Thursday, March 27, 2008

The No.1 ladies left us hungry for more

source: getworkingham
By Mike Jennings
26/ 3/2008

After storming best-seller lists as a series of nine successful books, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has made the transition to the small-screen, with a feature-length pilot aired on Easter Sunday and a 13-part series that begins production in the summer.

The plot is similar to the book: after losing her wise, kind father, Precious Ramotswe travels to the Botswanan capital, Gaborone, and establishes herself as the best female private detective in the whole country – because she’s the only female detective in Botswana.

What follows is a charming mix of light-hearted detective work and the kind of [continue reading]

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Minghella`s No 1 Ladies` Detective Agency pulls in 6.3m

source: BrandRepublic

by Darren Davidson Brand Republic 25-Mar-08, 11:10

LONDON - The late Anthony Minghella's feature-length version of 'The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' pulled in an impressive 6.3m viewers for BBC One on Easter Sunday, condemning the launch of ITV1's new drama 'He Kills Coppers' to only 3.8m.

The BBC drama, based on Alexander McCall Smith's bestselling novel, attracted a 27% share of [continue reading]

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Mma Ramotswe attracts international press

source: Botswana Press Agency
20 March, 2008

LONDON - The producer of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency movie Anthony Minghella died in London on Tuesday as the second private screening of the movie was held at the British Film Auditorium in Southbanks.

Minghella, who was the director and writer of many television movies, was born on Jan. 6, 1954 on the Isle of Wight, England.

He graduated from the University of Hull where he studied English and Drama, and began his career in television in the 1980s.

He has in the past scripted childrens shows for the BBC and for Jim Hensons The Storyteller.

He first attracted international attention with his first big screen film in 1990. In 1996, he tackled the screenplay adaptation of Michael Ondaatjes novel The English Patient.

He has won a Best Director Academy Award for the beautifully filmed epic starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche.

Minghella was set for an anthology film with a title New York, I Love You. The British writer, director and producer was well respected in the film industry, and in 2003 he wrote and directed the blockbuster Cold Mountain, an adapted movie from Charles Fraziers best selling book.

He was also a theatrical and TV director who staged many productions including [continue reading]

How a U.S. soul singer became Africa's No.1 Lady Detective ... with a little help from a padded behind

Source: Daily Mail

By NICOLE LAMPERT and TIM OGLETHORPE
01:26am on 21st March 2008

On the first day of filming the BBC drama The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency in hot and dusty Botswana, southern Africa, the show's leading lady, Jill Scott, could be forgiven for having her thoughts elsewhere.

For one thing, there's her mother to be concerned about. She is in the USA, 8,000 miles away from the film's location, recovering — successfully, thankfully — from cancer.

And then there's the pain of Jill's recent divorce from her husband of seven years and partner of 12, Lyzel Williams, to play on her mind.

Most pressingly, there's the [continue reading]

Friday, March 21, 2008

Jill Scott treasures local experience

source: Botswana Press Agency
19 March, 2008

LONDON - The immensely successful advertisement for the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency-Mma Ramotswe movie has put Botswana on the international map.

The London daily newspaper, The Independent has already interviewed the movies leading actress Jill Scott.

The American singer told the paper that she had not visited Africa before she came to Botswana for the film, and that she will forever treasure the experience.

She said before her visit she had plenty of questions in her mind and had no idea what to expect.

But after a few days of looking for what they didnt have, I noticed all the things they have. My eyes suddenly opened, and everything was new and wonderful, she told the paper.

Scott said Africa does not leap on you immediately, but it seeps slowly and its incredibly important to be respectful and humble there.

She mentioned a couple of places in Botswana that took her breath away. One of the things she talked about was the Safari experience in the Kalahari Desert.

I was stuck by the pure silence and the stillness. I looked around [continue reading]

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Jill Scott Mourns Loss Of Anthony Minghella

source: HippHopp Elements
Posted on: March 19, 2008 08:04 PDT


British filmmaker Anthony Minghella, who directed the upcoming two-hour HBO pilot "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" starring Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose, died in a London hospital on Tuesday after a short illness, reports the AP. He was 54.


"Much more than a TRUE artist who thrilled in offering his divine gift with the world, Anthony Minghella was a dear, dear trusted friend," said Scott in a statement. "My heart aches with grief. Words can not express how deeply he will be missed or [continue reading]

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Oscar-winning film man Anthony Minghella dies aged 54

source: AdelaideNow
March 18, 2008 09:00am

OSCAR-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned literary works "The English Patient," and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, has died aged 54.

Minghella died yesterday of a hemorrhage following surgery.

Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, "and the operation seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal hemorrhage."

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a [continue reading]

see also: Director Anthony Minghella, 1954-2008 (Time)

Monday, March 10, 2008

HBO enlists Minghella's `Agency`

source: The Hollywood Reporter
By Kimberly Nordyke

March 10, 2008
HBO has retained the services of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."

It had been rumored for months that Anthony Minghella's adaptation of the best-selling books by Alexander McCall Smith could wind up as a TV series, though nothing was official until now.

HBO has partnered with the Weinstein Co. and the BBC on the drama series, ordering 13 hourlong episodes to begin filming in the summer. That's in addition to the two-hour pilot that Minghella recently shot in Botswana from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral").

HBO has obtained U.S. and Canadian television and home video rights, and the BBC
has taken U.K. television distribution. TWC, which controls all other international territories, is planning to take the project to MIP in April.

"Agency" stars Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned [continue reading]

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Mma Ramotswe to be aired on BBC

source: Mmegi

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency film, otherwise known as the Mma Ramotswe is scheduled for airing on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) UK Channel One on Easter Monday - March 24.

Before this, the film is expected to premiere at the British Film Institute's Southbank's Auditoriums in London on March 14. The screening is organised by the [continue reading]

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Opera house in the bush is author`s musical miracle

source: The Scotsman
By DAVID ROBINSON
BOOKS EDITOR

IF YOU drive south from Gabarone, the capital of Botswana, until the houses stop and the bush begins, you'll find yourself passing a building that used to be a garage.
When Edinburgh author Alexander McCall Smith used to drive past it, he was reminded of the fictional Speedy Motors garage in his No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which has been translated into 44 languages and sold 15 million copies in English alone.

The writer has now taken over the building, and in June it will get a new lease of life – as Botswana's first opera house.

The signs for the No 1 Ladies Opera House have already been designed by Iain McIntosh, who illustrates McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series in The Scotsman.

A new floor has been put in, the roof repaired, the walls [continue reading]