Latest news with #MarkDarcy
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
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Renee Zellweger reveals the Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy scenes that made her break down into tears
Renee Zellweger has revealed what scenes in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy caused her to cry on set, despite the moment not calling for tears. Zellweger, 56, has recently returned to her legendary role of Bridget Jones in the latest installment of the series, which takes place four years after the death of her on-screen husband, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Firth, 64, makes several cameos in the film, with his character appearing before Renee as a vision. While Bridget is said to have made peace with the loss, Zellweger could not help but get emotional once she saw Firth in costume, she said at the FYC event on Saturday, according to Variety. Director Michael Morris, 51, revealed Zellweger cried filming the moments, and the actress called the realization it would be the 'end of' of their 'shared journey' together a 'gut punch.' Zellweger explained it was difficult to film as the scenes did not call for Bridget to be emotional. 'Yet seeing him there on the sidewalk in his Mark Darcy finery with his briefcase and coat, it just got to me,' she explained. 'I didn't expect to be so emotional about the end of this shared journey with my friend, recognizing, "Oh, wait, he's gonna wrap today, and that's it." And the finality of it just really was a gut punch. 'Isn't that crazy? Because when you get lucky, beyond getting to work with your friends, once you know, it sounds so silly, but it felt very profound in the moment,' she explained before letting out a laugh. 'Maybe I'm crazy because maybe I love a fictional character!' The long-awaited sequel sees Zellweger reprise her role as the titular heroine, and sees her adjusting to life as widowed single mother following the shock death of Darcy and returning to the dating scene. The actress looked absolutely radiant as she attended the Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy FYC event, held at the the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Saturday. She posed posed up a storm in a fitted burgundy suit dress with her blonde hair styled into a chic bun and her feet slipped into classic Christian Louboutin heels. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was released earlier this year, and Renee has remained in-demand, recently spotted filming Only Murders In The Building in NYC. Renee's iconic singleton finally married Mark Darcy in the most recent film, 2016's Bridget Jones' Baby. The couple had shared an on-and-off romance across all three films, which are based on the Helen Fielding book series, but finally got their happy ending after it was revealed the high-flying lawyer was the father of her baby. However, in the fourth book and film, Mark tragically dies while working abroad as a human rights lawyer, leaving Bridget a widow and battling motherhood alone.
Geek Wire
09-05-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Tech Moves: Microsoft AI adds CVP; WatchGuard CEO steps down; Amazon vet joins Hims & Hers
GeekWire's startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory . Mark D'Arcy. (Photo via LinkedIn) Former Meta and Time Warner exec Mark D'Arcy is joining Microsoft as a corporate vice president working on the tech giant's consumer AI products. D'Arcy is the new global creative director for Microsoft AI, reporting to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. D'Arcy spent more than a decade at Meta in creative and marketing leadership roles. He was at Time Warner for nearly seven years as chief creative officer and later president. The Information first reported D'Arcy's new role, which Microsoft confirmed to GeekWire. D'Arcy will work with engineering, design, and advertising teams to help boost marketing strategy for Microsoft's generative AI Copilot assistant that is embedded within various applications such as Word and Bing. Copilot competes with several chatbots from companies including OpenAI, Meta, Google, Anthropic, and others. Last month Microsoft unveiled a series of updates to Copilot, including a new personalized memory feature designed to recall details from a user's life across conversations. Suleyman joined Microsoft last year after co-founding Inflection AI and previously leading applied AI at DeepMind. Other key personnel changes across the Pacific Northwest tech industry: Prakash Panjwani. (LinkedIn Photo) — WatchGuard Technologies CEO Prakash Panjwani is leaving his post and will transition to serving on the cybersecurity company's board of directors and as a strategic advisor. Vats Srivatsan, an operating partner at Vector Capital, will become interim CEO as WatchGuard looks for a permanent replacement. During his decade at Seattle-based WatchGuard, Panjwani oversaw six strategic acquisitions, mostly recently the purchase of ActZero in January. The company more than tripled its annual recurring revenue under his leadership and also tripled its global employee headcount. 'Few leaders leave the kind of legacy he has — shaping not only the company's strategy, but also producing consistent strong performance and operational excellence,' said Alex Slusky, founding partner and managing director of Vector Capital, WatchGuard's majority owner, in a statement. Nader Kabbani. (Hims & Hers Photo) — Longtime Amazon Vice President Nader Kabbani is now chief operations officer Hims & Hers, a telehealth company that sells direct-to-consumer treatments for conditions such as erectile dysfunction and hair loss. At Amazon, Kabbani most recently held leadership roles in health-related initiatives including managing the company's vaccination task force — which helped employees receive COVID-19 shots — Amazon Pharmacy, and PillPack. His more than 18-year tenure at the Seattle company also included VP positions with last mile, logistics and Kindle operations. — And another Amazonian has taken a new role: Parisa Sadrzadeh, former VP of the company's worldwide delivery service partner program, is now a vice president of DoorDash. Sadrzadeh was at Amazon for nearly 12 years, then moved to Bellevue, Wash.-based Flexport to serve as executive VP. 'I've spent the past decade building technology to empower small businesses globally, and this next chapter of my journey builds off of that experience by moving into physical commerce — a critical area I'm super excited about innovating in for both merchants and the consumers they serve,' Sadrzadeh said on LinkedIn. Gulliver Swenson. (Photo via LinkedIn) — Boundless, a Seattle company with tools for simplifying the immigration process, added two leaders: Gulliver Swenson joins Boundless as VP of people and general counsel. Swenson was previously at Assurance IQ for more than six years and helped lead the company through its acquisition by Prudential. Swenson began his career in a general law practice at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland. joins Boundless as VP of people and general counsel. Swenson was previously at Assurance IQ for more than six years and helped lead the company through its acquisition by Prudential. Swenson began his career in a general law practice at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland. Rachel Pepple is now VP of marketing at Boundless. Pepple, who also holds a law degree, comes to the role from Carbon Direct, a startup helping companies manage their climate impacts. Prior to that position, Pepple was a marketing lead at the cybersecurity company ExtraHop for seven years, during which time the business was acquired for $900 million. — Raymond 'R.J.' Ford left his role as general manager for Zillow Group. 'After 15 unforgettable years, I'm closing my Zillow laptop one last time and I'm grateful, humbled, and incredibly proud,' he said on LinkedIn. Ford joined the Seattle real estate company in 2009 and has most recently been Zillow's GM of agent software and advertising for more than nine years. Over his tenure, Ford received five 'leader of the year' awards from his team. He did not disclose what he will be doing next. — Kyle Widrick is now a venture partner at the consumer-oriented investment firm Maveron. The firm, which got its start in Seattle and has offices in San Francisco, has been growing its presence in New York City, which is where Widrick is based. Widrick is 'a serial entrepreneur, a prolific angel investor and has a particular superpower in investing at the frontier of wellness,' said Maveron partner Jason Stoffer in announcing the news. — Gensler, an architecture, design firm and planning firm, appointed Bert deViterbo as managing director of its Seattle office. DeViterbo has been with the company for 14 years and recently relocated from San Francisco. 'Seattle is at an inflection point coming out of the pandemic and I'm optimistic about the future of the city,' deViterbo said in a statement. 'I believe that design has a powerful role to play in shaping the future of Seattle's sports, tech, sciences and higher education sectors, driving collective cultural and economic growth for the region.' — BuyWander added Brent Hendricks as head of operations. Hendricks founded Global Neighborhood, a nonprofit thrift and vintage store that provides workforce training for refugees, which he oversaw for nearly 20 years. Spokane, Wash.-based BuyWander uses AI and other tech to scan, sort and identify thousands of new and like-new products and sell them through an online auction marketplace. Shoppers collect their merchandise with curbside pickup, and warehouses also serve as bin stores where customers can dig for deals. The startup recently raised $2 million. — Seattle attorney Jennifer Dumas joined as senior lead council. Dumas was previously general counsel for the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) and an adjust professor at Seattle University's School of Law. Apollo is a Phoenix based advertising company. — Chuck Cory, a tech and investment banking leader with a 33-year run at Morgan Stanley, joined the board of directors of Cory is also an angel investor in Weave, a Seattle company providing AI services to financial institutions and global corporations to help them manage emerging risks, competitive shifts, complex regulations and new business opportunities. — Teradata hired John Ederer of Medina, Wash., as chief financial officer. Ederer was most recently CFO for Model N and K2 Software. San Diego-based Teradata is a cloud analytics and data platform for AI. — Justin Donaldson is chief data scientist for Curvo, a startup is developing technology to improve healthcare supply chains. Donaldson was previously a co-founder of a Kirkland, Wash., startup applying AI to in-house data analysis, and worked in the Seattle area as a data scientist/engineer at Salesforce for nearly a decade. — Trellis Health, a startup co-located in Seattle and San Francisco, formed a medical advisory board. The company is building an online platform for individuals to manage their health data. The board appointees are: — Seattle-area leader Sean Kell joined the board of directors and investor group at The company provides online resources about treatment for addiction and mental health. Kell is CEO of MD², the Bellevue-based concierge medical group. His past titles include chief executive of the retail diamond company Blue Nile and A Place for Mom, as well as leadership roles at Expedia and Starbucks. — Seattle's Circulate added Matt Kaeberlein to its scientific advisory board. The startup launched last year and is developing technologies and treatments that aim to reverse aging and improve health. Kaeberlein is a UW affiliate professor of oral health and CEO of the biotech startup Optispan.
The Independent
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Renee Zellweger recalls how Colin Firth made her cry on first day filming new Bridget Jones movie
Renee Zellweger has recalled how her Bridget Jones co-star Colin Firth made her cry on first day filming their new film, Mad About The Boy. The much-anticipated fourth film in the Bridget franchise hit cinemas in the UK on Thursday (13 February), and sees everyone's favourite heroine navigating life following the death of her husband, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, the Bridget actor revealed she felt very emotional returning to the set to film with Firth. She said: 'There was Colin was standing there in all his Mark Darcy, with his little suitcase, I started welling up.'
The Independent
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Bridget Jones director shares Colin Firth's emotional reaction to film
Director Michael Morris has opened up about Colin Firth 's involvement in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, including his reaction to scenes in the new film. Speculation had swirled that Firth would be axed from the film entirely, and there were doubts whether his character Mark Darcy would be killed off. The film is the fourth instalment of the popular franchise that became a cultural phenomenon when romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Diary was released in diary originated as a column written by The Independent journalist Helen Fielding, the film version became a box office smash and received an Oscar nomination for its leading actor Renée Zellweger. *Spoilers ahead* 'From the book there are no secrets because you know that Mark Darcy has died,' Morris told The Independent. However, the To Leslie director was adamant on keeping Firth's plot line a secret. 'We did want to protect that because it was really important to me. There's lots of ways to tell that story. The simple way of saying, 'Mark Darcy's died,' but I didn't want to tell it that way.' He added: 'I wanted the first 10-15 minutes for us not to know. Just to witness a day in her life, a chaotic night in her life where she's got to be somewhere, she's late, and one of the things that happens is she sees him. 'And it's very important to me to present that relationship as if it were real and happening because that's how Bridget at the beginning of the film is dealing with loss.' The film follows serious themes of grief, interspersed with Zellweger's character involved in an age-gap fling with a younger man, Roxter, played by Leo Woodall. 'She's not dealing with it in the way that perhaps she ought to, which is to sort of accept it,' he said. 'She's pretending and she sees him when she needs him and she gets comfort from him and there's still so much love between them.' He added: 'That's one one secret that I wanted to save because I didn't want it to be known how we were going to use him.' The filmmaker revealed Firth's emotional reaction to his role in the film as he shared: 'For Colin, he was on board and it was so sad that we couldn't use him more. But he's so brilliant and he's so iconic in this role.' He continued: 'Colin said something really interesting to me. He said when he came to the set that we built of the house, and there were all these pictures from the last 25 years on the bookshelves of Bridget and Mark, of him as a young man in his 20s, and he walked through that set that he hadn't been part of. 'He just came and he was like, 'It's odd, I've walked through this, this is like a whole other life and they were all real pictures.' 'And he said, 'I felt like that memory. I felt what we were making in the film, that I wasn't there, but I am there, I'm not there, but I am.' So it was really touching.'
