Abbreviations

August 30, 2002

From the Pacific Film and Television Commission:

“The Great Raid” Starts Filming in Queensland, Australia

19 July 2002

Village Roadshow production stars Benjamin Bratt, James Franco and Joseph Fiennes, directed by John Dahl

Australia - Thursday July 18, 2002- Miramax, together with Village Roadshow Productions announced today the commencement of principal photography on The Great Raid in Queensland, Australia.

Directed by John Dahl and based on the original manuscript by acclaimed military historian William B. Breuer, Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, and Joseph Fiennes, star in the film.

Set in the Philippines in 1945, The Great Raid is based on actual events and tells the story of the 6th Ranger Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci who undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. Traveling 30 miles behind enemy lines, the 6th Ranger Battalion aims to liberate over 500 America prisoners-of-war from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever, men who thought they had been abandoned, Soldiers who called themselves the Ghosts of Bataan.

Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Jon Gordon and Michelle Raimo will serve as Executive Producers for Miramax. Marty Katz (The Four Feathers, Reindeer Games, Lost in America, Titanic) and Lawrence Bender (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Goodwill Hunting, Pulp Fiction) will produce.

John Dahl's directorial credits include Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, Kill Me Again, Unforgettable, and Rounders.

Benjamin Bratt, whose acting credits include After The Storm, Red Planet, Traffic, Pinero and, more recently, Abandon, stars as COLONEL MUCCI.

Franco (CAPTAIN PRINCE), featured as Harold "Harry" Osborne in this year's blockbuster Spiderman. He also toplines in Sonny, directed by Nicholas Cage and stars along side Robert De Niro in City By The Sea.

Joseph Fiennes whose credits include Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth and who recently teamed up with Heather Graham in Killing Me Softly plays MAJOR GIBSON.

Australians Robert Mammone (McLeod's Daughters, The Crossing, Vertical), Sam Worthington (Bootmen, Dirty Deeds, HartWar), Craig McLachlan and Natalie Mendoza head up the Australian actors.

The Great Raid commenced Principal Photography on July 4th and will shoot over 14 weeks in locations in and around the Gold Coast, including Bribie Island, Pimpana, Coomera and Tamborine.

Minister for the Arts, Matt Foley, commented today on the benefits of bringing a feature of this scale to Queensland.

"The Great Raid is the first of what we trust will be many more Miramax feature films to be shot in Queensland," he said. Films such as this boost the economy and provide work for the local industry. This project also reinforces Queensland's international reputation as a preferred filming location."

The final two weeks of filming will take place in Shanghai, China, with principal photography scheduled to conclude on October 23.

August 27, 2002

- From the Toronto International Film Festival site, by Steve Gravestock:

FILM TITLE: Leo

Programme: Discovery
Director: Mehdi Norowzian
Country: USA/United Kingdom
Year: 2002
Time: 103 minutes
Film Types: Colour/35mm

SCREENING TIMES:

Wednesday, September 11 06:00 PM VARSITY 8
Thursday, September 12 01:45 PM CUMBERLAND 1

Production Company: Freewheel International/Scala Productions/Joy Films
Executive Producer: Nik Powell, Derek Roy
Producer: Massy Tadjedin, Erica August, Sara Giles, Jonathan Karlsen
Screenplay: Massy Tadjedin, Amir Tadjedin
Cinematography: Zubin Mistry
Editor: Tariq Anwar
Production Designer: Stefania Cella
Sound: Carl Rudisill, André Jacquemin
Music: Mark Adler
Principal Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Elisabeth Shue, Dennis Hopper, Sam Shepard, Justin Chambers, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jake Weber, Deborah Kara Unger

Set in the deep south, a place where elegant mansions mix with out-of-the-way motels, Leo mines two very different worlds to create an emotional tale of a young man confronting the past that has made him who he is. Mehdi Norowzian has enlisted the talents of a fine group of actors, including Joseph Fiennes, Elisabeth Shue, Sam Shepard, Dennis Hopper and Deborah Kara Unger, to tell this mesmerizing story.

Stephen (Joseph Fiennes) – upright, stern and serious – is released after serving a 15-year sentence for murder and is hired by the no-nonsense owner of a cheap diner. Stephen calmly stares down the prying looks that come his way when his silence betrays the existence of secrets he is unwilling to share. Remote and distant, he starts to write down his thoughts, forming a narrative that may or may not be fictional.

Stephen’s story begins to overlap with that of a young, well-to-do, middle-class couple. Ben (Jake Weber) is a professor at the local college while his attractive wife, Mary (Shue), has given up trying to finish her Ph.D. to care for their daughter. One day, gossiping friends lead Mary to suspect that her husband is having an affair with one of his students. A local man painting their nursery at the time provides her with an easy emotional out. What ensues scars all of their lives forever.

Moving seamlessly between the two realities of Leo, we are introduced to a set of characters deeply damaged by their pasts. Just like Stephen, Mary has secrets that she is reluctant to share. As Stephen forges a new life, in which his writing starts to occupy a surprising centre, Mary realizes that she too must come to grips with her history. Filming with dreamy languor, Norowzian evokes an imaginary world that resonates in unsuspected ways. This complex puzzle of a film slowly reveals its own secrets. Norowzian’s finely structured film walks a tightrope of suspense and characterization with tremendous poise.

Mehdi Norowzian earned a Master’s degree in film studies from the Royal College of Art in London. Since the mid-eighties, he has directed and produced several short films while also directing a succession of award-winning television commercials. His short film, Killing Joe (99), was nominated for an Academy Award® for best live action short. Leo (02) is his feature film debut.

Associated with European Film Promotion, an initiative supported by the European Union’s MEDIA Programme.

- From the Times (August 26) online:

A Fiennes romance unfolds at Poulton

The archaeologist brother of the film stars Ralph and Joseph Fiennes has come up with a romantic brainwave, following a dig on a Cistercian monastery in Cheshire. Mike Emery, shown on site at Poulton Abbey with his famous siblings in the latest Current Archaeology, believes the site has a link with the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

The poem, a noted medieval romance, relates how a knight rode into Camelot’s Great Hall on Christmas Day and challenged any Round Table knight to cut off his head. However, the challenger was obliged to meet him in a year for the same treatment. Gawain strikes the Green Knight, who survives, but must meet him at the mysterious Green Chapel.

Mr Emery believes the geography described in the poem give “clues to a possible link with Poulton and the Cistercians”. He suggests the Green Chapel is a cave-like feature at Ludchurch in Staffordshire, which Gawain reached after crossing the River Dee at the “Holy Head” or Poulton.

Mr Emery has also identified the poet, who has remained unknown for six centuries or so. His candidate is Sir John Stanley, a powerful Marcher lord, benefactor of Dieulacres Priory near Ludchurch, and “a man with the education and experience to pen a great courtly romance”.

For those who don’t know the story, Gawain offers his neck to the Green Knight but is let off, with a nick, for flinching. Just right for a Hollywood film for the Fienneses.

August 23, 2002

Cute tidbit from Instyle (US), September issue:

By Day You'll Find Him
By Fabrizio Ferri

Enjoying a break after filming Luther in Tuscany

Favorite Nighttime Activity
"I love the orchestral sounds of insects at night. There's a special kind of warmth in Tuscany."

Love, Italian Style
"When I was 17 I came here to help restore a villa. I met someone, and she invited me to come to her house by the sea. I was nervous and excited an I thought to myself, My God, this is going to be a wonderful romantic experience. But as we got to the end of the driveway I was suddenly introduced to her grandmother, grandfather, cousins, second cousins, mother and sisters, and then I was put in a small room with a single bed with a crucifix above it. That was my romantic experience in Italy, and I treasure it to this day."

August 22, 2002

From the "God O' The Moment" site (entry at about the time of the release of Shakespeare in Love):

Joseph Fiennes--If you haven't already become a pile of goo just from looking at his picture, you're reading this while rapidly becoming one. Yes, it's Joe, star of Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love. Had he sat on screen staring at a camera for two hours making pithy jokes and occasionally scratching himself, he would have done it with enough flair and talent to deserve and oscar. Damn that Tom hanks for Saving Matt Damon's Teeth the same year the entire female population gets their hormones riled up by Will Shakespeare in Love with Elizabeth (or something to that effect). Yet Joe is not only a hot ticket to testosterone-town, he's also a damn good actor! Couple looks and talent with an accent that could melt a glacier at fifty paces, and you've got the best reason to watch Gwyneth Paltrow for two hours. Naked Gwyenth? What naked Gwyneth? Yes, folks, Joe Fiennes is a worthy addition to our Pantheon. What light through yonder trousers breaks? We at the God O' the Moment would like to offer Mr. Fiennes a comforting bosom should he be crushed at losing an oscar. However, should he win, we offer many congratulations and a room at the Inn. Keep it up, Joseph, cause you deserve to have the media asking Ralph about YOU.

- Brief mention in this week's Heat Magazine (UK):

PRAGUE
Joseph Fiennes enjoyed a sunny week but the end of his holiday was spoilt by storms. After they left the chaos grew and the old city was almost entirely submerged in water.

August 21, 2002

- Excerpt from Yahoo! News article:

Five Questions With Connie Nielsen August 21, 2002
By Anthony Breznican, AP Entertainment Writer

Next, Nielsen will appear in the World War II battle epic "The Great Raid" with James Franco, Benjamin Bratt and Joseph Fiennes. "Another one with all the guys!" she said. "This is it, I swear to God."

August 18, 2002

- The Royal Academy Dramatic Arts short and summer courses 2002 (sorry that this info comes late)

Acting Shakespeare"
May 28 - July 19, 2002

A professional to provide experienced actors with "in-depth" classical training. MA in TEXT AND PERFORMANCE STUDIES Three Terms

ACTING SHAKESPEARE This is an eight week course for which a certificate is awarded. It draws on all the classical aspects of the three year acting diploma, and is designed for actors with experience (and those who have already undertaken serious training elsewhere and about to set out on an acting career). It offers an opportunity to expand, explore and deepen awareness of Shakespeare's text in the company of other professionals, working with experienced teachers and directors.

The course curriculum is comprehensive and includes verse speaking, stage fights, period dance, language and style, voice, movement and text sessions. The eight weeks culminate in a rehearsed workshop presentation of a Shakespeare play. Participants are divided into groups of 16 for the main acting and rehearsal schedules. These groups are sub-divided into smaller groups for specific skills classes. Each participant is also allocated a personal tutor for the duration of the programme whom they will meet weekly for one to one feedback. The first six weeks of the course are devoted primarily to in-depth acting and skills classes. During the third week there is a showing of sonnets to an audience made up of tutors and other members of the course. At the end of the sixth week there is a full afternoon showing to include group singing, monologues, scenes and stage fights. Both these occasions are followed by feedback.

Tutors are senior members of the Academy's teaching staff and professional directors.

There will also be several Master Classes given by leading names in British Theatre, recently the actors Alan Rickman, Joseph Fiennes and Fiona Shaw and directors Michael Attenborough (Principal Director RSC) and Mark Rylance (Actor and Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe) have all given Master Classes. There are also planned visits to Shakespeare's Globe and Stratford upon Avon to see shows.

Entry is deliberately restricted and places are awarded by competitive audition. Auditions are held in London and New York. Video audition tapes are also accepted (UK or USA format)

DATES

The course will begin on Tuesday 28 May - Friday 19 July 2002

QUALIFICATIONS

Fluency in both written and spoken English is essential: as is experience of acting at either professional or graduate level. Students below the age of eighteen are not normally accepted. There is no upper age limit but older applicants are advised that the course is physically demanding.

- "Hollywood Visits College of Charleston During Spring Break"

As C of C students left campus for Spring Break in early March, the motion picture industry moved in. Randolph Hall and Maybank Hall became sets as scenes were shot for "Leopold Bloom," an independent film that will star Elizabeth Shue, Joseph Fiennes, and Sam Shepard. Dennis Hopper, Donnie Wahlberg and Debra Unger are also on the cast for first-time feature director Mehdi Norowzian.

With it's well preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and picturesque campus, the College of Charleston has been a location for a number of Hollywood films over the years. They include "The Patriot" (2000) which starred Mel Gibson, and the 1994 CBS television movie "Scarlett", the "Gone With The Wind" sequel starring Joanne Whaley and timothy Dalton.

According to the South Carolina Film Office, "Leopold Bloom" is the story of a young mother (Shue) whose tragic mistake results in her alienating her little boy. Meanwhile, a brilliant writer (Fiennes) is released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence and begins working at Vic's Diner, run by Shepard's character. The stories converge as the man (Fiennes) must overcome obstacles of the past to save the little boy and, ultimately, himself. Hopper will play the owner of Vic's Diner, with Wahlberg starring as Shue's boyfriend and Unger cast as a diner employee.

August 17, 2002

- This is for the US fans only: Forever Mine will be shown on STARZ on August 23, 2002 at 10 pm and on August 28, 2002 at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time)

August 7, 2002

- Dutch DVD release date for KMS:

The Dutch DVD release for Killing me Softly (rental, region 2) will be in October 2002. Now, since Dutch means "English with subtitles", it might be interesting for other people as well. The only confirmation so far for this can be found here. It will be released by Dutch Filmworks.

Showtime East 08/11/02 8:00 PM
Showtime East 08/17/02 8:00 PM
Showtime East 08/30/02 8:00 PM
Showtime Extreme East 09/01/02 10:00 PM
Showtime Extreme East 09/06/02 7:45 PM

August 6, 2002

- From FilmForce Online:

Fiennes Finds Great Raid
Joseph Fiennes will star in the WWII flick The Great Raid.

August 01, 2002 - According to Variety, Actor Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) has come onboard The Great Raid for Miramax and director John Dahl (Rounders, Joy Ride, Unforgettable).

Fiennes joins Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality, Piñero) and James Franco (Spider-Man) in the World War II action-drama.

The film was inspired by the book The Great Raid on Cabanatuan, written by military historian William B. Breuer, which chronicles the true story of the 1945 raid on a Philippine POW camp. During the raid, Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci (Bratt) leads a small group of volunteers thirty miles behind enemy lines in order to free 511 POWs from Cabanatuan, a notorious Japanese POW camp where thousands of American prisoners had been brutally tortured and killed. Fiennes will play the highest-ranking officer in the camp.

Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro wrote the original adaptation. The screenplay has since been rewritten by Hossein Amini (Four Feathers, Gangs of New York).

The film will reportedly shoot on location in Queensland, Australia.