Thanks, Terry-that's nice for those of us without TiVo!

Oh what a night.... And about the fall, no! We were not that kind of pain in the ass! We had a lovely time and I'm still feeling the *afterglow*. I'm home a bit early (but I got up at 5:00 to make the trip) so for all I know the others may have had a second sighting. But I gotta tell you that we all got an eye full! He was AFG and very wonderful about signing for long time. He was such a doll. It was also wonderful to meet the other Droolers who were able to attend. They are every bit as great IRL! I wish I could be more lyrical but I'm just too pooped but I wanted to check in.

Thanks Beedee-go have a good rest so you can give us a detailed account tomorrow. We're not all astonishment that *he was AFG and very wonderful about signing for a long time. He was such a doll*.

(Beedee)He was such a doll. Wow! Sounds like a wonderful and lovely time! Can't wait to hear the details. Thanks for checking in even though you've had a very long day. It sounds like it was well worth your efforts! :-D

(Bonnie)Jon Stewart used the term *drool* in his initial introduction of Colin at the beginning of the show,too! I just rewatched and JS said *gruel* not *drool* after describing what that audience reaction sounded like (at the beginning).

Thanks Terry for the Daily Show link, and BeeDee for checking in. I can't wait to hear more from your encounter... Wireimage has started posting images of the premiere. So far, no Colin; only Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Alan Rickman, Martine McCutcheon, and Bill nighy from the cast. http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====41682

Thanks so much for the Daily Show! It's fantastic to be able to see it right here. Bee, I'm so happy for you! Wonderful that he spent all that time with you. Wireimage is putting photos up now. No Colin yet but soon, I'm sure.

Bee, I'm happy for you, and for everyone who was with you. Sounds like a great time was had by all. Thanks for taking the time to check in. It will be good to hear your stories.

Lora----(Bonnie)Jon Stewart used the term *drool* in his initial introduction of Colin at the beginning of the show,too! I just rewatched and JS said *gruel* not *drool* after describing what that audience reaction sounded like (at the beginning). Thanks for the clarification-I just watched the beginning of the rebroadcast-

Yahoo has a few pictures up.

Paul, thank you so much for the Daily clip. My only chance of seeing it and I'm most grateful. And fellow droolers - you are so great. Thank you for all the pictures, articles, reports and what have you :-)

Love the picture of the twins ;-)

GWAPE at the Hawai'i Film Fest.... I wasn't able to see the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" last week Friday, Oct. 31st....By the time my friends and I got there, it was "sold out".....A lesson learned - to get the tickets earlier especially at a film festival where seats are limited and can get sold out early.... Oh well, we'll have to wait until GWAPE is shown in wider release in Jan. 2004....

Here�s a Hawaii Film Festival review I found at the IMDB page of �GWAPE�.....Reading the review makes me think of how �bummed out� (disappointed) we were in not being able to see GWAPE�..It�s a positive review on a �beautifully artistic� film: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/

When you get to the imdb page of "GWAPE", scroll down to "User Comments" to read Katsat's review....Here's the link again: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/

My friend John in NYC went to all the festivities with Keira Knightley, who plays a role in love actually. He got to got to all the parties from what I understand.

The beginning of the Daily Show in Windows Media. Does anyone not have Windows Media? If you use something else like Quicktime or Realplayer let me know and we'll put it up in that format: http://spring.net/drool/dailybegin.wmv

(Beedee) It was also wonderful to meet the other Droolers who were able to attend. They are every bit as great IRL! Somehow I knew that would be the case, not sure what I'm more jealous of, ODB or you all! Thanks for checking in Beedee, so glad you had a good time!

The full showing of the Daily Show, without the rough ending this time. http://spring.net/drool/firthondaily.wmv This clip will there in about an hour from now.

NY Times Review November 7, 2003 MOVIE REVIEW | 'LOVE ACTUALLY' Tales of Love, the True and the Not-So-True By A. O. SCOTT Love Actually," which opens today nationwide, is an indigestible Christmas pudding from the British whimsy factory responsible for such reasonably palatable confections as "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." A romantic comedy swollen to the length of an Oscar-trawling epic � nearly two and a quarter hours of cheekiness, diffidence and high-tone smirking � it is more like a record label's greatest-hits compilation or a "very special" sitcom clip-reel show than an actual movie. The air is thick with bad pop songs, which those plucky, ironical Britons seem to love in spite of their badness. A sparkling British-American cast of newly minted and long familiar stars chirp, swoon, pine, quip and shed the odd tear. Presiding over it all is the new prime minister, a twinkly bachelor with a tonsorial resemblance to Tony Blair, who is played by none other than Hugh Grant. As he did in the far superior "About a Boy," Mr. Grant makes a climactic onstage appearance at a school talent show. He also sings "Good King Wenceslas" and disco-dances around 10 Downing Street in his shirt sleeves. In his opening voice-over, Mr. Grant establishes a new standard for bad taste masquerading as its opposite when he introduces this fluffy farrago, written and directed by Richard Curtis, with a reference to the World Trade Center attacks. The phone calls made from the towers, he suggests, show that however perilous the state of the world, "love is all around." Further support for this thesis is gleaned from the arrival gate at Heathrow, where people tend to hug and kiss each other a lot. Like much else in "Love Actually," you almost buy this moment of banal sentiment, because it is so prettily shot and smartly spoken. But the film's governing idea of love is both shallow and dishonest, and its sweet, chipper demeanor masks a sour cynicism about human emotions that is all the more sleazy for remaining unacknowledged. It has the calloused, leering soul of an early-60's rat-pack comedy, but without the suave, seductive bravado. The worst kind of cad is the one who thinks he's really a sensitive guy deep down. Most of the picture's half-dozen or so romantic subplots � which lie scattered about like torn wrapping paper on Christmas morning � involve workplace dalliances of one kind or another. The ones with the best chances of success all involve an older male boss and a young female subordinate. Jamie (Colin Firth), a writer cuckolded by his own brother, retreats to a villa in the South of France and falls for his Portuguese housekeeper, Aurelia, who speaks no English and who obligingly strips down to her underwear to rescue manuscript pages that have blown into the lake. Harry (Alan Rickman), the head of a nonprofit organization, is besotted with his secretary, Mia (Heike Makatsh), who makes no secret of her attraction to him. The prime minister, moral exemplar of the nation, develops a crush on Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a member of the Downing Street household staff. When the goatish president of the United States, in London for a state visit, puts the moves on her, the P.M.'s jealousy precipitates a chill in British-American relations (and also makes him a national hero). The funniest and most winning on-the-job romance bubbles up between two people (Martin Freeman and Joanna Page) who work as body doubles on a movie set, miming explicit sex scenes in the absence of the prudish stars. As their naked bodies go through the motions, the two of them chat mildly about traffic and the weather, and their mutual attraction is sealed, on the first date, by a chaste kiss on the cheek. The other genuine comic spark comes from Bill Nighy, playing a washed-up, dissolute rock star named Billy Mack, who is trying for a comeback with a treacly Christmas record. Billy says shocking, hilarious things in television and radio interviews, and his casual indifference to proper decorum makes him the most honest character in the film. The problem is that the movie, more than any of the characters in it, is a mess of crossed signals, swerving between cynicism and sincerity without quite knowing the difference between them. It is most grotesque when it tries for earnest drama, parading the grief of a widower (Liam Neeson) and the humiliation of a middle-aged wife (Emma Thompson) before us when it thinks our throats need lumping. It is disturbing to see Ms. Thompson's range and subtlety so shamelessly trashed, and to see Laura Linney's intelligence similarly abused as a lonely, frustrated do-gooder. The fate of their characters suggests that women who are not young, pert secretaries or household workers have no real hope of sexual fulfillment and can find only a compromised, damaged form of love. Perhaps Mr. Curtis wishes to offer this as an insight into contemporary social arrangements; if so, his indifference to the cruelty of those arrangements is truly breathtaking. But it is unlikely that any particular insight was intended. Instead, "Love Actually" is a patchwork of contrived naughtiness and forced pathos, ending as it began, with hugging and kissing at the airport (where returning passengers are perhaps expressing their relief at being delivered from an in-flight movie like this one). The loose ends are neatly tied up, as they are when you seal a bag of garbage � or if you prefer, rubbish. "Love Actually" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has sex, nudity and profanity. LOVE ACTUALLY Written and directed by Richard Curtis; director of photography, Michael Coulter; edited by Nick Moore; music by Craig Armstrong; production designer, Jim Clay; produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Duncan Kenworthy; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 128 minutes. This film is rated R. WITH: Alan Rickman (Harry), Bill Nighy (Billy Mack), Colin Firth (Jamie), Emma Thompson (Karen), Hugh Grant (Prime Minister), Laura Linney (Sarah), Liam Neeson (Daniel), Martine McCutcheon (Natalie) Heike Makatsh (Mia) Rowan Atkinson (Rufus), Lucia Moniz (Aurelia), Martin Freeman (John) and Joanna Page (Just Judy).

I got this from Universal in my email box this morning, surprised my Spam bonker didn't dump it! But it somehow got through. John Long, my friend, says in his email this morning that he and Colin are now "buds" and he promises to share the details after he's recovered from his partying last night in NYC with Keira and Colin.

TiVo is working on the Today Show now with Laura Linney expected to appear.

Globe photos has pics up from premiere...3 parts (2 red carpet, 1 after party) just keep hitting "more" at the bottom of page to find them. http://www.globephotos.com/scripts/kws30pre.exe?site=GLOBEPH&maxhits=12&type=GfxOnly&picktype=GfxOnly&efile=pevents.htm

Just some filler till everyone wakes up and gets typing... The free LA dvd yesterday had the longest preview ever and I have pretty much seen the whole movie! Nothing too exciting on it, short interviews with Colin, behind the scenes stuff, normal dvd extras that will eventually be on the one for sale I'm sure. But good to see as I am yet to see the movie - the 18th Survival screening, which I got my tickets for yesterday (was a bit panicked due to postal strike), will be my first time. And Amazon has apparently dispatched my LA book so looking forward to that.

Review from Entertainment Weekly Love Actually - Grade B Reviewed by Owen Gleiberman A romantic comedy, it has often been observed, needs an obstacle, a force of natural confusion to keep its objects of affection (temporarily) apart. On the other hand, there's Love Actually, the first movie directed, as well as written, by the compulsive British crowd-pleaser Richard Curtis (''Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' ''Notting Hill''). Set in London during the weeks before Christmas, it's a toasty, star-packed ensemble comedy in which a handful of lonelyhearts attempt, with some success, to come out of their shells, and it's going to make a lot of holiday romantics feel very, very good; watching it, I felt cozy and charmed myself. It's worth noting, however, that the appeal of ''Love Actually,'' a movie as sweetly munchable as a Christmas cookie (and about as nourishing), lies in the way that its romantic ''obstacles'' are, for the most part, barely even there. Curtis' cheaply winsome stroke of genius is to have made an unabashed celebration of the fairy-tale obvious -- that love is standing right in front of you, and that all you need to do is reach out and grab it. Your average Jennifer Aniston or Luke Wilson character should only have it this easy. At the beginning, Bill Nighy, looking like a trampy, gone-to-seed Crocodile Dundee, appears in a recording studio as a raunchy has-been rock star who's gotten corralled into doing a special yuletide version of ''Love Is All Around.'' He thinks the song is crap, but, make no mistake, it will stick in your head (for days), and the rest of the movie follows suit: It's fashionably acerbic about being unfashionably sappy. We're soon introduced to Hugh Grant as the newly elected prime minister, and before we've had a chance to giggle at the amusing perfection of Grant, with his elegant downcast features, playing an alpha-male bachelor version of Tony Blair, he has fallen head over cuff links for his new personal assistant (Martine McCutcheon), whose radiant moon face reflects that affection back at him. It just wouldn't do, of course, for the freshman PM to be shagging his servant. So Grant flirts with her in innocent, stammering agony. He has become a peerless romantic star, even if the film takes a bit too much delight in having him shimmy around the mansion to the Pointer Sisters' ''Jump,'' as though to prove that British men can be funky too. If anything, this particular PM should probably be listening to Billy Joel's ''Tell Her About It.'' In a bizarre retrograde twist, ''Love Actually'' is preoccupied with liaisons between shy, chivalrous male bosses and pliant female underlings. In addition to Grant, there's Colin Firth as a cuckolded novelist who finds the perfect companion in his willowy Portuguese maid (Lucia Moniz), who doesn't quite speak English. Meanwhile, Alan Rickman, as a somber executive stuck in a comfy marriage to a touchingly devoted Emma Thompson, must fend off the advances of his sex-bomb secretary (Heike Makatsch). He seems to be doing a fair job of it until he decides to buy the assistant a gold necklace. Thompson's reaction upon discovery of this secret Christmas gift is the film's most wrenching moment, though the episode would be stronger if we had any idea what was going on in Rickman's head. The gravity of it all is balanced by the levity of two professional movie stand-ins who chat politely as they mime sex, nude, all day long, and also by a goofy-faced bloke (Kris Marshall) who thinks that his English accent will ma e him a stud in America. (In the film's cheesiest gag, he's proved right.) Meanwhile, Laura Linney, with those dimples you just want to curl up in, is adorable as a pathologically shy American with a consuming crush on her office colleague (Rodrigo Santoro). After working up the nerve to take him home, Linney has one of those exhibitionistically private, hands-in-the-air ''Yes!'' moments that's meant to unite the audience in vicarious happiness. But the joy, rather inexplicably, is short-lived, as it turns out that she's too wrapped up in caring for her mentally ill brother to let herself go. Ultimately, a more compelling case of amorous denial arrives with the blithely charismatic Andrew Lincoln as a fellow who's doing all he can to hide his secret yearning for his best friend's wife (Keira Knightley). If that doesn't pluck your heartstrings of bittersweet nobility, try Liam Neeson as a widower who coaches his 11-year-old stepson (Thomas Sangster) into confessing his feelings to the girl he has a crush on. Tell her about it, indeed. At its best, the movie reminds you how one such moment can activate, and set, your lifelong romantic compass. That's ''Love Actually'': the heartfelt, sometimes the wise, layered atop the unfinished and the glib, with even the British prime minister as just one more sweet and lonely guy who's really got to get out of the house more.

Hi all, only enough time to say that I don't have any time but I hope that some of the others will be able to *write* more than my quips but I'm off to take care of some business!!

A quick New York report on a slow connection - All of us got to stand IN the press tent, and we all got to see him, most got things signed, got to ask a quick question, etc. (The award for best question, though, goes to something Mari said to Hugh Grant that I'll let her tell). As you've already seen, he was wearing the trademark blue suit and white shirt - black shoes this time. He looked wonderful - he's very tall and he's younger-looking and more handsome IRL than in pictures. He had by far the largest fan contingent, and spent by far the most time with the fans as well. Seemed to be having a wonderful time, smiling, talking to fans and others, etc. A funny moment - when HG arrived (just a couple of minutes after he did) and worked his way back into the press tent where Colin was, he got this huge smile on his face and threw his arms around Hugh for a big hug. Livia looked beautiful - there's a picture of the two of them up on Wireimage - and had the long ponytail again. After that, we stood outside the Metropolitan Club and saw him arrive at the party - just a couple of quick glimpses. And you wouldn't believe how rude the photographers are at these events. When Emma Thompson came in with her husband, Greg Wise (Willoughby in "Sense & Sensibility"), some of the photogs wanted pictures of her alone, and apparently Greg Wise didn't get out of their way fast enough. One of them yelled, "Get the f*** out of the way." Really nice, huh? And if a star didn't pose for long enough and went on into the main area of the tent, the photographers would boo them (I was standing directly across from the photographers - if the shots weren't cropped, I'd probably be in the background of a lot of the head shots.) More later.

http://spring.net/drool/linney.wmv will be ready in about a half hour.

Bee, Rika...sounds like you all had a lovely time...really really wish I could have been there. All of us got to stand IN the press tent ALL of the Drool contingent? And there was still room for the photographers;-)! he got this huge smile on his face and threw his arms around Hugh for a big hug. Heh..please, tell, what did Hugh do? Nice pic of CF at Ananova... http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_836266.html Also Skymovies has pic gallery... http://www.skymovies.com/skymovies/article/0,,1110413,00.html

Morning ladies! Sorry we didn't post last night but I lost two of my messages in midstream (hitting something on Linda's laptop wrong) and now it is beeping on us because of low battery. Well, I'll get as much as I can now before Linda comes with the adapter... Last night was fabulous. Not only meeting all the great Drooleurs but getting to see Colin looking so mahvellous and receiving more attention than everyone else put together. It was so evident to all the press that his fans became part of their interviews I'm sure because during each, they would point to all of us behind the barricade and Colin would turn around, wave and smile broadly at the thronging fans. He even cut short his press, holding up his hands and saying "That's enough," and came over to the fans. He *did* all the important press though--ET, Access Hollywood, etc., before deciding we were more important. LOL! No, he probably realized that there wasn't enough time before he'd get shooed into the theater. Colin was pretty much the second to last to arrive and while he was doing the rounds, Hugh slipped in virtually unnoticed by the fans. Wonder why?? ;-D But the funniest part of the evening was when Colin had gone in and Hugh mosied over to the fan line. He stood right in front of us and Mari said, "Hugh, so what was it like working with ColinFirth," to which he replied with a mutter (no stutter), "bloody Colin." Then he kind of smirked, continuing to sign away, but grabbed Mari's GWAPE book and said, "so glad that you could make it here tonight" and signed the book. Actually, the book had been Linda's but it got personalized with Mari's name so there will be some money exchanged. As everyone has said, Colin looked great, but Livia.....eh.....Too much hair. Too much messy hair. BTW, we don't think the photogs were yelling at Greg Wise (uttery doll) another functionary...and Keira Knightley wasn't there so I don't know who John is saying he partied with. More later but we have to meet for lunch.

Turns out Colin read Johns script on the way to the afterparty and Colin hooked with him right a way when he popped in to the party. I just got off the phone with John and he described his meeting with Firth in excruciating detail. They really hit it off and turned out to be buds. There were some very funny and interesting moments at the after party, wonder if any drooleurs made it there? It turns out it was easy to get in because John's friend was co-ordinator of the after party.

Thank you for stopping by, Karen with the long awaited report :-) Enjoy your lunch (we know, you'll be in the best company :-))

Details, Paul, details!!! Please :-)

I didn't ask John the specifics about Keira, he just said that she (Keira) delivered John's letter to Colin personally. And Colin read it in the limo on the way to the afterparty. I may have to the rest of this conversation to "unplugged" with Karen's permission of course as I don't want to reveal any information that is not intended for public consumption and I may be slipping dangerously close to that! John went in to very great detail about his meeting with Colin, and I'm sure it's not the last. Some astounding things occurred and I'm a bit stunned at John's success with Colin.

"Unplugged" with Karens permission will do me fine, Paul :-)

Just a real quick note for now. Last night was fabulous, definitely exceeded our wildest expectations. Colin had the largest fan presence by far and was gracious and friendly with the fans. I couldn't believe he actually cut short some press interviews so that he could come back over and spend more time with his fans. I think he was surprised and very pleased, seemed like he was having a great time. Looked absolutely gorgeous. I was able to ask him a few questions. Very quickly, The Dead Wait is very up in the air, but it sounds as though he has something else in the pipeline. More later! Well done, New York!

(Karen)Mari said, "Hugh, so what was it like working with ColinFirth," to which he replied with a mutter (no stutter), "bloody Colin." Then he kind of smirked, continuing to sign away, but grabbed Mari's GWAPE book and said, "so glad that you could make it here tonight" and signed the book. LOL! Cheeky Mari! HG's a great sport. Loved his response. Thanks for the report, Karen. I'm so happy for all the Droolers. What a dream come true! We picked a great guy to like :-)

You lucky bunch!! Sounds like you all had a wonderful time - and he did too!! For those of us in the UK unable to watch the US TV appearances, I'd check out Talking Movies on BBC News 24 at 5.30am(!) tomorrow morning. It's bound to feature LA. Set your VCRs!

Two from the Washington Post: washingtonpost.com 'Love Actually': Romance Submerged in Sugar By Ann Hornaday Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 7, 2003; Page C05 "Love Actually" could have been ordered straight off a takeout menu of British romantic comedies. Take something from Column A ("About a Boy"), take something from Column B ("Bridget Jones's Diary") and as for the rest, forget the alphabet and take as much as you can from "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Slather with heaps of cloyingly sweet froth, and serve. That's what writer-director Richard Curtis has done in "Love Actually," a busy, overstuffed and achingly saccharine ensemble vehicle that features, as it happens, one wedding and a funeral. At least Curtis is stealing from himself: He wrote the screenplays for "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Four Weddings," as well as "Notting Hill," the Cinderfella romance starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. The connective element in all of these, of course, is Grant, whose stammering, self-deprecating, devastatingly handsome presence made all of them hits of varying degrees. Curtis, making his directorial debut here, doesn't lean on the association. He has cast Grant alongside a dozen other actors in just one of countless story lines that jumble together to form a nonsensical, if warmhearted, roundelay. So we have Grant playing a young, single British prime minister who yearns for his sweet, unassuming secretary (Martine McCutcheon); Emma Thompson playing the PM's sister, who is married to a straying nonprofit manager (Alan Rickman); Liam Neeson playing a man who has just lost his wife and is trying to forge a relationship with his stepson, and who has a relationship to Thompson's character that is never entirely clear; Laura Linney playing a character who works at the aforementioned nonprofit and who yearns for its sweet, unassuming graphic designer; and Colin Firth playing a cuckolded novelist who decamps for the South of France and yearns for a Portuguese maid. And that's just for starters. Have we mentioned the new bride (Keira Knightley) and her husband's lovesick best man? Or the two stand-ins on the set of a pornographic movie? Or the unappealing cater-waiter who finds passion and romance in Milwaukee in the dead of winter? Or the aging rock star played by Bill Nighy? Or the clerk played by Rowan Atkinson? Would you believe Billy Bob Thornton as the president? Denise Richards for a cameo, anyone? Claudia Schiffer to block? If listing the cast of "Love Actually" is exhausting, it's even more tiring to watch it, chiefly because Curtis makes such long-winded and strenuous labor of making such simple, unassailable points. (He may be the only director earnest, or self-important, enough to invoke Sept. 11, 2001, in a romantic comedy.) His premise -- stated during an admittedly touching opening documentary sequence filmed at the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport -- is that "love, actually, is all around us." True enough, but Curtis can't leave well enough alone, throwing plot line on top of character on top of cliche on top of manipulation to create a movie whose desperation to be liked can have only one effect: to make it thoroughly unlikable. Although Curtis has rounded up a redoubtable cast, he misuses them in a series of too-cute gags and set pieces. So we have Grant at 10 Downing St., doing the Tom Cruise dance bit from "Risky Business"; a wedding where the choir not only sings "All You Need Is Love" but wherein an entire orchestra pops up out of the audience and the priest high-fives the best man; a school Christmas play featuring moppets in octopus and lobster costumes and a 10-year-old's sexy solo worthy of Britney Spears; a mad dash through an airport for a first kiss; and a mad dash through France for a marriage proposal. A few recognizably human feelings manage to peek through sentimentalism that seems to have been applied with a trowel: Thompson plays the harried, middle-aged wife with dignity and pathos, and Rickman and Neeson wring as much self-respect as they can from roles that are far from fully realized. Linney, too, is far underserved by a script trying too hard to shoehorn in every "aw, shucks" moment from the romantic comedy canon. By the time "Love Actually" winds up back at Heathrow and Curtis reprises his conceit of showing real-life footage of arrivals, what started out as a genuinely emotional moment feels like one cherry too many on a sagging confection. Love Actually (135 minutes, at area theaters) is rated R for sexuality, nudity and language. � 2003 The Washington Post Company **************************** 'Love Actually' Is a Many, Many, Many Splendored Thing By Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 7, 2003; Page WE45 "LOVE ACTUALLY" is less in love with love -- although, with nine separate subplots about heterosexual coupling, it is certainly that -- than it is in love with itself and its own cleverness. Mind you, there's lots to like, if not love, in this London-set, star-studded comedy. Unfortunately, there's a little bit to hate, too. But first the good news. Written and directed by Richard Curtis (writer of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary"), the script is a mostly witty, audience-charming froth with a healthy, if not always fully fleshed-out, balance between the sweet and the bitter. I suppose it's evidence of my slightly perverse taste (as well as Curtis's), but my favorite plot lines in what is essentially a comic romp about the ubiquity of love are those flavored not with the sap of happy-ever-afterdom, such as the central, upstairs/downstairs romance between the prime minister (Hugh Grant) and working-class staff member Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), but with the complex bouquet of thwarted intentions. One story, involving the disintegration of trust between a woman (Emma Thompson) and her almost-philandering husband (Alan Rickman), and another, involving a neurotic American (Laura Linney) whose infatuation with a gorgeous co-worker (Rodrigo Santoro) is paralyzed by a martyr complex focused on her mentally ill brother, are among the most interesting, and the most achingly real. What a shame, then, that there's not much room in this crowded film for these stories to be developed in much more than cursory fashion. Particularly not when valuable celluloid real estate is wasted on such story lines as the one about a boorish and horny Brit (Kris Marshall) who convinces himself that his English accent will act as a natural aphrodisiac on this side of the pond, leading to an exercise in stateside bad taste straight out of MTV Productions. Curtis, who reportedly has set aside enough unused ideas in the making of this film to make a second one, should have considered letting this episode fall to the cutting room floor, too. It's not a fatal miscalculation -- there's enough that's right about "Love" to compensate for what's wrong with it -- but such missteps detract from Curtis's otherwise admirable mastery of multiple, interwoven narratives. Another quibble: Although there's an initial hint that there may be a gay/straight/straight love triangle involving a new bride (Keira Knightley), her husband (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and her husband's best friend (Andrew Lincoln) -- something that there seems to be more than enough room for in a movie purporting to be about love in all its many splendors -- Curtis ultimately opts for the more conventional, i.e., straight/straight/straight, formulation. That, along with the tittering we're meant to do when a washed-up rock star (Bill Nighy, in a scene-stealing performance) declares his love for his longtime, long-suffering manager (Gregor Fisher), leaves a faintly homophobic aftertaste. But these and other flaws chafe only because so much of "Love Actually" actually works. In its blend of relationships sublime (as between the recently widowed Liam Neeson and his lovelorn young stepson, played by Thomas Sangster) and ridiculous (as between two porn-movie stand-ins, played to deadpan perfection by Joanna Page and Martin Freeman), it aims to put not just a smile on your face, but perhaps a tear in your eye as well. Like love, "Love Actually" is far from perfect. But it's close enough to perfection to hurt, every once in a while, when it blows up in your face. LOVE ACTUALLY (R, 135 minutes) -- Contains obscenity, sexual humor and partial nudity. Area theaters. � 2003 The Washington Post Company

Most of the reviews are here at Meta Critic: http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/loveactually/ Hugh and Mari! There's a picture that will live in my mind forever. Mari, his response to you was so Hugh. Loved it - And loved how CF was to his fans. Good going gals. Sounds like a memorable time.

There are LOADS of new pictures from the NY premiere at the Colin Firth Image Gallery. One even shows that black string necklace - revealing some round metal beads on them! And some of the pics are HUGE. He's absolutely beaming at the premiere, thanks in no small party, I think, to the great fans there, present company included! http://colinfirth.casa-feliz.net/images/details.php?image_id=2024

Hi. My boss asked me to tell you that there will be another Love Actually press junket Nov 21 - Nov 23. So there will be more media soon. Bye

USA Today has a lovely big photo of this... ... CF described as The cuckold: Colin Firth is at a loss for words when he fall for a Portuguese maid. Lots to 'Love' It's hard to fail when you have the cream of the U.K. crop signed on. Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson and Colin Firth are all in top form. All Together Now

There is another ecstatic account from a fan called FionaFirthFan on another Colin site who actually got to KISS Colin at the NY premiere: http://groups.msn.com/ColinFirthFantasyWomen/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=20548&LastModified=4675446216775159261 It's a long passage that's a great read. The kiss part: "... I swear I think I only meant to ask him if I could shake his hand. But he looked at me as if to say, 'What? Spit it out,' with this kind, amused look in his eyes (I'm sure I looked like an idiot). And before I knew how to stop myself, I took advantage of his kindness and reached up and gave him a big kiss right on his dimpled cheek. It was heaven, I can tell you. He gave me this 'Oh, you shouldn't have done that' look -- very, very cute...I'm so, so happy! I don't know how I'm going to stand myself for the next few days..."

From the LA Times: 'Love' is all around, and often funny Equally satisfying in a more unashamedly romantic way is the story of Jamie (Colin Firth), a jilted author with no foreign-language facility who retreats to the south of France and takes on a severe-looking housekeeper named Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) who speaks only Portuguese.

Lola's Assistant..thank you very much for the press update! Now I've got to make sure I have enough blank videotapes;-).

Drool Darlings NYC Crew, Wonderful, fun filled evening for you all. Colin will not tell another interviewer he has only heard of someone's relative that is a fan...he's met you terrific Drool Darlings (and others) bringing his gathering to more than the other actors'fans combined. Hurrah!!!! He looks very pleased. Thanks for the reports.

As adorable as CF was on THE DAILY SHOW, he all but choked when JS asked him how good LA was:( For whatever reason, the Austin American-Statesman's main page at austin360.com has a picture of CF culled from the LA advertisement adorning the film listings:) Their review: By John DeFore Special to the American-Statesman Posted: November 7, 2003 Lots of intelligent people with good taste enjoyed "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Notting Hill" � guiltlessly, even, although many of them would admit to cringing now and then at the cutesy extremes to which the films go in search of heart-tugging laughter. But what if the first movie directed by Richard Curtis (the scribe behind the aforementioned romantic fantasies) was composed solely of the moments that embarrassed us most in those films? With all the sing-alongs, mad gestures and holiday cheer in the advertisements for "Love Actually," it appeared that might be the case. Surely, wary viewers assumed, the final product couldn't be worse than the trailer � but it could be longer. Actually, "Love" isn't a worst-case scenario. Yes, viewers can set their watches by its now-clich�d contrivances � a room breaks into spontaneous song 10 minutes in, a sweetly ridiculous eulogy is delivered at the quarter-hour mark, a character is caught dancing by himself half an hour later � but these moments aren't exploited as shamelessly as they have been before. That's because none of the characters doing these silly things are onscreen long enough for you to care much what happens to them. Having apparently grown tired of simple girl-boy and boy-girl-boy stories, Curtis has concocted (depending how you count them) at least a dozen romances, played out by actors who fortunately are charismatic enough to make their brief minutes count. Drawing a schematic of all this coupling would take all day, but it would be pointless anyway because few of the affairs have much at all to do with the others. "Love Actually" is billed as "The ultimate romantic comedy," and in a way that's true: If Curtis' previous stories were fairy tales for romance junkies, this is their pornography � all the cute moments of a month's worth of date movies, without those trifling time-fillers like character development. To be sure, there are entertaining things on the buffet. Audiences will be treated to many laughs, a disproportionate number of them coming from Bill Nighy, who plays a grandly self-obsessed has-been rock star. Nighy's Billy Mack charms those around him by dispensing with all pretense regarding his hackneyed new Christmas single: He's only in it for the money. (The movie could use more of this self-awareness.) Another high point comes in a cameo from Billy Bob Thornton, playing a disgustingly slick United States president who gives Hugh Grant's 'til-now timid prime minister a chance to become Great Britain's version of Josiah Bartlet. But as a director, Curtis has lots to learn. He squanders the talents of his old colleague Rowan (Mr. Bean) Atkinson, cropping him so tightly that we can hardly see what the famously physical comedian is doing. And he's at a complete loss where music is concerned. From songs in the background to those accompanying button-pushing montage sequences, everything is too obvious, too loud and too dull. While there are many charming moments here, one wonders what the happily-ever-after crowd will make of two subplots that mock the very idea of love-and-marriage. The most puzzling of the two places Keira Knightley in newlywed bliss with Chiwetel Ejiofor (who was magnetic in "Dirty Pretty Things" but is thrown away here), only to have her go all doe-eyed for the first guy who develops a crush on her. Her response would be poor form in real life, but Knightley's flightiness is a good metaphor for the movie itself: "Love Actually" may be entranced by all the little charms it depicts, but it isn't really moved by any of them.

Beedee, Rika, Karen, Mari, and all the wonderful d's in NYC thanks for all your reports! What a great bonding experience for all of you and Colin, too! Can't wait for more later. Can't believe Hugh signed Linda's GWAPE book for Mari! LOL! Sounds like a scene from "Love Actually," actually ;-).

there are a bunch of pics here: http://217.158.83.123/scripts/kws30pre.exe?fchange=&ffirsthit=0&fmaxhits=6&type=GfxOnly&site=LFI&ENext.x=54&ENext.y=14 (i can't get my computer to open the pics, but hopefully something good?) did anyone get into the after party? dorine? ;)

Thank you for your lovely reports, NY ladies, I'm so happy for all of you - and the rest of us. This is a great time to be a drooler. I can't wait to hear everything from every single one of you. :-) Paul, a million thanks for posting the JS clip!!! I don't have cable, so I was resigned to my fate that I'd not see any of the interviews, and I was very sad about it. You are my saviour! Loved Colin on the show. All of you who posted pics and links to more, thank you! I'm giddy with excitement! (Katty - "FionaFirthFan") .... I took advantage of his kindness and reached up and gave him a big kiss right on his dimpled cheek. It was heaven, I can tell you. He gave me this 'Oh, you shouldn't have done that' look... LOL!!! I guess there IS a reason why they usually don't let fans too close to the stars. ;-)

Hi all, sorry for waiting so long to post. Just got back from seeing LA, again. It was wonderful seeing it after last night...Now about last night. Well I can honestly say I'm no longer a Firth virgin. Seeing him so close was truly amazing. He was AFG and so very nice. I'm not going to repeat what others have said because I was standing next to them and don't want to repeat the same things. When Colin walked in I thought I would die. I think I held my breath for ten minutes. My biggest fear was that we would only catch a gllimpse. But, thanks to whoever made the decision to let us in the tent, the experience was so much more than I could have hoped for. When Colin came over do interviews and was standing just in front of me I had a chance to gaze for about 10 minutes...unobstructed. When he put his hands up to the press and said enough then turned and walked straight over to us...well you can imagine how felt. He signed my Speaking With the Angles and then I thought to ask him to personalize it, but he was already finished, and said, sorry? I said oh don't worry that's fine thank you, Colin then bent down and said what's your name ( I thought he hadn't heard my request) I told him Linda and he asked "with a Y or an I"? Then I asked if he could include my daughter's name and he bent down to hear what I was saying....Oh Gawd. Then he continued to sign and talk to the others around me. Amazing experience. I won't forget this one for awhile. The entire evening was mesmerizing. Only one small fly in the ointment. One girl that was a few people down from me (who was annoying the entire evening)to the point that she was warned by the guards, In my opinion, crossed the line. Whan Colin came over to her she stood on the barricade and kissed him. Now, I know she thought that it was OK with him, but I can tell you from a birds eye view of the situation, he was not amused. He pulled back and, you could tell he did not like it one bit. Thankfully, Colin, being the professional that he is, continued on. Thankfully, this person's actions didn't ruin it for everyone else. However, actions like this, when people cross the line and think that they can invade someone's space will only make celebrities, especially someone like Colin, think twice about getting up close and personal with his fans. Please don't think this small incident ruined the magic of the evening, it didn't. Just wanted to give you the whole story. Thanks everyone for the vibes and good thoughts you sent our way. They worked! And, just let me mention that the best part of this trip was getting to be with everyone from drool who are in NY. These few days have been wonderful.

In my opinion,(she) crossed the line In Hawaii where people are always giving leis with kisses, I see that that sort of thing as pretty common. BUT reading the way you saw it and thinking about it from Colin's point of view, it was a kind of invasion. Thanks for your on-the-spot perspective.

Is there any media this weekend on LA? I'm trying to find out if there's anything beyond the great listing Karen has at http://www.firth.com/tv_promo.html Of, course, anything not during the Longhorns game (the one exeption)

I agree with Linda about the kiss. And I believe someone pointed out later that if it had been a male fan that leaned over and did that to a female star, he'd have been out of the tent before he knew what hit him. And it was amazing seeing him in person! Everyone that said he's even better was absolutely right. Didn't know it was possible, but there you have it. Emma commented to us that he was very surprised by his reception. She also said she was very happy for him though and that he's wonderful and nice, etc. and really deserves it. She thought all the screaming of "Colin, Colin" was fantastic.(Emma was absolutely beautiful and charming by the way...)

To the people at the premiere: What was Livia like in person? How were they together? Thanks so much for sharing all the photos and commentary!

Linda, thanks for the report! Have you been able to sleep yet? :-D I'm so happy for you all! I checked the entertainment shows tonight and saw bits of the premiere on Access Hollywood, Extra and ET. Extra talked for a second to CF. They said to him that LA has been described as a big St. Bernard licking your face. Colin agreed. I don't think he said anything on the other shows. The best show so far was etalk daily tonight in Canada. I'll transcribe it once I get it all on tape. Emma Thompson talked about how noisy Colin's fans were! Nice shot of him getting out of the limo. I was hoping for some close-ups of the fans but the shots are too quick. Maybe freeze framing will help. I can't remember seeing Livia at all.

Arggh!! _ I can't believe it!! I had set my VCR to record Talking Movies on BBC News 24 overnight, and went off to bed. My normally wonderful DH Tommy then sat down to watch some football on the Sky Sports Channel. Consequently I have, instead of the expected feature on LA, a half hour of sport! Can anyone help me out if they managed to copy it? - Please!!!!!!!!!

Livia pretty much just stood there and looked around with a pleasant look pasted on her face. But really what else could she do? I think she looked pretty good, especially considering she just had a baby a few months ago. I can't believe I missed Extra for Access Hollywood. Does anyone know if Extra does reruns? At the premier, after all the stars went in and they were taking things down, two camera men stopped my sister and I, along with a few others, and had us scream "Colin" and pretend he was right there. They did four takes of this. I'm a little nervous that we may look like complete lunatics, but would still like a copy of this if it ever airs. So if I miss it, and someone else catches it, I'd really love a copy. I think... : ) I was surprised that since CF received twice the attention and four times the noise of everyone else, the shows so far are still pretty much ignoring him. Maybe they think his entire fan base was there. I spoke to a lady from People and she noticed it. Maybe they'll have an article that focuses more on him than Hugh. Or maybe her editors will make her change the focus back to Hugh. I love that Emma commented on it in her interview! So, just how long does it take to come down from this high? Still can't believe I was there.

This is listed on Yahoo TV CST: WABC Wayne Brady Show Nov 13 09:00am Series/Talk, 60 Mins. Episode #2054. Actor Zach Braff (``Scrubs''); actor Colin Firth; actor Jeffrey Tambor

Local review out yesterday. Best one I've read so far. http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/movies/reviews/11072003_loveactually.html

Re Talking Movies in the UK. It's due to be repeated on BBC News 24 at 10.30 tonight and again at 3.30 tomorrow morning. Hope this helps.

I haven't posted in a while. Just wanted to say a big thank to you all for the articles, pics, TV listings and sharing your experiences at the NY premiere. You gals are great!

(Meg)At the premier, after all the stars went in and they were taking things down, two camera men stopped my sister and I, along with a few others, and had us scream "Colin" and pretend he was right there. They did four takes of this. I'm a little nervous that we may look like complete lunatics, but would still like a copy of this if it ever airs. So if I miss it, and someone else catches it, I'd really love a copy. I think... Meg, there was a shot from E News Live of a few women holding the LA poster and screaming something (couldn't hear them) and then the camera zoomed on Colin's face on the poster. Could that be you?! I went over the etalk tape. It's a jumble of questions and jumps around a lot. LL, LN and CF are together. Asked if they think public displays of affection are OK, Colin says something like, "As a married man, life is window shopping for me now." Asked if they think marriage is a good thing, he says, "I love love." They were asked if they had any favourite pet names but CF didn't answer that one. HG said, "Bitch". LOL! On the red carpet, Emma says, "Did you see what happened when Colin Firth turned up? He must be thrilled. Shrieking on a great scale. ....hysterical." CF says, "The audience reaction to the film is already fairly legendary so I'm looking forward to hearing all those people laughing so loud you can't hear the next 3 lines."

We weren't holding a poster, but since they were hung all along the fences and we were standing right behind them, it might have looked that way. Wish I could remember if I had my hands on the poster, but it's all a blur. Was one of the girls a cute blonde? (My sister.) If so, did we look like idiots? I don't suppose E News "Live" runs repeats...

(Meg) I don't suppose E News "Live" runs repeats... E! News Weekend is on at 6pm et on Saturdays and recaps the week's news. Thanks to all for sharing your NY experience. (Dalec) You gals are great! I second.

How fabulous! NY sounds like the place to be! How many drool crew were there?? Not sure if anyone else has posted this but HS is now out to rent in the UK. I happened upon it at my local but the one copy had been taken out already. Anyone seen if there are any extras on it? Also my LA book arrived and it's very bright and glossy. Includes family tree of character connections, the screenplay, lyrics to Christmas is All Around, deleted scenes, behind the scenes, a quiz, amusing questionnaires to the actors, posters advertising the movie or that didn't make it, and more. Waiting to read it as I haven't seen the movie except for Colin's questionnaire. Think maybe I'll transcribe it for you all.

Love Questionnaire Colin Firth (Jamie) Who was the first person you ever loved � and how old were they and you? It might be Heather Bailey � I was eight. There were crushes before then but she was the first person I cried over. Actually, no � I think it was Lynne Lassin. I loved her because she loved me. Well, not JUST because she loved me � but, you know, it helped. Who [ed.: you mean WHAT] is your favourite romantic poem? Every Day you Play by Pablo Neruda What is your favourite romantic movie of all time? I'm afraid I'm not really a massive fan of romantic films. I like feeling a bit upset at a movie ending, rather than warm and fuzzy � I mean I prefer Brief Encounter to Sleepless in Seattle. What is your favourite romantic song? �Hot Baritto [ed.: BURRITO!] Number 1� by Gram Parsons What is your favourite Christmas song? �Fairy Tale of New York� by The Pogues. What is your best ever Christmas present? A plastic sword. I was six. And what is your worst? The plastic sword � my brother, who was a toddler, got past the fireguard with it on Christmas Day and then walked round the house with this burning brazier dropping molten plastic on to the linoleum tiles in the hall and the living room carpet. It was nearly the death of my entire family, but I just missed my lovely sword. If you had to have sex with one British Prime Minister, who would it be? Well I wouldn't have f**ked Callaghan, that's for sure. Would I f**k Attlee? I don't know. I think Pitt the Younger sounds promising � at least he's not some jowly old incontinent. But it's so much easier with American presidents, isn't it. Who would you have as your naked stand-in? Hugh Grant ten years ago. Is love actually all around? Pass

Love may or may not be all around but thank yous are actually all around. I was glad to finally hear from the NY contingent. It sounds like a fabulous time!!! It's always so nice when things work out better than you think they will. Keep posting girls; we haven't heard from everyone or had enough details yet. (Karen)Mari said, "Hugh, so what was it like working with Colin Firth," to which he replied with a mutter (no stutter), "bloody Colin." Then he kind of smirked LOL!! I found myself giggling about it all day. Poor Hugh! up against Mari! Not really an equal match, was it?;-) Love his answer though! Too cute. Way to go, Mari!!! Again, thanks for all the articles, photos, the Daily Show link, and the transcription. Oh, this is by far my favorite time of a FirthYear. Everybody sing along (it might help get "Love, love, love" out of our heads.) "I feel it my fingers. I feel it in my toes. Firth is all around and so the feeling grows!!!!!"

Haven't seen this here yet, though parts are culled from other reports. What is interesting is that the Guardian is reviewing the US reviews. America decides it's not love but loathe, actually David Teather in New York Saturday November 8, 2003 The Guardian It has been heralded as the next big British cinematic triumph: a hit set to sweep America off its feet during the Christmas period. But the prime exporters of stuttering British charm, the team behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary, appear to have worn out their welcome across the Atlantic. Love Actually, the ensemble film directed by Richard Curtis, was yesterday dismissed with an excoriating review in the New York Times which called it as an "indigestible Christmas pudding". Reviews in the New York Post and Wall Street Journal were lukewarm at best. Set in the weeks before Christmas, the film is a patchwork of nine love stories, including the film-makers' regular cast members Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Rowan Atkinson, plus Emma Thompson, Martine McCutcheon and Liam Neeson. The Times's critic, AO Scott, said it is "nearly two and a quarter hours of cheekiness, diffidence and high tone smirking - it is more like a record label's greatest hits compilation or a 'very special' sitcom clip reel show than an actual movie". The Post also noted the feeling that viewers had been here before. The critic Jonathan Freeman said the film "cannibalises whole scenes" from the team's previous movies "including at least three sequences involving shy men making a last-minute dash to make a splashy declaration of love to a woman in some unlikely public place". As for its feel-good credentials, the Times's critic was equally scathing, referring to the "calloused, leering" soul of the movie. "The film's governing idea of love is both shallow and dishonest," he wrote, adding that the film swerved "between cynicism and sincerity without quite knowing the difference between them". There was at least one good review in USA Today, which probably holds more sway over middle America than its more highbrow rivals. It gave the film three stars out of four. "Love Actually is irresistible," wrote Claudia Puig. "You'd have to be Ebenezer Scrooge not to walk out smiling."

Every Day You Play by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) Every day you play with the light of the universe. Subtle visitor, you arrive in the flower and the water. You are more than this white head that I hold tightly as a cluster of fruit, every day, between my hands. You are like nobody since I love you. Let me spread you out among yellow garlands. Who writes your name in letters of smoke among the stars of the south? Oh let me remember you as you were before you existed. Suddenly the wind howls and bangs at my shut window. The sky is a net crammed with shadowy fish. Here all the winds let go sooner or later, all of them. The rain takes off her clothes. The birds go by, fleeing. The wind. The wind. I can contend only against the power of men. The storm whirls dark leaves and turns loose all the boats that were moored last night to the sky. You are here. Oh, you do not run away. You will answer me to the last cry. Cling to me as though you were frightened. Even so, at one time a strange shadow ran through your eyes. Now, now too, little one, you bring me honeysuckle, and even your breasts smell of it. While the sad wind goes slaughtering butterflies I love you, and my happiness bites the plum of your mouth. How you must have suffered getting accustomed to me, my savage, solitary soul, my name that sends them all running. So many times we have seen the morning star burn, kissing our eyes, and over our heads the gray light unwind in turning fans. My words rained over you, stroking you. A long time I have loved the sunned mother-of-pearl of your body. I go so far as to think that you own the universe. I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains, bluebells, dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses. I want to do with you what spring does to the cherry trees.

PRAYERS REQUEST PLEASE.... I left a "prayer request" for my Uncle Bill under "Odds & Ends" part 7....Any and all prayers for my uncle are really appreciated by our families in England and America.... Mahalo Nui, Momi

Just for the record: (And, who doesn't want the record accurate and complete?) Colin was mentioned during the Charlie Rose Love Actually round table last night. They were discussing the nature of the movie and Laura Linney said: "It's very, very hard--and I have to give credit--Colin Firth was pointing this out because he was talking about it in London during our junket--It's very difficult to put this subject matter forward with winking at it, brocading it with sugar, winking at it, being patronizing about it. It's very, very hard to do......" She went on in what seemed to be her opinion that Hugh was very good at playing it like a normal human being would. It seemed a little awkward for everyone else because he was then conspicuously absent but I thought it was very nice of her to mention him. Makes me think she really connected with him during filming and can appreciate him.

The Guardian....Love Actually, the ensemble film directed by Richard Curtis, was yesterday dismissed with an excoriating review in the New York Times which called it as an "indigestible Christmas pudding". Reviews in the New York Post and Wall Street Journal were lukewarm at best. This is what the British press (esp. the Guardian) just love to do. Selectively emphasise the worst and kill a British movie stone dead. No wonder we no longer have a movie industry! Thanks for all the reports - they make great reading!

I just walked in the door from seeing LA and we absolutely loved it. The entire theater was full (this was the second theater we went to since the first one was sold out for a matinee). Everyone laughed at the right parts and everyone said great things about it as we left. I was slightly uneasy after reading the reviews but it was wonderful, heartwarming, christmas pudding :) and ODB looked fabulous!

I just arrived home from seeing LA with two friends and all three of us loved the movie. The theatre was full and the audience broke into applause at the end, something I've never experienced before. Something I wondered about though - was the blue velvet suit CF wore to the London GWAPE gala not the same suit he wore to the weddding at the beginning of LA?

well, looks like when it rains, it pours ! haven't had much time for posting lately, but i'm impressed : thanks everyone for pix & stories & flutterings & all. terry, thanks a million for the wmp file, but, errrr... could i be totally greedy and ask for a quicktime rendition, for this lousy piece of software (aka wmp) runs your clip blotchily and is now responsible for my obvious squinting... plus, i would really really like to see a little more clearly mr f's reaction to the tube joke. the blank alone had me burst out laughing. btw, am not a fan of that kind of show (ironic metacommentary should be reserved to bunches of smashed friends slouching in front of the tube, imo), and i really find the letterman/leno routines stale and contrived but i have to say this looks like a good one, and this js guy seems quick and sharp, thanx, it was all new to me. hey mari, is nov. 7 "pick on hugh grant" day ? should it be officially announced on odds & ends ? anyway, was howling so hard my laptop fell again (just the idea of the gwape book on your shelves has me going again). a few quick stupid remarks : re: emma's posting of the questionnaire : am glad to see mr f. has somewhat changed tack and is now following hugh grant's cue into mock-nasty age related remarks. the fight line was somewhat running thin, this is much better (but still, hugh grant's hilarious weelchair line will be hard to top, keep it up though, mr f.) re: the enormous & super high rez pix posted @ casa-feliz : quite unfortunately, the link led me straight to pix #6, and since it took a looong time to load starting from the top of the pix, i kept hearing the old mst3k line in my head "filmed in baldspot vision" ! lauhged so hard i'm sure i woke the neighbors. oh, and the kryptonite is back ! it might even be responsible for the cobble incident (i am going to stick to my old clark kent theory) re: the blue velvet / black velvet enigma : i was kinda sure the uncertainty was actually part of a pr campaign to cover up another blue suit/brown shoes incident. live reports from the nyc brigade sort of cut short to this theory. thanks everyone for bringing the truth to light (!)

Sophie, I would be happy to post that file in Quicktime. Look for a note on this later and drop me an email reminder. I watched the review of LA on Ebert and Roeper a bit ago and they both give it a resounding thumbs up. But no mention or pix of CF.

HI! Back from NYC. Bloody tired (had 5 hours sleep tops since Wednesday). Everything was amazing and I will get to telling all as soon as I find my brain! He is the most gorgeous thing on earth!!! Love!

Thanks to Bee, Karen, Mari, and Linda for your reports about the ODB NY experience. All around, it sounds like it was an amazing night. Looking forward to hearing more. :-)

Someone asked how many Drool people were there. I think we had 14. We were very lucky to be admitted to the red carpet area. I believe there were about 70 or so people admitted before room ran out, almost all of whom were there for Colin. There were many other fans left behind on the sidewalk and on the street outside the press tent. BTW, I did not know or recognize any of the other fans--so Colin clearly drew from many other places. There were 2 young fans there, late teens, who said they came to know him from What A Girl Wants. I spoke briefly to 2 women from England; they were very disappointed that Alan Rickman would not sign autographs, but were thrilled that Colin was so accessible--so, happily, their trip was very worthwhile! (Caribou)Poor Hugh! up against Mari! Not really an equal match, was it?;-) Love his answer though! Too cute. That was a riot! I have to say, Hugh was a very good sport about it all, and took it with good humor. Right before that, Colin had finally finished greeting all the fans and went into the theater, so only HG was left in the press tent. *No one* called out to Hugh, so he either assumed that we were his fans, or for form's sake, he wanted to be the last celeb to go into the theater, i.e., held up *so* long by *his* adoring fans. Well, he got a surprise, didn't he?;-)

Weekend box office estimates for Love Actually; terrific per screen average of well over $11,000. Good enough for 6th place; keep in mind, it's still in limited release, in only 576 theaters. The 5 films ahead of it are on over 3,000 screens each. LA will expand next weekend, and again the weekend after that. Love Actually Uni. $6,612,000 - 576 $11,479 $6,612,000

Not sure if any has mentioned this item of doctrinal import, but the, um, balding spot at the back of his head is no longer there. We got a good long look as he was doing interviews. Nicely covered, absolutely seamless; whatever he's done, it looks great.:-) Random cattiness department: Nice, fan-friendly cast members--Colin Firth!! (need I say more?;-), Emma Thompson (a real doll, friendly and outgoing), Huge Gnat (a very good sport), Bill Nighy (he was having a great time, doing air guitar and writing wacky stuff on autographs!). Honorable mention to Emma's hubby Greg Wise who was sweet and down to earth; I'll let Evelyn fill you in on Greg. Not nice--Alan Rickman (refused to sign autographs for his fans), Rowan Atkinson (looking so haughty and above it all and turning his back on the press to the point that they booed him), Liam Neeson (scowl on his face the entire time).

Caribou! Geez, the rich get richer . . .;-) Santa Fe Film Festival Announces Lineup Sat Nov 8,10:22 AM ET By The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. - Stephen Frears' "Dirty Pretty Things" is among the films scheduled for the 2003 Santa Fe Film Festival, which will be held Dec. 3-7. Frears, actor Peter Boyle, and writer Max Evans will receive lifetime achievement awards, festival director Jon Bowman said Thursday. Actress Ali MacGraw (news) will host the awards ceremony. Among the other movies scheduled to be shown: "The Hi-Lo Country"; "Cold Mountain," starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman; "House of Sand and Fog," with Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley; "21 Grams," with Sean Penn; "The Company," Robert Altman's latest film, about ballet; "Girl With a Pearl Earring," with Colin Firth; "In America"; and "James' Journey to Jerusalem."

(Mari) "*No one* called out to Hugh" Well, actually, we did call him over, along with the girls to our left. I have to admit that I felt a bit bad that as soon as we called to him and he came over, he got the "How was it working with Colin" comment, but have to agree that he was indeed a very good sport. (I know I shouldn't feel sorry for him since he's constantly getting all the attention. I'm too soft by far.) I've heard many times that Rowan is painfully shy. To the point of rudeness, I agree. Alan Rickman never even glanced at the fans. I've heard he doesn't do the signing thing. Which seems a bit arrogant? Liam looked at us, we called to him, and he turned and walked away. He's the one that p'd me off.

(Mari)Caribou! Geez, the rich get richer . . .;-) Santa Fe Film Festival Announces Lineup I was already screaming inside when I had gotten this far!!!!!!!!! Oh, woohoo! woohoo! woohoo! The City Different has come through!!!!!!!!! Oh, and its at a great time of year! Oh, and its so close! Oh, and I might get to see Peter again! Too bad Colin has a new baby, or he could get to see that ab-solutely gorgeous cowboy country again. Oh, woohoo! woohoo! woohoo! HRMH Caribou and DH cordially invite Drool Darlings everywhere to accompany them to the Santa Fe Film Festival December 3-7,2003 Sorry can't do fancy fonts or even center it and I certainly don't want to try to figure it out given the state I'm in. I had looked around a little but had given up hope when PW said he was looking for geographically-diverse film festivals. I had always hoped one of CF's films would come to the Taos Talking Pictures but it is in the spring and GWAPE will be released by then. But, Santa Fe is even better. Oh, if PW and his wife come, I'll bet she'll wear a tiered broomstick skirt and Indian jewelry. Although that skirt might be more Taos-like and denim, suede, and Indian-wool-blanket graphics more Sante Fe. Or maybe that on the jacket and a broomstick skirt. Will have to think about this some more. Oh, and Colin's black cord with silver beads will fit right in. I wonder if Livia is getting all of her shopping done in NYC or if she would be interested in the Sante Fe style this year? Oh! Oh! Oh!

Thanks everyone for your good wishes sent our way. I got my first good night's sleep. I did not sleep in NY. Another highlight in NY...Eileen Atkins (HD's mum in WAGW was in a play just across the street from our hotel. On Friday, I waited outside the stage door and later was joined by Dorine, Rika, Kathy, Tress, and Maria. When Ms. Atkins came out she said something like you can't all be here for this. You must have liked something else I did. (How true) (I didn't want to say, I was hoping Colin had come to the performance and would be leaving with you) But, I told her that I was sorry I hadn't been to see her play, but loved her in WAGW. She laughed and said she couldn't believe it. She then took several pictures with us. What a lovely and gracious woman!!! Ditto on Mari's post about the friendly and the not so friendly. Emma Thompson is one beautiful, gracious lady!! You could tell she was very pleased for Colin and mentioned that to fans and news media. Now I'm off again, tomorrow, to join Dorine and Rika for the GWAPE BAFTA screening with CF, PW, and SJ. I'm still walking on air, and hopefully ODB will show tomorrow evening, and one of us will get to ask a question. Off to unpack and repack. Ebert and Roper gushed on and on this morning, giving LA two thumbs up!! Excellent. Ok, hope to post from NY about tomorrow evening. Keeping fingers crossed.

Quick posting for now--and am not even sure if this info has been posted--however, we have another Colin TV appearance on Thursday, Nov 13th, on the Wayne Brady Show (nevah seen this one before but he's that improv guy from Who's Line Is It, etc.) Also, you can watch some NY premiere footage that ET didn't air, with Booker talking to Colin and others, here: http://et.tv.yahoo.com/celebrities/2003/11/07/loveactuallypremiere/ Catching up will be tough and slow going; I haven't even unzipped Meg's files (luckily have done my suitcase though) :-(

Interesting view at home in the AJC. Love Actually Love and comedy abound in London at Christmastime. FILM FACTS Starring: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Bill Nighy Director: Richard Curtis Rating: R for sex, nudity and language Genre: Comedy, Romance Grade: B Verdict: As Mary Tyler Moore learned decades ago, love is all around, actually, in this bright Christmas bauble. By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution There's a smashing British boy in �Love Actually� and it's not Hugh Grant. It's Thomas Sangster, a precocious and beautiful middle schooler who speaks about his crush on a classmate with all the gravity and passion of Heathcliff in �Wuthering Heights.� How to gain her attention becomes a much-needed bond between him and his widower stepfather (Liam Neeson). Neeson and Sangster are just two of the outrageously attractive and talented cast who tie a glittering Christmas bow around writer-director Richard Curtis' 10 little love stories. Or rather, stories about love. Love found and love failed, love unrequited and puppy love, love threatened and love triumphant. Even love in Wisconsin. Curtis sets his film five weeks before Christmas in a London so besotted with yuletide that you half expect Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim to come strolling around a corner, holding hands. The movie begins in a recording studio, where a washed-up rock star (Bill Nighy) is ruefully transforming one of his classics into a ghastly Christmas song, in hopes of a comeback. It then darts from newlyweds Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor at their rocking wedding; to a mother (Emma Thompson) gamely fashioning her daughter's lobster costume for the school's Nativity pageant; to the arrival of the new prime minister (Grant) at No. 10 Downing St., where he immediately falls for one of his secretaries (Martine McCutcheon). �Terribly inconvenient,� he stiff-upper-lips to himself. And there's more. Thompson's husband, Alan Rickman, is an urbane, dryly humorous boss who might risk a good marriage for a bad-girl employee who all but slithers up his leg. Another of his workers, Laura Linney, has a chance to fulfill a longtime crush on an office colleague but has selflessly � perhaps too selflessly� devoted herself to her brother, who lives in an asylum. Some stories are better than others. We could watch the burgeoning romance between Colin Firth's language-challenged Englishman and his Portuguese-speaking maid for hours. But we see far too much of a couple of pseudo-copulating porn-star stand-ins who �ironically� become interested in each other for real, or the randy young Brit who thinks his love (read, sex) life will change if he goes to America. Most of �Love Actually� is as bright and cheery as a string of Christmas lights. But Curtis also reminds us that not everyone gets a merry Christmas. A single present plucked from under the tree changes a life forever. A wedding video that shows only close-ups of the bride's face reveals a hopeless passion. This is the first directorial outing for Curtis, who's written such hits as�Four Weddings and a Funeral,� �Notting Hill� and �Bridget Jones's Diary.� But he already knows the first rule of directing: As John Huston so famously said, 99 percent of it is casting. And Curtis has hired only the best. Grant, who does this kind of crisp comedy with a romantic subtext so very well, stands out. By contrast, Neeson generously cedes most of his scenes to his young and extremely talented co-star. Rickman and Thompson bring their stage-honed savvy to the enterprise, while Firth reminds us why Bridget Jones fell for him. Linney gives a heartbreaking portrayal of a woman who, by doing the decent thing, may have doomed herself to a marginal life. There's also a terrific, surprising cameo by Billy Bob Thornton. (Well, I guess this is what to expect from the deep South, pfft!) However, Nighy pretty much steals the movie, giving his rock dinosaur a strange dignity as well as a hilarious propensity for telling the truth, no matter how rude it may be. During a TV appearance, after begging the audience to buy his record even though it's �total crap,� he turns to the camera and tells the kids watching, �Don't buy drugs,� then adds, �Become a pop star and then they'll give them to you for free.�

Hi Folks...just got home and checking all the fine postings.Thanks to all... Can't add much to the accounts of the "Magical Night." I must admit I'm so proud of ODB and told him so.Has grown in poise in the years we have been following him. He's obviously one of the "big boys" now, but has managed to maintain his humble and courteous personal manner. He was a prince to come and sign the autographs. It was His Night and obviously he was pleased.Was glowing...waved during the TV interviews. The print and TV media were surprised with the ovation that he received on arrival. Glad Linda gave you the scoop on "Hot Lips" . I was standing there, and his look was more of incredulous shock than pleasurable. (Mari)Honorable mention to Emma's hubby Greg Wise who was sweet and down to earth; I'll let Evelyn fill you in on Greg. Aw, I felt sorry for the guy. Here's the press taking all the photos of Emma and he gets to stand -by like a cast-off. I called over and asked if I could take his pic...He agreed and then my flash didn't go off and he told me so..(duh!) A Bridget moment..but he said he'd wait for me to wind the film. Gawd he's gorgeous. Loved meeting all the Drooleurs. If I must say so myself...ahem, they're an exceptional group! And now this is the longest posting you will ever see me do.

I've just checked http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/guest/ for Colin and he is NOT listed.

(Evelyn)And now this is the longest posting you will ever see me do LOL, until the next premiere!!! Thanks everyone for the clips, photos, and interview updates.

(Evelyn)And now this is the longest posting you will ever see me do. LOL! So glad you didn't just do a one word summary--it's details like these that make it feel more like we were there.:-) (Evelyn)It was His Night I'm also surprised, especially in such company, but so very glad for him. Hope those promoting the movies are taking note. (Evelyn)obviously he was pleased. Was glowing...waved during the TV interviews. He's at his cutest when he's most like a happy little boy. I still really would like a word by word of the questions and comments everyone got to make to him. I can't imagine ever getting to say anything to him. Did you tell him about firth.com? Did anyone take anything to give him? Did he recognize anyone from other visits? Did he sign for everybody and which things did you take? Did anyone ask about upcoming theater? Did anyone get to talk to Livia?

Hello, everyone - I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the articles, reviews and especially the reports from the red carpet! I'm a devoted lurker who seldom has anything to contribute, so I hope this isn't old news... The "Hollywood One on One" program which airs on the Starz movie channels has interviews with the cast of LA. The interviews were done during the London press junket (sp) and the host spoke to the cast in pairs/groups: Colin, Laura Linney and Liam Neeson; Hugh and Richard Curtis; Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman; and Martine Mc and Bill Nighy. CF looked gorgeous in his customary black jacket with white shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. The program will re-air several times this week.

Caribou: I still really would like a word by word of the questions and comments everyone got to make to him. I told him: "I'm *so* proud of you" ; he thanked me gave one of his "blue soup"smiles. I didn't have anything signed. I'm not one for autographs. Several years ago he signed a pic he took with Spring in 1999. That's enough. People took all kinds of stuff...many took Speaking with Angels. Did you tell him about firth.com? You gotta be kidding. Did anyone take anything to give him? No. It wasn't that kind of a function. He was about to go into the theatre. Did he recognize anyone from other visits? No. He kept his head down signing madly. Did he sign for everybody and which things did you take? Yes. He signed for all who wanted an autograph. Did anyone ask about upcoming theater? No. I should have.Thought about it later. Did anyone get to talk to Livia? Mari congratulated her on the baby.And she said" Thank you v. much" She stood in front of us during the whole time he was being interviewed. We really wanted to ask her to move, but didn't have the nerve. I know others will add to this....you were so good to report about Telluride, that's the least we can do. We wish all DD could have been there with us.....toasted: "To absent friends".

Evelyn)It was His Night (Caribou)I'm also surprised, especially in such company, but so very glad for him. Hope those promoting the movies are taking note. Evelyn)obviously he was pleased. Was glowing...waved during the TV interviews. (Caribou)He's at his cutest when he's most like a happy little boy. He was lovely! He was flirting with us! He would smile at us and wave while he was doing his press stuff and we were not unresponsive as you might imagine! This happened several times. I can safely say that he made the best effort of anyone there and I think made the trip well worth while for his *fan base*. He might not always be eloquent when referring to his fans but he sure made it well worth my efforts to see him and he continued to be gracious to fans after that dope grabbed at him! Whatta guy! Loved meeting fellow Droolers! Better than I'd imagined. This guy has some amazing fans!

(Caribou) Did anyone ask about upcoming theater? (Evelyn) No. I should have.Thought about it later. Thank you!! Question for sometime tomorrow!! That's been one of my burning questions, had an easy chance and forgot, damn it!! We really wanted to ask her to move, but didn't have the nerve. LOL!!!

(Caribou) Did anyone ask about upcoming theater? Any answer from the weather man would probably be *precipitous* ;-) Thanks Valerie. Always good to hear from you, with or without items of doctrinal import.