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" 本年度康城閉幕電影
" 影壇、樂壇、名牌群星雲集
迷醉常青樂曲、情傾經典品味
二十世紀霍士榮譽呈獻
美高梅電影公司製作
《紐約 紐約》《洛奇》《狂牛》《盜亦有道》監製
艾雲•榮卡拉 IRWIN WINKLER執導
《一切從失戀開始》《蘇菲的抉擇》《靚女大賊神仙魚》奇雲•格連 KEVIN KLINE
《殺戮時刻》《筆姬別戀》艾 斯•莉 祖 特 ASHLEY JUDD
主演
當今樂壇精英傾情演出
第38、41屆格林美最佳搖滾樂女歌手 ALANIS MORISSETTE
四屆英國最佳男歌手 ROBBIE WILLIAMS
第42屆格林美最佳爵士樂歌手 DIANA KRALL
九項格林美獎得主 SHERYL CROW
英國著名樂隊Simply Red 成員 MICK HUCKNALL
格林美獎得主NATLALIE COLE
英國作曲家協會Ivor Novello Awards ELVIS COSTELLO
發行：二十世紀霍士影片公司 片長：120分鐘 級別：IIA
官方網址：www.delovelymovie.com
故事簡介
這是以美國著名作曲家高爾• 波特(Cole Porter)生平為藍本的一部音樂劇電影，以經典手法、現代角度演繹他的精采樂章和前衛生活。波特在片中終於以舞台劇觀眾的角度回顧自己的一生，透過一首首由當今樂壇巨星演繹、膾炙人口的優雅旋律如《Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)》、《Night and Day》、《It's De-lovely》、《Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye》和《In the Still of the Night》等等，一幕幕的精采片段，包括和妻子、同志愛人等錯綜複雜的愛情關係重現眼前，令人深情回味。片中無論服裝、造型、道具、場景均極具品味，重現黃金歲月的精緻高雅，也是Armani、Cartier、LV等名牌的大巡禮。
《譜出愛戀曲》故事橫跨四十年，以巴黎、威尼斯、紐約和荷里活二、三十年代的黃金歲月為背景，超過30首波特的作品襯托全片，讓觀眾在悠揚樂韻中感受一個偉大天才作曲家歷久不衰的愛情故事。波特終其一生希望透過音樂尋找愛情的真諦，然而愛情原來一直在他的身旁。
由奧斯卡最佳電影監製艾雲•榮卡拉(Irwin Winkler)執導，奧斯卡最佳男配角奇雲•格連(Kevin Kline)，艾 斯 •莉 祖 特(Ashley Judd) 及莊尼芬•拜斯(Jonathan Pryce)主演，並由多位樂壇巨星客串演出包括Robbie Williams、Alanis Morrisette、Diana Krall、Natalie Cole、Elvis Costello和 Sheryl Crow等等 -《譜出愛戀曲》以現代演繹波特的音樂向這位一代音樂家致敬。
電影緣起
導演榮卡拉一直是高爾• 波特的樂迷，他認為：「波特是爵士樂的代表人物，是最出色的作曲家，是美國樂壇的重臣。他的一生充滿戲劇性。」榮卡拉憑藉監製音樂劇電影《紐約 紐約》和《Round Midnight》的聲譽，得到Cole Porter Trust 和The Porter
Estate 的支持開拍《譜出愛戀曲》。由於波特的歌曲膾炙人口，版權費亦十分高昂，如沒有這兩基金的幫助，這部電影根本難以成事。
在構思這部電影方面，榮卡拉表示：「我們想從波特角度看波特，所以選擇以他看舞台劇的形式表達，藉以把他的歌曲貫穿劇中。一位作曲家回顧自己的一生，他的樂章正是回憶的最佳配樂。
「波特的音樂震撼之處在於精緻睿智的曲和詞，正好透視他本人的高超品味和才情。他透過他的樂曲不時反思甚麼是愛情，這正是他的音樂歷久如新的原因。」
男主角奇雲•格連
演技精湛的奇雲•格連 (Kevin Kline) (《一切從失戀開始》《蘇菲的抉擇》男主角和《靚女大賊神仙魚》獲奧斯卡最佳男配角) 原來音樂根底也非常深厚。他的《On the Twentieth Century》和《 The Pirates of Penzance》音樂劇兩度榮獲百老匯東尼獎。在學生年代已立志成為鋼琴家和作曲家的格連，在獲知扮演波特時感到非常興奮。按導演說：「奇雲在演繹這麼一個細緻而複雜的人物時，很仔細地揣摩角色。他用了九個月的時間預備角色，包括磨練他的琴藝和與聲音導師練習聲線。」
格連的演出另一過人之處是他堅持在拍攝歌舞場面時現場收音。他在多年前一個音樂劇電影中歌唱部份是事後配音，他認為這大大削弱了電影的即興感。現今的科技讓歌舞現場收音也能得到理想效果，所以導演對格連的要求亦盡量配合。監製查理•榮卡拉指出「奇雲百份之九十的歌唱均現場收音，這可算是史無前例。」
女主角艾斯•莉祖特
女主角艾斯•莉祖特 (Ashley Judd)對格連的認真態度亦讚不絕口，「有一次，我看到他的一份樂譜，打趣的問：『你是這樣寫字的？』他答：『不，波特 是這樣寫的。』他就是這般認真對待角色。」
波特是他的歌曲背後的功臣，而妻子蓮達是助他推向成功的最重要原素。
蓮達是波特的伴侶、保護者、摯友和良心。
蓮達在當年領導時尚潮流並且對藝術和才華別具慧眼，她聰明、通情達理和在文化界非常活躍。她對波特也無微不至，在巴黎的家裏為別出心裁為特設一間房間 - 白色地板、白色牆、白色鋼琴、白色鉛筆，並拆掉一堵牆換上一面鏡子，反射庭園中的樹木，讓波特專心創作、汲取靈感。
飾演蓮達的艾斯雖然出自著名的音樂世家(母親Naomi，姊姊Wynonna均是樂壇享負盛名的歌手)，然而這次是艾斯莉首次公開歌唱。
樂壇天皇天后
《譜出愛戀曲》最吸引觀眾的地方，是本片雲集現今樂壇炙手可熱的歌手傾力演出。年輕的觀眾可能不大認識波特，導演希望藉着流行歌手的影響力，製造一批新一代的波特愛好者。
製作隊伍最初接觸的其中一個歌手是七項格林美獎得主Alanis Morissette 。導演榮卡拉憶述：「她來到我們的辦公室開會，我告訴她希望她唱《Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love )》，她二話不說便立即答應。」製作人員一個又一個地接觸歌手，反應都是一樣，所有歌手也認識波特，並且非常喜愛他的歌曲。 榮卡拉更補充：「到了拍攝的最後一天，我們還收到其他歌手來電，問可否加插他一份兒。」
這些天皇天后級歌手清楚明白自己在電影裏是一名演員而不是一位流行樂歌手，他們並在自己的角色和歌曲中加入獨特的自我風格。波特的歌曲當年是由當時得令的歌星演繹，現在80年後由Alanis Morissette、Robbie Williams、 Sheryl Crow 和 Diana Krall唱出更相得益彰。
聲光熠熠
Robbie Williams-從未如此正經過 -《It's De-lovely》: 我是在這一類型音樂中長大的，父親喜歡Frank Sinatra、Martina 和 Bing Cosby，我也不例外，可是分不清誰作哪一首，現在我才知道很多都是高爾• 波特的作品。我十分享受唱出這些歌曲，並希望能透過這電影與大家分享這些不朽名曲。
Alanis Morissette- 想像她燙了一頭短曲髮，穿輕紗花裙的古典Look -《Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)》: 這電影讓我可以表現一下我鮮為人知的一面，看看茱迪格蘭(Judy Garland)版的我。
Diana Krall- 最富誘的演出(留意她台下演出) - 《Just One of Those Things》: 我很喜歡懷舊電影，能夠穿上懷舊服裝和佩帶這些飾物簡直是如做夢一般。
Sheryl Crow-搖滾天后深情演繹 - 《Begin the Beguine》: 我自小便受家庭影響聽波特的歌曲，我可藉着這電影回到一個我嚮往的時代。我相信當觀眾發現自己原來認識這麼多的波特歌曲會很高興。
Natalie Cole-經典演繹經典 -《Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye》: 我們應該把好的作曲家和好的音樂帶回來，演出《譜出愛戀曲》讓我回到一個真摰、誠懇的世界。
Elvis Costello-為電影藝術犧牲 -《Let's Misbehave》: 這是我第一次穿白色外套，而且在拍攝期間我甚麼也看不見，只因我的角色需要戴上遠視眼鏡。
Mick Hucknall-再次致敬 - 《I Love You》: 我是高爾• 波特的樂迷，並且曾在Simply Red 大碟中獨唱兩首他的歌，演出此片可算是再次向我的偶像致敬。
Vivian Green -禁歌重現自由-《Love for Sale》: 導演要我唱哪一首歌也絕無問題，而《Love for Sale》是一首我很喜歡的歌。這首歌當年被禁播，因為它的題材是關於妓女的。
電影音樂
把一位深受敬重的作曲家的事跡拍成音樂電影並不是一件容易的事情，直至找來史提芬•安特文(Stephen Endelman)為音樂編排監製才一一排除困難。
在籌拍電影初期，安特文和製作人員索性跑到格連家裏，在鋼琴上把樂曲逐一探討、鑽研； 在拍攝期間，安特文監督現場收音，務求做到最好！
Glamour Look造型
服裝
為1,200位演員設計橫跨40年的晚裝是一項艱鉅的工作。憑《帝國驕雄》榮獲奧斯卡最佳服裝設計的珍娣•也提絲(Janty Yates)樂意接受這項挑戰。「相信高爾是最講究衣著的一位男士，他力臻完美的裁縫和最上乘的布料，可說是一絲不苟。」
格連更指出：「衣著是高爾重要的一部份，他總會以完美的一面示人，佩帶寶石袖扣、衣襟永遠插着鮮花，炫耀自己的品味。」
格連共有38套服裝，茱迪48套，其他主要演員各有大約18至20套。在為男女主角的服裝設計方面，也提絲請來了著名的設計師幫忙 - Giorgio Armani。
Armani為格連設計和裁製所有的戲服，並從他的存檔中為茱迪修改多套晚裝以配合時代背景。Armani為茱迪的戲中婚禮設計婚紗，這是合適不過，因為在現實生活中Armani亦曾為茱迪設計婚紗。
格連親自到Armani在意大利的工作室試身。榮卡拉說：「Armani事事親力親為。身為時裝界的大師，但他仍樂意跪在地上為演員修改衣服，單在格連身上他往往花上六至八小時。」
茱迪是Armani的多年好友，茱迪說能夠穿到Armani的經典晚裝，讓她感覺如超越時空，回到一個典雅美好的美國。
化妝
《譜出愛戀曲》故事跨越四十年，格連和茱迪的化妝亦要一絲不苟。在電影後半部份，格連更要接受馬拉松式化妝以配合波特的晚年扮相。這任務由憑《火種》榮獲奧斯卡最佳化妝的莎拉•文沙利(Sarah Monzani)和憑《?達尼》提名奧斯卡最佳化妝的西門•湯臣(Simon Thompson)操刀。格連的晚年扮相每天便要花五小時化妝，為期兩星期。
場景
製作人員選擇以英國為拍攝基地，因為那裡有許多華麗的劇院、有氣派的大宅和大量典雅的舞廳，是最理想的電影場景。
高爾•波特 (Cole Porter) - 美國最偉大和最著名的作曲家
高爾•波特生於1891年，外祖父是一位富翁，並資助波特一家的奢華生活，影響到波特及後的品味生活方式。
波特在十歲第一次作曲，是為母親而作的《Song of the Birds》。他在耶魯大學後決定從事作曲，當時他已創作6套大型音樂製作和300首樂曲。
1918年巴黎，波特遇上離了婚的蓮達湯馬絲(Linda Thomas)，當時蓮達早已是社交場上紅袖善舞的富有名媛，他們並於翌年結婚。波特於1928年憑着音樂劇《Paris》中一曲《Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)》闖出名堂。
波特最震撼的作品是百老匯劇《Kiss Me, Kate》，作品即時成為經典名曲，並榮獲首創的東尼獎最佳音樂劇，此亦是他最後的作品。
高爾•波特點滴
"It's De-lovely"
The night is young, the skies are clear,
So if you want to go walking, dear,
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely.
I understand the reason why
You're sentimental, 'cause so am I,
It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely.
You can tell at a glance
What a swell night this is for romance,
You can hear dear Mother Nature murmuring low
"Let yourself go."
So please be sweet, my chickadee,
And when I kiss you, just say to me,
"It's delightful, it's delicious,
"It's delectable, it's delirious,
"It's dilemma, it's delimit, it's deluxe,
"It's de-lovely."
A FEW DETAILS ABOUT DE-LOVELY
De-lovely is a musical film about Cole Porter - his life in public, his life in secret, and the great music he made from both.
Much of De-lovely is true, some of it is imagined, but all of it is faithful to the spirit of Cole Porter.
We've used the broad outline and certain details of Porter's life - especially his long, strong marriage to Linda Lee - to weave an impressionistic musical biography. The historical facts of Porter's life are put together like notes in a melody, to try and give a truer, deeper picture of the man, his work, and, most importantly, his heart.
The songs aren't always chronologically presented or typically interpreted - we've let the music lead them. Some of the best American music ever written is by Cole Porter, and we've tried to do what we believe Porter himself did: just let the song carry everything along.
Down through the decades, Porter's songs have been interpreted innumerable times by a multitude of artists in countless ways. But the songs are inexhaustible, and they seem always to be of the moment. So with new times and new moments come new interpretations; there are times when a Porter classic seemed to rise out of or speak to a different dramatic mode or serve a new purpose - we, again, have followed feeling, not history.
The broad outlines of Porter's life are here, but placed within the framework of imagination, not scholarship. No footnotes required.
A love story needs no footnotes. The power of music needs no explanation.
This is a musical love story.
- Irwin Winkler
The overture is about to start,
You cross your fingers and hold your heart,
It's curtain time and away we go,
Another op'nin' of another show…
De-lovely is an original musical portrait of one of the world's greatest songwriters, American composer Cole Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action onstage. Through hits like "Night and Day," "It's De-lovely," and "In the Still of the Night," Porter's elegant, excessive past comes to light - including his deeply complicated relationship with his wife, Linda.
Highly stylized, visual, and very musical, De-lovely spans almost 40 years, jumping from Paris to Venice to New York to Hollywood, and includes over 30 of Porter's songs. It's a unique, timeless love story about a man who wrote some of the most endearing - and enduring - songs of the twentieth century. Through his music, Porter searched for the meaning of love his whole life, when in fact it was right beside him the whole time.
Directed by Academy AwardR winner Irwin Winkler from a script by Jay Cocks and starring OscarR winner Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, and Jonathan Pryce - in addition to some of today's biggest rock and pop music stars - De-lovely is a sparkling celebration of Porter's music as well as a stirring exploration of the artist's journey and the undying power of love.
What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?
THE STORY
1964. A dying Cole Porter sits alone in his New York apartment, playing the piano and picking out a familiar, melancholy tune. Suddenly a mysterious stranger appears - Gabe - who transports Cole to an empty theater where Gabe is directing what becomes a stage version of Cole's life story. All the key figures from his past appear onstage to re-enact his life - lovers, colleagues, friends, and, most importantly, his wife, Linda. Scene one begins…
In a Paris salon in the 1920s, Cole meets Linda for the first time. They fall in love immediately, admiring each other's grace and beauty and enjoying one another's witty company at the glittering parties of the Jazz Age. Linda sees genius in Porter's songs and is willing to maintain that genius at all costs - she loves his talent as much as she loves him. Porter sees in Linda a steadfast companion and indulgent supporter of his work and lifestyle, someone who sees who he really is and still loves him. They get married despite Cole's warnings that he won't be able to completely fulfill her. She doesn't mind - and is fully aware of his affairs with men - but tells him as long as he's there for her and loves her she can live with that knowledge.
Throughout the marriage, Cole is torn between the very genuine love he feels for Linda and his love of wild parties, drink, and handsome men. As Cole's fame begins to grow, and with each successive theatrical hit, Linda becomes increasingly concerned that the balance in their lives is tipping in favor of the high life. When she miscarries their long hoped for baby, they decide to move to Hollywood to make a new start. Feted by studio chief L.B. Mayer during MGM's golden age, Cole writes uninspired but commercially successful film musicals.
Cole's very public cavorting around town (and a subsequent threat of blackmail) causes Linda to leave Cole and return to Paris. While horseback riding one morning, feeling carefree and over-confident, Cole lets his horse gallop away uncontrollably. The horse falls, throwing Cole, then crashing down on top of him, leading to severe injuries which will affect him the rest of his life. Linda returns from Paris to look after him and is told by the doctor that amputating one or maybe even both legs is the best solution. She tells the doctor with certainty that Cole would rather live in pain and on constant medication than have the shame of losing his legs. With his pride intact, he might be able to overcome the pain and continue working - if he can't write music, then his life is not worth living.
Cole and Linda move to the peace and quiet of Williamstown where he writes unsatisfying stage musicals. Undeterred by this, nor by the unbearable agony of his condition, Cole sets to work on what will become his greatest hit during his lifetime: "Kiss Me, Kate." At the musical's opening night, Cole receives overwhelming applause - but Linda is forced to stay at their home, suffering from a fatal illness and missing her beloved's greatest triumph.
As Linda utters her final words to Cole, they talk of their love for each other. Despite the many obstacles along the way and Cole's regret he could never make her happy enough, their love is as pure and tender as when they first met. After Linda's funeral, Cole sits in the music room of their house with his closest friends, referencing his relationships through his songs. The stage version of Cole's life which he's been helping to direct with Gabe merges together with the stories in his head, and once again all the characters from his life are present, singing together onstage.
Suddenly Cole is alone again, an old, disabled man in his dark New York apartment. Still searching for that quintessential love song - one that can finally express how he feels about Linda - Cole sits at the piano and starts to play "In the Still of the Night" softly to himself. A hand reaches out to give him a rose. It's Linda - young and beautiful once more, as he is, too. They hold each other one last time, reunited as young lovers, as the lights fade slowly to black.
In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
THE PRODUCTION
Director and Academy AwardR-winning producer Irwin Winkler has long been fascinated by Cole Porter. A huge fan of the Jazz Age and classic American pop music, Winkler found Porter's life intriguing as well as the time period in which he lived. "Porter represents the best of the Jazz Age," says Winkler. "He is one of the greatest songwriters of all time and is a titan of American music." He also thought Porter's story lends itself to the screen, a dramatic, romantic story of love and loss, ambition and self-destruction. "Porter led a very theatrical life," says Winkler, "his mannerisms, his style of living, his dress. He lived like royalty, partied, drank, and was extravagant in his lifestyle. He epitomized excess and grandeur.
"And Cole's life was so contradictory," Winkler continues. "Here's a man who was married for 38 years, but a man who was also gay in a time when it was considered extremely taboo. Cole and Linda's relationship was very unique, to say the least, and I knew exploring their relationship would be fascinating."
After initial interest, De-lovely truly began to take shape when Winkler and producing partner Rob Cowan met with the Cole Porter Trust and The Porter Estate about making a new Porter film. The Trust and Estate were hoping to popularize Porter's music for a new generation of listeners, and they appreciated Winkler's background producing film musicals like New York, New York and 'Round Midnight. The filmmakers told the Trust they were only interested if they had the freedom to tell Porter's story as they saw fit.
The Trust and Estate were very helpful in putting together the film. Because Porter's songs have been so popular through time, the rights to use them are expensive, and it would have been cost prohibitive without their support. Their assistance was also invaluable in granting access to Porter's personal effects and various documents and letters, which lend an even greater authenticity to the story.
In choosing a screenwriter to weave together a tapestry of Porter's life, the filmmakers called upon Jay Cocks, an OscarR nominee for Gangs of New York. Cocks had previously written a script for Winkler about the lives of Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. Winkler asked Cocks if he was interested and Cocks quickly agreed; the two worked together to research and shape the story.
From the beginning, the filmmakers were set on doing something more original than a straight biographical film. "A biopic is just trying to give you the facts," says producer Cowan. "We wanted to do something bigger, something that would give the essence of the man but also move people, touch them and open their eyes a bit about relationships."
"We wanted to find a way to get into Porter's head," adds Winkler, "so we came up with the theatrical device of having Porter watch his life unfold onstage at a theater. It became a way to tie his life together and also to bring his music into play." It also gave the film an impressionistic feel and helped free up the story's structure.
"Looking back at your life through the prism of time, as Porter's doing in the film, you often see things in a different way," continues Winkler. "We took advantage of that. We were very true to the spirit of Cole and his music, but we didn't limit ourselves to the biographical or historical sequence of events. A composer looking back on his life would use his own songs as a sort of soundtrack to his memories."
"It's really what makes the whole thing work," says producer Charles Winkler. "He's essentially having his life flash before his eyes, and it lends the story poignancy and brings gravity to it from the very beginning. It also helps the production numbers make sense so we could showcase Porter's music."
And what music! Everyone involved in the production was continuously thrilled by Porter's innovative lyrics and melodies.
"The strength of Porter's music is that he was a very complicated man who wrote complicated lyrics and music," says Winkler. Porter also dealt with a universal subject matter: love. "We use 'In the Still of the Night' at the beginning and end of the film," Winkler continues, "and one of the lyrics is 'Do you love me as I love you? Are you my life to be?' He is constantly questioning what love is about, as we all do. That's one of the reasons his music has lasted so long."
You're the Nile, you're the Tow'r of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa.
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if, baby, I'm the bottom
You're the top!
THE MAN
(Kevin Kline as Cole Porter)
Kevin Kline's introduction to Cole Porter came when he saw a friend in a performance of "Anything Goes" in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Since then he's gone on to become an Academy AwardR winning actor (A Fish Called Wanda) and a two-time Tony winner for his musical performances on Broadway ("On the Twentieth Century" and "The Pirates of Penzance"). Like any musical theater performer worth their chops, Kline had long admired Porter as a songwriter, but he had never given much though to Porter the man. That all changed when Irwin Winkler asked him to play the composer in De-lovely.
Kline, Winkler, and Cowan worked together on Winkler's last directorial outing, Life as a House. "Kevin gave a wonderful performance in that film, and I was very happy with our working relationship," says Winkler. "He's so incredibly talented, and he's an actor willing to take risks. As we worked on the script, I knew we had to have him as Cole."
"Kevin's very particular about what he wants to do," adds Cowan. "But it was key for us to get somebody who was going to pull out the detail of the role. Porter was very detailed and intricate, and Kevin's portrayal is just as detailed and intricate, right down to his mannerisms and playing the piano. Kevin loves doing the research and the detail work; he really embodied the character."
"When Irwin first proposed the idea of me playing Cole, I was intrigued and terrified at the same time," says Kline. "Having been an aspiring pianist and composer when I was in school, I thought it would be a nice way to get back in that world, and I love Porter's music so much."
"We got incredible commitment from Kevin," says Winkler. "He worked on this project for almost nine months, honing his piano skills, working with a voice coach - he was a consummate professional, and turns in a stunning performance as a result."
In addition to the challenge of portraying a historical figure, Kline was attracted to the film for its exploration of Cole and Linda Porter's relationship. "It's a unique love story, a particular kind of love Cole and Linda had for one another," says Kline. "We weren't going to pull any punches about his homosexuality and wanted to portray the truth - and from all the biographies I read he was rather unapologetically promiscuous - but Linda was Cole's muse, his inspiration, and taskmistress. The bottom line is that they had a deep and abiding love for one another that was their own, that was unique, and that was very refreshing to play."
Though Linda knew about Cole's sexuality, she didn't accept it when he was indiscreet. "Unlike today, there was a time where it wasn't everyone's business what one did in one's bedroom, or in any other rooms for that matter," Kline says. "People didn't talk about such things and Cole kept his private life to himself. But apparently when he came to Hollywood he 'went Hollywood,' and biographers concur that things got out of control and he ran the risk of his indiscretions becoming public." That's when Cole and Linda separated for a period of time and Linda went back to Paris. "But once Cole had his accident," Kline continues, "Linda came back and never again left his side, and that's a matter of historical fact."
As mentioned, the filmmakers wanted to showcase Kline's music skills. Kline worked diligently to perfect his piano playing onscreen - a daunting task when portraying someone who made his living by composing on a keyboard. Another impressive aspect of Kline's performance was his insistence upon singing his songs live while filming. Years ago, when he was making the film of The Pirates of Penzance, he was frustrated when he had to record a song then lip-sync to match the recording weeks later during filming. "It takes much of the spontaneity out of it," says Kline. "You're unable to invest real emotion into it because you're trying to match your lips to what you sang before. The possibility of some wonderful, organic acting accident or impulse was destroyed." Kline suggested singing live to Winkler, who understood and liked the idea, and technology makes it possible now to get a good recording while filming, so the production strived to do live recording whenever possible. "It helped keep the lyrics fresh every time," says Kline. "Instead of performing or singing in a void, it was more about acting in the moment."
"Most of Kevin's singing in the movie, literally about 90%, was done live on set," says Charles Winkler. "That's unheard of."
"Music has this transformative animal power," Kline says, "and whenever you're acting with music, it lifts things to another plane. Shakespeare does the same thing because there's music in the language itself."
All told, everyone involved has praise for Kline's performance. "It's a really big role for Kevin," says Cowan. "Sometimes he was in make-up for five hours, he had to practice and play the piano, he had to dance in a number of scenes, obviously he sings a lot - it was a big undertaking and he did a masterful job."
His co-star, Ashley Judd, echoes Cowan's praise. "I knew Kevin would be beautifully suited to this film," she says. "He's such a committed actor; I'll always remember his devotion and passion. He is Cole Porter, right down to his handwriting. While we were shooting I was looking at some music he had written on and I said, 'Do you make your Y's like that?' He said, 'No, but Cole Porter did.' He's really gone the distance."
When asked what Porter would think if he were alive to see the film, Kline says, "I would hope he'd approve. I think he'd appreciate that we were trying to interpret his life in as entertaining yet authentic a way as possible while also celebrating his genius."
Night and day you are the one,
Only you beneath the moon and under the sun,
Whether near to me or far
It's no matter, darling, where you are
I think of you night and day.
THE MUSE
(Ashley Judd as Linda Porter)
The world may never have discovered Cole Porter's genius if it wasn't for his wife, Linda. "Porter didn't have the kind of success he wanted until after he met Linda," says Winkler. "He was the genius behind his songs, but Linda helped very, very much in arranging opportunities for him and pushing him towards success."
Linda was Porter's companion, guardian, best friend, and conscience; there was no one in the world more important to him. Interestingly enough, Linda was a force in her own right before she even met Porter; she came from money and was a member of high society. Their partnership, however, made them both even stronger and more high profile.
One example of Linda's strength and her importance in Cole's life is dramatized in the film. After Porter's horseback riding accident, Linda was the person who maintained they should never amputate his legs, despite the incredible pain the accident left him with. "She said he was a man of such pride it would have killed his spirit, thus killing his music," Winkler says. "After Linda died, they eventually went ahead and amputated Porter's leg - and he never wrote again. She knew Porter better than anyone in the world."
Because of Linda and Cole's relationship, being Linda wasn't always easy; finding an actress to play Linda wasn't easy either. "Linda is a tough character," says producer Cowan. "It's a period piece, so you have to be able to feel and look period, and that's not as easy as it sounds. Linda is very strong willed, but vulnerable as well, so we needed an actress that could pull that off, too." They found their Linda in acclaimed actress Ashley Judd.
"We were worried we wouldn't be able to get Ashley, but her agent gave her the script and she loved it," says Winkler. "She's a wonderful actress, she has great training - we were thrilled to get her."
"She's extremely appealing and charming, which was essential to the character," adds Charles Winkler, "and she has this great inner and outer beauty about her. She has a very strong sense of self and sense of direction, and that comes across in the character."
Judd did plenty of research for her role, and was amazed at what a fascinating person Linda was. She also found a bit of a kindred spirit. "Linda was born and raised in Littlehole, Kentucky, which endeared her to me instantly," says Judd. "She was extraordinarily stylish and had a fantastic eye for art and talent. She was very sophisticated, very clever, and very culturally alive."
In addition to helping Porter's career in overt ways, Judd found small things that also demonstrated Linda's devotion to Cole and helped her build a more complete picture of the woman she was to portray onscreen. "She had an amazing room built for Cole at their home in Paris so he could work," she says. "It had a white floor, white walls, white piano, white pencils, and she had a wall removed and replaced it with a large, wall-sized piece of frosted glass which was left plain around the shape of a beautiful tree growing in their courtyard. She knew how easily distracted he was, so he had the tree to look at for beauty and inspiration, but he couldn't see what else was going on outside." Knowing these details enabled Judd to fully embody the role and bring Linda to life.
Cole and Linda's day-to-day lifestyle was one of the most colorful aspects of their relationship, Judd feels. "The people they surrounded themselves with were extraordinary," she says, "whether it was the Irving Berlins or the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. They were funny and charming and could not stand bores; they were social icons."
Her talent as an actress and the research she did made Judd very confident on set - except in one arena. Despite her famous family's musical background (her mother, Naomi, and sister, Wynonna, are known to millions separately and as The Judds), Ashley hadn't sung in public before…until now. Ashley sings "True Love," part of "Anything Goes," and the reprise of "In the Still of the Night" in the film.
"The only thing Ashley was really worried about was singing," says Winkler. "She didn't want to be compared to her family. She's a very confident woman, but she said, 'I really have to sing those songs?' I said, 'Yep, you've got to sing them.' And she went into the studio and was wonderful at it."
The filmmakers set out to make Cole and Linda's story touching, and with Kline and Judd's performances they feel like they got what they wanted. Of his co-star, Kline has great praise. "Ashley's was the hardest character, in a way," says Kline, "and she beautifully avoided playing the self-pitying, long-suffering wife tolerating this impossible husband, but found the love and forgiveness in the character. She is very instinctual and very smart about acting. When I saw the film, she really moved me."
Locusts in trees do it, bees do it,
Evenly highly educated fleas do it,
Let's do it, let's fall in love.
THE PERFORMERS
One of the most original aspects of De-lovely is its stellar musical cast; an impressive collection of today's top rock and pop talent was assembled to sing and dance their way through the film. Casting these musical talents was a deliberate move on the part of the filmmakers.
"We wanted to attract a broader audience," says Winkler. "Many people know Porter's music is amazing, but it was written a long time ago; the artists who originally recorded the songs are gone and many young people don't know who Porter is. We wanted to help create a new generation of Porter fans, and having modern pop artists singing these consummate songs does just that."
One of the first musicians the filmmakers approached was seven-time Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette. "She came up to our office for a meeting," says Winkler, "and I said I'd like her to sing 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love.' She looked at me and just said, 'I'll do that.' She didn't even hesitate. She already knew and loved Cole Porter." And as the filmmakers approached musician after musician, they got the same reaction; everyone they talked to knew who Porter was and loved his songs.
"Up until the last day of shooting we were still getting calls from artists asking if we had room for them in the film," says Winkler. "You're going to find more and more pop singers doing Cole Porter."
In addition to name recognition, the filmmakers felt having different performers from such different genres gives each song immediate texture and context. "There's something about each artist that fits each song and the tone of the song," says Cowan. "It helps give more weight and meaning to each number."
It was important that each artist understood how their performance fit in context with the story; they approached their roles as actors, not just rock stars. "Each artist added their own flavor and creative style to their song," says Charles Winkler, "but they respected the story and modulated their performances to fit within the whole. They were all just fantastic."
The end result is a who's who of modern music, and each artist's fan are certain to be impressed by their cinematic appearances. "Porter's songs were sung by the great voices and personalities of his time," says Judd. "In that sense it's perfectly consistent to have the likes of Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow and Diana Krall singing these fantastic songs."
De-lovely showcases its music in a variety of ways. Some of the artists play characters directed by Cole onstage, such as Morissette and French powerhouse Lara Fabian. Others sing at events the Porters are attending, like Robbie Williams at the Porters' wedding or Elvis Costello at one of the Porter's Venetian masquerade balls. At other times, the music is used abstractly, akin to the great MGM musicals which Porter wrote. For example, legendary MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer (Peter Polycarpou) takes Cole on a studio tour and the entire cast breaks into an impromptu performance of "Be a Clown." "This multi-layered use of music creates a very unique movie experience," says Charles Winkler.
Director Winkler says, "It's amazing to have such an impressive collection of musicians in one film, and we're thrilled they feel so passionate about the project. Their love of Porter's music brings an unbelievable energy to De-lovely."
There's something wild about you, child, that's so contagious,
Let's be outrageous, let's misbehave.
They say that bears have love affairs, and even camels;
We're merely mammals, let's misbehave.
Performer Quotes:
Robbie Williams - "It's De-lovely": I'm happy with my performance, but you can't really fail with material like that. I grew up listening to this music; my dad's a big fan of Sinatra and Martina and Bing, so I know all the songs, but I never knew who wrote which one. Now I know many of them were Cole Porter. I feel at home when I hear and perform these songs. I hope the film brings another audience back to these songs, because they should never die.
Elvis Costello - "Let's Misbehave": In doing my part, I think it's the first time I've ever worn a white jacket in my life, and I couldn't see a damn thing because I wore glasses that had period lenses in them. But it was like a dream to me up there. It was a joy to do one of Porter's more unusual songs ("Let's Misbehave"); I've known Cole Porter songs my entire life.
Alanis Morissette - "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love": For me, this film means no longer hiding parts of me I've had in the closet for a really long time, the Judy Garland elements of me that I've never really shared publicly. It was exciting to dive into it because I knew it would be out of my comfort zone. Being scared in order to stretch myself is probably my favorite state, that good kind of scared, and I felt very safe and inspired with Irwin and the filmmakers.
Sheryl Crow - "Begin the Beguine": I grew up listening to Porter's music because my family was really into that period. And in this film, I get to be part of a time period I completely adored, that crooner, beautiful standard kind of song and singing - I get to visit that world for a minute. And "Begin the Beguine" is one of the great lyrics; it's very poetic. It's a real treat to get to sing it. I don't think there's anyone better than Cole Porter for this genre of music. I think people will be surprised at how many songs they know.
Mick Hucknall - "I Love You": I'm a fan of Cole Porter and have actually recorded two of his songs on my own for Simply Red. There's a wonderful sophistication in his lyrics, an eloquence and elegance. And doing the film, I just walked around with a smile on my face. When I'd walk into the room and everyone would be in costume, I'd just feel it.
Diana Krall - "Just One of Those Things": To do a film on the life of Cole Porter at this level is pretty spectacular, and sort of overdue, I think. To be part of something like this is wonderful. I was more relaxed on this project than I've been on any other, because the people around were really supportive. And being a fan of old movies, it really filled a fantasy to get dressed up like that in the costumes and this heavy jewelry. Before I do something I always ask 'What am I going to learn from this?', so I was curious and watching every moment - mainly watching Kevin Kline's performance, which is extraordinary.
Vivian Green - "Love for Sale": I would have sung any song they asked me to sing, but I love "Love for Sale," so I was cool with that. The song was actually banned from radio for years when it was originally written because it's about a prostitute - it's very sultry, very melancholy. It's a great song. De-lovely was the perfect thing for me to do because I'm so familiar with the music. It was just an honor to be there.
Lara Fabian - "So in Love": I was really thrilled to sing "So in Love" because it has so much passion in it. Cole Porter was a pioneer and really invented a kind of music. The way he wrote lyrics and melodies and harmonies - the complexity of the harmonies really carried the simplicity of the melody.
Mario Frangoulis - "So in Love": Porter really knew how to use language in his songs. Like when he wrote "Ev'ry time we say goodbye, I die a little" - I mean, how good is that? I'm so honored to be part of this whole project. Cole Porter is a classic. He's forever.
Natalie Cole - "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye": We needed to bring back the great songs of the great composers. De-lovely is a marvelous musical journey and a great, great thing to be involved in. For me, it wasn't a problem to get into that state when things were just much more honest and pure. It was fun to get myself into that place. I've always wanted to do film, but I think one of the last things I expected was to be singing on film. That scares me - seeing this big screen and having to look at my face up there. I'm just getting used to the idea.
When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender,
It brings back a night of tropical splendor,
It brings back a memory ever green.
THE MUSIC
Producing and arranging the music and recording sessions for a film about one of the most revered composers of all time - obviously that's no small task. The filmmakers needed someone who could understand and showcase the incredible songs, fit them into a film spanning forty years, arrange them for different voices and styles, and work with an incredibly eclectic array of musical talent - all without tearing their hair out. They called upon veteran composer and producer Stephen Endelman.
"This was a dream project," says Endelman. "This film offered an opportunity to explore the fusion of music and drama in a new and refreshing way, as well as to work with some of the best music ever written."
Once Endelman signed on, he and the filmmakers immediately began getting the music ready. They started by sitting around the piano at Kevin Kline's apartment exploring each song as it occurred in the script. "It was a perfect way to bring our group into Porter's world," says Endelman, "to explore the relationship between the songs and the emotional impact they have on the film's main characters."
The next stage was a three-day workshop in New York with Kevin Kline, Winkler, and a group of actor-singers where they went through the songs and defined tempos, keys and structure. "The structure of each song was fundamental," says Endelman, "because it would help define how Irwin was going to set up each shot." The songs in De-lovely have never been presented together before - they're all from different periods in time and different shows, so there was no model for how to integrate them into the drama of a script. "For me, the challenge was to create individual arrangements for each song that would work strung together, much like in a traditional musical," says Endelman. "Also, the arrangements were complicated. They were to be old and new, traditional and non-traditional all at once and in every song."
Next Endelman started recording the songs with the musical performers. Each performer worked with Endelman on matching the tone and emotion of their recording with what was called for by the script. Then Endelman supervised the on-camera recording of the songs. Though the songs were recorded in studio with the artists, many of the vocal music performances (and all of Kevin Kline's) were also recorded live on set. Though it was more complicated, Endelman was glad to have done so.
"What Stephen brought to the production was invaluable," says Charles Winkler. "The music setups and recordings and rehearsals for this film were complicated, and he was wonderful in bringing it all together very purely. He was able to roll with things, and he was there on set letting everyone know what would and wouldn't work. He was able to deal with everyone on a musical level, a political level, and a creative level - it just wouldn't have worked without him."
It was just one of those nights,
Just one of those fabulous flights,
A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,
Just one of those things.
THE LOOK
Clothing over 1200 actors in everything from elegant eveningwear to chorus girl tap shoes in designs that spanned four decades - the costumes for De-lovely were an enormous undertaking. The filmmakers turned to OscarR-winning costume designer Janty Yates (Gladiator), who welcomed the challenge. "A wonderful period to work in, wonderful actors, great production values, and music every single day," says Yates. "Who could want for more?"
Yates loved the fact that, in their time, the Porters' own closets were so extraordinarily, richly appointed - it was a costumer's dream. "Cole was probably the most beautifully dressed man you could come across," says Yates. "He had the most impeccable tailors, the finest fabrics - you never saw him dressed down."
"Clothes were terribly important to Cole Porter," says Kevin Kline. "He was always perfectly groomed, dressed to the nines, wearing beautifully jeweled cufflinks and a fresh flower in his lapel. It was important to be true to that look, and it was fun to get into the showiness of his wardrobe."
A perfect compliment to Cole's dapper appearance, Linda was considered a style icon in her own right. Yates says, "There was actually a term going around at the time: 'very Linda Porterish.'"
The sheer volume of clothing required was astounding: Kline had about 38 costumes, Ashley Judd had 48, the rest of the main players had approximately 18 to 20 costumes each, and over 1200 extras needed costumes suited to the period and scenes in which they appear.
Yates and her team did extensive research for the film, combing books, magazines, and the internet for examples of period style and dress, accumulating over 40 disks worth of photos. They also got help from the Cole Porter estate, who gave them access to many important personal photographs. "Cole and Linda were society people who were actively documented, so there were photos from all aspects of their lives, which was incredibly helpful," says Yates.
Whenever they could, Yates and her team put the dancers and extras in vintage costumes they designed, built, and/or modified for the production, creating "costume villages" to meet the demands of dressing so many people. But for Kevin Kline's clothing and several of Ashley Judd's outfits, Yates had a little help…from one of the most celebrated designers of all time, Giorgio Armani.
Yates worked with Armani before on Hannibal, "so we approached him, never really dreaming he'd want to get involved," says Yates. "But he did, which was just fantastic." Armani and Yates met frequently for planning meetings and fittings in the Giorgio Armani Milan headquarters, where they created signature period looks for Kline and Judd as Cole and Linda Porter.
Armani supplied several suits and tailcoats as well as eveningwear, black tie clothing, accessories, coats, and scarves. In addition, he designed and tailored all clothing for Kevin Kline and supplied beautiful evening dresses for Ashley Judd from his extensive archives which Yates was able to modify for period authenticity. Armani also made Judd's dress for the wedding scene - a custom-designed cream satin dress with a draping train and a cascade of tiny buttons down the back - which was especially fitting as Armani created Judd's dress for her own real-life wedding a few years ago.
Kline actually went to Armani's compound in Italy for his costume fitting. "Armani was very excited about the project and very hands-on," says Kline. "He would rattle away in Italian and his team of top tailors and assistants were all taking copious notes. It was like seeing a great general leading an army - calm, assured, and absolutely in command."
"I was amazed," adds Winkler. "Here's this man who runs a fashion empire, and he's down on his knees with pins in his mouth, chalking up and saying 'Let's get the cuffs right.' He spent six or seven hours just fitting Kevin in some clothes - it was quite a treat."
As a longtime personal friend of Armani's, Ashley Judd says the opportunity to wear selections from his vintage evening collections made her feel like she was "walking back through time, experiencing a reign of elegance in America I've never experienced before. Everything was transcendent to an era of sheer elegance."
"It was such a privilege being in the company of these extraordinary filmmakers," says Armani of his De-lovely experience. "I am such a devotee of the cinema that to be given this opportunity was a challenge and reward I will never forget. Janty Yates is an artist and designer of the highest order; it was pure joy stepping outside the confines of my world and into hers. I am so grateful to MGM and Irwin Winkler for allowing me to play a small part in the making of a great film about a great man."
In addition to costumes, make-up played an important part in transforming Kline and Judd into Porter and Linda as they age throughout the film. Kline especially had to endure marathon make-up sessions for his transformation into Cole near the end of his life, adding decades onto his appearance. Academy AwardR winner Sarah Monzani (Quest for Fire) designed the film's make-up while OscarR-nominee Simon Thompson (Titanic) designed the hairstyles.
"It was brilliant what they did," says Kline. "It took five hours each morning, and we did that for about two weeks. Then, once you're made up, you have to stay out of the wind and sun because you're basically a canvas on which they've wrought this work of art. You feel very protective and respectful of their work, so you're walking around with this face that's not yours and acting through several layers of prosthetics. When they were finished, I didn't recognize myself, and I love that."
The actors aren't the only thing well dressed in the film; the time period in which the film is set and the theatrical nature of the production provided a rich backdrop for the cast to walk around on - and a rich opportunity for the filmmakers and OscarR-nominated production designer Eve Stewart (Topsy-Turvy). "Just setting a film in this time period helps give it a stunning look," says Cowan. "The production value you immediately get is beautiful. Putting people in those clothes on those sets, especially since you're dealing with society's elite during those times - it's just sumptuous to look at."
The filmmakers chose England as "home base" for their production. "The film takes place in New York and Los Angeles and Paris and Venice, so we needed somewhere where we could recreate all those locations," says Winkler. "England has these wonderful, lush theaters to shoot in, gorgeous homes and estates, and all the ballrooms and salons we would need.
"Plus we had to do everything on a limited budget," he continues. "It was tricky, but we had incredible artists working on the piece that enabled us to make everything look better."
"This project was massive for the budgetary constraints we had," agrees production designer Stewart. "Irwin had particular images in mind and knew what he wanted the film to look like. It had to look glossy, it had to look big. But the joy of Irwin was that he's so cinematic and had such a big vision that it was a challenge to fill and meet, and we gave it our all. Thankfully, I think we've achieved it."
"You'd be so easy to love
So easy to idolize all others above,
So worth the yearning for,
So swell to keep ev'ry homefire burning for"
Cole Porter
Cole Porter was born on June 9, 1891, in Peru, Indiana; he was named for his mother, Kate Cole, and his father, Sam Porter. Sam was a pharmacist, but Kate was the daughter of one of the richest men in Indiana at the time, James Omar Cole (known as J.O.). J.O. subsidized Cole's parents' income so his daughter, Kate, could continue her proper, wealthy lifestyle; as a result, Cole became accustomed to the same lifestyle and his taste for the finer things continued throughout his life.
Cole began piano lessons at age 6. He also studied the violin but quit because he preferred the sound of the piano. Cole composed his first song at age 10; it was called "Song of the Birds" and was written for his mother. Kate was a big supporter of Cole's career from its earliest beginnings, publishing his early pieces and financing music projects in exchange for Cole solos and showcases.
Cole attended high school at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts and graduated valedictorian. He then went on to study at Yale College where his true career as a composer began to take shape. He wrote six full-scale productions and over 300 songs for various fraternities and student organizations while he was at Yale; many of his fight songs are still used by the university today.
Upon graduation from Yale, Cole enrolled in Harvard Law School (mainly to please his grandfather), but his focus was almost exclusively on his music. He soon left Harvard to move to New York, quickly becoming a part of the Manhattan social scene with his quick wit and engaging personality.
Cole's first Broadway show, "See America First," was produced in 1916; unfortunately, the show was a flop. Upset by the show's less-than-stellar reception and ready for new adventures, Cole moved to Paris in 1917 in the midst of the first World War. During the war he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, but many reports of his military involvement during that time were untrue or blown out of proportion, propagated by American press reports; it's likely Cole was intentionally vague in interviews of the time, however, to justify his French residency to his family.
In 1918, Cole met American divorcee Linda Thomas, already a society figure and a wealthy woman in her own right. They became very close friends and married on December 19, 1919. Their nuptials also doubled their financial resources and social standing; it was a mutually beneficial relationship. With Linda's support and guidance, Cole's career finally took off. After several years of hard work and a few notable notices, he had his first big hit in 1928 with "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" from the musical "Paris." A string of subsequent hits soon cemented his position as one of America's most important composers alongside such luminaries as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern.
Cole suffered a horseback riding accident in 1937, fracturing both legs and causing him acute (and often excruciating) pain for the rest of his life. Doctors suggested amputation, but at Linda's insistence they didn't follow through with it; she felt it would destroy Cole's spirit. The accident was a devastating occurrence, nonetheless, and the ensuing depression was deep and lasting. At Linda's urging, however, he did continue to write. Cole experienced his last and greatest triumph with the Broadway production of "Kiss Me, Kate." The production was considered an instant classic and won the first ever Tony Award for Best Musical.
Linda Porter passed away on May 20, 1954, a victim of emphysema; Cole was devastated. Without Linda standing guard, Cole's right leg was amputated in 1958 and his spirit was broken; he never wrote another song. Cole died on October 15, 1964, and was buried between his wife and father.
Cole Porter's full-scale musicals include:
So taunt me and hurt me,
Deceive me, desert me,
I'm yours 'til I die,
So in love, so in love,
So in love with you, my love, am I.
ABOUT THE CAST
KEVIN KLINE (Cole Porter), an Academy AwardR winner, was most recently seen in The Emperor's Club and Life as a House, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Actor. Kline has earned equal distinction in the worlds of film and theater.
In addition to his 1988 OscarR for Best Supporting Actor for his work in A Fish Called Wanda, Kline was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for his roles in Sophie's Choice, Dave, In & Out and Soapdish.
A Julliard graduate, Kline's Broadway credits include Hal Prince's "On the Twentieth Century," for which he won both Tony and Drama Desk Awards, and "The Pirates of Penzance," for which he again won a Tony and Drama Desk Award, as well as the Obie Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Actor.
After his acclaimed debut in Alan Pakula's adaptation of William Styron's novel Sophie's Choice, for which he received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, Kline began a long-standing creative relationship with writer/director Lawrence Kasdan. Their collaborations included the influential ensemble comedy The Big Chill, the Western Silverado, the offbeat comedy I Love You To Death, the ensemble drama Grand Canyon, and the romantic comedy French Kiss. Other films include Sir Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom and Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. Kline most recently collaborated with director Irwin Winkler on the critically acclaimed Life as a House.
Kline has lent his vocal talents as Phoebus in the animated features The Hunchback of Notre Dame I and II, as well as voicing Tulio in The Road to El Dorado.
On stage, Kline won rave reviews for his Broadway performance in "Shaw's Arms and the Man," directed by John Malkovich. He also starred in David Hare's adaptation of Chekov's "Ivanov" at Lincoln Center. He has appeared at the New York Shakespeare Festival in "Richard III," "Henry V," "Measure for Measure," "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Hamlet," for which he won the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Theatre. He directed and starred in a second production of "Hamlet," which received five Drama Desk nominations, including best director and actor nominations for Kline. Later, he co-directed a televised version of the production for the PBS's Great Performances series.
Last summer, Kline appeared in Mike Nichols' critically acclaimed production of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull" for the Public Theatre's "Shakespeare in the Park."
Recently, Kevin Kline became the first American actor to receive the Sir John Gielgud Golden Quill Award, awarded for those judged to have extended and enhanced Shakespeare's legacy.
ASHLEY JUDD (Linda Porter), an eighth-generation Eastern Kentuckian, first proved her acting abilities in her debut feature film role as Ruby Lee Gissing in Victor Nunez' internationally acclaimed Ruby In Paradise. Now a film star in her own right, Judd has demonstrated her range as an actress and is a proven box office draw with her successes in Double Jeopardy, Kiss the Girls and Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.
Judd most recently starred in the thriller Twisted for director Philip Kauffman. The film co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia.
Judd was last seen on Broadway at the Music Box Theater in the leading role of Maggie in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Judd was the first actress to portray Maggie on Broadway since Kathleen Turner in 1990; the production was produced by Bill Kenwright and directed by Anthony Page, and her co-star was Jason Patric.
Judd had a very successful and diverse 2002. She had a small but significant appearance in the Julie Taymor-directed biopic of Frida Kahlo, Frida. She also starred in High Crimes, which re-teamed her with her Kiss the Girls co-star, Morgan Freeman; the film was written by Joseph Finder and directed by Carl Franklin. Also, Judd starred with Greg Kinnear and Hugh Jackman in Someone Like You for director Tony Goldwyn.
Judd's other film credits include Where the Heart Is opposite Natalie Portman, Bruce Beresford's box-office success Double Jeopardy opposite Tommy Lee Jones, and Eye of the Beholder with Ewan McGregor. Judd also starred in the drama Simon Birch, based on the John Irving novel A Prayer for Owen Meany.
In 1997, Judd starred opposite Morgan Freeman in the box-office hit Kiss the Girls as well as The Locusts, co-starring opposite Vince Vaughn and Kate Capshaw. Judd was also seen in Michael Mann's Heat, for which she won critical acclaim opposite Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer. In the summer of 1996, she appeared in Joel Schumacher's A Time to Kill, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey. In late 1996 she was seen starring opposite Luke Perry in John McNaughton's Normal Life.
Also in 1996, Judd received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Norma Jean in HBO's Norma Jean & Marilyn.
Judd made her debut theatre performance in the Naked Angels' production of "Busted," directed by Timothy Hutton. She went on to star as Madge on Broadway in William Inge's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Picnic" at the Roundabout Theatre Company, simultaneously filming a supporting role in Smoke as the daughter of Harvey Keitel and Stockard Channing.
A Kappa Kappa Gamma and Honors Program student of the University of Kentucky with a major in French and four minors, Judd has studied the Meisner technique in acting for several years. She resides in Tennessee with her husband.
JONATHAN PRYCE (Gabe) has worked in a variety of genres in film, television and theater. His film credits include the upcoming Brothers Grimm as well as the blockbuster hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, London Calling, The Affair of the Necklace, Bride of the Wind, Unconditional Love, Very Annie Mary, The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, The Suicide Club, Commedia, Stigmata, Ronin, Tomorrow Never Dies, Regeneration, Evita, Carrington, Deadly Advice, Shopping, A Business Affair, Glengary Glen Ross, The Age of Innocence, Barbarians at the Gate, The Rachel Papers, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Consuming Passions, Man on Fire, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Haunted Honeymoon, The Doctor and the Devils, Brazil, Ploughman's Lunch, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Breaking Glass, and Voyage of the Damned.
In television, Pryce has worked on David, Thicker Than Water, Great Moments in Aviation, Mr. Wroe's Virgins, Selling Hitler, and The Man From Pru. His theater credits include "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia," "My Fair Lady," "Oliver," "Miss Saigon," "Uncle Vanya," "Macbeth," "The Seagull," "Accidental Death of an Anarchist," "Tally's" "Hamlet," "Measure for Measure," "Anthony and Cleopatra," and "The Comedians."
Pryce has been well received by film, television and theater audiences and critics, winning numerous awards. In 1996, he won Best Actor from the Evening Standard Awards and the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for a BAFTA for his work in Carrington. He won his first Evening Standard Award in 1980 for Breaking Glass. In 1993, Pryce was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Barbarians at the Gate. In theater, Pryce was nominated for an Olivier Award for "Oliver" and "Taming of the Shrew," and he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor twice, for his work in "Hamlet" and "Miss Saigon," for which he also won the Tony Award, Variety Club Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award. In 1977, Pryce won a Tony Award for Best Actor for "The Comedians," and he was previously honored with the Play and Players Most Promising Newcomer for "The Comedians."
ABOUT THE MUSICAL PERFORMERS
ROBBIE WILLIAMS' true career began with the release of his first album, Life Thru a Lens in September 1997, after a stopgap first solo hit, a cover George Michael's "Freedom." He co-wrote all of the songs, the majority with Guy Chambers who became his regular song writing partner and producer. Life Thru a Lens was only modestly successful until ignited by the release of its fourth single, "Angels."
Most of the immediately successful second album, I've Been Expecting You, was quickly written with Guy Chambers in Jamaica and released in October 1998. Highlights from those first two albums were combined for his first American album, The Ego Has Landed.
For his third album Williams began working on rhythmic song ideas with friends in the group Sound 5, a few of which appeared on Sing When You're Winning in August 2000; again, though, most of the album was written solely in partnership with Chambers. Like its two predecessors, Sing When You're Winning sold over two million copies in Britain alone.
In 2001, after contributing a version of the big band standard "Have You Met Miss Jones?" to the soundtrack of Bridget Jones' Diary, Williams decided to record a whole album in the same style. Swing When You're Winning, released in November 2001, includes songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., among others. Many of the songs were recorded live at Capitol Recording Studios in L.A. where most of the original songs were recorded, often with the same musicians. The album includes duets with Nicole Kidman (on the #1 single "Somethin' Stupid"), Jane Horrocks, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Wilkes, and, with the blessing and help of the Sinatra estate, the late Frank Sinatra on "It Was a Very Good Year."
In 2002 a documentary was released, Nobody Someday, detailing the dramatic ups and downs of Williams' life during the European tour of early 2002. He received a record-breaking thirteenth Brit Award and, in April 2002, appeared with Faithless vocalist Maxi Jazz on the 1 Giant Leap single "My Culture." Meanwhile, Escapology was fermenting.
The album was mostly recorded in Los Angeles, where Williams has a home and spends a good portion of his time. Most of the songs were written with Chambers, except for "Come Undone" (with Boots Offestad) and "Nan's Song," the first completed song Williams has written entirely on his own. Escapology achieved sales of 2 million copies in the UK, and in excess of 6 million worldwide. The ensuing tour kicked off in June 2003 and included the historic Knebworth shows. The concerts, held over three days, were hailed as the biggest open-air shows ever in the UK, drawing close to 375,000 people to the Hertfordshire estate. The tour has since played throughout Europe and closed in Sydney, Australia on the 14th December 2003.
Live at Knebworth was released on September 29, 2003, and has been certified platinum in the UK. The accompanying DVD What We Did Last Summer - Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth was released on November 24, 2003, and sold over 260,000 units in its first week, making it the biggest selling UK music DVD ever. It's gone on to sell over 1 million units.
LEMAR's hopes of making it as a singer seemed dead in the water less than a year ago. Having finally secured a record deal with a major label, the 25-year-old singer's dream turned to dust when, before even getting a record out, his contract was cancelled, a victim of internal changes at the label. This was a cruel blow for the Tottenham-born singer, who had spent nearly seven years building his reputation on the London R&B scene, performing alongside the likes of Destiny's Child and Usher.
Lemar returned to his day job as an accounts manager at a bank, where he weighed his options; chief amongst these was a return to full-time education. As it turned out, however, fate had different plans in store. The Fame Academy television performances of last year showcased his singing and songwriting talents to a broad audience, and amongst the millions captivated by his TV appearances was the queen of UK R&B, Beverly Knight, who was so impressed she invited him to join her onstage at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Lemar has also duetted with two of the world's towering rhythm and blues icons, Lionel Richie and last year with George Benson at the prestigious 2003 Mobo Awards, where he received a standing ovation.
With Lemar's mixture of street credibility and mainstream appeal and his outstanding vocal abilities, the cream of Europe's writing and production teams are lining up to work with him. Stargate, So Solid Crew, Cut Father & Joe, and Blacksmith are just a few of the names he has been in the studio with, amassing more than 27 songs in a little over a month.
Lemar's debut album, Dedicated, which was released on November 24, 2003, turned platinum after three weeks. He starts a 16-date tour on May 30th with two top five singles under his belt, a Brit Award for Best British Urban, and a highly acclaimed platinum album that is being heralded as the R&B Album of the Year.
ELVIS COSTELLO is the stage name of self-taught songwriter Declan MacManus. He first performed in public in 1969 and began his recording career in 1977 with the album My Aim Is True. Since then, he has made more than a dozen albums, as a solo artist and with the group The Attractions. These include This Year's Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!, Imperial Bedroom, King of America, Blood & Chocolate, Spike, Mighty Like A Rose, Brutal Youth, Kojak Variety and All This Useless Beauty.
In 1992 Costello began his collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet with The Juliet Letters. In 1994 Costello acted as artistic director of the South Bank's Meltdown Festival. January 1997 saw Costello as a featured vocalist on John Harle's album Terror & Magnificence, and in July 1997 The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, under the direction of Sir Neville Mariner, performed Costello's music for Tom Thumb, narrated by Zo' Ball. Costello was also invited to appear in the Spice Girls' feature film, Spice World.
As a record producer, Costello has worked with The Specials, Squeeze and The Pogues. As a guest vocalist, he contributed to Hal Wilner's Weird Nightmare, a celebration of the music of Charles Mingus, and on The Fairfield Four's Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray. He has performed on tribute albums to Joni Mitchell, Gram Parsons and The Grateful Dead. Costello worked with T-Bone Burnett on "My Mood Swings," featured in the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski.
Following their Grammy-nominated "God Give Me Strength" (composed for Allison Anders' Grace Of My Heart), Costello and Burt Bacharach collaborated on the acclaimed album Painted From Memory. They won a Grammy Award for Best Collaboration with Vocals (1998) for the album track "I Still Have That Other Girl."
In 1999 Costello recorded a version of Charles Aznavour's "She" for the film Notting Hill. Costello also recorded, with Burt Bacharach, a version of the classic "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" for Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and appeared in a cameo role.
In April 2000 Costello was nominated for a BAFTA for his contribution to the score of Alan Bleasdale's adaptation of Oliver Twist. In spring 2002 Costello released the first rock and roll album When I Was Cruel, he followed in 2003 with North.
During his long career Costello has received several prestigious awards, including two Q Magazine Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, the coveted Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef Award and a Grammy for his collaboration with Burt Bacharach in 1998. In 2003 he was nominated for three Grammys for When I Was Cruel and was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In May 2003 Costello was awarded ASCAP's prestigious Founders Award.
ALANIS MORISSETTE first burst upon the global music scene in the mid-'90s and created a truly massive commotion. On many levels the impact of Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill was tremendous. The album sold more than thirty million copies around the world and became one of the most successful recordings in music history.
Before long Morissette also established herself as a live performer of rare intensity, and earned the respect of fans wherever she performed. In 1996, she received Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album, as well as Female Rock Vocal Performance and Rock Song of the Year for "You Oughta Know," the explosive song of love and rage that helped kick off the commotion in the first place.
In the years that have followed that initial breakthrough, Morissette has continued to bravely and unflinchingly chronicle her own journey in powerful ways on 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, 1999's Unplugged, 2002's Under Rug Swept, and that same year's CD/DVD offering, Feast on Scraps. Morissette's newest offering is So Called Chaos.
Along the way she's also found time to act, on the big screen in a memorable role as God in Kevin Smith's Dogma; in acclaimed TV shows, Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm; and off-Broadway in the "Vagina Monologues" and "The Exonerated." In recent years, Morissette has also taken on considerable charitable and civic-minded work in her impressive attempt to raise consciousness as well as funds for assorted good causes.
JOHN BARROWMAN was most recently seen in the television series Stop at Nothing for UPN, and as 'Peter Williams' in Titans for NBC and Aaron Spelling Productions. Television audiences will also recognize him from his starring role in Darren Starr's Central Park West for CBS as well as the PBS all-star special, Hey Mr. Producer. He has also been seen on the big screen in the independent feature Megalodon.
Onstage, John starred opposite Carol Burnett on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim celebration "Putting It Together" which then aired nationally as a pay-per-view television special. He played Joe Gillis opposite Betty Buckley in "Sunset Blvd" both on Broadway and in London. John received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in Sam Mendes' premiere production of "The Fix." His other credits on the West End include Chris in "Miss Saigon," Raoul in "Phantom of the Opera," and Billy in "Anything Goes" opposite Elaine Paige. He starred as Claude in the 25th Anniversary London revival of "Hair" at the Old Vic, in the musical "Matador" opposite Stephanie Powers, and as Che in a spectacular production of "Aspects of Love."
John can be heard on original cast recordings of "The Fix," as Danny Zuko in "Grease," "Hair," and the all-star cast album of "Godspell." His solo albums include John Barrowman: Reflections from Broadway, John Barrowman: Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
John has given numerous concert performances around the world including several Royal Command Performances. John has performed on the BBC in The Magic of the Musicals from the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, in a concert version of "Call Me Madam" with Tyne Daly, and opposite Betty Buckley on "National Music Day."
CAROLINE O'CONNOR made her Broadway debut in "Chicago" last year. For her performance as Velma Kelly in the Australian Production, she was awarded the MO Award and The Green Room Award for Best Actress in a musical and the Australian Dance Award.
Other Australian credits include Anita in "West Side Story," for which she won a MO Award and a Green Room Award; Edith Piaf in "Piaf," which garnered her a MO Award Green Room Award and Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Play; and "Bombshells," her one-woman play, for which she won a Green Room Award for Best Actor in a Play.
She has starred in many musicals in London's West End. Caroline was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance as Mabel Normand in "Mack & Mabel."
O'Connor played the featured role of 'Nini Legs in the Air' in Baz Luhrmanns' film Moulin Rouge, and she has recorded three solo CD's: What I Did For Love, A Tribute to Piaf, and Stage to Screen.
For more information please visit www.carolineoconnor.com.au.
SHERYL CROW's recording career has an unusual history. Armed with a music education degree from the University of Missouri and $10,000 in savings, Crow moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 1986. Determined to succeed, she quickly became one of the most respected and sought after session musicians, supporting such acclaimed artists as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, Don Henley, John Hiatt, Joe Cocker and Sinead O'Connor. Her first big break came when she toured the world as a back-up singer for Michael Jackson's 18-month "Bad Tour."
In 1994 Crow released her critically acclaimed debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, which featured the unforgettable single "All I Wanna Do" and the achingly beautiful "Strong Enough." The seven-time platinum album garnered Crow her first Grammy wins for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Best Female Vocal Performance.
With the release of her 1996 self-titled sophomore album Crow proved her artistry again, winning the hearts of critics and fans alike. The album, which sold over three million copies, garnered her the Best Rock Album and Best Female Vocal Performance Grammys. Crow received two more Grammys for her 1998 platinum album, The Globe Sessions.
In 1999 in the spirit of rock & roll, Crow performed a free concert in Central Park for 40,000 fans. During Sheryl Crow and Friends Live from Central Park, Crow was joined on stage by some of music's best, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, The Dixie Chicks and Chrissie Hynde, among others. The concert was recorded for a live album, which won Crow her eighth Grammy.
Following the success of her previous four albums Crow set out to capture an entirely different sound, resulting in the 2002 release C'mon C'mon. The album was an immediate success when the summer single "Soak Up The Sun" became an international hit. The album earned Crow her ninth Grammy.
Today, with five platinum/multi-platinum albums, twenty Grammy nominations and nine wins, Crow has solidified herself as a force in the music industry. Her most recent release, Sheryl Crow Greatest Hits, has spent over 21 weeks in the Billboard Top 10 and features the hit single "The First Cut is the Deepest," a cover of the Cat Stevens classic.
MICK HUCKNALL is the lead singer for the band Simply Red. Last summer, Simply Red released their studio album Home, the first album on their new label, simplyred.com, distributed in the UK by Ministry of Sound. It was their first new album since 1999's Love in the Russian Winter. Home is very much a "back-to-basics" Simply Red album, revisiting Mick Hucknall's R&B-tinged roots with a gloriously modern twist.
Simply Red introduced themselves to the world in 1985 with the hit single "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)," a Valentine Brothers cover taken from their debut album Picture Book, which also featured the US #1 "Holding Back The Years." Since then Simply Red has sold over 45 million albums.
The seeds of Simply Red were sewn in Manchester in the early 1980's when Mick Hucknall formed the punk band Frantic Elevators. After they disbanded, Mick put the first Simply Red incarnation together. Picture Book was followed by a string of critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums: Men And Women (1987), A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995), Blue (1998) and Love and the Russian Winter (1999).
Propelled by Mick's voice and passion, Simply Red is unique among their peers. The group effortlessly glide between highly original material and covers of other people's songs that suddenly become their own. His voice is in great shape on Home, an eleven track album mostly produced by Hucknall and long-time collaborator Gota Yashiki. Highlights include the brass fuelled "Fake," the glorious sway of "Sunrise" and the affecting title track, "Home." As usual, the album contains some irrepressible covers, notably the Euro swagger of "Money In My Pocket" (originally done by Dennis Brown), the Stewart Levine-produced "You Make Me Feel Brand New," and the raw emotional pull of the Dylan classic "Positively 4th Street."
DIANA KRALL, who was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, grew up in the western part of Canada and began studying the piano when she was four years old. By the time she was 15, she was playing jazz in a local restaurant/bar. One person who encouraged her interest in music was her father, a stride pianist with a vast knowledge of such '20s and '30s keyboard masters as Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Earl Hines.
Krall was still a teenager when she was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. After two years, she moved to Los Angeles, where she met her first jazz heavyweights, including John Clayton, pianist/singer Jimmy Rowles, and Ray Brown, the legendary bassist who served as her musical mentor (and played on Only Trust Your Heart). Krall had lived in L.A. for three years when she moved to Toronto, and it was a Canadian label that gave her a chance to record for the first time. In 1993, the Montreal-based Justin Time Records released her debut album, Stepping Out. In 1994, she signed with GRP and recorded Only Trust Your Heart, which featured Brown on bass and Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone and marked the beginning of her association with Tommy LiPuma (who has worked with everyone from Barbra Streisand to George Benson). Since then, LiPuma has produced all of Krall's subsequent albums for GRP, Impulse!, and Verve, including All for You: A Dedication to the Nat "King" Cole Trio (1995), Love Scenes (1997), When I Look in Your Eyes (1998), The Look of Love (2001), and Live in Paris (2003).
Krall grew increasingly popular throughout the '90s. Only Trust Your Heart, All for You, and Love Scenes all sold well, but the album that put her over the top commercially was When I Look in Your Eyes. In addition to spending 52 weeks in the #1 position on Billboard's jazz chart, When I Look in Your Eyes won Grammys in two categories (Best Jazz Vocal Performance and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical) and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, putting Krall in competition with Santana, the Backstreet Boys, the Dixie Chicks, and TLC. Needless to say, it isn't every day that a jazz improviser becomes a major attraction at the Lilith Fair festival (founded by singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan to spotlight female pop-rock and pop artists), but in 1998, Krall had no problem winning over a young, predominantly female audience. When I Look in Your Eyes eventually went platinum in the U.S. (over one million units), double platinum in Canada, platinum in Portugal, and gold in France. It was a hard act to follow, but Krall's next album, The Look of Love, was also an impressive seller. Released in September 2001, it entered the Billboard 200 at #9 and sold 95,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. alone.
VIVIAN GREEN, a Columbia Records singer-songwriter, is a musical powerhouse. At 8, Green took up the piano. At 11 she started writing songs, and at 13 she became the fifth member of a girl group with the linguistically-inspired name Younique. At 15, Green started pursuing music seriously, sending out demos and writing songs for other artists. She got her first professional break at 17 writing music with Boyz 2 Men. When she was 19, before the beginning of her solo career, she did a short stint as a back-up singer for Jill Scott. In November 2002, Green released her debut album, A Love Story, an inspired blend of new Philly soul coupled with the vocal maturity she's developed through years of performing in front of live audiences. Acclaimed by critics across the country, A Love Story established the artist as one of the most vital and important new voices in contemporary soul music. Green is currently in the studio working on the eagerly anticipated successor.
LARA FABIAN has sold more than 10 million records across five continents; the Belgian-born multilingual singer/songwriter/performer is truly an international superstar. Her formal music training began at the age of 8 when she enrolled in the Conservatory of Brussels. Moving to Montreal, she released her French-language debut album, Lara Fabian, in Canada in 1991. A sublime and passionate performer, Fabian toured consistently throughout the 1990's, capturing the hearts of audiences around the world with her electrifying live shows. Her eloquent writing and soulful vocals drew her fans to her 1994 album, Carpe Diem, her 1997 breakthrough, Pure (which sold more than 2 million copies in France alone), and a best-selling live album which debuted at #1 on the French album charts in 1998.
Her English-language debut album - also titled Lara Fabian - was released in the U.S. in 2000. Driven in part by the #1 Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit "I Will Love Again," her first American album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers new album chart.
Her music has been featured in numerous film and television soundtracks including Songs from Dawson's Creek, Vol. 2, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
Her latest best-selling European release, En Toute Intimité, was an intimate acoustic piano-based collection showcasing Fabian performing songs in English, Italian, and French.
Lara Fabian fans the world over are eagerly awaiting the release of her new English-language album, A Wonderful Life, slated for release in 2004.
MARIO FRANGOULIS grew up in Greece, where he began studying music as a child. As a teenager, he entered London's Guildhall School to study drama. The true tenor range of his maturing voice emerged while he was a student when he won the Maria Callas Prize. This led Frangoulis to the Julliard School of Music as a scholarship student, and won him the support and counsel of such operatic legends as Alfredo Kraus and Marilyn Horne. He was the only private student the late Kraus ever accepted.
Yet the career that Mario has built is anything but a conventional operatic career. He sang the role of Tony in West Side Story in its first performances at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. He has appeared in films and on television, in concerts and even in epic presentations of Greek tragedies.
The tenor began recording for Sony Classical in Greece in 1998, and his recordings have topped the charts at home. His new album reaches for an international audience, with material that draws freely from opera, rock, film and pop music.
On September 17, 2002, the world was introduced to Frangoulis with his album Sometimes I Dream. This December, audiences can enjoy a broadcast performance of this album exclusively for public television audiences nationwide.
NATALIE COLE has interpreted material from almost every genre including contemporary pop jazz as well as R&B classics. She has been nominated for more than ten Grammy Awards, including receiving the "Best New Artist" award in 1975.
In 1975 Cole's debut effort, Inseparable, was an instant smash, garnering her first gold album, winning two Grammys (including Best New Artist), and spawning the Top 10 hit "This Will Be." Her 1976 self-titled album, Natalie, also achieved gold. 1977's Unpredictable and Thankful both hit platinum and 1979's I Love You So reached gold. She continued her climb in the early 1980's, winning yet another Grammy and three more nominations. She closed out the decade with a Grammy nomination for her hit album Everlasting (which included the Top 15 hit "Jump Start") as well as an NAACP Image Award and Soul Train Award; the 1989 album Good to Be Back contained the Top 10 hits "Miss You Like Crazy" and "Wild Women Do."
Cole undoubtedly is best known for the multi-platinum, multi-Grammy winning Unforgettable, With Love, which honored a legacy of standards made famous during her father's (Nat King Cole) era. The album sold 14 million copies, pushing Cole's total album sales well over the 30 million mark, and garnered seven Grammy awards, becoming one of the most honored albums of all time.
In 1993 Cole followed up that milestone with the gold album Take a Look, which garnered a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance. She also teamed up with another of her idols, Frank Sinatra, recording "They Can't Take That Away From Me" for Sinatra's Duets album.
In 1994 Elektra released Holly and Ivy, and in 1996 Cole released the 18-song opus Stardust, including the lesser-known nugget, "To Whom It May Concern," penned by Nat King Cole and Natalie's aunt, Charlotte Hawkins. Stardust also featured Natalie performing the duet "When I Fall in Love" with her father, for which she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
In 1999 Elektra Records released Cole's Snowfall on the Sahara as well as The Magic of Christmas, a CD of Christmas standards performed with the world renowned London Symphony Orchestra.
2000 marked Cole's 25th year in the music industry; Elektra Records released Natalie Cole: Greatest Hits Volume I. In addition, Warner Books released her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder, which she co-authored with Digby Diehl. The book made its appearance on national bestseller lists across the country, including the #1 slot on the Los Angeles Times Best-Seller List. NBC adapted the book for television and called it The Natalie Cole Story. Cole, who was an executive producer on the film, won an NAACP Image Award for her appearance in the acclaimed biopic.
In 2002 Cole reunited with Tommy LiPuma, producer of the Unforgettable album, on the album Ask a Woman Who Knows.
Cole launched her acting career in 1992 with a critically applauded performance in the season finale of NBC's much heralded series I'll Fly Away. In 1994 she starred in Lily in Winter. She also appeared in the CBS hit series Touched by an Angel and in the TNT broadcast of a special Lincoln Center musical production of "The Wizard of Oz."
In 1998, Cole appeared with Laurence Fishbourne in the HBO made-for-TV-movie Always Outnumbered; in 1999 she starred in the Showtime telefilm Freak City.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
IRWIN WINKLER's (Director/Producer) career is as celebrated as it is accomplished. His films have amassed 12 Academy AwardsR from 45 nominations, including four Best Picture nominations. Winkler is also the only producer to have three of his films listed on the American Film Institute list of the "Top 100 Films" of all time.
Winkler received the Academy AwardR for Best Picture for the l976 runaway hit Rocky starring Sylvester Stallone. He went on to receive Best Picture nominations for Raging Bull, The Right Stuff and GoodFellas.
In l989, Winkler made his directorial debut with Guilty by Suspicion, a drama he also wrote about the Hollywood "black list" starring Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, and Martin Scorsese. His other features as a director include Night and the City, reuniting him with De Niro (for the seventh time) and Jessica Lange; the hit suspense thriller The Net starring Sandra Bullock; At First Sight with Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino; and the critically acclaimed Life as a House starring Kevin Kline, Kristen Scott Thomas and Hayden Christensen.
Winkler began his producing career at MGM in l967 with legendary director Norman Taurog and the Elvis Presley starrer Double Trouble, followed by the hit thriller Point Blank. He then won acclaim for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, which garnered nine Academy AwardR nominations.
Over the last three decades Winkler's credits include such films as New York, New York starring De Niro and Liza Minnelli; True Confessions, which teamed De Niro and Robert Duvall; Round Midnight, for which Herbie Hancock won an OscarR for Best Score; Betrayed starring Debra Winger; and Music Box with Jessica Lange.
For his body of work, which exceeds 40 major motion pictures, Winkler has been the proud recipient of numerous honors, including the Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, the French government's highest decoration for contributions to the arts. He was the first producer to be honored with a showcase screening of ten films at the Deauville Film Festival and was saluted by the British Film Institute with a retrospective of his work. He has also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Chicago Film Festival, The Hollywood Film Festival, The Flanders International Film Festival and The American Society of Cinematographers.
In 2000 Winkler joined the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star for his accomplishments as both producer and director. Fittingly, the star is installed in front of the Kodak Theater, the new home of the Academy Awards.
JAY COCKS (Writer), a former film critic for Rolling Stone magazine and former staff writer at Time, wrote the screenplays for the critical successes and popular films Gangs of New York, Strange Days, and The Age of Innocence. He also wrote the Martin Scorsese-directed Made in Milan.
ROB COWAN (Producer) currently serves as president of Winkler Films, Irwin Winkler's Production Company. Cowan began his long collaborative relationship with Winkler when he served as assistant director on Winkler's directorial debut, Guilty By Suspicion, and the Winkler-produced features Betrayed and Music Box. Their strong working relationship led to Cowan coming to Winkler Films on a permanent basis as an executive and producer.
Since that time, Cowan has served as producer on Life as a House starring Kevin Kline, Kristen Scott Thomas and Hayden Christensen. Cowan also produced and co-wrote with Winkler At First Sight starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino and The Net with Sandra Bullock. He served as co-producer on Night and the City, and produced with Winkler the Jennifer Lopez thriller Enough and the Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin drama The Juror. Cowan also produced Rocky Marciano starring Jon Favreau and George C. Scott, which was selected as opening night film of the Monte Carlo Television Festival.
Prior to working with Winkler, Cowan co-produced the film Short Time and served as assistant director on numerous feature films, such as the successful comedy Three Men and a Baby, the Tom Cruise starrer Cocktail and the action thriller Stakeout.
CHARLES WINKLER (Producer) is the son of producer/director Irwin Winkler. He was raised in Los Angeles and from an early age expressed a desire to be a filmmaker. Winkler spent many years working in low level assistant positions on such films as Raging Bull, Rocky II, and New York, New York, learning the craft of movie making. After making a series of shorts and mini-documentaries in his early 20's, Winkler wrote and directed his first feature film, You Talkin' To Me?, for United Artists in 1987. He then went on to co-write and direct the feature Disturbed starring Malcolm McDowell. From then on Winkler alternated writing and directing features and MOW's with episodic television directing assignments, including work on such shows as Beggars and Choosers, Baywatch, The Chris Isaak Show, Dead at 21, and many others. In 1996, Winkler wrote and directed the AIDS action-comedy Red Ribbon Blues with RuPaul, Lypsynka, and Deb Mazar, which was invited to over 20 film festivals around the world. He also directed the musical MOW At Any Cost for VH1.
Working with fellow De-lovely producer Rob Cowan, Winkler co-wrote and directed the award winning television docudrama Rocky Marciano, starring Jon Favreau, Penelope Ann Miller, Judd Hirsch, Tony LoBianco, and George C. Scott in one of his last roles. Winkler lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sandra Nelson, who appears in De-lovely as Sara Murphy, and their two children.
GAIL EGAN (Executive Producer) is a qualified lawyer and practiced commercial law at Lincoln's Inn before joining Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance. She later worked for the International Media Group, Carlton Communications.
In 2000 she formed the independent production company Potboiler Productions with Simon Channing Williams.
Egan's credits as an executive producer include Vera Drake, Man About Dog, and Nicholas Nickleby.
SIMON CHANNING WILLIAMS (Executive Producer), whose career started at the BBC, has worked with, amongst others, Stephen Frears, James MacTaggart, Mike Newell, Michael Apted and Mike Leigh.
As a result of working with Mike Leigh, they jointly formed Thin Man Films in 1988. Their first project was the feature Life is Sweet, which gained critical honors and won new audiences for Leigh's work internationally. They then collaborated on the 1992 short A Sense of History, named Best Short Film at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival; the multi-award-winning Naked; the Palme d'Or winning Secrets and Lies; Career Girls; the OscarR winning Topsy-Turvy; and, most recently, All or Nothing.
Outside of his relationship with Leigh and Thin Man Films, Channing Williams has produced several other projects, including Puccini for director Tony Palmer; the feature films When the Whales Came and Jack and Sarah, directed by Tim Sullivan, which was an enormous hit at the UK box-office in 1995; New Year's Day and Goodbye Charlie Bright.
In 2000, Channing Williams joined forces with Gail Egan to create what is now Potboiler Productions. They have created a strong, eclectic slate of projects, which includes Lee Tamahori directing a film about Edgar Allen Poe and Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton directing their first feature this autumn from a Brian Aldiss novel. They have recently completed Man About Dog, directed by Paddy Breathnach, and are currently in pre-production on the adaptation of John le Carré's novel The Constant Gardener, to be directed by Fernando Meirelles starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.
Corporately Potboiler has strong connections with both France and the U.S., being the preferred co-production partner on last year's Nicholas Nickleby for United Artists.
TONY PIERCE-ROBERTS (Director of Photography) is currently working on A Way Through the Woods, and most recently worked on the popular Underworld. His other film credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Golden Bowl, Somme, Asterix & Obelix, Paulie: A Parrot's Tale, Jungle to Jungle, Surviving Picasso, Copycat (additional photography), Haunted, Disclosure, The Client, Remains of the Day (for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography), Howard's End (for which he received OscarR, BAFTA, and ASC nominations for Best Cinematography), Splitting Heirs, White Fang, The Dark Half, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, Slaves of New York, A Room with a View (OscarR and BAFTA nominations for Best Cinematography), Bourne Identity, Out Cold, A Tiger's Tale, A Private Function, The Cold Room, and Moonlighting. Pierce Roberts won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Cameraman for Caught on a Train and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Pierce-Roberts' television credits include Dinotopia, Homeless, P'Tang Yang Kapperbang, A Voyage Round My Father, and The Good Soldier.
EVE STEWART (Production Designer) is currently working on The Dark with director John Fawcett. She just finished Mike Leigh's latest project, Vera Drake. Her past credits include Cheeky, Wondrous Oblivion, Nicholas Nickleby, All or Nothing (for which she won an Evening Standard Award for Technical Achievement), Happy Now, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Hole, Goodbye Charlie Bright, Sorted, Saving Grace, and Topsy-Turvy, which was nominated for an Academy AwardR for Best Art Direction and Set Decoration. She also designed the feature films Secrets and Lies and Naked.
Commercially, Stewart worked with Nike on their 2002 World Cup Campaign with Terry Gilliam, VW and McDonalds. In theater, she was head of design at the Nottingham Playhouse and the New Vic at Stoke. In 2002, Stewart designed for the filmed George Harrison concert "A Concert for George" at the Royal Albert Hall, and she has also designed "King Lear" and "Little Shop of Horrors" at the National Theatre.
Stewart is the recipient of 3 Best Window prizes from The Evening Standard Awards for her work at Harvey Nicholls, and she has also worked with the Cliveden House Hotel, where she designed the Stable Restaurant, Main Dining Room and Poolside Restaurant.
JULIE MONROE (Film Editor) has worked as an editor in the entertainment industry for many years. Her film credits include Indecent Proposal (additional editor), Wall Street (additional editor), JFK (associate editor), Lolita, At First Sight, Hanging Up, The Patriot (co-editor), Life as a House, and Gigli (co-editor).
She has also worked as an assistant editor on Fear, The River Wild, The Doors, Born on the Fourth of July, How I Got into College, A Time of Destiny, Platoon, and Salvador.
JANTY YATES (Costume Designer), who is currently working on Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, won an Academy AwardR and a Sierra Award for Best Costume Design for Gladiator and was nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Satellite, Saturn Award, and Academy of Science Fiction award for the same film.
Yates' feature film credits include Charlotte Gray, Hannibal, With or Without You, Plunkett and Macleane, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Welcome to Sarajevo, Jude, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain, and Bad Behaviour. Yates served as assistant costume designer on The Commitments and Sour Sweet.
Among Yates' other credits are the miniseries Karaoke, the telefilms Bliss and An Evening with Gary Lineker, and the television shows Glam Metal Detectives, Cracker, and Full Stretch. In addition, Yates worked on the eight film series for Comic Strip Productions which included Demonella, Jealousy, Les Dogs, Crying Game, Red Nose of Courage, Wild Turkey, Gregory - Diary of a Nutcase, and Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Yates started her career working as a wardrobe assistant for Quest for Fire, Oxford Blues, Dance with a Stranger, and The Fear.
STEPHEN ENDELMAN (Music Arranger and Producer) recently worked with director Bruce Beresford in their second joint effort, MGM's Evelyn, starring Pierce Brosnan, Julianna Marguiles, Aiden Quinn, Stephen Rea, and Alan Bates. The original score soundtrack was released last year on Decca. He received critical acclaim for his score and Deutsche Gramophone soundtrack album to Bruce Beresford's Bride of the Wind. He also recently completed music for Gala Films' Blue Butterfly starring John Hurt, and I'm with Lucy for Jon Sherman starring Monica Potter and John Hanna. Endelman's works have ranged from the rich orchestral score for The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, but Came Down a Mountain to his minimalist, modern score for the hit comedy Flirting with Disaster.
In 2000, Endelman garnered critical praise for his score Passport to the Universe, a public commission for the first Space Show in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Subsequently, the show moved to France and is playing at the Futuroscope Park near Paris. This year, Endelman wrote the music to a second planetarium show entitled The Search for Life, Are We Alone, narrated by Harrison Ford and currently running in New York at the Museum of Natural History.
English-born Endelman began playing the clarinet at age seven and became a full-time scholar at The Purcell School of Young Musicians at age twelve. He studied composition at London's Guildhall School of Music Drama and the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada. Besides his growing body of film work, Endelman has composed two operas and, at the age of 18, wrote the music for the Tony-Award winning Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten.
An ardent film lover, Endelman moved to New York in 1992 to pursue and develop his career in film music. His first score for a feature film was Nancy Savoca's Household Saints. He subsequently worked with Robert De Niro on his directorial debut, A Bronx Tale.
Over 40 film credits have followed, including Two Family House, which received an Audience Award for Best Dramatic Film at the Sundance Film Festival 2000, Tom and Huck, Norman Rene's Reckless, and City of Industry, directed by John Irvin. He also scored Kicked in the Head, a Martin Scorsese production, The Proposition, Finding Graceland, Imaginary Crimes, and Jawbreaker, in addition to the box office hit Flirting With Disaster.
In 1998, he won the ASCAP Foundation Award as Resident Composer at the Metropolitan Opera Guild where he has been a resident artist since 1993.
GEORGINA LOWE (Line Producer) has worked as a line producer on, among others, Vera Drake, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Tess of the D'urbervilles, Déjà Vu, Career Girls, Secrets and Lies, Jack & Sarah, and Naked.
Lowe also produced Tipping the Velvet, which won a TRIC Award for TV Drama of the Year and was nominated for a BAFTA for original music. Her other credits include producing The Mayor of Casterbridge and David Bowie's 50th Birthday Concert Film, as well as co-producing the short film Phone.
SARAH MONZANI (Make-Up Designer) won an Academy AwardR and BAFTA Award for Best Make-up for the film Quest for Fire. She was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for her work on Evita. Other films she's worked on include Nicholas Nickleby, The Life of David Gale, The Hole, The Next Best Thing, White Squall, Angels and Insects, Interview with the Vampire, Lord of the Flies, Alien and Midnight Express.
SIMON THOMPSON (Hair Designer) was nominated for an Academy AwardR and BAFTA Award for his work on James Cameron's Titanic. Other films he's designed include Nicholas Nickleby, The Reckoning, The Hole, Sliding Doors, Douglas McGrath's Emma, Shanghai Surprise, Give My Regards to Broad Street, The French Lieutenants' Woman, The Great Chefs of Europe, The Greek Tycoon, and Very Like a Whale. He has also worked on Hamlet, Frankenstein, Interview with the Vampire, Remains of the Day, and Room with a View.
Thompson has worked as a personal hairdresser for Madonna and Meryl Streep, as well as acting as artistic director for The House of Leonard in Grosvenor Square. He worked as a freelance designer for ten years designing concepts for hair products such as Sunsilk, Harmony, Silvikrin, Ellnett, L'Oreal, Wella, and Boots. Thompson has also worked on many commercials, hair shows, and promotions.
NINA GOLD (Casting) most recently worked as the casting director for the anticipated Mission Impossible III, as well as The Jacket, Sahara, and Mike Leigh's upcoming film.
Gold's other credits include The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, The Statement, Around the World in 80 Days, Nicholas Nickleby, Love's Brother, Tomorrow La Scala, Max, All or Nothing, The Touch, Mike Bassett, England Manager, Bulletproof Monk, The Sum of All Fears, 51st State, Triumph of Love, Rat, Final Curtain, The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife, Beautiful Creatures, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith, Love's Labour's Lost, Topsy-Turvy, Gregory's Two Girls, Passion, The Borrowers, Twin Town, Roseanna's Grave, and Stray Dogs.
Gold's television credits include HBO's hugely anticipated series Rome, Daniel Deronda, Tipping the Velvet, Psychos, Arabian Nights, The Temptation of Franz Schubert, Marvin, Alison, David Baddiel, Low Level Panic, Radio Fab, Teaching Matthew, Come on Down and Out, and Silent Night.
Ev'ry time we say goodbye
I die a little,
Ev'ry time we say goodbye
I wonder why a little,
Why the gods above me
Who must be in the know
Think so little of me
They allow you to go…
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