BALDWIN'S CUSTODY BATTLE IS COSTING HIM A FORTUNE - LATEST: Actor ALEC BALDWIN has dropped another bombshell in his ongoing custody battle with ex-wife KIM BASINGER by claiming in new legal papers that he has spent over $1 million (GBP555,000) fighting the case. Baldwin dragged Basinger back into court at the beginning on November (05), claiming she had tried to turn their daughter IRELAND against him by violating a court-imposed custody order and denying him access. And, as the hearing got more personal, Baldwin filed new legal papers on Monday (14NOV05), in which he admitted considering giving up his battle because it was costing him a fortune. In the documents, obtained by TV news show Extra, Baldwin states, "I have spent over $1 million in custody legal fees." The actor also accuses Basinger of turning his daughter into a spy, claiming she phones her mother frequently when she's staying with her father - to "report" on his actions. The messy custody case continues. Both parties are expected to face each other in court next month (DEC05).

Basinger blasts Baldwin - Actress Kim Basinger has broken her silence over the bitter custody battle between herself and ex-husband Alec Baldwin, insisting the actor's anger problems have led to her fighting against him spending more time with their daughter.  Basinger was dragged back to court by Baldwin on Monday after he accused her of "child snatching" and violating the terms and conditions of a previous custody agreement. In court in Los Angeles, the actor's legal team argued that Basinger has "a pathological need" to alienate their 10-year-old daughter Ireland from him. And now the Oscar-winning actress is hitting back, claiming her ex's violent temperament is responsible for the growing distance between himself and his daughter. In a statement released late yesterday, Basinger storms, "Everyone knows about Alec Baldwin's behavioural problems - his anger, his rages - they are, unfortunately, legendary. "If his relationship with his daughter is fractured, there is only one person to blame and it is himself." The warring ex-couple are due back in court in Los Angeles next month to fight the custody battle.

BASINGER FOR MIU MIU - PREPARE to recognise the faces in the forthcoming Miu Miu campaign. Known for casting the newest and hottest up-and-coming models for her catwalks and in her ads, Miuccia Prada has decided to join the celebrity craze by contrasting Kim Basinger's pale beauty with the sultry look of part-Brazilian, part-American actress Camilla Belle for spring/summer 2006. According to WWD, the pair were photographed on location in Paris by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. "It is unnatural for me to choose the girls [for my campaigns and catwalks] and I don't enjoy it," Prada said recently when quizzed on what she looked for in a model. "I hate the idea of judging a human being in that way, I find it very embarrassing. The moment they enter the room I decide whether they are right for the show because it is their personality that has to strike me first. I'm looking for the woman who can represent my idea better than any other."

Ascolti tv di giovedì 10 novembre - I programmi più visti della giornata Su Canale 5 Striscia la notizia conquista 8.000.000 spettatori e il 29,38% di share, Elisa di Rivombrosa 2, 5.733.000, 21.57%. Su Rai 1 Affari tuoi, 7.966.000, 29.29% e Rockpolitick, 10.501.000, 46.40%, su Rai 2 I visitatori alla conquista... 1.379.000, 6.00%, su Rai 3 Arma letale 3 1.789.000 6.63%. Su Italia 1 Le Iene live, 2.369.000, 8.59%, su Rete 4 Men of Honor, 1.972.000, 7.92%. Su La 7 Atlantide, 299.000, 1.13%. Gli ascolti della seconda serata In seconda serata su Canale 5 La mossa del diavolo ottiene 868.000 spettatori e il 8.63% di share. Su Rai 1 Porta a porta 2.558.000, 49.55%. Su Italia 1 Iene.it 1.231.000, 5.25%, su Rete 4 White Sands 360.000, 5.06%. Su Rai 2 Animal 856.000, 4.93%, su Rai 3 Correva l'anno 782.000, 5.26%. Su La7 Markette, 295.000 spettatori, 3.85% di share.

Kim Basinger slams ex - Kim Basinger has broken her silence over her bitter custody battle with ex-husband Alec Baldwin. The screen beauty - who has been at loggerheads with the actor over custody of their daughter, Ireland - insists Baldwin's "anger" and "rages" have made her battle against him. In the latest round of their long-running feud, Baldwin took the 51-year-old beauty to a Los Angeles court Monday (31-05-05) after accusing her of "child snatching". The 47-year-old claimed his ex-wife had violated a previous custody agreement. His lawyers alleged Basinger has "a pathological need" to distance their 10-year-old child from him and questioned her mental stability, requesting she undergo psychological tests.  But the stunning 'LA Confidential' star says her ex's violent streak has caused his growing alienation from Ireland.

BASINGER NEW FACE FOR PRADA - Academy award-winning actress KIM BASINGER has been enlisted by Italian fashion designer MUICCIA PRADA to model her new spring/summer (06) Mui Mui collection. Basinger, 51, who was a successful model before turning to acting, is the latest middle-aged female star to be chosen by highly acclaimed fashion houses, including MADONNA, 47, and DEMI MOORE, 42, who both starred in recent Versace campaigns. A source tells British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, "Basinger's just finished shooting the spring/summer 2006 Miu Miu campaign in Paris. "Muccia chose Basinger for the intellectual sensuality she has, which is quite unique. "She was also a cover girl before she became an actress, so she's no stranger to modelling."

Alec Baldwin dichiara guerra a Kim Basinger - L'attore accusa l'ex moglie di volergli "rubare" la figlia Alec Baldwin ha definito la sua ex moglie, l'attrice Kim Basinger una "ladra di bambini", durante la loro infiammata battaglia legale per l'affidamento della figlia, Ireland.  Tutto è accaduto quando l'attrice, secondo quanto ha dichiarato Alec Baldwin, si è rifiutata di far vedere la figlia all'ex marito durante una visita programmata già da tempo. L'attore era così furioso che ha chiamato la polizia e inviato una serie di fascicoli per ottenere maggiori privilegi nella pratica di affidamento. In quelle carte, stando a quanto ha pubblicato il sito TMZ.com, l'attore fa riferimento a uno spiacevole episodio successo in passato quando Kim Basinger ha impedito al marito di portare la figlia al concerto di Paul McCartney, perché il concerto non si teneva nel weekend di turno dell'attore. Basinger sta cercando di mantenere segreti i dettagli della battaglia legale ma l'ex marito non perde occasione per rendere pubbliche schermaglie famigliari poco edificanti e sicuramente poco educative per "l'oggetto della contesa", la figlia Irland.  I due attori dovranno presentare in tribunale il prossimo 31 ottobre.

I TREND..INESISTENTI DI VOGUE ITALIA ! DOPO ANNI DI MINIMALISMO, ANCHE PRADA CEDE ALLO "STAR SYSTEM", LANCIATO 20 ANNI FA DA GIANNI VERSACE E GIORGIO ARMANI, E SCEGLI KIM BASINGER... 30 NOVEMBRE 2005 - Mentre Anna Wintour la direttrice di VOGUE USA riesce a far arrivare al successo di vendita uno stilista dall'oggi al domani, la sua collega "povera" Franca Sozzani direttore dell'edizione italiana di VOGUE , si illude.... di poter dettare le mode anche in materia di modelle, dove notoriamente , non avendo alcuna esperienza in materia non capisce nulla! La Sozzani, intervistata ieri dalla brava, simpatica giornalista Paola Pollo del CORRIERE DELLA SERA, ha dichiarato:
«Accade ciclicamente che la moda cerchi volti e corpi particolari, quasi un bisogno di uscire dagli stereotipi della perfezione di equilibri classici. Ho chiesto di anticipare per noi la tendenza ai fotografi, i veri artefici del successo di una modella».
In realtà il genere di modelle indicate dalla Sozzani , in realtà piacciono solo ai fotografi, agli stylist omosex, al massimo...ben che vada a qualche stilista in cerca di ispirazione illuminata..., non compare neanche un’italiana. Perchè? Dice la Sozzani:
«Il problema delle italiane è che sin da piccole sono abituate a sentirsi dire che sono belle e la loro bellezza la danno per scontata, non ci lavorano sopra - sostiene ancora la Direttore di VOGUE ITALIA -. " Le straniere quando si rendono conto di essere belle ci investono, seriamente».
In effetti ha ragione...la Sozzani, rispetto alle italiane, le modelle straniere investono seriamente..in chirurgia plastica e le loro agenzie in commissioni sottobanco agli stylist, casting director e fotografi !
La stilista Miuccia Prada, citata da Anna Winthour, direttore di VOGUE AMERICA, come una dei 7 "grandi" stilisti contemporanei, ancora una volta ha dimostrato il suo anticonformismo, ed ha fatto suo il detto "Mai dire mai", recitato nel titolo di un vecchi film di James Bond, l'agente 007, che sembra fatto apposta per la "storica" decisione del duo Prada-Albertelli di utilizare personaggi dello star system hollywoodiano per le proprie campagne pubblicitarie, facendo ricadere la propria scelta sull'attrice Kim Basinger.
Sarà infatti la bionda affascinante attrice la testimonial della nuva campagna pubblicitaria per la linea giovane MIU MIU, che verrà scattata nei prossimi giorni a Parigi da Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
" E' innaturale per me scegliere le donne per le mie campagne pubblicitarie e per le mie sfilate, e non mi diverto affatto," ha detto Miuccia Prada quando sono iniziate a circolare le prime voci sulla ricerca di una nuova donna immagine, aggiungendo "Detesto l'idea di giudicare una persona solo sotto l'aspetto della bellezza, mi imbarazza molto. Nel momento che loro entrano nella stanza del castimg, mi tocca decidere se sono giuste per la mia sfilata, e l'unica cosa che mi colpisce è la loro personalità. Ora sto cercando una donna che possa rappresentare la mia idea di donna meglio di qualsiasi altro cosa". Altro che le tendenze della Sozzani!
Quindi complimenti sinceri alla signora Prada, lei almeno li merita sul serio !

Ascolti tv di lunedì 28 novembre I programmi più visti della giornata La seconda parte di Giovanni Paolo II su Rai 1 è stata seguita da 12.475.000 di persone con il 44,15% di share, mentre il film Codice Swordfish su canale 5 4.181.000 (15,30%). L'ultima puntata di Mai dire lunedì su Italia 1 2.967.000 (10,22%) nella prima parte e 2.722.000 (12,21%) nella seconda. Analisi finale su Rai 2 1.824.000 (6,66%) e su Rai 3 Chi l'ha visto 2.427.000 (8,57%). Chi trova un amico trova un tesoro su Rete 4 1.903.000 (7,04%). Gli altri ascolti della prima serata: nella fascia preserale Affari tuoi su Rai 1 9.062.000 con il 31,04% di share, su Canale 5 Striscia la notizia 8.323.000 (28,16%). Su La7 Gli eroi di Telemark 539.000 (2,04%). Gli ascolti della seconda serata: su Rai 1 Porta a porta ha ottenuto 3.382.000 con il 36,29% di share, mentre su Canale 5 Matrix 1.193.000 (13,72%). Su rai 2 Stracult 295.000 (3,31%) e su Rai 3 Primo piano 1.330.000 (9,60%). Il film Sliding doors su Italia 1 1.006.000 (11,84%) e su rete 4 8mm delitto a luci rosse 782.000 (11,06%). Effetto reale su La7 285.000 (2,46%).

Baldwin Loses First Round of Custody Battle - Alec Baldwin has lost the first round in his new custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger—his plea for more telephone time and holiday time has been denied by a judge in Los Angeles. The actor dragged his ex back into court last month after claiming she had violated a court-imposed custody order this summer. Baldwin has a lot invested in the custody battle—he has told the court that he has spent over $1 million fighting the case over the years.  He claims the actress has been trying to turn their daughter Ireland against him and denying him access.  The actor also accuses Basinger of turning his daughter into a spy, claiming she phones her mother frequently when she's staying with her father—to "report" on his actions.  The messy custody case continues.

Baldwin, Basinger Quibble Over Custody - Kim Basinger was back in court, quibbling over custody matters in her ongoing battle with ex-husband Alec Baldwin. The couple share joint custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Ireland. Moments after Basinger entered the courtroom Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Maren Nelson barred the press and public. Baldwin, who lives in New York, didn't attend the hearing. The 52-year-old actress emerged nearly two hours later, wearing the same dark glasses and emotionless expression she had on the way in. Her lawyer, Neal Hersh, refused to discuss the particulars of the case. Nelson's decision and related case documents were sealed, lawyers said. "Kim is respectful of what the judge did and she's pleased with today," Hersh said. "We're hopeful this will be the end of it." Baldwin's lawyer, Vicki Greene, said she was "very pleased with the judge's thoroughness." No future hearings have been scheduled, she said. Basinger and Baldwin, 47, have been fighting over custody issues since January 2004. On Nov. 1, they traded barbs through their lawyers, flinging accusations of emotional instability as they argued over their rights to telephone and e-mail time with their daughter. Greene refused to characterize the couple's relationship as acrimonious, however, and Hersh said Basinger's dealings with Baldwin have improved. "(Baldwin) has a right to parent his daughter," Greene said, noting custody arrangements can be modified until a child becomes an adult. "When he comes to court, it's because he feels it's an important issue that needs attention." The couple were married Aug. 19, 1993. They separated in 2000 and divorced in 2002. Basinger won an Oscar for 1997's "L.A. Confidential." Baldwin was nominated for an Oscar for 2003's "The Cooler."

Batman (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Actors: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, See more
Directors: Tim Burton
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Rated:
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: October 18, 2005
Run Time: 126 min
Average Customer Review: Based on 337 Reviews
DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English, English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Commentary by: director Tim Burton
On the Set with Bob Kane
Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman – The Batman comic book saga as reinvented and reinterpreted over nearly seven decades
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1-3 : The Road to Gotham City, The Gathering Storm, The Legend Reborn
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery: Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of Batman, Building the Batmobile, Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of Batman, Designing the Batsuit, From Jack to the Joker, Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman
Music videos by Prince: Batdance, Partyman and Scandalous
The Heroes and The Villains: Profile Galleries
Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence
New Digital Transfer with Both 5.1 Dolby and DTS Surround
Theatrical Trailer
From IMDb: Quotes & Trivia
ASIN: B000B5XOY8
Sales Rank: #93 in DVD

Basinger's custody fight 'at end' - Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin were married for almost nine years Actress Kim Basinger's lawyer hopes her custody battle with former husband Alec Baldwin is over after a hearing in a Los Angeles court. The couple, who divorced in 2002, share joint custody of their 10-year-old daughter Ireland. Press and public were barred from the hearing, while no details of the case were revealed to the media. Lawyer Neal Hersh said: "Kim is respectful of what the judge did. We're hopeful this will be the end of it." He declined to discuss the details of the case. Baldwin, who lives in New York, did not attend the hearing. His lawyer, Vicki Greene, said she was "very pleased with the judge's thoroughness" and added that no future hearings had been scheduled. "[Baldwin] has a right to parent his daughter," Ms Greene said. "When he comes to court, it's because he feels it's an important issue that needs attention." Baldwin and Basinger, who married in August 1993, have been fighting over custody issues since January last year.

CELLULAR Soundtrack - Reviewed by: Daniel Champion
In 1997 Daily Variety listed John Ottman as one of their 50 People to Watch, two years after his scoring and editing of fellow USC alum, and friend, Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects and nine years after he graduated California’s USC School of Film & Television. A committed and uncompromising individual, Ottman’s approach to his craft should be commended in two ways: his tapping of intellectualism in even the smallest details and his unequivocal sense of adventure. In a Hollywood devoid of the great migrant composers that fled tyranny and oppression in a Europe of generations past, Ottman stands head and shoulders among many of his contemporaries as a personality unafraid to experiment in scoring, editing and even directing. Like his Golden Age forerunners, the boundaries of life are no threat to the integrity of art. Why is it then, save for a handful of high-profile opportunities including Singer’s X2 and Tim Story’s Fantastic Four, eight years after the Daily Variety endorsement he is still languishing in below-par thrillers (Gothika, Hide And Seek) and teen-horror flicks (Halloween: H20, House Of Wax)?
Is it the comfortable working relationships he has built with his producers? Is he crafting a tall reputation in an undemanding genre? Or is his music for these night-time killers so good the directors and producers just don’t want to let him go? His work on David Richard Ellis’ Cellular goes some way to providing a number of insights, beginning with director Ellis himself. Former stunt coordinator/second unit director/actor Ellis, having Homeward Bound II and Final Destination 2 behind him as director, actively pursued Ottman for Cellular proving the composer’s voice was heavily associated with the genre and that moreover, directors and producers are increasingly becoming the instigators of typecasting, a disease spread, lymph-like, via the incestuous studio system. But more to the point, Ottman is noted as competently bringing an unexpected melodic lilt to scores that, in the hands of many a genre composer, would earn the oft-used mantle of musical wallpaper. So in the hands of Ottman, Cellular goes through something of a transformation: Visual wallpaper with intriguing and often exciting musical set-pieces.
The first half of ‘Opening/Abduction’ subversively creeps into the psyche of the listener with moribund tones and the accentuated rhythm of a cell phone keypad (a clever technique, effectively employed throughout) while the second half leaps into suspense at full throttle, a good prelude to ‘Going Shopping’ in which the orchestra picks up the rhythm from the cell phone and runs with it, taking a little electric guitar along the way. The action sections of this cue are highly enjoyable and beg for further development that, although not taken as far one would like, does come in the proceeding tracks on the generous fifty-seven minute release from La-La Land Records. Ottman’s effective sprinkling of mystery (especially during the first half of the album) works very well indeed, in particular when raising the adrenaline in ‘Making A Connection’ and ‘Freeing Ricky’, and the comfortable morphing of the theme for both Ryan and Jessica goes a long way to complimenting the mystery with tender and heroic turns well played by The Seattle Symphony. As a counterpoint however, Ottman’s theme here is a touch too subtle. In any picture other than one of those aforementioned below-par thrillers this would be a masterstroke. For Cellular though, it is more likely to be as grossly underappreciated as the inspired incorporation of Police sirens in ‘Lost Connection/Dirty Cops’.
Cellular represents an interesting cross-section of Ottman’s ability at succinct musical communication and shows an advanced musical thought process indicative of a hunger and maturity able to coexist within his work that will, at some point, surely take him above the clouds that blanket the metropolis of Hollywood and into Daily Variety’s 50 People to Watch.

Basinger, Baldwin fight over custody of child LOS ANGELES — Kim Basinger was back in court, quibbling over custody matters in her ongoing battle with ex-husband Alec Baldwin. The couple share joint custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Ireland. Moments after Basinger entered the courtroom Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Maren Nelson barred the press and public. Baldwin, who lives in New York, didn't attend the hearing. The 52-year-old actress emerged nearly two hours later, wearing the same dark glasses and emotionless expression she had on the way in. Her lawyer, Neal Hersh, refused to discuss the particulars of the case. Nelson's decision and related case documents were sealed, lawyers said. "Kim is respectful of what the judge did and she's pleased with today," Hersh said. "We're hopeful this will be the end of it." Baldwin's lawyer, Vicki Greene, said she was "very pleased with the judge's thoroughness." No future hearings have been scheduled, she said. Basinger and Baldwin, 47, have been fighting over custody issues since January 2004. On Nov. 1, they traded barbs through their lawyers, flinging accusations of emotional instability as they argued over their rights to telephone and e-mail time with their daughter. Greene refused to characterize the couple's relationship as acrimonious, however, and Hersh said Basinger's dealings with Baldwin have improved. "(Baldwin) has a right to parent his daughter," Greene said, noting custody arrangements can be modified until a child becomes an adult. "When he comes to court, it's because he feels it's an important issue that needs attention." The couple were married Aug. 19, 1993. They separated in 2000 and divorced in 2002. Basinger won an Oscar for 1997's "L.A. Confidential." Baldwin was nominated for an Oscar for 2003's "The Cooler".

Alec Pens Custody Battle Book - Alec Baldwin is planning to tackle California's "dysfunctional" custody laws in a new book after settling his latest court spat with ex-wife Kim Basinger. The movie star dragged Kim through the courts in Los Angeles in November and earlier this month fighting for more custody of their daughter Ireland. And, although he has agreed a settlement with his ex, bitter Alec is still far from happy. In court, the actor claimed Kim has been trying to turn his daughter against him and violated a previous court-imposed visitation agreement this summer. He says, "The specific details of what I'm going through, we've been instructed by judges, past and present, to not discuss that with the press. I'm in the middle of making a deal to write a book about it." In the book, Alec plans to attack fathers' rights and family law, especially in California. He claims the law is stacked against civil conclusions, adding, "Conflict resolution for people is the last thing on the agenda."

Interviews: The Door in the Floor
Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and Jon Foster
USA, 2002. Rated R. 90 minutes.
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Elle Fanning, Mimi Rogers, Bijou Phillips, Louis Arcella
Writer: Tod Williams, based on A Widow for One Year, by John Irving
Director: Tod Williams
The Door in the Floor, the second feature from writer/director Tod Williams (The Adventures of Sebastian Cole) , is an unusual summer release. A coming-of-age story dealing with the effects of grief on family bonds, a deteriorating marriage, and even themes of incest, this tragicomic John Irving adaptation (taken from the first third of the novel A Widow for One Year) is the sort of complex drama usually reserved for awards season.

Four-time Oscar-nominee Jeff Bridges, a consistently under-appreciated actor, plays manipulative Ted Cole, a successful writer of children's books who parades around in the nude and dotes on his young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning, the preternatural sister of preternatural Dakota Fanning). Oscar-winner Kim Basinger, who worked with Bridges in the comedy Nadine (1987), is Ted's beautiful but emotionally walled-off wife Marion.

A horrible tragedy lurks in Ted and Marion's past, accounting for their strangeness—they have lost their two teenaged sons. Ruth, born after the death of her older brothers, is a failed attempt to erase their grief. Instead, an unhealthy, almost fetishistic morbidity permeates the house, with a shrine of photographs of the dead boys as its focus. Ted decides bring a new face into this poisonous atmosphere, giving a summer job to a kid hoping to learn about writing. That kid is Eddie, who develops a sexual obsession with the much-older Marion, and, to his surprise, finds his interest reciprocated. Eddie is played by nineteen-year-old Jon Foster, an unknown actor who got the role after it was offered to his older brother Ben Foster (The Punisher, HBO's Six Feet Under), who believed himself too old for the role.

Bridges, Basinger, and Foster recently chatted in Los Angeles with reporters about their perspectives on the movie, their acting styles, and working with director Tod Williams, whose friends call him "Kip.”
Read Carlo's review of THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR.

Jeff Bridges & Kim Basinger

Question: So is this a sequel to Nadine?

Bridges: No, but there ought to be a sequel to Nadine.

Basinger: Yeah, I loved that experience. That was great.

Bridges: That's one of the great things about this biz. It's a pretty small one, so chances are that you link up again with people that you've worked with.

Question: Kim, European cinema is not embarrassed about an older woman and a younger man. American cinema seems to be in many cases. Do you agree? Why do you think that's the case?

Basinger: I don't know, and I don't care. I enjoyed every minute of it. [laughs] I think love and sex and everything comes in all different ways and sizes in life, and I more or less always had a European attitude about things, a looseness. I've been so attracted to the Harold and Maude aspect of living, as opposed to your norm. Normal is so boring. I like to spice it up a little myself.

Question: Were you familiar with John Irving's book beforehand?

Basinger: No. Of course, I knew about it, but no, I was really introduced [to it through] the script, which was really wonderful for Marion. I loved Marion. I loved Marion's—this is the word I'm using—her aloneness, and I loved Kip. I could not and would not have done this piece without Kip. And I don't know, it was just perfect timing for me to meet Marion. She was rather quiet, and got to be somewhat of the voyeur, and that was interesting to me. Everything was very internal.

Question: Jeff, were you familiar with the book?

Bridges: I knew of it. My wife had read it. I read it in preparation for the role. I love John Irving's stuff. He's so great—you know, that marriage of comedy and tragedy that he manages to do is really terrific. And Kip did such a great adaptation of it. That was a big plus for me, when I heard that John was in support of it. I think Kip bought the rights for a buck or something.

Question: How easy was it to get a handle on your character?

Bridges: Well, you know, there were slippery spots, but the place that I first could grab onto the guy was his drawing. I love to draw, so when I saw that in the script, I immediately said, “Oh maybe I can do some drawing here.” That led into it, and of course I have kids. I have daughters of my own, so that was a big handle for me. Then there's some ambiguity in there about his motives, which were fun to play around with. It's funny, I'm a big movie fan, and I find the less I know about a movie going in, the more I enjoy it. So, some of these things—especially the ambiguity of the picture and the role—I find I want to dance around, and not spell out too much. But it was fun to talk about that stuff with Kip. He was so helpful, such a wonderful director.

Question: Did you push for the opportunity to do the artwork in the film?

Bridges: Yeah. I wanted to do the life drawing ones, and as a matter of fact I took some classes in Santa Barbara, but Kip told me, “We need the kid drawings right away,” like about two weeks before the shoot started, so I couldn't get my life drawing chops down enough to do the life drawings. A couple of wonderful artists did those. But it was fun for me to do all the children's [book] illustrations.

Question: You're a photographer, too. Did you take the black and white photos on the wall?

Bridges: No. Those are from Kip's family, and the kids who played our sons were the same kids in those photographs.

Basinger: It's all in the family. He hired everybody out of his family to do something, which was really cool.

Question: Can you talk about getting in the mindset of parents who have lost their children?

Basinger: Well, I think, the advantage you have, having had children— You know what, if I had not had my daughter, I wouldn't know. That's true; that's honest. I don't think you can be as convincing, even to yourself. And as a parent, you just don't go there, so as an artist, when we had to go there, whatever we had, we went there. It's something we didn't even share. We just shared the moment on film. It's so a part of a parent's aura—just, fear.

Bridges: Yeah, exactly. I was thinking about when [my brother] Beau [Bridges] and I did [The Fabulous] Baker Boys. If it was another actor, you'd probably spend a lot of energy trying to figure out, “How do we appear to be brothers? What can we do that will give the illusion,” you know. But since we were actually brothers, we didn't need to talk about it. You had that in your kit bag. You didn't have to take it out; it was just there. And a similar thing with having children yourself, I didn't have to think about, “Oh, my kids—” It was just kind of there, I didn't have to bring it out, even to myself, in the work. But one of the things I did in preparation for that aspect, losing a child, was talk to my mother, who lost a child just before me. The boy was named Gary. My mom and my dad went though Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Can you imagine? A year old, and you go up to see your baby, and your baby is dead. I talked to her about that, and how they worked through that, and their different styles, and how long it lasted. I mean, still it's just like it happened yesterday. You talk to my mom and she's right there.

Question: This is going to be a very difficult movie for those of us who also review films to explain, without making it sound depressing. There's a kind of exhilaration about this film that sits in paradox with its depressing elements. How did you view that kind of fractured sensibility?

Bridges: Well, that's that John Irving deal. He can do that so well.

Basinger: Death is a piece of the journey, and he can still keep the humor. Death was just the beginning of this journey. That's how life goes, it really does. Some people sink at that piece of the journey, and then they don't go on to find out what will unravel— Am I making sense? A lot of people never get over a death, or don't have a way of coping, and they just sink with the death. Many times you see the strength of people and their journeys thereafter, and I think this is exactly the way Irving writes as well.

Question: Jeff, you talked about were drawing from life experiences to get all those details. It seems that all the characters in the movie are quote/unquote bad people, who manipulate the rest of the characters for their own sake. Did you draw from life experiences to get that part of the role, too?

Bridges: Yeah, there's a sense of that manipulation that I can draw on of my own, you know, how I'm selfish. I'm manipulative. I can see that in myself. I don't have to observe other people, although I do that. I think your point is that's something we all do. We all have that darker side, I think.

Question: We've talked about the word manipulative, and you mentioned the word ambiguity, but the word that struck me was perversity. I see these characters, every one of them, playing a perverse game. Did you see that?

Bridges: Hmm, perversity. When you say that, that's kind of a relative term, I think. What one person might call normal behavior, another person would call perverse. But it's almost out of your control, I think. From my point of view, I think the characters— Maybe if they could choose what kind of people they were, they would pick something else, but they couldn't help their behavior, with the situation of losing these two kids in that terrible way, and how it affected them.

Question: Was it a coping thing?

Bridges: Exactly. And not a thought-out thing. It's just how the body processed it. What do you think, Kim?

Basinger: You know, I just had a thought while you guys [were] talking about it. Jeff is the narrator in this, and I love his voice in the movie—I love it. I loved it when I saw the trailer, and reading the book. But it's so funny because I consider Marion the narrator in another way, because she tells what will happen. It's almost like she's outside the movie, saying, “This is the way it's going to go. Let me tell you: This is what he's going to do. This is what I'm going to do. This is what you will do.” And it happens that way. I don't know about the word “perverse.” Jeff's character is so Jeff-drawn. He does a lot of studying, Jeff does, to get these characters that he plays. I've never seen another actor go through this process like he does for his characters, to where they are truly full. And I don't see that he uses anything other than his creative mind to come up with these things that he comes up with. And I mean it, it's all Jeff. It's all Jeff-driven.

Question: Jeff, I would say this is the first film of the year that could be an Oscar nomination. What do you think about that? Did you have the feeling that this was one of your best performances?

Bridges: I like to hear you say that. It makes me feel good, to have people appreciate your work, and hopefully it will make people go see the film, too. I don't know, I don't really think about [the Oscars]. It's kind of early in the year; it probably wouldn't be very good odds in an Oscar race, if I was a betting guy. But, you know, that also starts with the words that you get to say, and the story that you're telling. And the words are just wonderful.

Basinger: That's very true. They're just phenomenal.

Question: Jeff, what was your character's motivation in instigating the affair?

Bridges: Yeah, well, you know, I don't want to tell you that. I want that to be something you people talk about over coffee. I don't want it locked in print anywhere. But that is a good question. [laughs] That's one I asked.

Question: Kim, what was the motivation of your character in going with Eddie?

Basinger: I watched Harold and Maude too many times. I wanted to upgrade her one. You know what I found in him? I found we were on similar journeys, that's what I found. I found a friend. I found someone that I could let a little of me out, and I wasn't looking for a way to do that really. I just stumbled upon it, and the opportunity was there. And there were a lot of things going on in her mind, too.

Question: Did you two have conversations together about your characters? Did you debate motivations?

Basinger: You know, for me, for the relationship in the movie, we kept it that way [offscreen]. It was a tough place, where Marion was, where Ted was, and there was a lot of silence. So we kept it that way. We didn't really talk. We didn't talk over anybody's next move in the game. It just played itself.

Bridges: One of the interesting things about what we do, from my perspective, is the different styles and approaches to the work. Everybody has a different approach.

Basinger: I'll say! Here it comes!

Bridges: And our approach—which I really love; it's kind of unusual, I can't think of too many other actors who I enjoy working as much in this way with—is that we do very little talking about it, or very little rehearsal. It's all from “action” to “cut,” basically. It was like that with Nadine, and it was like that with this. Going into that, from me being an actor who likes to rehearse and talk a lot, and peel the onion and get down to my thoughts. It's endless. You're never going to get to it. On the day you get your costume on, you're going to get another layer. That's what I'm hoping; that's what I'm going for. So I was kind of frightened at first working with an actor whose approach is completely opposite, who doesn't want to rehearse or talk about it, just wants to do it. But what counts is the finished illusion, and how you get that doesn't really matter too much. I was so happy with what we were doing for Nadine. We worked in Nadine very well. We came across as a fighting married couple in Nadine.

Basinger: I'll put it this way. I love to sit back and watch him peel that onion. [laughs] I'll sit there all day and watch him peel that onion. In the end, it's two totally different ways of working, but it works.

Bridges: One of my favorite moments in the movie, if not my most favorite, is that silent scene that we have, where we're just sitting there looking at each other in the car, when I'm seeing [Marion] off. We didn't talk about it. We didn't say, “When I'm looking at you, I'm really feeling this.” We didn't do any of that. We just brought what we brought to it.

Basinger: There's a lot of dialogue going on, too, in a strange way.

Question: Were you comfortable with the naked scenes?

Bridges: With Kim's naked scenes? [Kim laughs]

Basinger: I was very comfortable with Jeff's naked scenes. [more laughter]

Bridges: There's a lot of nudity in the film, actually.

Basinger: This film is so American. This is truly an American family. It's so American, you know with John Irving, and Jeff and I couldn't look any more American, and Jon Foster, and Elle, but yet it's so European. So loose and so wonderfully flavorful.

Bridges: I was really happy with the way all of that was addressed.

Question: How did you get Jon Foster comfortable with the naked scenes?

Basinger: You know, I could not have chosen a better partner for that. I've been through this many times, and it's not ever easy or fun, and a lot of things are choreographed, and this that and the other. And Jon and I just walked in the room with Kip, and I just said, “Jon, let's just do thing. C'mon.” And it sort of happened in a natural fashion. I don't know, you'll have to ask [Jon] that question. It's just a thing; we just do it. But I'm so fond of [Jon], and so protective of him, which is just the opposite—because usually I've worked with men who—mostly men, let's see—men!—who have been very protective of me. And so here I found myself doing that. It was quite the reverse. And he is such a trooper, and a lovely guy.

Question: What about Elle? She's such an adorable little girl.

Basinger: You know what? I can hardly even talk about her. She is the most perfect definition of a child. She is so sweet and so real and so refreshing. I love her. The funny thing we found out is Jon and me and Elle all live within two miles of each other. We filmed all this back east, but we live so close to each other.

Question: There is a perception, Jeff, that you are working very, very busily. Yet, Kim, somehow, it seems that you're not working as much, that maybe you don't want to work as much. I know that you're the mother of a young daughter, and maybe you're turning a lot of work down, but is that perception correct? Are you not doing as much as you'd like to do, or is it your choice?

Basinger: Well, no, I did three films last year. I had had a back operation early in the year, so I had to over the physical hurdle. That was a real testing time in my life, and I did. But it was a long process. That, and being a single mom, and bringing up your daughter, and all those kind of things. I don't know when I was last on screen, was it 8 Mile? I can't remember myself. And then all of a sudden I just hit this stride. I met Kip, and because of him, and because of Jeff, I did Door in the Floor, and then right after that I did a movie called Cellular that will come out in the fall—it's kind of a popcorn movie—and then I did another one, Elvis Has Left the Building. It's a comedy.

Question: There's been some noise about a possible sequel to The Big Lebowski .

Bridges: C'mon, is that right? Is there really? Oh man, I hope!

Jon Foster

Question: You come into a movie, your first big movie, and you find yourself doing some remarkable things with beautiful Kim Basinger. How did you manage?

Foster: How did I manage? How did you not manage? I mean, it was a really, really, really, really cool experience, the least to say. I just felt really blessed. She's a beautiful, beautiful woman, and not only that but one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. It was just such a treat.

Question: She said it all came natural.

Foster: It all did come natural. Very natural. It wasn't strained at all. We didn't do a lot of discussing about what to do. It wasn't very mechanical. They didn't map the scene out. We kind of just did it, and it came out really well. Very well.

Question: What have you told your friends?

Foster: I'm a person who doesn't like to brag. So when they see it, we'll see what they say. I kind of like to keep quiet.

Question: Was this your first sex scene on screen?

Foster: Yeah, it was my first anything, besides a kiss. I had one kiss before that. But that was my first sex scene ever.

Question: How old were you when you shot this movie?

Foster: I was eighteen. I'm almost twenty now.

Question: Did you feel like your character? Were you shy?

Foster: Oh yeah, at first I was shy. It's Kim Basinger, you know. But the second you actually start speaking to her, she's just so calming, so relaxing.

Question: Kim said to us that in love scenes she has done before, the men were protective of her, but in this film she was protective of you. Did you feel that way?

Foster: Yeah, absolutely. She was very motherly. She really watched out for me. Even though it might sound sick because— [laughs] Well, it is the theme, but it wasn't sick. She's a very caring woman. And I'm sure she was just looking out for my best interests and hers as well.

Question: You had several sex scenes in the movie. Did you shoot them all together?

Foster: They tried to push them all into a short period of time. It was like, three days' worth. They pushed them all together. It was nice because you got to do all of them in a row.

Question: A lot of directors clear the set as much as they can. Was that the case here?

Foster: Yes. It was a closed set. Still there was a handful of people in there. Could be seven to nine people in there. But it was, like I said, it was fine.

Question: Was the set closed also with Jeff Bridges?

Foster: I think it was. Yes, it was.

Question: So you didn't get to see Bridge Butt?

Foster: [laughs] I did get to see Bridge Butt, because there is a scene where I'm standing there while he's showering [outside in the yard], and he's nude.

Question: Where you familiar with Irving's book?

Foster: I was. I read the section of the book that was adapted. I didn't want to read the rest of it because I didn't want to know what Eddie was like when he was older. I just wanted to focus on the character at that age.

Question: Your character is very impressed by Jeff Bridges' character. I wonder how that played, because I imagine you were impressed by him as an actor.

Foster: Absolutely. I am such a huge fan of The Big Lebowski and The Last Picture Show . I can't even stress— I really did feel like Eddie, because when you're on [set] you learn so much from these actors. I mean, what better actors to work with than Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger? They're real pros, and really, really good at what they do.

Question: What does this film mean to you as an actor trying to build a career?

Foster: It's a very emotional movie, a whole range of emotions. It's sad; it's lonesome; it's very funny at the same time, almost slapstick near the end. In terms of my career, I was very, very lucky to have my first job this one, because it's hard to be typecast in this kind of a movie. After something like this, you don't really get chosen to do something like this again.

Question: It's not Eurotrip.

Foster: Exactly. It's not Eurotrip.

Question: Can you tell us what your character seemed like to you?

Foster: Eddie grew up sheltered by his family, and he attended a very prestigious prep school, and most likely did not have any friends, let alone a girlfriend. He completely looks up to Jeff Bridges' character Ted Cole. He's just so taken back by being able to work with Ted Cole for the summer. He doesn't really know what his actual job is going to be. Turns out he's not going to help him at all in writing. But he's a very lonely kid, and he has a lot to learn. And he does. He learns a lot throughout this movie.

Question: What was your immediate gut reaction when you were first given the script and read it, and you knew who was going to be in it?

Foster: Before I even got the script, my brother [Ben Foster] told me that it was an incredible script, and told me the baseline of it. Then after I started reading it I found out that Jeff and Kim were attached, and I just [went] for it.

AboutFilm: Obviously it is a very ambiguous film, so it must have been an ambiguous script. What was your own approach in understanding it? At a certain point your character has got Ted Cole figured out. Did you reach a similar point with the script?

Foster: Absolutely. I read the script countless times, and I had to map the script out because my character grows so much throughout the film, like I said before. At the first he's very lonely and immature; he hasn't had many life experiences. Throughout the movie he becomes more and more confident, and at that one point he does stand up to Jeff's character. You really have to map it out, because when they film a movie, they jump from scene to scene each day, so you need to have the right amount of confidence in the scene, so it flows nicely when it's put together.

Question: Did you have any interaction with Irving at all? What was his input?

Foster: He came on set, and he hung around a couple days, and then all of us went to dinner at his home, with his family. He didn't actually have much to say. A lot of it was passed on through Tod Williams. But he seemed to be very pleased with the dailies.

AboutFilm: How much did Tod Williams tell you what he wanted from you and how much did he leave it to you to figure out?

Foster: He did it in a way that he left it up to me, but he still had the right amount of direction. He'd come and say, “Well, previous to this scene, this is what happened. So in this scene you're still feeling this way.” So he gave the right amount of words to make me actually get in the moment before each scene. But he actually left a lot of it up to me, which was really nice.

Question: Your character writes a story in the film, but you wrote your own story also, is that right?

Foster: I did. There is actually a scene when I hand [Jeff] a written story at the beginning of the movie, and at the end he critiques it, and we both agreed on me actually writing a story and giving it to him. So when he's critiquing my story, he's actually critiquing mine. My life story. I wrote about me growing up.

Question: You grew up in Iowa, and you have an older brother, Ben, who is an actor, correct?

Foster: Yep. Four years older than me, and I love him to death. We live together in Hollywood now.

Question: Is he the reason you are an actor?

Foster: Absolutely. If it wasn't for him I would have steered clear of this business. He pushed me.

Question: What's the best advice he gave you?

Foster: To listen. Listen, listen, listen.

Question: Obviously you have an extraordinary relationship with him.

Foster: Yeah, extraordinary. He's definitely my best friend and my mentor. A lot of time my dad was traveling so Ben really raised me.

Question: Originally they offered it to him, and he thought he was too old for the role.

Foster: Yes. And he suggested that they check me out. Originally he was up for it.

Question: So you grew up in a non-show biz family. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Foster: Well we moved a lot. I didn't just grow up in Iowa. I grew up in a lot of different places. We were all born in Boston—my brother and my dad, and I were all born in Boston, and then eventually we moved to Iowa. My dad and my mom create high-class nightclubs, bowling alleys, and billiard halls—places where women feel safe. And they're all over the country, so they travel back and forth to make sure they're all going smoothly.

Question: Do they own them?

Foster: They do. They create, design, own. Originally they built a chain of forty-some odd throughout the country, and then they left that and started something new, and there will be ten to twelve open in the next couple years.

Question: Have your mom and dad seen the film yet?

Foster: No, they have not.

Question: Oh, that will be awkward.

Foster: Well, what's even more awkward is that my grandmother is going to be there as well. But she told me, she goes, “I was young once, too.” She's an incredible woman, very lively and young. We're all going to see it Sunday.

Question: Did you ever have any career options, or was it always acting? Have you had any other aspirations?

Foster: I amateur boxed for awhile, and I really enjoy fixing muscle cars up. Fireman—I always wanted to be a fireman, but not anymore. I guess I can't do that.

Question: After seeing you in this role, you would never think, “Oh, this actor fixes up muscle cars.” That's surprising. Is it an obsession?

Foster: Yes, it's definitely an obsession.

Question: So what do you drive?

Foster: I have a 1969 Camaro. Just a beautiful, beautiful piece of machinery.

Question: What's next?

Foster: I'm shooting a series called Life as We Know It in Vancouver for ABC. Sean Faris, Chris Lowell, Marguerite Moreau, Kelly Osborne, D.B. Sweeney. It's about three young boys in high school, and their sex lives, and how complicated it can be. My character ends up having an affair with his English Literature teacher. I know, I know—typecast. It's not a trend!

Question: It's a one-hour pilot?

Foster: It's a one hour. It's been picked up. For September, on ABC. It'll be Thursdays at 9.

Question: So when are you back from Vancouver?

Foster: I have to go up there in four weeks, and I'm up there about five months.

Antes de saludar, Kim Basinger se seca cuidadosamente sus blanquísimas manos. Viene de lavarle la cara por enésima vez a su hija Ireland, de cuatro años, una niña muy traviesa adicta a autodecorarse con rostros de animales. La cría se queda con su padre, el actor Alec Baldwin, quien cuida de ella en el exclusivo hotel Regency, en la Park Avenue neoyorquina, mientras Basinger concede esta entrevista por Soñé con África, que se estrena el 26 de mayo en España, después de ser presentada en el Festival de Cannes fuera de concurso. Una película que supone su regreso, dos años después de que un Oscar lograra consagrarla como actriz seria: el que recibió por su interpretación de Lynn Bracken, aquella femme fatale de L.A. Confidential.


Mucho tiempo ha pasado desde que, gracias a Nueve semanas y media, la Basinger se convirtiera, con 32 años, en el mito erótico por excelencia de la década de los 80. Hoy, a sus 46 años, sin un ápice de maquillaje en su terso rostro sin arrugas, vestida de negro y sin más accesorio que su alianza matrimonial, es una mujer madura y orgullosa de sus logros, asumida su reputación de deliciosa excéntrica y con el rumbo de su vida tomado con firmeza en sus delicadas manos.

Pregunta.- Su hija ha heredado su belleza, pero ¿por qué se pintarrajea la cara de esa manera?

Respuesta.- Lo sé, lo sé... Ireland es tremenda. Y está pasando por una etapa digamos hipercreativa. Me acompañó en Sudáfrica durante los meses del rodaje de Soñé con África y descubrió las maravillas que puede operar un artista de maquillaje. Ya la ha visto, pintada como una mona. Y cada cierto tiempo me ocupo de lavarle la cara, aunque un día me temo que tanta pintura no se irá.

P.- ¿Quiere su hija seguir los pasos de sus padres y convertirse en actriz?

R.- ¡Espero que no, por Cristo! (risas). Bueno, es broma... hace tiempo quiso ser actriz ..., pero ahora quiere ser enfermera. ¡No me pregunte por qué ha cambiado tanto de opinión porque me pierdo! Ireland es un poco trasto, pero no lo puede evitar, ha salido a su madre.

P.- ¿Le suele acompañar siempre a los rodajes, a los maratones de entrevistas?

R.- Alec y yo siempre lo intentamos y lo negociamos con cuidado. Somos una familia, y el que nuestra hija pueda estar a nuestro lado lo consideramos una bendición. Pero, ahora que ha crecido, las cosas se complicarán un poco con el colegio. Y esto nos va a obligar también a abandonar esta vida nómada que llevamos y que mi marido odia.

P.- El rodaje en Sudáfrica fue largo y duro. ¿No pensó que podía ser algo peligroso para ambas?

R.- Ireland es una continua caja de sorpresas para nosotros, no pasa ni un solo día sin que nos impresione con algún nuevo rasgo de su carácter. En África, Ireland se enamoró violentamente de los animales. Nunca sintió miedo, se relacionó con elefantes, monos y jirafas. Y siempre tuvo claro que al que hay que evitar es al hipopótamo.

P.- ¿Por qué razón?

R.- Porque es una de las fieras más asesinas que existe. Sé que nos parecen graciosos y que los compramos en forma de muñecos de peluche pero son los más rápidos y, si se pone a tiro de uno, irá a por usted, sin piedad y a gran velocidad. Es mejor no caerle mal a un hipopótamo, créame.

"¡Llevo casi 30 años en la profesión! La gente por fin me mira de manera distinta"


P.- Le creo. Parece ser que usted, a su vez, tuvo una relación complicada con una cebra...

R.- (Carcajada) ¡Una cebra terquísima que me cogió manía desde el primer día y que sólo vivía para darme coces en el trasero! Me acuerdo que me pasé el rodaje intentando no darle la espalda. En cuanto me olvidaba, ¡zas! coz en mi trasero. Se convirtió en una verdadera pesadilla. Pero nada comparado a superar mi agorafobia y también la sensación de miedo que me daba cada noche al pensar que había llevado a mi bebé a un sitio tan peligroso.

P.- ¿Qué es lo que ha descubierto de África que ignoraba?

R.- Lo impredecible que es. Allí no existe el concepto del tiempo tal y como lo concebimos. De hecho, al tercer día me desprendí del reloj: es absurdo tenerlo, no sirve para nada. Y luego, lo fácil que es perder la vida. Allí, si de noche no hay luna y te pierdes en un bosque, sabes que no saldrás vivo, a menos que alguien te encuentre. Allí es la muerte la que prevalece sobre todas las cosas. África me ha enseñado a valorar más mi vida y cada día que pasé allí lo consideré casi como una prueba de fuego. África me ha ayudado a conocerme más y mejor. ¡Ah! y se me olvidaba: el asunto de los elefantes y las naranjas...


LA HISTORIA REAL DE KUKI GALLMANN
"Soñé con África"es la adaptación de las memorias de Gallmann -una conservacionista italiana que abandonó todo para irse a vivir a Kenia-, realizada por Hugh Hudson ("Carros de fuego", "Greystoke, la leyenda de Tarzán"). Un personaje que tiene la fuerza, la belleza y el talento de Kim Basinger, en uno de sus más asombrosos trabajos. Junto a ella, Vincent Pérez, Eva Maria Saint y el pequeño Liam Aiken. Hace tres años, Kuki Gallman se convirtió en ciudadana keniana, quizás la más orgullosa de todas. Kenia es su amor permanente, donde descansa el recuerdo de su marido e hijo, Paolo y Emmanuel Gallman, a los que enterró tras sus prematuras muertes, bajo dos acacias, en su residencia de Kuti.

Kuki siempre soñó con África, un continente extremado. Tras decidir dejar atrás una vida vacía en Venecia, llegó a Kenia con su segundo marido, Paolo, el cazador, las dos hijas de él y Emmanuel, nacido de su primer matrimonio. Al principio, los kenianas la llamaron Memsaab. Después, cuando se convirtió en una más de ellos, la rebautizaron Nyawera, que significa "la que trabaja duro". Hoy en día, Kuki Gallmann es simplemente "Madre", porque ha elegido vivir por el país, por su naturaleza y por sus animales.

Por B.S.


P.- ¿Cuál es la relación?

R.- Que los elefantes se vuelven locos por ellas. Es lo mismo que les ocurre a los osos con la miel. En la escena en que se me acerca tantísimo el elefante africano, el director Hugh Hudson me obligo a exprimirme encima casi una docena de naranjas... De todos modos, temblé de miedo al rodar la escena. El elefante africano es verdaderamente gigantesco.

P.- ¿Por qué eligió Soñé con África para regresar al cine tras obtener su Oscar?

R.- Primero de todo, pensé que me merecía un descanso. ¡Llevo casi 30 años en esta profesión y ya no soy una niña! También supe que la gente de la industria, por fin, me miraba de manera distinta. Además, me tomé unas semanas de descanso junto a mi padre: nos fuimos de viaje y el libro autobiográfico de Kuki Gallmann fue lo único que me llevé en la mochila, junto con un repuesto de vaqueros y camiseta. Y, sencillamente, el libro me dejó sin respiración. Parecía que lo había escrito una mujer que podía ser yo misma. Encontré en Kuki a un alma gemela.

P.- Además de ser las dos muy bellas, ¿en qué se parecen?

R.- Las dos somos apasionadas de la defensa de la naturaleza y de los animales en peligro de extinción. Y todas sus emociones y sentimientos están expuestos de una forma tan vívida en el libro... que sentí que era el destino el que me lo había ofrecido. Sentí como una misión el hacer esta película. Oí una voz interior que me decía "ve a África, haz esta película, has nacido para hacerla".

P.- Las dos han hecho también elecciones familiares muy importantes.

R.- Ella decidió abandonar una vida vacía y de lujo por la gran aventura de llevar un rancho en un lugar tan duro como bello y peligroso. Mis decisiones no están llenas de tanto valor. Digamos que de lo que más orgullosa me siento es de ser una especie de Madre Tierra para mi hija. Aunque no quiero que dependa emocionalmente de mí, la quiero fuerte, centrada y segura. Un poco la niña que yo no fui.

P.- Al principio, usted no quiso conocer a la señora Gallmann personalmente y ella tampoco parecía apasionada porque hicieran una película sobre su dramática vida.

"En América, eres guapa y, por tanto, no hay nada en tu cabeza. En Europa, la palabra `sexy' es positiva"

R.- Ella temía que la muerte de su hijo no se retratara de una forma digna, ése fue su único miedo. Y en cuanto a mí, no quise conocer al principio a Kuki porque no quería sentirme intimidada. Es una mujer que, de muy joven, perdió trágicamente a sus dos grandes amores: su marido y su hijo. La respetaba demasiado para acercarme a ella. Para mí, esta película trata sobre morir y renacer, y ella es el símbolo de la fortaleza del espíritu humano. He querido construir esta película como un homenaje a Kuki, en primer lugar; a la naturaleza del ser humano, en general; y a mi hija, muy en particular.

P.- ¿Por qué a su hija?

R.- Porque quiero que Ireland considere Soñé con Africa como una forma de honrar esa fortaleza que no sabemos que tenemos, pero que surge en los momentos más dolorosos o difíciles. Ese reservoir secreto que ignoramos que poseemos.

P.- ¿Qué es lo que usted no podría resistir por exceso de dolor?

R.- Perder a quien amo.

P.- ¿Cuál es la experiencia que su hija ha sacado de la estancia africana?

R.- Se ha quedado totalmente enamorada de África: de los elefantes, de los niños zulúes que conoció y jugaban con ella, recuerda perfectamente todo... y eso que era muy pequeña. Es mentira eso de que los niños pequeños no recuerdan sus primeras experiencias. Ireland recuerda los nombres de cada uno de los elefantes. Y todas las palabras que aprendió en suajili y zulú. Verdaderamente, no sé cómo lo hace. Quizá lo ha heredado de mi padre, un ávido curioso de todas las cosas. No hay nada que deje indiferente a mi padre. Y ella se le parece.

P.- Los dos tienen fama de fuertes temperamentos. ¿Cómo va su unión con Alec Baldwin?

R.- ¡Discutimos por todo! Son raros los asuntos en los que coincidimos... y eso resulta muy excitante. Además, Alec es un gran sofista y las discusiones con él son tan apasionadas como arriesgadas. Cuando hago las cosas a mi manera, cosa que ocurre casi siempre, me dice "¡te odio!". Y yo le respondo "¡yo te odio más!". En cualquier caso, yo tengo siempre la última palabra (risas).

P.- ¿Por ejemplo?

R.- Nuestra nueva casa en los Hamptons y el colegio de Ireland los he escogido yo. Él es neoyorquino y quería llevar una vida hiperurbana en la zona de Long Island. Yo me negué y he salido ganando. Viviremos más en contacto con la naturaleza y en una zona no tan polucionada y agresiva como una gran ciudad.

P.- Hablando de la naturaleza, ¿cómo conserva su belleza sin una sola arruga?

R.- No sé si es un secreto, pero a mí me lo dijo mi madre: consiste en dormir. Dormir muchísimo. Hay días en que consigo dormir hasta 17 horas... Tampoco me maquillo mucho, no he comido nunca carne y no tomo nunca el sol. Supongo que mi piel está agradecida por tanto mimo y me corresponde (risas).

P.- Sigue siendo una mujer bellísima. ¿Qué ha significado para usted serlo?

R.- Para mí, en términos personales, ser guapa es importante. Pero no me entienda mal. Yo acepto el término a la manera europea...

P.- ¿En qué se diferencia de la americana?

R.- En Estados Unidos te reduce a una categoría: eres guapa y, por tanto, no hay nada dentro de tu cabeza. En Europa, la palabra sexy es buena: significa algo positivo. En América, en principio, te abre una serie de puertas y te cierra muchas más. Y luego, tienes que luchar por destruir el cliché preconcebido y la imagen que construyen de tí sin tú quererlo. Pero, también, la belleza no lo es todo. La belleza es un don y, a la vez, una maldición.

P.- ¿Y en su caso?

R.- En mi caso lo considero un don. Y no me malinterprete, lo digo de una forma totalmente honesta y humilde.

P.- ¿Qué ha significado el Oscar en su carrera?

R.- Para mí, en lo profesional, no mucho. Soy muy crítica conmigo misma, veo mis películas y sé cuando un trabajo es pasable, cuando es bueno y cuando apesta. Me considero una trabajadora nata, nadie me ha regaladado nada y sólo quiero mejorar. Estoy en ello y el Oscar fue una bendición. Subí a recibirlo en estado catatónico, Alec me tuvo casi que empujar... y casi me olvidé de besarle. ¡Aún hoy me lo recuerda! (risas). Aún hoy, hay días en que creo que sólo fue un sueño.

Kim Basinger
NACIMIENTO: Athens (Georgia), Estados Unidos.
PROFESIÓN: actriz.
COMIENZOS: empezó su carrera profesional como modelo en la ciudad de Nueva York y, antes de dedicarse al cine, probó fortuna en la televisión con su participación en alguna serie.
CURIOSIDAD: ha heredado la pasión musical de su padre: toca el piano y la guitarra.
PERSONALIDAD: caprichosa, temperamental y algo excéntrica son los calificativos más empleados por la prensa para definirla.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Academy Award winning actress, Kim Basinger, will appear at Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption this Sunday, December 11th at Barker Hangar, Santa Monica. She will pitch in as a dog handler at the New Leash On Life booth alongside fellow animal rescue volunteers. Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption is hosted by two Los Angeles based animal rescue organizations, New Leash On Life and Rescue For Ruffugees.
Kim Basinger has volunteered for New Leash On Life for the past five years. In addition to being an honorary board member, she hosts the organization's fundraising dog show and pet fair Nuts For Mutts. This annual event features over 500 mixed breed dogs in fierce competition for titles like Best Kisser and Fastest Mutt. Nuts For Mutts draws 10,000 spectators every spring and has aired nationwide on Animal Planet.
Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption is the culmination of four months of heartbreaking efforts to rescue animals abandoned as a result of Hurricane Katrina. A crew of 20 New Leash On Life volunteers spent two weeks pulling trapped animals out of storm ravaged homes in New Orleans. Back in Los Angeles, another team prepared for their return. All 265 animals, through the efforts of New Leash On Life and Rescue For Ruffugees, received medical treatment, microchip identification and were photographed for posting to the Internet.

BALDWIN: BASINGER IS NIPPY SWEETIE
HOLLYWOOD star Alec Baldwin has accused Kim Basinger of brain-washing their daughter - using chocolate.
In court papers Baldwin claims his former wife has special snacks produced with spiteful messages to Ireland, 10, on the wrappers.
In a 48-page document, the actor claims Basinger "dedicates a nutrition bar to impose her belief system upon our daughter".
Baldwin cites Luna bar, a popular chocolate-coated snack aimed at women.
He has sent a sample wrapper to the Los Angeles judge handling his custody battle with Oscar-winner Basinger.
He claims: "It includes quotes from women directly on the package.
"I learned through Ireland that her mother had a dedication/ quotation printed on the bar"The quote reads, 'To my daughter Ireland, who gave me the strength, courage and tenacity to stand up for myself.
"'May our faith and laughter sustain us. Beyond and Forever, Mom."' Baldwin, 47, claims LA Confidential star Basinger, 52, had the bar specifically made for Ireland, "an extremely rare name".
He said: "The false message she continues to send our daughter is that she needs protection from her father and that her father must be outside the mainstream of her life."
Baldwin split from Basinger three years ago and their divorce became one of the nastiest in Hollywood history.
She claims he beat her, while he dubbed her "the black widow.

Ascolti tv di lunedì 19 dicembre
I programmi più visti della giornata
Su Canale 5 Striscia la notizia ottiene 8.531.000 spettatori e il 30.59% di share, Il mio amico Babbo Natale 7.949.000, 32.76%. Su Rai 1 Affari tuoi 7.922.000, 28.41%, La maledizione dei Templari, 3.695.000, 14.29%. Su Italia 1 8 mile 2.387.000, 9.37%, su Rete 4 Jonathan degli orsi 2.050.000, 8.46%. Su Rai 2 Squadra speciale cobra 2.740.000, 9.88%, su Rai 3 Chi l'ha visto? 3.165.000, 12.21%.
Gli ascolti della seconda serata
Su Rai 1 Porta a porta ha ottenuto 2.725.000 spettatori e il 32.50% di share. Su Canale 5 Matrix 920.000, 12.92%. Su Rai 2 Il tornasole 702.000, 4.98%, La storia siamo noi 764.000, 8.90%. Su Italia 1 Il bivio 1.000.000 9.52%, su Rete 4 I viaggi de la macchina del tempo 623.000, 7.41%.

The actress Kim Basinger was back in Los Angeles court for about two hours in her ongoing custody battle with her ex-husband, the actor Alec Baldwin, who lives in New York and did not attend the hearing. The couple share custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Ireland. Both parties' lawyers indicated that their clients were satisfied with the results, and no future hearings have been scheduled. Basinger, 52, and Baldwin, 47, have been fighting over custody issues since January 2004. The couple were married Aug. 19, 1993. They divorced in 2002.(AP)

Lisa Edelstein and Allison Janney Join Kim Basinger at Katrina Super Adoption
Friday December 9, 5:42 pm ET
Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption
Sunday, December 11
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport
SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Dec. 9, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Television stars Lisa Edelstein (House) and Allison Janney (The West Wing) will join Kim Basinger as volunteer dog handlers at Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption this Sunday, December 11. All three actresses will be on hand to kick-off the event taking place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. They will present adoptable dogs rescued from Hurricane Katrina to the public at the New Leash On Life booth.
This weekend's super adoption will be Lisa Edelstein's second turn as a ruffugee dog handler. Edelstein pitched in at the arrival of New Leash On Life's emergency caravan on October 7th, when 30 animals arrived in Van Nuys by caravan. She has also volunteered as a Nuts For Mutts celebrity judge for three years.
This will be Allison Janney's first experience as a ruffugee dog handler. The Emmy Award winning actress previously appeared at New Leash On Life's Who's Your Doggie? fundraiser.
EVENT DETAILS
Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption
Date: Sunday, December 11th
Time: 11 a.m.
Press Opportunity at New Leash On Life
adoption booth
Location: Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Additional information is posted online at: http://www.newleash.org/ and http://www.rescueforruffugees.org/.
Contact:
Alec Isbell
(661) 255-0097, Ext. 105
(661) 904-3835, Cell
alec@nlol.org

Kim Basinger Back In Court Over Custody Battle
LOS ANGELES -- Actress Kim Basinger was back in court Tuesday, quibbling over custody matters in her ongoing battle with ex-husband Alec Baldwin.
The couple share joint custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Ireland.
Moments after Basinger entered the courtroom, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Maran Nelson barred the press and public.
Baldwin, who lives in New York, did not attend the hearing.
Basinger emerged nearly two hours later, wearing the same dark glasses and emotionless expression she had on the way in.
Her attorney, Neal Hersh, declined to discuss the case's particulars.

LAUNCH:
Hey, I've always been curious about that collaboration you did with Kim Basinger. That is so weird! How did that come about?
OZZY:
Don Was had a lawyer--this was in 1981 or 82--and I'd never heard of Was (Not Was). What happened was, the original singer didn't show up for some session. I don't even know who the original singer was, but Don and I were both staying at the same hotel in New York at the time, and I volunteered. I go down to this studio and it was called "Shake Your Head." A couple of months later, they decided to do a different version of it, so I did two versions. Then, later, I saw Don in L.A., and he said, "You'll never guess who the chick singer was on the first version: It was Madonna! Ozzy and Madonna: It's got to be a winner." He must have gotten in touch with Madonna and she gave him a point-blank refusal, because he got somebody else to do Madonna's bit. Kim Basinger replaced Madonna. I never met her. But it was a huge, huge hit in England and Europe, because that's what they're into--all this techno stuff. It was a huge, huge hit. I just said to Don, "That would be great: Ozzy and Madonna," but the Kim Basinger one did just as well.

Kim Basinger to Appear At Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption
SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Academy Award winning actress, Kim Basinger, will appear at Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption this Sunday, December 11th at Barker Hangar, Santa Monica. She will pitch in as a dog handler at the New Leash On Life booth alongside fellow animal rescue volunteers. Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption is hosted by two Los Angeles based animal rescue organizations, New Leash On Life and Rescue For Ruffugees.
Kim Basinger has volunteered for New Leash On Life for the past five years. In addition to being an honorary board member, she hosts the organization's fundraising dog show and pet fair Nuts For Mutts. This annual event features over 500 mixed breed dogs in fierce competition for titles like Best Kisser and Fastest Mutt. Nuts For Mutts draws 10,000 spectators every spring and has aired nationwide on Animal Planet.
Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption is the culmination of four months of heartbreaking efforts to rescue animals abandoned as a result of Hurricane Katrina. A crew of 20 New Leash On Life volunteers spent two weeks pulling trapped animals out of storm ravaged homes in New Orleans. Back in Los Angeles, another team prepared for their return. All 265 animals, through the efforts of New Leash On Life and Rescue For Ruffugees, received medical treatment, microchip identification and were photographed for posting to the Internet.
The goal of Hurricane Katrina Super Adoption is to find permanent homes for animals that were relinquished by their owners or remain unclaimed. Additional information is posted online at: http://www.newleash.org/ and http://www.rescueforruffugees.org/

BASINGER 'BRAINWASHING' DAUGHTER WITH CHOCOLATE BARS
LATEST: Actress KIM BASINGER is tempting her daughter away from her father by plying the youngster with chocolate, ex-husband ALEC BALDWIN has alleged in court.
The screen star pair are locked in a vicious custody battle over their 10-year-old daughter IRELAND, but Baldwin is convinced the LA CONFIDENTIAL actress is employing underhand tactics to keep her.
He accuses Basinger in court papers of bribing Ireland with specially-made chocolate bars boasting manipulative messages to her on their wrappers.
One example, which Baldwin has included in his legal suit as Exhibit C, reads: "To my daughter Ireland, who gave me the strength, courage and tenacity to stand up for myself... Mom."
Baldwin claims, "The false message she continues to send our daughter is that she needs protection from her father."
The actor dragged his ex back into court last month (NOV05) after claiming she had violated a court-imposed custody order this summer (05). The case continues.

Kim Basinger models for Prada
Yet another celebrity has signed a modeling deal, but this one isn't too much of a surprise. Kim Basinger will be the new model for Prada's Mui Mui collection. Basinger began as a model before turning to a lifetime of acting and always having her last name mispronounced. She recently finished shoots for the 2006 campaign in Paris. Prada chose Basinger for her "intellectual sensuality" a phrase that almost means something, but not really.