RENÉE NEWS - December 2004

Disaster Strikes Vacationers in Thailand
abcnews.go.com
Dec 26, 2004

PHUKET, Thailand — Towering waves from Asia's massive earthquake roared ashore on the renowned white sand beaches at Thailand's resorts Sunday, sweeping away sunbathers and snorkelers, bungalows and cars, and sending thousands of tourists fleeing for higher ground.

A government agency said at least 198 were killed, 2,342 injured and scores still were missing. The center has not issued numbers of foreigners among the victims. The government-run Thai News Agency said 297 people had died.

The waves, measuring 16 to 33 feet, struck at the peak of the tourist season when holiday-makers especially from Europe vacation on this Southeast Asian country to escape frigid winters.

Stuart, a pianist and teacher in the devastated resort town of Phuket has asked that Renée contact him regarding Wat in Nai Yang.  Renée Zellweger had recently spent time in Thailand during the filming of Bridget Jones : The Edge Of Reason.  We would appreciate anyone's help in forwarding this message to Renée, wherever she is vacationing for the holidays.

Additional details are available to her via this website's email:   info@reneesfansite.com

Celebrities Share Christmas Memories
yahoo.com
Dec 25, 2004 10:22 AM

It isn't the smell of a Douglas fir or baking cookies that reminds Renée Zellweger of Christmas; it's the smell of cigars.

"My godfather smoked cigars, and anytime I smell a cigar, it brings Christmas Eve right here," Zellweger told reporters at a recent news conference.

Shady lady
smh.com.au
December 22, 2004

Blondes may have more fun, but Renee Zellweger says she is reveling in her darker side.

The Oscar-winning actress told In Style magazine she finds her new brunette hair the perfect disguise. The dye job, undertaken to shoot The Cinderella Man with director Ron Howard, is offering her the rare chance of interacting with people without being recognized.

"I get to have real exchanges with people again. Then you can earn the kindness that's shown to you. How are you supposed to know what you're doing as a human being when you don't have a real conversation with anybody ever?" she told In Style.

The value of earning friendships instead of being treated as a celebrity is just one aspect of the fame game for Zellweger. Being pursued by the paparazzi is another: "Your instinct is to panic - the boundaries of acceptable behavior used to be narrower."

Adjusting to life as an international star and household name "has been an issue, trying to recognize what's important and maintain a balance," she tells the magazine. "To know what it means to have time that's not compromised. I'm shifting a few priorities."

Slowing down is something Zellweger, who recently split from her boyfriend, White Stripes singer Jack White, desperately wants to do. "I've been running a relay race with myself," she says in In Style. After two years away from home filming Cold Mountain (Romania), Bridget Jones (London) and The Cinderella Man (Toronto), she has an aching urge to settle down.

"Growing up, I hoped one day I'd travel, but you know what's hilarious? Now I can't even look at a travel magazine. I only want to read Martha Stewart and books about renovating your house. I must drive the person next to me on the plane mad cause I just tear through design magazines, thinking of new finishes and kitchen floors."

Zellweger, who said in October she was taking a year out from movies to spend more time "drinking coffee with my friends," is pining for a normal life.

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason DVD release
dvd.ign.com
December 15, 2004

PG-13 and R-rated versions planned.

Universal Home Video has announced it will release Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason on March 22, 2005, for a suggested price of $29.98. Universal plans to release the film in both PG-13 and R-rated versions.

The film, starring Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, will sport a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. However, it should be noted the PG-13 version will be full screen only, while the R-rated version will come with full screen and widescreen editions.

Extras for both versions of the film include an alternate opening, deleted scenes, an inside look at the fight scene, a featurette called Mark and Bridget Forever and an interactive quiz.

Golden Globe Nomination for Renée Zellweger
LOS ANGELES, CA
Dec 14, 2004

The Globe honors help position those movies and other leading nominees for Hollywood's big party, the Academy Awards. (Those nominations come out Jan. 25.)

RENÉE ZELLWEGER received Golden Globes as Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) for "Chicago" and "Nurse Betty" and as Best Supporting Actress for "Cold Mountain." She also received a Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) nomination for "Bridget Jones's Diary."

This year, Renée Zellweger has again received a Golden Globe Nomination as "Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy" for her portrayal of Bridget Jones in the film sequel "Bridget Jones : The Edge of Reason".

'NOT ENGAGED'!
nypost.com [liz smith]
December 13, 2004

She will not attend the awards ceremony of the Golden Horse film festival, despite zealous invitations from the organizers.

Most of the questions thrown to the 35-year-old actress were about her weight fluctuations. For this sequel Zellweger gained more weight (14kg) than in the first movie (9kg), but in six months' time, she returned to a slim figure. How did she do it?

"Like everyone else, I stopped ordering pizza. I went back to the gym and drank less Chardonnay. Also the skiing scene was a good work out for me," Zellweger said.

In the movie, Bridget Jones falls from the top of the ski race slope. "That was the last scene we did for the movie. And for that scene we were back and forth from the top of the hill to the bottom for so many times," she said.

Zellweger said the weight and the put-on English accent were not the main reasons she hesitated to take the role again.

"For me the physical transformation is just part of the transformation and part of the process. What concerns me is I feel stronger responsibility for the character just because Bridget Jones was so warmly embraced by women all over the world. I didn't want to play a role that could not stand on its own," she said.

In the sequel Bridget Jones is again torn between a good-looking, licentious, smooth-tongued ex-boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), and a wooden-faced but sincere human rights lawyer, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Which character would Zellweger choose?

"I'm not that simple!" she said, adding the two were just characters in a story.

But what about choosing between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth? "Them? Ah, they are not contenders. Definitely not! Because I know them too well!" she said.

The star who receives US$11 million for a movie has just finished shooting Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe and will be working on the film Piece of My Heart, in which she plays Janis Joplin.

Transformations
instyle.com
December 2004

Forget prosthetic makeup and fat suits. When Renée Zellweger needed to transform herself from wispy all-American girl (Jerry Maguire et al.) to plump British singleton in Bridget Jones's Diary, she did it the old-fashioned way, earning her extra 25 pounds on a rigorous diet of pizza, fettuccine Alfredo and French bread. And she gained the weight again for the sequel! "She's like a De Niro," says makeup artist Paul Starr.

"She takes risks." Which seem to be paying off. Zellweger has three Golden Globes and an Oscar for Cold Mountain under her belt. So what's down the line for this newly brunet beauty? It's anyone's guess.

"One thing is for sure," says hairstylist Louis Angelo. "Renée is not one to look the same for long."

Click on picture at right to view Renée's transformations...

Colin Firth warns against third 'Bridget' film
in.news.yahoo.com
December 4, 2004

Los Angeles, Dec 4 (IANS) Actor Colin Firth has warned filmmakers against a third sequel to the popular romantic comedy "Bridget Jones Diary", which also stared Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant.

The British heartthrob, who played Mark Darcy in the original film and its recent sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason", is convinced that the story of the 30-something singleton has nowhere left to go, imdb.com reported.

"The only way where I could possibly imagine (a third film) being interesting is that if it showed us in an advanced state of decrepitude. Really puncturing the fairy tale completely might be a way to take it."

Firth hinted that all the lead actors are reluctant to sign another sequel.

Weight gain easy: Renée Zellweger
entertainment.news.com.au
December 03, 2004


OSCAR-winning Hollywood actress Renee Zellweger said today putting on weight for her comic Bridget Jones character was easier than putting aside her modesty to make some funny scenes in the new film.
"What I found difficult (in making the film) are not the things you might conventionally consider as challenging. I have a hard time putting on a pink bra in front of the crew dancing around the room because I am a very modest person," Zellweger told a press conference.

During a visit to Taiwan to promote Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the 35-year-old American star said she found it much easier to "change my body physically, completely from the inside out".

She dismissed rumours that she was reluctant to make the sequel to the 2001 hit Bridget Jones's Diary because she was dreading going through a physical transformation again to play the chubby British woman.

"Actually ... that was what's so exciting about the job, to transform in that way," said Zellweger who piled on at least 30 pounds for the role, but then shed the excess within six months.

Zellweger said she had a "strong sense of responsibility" to play Jones - a thirtysomething "singleton" who smokes, drinks and has endless trouble with her weight, work and relationships with men - since many women around the world strongly related to the character.

"I don't want to do a superficial revisitation of the character ... I didn't want to do something that couldn't stand on its own."

Zellweger said she loved Bridget Jones for the character's humanity, optimism and the ability to "look at herself and be honest about falling short".

The character brought her first nomination for an Academy Award as best leading actress. She was also nominated for Chicago before finally taking home an Oscar earlier this year for best supporting actress in Cold Mountain.

Dressed in a black top and a pair of jeans, the slim-downed Zellweger looked tired but charmed fans and reporters with smiles.

Zellweger will attend a red-carpet premier for her film in Taipei tonight despite approaching Typhoon Nanmadol, which is expected to bring downpours all over the island.

Elle Magazine
November 2004

Elle magazine cover picture