Bridget Jones's Diary | |
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Directed by | Sharon Maguire |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Stuart Dryburgh |
Edited by | Martin Walsh |
Music by | Patrick Doyle |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes [1] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million |
Box office | $282 million |
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1996 novel of the same name, which is a reinterpretation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice . The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old British single woman, who writes a diary which focuses on the things she wishes to happen in her life. However, her life changes when two men vie for her affection, portrayed by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones appear in supporting roles. Production began in August 2000 and ended in November 2000, and took place largely on location in London and the home counties.
Bridget Jones's Diary premiered on 4 April 2001 in the United Kingdom and was released to theatres on 13 April 2001 simultaneously in the United Kingdom and in the United States. It grossed over $280 million worldwide and received positive reviews, with critics highlighting Zellweger's titular performance, which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Over the years, it has been hailed as part of the English pop culture, with Bridget Jones being cited as a British cultural icon.
The success of the film spawned a Bridget Jones franchise with two equally successful sequels being released, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).
Bridget Jones is 32, single, engagingly imperfect, and worried about her weight. She works as a publicity assistant at a publishing company in London where her main focus is fantasizing about her boss, Daniel Cleaver.
At her parents' New Year party, Bridget is introduced to Mark Darcy, a childhood acquaintance and handsome barrister, the son of her parents' friends. Mark calls Bridget foolish and vulgar, and she thinks he is arrogant and rude. Overhearing Mark grumble to his mother about her attempt to set him up with "a verbally incontinent spinster who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish, and dresses like her mother", Bridget forms the New Year's resolution to turn her life around. She begins keeping a diary to chronicle her attempts to stop smoking, stop drinking, lose weight, and find her Mr. Right.
Bridget and Daniel begin to flirt heavily at work, ahead of an important book launch, at which Bridget bumps into Mark and his glamorous and haughty colleague Natasha. Bridget leaves with Daniel and they have dinner, despite Daniel's notorious reputation as a womaniser. Daniel tells Bridget that he and Mark were formerly friends but as Mark slept with his fiancée, they now hate each other. Bridget and Daniel start dating.
Bridget is invited to a family party, originally a "Tarts & Vicars" costume party, so she ties it into a mini-break weekend with Daniel. They spend the day before the party at a country inn where Mark and Natasha are also staying. The morning of the party, Daniel says he must return to London for work and leaves Bridget dressed as a Playboy bunny to endure the party alone. When she returns to London and drops in on Daniel, she discovers his American colleague, Lara, naked in his flat. Bridget cuts ties with him and immediately searches for a new career. She lands a new job in television, and when Daniel pleads with her to stay, she declares that she would "rather have a job wiping Saddam Hussein's arse".
Bridget attends a friend's long-standing dinner party, where she is the only unaccompanied person. Once again she crosses paths with Mark and Natasha. He privately confesses to Bridget that, despite her faults, he likes her "just as you are". Sometime later, he allows Bridget an exclusive TV interview in a landmark legal case which boosts her career and allows her to see him differently.
Bridget begins to develop feelings for Mark, and when she misguidedly and somewhat disastrously, attempts to cook her own birthday party dinner, he comes to her rescue. After a happy dinner celebration with Bridget's friends and Mark, a drunken Daniel arrives and temporarily monopolises Bridget's attention. Mark leaves but returns to challenge Daniel and they fight in the street, eventually smashing through a window of a Greek restaurant. The fight eventually ends, with Bridget chiding Mark and he leaving, and after a self-serving appeal from Daniel, she rejects him as well.
Bridget's mother, Pamela, has left Bridget's father Colin and begun an affair with perma-tanned shopping channel presenter Julian. When the affair ends, she returns to the Jones family home and off-handedly reveals that Mark and Daniel's falling-out resulted from Daniel (then Mark's best friend at Cambridge University) sleeping with Mark's wife which Mark walked in on, not the other way around.
At the Darcys' ruby wedding anniversary party the same day, Bridget confesses her feelings for Mark, only to learn that he and Natasha have accepted jobs in New York and are on the verge of an engagement, according to Mark's father. Bridget interrupts the toast with an emotionally moving speech that peters out as she realises the hopelessness of her position. Although her words affect Mark, he still flies to New York. Bridget's friends rally to repair her broken heart with a surprise trip to Paris, but as they are about to leave, Mark appears at Bridget's flat.
Just as they are about to kiss for the first time, Bridget rushes to her bedroom to change into sexier underwear. Mark notices her open diary, reads her earlier unflattering opinions of him, and leaves. Bridget realizes what's happened and runs outside after him in the snow in just her tigerskin-print underwear, a thin cardigan and trainers. There's no sign of him and, disheartened, she's about to return home when Mark emerges from a nearby shop.
Bridget apologises for what she wrote and tries to persuade him "it's just a diary". Mark reveals he only left to buy her a new one, which he gives her, "to make a fresh start", and they kiss in the snow-covered street.
Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, Jeffrey Archer [3] and Honor Blackman have cameos in the film. [4]
Andrew Davies, screenwriter of the 1995 television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, collaborated on the screenplays for the 2001 and 2004 Bridget Jones films and Crispin Bonham-Carter, who played Mr. Bingley in that adaptation, appeared in a minor role. The self-referential in-joke between the projects convinced Colin Firth to accept the role of Mark Darcy, [5] as it gave him an opportunity to ridicule and liberate himself from his Pride and Prejudice character. [6]
Working Title Films acquired the film rights of the novel in 1997 before it became a best-seller. [7]
Actresses who were considered for the role of Bridget Jones were Helena Bonham Carter, [8] Cate Blanchett, [8] Emily Watson, [9] Rachel Weisz (who was considered too beautiful for the role), [10] and Cameron Diaz. [11] Toni Collette declined the role because she was on Broadway starring in The Wild Party at the time. [12] Kate Winslet [8] was also considered, but, at 24, the producers decided she was too young.[ citation needed ]
Zellweger's casting in late May 2000 concluded a two-year search. Producer Eric Fellner explained that she "brings enormous character and conviction to the part". [13] Maguire said of Zellweger, "I saw in Renee a gift few people have, that she was able to straddle comedy and emotion." [8] Zellweger worked on her accent with Barbara Berkery, who had helped Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love . [8] She also gained 20 pounds (9 kg) for the part. [14] To prepare for the role, Zellweger worked at the producers' request at London book publishers Picador as a trainee in the publicity department. [7] Before the film was released, a considerable amount of controversy surrounded the casting of the American Zellweger as what some saw as a quintessentially British heroine. [15] [16] However, her performance, including her south-eastern English accent, is widely considered to be of a high standard. [17] [18] [19]
In July 2000, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant were cast as the male leads. [20] The director of the film, Sharon Maguire, is one of Fielding's friends, on whom the film's character "Shazzer" (English slang for Sharon) [21] was reportedly based. In the film, Shazzer is played by Sally Phillips.
Principal photography began on 1 August 2000 and concluded on 5 November 2000. The crew spent six weeks shooting in and around London. [7] Locations used included Shad Thames where Bridget and Daniel have their first date, the Royal Courts of Justice, St Pancras railway station and Tower Bridge. [7] Scenes were filmed at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire where Bridget and Daniel ventured to for their mini-break. [22] Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire served as the Darcys' home. [7] Stansted Airport doubled as JFK Airport in New York, while Syon House in Brentford featured as the venue for the anniversary party. The crew filmed for four days at Snowshill in Gloucestershire which featured as the home of Bridget Jones's family. [7] [23] After six weeks of shooting on location, the crew moved to Shepperton Studios in Surrey. [7]
Bridget Jones's Diary grossed $71.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $210.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $282 million, against a production budget of $25 million. [24]
The film made $10.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing third. Dropping just 5.7% in its second weekend, the film made $10.2 million and finished first the following weekend. [25]
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On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though there was controversy over the choice of casting, Zellweger's Bridget Jones is a sympathetic, likable, funny character, giving this romantic comedy a lot of charm." [26] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [28]
Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3+1⁄2 out of 4 possible stars, writing: "Made against all odds into a funny and charming movie that understands the charm of the original, and preserves it." [29]
The film is recognised by American Film Institute in these lists:
Renée Zellweger was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, the Empire Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Colin Firth), the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, the Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry (shared with Hugh Grant), the Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock (shared with Grant), and the Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress.
Colin Firth won the European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Actor and the European Film Award – Jameson People's Choice Award – Best Actor and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Hugh Grant won the Evening Standard British Film Awards' Peter Sellers Award for Comedy and was nominated for the Empire Award for Best British Actor, the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and the European Film Award – Jameson People's Choice Award – Best Actor.
Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding were nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the Satellite Award for Best Film – Musical or Comedy.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Patrick Doyle. It also features two hit songs that were released as singles, "Out of Reach" by Gabrielle and "It's Raining Men" by Geri Halliwell. The single became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one hit single on the UK Singles Chart and her most successful solo single to date.
Halliwell's version received positive reviews by music critics and experienced international success. In the United Kingdom, "It's Raining Men" debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks. It became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one single in the UK, selling 155,000 units in its first week and 80,000 in its second week. Overall the single went on to sell 440,000 copies in Britain alone, [31] becoming the 13th best seller of 2001. [32] In France, it was certified "Diamond" by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). [33]
Following the success of the first soundtrack, a second soundtrack was released, titled Bridget Jones's Diary 2: More Music from the Motion Picture and Other V.G. Songs.
Bridget Jones's Diary 2: More Music from the Motion Picture and Other V.G. Songs | ||||
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Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
Released | 29 October 2001 | |||
Genre | Mixed | |||
Length | 72:53 | |||
Label | Mercury Records | |||
Producer | Dave Allen | |||
Various artists chronology | ||||
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Chart (2001) | Peak position |
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Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [34] | 67 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [35] | 97 |
Fielding has stated in many interviews that her novel was based upon both Jane Austen's work Pride and Prejudice and its popular 1995 BBC adaptation. This was also reflected in the decision to cast Colin Firth as Darcy, since he played Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice . This is not the film's only connection to that serial – the screenplay was co-written by Andrew Davies, who had written the adaptation of Austen's novel for the BBC. [36] Crispin Bonham-Carter, who played Mr. Bingley in that adaptation, appeared on the movie in a minor role.
The film version is currently being adapted into a musical, set to hit London's West End, although no date has been set. British musician Lily Allen has written the score and lyrics, and Stephen Daldry, best known for his Tony award-winning work on the West End and Broadway productions of Billy Elliot , will be directing, joined by his co-worker Peter Darling, who will serve as choreographer.
An official cast for the production has not yet been announced, but workshops for the show have already begun with television actress and star of Legally Blonde , Sheridan Smith, in the title role. [37]
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic relationships.
Colin Andrew Firth is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the "Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in A Month in the Country (1987), Tumbledown (1988) and Valmont (1989). His portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice led to widespread attention, and to roles in more prominent films such as The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), and Love Actually (2003), co-starring as Mark Darcy in the romantic comedy films Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), and Harry Bright in the musical comedy films Mamma Mia! (2008) and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! (2018).
Chicago is a 2002 American musical black comedy crime film based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name which in turn originated in the 1926 play of the same name. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. Chicago centers on Roxie Hart (Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), two murderers who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Roxie, a housewife, and Velma, a vaudevillian, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who also choreographed the film, and was adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007.
Embeth Jean Davidtz is an American-South African actress. Her screen roles include movies such as Army of Darkness, Schindler's List, Matilda, Fallen,Mansfield Park, Bicentennial Man, Bridget Jones's Diary,Junebug,Fracture,The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,The Amazing Spider-Man,The Amazing Spider-Man 2,Old, and Not Okay, and the television series In Treatment, Californication, Mad Men, Ray Donovan, and The Morning Show. She also guest-starred on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Derek Shepherd's sister Nancy Shepherd.
Helen Fielding is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, and a sequence of novels and films beginning with the life of a thirty-something singleton in London trying to make sense of life and love. Bridget Jones's Diary (1996) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (1999) were published in 40 countries and sold more than 15 million copies. The two films of the same name achieved international success. In a survey conducted by The Guardian newspaper, Bridget Jones's Diary was named as one of the ten novels that best defined the 20th century.
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Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an actual personal diary chronicling the life of Jones as a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life, love, and relationships with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s. The column was, in fact, a lampoon of women's obsession with love, marriage and romance as well as women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and wider social trends in Britain at the time. Fielding published the novelisation of the column in 1996, followed by a sequel in 1999 called The Edge of Reason.
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, respectively. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. The A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron and written by Adam Brooks, Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding, based on Fielding's 1999 novel of the same name. It stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver. It is the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). The film was released in the United Kingdom on 12 November 2004 and a week later in the United States, to mixed reviews from film critics. Despite this, the film was a box office success, grossing over $260 million worldwide. Zellweger received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance. A third film, Bridget Jones's Baby, was released in 2016.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 1999 novel by Helen Fielding, a sequel to her popular Bridget Jones' Diary. It chronicles Bridget Jones's adventures after she begins to suspect that her boyfriend, Mark Darcy, is falling for a rich young solicitor who works in the same firm as him, a woman called Rebecca. The comic novel follows the characteristic ups and downs of the self-proclaimed singleton's first real relationship in several years. It also involves many misunderstandings, a few work mishaps, and an adventure in Southeast Asia involving planted drugs and Madonna songs.
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Zellweger's accent was a point of great discussion among those attending on opening night, many of whom admitted to trying to find flaws in her performance. Most agreed that at times her accent was too upper-class for her background.
Renee's plummy English accent became one of Bridget's best known characteristics in the films...
Zellweger brought the accent off, [Hugh] Grant now says, but 'there was a phase at the beginning when she was a little bit like Princess Margaret... But even the most brutal British journalists, who are kind of snooty, have seen screenings in London and have had to eat humble pie. She's impeccable.'
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