April 07, 2006
O'Toole as Lawrence = Greatest Performance of All Time
Peter O'Toole's performance as Lawrence of Arabia in the eponymous 1962 David Lean epic film has been voted the greatest of all time, reports the Sun Online, as chosen by the film magazine Premiere.
"Part of the legend surrounding this mightiest and yet most intimate of epics—and surrounding O’Toole, who fearlessly and often dazzlingly dominates almost every scene—is that the role was first offered to both Marlon Brando and Albert Finney. We thank the movie gods that director David Lean spotted O’Toole “playing a silly-ass Englishman in a trout-fishing scene,” as he recalled, in the actor’s third movie, The Day They Robbed the Bank of England. The measure of what O’Toole, then 30, accomplished is that it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the part. Whether supremely self-confident or querulous, deeply wounded or frighteningly vengeful, O’Toole manages to achieve the many shades of an unfathomable man. And when the time comes to show a shattered Lawrence (after a torture sequence in a Turkish prison, which the expanded 1989 rerelease made all the more suggestive of rape), he does so with heartbreaking frailty. Amid so much tragedy and grandeur, the dark wit in the performance is sometimes forgotten, as when he’s promoted to major by a pompous general and patiently rejoins in his plummy English accent, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” The shoot was a harsh test in the North African desert (though he and costar Omar Sharif often fled to Beirut for drinking bouts), and the last shots were made with O’Toole’s feet soaking in an ice bucket in a Jeep. He would say good-naturedly that the role haunted him for the rest of his life (indeed, having lost the Oscar to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird, he was jinxed with six more nominations but no wins before getting an honorary statuette when he was 70). Thus he would say of the experience (during which he was knocked out twice, sprained both ankles, and dislocated his spine), “I was obsessed. . . . I spent two years and three months thinking about nothing but Lawrence. Day after day. It was bad for me. It killed my acting later on.” Whatever the cost, his pal Richard Burton rightly included him among “the odd few men and women who, once or twice in a lifetime, elevate [acting] into something odd and mystical and deeply disturbing."
Posted by Hamish at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2006
Bet on Peter to win Best Actor Oscar for 2006!
"18 March 2006O'TOOLE OF THE TRADEBack acting legend for NEXT YEAR'S OscarDerek McgovernYOU know how in TV whodunnits you always ignore the obvious suspect because he's, well, too obvious? Well it's like that in betting too.The more obvious a team or a horse or a Pop Idol, the more you try to find one to beat it.For instance France looked absolute certainties at the start of the Six Nations but I bet not too many of us backed them. Brave Inca had even stronger claims in Tuesday's Champion Hurdle but our money instead went on Mac's Joy or Hardy Eustace or Asian Maze. And even now there will be punters out there looking to oppose Barcelona in the Champions League while deep down recognising the futility of such actions.Of course what's obvious to punters is obvious to bookies too so the odds in all three cases above almost demanded that we look elsewhere. But today I give you an obvious winner - at far-from-obvious odds.Less than a fortnight ago Hills took a bet of £100 at 33-1 for Peter O'Toole to win a Best Actor Oscar next year.Now one thing punters don't do is back O'Toole at the Oscars. He's the Jimmy White of the Academy - he chokes so much on the big night that he'd be ideal for lead role in The Boston Strangler. But something about this bet made perfect sense. Picture perfect sense.AdvertisementFalk AdSolutionO'Toole, you see, is a constant source of embarrassment to Academy voters who cannot believe they have twice honoured Tom Hanks yet largely ignored one of the greatest actors in movie history.To salve their conscience, three years ago they offered him one of those honorary awards they give every year to the oldest duffer they can think of - Teddy Sheringham's in line for one next year. To his credit O'Toole declined, saying (in reference to a proper Oscar): "I'm still in the game. I might yet win the lovely bugger outright." Seven times O'Toole has been nominated for Best Actor. Seven times he's had to force a smile - the kind the Miss World runner-up bestows on the winner - while another name was called. With that kind of practice no wonder he's a great actor.To luckless O'Toole the five words "And the Oscar goes to..." must engender the same kind of feelings other blokes get when they hear "I'm pregnant - and it's yours." Word on the street is that the Academy are so desperate to give the great man an Oscar he could play the Tin Man in a remake of Wizard Of Oz and still get the nod.Well it just so happens that O'Toole is playing arguably the part of his life - his first lead role in 20 years - in the soon-to-be-released Venus. In it he plays an ageing actor smitten by a much younger woman. And he's in virtually every scene.Hills say they suspect the £100 bet was placed by an insider on the movie - but it could very well have been struck by O'Toole himself.The 73-year-old spent years of his boyhood at the races as the son of an Irish bookie. He played inveterate gambler and Sporting Life columnist Jeffrey Bernard on the London stage a few years ago. And the Cheltenham Festival is one of the highlights of his year, along with the Six Nations Championship.He said recently: "When my father came home from the track after a good day the whole room would light up' it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our house, it was always either a wake or a wedding."Somehow you suspect if anyone from the Venus team is backing O'Toole to win Best Actor Oscar, it's O'Toole.Henry Fonda, after a zillion superb performances, finally won his first Best Actor Oscar as an old man for On Golden Pond. O'Toole in my book is nailed on to become another successful OAP (Oscar-awarded pensioner). It's obvious, isn't it?"
Posted by Hamish at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
The Final Curtain showing this morning on the Sundance Channel
One of O'Toole's 'lost films', The Final Curtain, done in 2002 but it never seemed to make it to DVD release, is being shown on the Sundance channel this morning, so I'm told (thanks Paul!) ... if you can, record it! I don't have access to the channel so I'm a bit jealous of those who do right now... Whoever does see it, write a review and send it my way!
Follow-up: it's not so lost after all - The Final Curtain is available in the UK on PAL-format DVD. Amazon carries it and it is probably findable via Ebay as well. [thanks, Susan and Marie-Noëlle!]
Posted by Hamish at 06:06 AM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2006
O'Toole relishes lead role in "Venus"
"Why I'm Still Hoping for an Oscar" (Telegraph)
"After a succession of cameos, Peter O'Toole is relishing his first lead role for 20 years - as an old man smitten by a young woman. He talks exclusively to David Gritten on the set of VenusThree years ago, the American film Academy wrote to Peter O'Toole, then 70, and offered him an honorary Oscar. This was a belated method of correcting an embarrassing omission: O'Toole was nominated for seven Oscars between 1963 and 1983, but never won one. It was also a way for the Academy to salute a great actor in the autumn of his years.Peter O'Toole in VenusPeter O'Toole, on the set of his new film Venus: 'for years, I've been the token geriatric'But the ploy almost backfired. O'Toole, choosing his words scrupulously, wrote back to say that though "enchanted" by the offer, he was too young for an honorary Oscar. He asked the Academy to defer the honour until he was 80. "I'm still in the game," he observed memorably, "and might win the lovely bugger outright!" The Academy gave him the award anyway, but O'Toole's latest project shows that he is as determined as ever not to rest on his laurels.I met him on the set of Venus, directed by Roger Michell, in which he plays Maurice, an old actor living off the odd cameo role and TV appearances, one of which is as a corpse in a hospital drama. His best friend Ian (Leslie Phillips) is also a grumpy old actor; they sit in cafés and moan about their ailments.But things take a turn when Ian's great-niece Jessie (played by newcomer Jodie Whittaker) arrives to take care of him. She turns out to be plain, coarse and a heavy drinker with an unhappy secret. Ian resents her presence, but O'Toole's Maurice is smitten by her, and tries to turn her head by exposing her to culture. Vanessa Redgrave as Maurice's deserted wife and Richard Griffiths as another actor round out the impressive cast.One sees why O'Toole jumped at the part. Hanif Kureishi has written a hugely impressive script - funny, poignant, wise and politically incorrect in equal measure. The relationship between Maurice and Jessie is partly erotic, though never consummated. Venus may be seen as a companion piece to Kureishi and Michell's last film The Mother, about a woman in her sixties who takes a younger lover. But its mood is more positive and comedic."It's wonderful," says O'Toole. "I confess that, three or four years ago, I said I wished someone had the guts to write an unfeasible story about a young woman and an old man. It's a taboo subject. But it does happen."I suggest he must be delighted that anyone would write a starring role for a 73-year-old. "Oh man, you can say that again," he says, beaming. A pause for effect: "Mind you, I could do without being in every f***ing scene. It's tiring."If he's fatigued, it's hardly surprising. It's his first substantial lead role in two decades, since My Favourite Year (1982). Since then, his film work largely consists of cameos; most recently, he played a duke in Lassie."For the past few years, I've been the token geriatric, which suits me down to the ground," he says. "I love slithering up and down in nighties, playing kings, priests, colonels, dukes. I like all that."This time, he's not the token geriatric but the star geriatric, and he looks a fright. We are in an unlovely setting: a further education college in north London. O'Toole is dressed bizarrely in a Viyella shirt with cravat, olive trousers, a red fleece, green socks and a shapeless woolly hat. He has shaved only cursorily. Only when he fixes his gaze on you with those piercing eyes do you recall the dashing, handsome leading man he was in his prime.His astonishing film CV starts with Lawrence of Arabia and includes Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye Mr Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man and My Favourite Year. O'Toole was nominated for an Oscar as lead actor in all these films; his innate charm and his reputation for hell-raising only enhanced his status as a star.He enjoys playing a lead role, but it isn't easy for him. "Peter's very game," says Roger Michell. "The only difficult thing is, he's old. You can't just get him up at seven in the morning and start rolling. He needs time to thaw out, warm up. He needs to be treated with care."Specifically, O'Toole feels the cold. "The action of Venus takes place around Christmas, and we've been shooting exteriors for weeks," he winces. "Lots of wandering round alleys, parks, canals. It's so bloody cold."The Lion in WinterWith Katherine Hepburn in The Lion in WinterSo he has insisted on one comfort: a yellow and white survival tent, to which he adjourns between scenes on location. The crew can assemble it in 25 seconds; inside is a director's chair and a butane heater. "I creep in there and sit and keep warm until the next shot," he says fondly.The tent has become a jokey event and was used at several locations, including Trafalgar Square, outside the Royal Court theatre, in Carnaby Street, and on a Thames-side jetty. The production photographs it each time. "We're thinking of entering the photos for the Turner Prize," says Venus producer Kevin Loader, perfectly deadpan.O'Toole roars with laughter when the subject comes up. He's accustomed to spacious trailers and five-star treatment, but the more spartan conditions on a low-budget (£3 million) British film do not bother him.He's also used to films that close off city streets to shoot a scene, but he and Redgrave were shot from a discreet distance, strolling among real pedestrians on Kentish Town Road. Similarly, at Victoria Station for a scene in which O'Toole's Maurice was in physical distress, passers-by approached him, concerned for an old man's health. "Peter knows the point of shooting a scene in the real world," Michell says, approvingly.'We wanted a real film star," Loader says, "someone who would really bring a lot of baggage in an interesting way. We did have a list, but it's not a long one. We wanted the possibility of someone who could give a different performance, something people wouldn't expect. And it takes bravery. Peter's pretty raw in this. He's not made up, barely shaven half the time, acting older than he is, sometimes."His age can make fellow workers nervous. O'Toole was fitted with kneepads for a scene I saw, when he climbs on a closed door to peer through a pane of glass and watch an unclothed Jessie posing in the manner of The Rokeby Venus for a life class. Maurice must stumble, crash through the door and send easels flying. O'Toole did it flawlessly.Yet he fell and broke his hip on Boxing Day, while on a break from filming. He swiftly had a hip replacement, but the resumption of shooting Venus was postponed for three weeks.It will take more than such a setback to convince him he was wrong initially to rebuff the Academy's offer of an honorary Oscar. "You simply have to believe you have a future," he insists. "The moment actors start thinking otherwise, they're dead. We have to be optimistic. We have to believe that whatever we're doing, that we're the best actor, that audiences will come pouring in."He smiles mischievously. "Or that a script like Venus will come through your door."Life of a hellraiser# Born Peter Seamus O'Toole in 1932 in Connemara, Co Galway, Ireland, before moving with his family to England as a young boy, eventually settling in Leeds.# Left school at 14 to join the Yorkshire Evening Post as a cub reporter.# Enrolled at Rada on a scholarship in 1953. His year group included Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Richard Harris.# Joined Bristol Old Vic and played Hamlet at the age of 24.# Married actress Siân Phillips in 1958 and had two daughters. After divorce in 1979, he had a short-lived affair with model Karen Brown; they had a son in 1983.# His role as TE Lawrence in the epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) brought worldwide acclaim.# In 1975, became seriously ill with pancreatitis aggravated by heavy drinking.# Last year, took his first role for the BBC for more than 10 years as the ageing Casanova in BBC3's three-part drama of the same name."
Posted by Hamish at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2005
Joan Plowright acts with Lorcan O'Toole in "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont"
Joan Plowright, who starred with Peter O'Toole in "Global Heresy/Rock My World" in 2002, has the lead role in "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont", and she shares the screen (albeit only briefly) with Peter's son, Lorcan - his big screen debut. A short review can be found here.
Posted by Hamish at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
"It's not about me, it's about the dog"
"He's frequently referred to as one of the greatest actors of all time, but Peter O'Toole tells Grace Hammond why he doesn't mind being upstaged by a dog in the new film of Lassie." - from Yorkshire Today.
Posted by Hamish at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
O'Toole takes it all in his stride
Manchester online: the upcoming release of Lassie has the pundits asking O'Toole why he's gone against the old cliche, never work with children and animals.
"Don't act with children and dogs?" He smiles. "Well, try children, dogs, horses and hounds, coal miners and a fox. Try acting with that lot. Very tricky. It's painstaking and you need a lot of patience. Which fortunately our director Charles Sturridge did have."
Posted by Hamish at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2005
Updates on O'Toole, Kate and Sian
O'Toole to star in "Venus" with Vanessa Redgrave, the film is to be directed by Roger Mitchell ("Enduring Love", "Notting Hill"), written by Hanif Kureishi ("The Buddha of Suburbia").
"The 'coming of very old age' story stars the pair as Maurice and Ian, two unsuccessful English actors who eek out a living doing bit parts in TV and film.When Ian's grand-niece Jessie comes to stay, Maurice shows her the sites and sounds of London while trying to teach the youngster a thing or two about life.All does not go according to plan however, and Maurice ends up learning some hard lessons about himself.Co-starring Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths, the film also introduces newcomer Jodie Whittaker as Jessie."
Sian Phillips has been interviewed by the Times Online on her upcoming role as Miss Havisham in the RSC's production of Great Expectations. Some good bits about her relationship with Peter O'Toole.
Kate O'Toole in a production of Lennox Robinson's 1930's comedy, "Drama at Inish", playing until Dec 31 at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
Posted by Hamish at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
O'Toole to star with Colin Firth in La Fenice (2006)
The IMDB lists O'Toole as starring in the in-production film, La Fenice - based on the murder-mystery novel "Death at La Fenice" by Italian author Donna Leon.
Posted by Hamish at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2005
O'Toole Attends Savannah Film Fest for Second Year
O'Toole Attends Savannah Film Festival
"Earlier that day, O'Toole had posed for pictures in front of Savannah College of Art and Design Trustees Theater. As one SUV after another slowed down to stare - Lawrence of Arabia on East Broughton? - the actor waved majestically. It was a slightly more elegant, certainly more theatrical, variation on the Queen Elizabeth version."
More on the festival here.
O'Toole was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year's festival.
ShowbizIreland has some good shots of O'Toole during the shooting of "Lassie"
Posted by Hamish at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2005
O'Toole Narrates "Mystic India" IMAX film
Peter O'Toole is the narrator for the newly released IMAX film, "Mystic India".
"Narrated by legendary screen actor, Peter O’Toole, Mystic India provides a look at the culture and history of India by following the true story of Neelkanth, a young yogi who lived in India 200 years ago. From 1792 through 1799, Neelkanth embarked on a spiritual quest, walking alone and barefoot 8,000 miles over the length and breadth of India. His journey ended in Loj, where a great saint and teacher, Ramanand Swami, persuaded Neelkanth to become his successor. From that point forward, Neelkanth was known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and grew to be one of the great spiritual leaders and social reformers in Indian history."Official site here.
Posted by Hamish at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2005
O'Toole to be on ITV's "Avenue of the Stars"
http://www.online.ie/entertainment/viewer.adp?article=3275264
Peter's name will be added on a Silver Star to ITV's "Avenue of the Stars" walkway in London's Covent Garden, it was announced today. His name will be added, with many others, to celebrate ITV's 50th Anniversary.
Posted by Hamish at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2005
Some Images Recently Found on the web...
O'Toole Receives Savannah Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement award, October 27, 2004. "from Savannah College of Art and Design President Paula S. Wallace, center, in Savannah, Ga. O'Toole was recently given an honorary Academy Award for a movie career that spans over four decades and includes seven Oscar nominations. Man at right in photo is unidentified. Photo by Stephen Morton" (link)
A collection of behind-the-scenes photos from the production of Troy produced this find..
The Photographer Claude Azoulay took this one in Paris, 1963.
And the photographer Colin Thomas took this one:
In "Augustus" (2004)
As Casanova (2005) - the poster for the miniseries
Posted by Hamish at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2005
Lassie Update: Time Article
One of our regular readers (thanks Jeff!) provided a scanned version of the Time Magazine article! You can download it here: lassie.pdf
Posted by Hamish at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2005
O'Toole attends funeral for Sir John Mills
Sir John Mills, one of the greats of the British theatre and cinema, age 97, died in April - his memorial service was held last week. O'Toole attended the service, as did a who's who of the British acting scene - including Sir Michael Caine, Dame Judy Dench, Herbert Lom, Stephen Fry, Sir Richard Attenborough and Sir Cliff Richard.
Strangely enough, my sister-in-law Cheryl reports from London: [her boyfriend] "Will had lunch in the same room as O'Toole today at the clients' club downtown... along with some guy from Bond movies who used to bang Marilyn Monroe." - no word on who the actor was O'Toole was lunching with...!
(another story at HELLO! Magazine...)
Posted by Hamish at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2005
O'Toole's take on Lassie in Time Magazine
Sunday, Jul. 03, 2005
Old Dog, New Tricks
That indomitable collie Lassie is back--and you'll never guess whom she brought with her
By JOSH TYRANGIEL/ISLE OF MAN
Peter O'Toole has faced down some acting challenges in his day. (Lawrence of Arabia springs to mind.) But the movie he is making now is particularly treacherous. "What's the old cliché?" he asks. "Don't act with children and dogs? Well, try children, dogs, horses and hounds, coal miners, a motor car formerly the property of the late George Raft, and a fox. Try acting with that lot, which I did the other day. Verrrrry tricky." O'Toole, 72, knew when he signed up for the remake of Lassie that there would be a collie, a massive hunt scene in which his character would chase a fox down a coal mine in an old Duesenberg and two 9-year-old co-stars. "I'm not complaining," he says, sitting in his trailer and munching on licorice jujubes, "just amazed. Strange old business, film is. Strange old business."
That anyone would decide to remake Lassie is in itself not so odd. Far worse properties have been rehashed, and at least director Charles Sturridge (Brideshead Revisited, Shackleton) will be classing up the old dog a bit, not only by casting O'Toole, Samantha Morton and Peter Dinklage in major roles but also by taking the story back to its pre--Timmy's-trapped-in-a-well roots. "I never saw the TV show, and I can't recall any of the films," says Sturridge, who hopes to have his movie ready for a Christmas release. "But the original novel"--Lassie Come-Home, written by Eric Knight in 1940--"was set in Yorkshire, and it had a certain prewar British integrity about it. In current children's films, you have to be ironic to reach the parents in the audience. It's a profitable formula, but this film won't appeal to one audience over the heads of another. It looks the whole audience in the eye."
The production itself is a little less straightforward. For tax reasons, the Isle of Man is standing in for Yorkshire, while, for reasons clear only to Classic Media, holder of the rights to Lassie, everyone on the set is required to stick to the fiction that Lassie is being played by a single dog named Lassie. Actually, three collies named Carter, Mason and Dakota share the part. "We have the stunt dog, the running dog and the picture dog," trainer Mathilde de Cagny whispers. "We do a little bit of makeup on the picture dog to darken him up. He's lighter than the others, so we had a special dog colorist from Los Angeles come in. She has vegetable dyes that do the trick." No makeup can disguise the fact that all three Lassies are male. "We count on the fur to hide that," says de Cagny. A strange business indeed.
Perhaps because there are three of them, the dogs are not the biggest stars on the set. "The fox is completely breathtaking," says Sturridge. "In your soul you know that a dog can be trained, and you think, Well, no, not a fox. So when you see a fox run and stop exactly where you've told it to stop, you go, For f____'s sake, that is amazing." O'Toole, as the imperious duke who buys Lassie from a struggling coal-mining family and takes the dog away to his Scottish manse, is not as easy to control, but he is a significantly better quote. With little prompting, he tells stories about growing up near the Yorkshire Dales ("We used to pee at the junction of the Ribble and Aire rivers to see whose would go to the Irish Sea and whose would go to the North Sea!"), ignoring the advice of theater directors ("barnstorm führers, the lot") and mocking "gibberish spouting" method actors. "When you're playing Hamlet, and you and Horatio are up on the battlements, Horatio says, 'But, look, the morn in russet mantle clad/ Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill.' Well, it isn't! You're looking at Charlie the prop man with a fag in his gob. It's pretend, for God's sake!"
O'Toole retired from the theater in 1999 ("Playing a leading role is too exhausting, and I won't shuffle on as an old butler. I won't."), and because of his age and accomplishments, he tends to get typecast in boringly prestigious movie roles, such as Priam in 2004's Troy. "I spent the film slithering around in a piece of old chiffon," he says sadly. Sturridge wrote the part of Lassie's duke to give O'Toole a chance to let loose again. "I wanted a character who was both exciting to children and at the same time dangerous," says Sturridge. "I had Peter in mind, and it has been great to see him use his anarchic energy again." O'Toole appreciates the opportunity but understands that "the film isn't about me, it's about the dog. Admittedly, the dog isn't all that good an actor, but with the right cuts and perhaps a lamb chop, we'll get the job done."
Posted by Hamish at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2005
O'Toole comments on the current state of Hollywood
Is Hollywood on a Slow Death March?
"Film actor, Peter O’Toole, one who doesn’t hesitate to make his voice heard, noted: “There was something very brash, yet regal about Hollywood when I first arrived in the place. I would say, there was a curiosity about the stars and the people who brought bigger than life characters onto the screen. Now, because of television, cable and also the invasion of the computer into our lives, there is a problem of overexposure – if you want to find out something about an artist, you simply go online, and there you have it. The glamour as it was is gone. When watching premieres, what do you see? People attending wearing tennis shoes or looking as if they had just emerged from a shower. So, where are the role models – of course, there are few stars that have maintained certain standards of dress and behavior but they are very few. I must confess that the Hollywood that I once knew and admired is nearly gone – dead, unfortunately.”
Posted by Hamish at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2005
Lassie Production Under Fire
Lassie boycotted by angry fans -
"The latest Lassie movie is under fire because the lead role has not been given to a descendent of the original canine star for the first time.Fans of the legendary movies are outraged, as every Lassie film or television series since 1946 has starred a member of the first Lassie's extended family.But Classic Media - who produce the upcoming Peter O'Toole and Samantha Morton film - insist there are logistical reasons behind their unpopular decision.A spokesman says: "There are only a few bloodline Lassies that are trained sufficiently to star in a major film and unfortunately none of these dogs had the necessary paperwork - called a pet passport - to travel and wo rk internationally."
(Ireland On-Line)
Posted by Hamish at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2005
O'Toole leapt to take on Jeffrey Bernard role. after reading script...
From today's Guardian Unlimited: "Waterhouse crafted the play by distilling Jeff's wonderful Low Life columns in The Spectator, and by adding a large measure of his own comic genius he fashioned one of the funniest plays in the English language. The script was so good that when Waterhouse first sent a copy to Peter O'Toole he received a message on his answering machine cursing him for altering the actor's life. O'Toole had intended to take the following year off work, but the prospect of doing the play so excited him he decided he must commit to it immediately."
(full article)
Under Milk Wood is slated for DVD release on August 9th. (amazon.ca)
Posted by Hamish at 08:40 AM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2005
Svengali Released on DVD
O'Toole's Svengali (with Jodie Foster, 1983) has been re-released on DVD, according to long-time reader Jeff Swindoll. Thanks for the heads-up, Jeff!
It's available at amazon.cm for $9.98, although deepdiscountdvd.com has it for $5.99!
Another upcoming O'Toole DVD re-release is What's New Pussycat (1965) - one of my favourite of Peter's british comedies. No word on extra features. It's slated for release on June 7th.
Posted by Hamish at 07:49 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
Another Lassie Article.
Peter O'Toole vs. Lassie (CHUD.com)
"About this time last year I had a chance to meet Peter O'Toole. It was at the press junket for Troy, and even though the room I was in was packed (Warners was doing the day mostly press conference style, which I hate), he took the time to walk around the room and meet every person in it. That's class. Also, he smoked in the non-smoking rooms because he's Peter Fucking O'Toole and unless you have a Cousin Balki you don't even try to tell him no.The guy's old. He's lived a helluva life and you can read it on his face. But the sad fact is that one of these days one of the movies he makes is going to be his last movie. And I hope that it isn't the upcoming Lassie film (I wonder if Raoul Julia is in heaven cursing his casting agent for making him go out with Street Fighter).In the new Lassie, based on the novel Lassie Come Home, O'Toole will play the Duke of Rudling, who buys Lassie from a poor family. When the collie is moved 500 miles away to the Duke's castle, he (she? I think the dog's a dude but always played by a bitch) runs away and has amazing adventures in England on the eve of WWII, trying to get home for Christmas."
Posted by Hamish at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2005
O'Toole to star in Irish "Lassie" film.
BBC News UK: "Peter O'Toole and Samantha Morton have signed up to appear in a new Lassie film, to be shot in Ireland and the Isle of Man later this month.Lassie, directed by Britain's Charles Sturridge, will also star John Lynch, Jemma Redgrave and Steve Pemberton from TV comedy the League of Gentlemen.The cast also includes Rab C Nesbitt star Gregor Fisher.Sturridge also wrote the screenplay, based on Eric Knight's classic 1938 novel Lassie Come Home.Entertainment Film Distributors will distribute the film in the UK, according to reports from the Cannes film festival.Deals have also been reached in Japan, the Middle East and various territories in Europe.Plucky collie Lassie made his first screen appearance in 1943's Lassie Come Home, starring Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor.However, he has not been seen on the big screen since 1994.The new film is being produced by Firstsight Films, Classic Media and Ireland's Element Films, producers of Omagh and The Magdalene Sisters."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4541413.stm
Other articles on this story: Worldscreen.com; Yahoo Finance
Posted by Hamish at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2005
O'Toole Slams Troy (again) in Radio Times interview
Troy Movie Was Like A Hovis Ad, Says O'Toole
By Anita Singh, PA Showbusiness Editor(the Scotsman)
"Veteran actor Peter O’Toole has revealed what he really thinks of movie epic Troy.
The Lawrence of Arabia star said the big-budget film reminded him of a Hovis advert.
It was panned by critics – and O’Toole, who appeared opposite Brad Pitt, said he can see why.
In an interview with the Radio Times, the 72-year-old said: “I call it ‘Trovis’ – after watching 50 minutes I found myself in quiet despair, and suddenly that Hovis advert came into my mind over Brad Pitt’s face.
“I got the chuckles and had to leave.”
O’Toole played King Priam and Pitt played Achilles in the £111 million movie which was poorly received by the world’s critics.
It was dubbed “Homer-lite” while one critic described it as “utterly preposterous”.
Elsewhere in the interview, O’Toole raged against the state of British theatre.
The Irish-born actor, who has enjoyed an acclaimed stage career and received an honorary Oscar, said: “There are always promising young actors, and today the sensible ones f*** off from what calls itself ‘the theatre’ as soon as they can because it’s such badly-done s***.
“Do you feel you can hop on a bus to the West End and see the likes of Paul Scofield, Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier?
“The Old Vic and Stratford were places where the best actors in the English-speaking world did their greatest work. That was their remit – not whether a third-rate, biddable a***hole could do 39 productions of As You Like It upside down with red noses. The bulbous, state-run theatre provides a healthy living for smart-alec t****.”
The father of three added: “I tell my children to avoid theatre and go into cinema and TV.”O’Toole’s latest role is in the BBC3 drama Casanova, in which he plays the ageing Lothario looking back on his life."
More links to the story: itv.com, keralanext.com, The SunUK.
Posted by Hamish at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
Soundtrack to Man of La Mancha re-released.
"The latest details of the cover artwork for the forthcoming 'Man Of La Mancha: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' have been released.
Music by Mitch Leigh. Lyrics by Joe Darion.
Music Adapted and Conducted by Laurence Rosenthal. Release Date: 4/12/05
Peter O’Toole lights up the screen in this offbeat but colorful adaptation of the 1965 stage musical adapted from Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. O’Toole tackles a dual role, playing both Cervantes and his classic character with style and verve. He’s delightful as Quixote, the 17th-century Spaniard afflicted with a dementia that makes him think he’s a medieval knight, duty-bound to uphold the age of chivalry and vanquish evildoers. James Coco plays his loyal sidekick, Sancho Panza, and Sophia Loren fills the role of Dulcinea, the peasant woman whom Quixote would champion. Director Arthur Hiller doesn’t concern himself overly with the original show’s “book,” written by Dale Wasserman; instead, he makes the film a vehicle for the Mitch Leigh-Joe Darion music. O’Toole, gets the memorable numbers (including the beloved standard The Impossible Dream) and performs them in grand manner, even though his singing is dubbed by British actor-singer Simon Gilbert.
Laurence Rosenthal earned an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of the songs and score."
Posted by Hamish at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
Good write-up on O'Toole in BBC's "Casanova"
Guardian UK has this to say about O'Toole in the BBC's "Casanova", in which O'Toole plays the renowned lover in his twilight years:
"...In a stroke of casting genius, Peter O'Toole, looking spookily like the painting Willem Dafoe must have in his attic, plays the ageing lothario with a galaxy-worth of twinkles."
The Herald has a good notice too:
"How can you lose with a film that contains both Venice and Peter O'Toole?"...
"What really lifts the production, a film better by far than BBC Three has ever deserved, is, first, the acting. O'Toole, languid as ever, still has the ability to let you see the embers of passion blazing in his eyes."
And here's a short bit from the Belfast Telegraph:"Peter O'Toole played old Casanova with charming menace."
Posted by Hamish at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2005
Update - O'Toole around the 'web...
Tom Alter with Peter O'Toole - (rediff.com) Bollywood actor gushes after his experience acting opposite O'Toole in "One Night with the King" - O'Toole played Samuel to Alter's King Saul. The film was shot in Rajasthan.
Posted by Hamish at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2004
O'Toole to Star Again with Sharif; Calls Troy Director a Kraut
Peter's in the news again - he's starring with his old friend Omar Sharif in "One Night with the King" - no, it's not about Elvis. Still in production, the film is slated for release in 2005.
From the press release:
"The film chronicles the life of the young Jewish girl, Hadassah, played by newcomer Tiffany Dupont. Dupont portrays the rags-to-riches heroine who goes on to become the Biblical Esther, the Queen of Persia (400–322 B.C.), who saves the Jewish nation from annihilation at the hands of its arch enemy Haman (played by James Callis) while winning the heart of the fiercely handsome King Xerxes, played by Luke Goss.
Links: PR Leap; Guardian UnlimitedUK
O'Toole wins IFTA Best Supporting Actor Award for Troy RoleTimes Online
O'Toole voted one of the Greatest Actors of all Time (Empire Magazine UK)
News Scotsman
He's listed at #22, behind other UK actors Anthony Hopkins (6th), Sean Connery (13), Ian McKellen (15), Alan Rickman (19), Christopher Lee (16) and Judi Dench (20).
NY Daily News covers O'Toole at Savannah Film Festival:
"The 71-year-old Oscar-winner has been communing with the dead down at the just-wrapped Savannah Film Festival. The impish Irishman made a nighttime visit to the St. Bonaventure Cemetery, where he did a little jig at the grave of composer Johnny Mercer while singing Mercer's "Jeepers Creepers."
Fortified with red wine, O'Toole also had a merry time testing film critic Roger Ebert and actor Jason Patric on their knowledge of William Butler Yeats' poetry as they walked to a party. (The three-block walk took 45 minutes.)"
O'Toole calls Wolfgang Peterson a Kraut (femalefirst.co.uk)
"Veteran actor Peter O'Toole has unleashed a severe attack on the director of his last film, 'Troy'.
According to Femalefirst, he has reportedly rendered the epic movie as a "a disaster" and has branded German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen "a clown."
"Ugh, what a disaster. The director, that kraut, what a clown he was," he said when asked about the movie at the Savannah Film Festival.
"When it was all over, I watched 15 minutes of the finished movie and then walked out," he added.(ANI)"
Bright Young Things to be released on DVD in Feb, 2005 - DVD Answers
Posted by Hamish at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)