Sunshine for a rainy day

Rainy day today, both literally and figuratively: torrential downpours here down under, and all is quiet on the Ehle front. Never fear, here's a little ray of Sunshine from my screencap collection.

Bedrooms and Hallways interviews

Here's an audio capture I did of Jennifer Ehle's mini interviews from the Bedrooms and Hallways DVD. It's 889kb and 37 seconds long.*

I've also re-uploaded the WMA version of the Woman's Hour interview to RapidShare.

[edit: *for those unfamiliar with RapidShare, click on the link given and scroll down, then click the "free" button. That will lead you to another page; down the bottom of that one you'll see "Download" in red and the file link next to it. Right click to "save as"]

New sidebar links

We've just done a couple of link exchanges: one with Colin Firth 24/7, which has all the lastest news about everyone's favourite brooding aristocrat, and one with Any Old Actress, a personal site with opinions and information about a whole host of actresses, including Jennifer Ehle of course. Do drop by and have a look.

Older Pride and Prejudice documentaries

I'm probably about a decade behind, but I just discovered that there were several documentaries and study kit sort of things made in relation to Pride and Prejudice. Firstly, there's "Perspectives on Pride and Prejudice". It used to be for sale at Learner.org but unfortunately is no longer, though that link will lead you to a brief description of it. The catalogue entry at the NSW State Library (code: VB8882) reads:

Videocassette. Introduction (2 min.) -- The social setting (18 min.) -- Relationships in the novel (20 min.) -- Characterisation (15 min.) -- Use of irony (14 min.) -- Resources (17 min.) -- Sound cassette. Interview with Park Honan, Fay Weldon reading from her Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen, and extracts from Weldon and Andrew Davies discussing their adaptations of the novel for television -- Book. Provides a consideration of the novel's social background, an introduction to critical reviews, and extracts referred to on the cassettes.

There is also "Pride and Prejudice: from Page to Screen", which Pride and Prejudice Paradise describes like so:

The video is approx. 30 minutes long and contains interviews with Sue Birtwistle (producer), Simon Langton (director) and Andrew Davies (screenplay). It includes brief scenes of filming and rehearsals.

Finally, I've read on EhleNews that a "Making of" documentary was made, of which part is shown on the Special Edition DVD. The clip posted earlier is probably from this. As far as I know, this was never commercially available.

Your best bet in finding these would probably be a university library or large public library. However, someone who has seen both the "Making of" and "Perspectives" documentaries says that there's probably not much more from Ms Ehle than the brief snippet in the above clip.

Fingers crossed

One of our sources e-mailed in this snippet; unfortunately the Daily Express doesn't have any online content so I can't link the full article. Alas, it doesn't look promising.

Daily Express June 10th says..."JE...has so far also turned down the programme-makers. However it is still hoped that she can be persuaded to change her mind. 'We're keeping our fingers crossed,' says Stevens".

Disappointing for us perhaps, but our source has noted that it might not be in Ms Ehle's best interest to participate since the program could just be a publicity booster for the new Pride and Prejudice.

Design for Living memorabilia on eBay

Six items in lot: 1) Autographed opening night Broadway Playbill of Design for Living (dated March 15, 2001), signed on the cover by four of the show's stars: Alan Cumming, Jennifer Ehle, Dominic West and Marisa Berenson (you remember her from the film Cabaret). 2 & 3) two photos of Alan Cumming with blonde hair, signing autographs for fans at the stagedoor of the theatre. 4) photo of Jennifer Ehle (slightly blurred) 5) photo of Dominic West 6) torn ticket to the show.

If you follow the link, there's a photo of all the items.

Er...

Dress Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. I'm speechless.

Via Pemberley.

Q&A report

Our trusty London correspondent Sands reports her experience at the Q&A session with the Philadelphia Story cast on the 23rd.

[edit]

Dialup-friendly recording

Jhana from the forum has sent in a smaller, lower-bitrate file of the Woman's Hour interview. I'm still looking for a proper hosting solution, but for now try my Yahoo briefcase: it's in "Jennifer Ehle" and the file name is "JE240605". It's 4.3mb and in .wma format.

[edit: I've uploaded it to RapidShare since Yahoo Briefcase doesn't seem to work]

First blog review of Philadelphia Story with Adrian Lukis

Brief would be an understatement, I'm afraid, but Salopblog's is the first post-Kevin-Spacey review I've found. It's critical of the play as a whole, but positive about Adrian Lukis and Jennifer Ehle's performances.

Philadelphia Story promotional flyer scans

Again from Richard, a couple of scans from the Philadelphia Story flyer with some new photos of Jennifer Ehle as Tracy Lord. Here's the outside and inside.

Enormo Jennifer Ehle poster

You can find a photo of the enormous Philadelphia Story poster of Ms Ehle at MrToad22's blog. Don't ask me what the woman is doing in that photo.

[edit: oops, broken HTML fixed now]

Woman's Hour interview mp3

Richard beat me to it: here's the interview in mp3 format. It's quite a large file, about 10mb.

Jennifer Ehle on Woman's Hour today!

It's one of those manna-from-heaven days, when news just falls in your lap. Anon from the forum kindly posted an announcement that Jennifer Ehle is going to be on BBC Radio 4 between 10 and 10.45 am today (Friday 24th). I'll try to capture it on mp3.

Imagine this in your mailbox

Thanks so much to Peter Harris for sharing this: it's a scan of his letter from Ms Ehle from back in 1995 when she was in Stratford and still replying to fanmail. Click on the "letter" link.

Eureka!

Persistence pays off, at last! After many fruitless e-mails to everyone from JM Barrie's biographer to Hayley Mills fans, I've finally found a way for some of you, at least, to access the Peter Pan at the Players recording. From the drama curator at the National Sound Archives:

Thank you for your email. I don’t know where you are in the country but if you are within easy reach of London and wish to listen to this programme, we can borrow a copy from the BBC Sound Archive. Please ring 020 7412 7418 to make an appointment.

Saturday stage door pics

These photos were taken by Ally and sent in by Josie from the A Genius At Work Kevin Spacey group. Thanks!

Back view

Smiling

Profile; biting her lip

Peter Pan promotion notes

Bill Lloyd, producer of Peter Pan at the Players, has sent me the promotion notes concerning that recording after I bugged him yet again, the poor man.

A unique opportunity to hear Barrie’s stage version of Peter Pan with its original 1905 Broadway score. Specially recorded by an all-star cast in the Edwardian splendour of the Players Club in New York. Performers include Rosemary Harris (Superman 2), her daughter Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice), Hayley Mills (Pollyanna), Michael Allinson (Higgins in My Fair Lady) and Matthew Blumm. Plus a group of crack Broadway musicians directed by John McGlinn.

This unique project originated with Broadway conductor and musical theatre archivist John McGlinn who discovered the original score and band parts for the stage version of Peter Pan languishing in boxes in New York Public Library. He arranged them for a quintet of musicians and then set to adapting the play to produce a chamber Peter Pan as it would have been heard back in 1905. To celebrate the book’s centenary, Stage & Screen staged a public reading at the Players Club in New York to put this music in its proper context. An all-star cast assembled itself as if by magic – both Rosemary Harris and Hayley Mills had played Peter in years gone by – and their affection and enthusiasm for the book and the historic environment of New York’s club for actors, The Players, ensured a remarkable line-up for this one-off Christmas entertainment.

Narrator: Rosemary Harris
Mrs Darling: Jennifer Ehle
Peter: Matthew Blumm
Hook: Michael Allinson
Wendy: Hayley Mills

Other parts played by members of the cast.

"Public reading". "One-off". Eheu.

Still no luck in finding an accessible recording, though Mr Lloyd has said that both Ms Ehle and Ms Harris have copies. I encourage you to e-mail Stage and Screen at stageandscreen@bbc.co.uk to prod them into at least archiving the recording at the National Sound Archive or something. You could also try prodding the NSA as well: try the Drama curator at nsa-drama@bl.uk.

On Elizabeth Bennet

An interview with Andrew Davies, Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle about the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth, via Colin Firth 24/7. They provide the unembedded Real Player file as well as embedded Windows Media files [edit: just realised, the Windows Media files are not of the same interview! However, they're from a longer interview with Colin Firth, which should be of interest to many of you anyway]. I believe this is an extended version of the interview on the Special Edition DVD of Pride and Prejudice, where Jennifer Ehle's part was cut out.

Jennifer Ehle: I see Elizabeth as independent, witty; she's got a wonderful sense of humour, great intelligence. And she thinks her integrity is perfect - she does have integrity, she's just a bit misguided on the prejudice bit.

Colin Firth: I don't think she would have developed the prejudice against him quite as violently had not her pride been hurt. In fact Jennifer, who plays Elizabeth, found this, in the playing it, that she's quite prepared to be amused by Darcy's arrogance, even when her mother's slighted, but when she herself is slighted, it becomes a sort of obsession, I think.

Swoon

Note to self (and indeed all Austen fans): check AustenBlog more often. Apologies, this news is a week old.

Their post announcing the Pride and Prejudice documentary, mentioned earlier, cites a contactmusic article about Colin Firth's refusal or inability to participate, with the expected speculation about his Darcy-denial. There was also a follow-up post with more details about the documentary from Paul Fisher of KeiraWeb.com:

He spoke with the producer, Toby Stevens, who also produced the Comedy Connections documentary. The P&P documentary will follow a similar format, showing “the early careers of the cast and major crew (director/producer etc.) and how they came together for the production, what they’ve been up to since and lots of interviews and on-the-set footage,” Paul wrote. We can hear the fangirls swooning already.

Mr. Stevens did not mention a broadcast date, but Paul speculates that it will be shown in mid-September to correspond with the premiere of P&P3.

Alpha Male completed

A recent update of the IMDB page for Alpha Male indicates that the film has been completed.

Sixth time lucky

From Josie, a Kevin Spacey fan who met Jennifer Ehle on her sixth viewing of The Philadelphia Story:

I also finally got to meet Jennifer Ehle and had my programme signed by her. I couldn't get a photo but I know one of my friends got a couple, so I hope she'll post them here. Lol, when I told Jennifer that I'd seen the play 6 times already, she said "6 times? My goodness, that's more times than my mother has seen it!" Lol. She was very nice.

Incidentally, she also saw Gael Garcia Bernal and Joseph Fiennes at the stage door, there for the 24 hour plays, no doubt.

Compare and contrast

Recall Jennifer Ehle's "Working in the Theatre" seminar from Spring 2000? At the same site, you can also watch Rosemary Harris in her two seminars: Spring 1985 and Fall 1994.

A fistful of reviews

About The Philadelphia Story, of course.

From An American Woman in London

From Tickets, Money, Passport

From satyrica

From tiggycatgirl

And a few new fan reviews from our friends at Driving Mr Spacey

PS. Just a reminder: the Q&A session with the cast is only four days away.

Pride and Prejudice page

Found by Sands, "The Prestigious Pride and Prejudice site" which contains photos, links and most notably, short sound files in .wav format. Just in case you want Lizzie and Darcy arguing on your iPod.

Post-matinee mystery solved + miscellany

From A Truth Universally Acknowledged, a member's story on not meeting Ms Ehle after the matinee...because she was sleeping. Extremely prolonged jetlag?

A few new Philadelphia Story reviews on Theatre Monkey and WhatsOnStage

Apparently The River King was shown at the Oporto International Film Festival this February, which bodes well for Portuguese fans.

Various places you can win tickets to The Philadelphia Story: IndieLondon, All In London, Covent Garden Life.

From your friendly neighbourhood theatre buff

Bill Petro reviews The Philadelphia Story:

Ms. Ehle is the dominant role and she embodies the character so that you forget that she's not the person you usually associate with the role. Her vocal range and presence on stage gave her a gravitas that grows on you. Her "American" accent was almost flawless, as were most of the British Actors.

Stage door again

Another stage door photo on the evening of June 11th from Driving Mr Spacey.

Pause

Exams are dangerously close; I haven't the time to look for new blog material until Friday week, the 24th of June. However, I will be checking the e-mail so that anything you post will be blogged, and indeed more appreciated than ever (the Gmail invites are still available). Likewise, further offers of co-editorship would be most welcome. Remember, no technical skills needed, just dedication.

If you're desperate for news, keep an eye on EhleNews, Driving Mr Spacey, IMDB, Blogsearchengine, Blogpulse, Technorati, the mass media (via Google News), Legacy Unleashed, WhatsOnStage, Pemberley, A Truth Universally Acknowledged, the blog forum, etc.

Meanwhile, enjoy these caps from Possession and Sunshine.








Turns out the flesh is willing but the spirit weak. Can't keep away. Still, any help is welcome.

Philadelphia Story Q&A details

I e-mailed the Old Vic about the format and rules for the Q&A session on the 23rd of June, and here's the reply:

1) The Q&A will be chaired by the Arts Editor of The Daily Telegraph who will begin with a series of her own questions and then invite audience members to ask their own questions directly to the cast-members.
2) It is not permitted to record the event in any way. [I asked about filming and photographs - this means both are not allowed, I guess]
3) The session usually lasts around 1 hour.
4) The cast are welcome to stay and chat with audience members but, if they have an evening performance to prepare for, they may not stay for long.

[edit: I just wrote back asking whether the session would be recorded and they replied (lightning service!) that "there are no plans for the Q&A to be professionally recorded"]

By the way, please leave a note in the comments or forum if you're going; perhaps there can be a mini meetup?

BBC reviews The Philadelphia Story

Another ho-hum review, included for the sake of completeness.

What it does have, though, is the glacial beauty of Jennifer Ehle, in the role of Tracy Lord originally immortalised by Katharine Hepburn, and then in the subsequent musical version by Grace Kelly.

Watching this ice-maiden of a principled prig eventually thaw is one of the chief dramatic pleasures of the convoluted plotting that also involves a tabloid journalist and his photographer partner stalking the proceedings.

Spare ticket available for Q&A session

I posted up the information about the Philadelphia Story Q&A session at Pemberley. Someone replied saying that she bought a ticket for her niece who isn't that interested, so she has a spare ticket on hand. Post in the thread if you're interested. Note that Pemberley has certain rules about posting, eg. not using a pseudonym.

Back catalogue

In an ancient EhleNews post, a member says that you can buy archival programs and posters from stores in the West End ("Nr. Earlham st"). She managed to find Tartuffe and The Relapse.

More olds: Design for Living

A short review from Broadway Beat is accompanied by several photos from Design for Living I hadn't seen before.

Richard III photos

Turns out there is news (olds) after all. Here's a rather gruesome photo of Jennifer Ehle as Queen Anne. Other photos from the production are also available via the Arts and Humanities Data Service: search for "Ehle".

Be patient, be generous, forgive

Sundays are always slow. Here's a still from Possession I captured from the DVD. Was planning to use this on the header, but it doesn't look nice all tiny and squashed.

At the North Carolina Writers' Festival

The University of North Carolina has a PDF file [Google HTML version] documenting the history of the North Carolina Writers' Festival. Roy Parker, chair of the 1993 conference, recounts:

John Ehle, the honoree, got a lot of attention. However, his daughter, the luminous actress Jennifer Ehle, then only twenty-three, was the center of attention.

Interesting that he says she was the centre of attention, because this was prior to Pride and Prejudice and she wasn't famous in America yet; then again, perhaps it was just her charisma. Moreover, was she there as John Ehle's daughter, or as a writer?

Pride and Prejudice reunion?

From Pemberley:

Apparently (according to my paper today), the BBC are planning a series of programs looking at some of their most successful dramas of the last many years and, needless to say, one of the dramas is P&P2!

They were hoping to get as many of the actors as possible to contribute but, alas and alack, Colin Firth has already declined (due to other commitments) and Jennifer Ehle hasn't decided yet.

However, it should be a good programme with plenty of clips and perhaps some behind-the-scene shots?

Q&A with the cast of Philadelphia Story

Thanks to Liss of Driving Mr Spacey. What a fantastic opportunity. If you're planning to go, please report back!

Thursday 23 June, 5.30pm at The Old Vic

Glamorous and sophisticated, The Philadelphia Story is a compelling mix of wit, satire and romance. It was first performed on Broadway in 1939, and became one of the great movies of Hollywood’s golden age. Find out more about The Old Vic’s production at a question and answer session with cast members Jennifer Ehle, Adrian Lukis, Julia McKenzie, DW Moffett and Talulah Riley.

The event is hosted by The Old Vic Theatre Company's media partner, the Daily Telegraph, and chaired by Arts Editor, Sarah Crompton. Tickets include a free glass of wine, courtesy of The Old Vic's associate wine sponsor, Mouton Cadet.

Tickets £5 (£2.50 concs)
Book at: 0870 060 6628

[edit: I've started a thread at the forum where you can post questions you'd like to ask Ms Ehle. There is a certain fan going who might just be kind enough to ask them for us!]

Richard III and Summerfolk program

On eBay, there's an auction for the program from the 1995 RSC production of Richard III in which Jennifer Ehle played Lady Anne. It expires on the 19th of June.

The same seller also has the Summerfolk program listed on their site. Note that they also say that Jennifer Ehle was in Suicide in 1981, but I think that's a mistake; she would've only been 12 years old at the time!

The River King release date in Thailand

Anyone read Thai? I don't, but I think that site indicates that The River King will be released on the 22nd of November in Thailand. I'm guessing that "ธันวาคม" means November because Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is listed for the same month, and Veritaserum confirms that the Thai release date for that film is the 17th of November.

The Real Thing and Telegraph interview scans

Remember the insightful Telegraph interview from last month? Natalie has kindly sent in scans from the magazine. Here's the first page, second page, and accompanying photo. She also sent a scan of an autographed Playbill with The Real Thing on the cover, in addition to a stage door photo from the same play.

"Woman's Hour" interview?

After spamming e-mailing every TV show, radio program and magazine I could possibly think of that might possibly interview Ms Ehle, lo and behold: someone is actually interested. This is from Andrea Kidd, theatre producer on the BBC Radio 4 "Woman's Hour" program:

Thank you for you email. I have already been discussing her with the PR people from "The Philadelphia Story" as I agree with you that it would be great to get her on.

Keep your ears peeled.

Why we love live theatre

Livejournaler mperry10 posts a review of The Philadelphia Story and an account of the technical problem during the Friday night show.

"Jennifer's London calling" scans

Sands has scanned the Evening Standard interview with Ms Ehle posted here earlier. There are two files, one of the article and one photo.

Design for Living: "we clashed facial organs"

From the ever-useful Google cache, an interview with Jennifer Ehle's Design for Living co-star Alan Cumming:

From tartrone:
I love the somersault that you do in Design for Living! Who's idea was it? Will we be seeing you in the Olympics in the near future? Great form!!!

Alan responds:
It was my idea! I'm not going to the Olympics, but I do take great pride in my tumble. It's a great skill to have on my resume. I also love it because people in the audience go, "Whooo!" I tumble over and reach out to Jennifer [Ehle] and sometimes she sticks her nose in my eye and I get a runny eye while I'm kissing her because we clashed facial organs.
...
From rehteb75:
In Design for Living, the relationships between Gilda, Otto and Leo have to be believable. How did you, Jennifer Ehle and Dominic West work on this dynamic?

Alan responds:
We talked about it a lot in rehearsals and got to know each other. We already knew each other, but I hadn't seen Jennifer or Dominic for ages. When we got together in December to shoot the poster for the show, we talked about it and tried to show [in the photograph] how physically easy we were with one another. It really just grows in rehearsals once you get comfortable with each other. It's kind of embarrassing to have to suddenly kiss someone you've never kissed before, but it's all for the show.

Photos and video from stage door

Also from [removed]. Click to enlarge.

[EDIT: photos and links removed]

And...The Video [.mov Quicktime file, 2874K, 9 sec] of Jennifer Ehle speaking in her natural American accent. Try not to squeal too loudly.

Philadelphia Story encounter from Sands

Let me discard editorial gravity for a moment to say...WOOHOO! Sands of A Truth Universally Acknowledged (a Pride and Prejudice forum, please visit it) has submitted the first entry to the competition, a splendiferous stage door encounter from The Philadelphia Story.

My friend, Richard and I went to the theatre abit early just so that we could find the stage door. It was very easy to locate as it is just on the side of the building. But better to be safe than sorry. Then we went inside half an hr before it started and boy was I excited. Was counting down the minutes!

The play was excellent and really funny. All the actors were great! But especially Jennifer and Kevin. Jennifer was just so amazing. I really dunno what those critics were talking about her being so stiff. She was perfect and had great comical timing. I also loved Julie Mckenzie (the mother).

Anyway, after the play, Richard and I went straight to the stage door. There were already quite a few people there. Kevin Spacey eventually came out to sign autographs. I waited for others to get Kevin's autograph first, then just as I was close to getting his autograph, he said good-bye! But then I think he saw my face ... it must have looked really disappointed coz he came straight back out and signed my programme. Lol Then he went straight back in, and most of the crowd disappeared after that. A few others waited for the rest of the cast. I only stayed for Jen. But alas she didnt come out We waited for about an hour, meanwhile the rest of the cast came out slowly but surely. Still no Jen. Eventually I asked a guy that worked there by the stage door if Jen was still there in the building. He said she was and that she didnt come out after the matinee shows. BUT if I wanted to, I could wait until the evening show ended and she would definately come out then. (Well of course she would come out...she can't stay there all night! Lol). So that is just what Richard and I did! We went and walked around Piccadilly Circus and then went back to the stage door at about 9h20 pm. We waited and waited. Then Kevin Spacey came out (during the show) for some fresh air, and he saw me standing there and I am sure he recognised me coz he went "Ahhh!" and went back inside...must have thought I was some loony stalker. Lol. So eventually the show ended and quite a few people come to the stage door. I just stood right by the door and didnt move away at all. Kevin Spacey was the first one to come out. He started signing everyone's programmes and he then moved towards me to sign his autograph... but all I had in my hand was my Pride and Prejudice DVD cover! So what do you think happened? I ended up saying to Kevin Spacey
"Um...I'm actually waiting to see Jennifer Ehle..."

And with that he lifted up his hands and said "Ahhh! Ok!" and laughed, then signed somone else's programme. The rest of the crowd burst out laughing as well and then he said "She will be out soon". I am pretty sure that he recognised me, tho. Lol. Too bad I didnt get that on video! lol.

Evetually, Jennifer did come out! And I was right infront of the door so she couldnt miss me!. She was all smiles and so sweet! I handed her my P&P dvd cover which she signed with my black marker. I am never going to throw that marker away. Lol. Then I thanked her and told her how wonderful it was... then let her sign everyone else's programmes. Just as she was about to walk away, I asked her if she would pose for a photo with me. She smiled and said she would if she could, but thanks for the thought. She has got such a sweet voice in person. Her accent was American, and it suits her well. Richard did get a photo of Jennifer as she was walking away, tho. And he got a video of me and Jen as she was signing my P&P dvd cover. I have gotten a few stills from the video which you shall see in a moment. I will post a link to the video as soon as possible. Then I will send you the link so u can post it in your blog.

Then as she was walking away, I realised that I had forgotten to give her a thank-you card I had written for her. (Just saying thanks for being so great and entertaining me all these years, etc.) By the time I realised I had forgotten, she was already way down the road! So... I ran after her! And I caught up to her! I said "Excuse me, Ms Ehle! I forgot to give this to you" or something along those lines - I can't remember exactly. My heart was thumping with nerves. She turned around and took the card and said "Awww thank-you so much!" with a big smile, and then turned back round and walked away. I was so happy. Lol I wonder if she has read it yet.... I did add the URL for my forum in the note! Lol. Who knows, maybe she will visit and register! Lol I wish!

And th-th-thats' all, folks! The best night of my life! Lol.

Alpha Male: on location

I contacted someone on the IMDB boards who seemed to have some information on Alpha Male. It turns out he was a medic on the set. Here's what he says about the filming and possible release dates:

Yes, I posted the info on the IMDB. I was asked to provide medical cover for the film shoot as and when required.

The location I was covering was Tofte Manor, near Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire (UK). This involved morning, afternoon and night shoots. The whole shoot was for a period of approximately 8 to 10 weeks from mid July 2004.

As for release dates, all I know is that the film was going to do the "festival tour" then if a distributor could be found, could potentially be fully released around September/October 2005.

Plot wise, didn't really follow to be honest. It was my first time on set as medic so I was watching everything.

I know its not much, but I enjoyed the whole experience and found all the crew to be helpful and friendly (especially the stuntmen/woman, sound engineer and gaffer). Hope it's helped, and no, you didn't annoy, just brought back some good memories.

Got news? competition

Exams are approaching, and Jennifer Ehle news is getting harder to find. Nevertheless, I want to keep up the minimum one post a day standard, which would be considerably easier with your help. Many hands make light work, n'est-ce pas? Here's the incentive: there are 50 Gmail invitations on offer for anyone who e-mails any of the following to jenniferehle@gmail.com:

Articles and interviews. Recent ones preferred, though rarer, older ones are ok too.

A review of The Philadelphia Story written by yourself.

A review found on a blog/Livejournal/forum/Yahoo group/other site. Public, no-registration sites preferred.

Stage door or other encounter stories.

Photos: preferably recent/new official photos, but also older photos that aren't up at Debby Wan's site.

Info on or film stills from Alpha Male or The River King. Particularly a synopsis for the former.

Leads about where to find recordings of Peter Pan at the Players, Design for Living, and Cause Celeb. Additional prize: undying gratitude.

A witty name for the blog.

News about Ms Ehle's future projects.

News or interesting older material about Rosemary Harris or John Ehle. Preferably mentioning their daughter, of course.

Audio or video files.

Reviews or articles on Jennifer Ehle DVDs, especially describing or even transcribing the special features, commentary, interviews and such.

Some form of proof that you're publicising thhis blog: a link from your own site, or a post on a forum or a submission to a web directory, something like that. Spamming is not encouraged, however.

Trivia, obscure links, love letters tucked in scientific books, &c. Really, anything you'd want to share with other fans.

A return flight to the UK-- okok, just kidding. Wouldn't be refused, though.

Gmail accounts are web-based e-mail accounts, much like Hotmail or Yahoo; the difference is that you are allowed a whopping 2 gigabytes of space. It also has nifty functions such as conversation tracking, search capabilities within your e-mails and a very good spam filter.

The award of invitations will be discretionary, but the standards aren't strict; basically, only duplicates of material from Debby Wan's site or from this blog (use the search bar at the top of the page to check), or distasteful or irrelevant things will be excluded. You're doing us all a favour, after all. Also, if you have your own site you want to publicise, you will also get a link to it from the blog.

In your entry, include your name or nickname if you want to be acknowledged on the blog, e-mail address (required for the invitation to be sent to you), your site's URL as well as the source of your material, if applicable.

The competition will last until invitations run out. Let the sleuthing begin!

Nasty and nice

Strange, how the reviews of The Philadelphia Story and Ms Ehle's performance tend towards the extremes. Compare these new user reviews from WhatsOnStage:

Imagine my horror when, from the first time Jennifer Ehle uttered a line, I knew this was going to be a very bad experience. This actress was either horribly misdirected or doesn't have the faintest idea of how to correctly interpret the character of Tracy Lord.

vs

I felt that Jennifer Ehle was both a credible and touching Tracy Lord - more so than Hepburn.

Rosemary Harris addresses graduates

I know it's called the "Jennifer Ehle blog" (still in want of a wittier name), but this is a speech by her mother at her alma mater. Close enough, right?

“But above all, it is so important to enjoy every minute, because every minute counts,” Harris noted. “Enjoy every phase of your life. Treasure every minute, even the ups and downs.”

Valérie Sonnenschein, much?

Circumstantial evidence

If you look on Jennifer Ehle's IMDB page, you'll see that she received special thanks for the film Born Romantic. Puzzling, no? A commenter on the message board proposes an answer to the mystery:

Jennifer Ehle is a good friend of David Kane, writer and director of Born Romantic and This Year's Love. She got special thank you in Born Romantic because one time she brought David Kane to her Salsa class. That's where he got the idea for the movie.

This is backed up by a message from the EhleNews group which says that in an interview, David Kane* said that a friend of his took him to a salsa class and that's how he got the idea for Born Romantic. The link to that interview is now dead, but you'll find that in one of her interviews from around the same period, Ms Ehle does say she took salsa lessons.

Sometimes I take salsa lessons. I'm very bad but I like it. I read. I don't watch telly, but I've got one. I just use it for the PlayStation. And, yes, I still pay my licence.

There remains the mystery of why she was credited for The Hole. Any clues? Perhaps the connection is that the director of The Hole, Nick Hamm, also directed Micky Love.

*Incidentally, David Kane is also the screenwriter for The River King.

More about the River King screening

If you recall, there was a post earlier from a Livejournaler who attended the River King screening. She has answered a few of my questions about her views on the film (anti-climatic), release dates (late fall/winter, possibly next year) and Jennifer Ehle's screen time (shortened from the script). Keep in mind that she didn't see the final cut of the film.

Unwatermarked Philadelphia Story stills

These were e-mailed to me by Josie from the A Genius At Work Kevin Spacey group. They are stills from Philadelphia Story which you have probably seen before at Rex Features or elsewhere, but these are sans annoying watermark.

Sitting, mid-length

Sitting, full

In front of Mr Spacey

Close-up

Gala photos

Teeny-weeny photos from the Philadelphia Story after-show party at London Features International.

A hat a day

Another shot of Ms Ehle sporting a colourful hat at the Old Vic stage door. Found via Webshots.

Old Victorian

A rather unusual review of The Philadelphia Story, written from the perspective of a Victorian-era young lady, is available on Driving Mr Spacey.

Miss Jennifer Ehle gave a powerful performance developing effectively from the cold “ice queen” to a warmer person who is able to consider what she is doing. In fact the only criticism I had of Miss Ehle was caused by the green-eyed monster, jealousy! She was far too pretty a young lady to be so obviously “involved” with Mr. Spacey’s character. The kiss between them at the end was clearly intended to be among the finalists for “Longest Kiss on the London Stage” and in fact Miss Prim told me to cover my eyes!

Wanted: Peter Pan

I'm quite determined to find the "Peter Pan at the Players" recording previously mentioned, one of the few works featuring both Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris. Still no cigar after many e-mails harrassing JM Barrie's fans and biographer, Peter Pan fans, Hayley Mills' fans and agent, multiple people called "John Beatty", The Players, and of course the poor old BBC. So here's the public appeal: please, if you can think of any other possible leads, or even have a recording, send an e-mail to us at jenniferehle@gmail.com.

Slightly off-topic

The trailer of the new version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley is up at Yahoo.

There is also a comparison between the 1995 and 2005 versions in screencaps.

Addendum

Just drawing your attention to the comment in the post below by blogger Lisa Rullsenberg whose review was quoted.

Thanks for the link. Just as a note, my friend said she spotted that Ehle ma was there on Saturday. I hope she enjoyed the performance as much as the audience did. What I forgot to note on my blog was the wonderful moment at the end when the cast applauded the audience: a nice touch to round off the evening. Ms Ehle remains one of the few British actresses I would have entrusted this difficult role to. if I had half her elegance...

Countries where The River King will be released

Again from IMX.

That I know of, these were some of the presales: Scandinavia, Thailand, Benelux, Spain, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Portugal, Middle East, Ex-Yugoslavia. I don't know whether they were all theatrical, some may only be television rights.

The Official Word on River King release dates

Scoop! Ann Bernier of IMX Communications, whom I e-mailed begging for details about The River King, has replied thusly:

The word from Alliance Atlantis is that they plan to release the film here in Canada in October after the Toronto Film Festival which happens in early September. We have not heard yet whether the film will be in the Toronto Festival yet or not. The film will also be presented here in Halifax in late September at the Atlantic Film Festival. Myriad Pictures, the foreign sales agent has made numerous sales to other countries. They attended Cannes market, but we have not heard anything from them since the festival about any sales in the US. The market screenings were very well attended though, which is a very [good] sign. The film has not been accepted to the last round of festivals, mostly because it seems to fall between a commercial film and an art film. Momentum in the UK has the rights to the film for distribution and we have not heard anything from them about a release date.

Philadelphia Story review by a Jennifer Ehle fan

Thanks to Natalie for e-mailing me about her review from The Philadelphia Story.

Jennifer Ehle was the true star though. I admit that the main reason I went was because she is an actress that I admire very much and when I heard that she was doing "the Philadelphia Story" I knew I had to go. But she seriously was fabulous. The audience loved her completely despite her selfishness and she conveyed the way that her character had to get over her inability to be anything less than severe on other people very well indeed. Her voice and diction was good and the accent that she delivered certain lines in was superb. There was one bit in particular that was my favourite. It was the way that her eyes widened wonderfully when she realised what her drunkeness the night before had led to with Connor. The whole audience, even the ones up with the gods laughed. It was really brilliant. She was really brilliant and the entire cast was very brilliant.

There is also another blogger review at Rullsenberg Rules:

Some have criticised the chemistry between Jennifer Ehle and Kevin Spacey as rather unconvincing. I think that a little harsh: the problem lies more with the dimensions of the inimitable KH for whom this was really structured and into whose shoes it would be hard to imagine any woman fitting. As such, Ehle works hard (but without it seeming to be an effort) to convey the mix of confident coolness and the coy irrepressible delight/frustration felt at CK Dexter Haven. That she does it as well as she does is a credit to her talents.

Update from Filmax

So, I replied to Filmax asking whether the 2006 date they stated for the release of The River King was just for Spain, or for the whole world.

Spanish:

Nos referimos a la fecha en España, pero creemos que el estreno a nivel internacional también debe situarse en el próximo año.

English approximation:

We were referring to the date in Spain, but we think that the international release should also take place next year.

Stage door photo #2

Also from Elisa from the post below. Thanks! Click to enlarge, as always.

Stage door story

Elisa from the Kevin Spacey "A Genius at Work" group recounts meeting Ms Ehle after The Philadelphia Story:

Then I also met J Ehle who was very nice with everybody really, her parents were there at the stage door too, and she would call them mamma and papa which reminded me of Pride and Prejudice lol, very nice!

In other news, a collective "awwwwww" is heard around the globe.