... |
| Home * Will Kemp * News * Articles * Multimedia * Collectibles * Links |
| ... March 2003 News willkemp.org |
 |
| .. |
| 03-31-03 Lethal Weapon! No, this isn't Abraham Van Helsing's way of relaxing after a long week of monster chasing, but it is my favorite Jackman photo and my way of segwaying into the fact I am headed out of town for a few days and therefore won't be updating the site again until Friday the earliest. But I invite you to check-in with those gorgeous gals over at Jackman's Landing through-out the week for any possible Van Helsing news. And if that photo got your week jump-started in the right direction, well, they've got plenty more. The talented and quite entertaining Mr. Jackman is definitely photogenic and he isn't shy about showing off those muscles and that Aussie smile - which is good news for all of us! And lest you think I've forgotten about my Matthew Bourne project - hah! - you would be wrong. Here is the next installment from Matt's book, with a look at one of his personal favorites - Town & Country; a piece in which Scott Ambler (the Prince in Swan Lake) and Etta Murfitt (Rita in The Car Man), both danced along with The Man, himself. And finally, well, I didn't dare leave you without posting a couple pics of our gorgeous Will. These are from my hands-down favorite scene in The Car Man, entitled, 'Murderer'. I'm not at all afraid to admit that this is the scene that sealed my fate as a Will Kemp fan and was the inspiration that fired my determination to let everyone else know about this gifted dancer/actor. There is simply no one like him! (yes, that would be a gushing fan moment)! Have a great week everyone!! 03-28-03 The May issue of Empire Magazine hits UK newstands today and we anxiously await its arrival in the US to find out more of what the UK's number one film mag has to say about their pick for 2004's biggest blockbuster event. Van Helsing's own Hugh Jackman is on the cover but sheathed out as X-Men 2 super hero, Wolverine. We'll keep you posted on this one. In the meantime, if you haven't done so already, make your way over to Adam Cooper's website for week three of the Super Cooper whirlwind tour. He has to be some kind of super hero himself to withstand the schedule he is keeping now. Take care Adam. And to everyone - a lovely weekend. 03-27-03 Variety reports that delays in filming on Spider-Man 2 have caused some 'back-pedaling' and resulted in Sony's moving the release date of the spandex clad hero, from May 7th to July 2nd, thus allowing Universal's leather clad hero and his frightful foes in Van Helsing, to swoop in and take over the earlier date as the 2004 summer blockbusters continue to battle it out in the tentpole sweepstakes. You know where are money is 'staked'. 03-26-03 Membership has its privileges. Having just joined 'Friends of New Adventures/AMP' and received my first packet of recent newsletters, I'm so delighted with the content that I must put a plug in for membership. The newsletter, 'newfriends' covers everything from A to Z on Matthew Bourne's New Adventures 'family' and to cut to the chase, yes, Will is in there plenty - photos and news. If you are interested in finding out more, please check out the link above. 03-24-03 And the Oscar goes to: Will Kemp! Okay, so a little bit of silliness after Hollywood's big night. It's Monday, we're not at our best. In any case, we come bearing photos, so that should help. First, Part Six of our Swan Lake storyboard where the fur is about to fly when our 'Fergie' girl butts heads with the Queen, the Italian Princess and her sexy escort heat up the dance floor, and a Stranger crashes the party. Next, it's off to Harmony, USA, where the sweet and beleagered Angelo tries to learn how to 'dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee'. Finally, a few more stills from the GAP advert where we catch just a little bit of belly and a whole lotta soul. Have a good Monday all! 03-21-03 "For Every Generation". That tag line may have referenced GAP's 2002 Fall line of clothing, but it also aptly applies to the universal appeal of a certain British dancer. Will's 30seconds of now legendary hoofing to the Ashford/Jones tune sent TV viewers into near fatal swoon and single-handedly gave GAP a boost in sales during the advert's run. We've gone back to work up some additional stills from those moments of nirvana and invite you to revisit that scruffy lad's c'mon. Pssst! He also gets our vote for *blush* - cutest tush! This weekend I will be working on a small rush of stills for Swan Lake, Car Man and Gap for Monday's post. My real life, however, is currently wreaking havoc with my ability to spend time working on the website and will be that way for the next couple of weeks. I will do everything possible to keep you up-to-date on any news, but probably no new screen shots for just a short bit of time. **** Please allow us to express our wishes for the safety and well-being of all our troops, for all people in peril and for peace. Safe journeys to all this weekend. 03-19-03 The always dashing, undeniably talented and quite often irreverent Hugh Jackman has given the first cast interview for Van Helsing and Empire Online was there for the scoop. Empire has dubbed Helsing The Movie Event of the Year (2004). Also slated to come out that May 21st weekend is Brad Pitt in Troy and Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3. Industry buzz has ratcheted up a notch with speculation as to who will come out on top, but for our money those glam boys, Tom and Brad, don't stand a chance against a swashbuckling Dr. Helsing and 'the most feared creatures of all time' locked in mortal combat. This is what the big screen and popcorn were made for - clearly a no brainer. But they will figure that out sooner or later. Perhaps if they get a look at the trailer that some of the VH crew has alleged to have seen per a scooper at AICN, it might help. The crew's call on the trailer - "awesome". Our turn soon, please!! (thanks Nic). For now, I will leave you with a another batch of grabs from The Car Man where our Wolf Man is rather in sheep's clothing being tormented and bullied by the loathsome lot that hangs about the garage. And as I can't seem to let loose the Wolf Man theme at the moment, I just have to say that I am flat out dying of curiosity to see how Will will look as Wolf Man in full fury or is that furry? What a great, wonderful role for him. Would you not love to know how he got cast - who saw what of his work and said yes - he will be perfect for this? Hopefully, we will find that out in an interview down the road somewhere. So many questions.... And as we wait for the answers...... I am currently working on caps for The Royal Ball scene in Swan Lake where a not so chance appearance by a dark and dangerous stranger has hormones running amok......and murder and mayhem soon follow suit. 03-17-03 After a marathon session at the computer this weekend, I finally finished (for the most part) renovation of the photo section. I'm still not completely satisfied (nothing new there) but it's more to my liking in any case. As you will see, it is broken down into galleries by production or genre and then, in some cases, broken down again into more specific groupings. In addition, I have gone through and rescanned or recapped many items for higher quality, so even if you have seen it already, more than likely it's bigger and brighter than last time you had a peek. I hope you enjoy the new look. This way please. And do watch your step. Having plowed through the photo section all weekend, I didn't have time to do any more caps (I'll have those for you shortly). But I do have an absolutely phenominal photo from the Washington Post that I added to the Adam Cooper page for 'Sea of Troubles'. This photo is fabulous as wallpaper for your computer - that is if you are into the three hot and brilliant dancers in the photo - Matthew Hart, Adam Cooper and Richard Curto. (Matt Hart's name might ring a bell for you because he was in Wind in the Willows with Will and Adam. He is the one who kept getting all the rave reviews as Toad). 'Sea of Troubles', by the way, was exceptional; lived up to my high expectations and then some. Basically, it's a take on Hamlet and a haunting vision of madness and mayhem which was danced to perfection by Adam Cooper and Company and members of the English National Ballet. Trouble is, I am now thinking of how to sneak a page about Matthew Hart on this site - the lad is fantastical. Trust me, if you'd seen him dance, you'd clearly understand my dilemma. But, yes I know, I rather have my hands more than full, so another time perhaps. Of course, as we are always fond of saying on this website, where there's a will........ which is the problem, isn't it? Where is Will? Anybody?? 03-14-03 Just got news from Roy that an autographed photo of Will from Roy's West End Exhibition is up for auction on his site in conjunction with the London Concert for Peace. You know how rare photos of Will are and this one is a beauty (well what photo of Will isn't) but it's framed, it's signed by Will and it's by Roy Tan all of which make it priceless. The proceeds will be donated to The Red Cross, Oxfam, Care and Amnesty International. Good luck |
| 03-13-03 I've added some more Car Man screen caps; this time from Act I - a duet between Will's sweet, shy character Angelo and Rita, Angelo's tender and loving girlfriend (danced by Etta Murfitt). I added another photo of Adam Cooper to his page for those of you who have the bite for him. Also, he logged on another entry into his own website diary - again, wonderful, witty and warm. And today, I'm feeling pretty wonderful, (I'll leave out the witty) and warm because I will be seeing Adam Cooper and Company perform at the Kennedy Center. Su-weeeee-tt!! Caution - heavy construction ahead!! The photo section on this website will be down for a time this weekend as I finish up overhauling the whole lot of it. The new section will be broken down into various galleries. It will be mostly complete and up and running by Monday, but there will still be some fine tuning. Hopefully though, you will find it a much more interesting and colorful place in which to visit and meander about. Now we segway from photos to photographers and I would like to mention a couple things about our friend, Roy Tan. As you may know, it is Roy's beautiful photo of Will as the Black Swan that has graced the home page of willkemp.org since day one - really the only constant on this ever evolving site. It remains my favorite photo. Roy has always answered every email with kindness and patience and has even sent the occasional unsolicited pat on the back - and believe me, it's often times been needed. Hopefully you have visited his online West End Exhibition and some of his other magnificent work. If not, I hope you will find time to do so as there is something for everyone in his artistry. Second, I wanted to share a link from his site regarding a gathering of artists from theatre, dance, music and the likes for the London Concert for Peace. Roy's photo leading into the site, in and of itself, is priceless and well, as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words...... Unless there is earthshattering news, and I think we've got that covered already once this week - we won't be back until Monday and then with new news (hopefully), new photos (certainly) and the same old goofy dialogue - hey two outta three ain't bad people!!! Lovely weekend to all. 03-11-03 Take it all off Wolf Man!! Hey, let's face it. Is there really a good way for us to follow-up yesterday's stunningly sweet announcement? Anything would be rather anticlimatic. We even thought about not posting anything today to give you time to savor the news; but seeing as we were already over two months late posting it, and feeling a bit sheepish we didn't find out sooner, we decided the old adage shall apply - the show must go on. And while silly grins can still be seen on our faces as a result of the whole wedding bit, our old randy selves have come back to play as well, for we do have actual up-to-the-minute news on Van Helsing. Both cinescape (thanks Nic) and countingdown.com have some pretty tempting tales to tell about Universal's sneak preview at last week's ShoWest. Wolf Man Will apparently does some pretty mean shedding or is that shredding (?) as he makes the transformation from man to wolf. Hold those wolf whistles though. While he may be taking it all off - they're gunning for a PG rating, so don't get yourselves too overwrought. Of course, just seeing his face up on the big screen may require paramedic action for some of you anyway! And us, well, we plead the fifth... Looky here - we have Part Five of the Swan Lake Storyboard. This is often everyone's favorite scene in the ballet. Swans, swans, nothing but male swans...well, except for the Prince of course, who in any case wants to be a swan as well. Who wouldn't? And we also have some more grabs of The Car Man. Next time, we will use our get out of jail free card and motor you to a different scene in the production. And that's a wrap for today folks!! 03-10-03 My apologies for the lateness of this post, but I needed to dot some i's and cross some t's on this very special news. This item appeared in a recent Friends of New Adventures newsletter. New Adventures, you may recall, is the Matthew Bourne dance company in which Will is a principal dancer. From the Whispers from the Wardrobe column: "...Wedding celebrations were combined with New Year's eve festivities at the Dorchester Hotel when Will Kemp tied the knot. After a short honeymoon, Will and his new bride Gaby flew straight to Prague where shooting began for Stephen (The Mummy) Sommer's new film Van Helsing. Will stars alongside Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, and Richard Roxburgh. His role of Velkan masks a secret, supernatural affliction - when the moon is full, he transforms into the Wolf Man!..." **Copyright: Newfriends Untold thanks to the lovely lady from the UK (who prefers to remain anonymous) for the heads-up on this happy news. My thanks to Karen and Jane from adam-cooper.com and Nic from Jackman's Landing as well. I am quite sure everyone out there joins us here at willkemp.org in wishing Will and Gaby much happiness and bliss in their life together. Our heartfelt congratulations to you both. 03-07-03 SECOND UPDATE. See what we mean - you never know what else might come up. Some quick Van Helsing updates come to us from comingsoon.net where a behind-the-scenes report lets it slip that 'heads are rolling' in the production; from ScreenDaily with a note Helsing should wrap Prague photography in March or April; and from Jackman's Landing with a chilly weather report on the Czech shoot. So, a little Helsing snack to go with that Car Man sixpack! 03-07-03 Messing around a bit under the hood of willkemp.org, but have also come up with this sixpack of The Car Man for you to take on the road this weekend. Careful, you may need a designated driver after consuming these photos! More to come in the next few days along with Part Five of Swan Lake and well, you just never know what else might come up! Terrific weekend all. 03-04-03 Our update is a little late in the day, but work always seems to get in the way of play. And yep, we are tinkering around with the website again, although surely the addition of the photo above should make the opening of this page ever so much more delightful. Thus, you will see some changes in the next couple months as we overhaul the photo and articles pages, amongst others, and try to make the site more user friendly as well as, hopefully, more aesthetically appealing; while still on the lurk for new stuff. Six months old now and growing.... Part Four of our look at Swan Lake is now ready for your viewing pleasure. So let your hair down, let your inhibitions run wild and let's go meet the party animals at the Swank Bar. Speaking of Swan Lake, Adam Cooper has made a recent entry in his 'Diary' over at adam-cooper.com. He writes a wonderful update on his current experiences touring with Swan Lake in Japan. It's highly enjoyable to read and quite a nice treat for all his fans. But as if that wasn't enough, mon dieu, he has also posted a message on the ballet.co.uk site regarding everyone's comments on his new website. That boy is a charmer! And again, congratulations to Karen and Jane, the webmastering duo over at adam-cooper.com. You know we'll be checking in for all the goodies you and Adam can cook up for us. Lovely job, ladies. 03-03-03 Variety had the same pull-out Van Helsing artwork adverts as The Hollywood Reporter, only bigger, due to their page format. I must say the print adverts give better definition of the artwork than the online version; however, they didn't scan as well as I would have hoped. Still, it is a bit different and worth the look. A couple quick observations on those adverts. The most vaguely drawn (as far as being able to make out the costume, is the Van Helsing character. My guess is that this was intentional - i.e. to make him as mysterious as possible). But I can tell you he is clad all in leather from head to toe; carrying and strapped to him, are some serious weapons. I'm sure the leather action will please the gang over at Jackman's Landing (although possibly they have become spoilt with His Hughness in leather any number of times (X-Men and soon X-Men 2); but of course, they have seen him in as little as a towel. Definitely spoiled, every last one of them! (*wink and a smile*.....we're just a bit jealous, perhaps!!) But I digress, per usual. Frankenstein is seriously interesting. He looks like a cross between The Hulk, The Terminator and something from Night of the Living Dead (a nasty molting skin thing going on). While these renderings may not reflect what the final characters will look like, they certainly achieve their purpose - to get us pretty darn excited about this film's possibilities. Finally, and maybe this is a bit goofy of us (and how often does that occur?) but seeing Will's name in the film credits (on the last page of the advert) and on the same line as Sommers and Jackman, really put a smile on our faces. Will's got game - he's definitely in the big leagues in this movie. We hope he is having the time of his life making this film. Next update, Part Four, Swan Lake - we're taking you to a jumping joint where a pretty tipsy Prince meets up with some loose women and uh, a few loose fellas as well. |