From the premiere of Me and Orson Welles in Toronto International Film Festival, audiences seemed to like it. CinemaBlend.com gave 4 1/2 stars and categorized MaOW as a must see. LA Times said MaOW is "a blast": "Even in today's conservative buying environment, I can't imagine someone wouldn't want a film that has such winning performances and offers you a front-row seat at one of the great moments in American theater." 

A pretty good start.

Hi all. I'll be back for a while so think I should update something  First of all, I'd like to welcome Ashley, my co-webmaster. She's gonna help continuing this site, makes it alive. Thanks Ashley for helping me on this.

Now the update part. This news is not quite up-to-date but I just want to re-announce it. Claire is gonna be the new presenter of Gucci in Jewelry line. Frida Giannini, Gucci's creative director, said, "Claire Danes is a modern icon and one of the most interesting young actresses on the international scene. Claire's sensual, confident beauty and her passionate, independent and strong character embodies today's Gucci woman." while Claire called Frida as "a very inspiring and creative woman whose vision is extraordinary." The campaign will be launched in Autumn.

AP - August 21, 2008

Movies featuring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Beckinsale, Zac Efron, Edward Norton and Colin Farrell and a documentary about Paris Hilton have joined the lineup for the Toronto International Film Festival.

North America's largest cinema showcase schedule will include Joel and Ethan Coen's CIA comedy "Burn After Reading," with Pitt, Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich.

Among other recent additions are Gavin O'Connor's cop drama "Pride and Glory," starring Norton and Farrell; Rod Lurie's Washington journalism tale "Nothing But the Truth," with Beckinsale, David Schwimmer and Angela Bassett; and Adria Petty's nonfiction Hilton chronicle "Paris, Not France."

The film festival lineup also includes "Me and Orson Welles," based on the book by Metuchen author Robert Kaplow. Directed by Richard Linklater, the cast features Efron, Claire Danes and Christian McKay.

Also, Neil Burger's Iraq War homecoming saga "The Lucky Ones," with Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena; Toa Fraser's British historical tale "Dean Spanley," starring Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill and Jeremy Northam; and Jodie Markell's "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," based on a Tennessee Williams screenplay and featuring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret.

The festival also will feature "New York, I Love You," a collection of 12 short films about New York City directed by such talents as Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner and Mira Nair.

Toronto's slate of 249 feature films also includes Spike Lee's World War II tale "Miracle at St. Anna," featuring Derek Luke; Saul Dibb's historical pageant "The Duchess," starring Keira Knightley; David Koepp's supernatural romance "Ghost Town," with Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear; Gina Prince-Bythewood's Southern drama "The Secret Life of Bees," with Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo; the Western "Appaloosa," in which director Ed Harris stars with Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger; and Kevin Smith's comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.

Opening the festival Sept. 4 will be the World War I drama "Passchendaele," directed by and starring Canadian actor-filmmaker Paul Gross. The festival closes Sept. 13 with Charles Martin Smith's "Stone of Destiny," a Scottish drama with Robert Carlyle, Brenda Fricker and Billy Boyd.

Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy Soak In The Sun
Fri, 18 July 2008

Claire Danes and British actor boyfriend Hugh Dancy continue working on their tan on Friday in Ischia, an Italian island in the bay of Naples. (Claire’s teeny weensy red bikini caused quite the stir earlier this week.)

Danes, 29, and Dancy, 33, are in town for the Ischia Global Film and Music Fest just like Terrence Howard, Rosario Dawson and her boyfriend Mathieu Schreyer.

I've been quite busy a couple of weeks ago and just found out that the site (well, was flashed with PHP error message) can't be accessed. Now everything is back and there're many Claire updates. I'll update the pictures asap.

I just saw Stardust and I must say that this is one of the best Claire's movies in recent years. I enjoy the movie so much. I like Yvaine (though she's annoying at first) and the way she glows when her heart is fulfilled. It's so sad that the movie doesn't do well when it should do. It's a pity that the trailer can't draw attention at all.

Forget it. Let's talk about her new work, Pygmalion, which Claire got good reviews (Hooray!!), and her very first work, My So-Called Life, which the full DVD has just been released. The New York Post described Claire's transformation from an uneducated girl into a society lady as "handsomely done". The NY Daily News said Pygmalion was Claire's best work since MSCL and Shopgirl. There are a number of articles on MSCL, like this one from NY Mag which has interviewed MSCL producer, Marshall Herskovitz, where he talked about the time of auditioning Angela Chase. Alicia Silverstone was one but Herskovitz said she was too beautiful for the role so Claire got it from her more sophisticated look.

Miscellaneous news:
::: Claire is on the cover of this month's Tatler.
::: According to ContactMusic.com, Claire asked British comedian Ricky Gervais if she could be on his show, Extras, but he turned down. She said, "I tried to hassle my way into Extras, but he wasn't having it. Even if that was as forward as I've ever been with anyone."
::: New York Times had an article about Claire's style called An Eliza Doolittle Onstage as Well as on the Red Carpet.
::: UK Telegraph had an article, Capital Danes, and also a new beautiful picture of Claire.
::: JustJared has pictures of Claire and Hugh Dancy walking in SoHo.
::: Claire told UK Stella magazine about her weather-wise, "occasionally I get it right as an actress and feel proud of what I've done. But the conditions have to be just right. I have to be working with a director who is really capable and attentive. The weather has to be just so and the other actors have to be great. Then, for some reason, it works and I feel wonderful. But then something changes and I go back to square one again."

There's no big news recently, just a few small updates. Filmink, an australian magazine, has a small article about Claire: Starshine. So far Stardust has made domestic gross of $37m and worldwide of $57m while the production cost is reportedly around $70m. It's a classic story of a good movie which makes small money

Icon Film Distribution will be the distributor of Evening in UK, which is planned to release on September 21, 2007. In an interview about filming Stardust, Danes said, "I had extensions that tore about a third of my real hair out when I had to take them out. And I'm still recovering from it. I'm just shocked that more people don't know the dangers." She feels she now has a cause to pursue - warning colleagues to wear wigs when possible. In another interview with The Sun, talking about what she looks for in a man, she answered, "The usual things; flowers, chocolates, surprises - that's enough romance for me. Actually what I really find romantic is anybody who genuinely listens to whatever it is I'm saying and expressed a genuine interest in me. A good bottle of wine never hurts, either!"

As she is to play Eliza Doolittle in broadway Pygmallion, Claire is struck seeing British comedy shows like Little Britain and Nighty Night in order to practice her Cockney accent. "I was working on the Cockney accent and it's really tough. I've tackled standard British accents twice now in Stage Beauty and Stardust so it's not completely alien, but this was different. I worked with a dialect coach on Stardust and she suggested I watch British television comedies and I did and became obsessed with them because they're great. Now I love Catherine Tate and Little Britain and Green Wing and a show called Nighty Night."

Now let's come to Stardust. The movie made 9.17 million in its first weekend at no. 4, following those big blockbusters. I must say that I'm not surprised. All the marketing and promotional didn't seem big enough to draw attention and to make Stardust competitive with Bourne, Simpson, and Jackie Chan. I'm glad to see that it got good reviews, comparing to Evening.  Oh! And Evening DVD will be released on September 25th.

During her TV interview on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Aug 2nd, Claire told Leno about her fondness for The Golden Girls. She said she always watches the re-run, "I like TV a lot. I'm a big fan of The Golden Girls. I watch it avidly, I'm a big follower. I went (in disguise) as a Golden Girl to Halloween one year." Leno then asked Claire if she had ever met Betty White, the star of the show, and she replied, "No, I don't know if I would be able to breathe or speak. I love that show." At that point, 85-year-old White appeared from backstage and presented Claire with a DVD boxset of seasons 1 and two of The Golden Girls. She told White, "That is the most thrilling thing I think I've ever experienced."

Continue with more articles: The Boston Globe's A star both astronomical and otherwise, Premiere's Claire Danes Gets 'Stardust' in Her Eyes, and Relish Now's Actress found coming-of-age story in a most unusual role.

Update new pictures from her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Aug 2nd, Stardust premiere.

After Stardust's release, a series of articles has followed: Washington Post's "Stardust's" Claire Danes charts own course, Hollywood Today's Stardust’s Claire Danes Redefines Herself, O Magazine's Books That Made a Difference to Claire Danes, National Post's Making somenew stardust memories. IESB.net has an interview clip with her. Click here for the clip.

I found this picture and Claire looks unusually thin. She seems fine a few days ago. Maybe it's her ourfit. Anyway, don't forget to cast a vote. Claire was also on the cover of Glamour - September issue - with Queen Latifah and another actress. The topic was Look & feel your sexiest at 20, 30, 40! Click here to see her clip on Glamour website.

According to ContactMusic.com, Claire and Alicia Keys dated the same boy when they attended New York high school together. Claire insisted she dated Billy Cherry first. She told MTV, "I see her occasionally and she's apparently still in touch with him. He's a child. He was kind of a hot guy."

Claire made an appearance on MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand on July 25th to promote Stardust. She talked about working with Robert De Niro and Ricky Gervais: "I get to call him Bob. I was in a scene with Ricky and Bob and thought: 'Okay, yes! I don't need to do anything else in my career'." This is a good news. A not-so-good news is she made a wardrobe malfunction and the picture and news spread over quickly. Reportedly, she realized it quickly after the incident but not quickly enough to stop the photographers seizing the moment.

As August 10th, Stardust's release date, is drawing near, we expect more of Claire's appearance. Here are some: Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 2nd and Late Night with Conan O'Brien on August 8th.

Boston.com reported Claire's view on Lindsay Lohan's arrest. "It was pretty valuable for me to stop acting for a period of time and go to college. I needed that time to figure out what kind of grown-up I wanted to be." She also said it will take Lohan, whom she doesn't know, "time and discipline" to get her act together. She was also asked about her Jordan (Jared Leto)'s band whether she's seen them. "I would like to. I see [Jared] occasionally at parties and things, but, no, we're not really in touch." Boston Herald posted an article: Flick reveals Danes’ gory details.

The Roundabout Theatre Company announced on July 11 that Claire will make her Broadway debut on October 18 as Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion", a play that inspired the award-winning musical "My Fair Lady." The story follows Professor Higgins' bid to transform Doolittle, a poor and uneducated English girl, into a society lady. Claire will star opposite Tony Award-winning actor Jefferson Mays. The play will open for a two-month run.