The Monthly Rickmanista

Got an email from Jennifer,
Proving Rasputin was not the sexiest character A.R. ever undertook, Ozzy Osbourne himself is now scheduled for the role in a reprisal of the movie.
Somebody hand me a bat.

My email trouble seems to be mostly in the past but now I'm swamped with work. Combined with any lack of substantial news on AR (aside from Love Actually hype), I continue to beg for your patience.

A couple of AR fans went to see Under The Tuscan Sun and enjoyed it since it features two AR former co-stars, Diane Lane, and Lindsay Duncan. I received an inquiry as to whether AR appears in Willows, since he's credited as producer in the IMDB; I'd say it looks like he isn't but have no information at all on this project, which was not released in the USA.

Still no news as to whether AR has signed up for HP4.

Manuela sent this photo

At The Poetry Caf

Tucked down a discreet side street in Covent Garden, the Poetry Caf is a studious little refuge with a Tribeca ambience: pleasantly scuffed furniture, living-room dress code, thickly stocked magazine racks and bookshelves, corkboards freighted with notices and flyers for arts events.
But you don't have to know Petrarch from Petula Clark to feel comfortable behind its frosted-glass faade.
Many of its visitors have left their mark. Ralph Steadman scored and splashed the poetic caricatures on the caf's lampshades. Greg Wise put up the bookshelves on the staircase. His wife Emma Thompson supplied the squashy sofas in the basement. Maggie O'Farrell, Simon Schama, Ben Elton, Nick Heyward, Bjrk and Emily Watson have all sat at its tables, flicked through a copy of Ambit and nibbled on a Portuguese custard tart.
Alan Rickman, Sheila Hancock, Lindsay Duncan, Douglas Hodge and Celia Imrie have also been spotted on the premises.

New at the RReview

Two friends of this site, after seeing a photo of Colin Firth as Vermeer in Girl With A Pearl Earring, commented they would have liked to see AR in that film -- alas, AR was on Broadway while it was being filmed! But CF's a nice alternative. Speaking of Broadway, Hugh Jackman's starring in The Boy From Oz and short interviews are being shown on Fox News & CNN. (Clearly lots of AR fans are CF & HJ fans, too.)

Re: Love Actually: I just posted the first poster showing AR. TS tells us LA was shown at the Toronto Film Festival and Manuela sent a link to a nice article. DW, Geri, Manuela, Stacey, & Tiny sent links to the trailers, which are listed at the IMDB. Manuela and two other contributors sent links to articles posted at the This Is London site, and Manuela adds that LA is featured at the Venice Film Festival.

Geri tells us Close My Eyes is coming out on DVD on October 14, and can be preordered through Amazon.com.

M wrote to say the guy in the poster of The Order is not AR; it's just some other look-alike guy who shall remain nameless.

Robert Cushman's article

RF sent a July 8 article by Robert Cushman narrating his acting experiences, where he stated,

I now propose to get autobiographical. In my youth, I was involved in two open-air Shakespeare shows. At 15, I played Fabian (encouragingly described in the text we used as "this unnecessary character") in a school production of Twelfth Night. It was done in a garden, but, most important, it was done in front of a house. Having that unifying facade to act in front of, and to walk in and out of, was a great help.

It was a golden English summer, and everybody, actors and audience, felt enchanted. Our Malvolio grew up to be a playwright, while at the other end of the cast, furniture was moved about by half-a-dozen 12-year-old pages, one of whom was called Alan Rickman. I would like to say that his talent was immediately recognized by his seniors in the cast, but it wasn't.

Some 20 years later, the three of us -- Malvolio, Rickman and I -- were fortuitously reunited at a theatre reception. I doubt if any other old school production, or indeed any other old school, was as well represented. Malvolio was married by now to an actress, a very good one, and he tried to explain to her what it had been like. "Well," he said, "there was Peter Brook's Dream, and there was Twelfth Night." He was probably right.

Hapticity

Licence my roving hands, and let them go
Before, behind, between, above, below.

Ali-Pat now has the script for Help, I'm A Fish! at her site, The AR Fan’s Lifetime Reading Plan. Also, RF reports that The Rickmanista Review "has been coming up as the educational site-of-choice for some of the Usenet folks seeking more information about the actor who plays Snape", so I thank you all for all your contributions, and beg you to please continue contributing and visiting.

As it turns out, AR's definitely NOT in Standing Room Only; the film was shown in the Melbourne Film Festival on July 26 and 28 (notice how the link doesn't list AR in the cast). Please remember that a couple of months ago Manuela sent a link to an article on Hugh Jackman where he mentions Standing Room Only. Not only is Mr. Rickman's delectable voice missing, so is the rest of him in the film.

In other news, I rented Lost In La Mancha in July and I'm certain Mr. Rickman makes an uncredited -- 2-second long -- appearance as one of the investors visiting the set of the movie Terry Gilliam was trying to film in Spain, The Man Who Killed Don Quijote, a movie that was doomed. Take a good look at the man in a black shirt with a water bottle, when they all are by the waterfall. He's not heard, but at least he's seen. AR fans love to play Where's Waldo?.

I received two inquiries on June 12 asking if AR is in the upcoming film The Actors. As far as I know he's not, since the filming took place while AR was involved in Private Lives. He's not listed in the IMDB, but only the release of the film will put this rumor to rest.

Much Older Items:

Genevieve found out that "Alan Rickman is interviewed in a new episode (2002) of the American Film Institute series "The Directors" on Anthony Minghella. Minghella also talks about his work with Alan, basically confirming what we all knew: he's a great guy!".

Lauren, on the other h*nd, wrote to say that in the March 2003 issue of Harper's and Queen, there is an article on top Brits in the film industry. Alan Rickman is not only mentioned, but has a full page close up. This is definitely something to check out!

Mr. Rickman's featured in a homage to Jimmy Stewart on the TCM cable TV channel. AR's at his best, relaxed, charming, and definitely a "nice-hair part". Suzanne's done a videogram which you can watch in her site.