People Are Talking

Britons confuse Monet with Rolf. The Mona Lisa was not painted by Leonardo Di Caprio

Many in the UK struggle to name some of the world's most famous masterpieces, even confusing Monet with Rolf Harris.

 

 

 

 

Photo: The Mona Lisa was not painted by Leonardo Di Caprio

Nearly half of those surveyed could not identify Leonardo Da Vinci as the painter of the Mona Lisa. And 7% thought Australian TV presenter and artist Harris had painted Monet's Water Lillies. The survey, conducted by Encyclopaedia Britannica among 500 people, found 85% could not name Edvard Munch as the creator of The Scream. British art also caused problems for many, with more than half could not being able to identify the Hay Wain as by John Constable, while one in 10 thought Botticelli had painted David Hockney's A Bigger Splash. The survey also discovered that 43% of those questioned had never visited an art gallery in their lives, despite 68% of people citing art as important factor in society. The 18 to 24-year-old generation fared the worst in the survey, despite half having some sort of art qualification, with none being able to recognize Gustav Klimt's most famous work The Kiss. “Britain as a nation is envied for its rich artistic heritage and it is sad to learn that so few of us take an interest in the world's, not to mention our own, artistic treasures," Encyclopaedia Britannica direct marketing manager Christine Hodgson said. A straw poll conducted by BBC One's Breakfast program saw one young man guess Leonardo Di Caprio had painted the Mona Lisa, while another believed it was by Van Gogh. Renoir was identified as the originator of the Water Lillies, while Van Gogh was also wrongly named as the painter of Munch's The Scream. Tony Pontone, managing director of the Albemarle Gallery in London, told BBC News Online the 1990s "obsession" with Brit Art is largely to blame for the ignorance exposed by the survey.  "Most people could name Damien Hirst's shark, or Tracey Emin's unmade bed because that is all the media ever focuses on," he said.  But he says the "lack of appreciation for our cultural heritage" marks Britain out from many other countries in mainland Europe where art is "something to be proud of". He added: "There is a huge seam of talent in young, British artists who are painting 'conventional' subjects using the same skills and techniques as the old masters. "But because they are actually using paint and canvas they are ignored and slagged off - usually by people who can't paint and have chosen an easier option."

 

Hollywood

Roberts: Said to be the world's most bankable actress

 

 

 

 

As well as commanding a reported $20m a movie, the A-list actress is said to be the world's most bankable female star. She cemented her status as a leading lady with her emotional Oscar acceptance speech in 2001 for Erin Brockovich - in which she declared "I love the world". It was applauded by an audience who cannot get enough of Roberts, who first won fame playing a prostitute who stole the heart of Richard Gere in 1990's Pretty Woman. Her popularity was originally based on her girl-next-door appeal, seen in films such as Flatliners, Notting Hill and Runaway Bride. But her reputation as an actress has grown, and her portrayal of the feisty single mother Erin Brockovich made the critics sit up and take notice.  Julia Roberts was born on 28 October 1967 in Smyrna, Georgia. Her parents ran an actors and writers workshop in their home so their young daughter grew up in the company of people who loved acting. It was natural that both she and her brother Eric would also be bitten by the performance bug. After finishing high school, Roberts moved to New York where she was quick to sign herself an agent. She made her first film alongside her brother in Blood Red, made in 1986 but not released until 1989. This was followed by an uneventful period in which she appeared in only a couple of made-for-TV movies and the low-budget Firehouse in 1987. Roberts's first break came in 1988 when she landed a role in Mystic Pizza playing a Portuguese waitress in a small-town pizzeria, for which she won critics' praise. She went on to win an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias the following year, playing opposite Hollywood heavyweights Shirley Maclaine and Sally Field. Then came Pretty Woman, which garnered her a second Oscar nod and propelled her to international fame. Two big hits followed, supernatural thriller Flatliners and the battered wife drama Sleeping With the Enemy. But her next movie, the weepie Dying Young in 1991, was a flop and Roberts's career seemed to take something of a nosedive. The actress's personal life was also in a slump following a much-publicized break-up from the actor Keifer Sutherland, who is currently starring in the hit BBC Two series 24. The couple split on the eve of their much-publicized wedding. After she finished her scenes as Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg's Hook, Roberts decided to retreat from the scene. In this time, she made brief movie appearances such as in Robert Altman's Hollywood satire The Player in 1992. But her private life hit the headlines again when she married country singer Lyle Lovett in 1993.

 

That same year, Roberts seemed also to regain her appetite for the movies but her career over the next few years went up and down. Success in The Pelican Brief was followed by an anti-climax in the panned I Love Trouble and Prêt-à-Porter and surprise flop Mary Reilly. But all was not lost and despite her divorce from Lovett, Roberts finally bagged two big winners in 1996 with Michael Collins and Conspiracy Theory.

_______________________

 

 

 

Bruckheimer has worked on films such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Hawk Down plus TV shows like CSI. "Bruckheimer has become a brand," said Entertainment Weekly magazine in its 14th annual list of the 101 most powerful people in Hollywood. A spokesman for Bruckheimer said he was "flattered" by the honor - but wanted people to judge him on his work. Bruckheimer produced one of the most successful films of the summer in Pirates of the Caribbean and Bad Boys II, the sequel to the 1995 film starring Will Smith, was a more modest hit. And besides CSI, which is the most popular show in the US, Bruckheimer's has also produced TV hits including CSI: Miami and Without a Trace. Bruckheimer made his name as part of a production team in the 1980s with Don Simpson. Together, they produced landmark films like Flashdance, Beverley Hills Cop, Top Gun and Days of Thunder. Since Simpson's death in 1996, Bruckheimer has produced blockbusters including Con Air, The Rock, Enemy of the State, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. Entertainment Weekly's top ten also included director Steven Spielberg, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, actor Tom Cruise and rapper Eminem. Last year's number one, Denzel Washington, went down to number 22.