News for
The English Patient (1996) More at IMDb Pro »

20 articles from 2008

25 September 2008 6:21 PM, PDT | From The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news

Here we have a brand new trailer for the new Jessica Biel movie EASY VIRTUE. Colin Firth and Ben Barnes also star in the period piece.

The twenties have roared... the thirties have yet to swing. John Whittaker, a young Englishman, falls madly in love with Larita, a sexy and glamorous American woman, and they marry impetuously. However when the couple returns to the family home, his mother Mrs Whittaker has an instant allergic reaction to her new daughter-in-law. Larita tries her best to fit in but fails to tiptoe through the minefield laid by her mother-in-law. Larita quickly realizes Mrs Whittaker.s game and sees that she must fight back if she.s not going to lose John. A battle of wits ensues and sparks soon fly. Mrs Whittaker manipulates every situation to undermine her, while Larita remains frustratingly calm and engineers sassy counter attacks. Before long, Mrs Whittaker

13 July 2008 1:16 AM, PDT | From NYPost.com | See recent New York Post news

'Sometimes People tell me I should go into politics, but I'm not interested. We've got enough boobs in the White House. Peo ple would ask about foreign af fairs, and I'd say, 'What's wrong with American men?' Then they'd ask about global warming, and I'd say 'When my globes get warm, I just take off my sweater!' "

This is Dolly Parton, unchangeable at age 62 and still going strong all over the world.

Martin, the concierge of the famed Connaught Hotel in London, tele phoned Casey Ribicoff this week (she is the widow of Abe Ribicoff,

By LIZ SMITH

1 July 2008 3:13 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

The English Patient star Kristin Scott Thomas is to make her Broadway debut in a revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.

The actress will play Arkadina opposite Peter Sarsgaard when the play opens on 1 October.

The production premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre last year and became the biggest-selling stage event in the venue's 50-year history, winning Scott Thomas a Laurence Olivier Award earlier this year.

The 1985 Chekhov play centres around the romantic conflicts and regrets of a group of actors, writers and artists on a Russian estate.

It was last seen on Broadway in a 1992 National Actors Theater production starring Tyne Daly, Jon Voight, Laura Linney and Ethan Hawke.

Permalink | Report a problem

11 April 2008 4:58 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Late director Anthony Minghella is to be honoured with a special Bafta Award created in his name, according to British filmmaker Lord Richard Attenborough.

Just three weeks after his untimely death, Minghella's peers at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) are said to be planning a tribute to The English Patient filmmaker, who died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital in March.

Minghella, 54, was a two-time Bafta award recipient. In 1992, he won the Best Screenplay award for Truly, Madly, Deeply and in 1997, he took home the Best Film prize for The English Patient.

Attenborough says, "There will definitely be something. Unquestionably so, undoubtedly so. There is so much to honour and it was a life that was tragically ended halfway through."

Last weekend, a diverse mix of guests - including Hollywood stars Renee Zellweger, Matt Damon and British prime minister Gordon Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair - gathered to pay their respects to Minghella at the Thomas More Catholic Church, near his home in north London.

Permalink | Report a problem

1 April 2008 5:27 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

French actress Juliette Binoche refuses to go under the knife - because cosmetic surgery fills women's faces with "fear".

The English Patient beauty would never consider surgically enhancing her appearance to ensure she looks younger - preferring for her face to depict her life story.

And Binoche hails a bizarre beauty inspiration for turning her off surgery - Dutch painter Rembrandt.

She says, "When you look at women who have had botox, you see fear on their faces.

"When you look at Rembrandt's self-portraits you're more mobbed to see him as an old man, because he has his life history on his face. Can you imagine Rembrandt with a facelift? No."

Permalink | Report a problem

27 March 2008 12:12 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

British actor Ralph Fiennes has been hailed a hero for his latest West End stage outing - after a power cut left him performing in complete darkness.

The English Patient star was preparing for his leading role on the opening night of God Of Carnage at the Gielgud Theatre in London on Tuesday night when the blackout hit the city's theatre district - halting the performance by ten minutes.

But Fiennes proved his artistic integrity by taking to the stage with only the gleam of an emergency backstage light to view his path - wrapping up to cheers of admiration from the bemused audience.

Musical impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the theatre's owner, later thanked the audience for their patience, joking that "he hadn't shortchanged the (electric) meter."

However, the play's translator Christopher Hamilton, didn't find the dark-plunged first night funny, insisting he felt "suicidal" when the performance was temporarily postponed.

He says, "The English quite like all that and the audience got right behind it. I think we'll get the sympathy vote."

Permalink | Report a problem

24 March 2008 5:28 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Director Shekhar Kapur has vowed to finish the movie that British filmmaker Anthony Minghella was working on before he died.

Minghella, 54, who won the Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital last Tuesday.

Minghella, who was working on part of a series of short films entitled New York, I Love You, had already asked the Elizabeth director to take on the movie before he went into hospital for surgery.

He says, "Anthony, who was doing one, called me one day and said, 'I'm not doing it. I'm ill. You do it.'

"Anthony went to the operating table, but did not return. He was 54 and it was not an age to die."

Permalink | Report a problem

23 March 2008 3:56 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Singer/actress Jill Scott is devastated at the unexpected death of director Anthony Minghella.

The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital last Tuesday. He was 54 years old.

Scott worked with Minghella on the critically acclaimed TV movie The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a small-screen adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's books, and she admits she was left deeply saddened at the news of the director's passing.

She says, "My heart aches with grief. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved."

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was Minghella's final project before his untimely death.

Permalink | Report a problem

22 March 2008 6:43 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Work by late director Anthony Minghella will be screened at the Shanghai Film Festival this summer.

The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital on Tuesday. He was 54 years old.

Minghella was due to chair the festival's jury at the nine-day event in June, but organisers will instead pay tribute to the filmmaker.

Festival spokeswoman Crystal Yu says, "This happened so suddenly. We're in the process of looking for a replacement."

Permalink | Report a problem

20 March 2008 12:31 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

French actress Juliette Binoche is the latest A-list star to pay homage to director Anthony Minghella - she's penned a moving poetic tribute to the late director.

The Chocolate star wrote the tribute after hearing the British moviemaker had died at the age of 54 from a brain haemorrhage at London's Charing Cross Hospital on Tuesday, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck.

The 44-year-old - who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1997 for her role in Minghella's The English Patient - insists the filmmaker helped kick off her Hollywood career, saying, "I was your angel and you opened my wings."

In the poetic tribute she writes, "I shall learn to live without you. With all we've done and undone with all the missing parts I'll have to carry on hoping you were the bedrock of fun, and your hand came with love and care.

"I will cherish my forgiveness until I see you and please forgive me for my painful silence magnetic eyes of yours with its sparkling needles we dared a gift to the unknown with joy with joy."

Minghella's last project, TV movie The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, was screened at a London event on the same day of his death after Minghella's family insisted the premiere go ahead.

Permalink | Report a problem

19 March 2008 6:32 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

The premiere of Anthony Minghella's final film went ahead on Tuesday night, just hours after it was announced the director had died.

TV movie The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was screened at the "very moving" and "bitter-sweet" London event after Minghella's family insisted the premiere go-ahead.

The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck, which he underwent last week (end14Mar08) at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He was 54-years-old.

Permalink | Report a problem

19 March 2008 10:13 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Arthur C. Clarke, the science-fiction novelist who famously collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay for his 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died in his beloved Sri Lanka at age 90. In his novels he had predicted geostationary communications satellites (in 1945), cellular phones, the Internet and a moon landing that would employ a mother ship and a landing pod. Following the release of 2001, which was said to have been based largely on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," Kubrick remarked, "He has the kind of mind of which the world can never have enough, an array of imagination, intelligence, knowledge and a quirkish curiosity, which often uncovers more than the first three qualities." Clarke saved his final prediction for his 90th birthday last December. "Over the next 50 years, thousands of people will travel to Earth orbit -- and then, to the moon and beyond," he wrote. "Space travel and space tourism will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet." Correction:Following the death of Anthony Minghella in London on Tuesday from a post-operative hemorrhage, some initial obituaries mentioned that he had won not only a director's Oscar for his 1996 film The English Patient but one for best adapted screenplay as well for that film. However, although Minghella was nominated for the screenplay award, it actually went to Billy Bob Thornton for Slingblade. Minghella did take home the screenplay award for Patient at the Golden Globes and Bafta ceremonies.

Permalink | Report a problem

19 March 2008 12:00 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Hollywood stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey and Ralph Fiennes have paid moving tributes to Oscar-winning film director Anthony Minghella who died on Tuesday.

The British filmmaker - who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient - died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck, which he underwent last week (Beg10Mar08) at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He was 54-years-old.

Paltrow, who starred in the director's Academy Award-nominated film The Talented Mr. Ripley alongside Jude Law and Matt Damon, stated she was "shocked" by the news, calling Minghella "a wonderful man".

American Beauty star Kevin Spacey, who was a close friend of the Cold Mountain moviemaker, says, "He was one of the greats and anybody who loves storytelling will realise that he had much more to do and it's an incredibly sad moment. I just found out and he was a great man and a great friend."

Brit actor Ralph Fiennes, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his starring role in Minghella's The English Patient, fondly remembers his time working on the hit film with the late director.

He says, "Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor's process that very few directors have.

"He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humour and precision.

"His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death. I will remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter."

Permalink | Report a problem

18 March 2008 12:05 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actor Jude Law has paid tribute to Oscar-winning film director Anthony Minghella who died on Tuesday.

The filmmaker - who won a Best Director Academy Award for 1996 film The English Patient - died aged 54 from a brain haemorrhage at London's Charing Cross Hospital, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck.

Law - who starred in Minghella's Oscar nominated movies The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, and the 2006 movie Breaking And Entering - said he would miss the director "hugely".

He says, "(I'd) come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.

"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it onto the screen in a way that always looked effortless.

"He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family."

Permalink | Report a problem

18 March 2008 10:32 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, a towering figure in contemporary British cinema, has died at the age of 54, the BBC reported today, citing his publicist, Judy Daish. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. Minghella won an Oscar as best director for the 1996 film The English Patient. He received two screenwriter nominations, the first for The English Patient, and then, three years later, for The Talented Mr. Ripley. In addition, he served as executive producer of last year's Oscar-nominated film Michael Clayton. Minghella had just completed serving two three-year terms as chairman of the British Film Institute, stepping down early this month. In that position he had been a tireless advocate for the British film industry, telling the BBC in 2003: "We're not getting enough movies made here. Our studios aren't busy enough. We don't have enough studios." Informed of Minghella's death fellow British director David Putnam, now Lord Putnam, remarked, "This is a shattering blow from someone who was a major figure in an important industry and had a lot to go on and contribute." His death comes just days ahead of Monday's telecast in the U.K. of his two-hour film, The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, about an African woman who heads a detective agency in Botswana. He had been promoting the TV movie as recently as this week, telling one interviewer that it represented "a real labor of love, but lovely labor."

Permalink | Report a problem

18 March 2008 9:35 AM, PDT | From PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news

Two of the late director Anthony Minghella's most notable leading men, Jude Law and Ralph Fiennes, as well as his leading ladies, have expressed sadness and shock over the death of their friend and collaborator. Minghella passed away at age 54 early Tuesday after suffering a fatal hemorrhage following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck, said his rep. "I'm devastated, there is really no way to put it into words," says Minghella's Cold Mountain star Nicole Kidman, 40. "He was a gift to the world."Gwyneth Paltrow, 35, also recalled a man who was, in her words, "incredibly talented and

18 March 2008 9:13 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Oscar winning film director Anthony Minghella has died. He was 54.

A spokesman for the filmmaker confirmed his death on Tuesday.

According to Variety, Minghella suffered a brain haemorrhage at Charing Cross Hospital in London, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck.

Minghella began his career writing scripts for British television programmes before his play Made In Bangkok found mainstream success in London's West End in 1986.

Almost a decade later, Minghella won a Best Director Academy Award for The English Patient.

He was also nominated for two Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars - for 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley and 2003's Cold Mountain.

Minghella was working on one of 15 short movies, collectively entitled New York, I Love You, at the time of his death.

The moviemaker was appointed a Cbe (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the British monarch's birthday honours list in 2001. He was also chairman of the British Film Institute.

Minghella leaves wife Carolyn Choa, son Max and daughter Hannah.

Permalink | Report a problem

18 March 2008 6:40 AM, PDT | From PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news

British filmmaker Anthony Minghella, who won a Best Director Oscar in 1996 for The English Patient, has died, his London-based agent confirmed to the Associated Press. He was 54. He succumbed to a fatal hemorrhage early Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, west London, his rep tells People. Minghella had an operation last week for a growth in his neck, which "seemed to have gone well." Minghella's other movies included 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley, which made a star out of Jude Law, and 2003's Cold Mountain, which won an Oscar for its Supporting Actress Ren

Stephen M. Silverman

18 March 2008 6:24 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Oscar winning film director Anthony Minghella has died. He was 54.

A spokesman for the filmmaker confirmed his death on Tuesday.

Minghella began his career writing scripts for British television programmes before his play Made in Bangkok found mainstream success in London's West End in 1986.

Almost a decade later, Mighella won a Best Director Academy Award for The English Patient.

He was also nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley and 2003's Cold Mountain.

Minghella was filming one of 15 short movies, collectively entitled New York, I Love You, at the time of his death.

He was also chairman of the British Film Institute.

Minghella was appointed a Cbe (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the British monarch's birthday honours list in 2001.

Minghella leaves wife Carolyn Choa, son Max and daughter Hannah.

Permalink | Report a problem

18 March 2008 | From IMDb News

Director Anthony Minghella, who won an Academy Award for directing the 1996 epic The English Patient, has died at age 54, his agent announced today. Variety reports that a spokesman for Mr. Minghella said he suffered a brain hemorrhage on Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Hospital in London, while in for a routine neck operation. A director who worked in theater and television (most notably for the series Inspector Morse and the lush, haunting The Storyteller series), Minghella made his feature film directorial debut with the ghost story/romance Truly, Madly, Deeply, which starred Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. The film won Minghella a BAFTA award for his screenplay and effectively launched his film career. The little-seen indie romance Mr. Wonderful followed in 1993, but it was three years later that Minghella had his biggest success with The English Patient, an adaptation of the novel by Michael Ondaatje. Aggressively marketed by Miramax and arriving near the height of the independent film movement (though the film, with its epic scope, pushed the definition of indie filmmaking), the film became a surprise success, ultimately taking in $78 million in the US and winning a whopping nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture as well as Director for Minghella. Three of the film's stars, Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche, were Oscar-nominated, with Binoche taking home the Best Supporting Actress award in a shocking upset over Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall.

Minghella followed up that success in 1999 with the moody thriller The Talented Mr, Ripley, another book-to-film adaptation based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Though the film starred high-profile actors Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, it was the then little-known Jude Law who walked away with the film with his role as a callow, rich playboy. The film earned Law a Best Supporting Actor nomination and Minghella another Adapted Screenplay nod. Minghella tried to replicate his successful literary adaptation formula with Cold Mountain, a high-profile version of the bestselling Civil War novel that, ironically, was filmed partly in Romania. Despite another big (and some said, overly aggressive) push by Miramax and a cast that included Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Natalie Portman and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the movie was considered a major under-performer, though it did earn $95 million in the US alone and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Zellweger. Major nominations for Best Picture or Director, however, failed to materialize. Minghella worked on a smaller scale with the London-based drama Breaking and Entering, which reteamed him with both Law and Binoche, and had just completed filming on The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the pilot for a TV series based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith. Beginning in 2000, Minghella also became a producer, with credits including The Quiet American, The Interpreter, and the recent Oscar winner Michael Clayton. In 2005, Minghella also staged an acclaimed version of the opera Madame Butterfly, which played at the English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

Minghella is survived by his parents, his siblings in the entertainment industry Dominic Minghella and Edana Minghella, two other sisters, his wife, choreographer Carolyn Choa, and two children, Max Minghella and Hannah Minghella. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

Permalink | Report a problem

20 articles from 2008