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Post by Dave on Jan 22, 2007 20:12:01 GMT 1
There must be many fans of Anna who first saw her in Brookie... when do you remember seeing her first ??
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Post by joe17 on May 24, 2007 9:34:55 GMT 1
Think it says something that there are no response posts here. Anna still owes an awful lot to Beth Jordache and has done little since to earn anyones undying faith. Can't really believe that there are that many people who have become fans of hers post-Brookside and doubt they have the same depth of interest or feeling for her.
I don't find Anna particularly physically attractive and don't really rate her as an actress, but, because of where she has come from and what she has gone on to do, I think she is unique and still interesting. But it started with Beth Jordache and will always come back to Beth Jordache.
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Post by davec on May 24, 2007 18:16:08 GMT 1
Nice to see some fresh discussion Joe. I'm not sure I agree with all you wrote though! I never watched Brookside and had no idea Anna existed until I saw her on the cover of the October 1995 edition of 'Sky' magazine, staring out at me from amongst all that hair with her topless body barely covered by her hair extensions  I still remember the shop and where on the magazine rack I saw it, even though I moved away from that town just a few months later! I remember thumbing through the copy on the shelf to see the other photos in the set, and going back again and again to look anew - and still never buying the damn magazine! No wonder 'Sky' went bust! Some images make their mark on us, often because of what else is going on in our life at that time. I guess that magazine cover made a lasting impression on me as I never forgot her name and started to take in interest in all the many news stories and photo shoots that filled the tabloids and lads mags over the next few years. Then the internet came into my life with search engines, loads of photos and info and the 'Anna Friel Homage Page' has been my homepage since the day I first logged on - and still is, sorry Dave  So for me it's her look on that magazine that started it all, and I still find her incredibly sexy  A couple of things I certainly do agree with you, though. She owes her fame entirely to her character in Brookside which brought her to the attention of the tabloids and magazines, and thus to us. To be fair to Anna she's never denied that to my knowledge. She's not a great actress, and never will be, but she gives her all when she does a film or stage play, and that's a large part of her attraction. It's her energy, zest for life and determination to succeed even when she's up against it that makes her different. Feisty, sure, but also vulnerable because she takes risks. I read your comments on 'Bathory' and share your fears. This whole project just sums Anna up for me - her determination to get the job and to challenge herself with a really difficult iconic role - much like her go at 'Lulu' - with all the obstacles of filming with a non-English speaking crew in a foreign land with a new-born baby to support. She sure likes it hard  And the real prospect of it being a total flop and putting another nail in her faltering film career. My guess is it will never see a theatrical release in UK or USA, like so many of her films.  But we'll still buy the DVD, won't we ;D I think Anna's best bet is in TV and I hope 'Pushing Daisies' works for her, though I'd much rather she did a UK show and sold that to the Yanks Anyway, more than enough wittering from me today. Let's have more discussion! |
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Post by joe17 on May 26, 2007 9:50:11 GMT 1
Hello
Am surprised to hear about your interest in Anna being kick-started in this way. Have to confess I hated that SKY cover (though the later one was even worse).
Probably agree with you about the TV-over-film bit. Unfortunately, since the utter disaster of 'Fields of Gold' (I still break out in a cold sweat just typing that name) all her bridges with the BBC would appear to be burnt and very little decent UK TV drama is made by anyone but the Beeb nowadays.
Even when she does make a decent film ('Me Without You' is my favourite, brings back so many memories of college), things just seem to conspire against her. I put a lot of the blame for how her career has panned out on Conway Van Gelder, her first theatrical agents. Take for example when she first left Brookside and needed her first post-Beth role to make the right impact. What did they put her in? 'Cadfael'!!!
Course she never helps herself. (Still don't know whether to laugh or cry about her utter inability to stop herself sounding purest Rochdale in the middle of costume dramas for instance.) Guess some things were never meant to be.
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Post by davec on May 26, 2007 17:29:57 GMT 1
Yes Joe I agree that her choice of roles post-Brookside has been very poor, and her agents must take some responsibility for that. 'Fields of Gold' was pretty dire but her co-star Max Beesley seems to have recovered from it and had a good run in 'Hotel Babylon' on BBC. 'Our Mutual Friend' was also quite a classy production for the BBC with a pretty starry cast and Anna did OK in their company. Just a pity the story was so convoluted and dark and the pacing was so plodding that it failed to gain much critical acclaim or public accessibility. I also agree about her voice - no matter what she's in she can't help drifting back to Rochdale! That's why I think she's best being almost herself in films like 'Land Girls' and your favourite 'Me Without You' and that goes to prove our point that she is not, and probably never will be, a great actress  Where I disagree is that a think she's a stunner - so no matter what her deficiencies as an actress, or the crappiness of the production, I'll still watch it and enjoy it - now where's my 'Mad Cows' DVD?  |
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Post by joe17 on May 28, 2007 10:25:36 GMT 1
She has never worked for the BBC since 'Fields of Gold', which is, I think, significant. (Forget Beesley, would you want 'Hotel Babylon' on Anna 's CV.)
'Our Mutual Friend' won BAFTA's and got predominantly good reviews in the papers I read at the time. It was dickens, it was bound to be dark and convoluted. They screened it on BBC2, which guaranteed that it got a smaller audience, the Great British viewing public being the inverted snobs that they are.
Do you really enjoy watching her in complete drekk? Can't face the ropey stuff myself, it brings me out in hives. Whether Anna looks good in a film is a bit beside the point as far as I'm concerned. She looks a complete fright much of the time in 'Me Without You' but I still love the film and admire her performance in it. If pushed I would admit that she looks cute in something like 'Sunset Strip', but as far as her looks go I think she is one of those people who was born to be seventeen.
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Post by joe17 on May 28, 2007 10:28:41 GMT 1
Wish I'd known you had one of those naughty word blockers operating. Can't even put the name of one of our finest authors in my post. 'thingyens' indeed! What the D.I.C.K.E.N.S.
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Post by Dave on May 28, 2007 12:46:37 GMT 1
Well must disagree with some of the comments that you feel Anna will never be a geat actress and should stick to "The Rochdale accent roles"... my opinion is she fares much better with character roles than many of the A-list stream of Actooorsss and Actresses that are out there at the moment ... (come on Cameron Diaz ?? she has acting ability  ?  ) In terms of UK scene, I rate Rachel Weisz and Kate Winslet in some of their roles... but Rachel does tend to get a little wooden and emotionless sometimes... . Also think her looks are a very valid bonus ;D and find her very attractive - but thats extremely subjective - each to their own , I suppose !! |
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Post by davec on May 28, 2007 16:44:34 GMT 1
The word blocker let me get away with 'crappiness' because it's not a real word but put two asterisks in my 'damn' and probably has again. Tell me then, would you rather see Anna tackle a role like Bathory, where she might - no let's be honest, will probably - come up short in terms of breadth and depth of acting ability, or her part in the 'Goal' trilogy where she's only there as eye candy? |
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Post by Dave on May 28, 2007 22:22:16 GMT 1
I just left the site word blocker as default - havent looked at it... when I need something a bit more cathartic , I may purge through it then.... ;D , but glad to say I've got rid of the "damn" blocker... and changed the F word to something much more pleasant... I'd rather Anna go for a role which challenged her ability - most of my work I try to challenge myself, if I dont reach it then I know I should try harder.... I then have something to learn and better myself..... I guess with some of Anna's roles this is true, some may be experience, and some just plain work and ££... |
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Post by joe17 on May 29, 2007 20:45:17 GMT 1
Someone once said, 'Know your limitations, it is the mark of an adult'. Think by now Anna should have a pretty good idea of what she can and can't do. Challenging yourself and ending up on the floor is no way to go.
But then I speak as an utter Slacker and have no right really to criticise Anna for her career path. She has way more drive and guts than me. When I think about some of those Hollywood executive types she has had to deal with....... Ordinary job interviews have levelled me in the past.
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Post by joe17 on Oct 29, 2007 9:51:24 GMT 1
See that Channel4 have a special show to mark their 25th Anniversary on Saturday 3rd November. (In fact they've had a bit of a season, though I don't watch the station much these days.) This is bound to feature some Brookside and since they are promising interviews etc with some of the main figures from the channel's past, what are the chances of A turning up? (Probably slim to non-existent? In truth I'm expecting the extent of A coverage to run to a tired old re-run of 'The Kiss' with some would-be-ironic commentary.)
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Post by Dave on Oct 31, 2007 0:44:18 GMT 1
Have also seen the ad for 4OD website which is showing a selection of C4's shows - and guess what clip of Brookie was shown in the trailer......... |
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Post by joe17 on Oct 31, 2007 19:41:44 GMT 1
Yeah, now why doesn't that surprise me. Guess A should feel some sort of pride in having been part of an 'iconic' moment, but that scene has really been more curse than blessing as far as I can see and the cliche of it now....... I know it is deep in the past, but I think most of the forum members have no real sense of the warm, fuzzy glow that the teenage A created in Brookside. Most of the media certainly don't, which is why all they can do is reach for the cliches; 'The Kiss' being foremost amongst them. |
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Post by tony34 on Oct 10, 2008 8:30:44 GMT 1
A bit of a shame there's no Brookie reminiscences in here- i was expecting tons of threads on her various storylines- obviously most people know her from Daisies and are backtracking on her past gloies and failures. Well i was delighted to see a lot of old clips on YouTube - not all her scenes but basically all the major moments- the relationship with Margaret, the Trevor murder, the body under the patio saga (most of it , but not the trial annoyingly- instead there are two rarely seen alternative endings- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za4JOApTVsI www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvWk5zgcFy0 the second happy verdict is bizarre to see all this time later- if only! ). I also discovered that Dana sang a vocal version of the theme tune which is up there too! It seems they wanted to do an Anita Dobson but shelved it when they realised how naff it would look for the cool soap to be doing pop singles! I wish Living hadn't stopped showing the repeats of it. They stopped just as Anna's body story was picking up- so i only have tapes of her entrance in February up until bout a year later. (I never taped it originally as my mum would usually be taping something else and i would have missed all her early scenes anyway as i only fell in love with her over the course of the five months it took to develop the Trevor storyline. I feel in LUST first time i saw her- that pouty mouth, the lovely long dark hair and the sweet but sassy personality. It's true to say that no other release has captured this side of her apart from the film Me Without You. The recent short Rubbish gave us a short flash of Origi-Friel (can i trademark that?? As opposed to Daisy-Friel?? ). Personally, i think Pushing Daisies is best when it gets a bit serious and focuses on Chuck and Ned's relationship- all the silly whodunnit storylines and intrusive voiceover do my head in. The best eps were One, two and nine. I hope series 2 is a bit more Origi-Friel!) |
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And the real prospect of it being a total flop and putting another nail in her faltering film career. My guess is it will never see a theatrical release in UK or USA, like so many of her films. 
But we'll still buy the DVD, won't we ;D
? 
) In terms of UK scene, I rate Rachel Weisz and Kate Winslet in some of their roles... but Rachel does tend to get a little wooden and emotionless sometimes... . 