Much Ado About Nothing: London premiere reports

August 27 1993

STARS MAKE MUCH ADO ABOUT BRANAGH (Evening Standard)
by Tom Leonard

BRITAIN'S acting aristocracy turned out in droves to salute Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh at the charity premiere of Much Ado About Nothing.

Branagh, who stars in, directed and produced the film, has another big screen Shakespeare success and the future of British film-making in his pocket.

Outside the Empire, Leicester Square, some of the 300-strong crowd even felt stirred enough to shout such unheard of things as: 'Up the British film industry,' a sentiment naturally echoed by the unusually long line of celebrities filing in.

Rubbing shoulders last night were Sir Richard Attenborough; Sir John Mills; Helena Bonham Carter; Hugh Laurie; Stephen Fry; Amanda Donohoe; Geraldine McEwan; Tony Slattery; Anthony Andrews and Boy George.

The film, which has the likes of Richard Briers slapping thighs along with Keanu Reeves and Denzil Washington, is a colourful romp through the Bard's merry comedy.

At a post-premiere party at Planet Hollywood, Thompson presented the dress she wore as Shakespeare's feisty heroine Beatrice to the restaurant for its memorabilia collection.

Echoing the same sort of sentiment people have about Nigel Kennedy and classical music, everyone agreed how great it was that Branagh was taking Shakespeare to the people.

Stephen Fry, who co-starred with Branagh and Thompson in their last film together, Peter's Friends, said he thought Much Ado would be an instant classic.

'After about 30 seconds, you forget you are listening to Shakespeare,' he said. 'You can't believe the text hasn't been rewritten because it sounds so up to date.'

Branagh said: 'I do feel there are significant possibilities for the British film industry at the moment but I don't feel I am the one at the helm. If I somehow felt I was leading it I would be sunk as a film-maker.'

Thompson, who won a best actress Oscar for Howards End, said she was proud of her husband, but laughed off their 'showbusiness royalty' label. 'I haven't got time for all that, you just have to get on with the work.'

CHEERING CROWDS DELIGHT BRANAGH (Press Association)
by Martin Devlin

Kenneth Branagh said he was delighted by the cheers from packed crowds outside the cinema showing the charity premiere of his latest film. "A lot of people were shouting 'Up the British film industry'. It was such a great atmosphere. I was quite touched by that," said the man who starred in, directed and produced the Shakespearean romp Much Ado About Nothing. Branagh was stopped by crowds packed outside the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square, where Jurassic Park had its UK premiere six weeks earlier.

But twice as many people queued up to cheer Branagh and his wife and co-star Emma Thompson as had turned out for the dinosaur blockbuster. "I do feel there are significant possibilities for the British film industry at the moment but I don't feel I am the one at the helm. If I somehow felt I was leading it I would be sunk as a film-maker," said Branagh.

Thompson, who won a best actress Oscar for Howards End, said she was proud of her husband for the films he was making. But she laughed off their "showbusiness royalty" label. "I haven't got time for all that, you just have to get on with the work," she said. "Keep your head down. It's a mistake to think of yourself as more important than you are."

Guests at the premiere included the couple's great friend, comic Stephen Fry, who brought along his mother Marianne and father Alan. He said: "I am terribly disappointed not to be in the film but I was doing other things and there was nothing suitable in it for me." Fry, who co-starred with Branagh and Thompson in their last film, Peter's Friends, said he thought Branagh had an instant classic on his hands. "After about 30 seconds, you forget you are listening to Shakespeare. You can't actually believe he hasn't re-written the text because it sounds so up to date."

None of the American stars, who included Keanu Reeves as the baddie and Denzel Washington, went to the premiere of the film, which opens today. But British co-star Richard Briers turned up and joked: "This is a lovely film but it will never be able to compete with Jurassic Park. Nothing could do that - not even Gone With The Wind."

At a party later in London's trendiest burger bar, Planet Hollywood, Thompson presented the dress she wore as Shakespeare's feisty heroine Beatrice to the restaurant for its memorabilia collection.

BRANAGH FILM KEEPS THE LUVVIES HAPPY (London Times)
by Joe Joseph

A STANDING ovation at last night's charity premiere of Kenneth Branagh's film of Much Ado About Nothing was followed by a raucous celebrity party. It provided London with its third theatrical hullabaloo in as many months. The glitz and success of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard, Steven Spielberg's film Jurassic Park, and now Much Ado is reviving London's name as the capital of Luvvie Razzmatazz.

Most critics were kind to the film. Nigel Andrews in the Financial Times called it ''a travesty, but oh what a lovely one''. In The Guardian, Derek Malcolm thought it ''fresh, unaffected and rumbustious'', although The Times's Geoff Brown mostly preferred Clint Eastwood's latest.

Branagh himself said last night: ''It was a very special and extraordinary experience for us.''

Among the premiere crowd at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Leicester Square were Lord and Lady Attenborough, Sir Peter Hall, Michael Winner, Richard Briers, Sir John Mills, Geraldine McEwan, Hugh Laurie, Boy George and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Lord Attenborough, clutching his champagne in the party throng, said: ''It was an evening of absolute joy. Complete ecstasy. Some of those critics need their backsides smacked.

''There's blood, sweat and tears, and some condescending bastard is ready to condemn it all. Ken and Emma are bitter about the attacks. Like hundreds of others, they'll go to Hollywood.''

MUCH ADO OVER FILM OPENING (The Herald - Glasgow)

MORE than twice as many people packed London's Leicester Square last night for a glimpse of showbiz couple Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh as had turned out for the opening of the highly publicised dinosaur film Jurassic Park.

Thompson and Branagh were in London for the premiere of their version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

The venue, the Empire, was the same cinema which had hosted the opening of Jurassic Park just six weeks earlier.

One of the stars of Much Ado About Nothing, Richard Briers, joked: "This is a lovely film but it will never be able to compete with Jurassic Park."

Leading lady Thompson, 33, said: "I hope all those people waiting outside actually come and see the film because that way it's sure to be a hit."

Thompson won an Oscar this year as best actress for Howards End. But she was not looking to make it a double with the film Branagh produced, directed, and starred in.

"This isn't an Oscar-winning performance -- and besides it's not a competition," she said.

The crowds gave her a huge ovation as she arrived, dressed in a pale green trouser suit. She and Branagh, 32, paused to speak to fans who had been queuing for several hours to see them.

Celebrity guests at the charity premiere in aid of the Family Service Unit included model Marie Helvin, actor Anthony Andrews, and comic Stephen Fry, who brought his mother Marianne and father Alan.

Fry, who co-starred with Branagh and Thompson in their last film, Peter's Friends, said he thought Branagh had an instant classic on his hands, adding: "After about 30 seconds, you forget you are listening to Shakespeare, you can't actually believe he hasn't re-written the text because it sounds so up to date."

Branagh said of the film: "The play is one of the greatest romantic comedies ever written -- comic, lusty, and full-blooded."

Lord Attenborough, one of the stars of Jurassic Park, said he hoped Much Ado About Nothing would take as much money at the box office as the dinosaur epic.

"This is not stodgy, stuffy, dusty Shakespeare. It's modern and exciting. In fact, I think I've just described Jurassic Park."

Afterwards, guests were going to a party at Planet Hollywood, the restaurant owned by actors Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

'MUCH ADO' SET FOR BOX OFFICE SUCCESS (Press Association)
by Martin Devlin

Kenneth Branagh has a smash hit on his hands with Much Ado About Nothing if audience reaction to tonight's premiere was anything to go by. A standing ovation at the Empire cinema, Leicester Square, greeted the end of the film he produced, directed and starred in. Well-wishers forced Branagh, 32, and his 33-year-old wife Emma Thompson to take a succession of bows at the charity screening before escaping to a celebrity party at London's Planet Hollywood restaurant.

Before the film was shown Branagh said: "We filmed this in a sunny part of Tuscany, the heart of Chianti producing region - or the heart of the Chianti drinking region as it was while we were there." He thanked his investors, some of whom had backed him from the days of his first Shakespeare film, Henry V. "They supported me way back then and their continued support allowed me to be in a position where I could even contemplate making a second Shakespeare film," he said.

Co-producer Stephen Evans told the audience, which included Lord Attenborough and Sir John Mills: "This film is certainly no Jurassic Park. But it was started in the 1600s so it is certainly the longest pre-production in cinema history."

Much Ado About Nothing, a light-hearted battle of the sexes, was filmed in just seven weeks. Jokes were flying at the premiere about how all the cast all on weight because they ate so much pasta - and that one or two actors almost needed liver transplants because they indulged in so much of the region's wine.

Afterwards, British actress Amanda Donohoe, star of LA Law, said: "I think it's very difficult to do Shakespeare for the punter. But this really kept people awake and listening and that's a major achievement. It was extremely entertaining."

A cameo role in the film, in which Branagh and Thompson play bickering lovers, was taken by alternative comedian and author Ben Elton. He was teamed with Michael Keaton for a brief appearance as the film's comic double act. Keaton's female fans would not have recognised the debonair actor, however. Greasy hair, stained teeth and dirty finger nails disguised the American star.

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