TRIVIA
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BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY began
life as a column by journalist Helen Fielding in London's Independent newspaper,
but from the beginning, the calorie-counting, e-mail-happy, self-help-book-addicted,
vodka-drinking Bridget seemed destined to take on a life of her own. (BJD
presskit, courtesy Miramax Films)
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Maguire was also familiar with
the Bridget Jones Lifestyle. “When Helen began writing about Bridget, it
was a time when we were all still partying, having a really good time,
all still cracking clever jokes constantly,” Maguire recalls. “But underlying
it all was this secret anxiety about why we hadn’t settled down yet, about
why we couldn’t get male approval. We wanted to be independent and strong—but
we also wanted to be in love. And that’s the contradiction that makes Bridget
so brilliant as a character. That’s what I wanted to get across in the
movie: the issues about women and love that are relevant, universal and
side-splittingly funny.” (BJD presskit, courtesy Miramax Films)
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During rehearsals for “Bridget
Jones’s Diary,” director Sharon Maguire had the three main stars write
their own diaries in character. “Hugh’s, as Daniel, was blatantly
sexual,” she said. “Colin, as Mark, only wrote about work. Renee’s diary
was ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ in reverse, because she was putting on weight.”(BJD
presskit, courtesy Miramax Films)
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The film, like the book, tells
Bridget’s story from one Christmas to the next. To convey the seasonal
changes many locations had to covered in snow—at the height of summer.
So, just as most people in Britain were gearing up for Wimbledon, Renée
Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant were bundled up against the machine-manufactured
“snow.”
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By the time the novel came out,
placing Bridget in the midst of a Jane Austen-like dilemma between suitors,
Bridget was a household name. Fielding seemed to have hit an exquisitely
raw nerve in a whole generation of women who felt - like the fictional
Bridget -that despite powerful careers, financial independence, high-tech
conveniences and more choices than ever, they still weren't quite getting
what they wanted . . . especially when it came to love. The phenomenon
seemed almost universal. (BJD presskit, courtesy Miramax Films)
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The Austen connection; Hugh
Grant played Edward Ferris and Gemma Jones played Mrs. Dashwood in Sense
and Sensibility (1995); Embeth Davidtz played Mary Crawford in Mansfield
Park (1999)
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"Bridget Jones's Diary" had
the highest grossing opening weekend for any British film in history (approximately
$10.4m). (Miramax press release)
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Jeffrey Archer and Salman Rushdie
make cameo appearances as themselves in the book launch scene
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Neil Pearson, who plays Bridge's
boss Richard Finch, played Paul Ashworth's dad in Fever
Pitch
Filming Locations
for Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
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Borough Market, London, England,
UK
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JFK International Airport, Queens,
New York, USA
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King's Cross, London, England,
UK
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Liverpool Street Station, London,
England, UK
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London, England, UK
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Snowshill, Gloucestershire,
England, UK
(Bridget's parents' home)
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London’s Globe Tavern in Borough—where
the Great Train Robbery was planned—provided the exterior for Bridget's
house.
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Other recognizable London locations
in BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY include the Cantina, Shad Thames where
Bridget enjoys her first date with Daniel; The Tate Modern which
provides a spectacular view of London and the setting for an evening Bridget
spends with her friends;
The Royal Courts of Justice for the scene
in which Bridget attempts to get a news interview; a magnificent loft apartment
overlooking the Thames and Tower Bridge in Clink Wharf which provides
Daniel with a home; and St. Pancras Station and Tower Bridge,
famous London landmarks through which Bridget makes her way. Outside London,
the production filmed in Stoke Park Club, Stoke Poges, where Bridget
and Daniel enjoy their mini-break; and in Wrotham
Park, Barnet, which provided a home for the Darcy family. (BJD
presskit, courtesy Miramax Films)
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London Premiere: 4.4.2001 UCI
Empire Leichester Sq (BJD ad from Time Out Magazine)
A charity gala supporting Comic Relief
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Colin's son Lucca was born in
Italy shortly before the NYC premiere.
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