Bright Star Premiere

Wednesday September 16 2009 APPARITION ARCLIGHT CINEMAS, HOLLYWOOD, CA Presented by Architectural Digest, 1stdibs.com and A Diamond is Forever BRIGHT STAR, one of the most highly praised films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a portrait of love and loss between the 19th-century Romantic poet John Keats and the 18-year-old muse-next-door, Fanny Brawne. The film’s title comes from a love poem for Brawne, which Keats wrote in the flyleaf of his copy of the works of Shakespeare. Jane Campion’s return to the big screen features outstanding performances from Abbie Cornish (Stop-Loss, Candy) as Brawne, Ben Whishaw as Keats (I’m Not There, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer), Paul Schneider (NBC’s “Parks & Recreation,” Lars and the Real Girl, The Family Stone), as Charles Armitage Brown and Kerry Fox (Intimacy) as Mrs. Brawne. London, 1818 – a secret love affair begins between 23-year-old English poet Keats and Brawne, an outspoken follower of fashion. This unlikely pair starts at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. But when Keats’s younger brother falls ill, John and Fanny are drawn together. Keats, touched by Fanny’s efforts to help care for his brother, agrees to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend, Mr. Brown, realize their attachment, the relationship has an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in one another, the young lovers are swept into powerful new sensations: “I have the feeling as if I we’re dissolving,” Keats writes to her. Together they ride a wave of romantic obsession that deepens as their troubles mount. Only Keats’s fatal illness proves insurmountable. BRIGHT STAR is produced by Campion’s long-time collaborator Jan Chapman and Caroline Hewitt. Executive producers are François Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Christine Langan and David M. Thompson. Greig Fraser is Director of Photography; Janet Patterson is Production and Costume Designer; Alexandre de Franceschi, A.S.E., is Editor; Mark Bradshaw is Composer; and Nina Gold is Casting Director.
Mallika Sherawat	Holly Hunter	Jane Campion
Jan Chapman	Paul Schneider	Ben Whishaw
Jane Campion and Holly Hunter	Holly Hunter	Holly Hunter
Mallika Sherawat	Jan Chapman	Jane Campion and Holly Hunter
ALL PHOTOS © 2009 MICHAEL GERMANA / SUPERSTAR IMAGES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NO REPRODUCTION