March 3:

Well, there's been more 'fall out' (forgive the pun) the past couple of days about Kate's appearance at the Baftas last Sunday:

From BBC News:

''Low-Cut Kate''

From Total Film:

We hobknob with the stars...
Forget that crusty old popcorn and warm fizzy pop. When the great and the good of the film industry swan to the BAFTAs, it's champagne all round. Everyone who attended the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony at the Odeon Leicester Square in London last night found a mini-bottle of bubbly on their seats. It’s just one indicator of the added sparkle the event enjoyed this year, having skipped forward in the calendar to a prime position before the Oscars.
A huge cheer went up when Total Film stepped onto the red carpet. If you're going to arrive at all, then do it in style - or at least time it right so that Tom Hanks is a few steps behind you and Hugh Grant a yard or two in front. "It's the sound of white noise and I can't focus on anything," Hanks confided as he stepped into the cinema through a gauntlet of autograph hunters and film fans.
Hanks was at the spearheaded a turnout that included Russell Crowe, Christina Ricci, Annette Bening and mother-and-daughter duo Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson But Mr Cast Away’s wispy moustache wasn't as impressive as "the new hip Hugh"'s spikey haircut (for Nick Hornby adaptation About A Boy). In the glamour stakes however, the men had to make do with the traditional black tux and bow-tie look, while the women were free to shine.
Casting an untrained but appreciative eye around the foyer, Total Film silently gave out its special awards for Most Eye-catching Outfits. It's unfair to give an overall winner here, but the list of nominees included Michelle Yeoh's high-necked Chinese dress with silver embroidery, Juliette Binoche's flowing black dress-cum-coat and Kate Winslet's low-cut evening wear. "I’ve just finished breast feeding and I’m still a bit full, as it were," Winslet explained. "So I thought why not show it off?"

Sarah Vine, a writer for the UK Times, apparently doesn't approve of celebrities showing a lot of skin:

''Naked Ambition'' - If you are a celebrity and your career depends on it, you are worth it. If you can’t (or won’t) compete, even the prettiest and most talented are doomed to be wallflowers. At Sunday night’s Bafta awards, Juliette Binoche wore a chic black raincoat dress which revealed neither cleavage, thigh nor buttock and which popped few flashbulbs and even fewer eyes. Kate Winslet in a straining black number and Goldie Hawn in something that would have seemed ambitious on a 17-year-old, let alone a 55-year-old, were both much remarked upon, although not necessarily for the right reasons. As Cole Porter once said, anything goes. But there are times when a glimpse of stocking will suffice.

Costumes from Quills will be on display in San Francisco. From the San Francisco Gate:

''Fancy Dress''

Since Kate Winslet plays a servant, West decided that her clothes should look like the hand-me-downs of 19th century aristocrats. "Kate's character is sort of a hippie girl of her time. So if someone gave her a corset, instead of putting it on under her frock, she would put it on over it, like Madonna. That was part of her free thinking."

"Quills" director Philip Kaufman discovered West when she was designing clothes for department stores and hired her to do the costumes for "Henry & June." Next she will make over Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon for "The Banger Sisters," about best friends from the '60s who are reunited.

Costumes from "Quills" as well as "Gladiator," "The Patriot" and "Erin Brockovich" go on exhibit starting next Friday at San Francisco's Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Victoria's Secret could get some competition if Julia Roberts' push-up bra from "Erin" winds up next to Winslet's girdle.

March 2:

'Entertainment Tonight' aired a photo of Kate in the upcoming Vanity Fair issue as part of their preview of next Monday's program:

[Hostess Mary Hart:] 'Three generations of leading ladies - Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Deneuve. Only we have Vanity Fair's Hollywood issue, from Kate Winslet to Sophia Loren to Laura Linney.'

Thanks to Morgan for the warning that this segment aired tonight!

Update on the 'Enigma has found a distributor' item that was published yesterday in the UK (and reported here) -- A source at Intermedia has made the following statement: ''Discussions are still active regarding the US distribution of ENIGMA and at present Intermedia is unable to confirm who this will be.'' (Thanks, Sylvia)

This photo of Kate is in the February 27 issue of Hello! Magazine. The upper portion of the pic has been published online; however, this photo is a nice, full-length shot of the Threapletons. (Click on thumbnail for larger pic.) Caption: Looking svelte after the birth of daughter Mia four months ago, Kate Winslet is joined by husband Jim Threapleton at the Berlin Film Festival.

According to Yahoo! News, Kate is featured in 'TV Spielfilm' in Germany. I translated this from the Yahoo! synopsis of the article:

There is a nice full-page ad of Quills in the March issue of Empire Magazine. It includes a mention of Kate's London Film Critics Circle nomination for Best British Actress. The poster pic was used on a white background - crisp and eye-catching.

The same magazine has a mention of Titanic - in an advertisement for the 'Genie' mobile phone:

''Iceberg Dead Ahead, New York Turn Left''

Film: Titanic

Scenario: The world's first 'unsinkable' ship is about to prove just how inappropriate that description is. Rose [Kate Winslet] hasn't much time left with her lover, Jack [Leonardo DiCaprio], who'll soon be sleeping with the fishes.

Alternative: However, the collision with the iceberg may never have happened if the captain had had a Genie Mobile to access MapQuest for turn by turn directions to New York.

Result: Jack and Rose drown in each other's eyes, instead. Eeeugh…

The pic of Rose and Jack clinging to each other at the stern of the ship was used.

A big 'thank you' to Lorissa for scanning the interview with Kate that appears in the current TV Week (Australia). I've posted the article and pics on a separate page. Here's an excerpt (great Kate quote):

''Phil [Kaufman, the director] would come up to me and say, 'You look like a painting,' and I'd tell him to get back behind the camera because I had a job to do,'' she giggles. ''I was lucky to be surrounded by men like Geoffrey, Phil, Michael and Joaquin who were paying me all these compliments, but I'd regularly say to Geoffrey, 'What are you looking at?' because he got a bit carried away with the Marquis' lecherous side at times and had to be told to stand in the corner!''

Thanks to my pal Sylvia of Dougray Scott in Focus for finding these two items early this morning (she's on the computer a couple of hours before I am due to a difference in time zones, LOL):

Now, don't get too excited (I'm trying not to until I have confirmation), but Lineone's 'Showbiz' column has this item today:

Now that Michael Apted's much-anticipated film Enigma is to be distributed in the US by Paramount Pictures, the British director has turned his attentions to his next project. He is about to begin production on Jennifer Lopez's next film, Enough in which the actress-singer plays an abused wife who goes on the run with her daughter. Apted, who directed the most recent James Bond film The World Is Not Enough, is waiting to hear whether he will also be directing the next one. "I don't think there are any firm plans yet for the next Bond film," he says. "I enjoyed doing the last one and I'd be happy to do another one if they ask me."

Let's hope the above report is true - and not inaccurate. I don't think I can take it, LOL.

'Film Maven' saw 'Enigma' at the recent AFM and submitted this item to Dark Horizons:

''Enigma'' - This is Michael Apted's latest film. It stars Jeremy Northam, Kate Winslet, and I can't remember the lead. It is a drama involving the attempts to crack the German's U2 Enigma code. This was a very good film, well written, acted, and directed. I don't know when it's coming out but it's worth seeing.

I found this item in a UK paper - Titanic is used as 'therapy':

For top psychotherapist Bernie Wooder, films are more than simple entertainment - they are the key to changing people's lives… So, what movies does Wooder use and why? Here's a few of his key films ...

TITANIC - If you look at 1200 people dying, the mind can't take it in. But get involved in a young couple's love story and the disaster becomes personalised. I worked with a client on that. He was a romantic and his wife wasn't, but he never expressed his feelings. I asked them to see the film and concentrate on each other's eyes and the eyes in the film. It was the first time they looked in each other's eyes in a long time and the film locked them in an emotional closeness they had not had. They really connected with each other.

Kate's U.S. agent is quoted in the Washington Post:

"There's a huge difference between the roles available for men or women," says Hylda Queally, an agent who represents Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank, among others. "If you don't want to play the stereotypical wife, girlfriend, lover -- a corpse, basically -- it's hard. You see a lot of actresses gravitating to period movies, which are better written and have fully fledged characters. We're totally catering to the next generation, that's the crux of it," observes Queally, who works for the William Morris Agency. "In my reading of scripts, I see two kinds of roles: the 16- to 20-year-old ingenue on the cusp, and the wife. And the group in between, for thinking women, that's the shortfall."

Here's a 'People News' report on the BAFTAs:

Grosvenor House Hotel, W1, Sunday 25 February 2001
This year's Orange British Academy Awards were the most glamorous so far, with Hollywood stars such as Tom Hanks, Russell Crowe, Juliette Binoche and Goldie Hawn in attendance. The presenters were Stephen Fry in the Odeon and Mariella Frostrup on the red carpet. Best Actor went to Jamie Bell, who was graciously cheered by Hanks. Alice Evans, star of 102 Dalmatians, wore a black-and-white spotted skirt which she bought in a second-hand shop; she also disclosed how she has just come back from LA to London for good and is in desperate need of a flat. Kate Winslet looked amazing in a black Dolce & Gabbana number, and announced to everyone how she had just stopped breast-feeding. The dining room was transformed by decorations (spears and flaming torches) on a gladiatorial theme. On the tables were placemats with collages from the nominees for Best Film; the Gladiator mats were all missing before dinner had finished. Souvenirs that people were actually supposed to take home came in the goodie bags - Charles Worthington Dream hair shampoo, a Discover corkscrew, cufflinks for the men and Union Jack sequin bags for the ladies, an Episode 20%-discount card, and the latest copies of Screen International and Variety magazines.

Caption of pic on left: 'Kate Date at Baftas' -- Screen stunner Kate Winslet shows her breast side to the cameras last night at the star studded Bafta awards. Kate, 25, dazzled onlookers in a low-cut Dolce & Gabbana satin dress.

Story from pic on right: 'She's a Copy-Kate,' by Catherine Westwood, Fashion Editor: Curvy Kate Winslet looked every inch a superstar at last night's Baftas - in an outfit once worn by Madonna. Titanic star Kate, 25, who gave birth to daughter Mia recently, chose a bust-boosting Mack satin dress. Pop queen Madonna wore the same Dolce & Gabbana gown at the 1997 Golden Globe awards.

Almost Famous star Kate Hudson dazzled fans with her low-cut cream Versace frock and colorful sequin-encrusted jacket. Another winner in the style stakes was Mission: Impossible II star Thandie Newton in a gold sequined dress. But French actress Juliet Binoche was nominated for a Nafta award after turning up in a long black mac created by Jean Paul Gaultier. Irish star Dervla Kerwin failed to impress in a fussy see-through brown-dress - while British beauty Rachel Weisz shone with a strapless style.

[Note: I've posted 'thumbnails' of all the BAFTA pics on the Gallery 2001 page (some pics are larger than you see on this page); I will continue to add more as they come in!]

Kate 'stole the show', according to this story in a UK paper:

Kate Winslet led the way as our actresses turned out in sophisticated black. Kate, whose movie Quills was up for a number of awards, stole the show in a figure-hugging Dolce and Gabbana gown. The actress who has complained that motherhood had left her feeling bloated looked in tremendous form. She said: "I feel fantastic. Being a mum is wonderful, much better than making films."

''Baftas Fashion Looked Black,'' by Jessica Callan, Eva Simpson and Polly Graham:

''BAFTA Throws Down The Gauntlet''

For those of you who missed it (or simply want a recap on this memorable night for British cinema), here are our top five moments from this year's BAFTAs...

1 Stephen Fry's introduction of Elton John, which set the tone for the evening ("He's been knighted by the Queen and now he's here to queen for the night...").

2 Kate Winslet's elation upon announcing the news that Ang Lee was best director for 'Crouching Tiger' (Winslet previously worked with Lee on 'Sense And Sensibility').

3 Hugh Grant's acceptance speech on behalf of Julia Roberts. After initially reading out an alleged love letter from Roberts to her 'Notting Hill' co-star, Grant (pictured) then summed up her speech by simply saying: "She loves BAFTA, loves everything about Britain, blah, blah blah", and walking off.

4 During Stephen Fry's introduction for award presenter Tom Hanks, he called one of his films 'The Green Man'. "My proudest work is 'The Green Man'," Hanks subsequently declared.

5 Sky TV's decision to try and get interviews with some of the winners backstage was a disaster - but an entertaining one. After a non-interview between Mariella Frostrup, Julie Walters and Tom Hanks, the UK was treated to oh-so-kooky Goldie Hawn asking Jamie Bell if he remembered meeting her once before. Complete chaos, but all the better for it.

''Stars flocked to the Baftas last night in a ceremony touched with family sized portions of glitz and glamour,'' By Jane Emsley

The highest profile Bafta awards ceremony ever kicked off last night in suitably lavish style as a host of A-List celebrities arrived to a red carpet reception in the heart of London's West End. Cheered on by crowds of film fans and celebrity watchers who braved the freezing cold weather, the likes of Russell Crowe, Goldie Hawn, Tom Hanks, Kate Winslet and Rachel Weisz arrived at the Odeon cinema, Leicester Square to a whirlwind of camera flashes. The event, which was moved forward this year to take place one month before The Oscars, was hosted by the ever-witty Stephen Fry with backstage interviews courtesy of TV presenter Mariella Frostrup.

The coveted Best Film award was presented by American Beauty star Annette Bening to, rather predictably, the impressive Roman epic Gladiator. Although Russell Crowe refused to go on stage, Ridley Scott accepted the award saying: "You are only as good as your weakest link - but there were no weakest links, just a bunch of crazy perfectionists. The rest of the cast, such as Joaquin Pheonix and Oliver Reed made it flesh and blood."

While Gladiator won four awards in total, Billy Elliot walked away with three and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also notched up four. Ang Lee accepted the David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction, graciously saying: "It is really something special to me. It's Sense and Sensibility all over again but instead of verbal fights, it's physical fights."

Albert Finney received a standing ovation when he collected his Lifetime Achievement Award. And Ang Lee returned to the stage to accept Best Film Not In The English Language award for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, saying: "This is smashing, thanks everyone, I think you're brilliant!"

After the event the assembled celebrities all went on to the rather grand Grosvenor House Hotel where the likes of Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, Amanda Donohoe and all the Bafta nominees and winners tucked into a lavish three-course dinner in the sumptuous surroundings of one of London's top hotels. Dinner ended in a cascade of glitter and the stars, including Richard E Grant and Hilary Swank, left the Great Room for the party. Champagne flowed into the night as top socialites from the capital's party scene mixed with celebrities and the cream of cinema's talent. Rolling Stone Mick Jagger was there, as well as Almost Famous actress Kate Hudson with her husband Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes. Elton John, who presented an award earlier in the evening, was in attendance with partner David Furnish and Vanessa Feltz was seen leaving rather quickly with her personal trainer. Hello magazine regular Tanya Bryer was spotted chatting to Best Of Both Worlds star Alice Evans and Trainspottings Jonny Lee Miller was seen mingling with the crowds until the small hours. But as Stephen Fry said: "When all is said and done, it's just a bronze mask."

Until next year...

Synona reports that Kate arrived alone at the ceremony (not with Rush, as had been reported by BBC News), and did not stay for the after-party.

Kate greeted at BAFTAs by hundreds of cheering fans!

First to arrive was Bond legend Roger Moore, who sauntered down the red carpet signing autographs for an amazing array of celebrity hunters both young and old. He was only outdone by pony-tailed Kate Winslet, wearing a plunging black dress with a crocheted black cardigan. Obviously a favourite, Kate careered from side to side of the carpet signing autographs for literally hundreds of fans to the chant of 'Kate, Kate, K-a-t-e ...'. The star of Titanic was greeted half way by Rachel Weisz, wearing a long chocolate off-the-shoulder dress. They posed holding hands for photographers before turning back to the screeching fans and signing yet more autographs.

[Thanks to 'not a happy camper' for the above photo!]

Film stars from around the globe are gathering for the Bafta awards - Britain's equivalent of the Oscars - on Sunday night. Quills star Geoffrey Rush, who is nominated for best actor, arrived with co-star Kate Winslet at the London venue. They were followed by Juliette Binoche, up for best actress in Chocolat, former Bond star Roger Moore and Annette Bening, who was nominated for an Academy Award last year.

[Photos are from Sky News and Yahoo! News (Reuters and AP).]

From Empire Online:

Hot on the Roman epic’s heels with four wins under its belt was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which landed Ang Lee the award for Best Director, handed out by a squealing and ecstatic Kate Winslet.

This report is from Ananova Entertainment News:

''Stars Turn Out For Baftas Bash''

''TV Movie of the Week: Hideous Kinky,'' by Barbara Ellen

     After the huge success of Titanic, expectations for Kate Winslet were high. However, to her credit, her next venture was 1998’s off-beat, small-budget Hideous Kinky (Sunday, BBC2, 9.45pm), a slow-moving family-driven odyssey, directed by Gillies MacKinnon and based on the autobiographical novel by Esther Freud. Winslet plays Julia, a free-spirited idealist, who, along with her two small children (Carrie Mullan and Bella Riza), spontaneously decides to leave boring, rainy England and decamp to Morocco, in search of adventure and the true meaning of life.

     Like many people in the early Seventies, Winslet’s character is a bit of an irritating self-centered hippy, with delusional notions about her place in the world and the good she can do in it. Above all, Julia hopes to make sense of her life through Eastern religion, but having no money and no work, she and her daughters end up nearly destitute, living in a hotel overrun with prostitutes and down-and-outs. The father of Julia’s children remains as distant and neglectful as he was in England, and she turns to the kindly, loving Bilal (Saïd Taghmaoui), a street entertainer who is at least instrumental in giving one of the daughters, Lucy (Mullan), a sense of belonging in her strange new life.

     Meanwhile, the other daughter, eight-year-old Bea (Riza), becomes dreadfully homesick for boring, rainy England and pines for home and school and all the discipline and stability her mother regards as anathema. Julia, although a loving mother, is, in keeping with the times, almost indifferent to her daughters’ reactions. Her mission is to discover herself through a deeper understanding of Moroccan life. However, it soon transpires that she is fooling herself. When the family visit Bilal’s small and remote hometown, to meet his friends and family, it immediately becomes apparent that, despite Julia’s best efforts, and flying in the face of her beliefs, she and her daughters would always be regarded as foreign interlopers by the Moroccan people.

     If the pace frequently flags and one’s interest in the rather awful, patronising Julia’s fate wanes as the movie goes on, there are many compensations. Hideous Kinky looks absolutely gorgeous, making good use of the rough oranges and melting browns of the Moroccan landscapes. It also sounds exotic and ably utilises the girls’ very different views of their mother’s increasingly erratic decisions.

     In this way, MacKinnon confidently gives both sides of the argument. After all, Julia’s intentions are decent and honourable, but is it really the right thing to follow one’s instincts with two small children in tow? It is to Winslet’s credit that she manages to make Julia sympathetic at all and doesn’t merely sacrifice the character to a satire on all the male and female "Edinas" who did embark on these ill-fated odysseys in the ideologically driven early Seventies.

Here's an item from UK columnist Ian Hyland:

I hear Kate Winslet has fallen out with posh celebrity mag Hello! after she refused to allow them to print a six-page feature on her. The mag had to pull the piece at the last minute when Kate's agent put the block on a set of pictures they wanted to use with it.

Well, if this item is true, I suppose we should trust their judgment. On the other hand, it would have been nice to see another feature article on Kate in a high-profile magazine!

Site News: I have added 5 audio clips from the ''Secrets of Titanic'' special on The Oprah Winfrey Show, January 20, 1998.