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The
most recent items
are posted first. Please note that many items contain 'spoilers'.
From
the "It's Friday" Baz Bamigboye column for the Daily Mail
newspaper, June 29, 2001:
"Kate
Pursues Her Passion"
Kate
Winslet is closing in on her dream project, and she wants it to be a
"dangerous exploration of adultery and sex." The
Oscar-nominated actress wants to turn Therese Raquin, Emile
Zola’s 19th-century tale of lust and murder, into a modern-day look at
forbidden love.
"This
is a tale of true passion," Kate told me. "A married woman is
in love with another man and together they plot to kill the husband.
It’s passion that drives them to it," she said. "You can
make the story much more accessible if it’s updated and made modern,"
she added.
Director
David Leveaux has worked on several drafts of the script, updating
Zola’s explosive tale. Kate
herself has been closely involved as an executive producer. Husband Jim
Threapleton will also work on the film through their production company
Ultra Films.
"It’s
definitely going to happen at the end of the year," Kate said.
"We pushed it back because we didn’t know what was going to
happen with the proposed actors’ strike in America. It may not happen,
but we couldn’t take the chance. I have wanted Therese Raquin to
happen for a long time and there are various parties working to ensure
that it does," she told me on the set of Iris, the film
about author Iris Murdoch which also stars Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent.
Kate will play the younger Iris in the movie.
"I
want to do good roles, whether they’re leading roles or supporting
roles," she said. "Geoffrey Rush was the lead in Quills
and there’s no way you could call my part the lead - but I was happy
to do it," she said. She and Rush will be working together again in
The Magician’s Wife, and this time they will share top billing.
Kate
can be seen next opposite Dougray Scott in Michael Apted’s movie Enigma,
when it’s released in the UK in the autumn.
June
29, 2001: People News published an item
about the project based on the above Daily Mail article.
"Winslet
Takes on Zola" -- Actress turns producer for classic tale
Kate Winslet is on the brink of securing a deal to make her dream
project, a screen version of Emile Zola’s Therese Raquin. The
curvaceous actress, who will be executive director of the film as well
as its star actress, is working on the project with director David Leveaux.
"This is a tale of true passion," said Winslet. "You can
make the story much more accessible if it's updated and made modern.
It's definitely going to happen at the end of the year." Explaining
the delay in the movie’s production, she said: "We pushed it back
because we didn't know what was going to happen with the proposed
actor's strike in America. We couldn't take the chance." Winslet is
currently making a film about the life of author Iris Murdoch.
June
29, 2001: Here's more from The Guardian:
"Kate
Winslet to play Zola's Therese Raquin"
Kate Winslet is believed to be close to securing a deal to make and star
in her dream project, a screen version of Emile Zola's Therese Raquin.
According
to The Daily Mail, the 25-year-old actress wants to turn Zola's
19th-century tale of lust and murder into a modern-day look at forbidden
love. "This is a tale of true passion," she told the
newspaper. "A married woman is in love with another man and
together they plot to kill the husband. It's passion that drives them to
it."
Winslet
believes the story will translate well into a modern setting. "You
can make the story much more accessible if it's updated and made
modern," she added.
First-time
director David Leveaux is expected to helm the project, with Winslet as
executive director. Her husband Jim Threapleton is also expected to be
involved. "It's definitely going to happen at the end of the
year," confirmed Winslet. "We pushed it back because we didn't
know what was going to happen with the proposed actors' strike in
America. We couldn't take the chance."
Winslet
will next be seen in the Michael Apted film Enigma when it is
released in the autumn.
February
9, 2001: Bowie to the rescue!
"Kate Winslet's Film Saved By Kind-hearted
David Bowie"
Kate Winslet's pet film project has been saved from disaster by good
samaritan David Bowie. Kate has long wanted to make a movie of the
classic novel Therese Raquin by Emile Zola. Filming was initially
postponed while Kate gave birth to baby Mia last year, then a producer
pulled out of the production, throwing Kate's plans into disarray.
Luckily she and husband Jim Threapleton met with Bowie recently and
thrashed out a plan to work on a script, with shooting hopefully
starting later this year. Kate says, "I have this passion for the
Therese Raquin story. It has everything and it's my intention to make
it. It's the first project Jim and I have helped to produce and I would
really like it to work." Intermedia Films will bankroll the
picture, while Bowie and the team at his film company will work with
Kate and Jim on the script, casting and production.
January
22, 2001: Many thanks to Celine for translating,
transcribing, and sending me this item from a French paper about Kate's
recent trip to Paris!
She
went for a walk in the alleys of Saint-Germain, visiting the secondhand
booksellers, becoming impregnated with the Parisian atmosphere. Kate
Winslet made a fast journey in our capital in order to collect
information about Emile Zola's novel - Forty eight hours so as to know
everything about Therese Raquin, that she is going to play in the
American adaptation. The shooting begins in May in South France. The
actress, who was advised to do a severe diet - she didn't still lose the
superfluous kilos tied up her pregnancy - took advantage of buying the
French film adaptation starring Simone Signoret on video.
January
18, 2001: Kate sighting -- Celine reports that Kate "was in
Paris (precisely in St Germain-des-Près)" the past few days doing
research for TR. A French journalist reported the news on an
entertainment TV program.
January
12, 2001: Kate spoke about this project during an interview for Fox
News:
Q: Is there
anything we can expect to see you in soon?
Winslet: Well, I'm doing a movie which we were suppose to shoot last
year, but then I had (new baby) Mia and that was completely impossible.
So we're shooting the movie starting in August. I will be the executive
producer in the movie and playing the title role. I am very excited
about that and really looking forward to getting into it.
Q: Is this your first time executive producing?
Winslet: Yes, it's my first time. You have to go to all of these
meetings about budgets and things like that. It's all complicated but
really good fun, and I'm pleased to do it.
October
19, 2000: I found this nice item on WENN:
"Kate Winslet's Husband Becomes Stay-At-Home
Dad"
New mum Kate Winslet's husband Jim Threapleton is going to become a
stay-at-home father, so he can bring up baby Mia while Winslet works.
Kate, who gave birth to her first child last week, says she's not going
to hire any nannies to look after her daughter - she and her husband are
going to do it all themselves. Winslet says, "We're hoping not to
have child care, certainly in the early months. I know some actors that
do three movies a year, and I've just never done that. So I'm not
concerned that the work-load will lessen because I'm suddenly a mother,
it'll probably remain about the same. When I'm doing Therese Raquin
next year, Jim is not going to work, so he'll be with the baby - which
is very important to him." And Winslet adds she's not going to be
taking Mia on set with her, because she wants to give her a chance to
choose her own career. She says, "I'd hate to influence my children
by having them around on set a lot. Children have so much growing up to
do before they can really decide what they want to be."
October
18, 2000: I found a recent mention of Kate and Therese Raquin in
an article about the National Theatre:
Everyone seems to want Trevor Nunn out of the
beleaguered National Theatre. Just one problem: no one wants to take
over. Well, would you if you could go off to Hollywood and win Oscars?
One can only lament the apparent desire to sustain successful freelance
careers that is keeping the likes of David Leveaux (director of the
Donmar's acclaimed Electra starring Zoë Wanamaker and The
Real Thing with Jennifer Ehle) and Matthew Warchus (the original
director of Art) out of the frame - not to mention the fact that
neither has ever shown any desire to run a building. (In any case,
Leveaux, one of three associate directors at the Donmar, has extant and
time-consuming ties in Japan to Theatre Project, Tokyo.) In demand as
much on Broadway as here… those two men are also busy fashioning film
careers. But before Leveaux gets to his long-planned film of Thérèse
Raquin , which has been talked about for Kate Winslet, he is in New
York directing Juliette Binoche's American theatre debut in Pinter's Betrayal.
July
4, 2000: I found this mention of the film in a Hollywood Reporter
article about Kate's and Jim's Telltale Films deal with Intermedia:
"Winslet docks Telltale Films at Intermedia"
-
British actress Kate Winslet's production banner Telltale Films, in
which she is partnered with her writer-director husband Jim Threapleton,
has signed an exclusive, two-year, first-look development and production
deal with Intermedia. The deal continues Intermedia's relationship with
Winslet, the two-time Oscar nominee ("Sense and Sensibility,"
"Titanic"), who will star in the company's upcoming projects
"Enigma," directed by Michael Apted, and an adaptation of
Emile Zola's novel "Therese Raquin," the latter of which is
slated to start shooting in the spring. Under the terms of the deal,
Intermedia will handle worldwide distribution of the films. Telltale,
formed about a year ago, aims to develop and produce U.K.- and
European-based films.
Marking the feature directorial debut of London theater director David
Leveaux, "Raquin" is set during 19th century Paris and tells
the tragic story of a woman whose adulterous affair leads to murder.
Scott Meek and Nigel Stafford-Clark of Deep Indigo will produce "Raquin,"
with Winslet and Intermedia co-chairmen Guy East and Nigel Sinclair
executive producing. USA Films has North American distribution rights to
"Raquin." (Cathy Dunkley)
June
24, 2000: I found a mention of the project in a small item about
director David Leveaux in the June 30-July 7 issue of Entertainment
Weekly:
"It" Stage Director David Leveaux, Age
43. Leveaux's own take on the Tom Stoppard play ["The Real
Thing"] just won Tonys for best actor, best actress, and best
revival. Plus, he just struck a two-picture deal with USA Films. Next:
Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under The Elms" with Mary Louise
Parker on Broadway this fall; planning a film adaption of Emile Zola's
"Therese Raquin."
May
20, 2000 - I found this news in Variety about director Leveaux:
USA Films Inks Legit's Leveaux - Tony-nommed
Helmer Gets 3-pic Deal, by Claude Brodesser:
Hollywood is trying to go legit -- again -- as USA Films has set a
production deal with Broadway and West End theater helmer David Leveaux.
Leveaux's currently on Broadway with a revival of Tom Stoppard's
"The Real Thing," which has garnered Tony nominations for
revival production and direction. "I've thought he was a movie
director ever since I saw him direct `Anna Christie' at the
Roundabout," said Donna Gigliotti, USA's production prexy, adding,
"I'm thrilled he's starting his movie career with us." Under
the terms of the non-exclusive deal, Leveaux will direct two of his next
three pictures for USA Films, Gigliotti said.
Leveaux's deal emerged after he agreed to helm the Intermedia-financed
"Therese Raquin," which USA will distrib domestically. "Raquin,"
though, is understood not to be counted as part of the pact. When
production on "Raquin" was postponed because of topliner Kate
Winslet's pregnancy, both USA brass and Leveaux thought about developing
other pictures for the new imprint. The result is the newly minted pact.
March 21, 2000 - Sydney
Morning Herald:
Winslet's pregnancy has made her delay making her debut as a film
producer on Therese Raquin, an adaptation of the Zola novel, in
which she also takes the title role. She was due to start filming in
May, but will now begin it next year. She won't produce every film she
makes from now on. "But I like to be hands-on, and I love that
whole team thing, keeping the team happy."
The attachment of her name to a project has another advantage since
these days Winslet is a money magnet. Once she commits to starring in a
film, investors automatically start sniffing around. She did it with Hideous
Kinky, she's doing it with Therese Raquin, and last year she
added to the star lustre of Quills, a film about the last days of
the Marquis de Sade, which pits her against Michael Caine, Geoffrey Rush
and Joaquin Phoenix.
February
28, 2000 - BBC News:
"Pregnant Winslet Puts Film on Hold "
Titanic star Kate Winslet's pregnancy has forced her to put the period
movie, Therese Raquin, on ice for a year. Winslet is the
executive producer as well as the star of the film, which is based on
Emile Zola's novel and was due to begin shooting in April. "Kate is
very attached to the film - it is much more than just an acting
role," said producer Nigel Stafford Clark. Both he and Winslet hope
Dame Judi Dench, who was recently cast, is still keen.
February
7, 2000 - From Empire Online:
"Winslet Drops Bridget"
Despite being more than two years in pre-production, Bridget Jones's
Diary is no closer to finding an actress for the lead role.
According to sources, the book's author Helen Fielding has been blamed
for the problem - particularly for the decision by Kate Winslet to film Therese
Raquin instead.
Insiders report that Fielding's insistence that Bridget be played by an
unknown forced Winslet - who had been very interested in the role - to
take on the Raquin role rather than hanging around waiting for Working
Title to get its act together.
Producer Eric Fellner said "I am disppointed that I have not been
able to sign up Kate." But he dismissed rumours of a rift with the
star, saying, "She turned down the role because of a clash of
schedules."
December
1, 1999 - From BBC News:
"Winslet wants Dame Judi in her new
film"
Kate Winslet is hoping to persuade Dame Judi Dench to play the role of
her mother in the film adaptation of Emile Zola's story, Therese
Raquin. "We sent her the script last week and we're waiting to
hear back. She'd be just perfect for the part," says the actress,
who is executive producing as well as starring in the film. Winslet, who
has just finished making Quills, is also hoping that Ralph
Fiennes will take the lead male role.
November
8, 1999 - From Entertainment Tonight online:
The beautiful Kate Winslet is joining forces with
USA Films and Intermedia Films to make another enchanting period piece,
'Therese Raquin.' The project, adapted from Emile Zola's novel of the
same name, is slated to shoot in Europe next summer.
Marking the film directing debut of London theater director David
Leveaux, 'Raquin' is set in 19th century Paris and tells the tragic
story of a woman whose adulterous affair leads to murder with haunting
consequences.
'Raquin' has been filmed twice before: a silent version in 1928 and
again in 1953 by French director Marcel Carne, with Simone
Signoret in the title role.
October
19, 1999 - From Dark Horizons:
Talking with Liz Smith for today's New York Post,
actress Kate Winslet revealed she's heading into very dark territory in
her next film Therese Raquin. Based on the 1867 Emile Zola novel,
the story follows a sensual woman named Therese and her lover Laurent
who plot to kill her weakling husband Camille. After the deed is done
however, Camille's ghost begins to haunt them and the pair's passion for
each other turns to hatred - all boiling down to a shocking ending.
Winslet is currently finishing up work on the Marquis De Sade biopic Quills
and will jump into Raquin straight after, serving as both lead
actress and executive producer on the film. Her next film for release is
the black comedy Holy Smoke which opens later this month.
October
18, 1999 - From Cinezine:
Magazine covergirl Kate Winslet will star in an
adaptation of Emile Zola's 19th century novel Therese Raquin.
Theatre vet David Leveaux will direct the project, which will film in
London and Paris next summer (maybe Mike will spot her again). Winslet
is one of the executive producers and will play a woman who murders her
husband with her boyfriend only to be haunted by the husband later.
October
14, 1999 - From EW Daily:
CASTING - And you thought the ''Titanic'' love
story ended badly: Kate Winslet will both star in and executive produce
''Therese Raquin,'' an adaptation of Emile Zola's novel about a woman
driven to suicide by the ghost of the husband that she and her lover
murdered.
October
14, 1999 - From Variety:
Winslet Inks For 'Raquin' - 'Titanic' thesp to
exec produce, Leveaux to direct, By Adam Dawtrey
LONDON
- Kate Winslet has committed to play the tragic heroine of Emile Zola's
19th century novel "Therese Raquin" in a new bigscreen
adaptation to shoot next year. The $15 million pic will be directed by
acclaimed legit helmer David Leveaux from a screenplay by Michael
Thomas. Winslet is taking her first exec producer credit on the project.
The producers are Scott Meek and Nigel Stafford-Clark of Deep Indigo
Prods. Guy East and Nigel Sinclair's Intermedia will fully finance the
production, which will lense next summer in London and Paris.
"Therese Raquin" is a melodrama about the sensual Therese and
her lover Laurent, who conspire to murder her weak husband, Camille. But
Camille's ghost returns to haunt them, turning their intense passion for
each other into hatred. They end up committing suicide.
Leveaux
will be making his debut as a feature director. His most recent stage
work has included a lauded version of Tom Stoppard's "The Real
Thing" at London's Donmar Warehouse, and a Tony-nominated
production of "Elektra."
This
will be the first feature film from Deep Indigo since Meek and
Stafford-Clark launched their new shingle after quitting Zenith Prods.
"Therese Raquin" was one of the projects they took with them
from Zenith, where they had previously produced such pics as
"Velvet Goldmine" and "Stormy Monday."
October
14, 1999 - From E! Online:
Another Period Pic: Titanic's Kate Winslet to play
the tragic heroine in a big-screen adaptation of Emile Zola's
19th-century novel, Therese Raquin, says Variety.
From
Popcorn News, October 14, 1999:
Kate Winslet is donning her corsets again -
Variety reports the actress is sticking to her vow to stay away
from blockbusters with plans to star in a new version of the 19th
Century French tale Therese Raquin. Written by Emile Zola, Therese
tells the story of the passionate woman and her lover Laurent who plot
the murder of her weak husband Camille. What they don't bank on is
Camille returning to haunt them, turning their love affair into deep
hatred. Like one of Kate's other period pieces, Jude, this
doesn't have a happy ending.
As well as taking the title role Winslet will act for the first time as
executive producer on the $15 million movie, with directing skills
provided by theatre veteran David Leveaux. Shooting begins in London and
Paris next summer, but it remains to be seen whether Kate will get her
kit off on screen for a fourth time.
Here's
the official announcement of from
Intermedia Films:
Intermedia and Deep Indigo Team For Therese Raquin. Kate Winslet to
star.
LONDON (October 13, 1999) - Intermedia Films and London production
company Deep Indigo will team on Therese Raquin, starring Kate Winslet
and to be directed by David Levaux, it was announced today by Intermedia
co-chairmen Guy East and Nigel Sinclair and Deep Indigo chief executives
Nigel Stafford-Clark and Scott Meek who will produce the film. Guy East,
Nigel Sinclair and Kate Winslet will serve as executive producers.
Based on Emile Zola's classic novel, Michael Thomas' screenplay is an
epic love story of lust, passion, betrayal and murder. Kate Winslet
plays the sensual heroine.
David Leveaux, who has an outstanding list of UK and international
theatre directing credits, joins the ranks of British theatre directors
moving into film. Therese Raquin will be his first feature.
Nigel Stafford-Clark said: "Zola¹s novel was shocking when
published last century and the film we want to make is one that still
has the power to shock. It¹s about two people whose sexual attraction
is so powerful that it deconstructs the world around them. That¹s not
something that will ever go out of date."
"We
are confident this brilliant novel will be turned into a powerful and
compelling film" said Guy East. "We are delighted to be
working with Nigel, Scott, Kate and David - an outstanding creative
team."
Kate
Winslet (Titanic, Hideous Kinky, Holy Smoke) is currently filming Philip
Kaufman¹s Quills alongside Geoffrey Rush, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael
Caine.
Film
was introduced to Intermedia by Cassian Elwes of William Morris, Los
Angeles. Kate Winslet is represented by Dallas Smith of Peters Fraser
& Dunlop Group and Hylda Queally of William Morris, Los Angeles.
Film and television production company Deep Indigo is backed by Gaylord
Entertainment and was formed by former Zenith Productions principals
Nigel Stafford-Clark and Scott Meek in early 1999. It will receive its
first production credit on the major BBC millennium drama Warriors which
will screen this autumn. Production is also underway on Tinsel Town, a
drama series Deep Indigo is producing with Raindog Television for BBC
Scotland.
Intermedia is a diversified entertainment investment company with
offices in London and Los Angeles which develops, finances and
distributes films in collaboration with leading producing partners. Its
films include Sliding Doors, Hilary and Jackie, Playing by Heart and The
Land Girls as well as such forthcoming titles as Whatever Happened to
Harold Smith?, Where the Heart Is, Love¹s Labour¹s Lost and Where the
Money Is.
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