Worth a look 
SPEAKING WITH THE ANGEL 
Nick Hornby et al.
This collection of short stories corrals such hip younger 
writers as Dave Eggers and Melissa Bank, plus a moonlighting 
actor: The English Patient's Colin Firth, whose contribution is 
a gem. (Riverhead, $12)
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Reuters English News Service 
Monday, April 2, 2001 
UK: British actor Colin Firth suffers "Darcy syndrome". 

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - British actor Colin Firth has spent years trying
to live down the role of Jane Austen's Mr Darcy - only to play a version of 
the same character in the film "Bridget Jones's Diary". 

Firth became an instant British heart-throb six years ago as the dashing but
difficult hero in a television adaptation of Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".

Now the actor is once again starring as a Mr Darcy in the movie version of 
Helen Fielding's hugely successful novel - a role that was inspired by his 
brooding turn as Austen's hero. 

"I can't think of a single headline in the last five years that didn't have 
the D-word in it," Firth was quoted as saying by Britain's Daily Telegraph 
newspaper on Tuesday. 

"He (Darcy) is like this bizarre doppelganger that I have spawned who walks 
around doing things without me." 

Firth told the paper he had deliberately avoided the kind of roles that
would require frilly shirts and tight breeches since "Pride and Prejudice". 

But he said he was not worried about compounding "the Darcy thing" by
playing a character inspired by him. 

"There was an ironic slant on it. It was an in-joke, a reference point. I 
think that is acceptable," he said. 

"Bridget Jones's Diary" became an instant best-seller when it was first 
published in 1996. The story of the chain-smoking, weight-obsessed 
thirty-something, Bridget's quest for love struck a chord with millions of 
readers around the world. 

Firth's performance as love interest Mark Darcy was a witty piece of
casting.

Not only is Bridget Jones obsessed by Firth's Mr Darcy in "Pride and 
Prejudice, but the novel itself is a loose reworking of the Jane Austen 
classic and Fielding modelled Mark Darcy on the real-life Firth. 

But if Firth seemed the obvious - if not only - choice to play Mark Darcy,
the casting of the eponymous heroine was less straightforward. 

The film's makers attracted early criticism for choosing pencil-slim Texan 
Renee Zellweger over a host of British actresses to play the very English 
Bridget. 

The movie, which also stars Hugh Grant as the love rat who first captures 
Bridget's affections, has its British premiere on Friday.
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from yesterday's Evening Standard:

Not that I've seen it, but 
the prospect of watching Colin Firth and Hugh Grant fight it out in 
Bridget Jones's Diary (quite exciting two years ago), seems somehow a 
bit Ovaltine versus tequila shot in the current climate. And to think 
they will both have had to tone up, get manicured and live on an 
all-protein diet during filming. Shame.
 

<<The weird thing about Renee Zellweger building up 15 pounds (and talking 
ceaselessly about it to every entertainment magazine in town ) for the title 
role in movie version of the peerless Helen Fielding novel Bridget Jones's 
Diary and about Miramax sending out a vile creepy, oversized pair of panties 
to promote the flick (guess Miramax is feeling a wee bit desperate  after 
failing to come up with even a middling hit movie in the past year) is that 
the character--as anyone who actually read the book can attest--isn't fat, 
just neurotic. Tonight the movie premieres with Ms. Zellweger, permanently 
foppish Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, England's own George Clooney. What, 
you're not invited. Crash strategy: Dress like a Miramax publicist (leather 
pants, clipboard, headset, blown-out center parted hair, glazed expression; 
flinch at loud noises, such as say a rather heavy gentleman creeping up 
behind you. If that fails, there's always the couch back home and the the 
Robert Downey, Jr.-rejuvenated Ally McBeal.>> 

Bridget Jones's Diary - v. good?
Melinda Stevens gets a sneak preview
Renee Zellweger is a pork pie of a Bridget Jones: a glint-in-the-eye, thundering-thigh, skipping, tripping peach of a Bridget Jones. She’s funny, endearing and very, very good. The British film industry and its hopeful offspring may have wrinkled their noses and stamped their feet when the Texan star was offered the part of Helen Fielding’s thirtysomething anti-heroine, but Zellweger is as courageous and lovely as you hope for. Even Hugh Grant, who plays her low-down dirty dog of a boss Daniel Cleaver, finally hits his pitch and is wicked and charming in all the right places. Bridget’s other paramour, Colin Firth, plays Mr Darcy (both the earlier version, in Pride and Prejudice, and the latest one, here) with the same brooding intensity that has always made me wonder whether he’s actually playing wink murder. By himself. Still, on the whole, Bridget Jones’s Diary is a highly successful interpretation of the book. Bridget wiggles and tirades through confusion and mishap, hurdling over discarded bottles of wine and wading through embarrassing jobs and mothers. It has a properly low-key, homegrown, Brit-flick feel about it, with no unnecessary Hollywood sheen to make it ingestible for those short of saccharin. More than that, it combines the very funny with the unexpectedly sad. I’d suggest that these wondrous changes in mood, and the goodness of the film as a whole, is down to shiny new penny Zellweger herself. 

 peoplenews
This is from the same guy (Roger Friedman, Fox News 411 
column) who recently said that Colin "stole" the film. 
At least he mentions Colin and explains why he missed 
the premiere.

Chris

Salman Rushdie Steals Film from Renée Zellweger… Almost 

Well, the fatwa issued by the Iranians all those years 
ago — a death warrant on the head of writer Salman 
Rushdie — obviously doesn't include Hollywood. Rushdie 
makes not a small cameo in the film version of Bridget 
Jones's Diary, which premiered in New York last night to 
much applause and smiles. 

Rushdie, let's say, holds his own with star Renée 
Zellweger in a couple of scenes that show off his comic 
abilities. Who knows? Maybe Rushdie is onto a new 
career. 

Certainly star Zellweger cements her rapid rise to fame 
with her star turn as Bridget Jones. With an impeccable 
English accent, Renée — who's from Texas, born of a 
Norwegian mother and Swiss father — lights up the screen 
(as they used to say). Just as Melanie Griffith did in 
Working Girl, Renée is the centerpiece of almost every 
scene in the movie. She is more charming than ever, and 
I would wager, set for Oscar and Golden Globe 
nominations next fall. 

At the premiere she worked like a dog, doing one-on-one 
interviews with press before getting anything to eat. "I 
haven't even talked to my mother," she said of the very 
elegant blond woman sitting with perfect posture on one 
of the uncomfortable looking couches. While Renée's mom 
waited patiently for her, her dad joined us. 

"Can you believe I was sitting next to my dad through 
that whole movie?" she asked. "It's pretty racy!" Her 
dad didn't seem to mind the very tame sex scenes, 
but "all that cursing!" Renée said, "I was blushing!" 

Next Zellweger will film White Oleander, the novel that 
soared to the top of the best seller lists when Oprah 
Winfrey picked it for her book club last year. "I just 
do two weeks' worth of work on it," she said, "then I 
pile into my truck and head east." East, as in New 
York? "No, east — to Texas! I'm going to see some 
friends there and hang out." If there's a strike in 
Hollywood come summer, Zellweger says, "I will support 
it any way I can." 
 
 

Hugh Grant, for the Defense 

If Hugh Grant were a witness on the stand, a good lawyer 
would rip him to shreds. He bobs back and forth while he 
answers questions, and looks from side to side. I don't 
know what he's guilty of, but it's something. 

Grant has previously played charming romantic leads in 
his films. In Bridget Jones, he's a cad, very unlikable, 
and a willing villain. When I asked him in person last 
night which character was more like the real Hugh, he 
said, "I wouldn't mind having a cocktail with either of 
them." His eyes then did this thing where they just 
rolled back and forth through his head like one of those 
car-window stuffed dogs. I'm told that his interview in 
the new Talk magazine, by Holly Millea, starts with the 
line "I'm too drunk to do this interview." Interesting, 
huh? 

Grant is also sporting a new buzz haircut and a very 
drawn, lean look in his face. Elizabeth Hurley, come 
home! 

Some other guests at the Bridget Jones premiere included 
Charlie's Angels actor Sam Rockwell; Erin Brockovich's 
Aaron Eckhart; Requiem for a Dream director Darren 
Aronofsky; twice-Oscar-nominated actress Sylvia Miles; 
and Saturday Night Live's great talent Ana Gasteyer 
(someone get this girl her own series, fast). 

Bridget Jones's Diary also stars Colin Firth, who did 
not make the party because his wife is giving birth in 
Italy. But Firth holds up his third of this triangle and 
makes the film a total success as a chick flick, date 
movie, romantic comedy. Studios are always searching for 
the next While You Were Sleeping or Four Weddings and a 
Funeral. This is it. 

Not uncoincidentally, Bridget is written by Richard 
Curtis, who also gave us Four Weddings and Notting Hill. 
Curtis has a formula, and I'll tell you what it is. He 
surrounds his main character with oddball friends who 
love and admire the person. It was Hugh Grant in Notting 
Hill and Four Weddings. It's Renée here. This Greek 
chorus shows the audience how to appreciate the hero or 
heroine, casting a warm glow over them. 

The zany comedy is then disbursed to the chorus, and to 
other minor characters (like parents) while the hero
(oine)'s foibles are only exaggerated so much. In the 
case of Bridget, Renée plays her like Georgie Girl, 
Rhoda, and Lucy Ricardo all rolled into one. Her 
zaniness is lovable, and — you have the feeling — 
correctable by her suitor at some point in the fictional 
future. 

Bridget Jones will be a huge, huge hit precisely because 
Curtis has become a master of this formula. And rather 
than being predictable, his work is comforting, 
intelligent, and witty. How nice for all of us
 
 

Salman Rushdie Steals Film from Renée Zellweger… Almost 

Well, the fatwa issued by the Iranians all those years 
ago — a death warrant on the head of writer Salman 
Rushdie — obviously doesn't include Hollywood. Rushdie 
makes not a small cameo in the film version of Bridget 
Jones's Diary, which premiered in New York last night to 
much applause and smiles. 

Rushdie, let's say, holds his own with star Renée 
Zellweger in a couple of scenes that show off his comic 
abilities. Who knows? Maybe Rushdie is onto a new 
career. 

Certainly star Zellweger cements her rapid rise to fame 
with her star turn as Bridget Jones. With an impeccable 
English accent, Renée — who's from Texas, born of a 
Norwegian mother and Swiss father — lights up the screen 
(as they used to say). Just as Melanie Griffith did in 
Working Girl, Renée is the centerpiece of almost every 
scene in the movie. She is more charming than ever, and 
I would wager, set for Oscar and Golden Globe 
nominations next fall. 

At the premiere she worked like a dog, doing one-on-one 
interviews with press before getting anything to eat. "I 
haven't even talked to my mother," she said of the very 
elegant blond woman sitting with perfect posture on one 
of the uncomfortable looking couches. While Renée's mom 
waited patiently for her, her dad joined us. 

"Can you believe I was sitting next to my dad through 
that whole movie?" she asked. "It's pretty racy!" Her 
dad didn't seem to mind the very tame sex scenes, 
but "all that cursing!" Renée said, "I was blushing!" 

Next Zellweger will film White Oleander, the novel that 
soared to the top of the best seller lists when Oprah 
Winfrey picked it for her book club last year. "I just 
do two weeks' worth of work on it," she said, "then I 
pile into my truck and head east." East, as in New 
York? "No, east — to Texas! I'm going to see some 
friends there and hang out." If there's a strike in 
Hollywood come summer, Zellweger says, "I will support 
it any way I can." 

© Copyright of NY Times 2000