JONNY LEE MILLER NEWS 2002


OBREE FILM HITS CRISIS AS COUNCIL SAYS NO - 27th October 2002

THE fate of a movie starring Jonny Lee Miller as a Scots cycling hero is in doubt after a council refused to bankroll it. Rob Roy producer Peter Broughan is due to start filming The Flying Scotsman, a comedy about Scots cycling ace Graeme Obree, in two weeks, in Ayrshire.

Trainspotting star Miller is due to play the cyclist who became a world champion on a bike made from old washing machine parts. But Broughan had to go cap in hand to North Ayrshire Council to bail out the £3.2million project. But the council has refused to give a £7000 grant because it isn't convinced the area will benefit.

Yesterday Broughan, who is £30,000 short of his budget, said: "It's a disgrace. Not only will crews spend money during filming but a film shines a light on an area, like Rob Roy did for Lochaber, and makes it more attractive to tourists." Rob Roy brought in nearly £7million on location spending. It has taken Broughan five years since the council contributed the first £5000 to help fund the comedy. A council spokesman said: "Peter Broughan is demanding funding because he has underbudgeted. "Our activities and expenditure are rigorously scrutinised and we simply cannot dish out public money."

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Obree's life story gathers momentum with Miller - The Scotsman - 19th October 2002

JONNY Lee Miller is to star in a £3.2million film which charts the triumph and despair of the Scottish cyclist, Graeme Obree.

The Flying Scotsman, which starts filming in Ayrshire next month, follows Obree’s unlikely rise to the top of his sport - after he assembled a bike from washing machine parts - and his fall into depression, which led to his attempted suicide last winter.

A deal with Miller was recently concluded, and the actor spent Thursday in his first training session for the film at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. Miller, 29, starred in Trainspotting and Complicity, and recently revealed he hoped to play Obree. Obree himself is said to be delighted the film is coming to fruition. Douglas MacKinnon will direct. He is best known for his television work, including last year’s Nice Guy Eddie (starring Ricky Tomlinson).

Obree, 37, came to prominence in 1993 when he won the 4,000m pursuit at the world track championships in Norway on "Old Faithful", the bike he had constructed himself. The same year, he broke the one-hour world record by covering 32.95 miles. In 1995 he won the World Cup event in Athens followed by the World Championship. However, Obree was diagnosed with manic depression following years of violent mood swings. After finishing disappointingly at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics he was apparently talked down from a window ledge by a team-mate. He took an overdose in 1998, and last December was found hanging in a barn near his home in Irvine.

Peter Broughan of Bronco Films will produce the feature - he also produced the 1995 adventure Rob Roy. Broughan said he had long hoped to make a film about Obree’s life - which he called "another wonderful Scottish hero story". He discovered five years ago that the writer Simon Rose had been working on a script, which has since been developed with Declan Hughes and John Brown. "Graeme’s been there all the way through," added Broughan. "We’ve depended on him heavily for background information on his own story."

The Flying Scotsman should premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in spring 2003.

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JONNY... HE GOOD Angelina back in touch with Miller - Daily Mirror 22nd Oct 2002

SHE'S made it no secret that she's hopeful of "finding a way back" to her ex-husband after her marriage to actor Billy Bob Thornton came to an end this year. And it appears Angelina Jolie's wish has come true.

3am can reveal that the eccentric Hollywood star is back on very good terms with hunky former husband Jonny Lee Miller, who has recently split with fiancee Lisa Faulkner. Our source said: "Angelina is on the phone to Jonny all the time now that she's back in London.

"She was really down in the dumps when she arrived in the UK. Her marriage was over and she had her adopted son Maddox to bring up on her own. But re-establishing contact with Jonny has put a smile back on her face."

Indeed. The 27-year-old Oscar-winning actress, who is patron of the Adopt-A-Minefield charity, was glowing when she visited a British de-mining training centre in Cheshire on Saturday. And the reason was her English ex-hubby Jonny, 29, who was bombarding her with calls.

Our source added: "Angelina gave her mobile to her assistant and made it clear she didn't want to speak to anyone except Jonny. He called her up a number of times. She was giggling and joking every time."

News of the friendship comes as no surprise to 3am. We revealed two months ago how Angelina had been calling the Trainspotting star's film company Natural Nylon since arriving here to film the Tomb Raider sequel.

Jonny, who was engaged to Faulkner at the time, only added to Ms Jolie's misery by failing to respond. Until now.

Since his split with Faulkner last month, Jonny has admitted he is "good friends" with his former wife. He said: "I am talking to Angelina on a regular basis. She's well and quite sane." Meanwhile Angelina has made it very clear that she still has feelings. She said: "I wanted to commit to Jonny. But he deserved more than I was prepared to give him at that time."

They fell for each other while making the film Hackers.

In her trademark overly devoted manner, Angelina, who was 20, wore a white T-shirt with Jonny's name written on it in blood. And her subsequent marriage to Thornton was followed by ridiculous
blood-swapping rituals. The poor girl doesn't seem to have got this romance thing yet.


Daily Mirror - Sept 23rd 2002

THERE'S nothing like a night out with the girls. Angela Griffin decided to go for a meal with best pal Lisa Faulkner at London's perennially fashionable Ivy.

But then the pair did have a lot to gossip about. The friends, along with actress Nicola Stephenson, left, enjoyed their evening as rumours surfaced that Lisa, 30, has split from her fiance, Trainspotting star Jonny Lee Miller. And conspicuous by its absence was Lisa's diamond and platinum engagement ring, which she used to refer to affectionately as "the rock". But a good nosh-up and a bottle of wine always helps to get those men troubles off your chest.


LISA DOES THE SPLITS - Sunday Mirror - 22nd Sept 2002

JONNY Lee Miller and Lisa Faulkner have broken off their engagement, their saddened friends have informed me. Pals say the pair called time on the 16-month romance two weeks ago. It seems the golden couple couldn't survive their separation due to work.

Ex-Holby City star Lisa has been filming Burn It in Manchester for the past few months while Trainspotting actor Jonny has been gallivanting around in London. Things haven't been going right for a while for Jonny and Lisa, who went to the same school but only got together last year and engaged in April. Just last week Lisa, 30, was pictured during a serious retail therapy session with actress best friend Nicola Stephenson, who is also in Manchester filming Clocking Off.

Lisa was shown slumped in what many perceived to be exhaustion after a heavy day's shopping. But I'm afraid to say she was actually crying on Nicola's shoulder. Tongues have been wagging ever since Lisa was spotted out with her Burn It co-star Kieran O'Brien last month. They shared a cosy night in Manchester and seemed very close as they enjoyed a meal with friends.

"It is very sad but Jonny and Lisa have been going through some problems," one friend told me. "It is very hard to sustain a relationship commuting between London and Manchester. Lisa is still living at Jonny's house and they are still talking. With any luck, now she has finished filming Burn It and she's back in London, they will be able to sort things out."

Perhaps it is Lisa's desire to sort things out with Jonny, who is divorced from Hollywood starlet Angelina Jolie, that is provoking Lisa to deny any rift. An aide insisted: "Lisa is at Jonny's house now and is looking forward to being back in London."

The couple had planned to wed next year. In April Lisa gushed: "I would love a fairytale wedding but it is early days. He asked me only two weeks ago. I knew instantly it was right. The first thing I did was call my sister, and then my girlfriends Angela Griffin and Nicola and they both screamed and cried."

I hope with all my heart you can get it back on track.


ANGIE'S AGONY. Now Jolie's ex is avoiding her - Daily Mirror 6th August

She's the eccentric Hollywood star who, in her grief, has cut herself off from the outside world. Since splitting from husband Billy Bob Thornton, anguished actress Angelina Jolie, 27, has become something of a recluse So extreme has been the screen beauty's hermit-like behaviour that last week her father Jon Voight went on American TV to beg his daughter to get in touch.

But 3am can exclusively reveal there is one person with whom Ms Jolie has been desperate to re-establish contact - her English ex-husband Jonny Lee Miller. The heartbroken actress has been bombarding the Trainspotting star's film company Natural Nylon with pleading phone calls since arriving in London to film the sequel to Tomb Raider. But Jonny, now engaged to former Holby City actress Lisa Faulkner, has only added to Ms Jolie's misery by failing to respond.

Our source said: "Angelina has called up loads of times and sounded very distraught. She was so desperate to talk to Jonny. When we told her he was not around, she begged staff to pass her messages on. Angelina left the number of the hotel where she was staying and the room number. When he didn't respond, she called back the next day and sounded very upset. She stressed that she was in London and would be able to meet him whenever he was free. It's very difficult for Jonny. He still regards himself as Angelina's friend. But Lisa Faulkner is the woman in his life now and he can't drop everything for his ex-wife."

The Hollywood beauty was so beside herself she even got a mutual friend to call Jonny from America, asking him to get in touch. It comes as little surprise to 3am that the Oscar-winning actress is keen to make contact with her hunky ex. After all Jolie, who split from Jonny, 29, after 18 months of marriage, has made it no secret that she still has feelings for the British star.

She said: "Jonny and I never fought and we never hurt each other. I wanted to commit to him. But he deserved more than I was prepared to give him at that time of my life." Jolie fell for Jonny while making the film Hacker.

The marriage had little chance from the start. In her trademark overly devoted manner Angelina, who was 20, took to wearing black rubber trousers and a white T-shirt with Jonny's name written on it in blood. Fans of Ms Jolie's will recall that her subsequent marriage to Thornton was punctuated by ridiculous blood-swapping rituals and gestures such as buying each other graves to be buried in.

The poor girl just hasn't quite got this romance thing right yet. Our source added: "Jonny is one of the few men Angelina feels she can trust. "She was young when she married him but she's a mature woman now with an adopted son. And she's determined to see Jonny in London."

A spokeswoman for Natural Nylon, which Jonny set up with his pals Ewan McGregor, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, confirmed Angelina has called the production company. She said: "It's strictly professional. We have offered a project to Angelina. I couldn't comment on whether Jonny has returned her calls."


Lisa's Fairy-tale love. Daily Mirror 26th April

Lisa Faulkner has revealed her engagement to Jonny Lee Miller is a dream come true for her. The 28-year-old ex-Holby city actress says she burst into tears when british movie star Jonny, 29, proposed two weeks ago. "I want to be a princess, I want to be Rapunzel," she told 3am. "I would love a fairy-tale wedding, a beautiful traditional wedding - but it's all such early days. The first thing I did was call my sister and then my two girlfriends Angela Griffin and Nicola Stephenson and they both screamed and cried." Talking to us at the launch of Spooks, a new BBC spy thriller Lisa showed off her engagement ring. "It's Platinum with a diamond. I designed it" she added.

The timing of the wedding has yet to be sorted - all that is clear is that it will be a 2003 affair. But one thing is for sure - it will be a more sedate affair than Jonnys last wedding. When Trainspotting sta Jonny married Angelina Jolie in 1995, the hollywood actress wrote his name on her wedding outfit with her own blood. It doesn't sound as if Lisa will be attempting a repeat performance.


Lisa Speaks of engagement for the first time. Daily Mirror 22nd April 2002

Lisa Faulkner has spoken for the first time about her engagement to actor Jonny Lee Miller. The ex-holby city actress burst into tears when the Trainspotting star proposed last week. "My ideal would be making a film with Brad Pitt which breaks box office records, having a baby and a wonderful husband to go home to" says Lisa. "At least one of those is likely to come true now"


Holby babe Lisa to wed actor Jonny

SEXY TV actress LISA FAULKNER and her Trainspotting star boyfriend JONNY LEE MILLER are getting married. The former Holby City babe was stunned when Jonny got down on one knee and proposed. The lovestruck pair had an on-off relationship from October 2000 but got together for keeps in September last year. Lisa, who played Dr Victoria Merrick in the BBC medical drama, is said to be “over the moon”. Jonny – who played Sick Boy in the cult flick about heroin addiction – has been telling friends and family the happy news. A source close to the actor said: “He and Lisa are madly in love. They were out one night last week and Jonny got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. “Lisa didn’t hesitate to say yes and she got quite emotional. She was clearly over the moon. “Jonny has been grinning like a Cheshire cat since Lisa said yes.” The couple were mates at school 15 years ago and kept in touch as their acting careers took off. When they started dating, Lisa – who quit Holby a year ago – said: “I can recommend finding love with an old friend. It’s the best thing ever as you know each other so well.” Lisa dated TREY PARKER, creator of cult cartoon South Park before getting back with Jonny. Her husband-to-be was once married to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider star ANGELINA JOLIE. They divorced after a year. Jonny has also dated ex-All Saint NATALIE APPLETON. View this article here


Jonny Lee Miller to play FBI agent in Mindhunters

Jonny Lee Miller is to replace Gerard Butler as the star of a new psychological thriller called Mindhunters. He plays a new FBI agent sent to a remote island to be trained on how to track serial killers. Other stars include Christian Slater, Kathryn Morris, Patricia Velazquez, LL Cool J and Val Kilmer.Butler had to drop out of the project because of scheduling conflicts with his other film Timeline.The seven FBI trainees must put theory into practice when it emerges a killer is among them. View this article here


It's Jonny Lee Miller - pantomime dame! Heat Magazine - 22nd of December 2001

A ball dress and poodle perm wig is probably not the best look for Jonny Lee Miller. But given that the stars are positively queuing up for a cameo role in The play what I wrote, at London's Wyndham's theatre, maybe Jonny felt it was worth going the extra mile to land the part. And getting into the festive spirit with the traditional garb of pantomime dame could only help the cause. Just a few weeks ago it was Jonny's pal and Trainspotting co-star Ewan McGregorwho was on the receiving end of the gags in the play - a tribute to Morcambe and Wise, directed by Kenneth Branagh. The play includes a celebrity cameo every night and, as Heat reported recently, word has it that a long list of stars including Keanu Reeves, Naomi Campbell and Kylie are all desperate to appear. So who will be the next to appear? Rumours are circulating that a certain Mrs M Ritchie is considering the role.


Party time for Jude's birthday boy

Jude Law and Sadie Frosts son Rafferty had some high profile friends round for this 5th birthday party. Anais, the 20 month old daughter of Meg Matthews and Noel Gallagher, came along with her mum And so did three-year-old Molly, the daughter of Liam Gallagher, with her mum singer Lisa Moorish. While birthday boy Rafferty dressed as a pirate, his dad's friend and business partner Jonny Lee Miller came as a knight and jousted with Rafferty's older half brother Finlay, aged 10, Sadies son from her previous marriage to Gary Kemp.

Please see Gallery 8 to view the pictures


 

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