Exclusive Temple Report Number 2 – 30th July, 2002

Holiday France

By Richard E. Grant

I have just completed filming “Monsieur N” in Paris and it’s due out in March next year in France and hopefully elsewhere thereafter. An amazing experience. Great director, crew, script, actors and general all round creative buzz.

During a week’s break I did a series of TV commercials for Argos, alongside Julia “Ab Fab” Sawahla, playing a burnt out rock star called Zak, who loathes everything from Argos, not realising that everything in his life has been bought from Argos. Argos being a catalogue outlet store that sells everything cheaper than anywhere else. They have spent a pile on the ad campaign which will run for two years. They aired the first advert on the final night of “Big Brother” in England, Friday 26th July.

Am now in the south of France having a holiday and return to London at the end of August. Start a series for the BBC titled “Posh Nosh” written by and co-starring Arabella Weir (from “The Fast Show”) in September. It’s a bunch of episodes, each lasting ten minutes – a sort of miniature sitcom – which they will air before the news or somesuch.

We are so knee deep in TV celebrity chefs, that this “series” is very apt. Based on the first British celeb chefs of the 50’s, Johnny and Fanny Craddock, I play a version of Johnny – a permanently sozzled wine expert toff who constantly bickers with his wife, played by Arabella, who can’t cook to save her life. Each episode features a recipe and wines, all of which are a guaranteed disaster. They read funny. I just hope they transmit as funny. To be filmed in their “kitchen” – on location at “Potter’s Bar” outside London.

“The Hound Of The Baskervilles” featuring Aussie’s Richard Roxburgh and Matt Day, Ian Hart and myself, will air on Christmas Day on BBC in the UK.

Sorry not to have written this month’s report before now, but snowed with Napoleon filming. Hope this finds everyone well.

Cheers and chin chin
reg.

Guardian Unlimited Media – Friday, 26th July, 2002

By Ciar Byrne

Argos is moving upmarket with a new ad starring Richard E Grant – the star of cult classic Withnail and I – to be screened for the first time on Channel 4 during tonight’s Big Brother final.

Grant has teamed up with actress Julia Sawalha – the stuffy daughter from Absolutely Fabulous – to play a pretentious rock star who returns from touring to find his wife has moved out and his flat is bare of furniture.

Sawalha plays his long-suffering PA who kits outs his pad from Argos. The new look is so glamorous Grant is fooled into believing it is the work of cutting edge interior designer “Arr Ghoos”.

Grant wears a long curly wig and snakeskin shirt in the ad – the first in a series – while Sawalha sports a sleek blonde look.

The campaign marks a major change in direction from previous Argos ads featuring the Status Quo song Whatever You Want.

The advert has been made by Euro RSCG, which won the £20 million Argos account in May.

Grant has recently been working the chat show circuit with appearances on Johnny Vaughan Tonight and The Kumars at Number 42.

His film credits also include How to Get Ahead In Advertising.

For pics from the Argos advertisement click here.

UK fans will be able to see Richard on the small screen as he steps into the shoes once filled by Status Quo when he appears in a new advert for catalogue chainstore Argos. The cheap graphics and Quo’s unmistakable “Whatever You Want” soundtrack have gone and in comes the Withnail And I actor with Ab Fab’s Julia Sawalha. To see what Richard looks like and to read a little bit more about the advertisment, click here.

Meanwhile Aussie fans can hear Richard as he does the voiceover for a weekly series of 007 Spy magazines which are now screening on TV.

Thanks to David, Joann and Dominique for the reports.

Wesley-Barrell Website – 25th July, 2002

Wesley-Barrell has taken the actor, Richard E. Grant, as its inspiration for the Celebrity Sofa Design Walk at this year’s House & Garden Fair.

Grant first captured global attention as the character Withnail in the 1987 cult classic, Withnail and I, and has since appeared in a eclectic range of films including Spice World, How To Get Ahead In Advertising and The Age of Innocence. He embraced the role of Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel, to great effect in recent productions for television. His most recent appearance on the big screen was as George, the First Footman, in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park.

The walk aims to show how leading designers and manufacturers have found inspiration through their chosen celebrity. Each design is a one-off, exclusively made for the House & Garden Fair.

Grant’s association with fascinating and flamboyant roles was the catalyst for a witty and dramatic interpretation of a Wesley-Barrell classic. The upholstery is a combination of suede and velvet with elaborate detailing – something that the hedonist in him is sure to appreciate.

As Marketing Director, Juliette Barrell, explains: “Having taken Richard as our muse, it was inevitable that we would be as much influenced by the characters he has played as by the man himself. There is a wealth of inspiration in the decadent flamboyance of Withnail or the louche elegance of Sir Percy.

However, we were also inspired by Richard’s dark, Byronic looks and expressive personality. We knew that the sofa we designed should have classical roots – as he does as an actor – but be reinterpreted in a relaxed, bohemian way. After much deliberation, we fell upon the idea of the elegance of a chaise longue combined with the intimacy of a love seat – a place for him to settle down to read scripts, enjoy private moments with his family or simply day-dream the day away”

You can view the Richard E Grant sofa from 27th – 30th June on the Sofa Design Walk at this years House & Garden Fair in Olympia, London.

Below: The Grant Chaise from Wesley-Barrell’s press release.

To read an REG Temple exclusive review of the Grant Chaise click here.

For those of you who wish to see Richard starring in the latest Liberty Campaign then look no further. J Walter Thompson, who recently acquired the coveted brand, created a campaign that explores the changing world we live in. To view the advertisment click here.

Thanks to Sue for sourcing this.