Archived News

Down in the Valley pics, Six Years on the Web

The first pictures from the filming of Down in the Valley have been posted on evan-rachel-wood.com. Unfortunately, they are from a commercial service so the free enlargements are purposely marred (but they at least give you a taste). I'll be putting a few up soon. [Thanks to the Yahoo! EDWARD-NORTON group]

This month (April 7) marks six years since I've started this website on Edward Norton. I've wanted to take the time to think up something suitable to write about this milestone, however, work has been taking up the majority of my time.

Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition in DC, Living Machine

The documentary Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition has already been shown at a few festivals and will be shown in Washington D.C. next Friday, March 26 12 P.M. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as part of the 2004 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (info on the film). The screening will also include a discussion with filmmaker Jim Norton along with Senior Advisor to Yunnan Great Rivers Project for the Nature Conservancy Ed Norton and Jennifer Turner, Coordinator, China Environment Forum, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (info on discussion). To avoid any confusion, let me clarify that the Ed Norton mentioned above is actor Edward Norton's father. Don't show up in DC looking for Edward. Edward is currently in Los Angeles filming the indie Down in the Valley. Here is a description of the film:

The Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition
(China/USA, 2003, 47 min.)

In western China, three of Asia's greatest rivers plunge off the Tibetan Plateau through a neck in the Himalayas only 50 miles wide. For three months, beginning in December of 2002, The Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition descended into the spectacular Yunnan gorges of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween Rivers, gorges that were long considered unrunnable. Sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and Outside Television, the expedition explored the potential for river trips through one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and one of the most ethnically diverse parts of China.

Narrated by Edward Norton. Directed by Jim Norton and produced by Les Guthman for Outside Television.

Also, The Sea Studios Foundation website includes a great deal of information on the four part series National Geographic’s Living Machine which EN will be hosting and narrating.

Thanks to Irina for providing info on both projects!

'Valley' cast, 'Shootout' mention, 'Painted Veil' director candidate

Friday's Variety reports that Bruce Dern, Rory Culkin and David Morse have joined the cast of Down in the Valley with Morse playing Evan Rachel Wood's father.

This morning, EN was briefly discussed on AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout. Pierce Brosnan and director Brett Ratner were guests and near the end of the conversation, co-host Peter Guber asked Ratner about directing EN in Red Dragon. Ratner talked about the scene where EN's character Will meets with Lecter in the psychiatric facility. It was an interesting look at the way EN works and I will transcribe the section when I get a chance. You can also catch the entire program on Yahoo Movies or check your TV listings as to when it will repeat.

One of the directors that EN has approached for The Painted Veil was Nowhere to Africa's Caroline Link. I received info from an email that that Caroline Link gave an interview with the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that was published the day after the Academy Awards. In the interview, she talked about meeting with EN in his NY apartment about the project which she stated is to be filmed in China with a start in Spring 2005. I was not able to find the specific article described, however I did find another Caroline Link interview from Nov 2003 which seems to state something similar (well, I was able to spot "Sommerset Maugham", "Edward Norton", and "2005" and translating tools helped a little). At this point, I'm not sure if anything is definite (there has been no mention of her in the trades or in any other place in connection with The Painted Veil) and a start date of Spring 2005 is further away than what was mentioned in a Feb 2004 Variety article (Spring 2004 was given). [Thanks to Anna for the info!]

Addressing filming rumors, OT: Public Radio commentator fired over obscenity

Edward Norton is currently in Los Angeles filming Down in the Valley (he is also a producer on the film). Recently I've stumbled across reports of EN filming another project and since these reports have been posted elsewhere, I have been receiving questions. In response, I've searched through the entertainment trade papers and found nothing to substantiate this. When I searched the internet, I came up with only rumors and one Feb 11 reference by Orlando Bloom Files to an article in Diariodesevilla.com that EN would start filming on this project when it moved to Morocco (the article itself is unavailable). The reports are by one fan who has stated that EN was in Seville filming this movie, she has seen EN in costume (which includes an eyepatch) and a few other times, gotten his autograph and had her picture taken with him and Jeremy Irons, and spoken with members of the crew, a hotel employee, and his driver about him. Her reports would seem to indicate that EN was filming in Seville for an extended period of time (or racking up the frequent flyer miles traveling to and fro) days before filming started on Down in the Valley. I don't like to report info on films without having a reliable source to depend on and yet her posts on EN's involvement have been fairly descriptive and public so it's hard to ignore them. Faced with this dilemma, I made an inquiry. The info that I received would seem to indicate that there may have been some discussion about the role previously, however, it didn't seem that anything has progressed beyond that phase. I received no indication that Edward Norton has ever participated in any filming of Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. Will he have any future involvement with the film? I don't know. [UPDATE: Read May 25, 2004- The (long boring) way out]

Off topic, I was very upset to read that public radio commentator Sandra Tsing Loh was fired this week. "The Loh Life" was a weekly three to four minute pre-taped commentary in which she talked about a variety of topics: motherhood, Costco, and living in the not-so-chic L.A. neighborhood of Van Nuys, to name a few. As a transplanted southern Californian, it was always one of my favorites. I've loved her books Depth Takes a Holiday, Aliens in America, and A Year in Van Nuys and I went to see her show I Worry when it came to the Kennedy Center (an Easter Sunday I'll never forget, primarily because I forgot it was Easter Sunday when I made the reservations). Unfortunately, this Sunday's segment included the f-word, she had asked her engineer to bleep the word, however it was not done. She was fired the next day. Anyone who was familiar with her work would have known that this was unintentional and after six years, KCRW turned their backs on her. If you're interested in reading more about this check out: LA CityBEAT: WHAT THE F...K?!, Reuters: Performer Thrown Off the Air Over Obscenity, LA Observed: 'Loh Life' axed by KCRW* LA Times: KCRW Fires Loh Over Obscenity. Also, I wrote an email to KCRW and NPR to complain.

EN's next film: Down in the Valley, Audition info, Painted Veil Update

Today's Variety and Hollywood Reporter announced that EN and Evan Rachel Wood (thirteen) will star in Down in the Valley to be directed by David Jacobson (Dahmer) who also wrote it. EN will also produce the $8 million film that is scheduled to start in Los Angeles on February 29. The film was part of last year's annual screenwriting lab at the Sundance Institute. Variety's summary: "It's a dark tale that features a father who must contend with his wild child of a teenage daughter and her dangerous boyfriend." Hollywood Reporter's summary: "Set in the present-day San Fernando Valley, the project revolves around a delusional man who believes he's a cowboy and the relationship that he starts with a rebellious young woman (Wood)." Trying to find out more about this project, I stumbled onto some audition info. Find out more

Monday's Variety had new info on The Painted Veil. The article mainly dealt with the financing but here's the interesting stuff: "A female lead should be announced shortly" so it looks like Naomi Watts is out (Nicole Kidman had been originally attached), the "pic will shoot entirely on location in China" - EN's father is working in China as the Nature Conservancy's senior adviser to the Yunnan Great Rivers Project, and the production company is "hopeful for a start date this spring" (sounds good to me). EN is also producing.

The only downside to this news is that it indicates that Motherless Brooklyn is still a while away.

EN donates $1.1 million to the Enterprise Foundation

It was announced on Larry King Live last night that Edward Norton is giving $1.1 million to the Enterprise Foundation for its five-year, $125 million Building Communities of Opportunity fund-raising campaign. EN came on the program to talk about the Enterprise Foundation and as well a program he came up with called Solar Neighbors. Read the transcript. The Enterprise Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing to low income families. Solar Neighbors Program is that whenever a celebrity buys a solar energy system for their home, BP Solar donates a system to a low-income family.

EN on Larry King Live, Dirty Work interview

This Saturday (Jan 24) EN will be a guest on Larry King Live. He will be talking about his Solar Neighbors Program. This info comes from an article on Solaraccess.com (it's not yet mentioned on the Larry King Live website).

Edward Norton was on CNN Live this past Sunday from the Sundance and gave an interview (along with producer/directors David Sampliner and Tim Nackashi) about Dirty Work- CNN Live transcript Dirty Work.

EN at Sundance Festival

WireImage.com has numerous pictures of EN attending the 2004 Sundance Film Festival yesterday. The documentary Dirty Work (EN is exec producer) premiered last night. Since WireImage is a pay service, I can only get thumbnail pics - hopefully better ones will be available soon.