Kate Winslet told me she was looking forward to walking the Oscar red carpet with husband Sam Mendes on a night that could see her win a golden statuette for the first time in her career.

She explained how Sam had been busy preparing to open A Winter’s Tale in Brooklyn and couldn’t attend the Bafta awards, scene of her best actress triumph last Sunday night.

‘He couldn’t come to the Screen Actors Guild Awards, nor could he make the trip to Berlin, where The Reader was screened.

Continue reading Worth the wait, Kate

Tonight Kate wins a BAFTA for her role in The Reader

It is the second time Winslet has won a Bafta. The last time was in 1995 when she won for best supporting actress for Sense and Sensibility.

Her latest victory comes hot on the heels of a double win at January’s Golden Globes.

As she collected her Bafta Winslet paid tribute to producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, who worked on the film.

“You are much missed today, and you will be much missed for many years to come, and this is for you. Thank you. Thank you,” she said.

She also thanked her friends and her parents, who attended the ceremony.

But the actress said she could not look at them for fear of bursting into tears.

SOURCE:  www.bbc.co.uk

After winning the best actress and best supporting actress awards at the Golden Globes, poor Kate Winslet faced a slew of criticism because she forgot to mention Angelina Jolie in her thank-you speech.

During her speech, the overwhelmed actress congratulated her fellow nominees by name and ended up drawing a blank on Jolie, overlooking the Changeling star completely.

Winslet can’t believe her speech has been savaged by critics.

“It’s the one thing that has surprised me about this thing of winning awards; I thought that people just reviewed the films. I didn’t realize that they reviewed speeches, too,” the Revolutionary Road and The Reader star said.

“I don’t tend to read reviews of things, but when people are reviewing a speech and being somewhat unkind about it, well, what can you say?”

The actress concluded by giving her apologies in hopes she will be left alone.

“Look, I wasn’t prepared at all. I really didn’t think I was going to win and I was genuinely overwhelmed. I’m sorry.”

Source: contactmusic.com

According to my own highly unscientific survey, just about everybody loves Kate Winslet.

Actually, it wasn’t a survey at all, just me going about my business around the time that Winslet starred in “Little Children,” Todd Field’s film adaptation of my novel. Kate Winslet! people would exclaim, their faces brightening at the mention of her name.

I love Kate Winslet! They loved her for all sorts of reasons: She seems like such a nice person, so down-to-earth. She doesn’t look like she starves herself. She’s so different from one movie to the next. The fans who knew her from “Titanic” hadn’t necessarily caught her in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” — and vice versa — but both groups thought she was a terrific actress. As you might expect, a lot of men appreciated her fearless on-screen sexuality, but a surprising number of women responded to her on this level as well. Lesbians, I was informed, have a special fondness for Kate. They think she’s a goddess, a helpful friend explained.

Continue reading The Oscars Issue: Kate Winslet

KATE Winslet’s biggest threat to picking up an award at the Baftas this weekend may be… herself.

Bafta voters have split Kate’s vote in the best actress category of the awards being revealed on Sunday night  -  which could result in her cancelling herself out of a trophy spot.

The British star has been nominated twice: nice, but not necessarily helpful when it comes to getting her hands on one of the gongs.

(It’s worth pointing out, though, that Scarlett Johansson was once in a similar position  -  nominated for both Lost In Translation and Girl With A Pearl Earring  -  and did win the Bafta, for the former film, so maybe Kate will pull it off!)

Kate has been recognised in the leading actress category for her acclaimed performances in The Reader, directed by Stephen Daldry, and Revolutionary Road, made by her husband Sam Mendes.

This could see her ending up with more total votes  -  spread between her two films  -  than her competitors, but not enough to win outright against rivals Meryl Streep, Kristin Scott Thomas and Angelina Jolie.

At least it will bring some element of surprise to Sunday’s show.

Will Kate prevail and win the big one? Or will scoring two nominations work against her? A lot of folk would like to see her win, despite the bafflingly spiteful backlash she’s suffered recently.

Whatever happens, one sure thing is that the Orange Baftas will be a circus on Sunday.

Source: Daily Mail, Friday 6th February 2009