Tag: News

2008 Jan 18

Books That Made a Difference to Kate Winslet

The five-time Oscar nominee wants to thank the old boyfriend who gave her a fascinating French novel of over-the-top amour-and a shot of intellectual confidence; the cookbook/storybook that turned her on to Italian cooking; and the haunting modern classic by Richard Yates that inspired her next film.An ex-boyfriend and I used to go to breakfast every Sunday in London at a funny old café near Earl’s Court. Afterward we’d go into this enormous bookstore, and we’d have to buy the other person a book. It was a really nice thing to do. I think sometimes when you’re young, and even when you’re older, purchasing a book for yourself or anyone else can be terrifying. I left school when I was 16, and I always felt – actually still do in some ways – intellectually insecure.He was 11 years older, this boyfriend, and this was his way of letting me know that it was perfectly okay to have an opinion, of helping me overcome my own insecurities – which is pretty spectacular. One day he picked up a copy of Thérèse Raquin, and I thought, You’ve got to be kidding me. But he said, “This is one of the most extraordinary love stories ever written.” And that book, which is one of the five that changed my life, has never left me.

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2008 Jan 09

More info on “The Reader”

Kate Winslet has signed on to replace Nicole Kidman for the lead role in the Weinstein Co.’s Stephen Daldry film The Reader. Kidman left the project on Monday and cited her pregnancy as the reason for dropping out of the picture.Variety reported the film was set to start shooting in late 2007 in Berlin and the eastern city of Goerlitz. Filming with Kidman (who had yet to shoot any scenes in the film) was scheduled to start this month. News started circulating on Tuesday that Winslet had been chosen to take over the Kidman role and would star opposite Ralph Fiennes and David Kross.

The film’s story unfolds against the landscape of post-war Germany and follows fifteen-year-old Michael Berg who is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age, when he falls ill on the way home.

The pair have passionate affair until she disappears one day. He next sees her when he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

Winslet was the first choice for the film, but was unable to take the part due to a schedule conflict with Revolutionary Road – which reteams her with Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Winslet’s husband Sam Mendes. Kidman (who recently confirmed she is expecting a baby with husband Keith Urban) took the role after the filmmakers built in a break in shooting to accommodate her schedule with the Baz Luhrmann-directed Australia – which had a longer production than expected. Kidman stars in that film with Hugh Jackman.

Producing duties on The Reader are being handled by Mirage Prods. partners Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella. The film has a budget of E2.8 million ($4.1 million) made up from regional and federal film subsidies in Germany. It has been pre-sold to a number of foreign distributors, including Senator Film for Germany and Austria, Ascot Elite Entertainment for Switzerland and Odeon in Greece.

Source: m&c

2008 Jan 09

Winslet Replaces Kidman In Erotic Sex Drama

It’s always weird when a high-profile star drops out of a movie, only to be replaced by another one. We spend so much time convincing ourselves that these stars matter because of their personalities, and that we care about each of them individually, but then we’re reminded that, yeah, they’re pretty much interchangeable pretty faces. It happened when Brad Pitt and Edward Norton both dropped out of State of Play (replaced by Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, respectively), and now it’s happened again with Kate Winslet and Nicole Kidman.

There have been rumors flying around about Kidman being pregnant for months now — decades, if you count the ones from when she was married to Tom Cruise — and now it turns out they’re true. So hooray for Nicole! We hope your baby is as cute as Suri, though that’s really a tall order. Anyway, pregnancy means no work when you’re rich and famous enough to get away with it, so Kidman dropped out of the upcoming The Reader, a drama about a young man’s erotic awakening at the hands of an older woman, set in post-World War II Germany.

It turns out the pregnancy was kind of a stroke of luck, though, since Kate Winslet was the first choice for the role, and now she’s available to do it after all! See, miracles really do come true in Hollywood. She’ll star opposite young German actor David Kross and Ralph Fiennes as an enigmatic woman who gains the attention of a younger man. Va-va-voom!

Anyone else remember the episode of Extras, in which Winslet played a World War II-era nun? That’s pretty much all I can think about regarding this news, though I’m sure this new role has nothing at all to do with nuns. What it will involve, though, is awesome; Kate Winslet is a stone cold fox, Ralph Fiennes is a stone cold fox when he’s not being Voldemort, and Nicole Kidman gets to go raise her baby in the lap of luxury. Everyone wins!

Source: CinemaBlend

Kate Takes Over For Nicole

Nicole Kidman’s loss is Kate Winslet’s gain. On Monday, Page Six was first to report that Kidman had to drop out of producer Scott Rudin’s movie The Reader due to her pregnancy. Now, insiders tell us Winslet has agreed to star opposite Ralph Fiennes in the picture in which “a young man’s decades-long obsession with an older woman in Germany runs headlong into a war crimes trial, where he learns an awful truth,” as its publicity describes it. One source said, “The role was originally written for Kate, but because it was supposed to start filming in the fall, when she was working on Revolutionary Road, she had to drop out. Nicole was then hired, but her schedule kept getting pushed back and now she’s pregnant, so the role went back to Kate.” Reps for Winslet and Rudin, whose No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood are both nominated for Golden Globes, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Source: NY Post

2008 Jan 09

Kiss Me Kate, said Mr. Fiennes

Nicole Kidman drops out of yet another – both Panic Room and The Brave One were films she was attached to at one time or another – film, only this time she’s got a good excuse – the former BMX Bandit is ‘Knocked Up’! Kate Winslet – who, funnily enough, was the first choice for the film initially – will replace Antonia’s pregnant-famous sister in the lead of the Weinstein Co.’s Stephen Daldry pic The Reader, says Variety. Though filming had already commenced, Kidman had not yet shot any scenes for the flick.Author Bernhard Schlink began dishing news Tuesday that Winslet would take over the role opposite Ralph Fiennes and up-and-coming German thesp David Kross (Tough Enough). Sources confirmed the casting.The drama concerns a teen who falls for an enigmatic older woman in postwar Germany.

Source: Moviehole.net

2008 Jan 08

Kate Winslet Taking Over Nicole Kidman’s Role

Winslet to replace pregnant Kidman in movie: author

British actress Kate Winslet will replace the pregnant Nicole Kidman in the upcoming romantic drama The Reader, the author of the best-selling book on which the film is based told a German newspaper.

Bernhard Schlink told the Berliner Morgenpost in an article to be published Wednesday that Winslet would take on the starring role of the mysterious older woman who seduces a young man in postwar Germany.

“Kate Winslet fits the role wonderfully,” he said.

Kidman’s publicist confirmed Tuesday that the 40-year-old Australian and her husband, country star Keith Urban, were expecting a baby.

The Reader, which will co-star Ralph Fiennes, is to be filmed in New York and the Babelsberg studios outside Berlin. A Babelsberg spokesman confirmed that production would begin this month.

The director is Stephen Daldry who made The Hours, the film that earned Kidman a Best Actress Academy Award in 2002 for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf.

Source: AFP

Kate Winslet is stepping in to take over the role vacated by Nicole Kidman in The Reader, PEOPLE has exclusively learned.

Sources confirm that, in fact, Winslet was originally offered the role but couldn’t commit due to schedule conflicts. Kidman pulled out of the film after announcing her pregnancy.

“Kate was offered it first before Nicole but couldn’t do it but the dates clashed with commitments to Revolutionary Road,” says an insider. “So the dates changed, Nicole then got pregnant and now it has come back to Kate.”

Based on German author Bernhard Schlink’s bestselling 1995 novel – and Oprah’s Book Club selection – the film is about an affair between a teenage boy and an older woman in post-WWII Germany.

“Actually everyone is happy now – Nicole as she has a baby on the way, Kate because she has this great role she originally wanted to do, and the filmmakers are too,” says the source.

Source: People

2008 Jan 06

Revolutionary Road: Too Good a Book to Be a Movie

Recently there has been a surge of books being turned into movies. While that’s not a new concept, it’s becoming a frustrating trend, mostly because the film versions so rarely live up to the experience of reading the book.I am squeamish about The Time Traveler’s Wife (despite some good casting choices) as well as the adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love. I can just envision the most powerful moments in those books being reduced to neat little scenes that can’t possibly deliver as strong a punch. Just this week, too, there was the news that The Bell Jar is being made into a film, and I’m still not comfortable with that idea. Simply put, some things should not be adapted for the big screen, and The Bell Jar is one of those things.Joining this parade now is Richard Yates’ 1961 novel Revolutionary Road

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2007 Dec 31

Kate’s 2007 Retrospective


It’s the end of the year, so I thought about asking you, regular visitors of Kate Winslet Fan, what were your favorite Kate moments of 2007? What interview, magazine cover, dress, etc., did you like the most? Share your thoughts with other fans!
I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy 2008! :)

Got the idea from Eva Green Web