Alan Rickman News & Information

(March 2002)

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An article in Billboard, 23 March 2002 [v114 i12 p1(2)], about Heartland Music entitled "Heartland Music's TV success: Infomercials, Time Life alliance help sell vintage records," by Jim Bessman, includes this near the end:

Aside from Heartland [a company which markets music compilations via TV 'info-mercials'], [Ira] Pittelman [Heartland's president] is continuing his theatrical productions, which have included--with his partner Emanuel Azenberg--Kevin Spacey's 1999 Broadway hit The Iceman Cometh and the current London West End hit Private Lives, starring Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan.

In a partnership with Dick Clark, Pittelman is developing a rock'n'roll musical based on the story of American Bandstand, a musical based on Randy Newman's life titled The Education of Randy Newman that will open in Seattle in the fall, and Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, a musical conceived and directed by choreographer Twyla Tharp and built on the songs of Billy Joel, which opens in Chicago in June and on Broadway in the fall.

Pittelman has also reunited with composer Henry Krieger in adapting the 1987 movie Moonstruck into a musical, with the film's Oscar-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley writing the book and Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam) composing the lyrics.

From Variety, March 4, 2002 v386 i3 p67(1)

New old works. (productions scheduled for Broadway)
(Brief Article)
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2002 Cahners Business Information

This season will see 11 plays and three tuners revived, a five-year high. That tally nearly totals the number of new works (10 plays, six musicals). In other words, nearly half of Broadway's "new" work is old.

UPCOMING [sixth listing]

Private Lives by Noel Coward, with Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman, directed by Howard Davies. April 28 at Richard Rodgers Theater.

From 22 March "Hollywood Reporter," under Film Shorts:

Maureen Lipman, William Ash and Imogen Stubbs have been added to the cast of the 10-minute short "Standing Room Only," which marks the directorial debut of Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness. The project also stars Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Mary-Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Furness' husband, Hugh Jackman. The short, produced by Christopher Elsey and executive produced by Travis Swords, takes a humorous look at waiting in line at a London theater.

Some excerpts from 'Theatregoer' magazine (April) re. PL:

Immediately following its sold-out run at the Albery, Private Lives will open on Broadway-in the nick of time for any possible Tony nominations- on 28th April at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.Unusually, the entire West End production will remain intact with Alan Rickman, Emma Fielding and Adam Godley at three corners of Noel's uneasy marital and extramarital square-dance comedy of bad manners, and, ofcourse Lindsay Duncan repeating her enchantingly wayward performance as Amanda.
Since Coward died almost thirty years ago, I (Sheridan Morley-writer of this article) have been literary executor of his estate, and in all those years I have never seen a better PL than this one, and for a very simple reason. Ever since Noel and Gertie premiered the play back in 1930, the casting problem has always been in finding a perfectly -matched duo who actually look as though they belong together even after divorce and marriage, which is, ofcourse, what the play is all about. AR and LD do just that, for 15 years ago, it was they who (again for the director Howard Davies)premiered Christopher Hampton's award-winning adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses on both sides of the Atlantic. So, from the very first rehearsal of this new PL, they came as a pre-existing couple, albeit one who hadn't worked together since. Second excerpt: The last time Lindsay was in Broadway was for Pinter's Ashes to Ashes . She says: 'We played to some deeply mystified and sometimes quite angry subscription audiences; one woman was overheard saying to a friend,"And they have the brass balls to call this a play?" Somehow I rather liked that.' And it's not as though anyone is likely to say the same about Private Lives .
Sally
London, UK - Thursday, March 28, 2002

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
March 24, 2002, Sunday
SECTION: Pg. 05
HEADLINE: Lock up your children No one does camp and creepy better than Richard O'Brien, the original Rocky Horror showman. The drug 'n' drag-loving star of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' talks to Robert Gore-Langton
BYLINE: BY ROBERT GORE-LANGTON

(Excerpted paragraphs) Richard O'Brien is easily the strangest sight at the stage door of the London Palladium. Most of the other actors are looking tired and drab in their anoraks and trainers. Not O'Brien. He's sporting tight black leather trousers, huge biker boots and a dazzling white sweater with a Harley-Davidson logo, his bald head lightly dusted with make-up. For a chap who's 60 years old tomorrow, he's amazingly well preserved. Age and a lorry-load of mind-altering substances have left little mark on the face of the best-known slaphead in showbiz since Kojak.

So how come, 30 years on, he has ended up in the show of the 1968 film of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, vat of bubbling saccharine that it is?

"Well, you could argue that Ian Fleming's book has a metaphorical side, being set in a country where the children, like the Jews, have disappeared," he says.

Oh come on! It's The Sound of Music that's the Nazi show. This one is about a flying car with a load of cheesy tunes.

When my agent asked if I was up for this, I said 'we are talking about the Child Catcher, aren't we?' I'd walk over broken glass for this part. I'm right for it. I'm camp, thin, unusual, a bit creepy, a bit vain - most of the things that Robert Helpmann bought to the part in the film."

One of things he's done in the stage-show is to dispense with the hook which the Child Catcher in the film used to ensnare the children hiding in the capital of Vulgaria. In this he has a device - I won't give it away - which is slightly more Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact O'Brien is great casting - and he's self-aware enough to know it.

"If I was wearing a producer's hat, I'd have cast me. In the same way that, though I'd love to have played Snape in the Harry Potter film, Alan Rickman was right for that part. He's a better actor, he's got more power, machismo, a lot more going for him. But I can bring a lightness to this that Alan wouldn't. He'd overdo it."

Having caught a brief glimpse of O'Brien in action on stage in a preview, I have to say he totally overdoes it. He's great value as a riotously camp, leather-clad Dracula wannabe with the finest greasy comb-over rug I've ever seen in a musical.

They've posted (March 22) the EPA (Equity principal auditions) for standbys. The following (edited) is from "Backstage":

April 8 from 9:30 - 5:30 PM at the AEA Audition Center, 165 W. 46 ST., 2nd Fl., NYC.

Equity principal auditions will be held for standbys only for the Broadway production of "Private Lives". Jay Binder Casting, casting. Rehearsals for standbys begin April 15; previews begin April 19; opens April 28; closes Sept. 6. Prepare a short monologue from any Noel Coward play.

Seeking the following standbys only - Elyot Chase: late 40s-50s, role being played by Alan Rickman, an urbane, sophisticated man of the world with a dangerous charm, can be as verbally cutting as he can be charming, handsome, sexual, strong upper-class British dialect with high comedy skills, should be able to put across a Noel Coward song with ease, and be adept at physical comedy; Amanda Prynne: mid - to late 40's, role being played by Lindsay Duncan, Elyot's ex-wife, beautiful, alluring, mecurial, and irresistible, has great charm and a rapier wit, temperamental, a sophisticated woman of the world, strong upper-class British dialect with high comedy skills and adept at physical comedy; Victor Prynne (and it gives his description). (Apparently not seeking a Sybil standby.)

Ann
NJ USA - Saturday, March 23, 2000

A 17 March London Times article about three National directors taking musicals to Broadway, titled "British stars shine a light on Broadway" has the following as its penultimate paragraph:

Broadway has welcomed a number of British actors to its theatres in recent months, including Sir Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman and Lindsey Duncan.

The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards will be broadcast once again on CBS. In the spring of 2002 the network will televise this annual salute to excellence in Broadway theatre for the 25th consecutive year.

The Tony Award ceremony will take place at Radio City Music Hall, for the fifth time in the past six years. Because of the large capacity of the hall, members of the general public will be able to attend the ceremony at which the American theatre's most prestigious awards are bestowed. Tickets will go on sale beginning in May.

A date for the 2002 Award ceremony has not been set, but it will likely be in the first half of June. Check back here at the Official Website of the Tony Awards for more information throughout the 2001-2002 Broadway season.

http://www.tonys.org/
Ann
NJ USA - Friday, March 22, 2002

London Evening Standard, Thursday 21 March 2002
MODEL SOPHIE JOINS QUEUE FOR SILVER SCREEN

Sophie Dahl has turned into a Marilyn Monroe lookalike for her new film,writes Richard Simpson. But even filmstar looks won't help the catwalk model jump the theatre queue which plays a central part in Standing Room Only. It has been filming in the West End since Sunday.

Dahl plays the girlfriend of Hugh Jackman - who appeared in X-Men and Swordfish. They are teaming up with Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The short film is being part-funded by Miramax executive Harvey weinstein. Dahl, now 22, had her acting debut alongside Anna Friel in Mad Cows in 1999 before taking a role in Best in 2000 and filming People I Know and A Revenger's Tragedy last year.

From the Evening Standard, 22 Feb 2002:

The Glee Club

Dir: Mike Bradwell.Mark Drewry, Jack Hornby, Oliver Jackson, Shaun Predergast, David Schofield, James Hornsby

by Rachel Halliburton

Devotees of the Bush will be celebrating its 30th birthday this year. It first opened in the upstairs dining room of the Bush hotel in April 1972. The many theatregoers familiar with its ultra-snug interior will have witnessed productions of a host of plays by significant writers including Stephen Poliakoff, Snoo Wilson, Terry Johnson, Kevin Elyot, Billy Roche, Tony Kushner, Conor McPherson, Joe Penhall, Lucy Gannon and Charlotte Jones.

Its list of former directors and actors is no less impressive. Alan Rickman, Antony Sher, Frances Barber, Kate Beckinsale, Patricia Hodge, Simon Callow, Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks, Mike Leigh, Mike Newell and Richard Wilson form a small part of the talent that has visited the Bush and made it an essential venue for Off West End theatre.

Mike Bradwell kicks off its 30th-birthday season with The Glee Club, a tale of five hard-working,hard-drinking miners, who are collaborating with the church organist to cause a musical sensation at the local gala. One of them, however, has a secret. The result is a series of events which change the miners' lives for ever.

A Yahoo article on Fortune's Fool, which Fausta so liked (starring Alan Bates and, one of my favorites, Frank Langella), has this to say about the competition:

"Fortune's Fool" is not the likeliest candidate for commercial success on Broadway. It is a period piece by a Russian writer few playgoers know well. Though the cast is high-powered, it must compete with the high-powered casts of other revivals opening this season, including "The Crucible" (with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney) and "Private Lives" (with Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan).

The following is from Backstage (West):

The Actors, a black comedy adapted from Neil Jordan's short story, is set to begin shooting in late March in Europe. Actors is about a struggling actor who helps a friend swindle a gangster by playing a role. He must then portray a variety of characters in order to avoid serious repercussions. Edward Norton and Alan Rickman were at one time attached to the project but recently dropped out because of scheduling conflicts. The casting director is Susie Figgis.
Ann
NJ USA - Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Picture of Richard Rodgers Theater (a few shows ago) at http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jeffreys/gaybway/houses/richard_rodgers.html
Anne Gilhuly
New York, NY USA - Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Bristol Evening Post
March 15, 2002
EDITION: GREATER BRISTOL
SECTION: 132, Pg.17
HEADLINE: STARS SIGN UP FOR APPEAL; Special signed quilt set to make thousands for heart unit
BYLINE: REBECCA CAMBER

A QUILT signed by the stars is being auctioned off to raise money for Southmead Hospital.

A patchwork class in Horfield have spent eight months making the huge 85 inch square quilt to raise cash for the Coronary Care Unit at the hospital.

Each of the 81 patches has been autographed by celebrities including David Beckham, Bristol's Nick Park, Alan Rickman, John le Carre, Frank Bruno, Jilly Cooper, Gloria Hunniford, Terry Wogan, Nigella Lawson and Steffi Graff. And the hospital saw the quilt for the first time yesterday.

Professional quilter Judith Gait is hoping that the impressive quilt of 38 signatures will fetch thousands at auction.

She was inspired to design the quilt by a student in her class who recently had heart trouble and told her about the need for extra funds in the Coronary Care Unit.

But it hasn't all run smoothly. A detailed diagram showing where to sign the block was sent to each celebrity but many still ended up signing in the wrong places and the quilt had to be sent back to them to re-sign.

Judith said: "I've always been a big fan of Terry Wogan, but we had to send the block back to him because he signed so far on one side we couldn't sew it properly.

"Perhaps he was leaving room for someone else to sign, he's clearly a gentleman."

But other top stars were not as gracious, 22 of the celebrities they wrote to did not return the finished patches sent to them which had taken hours to make.

Sir Alex Ferguson wrote a long letter explaining that he did not have time and sent back the patch, though it would have been quicker for him to sign.

The patchwork class has been working for three hours each week on the quilt.

Judith said: "I'm hoping that a group of companies will each contribute and buy the quilt together and then I'm hoping to get one of the celebrities to come and present it to them.

"Help! I'm a Fish" is showing at the New York International Children's Film Festival on Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 pm Brooklyn Museum of Art, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.
Claudia <claudia@paradise.net.nzfoo>
New Zealand - Sunday, March 17, 2002

From the Sunday Times March 17th 2002: BRITISH STARS SHINE A LIGHT ON BROADWAY: Give our regards to Broadway, the British have arrived. A trio of past, present and future Royal National Theatre directors is leading the revival of New York's theatreland following the desolation of September 11th.

Takings for march are setting seasonal box office records after audiences on Broadway fell by 80% last summer... Among the most heavily booked shows this spring are Sir Richard Eyre's acclaimed priduction of The Crucible , starring Liam Neeson; The Sweet Smell of Success , a new musical directed by Nicholas Hytner; and Trevor Nunn's adaptation Of Oklahoma! , which was first staged at the National before transferring to the West End.........

All three directors have a strong record of success at the box office. In nunn's case, it has led to accusations that he has cynically staged productions of commercial winners, a charge he resents. "I grew up delighting in Shakespeare, in new plays, in music theatre- they are all strands of the same rope", he said.

His Miss Saigon which ran for 10 years in london, grossed more than a billion world wide. Hytner also scored with the Oscar-winning film The Madness of King George . However, after formidable publicity and strong advance ticket sales for the Sweet Smell of Success, the director will have been unsettled by some poor reviews last week. One critic commented,"it's an Englishman trying to deal with the contradictory qualities of America, and it's not a success." Reviewers have yet to pass their verdict on Oklahoma! although the New York Daily News hailed it on its front page last week as a glorious celebration of the American spirit after the travails of last autumn.

One reviewr...felt the production was too reverential, however. "It was dated and corny. This is a musical about the American heartland. What does a Brit know about Oklahoma and the dustbowl?"

While British directors are vulnerable to criticism on this front, Eyre has faith in Americans' lack of prejudice. "There's a generosity towards us which I don't think we quite match. We're not very kind to Americans in the West End."
Broadway has welcomed a number of British actors to its theatres in recent months, including Sir Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan.
Perhaps the ultimate test of the generosity of New Yorkers will come on Monday, when Denise Van Outen, the former television host of The Big Breakfast , takes to the stage as Roxie Hart in the hit musical Chicago.
Sally
London, UK - Saturday, March 16, 2002

The Guardian (London)
March 14, 2002
SECTION: Guardian Features Pages, Pg. 21
HEADLINE: Satellite, cable & digital: Pick of the day
BYLINE: Paul Howlett

Films

Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999) 12noon, 8pm, Sky Premier This very funny spoof of Star Trek and its kind is warp- factor-eight entertainment that manages to have its cake and eat it too: while happily taking the mickey out of Kirk, Spock and all, it's also a sci-fi adventure the equal of most of the Trekkie films. The premise is that a bunch of faded actors from a TV series called Galaxy Quest are mistaken for genuine space-heroes by a bunch of persecuted aliens, and beamed up to save their world from invaders. Among the starry cast playing it just right are Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.

Close My Eyes (Stephen Poliakoff, 1991) 10.20pm, FilmFour Sex is a complicated affair in Poliakoff's unusual drama. Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves play siblings Richard and Natalie, separated as children and finding each other irresistible one torrid summer some years later. With Natalie newly married to Sinclair (a turbo-charged Alan Rickman), the passion runs out of control. Explicit, intelligent and highly individual.

March 14, 2002, Thursday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 11
HEADLINE: DIGITAL, CABLE AND SATELLITE TELEVISION: TODAY'S CHOICES
BYLINE: James Rampton

THE THOUGHT-PROVOKING film-maker Stephen Poliakoff created waves with the BBC2 commissioned Shooting the Past (1999) and Perfect Strangers (2001); he also stirred up a similar amount of interest with his 1991 offering, Close My Eyes (10.20pm FilmFour). This powerful and controversial story is set against a backdrop of sweltering summer heat, with Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves (right) giving memorable performances as siblings who have been parted since childhood. When they meet again as adults, they are dazed and confused by the strength of their feelings for each other. Pretty soon, they find themselves in the grip of a highly charged incestuous relationship and losing control. Look out, too, for the scene-stealing Alan Rickman as the sister's cuckolded husband.

(London) Times, 14 March 2002
CLOSE MY EYES (1991)
FilmFour, 10.20pm

Stephen Poliakoff's languorous drama centres on an intense, incestuous affair during a muggy summer in the late Eighties. Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves are convincing as the siblings in lust, and Alan Rickman is on customary scene-stealing form as Reeves's companionable patsy of a husband, an entrepreneur who has made a fortune in the City. Unfolding the drama between the soulless corporate high-rises of the City and Rickman's lush country pile, Poliakoff underpins his wistful tale of uncontrolled passions with an elegiac examination of the death of the yuppie dream. (107 min) James Jackson

Someone in NY received a flier in the mail regarding ticket sales for PL. It stated that tickets would be on sale at the Box Office after 25 March 2002. So, maybe things will start picking up at the Richard Rodgers around that time.
Annette
Mansfield, Tx - Friday, March 15, 2002

The Guardian

12 March

Hugh Jackman, star of The X-Men and Swordfish, will team up with Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in a short film about theatre queues called Standing Room Only. Miramax's Harvey Weinstein will part-fund the project, which is due to start filming in London on Sunday.
***********

Yes, yes, I know, it's no longer news but... *Sunday*? This coming Sunday? Doesn't he have some sort of engagement in New York coming up or something? ;) Did somebody say that Emma Fielding mentioned getting only one week off between the end of the West End show and the trip to New York?

GML
UK - Friday, March 15, 2002

The Independent

Actors' deal over film profits ends two-year dispute
By Louise Jury Media Correspondent
13 March 2002

The fierce dispute between British actors and producers that had threatened the future of the UK film industry was finally settled yesterday after nearly two years.

The two-year agreement means that for the first time British actors will share in the profits generated by films or the sale of films to television, video and DVD. But, in a calculated move agreed by the sparring partners - the actors' union, Equity, and Pact, the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television - the deal only kicks in when certain financial thresholds have been crossed.

The deal means that British actors will not be paid as much as their American counterparts, who have benefited from film profits for years, but will ensure that Britain retains a competitive edge over the States.

Actors including Alan Rickman, Timothy West and Vanessa Redgrave had been lobbying for a change to the system, which had prevented some actors, even if they were successful, from making good money. Joan Sims, for instance, died in poverty; she had only been paid flat fees for her 25 Carry On films, earning nothing further no matter how many times they were repeated on television.

Ian McGarry, general secretary of Equity, said actors would be delighted. "At last their contribution to the success of films made in the UK is being acknowledged," he said. "This agreement means that, for films made in the future, substantial additional amounts of money will flow to actors if the film is successful."

John McVay, the chief executive of Pact, which had rejected the initial calls for talks in June 2000, said what had now been achieved was a "modern and progressive agreement that recognises that talent will share in the success of films produced in the UK".

The British producers had come under strong pressure from US studios over the proposals, which will make working in Britain less profitable.

But in recent months many in the industry had come to the view that the greatest risk to British filmmaking had been the uncertainty caused by the dispute, rather than the eventual costs of any deal agreed. Although Equity had struck deals for the next Harry Potter and James Bond films, no other American studio had signed up to make a major movie in the UK this year because the dispute was unresolved.

Clare Wise, the director of the British Film Commission, said the deal "means that we can get on with what we're supposed to be doing, which is building a sustainable film industry and helping filmmakers".

Kim Howells, the films minister, who had warned that film would go the way of the dying coal industry unless a deal was struck, said it was good news for actors and industry alike.
****************

Well, then, congrats to Mr Rickman and to all the (very few) people whoever they are and wherever they are who have the b*lls to fight for their rights or for the rights of others rather than bow their heads and say "thank you for the pittance my lordship, you are too kind".

GML (*waves banner*)
UK - Friday, March 15, 2002

From today's Variety:

Hugh Jackman, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio will star in the short film "Standing Room Only." The directorial debut of Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness ("The Real Macaw"), pic is financed by Harvey Weinstein and Ron Perlman. "Standing" takes a humorous look at waiting in line at a London theater.

Trudie Styler and Travis Swords will produce the film, set for a Sunday start. Exec producer is Christopher Elsey.

Kari (thanks Joan!)
Seattle, - Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Here is an interview from the *SPACE VIEW* about Galaxy Quest:

SV: Mr Rickman, do you see Galaxy Quest as a *Star-Trek* Hommage and specially your part as a bow for Spock?

AR: The Science Fiction Making of Galaxy Quest can tempt to make a comparison with the Star Trek movies. But I believe, GQ is rather a part of a new group of comedies, equiped (????? d*** dictionary) with a bigger Budget and full of effects. I would bow every time for/in front of(?) Leonard Nimoy, because I think he is the better actor of the both of us. But the kind I play Alexander Dane and he plays Spock is absolutely different. Spock is the heart on the bridge (there, where Kirk&Co always are, in german is it *bridge*..what a language ;)). Dane was rather never there. The two are the *alien-member* of the crew and that is the only thing they have in common.

SV: What did induce you to fight through the first Science Fiction Movie in your career?

AR: Iīve felt/seen the script of GQ more as a comedy than a Science Fiction Movie. In Great Britain, my theatre-work was more concentrating on funny comedies, before John McTierman engaged me for DIE HARD. I think, it is a good sign if someone leafs through the script. And I did it and I had to laugh louder and louder (*gggg*). Itīs a clever idea, very funny, made really well (german, tz!) and that had convinced me.

SV: Did the circumstance in the script, that the actor Alexander Dane was a former Skakespeare-actor, help you? You have also an Shakespeare *background*? (Iīm sorry, the german grammar)

AR: I have passed two *Play-Times* in the ensemble of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where I might play Hamlet. This circumstance helped me to understand how difficult it was for Alexander. He bombarded (?) his career when he took the part as Dr Lazarus. Now, he canīt never go back and play Hamlet. Therefor is he horrified and depressed again and again, when he goes back into this Make-Up of the alien.

SV: Youīve felt this gum-mask very nasty, havenīt you?

AR: Thatīs right. To wear a gum-head and a cotton-costume in Goblin Valley, where it was 10° C (cold) at morning and 40° C (hot!!!) in the afternoon, was it really a nightmare. But I am an actor from the methodical school and I wanted to have this thing as nasty and degrading as possible. Only when I could hate it as an actor, it was possible to play my part convincingly.

Ok, hope, you are able to read and understand it! The german grammar is very difficult to translate. And please forgive me my mistakes, but Iīm not used to write in english ;). Best regards, Vee
Vee <verena.engelhardt@web.defoo>
- Monday, March 11, 2002

The fish files finally finished...... uploading. :-) If you have a favorite line from Help, I'm a Fish! not listed below, let me know.

• There's no limit to what we could accomplish together... if you help me now.
  
• Well, my little smart-aleck sardine. Catfish got your tongue?
  
• I sentence you to execution. Shark, chew up that useless crab... and eat yourself when you're finished.
  
• Uuuu... I mean, um... No, no. No, that won't do. My mistake. Nobody has to execute themselves in a civilized society.
  
• Can you feel the power? Can you... taste it?
  
• You're fired! You brainless sawtoothed seaweed sucker!
  
• No, this job is too important for a chowder-head like him. No. I need fresh talent around here.
  
• You're taking this the wrong way!
  
• From now on, I call the shots. With this brain power, I can have fame, fortune... servants.
  
• Useless! You're not fit for sushi!
  
• On the other hand, we could call it 'water under the bridge.' A great leader is distinguished by his ability to forgive.
  
• That's right. You are something special. I saw that right away.
  
• Now, now. Calm down. Let's not be too hasty, here.
  
• Shut up! If I wanted your opinion, I'd give it to you!
  
• And a sort of shortened version of his Intelligence song (1.5MB).

Videogram (just download and double click file "HIAF-bts.exe" (apologies, again, to Mac users!)):
Making of Help, I'm a Fish! (5.5MB, 4 minutes, 38 seconds)

Suzanne <Suz@mail.usa.comfoo>
Hallettsville, TX USA - Sunday, March 10, 2002

A lengthy article, in spite of its title, contains a review of "Harry Potter:"
:
The New Leader, Jan-Feb 2002 v85 i1 p34(3)
The triumph of `Star Wars'. (On Screen). (motion pictures reviewed)_(movie review) Raphael Shargel.
COPYRIGHT 2002 American Labor Conference on International Affairs

Almost from the moment it was announced that this novel would be made into a film, its seemingly infinite number of fans clamored for a literal adaptation. Director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves, advised by author J. K. Rowling herself, complied with the request. Yet the cinematic version emphasizes dark conflict far more strongly than the original. Columbus somehow transforms a colorful tale into very grim material.

One reason for this is his attempting an impossibly inclusive enactment of a much longer source. Each event--not to mention the book's wonderful good humor and delightful digressions--receives only a fraction of the screen time it requires. The result is jerky and episodic, with expositions so slapdash they sometimes actually contradict Rowling.

A second reason is that an obsession with pushing the plot along sacrifices character development. Many fine actors; including Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Alan Rickman, and John Cleese, appear all too briefly, offering pinched, hurried performances that cannot capture the richness of the novel's personae. All in all, the film feels as if it were directed by Lord Voldemort, the drainer of souls.

. . . . . . . . . . .
In practically every instance, sequences of affection and protection are overlooked so that acts of violence can come to the fore.

Brief excerpts from Variety, Feb 25, 2002 v386 i2 p86(2)
`Lady' laughs last at Oliviers: `Kate' revival shut out; `Jitney' wins. (Legit).
(Brief Article) Matt Wolf.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Cahners Business Information

LONDON . . . at the 26th annual Laurence Olivier Awards Feb. 15 . . .

"Humble Boy" was by no means blanked, taking best supporting actress (Marcia Warren) and set (Tim Hatley, who shared the prize with his own sets for "Private Lives").

Best actor and actress in a play also were repeat winners. Roger Allam was cited for "Privates on Parade," in which he plays a cabaret artiste on army duty who likes dressing up in women's clothes. Lindsay Duncan was named for her ravishing Amanda in "Private Lives," which opens April 28 at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theater.

Duncan paid tribute to co-star Alan Rickman: "This Amanda just wouldn't exist without that Elyot. We're in this together."

http://plum.cream.org/HP/vc2002.htm

Daniel Radcliffe and AR at the Variety Club Awards.

Renie
CA, - Friday, March 08, 2002

Music Week, Feb 23, 2002 p39(1)
Dooley.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Miller Freeman UK Ltd

A Eurythmics gig in front of a star-studded audience -- it doesn't get much better than Lord Attenborough, Dave Gilmour and Alan Rickman -- was one of the highlights of last Sunday's musical collaborations between luvvies and musos putting Shakespearean love sonnets to music. The Old Vic concert, staged to tie in with the release of EMI Classics' When Love Speaks, saw Annie Lennox sing a Christopher Marlowe poem, Live With Me And Be My Love, while Dave Stewart belted out his own music. Also featured on the 53-track CD are performances by Joseph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Wilson and Bryan Ferry. Pictured from left are Rickman, Lennox and actor Robert Lindsay.

[Graphic omitted]

Alan Rickman is Britains favourite bedroom voice Research into the valuable skill of story-telling shows that most of the country's favourite voices belong to men. A two-week, online survey conducted by the internet entertainment site bol.com has revealed that the actor Alan Rickman has Britain's favourite bedtime reading voice. His rich, dark timbre was chosen by 1,316 voters.

For the full story, see www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,446294,00.html

Well, conclusive proof of what we have known all along... Mr R has the sexiest voice in the UK...

Liz
Newcastle, UK , Thursday, March 07, 2002 - Thursday, March 07, 2002

There was a nice article in Billboard on "When Love Speaks" (The beat: "The Bard Speaks," Melinda Newman; Billboard, New York; Jan 26, 2002; Vol. 114, Iss. 4; pg. 16):

The composer later brought up the idea to actor/RADA grad Alan Rickman, who suggested it be done as a benefit for the academy. Rickman and a number of other famous RADA alumni . . . perform readings of Shakespeare material on the album.

Excerpts from a very long review of "Harry Potter" Science Fiction Chronicle (Radford), Feb 2002 titled "The white hole" by Alan Dean Foster:

Maggie Smith is dour and serviceable as Professor McGonagall. Ian Hart's Quirrell is notably limp. [Publisher's note: this may have been deliberate, since "limp" is a pretty good description of the character of Quirrell in the novel.] The only performer-as-- professor who brings real presence to his role is the always interesting Alan Rickman as Snape. With the look of a poor white trash version of Prince Valiant, Rickman brings menace, uncertainty, and presence to his character. His menacing stare is far more frightening than any of the erstwhile monsters that appear in the film. At least to an adult viewer, he's more interesting than all the other professors put together. Not to mention that the arch-evil Voldemort, whose appearance (when he finally does show up) is a distinct let-down. Shown in brief flashback slaying Harry's mother, he has all the menace of an electrician sent to the wrong address.

, , , , , , , ,

The film is marvelous to look at, the performances range from competent to excellent (Watson, Rickman) to phoned-in, and there's much for the aficionado to love. For those who are not Harry-maniacs, the film drags. There's no other way to say it. At 153 minutes, it's way too long.

Variety, Feb 11, 2002 v385 i12 p62(1)
London `Lives' looking toward B'way.
(Legit). ('Private Lives')(Brief Article) Matt Wolf.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Cahners Business Information

LONDON London's latest "Private Lives" is pulling nearer to Broadway.

Subject to American Equity's final approval, the Howard Davies-directed revival of Noel Coward's classic play looks set to open April 28 at the Richard Rodgers Theater, following previews that begin April 19.

Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman will headline, as they did back in 1987 during their jointly Tony-nommed Broadway stand in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," also directed by Davies.

A 20-week engagement is planned, with an option on another four weeks. In London, the sellout Albery Theater run has been extended until March 3. By that point, co-producer Duncan C. Weldon told Variety, the play will probably have recouped its 400,000 [pounds sterling] ($580,000) cost 2 1/2 times over.

[Graphic omitted] The Broadway stand should come in at roughly three times the London amount, with a seven-perf sked, as in London.

Rickman hasn't been on Broadway since "Les Liaisons" catapulted him to international attention and a separate career as a film star. Duncan, by contrast, has appeared regularly on the New York stage, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Broadway, as well as "Ashes to Ashes" and last summer's Harold Pinter double bill of "Celebration" and "The Room," among others, Off Broadway.

Duncan won the London Critics' Circle Award for best actress for "Private Lives" and for Kevin Elyot's "Mouth to Mouth." The production is up for seven Olivier Awards this week.

Emanuel Azenberg and Weldon lead the list of Broadway producers, with the inevitable retinue of others still to be named. "You often find there are more producers than cast," joked Weldon.

Named Works: Private Lives (Theater) - Production and direction

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, March 06, 2002

New Statesman, Feb 18, 2002 v131 i4574 p39(2)
Labour of love: Lisa Jardine gets in the mood for Valentine's Day with the Bard. (Sonnets).
(sound recording review) Lisa Jardine.
COPYRIGHT 2002 New Statesman, Ltd.

The works of Shakespeare used to be seen as a source for deep moral insights about ourselves. Whatever values and beliefs were quintessentially "English" were (so we were taught) to be found enshrined in his golden verse. Today, apparently, Shakespeare's has become the pop-cultural voice of smouldering teenage passion -- Baz Luhrmann's cult youth film Romeo & Juliet, with Leonardo DiCaprio as the epitome of first love, followed by Miramax's box-office hit Shakespeare in Love, with Joseph Fiennes as Will, a matinee idol, in pursuit of a winsomely androgynous Gwyneth Paltrow.

On the crest of the wave of such sentimentality comes a new CD of Shakespeare sonnets, sung and spoken by a star-studded cast of theatre luvvies and assorted pop stars. The album was released for Valentine's Day and billed as a fundraiser for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (Rada). Its title, When Love Speaks, is appropriately lifted from a play full of self-indulgent love talk, Love's Labour's Lost:

"And when Love speaks the voice of all the gods
Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony..."

From ananova:

CD box set to feature highlights of Old Vic fundraiser for RADA

Highlights of a fundraiser for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts are to be released in a CD box set Lord Attenborough and Alan Rickman co-hosted the event at the Old Vic.

When Love Speaks featured British theatre and music stars performing the love sonnets of William Shakespeare.

Artists taking part included Fiona Shaw, Peter Bowles, Robert Lindsay, Richard Briers, Tom Courtenay and Janet McTeer.

Musicians Des'ree and David Gilmour were joined by Eurythmics duo Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, in a rare stage reunion.

The box set will feature orchestrations by top film composer Michael Kamen.

Story filed: 09:49 Tuesday 12th February 2002

From today's Theatre Now:

Ralph Fiennes, who has most recently been seen in the West end as a celebrity guest in The Play What I Wrote at Wyndham's - is to tread the boards again later this year, at the National Theatre.

Although the National cannot confirm dates and details yet, he will star in Christopher Hampton's new drama, The Talking Cure, in which he will play Carl Jung, the psychotherapist.

The Talking Cure will be directed by Howard Davies, whose production of Private Lives is heading for New York after an award-winning run at the Albery.

I checked with Broadway Archives to see if they had "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" on tape. Their reply was as follows: "Thank you for your inquiry about the above referenced title. The Broadway production was never filmed for general release however, it was likely filmed for research purposes by the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center."

So I called Lincoln Center, Theater on Film and Tape Collection Archive (212-870-1642). The play was never taped as such, but they do have two excerpts. "We have a segment that was sent to the tv critics that they show when they broadcast their review. And we have a scene that Alan Rickman did on the Tony Award show when he was up for the award."

One cannot borrow the films, only view them at the library. They prefer that you make an appointment (number above), but they also keep four machines open for walk-ins (but you may have to wait for one to become available, and take the chance that no other Rickman fan is already there viewing the tape).

Their hours are Mon-Fri Noon-6; Sat 1-6. Address: oh, heck, I forgot the address. I believe the library is actually in Lincoln Center (though at one point they were in process of moving - either to or from the Center - I forget which!), but when you call them, you can get the exact address.

For our friends in London: I bet you have something similar there. Let us know!

posted by Ann
NJ USA - Monday, March 04, 2002

I found the trailer from `Judas Kiss` on german.imdb.com, Alan has two or three short scenes in it.
http://german.imdb.com/Trailers?0138541&8391&28
posted by Michi <mboettcher@sms.atfoo>
Graz, Austria - Monday, March 04, 2002

*Private Lives* Broadway Dates, Times, Hotels

Several of us at Utopia have plans to attend; we're working on specifics now. If you're interested in hooking up with us, e-mail me, Connie, Laurel or Annette. Here's what I found:

WHERE
Richard Rodgers Theater
226 W. 46th Street
New York, NY 10036

212-307-4100 LOCATION
Theatre District
South side of 46th Street, west of Broadway; next door to the Marriott Marquis (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)

PREVIEWS
April 19 - 27, 2002
OPENS
April 28, 2002
CLOSES
September 8, 2002

PERFORMANCES
Tue - Sat at 8pm; Sat at 2pm; Sun at 3pm

TICKETS
$20 - $75
TicketMaster
212-307-4100

SEATING CHART

HOTELS
*Note: These 3 are expensive, but they're the closest. If I go alone, I will stay at one of these if they're available. Too scary to walk any further.

Edison Hotel
Single: $152.00/night
Double Bed: $170.00 ($85/2 people)
2DB (3 occupants): $185 ($61/3 people)
2DB (4 occupants): $200 ($50/4 people)

Suites [Living Room & Bed(s)]
One person: $210
Two people: $225 ($112.50/person)
Three people: $240 ($80/person)
Four people: $255 ($63.75/person)
*5th person Roll-away bed avail. at $15/night

Paramount Hotel
2DB: $265.00 ($66.25/person, if 4)
*Must call to get further, more specific info.
Courtyard by Marriott
2DB: $239 - $259 ($59.75 & $64.75/person, if 4)

Hope this helps any other Yanks planning on attending. Once again, let us know when you plan to be there so we can hook up.

Harlii <lmhpr00@knology.netfoo>
- Monday, March 04, 2002

It is a BBC talk show and they have a clip from "Play", the Beckett piece with AR. It is about two thirds of the way into the talk show.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/newsnight/01/review/29jun.ram

Ann
NJ USA - Saturday, March 02, 2002

NEW MOVIE FOR ALAN?

From an article in our Sunday paper about Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Swordfish, and Kate & Leopold):

“Jackman is taking a well-earned rest. Well, not really a rest. He is home looking after son Oscar, while wife Deborra-Lee Furness makes a short film for Miramax with Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman.”

Has any-one heard about this?
Gaye
Adelaide, South Australia - Saturday, March 02, 2002

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