As far as the linguistic thread, lazy American tongue muscles aside, I think most people, putting forth an effort, could probably muster up a passable accent of almost any sort. Working on the accent and the correct way to pronounce and ennunciate was always a big part of my high school French classes. (Not that I would have ever been mistaken for a native or anything :) ) I just feel that they should at least try.

Brandeis--I've sent you personal e-mail...please inform if it hasn't arrived.

IS Michelle Pfeiffer an actress? I actually debated that once at lunch...and was persuaded she was. (I maintained that, in the absence of stage experience, she was a "movie star who acts". I was shouted down.) In any case, I offer, as a MUCH better example, the exquisite and very talented Diane Venora.

Now THERE's a co-star for Rickman...Diane Venora. The mind boggles.

(To those of you muttering "Diane WHO???"--check out "Heat". She also has an extensive stage resume, including a very nice turn as the Melancholy Dane himself...in New York, circa 1970-something.)

;-)

As re accents: ET does a very passable generic American accent...but it is generic, much in the same way most American actors offer a generic English accent. Are American actors "lazier" about their accents and their elocution in general? American actors spend far too much time delving into their own little psyches and far too little time crafting a character. (None of my opinions are humble, I'm afraid. I won't apologize for my opinions and I won't ask that you apologize for yours...can we leave it at that?)

I love the notion that Kevin Costner didn't have time to work with a dialect coach. Exactly how much time did he need--given that he had a good six months of pre-production time during which he might have been learning some kind of passable accent? No excuses...except that Costner isn't really an actor--he's a movie star.

Alan Rickman is an actor. Emma Thompson is an actor. Michelle Pfieffer is an actor. Tom Hulse is an actor. Jeff DeMunn is an actor. Sigourney Weaver is an actor. Which brings me to:

Brandeis: if you *were*--and I speak hypothetically--engaged in the creation of a piece of fiction that might--conceivably--be a film that might--stranger things have happened, we must agree--be a vehicle for oh, say, that lovely Rickman fellow...why not offer him a part he *hasn't* played before? Offer him a character faced with challenges that offer him a wide range of opportunities to express here-to-fore unexpressed thoughts and feelings.

Most movie stars can only repeat themselves. Most actors welcome the opportunity to take on something new. The only real danger is presented by movie stars who think they can act....

Since Karina is next door, (once again showing how much work she does) I want to thank her for making FOF possible. Now that the wedding night is posted, I will be much less in evidence at Flights of Fancy (but still here). FOF was/is an incredible experience.

Also, Brandeis: for the answer to your question, I suggest you check out the Flights of Fancy next door - once Karina has finished maintenance work. I think you'll find that the denizens of the FOF would definitely want a heavy emphasis on his h*nds, n'est-ce pas, Mrs. Gruber? I'd do German, but I don't know any.

Thought you'd like to know, I've added a guest book for your comments on the poems, stories or the page in general. It hasn't been used yet, so who is going to be first, and see if it works?!

Feed Them to the Cannibals Mon. 5th 2.30 This is a welcome opportunity to catch this documentary on the big screen, complete with footage cut from the T.V. version. The Australian Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is shown in all its glory with this unique view of a lavish event which takes us into all of the backstage organising and the on-stage antics. As actor Alan Rickman said, "Let's close down England for the day and all go!" (Dir: Fiona Cunningham Reid. Australia, 1993. 70 mins.)

http://www.iftn.ie/festivals/dlgff/gayfeatures.html

This is my first attempt to post a link, so if it doesn't work please be kind.

Chris, thank you so much for posting the photos. The site looks great!

I'll break the GB down when I get back home from Christmas. I didn't realize that I hadn't done it at the beginning of this month. oops..

I'm not sure what's with the dates. It does this once in a while. I'm not sure if it's my ISP doing something at his end. Maybe it's related to the GB being so big. Unfortunately, it too will have to wait til I get back home in a couple of days. Neit her my parents nor my in-laws have a separate line for their computers and I feel too guilty tying up their phones for more than a few minutes.

I hope to spend next week children and hubby and work being cooperative in updating and adding major stuff to the page so that the new and spiffy pages can be unveiled New Year's weekend.

I just checked TV Guide on line and found out the following:

Thank you all for coming and visiting and lending your individual touches to what has to be one of the most diverse, yet cohesive guestbooks I have ever seen.

I was surprised to read that "Dogma" has not started filming yet. There is a theatre here in Houston that has it listed as a coming attraction. Does anyone know if there is another movie by that name?

I'd also like to ask a favor: an old friend of mine was recently the victim of a hate crime--gay-bashing. Although he's out of the hospital, it will be a long time before he mends in body and in spirit. The favor? Say a little prayer--to the diety of your choice--that '98 brings a little more love to this sad old world. It's obvious that we could use it.

All good wishes, d

Nes Gadol Haya Sham . . . "A great miracle happened there."

And when I see how well all the guestbook denizens generally get along,considering the differences in age, nationality, background, etc.--I'd say a great miracle happened here too!

Happy Holidays,

Re: Nancy's poem, I said I choose Sinclair. But it occurred to me that an evening of listening to Brandon read poetry, bathed of course in candlelight, sounds awfully appealing.

I know AR's never reprised a role, which is probably smart, but wouldn't a whole movie about Ed, the Painter, be fun? That was such a great character, and we saw so little of him.

Hope everyone has a great holiday. I'm so pleased I found this guestbook at last.

I have to tell you that I too am married to one of those men. He is incredibly capable and masculine, loves the outdoors, teaches jr/sr high wood and metal shop, is a blacksmith and metal scuptor. He also does 90% of the cooking, 99% of the shopping, serves me breakfast in bed every Saturday morning, and cries openly at all the same movies I do. Take heart, they're out there, I met him totally by accident 10 years ago while visiting an out of town friend =)

nature or nuture? He is, by nature, kind, caring, funny and interested in people. I think his nuture was very important but not in the home. He spend formative years "growing up" as a "back to the land hippie" in the 70's. He has returned to his middle class roots but kept the best of those experiences with him. Nuture, then, can happen early *and* later. oops, hope I didn't gush too much. I *do* know many such men who have been attracted to the kind of place I live. Take heart, searchers!

I saw the following from Debora, "My lucky M7, I'm happy for you, but, sorry, the envy is stronger:may I poison your next tea?" and was saddened and stunned. Please rethink comments like that - they are incredibly hurtful even when meant in fun. Writing an entry into the GB is NOT the same as blurting a statement out - you have enough time to reconsider your thoughts. That's what the RESET button is for. Please, since this is Christmas Eve Eve (!!) and since Hanukkah starts tonight and all sorts of good times are kicking in, please be considerate of your fellow posters' feelings!

I just thought I would be a little off-topic and wish everyone on the GB a MERRY CHRISTMAS and/or HAPPY HANUKA (whichever applies)!!!

In fact, Ms Law's only worry was that their hypersynpathetic relationship would somehow interfere with the film, "Alan may have been concerned that we were too easy with each other to play the parts, she said, "that it would in some way affect us - we wouldn't have enough grit in the oyster"
But Mr Rickman, who also directed the play here at the Almeida Thater in 1995, said that casting Ms Law & Ms Thompson in the film had been simply "common wisdom".
"I wouldn't have dreamed of castin both of them if I had not had the greatest respect for them, separately, as actors", he said in a telephone interview. "But there are so many added bonuses, the things you really only see in editing, things like a turn of the head, the silent body language between two people who are very comfortable with each other."

I also consider my husband a remarkable man. He loves sports, has huge appetites of all kinds, suffers fools in neither gender, and appreciates women as people.

He had no unusual relationship with his mother or sister. No close childhood female friend. But he came of age watching the movies from the 30's and 40's on late night T.V. Movies with Rosaline Russell and Barbara Stanwyk and Myrna Loy as fiesty and intelligent partners for the men in their lives. He was always very sure that that was what he wanted from his mate.

Relevance to the GB?

I'll side-step the "nature v. nurture" argument for the time-being (believe what you like, but I'll take empirical proof, thanks), but there is an issue I'd like to address.

I am married to a man who genuinely likes women. Call him a "feminist"? You can, I suppose--no one would refute it, though it implies a politicization that may or may not be appropriate. However, there is no doubt that he likes women, respects women, and, to a great degree, understands women.

It has been my experience that many men love women, but few of them actually like them.

My husband's close friends are, almost exclusively,of the "female persuasion", and his friendships are deep and abiding. Why? He says that it's because conversations rarely turn to football or hockey, but I suspect it's something more. Ah--they're more verbal. (He's answering the question as I type.) (He says) he thinks that because society factors in a higher degree of emotional expression for women, they are more honest (with themselves) about their feelings...fewer facades. And they're more fun t o look at.

Ah. Well. Of course.

Did I mention his sense of humor?

I also have a very close friend (male) who prefers the company of women. A gifted and successful actor (you know at least the face and probably the name), he's also a phenomenal photographer. His portraits of women are astonishing, and they say as much about him as they say about his subjects. They are a kind of love-making.

There are many men who say they love women--and who am I to say they don't? But give me a man who *likes* women, who respects and appreciates us in conversation and in the workplace and in bed--*that's* the man for me.

Applause to you,

The Winter GUEST! My screen saver says The Winter GUEST!

Needless to say, all during the trip up to NY I kept imagining what the day might be like. I have to say it far exceeded my expectations. I envisioned waiting an hour or two in line for 10 seconds with Alan. Being able to stay there the entire time he was there, get as many autographs as we wanted, and get as many photographs as we wanted, not to mention getting a second chance to say something intelligible to him, was far beyond anything I imagined. I wholehartedly agree with Gilda: I WANNA DO IT AGAIN, I WANNA DO IT AGAIN!

For those who want them, here are a few more details:

We've mentioned that Alan sort of appeared suddenly out of nowhere. He stood there for a minute then walked behind the table. Before he sat down everyone in the line (or should I say the queue?) applauded, which was nice. He seemed to appreciate it.

The first time I went up for an autograph I believe I said "How are you?" and I believe Alan said "fine." I was in quite a fog at that point though, so I can't be sure of the exact words.

The second time I went up for an autograph I also mentioned to him that my screen saver at work says "The Winter Garden." It's part of my effort to encourage people from the office to see the movie.

As I've mentioned, Jean and I were seated on a bench to Alan's left for much of the time. Gilda kept coming over to sit down. A couple of times she almost made it, then she'd pop back up again and say "I can't sit down." She never could bring herself to sit.

1997 is certainly a year I'll remember. For several reasons it was not a particularly good year for me. I find it ironic (and wonderful) that it's ending with such a bang. In less than a week I saw my absolute favorite celebrity in the whole world, got a new job, and got a new pet, none of which I was expecting. I'm assuming this is a harbinger of what 1998 will bring.

Nancy, thank you so much for the poem. I love it! (I pick Sinclair.)

But I must credit the man with having the discipline and courage to stick with a career in the arts -- a dicey proposition at best. He didn't come out of the womb knowing what he knows, he had to train and study over a period of years. And I'd love to hear, someday, of all the auditions he failed. While some part of artistic talent, in my opinion, is obviously genetic in nature, the shaping, honing and disciplining of that talent is strictly up to the student himself or herself.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the lands
Not a creature was stirring - except for the fans
Of a talented actor of English persuasion ...
To be more descriptive, a tall male Caucasian.

The word had gone out from the jolly North Pole
That Santa, in his annual quest for those souls
Who best typify "Christmas" in this day and age
Had chosen the folks on Karina's Guest Page.

"You express yourselves well, with great humor and tact,
You soothe ruffled feathers, you're sticklers for fact,
You're a mini-U.N. of all races and creeds,
And yet you are mindful of each other's needs.

"Such worth merits pleasure, I'm sure you'll agree.
And so, by the power invested in me,
You will each spend a day (and a night, never fear!)
With a character from Mr. Rickman's career."

Indescribable scenes! Such sweet torment of choice!
Some didn't care which, "'cause they all have The Voice,"
But others were torn between hearing the cello
And the challenge of making Hans Gruber more mellow.

Some hankered for Marston, some wanted Sinclair,
There were ladies attracted to Mesmer's long hair.
And a right rowdy bunch would have paid any tariff
For an evening alone with the raven-clad Sheriff.

There were loyalists too, who'd made vows to their lads,
And even in fantasy wouldn't be bad,
So they planned a chaste night with the Colonel, good man,
As he waxed all rhapsodic about Marianne.

But as for the girlfriends who opted for Slope,
Hans, the Sheriff, Valmont and Rasputin - let's hope
That they know what they're doing - "a bit of the rough"
Is all very well, but enough is enough!

A dance with O'Hara, a tango with Sei,
A chance to tell Hamlet, "Now listen, I pray,
Leave Elsinore now, my sweet Prince, don't delay,
You'll spare your own life, though you may spoil the play."

A cough drop for Jamie, to save his young life,
For Sinclair, a faithful (and brotherless) wife,
The Ireland of his dreams for Eamon de Valera,
The return of his Stella to P.L. O'Hara ...

In a just universe it would happen like that,
But we're not quite there yet - so it won't - and that's that.
It was all just a dream, gone like sand down a gorge -
But you can't cancel Christmas (not even you, George),

To the M7: Thank you for all your wonderful pictures and your accounts of last "Glorious Sunday." And special thanks to Chris, for the many hours she's spent floating in the IRC! And especially for the poster!!! *sigh* :-)

Sunday morning: The trains were on time, and I'm bouncing happily down Park Avenue to Borders, but I see no line. "Well, they must be all huddled in the foyer..." Empty. What is this? KelClancy and Andrea finally make it about 30 minutes later (subways we ren't cooperating), and we mill around inside, looking for someone who knows what's going on. What was surprising to us was that for something "so big," no one could tell us where the thing was being held, how it would be conducted, and (we found out later) they didn't bring enough books! On our quest through the bookstore, we met Jean ("You're here for Big Al, too?"), then went off for some tea. We got back in some semblance of a line, yet there still was no "big" crowd until about 11:45.

12:30 finally arrived, and so did Alan, and we all were just flabbergasted that he arrived on time and looked so real! I mean, where were all those television lines I'm so used to seeing? We were already in some sort of line, and Jean and Michele went relatively first; we let "Nutcracker" Christine in ahead of us because she had to leave, though we wished she'd stayed because she was a lot of fun to talk to for that short period.

I was fourth in line, sort of shoved in there after I tried to get Andrea to go ahead of me; I was suddenly scared! I said, "Hello!" and he returned a sincere, smiling "Hello!" back. I said it was great to finally meet him and that this was such a treat, "thank you for doing this," was all I remember that I kept saying, which was so dumb! All the questions I considered asking just flew out of my head. Unbenknownst to me, KelClancy was snapping pictures left and right. When he went to sign my book, he asked my name and I said my name the way I pronounce it--"Jilda"--but I didn't want him to spell it that way. So I spelled it G-i-l-d-a, and he said, "Oh, like 'Radner.'" And I said, "Yeah," because I get that a lot. I blubbered something else about the Winter Guest and he said something back, but I'm still in a fog over how it went. I then gave him a small package with a proposal I worked up regarding the Almeida and told him the reason why I was giving him a copy as well as the theater was because he was my inspiration for it, which he smiled at and thanked me.

I walked out of the way for Andrea go up, but I didn't know there was anyone in the room at that point! As Michele said, we went up for seconds when we realized we could have the promo poster signed as well. It was just a dream. Somehow I became the resident photographer, taking pictures with other peoples' cameras, and I had the feeling he was thinking, "Why is she taking so many pictures?" We got together for the group shot, and there was someone behind me nudging me to get closer to him, but I couldn't manage it. The bookstore people were so great to us--allowing us to get our stuff signed, taking the group shot of us--and I can't thank them enough.

I just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everybody out there. This has been a really fun year with, no doubt, no doubt, a lot more to look forward to in the coming year (Rickman in L.A? Please, oh please, let it be!). With TWG coming out on Christmas Eve (and the first night of Hanukkah!), I imagine things will really be buzzing when I get back.

One thing: over and over, the surprise at how "nice" and "funny" Rickman is.

Andrea: Talk about an exciting weekend for you! Emma didn't appear on "Today" so don't worry about viewing your tape. I'm going to keep tuned throughout this week and next...just in case. If I happen to see anything, I'll let you know!

And many thanks to the M7 for the fun reports. It makes us all feel like we were there with you! Well, we can dream...

Having seen plenty of dismissive, titanic egos in action, I only meant to say earlier that I thought Alan Rickman's accessibility, friendliness, and authenticity--particularly with female fans--was out of the ordinary and very, very welcome.

I'm on line after Gilda. As she steps away, a Border's employee asks my name and takes my copy of the screenplay. She tells AR my name and hands him the book. He smiles at me and says "Hi. How are you?" I can only manage to repeat it back to him: "Hi. How are you?" Checking that he has my name right, he asks "Andrea?" I say: "Yes. Andrea." He autographs the book and hands it back to me: "And where are *you* from?" I answer: "Long Island, New York. Not far." (First two people on line--Jean and Michele--were from DC.) I place my letter on the table in front of him and explain: "This is a copy of a letter I sent to you in August. I didn't know if you received it." He looks down at and touches it with both hands, fingers outstretched. After scanning it, he looks up at me and simply says: "No." I smile and say: "Well. You've got it now." We both laugh. He places my letter on top of the package Gilda gave him. I say "Thank you" and step aside .

Chatted with the rest of M7 for the next hour, while AR continued autographing books, posters, photos, whatever people wanted. He posed for photos and showed infinite patience with cameras that took forever to "click."

Once the line was gone and M7 were still there, Gilda asked him about a group photo: "It would be my pleasure." He walked in front of the table and leaned against/sat on it while we gathered around. After the photo, we all said "Thank you." He approached each of us in turn, and shook hands saying: "A pleasure to meet you."

As he leaves the room: "Enjoy the film."

Nothing to be done but hope Rickman flogs TWG here in LA. The SoCal TARTS would, I'm sure, make a formidable showing.

On the other hand, thanks to Gilda, I can at least see a few of your faces! (His I already know!)

I'm jealous, but at the same time, I couldn't be happier for those lucky 7! I'm looking forward to checking out those pictures when they come out.

So now, who can tell me what kind of radio station made the announcement of the book signing (jazz, NPR, ??). The kind of stations I normally listen to wouldn't even think to mention something like that and I definitely do not want to miss out if AR comes to the L.A. area.

I wonder if by "no robotics" People means they'll check for multiple votes from the same computer? Would they be able to tell? What they can do is check for and eliminate multiple votes for the same combination of "Most Intriguing" and "Least Intriguing." I'm beginning to suspect it's a big rigged anyway, at the top at least - who are those people?

I wouldn't say there was any kind of rule of thumb. They certainly know at which point to kick and at which to stroke and always to ask for more and when to stop and know what questions to ask and to have a vision, a personal vision, but one that isn't fascist.

Do you not have to be autocratic in a certain sense?

You've worked very unusually with at least three directors from quite different cultures.

I'm beginning to think a certain measure of masochism is involved, because they're all wonderful directors but all barking in one way of another. I mean it's pretty challenging when you go to Ang Lee at the end of a scene, just before he's about to go into the middle of a field and do some Tai Chi before lunch--where he eats chicken and pink iced buns and somehow retains the body of a whippet--and he says, "Alan, be more subtle; do more." Which is not long after he's said to Emma after a scene, "Try not to look so old," and Kate Winslet's first note was, "Never mind, you'll get better."

And Sturua of course is used to putting the plays on when they're ready in Georgia. So that means for Hamlet six monts maybe. We gave him five weeks. And I had to go to him after the end of the first week and say, "Robert, we have a problem." "Yes, Alan, what is it?" "Well, we've only got five weeks and..." "Yes?" "We're still on Act I Scene I." "So?" "Well," I said, "I haven't done anything, and there's...you know...four acts, and we haven't set any of the text." "But I don't worry about you." It's this faith that you're sudd enly going to produce a performance from nowhere. And there's a kind of tyranny, too, because in come the critics on the first night, when the play should have been called Rabbit in Headlights, not Hamlet at all. So it's tough but great.

Ninagawa introduces you to a completely different way of working, again much faster. He hates breaking for lunch, but likes to start at eleven and work till three. So it means you can go to the launderette, answer mail, come in awake and then work really hard and fast till three or four c'clock and stop.

In RHPOT when you hammed up the part of the Sheriff...

Hammed up?! I was working from my centre!

When you stole the show from Kevin Costner. Did you know you would do that, and why did you not let that stop you?

I remember one day Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had been watching a scene of mine and she'd just come from doing a scene with Kevin and she said, "I wanna be in *his* film!" You'll have to ask Kevin Reynolds. Why didn't he stop me? No t that I thought there was anything to be stopped. I don't see acting as competition. What I did in it was suggested by the script. I got on with it and had fun.

How did you find it directing your friends and fellow actors? And were you always able to keep the film as your top priority?

Says who?

What does difficult mean to you?

I think films are hugely influential. It's interesting today, on the way here, being told that the sense of the Edinburgh Festival being a theatre event is much less this year , and that of it being a film event is much more. That seems to me a general, not necessarily permanent, trend. I think British theatre is fantastically lazy and self-regarding and film is not, at the moment. There's a new energy, a new looking outwards. There are some great new young writers in British theatre, but it's a bit like a tennis racquet in working sideways, then batting it towards the film industry. I really get worried when people say--when they talk about a piece of theatre--"And the good thing is, it's only an hour and a half long!" I remember happily sitting for three or four hours in the theatre, so I do think something fundamental has happened to people's attention span and I think some mixture of film and television is to blame for that . I don't know that it's the film makers, but producers are making a great deal of money out of big action movies and it's the money that's all important. While I was making my film, I tried not to think about these pressures, but it's impossible not to when at six o'clock the phones and faxes start coming in: "Why didn't you make your shots? You're a day and a half behind...?!"

How much freedom did you have from the producers?

We really do need a frozen sea in this film. Of course you can achieve that in a certain way in the theatre and Robin Don did give us a wonderful suggestion of frozen sea. But on film, we had to do it by building fifty to seventy-five yards of real frozen sea and then the computer and the brilliant work of D-Rez in Los Angeles stretched it from the seventy-five yard mark to infinity. And it isn't just a kind of fixed shot. It was great to take a piece of writing and let it breathe in a different way. I hope it doesn't betray its origins and people say, "Oh yeah, it's just a play on film, really." I hope that it is a wonderful piece of writing given a new identity.

You've never been a snob about high art and low art.

Faynia Williams: What was the pitch that actually got TWG off the ground?

Alan Rickman: Emma Thompson. Well, you have to be honest, and the fact that she was going to play a relationship with her own mother. Also, the quality of the writing. It was a beautiful play.

What kind of preparation do you do for a theatre performance...for film?

...Peter Barnes always says film is like working in water colour, whereas in theatre you're working in oils.

Renie: As it turns out, I have a bad case of "So near, and yet, so far" myself--I'd be jeopardizing my return flight to attend the signing.. However....

Rickman does indeed know where SoCal is--and if I were a betting woman, I'd bet on an appearance here...perhaps Borders (West Hollywood), B&N (Santa Monica or Westwood) or Brentanos (Century City--a stone's throw from Nakatomi Plaza). Or Duttons (Brentwood).

For people in cities starting with an "F", it might not be a bad idea to use the initial of the state you're in. In my case, it would be CARTS (C for California).

Melissa pointed out a while ago that Sharman MacDonald is the one we never hear anything of in the promo of TWG--that's a shame, and should be rectified.

This is OFT, but it would be fun if AR appeared or at least attended. This post also comes with a big fat warning that this event has been spoken of before and postponed. At this time, the venue (MSG) is not disclosing details or selling tickets. *Ult ra*-iffy, folks.

1: Peta Wilson, 1326 votes

2: Renee O'Connor, 1213 votes

3: Hudson Leick, 947 votes

4: Hanson, 889 votes

5: Roy Dupuis, 792 votes

Using the toughest analysis possible, I'd say there is some truly silly ballot-box stuffing going on! Our Lad is at 64 now, and unless we get about, oh, 1400 more votes, he hasn't a prayer!

Just returned from the People site. The Beloved is at 66 with a rocket. Keep voting, loyal legions!!!

Melissa, you didn't dream that plot synopsis, I read it here also =)

Sandra, thanks for the JK bit. It helps to put the actors into their places a bit. Looking forward to it=)

Great fun links happening with cookbooks, reviews, shortstories (I'll be there Claudia, once the holidays are past and we get my Mother in law moved into her own house)

Looking for some info(again). I'm leaving for London next month (can't believe it's so soon) and I wonder if you could tell me what to see and what to buy. I'm coming from the land of population few, population of Rickmaniacs fewer. We can't buy even Mich ael Collins from here. So I guess that's first on my shopping list. But what else..? Is CL or CME or something similar available? Books? I try to get tickets to Almeida but is there anything else I should know about?

All other tips also(not Rickman related) will be accepted with gratitude. Thank you in advance. Please respond via e-mail, I don't have the chance to visit GB so often and I don't want to take the space...

Emma and Phyllida will be guests on "The Rosie O'Donnell" show next Tuesday, 12/16. This runs on different stations and at different times, depending on where you live. Check those listings! I've also heard rumors that Emma will be on "The Today Show" ( NBC, 7-9am) on Tuesday, 12/16, as well. Might be worth a watch (or two)!

I'm actually looking to see if anyone out there (crossing my fingers) has a copy of AR's appearance on Arsenio Hall and/or his appearance on Good Morning America w/ Joan Lunden (he was promoting Robin Hood at the time). This is something I would *love* to see, and would gladly send tape and money to cover postage and/or dubbing fees.

E-mail me if this is something you have and would be willing to share with a Die Hard (!), yet *fairly* new, Rickman fan(atic). Many thanks...and cheers to all!

HEADLINE: Top German talent working in Hollywood BYLINE: By Jack Kindred; DATELINE: Munich BODY: While German directors Wolfgang Petersen...and Roland Emmerich,... have long since successfully answered the siren call of Hollywood, two famed German actors are seeking similar renown by appearing in separate TV movies currently shooting in wild and woolly Tinseltown. Til Schweiger, whose last German opus "Knockin' at Heaven's Door" was a huge box office and critical success, toplines an American cast including Emma Thompson, the female lead, in the thriller "Judas Kiss". (snip) In "Judas Kiss" (working title), Schweiger plays Ruben, a small time crook who with his three partners scheme to kidnap Bill Moore, the head of a booming computer firm, to extort a cool three million dollars. Their plans go awry when Coco (Carla Gugina) shoots dead the wife of Senator Hornbeck, played by Hal Holbrook, calling the Federal Bureau of Investigation into the case. An FBI Agent, Sadie Hawkins (Emma Thomson), is charged with the task of rescuing the kidnapped Bill (Greg Wise), while FBI detective David Friedman ( Alan Rickman) investigates the murder. Bill's firm decides to pay up, but the case becomes complicated after the ransom handover from a speeding train fails to bring the kidnappers happiness. The four friends become bitter enemies. (snip)

What a great story, isn't it just the way? Please feel free to email me and tell me about what you're doing in Seattle. I left there 8 yea rs ago but it's still my city and we're plotting a get together soon.

On the other hand, there are a good dozen patois that are indigenous to the area around N.O., and who knows which he locked onto and decided to use.

A old friend of mine does v.o. work for commercials...he's got an amazing ear for regionalisms. If I get a chance, I'll ask him if he recognizes the accent in use.

Off-topic is fine here, also, to a point. Obviously this page should center on His Rickmanness, but most of the off-topics that turn up are usually short and often of interest to a number of others who frequent our domain. On the occassions where the off-topics have threatened to overwhelm the guestbook, the major particiapnts have taken the discussion to e-mail (with the notable exception of the creation of FoF).

sigh...

You can't accurately judge a film from its script, particularly a draft.

The film may well expose him to a new, younger, audience. (I think we're calling them "Gen Y" this week.)

Appearing in "Dogma" signals his willingness/ability to work with a new generation of directors.

The cast is interesting...if they're signed and it's not just a wish list.

It's a paycheck. (And let's not forget that Her Majesty gets half.)

And thanks to those of you who have written and haven't heard from me for a while. My mom broke her hip 6 weeks ago, and I've been playing nurse. I'll be back in the swing very soon, plus I'm putting up some related Alan links on my page later tonight for you to peruse.

Anyway, I have found the transcript for the CNN story. I don't have the film, but I'll be glad to e-mail the file to interested parties. It's a little too long to clog up Karina's page. E-mail me off the page if you want it.

"Dark Harbor" is another indie which was shot in/around Dark Harbor, Maine. Plot: a triangle. Cast: Rickman, Polly Walker (or maybe the last name is Draper...I get the Pollys confused), and the fellow who's doing all the Prada ads, who looks to be big, blonde, and blank. (Perfect contrast to AR, no?)

I've had entire years go by that I've barely spoken with family and shamefully neglected friends, all for keeping up with production schedules.

Donna, there are two obvious options here:

1. Your letter to him is lost in the mail.

2. His response to you is lost in the mail.

Also, Melissa, am I right in thinking that O&L was a Booker prize winning novel? That would make the third Booker prize winner made into a movie that Ralph has been in.

"The very word 'cold' suggests a need for warmth," says Rickman, whose "Winter Guest" cast features Emma Thompson and her real-life mother, Phyllida Law. "Cold increases people's vulnerability." The film's opening scene tracks Law as she walks through the snow and stumbles across frozen ground toward the dying fishing town where her daughter lives. "It introduces you to a character that is utterly alone. All she has is her little bag and a fierce will to get somewhere." (snip)

Filming in the cold is no easy challenge. Lee's "Ice Storm" crew, working in 80-degree heat in the spring and summer, was forced to manufacture the icicles appearing in much of the movie. Rickman actually filmed "The Winter Guest" in terrible weather, and Thompson resorted to microwaving her boots to guard her feet from frostbite. Yet the real test is not managing the weather but integrating it into the story, making it more than incidental set dressing. (snip)

"The moment somebody hugs someone else or there's a tear is unbelievably visceral, because it's breaking through that weather," says James Schamus, who produced the "Ice Storm" and adapted Rick Moody's novel. "I think it's totally appropriate that people are watching the movie in the winter season." (Robyn's note: Schamus co-produced S&S)

"It's not meant to be a comforting time of the year," says Rickman, who originally directed "The Winter Guest" as a stage play. "It's the kind of weather that pushes emotions to the extremes. You lose a lot of mental capacities -- it pushes you to the edge." The cold makes the human need for connection and comfort even more profound. The four pairs of characters in "The Winter Guest" want to warm their hearts, not just their hands. (snip)

Weather doesn't necessarily have to be visual. Using glass and computer synthesizers, "The Ice Storm's" sound effects team created a haunting assembly of cracking and tinkling sounds, suggesting ice is insinuating itself everywhere. Conversely, Rickman had to remove sounds of crashing waves from some "Winter Guest" coastal scenes, since one of the major features of a frozen sea is that it makes no noise. (The frozen sea backgrounds were added to the film by special effects artists.)

In the "Independents" pu blication, for Nov./Dec '97, there are blurbs on O&L and TWG: "In our speeded up work, Alan Rickman's directorial debut, TWG, is a beautifully made reminder that life is made up of small moments. ET, who can take a small moment and make it enormously powerful ..." (snip) "'It was hungry to be made into a film,' says Rickman, of his movie and he should know. The movie is based on a play written by Sharman Macdonald, which he directed in London.... " "We've taken an intimate sotry and given it an epic back lot," explains Rickman. As for the casting of ET in a role so close to her bones, the play-as-film was the thing. As Rickman points out, 'She wouldn't do it out of sentiment.'"

I was wandering aimlessly and I came across this reference: "... popular american (sic) Patrick Stewart Fan Club called the DSPSG (Disgusting Slavering Patrick Stewart Groupies)..." Well. At least we have a better name, eh, Rickmaniacs?

Emily: Where are you in beautiful NC? I'm born, raised, educated and escaped from there! DC Maniacs: What's up with the pilgrimage to Planet Hollywood? I'm definately up for it. Maybe we should warn them first! Remember the Willard? ;>

Julia in Calgary: I'm surprised to find another RS fan. I was even more surprised to discover he was once married to "Miss Brodie."

To the admirers (sp) of Monty Python: I can't believe the collections of esoterica we all have swimming around in our heads! I think the Highwayman reference we are looking for was the "Dennis Moore" sketch, where Cleese is a highwayman who steas-- flowers.("Stand and deliver!") He gives them to the poor, who eventually set him straight and send him back for money. I also remember the "Man wi' nae trou" sketch where old ladies are lining up to peek under the Scotsman's kilt.

I was intrigued by the fact that almost all the overheard conversations in the foyer before, after and during the interval, were to do with Rickman. A student at RADA was speculating that Rickman was going to take over from Dickie Attenbourogh as Chairman of the Board because he was always there teaching and offering advice, an American couple (who ended up sitting next to me) were asking the advice of an usher on how to get Rickman's autograph, (I'm sure they were only there for him as they didn't seem to know much about theatre), and two women were complaining about having travelled from Newcastle just to see Rickman.