1st October, 2011

REG will be appearing in Rab C. Nesbitt Season 10 show. Episode 1 entitled “Broke” airs on Oct 5 at 10PM. Richard guest stars as the character “Chingford Steel.

When Rab returns home he finds out that Mary has kidnapped the government minister for work (Richard E. Grant) as revenge for losing her job. The couple have no idea what to do next when and after a full-scale siege develops, they are believed to be terrorists.

Airdate: Wednesday October 05th, 2011
Special Airtime: 10:00 pm
Episode number: 10×1

You can see a short clip from the show below.

From beautyandthedirt.com – 29th September, 2011

The folks over at the Beauty And The Dirt website have a competition to celebrate the release of Richard’s new film “First Night”, set to hit cinemas this autumn. They are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a pair of tickets to the premiere and after party of the film in London on Tuesday 4th October! Short notice I know, but I only just found out about it unfortunately. I should add that the competition is open to UK participants only, and that it will close on 3.10.11.

First Night is a movie which fuses the stately grandeur of Gosford Park with the magical music of Amadeus for a unique story of love’s fluctuating fortunes, set against a sumptuous backdrop of visual and vocal beauty. As the cast, drama and score all tread the tightrope of tone between humour and pathos, what unfolds is a timeless romantic comedy.

Adam is a rich industrialist, who aspires to a more cultured world. Spurred on by playful jibes that he’s little more than a city suit living the capitalist’s dream, this frustrated amateur opera singer decides to throw an opera in his lavish country retreat. Once his friends see him belting out the notes, he feels sure it will spell the end to their shallow taunts. In fact, it might even help him win the hand of a female conductor he’s been pursuing whom – it just so happens – is the first to be recruited for his showpiece. Starring classical crossover superstar Sarah Brightman alongside Richard E Grant, First Night is set to hit cinemas this autumn.

Sound good? Well then, get cracking! To enter, just go to the Beauty And The Dirt Website website here and answer a REALLY EASY question.

Good luck!

NatWest Sense website – 26th September, 2011

The Withnail and I star on travel tips, money and why he never became an action hero

Richard E Grant is best known for playing the shambolic Withnail in the cult comedy Withnail and I. He recently returned to TV in the costume drama, The Crimson Petal and the White, and will be seen later this year playing Michael Heseltine to Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher in the movie The Iron Lady. Here, he takes us through his highs and lows.

BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE
Never give up. I’m enormously proud that I have made a living as an actor for the past 30 years, when all the naysayers in my youth said, “You’ll never make it”. Now, of course, they say, “We always knew you would!”

Worst
Twenty years ago the producer on LA Story, a comedy I made with Steve Martin, took me aside and said “You know, kid, you could have a great career in Hollywood if you got pumped up. I mean really pumped to Schwarzenegger proportions. You could be an action hero.” It took all the muscle power I had to crank my jaw up from the floor. After which I fell about laughing.

BEST USE OF MONEY
The late, great actor Richard Harris advised me to buy property, no matter how small, and I have assiduously followed his maxim. I’ve also always tried to live by the old saying, “Neither a lender nor borrower be”. I have never borrowed money or taken out a mortgage, and I’ve always lived entirely according to my earning power.

Worst
Two former friends, who were in dire financial straits, asked to borrow money, which I was happy to lend them. As the years went by, without me ever asking for a penny in return, they became resentful of the fact that they had needed to ask in the first place. Eventually, they convinced themselves that I didn’t deserve reimbursement and that they were somehow entitled to the cash. Bitter lemons.

BEST THING TRAVEL HAS TAUGHT YOU
Only take hand luggage with you. It means you won’t have to wait forever at the baggage carousel, or queue for five years trying to track down the luggage your airline has ‘lost’. I’ve been a happy hand-luggage-only traveller after losing count of how many times my luggage has disappeared. You can always go shopping when you land.

Worst
Shortly after my father died, I went on an organised tour with my father’s widow to Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. It was so awful that I vowed to avoid all organised holidays or coach trips for the rest of my life. There was always someone complaining about the lack of baked beans or Marmite.

BEST WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY?
I love lying in bed until noon, lunch at Petersham Nurseries café in Richmond, then reading the Sunday papers from cover to cover.

Worst
My worst way to spend a Sunday would be filming in some remote, rainy location. The only way this could possibly be worse would be if the catering truck also broke down, and I had to eat at a Little Chef.

Following on from REG’s recent inclusion in the list of the Top 10 Films on Advertising, the Time Out London website has voted Withnail And I number 7 in the Best 100 Comedy Movies.

Other classic and notable films include Sister Act (#100), A Fish Called Wanda (#87), The Blues Brothers (#54), When Harry Met Sally (#50), The Naked Gun (#18), Duck Soup (#17), Some Like It Hot (#9) and Airplane (#2). This Is Spinal Tap topped the list at Number One, whilst the Monty Python crew had two films in the top ten with Monty Python And The Holy Grail at #5 and Life Of Brian at #3.

Chosen by more than 200 people, including comedy writers, directors actors and stand-up comedians such as Dan Aykroyd, Richard Curtis, Edgar Wright, Kim Noble, Stephen Merchant, Jo Brand and others, the list features a range of comedies dating back to the 1920’s and 1930’s. Most of the films, however, date from the last 30 years or so. It should also be said that the list is somewhat “English-centric” and, as with all lists of this type, rather subjective. However there are some real gems in there.

To read the entire list just go to the Time Out London website.

19th September, 2011

Richard was at the Official Mamma Mia! London Media Night where celebrities turned out in force to enjoy the show and couldn’t praise it enough! At the beginning of the clip Richard tells us that he was a massive Abba fan and knew all the lyrics and tunes.

Kathy Lette showed off her Dancing Queen skills and Jeremy Vine brought his two very excited daughters. Rupert Graves, child star Theo Stevenson, writer Sandi Toksvig and Martha Fiennes also attended.

A fantastic night was had by all!