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April 29, 2000

We are happy to announce that this site has just received its fifth star from starpages. Thank you all for your support! :-)

- VCR alert:

Good news for all Americans: Bravo will be re-running its "Family Fiennes" edition of Bravo Profiles (same program as the "Blood Ties" documentary, for those who haven't seen either) on Sunday, May 14th. It will air twice: 1p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific, and again at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific."

April 18, 2000

- National Portrait Gallery will soon feature a portrait of Joe (another place to go while you are in London):

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
April 18, 2000, Tuesday
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent

Portrait of the changing face of Britain Thatcher is consigned to history as gallery ushers in Beckham and Winslet, the new spirits of the age

Even Lady Thatcher cannot stop the march of time. The National Portrait Gallery, arguably one of the nation's arbiters of who is in and who is out, has formally consigned the long-serving former prime minister to history.

Her portrait, which has been hanging in the ground floor contemporary gallery since 1990, has been removed in the past few days to make way for newer spirits of the age, notably the Manchester United footballer David Beckham, J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, the acting trio Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and his brother Joe, and the designers of the London Eye, David Marks and Julia Bayfield.

Mrs Thatcher's photographic portrait, taken by Helmut Newton, has been moved upstairs to join the historical section of the gallery as part of a reorganisation to take advantage of a new multi-million-pound extension which is due to be opened on May 4.

The contemporary gallery previously showed portraits of public figures from the Sixties onwards. Now, only post-1990 figures will be displayed there.

April 17, 2000

- New role for Joe?

The Mirror, April 17, 2000
MATTHEW WRIGHT'S COLUMN: MICK..THE MOVIE;
STONE REVEALS ROCK SECRETS
Matthew Wright

MICK JAGGER is making a film about a womanising rock star - and there are no prizes for guessing who the hero's based upon.

Yes, the Rolling Stone has drawn on his own colourful music career to pen the comedy Snap. So expect it to lift the lid on a few of Jagger's juicy rock 'n' roll experiences - the ones he can remember, anyway. The film will be made by Old Rubber Lips's film company Jagged and distributed by Paramount

"It's a comedy about the perils of being at the top of your game in the rock n' roll world and the pitfalls you encounter," Jagger explains.

Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes are being lined up for lead parts.

"Mick put his lifetime of experience into writing this film," a close aide tells me. "It is very funny and is undoubtedly based on many of the things he has experienced, or at least witnessed, over the years.

"He is working on a number of films, but this one is closest to his heart. They are desperate to get Jude Law to play the Jagger-like character."

- An amusing bit from the Times...

January 23, 2000 STYLE
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
How was IT for you?

(snip) When I popped over to Paris for my first-ever couture show. I had been invited by Donatella Versace and it was VIP treatment the whole way. I was staying at the Lancaster, in a suite so exclusive that you couldn't even get there by lift. Well, you don't want hoi polloi wandering around outside, do you?

After I had checked in and dropped off the Louis Vuitton trunks, a limo arrived to whisk me to the Versace shop, so I could pick up something gorgeous to wear for the show. It was like an A-list scrum in there: All Saints and Baby Spice were trying on everything in sight, and I glimpsed Joseph Fiennes disappearing into a changing room. I tried to sneak in after him, hoping to catch him unawares in a state of undress, but an eagle-eyed shop assistant intercepted me. "That is not your booth, madam," she told me in an icy tone that brooked no argument. "Sorry, my mistake," I hissed through gritted teeth.

My outfit was a green trouser suit; pistachio is my latest hot fashion tip, so remember where you heard it first. The show itself was amazing. We were in the front row, naturally, next to Jean-Michel Jarre and his girlfriend, Odile, while Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit were a few seats down. Afterwards, we all piled into the party, appropriately held in a club called VIP. There I bumped into Rachel Weisz and Neil Morrissey, who complained that there weren't enough breasts in the show for his liking. Then I spotted Joseph Fiennes again, and this time I managed to corner him for the rest of the evening, poor chap. (snip)

April 14, 2000

- Joe's brother Mike Emery has a new book "The Poulton Chronicles - Tales from a Medieval Chapel", with a foreword by Ralph Fiennes. Check out our Poulton Page, for more information.

- The Express (UK), 13 April 2000, tells us that Joe attended his brother's premiere of "Richard II" on Wednesday, April 12, 2000

April 12, 2000

- Some bad news (found out by Bobbi):

The Rancid Aluminium DVD which should have been published on 27th March, will now not be published until 3rd July.

- Tara from Holland translated a Dutch article about Ralph and gave permission to put it up. However, I am only going to publish the last part where he talks about Joe and their parents. If you want to read the whole article, go here: Fiennes Forum

INTERVIEW BY PAUL HEGEMAN
TRANSLATION BY TARA
RATHER BE IN LONDON

(snip)

Brother Joseph too has become a huge star since the success of Shakespeare in Love and the question arises where this family draws their special artistic qualities.

Ralph appears to become quite openhearted then and says his parents gave them that.

"The atmosphere in which we were grew up was very cultural. My mother was a writer and painter and was a strong influence on us. At home we were always discussing books, films and theatre. Rather loudly and chaotically too," he smiles. "My mother was very unpredictable; if she was enthusiastic about something she was prone to throw with things. She also gave a lot of love, like my father actually. My father was a farmer to start with but preferred photography. He was very versatile. He built our home singlehandedly. My best memories are of all those mornings when he woke me, the eldester son, to take me into his darkroom. Before that we would take a short walk through a dawnclouded English landscape where no soul was to be seen. You could only hear the cooing of the pigeons, still the most splendid sound I know. Sometimes I deliberately work that long so that I can taste that atmosphere in the morning."

Does he have any problems with suddenly standing in his younger brother's shadow?

"There is no sense of competition between us. People would like to believe that but there just isn't any," he says with a suddenly raised voice. "Joseph and I may have very different characters - he is much more extravert - artistically we are very close and have a lot of respect for one another. We both were raised with a strong ethical sense and a lot of idealism and that is why we will never fit in with Hollywood where all is made less important than a perverse sense of merchandise spirit. Greed is everywhere. Believe me, eventhough I am aware that our cultures have become much more similar you are much better off in the assgray London than in sunshine filled Los Angeles. Joseph is very lucky that I have already figured that out for him."

April 11, 2000

- A cute Bafta bit from The Sun

From Dominic Mohan's "bizarre" section
April 11, 2000

GUESS WHO NAOMI FIENNES SEXY!

I DON'T know which aftershave Joseph Fiennes wears but he had Naomi Campbell AND Elle Macpherson lusting over him at the Baftas.

I overheard the supermodels discussing the Shakespeare In Love hunk at the after-show bash at London's Café Royal.

Here is what they said about Joseph, who is single after splitting from Catherine McCormack in December . . .

ELLE: Have you seen Joseph?

NAOMI: Absolutely. He's gorgeous, isn't he? Delectable. Yummy.

ELLE: Mmm. The trouble is, you're the only one of us who's available. Maybe you should try it.

NAOMI: I think I'll do just that.

Later, at the Miramax party at trendy bar Noble Rot, Naomi struck up a conversation with Joseph and there was much fluttering of eyelids. But I am assured they went home separately after the bash at 4am.

Biz bitz:

EVERYONE wanted to know who made Joseph Fiennes' multi-coloured coat. He joked he had borrowed it from a film, costume department but it was really Tommy Hilfiger.

April 9, 2000

- Joe appears on Movie Television, a program on the Bravo network. The clip was about FM:

JF: FM is about love and the conflicts of love when it hits you between the eyes.

[clip of JF and GM shooting a scene on the beach]

JF: I would say that FM is harking back more to the [?], the Bronte-esq structure and idea and less of what we see today in Hollywood.

[another clip on the beach]

JF: To have a writer of his [Schrader's] talent on tap all the time- to talk to, to share ideas, to fine-tune scenes- has been tremendous and it's a luxury you rarely get.

[clip of SiL]

JF: The sparkle and the wit of the dialogue in 'Shakespeare' was such a great mirror to the kind of neurosis of the whole world of film and Hollywood. It kind of had great parallels, it was very funny...

[clip of ETM]

JF: It was a very brooding, sinister, look at the reign of Elizabeth in her early years, through Shekhar Kapur's vision... also had great political...[spaces out for a second]… reflections on our age. But, [slaps knee] having said all that, it's bloody nice to get into a pair of jeans and get out of those tights.

[clip of Joe, looking very Laurence-y, shooting a scene in a night club]

JF: I've been lucky with the last couple of projects but my body of work has come from several years of theatre and I kind of feel the range that that platform gives you is kind of my food and that's kind of where I've learned and practiced.

['nother clip on the beach]

JF: We all suffer from neurosis and ego- daily- but somehow I think you just have to separate it from what your drive is and I think one might have a short run of it if you're driven purely by ego and get caught up in the hype then you cross into a territory which ultimately won't fulfill you.

This program will most likely be repeated. Click on the link above for a broadcast schedule.

April 6, 2000

- A bit more info on Joe's new film "Dust" from Mr. Showbiz:

Where has Joseph Fiennes gone since capturing Gwyneth Paltrow's fancy in Shakespeare in Love? He's currently filming Enemy at the Gates with Jude Law, and he's just lined up a new project for Macedonian writer-director Milcho Manchevski (Before the Rain).

The new film, Dust, features the increasingly popular cinematic storytelling device of two parallel stories.

In this case, the film will cut between two cowboy brothers (Fiennes and David Wenham) who work as mercenaries in Turkey and who have a falling out when they both fall in love with the same woman (French actress Anne Brochet).

The other story concerns a 90-year-old woman, a thief (Adrian Lester), and a hoard of Balkan gold in present-day New York. "One story affects the other," Manchevski tells the Hollywood Reporter.

Fiennes joins the indie film, which began shooting in New York this week.

This Dust is not to be confused with the disaster film of the same name being developed by Twister's Jan De Bont.

The London-based sales agency The Sales Co. is handling the international rights to the film. No domestic distributor has been set, although the project was at one time in Miramax's camp, with Richard Gere attached to star.

April 5, 2000

- New film project for Joe began yesterday!

Maverick Director Manchevski Gathering 'Dust'

Daily Variety, April 5, 2000

By Adam Dawtrey

LONDON (Variety) - Five years after winning the Golden Lion at Venice for his first film, "Before the Rain", Maverick director Milcho Manchevski is back behind the camera with his second movie, "Dust".

The picture is a Balkan Western set across three different time periods and locations: the American Midwest at the turn of the 20th century; the dying days of the Ottoman Empire in 1913; and contemporary New York.

It stars Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love), David Wenham ("The Boys"), Adrian Lester ("Love's Labour's Lost") and Anne Brochet ("Cyrano de Bergerac").

The story, penned by Manchevski, follows two brothers who fall in love with, and fall out over, the same girl. Their dispute takes them to the Balkans just before World War I, where ethnic cleansing is in full swing.

Meanwhile, in the modern time frame, a would-be mugger is about to discover the secret of a hoard of Balkan gold.

The film is being financed by the Film Consortium, one of Britain's three lotto franchises, in a complex European structure involving the Euro Co-Production Fund, BSkyB, NRW Filmstiftung, Medusa Films, Highlight Communications, the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, Shadow Dooel and Suthfork Pictures.

Shooting started Tuesday, April 4 in New York for two weeks, to be followed by location filming in Macedonia. There will be a studio shoot in Cologne, Germany, in late July, with post-production in London.

The 3/30 announcement on the upcomingmovies.com page says that "Paramount has announced a North American release date of November 10, 2000 which seems about right for a movie of this scale."

A 4/4 announcement said that Bob Hoskins may also have a role and that the name of Harris' character has been changed, though Law's and Weisz's are still historically correct.

If you want to check the page:

Upcomingmovies.com - Enemy at the Gates

April 4, 2000

- The SiL soundtrack is nominated for Album of the Year in the UK.

Click here to vote for it: Classic FM

Then go to the button which says: "Click to Vote for Classical Brit Awards".
You can only vote once.

- Joe will be a guest presenter at the upcoming BAFTA's:

Copyright 2000 PR Newswire Europe Limited
Press Association Newsfile
April 4, 2000
By James Morrison, Showbusiness Correspondent, PA News

STARS COME OUT FOR AWARDS NIGHT

Hollywood legends Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway and pregnant Titanic star Kate Winslet will be among the VIPs at this weekend's Baftas, it was announced today.

The stars are set to present prizes at the glittering awards ceremony in the Odeon cinema at London's Leicester Square on Sunday, April 9, which will be broadcast on SKY Premier (a pay channel).

Also lining up as guest presenters are Notting Hill star Hugh Grant, Shakespeare in Love heart-throb Joseph Fiennes, Naked Gun comic actor Leslie Nielson and supermodels Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell.

Nominees expected to attend the event include Oscar-winning British director Sam Mendes, actors Ralph Fiennes and Jude Law, and American actress Julianne Moore.

Michael Caine, who won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in The Cider House Rules and is hoping to repeat his success in the same category at Sunday's ceremony, will be presented with the Bafta Fellowship.

Welcoming news of the star-studded guest list, Tim Angel, chairman of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, said: "The calibre of stars attending this year's awards is testament to the stature Bafta now commands worldwide."

UK talent dominates most of the award categories at this year's Baftas.

American Beauty, the runaway success at last month's Oscars, has been shortlisted for 14 awards, including best director for first-time film-maker Mendes.

Low budget British-made film East is East is nominated for six awards, including best film, and the recently introduced most promising newcomer title for its writer, Ayub Khan Din.

Veteran Mike Leigh's Gilbert and Sullivan biopic, Topsy Turvy, is up for five awards, while former Oscar winner Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr Ripley is competing for seven.

And Irish director Neil Jordan's The End of the Affair has 10 mentions, including a best actor nomination for Ralph Fiennes.

His sister Martha Fiennes' debut film, Onegin, in which he starred, has been listed in the outstanding British film of the year category, alongside East is East, Notting Hill, Ratcatcher, Topsy Turvy and Wonderland.

For more info click here: British Academy of Film and Television Arts

- Joe is a patron of the first secondary school for dyslexics:

London Times online, March 19, 2000 (Alison Brace) reports that Joe (touched by dyslexia himself) is a patron of Moat school in Fulham, southwest London, the capital's first secondary school for dyslexics, founded by Ronda Fogel and Louise Eilon when they were unable to find a school suitable for their dyslexic daughters.

Although pupils follow the national curriculum, the school - which has only 10 pupils per class - balances the academic with those creative subjects in which dyslexics traditionally excel - art, music and drama.

An estimated one child in 10 suffers from dyslexia, with one in 25 suffering severe problems. Computer technology is known to help, so pupils at the Moat school are taught how to touch-type. The plan is to provide every pupil with a laptop.

The school is not eligible for government funding because it is a special school, and nor is it eligible for national lottery cash - because it is a school.

April 3, 2000

- VCR alert!

Next Sunday, April 9, New Zealand's TV4 will be showing "a look at Forever Mine, the new movie starring Joseph Fiennes" in their Canadian movie programme!

- VCR alert!

We have it on very good authority (thank you Susy!) that, throughout the month of April, Joe will be introducing films for the Film Four (part of UK Channel Four) British Film Month. MMFDL has already aired (on April 2), but there should be more Joe bits before and after other movies later in the month.