(Moon) Since you're OT... Not really, as I was discussing the article and the journalist's premise. But it has reminded me of another, who was always known as the next LO: Kenny boy. Didn't anyone think it odd that Kenny would be featured on the special DVD release of Another Country when he isn't in it? Sure, he played the Tommy Judd but he isn't in the film. So Colin isn't even providing special commentary for that. OK, Ms Lemonade, make lemonade about that. ;-)

David Weddle (Variety) Screenplay: Olivia Hetreed Category: Adapted screenplay Source Material: "Girl With a Pearl Earring," novel by Tracy Chevalier Storyline: A 17th century Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth (news)), forms a covert relationship with a 17-year-old servant girl named Griet (Scarlett Johansson (news)). He chooses Griet as the subject of his next portrait, and exploits the sexual tension between them to coax a mixture of sadness, longing, and frustration from Griet, which he captures on canvas. The relationship climaxes when he presents Griet with one of his wife's pearl earrings, and pierces Griet's ear so she can wear it. About the script: We often think of great screenwriting as tour-de-force dialogue, but Hetreed's script focuses on the silences between people, the emotions that remain unspoken because of fears or inarticulateness. Hetreed draws attention to the small actions that reveal people's turbulent inner lives. The dynamics of the Vermeer household are keenly observed. Vermeer's mother-in-law, who at first appears harsh, is revealed to be fighting desperately for the family's financial survival. In an era when American cinema celebrates all forms of excess, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" demonstrates the value of old-fashioned virtues such as restraint and understatement. Biggest challenge: "The novel is told from Griet's point of view, so you are privy to all of her thoughts and feelings," says Hetreed. "I didn't want to use a voiceover in the movie because Griet's an inarticulate, unanalytical character. So I had to find visual ways of dramatizing her emotions and thoughts. For instance, in the novel there's a fantastically erotic moment where Vermeer has her look into his camera obscura. He gives her his cloak and says, "Put this over your head." She puts it over her head and she can smell his smell and feel the warmth because he's just been wearing it. It was a fantastic moment, but you couldn't make that work on screen. Instead I put the two of them under the cloak, and you can feel the sexual tension between them." Breakthrough idea: "The book has a 15-year time jump in it," says Hetreed. "I decided that that just wouldn't play in a movie. The sexual tension is so intense that it's very important that the story takes place in a tight time frame; it needs that intensity of the moment to make it work." Favorite scene: "There's a scene with Griet and Vermeer where he says, 'Look at the clouds, what color are they?'" Hetreed explains. "She starts to understand how he looks at the world." Lines we love: Van Ruijven, Vermeer's wealthy patron, who enjoys taunting the artist, re what's going on with Griet: "Master and maid, that's an old tune and we all know it.'" Recognition to date: Golden Hitchcock, Audience Award 2003 Dinard Festival of British Cinema; cinematography, San Sebastian Film Festival. Writer's bio: Hetreed worked as an editor on movies for British television and went on to write screenplays for several British TV movies, including adaptations of "The Canterville Ghost," "What Katy Did" and E. Nesbitt's "The Treasure Seekers." After completing "Girl With a Pearl Earring," she wrote the first installment of the BBC's contemporary series based on "The Canterbury Tales."

(VARIETY :Screen writer)"He gives her his cloak and says, "Put this over your head." She puts it over her head and she can smell his smell and feel the warmth because he's just been wearing it. It was a fantastic moment, but you couldn't make that work on screen." Hey, Olivia, it worked for me. " Breakthrough idea: "The book has a 15-year time jump in it," says Hetreed. "I decided that that just wouldn't play in a movie. The sexual tension is so intense that it's very important that the story takes place in a tight time frame; it needs that intensity of the moment to make it work." " But what exactly was your breakthrough idea...;-). To leave the audience hanging???

or with erroneous conclusions. Yeah, excellent idea! ;-)

(Karen)or with erroneous conclusions. And an inadequate presentation of how Vermeer is attracted to her visual sense in the first place. Essentially we're left with "Camera obscura? Cool!" ;-) There are many things I like about the film but the screenplay isn't the one I'd single out. Thanks, Maria. Scarlett will be on the Today Show tomorrow. This is from The Scotsman: Johansson is as commanding and persuasive as the demure maid in 17th-century Delft - a role with almost no dialogue - as she is playing a drifting young hipster in 21st-century Japan. Indeed, she has had Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress for both performances: in the comedy or musical category for Translation and in the drama category for Earring. Both achievements are impressive. The former because Johansson�s co-star in Translation, Bill Murray, is one of the biggest scene-stealers in the business. The latter because, two and a half years ago, Earring was all set to shoot when Kate Hudson, originally cast as the enigmatic woman with the pearl, pulled out, causing the finance to collapse. The producers rallied, finding new backers and a completely new creative team (Peter Webber directs, and Colin Firth took over the part of Vermeer, originally to be played by Ralph Fiennes). "They thought I would really need to be buttered up - that I would be so upset I was not the first choice," recalls Johansson, cheerfully. "But I had the greatest leading man ever. It was so smooth and so much fun." Now, contemplating the quiet intensity of her performance, it is impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Full article at: http://www.news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=13972004

The way this started out I thought it would all be written for laughs (and have not seen MLS OR GWAPE so hard to comment) but I liked the whole oyster angle and the little side pics and it seems the reviewer truly thought about the film before writing this... http://www.filmsnobs.com/www/shimes/girlearring.htm

(filmsnobs.com) The novel was written first person from Griet's perspective, which strikes me as a gross miscalculation--Griet's lot had no voice, thus the glory of the fiction is the revealing of her to the world. Maria, this one is great, thanks! The above quote nails for me a problem I had with the book. Now I can doubly-hardly wait for the movie. Thanks!

Unfortunately the cover pic shown is not him... COVER STORY: WHY COLIN IS A DUTCH OF CLASS Jan 3 2004 Heart throb Coin Firth hits the spot in Brit-Coms but he's also showing his versatility in a darker role as the painer Johannes Vermeer Paul English He's responsible for the warm glow in millions of hearts leaving cinemas across the globe over the years. But don't call Colin Firth a romantic. While hundreds of film-goers are filled with candyfloss emotions after flicks like Hope Springs, Love Actually and Bridget Jones�s Diary, the 43-year-old actor doesn't buy into the notion of the romantic love he peddles on screen. I'm not necessarily an optimist in terms of romantic love, he says. I'm not the type of romantic who enjoys the weepy movie and then sighs sweetly about it. I'm more interested in the obstacles and the impossible than I am in resolution and happiness. Whether his peer Hugh Grant shares the same belief is up for argument. But for all his recent associations with bumbling roles, Colin is doing his best to avoid the same career choices that have left Mr Grant typecast and lacking the sort of impact he once had. All this, despite his bumbling role in recent hit Love Actually. He says: I wouldn't be as patient and self-deprecating. I'm sporadi ally romantic, which means I don't have a permanent romantic view of life. I'm more interested in emotion and its complications. Colin's latest role, in Girl With A Pearl Earring, based on the best- selling novel, is a dark period drama in which Firth plays Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Candyfloss emotions? Unlikely. He says: I like to mix and match which is why I jumped at the chance to play Vermeer. I was sitting at home one day and a script arrived asking me if I wanted to do it. I said yes. I was ready to do a bit of drama, since I had done quite a string of romantic comedies and light stuff. For one thing, Pearl Earring meant he could drop the smarmy-one liners. I had been looking for years to do something like this, he says. In fact, it was odd, because in the first week of Pearl Earring I just wondered if I was doing something where I didn't have to be tongue-in-cheek? Even in roles like Fever Pitch, the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's classic novel where he played a teacher obsessed with Arsenal he still had his tongue wedged to one side. It's no surprise, of course, that Firth is often sent the lighter stuff after he shot to stardom as the racy Mr Darcy in the TV adaptation of Jane Austen's bodice- ripper Pride and Prejudice in 1995. He says: Romance and comedy have obviously found a way to go hand in hand in popular culture and I think, if you get successful in one thing, it makes you employable enough. Maybe so, but there is still the nagging suspicion that Colin took the part in teen comedy What A Girl Wants to raise his American profile. He disagrees. It wasn't that conscious, he says. I think a lot of what we do is very random and, on the outside, it is often assumed everybody has some sort of strategy. I often read an analysis of an actor's career and they talk about choices, in that they made bad choices for a while then good ones, as if they were in a world of perfect choice. In fact, it is very odd, just looking back over the last few things that I have done, I can't see any pattern. So e worked out badly and some worked out well, but there is no exact science. Then again, so long as Brit-coms like Bridget Jones's Diary, and this years follow-up The Edge of Reason, continue to hit the mark, then he no more needs a career strategy than Henrik Larsson needs shooting practice. Indeed, if he was waiting for the Bridget Jones follow-up to keep his profile buoyant, then the huge success of Love Actually has been an added bonus. It was a role Colin had no hesitation in taking, having worked with Richard Curtis on the smash hit Bridget Jones. He says: He has this fantastically intelligent and self-deprecating wit that you associate with the films he writes. He is doing something that, however mainstream it is, is different from what other people do and it is only mainstream because of the fact that he single-handedly made it so. It is quite hard to write about middle-class people, which is usually the stuff of sitcoms, but he manages to get some drama out of it. Colin thinks this is especially evi ent in Love Actually, a film that isn't just about those feel-good emotions. Great drama comprises comedy and tragedy, he says. Richard has been able to enmesh both and bring a genuine humanity to his work. Much of Colin's sequences were shot on location in the south of France and there were no major dramas working on what seemed a complex undertaking. He says: It was a simple pleasure from beginning to end. I think it was easy to say that because in some ways I could just jump right in and feel little pressure, as I'm not carrying the film. �My whole storyline could have been a total catastrophe and it wouldn't be the end of the world. I decided to see what would happen if I just allowed myself to be carried by someone who hasn't proved himself to be a master of this form. Also, when my stuff was confined to the south of France, the schedule started with my scenes, so it felt like it was my little movie for a while. It was easy to have a good time and get things right in three weeks. His role as Darcy was one which not only won him critical acclaim and the attention of casting directors the world over, but it also won him a legion of female fans. So much so that he was voted one of the world's sexiest men. Everyone likes to be flattered, he says. But it is weird because there is no one way you feel about that. You do wonder, I suppose, especially as your career has to continue, what it is going to mean yet I don't think it has meant that much except what I have talked about it in most interviews. And, besides, he's only interested in one woman, Italian documentary maker Livia Giuggiolo, who he met while he was filming in Columbia. They have a son Luca and last August she gave birth to their second son, Matteo. He also has a son, Will, to actress Meg Tilly, who lives in LA, a place Colin visits regularly to catch up with his boy. Hey, I have a great life, he says. I've got a nice home, great kids and a wife I love. So I feel blessed. But I consider myself a jobbing actor. I have to pay the bills. So I choose roles that interest me and allow me to get on with it. Perhaps for that reason he allowed himself to play the predominantly silent, internal and not particularly sexy Vermeer in the fictionalised story behind one of the 17th-century artist's most famous works � suggesting the girl in the painting was a maid (Scarlett Johansson) and his wife and family were scandalised that he would use her as a muse. Not much is known about Vermeer, so Colin had to invent him by looking at his paintings, which happen to be scattered all over the globe. He says: The tacit nature of the character has been drawn somewhat on the tacit nature of the paintings. You have this sense of quiet in the work within what must have necessarily been a chaotic household. There's no question about it, with 11 children running around � it was an active world. He grew up in a pub. The beer consumption was enormous. This was a world that wasn�t as calm and tranquil as the paintings might lead you to believe. Colin relishes the risk of starring n a slow-moving, painting-like drama that is as distinctive from the likes of Love Actually as you can get. But that's the fun of being an actor, he says. There was a friend of mine who asked me years ago if my primary instinct was to make people laugh or cry. I'd never seen it in those terms, nor do I, but it was an interesting question to think about. I suppose it was in my early twenties and so, without hesitation, I said, cry. It's more satisfying to try to move people, hit darker emotions rather than to uplift them and, of course, comedy is a lot harder. But he's making a right good go of it nonetheless. Next on the emotional menu? Laughter, in The Edge of Reason, the follow-up to Bridget Jones. Everyone feels the same about sequels, he says. It's worth doing if it's brilliant, otherwise you go into sequel purgatory. The first film is still so fresh in everyone's minds, which is what makes it so difficult to put together, because you need the same three people to be available at the same time. That's a challenge. But challenges are what a diverse actor thrives on. Let's see if Colin brings us laughter or tears. my fave COLIN FIRTH LOVES ITALY'S TRADITIONS, RENEE ZELLWEGER AND THE PAINTINGS OF VERMEER, ABOVE Art galleries I like going to art galleries now and pretending to be this bloke Johannes Vermeer who I play in Girl With A Pearl Earring. But the physical side of painting is beyond me. Renee Zellweger Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger made Bridget Jones's Diary into something far bigger than any of us imagined. When it came to filming the sequel last year, it was a joy to see Renee and to see how much Hugh Grant has deteriorated in three years. Writing It's all rather convenient to have other strings to your bow. I would love to write stories but it's a fantasy, not an ambition. Italy I love its sense of tradition. When I met my wife, Livia, I had to present myself to her father. I had never met a 26-year-old woman who still lived with her parents. The wisdom of jazz legend Miles Davis I've always followed the advice of Miles: Don't play what you know. Play what you don't know. That could be the watchword of my career. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/saturdaymag/content_objectid=13776703_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-COVER-STORY--WHY-COLIN-IS-A-DUTCH-OF-CLASS-name_page.html

(MariaT)Unfortunately the cover pic shown is not him... It is in my copy of the supplement! -My lovely Mum kept the newspaper for me since I was away for the weekend. (I have a very supportive family!)

(CF) I had been looking for years to do something like this, *Years* to find a drama besides Conspiracy? :-/ Where ya been looking, in haystacks? (CF re Richard Curtis) He has this fantastically intelligent and self-deprecating wit that you associate with the films he writes. He is doing something that, however mainstream it is, is different from what other people do LA was a fluffy Altman movie. their second son, Matteo. There ya go, Moon. 2 T's. ;-) Thanks, Maria for all the tidbits today.

"But I consider myself a jobbing actor. I have to pay the bills." *Yawn, Yawn, Yawn*..If I have to read this one more time, I'm gonna puke. Thanks Maria.......not your fault. Why doesn't he vary his answers! This getting to be like:... "The gang in the St. Louis playground"...of four years ago. The guy goes on a kick.

(Karen)or with erroneous conclusions. Yeah! When she goes to the house to receive the earrings after he's dead, she brings her 15 year old daughter with long dark hair. ;-) Thanks, Maria!

(Evelyn)Why doesn't he vary his answers! Looks to me like ALL those quotes in that Daily Record cover story are taken from other (or earlier) interviews -- I know most of them are because I've been reading and reading these things for my research and most of the lines are the EXACT same wordings. I've seen this with other articles. As we know, journalists don't have to divulge sources, provide citations, can make unsupported generalizations or statements, etc. It appears that newspaper articles sometimes (often?) lift quotes from magazine interviews.

I had been looking for years to do something like this, he says. I was sitting at home one day and a script arrived asking me if I wanted to do it. I said yes. Actively searching, huh? That Lazy-Boy was a bad purchase decision. ;-) In fact, it is very odd, just looking back over the last few things that I have done, I can't see any pattern. I do. They're mostly "randomly" bad, which happens when you sit in that Lazy-Boy waiting for good scripts to knock on the door.

I jumped at the chance to play Vermeer. I was sitting at home one day and a script arrived asking me if I wanted to do it. Way to aggressively hunt down those good dramatic parts!;-) ;-) (Dorine)*Years* to find a drama besides Conspiracy? :-/ Where ya been looking, in haystacks? No, in the mail box.;-) Well, he'll have a good opportunity at Sundance to rub elbows with the people who are writing, producing and directing a lot of the good dramatic stuff. Thanks for the article, Maria; Janet,is it a new pic?

Great minds, Karen! I gotta get to bed.

(Madelyn) Looks to me like ALL those quotes in that Daily Record cover story are taken from other (or earlier) interviews Very likely, as Colin doesn't give interviews to tabloids. Whatever is usually printed in these is "cobbled" from other sources. The "fave" quote about Italy came right from our translated by committee article. ;-) BBC has given GWAPE 4 out of 5 stars: Girl With A Pearl Earring is a superior British costume drama that expertly mixes art history with romantic fiction. Peter Webber's directorial debut subtly portrays the relationship between Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) and his enigmatic subject (Scarlett Johansson). Adapted from the bestselling novel by Tracy Chevalier and inspired by the painting of the same name, this film doesn't just appeal to budding Vermeers but anyone who likes serious, intelligent drama and gentle erotic tension. In mid-17th century Delft, Holland, 17-year-old Griet (Lost In Translation's Johansson) is forced into servanthood when her father suffers an accident and is unable to work. She's taken on in Vermeer's household and gives everyone the hump - particularly the artist's permanently pregnant wife (Essie Davis) and eldest daughter (Alakina Mann) - when she starts forging an understanding with her mysterious master. "POUTING LESSONS FROM POSH HERSELF" Colin (Love Actually) Firth battles bravely to stop his Iron Maiden-style wig from expressing more than he does, while Scarlett Johansson has been taking pouting lessons from Posh herself. That said, both leads are excellent, doing a grand job of expressing feelings and emotions without the use of much dialogue, and the picture is the better for it. The film is occasionally clumsy on the erotic overtones (a sledgehammer would have been as subtle as the twitching hands scene), but ultimately the story's power stems from its restraint. It's a shame that Tom Wilkinson - as Vermeer's sleazy patron Van Ruijven - is underused, peering occasionally around corners to leer at maids like a salivating wolf. But the film is beautifully shot, each scene resembling a mini-portrait in itself. Not a masterpiece, then, but well worth a viewing. ~~~~~~~~~ There is also an interview with Colin: Q: One of the interesting things about Girl With A Pearl Earring is how there's very little dialogue... A: It's good not to speak. I think it gives you the opportunity to own it, in a way. When you've got other people's words, you have to go full circle, making their words yours. Doing it in this way, it's much more of a direct line from the source material to whatever it is you're doing in front of the camera. Words can be an enormous asset. They can really catapult you into something wonderful if they're brilliant. If they're not, then they are a gigantic obstacle. If they're not there, then suddenly it's you! You're on! You have to sing and dance, and that's it. Q: The centrepiece of the film is the evolving relationship between Griet, the servant girl, and your character, Johannes Vermeer, who wants to paint her. How did you make that relationship real on screen? A: It all got quite easy once it was between myself and Scarlett [Johansson]. It was a strange job for me because I wasn't present for a lot of it. I mean, I was and I wasn't. I had to be there physically most days so I could walk down a flight of stairs or something. It meant I wasn't really able to establish anything for a long time, but once we got into the meat of it, in that artist's studio, between the two of us... I found that once we hit a certain tone, those elements just actually sort of dictated it. That's when collaboration actually starts to display its benefits - we start to inspire each other. I found that once we were at the proper work, it didn't require great leaps of the imagination. And it was also easy because Scarlett really is so believable. Q: Why did you take a chance on working with Peter Webber, a first time director? A: It didn't seem like such a terrible risk. He's not wet behind the ears. He's very experienced behind a camera. He's made drama. I think we make a rather artificial divide between the small screen and the big screen because the work is very much the same. It depends what sensibilities you bring to it. He knows the world of cinema. He's one of these people whose knowledge is encyclopaedic, but he's also watched and studied things. I felt he was more equipped than a lot of more experienced directors I've worked with. I didn't have the feeling of a man on his first feature film job at all. Q: How does it feel to be in a movie that a lot of people wouldn't associate you with? A: I think it's great. I'm quite happy for those things to co-exist. This film wouldn't be possible without Bridget Jones for me. I enjoy doing Bridget Jones. I don't think films are less substantial because they're more popular or because they're lighter. I certainly know that if you're any more bankable because of the success of one film, then one of the privileges it buys you is to make you credible for a film like this. They then consider me as part of what helps to get the film made. It's a combination of elements that I'm prepared to make use of as long as I can. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/star/firthcolin/index.shtml

Happy New Year to Everyone. I saw a small article in Telegraph (3rd Jan) refering to Colin- "now appointed patron of Survival".Is this news or history? Can't find any reference to this on the Survial site.Apparantly he has written to De Beers campaining against mining practices in South Africa. Wonder if there will be any fall out as regarding possible filming in S.A.?

In fact, it is very odd, just looking back over the last few things that I have done, I can't see any pattern. (Karen) I do. They're mostly "randomly" bad, which happens when you sit in that Lazy-Boy waiting for good scripts to knock on the door. I think it's time for another report from our on-the-scene imbeded Drooler, who was posing as a maid in the Islington house. Wasn't her mission to search out and destroy any bad scripts that made it past the perimeter and try to plant suitable scripts where ODB might conveniently pick them up? (i.e. next to Lazy-Boy) Has anyone heard from her lately? Think she's still hiding in closets, or has she been done in by a red fingernail?

I am a veteran lurker, not being nearly as witty as most of you charming firthettes. I just had to share my excitement about getting tickets yesterday to the first screening of Trauma at the Sundance Film Festival. I have lived in the Salt Lake City area for almost 19 years and never attended the festival, but I couldn't resist being one of the first to see a CF film.

Gone for a day and such lovely lovely tidbits to read! Thanks, as always to Maria and Karen for the articles . . . (Hetreed)Instead I put the two of them under the cloak, and you can feel the sexual tension between them." Ahhh indeed you do . .;) (Colin)The wisdom of jazz legend Miles Davis I've always followed the advice of Miles: Don't play what you know. Play what you don't know. Love this quote . .actually have it in my journal that I carry around with me (yes, very much in manner of BJ:) (filmsnob)but none of them will developed into the actress Scarlett Johansson is by pimping themselves to Mona Lisa Smile. Far fewer people will see Girl With a Pearl Earring, for sure, but those who do will be rewarded with a moving portrait of art, not just some people pretending to be moved by art. Youch! . .is Mona Lisa Smile that bad . .haven't seen it yet . . (BBC)this film doesn't just appeal to budding Vermeers but anyone who likes serious, intelligent drama and gentle erotic tension. Hmmm who could that be . .me! . .me!! Esp the latter . .

Janine - Am very jelous of you and any other fellow Drooleours who get to go to Sundance! A friend here at who is an employee of the Sundance Channel has just informed me that she is attending the whole festival . .I asked if she could hide me in her luggage . .but to no avail . .she is going to try to see Trauma for me to give me some early details!

(Janine) I am a veteran lurker, not being nearly as witty as most of you charming firthettes. I just had to share my excitement about getting tickets yesterday to the first screening of Trauma Fantastic! I hope you'll report back on the movie and the experience and if YKW shows up. Remember, bring your camera. It's more important than being witty. ;-)

(Karen) Remember, bring your camera. It's more important than being witty. ;-) LOL....one good pic and you don't have to be witty for weeks on end! Janine...we'll be seeing you there! Am wondering if YKW will show with all the cancelled flights out of UK and Europe. Surely they are flying commercial on the Trauma budget.

Good for you, Janine! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Trauma. In case Colin shows up, bring your cardboard cutout double; the phan-tom base must be represented.;-) (Tress)wondering if YKW will show with all the cancelled flights out of UK and Europe Mostly just that one flight from London--DC run has been subject to delays and cancellations. I doubt very strongly if flights to Salt Lake City of all places would be affected.

Don't think this has been posted yet . . . From the National Catholic Reporter (Issue Date: January 9, 2004) Romance and Desire 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' shines; 'Something's Gotta Give' is coy look at love By JOSEPH CUNNEEN Girl with a Pearl Earring will delight those who prefer their dramatic moments muted as well as those who love great paintings that have remained mysterious. Based on the carefully researched novel by Tracy Chevalier about the great 17th-century artist Johannes Vermeer and his model for the painting that provides its title, the movie is an advanced class in the use of light and color. Documentarian Peter Webber�s first feature film, �Girl with a Pearl Earring� is impressive in its presentation of Delft -- its canals, clothes, class divisions and social assumptions. He works well with a fine cast, and photographer Eduardo Serra captures their different faces with a subtlety that complements the paintings that dominate the film. Young Griet (Scarlett Johansson), who comes to work as a maid in the Vermeer household, is the radiant but soberly becapped daughter of a local tile maker who has become blind. The movie opens with her meticulously chopping and arranging vegetables for the last meal she will have in her own home. Soon she will bring such attention to detail and sense of order to Vermeer�s studio: Asked by her mistress to clean its windows, she worries that this may change the studio�s lighting. What is most remarkable is how, despite the strict class barriers of the time and the limited number of her spoken lines, Johansson is able through expression alone to convey Griet�s vulnera ility, curiosity and intensity. While laundering, cooking and running errands, Griet has to put up with the snobbery of Vermeer�s wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), the deliberate cruelty of one daughter, a despotic mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt) and the artist�s womanizing patron, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). But Griet�s quiet beauty and instinctive response to color soon bring her to the attention of Vermeer himself (Colin Firth), who asks her to help mix his paints. The sequence in which he explains to her the mechanics of the camera obscura successfully conveys the repression that heightens their growing mutual attraction, though the subtlety of the relationship is undermined by the intrusive music of Alexandre Desplat. Firth is impressive in suggesting the artist�s brooding, taciturn personality, but audience sympathy is inevitably with the besieged Griet. She modestly accepts the attentions of the handsome young butcher�s apprentice, Pieter (Cillian Murphy), and is initially reluctant to remove her cap when the painter insists he needs to see her face. The cascade of auburn hair tumbling down provides a major moment in the film, but Griet immediately covers her hair, grasping the blue and yellow cloths that are preserved in the famous painting. The idea of an affair between artist and model has become such a clich� that responses to the movie may depend on whether the audience insists on a reductionist understanding of human relationships. �Girl with a Pearl Earring� is satisfied with implying that Vermeer and Griet have learned from and come to care for each other despite their deep differences in class and religion. The film deliberately ends in ambiguity; those who would like to know more or dig deeper should turn to the book. For example, there is no attempt to convey the subtlety of the book�s conversation between Vermeer and Griet on the difference between Catholic and Protestant attitudes to painting. Nevertheless, by conveying the importance of art in preparing our responses to everyday life, �Girl with a Pearl Earring� suggests an underlying religious significance. For the rest of the article - http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004a/010904/010904h.php

Scalett was on the Today Show this morning and Katie was drooling away! After discussing/showing the clips: Katie: "I love Colin Firth. I think he's wonderful. What was it like working with him? I don't know him well, but I've interviewed him a number of times and he seems like an absolute gem." Scarlett: (Nodding head vigorously, then stopping and breaking into wry, mischief-y smile) "Colin . . . he's alright, I suppose." Both ladies fall into fits of laughter. I can just imagine what they talked about just prior to the interview!:-) BTW, if you haven't already done so, read the GWAPE "diary" posted by Murph on Odds & Ends Topic 178.

Adorable! You can watch it at the MSN Today Show site. http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3032633&p1=01%7C%7C%7C%7C003 It's the second video. If anybody's taped it, let me know.

Re: Scarlett's appearance on 'Today' this morning. Agree she was adorable - very poised and well spoken. I've seen a real transformation in her these past few months. All the exposure from GWAPE and LIT has really helped mature her public persona. Think we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

Don't think this one's been posted yet... http://seattleweekly.com/features/0401/040107_film_thisweek.php GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING Opens Fri., Jan. 9, at Seven Gables and Uptown Has Scarlett Johansson ever been in a movie with a plot? Ghost World, The Man Who Wasn't There, Lost in Translation . . . and now this? Maybe she's the new muse of the meandering and the atmospheric. Audiences, directors, and especially directors of photography love to stare at her soft, dewy features. Her best pose is repose, so you can understand why, in this still, handsome adaptation of the 1999 best seller by Tracy Chevalier, Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) chooses this household maid for a portrait commissioned by his chief patron, Van Ruijven (a hammy Tom Wilkinson), which today hangs in the Hague. Griet isn't just a good pupil when Vermeer explains how light works; she seems to attract the stuff. Martin Amis wrote that one of his heroines appeared to be illuminated by her own personal cinematographer. Griet goes her one better: She's got her own Dutch master, and a hunky, smoldering one to boot. Yet the snickering subtext to the classic artists-and-models romance only remains a subtext here, however charged. ("Master and maid�there's a tune we all know," Van Ruijven insinuates, but alas not a tune we get to hear.) The greater tension comes from the jealousy that ripe, young Griet creates among the women in Vermeer's household�his simpering wife (Essie Davis), shrewd mother-in-law, and spiteful 12-year-old daughter. Girl is also oddly pedagogic as Vermeer teaches Griet about pigments, lets her mix his paint (not steamy or sensual in the slightest), and basically educates us about his craft while mentoring her. The film is so hushed and respectful that we hear the touch of bristles on canvas. Fine, but if we wanted art-history textbooks, we'd go to the library. It's all very PBS-y, yet even Upstairs, Downstairs had scandals and sex. There's talk of how virile Vermeer has knocked up a succession of prior models�talk, and not even much talk at that. Even though I like the way that the director summons up the daily domestic life of 1665 Delft, Girl rather dully subscribes to that old trope about the artist's displacement of you-know-what into his art. They have to be kept chastely separate, unlike, say, the life of Picasso, who managed to paint and screw without his energy ever flagging. But I guess that's a different movie. Here, there's just a superfluous courtship subplot with 28 Days Later's Cillian Murphy to make a woman out of Griet; there's a lovely scene of them walking by a wintry yellow canal in the snow, but it's only there because it's lovely, not because it makes sense. Meanwhile, Firth's saturnine Mr. Darcy charisma goes nowhere; he's not much better used (he's ill-used, really) than in Love Actually, only without all that splashing in the lake. I guess he's biding his time while Ren�e Zellweger fattens up for the Bridget Jones sequel. As for lovely, lank, do-less Johansson, only 19, she's graduating to high school in the SAT-theft movie The Perfect Score (Jan. 30). Let the other teen strivers worry about their double 800s; in my yearbook, she goes down as most likely to achieve by not achieving. (PG-13) BRIAN MILLER Ouch! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, no need to put all quoted material in italics. Take pity on your fellow Drooleurs' eyes. ;-) Attn: E! News had a little bit on GWAPE today, talking to both Scarlett and Colin during the press junket. It will be repeated tomorrow at Noon Eastern time.

Loved Scarlet's interview with Katie. Was it me, or was there a spring of some sort in her chair? v. bouncy, but cute. Ah yes, the twinkle in Ms. Couric's eye when she mentions YKW;-) Thanks Karen for that link and the heads up on E!

Another writer smitten with Colin in an article about Tracy Chevalier's book tour: I asked if this now-successful author ever wished she could reach back in time to console the struggling, unpublished writer she once was with the knowledge that someday Colin Firth would deliver lines she had written on the big screen. Chevalier let out a long, unrestrained laugh that must be a source of delight to her friends. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/155659_tracy08.html

For Karen - Sorry about the italics (I'd actually thought they might be easier on eyes.) Comments duly noted for future postings...

Re: Today Show interview with SJ--does msnbc.com archive the video clips anywhere? It look like I missed my window to see this clip (no longer on the "front" page). Not entirely thrilled with their new web design!

Some new captures from Trauma up at Colin Firth Image Gallery. - Pretty horrific, but it's the spiders I'm more worried about! BTW, this girl does have an amazing collection of pics.

Yes, those came from the makeup artist's site. Thought they were too gory to put up. :-(

I caught the closing credits of E! news live and saw that they showed a clip of BJD...anyone see the show? I guess it's noon time tomorrow for me, again. thanks, Janet

Colin Firth's easy job with Scarlett Last updated 08 January 2004 Scarlett Johannsen seems to be an actress to look out for this year. She has already starred in a couple of movies including 'Eight Legged Freaks' and 'The Horse Whisperer', but this year looks like it's going to be her year. Firstly, she stars in 'Lost in Translation' with Bill Murray which opens this week. Bill plays a fading American actor in Japan who befriends her as she's the only person he can understand. She is also starring alongside Colin Firth in 'Girl With The Pearl Earring', a slightly more serious film about Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer - she plays his model. Colin said he had quite an easy time through the first few weeks of filming, but it still wasn't easy: "My job for those first five or six weeks, was to come in on a Tuesday, and maybe a Wednesday and a Friday, do another look out of a window, walk down a corridor, sit at the end of a table and then go home again. And in the evening, we'd all go out to dinner and everyone would say 'Scarlett was so marvellous today - this is going to be such a marvellous film, well as long as you're good�'" http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/entertainment/040108_colinfirth.shtml

Telegraph Review:GWAPE Portrait of perfection (Filed: 09/01/2004) Girl With a Pearl Earring recreates the world of 17th-century artist Vermeer with astonishing attention to detail. Sarah Crompton talks to an expert in Dutch art about the way it brings the paintings to life Cinema loves a tortured artist. Whether it's Charlton Heston cramped on his back painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling in The Agony and the Ecstasy, or Ed Harris splattering his canvases, fag in mouth, in Pollock, film delights in the recreation of genius at work. Girl with a Pearl Earring: Scarlett Johansson But I can't remember a film that goes to more trouble to make each scene look like a work of art than Girl With a Pearl Earring, which is released here next Friday. Starring Colin Firth as Vermeer and Scarlett Johansson as the servant girl Griet - very different but just as wonderful as she is in Lost in Translation and a very convincing look-alike for the girl in the famous painting - it evocatively and precisely recreates the painter's household in 17th-century Delft. In doing so, it vividly recalls the paintings of the period. Axel Ruger, curator of Dutch Painting at the National Gallery, was impressed. "The film takes the atmosphere and some of the pictorial language of the time and translates it into a cinematic language - a moving image of the still paintings, if you like. It's a great achievement. "Very often you see the protagonists involved in some kind of manual household task - peeling vegetables, washing, sweeping the floor - and it is almost as if a painting has come to life." He says that this is particularly true of the interiors, which are deliberately framed by Eduardo Serra's sumptuous cinematography to look like the rooms in a Vermeer. "Very often you see a box-shaped room, with a window on the left, subtle lighting and interior arrangements and furniture just like those you see his work." Such careful authenticity is all the more surprising because Tracy Chevalier's best-selling book, the source for the film, is based not on the facts of Vermeer's life (about which we know very little) but on a credible but fictitious premise. What if, she asks, Vermeer had been inspired by the beauty of a maid who came into his household, with whom he fell in love, with complicated consequences? It makes a great story, but the fact is, no one knows who posed for Vermeer. It may be that one of his daughters was the model. But Ruger says we simply do not know, just as the identities of the models for his other paintings remain lost in the mists of time. "Chevalier's novel extrapolates Vermeer's character from his paintings," he says. "Because he paints quiet scenes, she argues that he must be a contemplative man who is withdrawn from his family. But we know he had 10 children, so that would be quite involving. We know he was active in the Guild in Delft, and that he travelled round Holland. He was a prominent public figure. For all we know, he could have been out at the pub every night." This hardly chimes with the moody, silent character portrayed by Firth, full of suppressed emotion and wistful longing. But the film is faithful to another fact about the painter's life: we do know that Vermeer and his mother-in-law dealt in art, and we glimpse paintings on the wall of their home - such as The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius - which it is feasible that they might have sold. It is also engrossing on the way Vermeer painted, building up depth of colour on his canvases. One episode shows him receiving a camera obscura, and snuggling with Griet under a cloak better to see its image. This is potentially controversial, since argument has raged long and hard in the art world over whether the artist did actually use optics to gain his pellucid effects. But Axel Ruger is satisfied that the notion is not overplayed. "I am adamantly against the idea that he directly used a camera obscura for his effects. But, on the other hand, Delft at that time was a centre for optics, and he was a very cultured man; so he would surely have been aware of the optical possiblities." Some of the loveliest scenes in Girl With a Pearl Earring are those where Vermeer teaches Griet how to prepare his paints, introducing her to the secret art of grinding and mixing heavy black, bright lapis lazuli, rich vermilion. The induction becomes a tender moment of understanding, but the techniques used, if not the emotion depicted, have their roots in a real and arduous process. Ruger explains: "It's all quite authentic. It was very laborious and involved, and every artist had his own recipes and idiosyncracies. Usually, the artist had an apprentice who paid to be in his studio and learn from him - whether Vermeer would have used his own servant for that is another point. But perhaps he was so besotted with her" That's only in the story, I point out. Ruger laughs. That's the thing about Girl With a Pearl Earring. It looks so beautiful and its story is so charming, that you are in danger of confusing the fictional Vermeer with the real thing. 'Girl With a Pearl Earring', released next Friday, is January's Telegraph Movie Monthly. For details of special screenings see advertisement on page 23.

GWAPE expands to a number of cities here tomorrow, so a new batch of reviews are coming in. This one is vg. Girl With A Pearl Earring By PHILIP WUNTCH / The Dallas Morning News To use one of David Letterman's favorite words, Girl With a Pearl Earring must have been "daunting" for all its major talents. As his feature debut, director Peter Webber chose a story of a faraway place in a long-ago time. As her first solo feature film, screenwriter Olivia Hetreed adapted a critically praised best seller, Tracy Chevalier's fictionalized account of Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer's creation of his most famous painting, Girl With a Pearl Earring, allegedly inspired by a household servant. Cinematographer Eduardo Serra (Unbreakable, The Wings of the Dove) faced the challenge of bringing his own style to the story of a painter famous for experimenting with light and shading. And, finally, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson must inhabit the roles of artist Vermeer and the young servant Griet. The painter is a shadowy figure, while Griet, as much by her own choice as by the dictates of her station, says very little for much of the film. All succeed superbly. And for Ms. Johansson, also exquisite in Lost in Translation, the film is an unqualified victory. Griet is nobody's fool and nobody's martyr, and her sudden flashes of passion and anger are as eloquent as her lengthy silences and penetrating stares. In 1665 Holland, Griet's impoverished parents virtually sell her to the prominent Vermeer family in the city of Delft. The household is ruled by the painter's arrogant, despotic mother-in-law, Maria (Judy Parfitt), who sometimes acts as if she has eyes for her brooding son-in-law. Her daughter, Catharina (Essie Davis), has reason to feel neglected and neurotic, which she does to the point of crazed hysterics. Vermeer, it must be said, does not always show the greatest wisdom in maintaining domestic tranquillity. He notices the quiet Griet's affinity for art and asks her to pose for his new painting. Although their relationship never progresses beyond platonic, he makes only modest efforts to conceal his fondness for her. When Catharina discovers that Griet has posed for her husband � wearing one of her earrings, yet! � a tempest quickly erupts. The film's wholeness of vision is the work of many contributors. Its superb production design aids both director Webber and cinematographer Serra in creating the mood of a bustling city of canals. Mr. Webber's entire cast is expertly chosen. Ms. Johansson's instinctive, glowing performance should get Oscar-nominee acknowledgment. Mr. Firth's Vermeer has the spellbinding mixture of both an artist's self-absorption and an artist's compassion. Ms. Davis brings creditability and even pangs of sympathy to the role of hysterical wife. Ms. Parfitt's mother-in-law is the closest the film possesses to a one-note villain, but she plays it with sublime self-assurance. Tom Wilkinson, so powerful in In the Bedroom, shows off his distinguished leer as Vermeer's bawdy patron, while Cillian Murphy displays unforced pleasantness as a butcher's son who offers Griet a respite from the Vermeer household. Like the painting itself and the young woman who inspired it, Girl With a Pearl Earring is a quiet jewel.

A Lustrous 'Pearl Earring' By Desson Thomson Washington Post Staff Writer IN THE delicate, assured "Girl With a Pearl Earring," a 17-year-old servant who has joined a Dutch household spells big trouble. Her name is Griet (Scarlett Johansson) and, even though she hardly speaks and is all but lost in her cap and frock, there's something irresistibly provocative about her. The women -- and this gloomy, busy Catholic house is full of them -- sense this immediately. In 1665 in the small town of Delft, such female allure is a harbinger of unspeakable temptation for the man of the house. That would be Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), the industrious artist who works directly for his patron, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). Vermeer spends most of his time squirreled away in the upstairs studio, painting models positioned in the same corner. It is a quietly busy life. But the paintings never seem to come fast enough for this rapidly expanding family. Vermeer's wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), seems to be constantly pregnant. Anxiety runs rampant. And Catharina's tight-lipped mother, Maria (Judy Parfitt), watches the finances nervously. The inevitable happens. Vermeer is taken with this girl who shows such fascination with his studio and his paintings. Griet, who comes from a Protestant home, is a woman of some sophistication; she's only a servant because her father has been rendered unemployable due to sudden blindness. When Vermeer shows Griet the wonders of the camera obscura, his face close to hers under the flap as they gaze through the lens, a dangerous bond is formed. Very soon, he has Griet buying his supplies and mixing the paints. And their mutual passion over aesthetics and each other is clearly more captivating than the relationship between Vermeer and his wife. When he asks Griet to pose for a painting, she realizes she has to make some painful decisions. Should she risk her livelihood for a painting? The women rule this house, not the artist. They will undoubtedly get rid of her. She'll lose her precious connection with the artist either way. Meanwhile, van Ruijven, who has a reputation for soliciting and bedding models from Vermeer's studio, also has noticed her. He makes a bargain with Maria that sets a heartbreaking scenario into motion. And there is yet one more pressure on Griet: Pieter (Cillian Murphy), the son of the local butcher, is clearly infatuated with her. He'd be the perfect candidate for a husband, if not for Griet's powerful attraction to Vermeer's world. The movie, directed by Peter Webber and written by Olivia Hetreed, is adapted from Tracy Chevalier's best-selling novel, which was inspired in turn by the 17th-century Vermeer painting that now hangs permanently in the Mauritshuis in the Hague. The identity of the woman in the painting is not known. Thanks to this compelling face, three fine works have been made: painting, book and movie. Perhaps no one could have fulfilled the ineffable appeal of Griet better than Johansson. It isn't merely her cherry mouth, pale skin and uncanny resemblance to the girl in Vermeer's painting that make her so memorable here; it's also her mystical presence, born of deft acting. She barely speaks, but her gestures and mien are everything. She becomes the Girl, rendered in a brilliant variety of lights and darks, funereal blacks and glowing golds by cinematographer Eduardo Serra. The movie's only false brush stroke is Murphy, who seems too impossibly boy-toyish and fastidious to be some local Dutch lad. But apart from that, everything works beautifully. And if the scope of the film feels small, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" fills that scope to bursting with subtle glory. It takes things as far as they can -- and should -- go.

Vermeer's painting director's 'Pearl,' too By Scott Galupo THE WASHINGTON TIMES "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is as riveting as a tour of a good city museum. Depending on your inclination, you can take that either way you'd like. An adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's historical novel, which concocted a back story to Johannes Vermeer's painting of the same name, "Pearl," in every one of its vividly colored frames, is an homage to the old master. There are three acts in here somewhere, I think, but they're not relayed through traditional means. Dialogue, for instance; there's almost none of it here. With action frozen in carefully staged production designs, "Pearl" is more like an exhibition, hung in a gallery of celluloid. Stare at it for 95 minutes; search for deeper commentary about class and privilege; appreciate its proportion and composition. If you've ever said of a movie that it was like watching paint dry, you will say it again of "Pearl" � and you may mean it as a compliment. Set in 1665 Delft, Holland, "Pearl" imagines that the muse for the famous portrait was a 17-year-old common girl, Griet (Scarlett Johansson), introduced to the Vermeer household as a maidservant with an intuitive understanding of art that belies her illiteracy. Miss Johansson, following her quietly intelligent role in "Lost in Translation," takes quiet intelligence to even quieter heights here. Her face a ghostly pallor, she speaks pages of dialogue through facial tics and movement of mouth. Her Griet is timid, hesitant, curious, transfixed by the beauty of Vermeer's work. Under a chaste white cap and buried in clothing, she nonetheless crackles with sexual energy. Vermeer, played by the always likable Colin Firth, notices all these things, but the movie never quite says so. It doesn't have to. Peter Webber, a first-time feature director, telegraphs "Pearl's" story arc through an economical interaction of imagery and sound: eye rolls toward footsteps overhead; the rumblings of arguments in other rooms; the moans of pregnancy. What all this does is establish the dysfunctional politics of the Vermeer household without spilling too much ink or wasting screen time. Vermeer himself is a slow, deliberative worker, living well but painting essentially on hand-to-mouth commissions from a tyrannical patron, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). He's badgered by a materialistic, miserable wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), who's indifferent to higher things and who uses her gift of fertility as leverage over her husband. Cornelia (Alakina Mann) is a scampish daughter who becomes jealous of Griet's newfound standing with her father. Watching over it all is a Machiavellian mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt) willing to endanger her daughter's happiness to maintain cash flow. Things reach a crisis point when van Ruijven, angling for control, commissions Vermeer to paint Griet alone, knowing full well the tension between them. Mercenary Maria (Miss Parfitt) slips Griet a few coins, a payment for her silence. Her daughter, the delicate thing, must never find out. What's the point of all these exercises, ultra-precious as they are? High art is wasted on the rich, is one thing that comes to mind. For van Ruijven, Vermeer's paintings are tokens of privilege. For Vermeer, they are his passion. For his family they're nothing more than the way he earns a living. Mr. Webber, like director Stephen Daldry was in "The Hours," is rather ham-handedly obsessed with food as allegory. Anyone who sells it or prepares it is by definition of low birth. An ill-fitting and hurried story in "Pearl" follows Griet's romance with a butcher's apprentice (Cillian Murphy). Like Griet, he's smarter and more refined than his job. Talent, you may have noticed by now, is democratically distributed in "Girl With a Pearl Earring" � to the point that it almost forgets the decidedly uncommon genius of the man it so artfully celebrates.

Drama exceeds limits of truth and succeeds By ERIC HARRISON Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer is the perfect artist around which to create a fictional drama because so little is known about him, and his painting Girl With a Pearl Earring, which was long missing, has been the subject of more than a century of speculation. A young woman, wearing a blue turban, looks over her shoulder at the viewer, her full lips slightly parted. From her left ear dangles a pearl earring. Some scholars believe the model might have been Vermeer's oldest daughter, others think it might be the daughter of his principal patron, Pieter van Ruijven. In her 1999 novel, author Tracy Chevalier imagined she was Griet, a 16-year-old maid who goes to work in the Vermeer household in Delft, Holland, in 1665 after a tragedy in her family; she quickly catches the interest of both painter and patron. In the new movie adapted from that book, painting seems the most erotic act imaginable. At the very least, it is an elaborate form of foreplay; it may be a straight-out surrogate for sex. When Vermeer's wife learns he has painted the maid -- wearing her earring, no less -- she goes berserk as if betrayed. Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkerson), whose lust for young women rivals that of Jack Nicholson's in Something's Gotta Give, thinks buying a painting of a pretty girl is the same as buying the girl. And after posing for Vermeer (Colin Firth), Griet (Scarlett Johansson) rushes off to find her boyfriend, a young butcher played by Cillian Murphy. She apparently needs to release all that energy she built up under Vermeer's smoldering gaze. Befitting a film set in the world of art, Girl With a Pearl Earring is spectacularly beautiful, filled with painterly compositions, and cinematographer Eduardo Serra makes impressive use of light. Nearly every shot is suitable for framing. Physically, Johansson, with her translucent skin and bee-stung lips, is perfect for Griet. She also has the kind of face that's open to interpretation. Griet is naive, unsure of herself in the well-to-do household, where a maid had best know her place. She seems to be always holding her breath, and she reacts to everything with a gasp. It's hard to tell if she's struck mute with fear or excitement. On the heels of Lost in Translation, Johansson is on a roll. (She'll also be in the upcoming The Perfect Score.) If she's on the brink of major stardom, though, it's doubtful Girl With a Pearl Earring will push her over the edge. It isn't a star-making kind of movie. As in Lost in Translation and The Man Who Wasn't There, Johansson is paired with an older man -- or in this case, two -- and the possibility of forbidden sex provides an edge. Griet's father was a tile painter, and Vermeer is drawn to her because she has an eye for color and composition. Despite differences of class and background, he senses in her a kindred spirit. The Vermeers are having money problems. He is a slow, meticulous painter, and he and his wife have a lot of mouths to feed. It is through the efforts of his shrewd mother-in-law that they're barely able to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Vermeer's dependence on van Ruijven gives the wealthy patron power over him. So when van Ruijven demands Griet, we can't be sure how things will play out. Quiet drama drives this speculative account, then near the end it suddenly becomes over-amped. This also is about the time uncertainty about the extent of the speculation becomes a bother. Some details, such as Vermeer's fascination with the camera obscura, possibly are true. Scholars believe he used an early version of the camera to project images that he then traced onto the canvas. It helps to know going in that this, his money problems and the name of his patron are some of the few elements of the story based on fact. But there was no Griet. The film doesn't use fiction to shed light on the historical figures and on the artwork; the story is almost all fiction. Historical figures and the famous painting are here to add juice to a tasteful melodrama conjured from thin air. This seems an important distinction to me.

'Girl With a Pearl Earring': An Unintended Still Life By Ann Hornaday Washington Post Staff Writer From its opening shot of a pair of hands methodically slicing gemlike pieces of vegetables, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" never strays from its chief mission: to create beautiful, painterly images with every single frame. This it does, with a lustrous production design and attention to detail that allow viewers to sink voluptuously in its imagined world. But the movie's strengths also prove to be its weaknesses, as visual rapture continually trumps narrative drive. Carefully composed, worshipfully ritualized and scrupulously self-conscious, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" unfolds as a series of meticulous tableaux vivants, but like those parlor pastimes, it lacks physical verve and a compelling emotional charge. Adapted from Tracy Chevalier's best-selling novel, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" stars Scarlett Johansson, late of "Lost in Translation," as a servant named Griet in 17th-century Delft, Holland, who goes to work for the painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Plunged into a troubled household run by Vermeer's bovine, peevish, eternally pregnant wife (Judy Parfitt), Griet over several months wins the painter's trust, eventually becoming his atelier assistant, muse and model for the eponymous painting, Vermeer's most famous and famously mysterious portrait. The entire story is Chevalier's conjecture, of course, a fanciful and ultimately polemical piece of feminist revisionism about women's historically endless capacity to suffer for men's art. (The implication is that Griet has the eye and sensitivity to be a great painter herself, were it not for the politics of class and gender.) Much of the film transpires silently, with Griet and Vermeer exchanging meaningfully pained glances, their fingers barely touching as they mix paints together. Shot and lit to approximate Vermeer's glowing canvases (one scene even looks as if it was filmed on a convex mirror), "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is the ultimate portrait of erotic love as an intellectual exercise, the meeting of two minds rather than bodies. As such, it's essentially a cerebral experience, and one that wants to have its politics both ways: Griet is the victim of male manipulation, on the part of both Vermeer and his odious patron (Tom Wilkinson), but she also only comes alive under the male artist's gaze. Johansson bears an eerie resemblance to the girl in the painting, and her expressive eyes and puckered lips make her gorgeous to behold, even with her hair skinned back under the signature 17th-century Dutch cap. Director Peter Webber makes a confident if torpid debut here, although his background as an editor is barely in evidence in the course of the film's long, languid scenes. But more troubling than any narrative limitations of "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is something more inchoate having to do with the way cinema -- more than fiction or any other medium -- can appropriate and colonize the visual imagination. Nowhere is this more evident than when Vermeer commands Griet to lick her lips before posing for the titular portrait -- a commission, as Chevalier's story has it, of the leeringly threatening patron. The moment is creepy, not because of its sexual undercurrent but because this is the story we want to tell ourselves about an otherwise tantalizingly elusive work of art. By this time, the film's fetishistic treatment of Griet and her world has become almost unseemly, and when she finally strikes the famous pose, it plays like a highbrow, literary version of the blockbuster money shot. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" culminates, appropriately enough, on the lingering image of Vermeer's actual painting, a conclusion that serves only to remind viewers of how superfluous the preceding playacting and speculation have been. With luck, even the most lambent visual seductions of the screen will never supplant the enigmatic power of the real thing.

Thanks for all those reviews Mari!Here is another... Luminous photography of 'Girl' is as much a star as Firth and Johansson By Moira Macdonald Seattle Times movie critic A quiet film so beautifully lit that it seems to shimmer, Peter Webber's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is both lovely to look at and intriguing to hold in the mind. Hidden within a seemingly sedate 17th-century plot is an elegant study of two kinds of servitude, that between master and servant, and that between artist and patron. Ultimately the two bonds don't look so very different, though one is in a rather more gilded cage. Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a shy teenage girl in 1665 Delft, Holland, is hired as a maid in the household of artist Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). It's an elegant but cramped and chaotic home, with numerous children, a petulant, pregnant wife (Essie Davis), a domineering mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt) and whispering servants. Griet sleeps on a pallet in a dark basement, where she can hear rats chirping, and spends her days quietly doing the tasks that the more senior servants can't be bothered with. The one place that intrigues her is the studio where Vermeer paints � a nearly bare room with tall windows letting in the gray-blue, slightly mudded-over light. Griet, who says little but whose watchful face speaks volumes, seems to understand innately that things must not be touched here, and that the tall, vaguely dissatisfied-looking artist finds peace in this room. Gradually they become not quite friends, but perhaps colleagues, mixing paints wordlessly side-by-side. Her pale beauty inspires the famous title painting, for which she wears a borrowed (and forbidden) earring, turns her head and parts her lips as if just about to speak a word of love. It's at heart a simple story, based on Tracy Chevalier's novel (itself an imagining of the events that might have led to the painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring"). And the relationship between Vermeer and Griet brings to mind that between Johansson and Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation" � a soft-faced young woman who listens, an unhappy older man who watches, a friendship both innocent and knowing, flirting with borders but not quite crossing them. Firth � who's rock-star handsome here, with flowing dark hair and needle-sharp eyes � makes a startling on-screen contrast to Johansson, a wraith shrouded in a nunlike cap and veil. You can see that this man is frustrated by everyone around him: by his wife (who sobs "Why can't you paint me?"), by his gimlet-eyed mother-in-law, by the demands of his patron Van Ruijven, who leers at Griet and suggests Vermeer paint her. It's an offer that the artist can't refuse; he's as indentured as she is. While the soulful chemistry created by the film's two stars is art in itself, mention must be made of the film's third star, director of photography Eduardo Serra ("The Wings of the Dove"). Seemingly using only candles and blue-gray skies for light, Serra creates a world so lustrous it looks rubbed with oil. Vivid smudges of color, like the startling cobalt of Vermeer's palette or the blurry pink of Johansson's lips, appear like brushstrokes among the faded umbers and grays. "Girl with a Pearl Earring," both the painting and the film, is a visual feast. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2001832712_girl09.html

Firth � who's rock-star handsome here, Thanks, Maria--my thoughts exactly! This one is not as kind. 'Girl' finds the passion behind the pose By Ty Burr, Boston Globe Staff, 1/9/2004 As Griet, the 17th-century Dutch housemaid employed by the painter Johannes Vermeer, Scarlett Johansson wears her hair pinned up and hidden under a crisp, white bonnet in all but one scene. The effect is mysterious and twofold. It accentuates the fleshy broadness of the actress's face, turning it into a canvas that will be colored with emotion as the film unfolds. And it gives the scene in which Griet finally takes that bonnet off -- and her hair tumbles down in luxuriant red tresses -- the force of a virgin's swoon. That's about as explicit as things get in "Girl With a Pearl Earring," but you still may blush when it comes. Peter Webber's film is less an adaptation of the best-selling Tracy Chevalier novel than a painting of it. The surface of "Girl" is rich with the busy details of life in 1665 Delft, where Vermeer (Colin Firth) struggles to maintain patronage for his art while overseeing a household of wife, mother-in-law, and ever more children (11 survived), and where the 16-year-old Griet toils in anonymous servitude. The real drama of the film lies in the relationship between maid and master, and it moves with the pace of brushstrokes cautiously applied. Dancing on the edge of dullness, "Girl" is continually saved by the look of things: the hush of an atelier in midafternoon, dust-motes swirling in a sunbeam, pigment blooming under mortar and pestle. Impatience is forestalled, time and again, by rapture. Griet herself has an artistic temperament -- she's forced to work after her artisan father is blinded -- and while her duties consign her at first to the kitchen and stairs, she is drawn to the unmoving miracle of "Lady With a Pearl Necklace" leaning on a second-floor easel. Instructed to dust the studio, she balks at cleaning the windows. "It may change the light," she protests, and the artist's ears prick up. As do the attentions of Vermeer's main patron, a wealthy and profligate fool named Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), who assumes that all women are there for the plucking. Even as he lusts after Griet, Van Ruijven sees her becoming Vermeer's apprentice and muse, and he demands that she be painted, for his own pleasure and to foment a little domestic turmoil. Mrs. Vermeer (Essie Davis), shrewish and ever-pregnant, has her suspicions, and her mother (regal Judy Parfitt) is certain "there has been too much sneaking around." The irony is that the bond between Vermeer and Griet is both more innocent and more profound than any of them know. The painter shows her his camera obscura, that early optical device in which the world hangs upside down, and he teaches her how to prepare his colors: gum arabic, ruby scales, malachite, vermilion. There's the seduction right there, in the words and in the rainbow they convey, and the air between the two trembles with a passion that could bring down bourgeois Holland itself. It's an aesthetic passion, and that's the film's strength and weakness. "Girl" is so static at times that it threatens to turn into a coffee-table book: Eduardo Serra's precise, sensuous photography mimics the angles and light of the Dutch Golden Age, while Alexandre Desplat's score burbles with elegant baroque minimalism. It's a marvelous exercise in control, but how much control can a movie take before its engines seize up? Griet ultimately poses for the famous title painting, and the scene includes a gesture so freighted with erotic portent that you may smother a giggle or two (much more powerful is the sequence immediately following, in which the painter moves her into the pose burning in his mind). It doesn't help that the film's heroine is a passive object throughout -- a maid to her mistress, a potential wife to the butcher's handsome son (Cillian Murphy of "28 Days Later"), a painting to her master. And it certainly doesn't help that Firth makes an altogether too fussy Vermeer. I understand that there are palpitating legions of fans who will disagree, and I'm not taking issue with the man's talent; it's there and it's real, but it never feels right for this movie. You need a man who can brood with the best of them -- a young Jeremy Irons, say -- but the best Firth can muster is an irritable snit. Johansson, by contrast, keeps you constantly apprised of the feelings swimming far below Griet's placid face; it's a performance as rigorously internal as Charlotte in "Lost in Translation" was a helpless mess. Between those two roles, Johansson is in danger of turning into Our Damsel of the Unconsummated Relationship, but I can't think of any other actor who can be so yearning yet so withholding. There are moments in "Girl With a Pearl Earring" when Griet is still, and both the painter and we are suddenly transfixed by the art hidden there.

'Pearl' of wisdom Vermeer's muse invites as much conjecture on film as she does on canvas By Robert Philpot Fort Worth Star-Telegram Staff Writer It's a striking image: A young woman, her hair covered by blue and gold scarves, looks over her left shoulder, her lips parted. Her eyes seem to be saying something, but it's up to the viewer to guess what it is, whether it's curiosity, suspicion, surprise, lust or innocence. The painting by 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer came to be known as Girl With a Pearl Earring. Little is known about Vermeer's model, and not much more about Vermeer himself, which allowed Tracy Chevalier to come up with a piece of speculative fiction about the painting. Her 1999 novel became a bestseller, no doubt in part because a replica of the painting graced the cover, inviting readers to take a look at what was inside. Scarlett Johansson's image graces the posters for the movie Girl With a Pearl Earring, with a partly obscured Colin Firth standing behind her as a protective, seductive Vermeer. The poster is a little deceptive, echoing the covers of salacious romance novels more than it does the quiet, slow and sometimes slight movie itself. This is a love story, but it isn't "erotic," at least not in the way that today's entertainment world throws around that word. Johansson plays Griet, a Protestant girl who helps her money-strapped family by taking a job as a servant in Vermeer's Catholic household. She contends with, among other things, Vermeer's jealous wife (Essie Davis); his lecherous patron (Tom Wilkinson); his imperious mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt); and his bratty daughter (Alakina Mann). Despite all these obstacles, Griet makes a connection with Vermeer, becoming the only person allowed to clean his studio, making suggestions about his paintings and learning about his art. In one of the movie's best scenes, Vermeer explains to her the different materials and combinations he uses to come up with the unique colors in his paintings. Johansson and Firth are both good, and they were obviously cast for the qualities they've shown in other films -- Johansson is practically trademarking the ethereal young woman who catches the attention of an older man, and Firth's brooding Vermeer recalls his brooding Mr. Darcy from TV's Pride and Prejudice. They aren't the real stars here, anyway. The real star is Vermeer's color palette, which has been reproduced remarkably well by Eduardo Serra, who provided the moody graphic-novel-style cinematography for Unbreakable and the dazzling colors for What Dreams May Come, a movie that should be watched with the sound off. In Girl With a Pearl Earring, Serra seems to be working with oils instead of cameras and light, and everything -- the exterior shots of the Dutch village of Delft, the interiors, the costumes, the faces -- uses the muted browns, the bright blues and reds, and the stark contrasts of Vermeer's art. If Serra doesn't get an Academy Award nomination, it will be an injustice. Serra works well in tandem with director Peter Webber, whose previous work has been a handful of TV movies. Webber does a good job capturing the period atmosphere, and he and screenwriter Olivia Hetreed resist the temptation to tart up Chevalier's book. The result is a movie that is a little elusive, much like Vermeer's painting; it requires patience that some viewers won't have. But Vermeer fans, and fans of Chevalier's book, should be pleased with the outcome.

THE BOOK OR THE MOVIE? By Marilyn Bailey Fort Worth Star-Telegram Staff Writer It's the eternal question: Should I read the book or see the movie? We're here to provide the not-so-eternal answers. The book/movie: Girl With a Pearl Earring The book is better because: The painting Girl With a Pearl Earring, a mysteriously beautiful portrait by 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer, is Northern Europe's Mona Lisa. Nothing is known about the woman who sat for it, and her seductive expression has beguiled and haunted viewers for centuries. Author Tracy Chevalier invented a compelling back story for the painting, and her prose and characters bring to life 17th-century Holland: its canals, food markets and religious and domestic life. She has invented a pleasant new literary genre, having since written a novel based on the famed medieval tapestry series The Lady and the Unicorn. The movie is better because: Its cinematographer, Eduardo Serra, and set designers have re-created the look of a Vermeer canvas, notably with the painter's studio, the props and costumes he used in his pictures, and those famous left-side windows. Serra does such a remarkable job of capturing the colors and even the textures of Vermeer's art, the movie almost seems to have been shot by the painter himself. Scarlett Johansson, as the girl in the portrait, and Colin Firth as Vermeer inhabit their quiet roles well. So, the book or the movie? If you love Vermeer, you've already read the book. Everyone else should see the movie for the visual experience.

Plot-thin `Girl' still lovely to look at By ROBERT W. BUTLER Kansas City Star It only makes sense that a movie about the creation of a famous painting should itself be visually lush. But does it also follow that said film must be the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry? Here's the deal with "Girl With a Pearl Earring": Go to it wide awake and fully caffeinated or risk drifting into a beauty-induced coma. The work of the title was executed in the late 1660s by Johannes Vermeer, a resident of Delft, Holland, who revolutionized painting by concentrating on commonplace domestic scenes and elevating them to high art. Based on Tracy Chevalier's novel, the film centers on Griet (ingenue du jour Scarlett Johansson), a young woman whose impoverished family sends her to work as a maid in the Vermeer household. The plot -- and there's not much of it -- limns her rise from abused scullery maid to artist's model who inspires the Master (Colin Firth) to his greatest work. Director Peter Webber approaches the material less from a narrative standpoint than from an atmospheric one. He's determined to capture on screen the same world Vermeer depicted, one of heavy curtains and sunlight through leaded glass windows; and Eduardo Serra's cinematography is like a stroll through a gallery. The city of Delft created by production designer Ben van Os is a captivating combination of eye-popping beauty (large bricked buildings lining picturesque canals) and grit (servants heaving buckets of filth into said waterways). No argument with the film's look. Dramatically, though, Olivia Hetreed's screenplay is only intermittently engrossing. In fact, it's mostly about things that don't quite come into focus. The Vermeer household is presided over by the artist's mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt), who handles the finances and serves as the artist's sales representative. She's not quite a wicked witch, but certainly not sympathetic. Vermeer's wife (Essie Davis) is a vain, shallow and hysterically jealous woman. She may have cause, because the artist is rumored to have had affairs with his models. She's certainly not someone with whom we want to spend much time. Neither is her bratty daughter, who makes life miserable for our heroine. Virtually nothing is known of the real Vermeer's personality, which may explain why Colin Firth's portrayal feels terribly tentative. His artist is indifferent to just about everything but the act of creation; he's capable of flying into a rage when provoked, but mostly he exudes a smoldering intensity. We never do get a fix on who this guy is. The same could have been true of Johansson's Griet, who, as a servant expected to do her work and keep quiet, barely speaks. The difference here is that Johansson can say more with her eyes than most actors can with pages of dialogue. It's been quite a ride for the 19-year-old; her recent films include such excellent titles as "Ghost World," "American Rhapsody" and "Lost in Translation." In each she's shown a remarkable understanding of character and an ability to project complicated inner states without a lot of exterior action. In "Girl" we can see precisely what she's thinking as Griet scopes out her new environment. This young woman is obviously too smart to be a menial; asked to clean the Master's studio, for instance, she asks if she should wash the windows, because that will change the light in the room. That intelligence makes her character compelling even when the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere. One other performance deserves special mention. Tom Wilkinson is terrific as the local art collector whose patronage is keeping the Vermeer family afloat. Not only is he rich and powerful, but he's a full-bore letch who'll rub up against any woman lacking the social standing to push him away. Yes, he's a predatory creep. He's also the only character on screen whose methods and motives are right out there where we can see them, and that makes his every appearance a treat.

Art-breaker: `Girl' hangs a powerful portrait of unrequited love Review by James Verniere Boston Herald Ravishing to the eye, ``Girl With a Pearl Earring'' is a coming-of-age tale full of sensuous, painterly detail. Among the most memorable images are the alarmingly tumescent lips of Griet (Scarlett Johansson), the beautiful 17-year-old girl of the title forced in 17th century Delft to leave her family home and live under the roof of the famous cash-strapped painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). There, Griet must contend with Vermeer's haughty, serially pregnant wife (Essie Davis), the numerous, mischievous, even malevolent Vermeer children and the wife's pipe-smoking, Machiavellian mother (a wonderful witchy turn by Judy Parfitt). How's an arthouse Cinderella, not to mention Jane Eyre of the Netherlands, to cope? To make matters worse, Griet must also deal with Vermeer's goatlike patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson, sporting a Dutch Master beard and mustache and in an apparent state of permanent arousal). Johansson, the current movie It Girl thanks to her critically acclaimed work in ``Lost in Translation'' (she also can be seen in the upcoming ``The Perfect Score''), may replace Angelina Jolie as the screen's most lip-a-licious star. But more important than her physical attributes is the brooding intensity she brings to her roles. Johansson does more with silence than any young actor I know. Much of her justly acclaimed performance in Sofia Coppola's ``Lost in Translation'' is a steamy staring contest with co-star Bill Murray. Based on the 1999 bestseller by Tracy Chevalier, ``Girl With a Pearl Earring'' - also the title of the Vermeer painting hanging in the Hague - places Johansson in another semi-verbal, human-as-art-object role. Almost every frame in the film - and every close-up of Johansson - is like a Vermeer portrait bathed in the artist's trademark liquid light and soft color. As a servant, Griet is not expected to speak unless spoken to, and she must complete Herculean daily chores. But, assigned to clean Vermeer's studio, an exacting job no one wants, she manages to steal precious moments away to examine the master's work in progress and evinces enough grace, insight and scorching sexuality to interest Vermeer. After first catching the eye of his lecherous patron, Griet becomes her master's muse, and you can see the electric current streaming between them. Vermeer shows the young peasant girl, whom he finds surprisingly intelligent, how to use his camera obscura, a pre-photographic device involving a lens, mirror and box that captures an image for the purpose of making exact sketches. Obviously, Vermeer's instructions in the use of the device, which involve pulling a cloth over Griet's head, are a droll, appropriately painterly metaphor for initiating her into the mysteries of sex (you half expect him to goose her as she bends over to gaze in the dark). Griet's unrequited yearning for her master complicates her courtship at the hands of an appealing apprentice butcher (Cillian Murphy), a fine catch for Griet but no comparison to a man of Vermeer's social standing ``Girl With a Pearl Earring'' is at its heart a Freudian adolescent fantasy about the transference of a young woman's sexual longing from an unattainable object - the older, married, paternal figure - to a more attainable one - the young, single male. Notably for the armchair Freudians in the audience, Griet's father is a blind former tile maker, a type of ruined Vermeer. The film works so well on this Freudian level that its weak social context and lack of a clear narrative line are not fatal. And when you take into consideration the enchanting, Vermeer-inspired visuals of cinematographer Eduardo Serra (``The Wings of the Dove,'' ``Unbreakable'') and production designer Ben Van Os (``Orlando''), you have an attractive package indeed, especially from a first-time director - Peter Webber. ``Girl With a Pearl Earring'' is both an introduction to sex and an introduction to art, which may explain why the novel it is based on has sold 2 million copies thus far.

Thanks for all the reviews, Mari. Here is a "for your consideration" ad at Oscar Watch. Hope it has not been posted already. http://www.oscarwatch.com/FYC/Lions_Gate/girl.html

(Karen)Thought they were too gory to put up. :-( . .I took a look at them . .they were pretty graphic . .I assume for a post car accident scene? . .Poor baby . .made me want to clean him up and nurse him back to health . . Thanks girls: Mari, Maria, Evelyn for all of these great articles and reviews! (Boston Globe)You need a man who can brood with the best of them -- a young Jeremy Irons, say -- but the best Firth can muster is an irritable snit. I have to laugh . .way too many writers keep going back to his smouldering, brooding looks/moods in past films . . . (Fort Worth Star Telegram)but it isn't "erotic," at least not in the way that today's entertainment world throws around that word. Thank god for that . .no ridiculous gratuitous graphic nudity/sex scenes thrown in to please the studios. .I think that's the best way . .insinuation . .let's you imagine what could have or might be . . . (Kansas City Star)His artist is indifferent to just about everything but the act of creation; he's capable of flying into a rage when provoked, but mostly he exudes a smoldering intensity. We never do get a fix on who this guy is. Hmmm . .funny, I thought the film was about the Girl With a Pearl Earring . .not about the guy who painted a Girl With a Pearl Earring . . .silly me . . (Kansas City Star)The difference here is that Johansson can say more with her eyes than most actors can with pages of dialogue. Funny, I say that about Colin quite alot . . .

This is the makeup/hair designer's site: http://www.pamelahaddock.com/site.htm

From: ArtDaily.com http://www.artdaily.com/links.asp?idl=28&id=311 How Vermeer�s paintings translate to film Friday, January 9, 2004 Jan Vermeer�s works aren�t paintings - they�re frozen films, cinematic dramas in paint and canvas. Jonathan Jones looks at how his enigmatic masterpieces translate to the big screen. On the face of it, there could scarcely be a less inviting subject for a film than Jan Vermeer. Films tend to be about things happening, and nothing much ever happened to the 17th-century Dutch painter of women in quiet rooms furnished with a distinctive mixture of parsimony and luxury, reading a letter by the cool morning light at the window or playing at a keyboard, or being courted by a shady cavalier. Meticulous research by historians combing the town records of Delft has established that Vermeer was born into a humble Protestant family there in 1632 and, perhaps after training in Utrecht, spent his life in this quiet Dutch canal city surrounded by flat fields. He married a woman slightly older than himself, a Catholic, and converted; they lived with his wealthy mother-in-law. Vermeer, who painted slowly, never made much money himself. When he died in 1675, in his 40s, he left Catharina to raise 11 children. It�s as sparse as any anonymous life documented by a handful of parish records. Not the kind of stuff, surely, to make a great film pitch. It�s not only the man but his art that is tantalisingly silent: just as no pithy quotes from Vermeer or anecdotes about the time he punched Pieter de Hooch in the face survive, nothing is known about the women in his paintings, or the stories they seem to hint at. And there�s the rub. In fact it makes film-makers of us all as we mentally complete the hints of narrative in his paintings, picturing scenarios, possibilities suggested by his inscrutable glimpses. Take any Vermeer painting. The Little Street, for example, with its uneventful Delft day, the sky neither bright nor stormy, as we contemplate the red brick facade of a large house with its dark windows, and the servants working - a woman sewing on the stoop, another cleaning in front of the house, another glimpsed in the yard down the side - and you can�t help inventing a back story, wondering who they are, if the woman sitting in the doorway is a servant, or the mistress... Or take Vermeer�s tantalising, erotically charged tronie, or head, of a young woman with one pearl earring visible as she returns the beholder�s gaze, a painting preserved in the Mauritshuis in the Hague. The forthcoming film, Girl With a Pearl Earring, speculates who this woman might have been - patiently recreating Vermeer�s home life, with the mother-in-law, the kids and a marriage more strained than any records suggest, and it introduces a plausible fictional character, a servant with whom Vermeer - Colin Firth - forms a barely spoken bond. It probably should be emphasised that the servant, played by Scarlett Johansson, is fictional - because the novel by Tracy Chevalier, on which the film is based, is so coolly believable that some readers have been fooled. But in its transfer to the screen the story becomes less about the girl, and more about the secret pact that Vermeer has with the camera. Vermeer painted more than two centuries before the invention of cinema, but he anticipated the way films make a world and fill it with light. "The only thing that really interested him was light," comments Eduardo Serra, the cinematographer on Girl With a Pearl Earring. "He�s really the painter of light. Rembrandt is light on faces; Vermeer is just light, period." Vermeer is often said to have anticipated photography - to put it conservatively. There is convincing evidence - in the lucid cold blueish spaces Vermeer paints, the artfully disarranged furniture (a velvet upholstered chair pulled back, a rumpled tablecloth) and the particular quality of his edges, shadows and foreshortenings - that he used a camera obscura. The same room appears again and again; it may have been, as Philip Steadman argues in his book Vermeer�s Camera, very much like a Victorian photographer�s studio with different arrangements of props set up for Vermeer�s camera. It was, anyway, in the age of photography that Vermeer first struck people as a genius. He was well known in his own lifetime and cherished by a few connoisseurs down the centuries, but the fame he has today is a totally modern phenomenon. The seeds were sown by the French critic Th�ophile Thor� who wrote a series of articles about Vermeer in the Gazette des Beaux Arts in 1866. Vermeer became a hero of French modern art, a cult figure who by the early 20th century was a suitable obsession for the aesthete in Proust�s Remembrance of Things Past who dies at a Vermeer exhibition while contemplating the painter�s View of Delft. The rediscovery of Vermeer followed the invention of photography. But he has exploded in popular culture since the birth of cinema. Vermeer is far more like a film-maker than a photographer. For all their stillness, his paintings breathe motion. They are dramas. He is a dramatist in light; which is why, like Caravaggio, he has profound affinities for cinema. In using light to create drama, Vermeer anticipates every cinematographer, and every powerful screen moment. His Girl With a Pearl Earring is a perfect shot, isolating its subject in darkness, so the light shining from the left makes her glow like the most mythic of Hollywood stars for her closeup. This light would never work in a photograph, because it is so theatrical. But it works in a film. This one painting, Serra argues, departs outrageously, flirtatiously, from the silence of Vermeer�s world to actively relate to us: "This painting is maybe the only one that has some emotion, some flesh and not just a concept of light." Vermeer�s painting, he thinks, is almost an abstract play of light, so when you look at the faces closely, they just disintegrate, fade away into blurred bright light. "It�s not romantic. It�s very strange." In fact, light creates drama in all Vermeer�s paintings. They are the most absorbing film stills in history. In a painting in Berlin called Woman with a Pearl Necklace, a woman in fur-lined yellow looks directly into the light from the window as she holds up her necklace; is she looking at her reflection in the backlit window, or showing herself to someone outside? It is, as Serra says, "strange" - and the strangeness is the drama. If Vermeer is a cinematographer, he is a revolutionary one who only ever uses natural light. Girl With a Pearl Earring was filmed with as much natural light as possible, says Serra, not simply in order to emulate Vermeer but because that has become the aim of many cinematographers, especially in historical films, since the 1970s. The film that showed how far you could go with natural light - a momentous breakthrough, says Serra - was Kubrick�s Barry Lyndon in 1975, with its English stately homes and German rococo palaces lit solely by sunlight and, by night, hundreds of candles. Vermeer, of course, was there first, centuries before Kubrick, telling his stories - or rather, hinting at stories that might be told - with the atmospheric ambient light filling those pale Dutch interiors, illuminating a white page too brightly for us to make out what it says, freeze-framing a girl�s indecipherable return of a look. * Girl With a Pearl Earring is released next Friday. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

Thanks Mari..you must have gotten up before dawn. Reviews are terrific; some glowing. Except for Boston Globe and it's not awful. Let's face it... these are the best reviews ODB's film has ever received. (Allison, won't have to see this one in an empty cinema;-) They're all rooting for Eduardo Serra for an Oscar nom..his lucky day. Interesting insights in several... "Notably for the armchair Freudians in the audience, Griet's father is a blind former tile maker, a type of ruined Vermeer.." Hmmmm. Note to Caribou and Lora: this will make good discussion stuff!! " Virtually nothing is known of the real Vermeer's personality, which may explain why Colin Firth's portrayal feels terribly tentative. His artist is indifferent to just about everything but the act of creation; he's capable of flying into a rage when provoked, but mostly he exudes a smoldering intensity. We never do get a fix on who this guy is." Good thinking..He caught on. Not one of them brought up the ambiguous ending. Wanna bet not one of them read the book!

Pamela Haddock website v. interesting. Blood and Gore seems to be some of her special skills...Thanks boss. Those Trauma pics....not exactly PMT.

Thanks Mari and Maria! Ann Hornaday wasn't too impressed....but Moira makes up for it! In Girl With a Pearl Earring, Serra seems to be working with oils instead of cameras and light, and everything -- the exterior shots of the Dutch village of Delft, the interiors, the costumes, the faces -- uses the muted browns, the bright blues and reds, and the stark contrasts of Vermeer's art. If Serra doesn't get an Academy Award nomination, it will be an injustice. Agreed! Regarding the Trauma pics...I'm with Kimberly...just want to make it all better (surely there is some boo-boo we can kiss??). Looks like Dr. Frankenstein did the stitching over the brow! (Evelyn) Those Trauma pics....not exactly PMT. Ohhh....I dunno....he's a bloody PMT...could this be what Hugh was referring to? ;-)

Some Pre-Sundance Q&A with Marc Evans Q. How have things changed for you since your film was accepted into the festival? Well I'm British and therefore am probably a little outside the loop when it comes to Sundance film frenzy. Also we are only just finishing work on the film. There's a lot of interest and support from the producers but nothing has changed much at time of writing. I guess it all depends on how the film goes down. Pleased to be at the party though. Q. When you were shooting the film, did you have Sundance in mind? Since Sundance took my first feature I have always felt warmly towards it and it certainly has a certain indie credibility, which I like. To be honest though I didn't really think about festivals while shooting. Q. How did you get your film started? How did you go from script to finished product? The script came to me from Lizzie Francke's new horror outfit "Ministry Of Fear" - a new initiative to make genre films, set up by Little Bird in London. I had just made "My Little Eye", a digital horror film so I guess the timing was fortuitous. The script, the first by young Scottish writer Richard Smith, was in pretty good shape. Then we worked on it together some more and the film came together pretty quickly after that. It seemed to be a good time for genre in the UK, though this is not really a horror. More psychological. Q. What�s the one glaring lesson you learned while making this film? The importance of casting. [Ed note: Does this have ominous tones??] Q. When you were in pre-production, did you find yourself watching other great movies in preparation? "Don't look now"/"Dark Water"/"Three Colours Blue" - three great films about grief. Q. Two parter - which actor would you cut off an arm to work with, and which relatively unknown actor on your own film do you want the world to start recognizing sooner rather than later? Well, really, Colin Firth (in Trauma) is up there. He is seriously good. As for unknowns, Trauma does not apply being a fairly small, distinguished cast. However Alison David who sings in the film (taking on the persona of murdered pop star Lauren Parris) deserves wider recognition. The rest here: http://www.efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=904

Firth � who's rock-star handsome here, My favourite along with a costume. ;-) Thanks, Mari and Maria! Unfortunately GWAPE won't get to me until next Friday. (Evelyn), Let's face it... these are the best reviews ODB's film has ever received. About time! Thanks for the site Karen, creepy.

Just picked this up... http://www.heraldnet.com/ae/story.cfm?sectionname=MOVIES&file=04010917995903.cfm A film in sober brushstrokes Scarlett Johansson plays a modern woman in the making in "Girl With a Pearl Earring." By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic A great painting inspired Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring," an entirely fictional meditation on the origins of a Vermeer. The truth is, not much is known about the life of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), let alone the stories behind specific paintings. But Chevalier's fantasy is an intriguing feminist-tinged tale. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" Interesting: A sober speculation, based on Tracy Chevalier's novel, about a famous painting by Vermeer. In 1665, Vermeer (Colin Firth) meets a servant girl (Scarlett Johansson, well-cast) who has an artistic sense of her own. (3 stars) Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter. Now showing: Seven Gables, Uptown. We are in the Dutch city of Delft, in 1665. We follow a 17-year-old country girl, Griet (Scarlett Johansson), as she is hired as a maid in the Vermeer household. Said household seems to be run by the painter's wife Catharina (Essie Davis in a fine performance) and her scary mother (Judy Parfitt). The artist himself, hard up for commissions, is brooding about his upstairs studio. When Vermeer (Colin Firth, late of "Love Actually") and Griet do meet, there is a kinship established, an artistic way of looking at the world. He shows her how to mix dry powders into paints, and eventually decides she must become the subject of a painting. Scarlett Johansson is an ideal casting choice for Griet. With her eyebrows gone and her hair perpetually covered by a cowl, she must express most of her performance through her eyes. She seamlessly shifts from the funky slacker of "Lost in Translation" to a 17th-century Dutch girl. I can't think of anything wrong with Colin Firth's performance as Vermeer, except that he seems fundamentally miscast. On the other hand, Tom Wilkinson ("In the Bedroom") is right on the money as Vermeer's vulgar patron, and Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later") is winning as a butcher boy interested in Griet. The movie touches on, but doesn't really explore, the connection between the painter's erotic attraction to Griet and his aesthetic outlook. If this is a romance, it's one that stays muffled within Vermeer's artistic soul (though there's a nice scene involving an ear piercing that presumably substitutes for sex). British director Peter Webber and cinematographer Eduardo Serra have created a painterly look for the movie; the light and the color could pass for something from a 17th-century canvas. It's impressive, although it also has the effect of freezing the characters in their past world. The haunting music by Alexandre Desplat adds a slightly modern tone, and perhaps underscores the sense of Griet as a modern woman in the making. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" doesn't get everything right, but its alien landscape and sober approach are refreshing. And its speculation is something that anybody might have wondered looking at a centuries-old painting: Who were these people?

Thanks for the Mark Evans article, Karen. That link provides more info onthe film. that part about hi not getting any support because a well-known person was also killed strikes me as strange. (Moon)Unfortunately GWAPE won't get to me until next Friday. I have to wait at least 2 more weeks. Too many good films out that are doing well, and not enough screens. Just got this from my local theater: Hello Mari, Thank you for your inquiry. "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" now has a tentative opening date of January 23rd. It is opening later in the month because presently, we don't have room to run it. As much as we would like to open it earlier, our current films are all still popular and we do not wish to end any of their engagements prematurely. I hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate in sending me an email. Best regards, Alison Silverman Assistant Director of Operations Ritz Theatre Group

I'm opening later in the month too. The indies section of my multi-plex is jammed with goodies. "From the producers of Bridget Jones, Love Actually, and About a Boy, TRAUMA is a psychological chiller about love, grief and madness." Little Bird can sure pick 'em...let's hope they're right this time. Q. What's the one glaring lesson you learned while making this film? (Marc Evans)The importance of casting. [Ed note: Does this have ominous tones??] Uh,oh. Does he have a few regrets here;-) Thanks boss.

sorry

Great reviews (mostly) ladies. Thank you for sharing. IMHO Marc Evans comments on casting doesn't have any negative tones about Colin, as he later points at him as being a great actor (I know, he's the "old" well-known, but still). Just a thought. Here's another, I wish I were in Scotland: http://www.news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=26062004 See it first, see it free The girl with the pearl earring (12A) We�ve teamed up with UGC Cinema at Fountain Park to offer EH Entertainment readers a chance to see a series of film FIRST & FREE. This is an exclusive offer allowing you into these special advance screenings and it�s really simple to take up - all you do is take a relevant copy of EH Entertainment along to UGC Cinema and claim a pair of tickets. The next screening is The Girl With The Pearl Earring (12A) on Wednesday January 14 at 8.55pm. This Oscar-tipped period drama focuses on the story around artist Johannes Vermeer and his young maid Griet. Based on a novel by Tracy Chevalier, the story depicts the life of a girl beneath the stairs and how she begins to capture the eye and heart of her employer. Vermeer, played by Colin Firth, is a Dutch painter famed for painting women carrying out ordinary household chores. Griet (Scarlett Johansson) seems young and naive as she is admired not only by Vermeer but also by his assistant Tom Wilkinson and local boy, Cillian Murphy. Is it as simple as a servant girl posing for her employer or is there something deeper between them both?

(Annette) IMHO Marc Evans comments on casting doesn't have any negative tones about Colin No and my comment didn't imply it had. Just that Evans may regret the casting of someone else in the movie, someone he didn't think worked out that well. I do look beyond the "Colin factor" when I think about movies.

Thanks for the Sundance link, Karen. T sounds intriguing so far. Mari, great articles and reviews-thank you. (Evelyn)I'm opening later in the month too. V. disappointed that our little art house theater in Princeton doesn't have GWAPE this week, either;-( I can't think of anything wrong with Colin Firth's performance as Vermeer, except that he seems fundamentally miscast How? Why? I hate when a statement gets thrown out like that with no reason. Not that he isn't entitled to his opinion, but give the reason. sheesh!

(Karen)I do look beyond the "Colin factor" when I think about movies. My mistake. To be able to keep up, I've concentrated on the comments about Colin in most of the interviews and articles and didn't get that "filter" turned off for this one. Sorry. (review)I can't think of anything wrong with Colin Firth's performance as Vermeer, except that he seems fundamentally miscast (Linda)How? Why? I hate when a statement gets thrown out like that with no reason. Not that he isn't entitled to his opinion, but give the reason. sheesh! I felt the same way, reading this.

The importance of casting. [Ed note: Does this have ominous tones??] If I were a Mena Suvari fan I would be worried. No mention for her. I think any one not a paranoid Colinite would infer that he was happy with him but as for the others....

Linda)How? Why? I hate when a statement gets thrown out like that with no reason. Not that he isn't entitled to his opinion, but give the reason. sheesh! Sorry to take up two posts. Was trying to keep them short. ;-) If the reviewer had only seen him on LA, BJD and WAGW then he would think this was a safwe comment as this was a comedy actor trying to do drama :-(

(Allison)If the reviewer had only seen him on LA, BJD and WAGW then he would think this was a safe comment as this was a comedy actor trying to do drama Perhaps, but I would have been interested in knowing how he came to that conclusion. He thought SJ was perfect as Griet and explained why.

Great article in Today's Telegraph. Saw the front page of the Telegraph on Newsnight late last night. The presenter was showing the front pages of today's papers and I saw a familiar face. Am now off to see where I have hidden the scanner...

The importance of casting. [Ed note: Does this have ominous tones??] (Allison) If I were a Mena Suvari fan I would be worried. That was my thought as well.

(Allison) If I were a Mena Suvari fan I would be worried. No mention for her. My first impression too. (Linda) How? Why? I hate when a statement gets thrown out like that with no reason. Not that he isn't entitled to his opinion, but give the reason. sheesh! (Allison) If the reviewer had only seen him on LA, BJD and WAGW then he would think this was a safwe comment as this was a comedy actor trying to do drama :-( Exactly...and let's not forget SLOW! ;-) How many of these younger, online reviewers would've seen his older works. Sheesh! You really have to go out of your way to even see them. Re: Telegraph article Am putting it together now. Antonella has scanned and sent the material to me and I'm working on it now. It will be up shortly.

Colin is on Cinenews again this week. Part of the junket interview; he talks about the set design and Ben Van Os's work. PW & SJ also interviewed. Lots of film clips. GWAPE will be reviewed on Ebert & Roeper's show today. Re: the casting comment. I didn't take it that way at all. He goes on to mention his "small and distinguished" cast. No way is he stupid enough to diss his actors. I took it to mean that the film made him appreciate how important casting the right actors were, i.e., vital to the film's success.

(Allison) If the reviewer had only seen him on LA, BJD and WAGW then he would think this was a safe comment as this was a comedy actor trying to do drama :-( (Karen) Exactly...and let's not forget SLOW! ;-) How many of these younger, online reviewers would've seen his older works. Sheesh! You really have to go out of your way to even see them. But should a person be judged on their past work like that? I mean, just because someone has always played a certain type of role, if they break out and do something different (and for ODB drama is not different, it is just not what he is now best known for to most people now...unfortunately...as I love him in dramas and I want MORE! MORE!!), and it's good, should you try and pigeonhole them back into their former 'genre'? Let each film stand on it's own. I dislike Adam Sandler's stuff, in general (dislike is a mild word actually), but went to see Punch Drunk Love and actually enjoyed myself! Was a bit different for him....and I was happy for him (though I sometimes get the feeling he likes being Happy Gilmore)! Anyway, I don't think a person's past should 'haunt' them in that way. I think each film, and each performance, should be it's own unique entity. So, for a reviewer to say "miscast", they better tell me why! If their answer is "cuz he's Mark Darcy!" then to the back of the room for them.... "next!!!" ;-)

Anyway, I don't think a person's past should 'haunt' them in that way. ....in an ideal world.

(Tress) Anyway, I don't think a person's past should 'haunt' them in that way. I think each film, and each performance, should be it's own unique entity. Without saying so explicitly, he has said it. The reviewer must not think Colin played Vermeer very well and is probably baffled that a rom-com actor would've been cast in the part. Otherwise, he would be extolling Colin's ability to do something outside his usual genre and do it brilliantly.

(Mari) Re: the casting comment. I didn't take it that way at all...No way is he stupid enough to diss his actors. Some of these guys are terribly naive about what they say and to whom. :-(

OK, article and lovely pics are here, thanks to Antonella: http://www.firth.com/articles/04telegraph_0110.html Lots of factual errors and it seems obvious that the writer is relying very heavily on published material and hasn't seen Tumbledown, given his description of it. ;-) Does he like the film? 'It is very hard to give in to completely liking anything you are in at first,' he replies. 'But I think there is a lot about it that is strong and takes my breath away. I think it is very brave in being serious as it is. It is unusual these days to find a script that doesn't want to employ a bit of irony, because most people who tell stories and make films are very frightened of seeming naive.' How @#$%ing hard would it have been to say, "It's a great film and Peter Webber and [yadda yadda] did a spectacular job. I'm so proud to even be associated with it..."? Vermeer is an older, more family-oriented role than we are used to seeing Firth play, and it demonstrates that he will be one of those actors who get better as they move through middle age: Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy. *snort* That ought to make so many of his fans ecstatic. ;-)

(Karen), How @#$%ing hard would it have been to say, "It's a great film and Peter Webber and [yadda yadda] did a spectacular job. I'm so proud to even be associated with it..."? ROTF! And Of course I agree with you. Remember your pet project Hope Springs, Colin? Thank you, Karen! As always great job! Thanks also to Antonella and Allison.

Vermeer is an older, more family-oriented role than we are used to seeing Firth play, and it demonstrates that he will be one of those actors who get better as they move through middle age: Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy LOL, that threw me a bit off my game, as well. Great article, though. Thanks Karen and Antonella.

He looks rather tired in those pictures. Wait a minute! There has not been an official GWAPE premiere in London, right?

I'd say the London FF gala was its London premiere. No need to do that again.

(Karen), I'd say the London FF gala was its London premiere. No need to do that again. Except that now all the press is coming and more people and stars would attend. It would get much more attention for the "little indie film".

I think he looks terrific in those pics........ "Our Most Romantic Actor"!! Ha! Not bad at 43! He beat out all the young Turks. Take that Orlando Bloom,Jude Law,Joe Fiennes!! "He drives a generic German hatchback; " He piles all those kids in a small car? Thankgod he dumped that ole Nissan...or was it a Mazda. Thanks to all who helped.

That pic above is from the Free Trade Coffee campaign. ;-)

Free Trade said :"Our Most Romantic Actor"?;-)

Thanks Karen, Antonella, and Allison! Amusing article (though it did make me scratch my head). (Telegraph)he has played the outsider in later life�avoiding Hollywood, chat shows, fashion events, premieres and orthodontistry�because he was ostracised as a nipper Well, I've always considered orthodontistry very bourgeois, but huh?!? Firth has commanded [...] a respectfully weak-kneed following unique among British actors outside the soaps Yet another bewildering description here. Is it better to be respectfully weak-kneed than a screaming posse of fans? Or does one do both at once? ;-)))

A very fun arrticle. Thanks Karen, Antonella and Allison... his first wife, the actress Meg Tilly,...; Jennifer Ehle, who he went out with after co-starring in Pride and Prejudice....; and his wife, Livia Giuggioli,.. whom he (met on the set of Nostromo) OK, Kimberly, should we put your DH on notice?? ...his magic ingredient: the dark, scary side that means he can play romantic figures who are unfriendly, scary and a bit damaged. He is so good at communicating what is hidden... Oh yes..a capacity most of us are very fond of.

(Shoshana)Is it better to be respectfully weak-kneed than a screaming posse of fans LOL, the former before you make it into the press tent, and the latter afterward. Versatility is the watch word, here.

Thanks for the article and pics, Karen and Antonella. (Karen), How @#$%ing hard would it have been to say, "It's a great film and Peter Webber and [yadda yadda] did a spectacular job. I'm so proud to even be associated with it..."? I thought the same thing, what is wrong with him, but the answer about his parents is even worse: I would say that my family are all still there. They've stayed together all these years and so that speaks to you of it being quite functional, to an extent. If I were his parents, I'd be pissed off. The best he can say is that they're there and they're functional to an extent?! Perhaps unintentionally, he's made it sound like a rift there, or maybe he's just incapable of giving an answer from the heart. He should stick to TV interviews, he's much more open. But maybe his reticence has something to do with being born in Nigeria and being on his second marriage.;-) ;-) The top two pics are pretty good, but that cover shot is unflattering.

From The Telegraph: BA under fire for cutting 9/11 speech from Love Actually By Gary Anderson Producer attacks airline for censoring in-flight screenings of the hit film 'to spare the feelings of passengers', reports Gary Anderson It is meant to be one of the most cheerful and uplifting films of the moment, but Love Actually, the box office hit seen by millions of Britons, has been judged to be too frightening for airline passengers. British Airways has decided that the film, which stars Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth among others, will have to be censored before it is shown on its aircraft because of a reference to September 11. The decision has infuriated the film's producer, Duncan Kenworthy, who described the censorship as "ludicrous". It will prompt renewed concern that the airline is over-reacting to the threat of terrorism. British Airways, which plans to screen Love Actually, on flights from March, insisted, however, that the film would have to be cut before it was suitable to be shown to passengers. A spokesman for BA said that the offending passage was an opening speech by Hugh Grant, which includes the lines: "When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge. They were all messages of love." The spokesman said: "We have made a very small edit to the beginning of the film and removed a reference in the script to the tragic events of September 11. "We feel that this is justified given the terrible events of that day and in no way detracts from the rest of the film." Mr Kenworthy, however, criticised BA's argument, adding that he was disappointed by the way in which airlines generally imposed more stringent cuts than those demanded by sanitised American television networks. "I find it ludicrous," said Mr Kenworthy. "If it's OK to watch on American television it should be available for viewing on airlines." He also expressed surprise that airlines were unconcerned by a scene later in the film that portrays a young boy deceiving security personnel at Heathrow and sprinting through several checkpoints. Mr Kenworthy said that despite his protests, film producers had no choice other than to bow to airline pressure because of the substantial sums of money involved in licensing agreements. He added: "I don't like censorship at any point, but I am contractually obliged to provide a version acceptable to the airlines." BA issues guidelines to an outside agency, which provides its on-board entertainment, asking it to select films with a "general appeal" to the broad range of ages and nationalities on its flights. Films containing foul language and graphic scenes of a violent or sexual nature are rejected or censored. Portrayals of air crashes or hijackings are also cut. Passengers on flights operated by Virgin Atlantic, BA's rival, will be able to see Love Actually uncut on flights from February, although a warning about the Hugh Grant speech will be printed in the in-flight magazine. Lysette Gauna, the head of media at Virgin, said: "As long as sufficient information is given on the nature of the movie and we offer channel-blocking to parents, we believe that we can let passengers watch the movie as the director intended." After September 11, BA passengers were denied access to BBC World Service news reports because of fears that the images of the attacks on the World Trade Center would be too traumatic or cause panic. The decision to cut Love Actually reveals the lengths to which the airline continues to go to shield passengers' sensibilities. The film, which has taken more than �30 million since its release in November, also stars Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson and Martine McCutcheon, and has earned two Golden Globe nominations. Critics were less impressed. A scathing review in The New York Times summed up the film as "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".

(Mari) Perhaps unintentionally, he's made it sound like a rift there Thought it was just me. It was a bizarre answer. He should've just said he didn't want to go there and left it at that, if he didn't want to say too much. Thanks Karen and Antonella.

Producer attacks airline for censoring in-flight screenings of the hit film 'to spare the feelings of passengers', reports Gary Anderson It is meant to be one of the most cheerful and uplifting films of the moment, but Love Actually, the box office hit seen by millions of Britons, has been judged to be too frightening for airline passengers. I completely agree with that call, especially in light of the problems with BA flights over the holidays. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to hear a reference to it sitting on any plane, going anywhere. The decision has infuriated the film's producer, Duncan Kenworthy, who described the censorship as "ludicrous". It will prompt renewed concern that the airline is over-reacting to the threat of terrorism. Get over it and display some sensitivity. It's not a pivotal plot point or anything. It wouldn't be missed. :-( Mr Kenworthy, however, criticised BA's argument, adding that he was disappointed by the way in which airlines generally imposed more stringent cuts than those demanded by sanitised American television networks. Hmmmm, watching TV on the ground where it's "safe" vs watching it in an environment identical to the event. Not a big deal. :-( "I find it ludicrous," said Mr Kenworthy. "If it's OK to watch on American television it should be available for viewing on airlines." What a freakin' git. vThe decision to cut Love Actually reveals the lengths to which the airline continues to go to shield passengers' sensibilities. I don't find that unreasonable, again, in light of recent events. *stepping down from soapbox* Sorry, got a bit carried away. :-(

(Karen) How @#$%ing hard would it have been to say, "It's a great film and Peter Webber and [yadda yadda] did a spectacular job. I'm so proud to even be associated with it..."? If that's not how he felt about the movie I'm glad he didn't say it. I see/read so many actors talking about their latest movie as if it were the best thing that ever happened to them, and sometimes you feel that their words are anything but heartfelt. They praise the movie out of duty, and although I understand it's the honourable thing to do, still, it's a lie. If Colin was less than happy with how the movie turned out it's a good way to get out of giving a straight answer. I don't hold it against him. (Mari) If I were his parents, I'd be pissed off. The best he can say is that they're there and they're functional to an extent?! That's not what I understood from that bit. I thought Colin meant that his parents' staying together all these years explains it being functional to an extent. Not that they are functional only to an extent. I feel he said the right thing but in a way that it's easy to misunderstand. I'm surprised (or shouldn't I be?) that the interviewer asked such a stupid thing about his parents. It's sort of like asking which of his sons is his favourite. I'd never answer any of those questions. It's too personal, and no one is his/her right mind would answer it, especially if the parents are still alive. Thanks for the photos and articles, ladies!

(Ildiko) If Colin was less than happy with how the movie turned out it's a good way to get out of giving a straight answer. I can't fathom how he would be less than happy with how it turned out and would feel he couldn't give a straight answer after giving them on lesser projects (ok, little things here and there could be bothersome...the wig perhaps? ;-)). IMO, he *should* agree that Peter Webber and [yadda yadda] did a spectacular job and should be proud to even be associated with it.... Not like he's had much to brag about recently. When was the last time he was in a potential bonefide Oscar contender? Then again, if he's not happy, he's not. :-( From the Jan 16 Entertainment Weekly Item of the Week... We'd wear them even if it didn't mean getting close to Colin Firth. Scarlett Johansson's baubles in Girl With a Pearl Earring aren't just for the 17th century. "More designers are using pearls," says Robert Arteit of Mikimoto, whose modern version was inspired by the film. "You'd think [young buyers] would go for something more trendy. But they love the classic design."

Thanks for the article Karen and Antonella. The section of the article that dealt with his parents I thought he handled it very well. He said something to the effect he didn't want to discuss things about them and have them read it in the paper. He rather have them present to talk about them or have at least given them some sort of notice. I think that shows respect for them and a healthy dose of caution in dealing with the press.

(Gail) He said something to the effect he didn't want to discuss things about them and have them read it in the paper. I think that shows respect for them and a healthy dose of caution in dealing with the press. It may have been more prudent had he stopped here..... It varied according to my age. But this is a conversation that would probably be better if my parents were present. It�s a tricky one to get into so I'd rather they didn�t read it in The Telegraph. It didn't seem too cautious to continue with this... They've stayed together all these years and so that speaks to you of it being quite functional, to an extent....... Ye-es, but it is probably a bit difficult. If this was well covered with my parents, I�d be happy to talk about it. It�s just that I don�t want to read stuff I haven�t said to them. Maybe it didn't come out the way he meant it, but it implies to me he's saying there are unresolved issues he hasn't addressed with them directly and doesn't want to drag it out in an interview before speaking with them first. That's just my take of what it comes across to me. Maybe I've misunderstood, or it didn't come out how he meant. I just found his comments odd here.