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Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times (London)
July 26, 2003, Saturday
SECTION: Features; Play; 3
LENGTH: 661 words
HEADLINE: Hinds sights
BYLINE: Pauline McLeod

When not visiting Parisian galleries, Ciaran Hinds loves to watch the work of Kieslowski, Kurosawa and Loach

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I saw The Elephant Vanishes by Simon McBurney, who runs the Theatre de Complicite, at the Barbican (London, EC2) recently.

The stories were very simple on one level, but set against a background of the brutality and violence of the modern life we lead: full of traffic, noise, pollution, fast food, videos, etc. It was quite amazing. I remember clearly being held in a spell for two hours (and that was only the first half) -by Les Liaisons Dangereuses, again at the Barbican. This classical French play by Laclos, played brilliantly in English by Lindsay Duncan, Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson, took you to another place.

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Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 28, 2003

(Newell also directed "An Awfully Big Adventure."

Kimberly
- Monday, July 28th 2003

So, anyone with Sky Premier watch out for this and let us know for certain if Alan shows up! Sky Premier--is that available just in Britain? I know we don't have it in the States.
Kimberly
- Sunday, July 27th 2003

Kimberly
- Sunday, July 27th 2003

Hi All Here is part of an interview Deborra Lee Furness gave. While I cannot get to the movie I feel the emotion as much as the content would appeal to people here. Hopefully it gets picked up for some of the shows that feature short films on TV. I was thrilled to read her philosophy which I feel reflected what I said to Joan. Sometimes it is not the goal but the journey. I might be here because I am an AR fan yet it is getting to know other AR fans that make being a fan and sharing life - personally validating.

Link to Deborra Lee Furness Article

The film, Standing Room Only, which will be shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival, is about a group of people waiting in line to see a West End show by the "Man of a Thousand Faces". They are unaware that he is mingling with them and as the film develops (quickly) they become the stars of the show.

"I took an anonymous quote from the internet - 'between the wish and the thing there is life'," Furness says.

"It fitted my piece beautifully. My point being that we are always waiting for (something to happen) - 'when I get a dog or when I get married, that's when life will really happen' - it's not that. It is moment to moment.

"And the joy of this journey of people going to see their hero was that they had an amazing encounter with each other, they made friendship. And (it also says) that sometimes the thing you want is right in front of you and you don't even see it. There's lots of little sub-messages in there."

Janine (toe is better yet I cannot go out in the Melbourne winter bare footed brrrh cold and not stylish)
- Sunday, July 27, 2003

I have been away a few days so I do not know if anyone has posted Love Actually trailer on a French site???
Sue
England - Friday, July 25, 2003

Some DVD News: "Close My Eyes" will be released on dvd on October 14, 2003 in Region 1 format (US/CANADA). It's available for pre-order at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

I hope lots of extras are included!!
Kimberly
Michigan USA - Monday, July 21, 2003

July 18 Daily Variety includes:

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall

EXP, Michael Barnathan, Callum McDougall; PROD, David Heyman, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe; DIR, Alfonso Cuaron; SCR, Steve Kloves; DISTRIB, WB. 1492 Pictures/Heyday Films. 2/24, U.K.

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 21, 2003

Copyright 2003 Nottingham Evening Post
Nottingham Evening Post
July 18, 2003
SECTION: Features; Nostalgia; Nat'lpeople; Pg. 23
LENGTH: 584 words
HEADLINE: The Day When The Villain Was The Reel Hero

It's not part of the Robin Hood myth that the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham should arrive on a charger and save the day. But in the event, that's more or less what happened at the 'charity UK and European premiere of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, in Nottingham today in 1991. It was billed as a glittering affair, with guests paying £15 a head for a ticket to the Showcase, and a place at the after-show party at the Castle. But the major stars, notably Kevin Costner, who played Robin, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Marian) let it be known they weren"t coming. And hints that royalty might be there proved no more well-founded.

It was left, then, to Alan Rickman, who had stolen the film with his blacker-than-black portrayal of the wicked sheriff, to descend from a helicopter into the cinema"s car park, and steal this show too.

It was lines like: "Cancel the kitchen scraps for the lepers and orphans. No more merciful beheadings. And call off Christmas," delivered with a superlative snarl, that made his performance so memorable.

And his performance in Nottingham wasn"t bad either. When he stood on the steps of the Showcase to shake hands with the real Sheriff, Coun Shaukat Khan, it was a picture worth taking.

The film had cost 55m, with Costner reputedly paid 7m for his performance. But in Nottingham it was Sheriff 1, Robin Hood 0, Rickman"s arrival saving the occasion from being, well, a non-event.

Film critic Emrys Bryson, writing in the Post , noted: "For months there had been high hopes, plans laid, hints of royalty. People were invited to part with £15 a ticket. Proceeds to charity of course. All the same, the punters would expect something more for their money other than a glass of champagne.

"But it's an occupational hazard that things don't always pan out as they should. Royalty didn't materialise. And it was never seriously thought that Costner would come to the home of the man he was playing. Naughtily, though, one did just wonder whether he might just have managed to rejig his schedules if a royal had made it.

"The assembled media was promised a galaxy of stars to interview at a lunch in Sherwood Forest. Morgan Freeman (Azeem), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater (Will Scarlett), Brian Blessed (Rob Hood"s father). Plus four of the outlaws.

"They were Nick Brimble as Little John, young Daniel Newman as his son Wulf, veteran Walter Sparrow as old retainer Duncan and perky Jack Wild as Mutch the Miller.

"But the big names were tied up. The organisers turned pale. And it was left to the four merrie men to circulate and chat. They were great.

"The lunch was, too; haunch of Sherwood venison, Southwell Bramley mousse, and Nottinghamshire mints. That is, once jousters had swung from the trees and ambushed journalists still dazed from their champagne breakfast.

"Outside the Showcase the jousters formed a colourful troop of honour in the parking bay. Inside, the gallant foursome were still doing their stuff with vigour, now joined by the heroically built Michael McShane, a notable Friar Tuck.

"But then the surprise. Enter, by helicopter, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Alan Rickman the actor who steals the show from under Costner"s nose.

"The organisers breathed easier." Prince of Thieves was the latest in something like 50 versions of the Robin Hood story filmed up to that point, the first way back in 1909. Robin was later played by Errol Flynn, Richard Todd and Sean Connery.

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 21, 2003

Copyright 2003 NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD
The Sun
July 19, 2003
SECTION: CLARKSON ON SATURDAY; OPINION
LENGTH: 487 words
HEADLINE: CARRY ON? GET IT OFF!
BYLINE: Jeremy Clarkson

: OH no. Eleven years after the dreadful cheapskate Carry On films were laid to rest, it seems they're coming back.

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Why can't we understand in Britain that to make a film work you need a really bad baddy. Hollywood is always casting Brits as the villain so we have no shortage of candidates.

Alan Rickman. Anthony Hopkins. Brian Cox. Not Leslie Phillips, in other words.

And a really good goody. Then you pepper the story with some car chases, a hint of nipple and a huge explosion where the baddy dies. If the Americans can understand this simple formula, why can't we?

That said, my favourite film of all time was the very British The Long Good Friday.

I've wondered for years what might have become of Harold Shand and Victoria. Were they killed by Pierce Brosnan? And if they weren't, what are they doing now?

If someone wants to bring back an old name from British cinema history forget the Carry On caper.

Get on the phone to Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren.

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 21, 2003

Copyright 2003 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The Express
July 19, 2003
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 23
LENGTH: 1498 words
HEADLINE: AS SHE REVELS IN THE RED-CARPET TREATMENT WITH THE LAUNCH OF HER NEW HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER, THE BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM GIRL HAS REALLY HIT THE BIG TIME; WILL KEIRA BE OUR BIGGEST EVER STAR?
BYLINE: Additional research: NATALIE RICHENBERG

HOW MANY 18-year-olds can say that they've already worked with Johnny Depp, Hugh Grant and Ewan McGregor, particularly if just 12 months ago they were agonising about whether to continue with A levels?

Well, only one actually - and earlier this week she smouldered on yet another red carpet with yet another gorgeous leading man - Orlando Bloom - at the British premiere of Pirates Of The Caribbean, a multi-million-dollar Disney production also starring Depp that knocked Terminator 3 off the top spot in the US last weekend.

Walking the gang-plank looks certain to do for Keira Knightley what posing on the prow in Titanic did for Kate Winslet.

And if Keira - who is named after a Russian ice-skater who her father fancied - looked bemused by all the fuss her appearance with Bloom generated, it's hardly surprising. Two years ago she was just another unknown actress kicking a football around Clapham Common and wondering aloud whether the low-budget Brit-flick she was training for would actually happen. She had been cast as Jules, a soccerplaying teenager in a film with the catchy if tentative title Bend It Like Beckham; the inspiring story of two Hounslow schoolgirls determined to succeed in the male-dominated world of football. A surprise hit in America, it became Keira's international breakthrough and earned her Best Newcomer at the London Film Critics Awards.

Suddenly, casting directors were flocking to sign up her luminous looks and voluminous talent.

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As film offers flooded in - including a role in Richard Curtis's new romantic comedy Love Actually starring Hugh Grant - Keira reluctantly decided to leave college. "I've always been a snob about qualifications and it's the greatest irony that I left school before I could take my A levels, " said Keira this week.

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Keira was born on March 22 1985 in Teddington, Middlesex where she still lives with her parents. Her mother Sharman MacDonald, a Glaswegian actress, switched to writing plays after suffering badly with stage-fright. A protegee of Alan Rickman, she struck gold with her award-winning play When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout. It became a West End triumph starring Julie Walters. Her father Will Knightley is a television actor.

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Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 21, 2003

Copyright 2003 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The Evening Standard (London)
July 11, 2003
SECTION: ES MAG; Pg. 44
LENGTH: 1162 words
HEADLINE: FASHION

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Andrew Nebbett, 40 Andrew Nebbett Antiques Andrew Nebbett attributes his success in the antiques field to his family: 'My grandfather ran the interior design department at Harrods which gave me an appreciation of beautiful things, while my father was a scrapmetal dealer and taught me how to tie up a deal,' he says. Having first run a market stall in Newton Abbott in Devon, Nebbett opened his first London shop three years ago in Marylebone, an experience he describes as being 'very scary'.

Now his regular clients include Jamie Theakston and Alan Rickman. 'It's often seen as a posh business but I'm keen to break away from that image,' he explains, and says his style is 'eclectic.

Anything from the 17th century to the Fifties but always with industrial, minimalist and architectural themes to them.' Lighthouses are a particular favourite and his most successful find was a Gothic seat: 'I was convinced it was made by Pugin, the foremost British architect of the 19th century, responsible for the interior design of the Houses of Parliament. I bought it at auction for 10,000. My instincts proved to be correct and I later resold it for 25,000.'

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Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, July 16, 2003

A little bit more "Love Actually" news. According to one of the Firth-firsters sites, there will be a book published to coincide with the movie's release in November:

"Book to be published on November 6; with an introduction by Richard Curtis, the book features delicious extra bits of material, such as the out-takes and a look behind the scenes, stories of the actors' first loves and their favorite love songs. A 192-page trade paperback, with full-color photographs throughout."

Something to look forward to. I've also seen it for pre-order at Amazon.com.
Magda
Canada - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Here's the Aint-it-cool link. Annoying that every other story line gets described except the one we're interested in......
Magda
Canada - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

There are two new reviews of Love Actually(from audience previews)over at the Harry Knowles site- Ani't it cool news. com. Sorry can't do links. Both reviewers generally liked the film. Alan was mentioned in the second review. Not that great a mention. They also said that Love Actually is scheduled to open the same weekend as the third Matrix movie.
Troy08
Lewiston, Me - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

I found this audio interview of Alan. He talked about his role of Phil in Blow Dry. I hope this link will work.

link to audio interview with Alan on Blow Dry

Carole
Canada - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

I think it was Sonoma who recently mentioned the book, "Staging Youth Theatre: A Practical Guide," by Rex Doyle, with Foreword by Alan Rickman. Here is the brief foreword by our Alan Rickman. (Otherwise, the book has no mention or photos of him.):

"I first met and worked with Rex Doyle at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, when he directed me in his own play about the life of the great dancer Nijinsky.

Everything that makes Rex such a fine director and teacher was evident in that production. Meticulous research and great leaps of imagination. But perhaps most importantly it was a production that was guided at all times by Rex's openness and generosity towards the actors and his boundless gift for encouragement. And it was fun. The rehearsal room was by definition a market place for common sense, fleeting instincts, and mad ideas.

This excellent book is fed by exactly the same balance of the creative and the practical. Whether you need information on fund-raising, auditioning, running a rehearsal or making a prop, it is all here.

Youth Theatre continues to prove its worth not only in training young actors, directors and technicians, but also in developing the confidence and self-esteem of young people in a much wider sense. Dedicated youth leaders will benefit hugely from the guidance and inspiration which this book offers in abundance.
Alan Rickman"

Kimberly
Michigan USA - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Well, bust my buttons. I was just trying to find out the name of the children's book that Help! I'm a Fish is based on and I ended up finding the entire screenplay in PDF! If you're like me and really, really enjoy reading screenplays, you will find it here.
Ali-Pat
Dayton, OH USA - Saturday, July 12, 2003

Copyright 2003 Financial Times Information
All rights reserved
Global News Wire
Copyright 2003 Media Week
Media Week
June 26, 2003
LENGTH: 571 words
HEADLINE: TEAM OF THE WEEK: PEARL & DEAN

By Day

Pearl & Dean is synonymous with the big screen. You only have to hear the famous "Pa Pa Pa Pa..." to conjure up the whole cinema experience - popcorn, noisy teenagers, snogging in the back row.

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By Night

This year sees Pearl & Dean celebrating five decades as the most famous name in cinema advertising and the launch of the Pearl & Dean 50th Anniversary Initiative.

As well as affording the opportunity to support two charities close to Pearl & Dean - MediCinema and CHAS - with on-screen ad campaigns, the anniversary initiative has seen Pearl & Dean work with Pringle in producing a sell-out charity t-shirt.

Importantly, it also gave the team a chance to have a birthday party. The evening kicked off with a gala screening of the Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger romantic comedy Down With Love and the party continued in Red Cube and the St Martin's Lane hotel, where the Pearl & Dean team and guests hob-nobbed with the likes of Ewan McGregor, Sharleen Spiteri, Kiera Knightley, Simon and Yasmin Le Bon, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Alan Rickman.

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Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, July 07, 2003

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Clues from 'Potter' author

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling is dropping clues about what's in store for her characters. At London's Royal Albert Hall, she told 4,000 fans to watch out for Snape (played deliciously by Alan Rickman in the movies), as well as the dreadful Draco Malfoy.

"You shouldn't think [Snape] is too nice. He's worth keeping an eye on," she said, also warning that young readers "are all getting too fond of Draco. The dark forces are indeed rising."

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Georgiana (let's try the part it left out...)
Seattle - Saturday, July 05, 2003

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
July 5, 2003
Saturday Home Edition
SECTION: Features; Pg. 2G
PEACH BUZZ
LENGTH: 810 words
HEADLINE: Little physique rates big in Mr. Puniverse
BYLINE: RON FEINBERG
SOURCE: AJC

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Clues from 'Potter' author


Georgiana
Seattle - Saturday, July 05, 2003

Copyright 2003 TSL Education Limited
The Times Educational Supplement
June 27, 2003
SECTION: NEWS; No.4538; Pg.3
LENGTH: 335 words
HEADLINE: Did The Magic Start At Jk's Old School?
BYLINE: Adi Bloom

There is little obviously magical about Wyedean school in Gloucestershire.

But staff claim that the comprehensive, founded in 1973, is the model for the centuries-old towering spires of Hogwarts, the school attended by Harry Potter.

Harry's author, JK Rowling, was a pupil at Wyedean in the late 1970s. And staff believe its influence has stayed with her. John Claydon, headteacher, said: "This school is her secondary experience.

When JK Rowling was here, she observed very precisely what was going on.

There is no doubt that elements of our school are in the books."

He cites the house structure at Hogwarts, also an integral element of Wyedean: "The competition between houses, and the way sport is used for that, is a feature of our school. Both schools also use sport as a character-building exercise."

For Mike Thompson, a science teacher at the school for 30 years, the similarities between Hogwarts and the Wyedean of the 1970s are more explicit. "Professor Snape, the potions master, is undoubtedly John Nettleship, the head of chemistry," he said.

"He had a big nose, and long, dark hair, just like Alan Rickman in the film. He could be quite strict. He wasn't the most popular guy."

Similarly, he says, Madame Maxime, the giantess teacher visiting Hogwarts from France, has origins in the Wyedean staffroom: "The French teacher we had here was tall, with a big personality."

While Ken Smith, founding head of Wyedean, was clean-shaven, Mr Thompson believes that he shared certain qualities with Professor Dumbledore, the long-bearded Hogwarts head notable for his absent-minded wisdom.

"He was well-spoken and very well-read," he said.

The young Joanne Rowling was a high-achiever. In her final year at Wyedean, she was appointed head girl. But teachers at the school failed to spot any nascent ability for creating worldwide phenomena.

"Jo was quiet and worked hard," said Mr Thompson. "She didn't stand out as being exceptional."

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, June 30, 2003

Copyright 2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited
The Guardian (London)
June 28, 2003
SECTION: Guardian Saturday Pages, Pg. 9
LENGTH: 1315 words
HEADLINE: Saturday Review: Book of the week: Under her spell: Can JK Rowling maintain Harry Potter's appeal? Nicholas Lezard takes a look at her long-awaited new volume: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling 766pp, Bloomsbury, pounds 16.99
BYLINE: Nicholas Lezard

. . . . . . . . . . .

One question that had bothered me as much as anything else was whether these Muggle relatives were ever going to be granted a shred of humanity. In this book one of them is, if fleetingly; and so, interestingly, is Snape, whose cinematic incar-nation in the supremely charismatic form of Alan Rickman tells against his charmlessness in the novels.

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Georgiana
Seattle - Sunday, June 29, 2003

Here's a little snippet about "Standing Room Only" - it doesn't mention Alan, but we all know he's in it! The article is written from Deborra-Lee Furness's point of view.

""Standing Room Only", starring Hugh Jackman, Sophie Dahl and Joanna Lumley, will soon air on British television, on Qantas flights and film festivals in Melbourne, Prague and Berlin.

The film - which focuses on the sometimes strange interaction of people in the most banal of situations - was inspired by "the fun" the couple (Hugh and Deborra-Lee) had last year in lining up for hot tickets to a Broadway play."
Gaye
Adelaide, South Australia - Saturday, June 28, 2003

Copyright 2003 Microsoft Corporation
Slate Magazine
June 23, 2003, Monday
SECTION: the book club
LENGTH: 3044 words
HEADLINE: Harry Potter and theOrder of the Phoenix
BYLINE: David Edelstein and Polly Shulman

A Bleak Beginning By 6/23/2003 3:23:18 PM

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Before discussing Order of the Phoenix, let's get those bland movies out of the way, shall we? This is the first Potter book to appear since the films were released, and, like you, I had a hard time getting the actors and the sets out of my head. I wonder if Rowling had the same problem: I couldn't shake the thought that she was crafting Snape's lines to be read in the wearily fey, sneering tones of Alan Rickman. It's much more fun to visualize your own Potter universe than to have it all pinned down for you by the faces and voices of actors "or, more damagingly, by director Chris Columbus and FX giant Industrial Light & Magic.

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Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, June 25, 2003

****SPOILERS****SPOILERS****SPOILERS****SPOILERS****

Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times (London)
June 25, 2003, Wednesday
SECTION: Features; Times 2; 18
LENGTH: 585 words
HEADLINE: A tale of two Potters...
BYLINE: Sarah Johnson

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX By J. K. Rowling. Bloomsbury. Pounds 16.99; 768 pp. ISBN 0 747 55100 6. Times Bookshop Pounds 13.59 (p&p Pounds 1.95) 0870 160 80 80

Sarah Johnson gives her verdict

Before the fourth Harry Potter book was published, J. K. Rowling promised that a significant character would be killed off in it. Would it be Hagrid, the giant gamekeeper? Superswot Hermione (please)?

In the end, the promised climax was a bit of a squib.

This time around, she was at it again, and this time claiming she was in tears after writing the death scene. Tears of frustration, maybe. The scene in question is like one of those fight sequences at the end of a Bond movie: you pass the time by counting the bodies. Nor do I believe for one moment, despite Rowling's protestations, that anyone at Bloomsbury has the courage to take a blue pencil to Harry Potter.

Most of the first one hundred pages of Phoenix could have been cut: despite being set in a magnificently creepy old house, it is the dreary bickering between characters about who didn't know what that makes the reader want to scream. As for Harry's development -"Harry is very, very angry," Rowling had warned us: her way of indicating this is to write his angrier speeches in CAPITAL LETTERS.

The plot is tired, with difficult holes. We are to believe that the loving, forgiving, Weasley parents have become capable of disowning one of their children. We are to believe that Harry spends the whole summer holiday taking the wizard newspaper, The Daily Prophet, but never reading further than the front page.

Professor Dumbledore, Harry's headmaster, promises at the end to "tell Harry everything" -his revelation amounts to little more than that the evil genius Lord Voldemort has it in for Harry personally. As my children would say, "well, duh."

But, leaving aside the CAPITAL LETTERS, Rowling's writing has improved since Book Four. Harry's first -disastrous -date and his promised "first snog" are sweetly written, with sensitivity and humour. No longer is an adverb tacked onto every single speech verb, a tic that made Goblet about a fifth longer than necessary.

A few flashes recall the fresh, energetic imagination of Rowling's first book: "Sirius sustained a bad bite from a silver snuffbox"; "the Ludicrous Patents Office"; "a Crup: a creature indistinguishable from a Jack Russell terrier except for its forked tail".

And having previously taken swipes at the media, Rowling now takes on modern education-speak, for this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is an evil government lackey who replaces real learning with "Course Aims" such as "Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use". This wizardry equivalent of "study skills" is, of course, useless.

But how can we ever feel quite the same about Professor Snape, the sinister Potions master, now that he has been brought to the silver screen by the thinking woman's sex-god, Alan Rickman?

Rowling's response is simply to make Snape a bit more angst-ridden, and more ugly; he comes dangerously close to an anti-Semitic stereotype. The revelations about his unhappy childhood are not wildly surprising.

But as the Times literary editor Erica Wagner has pointed out, surprises are not what Harry Potter fans want. As long as Harry and his chums still end every book sharing Chocolate Frogs in the Hogwarts hospital wing, it does not really matter around whose sickbed they are gathered.

Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, June 25, 2003

20 June 2003 Daily Variety: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban continues to be listed as "Filming outside the U.S."

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, June 23, 2003

Copyright 2003 Scottish Media Newspapers Limited
The Herald (Glasgow)
June 21, 2003
SECTION: Pg. 16
LENGTH: 625 words
HEADLINE: Radio Stark reminder of a great talent
BYLINE: Keith Bruce

BY any measure - and certainly in terms of Scottish column inches (a broader measure than that used elsewhere, I'm sure you'll agree) - it has been a wonderful week on the wireless. BBC Radio Scotland's Edi Stark applied her gently forensic quizzing skills to Scotland's first minister, Jack McConnell, last Sunday and was rewarded with what was probably his most personal, frank, and revealing interview since he took office.

Its content has been picked over in the news pages but it is worth adding that Stark is one of a group of women who give the station its character and its strength. Alongside Lesley Riddoch, Janice Forsyth, Ruth Wishart, and Siobhan Synnot, Stark is one of those whose broadcasting skills are probably insufficiently praised. It also bears pointing out, although it grieves me to do so, that the guys don't approach the same standard. The announcement that Clare English is returning to Scotland to alternate with Forsyth on the daily Arts Show will only exaggerate the imbalance, and is bad news for Radio 4, where her PM partnership with Eddie Mair is the most effective on that network. If only the programme that preceded Stark Talk had been half as good. Given the material, it certainly should have been. A Hard Act to Follow (Radio Scotland, Sunday) was billed as a tribute to Giles Havergal, a week after the artistic director cleared his desk at the Citizens' Theatre, and included not just the inimitable tones of the man himself but contributions from a host of respected associated thesps including Alan Rickman and David Hayman. Many voices were initially unidentified, however, a device that was more irritating than stylish. Rather than concentrate on the man and his work, Caroline Barbour's programme tried to give a flavour of the Gorbals theatre itself and signally failed, not least by not including any actual drama, darling. This was quite inexplicable since Radio Scotland has in its own archives some of Havergal's best work - his adaptation of P G Wodehouse's Summer Lightning and his radio version for the millennium of Karl Kraus's The Last Days of Mankind - made in collaboration with producer Dave Bachelor. . . .

Georgiana (Magda, a big week for Scotland! Did you happen to hear this one?)
Seattle - Monday, June 23, 2003

Copyright 2003 MGN Ltd.
The Mirror
June 21, 2003, Saturday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 8
LENGTH: 333 words
HEADLINE: PARLY POTTERLIKES

WITH Harry Potter mania sweeping the nation the Mirror can exclusively reveal that many of the characters from the famous books can be spotted in the Scottish Parliament.

With his ability to disappear when things get tough, use sleight of hand to fool his enemies and magically worm his way out of trouble, Harry would go far in Scottish Politics.

He could even wave his wand over the crisis-hit Holyrood building and make the whole thing disappear - or at least stop any more money being spent on it. Sadly, our Harry Potter lookalikes have none of the magical powers to be found at Hogwarts.

But they could teach the young wizard a trick or two when it comes to the black arts of politics. So here's our guide to the Harry Potter lookalikes currently running the country.

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SNAPE

THE evil, slippery professor, played by Alan Rickman, is a match for most MSPs. For his part in the Holyrood fiasco, and because he looks a bit like Rickman, it has to be Jack McConnell. . . .


Georgiana (for Magda)
Seattle - Saturday, June 21, 2003

There's an interesting article with a photo of AR on the BBC website, titled 'Potter world lives online'.

Lyn
Maine USA - Friday, June 20, 2003

Copyright 2003 The Southland Times Company Limited
The Southland Times (New Zealand)
June 12, 2003, Thursday
SECTION: FEATURES; OPINION; Pg. 6; And Another Thing
LENGTH: 435 words
HEADLINE: So many possibilities
BYLINE: FALLOW Michael

WHO is J K Rowling going to kill on Sunday week? Her new Harry Potter book passes to the twitching fingers of her legion of worldwide fans at 11.01am on Saturday, June 21, but since it's evidently a big brute, it will probably take all but the most ardent readers until the next day to discover which of the central characters succumbs to the vile Voldemort.

I like Rowling's books, partly for the writer's craft, largely for her imagination, and a little bit for her essential decency. Dark though the material sometimes is, the core messages honour not magic, but human qualities. More serious critics will tell you that Philip Pullman's books are better. I've read just the one and, sheesh, they may be right. But Rowling's books work. They energise young minds. They excite.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth in a series which, it strikes me, has been growing up alongside its initial readers.

Those pre-teens who took the first Potter book to their heart are now getting through their teens and are ready for more depth than mere wouldn't-it-be-cool wish fulfillment set in a school for young wizards and witches. And they've been getting it.

It's not just that the books have been getting longer -- they've been more complex. More demanding.

Before the fourth book came out much -- too much -- was made of the revelation that one of its characters would die. It proved to be a bit-parter who was dispatched in a sorrowful sentence and scarcely dwelt on again.

This time, it seems, will be different.

Much of the internet and media chatter surrounding Phoenix has been sparked by Rowling's foreshadowing that Harry will face a closer examination of sacrifice and death, and of choosing between what is right and what is easy.

The fans' mordant predictions have come thick and fast. They're not sentimental, these young commentators.

Dear old Hagrid strikes plenty of them as dispensable.

"Colin Creevey -- that kids's got death stamped all over him," No, no, say others. Mrs Weasley, the mother of Harry's friend Ron, is the goner. Rowling keeps saying she uses a lot of her own experiences, and her mother died, right? Snape, say others. The serpentine potions teacher who has always been malevolent in style, but has surprised whenever the stakes are high, will face Voldemort's vengeance. I would find this a tad upsetting, if only because it would put an end to Alan Rickman's delicious hissings in the movie series.

Rowling famously wrote the first Potter book in a greasy spoon Scottish cafe. But now that she can, she sweats the small stuff.

Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Copyright 2003 Nationwide News Pty Limited
Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)
June 12, 2003 Thursday
SECTION: THE EYE; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 301 words
HEADLINE: Hunks here, by George
BYLINE: Mike Edmonds, Luke Dennehy & Carla Danaher

The dashing leading men of the movies are headed Down Under to promote their new releases

LADIES, hold on to your hats.

Word is we're about to be inundated with the world's most luscious male movie stars. . . .

. . . As if that [George Clooney] wasn't enough, Mr Darcy himself, Colin Firth (below left), is a hot tip for a Christmas visit to flog his new film,

Love Actually.

The directorial debut from Richard (Four Weddings and a Funeral) Curtis is an ensemble comedy about a bunch of intertwining love stories in London.

Firth teams up with Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman.

We reckon more than a few local ladies will be offering their backyard ponds for Mr Darcy to take a quick dip. . . .

Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Copyright 2003 Nationwide News Pty Limited
Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia)
June 14, 2003 Saturday
SECTION: BAM; Pg. M01
LENGTH: 1495 words
HEADLINE: WILL HARRY LAST?
BYLINE: Kerryn Goldsworthy

. . . THE Harry movies, while still essentially beside the point, are more interesting: "serious" film critics, and indeed also frivolous ones, have loftily canned the two movies that have appeared so far for being too much like the books (well, duh), but it's been fascinating to watch some great contemporary British actors -- Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, the incomparable Alan Rickman -- getting their teeth into Rowling's characters, raising questions about the nature of archetypes, the wisdom of typecasting and the art and craft of character acting. . . .
(Italics added.)

Georgiana
Seattle - Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Copyright 2003 Express Newspapers
Daily Star
June 15, 2003
SECTION: COLUMNS; Pg. 24
LENGTH: 87 words
HEADLINE: HOT; MARRED -TINE
BYLINE: EDITED BY JOE MOTT

: MARTINE McCutcheon's new movie has been branded a duffer by test audiences. The actress-turned-singer-turned-actress stars with a wealth of Brit talent in romantic comedy Love Actually. But my man at the screening said: "Reaction was muted to say the least.

"It was corny and generally muddled. Several strands of the story disappear and others are heavy handed." A cruel man might say Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Rowan Atkinson are less likely to be at fault than Martine. I'd have to agree.

Georgiana
Seattle - Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Copyright 2003 Newspaper Publishing PLC
Independent on Sunday (London)
June 15, 2003, Sunday
SECTION: COMMENT; Pg. 21
LENGTH: 1224 words
HEADLINE: THE IOS PROFILE: HELEN MIRREN - THE NAKED DAME; THEATRICAL DAMES DON'T USUALLY DO SMOULDERING SEXUALITY. BUT THE
BYLINE: SIMON O'HAGAN

. . . Not that she has escaped critical censure, and some of her career decisions - notably that infamous Caligula, produced by Penthouse owner Bob Guccione - have been shaky. The quality of other work she has appeared in might be kindly described as uneven, and some critics have questioned the way she achieves her effects. A 1998 National Theatre production of Antony and Cleopatra with Mirren and Alan Rickman in the title roles was a critical flop. But Mirren has never shown much sign of caring what the critics say, or of dwelling on past mistakes. . . .

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, June 16, 2003

********MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD FOR "LOVE ACTUALLY"*******

A reviewer on the Rotten Tomatoes website saw a preview:

Love Actually Review
Kimberly
Michigan USA - Saturday, June 14, 2003

Copyright 2003 Telegraph Group Limited
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
June 14, 2003, Saturday
SECTION: Pg. 10
LENGTH: 993 words
HEADLINE: Rotting hell, did you say? Pretentious? W11? Tessa Boase, a troubled insider, opens her heart
BYLINE: by Tessa Boase

Wherever I go in the world, people envy my postcode. The girl at the car hire desk at Rome airport: "Notting Eel! Ooo Grant!" My b & b hosts in Arizona: "Like, the movie Notting Hill? You live there? That's pretty cool!"

Acquaintances, contacts - even the guy on the phone in the call centre - all smirk "very trendy" in admiration bordering on hatred when I give my address. In a recent Evening Standard survey of where Londoners most want to live, W11 came out at the top for women aged between 18 and 35.

I don't want to appear ungrateful - it is my boyfriend's flat, after all, where I now have the good fortune to live. But after a year of trying to fit in, I remain bleakly baffled by London's most desirable postcode. My first instinct, on seeing the stream of colt-like girls in boho-chic attire was to bolt. These were not the customs of my country (SE7, as it happens). But I thought I should give it time. I was just settling in, after all, building up the knowledge.

When my first foray to Fresh & Wild on Westbourne Grove bought me two courgettes for pounds 2.79, it was clearly my fault for not using the market. When I found you couldn't get an impromptu table at any of the restaurants, I decided it was nicer cooking at home. When I had my brake wires cut by an enraged antique-shop owner because I had chained my bike to her railings, I put it down to the preciousness of Westbourne Grove.

These irritations I can live with. But what has slowly sapped me over the months is the fierce self-consciousness of W11. London is meant to be anonymous: you could slip unnoticed down the street wearing a hessian sack in most postcodes I've lived in. Here I have never felt at ease, comfortable in my skin.

In Notting Hill (where few seem to go to work in the normal sense), mooching around is an art form. Every pavement encounter is clocked: sunglasses, midriff, tailoring, bag. Even your shoes are brazenly checked out as you cycle along. Every mobile phone conversation (husky, public school, confident) is for the benefit of passers-by: "Tobes! Yeah, pretty extreme . . . we're hiring a tepee and going up in the giggle bus. Join us, it'll be a laugh."

The celebrities just add to the laboured, film-set atmosphere. Today I bought my focaccia sandwich ( pounds 4.75) next to Alan Rickman - impossible not to stare, yet somehow it turned lunch into an ordeal. Walking out of the front door yesterday, I bumped into Jeremy Paxman. Encounters like these don't make one feel at home. . . .

Georgiana
Seattle - Saturday, June 14, 2003

Some interesting RHPOT Special edition reviews Here and here and here.
Sue
- Thursday, June 12, 2003

Copyright 2003 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times
All Rights Reserved
Los Angeles Times
June 12, 2003 Thursday Home Edition
SECTION: Calendar Weekend; Part 5; Page 27; Calendar Desk
HEADLINE: VIDEO SHELF; Real star of 'Frida' DVD is the director
BYLINE: Susan King

Frida

. . . . . . . . . .

Robin Hood -- Prince of Thieves
Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman
Warner Bros., $27

With his breezy, funny and perceptive DVD commentary with co-star Tim Robbins on "Bull Durham," producer Jim Wilson on "Dances With Wolves" and now director Kevin Reynolds on this two-disc set of the 1991 swashbuckler, director-actor Costner is proving to be far more animated than he is on screen. And he's surprisingly candid, criticizing his dreadful British accent and saying he wishes he were a better actor in several scenes.

This extended edition, which features about 15 extra minutes revolving around the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), includes an equally entertaining commentary track with producer-writers Pen Densham and John Watson and co-stars Freeman and Christian Slater. The second disc, however, is a complete washout extra-wise.

Georgiana
Seattle - Thursday, June 12, 2003

opyright 2003 NewsQuest Media Group Limited
UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Cheshire
June 11, 2003
HEADLINE: It's worth your money
BYLINE: Linda Casey
DATELINE: Cheshire

THE Actors (15) - with its all-star cast - comes to Knutsford Studio Cinema this week showing nightly at 8pm with a 2pm matinee on Thursday.

. . . . . . . . . .

The Actors follows the fortunes of a struggling Irish actor (Michael Caine) who uses his talents to help a friend con a Dublin gangster out of a huge amount of cash.

Deeds

But as their deeds catch up with them Caine finds he only has to assume more and more roles to cover it all up and hilarity ensues.

The film boasts an all-star cast including Michael Gambon Alan Rickman and Miranda Richardson. . . .

Georgiana
Seattle - Thursday, June 12, 2003

One of the girls on our Forum found this RHPOT dvd review.

Aisle Seat Special DVD Edition Mania
ROBIN HOOD, TERMINATOR 2, and more resurface on disc
Plus: Mail Bag and more!
By Andy Dursin

The year was 1991. Kevin Costner, fresh off his triumph in "Dances With Wolves," did what any sane star coming off an Oscar victory would do: take the money and run off to make a big-budget mainstream Hollywood film.

In his case, it was ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, which was shot in England on a hurried production schedule to make it out in time for the summer movie season.

Costner reunited with his one-time "Fandango" cohort, director Kevin Reynolds, for the lavish Morgan Creek production, surrounding himself with big-time co-stars -- including Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio -- in the English-lensed version of the classic legend.

PRINCE OF THIEVES, of course, turned out to be a blockbuster smash, but it didn't come easy. Costner reportedly threw Reynolds off the picture in post-production, re- cutting portions of the picture -- including some of Rickman's funniest passages as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Arguments between Costner, Reynolds, and the producers joined publicized tales of problems that flooded the media in anticipation of the release, though the end result at least pleased the masses worldwide as the film became a big hit.

Warner Home Video's 2-disc Special Edition DVD release, out this week (***, 155 mins., Not Rated), includes not only some fine supplemental material but also a new, never-before-seen Extended Version of the movie.

Apparently restoring the excised scenes that Rickman lamented were dropped long ago, the 12 minutes of new footage exclusively belong to the Sheriff and his comical, campy rants. This should come as good news for fans of the film, since most viewers and critics singled out Rickman's goofy but entertaining performance as one of the film's chief attributes.

If nothing else, Rickman's scenes help overcome the movie's biggest liability: Costner, whose stilted delivery (his line "I'm Robin of Locksley" remains an all-time classic) and pasty demeanor are still hard to accept in this kind of movie. I couldn't help but notice the irony that, in 1991, Pierce Brosnan was relegated to hosting a network TV special on the making of the film (included on the DVD), while Costner was cast solely on his then- popularity at the box-office. You have to wonder what kind of film PRINCE OF THIEVES might have been with a more appropriate choice -- say, Brosnan -- in its lead role than Costner, since the two actors' popularity have certainly been reversed in the years since its release.

There's still much to enjoy in the movie, though. Mastrantonio -- a last-minute replacement for Robin Wright (Penn) -- is fine as Maid Marian, while Freeman makes the most of a potentially oddball role as a Moor who fights alongside Robin and his merry men. Fine British character actors, including Brian Blessed, round out the cast, and there's a memorable cameo by a beloved actor who blows Costner off the screen at the very end.

Michael Kamen's uneven score is at least superior to many of his mickey-mousing "action" scores of the period. The Overture and Finale are rousing and memorable, though the rest of the soundtrack doesn't live up to its bookending cues. That said, the DVD includes the entire original soundtrack album in 5.1 Dolby Digital sound on Disc 2. It's not an isolated score per se, but rather the entire contents of the soundtrack album with each cue separated by its track title (you cannot, however, scan through the tracks like you can on a regular CD).

Other extras on the 2-disc set include a pair of new audio commentaries, including one by Costner and Reynolds, together again. It seems as if the two have completely repaired the rifts they had over the years (they did make "Waterworld," after all), though Costner does the majority of the talking -- almost as if he himself directed the film (and apparently he did at times). The duo also skirt the issue of who cut what and when, and I found it particularly curious that when some of Rickman's deleted footage appears back in the film, Costner says "this is some of the new material," to which Reynolds replies, "I don't know, Kev, I can't remember." (Reynolds is likely being diplomatic here. If memory serves correct, Costner threw Reynolds out of the editing room, with Rickman's cuts likely being Costner's doing).

The other commentary features a less energetic track with producers Pen Densham and John Watson, along with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater. It's fun, but a bit dry and best recommended for die-hard fans of the movie.

The before-mentioned, Brosnan-hosted CBS special is also included (featuring some footage of Kamen at work), along with press junket interviews with the stars, TV spots and the original trailer, essay and photo galleries, and Bryan Adams performing his (godawful) hit single "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" at Ireland's Slane Castle.

The 1.85 transfer is very good, better than the original DVD release, with the DTS/Dolby Digital soundtracks packing a pretty good punch as well.

Despite its uneasy lead performance and production design that recalls the Ewok Village from "Return of the Jedi," ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES is a fun adventure flick that remains a good, old-fashioned time at the movies. Warner's DVD is priced right and includes some solid extras (short of a retrospective documentary and isolated score) to go along with a slightly longer version that gives you more of what worked the first time around. Recommended!
Sue
- Wednesday, June 11, 2003

June 6 Daily Variety still lists Harry Potter POA as filming outside the US.
Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, June 09, 2003

Copyright 2003 MGN Ltd.
Sunday Mirror
June 8, 2003, Sunday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 66
HEADLINE: CELEB CIRCUIT: PARTY PATROL; THE LEGS ARE OUT, THE FAKE TAN IS ON, AND THE BRIT BABES ARE HITTING
BYLINE: WORDS: SARAH IVENS.

PEARL AND DEAN PARTY, LONDON

Alan Rickman and Sharleen Spiteri make a smiley arrival . . .

Georgiana
Seattle - Monday, June 09, 2003

Copyright 2003 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
June 5, 2003 Thursday Final Edition
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. D09
HEADLINE: Top hero easier to pick than top movie villain
SOURCE: The Hamilton Spectator
BYLINE: Doug Foley

It's pretty tough to argue against Atticus Finch being the American Film Institute's No. 1 movie hero of all time. But Hannibal Lecter as the No. 1 villain? Our jury is still out on that one. The rankings were announced Tuesday night on the television program AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains. Movie fans have been arguing ever since. That's the great thing about lists. Everyone can have an opinion.

The top 100 heroes and villains were chosen from 400 nominees by actors, directors, critics and others in the movie business. Their picking Atticus Finch as the No. 1 hero gets no argument from this corner. Atticus has always been miles ahead of second- and third-place finishers Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Sean Connery as Bond, James Bond, in our book. As played by Gregory Peck in 1962 in To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus was kind and wise and handsome as hell. He was a widower and a terrific single dad, firm but loving, long before such characters were depicted in films. He risked his own neck to defend a black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman in the racist deep south. He killed that rabid dog with one shot to protect his kids and he was understanding and friendly to his slow-witted neighbour Boo Radley. American cinema has probably not given us a greater hero. (OK, OK, so he was a lawyer and named his daughter Scout and his son Jem.) Rounding out the top 10 list of heroes were Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Casablanca; Will Kane (Gary Cooper), High Noon; Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), The Silence Of The Lambs; Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), Rocky; Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Aliens; George Bailey (James Stewart), It's A Wonderful Life; and T. E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), Lawrence of Arabia.

But Hannibal Lecter from Silence Of The Lambs as the No. 1 villain? That one we're not so sold on. Granted, it takes a special kind of bad guy to gleefully smack his lips over the memory of eating someone's liver with some fava beans and a nice wine. But when it comes to cinematic evil there's just so many great categories to consider. That's because good guys generally come in white, while bad guys come in many shades of grey. Sure, Hannibal was a bad mother in Silence Of The Lambs, but then we found out in Hannibal that as a youth he had to survive the Nazi horror in his native Lithuania. That's enough to warp anybody. (The Nazi part, not the Lithuania part.) Likewise, there's a bit of sympathy to be felt for the No. 2 and No. 3 villains, Anthony Perkins's Norman Bates of Psycho and Star Wars' Darth Vader. They had family issues.

Our vote for No. 1 movie villain would go to Amon Goeth, the commandant so chillingly portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List. He made the AFI tally at number 15. The kind of guy who would use a child for rifle target practice ranks right up there when we think of evil characters. We almost cheered when they were finally able to push the chair out from under his fat butt to hang him. Goeth may have been too bad even for the AFI because he was based on real people, if one can use the term people to describe the Nazi hierarchy. Fictional villains are easier to stomach and can be written so many ways.

There can be basic bad guys like Lecter and even funny bad guys like Dr. Evil (who didn't make the list). The rest of the top 10 villains, in order were the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), The Wizard Of Oz; Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), It's A Wonderful Life; Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), Fatal Attraction; Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), Double Indemnity; Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), The Exorcist; and the Queen (voiced by Lucille LaVerne), Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. The most unusual villain was found at number 20. All hang your heads in shame because it was Man, in Bambi.

Some evil-doers we thought overlooked were Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, Ray Liotta in Something Wild, Peter Stormare in Fargo and Tom Berenger in Platoon. Another "funny" bad guy we loved who didn't make the list was Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves. Has anyone ever uttered a line so cruel and mean as, "Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas?"

We don't think so.

But that's just our opinion.

dfoley@thespec.com or 905-526-3264
(Paragraphing condensed. Italics added.)

Georgiana
Seattle - Sunday, June 08, 2003

Copyright 2003 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The Evening Standard (London)
June 5, 2003
SECTION: Pg. 2
HEADLINE: The real capital of culture

As Liverpool is named the centre of European style for 2008 here are 100 reasons why London is better WHEN Liverpool was launching its successful attempt to become the European Capital of Culture it enlisted the help of one of its best known artists, Sir Peter Blake, to rework the iconic image he created for the cover of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album 36 years ago.

Down here in London, we salute Liverpool's achievement in winning the title.

But, when it comes to culture, London has it in spades. The Evening Standard has produced its own version of the Sgt Pepper cover, featuring 100 of the musicians, actors, directors, artists, writers, designers, politicians and sporting heroes - born in London and still living - who have helped make the capital such a vibrant and creative city. This is our selection of cultural icons. With a list of 100 there are bound to be omissions.

Let us know your suggestions for other living icons born in Greater London by emailing culturecity@standard.co.uk.

1 Dame Eileen Atkins, actress; 2 Adam Cooper, dancer and choreographer; 3 George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury ; 4 Marc Quinn, artist; 5 Roger Daltrey, singer; 6 Dame Elizabeth Taylor, actress; 7 George Michael, singer-songwriter; 8 Michael Nyman, composer; 9 Marianne Faithfull, model and performer; 10 John Lydon, punk icon; 11 Sir Clive Sinclair, inventor; 12 Kate Moss, supermodel; 13 John Major, former prime minister; 14 Norman Cook, DJ/producer; 15 Paul Oakenfold, DJ; 16 Ben Elton, comedian and writer; 17 Akram Khan, dancer and choreographer; 18 Patrick Marber, playwright; 19 Hanif Kureishi, screenwriter and novelist; 20 Hugh Grant, actor; 21 Peter Ackroyd, London's biographer; 22 Damon Albarn, musician; 23 Louis de Bernieres, novelist; 24 Trevor Phillips, chair of Commission for Racial Equality; 25 Lord Lloyd-Webber, producer and composer; 26 Harold Pinter, playwright; 27 Alexander McQueen, fashion designer; 28 Anna Wintour, American Vogue editor; 29 Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter; 30 Mary Quant, fashion designer; 31 Charles Clarke, Education Secretary; 32 Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist; 33 Rachel Weisz, actress; 34 Gary Oldman, actor; 35 Dinos Chapman, artist; 36 Frank Bruno, former heavyweight champion; 37 William Orbit, music producer; 38 Sam Taylor-Wood, artist; 39 Brian Sewell, art critic and writer; 40 Dame Maggie Smith, actress; 41 Zadie Smith, novelist; 42 Boy George, singer/DJ; 43 Sir Michael Caine, actor; 44 Dido, singer; 45 Graham Gooch, cricketer; 46 Ray Winstone, actor; 47 Tracey Emin, artist; 48 Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster and naturalist; 49 Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur; 50 Ashley Cole, footballer; 51 Alan Rickman, actor; 52 Paul Boateng, Chief Secretary to the Treasury; 53 Gerald Scarfe, illustrator; 54 Minnie Driver, actress; 55 Bob Hope, comedian; 56 Jonathan Ross, presenter; 57 Terence Stamp, actor; 58 Michael Frayn, playwright and novelist; 59 Kate Beckinsale, actress; 60 Antony Gormley, sculptor; 61 Tamara Mellon, managing director of Jimmy Choo; 62 Adam Ant, pop star; 63 Steve Davis, snooker champion; 64 Sarah Lucas, artist; 65 David Bowie, singersongwriter; 66 Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate director; 67 David Bailey, photographer; 68 Chris Smith, former culture secretary; 69 Sadie Frost, actress and fashion designer; 70 Sir John Harvey Jones, former chairman of ICI; 71 Bill Wyman, bass guitarist; 72 Charlie Watts, drummer; 73 Sir Mick Jagger, singer; 74 Ronnie Wood, guitarist; 75 Keith Richards, guitarist; 76 Kathy Burke, actress; 77 Peter Mandelson, former Cabinet minister; 78 Lawrence Dallaglio, former rugby captain; 79 Natasha Richardson, actress; 80 Naomi Campbell, supermodel; 81 Lennox Lewis, heavyweight champion; 82 David Beckham, footballer; 83 Sacha Baron Cohen, Ali G; 84 Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London; 85 Ozwald Boateng, fashion designer; 86 Darcey Bussell, dancer; 87 Norman Wisdom, actor; 88 Tilda Swinton, actress; 89 Rosamund Pike, actress; 90 Joan Collins, actress; 91 Tony Benn, former minister; 92 Martine McCutcheon, actress, singer; 93 Stephen Fry, writer and actor; 94 Honor Blackman, actress; 95 Mick Jones, music producer; 96 Sir Elton John, singer; 97 Vanessa Redgrave, actress; 98 Paul Simenon, Clash bassist & artist; 99 Jude Law, actor; 100 Barbara Windsor, actress.

Georgiana
Seattle - Sunday, June 08, 2003

The Independent on Sunday 8th June 2003
Philip Hoare
......."Last week, the rest of London hit the art and party season. At the Tate Modern, the masssive Cruel and Tender, the gallery's first photography show opened with the usual heaving crowds; Alan Rickman, laughing loudly; the patrician features of Nick Serota; the sponsors in their suits. But as the elegantly dressed party-goers sipped vodaka and raspberry cocktails spiked with acidic little red berries, the art bit back. I've seldom felt as emotionally drained by an exhibiotion.".....
Sue
England - Sunday, June 08, 2003

Yesterday,Liverpool was voted European City of Culture for 2008 (They like to plan ahead in Europe!)ANYHOW, London wasn't in the running (As if we had to be told we were the best!!)but in today's London Evening Standard they produced a version of the famous Peter Blake Sgt Pepper cover, featuring "100 of the musicians, actors, directors, artists, writers, designers, politicians and sporting heroes - born in London and still living - who have helped make the capital such a vibrant and creative city."
Look who made it into the middle of The Picture

Sue
Doris, if you are going to nick this one could you ask please!? ;), England - Thursday, June 05, 2003

This is a relevant bit from ic.wales web site:
But there were pre-dinner drinks in the completed areas before the gala evening in the St James's Palace State Apartments.

As a tribute to his mother, Charles laid on a night of entertainment which evoked the glittering era of big-budget musicals.

Musicals such as Guys and Dolls, The King and I, and The Boyfriend were among those showcased during an evening of 1950s-style entertainment. Stars including Penelope Keith, Maureen Lipman, Julia McKenzie, June Whitfield, Ronnie Barker, Geoffrey Palmer and Alan Rickman all took part in the private royal performance in an evening devised with the help of the Actors Benevolent Fund, of which the Prince of Wales is patron.
Sue
England - Wednesday, June 04, 2003

More about Alan's performance for the Queen at St. James Palace: St. James Palace

This is the poem Alan recited. Ah! Lucky Queen! LOL

This is to let you know

Noel Coward

This is to let you know
that there was no moon last night
and that the tide was high
and that on the broken horizon
glimmered the lights of ships
Twenty at least, like a sedate procession passing by.

This is to let you know
that when I'd turned out the lamp
and in the dark I lay
That suddenly piercing loneliness, like a knife,
twisted my heart, for you were such a long long way away.

This is to let you know
That there are no English words
That ever could explain
how, quite without warning, lovingly you were here
holding me close, smoothing away the idiotic pain.

This is to let you know
that all I feel for you
can never wholly go.
I love you and miss you, even hours away,
with all my heart. this is to let you know.

Kimberly
Michigan, USA - Wednesday, June 04, 2003

Update on the American Film Institute's special "100 Heroes & Villains" :

Alan's "Hans Gruber," DIE HARD, came in at number 46 in the Villain category. Commentary was provided by Sigourney Weaver and Sylvester Stallone. *Why them, I don't know!* Alas, no appearance by Alan himself, except in the "Die Hard" film clips.

Amazingly, The Sheriff of Nottingham, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, didn't receive a nomination in the Villain category.
Kimberly
Michigan, USA - Wednesday, June 04, 2003

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