It's the movie that started me on the whole Les Liaisons Dangereuses trip, and set me to ponder upon the lusciousness of Ryan Phillippe's lips and why his ex-wife has turned out to be more popular than he is despite being the less talented of the two...IMHO.
I haven't read the book, obviously. I'm not a good reader, in the sense that 'good' books... which usually means of the posh literary kind... tend to put me straight to sleep. But I did watch Dangerous Liasons because of it. And I've just finished watching Valmont... were he not played by Colin Firth, I would have regretted spending hours on it. Such a senseless man that Valmont is. I still can't quite figure out whether to empathize with his petty concerns or consign my sympathy (of the way his life is ended) to hell where it undoubtedly belongs. The guy's pretty useless in the end, and he led me to believe he was clever at the start of the movie. Colin Firth played him very well. But then, I have not watched any of his movies where he's made me feel that the character could have been played a little better. He's perfect on screen, and God knows I love his witty interviews.
Anyway, here's the movie. Some parts are missing, drat it.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I remember dancing to the songs...
...alone in the living room of my friend's rented house in the UK. With only the light coming off the TV monitor to guide me, I glided precariously around the small space, pretending I was somebody I could never be in real life: glamorous, carefree, and admired. I love this movie. Unfortunately, the first part is all I could find on youtube. The rest must have been eaten by the greedy executives, sorry.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
I think that there're some distinct patterns to the men I adore...
...and when I spot similarities, I record them coz I'm a crazy fangirl LOL. I was reading through Colin Firth's interview (I absolutely adore his interviews) and found some parallels to what Shah Rukh has been saying over and over in some of his interviews. I thought it was interesting to note so here they are:
Full interview: Source
" I'm delighted I didn't have the chance to play Colin Firth. I wouldn't know how to play him. There's nothing more difficult than playing yourself. When people say "Do you like such-and-such an actor? He always plays himself!" I think "Christ, he must be talented!""
" Yes, I do. Because I think that we're all illusionists and I think we reach people. If we're doing our job properly, we have the capacity to reach people on some level and that creates an emotional response which can be intimate in some ways, and I think people want to pursue that. It's human instinct to, it's a kind of mystery that you want to get behind........ It’s like novelists who write something incredibly personal. You pick up the novel, you read it, and you make this connection. You think "Christ that's me he's writing about. I want to meet this guy." And then you meet the person and they’re just a normal person with all the usual barriers. There's no great intimacy there, you just met a stranger, and probably the best you'll ever know him is by going back and reading the book again. And I think that we do that—somebody gets curious about the character I play and that leads them to be curious about me. They're not really going to satisfy their curiosity knowing about my very ordinary life. If there's any magic at all, it's there, it's not behind the acting."
Q: Would you ever consider moving to Hollywood and what is your relationship with Hollywood?
"I like it here. I have very good friends here. It's appealing in that it's a place where a lot is happening and a good friend of mine, he's a writer here, he says he loves it because he likes to be able to drive past studios knowing all those things are going on, it's productive, active, and everybody wants to make a deal. And I think that would be appealing. But culturally I'm very very attached to London. I love to travel, I love to work in different places, but it would be very difficult for me to uproot from there. It's benefited me and the work still comes to me if I'm there, so I haven't felt the need to migrate for those reasons. I've never been tempted to put roots down here. I'm not convinced it would serve me better."
Full interview: Source
" I'm delighted I didn't have the chance to play Colin Firth. I wouldn't know how to play him. There's nothing more difficult than playing yourself. When people say "Do you like such-and-such an actor? He always plays himself!" I think "Christ, he must be talented!""
" Yes, I do. Because I think that we're all illusionists and I think we reach people. If we're doing our job properly, we have the capacity to reach people on some level and that creates an emotional response which can be intimate in some ways, and I think people want to pursue that. It's human instinct to, it's a kind of mystery that you want to get behind........ It’s like novelists who write something incredibly personal. You pick up the novel, you read it, and you make this connection. You think "Christ that's me he's writing about. I want to meet this guy." And then you meet the person and they’re just a normal person with all the usual barriers. There's no great intimacy there, you just met a stranger, and probably the best you'll ever know him is by going back and reading the book again. And I think that we do that—somebody gets curious about the character I play and that leads them to be curious about me. They're not really going to satisfy their curiosity knowing about my very ordinary life. If there's any magic at all, it's there, it's not behind the acting."
Q: Would you ever consider moving to Hollywood and what is your relationship with Hollywood?
"I like it here. I have very good friends here. It's appealing in that it's a place where a lot is happening and a good friend of mine, he's a writer here, he says he loves it because he likes to be able to drive past studios knowing all those things are going on, it's productive, active, and everybody wants to make a deal. And I think that would be appealing. But culturally I'm very very attached to London. I love to travel, I love to work in different places, but it would be very difficult for me to uproot from there. It's benefited me and the work still comes to me if I'm there, so I haven't felt the need to migrate for those reasons. I've never been tempted to put roots down here. I'm not convinced it would serve me better."
Colin Firth getting a spandex - Mamma Mia
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Karan Johar - MNIK interview
Full article: Source
Was it a painful experience to shoot in LA?
In all my 11 years as a filmmaker I've never felt the experience to be so different. Content- wise My Name Is Khan is diametrically opposite to whatever I've done in the past. You know, on the very first day of shooting my cameraman Ravi Chandran looked at me and said, 'I don't think you've ever shot something like this.' This is the first time I'm directing a screenplay I haven't written myself. This gives me a level of detachment from the proceedings and yet a lot of attachment. It has released a whole plethora of unexplored emotions in my head. This time I'm being creative in a different way. And Shah Rukh plays a completely different human being I've never directed that person before. It took a few days for all of us to get into the groove. How this exploration of a new territory will turn out, no one knows.
How was it directing Shah Rukh and Kajol again?
I am blessed to have them in my film. I don't know what it's about them. It's just magic. They build an inexplicable energy on screen. They instinctively understand each other's acting. When I direct a scene with Shah Rukh and Kajol I know I'm doing my best work. These two characters in My Name Is Khan HAD to be SRK and Kajol.
Was Kajol weighed down on location by her motherly duties?
Not at all. I've worked with Kajol in various stages of her life. I'm working her again eight years later. When we worked the last time she didn't have a daughter. So of course she's a different person. Today I find her calmer, more focused on her work than ever before. Of course she has a really cute daughter to look after. But Kajol manages to be fantastic wife-mother and actress. I find Shah Rukh and Kajol alike in their attitude to work and family. They're both so much into their spouses and kids. When the shot is over they rush to their respective family. On location in LA between shots they spoke to each other about their respective families.
How was Shah Rukh?
Time and again I'm blown away by Shah Rukh. How can he think of so many things about his character when he has so much on his plate? He has done monumental research on his autistic character. I was zapped by how much he knew on the subject. And he brought all the knowledge on the sets without any strain. He had written reams of notes on how he wanted to interpret his character. And to him it was no big deal for him. He's ready to direct a film any time. He will be outstanding at it. His understanding of human nature and emotions can never be matched by me.
Was it a painful experience to shoot in LA?
In all my 11 years as a filmmaker I've never felt the experience to be so different. Content- wise My Name Is Khan is diametrically opposite to whatever I've done in the past. You know, on the very first day of shooting my cameraman Ravi Chandran looked at me and said, 'I don't think you've ever shot something like this.' This is the first time I'm directing a screenplay I haven't written myself. This gives me a level of detachment from the proceedings and yet a lot of attachment. It has released a whole plethora of unexplored emotions in my head. This time I'm being creative in a different way. And Shah Rukh plays a completely different human being I've never directed that person before. It took a few days for all of us to get into the groove. How this exploration of a new territory will turn out, no one knows.
How was it directing Shah Rukh and Kajol again?
I am blessed to have them in my film. I don't know what it's about them. It's just magic. They build an inexplicable energy on screen. They instinctively understand each other's acting. When I direct a scene with Shah Rukh and Kajol I know I'm doing my best work. These two characters in My Name Is Khan HAD to be SRK and Kajol.
Was Kajol weighed down on location by her motherly duties?
Not at all. I've worked with Kajol in various stages of her life. I'm working her again eight years later. When we worked the last time she didn't have a daughter. So of course she's a different person. Today I find her calmer, more focused on her work than ever before. Of course she has a really cute daughter to look after. But Kajol manages to be fantastic wife-mother and actress. I find Shah Rukh and Kajol alike in their attitude to work and family. They're both so much into their spouses and kids. When the shot is over they rush to their respective family. On location in LA between shots they spoke to each other about their respective families.
How was Shah Rukh?
Time and again I'm blown away by Shah Rukh. How can he think of so many things about his character when he has so much on his plate? He has done monumental research on his autistic character. I was zapped by how much he knew on the subject. And he brought all the knowledge on the sets without any strain. He had written reams of notes on how he wanted to interpret his character. And to him it was no big deal for him. He's ready to direct a film any time. He will be outstanding at it. His understanding of human nature and emotions can never be matched by me.
Friday, July 3, 2009
I dunno why they're still not expurgated as yet...
...but I'd better get on with it before they are. I'll bold the titles as I go along.
1. Love Actually - Part 1 (and the rest of what's left after wonderful youtube's ate it... or you could just check out this link if you're in it just for Colin Firth)
2. What a Girl Wants - Part 1 (good luck in getting all the parts)
3. Valmont 1989 - 1/13 (I've been wanting to watch this movie for ever so long)
4. Another Country - 1/9 (it's his first movie!)
5. THE TURN OF THE SCREW/ COLIN FIRTH
6. Hope Springs - 1/9
7. Relative Values - Part 1
8. Girl With a Pearl Earring (Part 1-9)
9. Trauma - 1/9
10. And When Did You Last See Your Father? (Part 1-9)
11. The Importance of being Earnest - Part 1
12. My Life So Far - Part 1
13. Apartment Zero - Part 1
14. Fever Pitch 1997 - 2/10 (Part 1 is not available in my country due to copyright restrictions... what the hell? Piracy is running rampant here and that part can't be viewed coz of bloody copyright restrictions. I don't get it...)
15. The Secret Laughter of Women - part1
16. Londinium - Part 1
17. Then She Found Me - part 1
18. Donovan Quick - Part 1
19. Master of the Moor - Part 1
20. Wings of fame - part 1 VF (it's in French, a language I don't bloody understand. But seriously, any effort to dub over his lovely voice is a crime)
21. Femme Fatale - Part 1
22. Tumbledown - 1/12
23. Circle of Friends (1995) - PART 1
24. The Hour of the Pig - Part 1
25. Born Equal - Part 2 (I'm pretty sure this is part 1)
26. Camille - Part 1 (I don't understand why it's in black-white when I see some clips around in colour. Which one is the original?)
27. Celebration 2007 - 1/4 (Colin Firth's part only)
28. The Accidental Husband - Part 1
29. The Secret Garden - Part 1
30. Genova 2008: uploaded in different websites - one, two, or three (I watched the entire film from the first link but the subtitle takes up half the tiny screen)
31. Dutch Girls - whole movie
32. Easy Virtue - whole movie
33. Where the Truth Lies - Part 1/8
34. A Month in the Country - Part 1
1. Love Actually - Part 1 (and the rest of what's left after wonderful youtube's ate it... or you could just check out this link if you're in it just for Colin Firth)
2. What a Girl Wants - Part 1 (good luck in getting all the parts)
3. Valmont 1989 - 1/13 (I've been wanting to watch this movie for ever so long)
4. Another Country - 1/9 (it's his first movie!)
5. THE TURN OF THE SCREW/ COLIN FIRTH
6. Hope Springs - 1/9
7. Relative Values - Part 1
8. Girl With a Pearl Earring (Part 1-9)
9. Trauma - 1/9
10. And When Did You Last See Your Father? (Part 1-9)
11. The Importance of being Earnest - Part 1
12. My Life So Far - Part 1
13. Apartment Zero - Part 1
14. Fever Pitch 1997 - 2/10 (Part 1 is not available in my country due to copyright restrictions... what the hell? Piracy is running rampant here and that part can't be viewed coz of bloody copyright restrictions. I don't get it...)
15. The Secret Laughter of Women - part1
16. Londinium - Part 1
17. Then She Found Me - part 1
18. Donovan Quick - Part 1
19. Master of the Moor - Part 1
20. Wings of fame - part 1 VF (it's in French, a language I don't bloody understand. But seriously, any effort to dub over his lovely voice is a crime)
21. Femme Fatale - Part 1
22. Tumbledown - 1/12
23. Circle of Friends (1995) - PART 1
24. The Hour of the Pig - Part 1
25. Born Equal - Part 2 (I'm pretty sure this is part 1)
26. Camille - Part 1 (I don't understand why it's in black-white when I see some clips around in colour. Which one is the original?)
27. Celebration 2007 - 1/4 (Colin Firth's part only)
28. The Accidental Husband - Part 1
29. The Secret Garden - Part 1
30. Genova 2008: uploaded in different websites - one, two, or three (I watched the entire film from the first link but the subtitle takes up half the tiny screen)
31. Dutch Girls - whole movie
32. Easy Virtue - whole movie
33. Where the Truth Lies - Part 1/8
34. A Month in the Country - Part 1
There's a whole lotta snogging going on here, mate...
...and the energy emitted by his activities is probably enough to light up whole countries. I was sitting in front of my monitor with my jaw hanging for the entire viewing time. This fanvideo has made me realised how I've been missing a dem good chunk of his on-screen works!
I need to get my hands on some of those videos. Well, this opens up another hunting area for me. Not that there's a lotta ground to cover in Malaysia, I mean.. oversea markets always go for an out and out commercial movies.. while quite a few of his very interesting works went the artsy-fartsy way. If I want to be a serious collector, I need to go on the net. And I seriously don't possess enough dough to buy stuff online nowadays. I seem to have grown poorer as I grow older. Hmmm...
I need to get my hands on some of those videos. Well, this opens up another hunting area for me. Not that there's a lotta ground to cover in Malaysia, I mean.. oversea markets always go for an out and out commercial movies.. while quite a few of his very interesting works went the artsy-fartsy way. If I want to be a serious collector, I need to go on the net. And I seriously don't possess enough dough to buy stuff online nowadays. I seem to have grown poorer as I grow older. Hmmm...
Let me shout this from the rooftop...
I absolutely adore Colin Firth!
It started, as it has started with thousands (millions? billions?) of women around the world, with the character of Mr. Darcy. But, since he's a fantabulously good actor, and a fascinating man off screen, he remains a favourite of mine for years afterwards until now. He's a good interviewee too, and a vociferous reader (I like the image of him chomping away at the books), which explains his constant wit.
There're whole sites dedicated to the guy who has turned a brooding character into one of the sexiest guys on telly and in turn, made us hormonally-charged women obsess with so many 'wet shirt' questions... as Bridget has so eloquently picturised in her 'interview' here:
It started, as it has started with thousands (millions? billions?) of women around the world, with the character of Mr. Darcy. But, since he's a fantabulously good actor, and a fascinating man off screen, he remains a favourite of mine for years afterwards until now. He's a good interviewee too, and a vociferous reader (I like the image of him chomping away at the books), which explains his constant wit.
There're whole sites dedicated to the guy who has turned a brooding character into one of the sexiest guys on telly and in turn, made us hormonally-charged women obsess with so many 'wet shirt' questions... as Bridget has so eloquently picturised in her 'interview' here:
Pride & Prejudice 1995 episodes (1 - 6)
I'm only embedding the first part. Follow the link to go to the next episode parts until the end...
NEXT
NEXT
Ruined by reading...
...is the title of the blog I stumbled upon. Of course I came across it while googling Shah Rukh :P
It reminds me of how I've often mused about the way I've turned out in life due to my incessant reading during childhood. At more than one occasions I have regretted that habit, or more correctly, the choice of my reading materials. Here I am, stuck in the middle of my conventional upbringing and my liberal-minded head. I dare say it often makes me feel more compassion for the plight of others than they rightfully deserve.
I like the attempted review he wrote on Anupama's book. My very honest opinion was it's too short.
It reminds me of how I've often mused about the way I've turned out in life due to my incessant reading during childhood. At more than one occasions I have regretted that habit, or more correctly, the choice of my reading materials. Here I am, stuck in the middle of my conventional upbringing and my liberal-minded head. I dare say it often makes me feel more compassion for the plight of others than they rightfully deserve.
I like the attempted review he wrote on Anupama's book. My very honest opinion was it's too short.
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