Good news for all American fans! Emma will be on both Good Morning America and The View this coming Monday, Nov 11th. She will be in NY on the occasion of being honoured by UN Journalists for her work against human trafficking. Congratulations, Emma!

For those in the UK, remember that An Education is now showing at the cinemas now everywhere, so make sure you catch Emma’s short but memorable performance. The film was celebrated at this year’s London Filmfestival where it had its UK premiere. Emma attended at looked wonderful! Pictures will follow asap.

Furthermore, Emma is said to write a book about the second installment of the Nanny McPhee series. Both the film and her book are set for a March 2010 release.

Last Saturday Emma attended a screening of Fatal Promises in New York, a documentary about human trafficking, and I added the few available photos to the gallery.

What are the plans for the installation of Journey in New York City and America?
The plan is that we bring Journey over to New York on November the 9th until November 16th. I’m not entirely sure where it will be yet, because we haven’t yet chosen our site. But it means that it will be sitting there open to the public all of that time and I will be there, and Helen (Helen Bamber Foundation) will be there, and Michael Korzinski, the other director of the foundation, will be there. It [Journey] is immensely expensive to travel, so we’re hoping that we can get help from Homeland Security to take it to Washington next. That’s what we’re hoping for.

For more information and links, visit our forums.

Actresses Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson are teaming up to launch a festival of dramas written and directed by women.

The event, which will comprise of seven short films, is being held to address the perceived lack of opportunities for women working in the industry, both on and off the screen.

Although still in its infancy, Wilson told The Stage that the festival of films will be made for broadcast on either television or at cinemas and will draw on British talent.

The actress said modern writing does not traditionally have “great female roles”, particularly for older women, and said the idea of the festival would be to bring to attention an issue that “still exists” and which has “gone slightly backwards” because of the UK’s obsession with youth and image.

She called this “scary and a bit sad” and added: “Women don’t seem to have a place later on. For some reason we are not writing about them or exploring them in later years.”

Wilson explained that Thompson would front the campaign, but added that it was likely to take some time before all the details were finalised.

The actress, who is about to star in the BBC’s adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, revealed she herself was particularly concerned about the lack of roles for older women and added: “I do worry about it. I think it’s horrific and I think it’s actually got worse.”

However, she said it was a “constant cycle” that people have to “keep pushing” and added: “Emancipation did not happen that long ago and where we have come in that amount of time is huge. We have come a long way and have a long way to go. It will take time but you have to keep fighting those corners.”

source:  thestage.co.uk

Word has it Emma is involved in a remake of the classic musical My Fair Lady. It will include Lerner & Loewe’s musical score and will draw more material from Shaw’s Pygmalion.

“I’ve been hired to write a new screenplay for My Fair Lady, based on the foreword and afterword of Shaw’s Pygmalion—different from the musical and not as sweet an ending.”
“I’m a Luddite, and I write longhand with an old fountain pen. There is a connection between the brain and the arm and the pen.”

Rumoured to play Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins respectively are Keira Knightley and Daniel Day-Lewis, but Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Laurie have been mentioned too.
According to this article, Emma has started working on the script last year. The film is set for a 2010 release and will be shot on locations in London.

Emma, along with 58 other artists and celebrities, joined anti poverty charity ActionAid to send an open letter to world leaders on the eve of the G8 summit.
The letter demands that G8 leaders create a new, fairer financial system and deliver on their promise to find billions to help recession-hit poor countries.
Download the open letter here.

It was announced yesterday that Emma is among the stars who will have their names added to Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. Congratulations!

Pixar has released some details on their scheduled 2011 release The Bear and the Bow.

The fable that unfolds in Scotland features Reese Witherspoon as Merida, a headstrong princess who rebels against her parents (Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly) and becomes an archer. Unlike traditional Disney fairy tales, she drives the story as opposed to having things happen to her. And there is no waiting for a prince. usatoday.com

Universal Pictures and Working Title Films – in association with Three Strange Angels Productions – will begin the principal photography early next month on Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson returns to the role of the magical nanny who appears when she’s wanted the least and needed the most in the next chapter of the hilarious and heartwarming fable that has enchanted children around the world.

The family comedy will be directed by Susanna White. Also returning to the series are producers Lindsay Doran – in her fifth collaboration with Thompson – and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. In addition to starring and writing, Thompson will executive produce, along with Working Title’s Debra Hayward and Liza Chasin.

Joining Thompson and Gyllenhaal for the project are Rhys Ifans, Phil; Asa Butterfield Norman; and Dame Maggie Smith. Ralph Fiennes lends his talents for a cameo in the film.