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BOB HOSKINS NEWS ARCHIVE

J. Lo meets B. Ho in the movie MAID IN MANHATTAN (formerly known as THE CHAMBERMAID and UPTOWN GIRL).  The movie wrapped filming in Chicago and New York in late spring 2002, and opened in the US on December 13It has been released on video/DVD in the US.

The film co-stars Ralph Fiennes and was directed by Wayne Wang.  Bob has a supporting role as a the hotel butler who acts as Lopez's confidant. 

The movie's official site is all set up, it would seem, and there are a couple brief video clips of Bob discussing his role (and stirring his tea) here:

Clip 1: Windows Media Player: low-bandwidth / high-bandwidth
RealPlayer low bandwidth / high-bandwidth

Clip 2: Windows Media Player low-bandwidth / high-bandwidth
RealPlayer low bandwidth / high-bandwidth

And in case there's any question about why he took on a small role, he explains:

"I've really served my timeWhen you get to my age, what you want is the cameo. You get paid a lot of money. You fly in for a couple of weeks. Everybody treats you like the crown jewels. It's all great and if the film turns out to be a load of s---, nobody blames you."

[Reviews]

Bob co-stars in THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY, a film from Fine Line Features  originally scheduled for a US release in 2001, but which was scheduled and bumped several times, and finally debuted in the US on video/DVD on February 18, 2003.  Oh well - the movie actually picked up several 2003 DVD Exclusive awards, including one for Bob as Best Supporting Actor. Dark Angel Jessica Alba, Brenda Blethyn, and Hugh Dancy also star.  The film was shot in Malaysia in May and June 2000.

[click photo for larger version]

Bob received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain on September 27, 2002.  The festival's web page has (had?) streaming video of the entire press conference he held (much fun with translators), and the award ceremony (the latter is in Spanish, of course, except for Bob's statements...)   

A transcript of Bob's press conference is now available - thanks Rafael!

Bob returned to both the BBC and the jungle once more - he was in New Zealand in Spring 2001 starring in an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story THE LOST WORLD.  Peter Falk, James Fox, Matthew Rhys, and Bob's FELICIA'S JOURNEY co-star Elaine Cassidy also appear (along with some high-tech dinosaurs).

The BBC aired the two-part miniseries over Christmas 2001, and the A&E network screened it in the US in October 2002.  The series has already been released on video and DVD in the UK, and A&E has released a US version.

Visit the BBC's web page for the miniseries for more information on the series - there's even a Flash game in which you can make a miniature Bob run around in a museum.  Whee!

Also check out an interview about the filming, and an article from the set that includes an interview with Bob.

Bob joins old cohorts Michael Caine, Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone as well as countrymen Tom Courtenay and David Hemmings in an adaptation of Graham Swift's novel LAST ORDERS.

Sony Pictures Classics is distributing the film in North America, and has put up an official website with lots of info and photos from the film.

The film was released in the US on February 15 and is slowly making its way around.  The film was released in the UK in January 2002.  It was released on video and DVD in the US on August 13.

Fred Schepisi wrote and directed the film, which had its World Premiere during the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival in September.  It has also played numerous other festivals, including the 2001 London Film Festival - see the BBC's coverage for photos and brief video clips from the film's after-party - and has earned mostly positive notices.

The film was recently noted by the National Board of Review for the best Ensemble Performance for 2001.

According to Variety, "'Orders' concerns a group of old friends who meet up to carry out the dying wish of one of their number -- to carry his ashes from London to the sea. The film unfolds through flashbacks as the bizarre day trip leads them to take stock of their lives."

[Reviews]

Bob was in Poland in early 2000 starring in an independent feature film titled WHERE ESKIMOS LIVE.  He plays an unscrupulous businessman involved in selling poor children to rich couples, who then meets one orphaned boy he decides to help.  The film had its world premiere at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival in January, as part of the World Cinema sidebar.  I don't think it ever played any theaters, but a Region 2 DVD has been released.
The US can finally check out THE WHITE RIVER KID, in which Bob co-starred with Antonio Banderas, as it was released on video and DVD on October 2, 2001 (retitled as simply WHITE RIVER, for whatever reason).  There is a trailer of the film available on the Internet Movie Database, and more stills from the film can be found here.

The movie was filmed in 1998 but then more or less disappeared, playing only in a few European countries and Brazil.  It recently resurfaced, and played on the Starz! cable network in the US in February, 2001.  Read the Starz! Press Release for more information and a plot synopsis.

Also I recently received an article from the Hot Springs, Arkansas Sentinel-Record (the movie was filmed around Hot Springs), which focuses on a local actor's experience with the production.  (Sounds like there may be good reasons it's never come out, but oh well...)

Bob added another to his string of historical roles (as he told Reuters, "Fortunately for me, most of the world's dictators have been short, fat, middle-aged men with a bald head.") by playing Nikita Khrushchev in ENEMY AT THE GATES, which opened theatrically in the US on March 16, 2001.  It was released on video and DVD in August 2001.

The WWII epic, filmed in Germany during the spring of 2000, was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and features Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz and Ed Harris.

The film had its world premiere on February 7 as the opening film of the 2001 Berlin Film Festival.

The film's official site is still running, and includes a few photos and a bio of Bob, as well as a wealth of other information on the film.

[Reviews]

Okay, I think this is exciting: A Criterion Collection DVD of MONA LISA was released in the US on March 13, 2001. This DVD includes a commentary audio track with Bob and writer/director Neil Jordan, and other features from the Criterion Laser Disc of the film that was released a few years back.
A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS, the second feature from TWENTYFOURSEVEN director Shane Meadows, received a limited release in the US in Fall 2000 from USA Films.  The film features Bob in a cameo role, and I imagine will be released on video fairly soon.

The film premiered at the 1999 Edinburgh International Film Festival.  It also screened at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival, the 1999 London Film Festival, and in the World Cinema section of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.  It was released in theatres in the UK in 1999.

[Reviews]

CAPTAIN JACK, a 1998 UK film starring Bob that was never released theatrically in the United States, has now been released on video and DVD. It is available from Lance Entertainment's web site.
AMERICAN VIRGIN, a film featuring Bob that was filmed a couple years ago, somewhat suddenly and mysteriously reappeared on the scene in the summer of 2000 and played briefly in New York City and San Francisco.  (Well, maybe it isn't that mysterious - the film also features then-unknown, now-hot Mena Suvari.)  It was released on video and DVD in the US in late 2000.

[Reviews]

Bob plays Wilkins Micawber in a BBC television production of DAVID COPPERFIELD.  The miniseries aired on April 16, 2000 in the US, as part of PBS's ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, and is now available on video.

Other stars include Pauline Quirke, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Maggie Smith, Dawn French, Trevor Eve,  Zoe Wanamaker, and Daniel Radcliffe, pictured at left (he's the child set to play Harry Potter).

Quotes from various reviews

DON QUIXOTE - Bob stars as Sancho Panza to John Lithgow's Don in this TNT original production.  It premiered on April 9th, 2000.

Reviews: [New York Times]

Read about how he bonded with his donkey...

NORIEGA: GOD'S FAVORITE - Bob plays Manuel Noriega in this film made for Showtime.  (See the Internet Movie Database for for more photos from the movie)

The film played at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 11, 2000 (where I got to see it - fans of his THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY-style work will not want to miss it), and premiered on Showtime on April 2, 2000.

On-set report on the production of NORIEGA from the Los Angeles Times

Article on Showtime's Website

Reviews: [New York Times] [Los Angeles Times] [Others]

FELICIA'S JOURNEY was released on video and DVD on May 16, 2000 in the US.  Info about it has moved to its own page...
Bob has lent himself to a fund-raising campaign in the UK to provide aid to victims of the floods in Mozambique earlier in 2000: "Imagine if this disaster had happened in England and that the Thames and the Avon had overflowed, cutting the country in half and destroying the garden of England. If people had been drowning and flooded out of their homes or giving birth in trees then something would have been done. Having just five helicopters to rescue everybody is a bloody ridiculous situation. I have sat like everyone else watching this diabolical situation grow and it's time to help. People do get charity fatigue but this is an emergency - if we do not get them out they are doing to die."

Look here for more information

lifetime.gif (13069 bytes) The British film magazine Empire honored Bob in 1999 with their Lifetime Achievement Award.  [Details]

See also the accompanying interview.

Bob directed a segment of an anthology film called TUBE TALES which screened at the London Film Festival in November, 1999.  It played in the UK on Sky TV, which hosts the film's web site as well, and though details are sketchy the film may be released theatrically as well.  Bob's segment, entitled "My Father, The Liar," features Ray Winstone.  Ewan McGregor, Jude Law and Stephen Hopkins, among others, also directed segments.

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02/04/2004

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