Iris Premiere

World Premiere

Paris Theater, NYC, December 2, 2001

Another luxurious art house in Manhattan's Midtown, the Paris is most noted for its rich blue velvet walls and its location--directly across from the Plaza Hotel and not much further from the beginning of Central Park.

The Paris is one of the very best places to see art house films in New York. As its name implies, the Paris has an affinity for playing foreign films (especially French films).

Source: Cinema Treasures

WATCH VIDEO REPORT FROM THE PREMIERE!

Rebecca sent me the following photos she took at the premiere:

Thanks to 'joliefemme' for pic #1 above (Us magazine)

I scanned pic #2 from The Hollywood Reporter

Rebecca attended the premiere, after-party, and emailed me as soon as she got home:

It's like 2.30am right now and I just got back from the Iris Premiere at the Paris in NYC. Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Dame Judi Dench, Hugh Bonneville, Sir Ian McKellen, and Joel Siegel from ABC all attended, just to mention a few. It was a real star studded event.

It was fantastic! Kate looked great and she brought Sam Mendes with her. They even kissed for the cameras. Kate is so tiny now! She is really really skinny, I mean, I couldn't over-emphasise that enough. I loved her red corset thingy and her boots.

Two of Kate's guests didn't show up and me and Rachel wanted to go in with Kate to see "Iris" but the security wouldn't allow us. It was so cool how Kate recognised Rachel in the crowd and our section like got all the attention.

We did follow Kate to the after party at Fred's and Barney's... I took photos of Kate and Sam at Fred's as well. I can't wait to get my photos back from the lab!

'Iris' Eyes Have Miramax Smiling
Love, life abound at preem
By Charles Lyons
"This is a story of unconditional love that anyone can relate to," producer Scott Rudin said at Sunday's after-party for the premiere of Miramax's "Iris," held at Fred's, within Barney's clothing store on Madison Avenue.

Harvey Weinstein gave much of the credit for the film to Alan Yentob, who's also director of drama, entertainment and children's TV at the BBC, which helped produce pic. "This is a larger-than-life movie," said an elated Weinstein. "It's really an event film."

He said Miramax will release the Judi Dench starrer Dec. 14 for Academy Award consideration, with plans for a wider release early next year.

Spotted among the crowd after the Paris Theater screening were pic's director, Richard Eyre, cast members Dench, Kate Winslet (with new beau Sam Mendes), Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville; and guests Glenn Close, Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow, Nicholas Hytner, Laura Linney, Ian McKellen and Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson.

Transcript of Tom Brook's report from the premiere (watch the video on Real Player):

The world premiere of Iris brought out quite a crowd, eager to witness the combined star power of Dame Judi Dench and Kate Winslet. In this British film, Dame Judi plays Iris Murdoch in her later years. [Clip from film] Dame Judi says it wasn’t easy playing a woman like Murdoch, a relatively contemporary figure who only died in 1999. "It’s difficult to distill somebody who’s very recent in people’s minds and who so many people knew so well."

Kate Winslet plays young Iris in the early days of her relationship with John Bayley, who she married. Bayley had difficulty initially grasping Murdoch’s many different friendships and sexual relationships. [Clip from Iris] Winslet says she just couldn’t resist the role. "She was just dynamite, really, you know, an incredibly strong woman who had strong morals, and at the same time wasn’t judgmental of other people, and had a real zest for living and a passion for life and people and words. And I could sort of relate to that."

Kate Winslet’s presence at the premiere certainly animated the press. She admits it’s been a bit much dealing with the intense media interest in her personal life, her divorce, and her new romantic liaison with director Sam Mendes. "What’s important to me is that, you know, the people that I know and that I love know who I am and know how I feel about things, and know what I would and wouldn’t say. And that’s all that really counts."

The younger version of Iris that Kate Winslet portrays is relatively easy to watch. What’s painful is to see this woman with a brilliant mind when she’s older, being robbed of her mental faculties as Alzheimer’s Disease takes its toll.

The film’s subject matter and the fact that Iris Murdoch isn’t that well known in the U.S. may make this picture a tough sell in America. But already Iris is generating very strong word of mouth based on its performances.

Hugh Bonneville, who plays the young John Bayley, and Jim Broadbent, the same character when he’s older, have both received strong praise for their performances, as has Kate Winslet. But for Americans, when it comes to acting, nothing can quite beat Dame Judi.

[Brook, to Judi] Already, people here in America are talking about a possible Oscar nomination. Presumably, you’d welcome that.

[Judi:] "Ah, well, I don’t want to think about anything like that. I haven’t seen it yet, and so I’m just going to see it now."

December is shaping up to be a big month for Dame Judi. In America, she’ll also be seen in the high-profile film The Shipping News, playing opposite Kevin Spacey. And next week she’ll be feted by friends and colleagues who’ve worked with her over the last forty years at a special Bafta tribute.

A few months ago she had eyes only for one man. Kate Winslet spoke in interviews of the strength of her relationship with husband Jim Threapleton, the 'glorious-looking boy with blue eyes' who is father to her baby daughter Mia.

The actress was talking in much the same vein in New York on Sunday evening. Except that the 'good man' in her arms this time was not Mr Threapleton but her new love, Sam Mendes. With her divorce from Mr Threapleton going through, Miss Winslet, 26, chose the world premiere of her film Iris to go public with Mr Mendes. 'We're very happy, unbelievably happy,' she cooed, as the couple kissed and cuddled at the post-premiere party.

Both she and Mr Mendes - the 35-year-old British theatre director who won an Oscar for his first film, American Beauty - were keen to stress that their relationship began after Miss Winslet's marriage break-up in early September. 'He's a good man,' she said, nodding towards Mr Mendes, who was chatting to friends across the room. You can say I said that with a very large smile on my face.' She added: 'It's one of those unexplainable things that we're together.'

They met when Mr Mendes invited the Titanic star to work on productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the theatre he runs in London's Donmar Warehouse next autumn. Miss Winslet turned down the offer but not the man who made it.

The couple chose Sunday's screening for their 'coming out' two weeks after their relationship became public knowledge, saying they no longer wanted to look as if they were 'in hiding'. 'It had to happen sometime and someplace,' said Miss Winslet.

She traveled to New York from Austin, Texas, where she is filming The Life of David Gale with Kevin Spacey. Mr Mendes flew in from London especially.

Miss Winslet, who wore a red, low-cut Dolce and Gabbana dress with black silk evening coat, could not conceal her delight at having him by her side. She planted a loving kiss on his cheek as they posed outside the Paris Theatre before the screening and held his hand as they walked down the red carpet.

Miss Winslet's 14-month-old daughter was being cared for by her father, who spent the last week visiting her in Austin. The 27-year-old assistant director, who took Mia on several outings wearing a papoose, returned to London yesterday. 'It wasn't fair to her to put her through two long journeys across the country in less than 24 hours so Mia stayed in Texas,' said her mother. 'I have to be back there first thing Monday morning so it would have meant a lot of disturbance.'

She added: 'Jim and I have both strived to ensure that Mia' s interests come first in everything. By the time I finish my role on The Life of David Gale I will have worked 11 weeks in one year. The rest of the time I've been Mum. Mia's a little actress and she's beautiful. She's talking, she's got four teeth and she's all over the place. My priority is that once filming has ended I get back to England with her for a big family Christmas.'

Once the holiday season is over, however, Miss Winslet will be busy promoting Iris, which is being tipped for Academy Award success next spring. The movie is based on Oxford professor John Bayley's book about his wife Dame Iris Murdoch, the novelist. Directed by Richard Eyre and co-starring Dame Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville, it uses flashbacks and flashes forward to recreate the couple's courtship and eventual marriage. Miss Winslet plays the young Iris, with Dame Judi portraying the authoress in later life as she struggled with Alzheimer's disease. Mr Broadbent and Mr Bonneville play the older and younger Bayley.

'You see Kate when Iris was younger and me as Iris in her prime and after,' Dame Judi said after the screening. 'The film's really a great love story about how John Bayley coped and looked after her and how they tried to communicate. Words were so important to Iris and suddenly she was robbed of the very thing she craved and lived for. She was reduced to watching the Teletubbies.'

The film won a rare standing ovation at its first screening, confirming its Oscar potential. 'On Sunday night people are usually up and out of their seats to get the first cab,' said producer Harvey Weinstein. 'But this audience stayed and cheered.'

'I don't think I've ever seen people here give a screening a standing ovation,' added Sir Ian McKellen. 'They don't do that polite stuff in New York if they don't mean it.' Sir Ian, who is appearing on Broadway with fellow Briton Helen Mirren, was one of many celebrity guests at the screening and party, which was held at Fred's on Madison Avenue.

Actress Kate Winslet and director Sam Mendes have appeared in public together for the first time since Mendes confirmed that the two were romantically linked. The pair attended the New York world première of Winslet's new film, Iris, an adaptation of John Bayley's book about his late wife, the novelist and philosopher Dame Iris Murdoch.

Winslet said at the party after the première that she and the American Beauty director were "unbelievably happy", according to the Daily Mail. "He's a good man. You can say I said that with a large smile on my face," she was quoted as saying.

Mendes last month confirmed that he was having an affair with Winslet in the wake of the actress's split from husband Jim Threapleton. "Yes, we are having a relationship. It's early days, and we are very happy," he said.

But the 35-year-old film and theatre director, who has been linked with a string of stars including The Mummy actress Rachel Weisz, denied he had played a role in ending 26-year-old Winslet's marriage. He said: "I was very careful to ensure that I was not endangering her marriage. Indeed, it was already over, and I came along well after."

Iris is a portrait of the relationship between Iris Murdoch and John Bayley, her literary critic husband, over a period of 40 years, from the time they first met, at Oxford in the 1950s. The film switches between past and present, focusing on the early days of their romance and more recent times with Murdoch's descent into darkness as she succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease. Winslet and Hugh Bonneville play the younger Murdoch and Bayley - the older roles go to Dame Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent.

Love story -- At the première, Winslet said she had immersed herself in Bayley's "wonderful" book in order to research the role. "It is a first-hand account of what it was genuinely like, day to day - that was the most useful thing to me," she said. "There was some amazing documentaries about Iris and some interviews that she had given when she was about 50, 60 years old that were incredibly useful to me in terms of how she spoke and her demeanour. "

Director Richard Eyre said the film was about an enduring love that survived chronic illness. "The film isn't so much about the illness as about a relationship that is affected by the illness," he said.

'We're Unbelievably Happy', Says Kate Winslet of Romance With Director Sam Mendes

Actress Kate Winslet was eager to show the world just how happy she is, planting a kiss on her new boyfriend’s cheek outside the Manhattan premiere of her latest film, Iris. "He’s a good man," she said of American Beauty director and paramour Sam Mendes. "You can say I said that with a very large smile on my face."
"We’re very happy, unbelievable happy," she told UK tabloid the Daily Mail. "It’s one of those unexplainable things that we’re together."
Despite the excitement of her new romance, Kate – dressed in a red, low-cut Dolce & Gabbana dress – admitted she was less than eager to make their first public appearance as a couple. "But it had to happen sometime and someplace," she said of their coming out.
Kate split from husband Jim Threapleton in September much to the surprise of the film making community. They were believed to have one of the strongest show biz marriages, and were often photographed around London cavorting with baby daughter Mia. However, the pair called it quits in September.
The Sense And Sensibility star, busy filming The Life Of David Gale in Austin, Texas, arrived in New York over the weekend sans Mia. "It wasn’t fair to put her through two long journeys across the country in less than 24 hours so Mia stayed in Texas. I have to be back there first thing Monday morning so it would have meant a lot of disturbance," she said at the post-screening party at posh restaurant Fred’s. Jim flew in from London to care for their 14-month-old girl.
"Jim and I have both strived to ensure that Mia’s interests come first in everything," added Kate. "By the time I finish my role on David Gale I will have worked 11 weeks in one year. The rest of the time I’ve been mum… My priority is that once filming has ended I get back to England with her for a big family Christmas."
Iris, co-starring Dame Judi Dench, opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 14 to ensure eligibility for this year’s Academy Awards. The film is due for wide release early next year.

Kate And Sam Go Public
Golden couple together at premiere
Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes have appeared in public as a couple for the first time. The 26-year-old actress and her 35-year-old boyfriend attended the New York premiere of her new film, Iris, about the writer Iris Murdoch. They stood hand-in-hand and at one point Winslet leaned over and gave Mendes a peck on the cheek. In an interview given earlier in the day, the Titanic actress spoke about the end of her marriage to Jim Threapleton. ‘Life is life,’ she said, ‘and divorce happens to lots of people. When your first priority is the happiness of your child, that is the first thing you have to think about and then act accordingly. That’s simply what we did.’

Busty Kate Winslet gazes adoringly at new love Sam Mendes before planting a smacker on his cheek at the premiere of her latest movie.

Titanic star Kate, 26 - who split from hubby Jim Threapleton three months ago - was accompanied by fellow Brit Mendes to the screening of the film Iris in New York.

Kate and American Beauty director Mendes, 35, were spotted last month at a Texas hotel with her 14-month-old daughter Mia.

Shy and retiring star Kate Winslet is more than happy to show off new love Sam Mendes.

The celebrity couple put on an astonishing display of public affection as they stepped out at a premiere. The pair's mission statement was clearly: "We're in love - and we're going to flaunt it."

Titanic actress Kate, 26, and Oscar-winning director Sam, 35, lapped up the attention at the New York premiere of Iris in which Winslet plays tragic author Iris Murdoch.

Kate was anything but coy about her new love as she kissed and held hands with smiling Sam. An onlooker said: "They were clearly thrilled. I don't think anyone really thought they would arrive together but they obviously wanted to let the world know how happy they are."

As the celebrity couple lived it up in Manhattan, Kate's estranged husband Jim Threapleton, 27, was left holding the baby, 14-month-old daughter Mia, in Texas.

Just this weekend he admitted: "Life was rough living with a movie star. I'm much happier now."

But it remains to be seen if Jim, who split from Kate in September, will feel the same after seeing these pictures of his wife with Mendes.

The actress Kate Winslet noted that "divorce happens to lots of people" as she made her first public appearance with her new partner, Sam Mendes.

Winslet, 26, who appeared in Titanic, and Mendes, 35, who directed American Beauty, attended the New York premiere of Iris, based on the life on the novelist Iris Murdoch. They stood hand-in-hand and at one point the British actress gave Mendes a kiss on the cheek.

Their appearance coincided with the publication of an interview given by Winslet in which she spoke about her divorce from Jim Threapleton, by whom she has a 14-month-old daughter.

Winslet said: "Life is life, and divorce happens to lots of people. When your first priority is the happiness of your child, that is the first thing you have to think about and then act accordingly. That’s simply what we did.

"Having had a child, I feel stronger and more in tune with who I am. I still have enormous determination and strength. I feel as though I can accomplish anything."

Iris is based on the unconventional relationship between Iris Murdoch and John Bayley, the literary critic and her husband of 40 years. Winslet plays the author as a young woman.

Kate Winslet is pictured for the first time with her new partner Sam Mendes hours after the publication of an interview in which she spoke about her separation from her husband and shared her thoughts on divorce.

The 26-year-old British actress posed for photographers last night with Mr Mendes at the New York premiere of her new film, Iris, based on the life of the novelist Iris Murdoch. They stood hand-in-hand and at one point the Titanic star leant over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"They were clearly thrilled," an onlooker said. "He started by holding her around the waist, and then she held his hand and reached over to kiss his cheek. I don't think anyone really thought they would arrive together, but they clearly wanted to let the world know how happy they are."

In the interview published in the US yesterday, Ms Winslet said: "Life is life, and divorce happens to lots of people. When your first priority is the happiness of your child, that is the first thing you have to think about and then act accordingly. That's simply what we did. We all want to be with a life partner and hope that it's everlasting. Sometimes it doesn't happen." However Ms Winslet headed off any further questions about her three-year marriage to assistant film director Jim Threapleton, 27. "The details of the divorce are completely confidential," she added.

News of Ms Winslet's new relationship emerged after Mr Mendes, the award-winning director of American Beauty, stayed at a Texas hotel with Ms Winslet and her 14-month-old daughter Mia.

Mr Mendes, 35, later admitted: "Yes, we are having a relationship. It's early days and we're very happy. î He denied playing a part in the breakdown of her marriage. "She'd already split from Jim when we met," he said. "Some time in September it went from being friends to something deeper."

During her marriage, Ms Winslet was more than forthcoming about her personal life. But now she says: "I'm getting more private as I get older, especially in terms of relationships. I basically won't talk about them."

Still, she's happy to talk about her daughter. In the interview she said: "Being a single mother is not remotely daunting. There's an instinctive strength that just kicks in. I didn't get a nanny until she was nine months old. It's absolutely exhausting, but I wanted to experience all those things."

Ms Winslet also described how hard it was to leave Mia behind when she works. "At times it's slightly heartbreaking. She knows when I'm going to work, and her lip starts to quiver when she waves bye-bye." She added: "I feel very much like a woman, although I have my girly moments. Having had a child, I feel stronger and more in tune with who I am. It changes your life, but it hasn't changed me as a person. I still have enormous determination and strength. I feel as though I can accomplish anything."

What begins with Kate Winslet's breasts and ends with heartbreak? Answer: The film "Iris" -- based on the true story of British novelist Iris Murdoch and her relationship with her husband, writer and historian John Bayley. The film, which premiered last night at the Paris Theatre, drew a crew that included Conan O'Brien, Ian McKellen, Laura Linney and Glenn Close.

"What a beautiful story," exclaimed Natasha Richardson, squeezed tight into a Dolce & Gabbana dress and puffing on a swizzle stick-thin cigarette at the after-party at Fred's at Barneys. Depressing, though? "No, not depressing. Moving. That's a better word." Boyfriend Liam Neeson nodded in agreement.

"It's the love between Iris and her husband that attracted me to the story," explained director Richard Eyre. "It's just such an incredibly enduring love, one that survives everything, even death." Murdoch, played by both Winslet and Judi Dench, suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died an untimely death in 1999.

But ... back to Winslet's breasts. Was she hesitant to bear them, as well as everything else?

"Not at all. I'm used to it," she responded with a bit of a sly smile. And though the nude scenes do reveal a still pleasantly round figure, her body, squeezed snugly into a Dolce & Gabbana dress (the same Richardson was wearing but in crimson), appeared undeniably slimmer than it had in the past. "I really did nothing specific to lose the weight," said Winslet. "I gained 60 pounds during my pregnancy, and I guess it just came off," she claimed without blinking. "I find going to the gym while being a mother a very selfish thing to do," she added enigmatically before excusing herself to join new boyfriend, "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes, for some dinner.

"Kate taught me everything I know about sex," joked a strapping Hugh Bonneville, referring to his character in the film -- a young and inexperienced John Bayley. "Thankfully, she was quite kind. Except during the water scenes. You see, Kate's quite used to shooting in water. I'm not, and after takes I'd wrap myself up in blankets, and she became quite fond of calling me a 'Nancy Boy,'" he mock-sniffed, pulling open the side of his striped Paul Smith suit to reveal a 'Nancy Boy' pin.

The actress - who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Shakespeare in Love and has been nominated two other times for last year’s Chocolat and 1997’s Mrs. Brown - is admittedly a late bloomer. A theatre and TV star in the United Kingdom for years, the 66-year-old thespian has only recently vaulted to the unofficial title of "Best Actress of All" - a title held at various times by Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn and an elite group of others.

But Dame Judi - who looked stunning last night on her two-day break from performing in The Royal Family in the West End - said that she’s trying to find ways to improve herself. "I’m always trying to learn and be better at what I do," she said at the Iris premiere, where co-stars Kate Winslet (with new beau director Sam Mendes), Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville were among the guests along with Glenn Close, Natasha Richardson and husband Liam Neeson, Blythe Danner and Gwyneth Paltrow. In a really unusual move, the stars and screening audience gave Iris a standing ovation when it was finished.

Dame Judi also confided that until recently she wasn’t so comfortable becoming a film star late in life. "I’ve been learning about it, and now I know more," she said. "When Mrs. Brown happened, I was new at it. It took so long for me to break into films. But now I’m enjoying myself a bit."

And why not? In addition to Iris - for which she will undoubtedly be nominated for an Oscar, and may in fact win - Dench will return to the big screen next Christmas in the next James Bond movie as 007’s boss, M. "They haven’t even finished the script yet. I don’t know what it’s called or what I’m doing in it. But we start in the spring."

She also stars in Miramax’s The Shipping News for Christmas and the same studio’s The Importance of Being Earnest, which arrives next summer.

And British Dench fans will be happy to know that the actress - who’s a certified TV star back home - will resurrect her popular series As Time Goes By for "four or five more episodes next year. We’re going to wrap it up. We didn’t want to leave people hanging." The series celebrates its tenth anniversary in January.