Bridget Jones's Diary
Short description
Bridget Jones is a thirty-something Londoner who feels her life has stalled. She drinks and smokes more than she should, worries about her weight, and has no partner. On New Year's Day she starts a diary and fills it with resolutions: cut down on the cigarettes, shed some pounds, and finally find a decent man. Her womanising boss, Daniel Cleaver, begins to show an interest, while her parents keep pushing her towards Mark Darcy, a family friend she has known since childhood and finds stiff and irritating. The film follows her attempts to keep her resolutions as the two men pull her in different directions, with the diary as a running record of her missteps and small victories.
Sharon Maguire directed this adaptation of Helen Fielding's novel, her first feature. The screenplay was written by Richard Curtis, Helen Fielding and Andrew Davies, and the film was produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Jonathan Cavendish. Renée Zellweger plays Bridget opposite Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver, with Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones as her parents and James Callis among the supporting cast.
Made for about 25 million dollars, the film took roughly 282 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from around 286,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 out of 10 from over 5,600 votes; critics rated it 7.5 out of 10 across 165 reviews, placing it higher than general audiences. Maguire later directed Incendiary, Bridget Jones's Baby and Godmothered.
What's left behind the scenes
- In Germany, the film was released under the title “Bridget Jones — Schokolade zum Fruhstuck,” which meant “Bridget Jones — Chocolate for Breakfast.”
- The film is based on Helen Fielding’s novel “Bridget Jones's Diary” (1998).
- Renée Zellweger preferred to smoke herbal cigarettes during filming rather than real tobacco cigarettes.
- The film had several different endings, depending on the country of release. In the UK and Australian versions, there’s a short addition after the credits—an “interview” about Bridget and Mark with Daniel Cleaver, Mark’s parents, and Bridget’s boss. In the American version, there's a short home video showing little Bridget and Mark running around the yard and near a paddling pool.
- In preparation for the role, Renée Zellweger worked for one month at a British publishing company. Taking a pseudonym and easily imitating a luxurious accent, she was never recognized by anyone.
- To make her 'English' accent sound more natural, Renée Zellweger continued to 'use' it in her everyday life outside of the set. Hugh Grant once remarked that he constantly heard her speaking only with an 'English' accent, even up to the final wrap party after filming was completed, when he noticed she was speaking in a 'very strange voice'. He soon realized that it was her natural way of speaking.
- For the role of Bridget Jones, Renée Zellweger gained 25 pounds.
- After finding out that Daniel is cheating on her, Bridget was at home watching television. Flipping through the channels, she saw a film being shown. It was a scene from *Fatal Attraction* (1987).
- The Weightwatchers corporation offered Renée $120,000 for every pound she gained for the film and lost using their diet.
- While audiences eagerly wanted to see Hugh Grant playing a role completely opposite his usual persona, one of the film's screenwriters, Helen Fielding, ironically characterized Grant in real life as being more like Daniel Cleaver than most of his 'normal' characters.
- The names of both leading actors, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, are mentioned in the book that the film is based on. The first actor appears in the chapter 'Tuesday, October 24th', and the second in the chapter 'Wednesday, August 16th'. Colin Firth is also mentioned in the book's sequel, 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason', as a guest star.
- The names of both lead actors, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, are mentioned in the book that the film is based on. The first actor appears in the chapter "Tuesday, October 24th," and the second – in the chapter "Wednesday, August 16th." Colin Firth is also mentioned in the book's sequel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," as a guest star.
- Among the candidates for the main role were British film stars such as Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter.
- In addition to the film's close resemblance to Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', many experienced filmmakers involved in the production had previously worked on adaptations of Austen's novels. Andrew Davies wrote the screenplay for the miniseries 'Pride and Prejudice' (1995), starring Colin Firth and Crispin Bonham-Carter. Hugh Grant and Gemma Jones appeared in 'Sense and Sensibility' (1995). And Embeth Davidtz can be seen in 'Mansfield Park' (1999).
- When Bridget arrives at the supermarket to see her mother, the scene begins with her saying: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that when things in your life start to improve, something else falls apart.” This is simply a paraphrased line from Jane Austen’s novel *Pride and Prejudice*: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife!”
- The film had several different endings, depending on the country of release. In the versions for the United Kingdom and Australia, there is a short addition after the credits – an “interview” about Bridget and Mark with Daniel Cleaver, Mark’s parents, and Bridget’s boss. In the American version – a short home video showing little Bridget and Mark running around the yard and near a paddling pool.
- In Germany, the film was released under the title “Bridget Jones – Schokolade zum Fruhstuck,” which translates to “Bridget Jones – Chocolate for Breakfast.”
- While writing the novel “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Helen Fielding, when creating the image of Mark Darcy, based it on the description of Colin Firth in the role of Mr. Darcy from the mini-series “Pride and Prejudice” (1995). In addition to this, the film contains several more references to Jane Austen’s novel: Mark insulted Bridget in a conversation with his mother, not knowing that Bridget was overhearing everything; Mr. Darcy insulted Elizabeth in a conversation with his friend Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth overheard it all. Daniel Cleaver misled Bridget about the reasons for his quarrel with Mark, accusing Mark of stealing his fiancée, when in reality it was the other way around. In “Pride and Prejudice,” this is a conflict between Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy, and in turn, Wickham accuses Darcy. But, in both stories, Darcy hides the truth and is in no hurry to dispel the heroine’s delusions until it is almost too late. Also, Bridget worked at the Pemberley publishing house; and Mr. Darcy from “Pride and Prejudice” lived in the Pemberley estate.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
