Here is a little blurb from The Guardian about Bright Star and more importantly Abbie! There is a lot of high hopes for the film which is being helmed by Jane Campion who is the only woman to have won the Palme d’Or Cannes Award.

Great things are expected of Jane Campion (the only woman to have won the Palme d’Or), who is shooting Bright Star in the UK, the story of poet John Keats’s love affair with Fanny Brawne, starring Ben Whishaw and Australia’s Abbie Cornish. I heard a couple of executives discussing it after a trip to the set, where the word is that Ben is superb but that “everyone will be bowled over when they see Abbie’s Fanny.”

I personally can’t wait!

Here is the press release for Bright Star, courtesy of Pathé, who will release the film theatrically in the UK and France in 2009. Bright Star is being filmed in Hertfordshire, England, at the moment.

Pathé announces that principal photography has begun on Bright Star. Written and directed by Oscar® Winner Jane Campion (The Piano, In the Cut), Bright Star will star Abbie Cornish (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Candy, Somersault) as Fanny Brawne, the muse of the romantic English poet John Keats, who will be played by Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Revisited, I’m not There, Perfume). The film will also feature Paul Schneider (The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) as Keats’ best friend, Mr Brown, and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave, Welcome to Sarajevo) as Fanny’s mother, Mrs Brawne. The Producers are Jan Chapman (The Piano, Lantana) and Caroline Hewitt (Mr Bean’s Holiday, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).

London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of high fashion.

This unlikely pair began at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.

… read on

Paul Schneider and Kerry Fox have joined the cast of Jane Campion’s Bright Star, a period pic about English poet John Keats and his secret love affair with the girl next door.

Bright Star is an ill-fated romance toplining Ben Whishaw as Keats and Aussie thesp Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne, the poet’s muse. The passionate relationship was cut short when Keats died aged just 25.

Schneider will play Keats’ best friend, Charles Armitage Brown, and Fox will play Fanny’s mother.

Schneider recently turned heads in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Lars and the Real Girl. He was named as one of Variety’s 10 actors to watch in October 2007.

Fox has appeared in Shallow Grave and Welcome to Sarajevo.

Jan Chapman and Caroline Hewitt produce the pic, which is shooting on location in the UK.

… read on

I am very happy to announce that Jane Campion’s Bright Star has finally begun its UK shoot. As you may remember, Abbie was first announced for the role of Fanny Brawne over a year ago. Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Thomas Sangster and Kerry Fox co-star. If anyone has further details regarding the filming locations, please let us know!

Miss Abbie is featured in the March 2008 issue of the Australian edition of Harper’s Bazaar with Nicole Kidman on the front cover. There’s a huge editorial inside of her with beautiful photos and a nice article.

According to the article, Last Battle Dreamer has been delayed because of the strike (which is – thankfully – over now). Abbie’s next movie will be Bright Star, which will start filming in March.

I want to thank Lisa for taking the time to purchase and scan this magazine for us. Much appreciated!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Magazines: Harpers Bazaar (Australia) – March 2008