The English People, A Lot Of Them,

The Hollywood Foreign Press Have Just Given Me A Time Out From My 20-year Midlife Crisis. My Heartfelt Thanks To Them.

Firth - All Dodgy 'tache And Frantic Eyebrows - Has Got The Sexual Allure Of A Man Who Runs A Swingers' Club In Surbiton.

It's Hard To Get Yourself Into A Position Where Someone Will Trust You To Direct A Film Anyway, Whatever Sex You Are. Certainly In England, The Film Set Is A Very Male Preserve. There's A Lot Of Very Rough Looking Men Pushing Equipment Around That Don't Want The Gaffer To Be A Girl.

If You're Playing Someone Who's Impeded By Fear, Or Shyness, Or Has Whatever Dysfunction Your Character Might Have, You Have To Achieve The Dysfunction First, Imaginatively, In Order To Play Someone Who Is Trying To Negotiate Their Way Out Of It.

So, I Think There's A Danger That Good Stuff Can Fall By The Wayside If It Doesn't Conform To Formula. But I Think It Comes Down To Money And They Just Don't Know Where It's Going If They Haven't Got Any Precedent.