Download "Notes on a scandal" to the screen

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES and
DNA FILMS Present
In Association with the UK Film Council and
BBC FILMS
A Scott Rudin/Robert Fox Production
Notes on a scandal
JUDI DENCH
CATE BLANCHETT
BILL NIGHY
ANDREW SIMPSON
PHIL DAVIS
MICHAEL MALONEY
JUNO TEMPLE
MAX LEWIS
JOANNA SCANLAN
JULIA MCKENZIE
SHAUN PARKES
Directed By
Richard Eyre
Screenplay By
Patrick Marber
Produced By
Scott Rudin
Robert Fox
Based On The Book By
Zoë Heller
Executive Producer
Redmond Morris
Director Of Photography
Chris Menges
Production And Costume Designer
Tim Hatley
Film Editors
John Bloom
Antonia Van Drimmelen
Music By
Philip Glass
Casting By
Maggie Lunn
Shaheen Baig
About the production
"People have always trusted me with their secrets. But who do I trust with mine?" - Barbara
Covett, NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Two women caught up in a drama of need and betrayal are at the heart of this
psychological thriller, NOTES ON A SCANDAL. The twists and turns of the story are
noted in the acerbic diary of Barbara Covett (Dame Judi Dench), a domineering and
solitary teacher who rules with an iron fist over her classroom at a decaying state-run
secondary school in London. Save for her cat, Portia, Barbara lives alone, without
friends or confidantes - but her world changes when she meets the school's new art
teacher, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). Sheba appears to be the kindred spirit and loyal
friend Barbara has always been seeking. But when she discovers that Sheba is having
an incendiary affair with one of her young students (Andrew Simpson), their budding
relationship takes an ominous turn. Now, as Barbara threatens to expose Sheba's
terrible secret to both her husband (Bill Nighy) and the world, Barbara's own secrets and
dark obsessions come tumbling to the fore, exposing the deceptions at the core of each
of the women's lives.
Two of the world's best actresses deliver tour de force performances in NOTES
ON A SCANDAL, a presentation of Fox Searchlight Pictures and DNA Films. The film is
directed by Richard Eyre (STAGE BEAUTY, IRIS) and stars Oscar-winner Judi Dench
(SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, IRIS, MRS BROWN) and Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett
(THE AVIATOR, ELIZABETH, BABEL) along with newcomer Andrew Simpson and Bill
Nighy (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, LOVE ACTUALLY,
THE CONSTANT GARDENER). With a screenplay by Patrick Marber (CLOSER),
adapted from Zoë Heller's Booker Prize-nominated novel, the film is produced by Scott
Rudin and Robert Fox, who previously collaborated together on both IRIS and THE
HOURS.
The artistic crew includes two-time Academy Award-winning director of
photography Chris Menges (THE MISSION, THE KILLING FIELDS, DIRTY PRETTY
THINGS), Tony Award-nominated production and costume designer Tim Hatley
(CLOSER) and Academy Award-nominated composer Philip Glass (THE HOURS, THE
TRUMAN SHOW, THE ILLUSIONIST).
A scandal begins: bringing "Notes on a scandal" to the screen
"Now more than ever, we are bound by the secrets we share." - Barbara Covett
In this age of loneliness, isolation and disconnect, we live in cities that house
millions of people yet everyone at one time or another yearns for companionship, for
someone to reach out and connect with us on some level... any level. This is the
universal feeling that comes through in Zoë Heller's 2001 page-turner of a novel, What
Was She Thinking: Notes On a Scandal, a suspenseful story of loneliness and
obsession that cuts, with equal parts dark humour and realism, right to the shadowy
centre of the human yearning for connection. Readers were drawn in by Barbara
Covett's blisteringly funny, yet ultimately deceptive, revelations about her so-called
friendship with fellow teacher, Sheba Hart. Between Sheba's dangerously ill-conceived
affair with a student and Barbara's own "spin" and hidden agenda, what might have
been merely a character study unfolded more like a thriller. Eventually, the book would
garner not only widespread acclaim but numerous awards, including being short-listed
for the coveted Man Booker Prize for English literature. The rights were quickly acquired
by leading producers Scott Rudin and Robert Fox, who also recently brought Michael
Cunningham's beloved, multi-stranded novel The Hours to the screen. Rudin had
already contracted with leading playwright and screenwriter Patrick Marber to tackle the
adaptation, knowing he would create a brilliant screenplay.
When noted theatre and film director Richard Eyre was approached by Rudin
and Fox about directing the film version of NOTES ON A SCANDAL he, like so many
others, had already read the book. Eyre had found it at once funny, touching and
beautifully observed - precisely the kind of material that intrigues him. Says Eyre: "I saw
it as a story of friendships and sexual intoxications. It's really a tale of two obsessions,
of two women in the grip of their own self-destructive, uncontrollable passions."
Eyre and Rudin had previously collaborated with great success, along with Judi
Dench, on the acclaimed IRIS, the film about the extraordinary life-long love affair
between the brilliant author Iris Murdoch and her devoted husband, John Bayley as well
as the critically lauded stage production "Amy's View". IRIS garnered both an Oscar and
Golden Globe for Jim Broadbent, as well as Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for
Dench and Kate Winslet. Eyre next directed the critically praised STAGE BEAUTY, a
comedy-drama set on the 17th Century London stage, but had since returned to the
theatre, directing two highly successful and utterly opposite productions: the new
musical stage version of "Mary Poppins" in London and on Broadway and his fresh
adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama "Hedda Gabler" in London's West End.
"I'd just done the two extremes of the spectrum in theatre - so to get back to
filmmaking with a project with the fantastic credentials of NOTES ON A SCANDAL was
irresistible," he comments.
Marber's adaptation would be challenging, as Heller's novel was written as a
series of highly subjective journal entries in the pen of Barbara Covett which he
masterfully crafted as diary entries, slowly revealing through her unreliable words the
depths of her delusions and manipulations when it came to Sheba Hart. But based on
Marber's previous body of work, there was no doubt that he was up to the task. He
recently came to the fore as the author of the play "Closer", a darkly funny look into the
realities of love and desire which won the Olivier, Evening Standard and both London
and New York Critics Circle Awards for Best Play before going on to write the
adaptation of the acclaimed feature film.
Now, Marber had to come up with a way to turn Zoë Heller's distinctly literary
approach to the story of Barbara and Sheba into something far more dynamic,
immediate and cinematic.
"I did find writing this screenplay very difficult," admits Marber, "but I was greatly
helped by Scott Rudin, who pushed me through every draft. The novel is so rich and
expansive that the job was to find a way to somehow compact all this into the story."
That essence - at once comic and observant - became key to what Marber hoped
to create in scenes of witty, tense and revealing dialogue. He carved the story around
the book's most relevant and pressing theme: the overwhelming isolation that wreaks so
much havoc in modern lives, which is the ultimate undoing of Barbara Covett. "I hope
the film says something about a particular kind of modern loneliness, the desperation
one can experience even in a city of millions that I think that everyone feels at times," he
says.
For Heller, Marber was an inspired choice to attempt the feat. "With Patrick
Marber, I felt I'd gotten the most interesting and clever screenwriter possible," she
comments. "He was able to take what I had written and make something new out of it.
He's done an amazing job of turning it into something that really works on screen. I like
to think my book was a page-turner, but he upped the excitement and the suspense of
the book, which is all for the good."
Marber began by exploring the story's two main characters, starting with Barbara,
the unforgettable narrator who comes to harbour corrosive secrets about her new "best
friend," Sheba Hart. Says Marber: "I thought Zoë had done such a brilliant job that it
was all there waiting for me in the book. I was very faithful to what Zoë had written
about Barbara. The thing that's really different in the novel is that Barbara is telling the
story from her point of view, so my job was to try to bring a more objective ballast to
who she is, but at the same time keep her persona as this prickly, funny, at times stoic,
figure. She's no-nonsense, but she's also got this aching, beating, vulnerable heart, and
is someone who has never known love. Everything she does is out of a desperate
loneliness and yet, at the same time, she's a monster. I've always been attracted to
characters who you love and despise simultaneously, and Barbara inspires both
reactions."
Marber felt a similarly invigorating conflict towards the character of Sheba. "I
gave Sheba a slightly more offbeat, bohemian background than she has in the book, but
her vulnerabilities and complicated feelings remain the same," he comments.
Upon reading the completed screenplay, Richard Eyre was impressed with
Marber's skill at shifting the story from the subtlety of the page to the grander scale of
the big screen, turning Barbara's journal entries into palpably realistic scenes. "It was
especially wonderful how he was able to keep the narrative in Barbara's point of view,
yet with a minimum of voice-over, avoiding the dangers of the relentless narrator,"
comments the director.
Also important to Eyre was the screenplay's honest handling of the highly topical
but definitely controversial notion of a middle-aged, married teacher carrying on a torrid
affair with her underage student. "It was important that the relationship between Sheba
and Steven be presented truthfully, by which I mean that the audience sees that it's
hinged on both a passionate, sexual attraction and a kind of tenderness and mutual
curiosity," Eyre comments. "I mean clearly what Sheba's doing is deeply wrong, but
there's a delicate balance we wanted to strike of showing the honest truth of her
relationship without in any way romanticizing it."
Ultimately, Eyre was most pleased by how the screenplay seemed to capture the
irresistible speed and fearless verve of Heller's novel, while retaining its rich emotions of
laughter, horror and grief - which he knew would be heightened further via the film's
visual style and performances.
"I really hope people find this film funny, as well as occasionally frightening,
shocking and sad," Eyre sums up. "There is something at once comical, ghastly and
terribly human about this delusion that Barbara has that she will have a passionate,
lifelong friendship with Sheba. And Barbara's feelings for Sheba are analogous to
Sheba's feelings for Steven, the schoolboy. These two women are not in control - any
more than any of us are in control when it comes to love."
The secret keeper: Judi Dench is Barbara Covett
"In a different (better) age, we would be ladies of leisure, lunching together, visiting galleries,
travelling, putting the world to rights... we would be companions." - Barbara Covett
With Zoë Heller's novel, What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal, Barbara
Covett became one of the most fascinating unreliable narrators in contemporary
literature.
To play such a complex, dangerous woman, the filmmakers knew early on they
would need one of the finest actresses working in film today - it was then that Scott
Rudin approached Dame Judi Dench very early on in the project's genesis. Dench has
riveted screen-goers in a wide variety of roles, including her Oscar-winning turn as the
Queen of England in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, her lauded role as Iris Murdoch at the
end of her life in IRIS, and another Oscar-nominated role in the recent MRS
HENDERSON PRESENTS.
From the moment Rudin read the novel, he knew it had to be Dench to play the
part of Barbara. Rudin realized there was no other actress alive today that could pull off
this role with the determination and resolve that the character demanded.
At first, Dench was quite taken aback by Barbara's acid tongue and dark,
wounded heart, not to mention her manipulative relationship with Sheba Hart. "It's a
really shocking story," says Dench of her initial reaction to NOTES ON A SCANDAL.
"But the challenge of doing it was very exciting to me. It was thrilling to be asked to do
something that couldn't be more different from anything I've ever played before."
It was precisely that difference that Richard Eyre felt made Dench a perfect
match for the unpredictable nature of the character. "Judi Dench is universally loved and
people usually identify with this magnificently generous, beautiful and brilliant person
who often plays monarchs and has tremendous personal dignity," he remarks. "So to
experience Judi Dench being caustic and acerbic and rather ungenerous we felt would
be a wonderful, bracing shock. I mean, her portrait of Barbara is still deeply vulnerable,
but this is not a nice woman and I think from an audiences' point of view to see Judi
playing that will be quite refreshing."
Zoë Heller had a similar feeling. "In casting Judi Dench, one knows she will bring
an intelligence and vulnerability to the role. She's not just a stage villain twirling her
moustache and plotting the downfall of others, but someone who does real justice to the
humour of the role," she says.
Having read both the book and the screenplay, Dench notes her pleasure at
Patrick Marber's adaptation. "I thought it was very skilfully adapted. It's quite faithful to
Zoë Heller's style while still being very individual to Patrick," she observes.
Dench was also pleased that the screenplay steadfastly refused to place
damning judgments on its wayward characters. "I think it's very much left to the
audience to Make-up its own mind on the ethics of it all and I think that's right," she
notes.
Indeed, as wicked as Barbara can be when she feels slighted or rejected, Dench
also found elements of her character quite familiar and at times, devastatingly poignant.
"I've known several people like her," she says. "A very, very lonely person who craves
affection and to have any friend of some kind. I think there are a lot of people out there
just like that who have been lonely all their lives and dream of friendship. But when
Barbara essentially blackmails Sheba Hart into becoming close to her, that's when
things turn nasty."
To get deeper into Barbara's desperation, Dench worked closely with Cate
Blanchett to develop just the right rapport between the two unlikely comrades. "It was
very intense and very, very hard work but we had a lot of laughs and she was terrific,"
says Dench. "She is a phenomenal actress and she was phenomenal to work with. I
think she is just fantastic, imaginative and quite inspirational."
Another draw for Dench was getting yet another chance to work with director
Richard Eyre. "He has such wonderful instincts," she comments. "You feel very secure
in his company because he knows what he wants but, within that parameter, he also
allows you to really breathe and that's very exciting."
The scandal maker: Cate Blanchett is Sheba Hart
"This voice inside me was going, why shouldn't you be bad? Why shouldn't you transgress?" Sheba Hart
While Barbara Covett secretly hopes for a life-long friendship with Sheba Hart,
Sheba unwittingly seals the deal by following her own precarious desires - betraying her
loving, older husband and family by diving headlong into an affair with one of her own
teenaged students. With Sheba's scandalous behaviour and her frantic need to keep it a
secret, Barbara gains the upper hand... or so she thinks.
The delicate nature of Sheba's encounters with both Barbara and the schoolboy
Steven called for an actress of consummate skill, so it immediately made sense to the
filmmakers to pair Judi Dench with Cate Blanchett - Blanchett having garnered an Oscar
nomination starring in the title role of ELIZABETH most recently won the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress with a spirited turn as screen legend Katherine
Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR. But as with Dench, the role of Sheba
would take Blanchett far from those more regal performances.
Patrick Marber had always envisioned Cate Blanchett as Sheba. "When I was
writing the screenplay, I became even more certain that she had to play Sheba," says
Marber. Friends for many years, he knew she would be perfect for the role. "I know Cate
socially and we're pals, but I've never worked with her before. And I couldn't be more
thrilled with her performance. I think she's really raw in a way that I think will shock
people."
Zoë Heller found Blanchett's casting eerily close to what she had always
imagined Sheba to be like as a person. "Cate is as damn near an incarnation of what I
had in my head as you could get," she says. "So it was like having a dream and then
seeing it acted out before you."
From her first encounter with Heller's book, Blanchett herself was compelled. "It's
an absolute page-turner," she says. "It's all told from Barbara's perspective so the
challenge for Patrick Marber as the screenwriter and for me as an actor was to liberate
Sheba from Barbara's point of view for the film, to make her live and breathe in her own
right. Ultimately, on the screen, I think the two women hold up a mirror to one another."
"Marber actually turned and adapted the novel into its own creature, which is
often I think the trick to making an adaptation work," says Blanchett. "I've been involved
in several adaptations where they've almost been too slavish to the form that the novel
has taken and you really need to liberate yourself from that in order to make the film live
and breathe in its own right."
Blanchett was excited to get a chance to explore Sheba from several angles,
none of them easy or simple. "Cinematically, I think to spend time with someone who
transgresses a moral boundary like Sheba does, you have to go deep inside who that
woman is," she explains. "There are a number of things in the novel that really struck
me and I hope I've brought them to the film. Sheba's a young woman who has married
an older man, who feels she has sort of whittled away her youth and has found herself
feeling hopelessly without accomplishment or any sense of larger meaning. She's ready
to change her life and, in a strange way, her opening act of rebellion is this relationship
with a 15-year-old boy. You could say she's trying to recapture her lost youth. It seems
she's unable to function in the grown-up world and part of her journey is accepting that
she is a product of her own choices."
The irony of Sheba, Blanchett notes, is that Barbara enviously believes her to be
entirely privileged and happy. "From Barbara's perspective, Sheba has the gift of being
in a loving marriage and being surrounded by people who adore her - but Sheba feels
just as profoundly, deeply lost and isolated," she observes.
Yet for all her understanding of how Sheba ends up in her scandal-ridden
position, Blanchett still found it a serious challenge to embody the character's unlawful
desires. "It's really been the hardest journey of connection I've ever had with a
character," she admits, "because I could understand having a relationship with a much
older man but I look at a 15-year-old boy and all I see is a child. But I think Sheba
herself is surprised by it. She's not someone who has targeted a child. Rather, I think
she would say in the beginning that this is a great love - but part of her journey is to be
boldly and frighteningly revealing to her inner self."
Indeed, Blanchett believes that Sheba was already on a collision course with
radical change in her life even before Barbara began playing her dangerous games. "I
feel if Sheba had ended the affair when she told Barbara she had, she would still have
done something else to upset her life," the actress says. "People who are hidden from
themselves will create all kinds of circumstances to expose themselves. I think Sheba
gives herself an intellectual excuse for the attraction. She idealizes the notion of taking
a working class boy and introducing him to art and life. But, of course, in the end,
attraction to another person is a deeply subconscious thing that can't be simply
explained."
In working with Richard Eyre and the film's artistic crew, Blanchett was taken with
their consistently careful approach. "I don't think you can deal with this kind of subject
matter without a touch of humour and irony and visual warmth, and they brought all of
that," she remarks. "I've always seen the story as being a distinctive portrait of
loneliness and that's definitely the way Richard has shepherded the film. He's been
incredibly focused on the actors and created the best possible environment to deliver a
performance."
Eyre, in turn, was delighted with Blanchett's embracing of Sheba both light and
dark. Remarks the director: "Cate comes to the set prepared for all eventualities, and is
therefore able to be truly spontaneous. She has a tremendously deep knowledge of
each scene, and contributes a great deal in details and big ideas. As Sheba, she is able
to portray a woman who is unguarded to the point of self destruction, and I admired
Cate's courage as well as her skill in doing that so beautifully."
Eyre was especially moved by Blanchett's delicate dance of attraction and fear
with Steven as played by young Andrew Simpson. "I think those scenes between them
are very, very powerful and wholly plausible because not only have you got two good
actors but you've got the generosity of Cate with a much younger actor, and her
brilliance at handling awkwardness and her ability to make sure that it comes off as
intimate and true without being romanticized," says Eyre.
He adds: "I'm weary of superlatives, but in the case of Cate and Judi, it would be
indecent not to apply them because they are both such extraordinarily skilful actors."
The betrayed husband: Bill Nighy is Richard
"If you meant to destroy us, why not do it with an adult? That's the convention. It's worked for
centuries." - Richard
When Sheba Hart gives in to her desires and begins a romantic liaison with
school-aged Steven Connelly, she not only inspires the machinations of Barbara Covett
- she also betrays her husband, a somewhat older professor and loyal partner played
with understated charm by Bill Nighy. Nighy is one of Britain's leading screen stars, with
roles that have ranged from the British ensemble comedy LOVE ACTUALLY to the
Emmy Award-winning telefilm GIRL IN THE CAFÉ to the recently blockbuster action film
THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST. Nighy, whose work spans
screen, television and stage, had previously worked with Richard Eyre at the National
Theatre and the West End.
Nighy notes that by the time he was approached to do the film, it was essentially
impossible to say no. He recalls: "Both Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett were
already in place and I knew Richard Eyre was going to direct and that Scott Rudin and
Robert Fox were producing and that Chris Menges was going to photograph it - so it
was a pretty safe place to be, in such illustrious company!"
Upon reading Zoë Heller's novel, Nighy became even more interested by the
story's provocative subject matter, which he laughingly sums up as: "Sex famously
makes fools of us all. Or at least, I hope it's everybody and not just me!"
Eyre was especially impressed by Nighy's performance as the injured husband.
"I've known Bill as a friend and as an actor for about 25 years. I've always envied the
way that he does the hardest thing in acting and makes it look easy. He appears
spontaneous, as if the thought, the words, the actions are occurring to him at that
moment in time when the audience and the camera are watching," says Eyre. "He's a
very romantic figure but somehow gives the impression that his feet are planted firmly
on the ground. Whatever he says as a character he makes his own. And he never fails
to make me laugh." As for Richard, Nighy found himself quite sympathetic to the
character's plight as that rarity in film: the betrayed husband who isn't a bad guy in the
least. "My character married Sheba when she was 20 and he was considerably older
than her," he explains. "I think he's a perfectly nice man who loves his wife a lot, adores
her and especially their two children. The interesting part is that they seem to have such
a pleasant, successful marriage and then Sheba suddenly and seemingly inexplicably
has an affair with a 15-year-old. That makes it a far richer dramatic situation than if my
character were a villain."
Working with two actresses of the abilities of Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench was
also a distinct bonus for Nighy. "Working so closely with Cate was as satisfying as
anyone I've ever worked with," he says. "There are a very few, rare individuals like Cate
who are that spookily talented. And she appears to achieve all that she achieves with a
minimum of fuss. Between her and Judi Dench, I think you have two of the finest
performers currently working. It's an especially unusual part for Judi Dench because it's
not something she's been asked to deliver before, playing someone so manipulative
and destructive. Having these two on the case definitely made things pretty exciting for
all of us."
With the role of Richard filled by Nighy, Patrick Marber knew the character would
have a certain depth and charm. "I've wanted to work with Bill Nighy for as long as I can
remember. There's no one quite like him. I don't know how he does it but he seems to
be completely loose and incredibly specific simultaneously," says Marber. "He's free. He
never laboured the pain of the role yet he's incredibly moving, he never tries for laughs
he just seems to get them. He wears a suit as well as any man I know. He loves Bob
Dylan. Bill Nighy is...well, he's just cool.
The alluring art student: newcomer Andrew Simpson is Steven
Connelly
"You wanted a sob story, I gave it to you. Made you feel like Bob Geldof." - Steven
The fireworks between Judi Dench's Barbara and Cate Blanchett's Sheba in
NOTES ON A SCANDAL are sparked when one of Sheba's art students develops a
flattering crush that develops into a full-blown sexual affair. The role of Steven - the
cocky, story-spinning, infatuated teenager caught up in something far larger than he can
understand - would clearly require special handling. To find a fresh face, the filmmakers
held extensive auditions and it was in Ireland that they first saw the young man from
Donegal, Andrew Simpson, who previously had a role in the British film SONG FOR A
RAGGY BOY.
Also an athletically talented rugby player, Simpson was in the middle of a rugby
tour of Australia and Fiji when he received a call-back to England for a reading with
Cate Blanchett. The intercontinental trip was worth it. Once the filmmakers saw their
rapport, the deal was sealed. Simpson himself was stunned by the turn of events. "I
really wanted the part so much, but I felt like it was beyond my dreams," he admits.
Meanwhile, everyone else felt that Simpson was clearly the right decision. "We
didn't set out to cast an Irish actor but he was simply the best actor we saw for the part,"
explains Richard Eyre. "I think also there is something about his Irishness that is very
good for the character - there is a poetic streak to him that I think plays right into
Sheba's fantasies and her justifications for falling in love with him."
Eyre continues: "We knew that Andrew would have the one of the biggest
challenges in the film. But he was so immensely conscientious, good-natured, intelligent
and talented, we trusted that he would rise to the occasion." Adds Blanchett: "From the
minute I met him, Andrew was remarkably self-possessed and incredibly focused. As
Steven, he rides the line between innocence and maturity in a way that doesn't let the
audience have an easy way out."
Simpson describes his character as "a bit cheeky and also a bit dangerous." He
continues: "Steven is really your average schoolboy who has a crush on a teacher except that Steven is more prepared to take his flirting to the next level. Once he gets a
response from Sheba, he just grabs onto it for all it's worth."
But while Sheba attaches romantic feelings to their relationship, it is the boyish
Steven who sees it much more pragmatically. "I really don't think Steven wants a
relationship," notes Simpson. "He's a teenager, he's charged up, he simply wants to try
new things and see what he can get away with and what he can discover. So when
Sheba's emotions start getting stronger and stronger, I think he realizes he's way out of
his depth and he wants to move on. Although he wants to be an adult, I don't think all of
him is grown up yet, and he realizes that."
As for getting the extremely unlikely chance to shoot romantic love scenes with
Cate Blanchett, Simpson notes that, after the initial thrill, he very quickly came to view
them as just another demanding aspect of the job. "After twenty takes, you don't see it
as a passion-filled encounter anymore," he laughs. "And everyone was just so
professional, there was nothing uncomfortable in it at all."
Simpson felt especially encouraged by Richard Eyre. "He's amazing. He's so
down-to-earth and such a gentleman. After every take he comes up to the actors and
tells you what he thought, being brutally honest. He makes you want to try even harder
for him," he says.
The shoot was another new adventure for Simpson, who had never been to
London before. The city in itself was a revelation to him. "There are so many people in
London that you really get the sense it could be so very lonely if you were living there on
your own," he says. "I come from an area where everyone, even if you don't know them,
will stop and say hello. But in London there's not any space for that. It just really shows
how incredibly alone Barbara must feel when all she has in all the world, before she
meets Sheba, is her cat."
A scandal personified: the film's design and music
"People like Sheba think they know what it is to be lonely. But of the drip-drip of the long-haul,
no-end in-sight solitude, they know nothing." - Barbara Covett
In bringing NOTES ON A SCANDAL to the screen, Richard Eyre wanted to
capture the story's unique tone - combining astringent humour and stark humanity in its
view of the contemporary crossroads where obsession and loneliness link paths. The
film would shoot primarily in Eastbourne, a historic seafront town outside of London,
under the photographic aegis of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Chris
Menges. With past films that have ranged from the charming comedy of LOCAL HERO
to the power of THE KILLING FIELDS and THE MISSION as well as his recent work
capturing the grit of today's London underworld in DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, Eyre felt
that Menges would be a strong match with the film's intimate, darkly psychological
themes.
"Chris is a very gifted, human and intelligent cinematographer," says Eyre.
"Above all, he's interested in people. I think he's almost matchlessly good at lighting and
he brings a kind of spontaneous luminousness to the life of the human face, which was
so important to this story. There's also a brave honesty to his work that I thought made
him perfect for this project."
"Chris and I discussed an approach to the film before we started shooting. Every
decision we made was aimed towards making the carefully constructed and exact script
feel spontaneous, so that the performances should appear to be 'caught on the wing',"
explains Eyre. "Much of the film was shot handheld. Through many years as a
documentary film-maker Chris is a master of this technique: the camera becomes an
extension of his eye. Even when the actors were static, seated at a table perhaps, he
kept movement in the camera to achieve a sense of nervy energy. The lighting always
aimed at a natural look, but for each scene Chris tilted the colour and shape of the
lighting towards the required mood. But above all, his concern was with the human
element - the performances. He loves the luminousness of skin, the animation and
beauty of the human face. "
When Chris Menges was approached by Eyre to capture the essence of these
two complicated women, he could not resist the chance. "I was caught by the story of
Barbra's isolation, living her lonely life as a teacher in the vast urban landscape of a
modern city. The chance of touching or hugging is an impossibility, no matter how hard
she strives. I also wanted to capture Sheba's lunacy, falling in love with youth, the
adrenalin, the excitement and the wonderment. I relished the chance to capture these
complicated, turbulent emotions by two such amazing but different actresses, so
attuned to their roles in this story," Said Menges. It was essential to see them at a
distance, spatially, and have them converge as the story progresses and their
characters become more intimate and intertwined. It was so challenging, especially
since we always wanted to protect the excitement of the moment that only they could
deliver.
Eyre also brought in his long-time collaborator Tim Hatley, with whom he worked
on STAGE BEAUTY and in several theatrical productions, to draw double duty as both
the film's production and costume designer. Impressed with Hatley's evocation of the
private interior spaces probed in Mike Nichol's film version of CLOSER, Eyre expected
that Hatley had the kind of keen eye that would be able to capture the inner architecture
of Barbara and Sheba's worlds as well as a portrait of England that would go well
beyond visual clichés.
For his part, Hatley had long been a fan of Zoë Heller's novel and relished the
chance to work with Eyre on another screen project. "Having worked together on
STAGE BEAUTY, as well as working in theatre and opera, Richard and I have a tried
and true working relationship," says Hatley. "This was important. The work was so
intense that you needed to be surrounded by people you trust."
Though rare in film, designing both the costumes and the production in tandem
allowed Hatley to have each individual element of the aesthetic and palette work
together as part of a larger whole to create the environment that Barbara and Sheba will
occupy and live. "The beauty is that I was able to design a total world," he remarks. "I'm
actually used to designing both costumes and productions in the theatre, so I find it
quite natural to think of spaces and the characters who inhabit them as almost the same
thing. For example, when I went to look at schools for NOTES ON A SCANDAL, I was
looking both at the buildings and at what the teachers were wearing as all part of the
same overall look."
When it came to the film's distinctive tone, Hatley hoped to mirror that same fine
line between playful satire and gripping human drama that forms the core of the movie.
"I kept in mind the idea that the best comedy always comes from what we know to be
true and can relate to," he explains. "So everything is very real, very honest, very
British, that these people truly live and breathe. There is a constant claustrophobia to
Barbara and Sheba's lives and a daily rhythm that we established through the design to
heighten the feelings and emotions the characters feel."
In creating Barbara and Sheba's inner realms, Hatley played up their contrasting
classes and lifestyles. "Barbara's place is very small and cramped, a very dated feeling
basement flat that is filled with the stuff of memories; while Sheba's house is full of light,
space and shabby chic furnishings and is very artistically Bohemian," he says.
Key to the design of Sheba's house was her "refuge," the detached studio that
becomes the scene of her torrid love affair with a student, despite being mere yards
from Sheba's adoring husband and family. "We created the refuge out of a converted
shed that was semi-sunk into the ground," explains Hatley. "The site of it was very
important because it had to be private enough that it could become a kind of love nest,
yet close enough to the main house that there was always risk involved."
Another vital location was that of St George's school where the story of Barbara
and Sheba begins to take its many twists and turns. "For St George's, we found a large
comprehensive school that was well worn at the edges, with a mixture of Victorian
architecture and more modern touches," Hatley says. "It also had an art room that was
a temporary structure apart from the main building - a suggestion that art is always the
lowest priority on the syllabus."
In his production designs, Hatley collaborated closely with Chris Menges.
"Menges likes to work in very small spaces, which has the benefit of feeling very sharp
and intimate," he observes. "So together we continuously addressed the scale and
sizes of the spaces, as well as how light, natural and otherwise, fell into them. My job
was to get as much information as I could about the characters into the frame, yet not to
ever clutter or hinder Menges' work."
When it came to the characters' clothing, Hatley's creativity was inspired by a
close working relationship with leading ladies Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. "I thought
it was really important that we work together in this area because they knew the
characters so well from the inside, and I saw it as my job to take that knowledge and
combine it with what an audience needs to see in order to understand that visually,"
Hatley explains.
All of the clothes for the film were bought either in High Street stores or London
thrift shops, in which Hatley quested for just the right touches. "I wanted everything to
have a very lived in quality," the designer says. This also allowed the characters to
develop an organic range of outfits that added to the film's underlying note of realism.
"Both central characters have a specific way of approaching their dress, each in their
own ways," Hatley continues. "In a sense, each wears a uniform - a specific repetition of
shapes and styles and colours that suit Barbara and Sheba's personalities. The process
was that I built up a core wardrobe for each of them, and then we had fun putting outfits
together in different combinations from those same clothes, just as one does in life. I
tried to repeat clothes often, too. I get irritated when a new outfit is worn for each new
day in films. That is not life. When people find jeans they like, shoes they like, skirts they
like, they tend to wear them into the ground - and the fact that Barbara and Sheba are
very set in their patterns is a part of who they are."
Finally, weaving together all the braided strands of Barbara and Sheba's stories
is renowned minimalist composer Philip Glass' layered, hypnotic and cascading score.
Considered one of the most innovative and influential modern composers, Glass had
previously collaborated with producers Scott Rudin and Robert Fox on THE HOURS, for
which he received numerous honours including an Academy Award nomination, a
Golden Globe nomination, a Grammy nomination and the BAFTA Award - and looked
forward to this latest collaboration. "Richard Eyre has a tremendous history in theatre,
Scott Rudin has the same in film as well as theatre - and between the three of us we
have a few hundred years of experience," laughs Glass. "Add to that a cast that
includes Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench and Bill Nighy, and there was a great deal of
intensity."
Eyre knew for the adaptation there was only one person who could pull off
creating a brilliant score, Philip Glass. " NOTES ON A SCANDAL is an adaptation of a
novel that tells its story entirely through a first person narrator. No film can achieve the
sort of total subjectivity that a novel is capable of, so we wanted a score that would help
to enforce the sense of the story being viewed through the eyes of the main character,
Barbara Covett," noted Eyre. "The score brilliantly reflects and reveals her interior life,
helping to emphasize her self-delusion and her subjective view of events. In addition,
the music provides a pulse to a story of two women getting drawn, through loneliness
and obsession, into an emotional vortex."
When Glass was enlisted to create the score, Patrick Marber knew that his
screenplay would be not only be enhanced but the tensions within the script heightened.
"With its high-wire act of merging comedy, suspense and sudden moments of human
revelation, NOTES ON A SCANDAL posed utterly unique challenges for the composer,
whose score became an engine that drives the film from deep within. I was very excited
when Philip Glass came on board. He has delivered a score of such austere beauty,"
says Marber. "He identified the pulse of the film and made it surge. Everyone knows
he's a brilliant composer but here he is not only providing great music, he is part of the
writing of the film as well. There is such power in the score, it provides the yearning
undertow for the whole story." "This film was a really intense process, even more so
than most films," Glass comments. "Working with Richard and Scott, there were quite a
few versions of every cue - quite a few - before we settled on the final one. It seemed
that every time we thought something was working we would then ask a new question
about the characters or the structure of the story that would send me back. It was a
matter of thinking and rethinking each scene, especially towards the end of the film as
things build to a climax, A fundamental function of any score is creating distance or
closeness and we were constantly playing with how near or how far away the audience
should be at each moment."
The performances themselves became Glass' musical inspiration. "These are
very authentic performances and because of that they're very complex," he says. "Like
real life, they're not black-and-white but filled with shades of grey in the middle. So the
music becomes a way of revealing or verifying the characters' points of view - what is
Barbara really up to, what is Sheba thinking, what does her husband really believe
about what's going on, what is the boy feeling? The music helps to create those
perceptions. If you put a different score on the film, the perceptions would also be quite
different."
"The score essentially is about Barbara. It begins with Barbara and it ends with
Barbara. It was important that the first cue be a kind of signature piece for her and it
comes back in various forms throughout the film," Glass says. "Also, the character of
the music had to, in a way, begin to anticipate and define a rather slippery and
duplicitous person. And I do that not so much through the melodic languages but
through the harmonic language, which tends to be a little bit more chromatic than you'd
expect but not quite as easy to define harmonically. This became an exercise of
ingenuity-to use this piece of music to indicate character when necessary without
revealing the surprising twists of the story."
Glass continues: "There were also musical idioms that evolved, the way the
harmonies and melodies work together, that have to do with the interplay of the
characters with each other. The emotional perceptions are reflected through the
language of music."
Though the score begins with a more spare instrumentation, primarily strings and
wind instruments, it ultimately crescendos along with the story into a larger, more lush
orchestration. "The score follows the structure of the screenplay," sums up Glass. "To
me, the function of the music is to articulate the deeper emotions of the story and not to
be decoration. I think of it is as being more like the bones in the body, rather than the
surface of the skin, and I hope that's the way it operates in NOTES ON A SCANDAL.
Working with director Richard Eyre and producer Scott Rudin was a most satisfying
experience. In the end I think the arc of the score helps to articulate the arc of the story
itself."
About the cast
Judi Dench (Barbara Covett)
In a career spanning over forty years on stage, screen and television, Judi Dench
has won numerous awards beginning with the BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer
(1965), and more recently, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her role as Queen Elizabeth in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1999). In addition she has
received Academy Award nominations for MRS BROWN (1998), CHOCOLAT (2001),
and IRIS (2002). In 2006, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an
Academy Award for her performance in the title role of MRS HENDERSON
PRESENTS. She has been nominated for no less than twelve BAFTA Awards, winning
eight, and has more than fifty nominations and wins for other awards in the USA and UK
for her work on screen.
Her television work was most recently recognized by the Golden Globe Award for
"Last Of The Blond Bombshells" (2000); and recent stage accolades include 1999 Tony
Award for "Amy's View" on Broadway. Dench will reprised her role as M, in the James
Bond series in CASINO ROYALE currently in theatres, having appeared in GOLDEN
EYE, TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and DIE ANOTHER
DAY. Other recent film credits include TEA WITH MUSSOLINI, THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. She recently appeared alongside
Dame Maggie Smith in Charles Dance's well-received directorial debut LADIES IN
LAVENDER.
In 1970 Judi Dench was awarded the Order of the British Empire, and in 1998
became a Dame of the British Empire.
Cate Blanchett (Sheba Hart)
In 2005, Cate Blanchett was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actress for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR. She
was also honoured with the BAFTA Award and a SAG Award for her role in the film.
Additionally, she was recognized by several critics' organizations and received a
nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
In 1998, Blanchett portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in the critically acclaimed
ELIZABETH, directed by Shekhar Kapur, for which she received a Golden Globe Award
for Best Actress in a Drama and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role as well as
Best Actress Awards from The Chicago Film Critics Association, The London Film
Critics Association, The Toronto Film Critics Association, On-line Film Critics, Variety
Critics and UK Empire Award. She also received a Best Actress nomination from the
Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts, & Sciences.
Other work for which she has garnered international award recognition includes
starring roles in THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, directed by Wes
Anderson, THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY, directed by Anthony Mingella, THE GIFT,
directed by Sam Raimi, BANDITS, directed by Barry Levinson, THE SHIPPING NEWS,
directed by Lasse Hallström, VERONICA GUERIN, directed by Joel Schumacher and
Jim Jarmusch's COFFEE AND CIGARETTES. She was also seen in Peter Jackson's
LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy as Galadriel, Queen of the Elves.
After graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art, Cate
Blanchett worked extensively in theatre. Her Australian film roles include Bruce
Beresford's PARADISE ROAD, THANK GOD HE MET LIZZIE, directed by Cherie
Nowlan for which Cate was awarded both the Australian Film Institute (AFI) and the
Sydney Film Critics awards for Best Supporting Actress, and OSCAR AND LUCINDA
opposite Ralph Fiennes and directed by Gillian Armstrong, a role that earned her an AFI
nomination for Best Actress.
In 2005 she completed production on BABEL, co-starring with Brad Pitt and Gael
Garcia Bernal currently in release and THE GOOD GERMAN starring opposite George
Clooney, directed by Steven Soderbergh which opens in December 2006. In 2007, she
will be reunited with Shekhar Kapur to star in THE GOLDEN AGE, co-starring with Clive
Owen.
Bill Nighy (Richard Hart)
Bill Nighy delighted international audiences with his scene-stealing turn as aging
rocker Billy Mack in Richard Curtis' LOVE ACTUALLY, which won him a BAFTA Award
for Best Supporting Actor. In the same year, he won a BAFTA Best Actor TV Award for
the series "State Of Play." He also received the Los Angeles Critics Circle Award for
Best Supporting Actor in I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, LOVE ACTUALLY, AKA and THE
LAWLESS HEART. His work in Peter Cattaneo's LUCKY BREAK brought him a Best
Supporting Actor nomination from the British Independent Film Awards, as did his
chilling performance in Fernando Mireilles THE CONSTANT GARDENER in 2005. He
was most recently seen as Davy Jones in the blockbuster PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST.
Nighy has twice won the Evening Standard‚ "Peter Sellers Award for Best
Comedy Performance": in 1998's hit ensemble comedy STILL CRAZY and in 2004 for
LOVE ACTUALLY. His numerous feature-film credits have included EYE OF THE
NEEDLE, CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER, THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL, FAIRY
TALE: A TRUE STORY, UNDERWORLD and, more recently, the acclaimed zombie
comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY,
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION and STORMBREAKER.
On television, his role in the recent THE GIRL IN THE CAFÉ brought him a 2004
Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for
Television. On stage, Nighy's recent honours include the Barclays Theatre Award for
Best Actor in David Hare's Skylight, and an Olivier Best Actor nomination for his role in
Blue/Orange in 2001. He is currently starring in the Sam Mendes directed The Vertical
Hour on Broadway which opened in November 2006.
Andrew Simpson (Steven Connolly)
Andrew Simpson has been attending the Foyle School of Speech and Drama in
Londonderry since the age of five and has appeared on stage with the group throughout
Ireland, winning several prizes in drama festivals. He is currently preparing for grade
seven in speech and drama at the Royal Irish Academy. He recently appeared in Aisling
Walsh's drama feature SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY, and two television commercials.
Andrew is currently studying for O level examinations, and intends to study law at
university.
About the filmmakers
Richard Eyre (Director)
Richard Eyre's most recent feature film was STAGE BEAUTY, starring Billy
Crudup and Clare Danes. His previous film, IRIS won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar
for Jim Broadbent and received nominations for both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet as
the older and younger Iris Murdoch.
His sell-out London production of "Mary Poppins" came to Broadway in the fall of
2006. In 2005, he directed an award-winning adaptation of "Hedda Gabler" at the
Almeida Theatre. His London production of "Vincent in Brixton" (2002) transferred to
Broadway, as did his production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (2001) starring Liam
Neeson and Laura Linney, for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Director to
add to his 1997 nomination for "Skylight".
As director of The Royal National Theatre, Eyre produced over 100 productions,
and directed 27 plays, including "Guys and Dolls" (Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics
Circle Awards for Best Director); "Richard III" with Ian McKellen; Tom Stoppard's "The
Invention Of Love" (Evening Standard Award); "King Lear" with Ian Holm (winner of
Evening Standard, Olivier and Critics Circle Awards) which he also directed for BBC TV
and WGBH (Peabody Award); and David Hare's "Amy's View" with Judi Dench and
"Absence of War" which he also directed for BBC TV. Under Eyre's direction, the
National became the first British theatre company to visit Lithuania, and also travelled to
Korea, mainland China, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Eyre's screen credits include THE PLOUGHMAN'S LUNCH (winner of the
Evening Standard Best British Film Award). His work for television includes, "The
Insurance Man", "Suddenly Last Summer," and the BAFTA-winning BBC drama
"Tumbledown".
His books include the memoir Utopia And Other Places and Changing Stages, a
guide to 20th century British and American theatre which Eyre later presented as a BBC
Television series. National Service, Eyre's account of his 10 years at the National
Theatre, was published in 2003 by Bloomsbury.
Scott Rudin (Producer)
Films include: THE QUEEN, VENUS, FAILURE TO LAUNCH, THE LIFE
AQUATIC, CLOSER, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, I LOVE HUCKABEES, THE
VILLAGE, SCHOOL OF ROCK, THE HOURS, IRIS, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS,
ZOOLANDER, SHAFT, SLEEPY HOLLOW, ANGELA'S ASHES, WONDER BOYS,
BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT, THE
TRUMAN SHOW, A CIVIL ACTION, IN AND OUT, RANSOM, MARVIN'S ROOM, THE
FIRST WIVES CLUB, TWILIGHT, CLUELESS, SABRINA, NOBODY'S FOOL, THE
FIRM, SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER, SISTER ACT, THE ADDAMS FAMILY,
LITTLE MAN TATE, MRS SOFFEL and HE MAKES ME FEEL LIKE DANCING
(Academy Award - Best Documentary).
Theatre includes: Passion (Tony Award - Best Musical), Indiscretions, Seven
Guitars, Skylight, The Chairs, The Judas Kiss, Stupid Kids, The Blue Room, Closer
(London and New York), Amy's View, Copenhagen (Tony Award - Best Play), The
Designated Mourner, The Caretaker (London), The Goat (Tony Award - Best Play),
Caroline, or Change, The Normal Heart, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Doubt (Tony
Award - Best Play), Red Light Winter, Faith Healer, The History Boys (Tony Award Best Play), Shining City, and The Vertical Hour.
Upcoming Films: Kenneth Lonergan's MARGARET, Noah Baumbach's MARGOT
AT THE WEDDING, Kim Peirce's STOP-LOSS, Joel and Ethan Coen's NO COUNTRY
FOR OLD MEN, Paul Thomas Anderson's THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Alan Ball's
UNTITLED, Justin Chadwick's THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, Wes Anderson's
FANTASTIC MR FOX and THE DARJEELING LIMITED, and Stephen Daldry's THE
READER.
Robert Fox (Producer)
Robert Fox recently executive produced CLOSER, directed by Mike Nichols, and
starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman. Clive Owen won the
Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for his performance, and he and Natalie Portman
were recognized with Academy Award nominations.
He produced, with Scott Rudin, THE HOURS, directed by Stephen Daldry,
starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, and IRIS, directed by Richard
Eyre, starring Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent. Both films garnered
Academy Awards in 2003. Other producing credits include executive producer on
ANOTHER COUNTRY, a television film of SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER starring
Maggie Smith, directed by Richard Eyre, and A MONTH BY THE LAKE, starring
Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox and Uma Thurman.
Robert Fox has been producing theatre in London's West End and on Broadway
for over two decades. Productions include "Another Country" (in which Rupert Everett,
Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Firth made their West End debuts),
"Burn This", starring John Malkovich; the world premiere of Arthur Miller's "The Ride
Down Mount Morgan" and Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women".
His collaborations with David Hare include "Skylight", with Michael Gambon and
Leah Williams, "Amy's View" with Judi Dench and Sam Mendes' production of "The Blue
Room" on Broadway with Nicole Kidman and Ian Glen, and "My Zinc Bed" and "Breath
Of Life", which united Maggie Smith and Judi Dench for the first time on stage.
Other recent productions include "The Judas Kiss", starring Liam Neeson;
"Closer", by Patrick Marber; "The Lady In The Van", by Alan Bennett, starring Maggie
Smith and directed by Nicholas Hytner; a revival of Pinter's "The Caretaker" directed by
Patrick Marber, with Michael Gambon, Rupert Graves and Douglas Hodge; "Gypsy", on
Broadway, directed by Sam Mendes; the Tony Award winning production of "The Boy
From Oz", starring Hugh Jackman, and T"he Pillowman", starring Billy Crudup and Jeff
Goldman.
Patrick Marber (Screenwriter)
Patrick Marber's second play, "Closer", was filmed by Mike Nichols, from the
playwright's own script, starring Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Jude Law and Natalie
Portman. The film gained Oscar nominations for Owen and Portman, with Owen
winning the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards. Marber was nominated for Golden
Globe and BAFTA Awards.
"Closer" had its stage premiere at the National Theatre in 1997 before
transferring to the West End in March 1998 and Broadway in March 1999 (produced by
Robert Fox and Scott Rudin). "Closer" was an international hit and has been produced
in more than 100 different cities across the world. It received both the Olivier Award for
Best Play and the New York Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play on Broadway.
Marber also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of Patrick McGrath's novel
"Asylum", which was directed by David Mackenzie and starred Natasha Richardson and
Ian McKellen.
Marber's first play, "Dealer's Choice", was produced at the National Theatre
(Artistic Director, Richard Eyre) in February 1995 before transferring to the West End. It
won the UK Writer's Guild Award for Best West End Play and the London Evening
Standard Award for Best Comedy. His third play, Howard Katz, opened at the National
Theatre in June 2001. Most recently, "After Miss Julie", his version of Strindberg's "Miss
Julie", was performed at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Michael
Grandage. His play for teenagers, "The Musicians", had its premiere at the
National Theatre in summer 2005.
In addition to directing his own plays, Marber has directed Craig Raine's 1953
(Almeida), Dennis Potter's "Blue Remembered Hills" (National Theatre), David Mamet's
"The Old Neighbourhood" (Royal Court) and Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (Comedy
Theatre).
A collected edition of Patrick Marber's work, Plays One, was published in 2004
by Methuen.
Zoë Heller (Novelist)
Zoë Heller was born in London. She graduated from St Anne's College, Oxford
University and later gained an MA. at Columbia University, New York.
Heller began her writing career as a feature writer for the Independent on Sunday
newspaper in the UK. Heller's profiles, essays, columns and criticism have
subsequently appeared in a wide range of British and American publications including
the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, the New Republic and the London Review of Books.
Heller's first novel, Everything You Know (Knopf) was published in 1999. Her
second novel, Notes on a Scandal, which originally appeared in the US. under the title,
What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal, was published in 2003 and was short
listed for the Man Booker Prize. Her third novel, The Believers, will be published in
2007.
Redmond Morris (Executive Producer)
Redmond Morris began his career in the film business in his native Ireland before
moving to London. As a location manager, he worked on several international
productions including John Schlesinger's YANKS, Michael Apted's AGATHA and
Warren Beatty's REDS. Working with Michael Caton-Jones on SCANDAL was the
beginning of a lengthy collaboration with Steve Woolley and Palace Pictures, which in
turn led to an association with director Neil Jordan, for whom Morris produced/
co-produced THE MIRACLE, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, MICHAEL COLLINS,
THE BUTCHER BOY and IN DREAMS.
Other recent credits include THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE, directed by
Charles Shyer, THE ACTORS, directed by Conor McPherson, ASK THE DUSK,
directed by Robert Towne and THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, directed by
Ken Loach, winner of the 2006 Palme D'Or at Cannes Film Festival.
Morris now lives in Ireland where he has set up Four Provinces Films, and has
several projects in development with the Irish Film Board including AN INDIAN GIRL
and THE CREOLE GIRL.
Chris Menges (Director Of Photography)
As Director of Photography, Chris Menges has twice won the Academy Award,
for THE MISSION and THE KILLING FIELDS, both directed by Rolland Joffé. He was
nominated for the Academy Award for his work on MICHAEL COLLINS directed by Neil
Jordan. Menges is three times winner of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
for Cinematography for his work on MICHAEL COLLINS, THE MISSION and THE
KILLING FIELDS and was nominated for the Best Cinematography Award by the
American Society of Cinematographers for THE BOXER, MICHAEL COLLINS and THE
MISSION.
Other recent films include THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA,
directed by Tommy Lee Jones, THE GOOD THIEF, directed by Neil Jordan and DIRTY
PRETTY THINGS, directed by Stephen Frears.
As a director, his film A WORLD APART won the Grand Jury Prize and the
Ecumenical Prize at Cannes Film Festival in 1988 and Menges was recognised as Best
Director by the New York Film Critics Circle. He has directed THE LOST SON, starring
Daniel Auteuil and Nastassja Kinski, CRISS CROSS, starring Goldie Hawn and Keith
Carradine, and SECOND BEST, starring William Hurt which won the Special Jury Prize
at San Sebastian.
Tim Hatley (Production Designer and Costume Designer)
Tim Hatley's film credits, as costume designer, include STAGE BEAUTY,
directed by Richard Eyre, and, as production designer, CLOSER, the award winning
film, directed by Mike Nichols and written by Patrick Marber.
His career in production design for the theatre on Broadway and London's West
End has won him critical acclaim, including nominations for 2005 Tony Award for Set
and Costume Design for a Musical, for "Monty Python's Spamalot", for which he also
won the New York Drama Desk Award. In 2002, he won the Tony and Drama Desk
Award for Best Set Design for his work on "Private Lives". In the same year he won the
Olivier Award for Best Set Design for "Humble Boy" and "Private Lives". In 1999 he was
awarded Best Set Design at the London Evening Standard Awards for "Suddenly Last
Summer", "Darker Face of the Earth" and "Sleep with Me". He won the Olivier Award for
Best Set Design for "Stanley", staged at the Royal National Theatre.
Hatley's theatre work also includes "Vincent In Brixton (2002) and "The Crucible"
(2001), both directed by Richard Eyre and several collaborations with director Howard
Davies, including "The Talking Cure", "The Play About A Baby" and "Flight".
Hatley trained in Theatre Design at Central St Martins School of Art & Design,
London, graduating with First Class Honours.
Philip Glass (Composer)
Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Julliard School. In
the early 1960s, Glass spent two years of intensive study in Paris with Nadia Boulanger
and while there, Glass earned money by transcribing Ravi Shankar's Indian music into
Western notation. Upon his return to New York, he applied the eastern techniques he
learned to his own music. By 1976, he had composed a large collection of new music,
culminating in "Music in Twelve Parts", followed by the landmark opera, "Einstein on the
Beach" created with Robert Wilson. Since "Einstein", Glass repertoire includes music for
opera, dance, theatre, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and film.
His film work for Stephen Daldry's THE HOURS earned Golden Globe, Grammy,
and Academy Award nominations, along with winning a BAFTA in Film Music. More
recent film scores include Errol Morris' Academy Award winning film THE FOG OF
WAR, David Koepp's SECRET WINDOW, DJ Caruso's TAKING LIVES, and David
Gordon Green's UNDERTOW. Current 2006 film scores are George Butler's ROVING
MARS IMAX project, Neil Burger's THE ILLUSIONIST, and Stephen Hopkins' THE
REAPING
In 2004, Glass premiered the new work Orion - a collaboration between Glass
and six other international artists opening in Athens as part of the cultural celebration of
the 2004 Olympics in Greece. Premieres in 2005 included Glass' new opera, "Waiting
for the Barbarians", libretto by Christopher Hampton, based on the book by JM. Coetzee
and his "Symphony No. 8" with the Bruckner Orchestra.. Glass continues to tour with his
ensemble, performing live to the films of Godfrey Regio's 'Qatsi Trilogy' NAQOYQATSI, POWWAQQTSI, and KOYAANISQATSI.
John Bloom (Editor)
John Bloom is a multiple Academy and Emmy award nominee and winner. His
credits encompass a broad range of films for both the big screen and television
including THE LION IN WINTER with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole; George
Cukor's TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT; THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN with
Meryl Streep; GANDHI starring Ben Kingsley; Richard Attenborough's A CHORUS
LINE; JACKNIFE with Robert De Niro; AIR AMERICA with Mel Gibson and Robert
Downey Jr.; NOBODY'S FOOL, with Paul Newman; THE FIRST WIVES CLUB starring
Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler; THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN with
Michelle Pfeiffer; SHAFT starring Samuel L Jackson; and CLOSER starring Julia
Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen among many others. Bloom's
television credits include Mike Nichols' "Wit" and "Angels in America." Currently Bloom
is working on Mike Nichols' CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR with Tom Hanks and Julia
Roberts.
Antonia Van Drimmelen (Editor)
Antonia Van Drimmelen's credits span a diverse range of comedies and dramas,
including SHAFT starring Samuel L Jackson; and CLOSER starring Julia Roberts, Jude
Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. Van Drimmelen was an associate editor on
CAMILLA, starring Jessica Tandy and Bridget Fonda; NOBODY'S FOOL, with Paul
Newman; THE FIRST WIVES CLUB starring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Bette
Midler; THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN with Michelle Pfeiffer; Mike Nichols "Wit" and
as an assistant editor on THELMA AND LOUISE, starring Susan Sarandon, Geena
Davis and Brad Pitt. Van Drimmelen received an Emmy nomination for her work on
Mike Nichols' Emmy Award winning television program "Angels in America." Currently
Van Drimmelen is working on Mike Nichols' CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR with Tom Hanks
and Julia Roberts.
Cast (in order of appearance)
Barbara Covett
JUDI DENCH
Sheba Hart
CATE BLANCHETT
Ted Mawson
TOM GEORGESON
Sandy Pabblem
MICHAEL MALONEY
Sue Hodge
JOANNA SCANLAN
Bill Rumer
SHAUN PARKES
Linda
EMMA KENNEDY
Gita
SYREETA KUMAR
Steven Connolly
ANDREW SIMPSON
Brian Bangs
PHIL DAVIS
Elaine Clifford
WENDY NOTTINGHAM
Antonia Robinson
TAMEKA EMPSON
Davis
LEON SKINNER
Richard Hart
BILL NIGHY
Polly Hart
JUNO TEMPLE
Ben Hart
MAX LEWIS
Lorraine
DEBRA GILLETT
Dave
BARRY MCCARTHY
Marjorie
JULIA MCKENZIE
Martin
ADRIAN SCARBOROUGH
Sheba's Mother
JILL BAKER
Marcia
DIANA BERRIMAN
Saskia
ALICE BIRD
Eddie
BENEDICT TAYLOR
Eddie's Wife
MIRANDA PLEASENCE
Vet
JONATHAN SPEER
Mr Connolly
STEPHEN KENNEDY
Mrs Connolly
DERBHLE CROTTY
Newsreader
CATHERINE DREW
Annabel
ANNE-MARIE DUFF
Presented in association with Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP
Unit Production Manager
RACHEL NEALE
First Assistant Director
MARTIN HARRISON
Second Assistant Director
CHRIS STOALING
Supervising Art Director
MARK RAGGETT
Art Director
HANNAH MOSELEY
Set Decorator
CAROLINE SMITH
Production Buyer
HARRIET ORMAN
Standby Art Director
GRANT ARMSTRONG
Assistant Art Director
JANE HARWOOD
Assistant Set Decorator
LUCY EYRE
Graphics
KEM WHITE
Art Department Assistants
CATHERINE BYRNE
CIAN O'CLERY
Focus Puller
BEN WILSON
Clapper Loaders
SAM BARNES
URSZULA PONTIKOS
Grip
GARY HYMNS
Camera Trainee
THERESE HVATTUM
Script Supervisor
DIANA DILL
2nd Unit Lighting Cameraman/Operator
PAUL BOND
2nd Camera Assistants
ASHLEY BOND
MARK MILSOME
2nd Camera Grip
SIMON FOGG
2nd Camera Script Supervisor
KEZIAH BARTON-WHITE
Video Playback
ALEX HOBBS
Production Sound Mixer
JIM GREENHORN
Boom Operator
KATE MORATH AM.P.S.
Sound Assistant
JASON BENNETT
Location Manager
AMANDA STEVENS
Assistant Location Managers
RICHARD HILL
LEE ROBERTSON
Location Scouts
RUSSELL LODGE
THOMAS ELGOOD IAN ELLIS
Executive Assistants to Scott Rudin
MICHAEL DILIBERTI
JAMES P QUEEN
Assistants to Scott Rudin
MIRA SHIN
DAN ERSTAD
NATHAN KELLY
DANNY ROMAN
Assistant to Robert Fox
SARAH RICHARDSON
Production Co-ordinator
FRANCESCA CASTELLANO
Assistant Co-ordinator
HOLLY PULLINGER
Production Secretary
VANRAAJ PADHAAL
Production Accountant
SHRUTI SHAH
Assistant Accountants
POLLY FLETCHER
DAN HILLSDON
Accounts Assistant
HELEN WALKER
Accounts Trainees
JAY WEEKS
NWACHUKWU AGHANYA
MARIE SAYEJ
Post Production Accountant
TARN HARPER
Chief Hair & Make-up
LISA WESTCOTT
Make-up Artist for Ms Blanchett
REBECCA LAFFORD
Make-up/Hair Artists
JAYNE BUXTON
HELEN JOHNSON
Hairdresser for Ms Blanchett
EAMONN HUGHES
Costume Supervisor
ALLISON WYLDECK
Costume Assistants
VANDRA HOWARD
DAVID OTZEN
JANE LEONARD
Dresser to Ms Dench
KIRSTY WILKINSON
Costume Trainee
EMMA HEATH
Property Master
MAXIE MCDONALD
Chargehand Standby Props
STEPHEN MCDONALD
Standby Props
STEPHEN CONWAY
Chargehand Dressing Props
NEIL MURRUM
Dressing Props
BEN WILKINSON
PETER WATSON
Storeman
LES BENSON
Gaffer
LEE WALTERS
Best Boy
PAUL SHARP
Rigging Gaffer
GAVIN WALTERS
Electricians
STEVE BLYTHE
JIMMY HARRIS
PETER HARRIS
EAMONN FITZGERALD
KEVIN FITZPATRICK
MARK THOMAS
EMILY PLANT
Electrical Rigger
DENNIS WATSON
2nd 2nd Assistant Director
CHARLIE WALLER
3rd Assistant Director
HEIDI GOWER
Production Runner
BARNEY MILLER
Floor Runner
EMILY GRAHAM
Stand In for Ms Dench
PENNY RYDER
Stand In for Ms Blanchett
COLETTE APPLEBY
Utility Stand In
PHILIP BALL
Voice Coach
JOAN WASHINGTON
Assistant to Ms Blanchett
JEMMA KEARNEY
WFTV/UIP Directing Change Placement
HATTIE DALTON
Unit Nurse
SARA DONY
Transportation Co-ordinator
GARY BIRMINGHAM
Construction Manager
ROBIN THISTLETHWAITE
Standby Carpenter
JOSH JONES
Standby Painter
SIMON HUTCHINGS
Standby Rigger
GREG PRESS
Standby Stagehand
PETE HODGE
Supervising Carpenter
IAN BEE
Chargehand Carpenter
JONATHAN WELLS
Carpenters
DAVID MARTIN
PAUL BOWRING
Chargehand Painter
JOHN DAVIES
Painters
MATT PARSONS
AMANDA WADDINGTON
Stagehands
NEIL DICKSON
TONY KERNAN
Post Production Supervisor
POLLY DUVAL
Assistant Editor
MARTIN CORBETT
New York Sound Crew
Supervising Sound Editor
JACOB RIBIKOFF
Sound Editor
STUART STANLEY
Sound Assistant
ERIC STRAUSSER
Rerecording Mixers
LEE DICHTER
MARTIN CZEMBOR
London Sound Crew
Sound Supervisor
JAMES MATHER
FX Editor
JOSEPH PARK STRACEY
Dialogue Editor
TIM OWENS
ADR Editor
NIGEL STONE
Foley Editor
DEREK TRIGG
Assistant Sound Editors
DIANA SMITH
LIONEL JOHNSON
ADR Recording Engineer
ANDY THOMPSON
Voice Casting
HOWARD HALSALL
Foley Recording Engineers
EDWARD COLYER
NIGEL HEATH
Foley Artists
ANDI DERRICK
PETER BURGIS
Rerecording Mixer
MIKE PRESTWOOD SMITH
Assistant Rerecording Mixer
DOUG COOPER
Sound Studio Technician
DAVE WREN
Supervising Music Editor
JOSEPH S DEBEASI MP.S.E.
Music Editors
GRAHAM SUTTON
MISSY COEN
Assistant Music Editor
DEREK SOMARU
Music Conducted by
MICHAEL RIESMAN
Assistant Conductor
NICO MUHLY
Music Recorded at
AIR STUDIOS, LONDON
Score Engineer
CHRIS DIBBLE
Assistant Engineers
JAKE JACKSON
SAM JONES
Orchestra Leader
JOHN BRADBURY
Orchestra Contractor
ISOBEL GRIFFITHS
Librarian
VIC FRASER
Music Mixed by
MICHAEL RIESMAN
Mixed at
THE LOOKING GLASS STUDIOS
NEW YORK CITY
Mix Engineers
DAN BORA
ICHIHO NISHIKI
Music Preparation
NICO MUHLY
Score Preparation
TREVOR GURECKIS
Music Production Co-ordinator
CHRISTIAN RUTLEDGE
Stunt Co-ordinator
NRINDER DHUDWAR
Stunts by
PETER PEDRERO
TINA MASKELL
ROB HUNT
JOHN STREET
Special Effects Co-ordinator
STUART BRISDON
Special Effects
MARK HADDENHAM
Still Photographer
CLIVE COOTE
Unit Publicist
LINDA GAMBLE
MCDONALD & RUTTER
Caterers
SET MEALS
Cameras & Lenses
JOE DUNTON CAMERAS
Lighting Equipment
AFM LIGHTING
Sound Equipment
RICHMOND FILM SERVICES
Telecine Rushes Facilities
TECHNICOLOR FILM SERVICES
Editing Equipment
GOLDCREST POST PRODUCTION
Research Consultant
RUTH HALLIDAY
Music Supervisor
HOTHOUSE MUSIC
Titles Design
RANDY BALSMEYER, BIG FILM DESIGN
Opticals
CINEIMAGE
Negative Cutter
CUTTING EDGE
Lab Colour Timer
MARTIN SCOONES
Laboratory Liaison
JOHN ENSBY
Rerecorded at
DE LANE LEA POST PRODUCTION, LONDON
SOUNDONE, NEW YORK
FUNKY KINGSTON
Written by Frederick Hibbert Performed by Toots & The Maytals
Produced by Leslie Kong
Reproduced by kind permission of Blue Mountain Music Ltd
Administered by Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd © 1971
Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd
Under licence from Universal Music Operations Ltd
Courtesy of D & F Music Frederick Hibbert
FIT BUT YOU KNOW IT
Written by M Skinner
Published by Universal /Pure Groove Music
DIZZY
Written by Sioux/Severin/Budgie
Performed by Siouxsie & The Banshees
Published by Chrysalis Music/Domino
P 2002 Siouxsie and the Banshees
Licensed Courtesy of Siouxsie and the Banshees
THE PRODUCERS WISH TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE
John Barlow
"Leonardo da Vinci: The Divine and the Grotesque" courtesy of The Royal Collection © 2005, Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
"The Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci" © 1978 Phaidon Press Limited
"Evening Standard" courtesy of Solo Syndication
Rachel Dickenson
Scott Aversano
Copyright © 2006 DNA Films Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP and Notes Productions Limited are the authors of this motion
picture for purposes of copyright and other laws
Filmed on location in London and Eastbourne, England and at Elstree Studios, England.
The events, characters and firms depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual
persons, living or dead, or to actual events or firms is purely coincidental.
Ownership of this motion picture is protected by copyright and other applicable laws, and any
unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition of this motion picture could result in criminal
prosecution as well as civil liability.