24 February 2002. Colin and wife Livia attended the BAFTA Award ceremony in London. Colin was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary [the award went to Jim Broadbent]. Bridget Jones's Diary was also nominated in these categories: The Alexander Korda Award for the outstanding British Film of the Year, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress [Zellweger] ... but no awards went to the BJD team ... Links to vido coverage online: BBC news 24 site

3 December 2001 : UK video release of Bridget Jones Diary. The video can be pre-ordered online from choicesdirect

1 December. Colin was awarded the People's Choice Award as Best European Actor 2001 for his role as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary. Cinemagoers throughout Europe voted online for Colin who won in competition with Stefano Accorsi in Le Fate Ignoranti, Moritz Bleibtreu in Das Experiment, Vincent Cassel in Les Rivières Pourpres, Benno Fürmann in Der Krieger und die Kaiserin, Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones's Diary, Mathieu Kassovitz in Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Jude Law in Enemy at the Gates, Benoît Magimel in La Pianiste, Nanni Moretti in La Stanza del Figlio, Jean Reno in Les Rivières Pourpres, Mark Rylance in Intimacy, Santiago Segura in Torrente 2: Mision en Marbella, Ondrej Vetchy in Dark Blue World and Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast.

1 November. Bridget Jones's Diary - the film, the CD and Gabrielle's single Out of Reach, continue to top the charts in Sweden. V.v.g.

29 October: A new CD with the soundtrack from Bridget Jones's Diary [incl. an acoustic version of Gabrielle's Out of Reach and much more] released in the U.K.

9 October: Bridget Jones's Diary DVD release in the US. The disc will contain a commentary by the director, a featurette, music videos, deleted scenes [none of Colin though], original diary columns and more. More info here.

9 September: Colin Firth was - along with the other stars in Bridget Jones's Diary - nominated for a 2001 Women's Image Network award.

6 August. Pictures of Colin and director Sharon Maguire at the Locarno Film Festival, 3 August 2001, uploaded here.

4 August. From the Australian Bridget buzz: "Swoon alert! A tale of two Darcys" and New Woman magazine. [The articles are in jpg format, so keep your magnifying glass handy!]

3 August. Bridget Jones's Diary - Behind the scenes airs on Swedish TV4 Friday August 3, 2001.

17 July. From USA Today: It's a Hollywood tradition; a good, old idea is usually better than an untested one. If a movie is a blockbuster (or sometimes if it just turns a profit) studio execs usually aim for a sequel. While those efforts don't always work out, Hollywood is always on the lookout. A few potential sequels that hope to cash in on their reps: Bridget Jones's Diary. Early stages. Working Title, which produced Diary, has the movie rights to Helen Fielding's follow-up book, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. But there have been no specific talks...

6 July. Swedish article on Bridget Jones's Diary: " If you liked Pride and Prejudice you must see Bridget Jones's Diary. If - for no other reason - but to sigh over the delicious Colin Firth, who once more plays Darcy, although this time he is a man of the 21 century."

18 June. Bridget Jones's locations map is now online. those of you who enjoyed Bridget Jones's Diary can find their way around the film's locations using the British Tourist Authority movie map website. The film was shot mostly in London and the English countryside, including the Cotswold Hills, the stone-built village of Snowshill, London's Holland Park and Notting Hill restaurants.

June. Two press cuttings from The London Times:

1. A potential casting problem for the planned Bridget Jones sequel: Colin Firth will need to appear twice, as both Mark Darcy and, erm, Colin Firth. "I do hope he will come back for a repeat of his lovely performance," says Helen Fielding, the creator of Bridget. "If he does, he will simply have to don a large beard and handlebar moustache and play himself as well."
2. Have Six-pack. Will Govern.
   The Californian habit of electing former actors to high office has much to recommend it. After all, politics is all about creating the illusion that you know what you are doing. Would the trick work here? If Hague gets blitzed at the election, should the Tories choose, say, Colin Firth, "the thinking girls pin-up" as their new leader? It might be worth a try. Unfortunately, Victor Meldrew would probably suit the party's current prospects better. You know - two feet in the grave...

June. From BBC Online: Star's pillowcases auctioned for charity Pillowcases that once belonged to celebrities such as actor Colin Firth have helped raise more than £2,000 for terminally ill children. Bridget Jones' star Colin Firth's pillowcase went for £101.... Sweet Dreams!

18 June. BJD ifell to #12 at the US Box office this weekend, taking in $750,000.

29 May. Bridget Jones's Diary has moved down from #1 to # 6 at the US box office this week. The film took in $4 million last weekend. After seven weeks the film has made a total of $62 million in the US.

25 May. UK Cinema chains are thanking Bridget Jones's Diary for the blip in their figures. The success of BJD seems set to continue. The film may have slid to the number two position in this week's UK box office charts - but its continuing popularity has helped BJD to beat its Working Title stablemate Notting Hill in the box office stakes. So far the film, which cost an estimated $26 million to make, has raked in £30.9 million in the UK. [Source: Empire Online, May 2001]

26 April. Colin Firth introduced Bridget Jones's Diary, at a charity screening in aid of Survival International at the Odeon West End Cinema in London. A predominantly female crowd gathered in London for a special charity screening of Bridget Jones's Diary which offered the promise of a foreword by Bridget star Colin Firth. Appearing slightly late and frazzled, Firth explained that he'd been delayed by extended filming on The Importance of Being Earnest; "I've just had a singularly exciting ride through London on the back of a motorcycle, to get me here in time." The event was in aid of the charity Survival International which works to protect the rights of tribal peoples - a cause Firth has espoused for many years. But even Firth had problems linking the cause to the evening's main event; "Let me tell you I've got myself into knots trying to find any conceivable link between the plight of the bushmen of Botswana and Bridget Jones's Diary... take my word for it - it's not there!" Asked how he was enjoying working once more with Rupert Everett - the two teamed up for their first cinematic outing almost 20 years ago in Another Country. "It's been really great" Firth enthused. [Source: Empire Online, April 2001]

25 April. The film company which cashed in with Bridget Jones's Diary has bought the rights to its sequel. Working Title films has seen its movie, which stars Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, shoot to the top of box offices on both sides of the Atlantic. Daily Variety newspaper said the firm had bought the rights to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the sequel to the novel. The best-seller was published a year ago as a follow-up to Bridget Jones's Diary by author Helen Fielding and has sold 600,000 copies in America alone. Daily Variety columnist Jonathan Bing reported the film rights for the book have been sold by publishers Penguin for a figure said to be in excess of $1 million (£695,000). It will not be adapted by Fielding, who turned her novel into a film script for the current box-office hit. In The Edge of Reason, Bridget Jones splits from Darcy, the barrister played by Colin Firth with whom she settled down at the end of the first book, and ends up in a Thai prison. Bridget Jones's Diary has has already taken a total of more than $25 million (£17.5 million) at the US box office where it is currently number one. [Source: Ananova online]

24 April. Bridget Jones's Diary is number one in both the US and the UK and looks set to become the most successful British film ever made. BJD held on to the top of the box office chart in the UK and Ireland for a second week. [BBC News online].

23 April. Author Helen Fielding named one of Bridget Jones's suitors Mark Darcy because she fancied actor Colin Firth's romantic portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the BBC 1995 costume drama Pride and Prejudice. So who better to play Darcy in the new Bridget Jones's Diary than the London-based Firth, 40?

Q: Keep any of those puffy Pride and Prejudice shirts?
CF: No, but I certainly wish that I did. They actually auctioned a shirt for charity.

Q: Your character in P&P and Bridget Jones's Diary are both pretty aloof. It worked for them with women; has it for you?
CF: I've been happily married for a number of years, so I'm no longer thinking about how to woo people. But, dare I say, it was probably part of my repertoire.

Q: How is costar Renée Zellweger's British accent?
CF: Perfect. I thought she sounded like she was from a London suburb.

Q: In the film, you fight Hugh Grant. Can you take him on in real life?
CF: There's no question. Actually, we both deliberately pursued the least possible macho fight I've ever seen in any film. It's certainly a contrast to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. [People Mag. 23 April, 2001]

16 April. Colin Firth interviewed on three TV shows in the US. On the Today Show Colin talked about his new born son, how he has managed to promote Bridget Jones's Diary in the middle of becoming a father. He also discussed the similarities and differences between playing Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy and Helen Fielding's Mark Darcy. The transcribed interview are uploaded here:

• The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Illustrated transribed text.
• The Regis and Kelly Show. Illustrated transribed text. Off site Video
• The Today Show. Illustrated transribed text. Off site Video. [search for "Bridget Jones's Diary"]

13 April. General release in the UK and US. After the film release, Colin Firth and Renée Zellweger were among the most requested names at the Internet Movie Database!

13 April. The A&E Classroom (US television) starts screening Pride and Prejudice [Fielding's inspiration for BJD].  The six part TV series starts on April 13, and continues Mon. through Fri. the following week. In the U.S. from 7-8 am ET &PT/6-7 am CT . In Canada from 8:30-9:30am NT /8-9am AT/7-8am ET/ 6-7am CT/ 5- 6am MT/ 4-5 am PT.

6 April. Irish premiere in Dublin.

4 April. The makers of the £25 million movie BJD are so thrilled by the reaction to the comedy at previews that they want to make a follow up. According to the Ananova website, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger have been optioned for the sequel. A senior source at Miramax, which co-produce the film, say: "We think Americans will go in a big way for Bridget and we could be into a three-part series."

Renee Zellweger revealed to Empire Online that she may yet reprise the role. "We haven't actually talked about it," she said at the London film premiere, "but wouldn't it be wonderful?" Director Sharon Maguire also seemed optimistic about the prospect of bringing the batty heroine back for round two: "I want to sleep for a long time and then I'll think about whether I want to direct another one. But I think so."

4 April. European premiere at the Empire Cinema, London. The London premiere was, among others,  attended by actors Colin Firth, RenéeZellweger, Hugh Grant and author Helen Fielding. Click here for reports and pictures from the London premiere.

2 April. World premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater, New York City.

1 April, 2001. Colin interviewed on the US tv-channel Breakfast with the Arts. He talked about the upcoming film Bridget Jones's Diary, the genesis of his story Department of Nothing, his next stage project in London and much more. Click here for a photo and a transcript of the interview. Offsite link to snappies from the A&E interview.

12 April, 2000. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth have been cast in the upcoming feature film Bridget Jones's Diary, it was announced today by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, co-chairmen of Working Title Films. Bridget Jones's Diary is scheduled to commence principal photography in the UK later this month. The film is based on a character that author Helen Fielding created for a column she began in the Independent newspaper in 1995. In 1996, the popularity of the column led Fielding to write a novel based on Bridget's diary. The book went on to become a commercial and cultural phenomenon, selling over 4 million copies worldwide, with 1.5 million sales in the UK alone. Her recently published second novel, Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason, has remained the No.1 selling book in the UK since its release. [Working Title's Press Release].

26 March, 2000: The film Bridget Jones's Diary will be shot around Notting Hill and is not to be Americanized in any way, according to producers Working Title. The loss of Jones's trademark phraseology, for instance, 'fuckwittage' and 'v.g', would have dulled her distinctive voice. [The Observer]