Hollywood star Pike (pictured in February) is set to bring her rival college a record payday
Hollywood star Rosamund Pike has returned to Oxford. But the Wadham graduate has decided to give rival college Christ Church a kick-off by filming her new film there.
The college, one of the most venerable in the city, may be interested in making money after its three-year battle to unseat its controversial dean, Martyn Percy.
Percy was the longest-serving cleric and the college’s principal, finally resigning this year after reaching a settlement that included a sizeable payout.
I can now reveal that Rosamund (right) and Brad Pitt were invited over for a night of filming that night.
My Mole says the couple, executive producers of new Netflix series The Three-Body Problem, based on Liu Cixin’s novel of the same name, made the journey to Oxford for just one night of secret filming.
The shoot is believed to have reclaimed a sizable chunk of the millions the college spent on its dispute with the former dean.
Controversial ex-Dean Martyn Percy recently left Christ Church after a three-year struggle
Christ Church, Oxford, a gatehouse built in the 1680s, struggled financially for years
“They came under the cloak of darkness, it was all very exciting,” says my mole. “Rosamund and Brad were obviously very impressed with the incredible architecture and knew this was a location they wanted for the film.
Brad Pitt (pictured last month as a Bullet Train endorser) dropped out of the University of Missouri within weeks of graduating
“It was so secret that we didn’t even know the title of what was being filmed,” adds my husband at Subfusc. “They did all the filming in one night.” As much as Christ Church was rewarded for this nightly invasion, I am told that the fees were substantial.
Christ Church College was understandably unable to provide me with any additional information yesterday as their high school results meant it was their busiest day of the year.
The picturesque college boasts 13 British Prime Ministers among its alumni – plus Albert Einstein – and was used for the filming of Harry Potter.
Pike received a 2-1 in English literature from Wadham – having taken a year away from Oxford to gain stage experience in David Hare’s Skylight as well as in several Shakespeare productions.
In contrast, Pitt, now 58, was just weeks after graduating from the University of Missouri when the lure of Tinseltown proved too strong.
Joanie’s silver lining
“Who has more fun, blondes or brunettes?” is the question Dame Joan Collins asks when reverting to an old look — if only temporarily.
The 89-year-old Dynasty star played brunette Evie Gallant on the TV series American Horror Story, who meets her creator after she is murdered by her grandson. But that wasn’t the end of Joanie’s involvement in the series, which is being co-created by Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband Brad Falchuk, as she returned in a new role as the white-haired witch Bubbles McGee, hence the new Do.
Dynasty star Joan (in striking silver, left, and her recognizable brunette, right) takes on a new role
Demi’s girl bares everything
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter Rumer made a splash on her 34th birthday
Something in the water? Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter, Rumer, has caused quite a stir by appearing in her birthday suit to celebrate her 34th birthday.
It seems Willis and Moore’s offspring are lacking in imagination as Rumer’s sister Scout also shared a photo of herself naked in a pool a few weeks ago to celebrate her 31st birthday.
Her mother made history in 1996 when she earned £10million for her role as a stripper in the film Striptease. Rumor has it that the apples don’t fall far from the tree.
Lovely words from Pattie’s ‘pal’ Ronnie
Ronnie Wood’s foreword to “Buddy” Pattie Boyd’s new memoir makes no mention of their affair
Model Pattie Boyd, who is about to release her latest memoir, is proud to announce that The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood is writing the foreword to her tome ‘My Life In Pictures.’
“I am delighted that my dear friend Ronnie Wood has written the foreword to my new book. It really is a beautiful formulation and I am humbled. Thanks, Ronnie,” says Pattie, 78.
What George Harrison and Eric Clapton’s ex-wife doesn’t mention, however, is that she and Ronnie are ex-lovers, having had a passionate affair in 1973 when Pattie was still (albeit unhappily) married to the unfaithful Harrison and Ronnie first Mrs. Krissi.
‘Jurassic Park’ star Sam Neill says they don’t make them like actor Peter O’Toole anymore: ‘What I learned from him more than anything else was not what he told me, but just by watching him . Young actors these days mostly mumble their lines and the more unintelligible it is, the more realistic it should be. Peter never said a word.’
Newsnight presenters may be hogging the fame, but it’s the BBC2 show’s chauffeur Dave Murden who was the real unsung hero.
“He drove politicians home,” recalls broadcaster Michael Crick. “They didn’t think he was listening as they continued the journey [the] phone go through their suffering. gold dust the next day.’