2002 | Directed by Stephen Daldry |
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The film centers around three women: Virginia Woolf who is writing her novel `Mrs. Dalloway'
in 1923, Laura Brown who is reading the novel in 1951, and Clarrisa Vaughn who is living the
novel in 2001. The story takes place during one day of each of the three women's lives as they
struggle with their own hardships, but they are all sharing a part of the lives and struggles
of the other women as one is writing it, one is reading it, and one is living it, but it also
goes beyond that because their hardships are so similar. We all live our own lives, but
sometimes our final hours don't mean as much to us as they do to other people. |
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| ADDITIONAL CAST & CHARACTERS & crew |
Meryl Streep
Julianne Moore
Nicole Kidman
Ed Harris
Toni Collette |
... Clarissa Vaughan
... Laura Brown
... Virginia Woolf
... Richard Brown
... Kitty Barlowe |
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Nicole Kidman, The Hollywood Reporter, June 2004
"I grew up with Meryl Streep, and she was the greatest actress that my whole generation of
women aspire to be. She raised the standard in terms of what you can do - as a woman, as a
mother (and) as an actress. You can still have a life and be an actress; she shows you how to
do it and give these brilliant performances that are so diverse. She's a lot of fun, on top of
that; she has a lot of joie de vivre."
Julianne Moore, The Hollywood Reporter, June 2004
"When you watch her work in something like (2002's) "Adaptation," where it's so kind-of
idealistic -- it's slippery sort of stuff -- she just brings you along. You feel as if you're
experiencing it with her: When she starts laughing like, "This is nuts; this is crazy," you
start thinking, "This really is crazy!" She's very funny, very bright and really bossy, which
is another quality I like about her. I think that comes from being four people's mother."
To make her look like Virginia Woolf, Nicole Kidman wore a false nose.
Allison Janney was originally chosen for the role of Barbara in the Flower shop but she insisted on taking the role of Sally Lester, who plays Clarissa Vaughan's (Meryl Streep) lover.
The song, Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep), that Clarissa plays in her apartment is one of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, all dealing with a farewell to life.
Gwyneth Paltrow was considered for the role of Laura Brown..
Zeljko Ivanek actually filmed scenes as Louis Waters with Meryl Streep, only to be replaced with Jeff Daniels later in production. All scenes between Louis and Clarissa were subsequently re-shot.
Much concern surrounded the portrayal of Laura Brown in the 2001 segment. Fearing that suitable makeup couldn't make 'Julianne Moore' look elderly, and due to scheduling conflicts, actress Betsy Blair was cast to play the role of Old Laura. Scenes were filmed with Meryl Streep. However, director Stephen Daldry was so dissatisfied with the outcome that Moore was brought in much later in "old" make-up, to re-shoot scenes with Streep.
Meryl Streep is actually mentioned in the original novel on which the film is based.
Meryl Streep likes to prepare for her characters by selecting a piece of music that she listens to constantly. Director Stephen Daldry liked her selection so much (Jessye Norman singing "Four Last Songs" by Richard Strauss) that he included it in the scene where Jeff Daniels's character visits Clarissa's apartment.
Come Oscar nomination time, the film caused problems for makers Paramount and Miramax as they weren't sure whether to put Nicole Kidman forward as Best Supporting Actress (where she would have been in direct competition with her 2 co-stars, probably canceling each other out) or as Best Actress (even though from a screen running time perspective it is a supporting role). Meryl Streep is in the film for 42 minutes, Julianne Moore for 33 minutes and Kidman for 30. Obviously the decision to go for Best Actress was the right one.
Additional Information at the Internet Movie Database
Full cast & credits, trivia and business information
An Ideal Actress.com
Website on actress Julianne Moore
Nicole Online.net
Website on actress Nicole Kidman
| AWARDS / NOMINATIONS FOR MERYL STREEP |
2003 (
Winner) Berlinale Silver Bear - Best Actress
2003 (Nomination) Golden Globe - Best Actress
2003 (Nomination) British Academy Award - Best Actress
2003 (Nomination) Broadcast Film Critics Association Award - Best Actress
2003 (Nomination) Golden Satellite Award - Best Actress
2003 (Nomination) Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Acting Ensemble
2003 (Nomination) Kansas City Film Critics Award - Best Actress
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Features: Featurettes, deleted scenes
Video: Widescreen, Color
Languages: English (Dolby)
BUY DVD AT AMAZON.COM |
DVD Release: June 24, 2003
Region Code: 1
Distributor: Paramount
ASIN: B00005JKTI
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