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Copyright 2002 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The Evening Standard (London)
September 30, 2002
HEADLINE: A PLATFORM FIT FOR A PRINCE
I ASKED THE NNAY IF I WAS LOOPY - SHE SAID YES. SO I BOOKED INTO THE PRIORY
BY LUCY CAVENDISH

Ruby Wax is being unexpectedly unlike herself. She may look like a dominatrix, all 5ft 2in of her clad in black and leather, but she is quiet and subdued sitting in the foyer of a London hotel. People keep staring at her. She puts on her prescription sunglasses and retreats into herself. Suddenly her mobile phone rings and she turns frenetic. She scrunches the telephone up under one ear, grasps a tiny mirror in her left hand and starts applying a second coat of make-up and bright red lipstick to her already perfectly well made-up face. 'Mark,' she barks loudly down the phone in her tell-tale American accent, 'I'm worried people are going to think the book's all about my parents. I mean I am not just about them. There's all the other stuff; the mother stuff and the breakdown and ... who's going to buy it if they think it's about my parents?' It's a startling transformation. 'It's about my book,' she says 10 minutes later, once we have sat down in the coffee bar. 'I am very worried about it. I want people to buy it but...' Her autobiography, How Do You Want Me?, has just been serialised in a Sunday broadsheet. The first extract, which concentrated on her childhood, made compulsive reading. 'No one wants to know about my parents,' she says, but she's wrong. Her parents are fascinating. Her father, Edward Wachs, who made frankfurter skins, was an Austrian Jew who had been in a labour camp in the war. Her mother, Bertha, was a fading beauty who had Ruby when she was 48 years old.

There was a time when they, and her German-speaking childhood in Evanston, Illinois, seemed to inflect everything Ruby Wax did. She's already featured her parents in a touchingly funny documentary she made some years ago, which showed them living in their old people's home in Miami. They looked lost and bewildered and rather surprised by the fact that they had produced this full-throttle, dyed redhead energy bomb.

But in the book Wax accuses them of just about every crime a parent could commit: of making her a paranoid, alienated teenager; of shoving her off to camp every summer; of belittling her in every way possible; and, because of their constant physical and emotional fighting, of making her connect sex with spite. It just goes on and on.

'My parents were very odd, and I had a strange childhood,' she says. 'My father videoed me all the time. My mother dressed me in Alpine costumes and had the curtains drawn all day so the furniture wouldn't get ruined. I had awful buck teeth that no one did anything about. My mother had a thing about cleaning. She spent her life hunched over with a sponge in each hand. I don't think I was ever praised for anything I did. But they are old and I have made my peace.'

For someone so notoriously difficult, private, and sometimes down right bad-tempered - she once ripped up a female reporter's questions saying they were 'boring' - she is surprisingly open in the book. 'Well, I've been writing it for 14 years. There was a lot to put in it,' she says. Apart from the endlessly fascinating and sometimes shocking revelations about her parents, she also goes through her time at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she played, very convincingly, third wench from the left. 'It was easy for me. I was used to being a slut.'

While there, she had a relationship with a young man called Mel. Her father met him and said he'd come to nothing. It turns out he was, according to press reports, the comedian-turned-film director Mel Smith, although she does not confirm this in the book. But she does reveal how she basically bamboozled her husband of the past 14 years, producer-director and former public school boy Ed Bye, into going out with her.

'I was doing Girls on Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and he was directing bits. I thought he wasn't very good and tried to have him sacked. Then I realised that the reason why I was so angry with him was probably because I fancied him. He was chatting up someone else at a party and I grabbed him. He had no choice.' She then, of course, immediately ran and told French and Saunders about her conquest.

She and Bye have three children, Max, Madeleine and Marina. 'They are my soft underbelly. I don't mention them a lot in the book,' she says. 'They are characters. They have changed me. They are fun. I try not to repeat to them what my parents did to me.' She is, however, very open about what maternity means to her. 'I had no idea how to be a mother,' she says. 'Childbirth is f***ing hell. The IQ seeps from your fibres. I truly distrust people who say that they love giving birth and that everything is so wonderful. They are liars. As a child I was made to feel that nothing I did was right. That fear has stayed with me. How does anyone ever know what to do? Outside the school gates, for example. That's terrifying. All those self-assured mothers, those Notting Hill types who wear Miu Miu, dropping the kids off to school. Only it's worse. It's faded Miu Miu and their kids have that look in their eyes that says: 'I'm going to be a banker just like Daddy.' I thought they were in some kind of conspiracy against me.'

There is this strange schism within Ruby Wax. Professionally she is a powerhouse. All her programmes, give or take a few, are created by her. 'Some survive,' she says, 'some don't.' Recently, her BBC prime-time quiz show The Waiting Game, in which she got to be hilariously rude to members of the public, was shelved. 'Yeah well, maybe people didn't get it.' She doesn't seem remotely bothered. She has six new celebrity shows to do in the style of her much-acclaimed Madonna/Hugh Hefner/Goldie Hawn interviews. Then there's her mid-morning slot where she, her guests and the studio audience talk about subjects such as revenge. 'Oh, I love that,' she says. 'I'm very big on revenge. Most of my life has been about it: revenge on my parents, revenge on people who told me I'd be nothing. I would kill for revenge if it didn't mean I'd end up in jail!'

On a personal level, though, she is far less assured, far more insecure, prone to self-analysis, shyness and crippled by an inability to relate to others. She says she has few real friends. 'Have you noticed that people don't listen? Not really. You tell someone something really important and they just nod and carry on with what they were saying. I listen, you see. I am a good listener.' She genuinely trusts very few people. 'There's Alan Rickman,' she says - whom she met when they were both at the RSC and who directed her first self-written show - Jennifer Saunders, 'a genius', Dawn French, 'another genius', and her husband, whom she describes as 'human Valium'. She would kill him, or at least 'chop up his suits', if he ever left. 'He's about to go away for a year, working in LA. So...I heard of a woman who married a very vain man. When he started an affair with a much younger woman she took every single suit in by half an inch. The whole lot. Isn't that amazing? I'd do that.'

Recently there were reports in the press of her having an affair with a young internet entrepreneur. She snorts when this is mentioned. 'For God's sake,' she says, 'how could that possibly happen? Look at me. I only just managed to get it together with Ed. I hate people who say things like: 'When I met him, I just knew he was the one.' That's rubbish. I think everything is a matter of bungled timing. Christ, I mean I've spent half my life involved with homosexuals!'

Well, that's true. In her book, although she fails to mention her first two marriages, she quite happily admits that she's spent a fair portion of her life being in love with gay men.

She also reveals that she took her first child, Max, to the doctor because she thought he was in a coma when he was actually just sleeping. And her nervous breakdown occurred shortly after the birth of her third child, Marina.

Wax could talk about therapy and the pursuit of happiness forever. She says she didn't go to The Priory to get therapy: 'I went to relax. I had become obsessed with decorating the house. I mean, beyond anything normal. I was in a 'various shades of white' phase. I asked the nanny if I had gone a bit loopy - because you can't tell yourself - and she said yes, so I booked myself in. I was juggling three kids and work, and I was tired.' She says she wasn't gaga or desolate or depressed. 'I think I was chemically unbalanced. There are a lot of us out there like that. I saw them all with this look on their faces,' - she pulls a blank face - 'and I recognised it, because it's the same one I had and my mother has - only no one found that out about her.'

When she came out of The Priory she found a therapist and everything got a lot better. 'Look, I was lucky,' she says. 'I spent a year studying psychology at university in the States, so I knew what I was looking for.' Other than that, Wax thinks most therapists are charlatans. 'They need no qualifications. They could be anybody. They charge a lot of money, and most of it is a waste of time.' Her quick guide to when to get off the therapist's couch and run like hell goes like this: 'If you ever hear one of them say any of the following: 'Give me a hug'; 'Let's get out the crystals'; 'I think you should be reborn'; 'Who do you think you were in a previous life', leave immediately.'

She also believes that the route of happiness does not lie in therapy. 'It helped me,' she says, 'but I was ready to be helped. You know who are the happiest people on earth? American waitresses. Me and Ed have just got back from Montana and I never met so many happy waitresses. They don't have envy, they don't have ambition.'

She talks a lot about what-would-I-do-if-I-weren't-a-celebrity, but there's no denying she likes it. Part of her loves the attention, hence the publication of the book when much else in her life is quiet. 'Celebrity is a fantastic substitute for mommy and daddy's f***-ups,' she says. 'I think fame can be a high-octane, addictive thing - and I've certainly craved attention in my time - but fame cannot compensate for what you lack. Anyone who gets off on being a celebrity is sick. I mean ill, really ill.'

But it's obvious she likes being around the famous even if she doesn't count herself, even now, as being one of them. Celebrities certainly seem to like her. She is clever and funny and nosy and, as Americans tend to put it, she is an 'enabler'.

During the time I spent with her I felt terrific, as if I was the funniest person I'd ever be likely to meet. I can understand how she effortlessly persuaded Imelda Marcos, OJ Simpson and Sarah Ferguson, among others, to ridicule themselves and their lifestyles.

They tell her everything and do mad, tactless, shocking things like pretend to stab her with a banana (Simpson), show her their colour-coded knicker drawers (Ferguson) and sing Mares Eat Oats whilst boasting of their 1,000-pair shoe collection (Marcos). 'But they all loved the programmes,' says Wax. 'Imelda Marcos was really pleased because I didn't ask her about her tyrannical husband. I didn't need to. It was there. The viewers knew that.'

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Monday, September 30, 2002

Copyright 2002 Nationwide News Pty Limited
Courier Mail
September 28, 2002, Saturday
SECTION: BAM; Pg. M01
HEADLINE: The TROUBLE with HARRY
BYLINE: Des Partridge

Some of Harry Potter's magic may be needed to keep the movies coming

THE countdown has begun . . . again. It's just 48 days until the world premiere of the second Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in London on November 15. Almost two weeks later, the film drawn from the second of author J.K. Rowling's worldwide best-sellers will be released in Australia.

Though the second Harry Potter movie is guaranteed success, a major concern hangs over the future of the franchise.

The problem is that the actor who plays Harry, Daniel Radcliffe, right, is literally outgrowing the role. Radcliffe was an 11-year-old schoolboy with one movie credit (The Tailor of Panama ) and some TV experience (David Copperfield ) when he was thrown into the spotlight to portray bespectacled wizard Harry Potter on screen, winning the role from thousands of candidates after a worldwide search.

Steven Spielberg's choice, Haley Joel Osment, the prodigiously talented actor 16 months older than Radcliffe, professed he wasn't interested in playing Harry.

Radcliffe proved eminently acceptable in his debut, although his young co-stars Rupert Grint (Rupert "Ron" Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) proved somewhat closer to the images created on Rowling's pages.

Now there's a race against puberty which could threaten Radcliffe's continuing service in the role beyond a third film.

There's evidence in recent candid photographs that Radcliffe, who turned 13 in July, is going through something of a growth spurt.

He already is taller than his mother, but if there are doubts about how long he can continue playing Harry, those involved with the Harry Potter movies aren't admitting to any fears -- yet.

Radcliffe himself said in a BBC interview about his role that he was "just going to take it one book at a time".

Asked how he'd feel about playing Harry when he was 17 or 18 -- and with five books eventually available to filmmakers there's every possibility he will be -- Radcliffe explained: "Harry advances so much in each school year, he comes more out of his shell.

"If I'm thinking about playing Harry in the fourth book or the third or whatever, I could end up bringing his character from one of them and put it in the second, and it just wouldn't look right."

Radcliffe would not be the first child actor to see a movie career fizzle to nothing if he does outgrow his Harry Potter role. The most recent example of this is Macaulay Culkin, who made his name in the Home Alone series of films. The original Home Alone, made with a 10-year-old Culkin, set new records for a comedy at $US286 million, and Culkin was back two years later in the sequel, another bonanza with earnings of $US173 million. The studio contemplated a third film immediately after the second but plans fell through, until five years later, with Culkin then considered too old at 17 to reprise the role. A new kid, Alex D. Linz, then aged eight, was brought in for Home Alone 3, but it was a box office flop, earning just $US35 million. Culkin was used for other roles -- such as playing a boy who kills his sister in The Good Son -- but has now resorted to stage work to continue acting.

Radcliffe isn't the only Harry Potter regular who's still growing. There's also the puberty factor to be considered about his young co-stars, Grint, now 14, and Watson, 12.

Director Chris Columbus already has acknowledged the age factor of the books' juvenile characters is a problem for the filmmakers. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said: "The drawback is you can't stop the ageing process, so there's no chance of a big break between (making) the films.

"And you can't shoot all the films simultaneously, like The Lord of the Rings, because you need the kids to look a little older each time."

The age factor does not matter so much for the series' adult stars such as Richard Harris (72 on October 1), who plays headmaster Albus Dumbledore, 68-year-old Maggie Smith (Professor Minerva McGonagall), Alan Rickman, 56, as Professor Severus Snape, and newcomers, 42-year-old Kenneth Branagh (Professor Gilderoy Lockhart) and 39-year-old Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy).

Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are signed through until the third film, with shooting due to start in January.

Author J.K. Rowling has said there are seven books planned in all, making it unlikely the same cast can continue until the final movie adaptation, whenever that comes.

Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have returned to regular schooling during the gaps -- a situation more fortunate than many of their Hollywood predecessors, child stars such as Shirley Temple and Jackie Coogan, who had more demanding schedules.

From his debut in Charlie Chaplin's The Kid in 1920 as a six-year-old, Coogan pumped out 20 films by the time he was 18, with only minor roles coming his way as an adult, although he did win new fans as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family TV series. Sadly, Coogan's parents squandered the entire $4 million fortune his rare appeal had earned him.

Temple won hearts on screen from the tender age of three, and when she moved into adult roles at 18 (before abandoning movies altogether) she'd made about 50 shorts and features for Hollywood studios.

Veteran British film critic Barry Norman says becoming a has-been at maturity for child actors often has nothing to do with their talents as actors.

"The talent may still be there, but the cuteness tends to vanish, to be replaced by gawkiness, puppy fat and unsightly pimples," says Norman.

One of the saddest cases was Bobby Driscoll, the Disney child star (with roles in hits such as Song of the South and Treasure Island). Driscoll was awarded an Academy Award as best child actor in 1949, aged 12. At 31, rejected by Hollywood, he was dead after years of drug addiction.

"I was carried on a satin cushion and then dropped in a garbage can," Driscoll reflected on his career.

To every rule there are exceptions, of course, with actors such as Mickey Rooney, Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, Ron Howard, Kurt Russell and Hayley Mills just a few who have made the transition from child performers to successful adult careers.

There's no formula -- it's down to magic.

The original Harry Potter movie, the PG-rated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, provided a box-office bonanza internationally for film company Warner Bros and its Australian subsidiary Village Roadshow.

Not surprisingly for Hogwarts fans everywhere, the four Harry Potter books published so far were named in London this week as the No. 1 favourites of boys, girls and their parents, in a survey of the top 100 children's titles. Another two Harry Potter adventures, The Goblet of Fire and The Chamber of Secrets, filled second and third places.

In Australia, fans of the original book flocked to cinemas across the country when the film opened on November 16 last year on a record 476 screens (beating the previous record, 411 prints of Pearl Harbor). Box-office receipts totalled $42 million to make the tale of wizards and fantasy one of the most popular films ever shown in Australia. Its figures put it fourth on the list of all-time hits behind Titanic, Crocodile Dundee and that other wizards and fantasy blockbuster, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.

The second part of the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, The Two Towers, will be coming into cinemas in Australia on Boxing Day, providing some breathing space between these two big event films.

Apart from the ticket sales, Harry Potter has proved a goldmine with major sales in its video format. Warner Home Video has sold 800,500 copies in Australia, along with 395,000 DVDs, not to mention merchandise such as clothing and toys.

Marketing of the new film is going according to plan -- unlike the publishing side of the Harry Potter franchise. Rowling -- who has become a multimillionaire through her Harry Potter series, which has sold almost 140 million copies -- is still working on the fifth instalment of the young wizard's adventures, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The new book was scheduled to be in bookstores in July -- two years after the fourth book was released. Now Rowling's UK publishers say Rowling's book won't be in stores for Christmas. They haven't got the manuscript yet, and it will take around five months to print copies after they receive it from Rowling.

The hunger for a new Harry Potter adventure ensures the release of the film version of Chamber of Secrets will attract even more fans desperate for a taste of Harry in whatever form. In the new film, young wizard Harry and his friends face new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they try to discover a dark force that is terrorising the school.

Columbus (originally famous for the Home Alone series of comedies) directed the original film, and was back to direct the new film. But, citing other commitments, he has announced he won't be in the director's chair when the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is made next year, for release in cinemas in 2004. The assignment is being taken over by 41-year-old Mexican Alfonso Cuaron, who is enjoying success currently with the robust and sexually charged R-rated Mexican-language comedy, Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too). While the current film is far removed from the magical world of Hogwarts, Cuaron enjoyed earlier success with two imaginative treatments of literary classics -- Great Expectations (remade in 1998), and the tear-jerker The Little Princess (1995). There is every chance, therefore, that he'll be able to handle the adaptation of Potter from page to screen -- with or without Radcliffe. (Paragraphing condensed.)

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 29, 2002

C.O.S. tickets are available from UCI. I know I've got mine. From today for the 8,9,10,& 14 Nov. I wanted to go to the Raindance F.F. 23 Oct., as T.S.F.J.G. is the opening film. Not a hope to far away for a start. So I had to settle for C.O.S. Talk about spoilt for choice.
Mary Kerman <m-kerman@connectfree.co.ukfoo>
U.K. - Friday, September 27, 2002

Copyright 2002 NewsQuest Media Group Limited
UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Wiltshire
September 26, 2002
SECTION: News
HEADLINE: Authors spread their magic
BYLINE: Wantage staff reporter

Word Magic Festival, which will see top literary names at venues county wide, means book fans old and young will at last have authors coming to their own towns, rather than them having to travel to literature festivals in Cheltenham or Bath.

The event, which will take place between September 28 and October 5, has been under preparation since last October.

[cut]. . . . . . . . . .

The festival will be launched by Beryl Bainbridge, who, five times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, winner of the Whitbread prize and author of novels such as Master Georgie and An Awfully Big Adventure (recently adapted for a film starring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman), will be talking about her work in Salisbury library. [cut]. . . . . . . .;

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Friday, September 27, 2002

And, now, "Die Hard" the computer game:

Copyright 2002 VNU Business Publications Ltd
What PC
August 1, 2002
SECTION: Pg.74
HEADLINE: Nakatomi Plaza (15).
BYLINE: Andy Gordon.

Games that tie in to films are increasingly common, but they are usually released at the same time as the movie, rather than 14 years later. Nevertheless, Bruce Willis and his ragged vest were popular enough to spawn two sequels, and Sierra must hope the same success will bless this game. Sadly, we doubt it. The game's one redeeming feature is its price, and if you have (GBP)20 to spare and enjoy first-person shooters, it will fill a few hours. Parts of the game are very true to the original film. You arrive in Los Angeles to meet your estranged wife at her Christmas Party in the Nakatomi building. While you are in the washroom freshening up, a truckful of terrorists arrive, and you only have time to pick up your trusty handgun.

The game then alternates between short- and medium-term objectives, interspersed with cut-scenes showing the bad guys in action and the good guys arriving. Sadly, none of the character voices are authentic, and the attempt to mimic master criminal Hans Gruber, played in the film by Alan Rickman, will seriously distress any purists. You move up and down the building's 40 floors, taking out certain terrorists or helping the police by opening doors and giving signals. However, you are not told when your objectives change, and despite the linear nature of the game, you can find yourself wandering aimlessly, chasing a lost cause.

The mission requiring you to kill Fritz the terrorist and send his body down in the lift is taken from the film, as is saving Argyle the chauffeur from the garage. They are modified by the presence of a few goons, who are bright enough to roll around but easy enough to kill. Artistic licence has also been used to provide a variety of different guns, a staple of the first-person shooter. Along with a handgun and machine gun, you can also use a heavy machine gun, a sniper rifle and stun grenades.

Despite these added ingredients, the game is boring in parts. There are not enough extras to make it stand out from an overcrowded market, and playing it feels like going through the motions. The film is fast-moving, innovative and full of twists; the game is not.

The price is (GBP)15 less than many new releases, saving the game's reputation a little. It will entertain you for a while, and if you have a stubborn personality, you will be determined to finish it. Parents should note the age rating, which allows John McClane to throw in a smattering of the worst-possible swear words from the beginning.

The graphics and gameplay are average, and the music is dire, but there is enough in the game for some short-term entertainment.

- (GBP)19.99 (inc VAT)
- Sierra Entertainment: 01268 531245, www.vivendi-universal-interactive.co.uk
Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza
Overall: ***
Minimum requirements: Pentium II 400MHz PC, Windows 98, 64Mb RAM, 660Mb hard disk space, 4x CD-ROM, DirectX-compatible sound card, 16Mb 3D graphics card.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Copyright 2002 Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
The Dallas Morning News
September 18, 2002, Wednesday
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
HEADLINE: 'Waiting' is worth it, and so are the other Beckett works in this set
BYLINE: By Jerome Weeks

The "Beckett on Film" project is an impressive endeavor -- and scrupulously done. Outstanding film directors (Neil Jordan, Atom Egoyan) and exceptional actors (Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman) recorded all 19 of Samuel Beckett's stageworks for a four-DVD set.

Indeed, spearheaded by Michael Colgan, the director of Dublin's Gate Theatre, "Beckett on Film" is so scrupulous that in its "making of" documentary included here, it features Irish journalist Thomas McGurk's disagreement with the project's entire premise. Taping a stage drama alters it, he argues, putting the director in charge, not the author. So the project doesn't "preserve" Beckett's works, even as the directors were told not to alter the basic texts. The director still chooses the angles and cuts, forcing viewers to witness his or her interpretation. True, and what McGurk doesn't say is that being in a room with a living actor is a more direct experience than seeing digital images on a TV screen. A stage actor can hold us with silence; it's different when we can fast-forward.

What's more, some of the directors felt it necessary to "prove" that film can be better than theater, to emphasize the artsy, recorded nature of what we are seeing. So they added cinematic tricks: swipes, film breaks, etc. The nature of Beckett's writing is a paring away of the inessential, a reduction to the bleakest, barest, almost subatomic level of drama (and human existence). So these frills are not just annoying, they're fundamentally at odds with his work. One might as well stick a polka-dotted unicorn on camera.

That said, what serious theater fan would not want to see the greatest playwright of the 20th century served by the likes of David Mamet directing Harold Pinter and Sir John Gielgud (in his last performance) in "Catastrophe"? Or John Hurt in "Krapp's Last Tape"? Hurt even looks like a whittled-down version of Beckett, and the effect (along with Hurt's performance) is haunting.

The glories hardly stop there: Sir Michael Gambon is a great, grizzled wreck as Hamm in "Endgame," while Rosaleen Linehan is a wonder as the unsinkable Winnie, the woman sunk up to her neck in "Happy Days."

Barry McGovern, already a Beckett master from his one-man show, "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On," makes a superb Didi in "Waiting for Godot," although the surprise there is Alan Stanford, the only Pozzo I've ever seen who's actually charming.

One real advantage of filming a stage drama is that, with close-ups and sound recording, every word is made crystalline, every detail of a face is vivid. This heightened clarity is what makes director Anthony Minghella's "Play" so rewarding (it's the trio-in-urns drama), and not his film tricks.

On the other hand, what theater does that film can't is respond to an audience, and one wishes that "Beckett on Film" didn't push its admirable scrupulousness into solemnity. The actors didn't have the time (or an audience) to find the laugh lines -- and there are laugh lines in Beckett's plays. Dallas actor Bruce Dubose once got a splendid roar in "Endgame" that I've never heard since -- with a dying man's query to the darkening wasteland -- "No phone calls?"

That's great Beckett, the crippled laugh in the face of annihilation, and as impressive an achievement as it is, "Beckett on Film" could use more of it.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Copyright 2002 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The Evening Standard (London)
September 23, 2002
SECTION: Pg. 10
HEADLINE: Madonna lined up for cameo in Hugh's new film

RUMOURS ABOUND that Madonna's performance in Swept Away, her husband Guy Ritchie's latest film, is far from convincing - but this hasn't convinced her to give up on an acting career. Madge is, according to a source on set, to play a cameo role in Richard Curtis's latest film, Love Actually, starring Hugh Grant, currently being shot in Notting Hill.

"There are cameo roles in it," confirms an official spokesman for the film, "but I am not sure if I can disclose who they are at the moment."

If the rumour is true, she will be joining a best-of-British cast who could give her some acting tips for the film due out next Christmas. As well as Hugh Grant, other confirmed names include Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, and Andrew Lincoln from Channel 4's Teachers drama. Lincoln was on location on Thursday night, filming in St Luke's Mews off the All Saints Road, next door to the house where, two years ago, Paula Yates died after taking a heroin overdose. Filming on Love Actually started three weeks ago, with Hugh Grant as a British Prime Minster who falls for his tea lady, played by Martine McCutcheon. The film is billed as a Robert Altman-style comedy, featuring 10 different love stories that climax on Christmas Eve. History suggests the film will be a financial success - Curtis's works have so far grossed £770m. (Paragraphing collapsed.)

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
September 22, 2002, Sunday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. N20
HEADLINE: HOME ENTERTAINMENT / DVD / VIDEO; DESPITE MEDIA DRUBBINGS FOR HIS FLOPS, COULD THIS DIRECTOR HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?
BYLINE: By Tom Russo, Globe Correspondent

Deservedly or not, director Kevin Reynolds's filmography typically gets boiled down to three credits: "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Waterworld," both of which involved notorious creative clashes with his erstwhile pal Kevin Costner, and the failed Easter Island historical adventure "Rapa Nui" (which Costner produced). In between media lambastings, though, Reynolds has made a few other movies. Do they shore up his resume or further bog it down? Consider:

"The Count of Monte Cristo" (2002). The latest Hollywood retelling of Alexandre Dumas's oft-told revenge tale finds Reynolds returning to "Prince of Thieves" territory: a legendary period piece with a bland but passable lead who's helped considerably by a virtuoso villain. Costner, of course, was imperfectly cast as Robin Hood, but got a boost from the terrifically smarmy Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham; here, Jim Caviezel ("High Crimes") is the beleagured Dantes, and Guy Pearce ("Memento") is Mondego, the backstabbing associate who sends him packing off to the Alcatraz of France. Caviezel, while sympathetic, doesn't really nail the despair or vengeful rush his character experiences as his fortunes ebb and flow. The chameleonic Pearce, meanwhile, takes his amusingly foppish read on Mondego a little too far over the top as the movie progresses, but on the whole he's strong, as always. Character actor Luis Guzman ("The Limey") is glaringly miscast as Dantes's right-hand man, delivering his lines with an anachronistic Latin bounce that too often takes viewers right out of the movie. But Richard Harris is entertaining as the holy man who befriends Dantes in prison. (article truncated)

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Copyright 2002 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
September 20, 2002 Friday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: SCE; Pg. S36
HEADLINE: TV REVIEW; No waiting for Beckett; PBS' 'Stage on Screen' serves up a meaty dish of the playwright's best
BYLINE: By TERRY BYRNE

"Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film."
Tomorrow at 10 p.m. on WGBH (Ch. 2).
four stars (out of four)

The brilliance of playwright Samuel Beckett lies not so much in what he says, but in what he leaves unspoken. At the same time, Beckett's incredibly spare explorations of human isolation and characters out of control can often seem mysterious and chaotic. But "Beckett on Film," a project put together by Michael Colgin of Ireland's Gate Theatre and film producer Alan Moloney, represents an extraordinary effort to re-imagine all 19 of Beckett's plays through the medium of film.

The result is that plays that once seemed inscrutable and intellectual are shockingly clear and rich with raw emotion.

Digesting all of Beckett's plays in one gulp might be overwhelming, so PBS' "Stage on Screen" selects just seven of the short plays and puts them together in a 90-minute segment hosted by award-winning actor Jeremy Irons tomorrow at 10 p.m.

Irons' narration cleverly provides insight and introduction to Beckett and his contribution to theater without sounding like a classroom lecture. Interspersed with the films of the short plays are brief interviews with the directors, explaining their approachesto plays that inspired them.

By choosing to film these pieces, the project alters our perception of the plays without changing their impact. In several instances, the plays become even more immediate. In "Play," famous for its image of heads sticking out of jars, each of the three characters speaks only when in the spotlight. But director Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley") explains that with film, he had to choose between camera movement or lighting. He chooses the cameras, giving "Play" a breathtaking intensity. Minghella makes great use of close-ups, shifting back and forth and in and out of focus among Kristen Scott-Thomas, Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. Suddenly, the chatter about infidelity creates an unnerving feeling of panic.

Sometimes the choice of director adds another level of meaning to the work. Controversial conceptual artist Damien Hirst directs Beckett's 45-second "Breath." The camera swoops down and around a display of medical waste and debris, an image that is as shocking as Beckett could have wished for.

In "Catastrophe," playwright Harold Pinter plays the Director, making adjustments to his theatrical creation (John Gielgud in his final performance). The play is directed by David Mamet, and pairing these two playwrights, who follow closely in Beckett's footsteps, in this play about the stage makes the irony sharper.

Film also provides an opportunity to dig deeper into Beckett's intentions. In "Ohio Impromptu," Irons plays both characters, the Listener and the Reader, emphasizing the idea that these are two parts of the same person.

In "Come and Go," the most theatrical of the pieces, the meeting of the three women becomes balletlike in director John Crowley's sense of movement, while "Act Without Words II," Beckett's homage to his silent-film heroes, adds a level of distance.

Several films create an unexpected intimacy that brings us even closer to the pure emotions that so fascinated Beckett. In "What Where," the persecutor becomes the victim and vice versa in an endless loop. Although director Damien O'Donnell's library set doesn't really add much, the expressions of terror and torment, satisfaction and surreal fear that cross the two actors' faces is unforgettable.

Tomorrow night's airing of "Beckett on Film" is part one of a two-part tribute to Beckett. Part two, airing in January, will be the full-length filmed version of Beckett's most familiar play, "Waiting for Godot," directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

"Beckett on Film" is a perfect introduction to this groundbreaking playwright. Having a taste of Beckett's brilliance will make "Godot" a more satisfying meal.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 22, 2002

Copyright 2002 Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd.
Belfast Telegraph
September 21, 2002
HEADLINE: The secret is out on our Ken ...
BYLINE: By Fiona McIlwaine Biggins

RENOWNED Ulster actor Kenneth Branagh is to dazzle filmgoers this autumn in the latest Harry Potter blockbuster. Branagh plays Professor Gilderoy Lockhart , who teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The film boasts encounters with giant spiders and a flying car. Its all-star cast includes Daniel Radcliffe again as Harry, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, John Cleese, Richard Harris and Julie Walters.

The film is directed by Chris Columbus, and is due for release in the UK on November 14.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 22, 2002

Here's a critic who really did NOT like Minghella's contribution to Beckett on film:

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
September 20, 2002, Friday,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: ARTS; Pg. C22

HEADLINE: TELEVISION REVIEW Beckett on Film Stage on Screen On: WGBH-TV (Channel 2Time: Tomorrow at 10 p.m.; PBS SETS THE STAGE FOR BECKETT
BYLINE: By Ed Siegel, Globe Staff

Jeremy Irons makes any number of professorial pronouncements about the importance of Samuel Beckett to 20th-century theater in between showing filmed versions of seven of his short plays and clips of several others tomorrow night. But the most helpful advice he gives to PBS viewers comes at the end of his introduction to the second "Stage on Screen" program (devoted to "Waiting for Godot," it's slated to run in January), when Irons smiles and says, "Enjoy the show."

Beckett has been weighed down over the years by a reputation as a playwright who mires his audiences in the hopelessness of life. But though it is true that his plays aren't exactly "Hairspray," his genius is most evident when the audience is laughing or crying rather than recoiling - when it is enjoying the show instead of eating its theatrical vegetables. These two evenings are part of a larger effort to film all 19 of Beckett's stage plays by 19 different directors and to cast them with first-class actors such as Irons, Julianne Moore, Kristin Scott-Thomas, and Alan Rickman, all of whom are in evidence tomorrow night. (The complete set of films has been released on DVD by Ambrose Video; there are also repeat showings Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on Channel 2 and next Friday at 3 p.m. on Channel 44).

This is obviously a commendable archival effort, and with a little help from Irons, PBS makes it obvious why Beckett is considered the most influential playwright of the century. All you have to do is watch the first film - the David Mamet-directed "Catastrophe" with John Gielgud, Harold Pinter, and Rebecca Pidgeon - to see the obvious influence of Beckett on both Mamet and Pinter.

Too obvious, perhaps. "Catastrophe," like most of the films tomorrow night and many more in the home-video set, suffers from too much auteur-driven cinematic overlay and too little appreciation for Beckett's unique voice.

It is tempting to think that the best way to translate theater, a relatively word-driven medium, to television, is to find directors with a strong visual style. Thus Anthony Minghella talks about finding a cinematic correlative for "Play," in which a man, his wife, and lover - each stuck in a vat - recount their frustrations. In the theater, each is spotlit as he or she speaks, while the others are in darkness.

This may be the most disappointing of all these versions. Minghella unites his two stars of "Truly, Madly, Deeply," Juliet Stevenson and Rickman, with Scott-Thomas, but to no good effect. What is hypnotic in the theater becomes merely frenetic on film. Minghella, who was once a promising playwright, has made something of a trademark of imposing his will on other writers, draining the poetry out of Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient" and much of the menace out of Patricia Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Here, where you need to be paying so much attention to Beckett's words, Minghella is making it all but impossible to do so.

Neil Jordan's "Not I" bathes Moore's mouth in color, but it is a (pardon the pun) pale imitation of an earlier black-and-white film with Billie Whitelaw.

After these seven films, one is ready to say that Beckett is a man of the theater and simply resists cinematic treatment. Not so. The film of "Waiting for Godot," which airs in January, is superb, with Barry McGovern and Johnny Murphy playing Vladimir and Estragon the way they should be played - for laughs. It helps that the two actors are the playwright's countrymen, and Beckett sounds phenomenal with Irish accents. It probably helps even more that "Godot" was directed by veteran TV director Michael Lindsay-Hogg ("Brideshead Revisited"), who, unlike Minghella, is adept at getting out of the way and letting the author speak for himself.

The same pattern repeats itself throughout the series on DVD. Directors who impose the least amount of cinematic "stuff" on Beckett are the most successful - such as Atom Egoyan, who made "Krapp's Last Tape" with William Hurt, and Richard Eyre, who shot "Rockaby" with Penelope Wilton. On the other hand, Conor McPherson's cerebral "Endgame" with Michael Gambon competes with "Play" as one of the most disappointing in the set.

In general, the best place to see a Beckett play is still in the theater. (The New Repertory Theatre in Newton is doing "Waiting for Godot" with Austin Pendleton and John Kuntz in January.) But when "Beckett on Film" lives up to its name instead of becoming "Filmmakers on Beckett," then all is not hopeless on television, even in the I-can't-go-on, I'll-go-on world of Samuel Beckett.

Ed Siegel can be reached at siegel@globe.com.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Saturday, September 21, 2002

Ta-da! Below is the link to The Preacher Videogram. I did run into a few errors because of its length, but I finally managed to get it working by sacrificing the video quality a bit towards the end of the clip (sorry, but that couldn't be helped). And it's a little on the dark side, but as you probably noticed from Claudia's screen captures, it's supposed to look like that. Either that or their budget ran out before they bought lights. ;-)

Revolutionary Witness: The Preacher (preacher.exe, 10.7MB, 18 mins, 48 secs)

A videotape of The Preacher can be purchased from The Phoenix Learning Group 1-800-221-1274 for around $100.00.

So... shall I try Play (including his brief interview) next?

Suzanne <Suz@mail.usa.comfoo>
TX USA - Friday, September 20, 2002

Re Harry Potter V, from today's Times:

September 20, 2002

J K Rowling and the top secret By Brian MacArthur

MILLIONS of children and their parents can relax. J. K. Rowling was working yesterday on the final stages of the fifth Harry Potter novel. It may even be ready for Christmas. In an exclusive interview with The Times, Rowling said not only that she has not been suffering from writer’s block but also that she is expecting a new baby to join her daughter Jessica next spring. Amidst the “indescribable mess” in her Edinburgh office, there is a “little oasis”, she says, where the manuscript is stacked, “nice, neat, pristine and big” - as big, she thinks, as The Goblet of Fire (636 pages).

The words have been flowing, she says, in spite of the action against her in the United States where she was falsely accused of plagiarism, an accusation comprehensively dismissed by a judge in New York on Tuesday night. The novel, entitled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is already readable and she is happy with the result. She is now at the tweaking stage. So can her millions of readers expect a Christmas present? “Possibly”. There is a deep, throaty chuckle.

Some would interpret that warm chuckle as a “Yes”, I suggest. “Maybe”, she murmurs, meanwhile emphasising that the decision when to publish rests with Bloomsbury, her publisher (...)

There's more, but that was the gist of it. Not that what appears in the Times is gospel, but it makes sense: if I was the publisher, I certainly would try to get it in the shops in time for Christmas... *sounds of sickles and knuts* ;)

Hey, I can't wait to read what Snape has to put up with in this one! :D

GML
UK - Friday, September 20, 2002

If anyone is interested in the script to "Play," it can be found by clicking on this link:

Play Script
Kimberly
- Thursday, September 19, 2002

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 19, 2002 Thursday REGION EDITION
SECTION: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Pg.C-6
HEADLINE: PBS'S BECKETT PLAYS ARE WORTH THE WAIT
BYLINE: CHRISTOPHER RAWSON, POST-GAZETTE DRAMA CRITIC

Michael Colgan knows the popular image of the plays of Samuel Beckett is bleakness and despair. "But no one could ultimately be that bleak, when they write so beautifully," he says by phone from Dublin. "The need to write beautifully is a prayer in itself."

As former head of the Dublin Theatre Festival and for 19 years artistic director of Dublin's Gate Theatre, Colgan came to know Beckett, who lived in Paris until his death in 1989. "Sam was extraordinary in his ordinariness. He was a charming man of impeccable manner, sort of shy, very gentle with the most extraordinary cornflower-blue eyes. Behind them was an intelligence that could frighten you, but he didn't do verbal gymnastics ... he had a great sense of humor."

On stage, Beckett is thought to be inaccessible, but Colgan has seen stagehands in Dublin, "the ones with hammers in their belts," soaking him up, quoting him and correcting actors: "If you're a syllable out, they'll tell you in two seconds."

As head of the Gate, Colgan has several times produced the full cycle of 19 Beckett plays, from the well-known masterpieces ("Waiting for Godot," "Krapp's Last Tape") to the brief, strange experiments ("Breath," "Come and Go"). "When I took up the banner, unfortunately, Sam was the least-known most famous writer in the world."

To redress that, in 1999-2000 Colgan produced "Beckett on Film" -- movies of all 19 plays, using an all-star lineup of such directors as David Mamet, Richard Eyre, Anthony Minghella, Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan and Karel Reisz and actors John Gielgud, Julianne Moore, Milo O'Shea, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Harold Pinter.

But filming Beckett is fraught with difficulty, since he was adamant that the plays be staged exactly as written, including the settings. Since his death, the Beckett Estate enforces his wishes. Colgan supports that. "With a man like Sam, absolutely hell-bent on detail, who would go back to a sentence over and over, it's his prerogative as long as the copyright is extant and there's an estate to control it."

But film is not stage, and Colgan was dealing with 19 well-known directors "who, up until this moment you're meeting them, have been god." How could he control them, especially when he was paying a fragment of their usual fee? So he began with filmmakers who were writers or came from a theater background and would be more likely to honor Beckett -- "to worship at the shrine."

And on the other hand, since film conventions and stage conventions are different, "if you film it to the letter, you aren't doing Sam a service." On stage, we accept a bare space as a room and dress it in our imagination, but "a void on film is a void." So on film, Krapp has a room -- "but you don't see the names of the books on his shelves; we had to go for ambiguity and nonspecificity." In Minghella's fascinating "Play," the three characters in urns are seen to be part of a vast field of others: "The punch of it is the contextual thing, that there are people in this Dantesque limbo."

Of the 19 films, PBS, through New York's WNET, has chosen to start with seven short pieces, folded together with continuing narration by Jeremy Irons into a 90-minute special. Broadcast on most PBS stations last week, it is on WQED tomorrow at 10 p.m.

The seven make a fascinating package. Mamet directs Gielgud, Pinter and Rebecca Pidgeon in "Catastrophe." Irons himself performs "Ohio Impromptu," directed by Charles Sturridge. Minghella directs Rickman, Scott Thomas and Juliet Stevenson in "Play." Those stand out for their sometimes daring solutions of how to bring Beckett to the screen. The others -- "Come and Go," "Act Without Words II," "Breath" and "What Where" -- are not far behind.

These seven will be followed on PBS in January by what Colgan calls "the most-often-done play in the world," "Waiting for Godot." WNET has chosen to skip John Hurt's famous performance in "Krapp's Last Tape" and perhaps the greatest Beckett of all, "Endgame," directed by Conor McPherson and starring Michael Gambon.

But Colgan is sanguine that America may yet see these others, "if [PBS] gets the right reaction to the first seven." Fortunately, all are available now: A boxed four-DVD set of the 19 Beckett plays is available from Ambrose Video for $149.95, and you can get it for $120 via www.beckettonfilm.com. [Site now lists the DVD at $149, just like Ambrose--ed.]

"We want as many people as possible to get access to this work," Colgan says, noting that the 50th anniversary of "Godot's" premiere will be celebrated this January.

TV PREVIEW
"Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film"
When: 10 p.m. tomorrow on WQED
Narrator: Jeremy Irons.

NOTES: Christopher Rawson can be reached at crawson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1666.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Thursday, September 19, 2002

"Beckett on Film" has its own web site, and the "Play" page links to an interview with Mr. Rickman which ends with this lovely quote:

However good you are as an actor, you're never as good as the play. Actors are poor souls. We can only throw ourselves against the wall. Hope to stick a bit.

I spent part of this evening making screen captures, and I put several nice ones from "Play" (including a few from the interview with AR that preceded it) up on my site. If you'd like to have a look, they're here:

"Play" Screen Captures
Jen
MD USA - Wednesday, September 18, 2002

The Marco Island Film Fest will be featuring "Help! I'm a Fish". The festival runs October 18-27, 2002. Marco Island is located in southwest Florida near Naples. The website is

Marco Island Film Fest

Funny, HIAF has been out on video in Europe for a long time now.

Nope...no "The Search for John Gissing", I'm afraid. It would be worth the drive for that!
Claudia
GA US - Monday, September 16, 2002

Copyright 2002 The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
September 15, 2002, Sunday
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT;Pg. F-5
HEADLINE: This week, Beckett's short plays finally get their due
BYLINE: Anne Marie Welsh; THEATER CRITIC

Pop quiz: Modern drama.

Who wrote "Not I"? And "Breath"? How about "Come and Go"?

If you scored a zero, not to worry. Considering how little the 20th century's most influential playwright gets produced, these lesser-known short plays by Samuel Beckett are stumpers all the way. Still, these and other Beckett shorties are widely available here this week -- on stage, and on TV.

Four San Diego actors are presenting the trio above, plus the solo "Rockabye" at 7:30 tonight through Wednesday at Sixth@Penn in Hillcrest. Linda Castro, who spearheaded (with David Cohen) the highly successful readings of Greek tragedies at the busy storefront theater, appears in the evening titled "Things May Disapprove" with the wonderfully droll Linda Libby, Laurie Lehmann and Celeste Innocenti.

Those four Becketts are also featured (along with three others) on "Beckett: Stage on Screen" airing on KPBS/Channel 15 Wednesday at 10 p.m. The program, packaged by WNET in New York and hosted by the elegant Jeremy Irons, introduces a selection of films from a monumental made-in-Ireland project. After producing all 19 of Beckett's plays in Dublin (1991), New York (1996) and London (1999), including a "Waiting for Godot" generally considered definitive, Gate Theatre producer Michael Colgan decided to create filmed-for-TV productions that honed close to the famously punctilious playwright's directions.

Wednesday's 90-minute program offers the last filmed performance by Sir John Gielgud who appears in the bleakly comic "Catastrophe" with Harold Pinter and Rebecca Pidgeon, directed by David Mamet. Also on screen is Irons as both Reader and Listener in a devastating "Ohio Impromptu"; Alan Rickman in a shattering "Play" filmed by American playwright Anthony Minghella, and the visually gorgeous trio, "Come and Go." Beckett's imagistic sense and his intimate scale make his work as natural for film as for a tiny space like Sixth@Penn. And these directors deliver.

In January, KPBS will broadcast the praised Gate "Godot."

Tickets and information for the Sixth@Penn performances are at (619) 688-9210. For the screen Beckett, set your dial to Channel 15. In both cases, prepare to be surprised by the scabrous humor and odd beauty that leaven Beckett's incisive, unflinching vision.

Georgiana (Minghella will be surprised at his change in nationality) <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Monday, September 16, 2002

Near the end of a review article:

Copyright 2002 The Hartford Courant Company
THE HARTFORD COURANT
September 12, 2002 Thursday, STATEWIDE
SECTION: LIFE; Pg. D1
HEADLINE: 'MUCH ADO' STRUGGLES FOR LIFE
BYLINE: MALCOLM JOHNSON; COURANT THEATER CRITIC

. . . . . . . . . .

Curiously, however, Ziemba and the rest affect English accents under the skillful coaching of Elizabeth Smith. Lamos is apparently striving for a Noel Coward effect, but this "Much Ado" is no "Private Lives," as recently played so gloriously on Broadway by Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Monday, September 16, 2002

Now with all the talk of "The Preacher", I thought I would do a few screen caps to share with you until Suzanne can do the videogram. And let me tell you, she is not undertaking an easy job when she volunteered to do this for us. So here are the screen caps:

The Preacher

The piece is intense...and I do not mean to take away from such wonderful work by saying this but.....I think he is simply to gorgeous for words in this! (giggle)
Claudia
GA US - Sunday, September 15, 2002

Copyright 2002 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 14, 2002 Saturday REGION EDITION
SECTION: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Pg.C-7
HEADLINE: WQED KEEPS US WAITING FOR 'BECKETT'
BYLINE: CHRISTOPHER RAWSON, POST-GAZETTE DRAMA CRITIC

There's a very special TV event tomorrow: At 10 p.m., in its "Stage on Screen" series, PBS is showing "Beckett on Film," a 90-minute package of seven short plays by Samuel Beckett, feelingly narrated by Jeremy Irons. Having seen an advance copy, I can report the seven, along with snippets of other Beckett plays, are woven together into an insightful and surprisingly entertaining image of this definitive 20th-century master.

But we won't see it in Pittsburgh because WQED has other plans. So let me tell you what we're missing. In anticipation, I interviewed Michael Colgan, artistic director of Dublin's Gate Theatre and producer of the full "Beckett on Film" series, which a year ago filmed all 19 Beckett plays with an all-star roster of artists.

The directors include David Mamet, Richard Eyre, Anthony Minghella, Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan, Karel Reisz and Conor McPherson; the actors, John Gielgud, Julianne Moore, Milo O'Shea, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Harold Pinter and Rosaleen Linehan.

Of those 19 plays, seven were chosen for this telecast, with an eighth, "Waiting for Godot," planned for separate broadcast in January. I was going to complain that PBS didn't think fit to give America all 19, but that was before I discovered that WQED isn't even going to give Pittsburgh the seven.

Those seven, tied together in a fascinating package by Irons' narration, include Mamet directing Gielgud, Pinter and Rebecca Pidgeon in "Catastrophe"; Irons himself in "Ohio Impromptu," directed by Charles Sturridge; and Minghella directing Rickman, Scott Thomas and Juliet Stevenson in "Play." Those stand out for their incision and varied, daring solutions of how to bring Beckett to the screen. The other four -- "Come and Go," "Act Without Words II," "Breath" and "What Where" -- are not far behind.

My interview with Colgan was to have run in tomorrow's paper. But when we found out WQED had opted out, we shelved the story. Word is that they have no plans to show it -- at least not anytime soon. (Too bad there isn't a second PBS station here, hmmm?)

It is some coonsolation to hear that a boxed four-DVD set of all 19 Beckett plays is available from Ambrose Video for $149.95 at www.beckettonfilm.com.

Perhaps WQED will have a change of heart. Or perhaps they'll give us "Godot" in January.

Meanwhile, what's wrong? Is it us? Aren't we good enough for Beckett?

NOTES: Christopher Rawson can be reached at crawson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1666.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 15, 2002

Copyright 2002 The Press Association Limited
Press Association
September 14, 2002, Saturday
SECTION: HOME NEWS
HEADLINE: HINT OF HARRY MAGIC
BYLINE: Sherna Noah, PA News

The first trailer has been released for the next instalment of the hotly-anticipated wizard saga, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

But devotees of JK Rowling's creations still have to wait two months before the film opens. In the film, Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is at his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In these trailers, viewers can catch a glimpse of the Great Hall, Dobby the house elf and actor Alan Rickman playing Professor Snape.

The film, the first sequel to last year's blockbuster hit, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, is due to premiere in the US and the UK on November 15.

Dame Maggie Smith, John Cleese, Kenneth Branagh and Robbie Coltrane are also among the all-star cast.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 15, 2002

The San Francisco Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 14, 2002, SATURDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: DAILY DATEBOOK; Pg. D1
HEADLINE: Riveting 'Beckett' makes the playwright accessible
SOURCE: Chronicle Theater Critic
BYLINE: Robert Hurwitt


RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE)

BECKETT ON FILM: Short plays by Samuel Beckett. Featuring Jeremy Irons. Directed by David Mamet, Charles Sturridge, Damien Hirst, Anthony Minghella, others. (10 p.m. Sunday. KQED, Channel 9. 90 minutes).

----------------------

The world may not have been ready for Samuel Beckett when "Waiting for Godot" first opened, but it was to prove more than ripe for his concise, dour brand of existential comedy over the next few decades. Now that his influence has pervaded the culture and an appreciation of his work has long been flaunted as a badge of intellectual sophistication, a new program from WNET's "Stage on Screen" series poses the question: Is the world ready for user-friendly Beckett? Purists may howl. With good reason. From the affably explanatory narration by Jeremy Irons to the painterly, often diagrammatic work of the filmmakers, "Beckett on Film" -- to be aired Sunday on KQED -- makes seven short plays by the master of stimulating mystification appear almost bright, certainly beguiling and remarkably accessible. If this is equivalent to Beckettian treason, it's riveting and enlightening entertainment.

It should be, with directors like David Mamet, Anthony Minghella and the conceptual artist Damien Hirst working with actors like Irons, Harold Pinter, the late John Gielgud, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. The performances are uniformly brilliant. The direction, even when it indulges in explanatory zeal, is unfailingly intelligent and dramatically coherent.

The project has an impressive pedigree. The seven short films derive from the Beckett on Film project created by Michael Colgan and Alan Moloney. Colgan, artistic director of Dublin's Gate Theatre, produced all 19 of Beckett's plays in landmark Beckett Festivals in Dublin, London and New York -- then joined with TV producer Moloney and the networks RTE (Ireland) and Channel 4 (England) to commission directors to film every one of the plays.

The full cycle has been shown only on Irish TV so far, though some of the films have cropped up at film festivals. WNET's Stage on Screen series has packaged eight of the films for a two-part American TV premiere: the seven in "Beckett on Film" and director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's "Waiting for Godot" -- based on the Gate's stage production by Walter Asmus, with the same cast as seen in the Cal Performances season two years ago. "Godot" is scheduled to air Jan. 1.

Tantalizing clips from "Godot," Michael Gambon in "Endgame," Julianne Moore's mouth in "Not I" or John Hurt performing "Krapp's Last Tape" punctuate and illuminate Irons' narration in the first program, along with quick interviews with the directors and actors. Irons sketches the outlines of Beckett's life and introduces each film with a cogent discussion of its themes or the difficulties it presents in interpretation or performance.

"Catastrophe," the first film, offers an unusually rich tribute to Beckett's pervasive influence: Beckett protege Pinter in a film directed by Mamet, whose work owes obvious debts to Pinter's. On a stage in a large, empty theater, the great Gielgud, in his last performance, is a silent living mannequin being manipulated by a casually arrogant director (Pinter) and his assistant (Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon). The play, written in 1982 and dedicated to Vaclav Havel, is a chilling look at authoritarianism and a tribute to human resistance, as reflected in Gielgud's eloquent last glance.

Irons delivers two beautifully nuanced performances as both the Reader and the Listener in "Ohio Impromptu," directed by Charles Sturridge. Irons' sensitive eyes fill in the story behind the text, even if the exposed faces violate Beckett's supposedly sacrosanct stage directions. Hirst takes similar liberties with the actorless "Breath," spinning Beckett's rubbish-strewn stage in an empty void, as does John Crowley by making the women of "Come and Go" evaporate between their reactions to (unheard) shocking secrets (brilliantly played by Paola Dionisotti, Anna Massey and Sian Phillips).

The camera becomes the intelligent viewer's eye for each director, seeking the telling detail and making sure it's understood. Minghella excels at the device, zooming in on the eyes or moving lips of Thomas, Stevenson and Rickman, their ash-gray, scabrous faces poking out of urns in "Play." As their voices mutter, in compelling monotones, fragments of details of a seamy love triangle, Minghella pans restlessly over a world of muttering urn-heads to underline the story's universality.

A brief look at Buster Keaton's opaque deadpan in a clip from Beckett's "Film" demonstrates how far these filmmakers stray from his aesthetic in the service of dramatic clarity and accessibility. But if the proof of the project's value is in its own richness, beauty and edgily evocative drama, it works, perhaps never better than in Pat Kinevane's sad-sack and Marcello Magni's irrepressibly upbeat performances in the early "Act Without Words II."

It isn't just the deft, wry mimetic acting. Director Enda Hughes betters the elongated stage Beckett prescribed by framing the action in what looks like one long strip of film, making her contribution a sly Beckettian comment on "Beckett on Film" itself.E-mail Robert Hurwitt at rhurwitt@sfchronicle.com.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO (3), (1) Sir John Gielgud, left, in his last performance, plays a living mannequin manipulated by a director's assistant (Rebecca Pidgeon) in Samuel Beckett's ""Catastrophe," which opens ""Beckett on Film." / Pat Redmond, (2) Right, Jeremy Irons serves as narrator, discussing Beckett's life and each work's themes. / Jason Tanaka Blaney, (3) Proteges of Samuel Beckett (above), including Harold Pinter and David Mamet, took part in ""Beckett on Film," featuring seven short plays by the Nobel Prize-winning writer. / John Haynes

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 15, 2002

The Washington Post
September 14, 2002, Saturday, Final Edition
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. C07

HEADLINE: SUNDAY

. . . . . . . . . .
Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film (CC). Film adaptations of seven Samuel Beckett short works include the David Mamet-directed "Catastrophe," starring John Gielgud; "Ohio Impromptu," starring Jeremy Irons; and "Play," with Alan Rickman and Kristin Scott Thomas (Channels 22 and 26 at 11).

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 15, 2002

New York Times
September 15, 2002
Filming Beckett, for Education or Excitement
By CARYN JAMES

IN the minds of most television viewers and moviegoers, the name Samuel Beckett comes with the unmistakable aura of homework. But all the energy, comedy and piercing sadness that make Beckett great are on display in "Beckett on Film," a project that brings his 19 stage plays to the screen, translated into works of pure cinema byan amazing lineup of directors and actors.

Tonight PBS presents a 90-minute special, "Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film" (10 p.m., Channel 13; check local listings), which includes seven of the plays, including one of the project's most stunning. Jeremy Irons plays two roles, the identical Reader and Listener, in "Ohio Impromptu," a hauntingly beautiful, elegiac 10-minute play more moving than its throwaway title suggests. (It was written for a 1981 symposium honoring Beckett at Ohio State University.) With flowing white hair and a black coat, Mr. Irons faces himself at a long table. The Reader begins reading from a book, a tale of the Listener's lost and perhaps dead love. At times the silent Listener raps on the table, as if he can bear no more, and the Reader pauses, only to pick up the tale again. Mr. Irons, his face hollow, creates a timeless portrait of loss. As the Reader, the ghost of a memory, he does justice to Beckett's graceful words: "Stay, where we were so long alone together. My shade will comfort you." The Listener responds with expressions of excruciating sorrow.

Charles Sturridge, who directed Mr. Irons in "Brideshead Revisited," has enhanced the effect by shooting "Ohio Impromptu" in black and white. And as he argues in the commentary on the DVD, film allows him to fulfill Beckett's intentions better than theater, where the stage directions call for the Reader and the Listener to resemble one another as much as possible to suggest they are the same person. Here they really are.

Unfortunately, the rest of the special does have a Beckett 101 air about it. Mr. Irons, also the show's host, introduces the other works (including "Catastrophe," in which David Mamet directs Harold Pinter and John Gielgud, and "Play," with Anthony Minghella directing Kristen Scott-Thomas and Alan Rickman). But his narration also lays out Beckett's Big Themes, exactly the way to deaden the viewer's experience. And none of the other works in this television special is as successfully transformed to screen as "Ohio Impromptu."

You have to go to the complete project on DVD (Ambrose Video, $149.95) for other gems. In "Endgame," the great Michael Gambon gives a fierce yet restrained performance as the blind, chair-bound Hamm, reflecting on a life that might have been meaningless. All lives threaten to be meaningless in Beckett's world, yet these film adaptations capture how furiously he resisted that threat.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Sunday, September 15, 2002

Los Angeles Times
September 13, 2002 Friday Home Edition
SECTION: Calendar; Part 6; Page 19; Calendar Desk
HEADLINE:
Television Review;
Beckett Is Getting the Star Treatment;
Big names in theater and film participate in screen versions of several plays. PBS is their playhouse.
BYLINE: DON SHIRLEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER

John Gielgud stands like a mannequin throughout most of his final screen appearance, in Samuel Beckett's "Catastrophe." He's playing an actor who's putty in the hands of a dictatorial stage director, portrayed by Harold Pinter.

With David Mamet as the director of the six-minute "Catastrophe," it's hard to recall a film of this length that had more star names affiliated with it. The six other films in "Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film," Sunday on KCET and KVCR, are also shorts. They were filmed as part of an ambitious project by Irish producers Michael Colgan and Alan Moloney that created new screen versions of all 19 of Beckett's plays. PBS' "Stage on Screen" is presenting two programs from the project: this initial round-up of seven short plays and a "Waiting for Godot" that's slated for New Year's Day.

The opening program offers an impressive variety of approaches to Beckett, woven together with documentary material narrated by Jeremy Irons. Considering the abstruse nature of some of the plays, the commentary helps make the material more viewer-friendly. But it also imparts the feeling of a classroom exercise at times.

. . . . . . . . . .
"Play" is usually staged with a tight spotlight taking turns focusing on the two women and one man, trapped in urns, who endlessly discuss their romantic triangle. Here, instead of the lights, the camera moves. And in the background, director Anthony Minghella depicts a field of similarly encased people, whose final hum implies a whole world of stasis. Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliet Stevenson play the lovers, their faces encrusted in sores.

. . . . . . . . . .

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Friday, September 13, 2002

An article in the September 9 New Yorker profiling "Puff Daddy" (whose mother calls him Sean John Combs) ends with:

It wasn't until after 11 P.M. that Alan Rickman presented the award for men's fashion. Puffy stopped sending e-mail and making phone calls. After a brief video display of each man's work, Rickman announced that the award would go to Marc Jacobs. Puffy applauded loudly, smiled at everyone, and then picked up his phone. Tweedy sighed. When we got up to leave, I asked Combs how he felt about losing. He shrugged. "Hey, I didn't lose,'' he said. "I was nominated. I am just getting started."

Variety reports on Ms. Duncan's new project:

September 12, 2002, Thursday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 5
HEADLINE: PLAYERS
BYLINE: Jill Feiwell

. . . Brit actress Lindsay Duncan --- who recently wrapped a legit run in London and Gotham opposite Alan Rickman in "Private Lives" --- is set to join Diane Lane and Sandra Oh in Disney romantic comedy "Under the Tuscan Sun," based on Frances Mayes' bestseller. Audrey Wells, who adapted the novel, will helm. Pic, about a thirtysomething American woman who moves to Italy in search of a more romantic and satisfying life, begins lensing Sept. 16 in the Tuscany region of Italy. . . .

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Thursday, September 12, 2002

Still no release date for TSFJG but I did find a review on DVDWolf.com (of all places). They loved the movie. Here is the AR portion:

I went to see this film because of the cast. C'mon, any movie with Alan Rickman, Janeanne Garofalo and Juliet Stevenson with London as the backdrop has to be a good bet. And I sure wasn't disappointed, this is one funny movie.

Alan Rickman gives a marvelously deadpan performance as the larger than life John Gissing, a man coming rapidly unglued at the thought of being replaced by Barnes after 15 years on the job. And even though he’s clearly only a stiff upper lip away from having a nervous breakdown we still somehow like him enough to cheer him on when he finally exacts revenge on neurotic company chairman Francois Fuller, played by Allan Corduner.
Magda
Canada - Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Some more "Love Actually" news. According to The Telegraph, September 5, 2002, article by Hugh Davies:

Heike Makatsch, the German actress who plays a character called Mia, said the film was "about love, mainly in London, around Christmas".

Makatsch was yesterday at the Venice Film Festival promoting her latest production....She said of her next role: "My story involves Alan Rickman. That's all I can say. But I am looking forward to meeting him."
Magda
Canada - Wednesday, September 11, 2002

It looks like Stezi will have a very good Christmas in 2003. According to the IMDB site, "Love Actually" will be released in the Netherlands on December 11, 2003. I'm sure she won't mind sharing with those of you who can drive or fly there to see it too.
Magda
Canada - Wednesday, September 11, 2002

UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Lancashire
September 9, 2002
SECTION: News
HEADLINE: Bolton Drawn Boy....
BYLINE: Gayle Evans

OUR own Damon Gough, aka music sensation Badly Drawn Boy, is set for a triumphant return to the charts with his acclaimed soundtrack album to the Hugh Grant film About A Boy . 24:7 looks at the woolly hat-wearing boy from Breightmet who is delighting the critics once again.

. . . . . . . . . .

Once Gough's fame could be reflected by fellow north-western luminaries like Johnny Marr, Mark E Smith and the Gallagher brothers, now he's attracting an international crowd -- Bono, Meg Ryan and Alan Rickman are fans. But they are only discovering what his Bolton followers have known for ages.

. . . . . . . . . .

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, September 11, 2002

MAIL ON SUNDAY
September 8, 2002
SECTION: Pg. 42
HEADLINE: Now Sophie is planning to become the Dahling of Hollywood
BYLINE: Rebecca Mowling

SUPERMODEL Sophie Dahl is taking acting lessons after Hollywood producers told her she could become a movie star.

The 6ft blonde, right, was at the Venice Film Festival last week where she rubbed shoulders with Harrison Ford, Sophia Loren, Leonardo DiCaprio and Gwyneth Paltrow. She was there to help raise funds for Aids research, modelling a selection of designer diamond jewellery at a glittering event hosted by Milla Jovovich, another model turned actress.

During the weeklong festival, the British catwalk star told her friends that she loves life in New York and will never go back to living in England.

Until now, the 24-year-old has been most famous for her on-off relationship with Mick Jagger, revealed by The Mail on Sunday.

But friends say she has set her heart on becoming an actress and is studying hard after her first attempt, in Woody Allen's The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion, ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Earlier this year she shot a 15-minute silent movie in London with Alan Rickman, Joanna Lumley and Maureen Lipman. Critics remarked on her uncanny resemblance to Marilyn Monroe.

She made her acting debut alongside Anna Friel in Mad Cows in 1999, before taking a film role in the George Best biography, Best, in 2000. Last year she filmed A Revenger's Tragedy and made her stage debut in Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues.

But after slimming down from a size 16 to a size eight, the star of the provocative Opium perfume posters has yet to enjoy critical success as an actress.

However, despite her acting ambitions, Sophie says she has no plans to retire from the catwalk.

(Italics added.)
Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, September 11, 2002

AN INTIMATE EVENING
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE

It was my pleasure to attend a cocktail reception last night to meet Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman in conversation with Nicholas Wapshott (New York correspondent of the Times of London), under the auspices of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Royal Court Theatre. It was held in mid-town Manhattan and about 80 people were present to hear an hour-long discussion with our intrepid thespians--who clearly still appear deeply involved with their "Private Lives" experience--with drinks and snacks before and after.

Rima Horton was present, as was the woman who accompanied Mr. Rickman to the Tony Awards. She is a personal friends of Mr. Rickman's, not involved in the theatre. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to them both by Mr. Rickman. It was a very tasteful and reserved affair. Ian Rickson from the Royal Court introduced our actors, and Helen Salmon was also present from the Royal Court in London.

This is one of an ongoing series of events sponsored in New York by this group. In the past four years, they have held evenings with Stephen Daldry, Sir Richard Eyre, Alan Bates, Sir Derek Jacobi, David Suchet--just to name a few.

The only items of news were that (1) Ms. Duncan declined her role in Les Liaisons Dangereuse three times before finally deciding to do the part; (2) They both have commitments to new projects to look forward to now that "Private Lives" has closed; and (3) Mr. Rickman has been seeing a prominent (female) vocal coach in New York this past week to help him with the vocal strain he developed during the run of the play.

I would estimate that the conversation was 60% with Ms. Duncan, 40% with Mr. Rickman. There was one ambling question about "Robin Hood' I could barely understand--and it appeared to cause Mr. Rickman some difficulty as well. I did get the last question (of two) from the audience, asking them to contrast the experience performing before a London versus New York audience--the last question of the evening--and, alas, ramble on a bit did I! I was blessed with a lengthy and thoughtful answers from each performer. Mr. Rickman elaborated on his comment on "Charlie Rose"--that the quality of laughter changes during the course of each evening, but added that it was especially from the women, and particularly in terms of the modern sort of woman Amanda is. It was clear it was the arousal of 'feminist' spirit he was responding to--not just that of couples' warfare--and I thougt it a nice political comment to make. He ended with the sentiment that it had been an amazing time, beginning rehearsals in London when 9/11 occurred, and now ending in New York just days before the one year anniversary, with all the events and remembrances planned, and still finding there was time and space for people to gather and share good stories.

Membership in the American Friends of the Royal Court starts at $150. Memberships that include invitations to their "intimate evenings" begin at $500. You can contact them through the Royal Court Theatre website.

Georgiana (more to friends later...) <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
New York - Tuesday, September 10, 2002

Daily Variety
September 6, 2002, Friday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 11
HEADLINE: FILM PRODUCTION CHART

HIGHLIGHT:
FILMING OUTSIDE THE U.S.

. . . . . . . . . . .
LOVE ACTUALLY (Working Title Films/DNA Films) 9/2, France, London. Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman, Chris Marshall
. . . . . . . . . . .

Georgiana (I meant sad) <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Friday, September 06, 2002

How said. In today's ...

Financial Times (London)
September 6, 2002, Friday USA Edition 1
SECTION: INTERNATIONAL ARTS GUIDE; Pg. 9

. . . . . . . . . .

NEW YORK

THEATRE Richard Rodgers Tel: 1-212-307 4100 Private Lives: revival of the Noel Coward play formerly in London's West End. It retains the same cast of Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan. Directed by Howard Davies
. . . . . . . . . . .

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Friday, September 06, 2002

The Stage
September 05, 2002
SECTION: Pg. 13
HEADLINE: Hugh Cruttwell; Obituaries
BYLINE: John Martland

Hugh Cruttwell, the distinguished principal of RADA from 1965 to 1984, died on August 24, aged 83. He was an inspirational figure and during his tenure many future stars passed through the academy, notably Kenneth Branagh, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes and Fiona Shaw.

Hugh Percival Cruttwell was born in Singapore on October 13, 1918 but his early childhood was spent in Shanghai, China. Brought to Britain aged eight, he was educated at King's College, Bruton, in Somerset and at Hertford College, Oxford, where he read history. He then took up various jobs and spent a brief period as a history master at Marlborough College before joining the Theatre Royal, Windsor as assistant stage manager, eventually becoming a director. At Windsor he met the actress Geraldine McEwan and they were married in 1953.

After teaching for several years at LAMDA, Cruttwell took over from John Fernald as the principal of RADA in 1965 following a particularly controversial period in the academy's history.

He brought with him an immense vitality and passion, and gave the position his complete commitment and loyalty, demanding the same in return.

His efforts to bring to RADA students from a wide social background were generally applauded and he had an unwavering eye for talent - although he always maintained that it could so easily be ruined if it was not properly nurtured.

He also brought in a number of young directors to reflect the rapidly changing face of drama but when it was time for the final run of a play - termed the Cruttwell Run - it was Cruttwell's verdict, always offered with perceptiveness, knowledge and wit, which the students awaited.

When Branagh auditioned for RADA, Cruttwell called him back for a second interview. "It wasn't that I had any doubt about his ability, " the principal later said, "but he was so amazingly accomplished that I wanted to see for myself what lay beneath the surface skill."

Interviewed some years ago, Branagh said he thought that Cruttwell was "a terrific bloke, but his view was that your work had to be on show to the public in the Vanburgh Theatre from the second term on, so you were constantly preparing, rehearsing, and acting".

After retiring from RADA in 1984, Cruttwell formed an enduring partnership with Branagh and served as production consultant/ technical advisor on most of his films as a director, including Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Much Ado About Nothing in 1993, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) and Hamlet in 1997. He also worked with Branagh on his 1992 film Swan Song, adapting Chekhov's one-act play for the screen. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Short Film/Live Action category.

His 80th birthday party was held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and former students, friends and associates from far and wide came to pay tribute to him.

He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Thursday, September 05, 2002

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
September 05, 2002, Thursday
SECTION: Pg. 05
HEADLINE: Grant and Curtis reunited for a premier role
BYLINE: By Hugh Davies in Venice
HUGH Grant will play a British prime minister who falls for his Cockney tea lady in the latest offering from the makers of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

The pounds 30 million film, called Love, Actually, will mark the debut as a director of Richard Curtis, the writer of Four Weddings, Notting Hill, Mr Bean and Bridget Jones's Diary, which together grossed more than one billion dollars. Curtis's latest project also includes Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth and the former EastEnders actress Martine McCutcheon as the tea lady.

Heike Makatsch, the German actress who plays a character called Mia, said the film was "about love, mainly in London, around Christmas".

Makatsch was yesterday at the Venice Film Festival promoting her latest production Naked, which tells of a wager to see if two blindfolded couples can pick out their respective partners while naked at a dinner party. She said of her next role: "My story involves Alan Rickman. That's all I can say. But I am looking forward to meeting him."

Grant insists that he will not be a Tony Blair lookalike in the picture, which is set in contemporary London and Paris and weaves together a series of romances.

The actor says he is to play a "totally fictitious character", not based on any previous prime minister.

Rowan Atkinson, who played the nervous novice priest prone to malapropisms in Four Weddings, is being recruited for the new movie, which will be made by Working Title.

Curtis has already shot the opening sequence. He flew to Kenya to film a picture of a group of Africans on a wall who come to life and talk to each other in Swahili.

The script involves 10 interlinked tales featuring an ensemble cast.
LOAD-DATE: September 5, 2002
Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Thursday, September 05, 2002

Daily News (New York)
August 30, 2002, Friday SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NOW; Pg. 71
HEADLINE: 4 SHOWS BID BYE-BYE TO B'WAY ON SUN.
BYLINE: By HOWARD KISSEL DAILY NEWS DRAMA CRITIC

In a few weeks, the Broadway landscape will be radically different. So if you're in town for the holiday weekend, this is a good time to play catchup. By Monday, several hit shows will have folded their tents. One is Noel Coward's "Private Lives," which won this year's Tony for Best Revival. Lindsay Duncan's deliciously elegant performance as Amanda won the Tony for Best Actress. Opposite her is Alan Rickman, whose portrayal has an unsettling contemporary grit, which makes the period play seem surprisingly timely. The comedy, at the Richard Rodgers, closes after the Sunday matinee.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Daily Variety
September 4, 2002, Wednesday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: REEL LIFE
BYLINE: TIMOTHY M. GRAY
HIGHLIGHT: This Brit's no fit as archetype villain

Tonight, Fox Broadcasting will reveal the winner of "American Idol," but, frankly, it doesn't matter. The show has already found its real star: judge Simon Cowell.

Can you name even one judge of the Miss America pageant this year? Of course not. But Cowell has gotten more attention than any of the singers, and in the process has become America's favorite new villain. (TV Guide called him "the Maestro of Misery"; syndie show "Extra" labeled him Sinister Simon; and an "Idol" segment featured one contestant fantasizing about running over Cowell with a new car.) "I tell them the truth," Sinister Simon told Reel Life. "I think I am being nice, because I'm saving them a lot of anguish in the future."

So why is Cowell getting a bad rap while TV talkshow host Dr. Phil, according to the current Newsweek cover story, has thousands of fans due to his brand of "tough love," in which he confronts people "who refuse to take a hard look at their own lives"?

Is it possible that the key factor is the fact that Cowell is English and Dr. Phil McGraw is American?

COWELL IS JUST THE LATEST in a long line of Brits to horrify and delight U.S. audiences. For some reason, a New England twang or a French accent do not connote villainy in the same way as an English one. (And it has to be a posh accent; working-class dialects for baddies are only used in U.K. crime dramas.)

Particularly at the beginning of "American Idol," TV scribes compared Cowell to another U.K. native, "The Weakest Link's" Anne Robinson. Such comparisons "gave me an awful lot of anguish," he said last week. "I didn't want to be perceived as the nominal English villain."

Perhaps all this stems back to the American Revolution --- Yankees have passed down a mistrust of the English to each new generation. Hollywood has fueled the fire; showbiz's obsession with Brit meanies has been around since talkies began, but it's increased in the past couple of decades.

Here are a few of key moments for Brit scoundrels in Hollywood.

Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" --- They were killers. Worse, they were snotty. Worst of all, they had those rich, plummy accents. A slew of actors helped reinforce the notion that an English accent is synonymous with evil, such as Trevor Howard, James Mason, Laurence Harvey, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Charles Laughton and Sydney Greenstreet (the last two actors were English, fiendish and fat --- truly a terrifying combination to Americans).

George Sanders, "All About Eve" --- Addison De Witt is the only character who can control the scheming Eve Harrington. That's because he's a newspaper columnist (oh, if only we had that power!) and, of course, because he's English. In an argument, Eve (Anne Baxter) throws open the door and shouts "Get out!" Sanders stares at her and quietly sneers, "You're too short for that gesture." This helped cement the image of Brits as people who, without even trying, can make anyone feel like an idiot.

Joan Collins, "Dynasty" --- Flouncing around with big shoulder pads and sucking in her cheeks, Collins ushered in the era when English treachery took on a heavy dose of camp. And makeup.

Alan Rickman, "Die Hard" --- The villain, Hans Gruber, is the consummate heavy: He is a German, but with an English accent. Clearly, if someone is bad, they should be played by a U.K. actor even if the character is an American (Anthony Hopkins, "Silence of the Lambs"), a Nazi (Ralph Fiennes in "Schindler's List"), or even a monkey (Tim Roth, "Planet of the Apes"). (Italics added.)

Scar, "The Lion King" --- For Pete's sake, in a family of African lions, how did everyone else get an American accent while scheming Uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) sounds like he's from Oxford?

Anne Robinson, "The Weakest Link" --- All of Hollywood's earlier Brit baddies were cruel because they wanted something (the oil, the money, the kingdom, whatever). Robinson, however, insults the guests for no reason. She reinforces the idea of the Brit who's nasty for the sheer fun of it.

"Maybe we should form a British Anti-Defamation League," joked Gary Dartnall, who heads the Douris Corp. in Los Angeles and is head of BAFTA-LA.

But, more seriously, he said, "I don't think it's anything the Brits are going to get all worked up about. They know the Brits and Americans are such good friends." Besides, he pointed out, British actors love the situation, "because the bad guy is usually the meatiest part."

Cowell --- who, by all accounts, is genuinely nice --- said he can understand Americans perceiving him as wicked. "Who the hell is this Englishman coming in and telling us what we're good at doing or not doing? If we (in the U.K.) had a loudmouth American telling us what we should or shouldn't be doing, we'd probably feel the same way."

Asked if his honest comments might be more acceptable if he had an American accent, Cowell deadpanned, "I don't know. I'll try it next time."

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Sunday Times (London)
August 11, 2002, Sunday
SECTION: Features; Eire Culture 14
HEADLINE: It may be a tragedy, but Electra marks a welcome return to the Irish stage by Pat Kinevane, says Gerry McCarthy
BYLINE: Gerry McCarthy

One moment it was simply a play about Michael Collins - neither hero worship nor parody, not quite naturalistic but not particularly radical. Collins was larking about on stage with a lady friend. Then, without warning, a voice rang out. It mocked. It spoke down to Collins with a lofty, magisterial disdain. And what was said - that nation-building was serious work, and a revolution no place for idle frippery - had an eerie contemporary resonance.

Where was the voice coming from? It seemed to be everywhere. The audience craned their necks. Then Pat Kinevane, playing Eamon de Valera, appeared. He didn't seem to make an actual entrance: one instant there was a voice, and in the next it had a body attached. A tall, severe figure with an unflinching gaze, now striding relentlessly towards Collins, draining all the frolic out of him. He was both a historical figure, played with icy detachment, and a part of the national unconscious, personified on stage. That was seven years ago, and Kinevane's performance remains the benchmark against which portrayals of Dev are measured. Some, like Alan Rickman's in the Neil Jordan film, are too camp, without Kinevane's spine of steel. Too many others try to mock de Valera for being a man of his time, sneering at his dancing-at-the crossroads morality. Kinevane towers above them: his role in Tom MacIntyre's play, Good Evening, Mr Collins, was among the finest portrayals of a historical figure on a Dublin stage. And yet, for the actor, it was an anomaly. . . . . . . . . . . . . (Italics added.)
Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Copyright 2002 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS
The Express
September 2, 2002
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 11
HEADLINE: IRISH STAR QUITS LATEST EXORCIST MOVIE FOR GBP 50M ROMANTIC COMEDY; CLASH PUTS PAID TO NEESON'S HORROR ROLE
BYLINE: By Nicola Tallant

IRISH actor Liam Neeson has dropped out of his starring role in the new Exorcist horror movie which is due to begin shooting next month. Neeson, who was to play Fr Merrin in the prequel to the original hit movie, has left the film due to a clash in schedules with another British film. He will fly to London to join a GBP 50million production tipped to rival the successes of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Neeson's role in Exorcist 4:1 has been given to a little-known actor, Peter Skarsgard.

The film has been hit by several delays, including the death of its original director, Jonathan Frankheimer, who has been replaced by Paul Schrader. Neeson was to have played the younger Fr Merrin during his missionary work and his first encounter with the devil, who possesses a young boy. The role of Fr Merrin was made famous by Max Von Sydow in the original 1973 hit film, The Exorcist.

Next month, Neeson will join an allstar cast in making a romantic comedy, Love Actually. Co-stars include Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth and Alan Rickman. Neeson will also play opposite Martine McCutcheon of EastEnders and will be reunited with American actress Laura Linney, who co-starred with him on a Broadway production earlier this year. Rowan Atkinson has signed up for a part.

Love Actually has been written by Richard Curtis, who also penned Notting Hill, Four Weddings and A Funeral, Bridget Jones Diary and Bean. Curtis will make his debut as a director for his latest project which features ten interconnected love stories.

Neeson will complete shooting Love Actually just before he and wife, Natasha Richardson, are due to shoot a GBP 20million gothic thriller, Asylum, in Ireland early next year. Neeson will play a mental hospital inmate who killed, then decapitated his wife. Filming will be over 10 weeks in Dublin.

Neeson's latest movie, K-19 The Widowmaker, opened last month but has not performed well at the boxoffice. The Ballymena-born actor also stars in Martin Scorsese's epic new movie, Gangs of New York, which opens on Christmas day in the US.

Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Copyright 2002 Scottish Media Newspapers Limited
The Herald (Glasgow)
September 3, 2002
SECTION: Pg. 21
HEADLINE: Billboard
BYLINE: Keith Bruce

Breath of fresh air

ACCEPTING an invitation to join the patrons of the excellent Lung Ha's Theatre Company is the latest ruse by Scotland's leading traditional singer, Sheena Wellington, to win a mention in Billboard. Sheena, who leapt from prominence in the artsworld to national prominence when she sang Burns at the opening of the Scottish Parliament, now joins Alan Rickman, Alan Cumming, Evelyn Glennie, and Philip Schofield as part of the group.

Given that Rickman, as we have seen on the big screen, is a cellist and Cumming plays the joanna, we can only assume that Schofield plays bass. Playing at home ... [source ends here]
Georgiana <gellis@drizzle.comfoo>
Seattle - Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Playbill.com has a two-page article on the closing of "Private Lives." Click on this link:

PrivateLivesClosing
Kimberly
MI - Sunday, September 01, 2002

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