Latest news with #BridgetJones'sBaby
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Renée Zellweger Has Her 'Fingers Crossed' for More Bridget Jones Stories
When Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy debuted in February (on Peacock in the U.S. and in theaters abroad), it had been nearly nine years since a film focused on the adventures of the beloved British singleton. Would audiences respond with the same affections for Ms. Jones in 2025 that they had when she was introduced to the world with Bridget Jones's Diary in 2001 or the follow-ups, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004 or Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016? Turns out the answer was a bloody yes, indeed! Credit the collaboration of two-time Oscar winner Renée Zellweger, who slipped back into Bridget's life (and accent) like no time had passed, author and screenwriter Helen Fielding, and the new man on the scene, filmmaker Michael Morris. But the truth is, time had passed. Mad About the Boy picks up four years after the crushing death of Bridget's true love, Mark Darcy, played by swoon-worthy Colin Firth, leaving Bridget navigating life as a single mother with their two young children. Enter two potential love interests played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, as a strict teacher, and The White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall as a garbage aficionado. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Shrinking' Actress and Music Supervisor Christa Miller on Pulling the Strings Behind the Scenes 'The Boys' Showrunner and Stunt Coordinator on Crafting the "Ugly" (And Sometimes Nude) Supe Fights Ramy Youssef Talks Using Hand-Drawn Animation to Find Humor in Dark Reality of '#1 Happy Family USA' Zellweger and Morris collaborated once again for the conversation below to discuss how they cracked Jones' code, the most memorable moments on set and whether this is truly the end of the road for Bridget and company. Renée, you have that emotional scene with Colin Firth's Mark Darcy when you arrive at the house together, and we can feel the grief. But there are moments of joy and levity once you enter and greet your friends. What was that scene like for you to shoot? RENéE ZELLWEGER That was, 'I'm not supposed to cry in the scene,' and it's impossible not to cry in that scene. It was such a strange day seeing Colin there in his Mark Darcy finery. I had this moment of realization that the real-life journey of sharing the Bridget and Mark Darcy love story with my friend was coming to an end. It really felt like a profound moment thinking about the nearly 30 years we've shared in telling this story. Then I thought, 'Yeah, I don't want this to end. I love Mark and Bridget!' MICHAEL MORRIS What I love so much about your performance in that moment — it's critical actually for how we are setting up this particular story of this woman's journey on from her great love — is that while standing in the doorway, after experiencing all those feelings you just talked about, the character Jeremy [played by Neil Edmond] answers the door. He is obviously upset on this anniversary of his friend's death, and it's Bridget who consoles him. It's Bridget who hugs him and says, 'It's OK.' Then your voiceover comes in and we go into the scene as the audience is feeling this loss, and it's Bridget who is looking after us. She's saying that this is what happened and 'I'm OK.' That's so Bridget in the way that you've made her over the years. When she wallows, she wallows. But for the rest of her life, she doesn't. I found that a really wonderful way to begin. All of the sadness was there, all the nostalgia was there, all the yearning for the past. But you were really present: you Renée, you Bridget. Michael, you said Renée and Bridget as almost one in the same. I know a lot of people feel that way. Helen Fielding told , 'Bridget and Renée have merged into the same person for me. But when Renée and I met, it's quite funny and confusing because we both think the other is Bridget, but neither of us is.' Renée, what do you make of that? ZELLWEGER It's interesting what Helen says about that, as she exists in the middle of everybody. I feel like when we sit down with the friends or with Colin or Michael, who has been working on the script so closely for such a long time, or with Helen, who is in the midst of all of these conversations, she starts to show up. The rest of it is technical. I just have affinity for her. I love her. I love who she is and what she inspires, her optimism and her joy and her perspective. I love that she lifts other people up when she's feeling down and that she's self-effacing in a way that we all recognize. It's just a testament to this beautiful thing that Helen has tapped into in terms of our vulnerabilities and bits of our shared humanity that Bridget seems to embody in a way that makes us feel seen when we spend time with her. It is an interesting experience [to play Bridget] because she's different every time. That's an unusual exercise for an actor to have that opportunity, and I've loved it because each time each of us revisits this world, Bridget's world, we're all different as well. So much has changed and so much has changed us. How wonderful not to have to pretend that we're less than we are. Michael, after having worked on the script and being British and knowing the world of Bridget Jones for so long, what was it like when you called 'action' and saw Renée slip into becoming Bridget? MORRIS Funnily enough, I experienced Renée as Bridget almost instantly when Renée came to London because she brings that energy, much of the character and her outlook, to the entire process, whether it's a meeting, conversation or rehearsal. One of my favorite moments, before even calling action, came on our very, very first day, which we had set aside as a rehearsal. We had some really great days rehearsing with the two children, who were fantastic. Casper Knopf is a wonderful young actor who had been onstage with David Tennant doing Macbeth but had never done anything like this before, and Mila [Jankovic] had never done anything and was just a ball of energy and spirit. On day one, we set aside some time for us all to get to know each other and be in a room and talk about the scenes loosely. Literally, within 15 minutes of everyone getting there, they went from 'Hello, my name is Mila' and 'Hello, my name is Casper' to the kids crawling all over Renée. Mila was on her lap putting slime all over her. It was just all warmth. I knew in that moment they were a family with family history. How did that happen? That's a bit of a magic trick, and I don't ever deny the skill of the magician in that one. Renée has a real ability with everybody on the film —technicians, guest cast, background artists, everyone — of inviting them into the world that she has created over these 25 years so that everyone feels connected and part of this character. There's no sense of me and you, us and them, mine and yours. Everything is ours. When you're making a film, that's everything. It allows everyone to do their best work and relax into the project and feel safe to try things and be supported. Thank God that's the environment Renée creates wherever she goes. That was so lovely. Renée, are you blushing? ZELLWEGER Hot pink. You said that this is the last book, but forgive me in advance for asking the same question that's on everyone's mind: Have there been any conversations with Helen about another book or continuing Bridget Jones' journey in some way? ZELLWEGER My understanding was that this was kind of it, but I keep my fingers crossed that she might want to share some more of her own experiences through the world of Bridget. MORRIS Me too. And look who we've got: Chiwetel Ejiofor in the world now, and we've got Leo Woodall in the world now. We've got all these fantastic people and Helen's got her life, her kids are going to college. Let's hope for more chapters. Renée, knowing this could be the last, how did you honor that? Did you take any special mementos from set or do you have anything that marks what could be the end? ZELLWEGER Twenty-five years' worth. This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Perth Now
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Renée Zellweger would return to her iconic role as Bridget Jones if given the chance
Renée Zellweger would return to her iconic role as Bridget Jones if given the chance. The 56-year-old actress first brought Bridget Jones to life in 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary, reprising the role in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004 and Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016. She has now told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I keep my fingers crossed that (author and Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding) might want to share some more of her own experiences through the world of Bridget.' Bridget originally appeared in newspaper columns for London's Independent before blossoming into a bestselling novel series and then a film franchise. Renée added about where the movie series is at: 'My understanding was that this was kind of it, but I keep my fingers crossed that she might want to share some more of her own experiences through the world of Bridget.' Mad About the Boy expanded the Bridget Jones universe by introducing new characters, including Chiwetel Ejiofor's Scott Walliker, a teacher at Bridget's children's school, and Leo Woodall's Roxster McDuff, Bridget's younger love interest. At the February New York City premiere for Mad About the Boy, Renée reflected on the supposed end of the franchise, telling People: 'We've been forging this friendship for over 25 years together through this journey, shared journey, Bridget Jones' journey. 'It was both wonderful and really sad.' On whether the film marked Bridget's final appearance, she added: 'That's what I understand. That's what Colin (Firth) said.' Helen, now a parent to teenage girls herself, explained the ongoing appeal of Bridget Jones to younger generations: 'There is a new audience for Bridget in amongst 15- to 25-year-olds, and it doesn't require neuroscience to connect that with the effect of social media. 'As a parent with a houseful of teenage girls, I know how reassuring it is to share the feelings around these things and to laugh together about the issues.'
Perth Now
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Patrick Dempsey new face of Tag Heuer eyewear
Patrick Dempsey is the new face of Tag Heuer eyewear. The 59-year-old actor-and-racing driver has been an ambassador for the brand's watches since 2014 but is expanding their partnership with a new campaign. He told WWD: 'It's been a remarkable ride [for] over 10 years now. We've had some great adventures, some great watches and now, the sunglasses.' The former 'Grey's Anatomy' star believes the eyewear "complements what Tag Heur is all about" in terms of motorsports, timing, competition and athleticism. He said: 'You have a lot of that going into the technology behind the glasses, as far as lightweight practice, practical usability and then quality [go]. "[As a driver] you want something that is lightweight and doesn't distract you. You put it under your helmet or in your helmet, it disappears and you don't feel it. "Titanium is really a good material to help support that and it's [derived] from the watches so it complements each one.' Tag Heur hailed Patrick a part of their "family" when announcing the new collaboration. George Ciz, Tag Heuer's chief marketing officer, said: 'Patrick Dempsey is more than a brand ambassador, he is our family. He doesn't just share our brand values, he lives them every day. "He is the perfect embodiment of the 'Designed to Win' mindset and he is able to beautifully blend relentless pursuit for performance with unmatched elegance and style which can be felt both on the big screen as well as on the race track.' In 2023, the 'Bridget Jones's Baby' actor created a capsule collection of eyewear for Porsche. The Dempsey Racing co-owner said at the time: 'I have long been fascinated by the carbon fibre components in my Porsche 991 Carrera. 'They are lightweight, robust and absolutely reliable. During a race, driver and car are exposed to enormous forces. Even in the toughest conditions, the driver must be able to rely 100 per cent on his material at all times, so I didn't want to compromise on the quality of the eyewear edition either.' The limited-edition capsule - for which there will only be 1,500 pairs for each colourway - included the P'8965 sunglasses in black-grey-blue and black-grey, plus the P'8754 prescription frame in grey-black or gold-black. All of the glasses were made from carbon fibre.
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bridget Jones: Is the rom-com heroine a 'misogynist role model' or 'inner voice of a generation'?
Since Helen Fielding created hapless, middle-class Bridget in the mid-90s, she's divided opinion. As the fourth film is released, women across different generations discuss her impact. Fretful hedonist and loyal owner of ungainly knickers, Bridget Jones first appeared in a Nineties newspaper column. Four best-selling books and three record-breaking films later, Helen Fielding's creation can now be seen in a fourth big-screen adventure and, as the figurehead of a seemingly unstoppable British franchise, is routinely compared to James Bond. Of course, hapless, middle-class Bridget doesn't race around saving the world from evildoers. She's more likely to be found in a London bar, swigging white wine with her garrulous mates. Either that, or lusting after men, traditionally Hugh Grant's Daniel Cleaver or Colin Firth's Mark Darcy, though she hasn't been entirely indifferent to the rest of the globe; in a bid to seem sophisticated and conscience-stricken she once practiced saying the phrase, "Isn't it terrible about Chechnya?" (in original 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary) and another time, out of pure bad luck, wound up in a Thai jail (in 2004's sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason). As for kids, they weren't really on her to-do list until she accidentally got pregnant in her forties (in 2016's Bridget Jones's Baby) and spent the next few months wondering if Mark was the dad. Some view the return of Bridget as dire news for feminism: Bridget-bashers despair of the character's ditzy fixation on either invasively cheeky or preposterously chivalrous men, not to mention her obsessive calorie-counting. Last year, following the announcement of the latest film, Glamour magazine ran an article saying, "Bridget Jones was toxic – we don't need her back", and dubbing her "a dreadful and misogynistic role model". However, others have said that the new film – in which Bridget gets a 29-year-old boyfriend – is an empowering treat for women. In The Guardian, Hollie Richardson wrote: "It is joyous to see a fifty-something mother enjoying a whirlwind of romance and sex." You can't discuss Bridget Jones without at least mentioning Jane Austen, whose romantic comedies Fielding both cannibalises and mocks. Suffice to say, if you need your widows to be elegant and focused entirely on their children, à la Mrs Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, then Mad About the Boy is not for you. Now in her early fifties, Bridget (Renée Zellweger; never better) is still grieving for her beloved Mark (killed by a landmine in Sudan, though still present as a gorgeous ghost) and bringing up the couple's two children, with the odd bit of help from her wicked ex, Daniel (Grant; saucy, but subtle). Encouraged by her friends to get out more, our heroine goes back to working as a TV producer, joins Tinder, and soon finds herself having lots of excellent sex with a young parks supervisor, Roxster (One Day's Leo Woodall; disarming), as well as flirting with a sensitive science teacher, Mr Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor; magnetically wry). When things get complicated, Bridget seeks solace in a dodgy serum that's designed to make her lips appear youthfully plump, which leads to some truly glorious screwball comedy and a stand-out intervention from a bemused gynaecologist, Dr Rawlings (Emma Thompson; crushing it). What Bridget represents For film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Mad About the Boy – as well as marking a rousing return to form for Working Title, the production company known for quintessentially British romantic comedies like Four Weddings and a Funeral – does its central character proud. "Bridget has always been the inner voice of a generation, saying what we all think, but can't admit, [with our anxieties] that we're not good-looking enough, that we'll never win a Nobel Peace Prize," she says. "I'm not sure if she's a feminist icon. She aspires to be one, though, and Mad About the Boy offers this all-round portrait of what it means to be a woman. I loved the first film, but the character has really evolved." What did Ivan-Zadeh particularly relish about the new film? "That Zellweger/Bridget is allowed to look wrinkly. Am I allowed to say that? Let's just say other actresses, in the age bracket of late-40s to 50s, are either blessed [with] wearing a lot of makeup, have been expensively shot or had work done. And the effect is that they look incredibly smoothed out. In the posters, yes, Bridget looks smoothed out. But in the film, she looks normal. We're not being offered Hollywood perfection. It's wonderful and rare to see a high-profile actress looking like this. It's brave of Renée – it's also brave of her people! – to allow her to be seen like this." According to Ivan-Zadeh, such bravery "says so much about where we are now. Call it the Pamela Anderson effect," she says, referring to the former Baywatch star, who has reinvented herself in recent years both in real life, with her "make-up free" look on the red carpet, and on screen, with her similarly bare-faced performance, as 57-year old entertainer Shelly Gardner, in The Last Showgirl. "It's like middle-aged women are now thinking, 'Oh, I'm allowed to do that!'," Ivan-Zadeh continues. "Zellweger and Anderson are of course stunning, beautiful women. But in The Last Showgirl and Mad about the Boy, they do not look flawless or pixel-perfect." For Ivan-Zadeh, Mad About the Boy's script works because Bridget is never put on a pedestal: "I love the bit where kids on the school run mistake her for a granny," she says. Elsewhere, it's what's not said, alongside the casting choices, that provides a lovely jolt. "Something we all do is 'age maths'. I probably shouldn't admit that, but in the confessional spirit of Bridget Jones, I will. You sit there and obsessively calculate the relative ages of the romantic leads. Obviously, there's a big gap between Woodall and Zellweger. There's also a bit of a gap between Ejiofor [47] and Zellweger [55], yet in the scenes between Bridget and Mr Wallaker the age gap isn't an issue. It's literally never dwelt on. You just sit there and enjoy it, knowing that historically it used to be very different. It was completely the norm for a female romantic lead to be ten or even 20 years younger than her co-star. It's pleasing to see that imbalance redressed," says Ivan-Zadeh. The new film's timelines According to journalist Lizzie Frainier, Bridget Jones has always "broken taboos". Frainier, who has just written a book about her own love life called Main Character: Lessons from a Real-life Romcom, thinks Mad About the Boy's age-gap romance couldn't be more timely. She says, "I'm 31 and, a few months ago, I went out with someone who was 29. Small age gap, no? He brought it up ten times! He said I was the oldest woman he'd ever slept with and called me a Cougar. There is so much prejudice out there." She adds, "I've loved Bridget since I found the book, Bridget Jones's Diary, on my mother's bookshelf, when I was 13. I'll never outgrow this character. Obviously she's always going to be older than me, but I think of her as paving the way." More like this:• 10 of the best films to watch in February• 25 films to look forward to in 2025• The secret to making a Hollywood comeback Thirty-year-old Olivia Petter, a podcaster and writer whose book, Millennial Love, explores the modern dating scene, agrees that Bridget has a wide fan base amongst thirty-somethings. "Bridget is a heroine for women my age," she says. "Her scrappy breed of chaos is one many of us can relate to." She also believes Bridget has "feminist traits". "She navigates work and motherhood in this new film, and it's the former that ends up saving her, which I find inspiring." Petter draws a link between Bridget's surging popularity and the ongoing success of the Sex and The City TV sequel, And Just Like That, season three of which is due later this year. "Personally, I love seeing these iconic female characters get older," Petter says. "We've spent way too long fetishising youth and sending the message that a woman's value, particularly sexual value, is limited to her 20s and 30s." Victoria Smith, 50-year-old author of Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women, is all for celebrating older icons, but sounds a note of caution. She was disheartened by a recent interview in the Guardian with Helen Fielding, in which Fielding said, "Bridget isn't going to be anyone's old bat." Smith exclaims, "Every generation of women thinks 'Right, we're not going to age like our mums did!' But no generation of women were actually old bats. They all had inner lives and desires. They just got sidelined. So let's not perpetuate that. Let's not say, 'You can only have agency and adventures if you're glamorous'." Smith was also annoyed by the trailer for Mad About the Boy, and its focus on the buff bodies of both Mr Wallaker and Roxster. She was especially disturbed by the ogling of Woodall's character by Bridget's friends: "Is it equality to show older women objectifying younger men?" That said, Smith admits "because there's so much hostility towards women of a certain age – you know, all that Karen stuff – I'm actually glad when any middle-aged woman is in the spotlight. And I do feel quite a bit of affection for the character of Bridget, who is at least allowed to air her insecurities. All the focus on body positivity and body neutrality can make women feel ashamed for having anxieties. When I'm the oldest person in the room, I feel self-conscious. I haven't had treatments, but more and more of my peers have. The truth is, it's really hard for women to win. I'm on Facebook and you get men talking about Pamela Anderson, saying 'I can't believe I used to fancy her'. So, yes, despite my doubts, I'll go and see the new movie." A dissenting view Twenty-nine-year-old writer and feminist Moya Lothian-McLean, has been anti-Bridget since her teens ("I think she's rubbish!"), and says nothing could convert her to the cause. What she hates is that Bridget "is useless in every part of her life", she says – examples of her ineptness in the new film range from her setting a pan of pasta alight to getting stuck up a tree. "They treat her as a walking punchline. Haven't we got more ideas, in 2025? Are there not other stories about middle-aged women that we can tell?" Despite the fact that Bridget, in Mad About the Boy, is shown to be a competent TV producer, who knows her stuff about the environment and government policy, Lothian-McLean is still unimpressed. She think that TV portrayals of working women – for example, the Sharon Horgan shows Catastrophe and Motherland – offer insights that are "so much sharper, so much more satirical". Lothian-McLean finds it especially infuriating when Bridget is referred to as an "everywoman", pointing out that Bridget lives in the affluent North London enclave of Hampstead and that her kids go to private school. "Maybe she's an everywoman for people who live in Hampstead. For that community, I guess, she's average. But not for the rest of us." Yet even Lothian-McLean says she's "bound to see" Mad About the Boy. "My friends are making worrying noises about using our Cineworld pass for it (we go every week)." Are Gen Z girls excited about Bridget? Ivan-Zadeh says that her eldest daughter (13), is desperate to know more about Mad About the Boy (which, by the way, is a certificate 15). "It's because she's on TikTok and she's being told it's worth seeing." Ivan-Zadeh believes younger viewers will find Bridget intriguing. "Bridget isn't spiky, edgy, scary or misanthropic. She's not in the Fleabag mould. And it's the right time for that. If the film-makers had made Bridget more like Fleabag it would be quite dating. Bridget's the kind of female icon we haven't seen for a while. She's not a caricature. Though clearly insecure and vulnerable, she tries hard to be caring and supportive. You understand why the men adore her. You understand why her friends and children adore her. She's just a jolly nice person. To young people, I think, Mad About the Boy will feel quite new." Here's something Gen X, Y and Z can agree on: whether you love, loathe or merely like Bridget, she's become a must-see. Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy is available to stream on Peacock in the US and is out now in cinemas internationally. -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
New York Times
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' Review: A Screwball Heroine Is Back
Even though Bridget Jones fans are used to zany plot developments, few could have anticipated the twist in the new installment of her film series: Miraculously, 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' reconnects with the deft balance of bubbliness, high jinks and emotion that was the hallmark of the movie that started it all in 2001, 'Bridget Jones's Diary.' That is a surprise, indeed, because of the first two sequels' diminishing returns. The previous entry in the franchise, 'Bridget Jones's Baby,' may have ended with our heroine (Renée Zellweger) as the beaming new bride of her soul mate, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), but the franchise itself was in dire straits. Labored and unfunny, that film, from 2016, sounded like a cinematic death rattle rather than peals of joyous wedding bells. Michael Morris's 'Mad About the Boy' opens with Bridget a widow of four years — happiness is always fleeting, a bittersweet undercurrent that anchors those generally buoyant movies. She is as messy and disheveled as ever, the kind of mom who sets pasta on fire and lets her young children (Mila Jankovic and Casper Knopf) run the house. Fortunately, she still has the same supporting friends (James Callis, Shirley Henderson and Sally Phillips). She also continues to hang out with the suave playboy Daniel Cleaver, portrayed, as always, by Hugh Grant — how the Bridget Jones movies have, over the years, handled this now unpalatable type qualifies as magic of the highest order. And blessedly, Emma Thompson pops back as Bridget's gynecologist, pronouncing 'syphilis' in a way that deserves to start a thousand TikTok memes. Still, it's time for Bridget to move on and make the most of her 50s. In short order, she falls into the toned arms of the 29-year-old Roxster McDuff (Leo Woodall, 'The White Lotus'), who rescues her from an ill-fated attempt to climb a tree — one of many instances of slapstick in the movie, a wise decision considering Zellweger's expert physical comedy. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
