"Fête au Rambouillet", by Jean-Hororé Fragonard
(1732-1806),
French
Rococo painter whose scenes of frivolity and gallantry are considered the embodiment of the Rococo spirit.
The
painting, Fête at Rambouillet, is from a later period in his life. Although a departure from the erotic and genre scenes
that had made him so popular, this 1780 painting portrays an idealized and aristocratic view of nature, where overdressed
courtiers go out in boats to partake in a picnic. It could almost be used as an illustration for the Enlightenment's obsession
with combining rationality and nature. Significantly, nature here is not the formal gardens of Versailles, but a rather wild,
untamed stretch of forest and river. Already, Fragonard is pushing his art toward Romanticism.
Fragonard was the son of a haberdasher's assistant. The family moved to Paris about 1738, and in 1747 the boy
was apprenticed to a lawyer, who, noticing his appetite for drawing, suggested that he be taught painting.
In the last years preceding the French Revolution, Fragonard turned finally to Neoclassical subject matter and developed a
less fluent Neoclassical style of painting (The Fountain of Love), which becomes increasingly evident in his later works,
particularly the genre scenes executed in collaboration with Marguerite Gérard (The Beloved Child).
Fragonard's art was
too closely associated with the pre-Revolutionary period to make him acceptable during the Revolution, which also prived him
of private patrons. At first he retired to Grasse but returned to Paris in 1791, where the protection of the leading Neoclassical
painter Jacques-Louis David obtained for him a post with the Museum Commission, but he was deprived of this in 1797. He spent
the rest of his life in obscurity, painting little. His death in 1806 passed almost unnoticed, and his work remained unfashionable
until well after 1850.
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Louise Brooks (1906-1985)
Born 14 November 1906 in Cherryvale, Kansas, USA, as Mary Louise
Brooks.
Died 8 August 1985 in Rochester, New York, USA, of a heart attack.
Louise Brooks began entertainment work as a professional
dancer. Her work on Broadway led to an offer in films from Paramount. Acted in a series of Paramount films from the mid to
late 1920s, before leaving the United States for work in Germany and her greatest artistic successes for director G.W. Pabst
in the late 1920s.
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(Jane Austen, in a portrait based on one drawn by her sister Cassandra)
Jane
Austen (1775-1817)
Jane
Austen was born at the rectory in Steventon, Hampshire, daughter to the
Rev. George Austen (1731–1805) and his wife Cassandra (née Leigh) (1739–1827). She lived for most of her life
in the area and never married. She had six brothers and one older sister, Cassandra, to whom she was very close. The only
undisputed portrait of Jane Austen is a coloured sketch done by Cassandra which resides in the National Portrait
Gallery in London. However,
a full-length portrait, owned by a descendent and traditionally held to be of Jane as a teenager, is increasingly regarded
as authentic by authorities. Her brothers Frank and Charles went
to sea, eventually becoming admirals. In 1783, she was educated briefly by a relative in Oxford then Southampton. In 1785–1786,
she was educated at the Reading Ladies boarding school in the Abbey gatehouse in Reading, Berkshire. In general, she
received an education superior to that generally given to girls of her time, and took early to writing, her first tale being
begun in 1789.
Austen's
life was a singularly uneventful one and, but for a disappointment in love, tranquil and happy. In 1801 the family moved to
Bath, the scene of many
episodes in her writings. In 1802 Austen received a marriage proposal from a wealthy young man named Harris Bigg-Wither, whom she accepted,
then refused the next day, presumably because she did not love him. Having refused this offer of marriage, Austen never subsequently
married. After the death of her father in 1805, Austen, her sister, and her mother lived with her brother Frank and his family
for several years until they moved in 1809 to Chawton. Here her wealthy
brother Edward had an estate with a cottage, which he turned over to his mother and sisters. (Their house today is open to
the public.)
Austen
continued to live in relative seclusion and began to suffer ill-health. It is now thought she may have suffered from Addison's disease, the cause of which
was then unknown. She travelled to Winchester to seek medical
attention, but so rapid was the progress of her malady that she died there two months later and was buried in the cathedral.
She was a prominent English novelist whose work is considered part of the Western canon. Her insights into women's lives and her mastery of form and irony made her arguably the most noted and
influential novelist of her era.
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"The Kiss", by Gustav Klimt
(Born in Vienna, Austria, 14 July 1862 / Died in Vienna, Austria, 06
February 1918)
Gustav Klimt explored the themes of beauty, eroticism, life and death through his subjects, embellishing them
with richly patterned surfaces. Although he is best known for his paintings, however he also produced thousands of drawings.
His best
know painting The Kiss, was first exhibited in 1908. As everything coming out of Klimt's hands, it was highly controversial
and admired at the same time.
During the period when Klimt became interested in Symbolism and Art Nouveau, he and 15 others resigned from
the Viennese Artist's Association and founded the Vienna Secession (1897). Klimt was elected president and the group secured
its own exhibition space and published an illustrated magazine.
During
the First World War Klimt was no longer taking public commissions, and worked on portraits for private patrons of the Vienna
elite. He also continued to produce landscapes, which he had begun at the time of the founding of the Secession and his interest
in modernism. Klimt worked until his death shortly after a stroke, in 1918.
******************************************
“Clair
de Lune”, composed
by Claude Debussy (Born August 22, 1862 in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France /
Died March 25, 1918 in Paris, France) - (You must be listening it now. If you don't, turn the volume up)
Claude Debussy's parents had many talents and many jobs. When Debussy was born, his father was running
a china shop and working as a traveling salesman and a printer's assistant. His mother also helped out in the china shop and
worked as a seamstress.
When he was ten years old, Debussy's musical talents were discovered by his piano teacher and he was sent to the Conservatory
in Paris. At the Conservatory, Debussy studied piano without much success. He failed two piano tests and decided to study
composition. Debussy won second prize in the Prix de Rome in 1883 and then in 1884, he won first prize with his composition
L'enfant prodigue.
In 1888-9 he visited Bayreuth and came under the spell of Wagner; was enthralled by the Javanese gamelan orchestra
who came last. to Paris for the World Exhibition; and began an affair with Gabrielle Dupont.
Debussy continued to compose and in 1894, he completed one of his most famous works Prélude à l'après-midi d'un
faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun).
In 1897, Gabrielle
attempted suicide and thus began a difficult period in Debussy's life. In October 1899, Debussy married Rosalie Texier, a
model and friend of Dupont. Rosalie Texier and he began working as a music critic. Sadly, the marriage to Rosalie Texier did not work.
Debussy fell in love with Emma Bardac, the wife of a banker and an amateur
singer and later married her. Utterly devoted to him Lilly (Rosalie) also attempted suicide,
but succeeded only in injuring herself. These events caused considerable scandal at the time, particularly when a daughter
Claude-Emma and whom Debussy affectionately called Chouchou was born to Emma in 1905. But in 1908 Debussy married Emma.
Although not overly fond of children, Debussy adored the daughter who arrived at a time when the composer was troubled
by illness, debt, and scandal, and became the joy of his life. People generally found Debussy cold, and always angry, but
a different person again when with his beloved Chouchou.
But a year after her birth it became clear that he was suffering from cancer. In 1915 he underwent an operation which
resulted in his wearing a colostomy device for the rest of his life. He died on the 25th March, 1918 and his daughter was
able to write in her diary that at last he looked 'oh so happy'. The following year she died of influenza in the epidemic
that swept across Europe after the first World War.
The Suite Bergamasque was composed in
the period from 1888 to 1903 . “Clair De Lune” (part of “Suite
Bergamasque”) is probably his best know work.
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"Starlight (Sternennacht) over the Rhone", by Vincent Van Gogh ( painted in 1888)
Dutch artist, Vincent Van Gogh was born the son of Protestant minister. He adopted many different careers before
finally devoting himself to painting. He was an employee of art dealers, a language teacher, student of practical evangelism,
and a missionary. In 1881, he first developed his work in the traditional Dutch style. In 1886, he moved to Paris where he
encountered Impressionism. Van Gogh’s life was plagued by series of unrequited love stories and rocky friendships. The
most notable of these were his obsession with a French prostitute, to whom he sent his dismembered ear, and also his
tumultuous relationship with fellow artist, Paul Gauguin. Mental illness, primarily schizophrenia and
manic depression afflicted Van Gogh his entire adult life, resulting in frequent hospitalization and an early death. He produced
some of his most famous pieces, including his Self-Portrait, in mental institutions in hospitals in Arles and Saint-Remy.
After his release, he went to Auvers where he eventually shot himself and died two days later.
Painted in the last period of his life, Vincent van Gogh's Starlight Over the Rhone creates a tremendous
emotional impact. Some believe Starlight Over the Rhone is the first of the series of 'Stars' painted by Vincent with Starry
Night being painted the following year. In both paintings, the heavens are alive with the vibrancy of the stars contrasted
by the dark blues of the sky. I prefer this one to "Starry Night"
*****************************************
"The Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh
(1853-1890)
Dutch. Oil on Canvas of June 1889, size 72cm x 92cm.
"Starry Night" was completed near the mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13 months before Van Gogh's death
at the age of 37. Vincent's mental instability is legend. He attempted to take Paul Gauguin's life and later committed himself
to several asylums in hopes of an unrealized cure.
Van Gogh painted furiously and "The Starry Night" vibrates with rockets of burning yellow while planets
gyrate like cartwheels. The hills quake and heave, yet the cosmic gold fireworks that swirl against the blue sky are somehow
restful.
This painting is probably the most popular of Vincent's works.
**********************************
|
"First Steps", by Vincent Van Gogh
In fall and winter 1889–90, while
a voluntary patient at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh painted twenty-one copies after Millet, an artist he greatly admired.
He considered his copies "improvisations" or "translations" akin to a musician's interpretation of a composer's work. He let
the black-and-white images—whether prints, reproductions or as here, a photograph that his brother Theo had sent—"pose
as subject," then he would "improvise color on it." For this work of January 1890, Van Gogh squared up a photograph of Millet's
"First Steps" which he then transferred to the canvas.
I simply adore this painting - it's so pure, innocent and beautiful!
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. 
Daphne Du Maurier
(1907-1989)
In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles that of a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich
artistic and historical background, the daughter of a famous actor manager, she was indulged as a child and grew up enjoying
enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with
friends, and writing stories. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties,
and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant General Sir)
Frederick Browning, who married her.
Mother of one son and two daughters,
Daphne du Maurier was bisexual (which she referred to as her "Venetian tendencies"),
and had intimate relationships with several women, including actress Gertrude Lawrence.
Her writing went from strength to strength. She is most
noted for the novel Rebecca which has been filmed on several occasions. Besides
Rebecca, several of her other novels were made into films, including Jamaica Inn (1936), Frenchman's Creek (1942), Hungry Hill (1943) and My Cousin Rachel (1951). The Hitchcock film The Birds (1963) is based on a treatment of one of her short stories,
as is the film Don't Look Now (1973). She also wrote non-fiction. One of her most imaginative works, The Glass-Blowers, traces her French ancestry.
She was named a Dame of the British Empire, and died at the age of 81 in 1989, at her home
in Cornwall, in a region which had been the setting for many
of her books.
She
was a member of the Cornish nationalist pressure group/political party Mebyon Kernow.
As per desire, Dame Daphne's body was cremated and her ashes wre scattered on the cliffs near her home. |
|
*************************************************
"Rebecca", by Daphne du Maurier
When Daphne du Maurier was a child she went to stay at a house called Milton, near Peterborough. It was a huge
house and very grand with a vast entrance hall, many rooms and a commanding housekeeper. This was a house with numerous staff,
where even the children would be waited on at breakfast by the butler. Daphne liked the house, feeling at home there and held
it in her memory.
As a young adult Daphne discovered Menabilly, the home of the Rashleigh
family, situated just outside Fowey in Cornwall. It was a large house hidden away down a long driveway with vast grounds surrounded
by woodland and a pathway leading down to a cottage nestled beside the sea with two beaches sheltered in a little cove. Daphne
would visit the house often, trespassing in the grounds. The house was empty and neglected but she loved it. Much later Daphne
was to live at Menabilly and do much of her writing there and her love for Menabilly was to last her a lifetime.
It was a combination of these two houses that became Manderley,
the house at the centre of Daphne du Mauriers novel Rebecca.
When the young, naive unnamed narrator of Daphne Du Maurier's
"Rebecca" holds a postcard of Manderley, little does she know what part the stunning Cornwall estate will play in her future.
The sudden death of her father forces our plain but respectable
heroine to take on a demeaning position as a companion to the ailing, comically upper-crust Mrs. Van Hopper. This position
brings the narrator to Monte Carlo, where she comes in close contact with a rich and attractive widower named Maxim De Winter.
An odd friendship strikes up between the heroine and the lonely Mr.
De Winter. She fancies herself in love with him and he with her. When she receives a charge from Mrs. Van Hopper to pack for
New York, she confides her dread of leaving to her new friend. He, in turn, suggests that they marry.
Any second wife must contend with a lot. But nothing could prepare
the heroine, now the second Mrs. De Winter, for the shadows that still fall upon her husband as a result of the mysterious
death of his first wife, Rebecca.
Feeling inferior and unsuited for her new role, Mrs. De Winter struggles
to please her husband and to gain the affection of his family, friends and staff. However, reminders of Rebecca undermine
her efforts at every turn and, strangely, continue to exert some sort of hold on Maxim. Manderley's housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers,
with her unfailing loyalty to Rebecca, proves to be our heroine's greatest foe. Lurking in every dark corner, Mrs. Danvers
never ceases to remind the new Mrs. De Winter that she stepped into shoes she cannot fill.
What unfolds is not only a mystery but a story of obsessions and
evil. The end is a shock.
Milton Hall - It was one
of the inspirations for Manderley. Gardens and pleasure grounds c.16ha, in park of c.250ha, originally
c.520ha. C19 flower gardens on site of C17 formal gardens; landscaped pleasure grounds and park from mid-C18; 1791 by Repton
for Earl Fitzwilliam.
History of Milton Hall: http://www.thearchive.org.uk/thebook/5parishes/ch22.pdf
Menabilly Barton house-
the centuries-old residence of the Rashleigh Family, home of the author
Daphne du Maurier. Here she wrote "Rebecca", where she says the enchanted woods of the Gribben headland inspired her.
The blood red Rhodendrens were in bloom when the newly married de Winters returned to Manderley in early Spring . Menabilly
also featured in "The Kings General" set in the Civil War and which was based on the memoirs of her heroine Honor Harris .
There is a plaque to commemorate Honor in Tydwardreath Church. Menabilly has been owned since it was built by the Rashleigh
family in about 1600. The roundheads really did sack Menabilly. Jonathan Rashleigh (1591-1675) who finished building Menabilly
was with the King when Essex and the Parliamentarian army occupied Fowey. When the Roundheads later surrendered, Essex escaped
by boat to Plymouth, Jonathan returned to find Menabilly sacked. More recently when a buttress was demolished in the courtyard
of Menabilly the skeleton of a young man dressed as a Cavalier was found bricked up in a small chamber.
****************************************************
Charles
Dickens (February 7, 1812 - June 9, 1870)
I love Dickens as a writer,
but I hate him as a person (and husband). Everybody knows his books, but almost nobody knows the "dark side" of Dickens.
Like
most Victorians, Charles Dickens believed that a woman should be 'the angel of the house', devoting her life to housekeeping
and child rearing. He made his wife, Catherine, suffer a lot.
Catherine Hogarth was the eldest daughter of George and Georgina
Hogarth. Catherine was born in Scotland. In 1834 she and her family moved to England where her father had taken
a job as a music critic for the Morning Chronicle.
Charles Dickens, young and unattached, was also employed by the
Morning Chronicle. His first romantic relationship, with Maria Beadnell, had ended badly.
He was seventeen when, in 1829, a friend of his musical sister, Fanny,
introduced him to Maria Beadnell. Maria was a very pretty girl, two years older than Dickens. Her dark hair fell in captivating
ringlets. Her father was in the management of a local bank. The Beadnell family lived in Lombard Street, and Charles ? well
known for his fine singing of comic songs -- was invited to their musical evenings, where Maria's sisters sang, played the
flute and Maria played the harp.
Dickens was enchanted. He fell passionately in love with her and came
to believe his entire future happiness depended on her. He waxed jealous of her pet dog, Daphne, when it was clasped to her
bosom. (Shades of Dora and Gip!) Maria was a flirt and Dickens was not sure if she returned his love. However, there was no
ambiguity about Maria's parents' attitude to him -- frankly he was not good enough for her. However
he was quite recovered and was quickly taken with Catherine.
They met in 1834, became engaged in 1835 and were married
in April of 1836.
With the well-known
story of Mary Scott Hogarth (Catherine's sister) and the novelist's obvious infatuation with his young sister-in-law
war enter fascinating but dangerous Freudian waters. Significantly Mary was such a constant visitor that she was almost part
of the household. Dickens was busy writing Pickwick while still doing parliamentary
reporting. Mary moved in with the family at their new house in Doughty Street (now the Dickens House Museum). He was now busy
at work on Oliver Twist.
God seemed to be in His Heaven, and all was right in the world, when,
on the evening of Saturday, 6 May 1837, Dickens and his wife went to the St James's Theatre. They had taken Mary and had an
enjoyable evening. After returning home, and wishing each other good night, Dickens heard Mary cry out in pain. He ran to
her bedroom, followed by his wife. The doctor was sent for. But she was beyond help. She died the following afternoon.
Dickens reacted hysterically, keeping her clothes and up to two years later occasionally taking them out to look at
them and longing to be buried beside her. He wore her ring for the rest of his life.
In 1841 Dickens and Catherine traveled to Scotland.
In 1842 they traveled to America together.
After the 1842 trip to America, another Catherine's sister Georgina
came to live with the couple. Catherine was becoming overwhelmed the the duties of being the wife of a famous
man and mother of ten children. Georgina stepped in to fill the gaps and eventually ran the Dickens household.
Dickens grew unhappy with Catherine and his marriage. He resented
the fact that he had so many children to support. (Somehow he saw this as Catherine's fault.) He did not approve
of Catherine's lack of energy. He began to indicate that she was not nor had ever been his intellectual equal.
On 14th April 1851, Catherine and Dickens's infant Dora Annie died
suddenly of convulsions. He sat up all night keeping watch over her little body, and approved the choice of a plot for her
grave in Highgate Cemetery, from where it was possible to see the great city spread out beneath, and where the place was full
of birdsong.
In May 1854 his discontent lead him to accept an invitation
to meet with his former girlfriend, Maria Beadnell. Maria had married and had become Mrs. Henry Winter. However
Mrs. Henry Winter did not live up to Dickens' romantic memories and nothing ever came of the reunion - she was now fat and empty-headed
Mrs. Winter.
In 1857 Dickens met the woman who was to be his companion until
his death, Ellen Ternan. Ellen, her mother and her sister were hired to act in a benefit presentation of The Frozen
Deep. The event was sponsored by their co-star, Charles Dickens.
Dickens' life with Catherine seemed even more insufferable after
meeting Ellen. Dickens wrote to his friend John Forster, "Poor Catherine and I are not made for each other, and there
is no help for it. It is not only that she makes me uneasy and unhappy, but that I make her so too---and much more so."
In 1857 Charles and Catherine took separate bedrooms.
In the spring of 1858 a bracelet that Dickens bought as a present
for Ellen was accidentally delivered to the Dickens household. Catherine discovered the bracelet and accused Dickens
of having an affair. Dickens denied the accusation and said it was his custom to give small gifts to people that acted
in his plays.
In June of 1858 Catherine and Charles were legally separated.
Days later Dickens published a notice in the London Times and Household Words that tried to explain the separation
to the public. In the notice he stated, "Some domestic trouble of mine, of long-standing, on which I will make
no further remark than that it claims to be respected, as being of a sacredly private nature, has lately been brought to an
arrangement, which involves no anger or ill-will of any kind, and the whole origin, progress, and surrounding circumstances
of which have been, throughout, within the knowledge of my children. It is amicably composed, and its details have now
to be forgotten by those concerned in it."
In May 1959 he was at Gad's Hill with Georgina Hogarth and his children. This
was to be the permanent Dickens family address for the rest of his life.
While an announcement of this sort seems extreme Dickens was
motivated to do so by some of the rumors circulating about the breakup. There was some gossip about an actress and some
stories even suggested that Dickens was having an affair with his sister-in-law, Georgina. The second rumor was particularly
upsetting because in those times such a relationship would have been viewed as incestuous.
Despite assurances that things were "amicably composed" Dickens
and Catherine were never again on pleasant terms. Catherine was given a house. Their oldest son, Charley,
moved in with her, but after she lived alone. Dickens retained custody of the rest of the children. While the
children were not forbidden to visit their mother they were not encouraged to do so.
Dickens
refused all suggestions that he might visit Catherine. She saw something of her children, although she was not allowed
to attend the wedding of her daughter Kate in 1860. Kate said: 'My father was a wicked man - a very wicked man …. My
father was not a gentleman - he was too mixed to be a gentleman …My father did not understand women …. he was
not a good man, but he was not a fast man, but he was wonderful.' And, of her mother, 'We were all very wicked not
to take her part; Harry does not take this view, but he was only a boy at the time, and does not realise the grief it was
to our mother, after having all her children, to go away and leave us. My mother never rebuked me. I never saw her in a temper.
We like to think of our geniuses as great characters - but we can't.'
Maria Beadnell (Mrs. Winter) died in 1886. . In 1876 Ellen Ternan married
George Wharton Robinson, a clergyman, who became headmaster of a school in Margate. She died in 1914 and was buried in the
same graveyard as Maria Beadnell.
Catherine lived for another twenty years after the separation. Deprived of both the role of wife and mother, she never
seemed to recover from the breakup of her marriage. Catherine never saw her husband
again after their separation. She was not at his funeral. She died in 1879 and was
buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. The plot used was the grave her little daughter, Dora Annie.
Catherine Dickens (1815-1879).
***********************************
Matheus Nachtergaele (1969
- )
Matheus
Nachtergaele was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1969.
He
is one of the best young Brazilian actors at the moment . He showed his talent in many beautiful roles, both in cinema
and television. For the TV he workes in the TV series "Hilda Furacao" in the role of the transexual Cintura Fina, in the TV
series "A muralha" in the role of a problematic and frantic Catholic priest in Brazil of 1600, in the beautiful and original
novela "Da cor do pecado" in the role of a funny medium named Helinho.
He
also played in many beautiful and quality movies of the best Brazilian cinema of the late years, like, for example, the worldwide
acclaimed "Central Station" by Walter Salles and "City of God" by Fernando Meirelles. He also worked in the beautiful movie
"Midnight" by Walter Salles, and "Four days in September" by Bruno Barreto. Versatile and wonderful actor, he is able to play
comic and dramatic roles with great talent and expressiveness. He also won twice the award of Best Actor in the Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil (Great Award Brazilian Cinema), for his role in "Midnight" (1998) and "O Auto da Compadecida" (2000). He won the award of Best Actor for "Amarelo Manga", in XIII Cine Ceará (XIII Festival
of Cinema of Ceará) in 2003.
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Tim Roth (1961 - )
Often
mistaken for an American because of his skill at imitating accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Smith in London,
England on May 14, 1961 to mother Ann, a teacher and landscape painter, and father Ernie, a journalist who changed the family
name to "Roth". Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He demonstrated his talent for picking
up accents at an early age when he attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates for his comfortable
background and quickly perfected a cockney accent to blend in.
He attended
Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture before he dropped out and pursued acting. The slightly built blonde actor's first
big break was the British TV movie Made in
Britain (1982) (TV). Roth made a huge splash in that film as
a young skinhead named Trevor. He next worked with director Mike Leigh on Meantime (1984) (TV), which he has counted among his favorite
projects.
He debuted on the big screen when he filled in for Joe Strummer in the Stephen
Frears neo-noir The Hit (1984). Roth gained more attention for his turn as
Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent
& Theo (1990) and his work opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencrantz
& Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and
caught the eye of young director Quentin
Tarantino. Tarantino had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde
or Mr. Pink in his heist flick Reservoir
Dogs (1992), but Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange
instead, and ultimately won the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences found it difficult to forget
his performance as a member of a group of bank robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast Roth again in the landmark
film Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and actress Amanda
Plummer played a pair of robbers who hold up a restaurant.
1995 saw the third of Roth's collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in the anthology film Four Rooms (1995). That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy turn as a villain in the period
piece Rob Roy (1995). Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth
did his own singing (with an American accent to boot) in the lightweight Woody Allen musical Everyone
Says I Love You (1996). He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in Shakur's last film, the black comedy Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received postive critical notices
for their comic chemistry. Standing in contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as the innocent,
seafaring pianist in the Giuseppe
Tornatore film Leggenda
del pianista sull'oceano (my favorite movie). Grittier fare followed when Roth made his directorial
debut with The War
Zone (1999), a frank, critically acclaimed drama about a
family torn apart by incest. His next high-profile appearance as an actor was as General Thade, an evil simian in the Tim Burton remake of Planet
of the Apes (2001). Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable
in his primate make-up.
Recent appearances include a small role in the John Sayles satire Silver
City (2004) and the horror film Dark Water (2005).
**************************************
Emma Thompson (1959 - )
Born April
15, 1959 in Paddington, West London, Thompson grew up in a household well-suited for creative expression. Both of her parents
were actors: her father, Eric Thompson, was the creator of the popular TV series The Magic Roundabout, while her actress mother,
Phyllida Law, would later collaborate with her daughter on a number of projects. Thompson and her sister, Sophie (who would
also become an actress), enjoyed a fairly colorful upbringing.
Emma studied English Literature at Cambridge where she wrote, directed
and produced an all-female review, "Woman's Hour". After graduation Emma was fortunate to have a comedy series on British
TV.
Emma's film debut was in "Henry V" produced by her, then
husband, Kenneth Branagh. She appeared in three more of his films, "Dead Again", "Peter's Friends" and "Much
Ado About Nothing".
One of the first ladies of contemporary British stage and cinema, Emma Thompson has won equal acclaim for her work
as an actress and a screenwriter. For a long time known as Kenneth Branagh's other half, Thompson was able to demonstrate
her considerable talent to an international audience with Oscar-winning mid-1990s work in such films as Howards End and Sense
and Sensibility.
She
was simply fantastic as Karen, in "Love Actually" and was
nominated for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. She deserved the Oscar, IMO!
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