Category Archives: Bridget Jones

Bridget Jones’s Diary Was Blamed For A Drop In Sales Of This Drink

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Apparently, the binge-drinking, heavy-smoking, chaotic lifestyle of Bridget Jones isn’t aspirational to some people?

Personally, I can’t relate but according to one expert, the fictional anti-heroine caused a huge slump in sales of her favoured drink around the time of the column in The Independent and, of course, the film’s release back in 2001.

The expert in question is Oz Clarke, a prestigious wine expert and writer from the UK.

‘The blame should be firmly placed at the door of Bridget Jones’

According to The Telegraph in 2008, Clarke said: “Chardonnay has made some of the world’s greatest wines, everyone appreciated it – until Bridget Jones.

“Bridget Jones goes out on the pull, fails, goes back to her miserable bedsit, sits down, pours herself an enormous glass of Chardonnay, sits there with mascara running down her cheeks saying, ‘Dear diary, I’ve failed again, I’ve poured an enormous glass of Chardonnay and I’m going to put my head in the oven.’ Great marketing aid.”

Personally, I would argue that Ms Jones was not supposed to feel relatable to Mr Clarke, and that’s before we even get into the recession that was flooding the UK at the time.

Anyway, I digress.

The Independent reported at the time: “Across Britain fewer people are seeking solace – or enjoyment – in chardonnay. In the past 12 months, 7.5 million shoppers bought it, fewer than the previous year, according to the retail analysts TNS. Meanwhile, rivals such as sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio are rising in popularity.”

Clarke made his comments at London’s first self-storage wine facility, adding: “Until Bridget Jones, chardonnay was really sexy. After, people said, ‘God, not in my bar’.

“If you’re a marketing manager what would you say? ‘OK, I’m going to sell something that makes people feel really miserable. Let’s call it chardonnay!’”

Other experts argued that the drink had simply taken a new direction

Alan Griffiths, former wine director of Berry Brothers, Britain’s biggest wine merchants, said: “The appeal of chardonnay is still very strong. It’s a safer bet for a party. It’s more likely to go down well for a group of 50 than a gewürztraminer or a riesling or a sauvignon blanc, which some people find too grassy or acidic.”

Personally, I’ll be raising a toast to Bridget before seeing the newest instalment of her story.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is out on February 13th in cinemas across the UK.

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Hugh Grant And Renée Zellweger’s Reunion Is Nostalgic Bridget Jones Bliss

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Bridget Jones fans, who suffered a Hugh-Grant-free third movie, will be glad to see the Daniel Cleaver actor rightfully reunited with Renée Zellweger for the premiere of the fourth movie in the beloved franchise.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will hit cinemas on 14 February (Valentine’s Day) this year, almost a decade and a half after the first movie’s 2001 release.

Earlier this week, the iconic pair appeared on the red carpet of the newest instalment’s premiere.

Hugh Grant, left, and Renee Zellweger pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening for the film 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'
Hugh Grant, left, and Renee Zellweger pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening for the film ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’

via Associated Press

The Paris appearance may have been a little familiar to diehard Bridget Jones fans.

Hugh’s half-opened shirt (no tie, naturally) under a black jacket is reminiscent of his very first Bridget Jones premiere appearance, while Renée Zellweger’s one-shoulder Saint Laurent dress could well have been an homage to her also-black, also-peekaboo 2001 movie gown.

Colin Firth, Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant at 2001's Bridget Jones Premiere
Colin Firth, Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant at 2001’s Bridget Jones Premiere

Justin Goff via Getty Images

The 2025 movie will see Bridget navigate “life as a widow and single mom with the help of her family, friends, and former lover Daniel,” an official synopsis says.

“Back to work and on the apps, she’s pursued by a younger man and maybe – just maybe – her son’s science teacher.”

Hugh Grant previously shared on The Graham Norton Show that the newest movie is “very, very sad,” but added it’s also “good and moving”.

He continued to share that despite there being “no obvious role” for his character, he was “crammed in” to the movie regardless.

All we can say is, thank the rom-com gods for that.

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This Renée Zellweger Oscars Wardrobe Malfunction Could Have Been Lifted From Bridget Jones

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During the chat, Renée was shown a photo from the 2005 Oscars, a year after her first win, where she presented the award for Best Supporting Actor to Morgan Freeman.

Looking at a photo of her red carpet ensemble, the two-time Oscar winner revealed that her night at that year’s ceremony involved a comedy of errors that could have been lifted straight from a Bridget Jones movie.

“As we were leaving that night, a gentleman stepped on the train [of my dress], and I kept walking in the other direction, and it ripped it right off my dress, from right beneath my booty,” she recalled with a laugh.

Renée continued: “There were parties and things afterwards, but I needed to go home and do a little bit of a costume change.”

Unfortunately, when she got there, she realised she’d come to the Oscars without taking her house key with her, leaving her “climbing up the balcony to the second floor” so she could enter through a bathroom window – all while still wearing her ruined dress “with a hole under my booty”.

Read Renée Zellweger’s full British Vogue interview here.

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Hugh Grant Reveals What Moved Him To Tears About New Bridget Jones Film

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Hugh Grant has revealed he had a big reaction when he first read the script for the upcoming Bridget Jones movie.

The British actor is set to reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, after previously sitting out the third instalment in the series.

A new trailer for Mad About The Boy dropped earlier this week, introducing Bridget at a new stage in her life, following the death of her husband Mark Darcy.

During a new interview with SiriusXM, Hugh was asked if there were any details he could share about the forthcoming movie.

“I haven’t seen it, but obviously I know the script,” the Bafta winner began. “I’m a harsh judge of scripts, and it was really good. Really moving, as well as funny.

“Helen Fielding, who wrote the Bridget books, this [story] is based on her own experience of losing her husband and bringing up her kids alone. So it’s got a huge amount of heart. It made me cry.”

“Have I made it sound too dark? It’s also extremely funny,” he quickly added.

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Back in September, Hugh reflected on his decision not to return for Bridget Jones’s Baby, claiming: “I really couldn’t fit my character in – he just didn’t belong, so I stepped aside.”

In his new interview, the Heretic star elaborated further on his absence from the third Bridget Jones movie, recalling: “It had a great set-up, that she’s pregnant, and doesn’t know whether it’s Darcy’s baby or Daniel’s baby. That was marvellous.

“But I could never work out how Daniel would handle either being a father, or not being a father. Couldn’t make him work. And we went through agony, months and months, and in the end I said, ‘I think I’d better sit this one out’. So I did. And they made a wonderful film anyway.”

Bridget Jones’s Baby actually opens at Daniel Cleaver’s funeral, although the end of the movie hints the character may still be alive after all, which, of course, turns out to be the case in film number four.

While Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will be a streaming exclusive in the US, it’s due to hit UK cinemas on Friday 14 February 2025.

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