27 December
2003
As reported at the
beginning of last month a movie version of the stage play Closer
is in the offing.
Filming starts next week with Julia Roberts
and Natalie Portman taking the female leads, so Anna will not be reprising her
most critically-acclaimed role on the big screen. Pity.
07 November
2003
Anna is to present
VH1's 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons next Saturday (15th). Tune in at 8pm!
Also today there is an interview with Anna on
the ThisisLondon site (part of the Evening Standard).
Here's a link but, in case it disappears, the full text is copied below.
Anna Friel bounds into the room and flops
theatrically onto a chair. "I'm so tired," she announces with a huge grin.
"We've just got back from Los Angeles and I've
got the worst jet lag." She went to Hollywood with her long-term partner and
fellow actor David Thewlis to meet studio bosses and discuss potential films.
"We're trying to stay up till 11pm to get over the time difference, but by 10pm
we've collapsed. Then at 2am we're in the kitchen making a full breakfast."
Despite the jet lag, Friel is on great form.
She is so warm and sweet that it would be easy to be cynical and assume she was
just turning on the charm, but it seems, instead, that she's simply a nice
person. Her passion for her fellow actors would be nothing more than shameless
name-dropping from anyone else - mentioning, as she does, Billy Connolly,
Michael Sheen and Gary Oldman to name a few - but with Friel, it is more a
matter of unbridled enthusiasm. She chats so fast she sometimes forgets to take
breath.
She looks amazing too. An afternoon sunbathing
in LA has brought out her freckles, and her skin positively glows - thanks,
perhaps, to the fact that she hasn't smoked since last New Year, save the
occasional lapse. Her glow could also have something to do with the fact that
she has just taken 10 months off - the first long break she's had since she was
16 and made her name as the lesbian patricide Beth Jordache in Brookside. It's
been a period of serious reflection for the 27-year-old, who spent the time
finding a new agent and agonising over when would be a good time to have
children.
She smiles. "David would have children
straight away, but he knows that if I were to get pregnant now it would be very
silly. I still have to give acting my best shot. I am aware that there's always
someone prettier and more talented who is willing to go that extra mile. I want
to succeed. As long as at the end of it, if it doesn't work out, I know I'm
going to be okay."
Friel has suffered from endometriosis (which
can result in problems conceiving). In 2000 she had a ruptured ovarian cyst and
underwent two blood transfusions. "I saw one doctor who told me it would be very
hard if I left trying for a baby beyond the age of 30. I got so scared that I
went to see another doctor who reassured me I had more time."
She fidgets on the chair, tilting it back and
leaning against the wall. "I've got three years to go till I reach
30. I just don't know about babies at the minute. I come from a very
tight, close family and I'd want that for my children, too. When I had that time
off, when work wasn't influencing me, I started thinking: 'Oh, maybe I should
have a child.' But how would it fit in? I wouldn't want nannies to do my job.
I'd want to take two years off work."
At first, Friel found it
difficult not working, not only because of the burning issue of starting a
family, but also because she just wasn't used to it. Her parents, both teachers,
had brought her and her brother up with a strict work ethic (she considered
going into law before the lure of television) and sitting around was against her
nature. "For the first few months I was so impatient and frustrated," she
explains. "I kept thinking: 'Oh my God! It's all over! I'm never going to work
again.' Especially when your boyfriend is an actor, too, and he's working every
day, either on Harry Potter or his own film. I felt as though I was shopping at
Tesco every day." She stops for a moment and looks pensive. "It wasn't easy, but
maybe I really needed to have time off. I needed to reassess my life."
She confesses to feeling rather
lonely before meeting Thewlis at a dinner party three years ago. Although she
surrounded herself with celebrities, the feeling didn't go away. At one point,
she had a full-time assistant who travelled everywhere with her. "It was just
like having a paid friend, which sounds very sad but I need consistency in my
life."
FRIEL'S often drunken social forays with Kate
Moss and Sadie Frost are near-legendary - for a time they were the barely
dressed stars of the London party circuit - but she maintains that too much has
been made of this period in her life. "When I first moved to London, I was in a
relationship with Darren Day for two-and-a-half years. I forgave him [for
running off with Coronation Street's Tracy Shaw] and we stayed in touch for a
while, but there didn't seem much point in the end. I went out with Robbie
[Williams], of course, and I had a great time, but he wasn't ready for a long
relationship." She pauses for breath. "So I had three years on my own. If you
stay in, you're having to contemplate everything and suffering anxiety attacks,
so it's hardly surprising if you go out with your friends sometimes."
She sighs. "From the
ages of 16 to 18, I was a workaholic. Then I was a 22-year-old going out for the
first time. But I didn't party that much. I was guilty by association. Anyway, I
haven't seen Kate or Sadie for four years. Four years! I never made a point not
to; it's just that paths change. I rarely go into the West End, as David's flat
is in Clerkenwell and my house is in Windsor."
Although Thewlis has evidently had a calming
effect on her life and she is no longer lonely, the changing point in Friel's
life pre-dates meeting him (she gets angry when people assume he "saved her"
because he's 13 years older than her). In 1999, she played a lapdancer in
Patrick Marber's Closer, on Broadway. Madonna chased round town for tickets, Tom
Cruise and Nicole Kidman popped into the dressing-room, Al Pacino rang her in
her New York apartment and Jack Nicholson publicly said he couldn't rest till he
had slept with her. The play gave her confidence and, away from the London
scene, made her realise people actually liked her for who she was.
Friel sips mineral water and wonders, at about
7pm, if it's time for lunch yet. She is still on LAtime and her body clock is
confused. "I had such a great time there. All the studio bosses were advising me
to move to Hollywood - it worked for Rachel Weisz and Minnie Driver. David and I
are thinking about spending the first three months of next year there. We'll
see."
For now, Friel is clearly feeling good about
life. Blissfully happy with Thewlis, she has finally fulfilled her long-term
ambition to make a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, with her new film,
Timeline.
As well as starring with Billy Connolly,
better still, she got to work alongside Thewlis. "David and I were so happy at
the prospect of working together," says Friel, almost shouting with excitement.
"But in the end we were filming at different times. It was hard work; for two
solid weeks I was in a caravan from 6pm till 6am, and I didn't get used once. I
didn't dare complain in case they thought I was a diva."
While Friel was working with Billy Connolly,
she recounts how he told her: "You've grown into a great young woman. You're not
hanging round with those fools any more." Harsh words,
maybe, but Friel is now her own person and remains resolute about her acting. "I
guess I stopped going out because I don't want people to have a misconception of
me. It's not good to have a reputation as a party girl if you want to be taken
seriously as an actress. And who am I to argue with Billy Connolly's words of
wisdom? I think I really have grown up."
01 November
2003
I hear that a movie
version of the hit stage play Closer, in which Anna starred to much acclaim during
it's New York run, is under consideration. See the link above for more on
the Broadway run.
I've not yet seen Anna's name mentioned in
connection with it, but you never know . . .
17 October
2003
While it doesn't
exactly enjoy the best of reputations for journalistic integrity or accuracy, we
can always hope that this report from today's Sun newspaper heralds a return to
work.
Anna starts filming next month on a new movie
titled Guns, Money and Home Cooking, in which she appears alongside Vinnie
Jones and Ronan Keating. Sounds promising. Not.
Top marks again though to Dave Campbell for
sending through
this link to the story.
09 October
2003
Then again . . .
Further to the news update from last week
I've been expecting to see some photos of Anna in the TV guides, but so far have
seen absolutely nothing. That's nothing as in 'nothing at all' —
not even a mention of her name in any credits listing.
Originally touted for the part of Ann Boleyn
way back in 2001 when the project was first commissioned, Anna was later
confirmed in the role of Catherine Parr in a number of media publications,
including
this one from Ananova. (In case the link disappears over time, the
London Evening Standard story from which this Ananova report was lifted can
be seen
here, and an extract is copied below . . . )
"Ray Winstone and
Helena Bonham Carter are set to team up for a television biography of Henry
VIII. Winstone will play the lead role in the £6
million production while Bonham Carter stars as Anne Boleyn.
Kathy Burke will play Anne of Cleves and Anna Friel takes the role of
Katherine Parr. The two-part drama, directed by
Cold Feet's Pete Travis, also features David Suchet, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean and
Charles Dance."
In the current absence of any evidence of her
participation I can only assume that the plans were reported incorrectly in the
first place. There is no mention in the credits of Kathy Burke either, so
this seems the most likely explanation. Apologies for having passed it on.
In terms of active projects then, I'm not
aware of any work that Anna has done this year at all. With early reports
of Timeline sounding less than enthusiastic, the present drought looks
set to continue.
01 October
2003
Thanks to Dave Campbell
for the timely reminder that Anna's next project to hit our TV screens —
the ITV1 adaptation of the Henry VIII saga — premieres
a week on Sunday (12 October) at 9:00pm. See the Anna News archives for 27
March this year and 20 March 2001 for earlier entries regarding this project.
In a relatively slow year (so slow in fact
that the Official Site nearly caught up with events!), this represents an upturn
— and hopefully a few more images of Anna to add to
the archives.
18 August
2003
Unbelievable as it may
sound, Anna's official site has just been updated. This is the "relaunch"
that was originally scheduled for 15th December 2001, so
go see if it was worth
the wait!.
10 July
2003
Although she's not even
mentioned in the credits in my TV guide, Anna can be seen in A Midsummer
Night's Dream on BBC 2 this coming Saturday evening at 10:15.
17
May
2003
Those of you living
within reach of Manchester may like to know that an animated movie in the
Commonwealth Film
Festival next month features Anna as one of the main voiceovers.
It forms part of a programme of short films
called "North by Northwest" to be shown at the
Cornerhouse cinema on
Monday 9th June at 8:30pm. If you want further details see the entry in
the
site guestbook for 15th May.
07
April
2003
Thanks are again owed
to David Campbell for the tip that Anna is scheduled to appear on
the ITV1 show 'Des and Mel' a week tomorrow (Tuesday 15th), the day before
Watermelon is aired. Expect plenty of press and magazine coverage in
the next 10 days.
04
April
2003
Thanks to Andrew
Glazebrook who forwards
this
review of Timeline, posted by someone who attended the recent test
screening in Long Beach.
Web links tend to come and go, so if it's
disappeared or you just want the overview I'm afraid to say it seems like
another turkey is
on the way. Sounds like Anna plays a decent enough part, though partner
David gives "his worst performance ever" and the movie overall is described as
'boring'. I've copied the main points below . . .
"If I could give you a one-word
description, it would be: BORING. It starts with a quick-cut prologue that goes
too fast (it felt like about 90 seconds) and jumps around too much. This,
actually, wouldn’t have been so bad if the events had a direct effect on
anything that happens in the next half-hour of the movie, which was
mind-numbingly boring. This is where they introduce the cardboard cut-out
characters with the most trite dialogue possible.
Overall, the movie wasn’t
terrible per se (the beginning being an exception), it was just really boring.
There was nothing to care about or connect with
in the film.
As for the acting, I thought the only actors who
shined in their roles were Marton Csokas, Gerard Butler, and Anna Friel (whom I
liked A LOT). Paul Walker and Ethan Embry were especially bad. David Thewlis, an
actor I like very much, I thought gave his worst performance ever."
Test screenings exist in part to gauge
audience reaction. If this is typical it may well explain the recent
7-month slippage on the release date — time for the
editors get to work with some scissors perhaps? Though if the problem lies
in the weakness of the plot and characterisation they might as well write off
the $80million now rather than spend more fixing the unfixable.
Whether it's dire or just disappointing only
time will tell, and at least it seems that Anna might emerge with some credit.
Trouble is if the film bombs no-one will know it, and Timeline will take
it's big-budget place in the list of critical and commercial cinematic failures
on her cv. And that's a list that could do without getting bigger.
27
March
2003
It's more than a year
overdue, but finally . . .
No, don't be daft! I'm not on about an
update to the official site! Frequent contributor David Campbell mailed a
couple of pix to me earlier, and mentioned in his covering e-mail:—
"Lots of new stories today on
Google about Anna playing Katherine Parr in a forthcoming Granada TV production of Henry VIII. Shooting starts now. I seem
to remember this role was suggested for Anna ages ago? Big budget and big
names in this one."
Dave's right. I recorded the report
two years ago (see the News Archive for 20 March 2001), at which point filming was
supposed to start in June. Seems to be underway now, though it was
originally reported that Anna was to play Ann Boleyn, so maybe other cast
members have changed or swapped roles. More when I hear it.
24
March
2003
The new date from
Paramount for the US release of Timeline is 26 November. This,
according to upcomingmovies.com,
"suggests
a strong confidence that this movie can hold its own in the midst of one of the
year's hottest box office weeks"
Watermelon meanwhile will
air on ITV1 on 16th April.
06
March
2003
Anna is reported to be
giving up cigarettes, and has managed 2 months so far without the killer
weed — never an easy feat, and an effort worthy of
note, praise and encouragement. Keep going girl!
05
March
2003
Timeline's US release
date has slipped from 11 April to "Q3 2003". See
here
for more.
23
February
2003
After a fairly quiet
time over the past few months things are set fair for greater exposure for Anna
in the coming weeks. First up is ITV's adaptation of Watermelon,
followed in the cinemas with the release of Timeline in April.
A lot must hang on the success of the latter.
With her previous movies meeting almost universal commercial failure and
critical disdain, she needs a healthy reaction to her first really big budget
film to provide the impetus for the next stage of her career. Female leads
in the likes of Fight Club and the recent Gangs of New York have
reportedly slipped through her fingers in the past because her name just isn't
big enough to generate box office interest, particularly in the US.
There seemed to be a good opportunity brewing 3 years ago, but the
'next hot property' status she earned for herself with her performances on
Broadway are now a distant memory to some of the Hollywood
suits who courted Anna at the time — especially as
they received what was widely reported as a derisory rejection from our
Lancashire lass on the grounds of crap scripts. Considering the movies she
has done since then, you'd hardly blame anyone for an ironic smirk at
that.
18 months ago interviews would headline with
"Anna turns her back on Hollywood". These days the door is more ajar than
locked shut. While she still rules out the traditional tactic of a
long-term sojourn in LA to lift her to the next step on that ladder, she has let
it be known that she would welcome the chance to spend 4 months a year inside
the Hollywood machine.
Timeline making substantially more
than its $80 million costs is surely a pre-requisite to that. Watch this space.
07 January
2003
Barely 10 weeks from
it's UK cinema release, The War Bride can be purchased from your
favourite DVD/video outlet from 10th February.
Please, no jokes about
Christmas turkeys — it did at least get a cinema
release! The next big hope for critical or commercial success will be
Timeline, currently in post-production and scheduled for release in the US
on 11 April.
Talking of turkeys the update to Anna's
official site is allegedly coming along nicely, a mere 13 months on from the
originally-announced relaunch date of December 2001. Still it can't be
easy, what with Anna's dad owning the web design/hosting company responsible for
the official site. I mean, have you ever tried to give your own arse a
really good kicking?!
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