no doubt. ;-) (Jane) but mine went into Odds & Ends, fearing the Boss' wrath... You mean it is finally penetrating? ;-)

(Karen) You mean it is finally penetrating? ;-) hehe - see? I'm not as dense as I look! ;-) Well folks, it's bad news, I'm afraid. The PR person from UIP returned my call and said that there is NO Australian premiere for LA, and Colin is NOT coming to Oz... *SIGH* Regardless of that disappointment, please do email me (by clicking on my name) if you'd like to meet up at either the Dec 10th screening (at Fox Studios) or the Dec 14th screening (at the Orpheum). If you've never been to the Orpheum, let me just say, this is a beautiful theatre! It's completely original 1920's style - just gorgeous. Even has a beautiful piano which rises out of the orchestra pit...

first, the trophy then the podium... congratulations ! but what the hell is this about anyway ? could it be some sort of subtle award-related hypnotizing attempt, you know, free association style (- cf ? - mmmmh, best actor ? and the winner is...) karen, if you still need dewatermarking, i'm back in business.

(CF)And I did a film called My Life So Far [1999] where I run around in a 1930s swimsuit, for God�s sake. I thought, if this doesn�t kill the heartthrob thing, nothing will. [laughs] Just shows you how he misjudges his appeal - this film was the clincher for me. Thanks for the article, Karen. What publication is it from?

Karen - Great article! . .Thanks Definitely also liked his take on Vermeer's relationship w/ Griet . .very curious to see the ear piercing scene now . .as an unsympathetic man taking a girl's virginity (in a symbolic way via the earring) , drawing blood, and then getting to on to his own needs, leaving the girl to, as it sounds like SJ has done, take the pain and disappointment of the "act itself" and summon all her self dignity to get through the rest of the act . . I'm rambling, sorry . . .

(Sophie) first, the trophy...then the podium... I prefer to think he's posing as an award statue, but usually those figures are nudes. (Janet) What publication is it from? Interview magazine (Dec/Jan 2004)

What he really said: http://www.survival-international.org/bushman_031121.htm

Imagining Colin nude on an award statue works for me !!!

(Cathey) Imagining Colin nude on an award statue works for me !!! Well it would certainly solve the problem of trousers bagging around his ankles. And I thought hemming was the only solution.

(Sophie) first, the trophy...then the podium... (Karen)I prefer to think he's posing as an award statue, but usually those figures are nudes. (Cathey) Imagining Colin nude on an award statue works for me !!! Mmmmmmmmm... happy thought indeed! Aren't the award statues gold plated too, or would that just be gilding the lily, so to speak? ;-)

(Karen)I prefer to think he's posing as an award statue, but usually those figures are nudes.. Does that mean we get to take him home and put him on the mantel? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

(Karen) I prefer to think he's posing as an award statue, but usually those figures are nudes.. Now...see.....I never imagine him naked (oh, I guess I should say nude)....nope....never.....(Whew.....too much Chardonnay! I almost managed to say that with a straight face)! ;-D Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

(Tress) I never imagine him naked (oh, I guess I should say nude) That's right, we're talking art where figures are nude, not nekkid.

Thank you for all the articles and pictures. Thought the Interview-one was very interesting, and the pictures great too :-) A few quotes from Telegraph.co.uk: Suvari - in Britain for the premiere of her new film Spun - was also recently on these shores for the filming of Trauma, a psychological thriller co-starring Colin Firth. "I've always found the English charming," she adds. "I just did a film here with Colin Firth, and he's a proper gentleman; one of the best.'' --------------- Darcy, actually The decision to cast Colin Firth in the second Bridget Jones film has necessitated a hasty rewrite of the original script. For in Helen Fielding's original novel, Firth - who plays love interest Mr Darcy - makes an appearance as himself. "Bridget actually has a crush on Colin Firth and, in the second book, gets to interview him," says Firth. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but that bit has had to be written out of the film. There won't be any Colin Firth in the film, so there'll be no confusion with getting another actor to play me." Firth, who was speaking at the premiere of Love Actually, is clearly taking his duties as lead male particularly seriously. "Oh my goodness, it's 2am and I start filming Bridget Jones tomorrow � no today � at seven," he said, hastening for the exit. "Those costume girls will need to give me plenty of make-up."

From Vogue, December 2003: One of the neater moments in Girl with a Pearl Earring has little to do with any of the people onscreen - it's the quite drama of a mortar being dragged across a pestle, emitting a mild scraping sound that's as sensual as a whisper. Grinding a powder of the purest cobalt blue is a fetching young maid named Griet (Scarlett Johansson), at work in the house of the great artist Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Based on Tracy Chevalier��s discreetly sexy historical novel and directed by Peter Webber, who cut his teeth on documentaries, the film re-creates in convincing detail the sights and sounds of Delft, Holland, circa 1665. Here are the ladies�� crisp linen bonnets, the rowdy crowds in the marketplace, the bourgeois interiors crammed full of strange and fascinating objects. And above all, the clear northern light that streamed through the windows of Vermeer��s studio onto his canvases �V light that can still teach us fresh lessons about how to see. Arriving as a servant in the Vermeer household after her craftsman father is injured in an accident, Griet finds that it��s not the friendliest of places. She faces the petty jealousy of one of Vermeer��s young daughters (he��s saddled with eleven children), and the more justified envy of his wife, who senses a threatening closeness between her husband and the new girl. Firth, somewhat hampered by the film��s emphasis on visuals over dialogue, plays Vermeer as frustrated and morose, hiding from his brood in the upstairs studio and working too slowly to stave off debt. Only Griet seems to understand the pains he takes to get the light right and the colors just so. Silently they form a bond based on artistic sympathy, the feeling each has of being trapped, and �V though we must form our own opinion of how deep and fiery �V sexual attraction. As she struggled to handle her feelings, Griet mulls over an offer of marriage from the local butcher��s apprentice (sweetly played by rising Irish actor Cillian M rphy, who starred in the futuristic 28 Hours and has an ethereal handsomeness that makes him perfect as a man from another era.) Needless to say, it��s all leading up to a behind-the-masterpiece moment as a nasty patron (Tom Wilkinson) pushes Griet to pose in secret for Vermeer. In the hands of the fine cinematographer Eduardo Serra, the moment pays off. When Johansson puts on that earring, turns her head over her left shoulder to stare at the camera, and parts her lips in a tantalizing expression that can be read as inviting or defiant or both, she looks just like the Girl. High-mindedly, director Webber resists the temptation to vamp up the story by making more of Griet and Vermeer��s affection than the novel did. But the film��s anticlimactic reticence points out a challenge Johansson will face as she heads to stardom. Coming off her acclaimed performance in this fall��s Lost in Translation, in which she flirts and yearns fruitlessly alongside Bill Murray, Johansson knows how to be looked at by an older costar and how to inspire a chaste passion. She��s this year��s obscure object of desire. It��ll be good to see her start xpressing herself, and do some desiring of her own.

( Josie ) Silently they form a bond based on artistic sympathy, the feeling each has of being trapped Nice article-am glad the journalist keynoted that both Vermeer and Griet feel trapped...something that runs true in both the novel and,apparently, the movie.

( Karen )New article and a very stylishly clad CF: Interesting interview lending more light to ODB's interpretation of his characters- liked the reference to MD not being *fully rounded creature. He's more of a suggestion* .The details we seem to crave are exactly what disperses the mystery-and then the fascination seems lessened.....old adage: "Less is More".

has necessitated a hasty rewrite of the original script. Hasty? (Vogue) Firth, somewhat hampered by the film's emphasis on visuals over dialogue, plays Vermeer as frustrated and morose, hiding from his brood in the upstairs studio and working too slowly to stave off debt v. odd observation IMO. Thanks for the articles, Annette and Josie!

With Zing being my enabler, pics from the UK screenplay book: http://www.firth.com/love_gal_loc2.html Plus a couple of additons to the other gallery: http://www.firth.com/love_gal_pub1.html

Nic pics, Zing and Boss...esp. the one with *my* scarf , which he loses on the plane on the way to Marseilles;-) At the Read Through, no spectacles!! From cnn.com Estimated ticket sales Fri through Sun. Final figures to be released on Monday. #5. Love Actually"$9.1 million

Great stuff, Karen and Zing. Thanks Bunches!

Hi Boss -- thanks for the mention, but all I did was, er, carry out orders... ;-) (Hope someone else cooked the turkey and made the stuffing and cranberry sauce, etc., so you could give your scanning fingers a well-deserved rest!) And thanks much for the recent spate of new pics and articles, especially the Australian one and the one from Interview magazine (though methinks ODB looks a little self-conscious being posed as a fashion mannequin). Hope all the U.S. Drooleurs had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

From Entertainment Weekly, 12/5/03, page 16 [each actor is pictured (small) with Bill Nighy�s a bit larger]. �Love� Song It could be the ultimate instance of life imitating art: Love Actually�s schlocky holiday hit, �Christmas is All Around� (sung by scene stealer Bill Nighy), is being released as a single in the U.K. in the hopes that, as in the film, the song tops the charts by Dec. 25. �I have to do the video,� say Nighy from his home across the pond. �So I�ve just been dancing about the front room to it.� Will it be a smash or a flop? We asked the film�s stars, If the song came on the radio, would they turn it up or tune it out? Colin Firth �Oh, boy. Past the first listen I don�t think I�d spend a lot of time with it. It�s designed to hurt the eardrums.� Laura Linney �I�m turning it up, baby! It represents the movie for me, so I just love it. I�d blare it from the rooftops.� Alan Rickman �I wouldn�t be listening to a radio station that played that.� Emma Thompson �Oh, God. I suppose just out of sheer affection toward Bill Nighy I�d turn it up.�

(CF)It�s designed to hurt the eardrums.� LOL, showing a bit of age, there? I find it habit forming in my car. Thanks, Karen and Zing for the behind the scenes of LA. I love the black and whites.

Firth, somewhat hampered by the film's emphasis on visuals over dialogue.... Never in a gazillion years would I think that ODB would be hampered by emphasizing visuals over dialogue.....it's all about about the visuals, baby! ;-D Thanks Karen and Zing for the lovely pictures.....love the ones from the read through. Also like the kiss pic (very sweet) and love the pond picture....with ODB's hair looking like Ed Grimley's! Thank you Josie and Annette for the articles!

Re LA. I have the UK screenplay book. - Is the US version much different?

(Zing) but all I did was, er, carry out orders... ;-) Ha!! I noticed a kind of desperation in your emails when, initially, you couldn't find the book there. (That was a lot of scanning!) Alan Rickman: "I wouldn�t be listening to a radio station that played that." Tell it like it is, Alan. ;-) BTW, I've only heard the other song (the one from the Christmas pageant) on the radio and my insulin wasn't handy. v. annoying. (Janet) I have the UK screenplay book. - Is the US version much different? From their listings on amazon, the US version was about 60 pages light, so Zing kindly offered to pick up a UK one while she was there, which was when it was first released.

(Janet) I have the UK screenplay book. - Is the US version much different? (Karen)From their listings on amazon, the US version was about 60 pages light, so Zing kindly offered to pick up a UK one while she was there, which was when it was first released. Goody! Amazon.co.uk said they are mailing mine out today! Thank you Karen and Zing for a sneak peek!

Sorry. Too much excitement perhaps...

Not a whole lot new, but a nice upbeat review for LA from The Royal Gazette Love Actually is pleasantly manipulative NEW YORK (AP) -- There are two things you must know up front about the new British comedy �Love Actually". It's unabashedly sentimental, premised on the relentlessly upbeat message that love is everywhere. And it's about Christmas. You might be tempted to roll your eyes. But try not to, because then you'd have to take them off the screen. Keep them open, and chances are that at the end of this chaotic, somewhat manipulative but highly entertaining film you'll be wearing a big, silly grin on your face. It's hard to say why this movie doesn't suffocate with its sweetness. Perhaps because writer Richard Curtis, who also penned such successful romantic comedies as �Four Weddings and a Funeral,� �Notting Hill� and �Bridget Jones's Diary,� has a knack for turning to humor just split seconds before a scene becomes unbearably corny. Or perhaps it's the terrific cast he's assembled for his directorial debut, including Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Billy Bob Thornton and of course, that perennial of British romantic comedy, Hugh Grant - appearing here as no less than the prime minister of Britain. The film stakes out its ground in the first moments, with real scenes of happy reunions at the Heathrow arrivals terminal. Love, Grant declares in a voiceover, really is all around. The evidence follows: We track 20 or so loosely interconnected Londoners in various stages of life and love - just before Christmas, naturally.... The rest is here: http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031129/LIFESTYLE/31128002

LA is No.1 (new entry)at the UK Box Office. Not surprising, given the business it has been doing in my neck of the woods, at least.

Not surprising at all. British movie , hot British cast; even the 'below the title' actors are from Brit TV. Don't think it will make #1 in the US.

Yes, it was No. 1 from last weekend's box office results, though it is too soon to make any calls for this. However, it may just hold it, if nothing else of significance opens.

Sorry, mine eyes are playing tricks on me reading the charts....thought it was Cat in the Hat and Elf.

(Vogue) Firth, somewhat hampered by the film's emphasis on visuals over dialogue, plays Vermeer as frustrated and morose, hiding from his brood in the upstairs studio and working too slowly to stave off debt (Karen) v. odd observation IMO. (Tress) Never in a gazillion years would I think that ODB would be hampered by emphasizing visuals over dialogue.....it's all about about the visuals, baby! ;-D So true. IMO, she's made quite a few odd comments. BTW, a small note - thank you so much for the card, ladies.(you know who you are ;-)) It is certainly one of the best gifts I've ever had!

Thanks for the articles and the pics!!!! (Love the LA readthrough pics especially . .mmmmm nice striped shirt!) Hope those pics are in the US version of the book . . . Hope everyone had great turkey day . .I was bit under the weather ealier in the week, my DH forced me to stay in bed and not do any baking or anything . .turned it into a Colin film fest sat through all of P&P quite happily (a sacrifice I loved to make!) Took friend to see LA recently . .she liked it alot, had big sigh when ODB came on screen . .esp liked his storyline b/c she had just finished directing the play "The Foreigner" . .and there was alot of language/misunderstanding comedy bits in that play as well . . .she said she found it interesting how RC had managed to intertwine all of those storylines . .and was a little sad about LL unrequited love storyline. All in all, enjoyed the film !

From The Sydney Morning Herald: Oscar heat is on December 1, 2003 The Sun-Herald 2. Girl With A Pearl Earring (releases January 22) BBC drama veteran Peter Webber wasn't sure he wanted to make the transition to features with a conventional period romance about the painter Johannes Vermeer and his muse, until he read the ear-piercing scene. Then he saw the heart of the upstairs-downstairs domestic drama: the conflict between the artist (Colin Firth) and his patron (Tom Wilkinson), the painter and his family, and the unspoken attraction between the man and his model (Scarlett Johansson). Webber was not afraid to fashion a quietly paced movie that is as visually lovely as a Vermeer. A hit on the festival circuit as well as with academy voters, Girl With A Pearl Earring could be the Frida of this Oscar race. The rest of the article can be viewed here: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/30/1070127259583.html

...And then there is this? Looks like there's hope in Kansas, eh, I think. Posted on Sun, Nov. 30, 2003 Swords & sorcerers From the 'The Last Samurai' to the final 'Lord of the Rings' installment, the holiday movie season offers something for everyone. BY BOB CURTRIGHT The Wichita Eagle Opening Dec. 26 Other possibilities... "Hope Springs" (PG-13) Romantic comedy about choices with Colin Firth as a melancholy British artist dumped in small-town Vermont by his fiancee (Minnie Driver). When a matchmaker (Mary Steenburgen) fixes him up with a local girl (Heather Graham), they begin to click just as his old flame returns http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/entertainment/7376807.htm How Odd;-)

Odd? Odder than odd IMO. Dec 26th was the date Buena Vista penciled in way back when...when it canceled HS's April (or spring) release date. That would've been back in Feb or March and it almost seemed like something they would've put in to mean "sometime by the end of the year." However, with theater screens at a premium this type of year, who dumps films now? Or has someone at BV decided that Colin's fans (much more noticeable since LA's premiere) will go to see anything of his. Talk about something that will put a nice damper on his dramatic reputation while others are hyping his solid performance as Vermeer. The timing couldn't be worse. :-(

Thanks for the Interview interview and pics, Karen. And thanks to Zing for the um, zingers!;-) (Evelyn)At the Read Through, no spectacles!! ROTF! He's busted! I said from the start it was an affectation. (Ev)Don't think it will make #1 in the US. No, but it was never positioned that way by Universal. They did the slow rollout, adding theaters each week, and it's still playing in fewer places than the blockbusters. And with 3 or 4 other major releases here each week, the market here is too competitive. Still , seems like it's doing very well, should top $40 million this weekend. Karen)Dec 26th was the date Buena Vista penciled in way back when...and it almost seemed like something they would've put in to mean "sometime by the end of the year." I think this guy is going from a very outdated list. Agree that timing would be bad, but not to worry, I think this turkey is cooked for good.

(Karen)Talk about something that will put a nice damper on his dramatic reputation while others are hyping his solid performance as Vermeer. The timing couldn't be worse. :-( Errg . .definitely n.g . . . tried searching the BV website . .can't seem to dreg anything up on openings of HS. .perhaps this is just a misprint?? . .or a sole release in Kansas?

I had checked the BV website and it showed nothing too, when I started getting emails about HS and the 12/26 opening on moviefone too. That I wrote off to an "old list." But a newspaper with upcoming releases??

(Karen) Or has someone at BV decided that Colin's fans (much more noticeable since LA's premiere) will go to see anything of his. That decision would be spot on. Talk about something that will put a nice damper on his dramatic reputation while others are hyping his solid performance as Vermeer. The timing couldn't be worse. :-( I think it would slip in under the radar of critics, though. Too many other "important" films they have to concentrate at that time and give 2 hoots about. Don't think HS would faze them, esp if they'd already seen GWAPE. Matter of fact, doubt they'd devote more than one column inch to it. Thanks Zing and Karen for the goodies.

early US box office report from Comingsoon.com puts LA at #9. Still..it's the only movie in the top 12 that's being shown in less than 2000 theatres.

(Dorine) That decision would be spot on. But I still don't think it is the case. The release listing has just not been accurately updated is all. (Dorine) I think it would slip in under the radar of critics, though. Too many other "important" films they have to concentrate at that time and give 2 hoots about. Don't think HS would faze them, esp if they'd already seen GWAPE. Matter of fact, doubt they'd devote more than one column inch to it. *IF* it were released then (which I don't think is going to happen), it would be reviewed (not by the main newspaper critic) and what critic doesn't like to kick a dead dog? But, like I said, it ain't going to happen anyway.

This doesn't seem to have been posted here yet. On Yahoo TV Colin is listed on "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn" for 12/11(could be night of 12/10).

Thanks, Dale! I knew he'd be coming back for GWAPE publicity (???) Your tax dollars at work (*hee hee*) and a whining sister made this update/revision possible. The Italian Vanity Fair article was missing one column of the interview (must have gotten lost in our "translation by committe," so the complete article has been uploaded, and the text has undergone some revision, although I did keep the Mirror or the Express's quoted material the same. Wouldn't want to change Colin's quote on them, would I??? ;-) http://www.firth.com/articles/03vanfair_italy_oct.html

*Clap, clap* to the Translation Committee... "Bridget makes a trip to Thailand, ending up in a mess over drugs, and having to defend herself from that dog, Daniel. But then I arrive to assure a happy ending.? Think he'll actually take the 'Victoria Line' to Thailand?

(Evelyn)*Clap, clap* to the Translation Committee... Indeed! A round of applause! I love the last bits. ;-) Also, I bought some extra tickets for the Atlanta GWAPE screening that are currently not being used. If anyone out there wants them, send me an email. Thanks.

(Evelyn)At the Read Through, no spectacles!! ROTF! He's busted! I said from the start it was an affectation. He may sometimes wear contacts or sometimes glasses or sometimes neither - just like me and a lot of other people. Colin doesn't seem at all the sort to wear glasses "as an affectation." By the way, he actually looks better in action with the glasses on, than in the still photos. You can see him in a short QT clip I made from that E! interview (it may take a while to load). I think he looks quite charming: http://home.hawaii.rr.com/mksato/Colins-Specs.mov

Article at USAToday.com. Highlighting the important bits;-) Film directors don't always play by the book Andre Dubus III can't believe his good fortune that Ben Kingsley (news) is starring in the movie version of his novel, House of Sand and Fog. "My wife and I were just talking in a fantasy way: If this were a movie, who would you see?" says Dubus. "Right away, I saw Kingsley." For his part, Kingsley read the novel, found it "crushingly sad," and moved on to other work. "It didn't haunt me." Still, he took the part. "Andre's wife wrote to me and sent me a copy of the book 18 months before it was even considered to be a film," says Kingsley, who is getting Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Massoud Behrani, an Iranian colonel who emigrates to the USA but struggles in his new country. "She very sweetly said, 'No strings attached.' Simply stating the fact that her husband had always envisaged Behrani as me, that I was the scaffolding for the building that was Behrani." At least nine filmmakers are using successful novels as the scaffolding for their films this month. While there's nothing new about adapting books to the screen, this season has a flurry of them. Master and Commander, Mystic River, The Human Stain and In the Cut are in theaters now. The Missing, starring Cate Blanchett (news) as a woman who turns to her estranged father to find her kidnapped daughter in 1880s New Mexico, opened last week. Still to come: �Big Fish, starring Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor in a story of a man coming to terms with his storytelling father, who is dying. Dec. 10, New York, Los Angeles. �Girl With a Pearl Earring, starring Scarlett Johansson as a servant who catches the eye of artist Vermeer, played by Colin Firth. Dec. 12 in New York and Los Angeles. �House of Sand and Fog, starring Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. An immigrant sees a house as the realization of his dreams, but it has been wrongly taken from a woman who saw the house as her last hope. Dec. 19, New York, Los Angeles. �Cold Mountain, starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renee Zellweger. A wounded Civil War soldier makes an epic journey to reunite with his sweetheart. Dec. 25, nationwide. Basing a movie on a well-known novel has its perils. Despite a built-in audience of readers, there's always the possibility fans will dislike the way characters they've imagined are portrayed. But if successful, the film portrayal of a literary character can make a character even more indelible - as Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable become the personification of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler in the movie based on Gone With the Wind. "If you're adapting a novel that's both widely read and intensely loved, you have a certain responsibility," says Peter Webber, director of Girl With a Pearl Earring, based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier. "It's also really scary because everybody who's read the book has cast it in their head. Your version has to be more effective than their version. That's a tall order." The cinematic embodiment of characters has sometimes proved controversial, as with Anthony Hopkins (news)' role in The Human Stain as a light-skinned black man, and glamorous Nicole Kidman playing a janitor. Anne Rice famously blanched at Tom Cruise (news) being cast in the movie of her novel, Interview With the Vampire, but recanted when she saw the film. "People quarrel with every incarnation of a book on film," says Anthony Minghella (news), who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie based on Charles Frazier's best-selling Civil War tale, Cold Mountain. "And that's their privilege." Sometimes casting choices are made that authors did not envision, but then realize enhance their work. Novelist Thomas Eidson was thrilled by director Ron Howard (news)'s choice of Blanchett to play the lead role in his western thriller, The Missing, based on Eidson's novel, The Last Ride. "Cate Blanchett has so much of my sense of Maggie that it almost startled me," says Eidson. For some, total immersion Actors vary in their use of the source material to inform their portrayals. Firth, who plays the Dutch painter Vermeer in Girl With a Pearl Earring, read the novel closely. When author Chevalier came to the set, "I pounced on her and picked her brain." Firth explains: "I absolutely got consumed by a desire to discover something about him. I went to look at paintings and read what I could and did as much painting as I could do. I referred to the script, the book, to pictures. It was like a candy store. You do all this stuff and in the end, I don't know how much of it makes any difference to anyone watching the movie. But it made me enjoy it." Johansson, who played the title character, made a conscious choice to trust her instincts. "I did not read the book before or during filmmaking," she says. "It's written in a first-person narrative from my character's point of view. I just didn't want to be told what I should be feeling at a particular time." Johansson read the book after the film wrapped. "I was dying to read it," she says. "We had a copy of it on the set, and it was very tempting. I would start to look over some dialogue, and my eyes would wander over to the page and then I'd go 'No! Stop reading!' " Kingsley called upon the cultural expertise of Jonathan Ahdout, the 14-year-old Iranian-American who plays his son in House of Sand and Fog, and the boy's family, to flesh out Behrani. "Behrani has nothing to do with me or my experience," Kingsley says. "It's wonderful to take that leap into the unknown." Similarly, directors choose their own approaches to adapting books to the screen. Some, like Webber, keep the novel as an ever-present guide on set. Others, like Minghella (who also adapted The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley into movies) don't refer to the book during its cinematic adaptation. "I have a quite radical but well-intentioned and perhaps foolish method of adapting, and I hit upon it with The English Patient, and I'm now doing it perhaps also out of superstition: I don't take the book with me when I go to write the adaptation," says Minghella. He holes himself up to write at a house in the English countryside with a piano and sketchbook nearby. He explains his strategy: "Cold Mountain is a poem which changes chronology and voice and perspective. If the screenplay tried to follow too closely, it would be absolutely impenetrable." 'I won't change the ending' Though novelists may not be involved in the adaptation process, some insist upon a shared vision with the director and screenwriter. Dubus said he had received more than 130 calls from filmmakers inquiring about adapting his book, but he was always disappointed when they wanted to make a substantive change he couldn't support. "They'd always say 'That ending is so terrible, can we change it?' I'd always say I won't change the ending to make it more palatable." Finally, director Vadim Perelman promised: " 'I will make the movie that was the book,' " says Dubus. "I knew I was in good hands." It helps if the filmmaker has a connection with the material. "Big Fish hit me very strongly," says director Tim Burton about the novel by Daniel Wallace. "I was immediately taken by the fact that it put an image to things that are quite difficult to discuss: the relationship you have with your parents." The prolific Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Planet of the Apes, Beetlejuice) chose for his first adaptation a slim volume about a charmer who tells tall tales but can't get close to his son. "To turn a really well-known novel that's 400 pages into a movie can be quite daunting and may rub people the wrong way," says Burton. "Because this wasn't a really well-known novel, or that long, this seemed not quite as daunting. The book was more like a blueprint for what (screenwriter) John (August) did with the script. If I had read the book first, I would never have said, 'Movie.' " And though the movie has substantive changes from his book, Wallace believed the alterations were wholly necessary. The main character in Wallace's book is based on his father, a larger-than-life businessman who is dying. The character's womanizing was softened for the movie. And, he says, Finney's characterization "had a more patrician Southern quality (than my father), but his upper-class kind of feel works with the movie completely." Finney captured the mellowing that occurred in his father's final days, he says. "Big Fish, the book, is not as plot-heavy as the movie is," says Wallace. "But the difference between the movie and the book is necessary. It's like changing a fish to a mammal. You can't expect it to be the same." Imposing an artistic vision on a well-known work is "not just a filmmaker sucking the life of the book," says Minghella. "All readers are filmmakers in a sense. Reading is personal, particular and wonderful and it's not for me to say my version is definitive. I'm just going to my inner screen and sharing it."

Thanks to everyone for all the great pics and articles and interviews! I really needed a good fix this morning after being deprived for the past week and was not disappointed!! Thought I'd post some of this interview with Lucia Moniz. Pardon my babelfish translation, the pronouns get a bit jumbled (The Colin Firth? LOL!) but you get the gist. I still find it hard to believe his co-stars just casually go on with their lives after working with him instead of moping about, dreamily reliving all the details of their time together and trying to get cast in his next film and next and so on...I mean, I'm kinda still stuck on Nov 6 and all I seem to do is wonder when I can make another trip to the red carpet again!! ;-)) O Love Happens, the actress and singer contrascene with the British actor Colin Firth, of who was friend. He knew, even so superficially, Hugh Grant, Read Neeson and Rodrigo Santoro, gal� of?Mulheres Gotten passionate? , among others stars of the cast. To the Post office Woman, L�cia Moniz speaks of its estreia in the cinema, of the personage whom it interprets and future projectos. How happened to integrate the cast of?O Love Happens? Through a phone call. They had said me that they looked a Portuguese actress to represent the paper of a Portuguese and I found fantastic soon. I was to search the scenes, I studied them and I made?casting. After the daily pay-selec��o the producer wanted to know me to make new?casting? e I was London. I made plus scenes and... the writings had started. It says a little of its personage?Aur�lia. I was soon enthusiastic and I found immense joke for being the paper of a Portuguese, for saying Portuguese, showing a little of the reality of the immigration of the Portuguese in France. I found joke it not to say none of the languages and to try to communicate with the English, the writer?Jaime? (Colin Firth), to the way of it. ?Aur�lia? she is a very simple person who fights for the life, that works very. It works in a restaurant and the house of the writer to earn plus some trocos. In the beginning not even it waits that it goes some time to speak with it: the house of it goes, makes its work, serves it, but later it is surprised by it, for its affection. It offers?croissants to it, it wants to know things of the life of it and thus beginning to a friendship and, later, a closer approach is given. Not contrascene with the Hugh Grant, but knew it? Yes and to the remaining cast, when we read the gui�o. But it was alone for the squeeze of hand and?ol�? of presentation Then pressed the hand immense... the cast is great? (laughs) It is truth, are immense and already it was a wonder to press the hand to that wonderful people, that I admire since small. Clearly that later, due to promotion of the film, I was knowing some of these people better. It was easy to work with the Colin Firth? Very easy. Obviously that in the beginning it was a little nervous, over all in the assays, but it is a professional, is one?gentleman, he was very considerate and generous as very actor, as colleague and helped me immense. It did not insist on teaching nothing to me, simply she was the person who was and I, through the position of it, of its professionalism went learning things. It facilitated its installment? Immense and demons us pretty. We become friends. E the Rodrigo Santoro already knew? Not, it did not know it, by the way I know better the Colin Firth. http://www.correiomanha.pt/noticia.asp?id=72410&p=22&idselect=133&idCanal=133

(Dale) This doesn't seem to have been posted here yet. On Yahoo TV Colin is listed on "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn" for 12/11(could be night of 12/10). (Karen) Thanks, Dale! I knew he'd be coming back for GWAPE publicity (???) Hmm . .tried to call to verify ODB's actually being on the show, unfortunately the company hired to deal with the tix did not have a listing of next weeks show, and told me that, the producers of Craig Kilbourn often don't let them know who the guests are. On the CBS site, the guests are only listed for this week (but my guess is that they are taped, b/c I was just told that they are currently on vacation this week.) Ususally the show is taped live. Here is info, though, for any Drooler in the LA area: THE LATE LATE SHOW tapes in front of a live studio audience @ 4:30 PM from Monday to Friday at: CBS Television City 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tickets can be obtained: http://www.ocatv.com/TicketOrder/TheLateLateShow.htm Or call: You may also call On Camera Audiences at: (213) 833-6469 Or for tickets, call West Coast time btwn the hours of 9AM & 6 PM (818)295-2700 Late Late show webpage: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/

It facilitated its installment? Immense and demons us pretty. ROTFLMAO! Maria, that translation made my day! Thank you!

oh . .was told that there are tix still available for next week . .and they are free.

(Maria's article) ...by the way I know better the Colin Firth. LOL...he's a direct object (but we all knew that!) ;-D (Maria) I still find it hard to believe his co-stars just casually go on with their lives after working with him instead of moping about, dreamily reliving all the details of their time together and trying to get cast in his next film and next and so on... One of the great mysteries in life. I don't think I would ever recover from filming with him (RZ came back for more!). After the film wrapped I'd anxiously await the press junkets...and hope for sequels. ;-)

Kimberly)(but my guess is that they are taped When I saw this I wondered if he taped it when he was in LA two weeks ago? Maria, thanks for the article on LM (Maria)I mean, I'm kinda still stuck on Nov 6 No getting "unstuck" anytime soon;-)

He may sometimes wear contacts or sometimes glasses Now why didn't I think of that;-)

(Kimberly)(but my guess is that they are taped (Linda) When I saw this I wondered if he taped it when he was in LA two weeks ago? Didn't Marianne check into this? She's been in the Craig Kilbourn Show audience before.

Fun - The Guardian Quiz: Love Actually vs Lord of the Rings: http://film.guardian.co.uk/quiz/questions/0,5952,1097370,00.html

Interbridge is now showing Coin as a Kilborn guest on December 10; Scarlett will be on December 12. My guess is that the premiere is the 11th in Los Angeles. Thanks for the find, Dale. IMO, Kilborn is *so* not the right show to publicize this one; I've emailed Charlie Rose for what it's worth. Here's the page to e-mail a show suggestion: http://www.charlierose.com/feedback.shtm

Well, maybe "Coin" will be on too. ;-)

Good additions on the Vanity Fair article, Karen, grazie. Can't believe, however, they asked him why he broke up with Meg and how he goes about attracting women. The first is ancient history, and neither is appropriate to ask a married person, IMO. How do you say declasse in Italian?;-) (USA Today) When author Chevalier came to the set, "I pounced on her and picked her brain." Firth explains: "I absolutely got consumed by a desire to discover something about him. I went to look at paintings and read what I could and did as much painting as I could do. I referred to the script, the book, to pictures. You do all this stuff and in the end, I don't know how much of it makes any difference to anyone watching the movie. But it made me enjoy it." Very interesting stuff, thanks, Ada. Really gets into his approach to the role. And such a contrast to how Scarlett prepared, which was to avoid the book. See, this is the stuff I'd love to hear them discuss, but you'd only get it in a lengthy, Charlie Rose-type format. Maybe also on Breakfast With The Arts, which is this Sunday, no?

Thanks Ada, Murphy, and Mari! Karen - do you know if the Vanity Fair article was conducted in English or Italian or with each party speaking his or her respective native tongue? Is Colin that fluent in Italian? Just curious as to how many translations this thing has gone through.

(Mari) The first is ancient history, and neither is appropriate to ask a married person, IMO. How do you say declasse in Italian?;-) LOL! But then again the answer to the "how do you attract a woman" question was rather bizarre IMO. �It depends on the situation. I would rarely find myself in bed with someone immediately. Usually, we become friends first because I need to establish some sort of rapport.� She didn't ask if he slept with every woman he picked up. (Shoshana) do you know if the Vanity Fair article was conducted in English or Italian or with each party speaking his or her respective native tongue? Is Colin that fluent in Italian? Colin is fluent in Italian. While I don't have any evidence, I'd say the interview was conducted in Italian. At one point during the press conference for TIOBE in Rome, he decided to forego using a translator and dealt with the journalists one-on-one; also there is some video on the internet from that same junket, where he is talking about TIOBE in Italian.

UK box office stats for 11/30 weekend. LA maintains #1 position, taking in another $8 million (a $16,770 per screen average--478 screens), and its two week cume is $26,010,859. In the US, it also made $8.2 million (from 1,714 theaters, per screen of $4,795) putting it in 9th place, and after 24 days in release it has made $43.4 million domestically.

(Mari) The first is ancient history, and neither is appropriate to ask a married person, IMO. How do you say declasse in Italian?;-) (Karen) LOL! But then again the answer to the "how do you attract a woman" question was rather bizarre IMO. �It depends on the situation. I would rarely find myself in bed with someone immediately. Usually, we become friends first because I need to establish some sort of rapport.� She didn't ask if he slept with every woman he picked up. I thought it bizarre he answered it at all. I think I would've tried to laugh it off and say, "Next!" Mixed his past and present tenses, too, which comes off odd...if one is analyzing. ;-)

I would rarely find myself in bed with someone immediately. Usually, we become friends first because I need to establish some sort of rapport. I certainly hope he meant in the past tense, at least the bed part. Or else, if I were Livia, I would be a bit upset. With all the translations going on - the interviewer putting it all down from her viewpoint, Colin maybe speaking in Italian, and our Firth Droolers translating, it's probably hard to say exactly what he meant. The being friends part seems the natural role for Colin, judging from the great friendships he seems to make with all his female costars.

(Katty)....I would be a bit upset. A bit of an understatement, perhaps? ;-)

I've gotta say, I'm with Dorine on that one - why did he even answer that question?? Goodness knows he's shut down reporters with questions like that before... On another note, if anyone in the Sydney area is interested, I've got a spare ticket to the LA preview showing at the Orpheum on Sunday, Dec 14. Please email me if you'd like to go.

(Katty) Colin maybe speaking in Italian, and our Firth Droolers translating, it's probably hard to say exactly what he meant. Now, why didn't I think of that;-)

(USA Today) Johansson, who played the title character, made a conscious choice to trust her instincts. "I did not read the book before or during filmmaking," she says. "It's written in a first-person narrative from my character's point of view. I just didn't want to be told what I should be feeling at a particular time." Hmmm. That's an interesting approach, although one that leaves me scratching my head. Since the movie is based on the book, and PW wanted it to be true to it, I thought it would be important for all involved in making the film to read it thoroughly before filming. It's kind of like making a movie about the life of Christ without reading the Bible first. I'm glad that Colin did read it and pumped Tracy for more info. I thought that's how one prepares for a role based on a book, but then, I know nothing of the process, so this is just my speculation.

Here, you go, untranslated: Come la conquisti una donna? "Dipende dalla situazione. � raro per� che ci finisca subito a letto, di solito diventiamo prima amici perch� ho bisogno di instuarare un rapporto". (Ildi) I thought that's how one prepares for a role based on a book, but then, I know nothing of the process, so this is just my speculation. This isn't so unusual. They go off the script, which is what the director is working from, plus his own vision. The director may be inspired by the book, but ultimately the actor has to take direction from the director, not the source. I didn't read the entire article, but saw a little of what Anthony Minghella was saying. Now, there's a director who radically changes all the adaptations he's done because he has a better idea than the author.

(USA Today) When author Chevalier came to the set, "I pounced on her and picked her brain." Firth explains: "I absolutely got consumed by a desire to discover something about him. I went to look at paintings and read what I could and did as much painting as I could do. I referred to the script, the book, to pictures. You do all this stuff and in the end, I don't know how much of it makes any difference to anyone watching the movie. But it made me enjoy it." (USA Today) Johansson, who played the title character, made a conscious choice to trust her instincts. "I did not read the book before or during filmmaking," she says. "It's written in a first-person narrative from my character's point of view. I just didn't want to be told what I should be feeling at a particular time." OK . .just wanted to chime in a bit here, from an actor's POV . .or rather mine . .for you'll find approaches to character/script analysis as varying as the day is long. Initally, I have to admit,although I tend to do a mix of the two styles, I personally lean a little more toward SJ approach, than that of ODB. Not that I have anything against doing research for a role If I am initially unfamiliar with a time period of a piece, a language/dialect, social sturcture/customs . it would of course be best to get some background knowledge on the facts. I have found some actors that I have worked with take research/script analysis to the extreme . .even to the point of marking out their scripts in beats (deliniating for example, by this line, I will be angry . .by this line, sad . .this line, I will be hysterical) Personally, that rubs me the wrong way . . .to have an idea of the mental state of your character during a scene is one thing, to plot out line by line your actions, to me is not acting, but rather a mechanical sort of thing. It makes me rather uncomfortable. Can life be plotted out bit by bit? This ruins the spontinaeity I feel . . . Pardon this philosophical vein, but to me: Acting is reality. Acting is being, doing, playing, living. It is capturing real life situations on stage, film or TV. It is very hard for an actor to not always "be on", it's harder to be natural, conversational. One can squeeze out a few tears and scream yourself into hysterics very easily. But is that acting? Or is that just making a show? Is that real? . . I think restraint is more difficult, intimacy is more dificult, the small things one can do with a look, a gesture can tell a thousand things about a person than a great dramatic showdown . .or pushing a joke to hard to try to get a laugh. It's the reality of life and the attempt to capture it that makes acting so difficult and yet so fulfilling at the same time. As to SJ not reading GWAPE novel while filming . .I can definitely understand. With the novel there, you already have your performance plotted out for you. You have the character/scene arcs, the mental state, your views on other characters . .( esp. since GWAPE is written from Griet's POV) You run the risk of being a carbon copy of the novel, sometimes not even intentionally. By not reading the book, SJ left herself more open for her own interpretation of Griet. .for the spontinaity to occur in her performance. . . Also, as an actor, I understand that the director has a vision to my character, the script writer/screenwriter has a vision of my character . .and well, of course I have a vision too.The hard thing is to find an amalgam of all three: be truthful to the text, yet follow the director's guidance and be true to yourself as an actor. That is multiplied when you are doing an adaption of a current work. Can you be true to the author as well? To the fans of the novel? Keep in mind, more often that not, no matter how hard the director/screenwriter want to keep true to the original work/novel . .the project is, in it's own another seperate identity, another creation. Views can change/opinions of characters can change once someone sits down and does an adaptation ( we've all seen our fav books go to screen not entirely true to form) that is mererly because the written page does not translate as easy to screen as we wish. As an actor I can see it being alot easier to ignore the original book and work solely with the script/adaptaion in front of me. best to do that, than perhaps have too much conflicting info (from the book, the current script and the director) bombarding me at once . .stick to one thing and base the performance on that. Errgh . .sorry this is long . . .i can go on an on on this subject;)