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RENÉE ZELLWEGER NEWS - November 2005
Director finds road to Joplin pic full of curves
wfaa.com
November 29, 2005
LOS ANGELES – When it comes to Janis Joplin films, perhaps Hollywood just needs
to take a cue from one of her hits and try (just a little bit harder).
From Lili Taylor to Melissa Etheridge to Brittany Murphy to Renée Zellweger to
Courtney Love, the past decade has seen a long string of actresses attached to a
series of ultimately unproduced Joplin biopics.
The legion of interested directors has included Nancy Savoca (True Love), Gary
Fleder (Kiss the Girls) and Stephen Gyllenhaal (Homegrown).
Penelope Spheeris has been on the job longer than most. The Wayne's World
director has been developing Gospel According to Janis for many years, but on
the eve of the release of her latest feature, The Kid & I, Ms. Spheeris is
confident that her flick about the Texas-raised blues-rocker is finally ready to
come together.
"The most recent draft will be done in the middle of December and we're halfway
through it now," she says. "They say we're gonna shoot in spring, but we'll see.
It's been a long time coming for me – 15 years."
Thanks to her series of The Decline of Western Civilization rockumentaries, Ms.
Spheeris has her musical credentials in place, and she has Alecia "Pink" Moore
as her star. Still, Joplin, who died of a heroin overdose at 27, has proved a
difficult icon to properly capture.
"It's a combination of getting the right script, getting the right actor,
getting the rights cleared for her life, getting the music rights cleared. It's
a complex formula," Ms. Spheeris explains.
Deck the halls with Oscar buzz
chicagotribune.com
November 27, 2005
Studios hope to garner awards, DVD sales with year-end ad blitz.
Forget the holiday wrapping paper and decorations. This year's true seasonal
herald is the sight of Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger once again filling
magazine pages and TV ad spots. "Cinderella Man" is back -- on select screens in
New York and Los Angeles, on DVD as of Dec. 6, and, Universal hopes, in the
hearts and minds of Academy members.
The film, which debuted in June to mixed reviews and a disappointing
fourth-place opening with slightly more than $18 million in box office business,
is now being billed as one of the year's top-performing dramas (behind "The
Interpreter" and "Coach Carter").
With no clear front-runners this award season, Oscar campaigns are promising to
be even more innovative than usual.
Renee idea who I
am?
By Chris Pragnell, South London Press
icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk
November 18, 2005
MASKED by thick-rimmed spectacles, her hair scraped back in a ponytail - few
would have recognised the Hollywood star.
Staff at Dulwich Picture Gallery paid little attention when a casually dressed
young woman perused their exhibits of Beatrix Potter memorabilia.
The penny didn't even drop when Miss R Zellweger handed over her credit card at
the gift shop counter afterwards.
But the Bridget Jones actress had indeed shunned the red carpet treatment in
favour of dropping by as a paying guest.
Ahead of her forthcoming roll in Miss Potter - a biopic of the children's author
- the Oscar nominee popped in for research purposes.
According to a museum spokeswoman, Renee painstakingly pored over exhibits
before spending more than £200 on catalogues, books and mugs.
"The cashier thought she looked familiar then looked at her card," said the
spokeswoman.
"She said, 'You look just like Renee Zellweger - are you by any chance her
sister?'
"Renee said to her, with a twinkle in her eye, 'I'm more closely related than
that'."
The 36-year-old actress is no stranger to South London.
Last year she reprised her role of Bridget Jones in the follow up, The Edge Of
Reason, with key scenes filmed in Borough.
Miss Potter is due to be released in 2007.
Beatrix Potter: Artist and Illustrator runs until January 22. Visit
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
CHESNEY:
'DIVORCE IS LIKE HAVING TV STOLEN'
contactmusic.com
November 18, 2005
Country star KENNY CHESNEY compares the collapse of his marriage to RENEE
ZELLWEGER with having his prized TV stolen.
The 37-year-old married Zellweger in a surprise ceremony in the Virgin Islands
in May (05), but his actress wife filed legal papers to have their marriage
annulled just four months later (SEP05).
He says, "It was like opening the door to your house and having someone come in
and take your big-screen TV off the wall during a game, and there's nothing you
can do about it."
BEATRIX POTTY
nwemail.co.uk
November 15, 2005
She’S probably the Lake District’s most famous daughter.
But a Hollywood film about Beatrix Potter looks set to be shot on the Isle of Man.
The world famous author was inspired to write The Tale of Peter Rabbit by the nature and landscape of the Lake District.
Many of her treasured children’s classics were written at Hill Top, in Near Sawrey.
Nevertheless, Miss Potter, the $25m film about Beatrix’s life starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, will be primarily shot in the Isle of Man to take advantage of tax breaks.
Filming will begin next spring.
Filming will also take place in London and Cumbria, but there is uncertainty about how much of the film will be shot in Potter’s beloved adopted homeland in the Lakes.
Gill Young, assistant manager of production and finance for Isle of Man Film said the island offered filmmakers a choice of studio soundstages and a varied landscape.
She said: “The Isle of Man has a variety of locations and some areas are similar to the Lake District. It has stood in for anumber of different places.”
A spokeswoman for the recently established Cumbria Film Office, based in Penrith, said: “Our film officer is busy taking out location managers, but nothing has been finalised whether it’s going to be shot in Cumbria although that is the obvious location.”
Renee Zellweger
Gave Hint of Split with Kenny Chesney
nationalledger.com
November 12, 2005
Jill Atkins - Sep 22, 2005
Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger's quickie marriage will soon end in a quickie
divorce. Gossip is in overdrive trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.
The theories range from "Renee wanted a baby" to "Kenny just didn't have the
time to work on the marriage."
Chesney has gone so far as to call the marriage a "sideshow." And now it appears
that right before news of the split leaked to the public Renee dropped a hint
that all was not well.
IMDb reports:
Renee Zellweger offered clues her marriage to Kenny Chesney was on the rocks in
the last interview she gave before the split was announced.
During a chat with British breakfast television show GMTV, the actress came
close to tears when quizzed about their four month union. When asked by reporter
Carla Romano how she was finding married life, Zellweger replied:
"You know I have been kind of busy, so I haven't noticed the formality of it."
When grilled further on country star Chesney, Zellweger said, "I don't want to
talk about that, I can't."
The actress then fought back tears and added, "I have got to keep those things
precious for myself."
The clip was shown on the tabloid shows in America on Wednesday and it was easy
to tell that the Oscar-winning actress was struggling to find an answer. I guess
that's proper as she already knew the marriage was over.
GMTV was really, really close to a huge scoop.
Renee in People's Choice Awards
[]news.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2005
Renee is nominated for Best Leading Lady.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are in the running for the People's Choice Awards,
picking up three nominations each.
The pair, who have been romantically linked since making the film Mr & Mrs
Smith, are nominated together for best on-screen partnership.
This year there is no nomination for Julia Roberts, who has won the best actress
award for the past 10 years.
Scottish comic Craig Ferguson will present the awards, voted for by the US
public, on 10 January.
The awards cover film, television and music, in more than 20 categories.
There are numerous actress categories, going under different names, with Jolie
competing with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman for female movie star.
Ray Romano is nominated for Everybody Loves Raymond
The best leading lady award is between Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon and Renee
Zellweger.
The movie actor category features Nicholas Cage, Samuel L Jackson and Johnny
Depp, while the leading men are Jamie Foxx, Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler.
There are also action star categories which bring nominations for Catherine Zeta
Jones, Jennifer Garner, The Rock and Matthew McConaughey.
The Emmy-winning Everybody Loves Raymond, which recently ended after nine years,
is nominated twice, for best comedy and best male TV star for Ray Romano.
That 70s Show and The Simpsons are also nominated for best comedy. CSI:Crime
Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives and Law & Order: SVU are nominated for
best TV drama.
Nominees in the female music field include Faith Hill, Gwen Stefani and Kelly
Clarkson, while Usher, Toby Keith and Tim McGraw compete in the male categories.
CRUISE TO BUY
ZELLWEGER'S HOME?
contactmusic.com
November 2, 2005
TOM
CRUISE is reportedly in talks with his JERRY MAGUIRE co-star RENEE ZELLWEGER to
buy her Pomfret, Conneticut, home.
The BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY star and estranged husband KENNY CHESNEY are selling the $1.3 million (GBP720,000) converted farmhouse which they bought in May (05) - just weeks after their whirlwind marriage (09MAY05).
And Cruise, whose fiancee KATIE HOLMES is pregnant with their first child, is looking for a country home to bring up their baby, reports British newspaper Daily Express.
A friend says, "He and Katie love the idea of raising a family in the country."
(Webmaster note:
this information is proprietary to the news sources indicated.
Reneesfansite.com neither confirms nor denies its authenticity)
