Weaving's second chance at seducing the audience

French connection ... Hugo Weaving and Angela Punch-McGregor in Nimrod's 1987 production.

Elissa Blake, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

A role as meaty as the arch seducer Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses doesn't come up often. When it does, you grab it.

Hugo Weaving considers himself fortunate to have performed it once, in Richard Cottrell's production for Nimrod Theatre in 1987 at the Seymour Centre. To get a second crack is lucky indeed. The only problem, Weaving says, is you don't get to choose when you play it.

"I was much too young, really, first time around," Weaving says. "I was 27. Now I feel like I'm too old."

Weaving, 51, imagines Valmont to be about 40. "Over the hill," he says, a mite ruefully. "But back then, I was just too young to feel like a man who's become bored with himself. He feels there must be something more to life. At 27, I could understand that intellectually but I couldn't feel like that."

Revisiting the role in the Sydney Theatre Company's new production, Weaving recognises Valmont as a man who has arrived at a point where he knows something must change.

"He probably - unconsciously - would like to be in love with someone and just settle down and live in the country. But he would never admit that," he says. "He would hate to lose his reputation as the great seducer, the great lover of all women, and so he's in a bind."

For the company's production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which opens on Thursday, the director Sam Strong has worked on a contemporary feel. It's not set in 1782, when Choderlos de Laclos wrote the original novel, or in an identifiable present, Weaving says. "It's a timeless now, if you like, though you get a sense of elegance and wealth - European wealth, old money, I suppose - in the set and costumes."

One of the challenges in rehearsal has been addressing the tone of Christopher Hampton's script.

"The way in which Valmont seduces in 1782 and the way he would do it now, has to be very different," Weaving says.

"You have to play it less front-on. I don't think the passionate professions of love that Hampton's written - like 'falling to his knees and grasping her hand and kissing her hand', which puts you into corset land a bit - can work today. There are at least three women in the play he's seducing and they all require a different sort of energy and a different sort of attack."

Les Liaisons Dangereuses opened at Wharf 1 on Thursday.

Dance or prance, Fevola plans to keep it real

Brendan Fevola and dance partner Jessica Raffa on Dancing with the Stars.Source: Herald Sun

The Herald Sun reports

Brendan Fevola says people will see the "real me" when he appears on Dancing with the Stars.

The former AFL bad boy has been plagued by controversy but said it wasn't a true reflection of who he was.

"You get perceived a lot from the indiscretions that happened when I played football, and I've made a few mistakes, and a lot of people write stuff which isn't true," he said.

"But you've got no real right of reply so you just cop it. That's not the real me so I think this show's a great opportunity to come out and be yourself. That's what people will either be drawn to or they won't like, and I'll find out pretty quick."

Fevola, now playing for the Yarrawonga Pigeons, will be dancing with Jessica Raffa for charity Life Education.

He said his daughters were excited for the show to begin - but would probably be barracking for a rival.

"They're all voting for Johnny Ruffo," he laughed.

Nicole Kidman ‘in talks' on Grace Kelly role

Best Actor Adrien Brody, for film The Pianist, kisses Best Actress Nicole Kidman, for film The Hours, at the 75th Academy Awards in Hollywood in 2003. Source: Supplied

The Herald Sun reports

Nicole Kidman is in talks to play the late Grace Kelly, the screen legend who married the prince of Monaco, in a film by French director Olivier Dahan.

Kidman, 44, is in negotiations to play Kelly in Grace of Monaco, which Pierre-Ange Le Pogam is producing with writer Arash Amel, Variety reported today.

The entertainment daily said "nearly every top actress in Hollywood" is seeking the role and that no deal has been signed yet.

The screenplay by Amel is not a biopic but centres on the period from December 1961 to November 1962.

At the time Kelly, an Oscar winner and mother of two, had already spent six years as a princess and was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating crisis with France over the tiny monarchy's status as a tax haven.

Kidman won an Academy Award for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002).

Paris Hilton shops in Sydney's Paddington and Hugh Grant has a beer in Manly as Lenny Kravitz enjoys surf at Byron Bay

Hugh Grant enjoying a beer with an admirer at the Bavarian Bier Cafe, Manly. Picture: Facebook/Bavarian Bier Cafe Source: Supplied

The Daily Telegraph reports

There’s no easy way to say this - Lenny Kravitz puts the "phwoar" in 40.

At 47, the hunky American Woman hit-maker looked ageless this week in a photo he posted on Twitter with the tagline: "Sending love to all my new friends in Byron Bay, Australia."

Having just finished a six-date Down Under tour, spending time relaxing on our sunny shores is a much better alternative for Kravtiz than returning to his home in the US, where purists of Suzanne Collins' book The Hunger Games are attacking his turn in the film adaptation.

Other high-profile tourists captured out and about in Sydney this week were Hugh Grant and Paris Hilton - both of whom have posed up for Twit pix.

Grant enjoyed a stein of beer at the Bavarian Bier Cafe in Manly with an unidentified woman on Monday.

Paris, who paid today a visit to the showroom of Aussie designer Charlie Brown - who memorably flew Paris's sister Nicki to Sydney two years ago - snapped up a dress, sunnies and a bunch of skull bracelets at Brown's Paddington store before moving on to Ksubi and General Pants, dumping her new acquisitions in a loitering limo before moving on to the next store.

She was last seen yesterday heading east on Oxford St about 4.30pm.

Remembering Titanic - 100 years at the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour

A painting from exhibition 'Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition' on at Melbourne Museum, Victoria. Source: Supplied

Jo Litson, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

The sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, when it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage has never ceased to fascinate people and to generate controversy, given the shocking loss of life, particularly among third-class passengers.

To mark the centenary of the disaster, the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour has curated "an intimate memorial exhibition" called Remembering Titanic - 100 Years.

"We follow the whole history of the Titanic right through from its construction to its sinking and then what happened after that with the inquiries and the present day controversy over the salvage of the shipwreck," says curator Kieran Hosty.

The exhibition also looks at the impact of the Titanic on popular culture from books to films including James Cameron's 1997 Academy Award-winning movie Titanic starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. 20th Century Fox is releasing a 3D version of Cameron's blockbuster in cinemas on Thursday. As principal sponsor of the exhibition, Fox has lent the museum nine costumes and various props from the film.

"It's amazing the impact that the disaster and the loss of over 1500 people in the Atlantic had," says Hosty. "And I think that's due to the huge hype from the builders about the Titanic and its sister ships the Olympic and the Britannia, and in the media about these luxurious vessels, which were going to revolutionise sea travel."

Remembering Titanic - 100 Years took a year to assemble as the museum tracked down material and decided how to tell the story without repeating what had been done before.

"There have been some very big Titanic exhibitions including one in Melbourne, which had a lot of artefact material," says Hosty.

"It was offered to us but we had a number of difficulties with that exhibition. Being a national institution we look to set a standard in regards to displaying material ethically and morally. There's been some concerns about the salvaging of the Titanic and removing material from (what many see as) a grave, so we thought we won't use that material."

Instead, the exhibition looks at the human drama through the personal stories of some of those caught up in the epic tragedy, including three Australians.

"There was incredible bravery, incredible cowardice and everything in between," says Hosty.

The exhibition features replica artefacts, a two-metre model of the ship, newspapers, graphics, a memorial wall listing the names of all the known survivors and victims, and other memorabilia.

The film costumes include Winslet's yellow "strolling" dress (pictured here), which is the gown Rose wears when she discusses Jack's (DiCaprio) artwork on the ship's deck. There's also the lavender silk and chiffon "swimming" dress she is wearing when the ship goes down, Jack's signature outfit of brown corduroy trousers, off-white shirt and braces, and an outfit worn by Billy Zane as Rose's fianc aac.

The museum is staging various related events including a movie marathon on April 15 when it will screen some of the best Titanic films and documentaries, including the 1958 classic A Night To Remember.

"I have to emphasise that it's a small exhibition," says Hosty, "but it's a lovely one."

Remembering Titanic - 100 Years, Australian National Maritime Museum until November 11. Info: 9298 3777 or anmm.gov.au

Hooligans trash I, Frankenstein movie set in Park Orchards

The I Frankenstein set before it was trashed on Sunday morning. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun

Aleks Devic, Jackie Epstein, The Herald Sun, report

Vandals have gone on a destructive rampage causing significant damage to the Victorian set for big budget Hollywood thriller I, Frankenstein.

The quiet suburb of Park Orchards has been home to the movie, starring Aaron Eckhart and Miranda Otto, for the last six weeks with film scenes being shot there last Wednesday.

But it turned into a real life horror on Sunday at 1am when hooligans barged in and trashed the set.

Police said they are now investigating the incident with the damage bill unknown.

"The complainant heard crashing and banging and when police units attended there was substantial damage," A Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

A nearby resident said she heard sirens and a police helicopter hovering in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Residents also believed a security guard was hurt but police were unable to confirm those reports.

Flying scenes, including trapeze stunts, were scheduled to be shot at the set today and tomorrow.

I, Frankenstein, directed by Stuart Beattie, also stars Yvonne Strahovski and Bill Nighy, and is due for release in February.

The production is spending up to $37 million and will employ about 500 local cast and crew.

Mystery box of suspects: there are all sorts

Louise Lombard and David Wenham in Dripping in Chocolate.

Brad Newsome, The Age, reports

Pay TV show of the week: Dripping in Chocolate, UKTV, Saturday, 8.30pm

David Wenham stars opposite Louise Lombard (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) in this agreeable romantic-thriller telemovie set in Sydney.

It all begins at night in very atmospheric, noirish style. Chocolatier Juliana Lovece (Lombard) seems almost to be in a sensuous rapture as she stirs and swirls her way through making a new batch of chocolates alone in her little shop. Outside, the rain is pouring on the streets of The Rocks as a blonde in red shoes enjoys a chocolate of her own. But the blonde is about to meet a sticky end, setting the story in train.

The detective who catches the case of the mysterious chocolate-eating blonde is one Bennett O'Mara (Wenham), a slightly rumpled sort who, we quickly learn, is forcing himself to ''detox'' from grog and greasy food. O'Mara is helped and hindered by younger colleagues Riley (Chelsie Preston-Crayford, who played Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor) and Carl (Rick Donald).

The investigation soon begins to point to state Planning Minister Stuart Verger (Geoff Morrell), who has been cheating on his wife (Caroline Brazier, Morrell's real-life wife). But when Verger turns up dead - briefly casting suspicion on Juliana - O'Mara has to look elsewhere for suspects. There's no shortage: Juliana's cocky boyfriend, a shut-in weirdo and a dodgy psychiatrist who seems to know everybody involved.

The telemovie, created by producers Sarah Smith and Julie McGauran, has its moments. Wenham and Lombard are terrific and the beautifully filmed chocolate-making sequences would set Nigella Lawson aquiver.

It's a clever story, well plotted with a few red herrings and a decent twist. But it doesn't engage or satisfy quite as well as it might. Part of the problem might be with the police characters. They don't talk with the laconic authenticity of top-drawer Australian police shows such as Phoenix. And some seem more dumb-cop stereotype than characters - Carl, for one, seems slow on the uptake for a presumed graduate of detective training school.

O'Mara is the one cop for whom writers Sarah Smith and John Ridley provide plenty of backstory and foibles but there are times you wish they had not. His dog needs a knee reconstruction but, instead, O'Mara goes and buys a ''natural'' remedy from a friend, apparently a drug dealer, and injects it into the dog. Really?

There's also an odd kind of atmospheric disjunct between the more romantic sequences and the workaday police-procedural ones - and between most of the movie and a sudden lurch into slasher-thriller territory towards the end.

All that said, it's a good yarn and a decent way to spend a few hours on a quiet Saturday night in. Wenham, as ever, is wonderful, while Lombard is a treat as well.

Cate is in the frame with Woody for a new film

Reports say Woody Allen has Cate Blanchett in his sights for a new role. Source: Herald Sun

The Herald Sun reports

Woody Allen is eyeing Cate Blanchett for his next film, according to a report. Allen is getting the cast together for his next venture, and has Blanchett and Bradley Cooper in mind, Hollywood gossip websites report.

Allen has Blanchett and Bradley Cooper in mind, Hollywood gossip websites report and he will make his new film in Denmark.

The New Yorker had moved on from his native city and for his past few films sought inspiration in European cities.

Oscar-winning Blanchett is staging her play, Big and Small, in the French capital, her first turn on the Paris floorboards.

Wild west TV drama starts shooting in Victoria

The Herald Sun reports

Stretches of Victoria's northeast have been transformed into America's west, circa 1840, with a US-based TV series shooting on location.

Sony Pictures is shooting Frontier, a drama pilot for US TV network NBC, near the towns of Thornton, Alexandra and Mansfield.

Frontier tells the story of a group of men and women who set out from Missouri for the Pacific coast in the spring of 1840 in search of a better life.

Frontier is the latest project from writer/producer Shaun Cassidy, creator of US crime show Cold Case, who described the Victorian landscape as ideal for the project.

"Victoria's beautiful regional areas help create the perfect backdrop for this production," he said.

Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher said the production will spend about $6 million in the state's economy and create some 100 jobs.

Shooting began on March 14 and is expected to wrap up in early April.

But the government hopes to attract the production of a full Frontier series if the pilot is a hit and a season of the show is commissioned.

Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi said the pilot has offered local crews world-class experience.

"Productions like these give local crew and technicians the opportunity to gain experience on international projects, which boosts their skills and experience and the industry's skills base overall," she said.

NBC has previously commissioned hit shows such as Seinfeld, The Office and 30 Rock.

Cleo's bachelor boys are picture perfect

Matt Doran and Andrew Maciver. Picture: Noel Kessel Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

Another day, another chance for the Cleo bachelors to get out there and hustle that man-flesh in a bid to take the crown in the magazine beefcake poll.

This week Westfield's CBD hosted an exhibition for emerging artists and the Cleo boys took centre stage, with sports hunks Owen Wright (surfing), David Williams (rugby league), Corbin Harris (skateboarding) and Daniel Petkovski (soccer) making a popular appearance.

The guys hosted a photo booth for a couple of hours, with guests able to create their own "work of photographic art" with some help from some photogenic fellas. Say "cheese".