Hey everybody! I'm new to this list so I better
introduce myself. My name's Leah, I'm 18, studying theatre,
and LOVE Rachel! :D There doesn't seem to be a lot of
discussion here, but I was wondering in anybody's from
Europe, because didn't they already release "Enemy At The
Gates" over there? I could be mistaken, but if not, what
did you think of it?<br><br>All right now on to the
main point of this - if you get Parade magazine in
your newspapers, the last page is that "In Step With"
section and this week it's with Rachel! For those who
don't get it, I'll type it below. Sorry I don't have a
scanner, because there's a great pic I've never seen
before of her. But here's the article/interview:<br><br>
Her family name, Weisz (pronounced "Vice"), is
decidedly mittel-European, but when Rachel starts to speak
proper Queen's English, you know you've got a Brit on
your hands - one educated at Cambridge University, no
less.<br> "My father was from Hungary - Budapest," she told
me. "My mother's from Vienna, but I was born and
raised in North London. I still live in London but have
come up in the world."<br> Rachel has three films soon
to be released, including a sequel to her hit with
Brendan Fraser, The Mummy. In Beautiful Creatures,
opening in April, Rachel and co-star Susan Lynch are
menaced by dangerous men in Glasgow, Scotland, and the
women fight back. Any overtones of Thelma & Louise?
"Not really," Rachel said, "This is much darker,
weirder, stronger and more sophisticated. I'm proud of it
- the darkened reality - but it's also funny. Very
Coen Brothers-esque. They told us we could be as odd
as we liked. It's the best script that has come my
way. How often do you find two strong female roles as
leads?"<br> Rachel told me the producers of Creatures sought
her out after The Mummy. Had she expected Mummy to be
such a hit? "We knew the original wasn't going to be
an art-house film," said Rachel, "But there were
doubts: Was it too old-fashioned? But it reminded me of
Romancing The Stone, that blend of horror, romance and
adventure. Also a wholesome innocence. In the sequel, I'm
much more sexy, much less of a librarian." Then she
added, "Well, I don't mean I play a lap dancer."<br>
First, we get to see Rachel in Enemy At The Gates,
opening next week. It's set during the 1942 seige of
Stalingrad. "I play a civilian called upon to help defend the
city against the Germans," she said. "I begin in civil
defense and then become a sniper." Rachel, who'd never
before fired a gun, was assigned a Brittish officer to
teach her how to handle a sniper rifle. "I enjoyed the
skill and the discipline," she said. "I now understand,
when you're under siege in a war, how you cast aside
your own feelings and become part of a huge
machine."<br><br>AND then "Brady's Bits":<br><br> Rachel Weisz got her
first theatrical experience as a Cambridge
undergraduate. "We were required to write our own plays," said
Rachel. "Another girl and I wrote them together,
basically through improvisation." <br> Rachel starts in
Beautiful Creatures with Susan Lynch, a wonderful stage
actress. "I'm a serious fan of hers," Rachel said. "I met
her for the first time at a barn dance, where she was
with her then-boyfriend, and I'd never seen anything
as striking as the two of them dancing. Now we've
become really good friends." <br> Rachel is a natural
brunette, but they decided that she'd make a good platinum
blonde for her role in Creatures as Petula, who has her
"airhead" moments. <br> Did she have fun filming in
Glasgow? "You wouldn't expect it," said Rahcel, "but it's
a big party city. They men dressed in big suits
like Mafia types, but the women really got dressed up
to go out. There's a nightlife like the Rivera but
in the north." When I asked Rahchel about her own
romantic life, she said with a laugh: "I am very
unmarried."<br><br>Hope you enjoyed it (took me forever to
type!).<br>-Leah