The Daily Telegraph – 15th August, 2011

Richard E Grant is preparing to feature in the Kath and Kim Filum.

A “NOICE” and “different” face is bound for Fountain Lakes, with confirmation British actor Richard E Grant signed to star in the much-hyped Kath & Kim movie, which begins filming in Italy next month.

A known fan of foxy morons Gina Riley and Jane Turner, the star of Gosford Park and Jack & Sarah has confirmed his casting in The Kath & Kim Filum after falling in love with the suburban superstars on a long flight Down Under.

“The first time I came to Australia, in 2000 to film Hildegarde, I was on the plane and saw the (K & K) episode where they do the take-off of the film The Hours,” Grant gushed.

“As you know it is quite a long flight, and I watched the episode about four times. When I landed I said, ‘Please, can I try and buy every DVD of Kath & Kim’.

“When I got the call (to act) it took about half a nanosecond to say yes.”

The movie, written and produced by Riley and Turner and directed by Fast Forward’s Tim Emery, is a jet-set romp in which the mother-daughter duo “head overseas on a whirlwind tour of love, lust and revolution”.

The part for Grant – no stranger to our shores, most recently appearing in the 2008 stage production of My Fair Lady – and the plot treatment remain unclear.

But the “filum” is likely to snag a gaggle of cameos.

Original cast members Glenn Robbins (Kel), Magda Szubanski (Sharon) and Peter Rowsthorn (Brett) are also all attached.

It was announced in March as part of a $9 million package from the federal government film financing body Screen Australia.

12th August, 2011

I’ve managed to collate together a few reports from Richard’s appearance at the recent Hay Festival. Richard was there to interview Peter Godwin on his book “The Fear”, which is about the last days of Robert Mugabe. The first report is a snippet from Sky Art’s “The Book Show”, which also features a short video.

The Book Show Catches Up With Peter Godwin And Richard E. Grant

The Book Show, Sky Arts – Wednesday, 8th June 2011

Peter Godwin is the author of The Fear The Last Days of Mugabe which is about the Zimbabwean dictator’s reign of terror. Richard E Grant who grew up in Swaziland interview Peter about his position on African politics and the situation in Zimbabwe at the Hay Festival.

After a lively debate about Mugabe, Africa and identity in general, Sky Arts managed to ask both men which book they recommended to under 21 years and why – They both came up with some illuminating choices.

Click here for a video of their response.

Who I Saw @ Hay Festival 2011

ALifeWellBlogged.com – Thursday, 9th June, 2011

Photo by MJR

MJR over at A Life Well Blogged writes:

“Richard E Grant is from Swaziland, Peter Godwin from Zimbabwe and both of them were quite candid about being ‘White Africans’ and what that means. The whole interview was fantastic and very honest. Peter spoke about this last book in the trilogy about his life in Zimbabwe and the effect that Robert Mugabe has had on the Country and its’ people. I’ll be buying all three of the books!”

You can read MJR’s full report of the Hay Festival here.

Photo by MJR

Out Of Africa

Friday, 10th June, 2011

George Binning reports on the Hay Festival talk:

“Richard E Grant’s conversation with Peter Godwin about Robert Mugabe’s regime and Godwin’s latest book, The Fear, gave us a nuanced insight into African politics that could not have been written by the Western press.

Godwin, who fought against Mugabe in the civil war, started by describing the dichotomy of being a white African, especially when lecturing to audiences of predominantly black American students who had never been to Africa themselves, but still identified with the continent.

He argued that Mugabe had followed a consistently retributive agenda, hidden behind the fervour of national liberation and accusations of apartheid apologies. He also argued that Zimbabwe was in a state of “post-racial politics”, that the land grabs of recent years were aimed at persecuting the large population of unionised black farm workers and owners, who had refused to vote for him in the election. He mentioned that the white land owning population had accepted that land reform was long overdue, and had wanted a fair and orderly overhaul of the system.

Richard E Grant was born in Swaziland (“which people still have no idea of where it is!”), and had much to contribute to the conversation himself. They discussed the Chinese takeover of Africa, taking pains to point out that much of the investment was from private businessmen, not the Chinese government, and that it was not cause for alarm.

Then Godwin told a hilarious story of a friend who had bumped into Mugabe in front of the lipstick counter in a supermarket, during the UN Plenary Sessions, and had taken the opportunity to harangue the dictator, keeping a cautious 3 foot distance so as not to be clobbered by security.

During question time, a black Zimbabwean lady who had fled the country, stood up to call for racial unity against Mugabe, receiving a round of applause from the predominantly white audience.

I came away from Godwin’s talk with my understanding of British aid, the truth of power-sharing agreements, and the camaraderie of post-liberation governments in Africa utterly transformed. I am confident that the The Fear will make a very enlightening read.”

To read the full report on the Hay Festival, click here to go to George Binning’s blog.

Peter Godwin And Richard E. Grant At The Hay Festival 2011

bookslive.co.za – 10th August, 2011

And finally, Sophy over at BooksLive.co.za writes:

“At this year’s Hay Festival, Richard E Grant of Withnail and I fame spoke to Peter Godwin about his latest book, The Fear. The talk was preceded by an interview with the Swaziland-born Grant in The Telegraph, in which Grant revealed that he felt a connectedness with Godwin after reading The Fear.

After the talk, Sky Arts’ The Book Show asked the duo what book they would recommend for under-21s. While Godwin suggested his first book, Mukiwa, Grant opted for the more whimsical, Alice in Wonderland, which he described as “the best clue and code in an understanding of how the English mind and imagination works.”

That’s about all of the reporsts I can find at the moment. If I come across any more then I’ll post them here.

The Telegraph – 27th July, 2011

An auction of props from the cult film “Withnail & I” is drawing a new audience finds Katrina Burroughs.

West House, Glebe Place: the collection from Uncle Monty’s
lair goes under the hammer at Christie’s later this month

“We want the finest wines available to humanity. We want them here and we want them now!”

I’m fervently hoping the auctioneer will preface next Sunday’s sale at Christie’s South Kensington with these words, after which the assembled bidders will be challenged to down a drink with every lot. The sale, you see, includes furniture from the cult British film, Withnail & I (1986). Withnail needs no introduction to folk of a certain vintage. A black comedy featuring Richard E Grant as Withnail and Paul McGann as I, playing out-of-work actors boozing and smoking their way through a cracking, quotable script.

The origin of the Camberwell Carrot and the lament (voiced by dripping fortysomething staycationers each summer) “We’ve gone on holiday by mistake”, Withnail included some truly unlovely locations, from a neglected Cumbrian farmhouse to a squalid London bedsit. The furnishings going under the hammer, however, are gentlemen’s accoutrements from the Chelsea bachelor pad belonging to I’s ardent admirer, Uncle Monty.

Uncle Monty from ‘Withnail & I’ Photo: CHANNEL 4 TELEVISION / PA

Taken from West House, Glebe Place, which was cast as Monty’s lair, the collection includes some smart antiques: a Victorian brass inkstand (lot 50, £300-£500); an early 19th-century mahogany armchair (lot 11, estimate: £800-£1,200); a trio of late 19th-century pine library ladders (lot 7, estimate: £500-£800).

The house itself is also a bit of a star. Designed in 1868 by leading Arts & Crafts architect Philip Webb, who created William Morris’s Red House, it has featured in Tatler and House & Garden, and its real-life owner was another eminent aesthete, Professor Bernard Nevill, design director of Liberty during the Sixties and Seventies.

The Cumbrian farmhouse from ‘Withnail & I’

No question, the items up for grabs have an appealing back story, but, if you decide you fancy buying Uncle Monty’s 19th-century Italian alabaster figures (lot 58, £300-£500) or his lead garden urn in the George III style (lot 76, £300-£500), will their provenance enhance your purchase’s value? According to Adrian Roose, director of Paul Fraser Collectibles: “An appearance in a cult film can add hugely to the price of any piece of film memorabilia.” And he points out there’s a recent precedent for ‘Withnailia’ performing well: “Uncle Monty’s derelict cottage actually went to auction in 2009 with a £145,000 estimate before selling for £265,000.”

In the saleroom, film star furnishings and props from movies routinely fetch way-over-estimate prices, partly due to auctioneers’ habit of valuing these pieces without factoring in the stardust. Last year at Bonhams, a table that had belonged to matinee idol James Mason (1909-1984), estimated at £50,000-£70,000, fetched £108,000.

Uncle Monty’s lead urn and the library ladder trio

“We valued them just as you would the property of any vendor, but to have such a nice clear provenance helped them to reach quite a substantial price,” says Alan Montgomery, specialist in post-war and contemporary art and design.

In 2002, a Sotheby’s auction of cinema props included a French giltwood screen, featured in Gosford Park, which sold for £4,560 against an estimate of £3,000. Top lot of that sale was a French Empire-style suite, which realised £39,600, doubling its pre-sale estimate of £18,000. It had been featured in a number of films, most notably Interview With a Vampire and the Bond film Never Say Never Again.

Alabaster figures and Gosford Park’s giltwood screen

It seems unlikely prices for the Withnail furniture will rival 007 memorabilia. Never say never, but Withnail’s niche allure means a smaller pool of bidders, perhaps — just a guess — not including the high-flying alpha spenders that Bond attracts.

Indeed, Kate McKenzie, the associate specialist for Sunday Sales at Christie’s, doubts how much the Withnail connection will boost value: “I anticipate a lot of people buying in the sale will be interested in the film. We will get fans of the film and Richard E Grant. But typically items that perform very well are related to the plot, or play a significant part in a star’s career. For instance, the pistol held by Sean Connery while advertising the film From Russia With Love sold for a record price. We didn’t add a premium on the estimates because of the film.”

On the other hand, Adrian Roose, who deals daily with collectors avid for everything from strands of Marilyn Monroe’s hair to signed photos of Charlie Chaplin, says we should never underestimate the passion of the fan.

James Mason’s table

“We have an increasing number of ‘Nostalgia Investors’ on our client list. People are realising that not only are these unique pieces of history great conversation pieces… but historically they have proven to be a great investment too,” says Roose.

Does it matter that there are thousands, rather than millions, of Withnail fans? “In our business it only takes two people to make an auction.”

The Sunday Sale, July 31, Christie’s, 85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD, www.christies.com

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LittleWhiteLies.co.uk – 13th July, 2011

Trailer Talk – The Iron Lady

By James Wright

Release date: January 6, 2012.

The cast: Meryl Streep, Harry Loyd, Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head, Richard E Grant, Roger Allam, Olivia Colman.

The pitch: Streep fluffs back her bouffant and dons some pearls as Margaret Thatcher to line up for what will surely be Academy catnip.

The buzz: A few stills here, a teaser trailer there, with each one increasing the film’s hype before the inevitable drive to do a King’s Speech at next years awards season. It’s still relatively early days, but the script is said to have angered Thatcher’s children who are reported to be have been appalled, calling it “some Left-wing fantasy.”

Reasons this could be good: Streep is always good value but with a character as visually and historically rich as Maggie, she could once again prove to the world why she is one of the best in the business. Equally, the rest of the cast ain’t half bad either, with a variable who’s who of British acting elite propping up the bill.

Reasons this could be bad: The King’s Speech in a dress? Can The Iron Lady realistically have the same amount of patriotic warmth that Colin Firth? Will this be Thatcher the warmonger or a gooey ‘triumphing against the odds’ Hollywood vehicle? Does anyone even care? Only time will tell.

Soundtrack: There’s no official news on who will be undertaking the film’s score as of yet, but is using part of the Moon score for the trailer a bit, well, sloppy? Sure Clint Mansell’s music does the usual job of making everything seem epic, but hopefully a bit more consideration will have been applied to the finished article.

The verdict: It’s more than likely that The Iron Lady will be just as toothless and conservative as The King’s Speech was, but equally there’s no doubt that it will also have just as much critical acclaim.

Best bit: 0.40-0.50 – In what is admittedly a trailer of very few details, the 10 seconds of Streep in full Thatcher mode are priceless.