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It looks like Mr. Rickman will be in Los Angeles on January 8. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association organizes the cable portion of the semi-annual Television Critics Association (TCA) Tour, held in Los Angeles each January and July. The meetings provide credentialed television writers and trade reporters with a preview of upcoming high-quality, original cable programming and an opportunity to speak with talent and network executives. [This from their website.] The upcoming event is 6-9 January, and the current schedule lists the following:
Thursday, January 8, 3:15-6:15, HBO, Hollywood Ballroom
[. . . after "Iron Jawed Angels" with Hillary Swank and "The Sopranos" and before "Elaine Stritch at Liberty" . . .]
SOMETHING THE LORD MADE
This HBO Films production, set in Baltimore in the 1940s, is based on the true story of a black lab technician (Mos Def) who through circumstances of race and poverty was denied a formal education, and his groundbreaking work with a white surgeon (Alan Rickman) that revolutionized cardiac surgery. Directed by Emmy Award-winner Joseph Sargent. Panel to include:
Mos Def (Vivien Thomas)
Alan Rickman (Dr. Alfred Blalock)
Robert Cort, executive producer
Georgiana
Seattle - Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Copyright 2003 Reed Elsevier Inc.
Variety
December 22, 2003 - January 2, 2004
SECTION: LEGIT REVIEWS; Abroad; Pg. 58
LENGTH: 958 words
HEADLINE: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
BYLINE: MATT WOLF
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The principal offender, sad to say, is Harris, a watchably idiosyncratic film actor ("Sylvia," most recently) here making a far-from-enviable West End debut. To be fair, one hardly expects a retread of the performance that made a star two decades ago of Alan Rickman, against whose glowering, deeply etched languor Harris looks almost manic.
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Georgiana
Seattle (off in the morning for Cape Cod) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Copyright 2003 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San Francisco Chronicle
DECEMBER 21, 2003, SUNDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: SUNDAY DATEBOOK; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 1316 words
HEADLINE: THE TALENTED MR. MINGHELLA LOOKS BACK
BYLINE: Ruthe Stein
With no formal film school training, Anthony Minghella, who began his career writing for British television and theater, learned to direct movies on the job. After 12 years and
five movies, he's gained perspective on his lessons, whether it was choosing the right material or the right star.
On a visit to San Francisco with his holiday feature, "Cold Mountain," Minghella reminisced about earlier work, starting with his impressive debut feature, "Truly Madly
Deeply," through "Mr. Wonderful," his Oscar winner "The English Patient" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
"Truly Madly Deeply" (1991)
This enchanting story of a woman unable to get over the death of her boyfriend outclassed and outshone "Ghost." Juliet Stevenson stars as the grieving girlfriend, and Alan
Rickman makes a hypnotic ghost as the lover who won't let her go. Minghella wrote the script for Stevenson, whom he had worked with on TV.
Minghella: " 'Truly Madly Deeply' was rather like making a home movie for me. It was very small. It had a tiny budget and took us 27 days to shoot. I knew absolutely
nothing about filmmaking, and yet making the film was so quick and so simple. I sometimes wonder why I have made it so hard (in later films). Where did I go wrong if it's so
easy? Part of it was that wonderful lesson of not knowing. I didn't know what I was doing. I just trusted the actors and trusted the writing. I knew that I cared about what I'd
written, and I was surrounded by my friends. It was very uncluttered. I shot it with nobody around. I cut it and nobody saw it.
"There was a wonderful moment when somebody from Paramount looked at a particular sequence and asked, 'What's your coverage on this sequence?' And I didn't know
what he meant. I didn't know I was supposed to do more than one shot.
"The central idea (of the ghost) was almost secondary to me. I wanted to write about the way people find each other -- which is not created by blood or tribe or creed or color
but is created by compassion. And I also wanted to show the underbelly population of London -- the Brazilians, Chileans and Argentineans who live there. Not the posh
England, but the real England."
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Georgiana (I'm not sure he is the lover who won't let go . . . )
Seattle - Sunday, December 21, 2003
Copyright 2003 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times
All Rights Reserved
Los Angeles Times
December 21, 2003 Sunday Home Edition
SECTION: TV Times; Part TV; Page 3; Calendar Desk
LENGTH: 852 words
HEADLINE: Cover Story;
Do You See What I See? Christmas Specials;
Concerts, classic movies and family programs make these holidays just like the ones you used to know.
BYLINE: Jay Bobbin, Special to The Times
The 12 days of Christmas are dwindling to a precious few as Dec. 25 approaches. With that in mind, here are 12 of the top remaining yuletide attractions that networks will
present in the days to come.
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12. "Die Hard" (next Sunday, Fox): This 1988 action hit may not seem a holiday movie at first blush, but consider that its story line, a takeover of a Los Angeles office building,
unfolds on Christmas Eve. Bruce Willis' New York police detective intends to have a yuletide reunion with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) but runs into lots of trouble thanks
to a stylish thief (Alan Rickman) and his gang.
And that's not all: Willis and Christmas don't have it any easier in "Die Hard 2," which also takes place in December.
Georgiana
Seattle - Sunday, December 21, 2003
Copyright 2003 Dallas Observer LP
Dallas Observer (Texas)
December 18, 2003 Thursday
SECTION: Calendar/Columns
LENGTH: 933 words
HEADLINE: Last Supper
Send 2003 out with a bang
12/19
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Nothin' says Christmas spirit like Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman blowin' shit up. Nothin' says bonding like the sharing of Hostess Twinkie ingredients between officers of the law over radio waves. And nothin' says lovin' like Willis' John McClane and estranged wife Holly (played by Bonnie Bedelia) making amends after a Christmas Eve of mayhem and terrorism. All's well that ends well, right? Well, at least until the sequels come around. So, before the demanding relatives arrive and the turkey is thawed, the Inwood Theatre, 5458 W. Lovers Lane, offers an action-filled midnight romp with showings of Die Hard (that's right, the original "40 stories of sheer adventure!") on Friday and Saturday night. It's a little preholiday escape for those of us who need some mindless entertainment and too-easy cowboy jokes to get us ready for the upcoming craze. It's a $7.50 fight against evil, and we get a heap of clever-sounding accents and some eye candy to boot with Rickman's skinny, yet menacing portrayal of head villain Hans Gruber. And there's also the chiseled dancer's form and flowing locks of the late Alexander Godunov as his right-hand man, Karl. Willis, though his pursed lips can be ever-so-annoying, turns a classic performance combining grit, lowbrow one-liners ("Take this under advisement, jerk weed!"), physical prowess whilst being shoeless and, of course, that good ol' Americana. Maybe we were young enough to find it mesmerizing upon its original release, or maybe we're still just obsessed with Russian ballet dancers, but Die Hard has established itself as one of those flicks we'll flip to when it's on TBS as a Sunday movie and watch the entire thing. But in this situation, when given the opportunity to watch Bruce turn badass, Rickman do his own free fall and a gun-toting Godunov on the big screen before effects became mainly the tricks of pixels, we'll pass our green through the ticket window and yell..."Yippee-ki-yay!" Call 214-764-9106. --Merritt Martin
Georgiana
Seattle - Thursday, December 18, 2003
Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times (London)
December 18, 2003, Thursday
SECTION: Features; Times2; 18
LENGTH: 522 words
HEADLINE: Films
BYLINE: Stephen Dalton
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RASPUTIN (TVM, 1996) BBC One, 12.10am; Except N. Ireland
Filmed on location in St Petersburg, Ulrich Edel's superior TV biography of the notorious "mad monk" of pre-revolutionary Russia won three Golden Globes and three Emmys. Alan Rickman pulls out all the stops as Rasputin, a charismatic and manipulative mind-reader whose sinister influence on Russia's ruling Romanov dynasty leads inexorably to his bloody demise. Co-starring Ian McKellen and Greta Scacchi, Rasputin tinkers liberally with history and fails to challenge many of the myths surrounding its subject. But it looks magnificent, and contains an unusually rich amount of political context. (135 min)
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Georgiana
Seattle - Thursday, December 18, 2003
Copyright 2003 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The Express
December 16, 2003
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 36
LENGTH: 684 words
HEADLINE: OBITUARIES MICHAEL KAMEN, MUSICIAN; CLASSICIST REVERED BY ROCK LEGENDS
BYLINE: JULIA LLEWELLYN SMITH
MILLIONS of people have heard composer and conductor Michael Kamen's work, even though they might not know his name.
The musical director for the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace, his other achievements included composing and conducting the music for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and writing the scores for some of the most popular films of our time, including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. For television, he composed the haunting theme for the 2001 television series Band Of Brothers.
His best known work was (Everything I do) I Do it For You, which he co-wrote with Bryan Adams and Mutt Lang. The signature theme for the film Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves, it won an Oscar nomination and spent 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the British charts.
Gregarious and ebullient, he collaborated with rock stars including Bob Dylan, Sting, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Coldplay and The Eurythmics, wrote ballet scores and conducted Pavarotti at his all-star Modena charity concerts.
"Michael was a gatekeeper to the strange and frightening world of the orchestra for those of us who had only worked in rock bands, " says Sting. "If you dared to approach that world of orchestration, you'd do it through Michael Kamen - he could arrange and produce strings but he also thought like a rock musician."
The son of a New York dentist, he began his musical training at the age of two, studying the piano and the guitar. By the time he reached New York's prestigious Juilliard school of music, he was studying the oboe. Enchanted by the Beatles while still a student, he formed the New York Rock And Roll Ensemble, which fused rock and classical music.
When the band split after seven years he was invited to write a score for the Harkness Ballet and David Bowie attended the show's premiere, as a result of which he recruited him as music director of his lavish 1975 Diamond Dogs tour of America.
KAMEN became an expert in adding a classical polish and gravitas to projects rooted in rock music. He made the orchestral arrangements for Pink Floyd's original recording of The Wall and later collaborated with them on The Final Cut and The Division Bell. When Metallica needed a conductor and arranger for their hook-up with the San Francisco Symphony, he was the natural choice.
The 1999 album of the event sold more than four million copies and the orchestrated version of their album The Call Of Ktulu won him a Grammy in 2001.
The film world adored him for his sense of musical spectacle and his ability to work under pressure - he produced the 100-minute score for the 1994 film The Three Musketeers in three weeks.
Memorable songs he wrote included Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? from the 1995 film Don Juan De Marco.
With his grizzled beard and long corkscrew curls, his attitude was rooted in the hippy era. "Music has a great capability and a responsibility to heal, " he once said. "It's not just to make people rich and not just to make people dance. It's to celebrate our ability to live in peace and harmony."
In 1997, he put the sentiment into practice, establishing Mr Holland's Opus Foundation, named after the Richard Dreyfuss film for which he wrote the soundtrack, to supply musical instruments to children. Last year in London, where he had lived since 1982, he organised When Love Speaks in aid of RADA, turning more than 50 Shakespeare sonnets into pop songs and persuading an astonishing range of artists from Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman to Bryan Ferry and Annie Lennox to read or sing them.
Kamen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago but kept his illness a secret until earlier this year. "They talk about MS patients being overwhelmed by fatigue but I think my life is so filled with stimulating things to do that fatigue just doesn't enter the equation, " he said in one of his final interviews.
He died at home of a heart attack and is survived by his wife, Sandra, and two daughters, Sasha and Zoe.
Michael Kamen, born New York, April 15, 1948. Died London November 18, 2003, aged 55.
Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Copyright 2003 Telegraph Group Limited
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
December 15, 2003, Monday
SECTION: Pg. 21
LENGTH: 612 words
HEADLINE: Erotic thriller falls horribly flat
BYLINE: By Charles Spencer
Theatre Les Liaisons Dangereuses PLAYHOUSE THEATRE
SEDUCTION, sex, betrayal, depravity - how could Christopher Hampton's superbly elegant adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos's shockingly erotic epistolary novel fail? Well it can, as this dismal revival testifies.
The RSC's production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses was one of the most thrilling hits of the Eighties, and those who saw it are unlikely ever to forget it. Hampton brilliantly caught the glamour, the glittering wit, the malign sexuality and mounting sense of evil in Laclos's scandalous masterpiece, first published in 1782. And with matchless performances from Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan as the scheming aristocratic double-act intent on corrupting innocence for kicks, and Juliet Stevenson as their principal victim, Howard Davies's production created a thrill of dark, disturbing pleasure. No wonder the show ran for almost 2,000 performances in the West End and was turned into an Oscar-winning film.
But this lame, limp revival tramples all over one's memories of a night of dangerous, compelling allure.
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Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Copyright 2003 MGN Ltd.
The Mirror
December 12, 2003, Friday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 12
LENGTH: 54 words
HEADLINE: 3AM: SURVEILLANCE
BYLINE: JESSICA CALLAN, EVA SIMPSON AND NIKI WALDEGRAVE
THE entire Manchester United football team tucking into a special pre-match meal of chicken and pasta at the city's swanky Midland Hotel... Bob Geldof having lunch at the
Bluebird in Chelsea... Alan Rickman, left, using a cash machine on Tottenham Court Road... Hugh Grant walking through Hammersmith tube station.
Georgiana (It appears Mr. Rickman is still in London.)
Seattle - Friday, December 12, 2003
Copyright 2003 Telegraph Group Limited
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
December 04, 2003, Thursday
SECTION: Pg. 09
HEADLINE: Most women admit they are suspicious by nature
BYLINE: By Sarah Womack Social Affairs Correspondent
NEARLY one woman in two has searched her husband's pockets or read his mobile telephone messages without his knowledge, according to a survey published today.
In the same way as Emma Thompson in Love Actually rifles through a jacket belonging to her husband, played by Alan Rickman, and discovers his looming infidelity, women admit they are suspicious by nature.
But if they had an affair and became pregnant 73 per cent would not tell their husband that the baby was someone else's.
A poll of 5,000 women, entitled the National Scruples and Lies Survey, claims that most women have "warped morals". Ironically, the more women lie, the more suspicious they become.
Nearly a third of women say if they wanted a baby and their partner did not, they would lie about using contraception. A fifth have checked her husband or partner's e-mails and one in 10 has even followed him to find out what he is doing.
Only a quarter of women think that their husband or partner has done the same.
The survey was commissioned by That's Life magazine. The average age of the women polled was 38.
Seventy per cent of women admit that they get drunk at the office Christmas party, with a quarter flirting with their boss.
[PS]News: [ES]
Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, December 08, 2003
Copyright 2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited
The Guardian - Final Edition
December 6, 2003
SECTION: The Guide, Pg. 39
HEADLINE: The Guide: Preview: Theatre: Les Liaisons Dangereuses LONDON
BYLINE: Mark Cook
Sublime sex, seduction and backstabbing returns to the West End after two decades with a revival of the legendary 1980s production Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Christopher Hampton's absorbing nastiness, based on the novel of Choderlos de Laclos, reigned at The Ambassadors Theatre, running for almost 2,000 performances, before being made into two rival films. It certainly did no harm to the careers of Alan Rickman, who went on to play a slew of sleazy villains, and Lindsay Duncan, who cornered the market in revengeful froideur; Polly Walker, Jared Harris and Emilia Fox are the throbbing threesome this time around. Will this strike as big a chord as it did in the selfish 1980s? mc
Playhouse Theatre, WC2, from Fri 12
Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, December 08, 2003
Copyright 2003 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The Express
December 6, 2003
SECTION: LEADER; Pg. 15
HEADLINE: LEADER; DOC SHOWBIZ
BYLINE: DOC SHOWBIZ
Richard and Judy show viewers voted Bill Nighy's rendition of Troggs' classic Love Is All Around the song they'd most like to see as Christmas number one. That's the kiss of death then. The song's merits have split opinions of the other stars of the movie. Alan Rickman said: "I wouldn't listen to a radio station that played that." And Colin Firth added:
"I don't think I'd spend a lot of time with it. It's designed to hurt the eardrums." But co-star Gregor Fisher declared he'd "play the song from the rooftops" if it came on the radio. Playing Bill's manager in the film he would say that, wouldn't he?
Georgiana (Thanks, Renie. Back home for a while. Lovely visiting Suzanne in her lair!)
Seattle - Monday, December 08, 2003
Copyright 2003 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The Express
November 14, 2003
SECTION: COLUMNS; Pg. 43
LENGTH: 123 words
HEADLINE: DAY & NIGHT; DAY & NIGHT
BYLINE: KATHRYN SPENCER, JULIE CARPENTER & KATE BOHDANOWICZ
MAKING the Harry Potter films comes as a welcome release for normally seriousminded actors. Jason Isaacs, who plays evil parent Lucius Malfoy, enthuses: "I love doing Harry Potter. While we were making the last one it was me, Kenneth Branagh and Alan Rickman, all mincing about in wigs and gowns, all trying to out-ham each other. We were like children throwing tantrums. I said, 'If Alan gets to have a cape, I want a cane'. They insisted Lucius didn't have a cane in the book but I stomped my feet until they gave in and now he has a cane.
"The set is just a big collection of great British actors in a constant battle over who gets the most extravagant wig, cane, cape and false beard. It's a luvvie's dream come true!"
Georgiana
Seattle , - Monday, December 01, 2003
2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited
The Observer
November 16, 2003
SECTION: Observer Magazine Pages, Pg. 18
HEADLINE: Observer Magazine: INTERVIEW: NATIONAL TREASURE: Misery and mediocrity may be his specialities, but audiences love Simon Russell Beale.
BYLINE: Geraldine Bedell
Simon Russell Beale stands on stage, his cardigan wrapped around him for protection. The gesture seems to spill over with all the things it expresses: egotism, the fever of ambition, disappointment and a terrible, never-to-be-admitted sense of mediocrity. How does he do all this, with just one cardigan? He is small and squat. His face is pudgy-featured, malleable, plain. His voice is unthrillingly ordinary, not Richard Burton mellow or Alan Rickman sinuous. Yet, despite all these apparent disadvantages, Simon Russell Beale is almost certainly the greatest classical actor of his generation.
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Georgiana
Seattle (and I thought in "Jumpers" a near perfectly suited role.), - Monday, December 01, 2003
Copyright 2003 Express Newspapers
Daily Star
November 17, 2003
SECTION: COLUMNS; Pg. 13
HEADLINE: THE GOSS; LUVVIES ACTUALLY
LAST night saw the greatest gathering of British luvviedom since the BAFTA's for the UK premier of Love, Actually in London's Leicester Square.
Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightly, Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman are among the top-drawer names who star in Richard Curtis's romantic comedy.
But it was Martine McCutcheon who stole the show. Arriving on the arm of her boyfriend James Tanner and looking radiant she gushed about working with Hugh Grant, describing him as exciting before admitting they "still send each other dirty texts for a laugh". She added: "I've dreamed of hearing my name called in Leicester Square since the age of eight and if I don't ever do anything else in my life - tonight will be enough."
Hugh Grant arrived laughing with co-star Emma Thompson before hinting he had a new love in his life.
When asked about his personal life he said: "There are people waiting in the wings." And when probed if it was someone special to him he said: "Not that I wish to reveal."
Other celebs who turned up included pregnant Ulrika Johnnson who admitted she's craving digestive biscuits, Vic Reeves and Nancy Sorrell, Simon Cowell, Ben Elton and Daniel Craig.
Love Actually is released at cinemas on November 21.
Georgiana
Seattle (The 50-odd reviews of this film will have to wait until I have more time...), - Monday, December 01, 2003
Copyright 2003 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The Evening Standard (London)
November 21, 2003
SECTION: ES MAG; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 880 words
HEADLINE: A Londoner's Diary
BYLINE: RICHARD CURTIS
The week started with the cast-and-crew screening of Love Actually.
Cast-and-crew shows are always a strange affair. Everyone watches for their particular piece of the film, so when the sound was one frame out of sync, I thought: 'Oh God, the whole sound department will be in trauma' as indeed they were. And when the print was a little bit blue, I knew the camera department would be in shock, as indeed they were. As for the actors, all actors hate the first time they see a film. Talking to Alan Rickman, he says he thinks the film is fine apart from the one hideous, disastrous mistake of casting him and the awfulness of every frame of the film he is in.
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Georgiana
Seattle (momentarily--just back from London and off to San Antonio and a brief visit with Suzanne), - Monday, December 01, 2003
Copyright 2003 Telegraph Group Limited
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
November 21, 2003, Friday
SECTION: Pg. 23
HEADLINE: 'Dad loved the anarchy that children bring' Actor Richard Harris was a powerful life force who affected everyone around him - not least his son Jared. Maureen Paton meets him
BYLINE: BY MAUREEN PATON [Recognize the name? -ed.]
For someone about to play the sexually predatory part that nearly killed Alan Rickman, Jared Harris is looking remarkably cheerful. We meet in a cad's lair known as the 007 suite at Blake's Hotel in Kensington, so called because Roger Moore and George Lazenby have both stayed there - though not, of course, at the same time. "What a story that would have been, eh?" quips the waggish Jared, stretching out like a big, sandy-haired cat on the sitting-room sofa and sipping red wine.
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Georgiana
Seattle (momentarily--just back from London and off to San Antonio and a brief visit with Suzanne), - Monday, December 01, 2003
