Bel Ami is a drama starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci and Colm Meaney. The film is directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod and is based on the 1885 French novel of the same name by Guy de Maupassant.^[3]

The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival on 17 February 2012.^[4] The film was budgeted at €9 million.^[1]

Production[link]

Hagen Bogdanski directed the principal photography which began in early February 2010 in London and Budapest.^{[5][6][7][8][3][9]} Simon Fuller who helped fund the film also served as an executive producer.^[6][7]

Casting[link]

The film stars Robert Pattinson as Georges Duroy. Pattinson describes Duroy as being "completely amoral".^[10] Uma Thurman as Madeleine Forestier, Duroy's secret love interest, and later wife. Kristin Scott Thomas as Madame Walter, whose lover Duroy becomes to further his interests.^[3] Christina Ricci as Clotilde de Marelle, who even though married genuinely loves Duroy. And Colm Meaney as Rousset.^[6][11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Bel Ami at the Internet Movie Database
• Bel Ami at Box Office Mojo

Bel Ami is French author Guy de Maupassant's second novel, published in 1885; an English translation titled Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel first appeared in 1903.

The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor ex-NCO to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.

Synopsis[link]

The novel is set in Paris in the upper-middle class environment of the leading journalists of the newspaper La Vie Française and their friends. It tells the story of Georges Duroy, who has spent three years of military service in Algeria. After six months working as a clerk in Paris, an encounter with his former comrade, Forestier, enables him to start a career as a journalist. From a reporter of minor events and soft news, he gradually climbs his way up to chief editor. Duroy initially owes his success to Forestier’s wife who helps him write his first articles and, when he later starts writing lead articles, she adds an edge and poignancy to them. At the same time, she uses her connections among leading politicians to provide him with behind the scenes information which allows him to become actively involved in politics. Duroy is also introduced to many politicians in Madame Forestier’s drawing-room. Duroy becomes the lover of Forestiers' friend Mme de Marelle, another influential woman. Duroy later tries to seduce Madeleine Forestier to get even with her husband, but she repulses Duroy’s sexual advances and offers that they become true friends without ulterior motives instead.

In a few months, Charles Forestier’s health deteriorates and he travels to the south of France to regain it. Soon afterwards, Duroy receives a letter from Madeleine imploring him to come to join her and help her bear the last moments of her husband’s life. As Forestier dies, Duroy asks Madeleine to marry him. After a few weeks to consider, she agrees. Georges now signs his articles Du Roy (an aristocratic style of French name) in order to add prestige to his name. The married couple travels to Normandy, the region of Georges’s childhood, and meet his peasant parents. Finding the reality different than her romantic expectations, Madeleine feels very uncomfortable with his parents and so their stay with them is short. In the newspaper office, Duroy is ridiculed for having his articles written by his wife, just as the late Forestier had his articles written by her. His newspaper colleagues call him ‘Forestier’, which drives Georges mad and he suddenly becomes heavily jealous of Madeleine, insisting that she admit having been unfaithful to Forestier, but she never does.

In order to suppress the stings of jealousy, Duroy starts an affair with Mme Walter, the wife of the owner of the newspaper. He especially enjoys the conquest as he is her first extramarital lover. Later on, however, he regrets the decision, for he cannot get rid of her when he does not want her. Duroy’s relations with his wife become chillier, and at one point he takes a police superintendent to a flat in which his wife is meeting a minister. They catch the two in the act of adultery, which was then a crime punishable under the law.

In the last two chapters Duroy's ascent to power continues. Duroy, now a single man, makes use of his chief’s daughter's infatuation with him, and arranges an elopement with her. The parents then have no other choice but to grant their assent to the marriage. The last chapter shows Duroy savouring his success at the wedding ceremony at which 'all those who figured prominently in society' were present. His thoughts, however, chiefly belong to Mme de Marelle who, when wishing him all the best, indicates that she has forgiven him for his new marriage and that their intimate meetings can be taken up again.

List of characters[link]

• Georges Duroy (Du Roy), an ex-soldier, journalist and a social climber
• Charles Forestier, Duroy's former friend in the army, a journalist
• Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy), Charles's and later Georges's wife who helps her husbands write their articles and has lots of connections among the powerful
• Monsieur Laroche-Mathieu, a friend of Madeleine Forestier, a deputy, later a minister who owes his position and sudden wealth to Vie Francaise, Madeleine Forestier's lover
• Comte de Vaudrec, an old longtime friend and protector and probably also lover of Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy)
• Clotilde de Marelle, the Forestiers' friend whose husband is away for long periods of time, Duroy's main lover
• Laurine de Marelle, their young daughter, who comes up with the nickname Bel Ami.
• Jacques Rival, a journalist
• Norbert de Varenne, an old single bitter life-tired poet who is among the Vie Francaise staff
• Monsieur Walter, the owner and chief editor of the Vie Francaise
• Virginie Walter, his wife, later Duroy's lover
• Suzanne Walter, their marriageable daughter, later Madame Du Roy
• Rachel, a prostitute to whom Georges turns in times of financial crisis

Productions[link]

Films[link]

The novel was turned into several films, including Bel Ami (1939), The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1949), starring George Sanders and itself the first version in English, a 2005 French/Belgian version made for television, starring Sagamore Stévenin.^[1], and the 2012 version, Bel Ami, with Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Christina Ricci.

Stage version[link]

Directed by Pavel Khek, a stage version of the story premiered on 11th April, 2008 in City Theatre, Mladá Boleslav. The Czech title is Milček, with Petr Mikeska in the title role of Georges Duroy. [1]

In July 2011, Bel Ami: The Musical was staged at the White Bear Theatre, London. It premiered on July 12th. Produced by Ruby In The Dust, it was written and directed by Linnie Reedman, with the music and lyrics composed by Joe Evans.

References[link]

• Books and Writers, Guy de Maupassant. Accessed 16 May 2005.

External links[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Bel Ami

• Bel Ami, free e-book at Project Gutenberg.
• Free audiobook: Bel-Ami (French)
• Městské divadlo, Mladá Boleslav (Czech)
• Bel Ami: a film official website

Robert Pattinson
Pattinson at the premiere of Water for Elephants in 2011.
Born	Robert Thomas Pattinson (1986-05-13) 13 May 1986 (age 26) London, England , UK
Other names	Rob, R-Pattz,[1] Spunk Ransom[2] (nicknames)
Occupation	Actor, model, musician, producer
Years active	2004–present
Relatives	Lizzy Pattinson (sister)
Signature

Robert Thomas Pattinson^[3] (born 13 May 1986)^[4] is an English actor, model, musician, and producer.^[5] Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.^[6] Later, he landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide fame,^[7][8] thus establishing himself among the highest paid and most bankable actors in Hollywood.^[9][10][11] In 2010, Pattinson was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, and also in the same year Forbes ranked him as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world in the Forbes Celebrity 100.^[12][13]

Early life[link]

Pattinson was born in London, England. His mother, Clare, worked for a modelling agency, and his father, Richard, imported vintage cars from the U.S.^[14] Pattinson has two elder sisters, singer Lizzy Pattinson, and Victoria Pattinson.^[15][16] Growing up in the Barnes suburb of London,^[17] he attended Tower House School until he was 12, and then The Harrodian School.^[18][19] He became involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Company. He auditioned and was cast in a small role in Guys and Dolls. He next auditioned for Thornton Wilder's Our Town and was cast as George Gibbs. He also played in Anything Goes and Macbeth.^[20] He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and began looking for professional roles.

Career[link]

Modelling[link]

Pattinson began modelling when he was twelve years old, but the number of jobs began to decrease only four years later. In December 2008 he blamed the lack of work as a model on his masculine appearance: "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career."^[21] Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.^[22]

Acting[link]

Early career[link]

Pattinson had supporting roles in the made for television film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004 and in director Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, although his scenes in the latter were deleted and only appear on the DVD version.^[23] In May 2005, he was slated to appear in the UK premiere of The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley.^[24] Later that year he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. For this role he was named that year's British Star of Tomorrow by The Times^[25] and had more than once been touted as the next Jude Law.^[19][26][27]

2008-present[link]

In 2008 Pattinson landed the coveted role of Edward Cullen in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character.^[28] The film was released on November 21, 2008 and turned Pattinson into an instant overnight moviestar.^[29] Though the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his and co-star Kristen Stewart's chemisty in the film.^[30] The New York Times called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor^[31] and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said he was "well-chosen" for the role.^[32]

After Twilight Pattinson starred in the independent films Little Ashes (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), How to Be (a British comedy), andThe Summer House.

He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon which was released on November 20, 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 opening weekend and an overall run of $709,827,462 worldwide.^[33] Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said Pattinson was still "interesting to watch" despite the bad makeup.^[34] Bill GoodyKoontz from the Arizona Republic said, "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around"^[35] and Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post noted that his acting was "uniformly strong".^[36]

Pattinson at the 2009 Academy Awards

In 2009 Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards.^[37] On November 10, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity.^[38]

On May 13, 2010, Pattinson appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on May 18, The Ellen DeGeneres Show for his film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.^[39] He attended the official worldwide red carpet premiere for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on June 24, 2010, at the Los Angeles Nokia Theatre^[40] and the film was released on June 30, 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide.^[41][42]

In 2010, Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film Remember Me, which was released on March 12, 2010.^[43]

In 2011, he starred as Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon.^[44] The film received mixed reviews but Pattinson's performance was praised. Film critic Richard Corliss from Time praised Pattinson for being "shy and watchful" and said he "radiates a slow magnetism that locks the viewer’s eyes on him", ultimately calling him "star quality".^[45] Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and was "endlessly watchable".^[46] Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone said he "smolders" in the film^[47] and Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Pattinson is entirely convincing as Jacob".^[48]

Pattinson reappeared as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, which was released on November 18, 2011, and earned $705,058,657 at the box office.^[49]

He played Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel Bel Ami, with Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film had a world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival^[50] and was released on February 12, 2012.^[51]

Pattinson will be starring in the upcoming film adaptation of Don Delillo's Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg in 2012.^[52] The film has been selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.^[53][54]

In May 2012, Pattinson was cast alongside Guy Pierce to star in David Michod's The Rover.^[55] He was also cast to star in the psychological thriller, Mission: Blacklist (film), based on the novel of the same name by military interrogator, Eric Maddox.^[56]

Music[link]

Pattinson plays guitar and piano, and composes his own music.^[57] He also appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley,^[58] and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long.^[59] The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there."^[5] The soundtrack for the film How to Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson^[60] and written by composer Joe Hastings.^[61]

Aside from recording for the soundtracks, Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything – I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails."^[5] In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the 'Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians' award.

In the media[link]

Pattinson after The Twilight Saga: New Moon photo call at Crillon Hotel in 2009

Pattinson was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009 by People magazine.^[62][63] In 2009, he was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour.^[64] Ask Men named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009.^[65] In 2009, Vanity Fair named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world.^[66]

He was named one of Vanity Fair's "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.^[9][67]

In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity.^[68] He also volunteered for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief in January 2010.^[69]

GQ and Glamour both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with GQ stating, "Extremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man."^[70][71] In 2010, People also listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue.^[72]

In 2010, Pattinson politely turned down a $2 million fashion campaign with Burberry.^[73]

Britain's The Sunday Times "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million.^[74] Time magazine named him as one of 2010's 100 Most Influential People in The World.^[12] In June 2010, Pattinson was named by Forbes magazine the No.50 most powerful celebrity in the world with earnings $17 million.^[13] Due to Pattinson's rising fame, a wax statue of him was added to the Madame Tussauds collection in London and New York City.^[75] On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor.^[76]

In 2011, Pattinson was No. 15 on Vanity Fair's "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010.^[77] GQ once again named Pattinson the "Best Dressed Man" of 2012.^[78]

Personal life[link]

Since meeting on the set of Twilight, Pattinson has been romantically linked to co-star Kristen Stewart.^[79] Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage.^[80]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robert Pattinson

• Media related to Robert Pattinson at Wikimedia Commons
• Robert Pattinson at the Internet Movie Database

Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman in 2011
Born	Uma Karuna Thurman (1970-04-29) April 29, 1970 (age 42) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Gary Oldman (1990–1992) Ethan Hawke (1998–2004)
Partner	Arpad Busson
Children	Maya Thurman Hawke (b. 1998) Levon Green Hawke (b.2002)

Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. She received an Academy Award nomination for the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction (1994) and she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Hysterical Blindness (2002).

Early life[link]

Thurman was born in Boston to Nena von Schlebrügge and Robert Thurman, and grew up mostly in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she went to Amherst Regional Middle School, and then moved to Woodstock, New York. Her father gave his children a Buddhist upbringing, and she is named after an Dbuma Chenpo (in Tibetan, the "db" is silent; from Mahamadhyamaka in Sanskrit, meaning "Great Middle Way"). Regarding religion, she now calls herself agnostic.^[1] She has three brothers, Ganden (b. 1968), Dechen (b. 1973), and Mipam (b. 1978), and a half-sister named Taya (b. 1960), from her father's previous marriage. She and her siblings spent time in Almora, Uttarakhand, India, during childhood, and the Dalai Lama sometimes visited their home.^[2] She is described as having been an awkward and introverted girl who was teased for her tall frame, angular bone structure, enormous feet and unusual name (sometimes using the name “Uma Karen” instead of her birth name). When she was 10 years old, a friend's mother suggested a nose job.^[2] As a child, she suffered bouts of body dysmorphic disorder, which she discussed in an interview with Talk magazine in 2001.^[3] She attended Amherst Public Schools. In the 8th grade she discovered her love for acting. Talent scouts noticed her performance as Abigail in a production of The Crucible,^[4] and offered her the chance to act professionally. Thurman attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, an elite preparatory school in Massachusetts, before dropping out to pursue a career in acting.^[2][5]

Family background[link]

Thurman's father, Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (b. August 3, 1941), was born in New York City, to Elizabeth Dean (Farrar), a stage actress, and Beverly Reid Thurman, Jr., an Associated Press editor and United Nations translator.^[6] Robert Thurman was professor of religion at Amherst College from 1973 to 1988, when he accepted a position at Columbia University, where he was a professor of Tibetan Buddhism.^[7]

Uma Thurman's mother, Nena von Schlebrügge, was a model born in Mexico City in 1941. Thurman's maternal grandfather was Colonel Baron Friedrich Karl Johannes von Schlebrügge, a German military officer who had become one of the senior Nazi spies in the Americas^[8] but who was also jailed by the Nazis for protecting Jewish friends.^[9] Thurman's maternal grandmother was Swedish-born Birgit Holmquist, from Trelleborg, who in 1930 modelled for a nude statue that overlooks the harbor of Smygehuk, Sweden (Birgit's father was Swedish and her mother was of German and Danish descent).^[10] Thurman's mother was introduced to LSD guru Timothy Leary by Salvador Dalí and became Leary's third wife in 1964. She wed Thurman's father in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Early work (1987–1989)[link]

Thurman began her career as a fashion model at age 15,^[11] and signed with the agency Click Models. Her modeling credits included Glamour, the December 1985 supplement cover of Vogue and the May 1985 cover of British Vogue when she was only 15 years old.^[12] She made her movie debut in 1988, appearing in four films that year. Her first two were the high school comedy Johnny Be Good and the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight. She appeared in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, playing the goddess Venus alongside Oliver Reed's Vulcan; during her entrance she briefly appears nude in a homage to Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. With a budget of $46 million and box office receipts of only $8 million, the film was a commercial failure.^[13] Her breakthrough came in her role as Cecile de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons. At the time, she was insecure about her appearance, and fled to London for almost a year, during which she wore only loose, baggy clothing.^[12] She was praised by her co-star John Malkovich, who said of her, "There is nothing twitchy teenager-ish about her, I haven’t met anyone like her at that age. Her intelligence and poise stand out. But there's something else. She's more than a little haunted."^[14]

Career prominence (1990–1993)[link]

In 1990, Thurman co-starred with Fred Ward in the sexually provocative drama Henry & June, the first film to receive an NC-17 rating. Because of the rating, it never played in a wide release but critics embraced her. The New York Times wrote, “Thurman, as the Brooklyn-accented June, takes a larger-than-life character and makes her even bigger, though the performance is often as curious as it is commanding”.^[15] Her first starring role in a major production was Gus Van Sant's 1993 adaptation of Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. It was a critical and financial disappointment; Thurman was nominated for a Worst Actress Razzie. The Washington Post described her acting as shallow, writing that, "Thurman’s strangely passive characterization doesn’t go much deeper than drawling and flexing her prosthetic thumbs".^[16] She also starred opposite Robert De Niro in the drama Mad Dog and Glory, another box office disappointment. Later that year, she auditioned for Stanley Kubrick while he was casting a movie to be called Wartime Lies, which was never produced. Her agent said she described working with him as a "really bad experience."^[17]

1994–1998[link]

After Mad Dog and Glory, Thurman auditioned for Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which grossed over $107 million on a budget of only $8 million.^[18] The Washington Post wrote that Thurman was "serenely unrecognizable in a black wig, [and] is marvelous as a zoned-out gangster's girlfriend."^[19] Thurman was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar the following year. She became one of Tarantino's favorite actresses to cast; he told Time magazine in 2003 that she was "up there with Garbo and Dietrich in goddess territory."^[20]

1996 would see Thurman in two moderately successful films, the first of which was Beautiful Girls, where she played the female lead and love interest of Timothy Hutton and was supported with a high-profile cast (for that time) of Mira Sorvino, Martha Plimpton, and Natalie Portman. The film was well received by the critics for the script and acting, particularly that of Hutton and Portman. It performed moderately well at the box office. Thurman also starred opposite Janeane Garofalo in the moderately successful 1996 romantic comedy The Truth About Cats & Dogs as a ditzy blonde model. In 1997, she starred opposite her future husband Ethan Hawke in the science fiction film Gattaca. Although Gattaca was not a success at the box office, it drew many positive reviews and became successful on the home video market.^[21] Some critics were not as impressed with Thurman, such as The Los Angeles Times, which wrote that she was "as emotionally uninvolved as ever."^[22] Her next role was Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, the fourth of the series. Her performance received mixed reviews, and critics compared her to Mae West. The New York Times wrote, "like Mae West, she mixes true femininity with the winking womanliness of a drag queen."^[23] A similar comparison was made by the Houston Chronicle: "Thurman, to arrive at a '40s femme fatale, sometimes seems to be doing Mae West by way of Jessica Rabbit."^[24] The next year brought The Avengers, another major financial and critical flop. CNN described her as "so distanced you feel like you’re watching her through the wrong end of a telescope."^[25] She received Razzie Award nominations for both films. She closed out 1998 with Les Misérables, a film version of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name, directed by Bille August, in which she played Fantine.

Thurman at Cannes, 2000

Hiatus (1998–2002)[link]

After the birth of her first baby in 1998, Thurman took a rest from major roles to concentrate on motherhood. Her next roles were in low-budget and television films, including Tape, Vatel, and Hysterical Blindness. She also starred in Chelsea Walls, a movie directed by then-husband Ethan Hawke. In 2000, she narrated a theatrical work by composer John Moran titled Book of the Dead (2nd Avenue) at The Public Theater. She won a Golden Globe award for Hysterical Blindness, a film for which she also served as executive producer. In the film, she played a New Jersey woman in the 1980s searching for romance. The San Francisco Chronicle review said, "Thurman so commits herself to the role, eyes blazing and body akimbo, that you start to believe that such a creature could exist—an exquisite-looking woman so spastic and needy that she repulses regular Joes. Thurman has bent the role to her will."^[26]

2003–present[link]

After a five-year pause, Thurman returned in 2003 in John Woo's film Paycheck, which was only moderately successful with critics and at the box office. Her next film was Tarantino's Kill Bill, which relaunched her career. In Kill Bill she played assassin Beatrix Kiddo, out for revenge against her former lover. Tarantino wrote the part specifically for her. He cited Thurman as his muse while writing the film, and gave her joint credit for the character, whom the two conceived on the set of Pulp Fiction from the sole image of a bride covered in blood. Production was delayed for several months after Thurman became pregnant, as Tarantino refused to recast the part.^[27] The film took nine months to shoot, and was filmed in five different countries. The role was also her most demanding, and she spent three months training in martial arts, swordsmanship, and Japanese.^[28] The two-part action epic became an instant cult classic^[29] and scored highly with critics. The film series earned Thurman Golden Globe nominations for both entries, and three MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performance and twice for Best Fight. Rolling Stone likened her to "an avenging angel out of a 1940s Hollywood melodrama".^[30]

At the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival

The inspirations for The Bride were several B-movie action heroines. Thurman's main inspiration for the role was the title character of Coffy (played by Pam Grier) and the character of Gloria Swenson from Gloria (played by Gena Rowlands). She said that the two characters are "two of the only women I've ever seen be truly women [while] holding a weapon".^[31] Coffy was screened for Thurman by Tarantino prior to beginning production on the film, to help her model the character.^[27]

By 2005, Thurman was commanding a salary of $12.5 million per film. Her first film of the year was Be Cool, the sequel to 1995's Get Shorty, which reunited her with her Pulp Fiction castmate John Travolta. In the film, she played the widow of a deceased music business executive. The film received poor reviews, and came in below expectations at the box office. In 2005, she starred in Prime with Meryl Streep, playing a woman in her late thirties romancing a man in his early twenties. Thurman's last film of the year was a remake of The Producers in which she played Ulla, a Swedish stage actress hoping to win a part in a new Broadway musical. Originally, the producers of the film planned to have another singer dub in Thurman's musical numbers, but she was eager to do her own vocals.^[32] She is credited for her songs in the credits. The film was considered a bomb at the box office, but many praised Thurman's efforts, including A. O. Scott of The New York Times who said: "Uma Thurman as a would-be actress is the one bit of genuine radiance in this aggressively and pointlessly shiny, noisy spectacle."^[33]

With a successful film career, Thurman once again became a desired model. Cosmetics company Lancôme selected her as their spokeswoman, and named several shades of lipstick after her, though they were sold only in Asia. In 2005, she became a spokeswoman for the French fashion house Louis Vuitton. On February 7, 2006, she was named a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France for outstanding achievement in the field of art and literature.

In May 2006, she bought the film rights to the Frank Schätzing novel The Swarm, which is in development and due for release in 2015.^[34] When the film remake The Women was in pre-production in 2006, Thurman was cast as Crystal Allen, alongside Annette Bening, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Lisa Kudrow and Anne Hathaway, being directed by James L. Brooks, but the director was changed and Thurman was no longer part of the cast.^{[citation needed]} In July 2006, she starred opposite Luke Wilson in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Thurman portrayed a super-heroine named "G-Girl" who is dumped by her boyfriend and then takes her revenge upon him. She received a reported $14 million for the role, but the film flopped. Once again she was well-received, but the film was not.

In February 2008, she starred opposite Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Accidental Husband, a romantic comedy about a woman who finds herself married while engaged to another man. It seems like archetypal Hollywood contrivance, but according to Thurman, a similar situation happened in New York.^[35] Also in 2008, she starred as Elsa in the British film My Zinc Bed, in which she plays a cocaine addict, starring opposite Paddy Considine and Jonathan Pryce. In 2010, her movie Motherhood, set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history garnering just £88 on 11 tickets on its opening weekend.^[36] In the United States it earned just $93,388 in three weeks of release.^[37]

Thurman will star in the film version of the 1950s books Eloise In Paris, playing the role of Nanny, to be directed by Charles Shyer.^{[citation needed]} In 2011, Thurman was a member of the jury for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.^[38] In December 2011, James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly reported Thurman had joined the cast of NBC's Smash as Rebecca Duvall.^[39] Thurman will appear in five episodes of the drama series.^[39]

Personal life[link]

In 2011 at Cannes

Relationships[link]

Thurman met English actor Gary Oldman on the set of State of Grace, and they were married in 1990, but it ended two years later.^[40]

On May 1, 1998, she married actor Ethan Hawke, whom she met on the set of Gattaca. Hawke's novel Ash Wednesday is dedicated to "Karuna", Thurman's middle name.^[41] She acknowledged that they had married because she was pregnant – seven months at their wedding.^[42] The marriage produced two children, daughter Maya Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) and son Levon Green Hawke (born January 15, 2002). The couple separated in 2003.^[43] When asked on The Oprah Winfrey Show whether the break-up involved betrayal, she said, “There was some stuff like that at the end. We were having a difficult time, and you know how the axe comes down and how people behave and how people express their unhappiness."^[44] In a 2004 Rolling Stone cover story, Thurman and director Quentin Tarantino denied having had a romantic relationship, despite Tarantino once having told a reporter, "I'm not saying that we haven’t, and I’m not saying that we have."^[17]

She was engaged to London-based financier Arpad Busson,^[45] whom she began dating in 2007, but the relationship ended in November 2009.^[46] In 2011, the couple were back together at the Louis Vuitton spring/summer fashion show in Paris. In February 2012, it was announced that Thurman and Busson are expecting their first child together.^[47]

Activism and charity work[link]

Thurman supports the United States Democratic Party, and has given money to the campaigns of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Joseph R. Driscoll.^[48] She supports gun control laws, and in 2000, she participated in Marie Claire’s “End Gun Violence Now” campaign.^[49] She is a member of the board of Room to Grow, a charitable organization providing aid to families and children born into poverty.^[50] She serves on the board of the Tibet House.^[51] In 2007, she hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway with actor Kevin Spacey.^[52]

In 2011, Thurman became one of a handful of celebrity faces attached to USAID and Ad Council's FWD campaign, an awareness push to combat the famine, war, and drought in the Horn of Africa.^[53]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]