Download - Winston Churchill

DATELINESHANDING BACK THE FIRE HOSELONDON, DECEMBER 29TH— Great Britaincompleted her last $80 million installment onWorld War II debt to the United States, paidback with interest. When your neighbor’s houseis on fire, Franklin Roosevelt said in 1940, it isappropriate to lend him your hose. Well, theUK never forgot those loans, and paid them offwith honor. —JLQuotation of the Seasonmany others, I often summon up in mymemory the impression of those July“Likedays....The old world in its sunset was fairto see. But there was a strange temper in the air.Unsatisfied by material prosperity, the nationsturned restlessly towards strife internal or external.National passions, unduly exalted in the decline ofreligion, burned beneath the surface of nearly everyland with fierce, if shrouded, fires. Almost one mightthink the world wished to suffer.”—WSC, the world crisis, VOL. 1, CH. 8, 1923SUPPORTING ACTORLOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 25TH— WhenHelen Mirren won the AcademyAward for best actress in “TheQueen,” we remembered a telling linein the motion picture, as Her Majestyinforms Tony Blair that WinstonChurchill “sat right in that spot” whenshe was new to the throne. Returninghome from that excellent film, wetuned in to an older one, “AnAmerican in Paris.” There is a scenewhere Gene Kelly is walking amongthe French painters; overlooking thesea is a robust older gentleman with acigar, dabbing at a canvas. Kelly does adouble-take: it is obviously Churchill,perennial bit player in films old andnew! —EARL BAKERGLEESON TO PLAY WSCLONDON, NOVEMBER 26TH— DublinerBrendan Gleeson, best known for hisportrayal of Ireland’s most notoriouscriminal, is to play Winston Churchill(proclaimed Britain’s chief criminal byNazi propagandists) in a sequel toRidley Scott’s “The Gathering Storm.”The star of “The General” will take onhis new role in “Churchill at War,”which will be made by HBO, theAmerican network behind “TheSopranos” and “Band of Brothers.”The story centres on Churchill’s leadershipduring the Second World War,but no British actor was deemed suitablefor the role. Gleeson, 51, willdeliver some of the Prime Minister’smost famous orations, which gaveinspiration to the nation.Gleeson has built a reputation forplaying a variety of Irish criminals and“wide-boys,” such as Bunny Kelly in “IWent Down” and Walter McGinn in“Gangs of New York.” Said TeriHayden, the actor’s agent: “The idea ofan Irishman playing Churchill is fascinating.”(Why, exactly? —Ed.)Gleeson abandoned teaching foracting at the age of 34. After a coupleof bit parts, his breakthrough role wasin “Braveheart,” playing Mel Gibson’sright-hand man, Hamish. He has sinceworked with Steven Spielberg, MartinScorsese and Anthony Minghella;starred opposite Nicole Kidman andRenée Zellweger in “Cold Mountain”;and had parts in “Mission ImpossibleII,” “Troy,” and “ArtificialIntelligence.”Gleeson is following a line ofvenerable, and more obvious,Churchillian portraitists: Albert Finneywon an Emmy and a Golden Globefor his depiction in 2002’s “TheGathering Storm,” a look at Churchilland Clementine in the years leadingup to the Second World War. RobertHardy made the role famous in1981’s mini-series, “WinstonChurchill: The Wilderness Years,” asdid Richard Burton before him in1974’s “The Gathering Storm.” Themost recent portrayal of Churchill wasby Scottish actor Mel Smith in“Allegiance,” a play by Mary Kennythat imagines what passed betweenChurchill and Michael Collins, theIrish rebel leader, when they met inLondon. Ironically, Gleeson also portrayedCollins on screen, in a 1991television movie, “The Treaty.”“It will probably annoy a fewpeople,” said the film critic DaveFanning of Gleeson’s casting in therole. “Brendan knows how to beWINSTONIAN: Brendan Gleeson (shown here as Professor “Mad-Eye”Moody in theHarry Potter films) will make a passable WSC in “Churchill at War.”sloppy and gruff and Churchill was abit of an awkward bloke. He’d be theright build and he could certainlyslouch properly with the right coats onhim. Ridley Scott wouldn’t care thatmuch about being 100% true to howthe guy looks, as long as the feel of themovie is right. I think he’ll be great.”“Churchill at War” is being madeby the same production team asFinney’s —Scott Free Productions, andis a follow-on. Rainmark Films, aLondon-based company, is a co-produceron the film, which will be shotin England and France this summer.—JAN BATTLES, THE SUNDAY TIMESFINEST HOUR 135 / 8