Ernst Goldschmidt, member of the founding team of Orion Pictures and an international film executive, died Dec. 2 from heart failure in Badenweller, Germany. He was 92.
Born and raised in Badenweller, Goldschmidt started his career in entertainment working across Europe. He began as a salesman at MGM in Zurich before moving on to become general manager of the United Artists (UA) Swiss office. After spearheading operations in Germany, Goldschmidt was promoted to the position of European Sales Manager in Paris and later, President of UA Europe.
In 1975, Goldschmidt made his foray into the United States after UA relocated him to New York. It was the prime place to showcase Goldschmidt’s knowledge of the global market. For over 22 years, Goldschmidt led international distribution efforts for the James Bond franchise, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the Beatles movies, “Rocky,” “Annie Hall” and “The Graduate.” He departed after four years with other...
Born and raised in Badenweller, Goldschmidt started his career in entertainment working across Europe. He began as a salesman at MGM in Zurich before moving on to become general manager of the United Artists (UA) Swiss office. After spearheading operations in Germany, Goldschmidt was promoted to the position of European Sales Manager in Paris and later, President of UA Europe.
In 1975, Goldschmidt made his foray into the United States after UA relocated him to New York. It was the prime place to showcase Goldschmidt’s knowledge of the global market. For over 22 years, Goldschmidt led international distribution efforts for the James Bond franchise, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the Beatles movies, “Rocky,” “Annie Hall” and “The Graduate.” He departed after four years with other...
- 1/5/2024
- by Valerie Wu
- Variety Film + TV
Exec handled international sales for James Bond franchise as well as movies like Annie Hall, The Graduate and Platoon
Ernst Goldschmidt, the former head of international sales at United Artists and co-founder of Orion Pictures, has died aged 92.
Goldschmidt’s career in the film industry spanned over 50 years. He started in 1957 as a salesman with MGM in Zurich before joining United Artists (UA) in 1958 as general manager of its Swiss office, before taking the reins at UA/Germany.
He was promoted to European sales manager in Paris in 1968 and then named president of UA Europe two years later. UA relocated...
Ernst Goldschmidt, the former head of international sales at United Artists and co-founder of Orion Pictures, has died aged 92.
Goldschmidt’s career in the film industry spanned over 50 years. He started in 1957 as a salesman with MGM in Zurich before joining United Artists (UA) in 1958 as general manager of its Swiss office, before taking the reins at UA/Germany.
He was promoted to European sales manager in Paris in 1968 and then named president of UA Europe two years later. UA relocated...
- 1/4/2024
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Ernst Goldschmidt, the sales agent who co-founded Orion Pictures and oversaw distribution of some of last century’s biggest movies, died last month from heart failure in his hometown of Badenweller in Germany. He was 92.
The respected exec’s December 2 death was announced by his family.
Starting his career in 1957 as a salesman with MGM in Zurich, Goldschmidt joined United Artists (UA) in 1958 as General Manager of their Swiss office, before taking the reins at UA/Germany. He was promoted to European Sales Manager in Paris in 1968 and then named President of UA Europe two years later, a post he held for five years. UA relocated him to New York in 1975 as VP International Sales at the time when it was distributing films from the likes of Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Saul Zaentz, Milos Forman and Brian de Palma.
During his 22-year tenure at UA, Goldschmidt oversaw international distribution on the James Bond franchise,...
The respected exec’s December 2 death was announced by his family.
Starting his career in 1957 as a salesman with MGM in Zurich, Goldschmidt joined United Artists (UA) in 1958 as General Manager of their Swiss office, before taking the reins at UA/Germany. He was promoted to European Sales Manager in Paris in 1968 and then named President of UA Europe two years later, a post he held for five years. UA relocated him to New York in 1975 as VP International Sales at the time when it was distributing films from the likes of Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Saul Zaentz, Milos Forman and Brian de Palma.
During his 22-year tenure at UA, Goldschmidt oversaw international distribution on the James Bond franchise,...
- 1/4/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Edward Noeltner has been a friend of ours in and out of 'the business' (as those of us who work in it tend to call it) for many years now. Our families know each other and we have been on many nice social occasions to each other's homes.
Thus we have a lovely personal connection to this great film guy.
So it is with impressed awe that we have watched his company expand and continue to represent great and important films.
Edward was born in New Jersey and moved at one year of age to Munich, Germany. His dad was Head of Radio Liberty, a Us government sponsored radio station that beamed Us government propaganda (let's call it that) to the countries of the (then large and active and now gone) Soviet Union.
He lived in Munich West Germany, and on September 4, 1972 attended the Olympic Games there. He describes it like this. 'The atmosphere that day was very free spirited and lively in the Olympic Village. Then the next day - massacre.' On September 5, 1972 disaster struck the Olympics. The sporting nature of which was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, a West German police officer, and five Palestinian Black September militants were killed.
He left Germany in 1973. But he had grown up at his father's workplace, and knew radio production and and often hung out at the Munich station. From Germany he moved to Arizona where he attended high school in Tucson. He worked there at radio and TV stations in the newsroom of the local CBS affiliate. 'I fell naturally into this as I had developed such a love of radio and news as a boy'.
He remembers the great Fellini film 8 1/2 particularly arousing his interest in film and especially European cinema.
In Tucson he began to habituate their great (and still thriving) arthouse cinema The Loft.
He entered the University of Arizona / Tucson to get a degree from theDepartment handling Radio TV Film Drama. 'I was very close to getting my Master's there when I left'.
He decided then to move to USC instead to get a Masters Degree and was there from 1980-84.
It was there he met his wife who also studied there, the French national Marie Christine. In 1984 they moved to Paris.
He first worked for Europe Export Films and stayed with them for 7 years. In 1994 he started Senator International in Berlin and stayed until 1996.
He then moved on to Pandora Cinema of Paris where we first met him when he worked there with Ernst Goldschmidt and Sudy Coy.
In 1998 Pandora was sold to Gaylord Entertainment (which Edward describes as 'a mainstream company').
In 1999 Svensk of Copenhagen offered him a good job opportunity. They had a nice library of 40 plus film titles.
He came as they had just gotten Faithless, based on an Ingmar Bergmann script and directed by the great Bergman actress Liv Ulman. Edward says, 'Big success. It sold everywhere and was in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection'.
Edward also had an Oscar Nomination there with Under the Sun by Colin Nutley.
In 2001 he accepted a Miramax offer to become Head of Sales for the Weinstein brothers in New York. Chicago was just one of their great titles which had a very good run.
In 2003 he decided to move to La and start his own sales company, Cinema Management Group / Cmg. Off to a good start one of his first films, the animation Hoodwinked grossed $110 million worldwide.
Since 2003, Cmg has added over 100 titles to its line-up which includes quality feature films of all genres, 3-D animated features and series as well as award winning feature length documentaries and series.
Over the past 25 years, Edward Noeltner has licensed some 16 Oscar nominated features (many of them Oscar winners) and has worked with some of the most creative individuals in the industry. Films like Scott Hick’s Shine, Carlos Saura’s Tango, Liv Ullmann’s Faithless, or Rob Marshall’s Chicago are just some of the many memorable feature films Noeltner has been associated with in terms of int’l sales.
Since its inception, Cmg has been known for offering original, commercial properties. Cmg co-executive producing the cult animated series "Happy Tree Friends" and licensed both DVD and Television rights to the series in over 40 int’l territories including the Us and Canada. Today, Cmg offers an array of exciting new 3-D Digital CGI animated features, all independently produced with amazing voice talents such as Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Abigail Breslin, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Liam Neeson along with some of the finest animators working in the business. Cmg’s collaboration with Triggerfish Animation – Adventures In Zambezia– garnered over Us$ 26million in its theatrical run with a number of major territories still to be released.
This Afm Edward and Cmg are launching a mixed agenda of films and he is especially high on the thriller
Plastic
This following company promo makes me want to see it:
High octane from start to finish, Plastic is based on the incredible true story of a heist of one of Beverly Hills’ top jewelry merchants. Brilliant college student Sam has the perfect credit card scam…until his crew robs the wrong man. Now they have two weeks to repay ruthless gangster Marcel Us$2 million or they will be dead. Sam and his team devise a scheme to clear their debt by heading to Miami to poach enough cash and merchandise. But they come up short. So Sam and his gang set their sights on a daring jewelry heist that could make them hugely wealthy for life. Their plan turns sour, however, when the team members start turning on each other. Now it’s up to Sam to finish the brazen heist and turn the tables on Marcel before they all go down.
Cmg at Afm will also have the supernatural horror feature
The Hunted : In an attempt to land their own TV show, Jake (Josh Stewart) and Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins) head to the dense, secluded mountains of West Virginia. Equipped with only their bow and cameras, they have three days to kill a monster buck big enough to grab the attention of a TV network. Once they find the massive animal, they look to strike fast. But as the sun sets, they realize they're not alone. A supernatural force appears to be lurking in the vacant woods... and now they're the ones being hunted.
Always good on animation for the kiddies this coming holiday season Edward is selling
Saving Santa 3D : At the top of the North Pole, Bernard is an elf in Santa’s workshop who’s always messing up. One morning, after sleeping in late, Santa kindly shows Bernard the oh-so-secret time machine on his sleigh, which almost no one knows about. Suddenly, Bernard finds army commandos raiding the North Pole, demanding to know the location of his coveted time machine. If the world were to discover the exact location and existence of the North Pole, it would ruin Christmas for everyone! Bernard runs to the time machine and activates the device, going back in time to that same morning. Now it’s a race against time to forge a plot with any elf that will believe his tale, and save Santa before the world finds out the secret of Christmas.
And
The Santa Story: Inspired by Frank L. Baum’s timeless classic, take a magical 3D animated journey to uncover the true origins of the little boy named Nick who grew up to become Santa Claus. Set in his childhood village, join in Little Nick’s first real life adventures which teach him the gift of giving and the powerful spirit of community. As Nick grows up, he must confront his own self-doubts and bring everyone together to keep his old foe Rolf from taking over his village. With the help of two amazingly crafty elves, a majestic reindeer and a group of lovable orphans, Nick rebuilds his hometown and finally becomes the man we all know and love – Santa Claus.
Another kiddie animation film that looks great, about a half-striped zebra proving himself on the African plains
Khumba : When Khumba, a half-striped zebra is blamed for the lack of rain by the rest of his insular, superstitious herd, he embarks on a daring quest to earn his stripes. In his search for the legendary waterhole in which the first zebras got their stripes, Khumba meets a quirky range of characters, and teams up with an unlikely duo: an overprotective wildebeest, Mama V, and Bradley, a self-obsessed ostrich. But before he can reunite with his herd, Khumba will have to come face to face with Phango, a scary leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorizes all the animals in the Great Karoo.
It's not all black and white in this colorful adventure with a difference!
Afm will also see Cmg's quality drama, the Barreto family Produced/ Directed
Reaching for the Moon : Frustrated poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her. Anchored by magnificent lead performances from Miranda Otto and Gloria Pires, Reaching for the Moon is an intimate snapshot of the search for inspiration, wherever and however you find it
Cmg also has quality documentaries like Rob Stewart's ambitious feature that tours the planet with an inspiring and beautiful ecological message about saving our world.
Revolution : Continuing his adventurous journey around the world, filmmaker Rob Stewart brings us Revolution, a full length feature film that is inspiring humans to change the world and save our planet. Along with world renowned experts, he learns that past evolutions can help solve some of our current and future environmental problems. Startling, beautiful, and provocative, Revolution has already won awards at international film festivals and shows us that we can make a difference.
For more information on Cmg and its titles visit Here...
Thus we have a lovely personal connection to this great film guy.
So it is with impressed awe that we have watched his company expand and continue to represent great and important films.
Edward was born in New Jersey and moved at one year of age to Munich, Germany. His dad was Head of Radio Liberty, a Us government sponsored radio station that beamed Us government propaganda (let's call it that) to the countries of the (then large and active and now gone) Soviet Union.
He lived in Munich West Germany, and on September 4, 1972 attended the Olympic Games there. He describes it like this. 'The atmosphere that day was very free spirited and lively in the Olympic Village. Then the next day - massacre.' On September 5, 1972 disaster struck the Olympics. The sporting nature of which was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, a West German police officer, and five Palestinian Black September militants were killed.
He left Germany in 1973. But he had grown up at his father's workplace, and knew radio production and and often hung out at the Munich station. From Germany he moved to Arizona where he attended high school in Tucson. He worked there at radio and TV stations in the newsroom of the local CBS affiliate. 'I fell naturally into this as I had developed such a love of radio and news as a boy'.
He remembers the great Fellini film 8 1/2 particularly arousing his interest in film and especially European cinema.
In Tucson he began to habituate their great (and still thriving) arthouse cinema The Loft.
He entered the University of Arizona / Tucson to get a degree from theDepartment handling Radio TV Film Drama. 'I was very close to getting my Master's there when I left'.
He decided then to move to USC instead to get a Masters Degree and was there from 1980-84.
It was there he met his wife who also studied there, the French national Marie Christine. In 1984 they moved to Paris.
He first worked for Europe Export Films and stayed with them for 7 years. In 1994 he started Senator International in Berlin and stayed until 1996.
He then moved on to Pandora Cinema of Paris where we first met him when he worked there with Ernst Goldschmidt and Sudy Coy.
In 1998 Pandora was sold to Gaylord Entertainment (which Edward describes as 'a mainstream company').
In 1999 Svensk of Copenhagen offered him a good job opportunity. They had a nice library of 40 plus film titles.
He came as they had just gotten Faithless, based on an Ingmar Bergmann script and directed by the great Bergman actress Liv Ulman. Edward says, 'Big success. It sold everywhere and was in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection'.
Edward also had an Oscar Nomination there with Under the Sun by Colin Nutley.
In 2001 he accepted a Miramax offer to become Head of Sales for the Weinstein brothers in New York. Chicago was just one of their great titles which had a very good run.
In 2003 he decided to move to La and start his own sales company, Cinema Management Group / Cmg. Off to a good start one of his first films, the animation Hoodwinked grossed $110 million worldwide.
Since 2003, Cmg has added over 100 titles to its line-up which includes quality feature films of all genres, 3-D animated features and series as well as award winning feature length documentaries and series.
Over the past 25 years, Edward Noeltner has licensed some 16 Oscar nominated features (many of them Oscar winners) and has worked with some of the most creative individuals in the industry. Films like Scott Hick’s Shine, Carlos Saura’s Tango, Liv Ullmann’s Faithless, or Rob Marshall’s Chicago are just some of the many memorable feature films Noeltner has been associated with in terms of int’l sales.
Since its inception, Cmg has been known for offering original, commercial properties. Cmg co-executive producing the cult animated series "Happy Tree Friends" and licensed both DVD and Television rights to the series in over 40 int’l territories including the Us and Canada. Today, Cmg offers an array of exciting new 3-D Digital CGI animated features, all independently produced with amazing voice talents such as Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Abigail Breslin, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Liam Neeson along with some of the finest animators working in the business. Cmg’s collaboration with Triggerfish Animation – Adventures In Zambezia– garnered over Us$ 26million in its theatrical run with a number of major territories still to be released.
This Afm Edward and Cmg are launching a mixed agenda of films and he is especially high on the thriller
Plastic
This following company promo makes me want to see it:
High octane from start to finish, Plastic is based on the incredible true story of a heist of one of Beverly Hills’ top jewelry merchants. Brilliant college student Sam has the perfect credit card scam…until his crew robs the wrong man. Now they have two weeks to repay ruthless gangster Marcel Us$2 million or they will be dead. Sam and his team devise a scheme to clear their debt by heading to Miami to poach enough cash and merchandise. But they come up short. So Sam and his gang set their sights on a daring jewelry heist that could make them hugely wealthy for life. Their plan turns sour, however, when the team members start turning on each other. Now it’s up to Sam to finish the brazen heist and turn the tables on Marcel before they all go down.
Cmg at Afm will also have the supernatural horror feature
The Hunted : In an attempt to land their own TV show, Jake (Josh Stewart) and Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins) head to the dense, secluded mountains of West Virginia. Equipped with only their bow and cameras, they have three days to kill a monster buck big enough to grab the attention of a TV network. Once they find the massive animal, they look to strike fast. But as the sun sets, they realize they're not alone. A supernatural force appears to be lurking in the vacant woods... and now they're the ones being hunted.
Always good on animation for the kiddies this coming holiday season Edward is selling
Saving Santa 3D : At the top of the North Pole, Bernard is an elf in Santa’s workshop who’s always messing up. One morning, after sleeping in late, Santa kindly shows Bernard the oh-so-secret time machine on his sleigh, which almost no one knows about. Suddenly, Bernard finds army commandos raiding the North Pole, demanding to know the location of his coveted time machine. If the world were to discover the exact location and existence of the North Pole, it would ruin Christmas for everyone! Bernard runs to the time machine and activates the device, going back in time to that same morning. Now it’s a race against time to forge a plot with any elf that will believe his tale, and save Santa before the world finds out the secret of Christmas.
And
The Santa Story: Inspired by Frank L. Baum’s timeless classic, take a magical 3D animated journey to uncover the true origins of the little boy named Nick who grew up to become Santa Claus. Set in his childhood village, join in Little Nick’s first real life adventures which teach him the gift of giving and the powerful spirit of community. As Nick grows up, he must confront his own self-doubts and bring everyone together to keep his old foe Rolf from taking over his village. With the help of two amazingly crafty elves, a majestic reindeer and a group of lovable orphans, Nick rebuilds his hometown and finally becomes the man we all know and love – Santa Claus.
Another kiddie animation film that looks great, about a half-striped zebra proving himself on the African plains
Khumba : When Khumba, a half-striped zebra is blamed for the lack of rain by the rest of his insular, superstitious herd, he embarks on a daring quest to earn his stripes. In his search for the legendary waterhole in which the first zebras got their stripes, Khumba meets a quirky range of characters, and teams up with an unlikely duo: an overprotective wildebeest, Mama V, and Bradley, a self-obsessed ostrich. But before he can reunite with his herd, Khumba will have to come face to face with Phango, a scary leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorizes all the animals in the Great Karoo.
It's not all black and white in this colorful adventure with a difference!
Afm will also see Cmg's quality drama, the Barreto family Produced/ Directed
Reaching for the Moon : Frustrated poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her. Anchored by magnificent lead performances from Miranda Otto and Gloria Pires, Reaching for the Moon is an intimate snapshot of the search for inspiration, wherever and however you find it
Cmg also has quality documentaries like Rob Stewart's ambitious feature that tours the planet with an inspiring and beautiful ecological message about saving our world.
Revolution : Continuing his adventurous journey around the world, filmmaker Rob Stewart brings us Revolution, a full length feature film that is inspiring humans to change the world and save our planet. Along with world renowned experts, he learns that past evolutions can help solve some of our current and future environmental problems. Startling, beautiful, and provocative, Revolution has already won awards at international film festivals and shows us that we can make a difference.
For more information on Cmg and its titles visit Here...
- 11/5/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
by guest blogger, Peter Belsito Edward Noeltner, Cmg For the full Afm 2011 lineup, go here. Films need to be better – and different.--Edward Noeltner, President, Cinema Management Group Cmg, Beverly Hills Let me begin by recalling when I first met Edward Noeltner. It was during lunch at a nice French restaurant in Paris, not far from Etoile / Arch de Triumph in an upscale part of Paris. Edward was then Head of Television at Pandora Cinema. Also present that day was Ernst Goldschmidt who ran the company together with Christian Bourgignon and Sudy Coy, Evp of Int’l Sales. I…...
- 10/14/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
by guest blogger, Peter Belsito Edward Noeltner, Cmg For the full Afm 2011 lineup, go here. Films need to be better – and different. --Edward Noeltner, President, Cinema Management Group Cmg, Beverly Hills Let me begin by recalling when I first met Edward Noeltner. It was during lunch at a nice French restaurant in Paris, not far from Etoile / Arch de Triumph in an upscale part of Paris. Edward was then Head of Television at Pandora Cinema. Also present that day was Ernst Goldschmidt who ran the company together with Christian Bourgignon and Sudy Coy, Evp of Int’l Sales. I remember being impressed by this very smooth elegant man who told me he came from Arizona to Los Angeles...
- 10/14/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Copying Beethoven, a love story from director Agnieszka Holland. The film stars Ed Harris and Diane Kruger and centers on the love and obsession that Ludwig van Beethoven developed for his assistant while he was working on his Symphony No. 9. Michael Taylor and David Pupkewitz are producing, with principal photography to start in the spring. Ernst Goldschmidt is serving as the executive producer.
- 10/24/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In his directorial debut, British writer/stand-up comedian/playwright Ben Elton does an excellent job with "Maybe Baby", a romantic comedy that draws impressive performances from a uniformly excellent cast. The rising value of Hugh Laurie ("Stuart Little") and the known values of Joely Richardson, Rowan Atkinson and Emma Thompson could make for an attractive package for overseas audiences. There are certainly plenty of laughs to be had and a few tears to be shed in this appealing film, which opens Friday in the United Kingdom.
Elton followed the unusual path of simultaneously writing a screenplay and novel on the same subject, a process he used when writing the book and play "Popcorn". "Maybe Baby" was originally called "Inconceivable" (the novel has that title), and it is very much based on Elton and his wife's experiences trying to have a baby.
Sam (Laurie) and Lucy Richardson) seem to be a perfect couple. They have busy careers, good looks, trendy motorcycles and a nice pad by the Thames. But what their relationship lacks is a baby. So the pair spend every available moment trying to reproduce -- efforts encouraged by sexy underwear, acupuncture and even New Age chanting. Eventually, they take the medical option and head to the world of sperm tests.
At the same time, Sam is finding life as a BBC commissioning editor increasingly boring, and his attempts to write a screenplay are hampered by writer's block. But when he starts to write about his and Lucy's attempts to have a baby, the words flow. Because he can't bring himself to tell Lucy, he must draw from her diary to represent both of his characters.
Meanwhile, at her theatrical agency office, Lucy is pursued by a hunky actor (James Purefoy). She fends him off until he gets offered a lead role in a new comedy -- about a couple trying for a baby. Sam's deceit leads to a massive argument, and the couple go their separate ways. A baby and reconciliation follow, but certainly not in traditional movie ways.
Elton gives his characters excellent lines, and he is not afraid to endow them with a more honest and human quality -- something rarely seen in romantic comedies. As a director, he makes fine use of his actors and locations, and he establishes an enjoyable pace.
Certain characters drift in and out a little too much, perhaps because of the large number of cameos from such familiar British faces as Atkinson, Thompson, Dawn French and Joanna Lumley.
Laurie, just a few years ago best known for TV comedy work and playing a heavy in "101 Dalmatians", seems to have grown in stature and can easily carry a film.
Richardson is allowed to show what an attractive actress she can be, and comedy is certainly her forte. Among the supporting cast, Adrian Lester ("Primary Colors") and Tom Hollander bring a perfect balance to the proceedings.
Technical credits are uniformly fine, with especially good work from production designer Jim Clay. Paul McCartney performs the title song, "Maybe Baby", helping give that special sheen to what is certainly a classy number.
MAYBE BABY
Pandora and BBC Films
Producer: Phil McIntyre
Writer-director: Ben Elton
Executive producers: Ernst Goldschmidt, David M. Thompson
Director of photography: Roger Lanser
Editor: Peter Hollywood
Music: Colin Towns
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Production designer: Jim Clay
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sam Bell: Hugh Laurie
Lucy Bell: Joely Richardson
George: Adrian Lester
Ewan Proclaimer: Tom Hollander
Carl Phipps: James Purefoy
Sheila: Joanna Lumley
Mr. James: Rowan Atkinson
Druscilla: Emma Thompson
Charlene: Dawn French
Nigel: Matthew Macfadyen
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Elton followed the unusual path of simultaneously writing a screenplay and novel on the same subject, a process he used when writing the book and play "Popcorn". "Maybe Baby" was originally called "Inconceivable" (the novel has that title), and it is very much based on Elton and his wife's experiences trying to have a baby.
Sam (Laurie) and Lucy Richardson) seem to be a perfect couple. They have busy careers, good looks, trendy motorcycles and a nice pad by the Thames. But what their relationship lacks is a baby. So the pair spend every available moment trying to reproduce -- efforts encouraged by sexy underwear, acupuncture and even New Age chanting. Eventually, they take the medical option and head to the world of sperm tests.
At the same time, Sam is finding life as a BBC commissioning editor increasingly boring, and his attempts to write a screenplay are hampered by writer's block. But when he starts to write about his and Lucy's attempts to have a baby, the words flow. Because he can't bring himself to tell Lucy, he must draw from her diary to represent both of his characters.
Meanwhile, at her theatrical agency office, Lucy is pursued by a hunky actor (James Purefoy). She fends him off until he gets offered a lead role in a new comedy -- about a couple trying for a baby. Sam's deceit leads to a massive argument, and the couple go their separate ways. A baby and reconciliation follow, but certainly not in traditional movie ways.
Elton gives his characters excellent lines, and he is not afraid to endow them with a more honest and human quality -- something rarely seen in romantic comedies. As a director, he makes fine use of his actors and locations, and he establishes an enjoyable pace.
Certain characters drift in and out a little too much, perhaps because of the large number of cameos from such familiar British faces as Atkinson, Thompson, Dawn French and Joanna Lumley.
Laurie, just a few years ago best known for TV comedy work and playing a heavy in "101 Dalmatians", seems to have grown in stature and can easily carry a film.
Richardson is allowed to show what an attractive actress she can be, and comedy is certainly her forte. Among the supporting cast, Adrian Lester ("Primary Colors") and Tom Hollander bring a perfect balance to the proceedings.
Technical credits are uniformly fine, with especially good work from production designer Jim Clay. Paul McCartney performs the title song, "Maybe Baby", helping give that special sheen to what is certainly a classy number.
MAYBE BABY
Pandora and BBC Films
Producer: Phil McIntyre
Writer-director: Ben Elton
Executive producers: Ernst Goldschmidt, David M. Thompson
Director of photography: Roger Lanser
Editor: Peter Hollywood
Music: Colin Towns
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Production designer: Jim Clay
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sam Bell: Hugh Laurie
Lucy Bell: Joely Richardson
George: Adrian Lester
Ewan Proclaimer: Tom Hollander
Carl Phipps: James Purefoy
Sheila: Joanna Lumley
Mr. James: Rowan Atkinson
Druscilla: Emma Thompson
Charlene: Dawn French
Nigel: Matthew Macfadyen
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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