Alan Rickman Guestbook

Secret Agent was terrible (and I had looked forward to it eagerly because of Christian Bale who is excellent). I was at the premiere at Toronto Film Festival. The narrative was so hacked up and the editing so obtuse that when CH and Bob Hoskins took questions after it was over, they were things like, "At the end, did Gerrard Depardieu jump off the train?" or "What were you selling in the store?"

What can you do with a script that has an openly homosexual man (Jonathan Pryce) trying to steal a kiss from a noticely younger woman (Emma Thompson) whose opening salvo was, "I wish I'd been born a boy"?

Obviously they're confused - and Hampton's script is confused - and as a result we're confused.

The added attractions of moviefinder are the search facility and drilldown capabilities to movie summaries, reviews (looks like mostly Roger Ebert), availability of video/laserdiscs, ordering info, movie theaters, video stores etc.

Concerning the E! Online reviews, it's hard to take them seriously when, for Michael Collins, they say, in part, "...Neeson ... easily outshines a cast that includes Julia Roberts, Aidan Quinn and Alan Rickman doing work that definitely won't appear on their future résumés." No person takes credit for that remark. It's the E! Online review. Hard to believe; isn't it?

BTW, during a post, you can click on the back button to see the guestbook, then click forward to continue your comments without losing them. You can also click on return to the guestbook, then click on add, and your unfinished comments should still be there (at least mine are) until you finish your post (or click on reset.) Hope this helps.

Let me explain further - I have a lovely picture of Col Brandon as my wallpaper on the PC, and when turning my computer on, my husband saw the picture, and said to the boys "oh, no, not that dork again" (obviously he is extremely jealous that I have pictures of AR everywhere, and not of him!!

1. I'd like to order Paton's paperback version. Which Web site is the safest when it comes to giving out a credit card number? Are there any that can be recommended in terms of safety and proper delivery?

2. Debbie: You purchased DH in letter box form and found no new footage or interview. What exactly did you purchase? A video disc? A video tape? Tell us what you purchased so we can avoid it!

3. Better yet, can someone detail which format definitely contains the new material?

4. And lastly, for a really nasty review, check out Pauline Kael's opinion of a certain actor in Heart of Darkness: "As Kurtz, Marlon Brando gives us his beached-whale imitation..."

I just found out that my company, Mobil, is co-producer of the new film "Mrs. Brown", working with the people at Masterpiece Theatre. This got me to thinkin'... Maybe a bunch of (U.S.)maniacs could politely request that Masterpiece Theatre could offer "Mesmer." If nothing else, a few letters could at least bring the film to their attention. I'm going to send one myself, with reviews enclosed. If you driven folk are interested, the address is below:

Rebecca Eaton, Executive Producer, Mobil Masterpiece Theatre; WGBH; 125 Western Ave.; Boston MA 02134

I warn you all: This is going to be a long post. Ellen, this is in no way an attack on you. I respect your opinion on the Paton book and how we have jumped on it. However, I feel I need to get on the soapbox for just a bit to justify my venom. From reading your past posts, I know you're a writer. I've been a newspaper reporter and have published articles in other publications, but for most of my career, I've been a copy editor. My credo is to work on copy with my red, green or brown pencil (ink, IMHO, is too conceited) 1 inch off the page, putting it on paper only when necessary. I greatly respect all authors and the time they put into their work as I hope they would me and my work.

Upon beginning my copy-edit over the weekend, I realize that the beginning does offer lots of tidbits most of us never knew, but from what I remember of the first read, the rest of the book concentrates on some things that aren't so important and on others that are geared toward a small audience. For example, the rest of us didn't have a clue what was going on regarding the Riverside project; it's like she was picking up at some point in the middle of the story. In my edit, I would cut out the gossipy stuff about Alan's rift with that associate (don't have the book in front of me; I can't remember the name), and I'd ask her to put in the contents of that flyer he passed out to people on the street. What did it say? What did his proposal for the project actually say? I think those kinds of things would give us better insight to Alan's personality and convictions. And these are not things that couldn't be easily found in someone's records; they were certainly made for the public then.

First off, Paton isn't aware of the audience she's writing to; she doesn't understand the throngs of fans out there know a lot about Alan Rickman through gathering articles and pictures. I became very interested in him from RHPOT, but I didn't follow his work much after that because he wasn't easily in the spotlight. The Internet now makes that very easy. I wanted to see TMD when it was released, but it left the theater almost as soon as it arrived. It wasn't until Rasputin was shown that I picked up my interest again. So, from March to October 1996, I became a voracious reader and collector of Rickman articles, pictures, plays he's done and their reviews, etc. I learned so much about him that when I heard about the book, I expected to have a lot of gaps filled in.

Second, Paton's editor did not have enough knowledge of the subject matter to question her on many issues. That's the problem with many editors for unsuccessful books like this one. I had the same problem with a friend's book that was recently published and had quite a few factual errors and typos in it. I reedited it after it was published, and the corrections were made for the second printing, but it all could have been avoided had the editor used his spell-checker and didn't rush through the book to make deadline. He also should have worked with an editor to check the facts. Books have a long shelf life, and authors need to have their facts straight and complete if they want to keep it on the shelf.

Third, to Paton's credit, I'm sure she contacted scores of people to write this book, and many of Alan's closest friends probably didn't participate out of respect for him and his privacy. That's why there are no interviews between Paton and Juliet Stevenson, Rima Horton, Sharman McDonald, etc. I'm sure Lindsay Duncan would have had quite a few stories about LLD to tell if she wanted to tell! But all we got were quotes from previously published articles. Now, to chastise Paton, I have scores of articles where she could have quoted some amazing stuff to enrich her book. Just check Kelclancy's page for proof, since we collected a lot of that stuff together.

There are so many problems most don't know about when it comes to publishing a work, and one of the evils in any genre is that dirty word: Money. Money can keep a work from being its required length because the publisher wants to save money on paper and printing; money can keep a writer from continuing his/her research because they can't afford it; money can turn someone's dream to create a good piece of journalism into a quick way to pay the mortgage. I don't know what Paton's or her publisher's intent was, but I feel duped and cheated out of $26. As much as I could see an effort put into it and I appreciate her revealing some things that I didn't know, I want to show her how she could have made this an extraordinary book without adding extra pages to it.

OK, end of my tirade. Again, Ellen, no disrespect to you at all.

Secundo: Ellen, Your sentiments do you credit. You are obviously a woman of compassion and tolerance; however, when an author goes on record (by publishing a work) she is opening herself up to criticism (in the technical sense of the word). She, of course, hopes that the criticism (the reviews) is positive and that she will make money from her efforts. The reading public is under no obligation to fulfill these desires. I do believe that the critiques of Ms. Paton's book here have tended to the personal, but we are private individuals writing for other private individuals, not professional reviewers. I think that in the context of this web site, personal opinion is an appropriate factor by which to judge Ms. Paton's writing. I believe that had she thoroughly researched her subject and stuck to the facts, even if she still portrayed Mr. Rickman in an unflattering light, she would ave been better trreated here. It seems poetically just that her book, badly-researched, badly-written, badly-edited, is a work based primarily on her own opinions and it is the opinions of her readers that, without regard to her feelings or professional standing, she received. In short, she has received no worse here than she subject her subject to, and we weren't paid for our opinions. Had Ms. Paton written with more professionalism and thought for her subject, she would have been received with less approbation whether we agreed with her conclusions or not. I don't mean this to be an attack on you, Ellen. As I said, I think highly of you for expressing concerns that we have been unkind and unfair to Ms. Paton. I agree that we have been unkind; I disagree that we have been unfair.

I was also glad to see that he is with a soul mate. Someone that he has so much in common with, that they are your best friend. That is so rare,and so precious - something that is strong, even though there are millions of women dreaming about him every night!!

Guestbook Update

The current guestbook and previous month's will always be available for online viewing.

I forgot to look at the name of the lucky lady going to London in October before I got in here. Anne? Elizabeth? Whoever it is, thank you for your generous offer. I think that yours is the perfect solution. As soon as we get things in order, I'll get the book to you. Any suggestions about an inscription (preferably something that won't cramp up Dad's hands too badly. - Renie, Dad's hands aren't as nice as ARs, but they are distinctive, quite nice, and can be seen in the movie at the visitor's center at Shiloh Battlfield. He is both "General Grant" and a country bumpkin pointing "they went thataway" in that film.) Totally off-point, but kind of fun for those of us who know him.

Eva, now that you've told us how to ask "How are you" (I am assuming that your posting was a plural), what is the proper response? Just curious.

Laurie, Kind Hearts and Coronets! Brilliant!!!! It's a great movie in its own right (and I adore Sir Alec), its about time for a real remake of it (I don't consider Jerry Lewis quite the thing; I'm glad that they changed the name.) and AR would be perfect!!!!

Please forgive the exclamatory tone of today's post; I do get carried away sometimes.

Eva, dvorden har du dey (sorry, that's the closest that I can get, Ive never seen it written and if HTML does diacritical marks, I don't know how). That's the only Danish I know and now you can laugh at me! Your english is better than that of many Americans, so put your mind at ease. As for standards of beauty, I think that although in reality men's tastes do differ, their brains are "hardwired" to be much more visually stimulated than women's brains are. I am not making a judgement, just a studied and documented (by the scientific community) phenomenon. Also, the same stimulus can trigger different parts of the brain in men and women, so perceptions are necessarily different (at least in those cases). It undoubtedly stems from the biological fact that infant children can exist without a father but not without a mother (for nourishment). The fact that technology has made that biological fact obsolete has not changed the biology in question. I realize that my opinion is of no intrinsic value, but here it is nonetheless. I'm afraid that you struck on one of the threads that fascinates me (medicine in general and brain mapping in particular). Sorry for the lecture. I got carried away!!!

I too just finished M&S. I'm so anxious to see the glimpse of something more, in a character one would otherwise despise, that AR always manages to suggest. In my mind's eye AR is perfect. Strickland is not cruel, merely totally self absorbed and totally involved in his inner search and struggle. It's as if life, the need for sex, illness, the needs of others are irritating intrusions.

I'm off to the ocean for a week and will miss my daily visit here, look forward to catching up when I return.

Lynne: Thoroughly enjoyed reading, and re-reading, your latest chapters of The Uninvited. You are an incredibly talented writer. My co-workers assume I am sighing over some work-related problem. Hah!

Noel, I really enjoyed meeting you this weekend. We'll have to make it a regular occurrence. Thanks for the printout. I was definitely going through "Guestbook withdrawal." As for the RH:POT book, if I find it first, I'll buy as many copies as they have so that we have an known source (me) for them. (I started to write "an easy source" but I was afraid that Mary Anne would have a field day with that unfortunate turn of phrase. *grin*)

Jean: I bet he's going to Prague to be seen. TWG coming out soon and other projects coming up. Perhaps he feels a need to have his face in the public eye again.