James Callis - Latest News

4 days from now, it will have been 10 years since a small group of us got together in a pub in London for the first time to celebrate the launch of the website. Many years and meetings later, we still occasionally meet up and talk about pretty much anything (and sometimes even about James).

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we are gathering in London for a few drinks this Friday, 11 December 2009, from 6pm. If you are in London, please do join us - it would be great to see some new faces.

What's James up to? Well, following the end of Battlestar Galactica, James has been busy jetting between London, L.A. and India as well as welcoming his and his wife Neha's third child into the world, a little girl called Anika who was born shortly before James's birthday earlier this year. He also was involved in the filming of a pilot for a Howard Webster series called Meet Pursuit Delange.

Read more detailed updates from James in our newly updated Messages from James section.

Finally, anyone in or around London who fancies a bit of chinwag: a small group of the website regulars are getting together on Friday, 11th December 2009, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the website and the first get-together. The exact time and venue will be announced here closer to the time, but it will be in Central London somewhere and it will be in the evening. Have a look at pics from previous gettogethers. It would be great if many of you could join us - we don't bite, and if you're worried about meeting a group of strangers, feel free to bring a friend along.

First of all convention news courtesy of Sharon Van Blarcom: James will be appearing at the Farpoint convention in February 2008 at the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, MD (Baltimore suburbs): www.farpointcon.com.

We've also added James's last 3 messages, from May, June and September to the messages section. Click here to find out what James has been up to.

Pigs really can fly...!! Yes, believe it or not, Rikkie's finally got round to updating the Messages from James section with the latest 4 messages from James, dating as far back as August 2005 and the most recent one being from November 2006. Click here for the Messages from James section (you'll then have to scroll down for latest messages).

James is back in the UK and will be appearing at the SF Ball, a charity fan-run convention taking place in Bournemouth on 9th, 10th & 11th February 2007. He'll be giving guest talks, there'll be opportunities for getting autographs and there'll also be an opportunity to get a photo taken with him (and get that signed too, if you like). More info and details can be found on the SF Ball website: www.sfball.com/sfball.

BIG apologies for disappearing from the face of the eart for so long. We're not the only ones - James has been so busy that we hadn't heard from him for ages either, and there wasn't much to report, but it's good news for him as he's been kept busy with Battlestar Galactica. Here are James' latest news in his own words:

He also left us a (very long) message in the summer which we hope to add to the messages from James section at some point or other. Here's a link.

Other than that, the website's just had it's 7th anniversary and to celebrate that (and Rikkie's birthday) we're getting together for a few drinks in London on Saturday, 9th December 2006, from 6pm onwards at our original venue, The Old Explorer off Oxford Street. Even Kate, Rikkie's original co-owner of the site who moved "aat west" will be joining. More info here.

The day after the horrific terrorist bombing in London, I'm here to reassure you that all Londoners on this site seem to be accounted for and safe, thank god. Lets not give the terrorists the satisfaction of knowing they've gotten to us, lets carry on as normal, but with thoughts and prayers to those that have lots friends or family in the bombings and to those that were injured.

On to the news: Some new official photos of James from Battlestar Galactica Season 2 have been added to the photos file, you can see them here.

Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica will be showing in the US from 15 July. Many of the cast are scheduled to be at Comic Con in San Diego on that day, including James. The information I have so far is this: 3:00-4:00 SCI-FI: Battlestar Galactica—Their only goal is survival. Their only hope is each other. The entire cast returns for the second season of Battlestar Galactica, which airs Fridays at 10/9C on SCI FI. Time magazine called Battlestar Galactica one of the best dramas on TV, and the new season is sure to continue the show’s tremendous success. Panelists include actors Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Katee Sackhoff (LT. Kara Thrace—Starbuck), Jamie Bamber (Capt. Lee Adama—Apollo), and Grace Park (LT. Sharon Valerii— Boomer) and executive producer David Eick. Moderated by Michael Davis, senior editor, TV Guide. More details about Comic Con can be found at the official website.

The first official BSG convention in the US was a success and the organisers have already announced a second convention date: 26-27 August 2005. More details can be found here.

More guests have been announced for the UK BSG convention in October, although still no James, or any of the main cast so far. The lineup at this point is as follows: Sam Witwer (Crashdown), Tahmoh Penikett, (Lt Karl C. Agathon , call sign Helo), Kandyse McClure, (Dualla), Matthew Bennett, (Aaron Doral) and Aaron Douglas (CPO Tyrol). More details are on the organisers website.

Last but by no means least, BSG picked up an award at the Spacey Awards in Canada for Favourite Limited TV Series back in May. James was amongst the cast members who were there to accept the award as well as presenting an award.

A UK BSG Convention has been announced for 7-9 October in London. For more information go to the organisers website. James hasn't been announced for it but we live in hope.

Unfortunately James has had to cancel his appearance at the Australian BSG Convention because of Neha's pregnancy, we wish them well for the new baby.

BSG Season 2 will be airing in the US from 15 July 2005, on the SciFi channel. Those of us in the UK wont be getting it until October apparently.

Last but by no means least, James is up for an award in the SyFy Genre Awards, as Best Supporting Actor, congratulations James. To vote please go here, you'll need to register and confirm your email address. BSG is up for a whole host of awards here so please do vote and support the show.

We've finally decided on a date for the next London get-together and it would be great to see some new faces for a few drinks and a giggle.

Hello again. Lots of news since the last update, but unfortunately we really struggle to find the time for regular updates, so in a recent change to the website ownership, Liz has left to do more Viggo ogling while Jin has come onboard as the new webgirl. She's been great at keeping us updated on any news via the messageboard and it seems only right that she should now be in charge of updating the news page. So, over to Jin!

Thanks Rikkie and hello everyone! It's been a while since this was updated, but since I'm now in charge of updates I hope it will get done more regularly as I have more time.

James left us a message back in February. For those that haven't seen it yet go to James's message. He wrote a little about what it was like to sit and wait to hear if Battlestar Galactica was going to be picked up for a second season, and also some more about A Night With The King and a bit about his son Joshua.

If you've not yet seen the trailer for A Night With The King, go to the official website, it looks great. I believe that the release of this film has been pushed back to around September/October time because of editing 'issues' whatever that means.

Well Battlestar Galactica Season 1 finished in the US recently to great reviews. Production has already started on season 2 which this time will be aired in the US first but without a big delay for us here in the UK. It should be airing around July I believe. I've also heard rumours that Season 1 will be up for an Emmy Award which would be great.

BSG Season 1 is out on dvd in the UK (region 2) already, I have my copy and it's well worth getting. I can't find any details about when it will be released in the US I'm afraid.

A Battlestar Galactica official magazine and also an official Companion Guide will be available from June. I don't know how readily available the magazine will be over here in the UK but the Forbidden Planet store is always a good place to look. The book is available for pre-ordering already from Amazon.

James was due to make an appearance at Collectormania this coming weekend in Milton Keynes (29 April - 2 May) but has had to cancel for 'personal reasons'. We're not sure what this means but as Audrey has informed us on the messageboard, James's wife Neha is expecting their second child, so maybe that is why. Jamie Bamber (Apollo), Tricia Helfer (Number Six) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) are still attending on Friday and Saturday so if you're anywhere nearby you might want to pop down and meet them. You can always ask Tricia what James's kissing is like. The website for more information is here.

For those of you in the US, James has been confirmed as a guest at the first Official Battlestar Galactica Convention in Burbank, California on June 25-26, 2005. The website for more information is here.

And, for those on the far side of the world in Australia, we have had news that James and Neha will be attending the Battlestar Galactica Convention in Sydney on 23rd and 24th July. For more information see the organisers' website.

phew, that was a lot wasn't it? Hope that's kept you busy anyway, keep tuned for more news soon.

We hope you've all had a fantastic Christmas and good start to the year, despite the sad events in Asia. We haven't heard from James in a quite a while, so we can't give you any new info about him. We just hope he and his family are ok, as they usually spend Christmas in India (though hopefully not in the area which was so badly affected by the tsunamies). James - if you're out there: let us know you're ok!

Battlestar Galactica's been running on Sky (not sure if/when it's over) and there have been good reviews. Have a look here for one review. There's also been some cover in magazines, for example in Dreamwatch. See Janine's messages on the messageboard for this (make sure you also look at the messages at the bottom of Janine's intial message which contain the interview).

Here are also some excerpts from an interview with James and Jamie Bamber in SFX: click here (thanks to Rach for finding it).

And finally, some videos of an interview with James on the BBC website, found by Jess (thank you!): click here for the video clips.

At last some news from James. It appears he has finished filming Battlestar Galactica and has travelled almost around the world, from Vancouver to Jodhpur in India, where he's playing Haman, the baddie in the biblical story of Esther, in the film A Night with the King, alongside Omar Shariff, Peter O'Toole and newcomer Tiffany Dupont. Read more in James's message.

How time flies! James has been fairly quiet recently, clearly very busy - as have we all. We know he's been filming Battlestar Galactica, and from reports in magazines we also know that he's definitely in Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason. In addition, someone must've got hold of him as there was an interview in the Metro newspaper yesterday which has been added to the Article Gallery here.

Apart from this, we are sad to announce that Kate has resigned from the site - the birth of her second daughter as well as moving to the West Country being the main reasons. Thanks, Kate, for all your help with the site! Liz has kindly offered to take over the role as researcher for the site.

Finally, our next London Get-Together will take place on 30 October 2004. Directions and more information can be found here.

The mini-series of Battlestar Galactica is premiering in the UK on Sky. There was a preview screening in Central London on 30 January to which a small group of us went and enjoyed. If you have Sky Movies, these are the screening times:

Also, just in are the news that it looks certain that Battlestar Galactica has been given the go-ahead for a further 6 or 13 episodes. No confirmation as to whether James will still be in it but we can't imagine Dr Gaius Baltar will be left out. More info on the SyFyPortal site as well as the Battlestar Galactica 2003 site (Greenlight Confirmation news item of 31 Jan).

James left a message on our messageboard a couple of weeks back where he added some news about a small appearance in Nick Cohen's dad's film. Read his full message here.

Finally, we're getting together for some drinks on Thursday, 19th February 2004. If you're in the Central London area, we'd love to see you. We're meeting at The Polar Bear pub by China Town. Full info on the Directions page.

First of all, happy new year to all of you. Hope this one will be a good one for everybody!

James appears to continue to be lost in India (and nappies) but lots seems to be happening on the Battlestar Galactica front. The pilot episodes / mini-series went down so well that there are currently negotiations to commission an entire series - which would probably mean that James would have to move to Canada for a while. Will let you know when we know for certain. But certainly one proof of how well it went down was that our website's bandwidth couldn't cope with the amount of hits we got the days after Battlestar Galactica was shown on the Sci Fi channel and was down for a couple of days!

All the latest news can be found on SyFyPortal.com, including this article where Ron Moore (executive producer and writer of the series) addresses the rumours about whether Battlestar Galactica will become a full-blown series.

Meanwhile, we've added an excellent article on James from the Battlestar Galactica souvenir magazine to our article gallery. The same magazine also featured an article about James's co-actress Tricia Helfer who had the following to say about James:

Many thanks to Roberta Stuemke for sending us this information and typing up the article!

In addition, for those amongst you who get the Sci Fi channel, there will be Battlestar Galactica - The Lowdown on the Sci Fi channel on 26 November, at 9/8C PM. Here's the update from the Battlestar Galactica site: `It features interviews with Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Connor Widdows, and Grace Park. Also brief appearances of other cast members such as Callum Keith Rennie, Paul Campbell, Kandyse McClure, Matthew Bennett, and of course original cast members from the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict'.

With the mini-series Battlestar Galactica's launch date on the Sci Fi Channel being less than a month away, I took the opportunity to update the photo gallery with pictures from the superb site Battlestar Galactica 2003. The selection of pics I took from there are to be found here, but for a much larger range of pics and lots of information about the character James plays and all the other characters, go to Battlestar Galactica 2003.

Those with the Sci Fi channel: the series is scheduled to launch at 9pm on 8th December 2003. Not sure about the time zones and whether it's going to show in the UK though...

We're very chuffed to announce that James and his wife Neha have recently become the proud parents of a little baby boy whom they've tentatively called Joshua Amaan. With Neha's family being from India, the young family have spent most of the last 4 months or so in India, with James popping back to the UK every now and then for bits of work. Congratulations, Neha and James!

DVD releases: Both Helen of Troy and Beginner's Luck are due to be released on DVD (Region 2) shortly. Beginner's Luck has a release date of 24 November 2003 and Helen of Troy's release date is the 12 January 2004. Both can be pre-ordered from www.play.com. For a trailer of Helen of Troy click here.

Sorry about the long silence! Part of the reason is that we've not really had any news due to the fact that James has been incommunicado since the last update in May! He still hasn't been in touch, but thanks to you guys out there we know that he's definitely in the 2nd instalment of Bridget Jones's Diary, as these pictures show (thanks to Karen who runs the Colin Firth Website). Other location pictures which include James can be found here (thanks to Jane for posting this to the messageboard!). And Jin found this one.

Other than that not much to report with James keeping his silence, but we have organised another get-together for the London-based fans for Tuesday 11 November. More info can be found here.

08-May-2003 - Of blown up planets, giant co-actresses and Vancouver Hockeymania

James woz back. Not in the UK but on the messageboard where he managed to leave a comprehensive message after fleeing the madness of a Vancouver icehockey match aftermath. He tells us about Battlestar Galactica and his co-actors and life across the pond. More details in his message.

A few enthusiasts have now set up a website for the remake of Battlestar Galactica - lots of info about the series and the cast can be found here: www.galactica2003.net.

There is a very comprehensive website about Helen of Troy which includes some stills of James in his role as Melenaus (just click on "view Gallery" by his picture). Click here for the website. Thanks to Karen for finding this!

The weeks spent auditioning for roles over in the US have been successful: James has landed himself a role in a remake of Battlestar Galactica which is filming in Vancouver. Unfortunately, he's been cast as an English baddie. Wonder if he's allowed to put on a dodgy Indospanish accent again...

It's James' first visit to Vancouver and he seems to be thoroughly enjoying it. It doesn't look like he'll be back in the UK all that soon although he does miss home - bless! You can read his message in the Messages From James section.

Or should it be happy valentine's day... Oh dear.... Feeling very guilty. Not just for not wishing you all a merry Christmas, but especially because due to the absolute mayhem that December tends to bring, plus the fact Rikkie was away for half of December (and working her socks off with barely time to breathe for the other half), we had no time to update the site to let you know that James had a brief stint in a play called Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight during December/beg. January. He did let us know by posting a message on the messageboard, so hopefully you'll have found out that way. A few of us went to the play which we thoroughly enjoyed. We were also very pleased to see that the theatre was completely sold out - and that was on a Monday night! You can find a review in the Article Gallery. James's character Ben was pretty much in the centre of attention.

James is currently in LA looking for work, after having spent a holiday in India with his wife. Read his latest messages in the Messages From James section.

Finally, if you can join us for an online chat on Sunday, 16 February 2003, from 9pm (UK time), we'd love to "see" you there. You can access the Chat Room here.

Our last Get-Together for this year will take place on Friday 15th November, from 6:30pm. If you're in London then, do pop along, we love to meet new people. And you never know, James might pop in too, what with it being Christmas and that (not that that excuse has worked before!). More info and directions here.

James has - apparently reluctantly - returned from his holid... hard work in Malta, filming Helen of Troy. Our heart goes out to him, sweltering in summerly temperatures and sunshine, having to put up with nice food and lots of booze, learning to dive etc.... No really, we're not jealous at all....

Oh, and if you're a Sky One viewer, make sure you tune in on Wednesday 2nd October at 4pm (repeated on Thursday 3rd October at 10am): Relic Hunter, the episode with James in, will be shown then! (you know, the one where he plays a Spanish baddie)

No news from JC - he's obviously sunnying himself in Malta and has forgotten all about us... and who can blame him!

However, for those of you who live in the London area there will be another chance to meet some of the messageboard regulars for a few drinks and a giggle and help us celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the James Callis site. Our next booze-up, sorry, get-together is scheduled for the evening of Friday, 27 September 2002. More info can be found here: JC-Gettogethers. And if you want to see some of the regular crowd, have a look at these piccies from past gatherings.

Oooh... naughty! It's been a busy summer and once again 2 months have passed without any updates - not that there weren't any news. So please accept our apologies and here goes:

First there was a two week run of Beginner's Luck at the Odeon Panton Street at the end of June. Then there was the Q&A session by Nick Cohen and James following the screening of Beginner's Luck at the Prince Charles Cinema in London in early July, which was attended by a few of the London Lupines, followed by a glass of wine at a nearby pub. We thought it was the wine speaking when James kept talking about "99%" (and doing a rather convincing impersonation of Jade from Big Brother!), but as it turned out a few days later what he was talking about was a role in a new film. James has landed himself the part of King Meneleaus in Helen of Troy, with his brother being played by none other than Rufus Sewell. He's been fillming out in Malta for the last month or so. Will he be sporting that marvellous perm/wig again which he so proudly wore in Jason & The Argonauts, we wonder...?

At last - Beginner's Luck is finally coming to a cinema near you! That's, if you live in London! It will be showing at the Odeon Panton Street (behind Leicester Square) from Friday, 21 June 2002. It might well not show for longer than a week, so don't miss it! There have been good reviews in What's On, Loaded, Hot Dog and Film Review (we'll try to get hold of them and will post them in the Article Gallery). According to James, the version in the cinema will be slightly different to the one at the London Film Festival.

Other than that it looks like James has got a project lined up in the US and will be travelling there towards the end of July - though what exactly this project is remains a mystery for now!

Hello all - sorry about the ridiculous delay. Time just seems to whizz past. Just a couple of new things to report on:

One of our "messageboarders", Karen, found out the following: At 7.45pm each weekday evening, starting tomorrow 13 May, on BBC Radio 4, James is in the dramatisation of 'The Frederica Quartet - The Virgin in the Garden' by A S Byatt. It's on for 15 minutes each evening for 3 weeks and it's repeated each weekday morning during 'Woman's Hour' at 10.45am. James plays the part of Wilkie. To quote Radio Times "This is the first part of a major new adaptation of four novels charting the lives of the Potter family, set against the social & political landscape of England of 1953-70". Thanks, Karen!

Also, if you happen to be in London on Tuesday, 14 May, why not pop along to meet some of us at the pub? More info and directions can be found here.

Finally, with much delay - there were also a couple of messages from James back in February. At that point there was a good chance of Beginner's Luck making it into UK cinemas on June 8th, but no news since. Will keep you posted if we hear more.

With some delay here's wishing you all a very happy new year. No news from James since he disappeared to Spain, however good news if you have a DVD player: Sex Chips & Rock'n'Roll is now available on DVD (Region 2). Try www.play247.com - prompt service, excellent prices, and free postage!

After a successful premiere of Beginner's Luck at the London Film Festival, James jetted off to Seville in Southern Spain for a Sky show called Relic Hunters in which he will be playing a Spanish baddy.

Ticket's for Beginner's Luck at the London Film Festival (9pm, 18th November) went on sale on Friday. It's in a fairly small cinema (screen 2 at the Ritzy, Brixton), so the number of tickets is limited. You can get tickets by calling (020) 7928 3232.

First of all apologies for the long time since our last news update. We hope you are all well. We're still speechless at the unspeakable evil that was committed on 11th September 2001 and our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones in the atrocities that took place in New York and Washington. James was cleary as shocked as everyone else and you will find his thoughts about those horrible events here.

Now to the news update on James's latest projects: with Blue Dove nearly completed and expected to be televised later on this year, James is back concentrating on Beginner's Luck which has made it into the London Film Festival in November and will be screened in the Ritzy (Brixton) on Sunday, 18th November 2001, 9pm. Lots of work in terms of advertising etc, but that doesn't mean he's not already looking forward the next Late Night/Angel Eye project. The team have been working on the next set of movies and are hoping to go into pre-production on at least one of them by February 2002.

James has left four more messages since our last update, all of which you will be able to find on the Messages from James page. They talk about his projects in more detail.

And finally, if you're in London on 4th October and want to raise a glass with us to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the launch of this website, we'd love to see you. It's at our usual haunt near Oxford Circus from 7pm. Here are more details and a map.

James should be back from Cannes by now. He and Nick Cohen went there after the latest screening of Beginner's Luck a couple of weeks ago to try and further promote the film (let's hope successfully!), and he should by now be back filming Blue Dove up in Stoke. Incidentally, Beginner's Luck have now got a website - you can read an in-depth synopsis, the background to the film as well as seeing some stills! The URL is www.beginnersluck.co.uk.

There are some new pics in the Photo Gallery: As If and Jason & The Argonauts. Kate can't find the Murder Most Horrid tape so we'll have to wait for those stills a bit longer.... (or possibly forever).

And we've finally planned our next London Get-Together, so if you're in London on 31st May and fancy a drink or two, why not pop along. We're not too insane, and there usually aren't more than about 4 or 5 of us, so no need to get intimidated (and you can bring a bodyguard, if you want)(alternatively, just bring a friend). Here are more details and a map.

Sorry chaps and chapettes, Rikkie was on hols in not-so-sunny-and-bloody-freezing Andalucia when James left his latest message about another BL screening in London... If you read this in time, quick go and have a look for the details in his message as the screening's tomorrow morning, Tuesday 8th May 2001 in Dean Street.

Also, don't miss a new article in the Article Gallery from B Magazine - it's an interview w/James and it's mainly about BJD; he also mentions the website! We're well chuffed! :-D

With Bridget Jones's Diary being yesterday's news, James has embarked on a new project - we're hoping he won't be typecast as Mr Nasty, but it looks like that's what he is in this Carlton drama series Blue Dove which is currently being shot in Stoke. More, including bits and bobs about Hugh, Colin, and Beginner's Luck in James's message..

OK, so lots might be a slight exaggeration, but it's still much better than nothing. In addition to Bridget Jones's Diary opening in cinemas across the UK this weekend (and we have heard from several sources that James's role as Tom, although cut a lot compared to the book, still has audiences in stitches!), Channel 4 are going to be showing Jason & The Argonauts at 5:30pm on Easter Sunday. James plays (in his own words) "a long haired sidekick, whose interest in his sister's love affair costs him a stake through the heart as I charge towards her on horseback".

We've now started a Bridget Jones's Diary Photo Gallery where we've posted both piccies Karen sent us. We'll be adding any pictures we get to the Gallery, so make sure you come back regularly.

Karen R has managed to get hold of the first piccie from BJD that includes James - a second one should be with us soon. Click here to see it.

Make sure you watch Channel 4's "As If" next week! He's playing someone called Sebastian, and it's on at 6pm next Thursday, 29 March (on Channel 4, obviously). As If is repeated on Sundays at 12pm (approx..) in a double bill edition. Thanks to Karen Jane for spotting James in the cast list!

As promised an update on the London screening of Beginner’s Luck that we (messageboard regular Pippa and I) were lucky enough to attend. We both had a very enjoyable time and it was great being able to finally find out a bit more about this film we’ve heard about so often, as well as finally meeting the reason for the messageboard in person!

As it turns out, James didn’t just write, co-direct and co-produce the film, he actually plays the main character in it, Mark, and does all the narrating, with other words, a must-see for JC fans as we get a generous dose of JC in word and picture. The film itself is set in London, Edinburgh and Paris, and the reason James when to Zanzibar for some of the filming was to do with his character’s dream which keeps him going – a dream of a paradise island. Keeps him going where, you ask. Well, Beginner’s Luck is about a troupe of actors (well, most of them wannabe actors who’ve never acted in their life) who form a little theatre group and chase success with a tour that eventually leads them to Paris. As I’m not the most talented person when it comes to putting together a film review, Pippa had mercy on me and offered to do the review for it (just thank your lucky stars you didn’t have to read one of mine!). You can find it here..

This screening was the second screening of BL in London, as far as I’m aware, and the main purpose for it was to find a distributor. James seemed quite positive about the feedback he got, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will be available for general viewing soon. According to James, BL is based on a true story which happened about 10 years ago.

James is off to India for his next project – researching the film industry in India though we’re sure he’ll be researching some of the nice beaches too ;-) – next week, but will pop in with some more news and details as soon as he gets a chance.

Let's start with Beginner's Luck: a screening has now finally been scheduled, we've only just found out; it's going to take place in London tomorrow morning (see more in James Message) and Rikkie will hopefully be there to give you all the full report. As it turns out, James didn't just work behind the camera on this one, he's also in front of the camera.

Bridget Jones's Diary - you've probably been unable to miss the hype about it, we're all very excited although we're not putting our hopes up about James getting anywhere near as much screen time as we'd like. The UK release date has been set for Friday 13th (...) April 2001 and a bunch of us (uhm, about 3 at the moment) are planning to go and see it on that day (it's Good Friday) somewhere in London. If you're on for that, please drop us a mail by Monday, 9th April. We're planning to give him our full support and there is strength in numbers!

Finally, for more BJD news, apart from Karen's site (see below), MSN have now got a site dedicated to BJD with all sorts of information such as soundtrack clips, competitions etc and the trailer - we think it's James who we briefly see in the cab though we're not totally sure. Try to click here to be taken to the site directly, if it doesn't work, go to the www.msn.com homepage and follow links from there.

James is also going to appear ("the briefest of appearances" as he puts it) in one of the episodes of Channel 4's As If series which is screened on Wednesdays at 6pm. Unfortunately neither he nor we know which episode he will appear in, but he's playing (in his own words) "a bit of a swine".

And finally - an interview with our man is scheduled to be released in a couple of weeks. Fittingly (seeing as he plays a gay character in BJD) it is going to be in Attitude Magazine (a gay lifestyle mag). It will be in the April issue which will be in the shops at the end of this month.

Well, that's it for now, although James promises to be back with more news soon and we'll hopefully have the full story about Beginner's Luck!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone has survived and recovered from the madness of the festive season!

Good news to start off the year: It looks like we'll be able to see our man on the Big Screen by the end of March. According to HEAT magazine, that's when Bridget Jones's Diary is scheduled to be screened in the UK. Also, this is a message from Karen who runs the Colin Firth website with regular BJD updates:

James is also hopeful Beginner's Luck will hit the cinema in 2001 too, and Albert & Victoria has also come to a close. Read his message by clicking here.

According to James's latest message, he seems to be suffering from the winterblues a bit (aren't we all!) and the neighbours from hell syndrome... but there is hope we might, just might, get to see him on our screens again soon(ish). Though it sounds like he'd rather we didn't...

As Bridget Jones's Diary's filming has come to an end and James is once again working on Beginners Luck (see James's latest message), we have been informed that he was spotted filming in a Holland Park hotel alongside a darkhaired lady called Jemima this week. According to our "spy", Mr Callis is sporting medium length hair and was wearing a dark suit. In the scene that was witnessed, he had to drive a convertible into a parking space in front of the hotel. Whether his going onto the pavement with the front wheel was in the script, remains doubtful... More news as and when we find out what he's up to exactly!

Bridget Jones's Diary is about halfway trough the scheduled shooting, including some of the office scenes having been shot at Rikkie's former company... (had to drop that one in!). For some general news on BJD, including some stills from the set (none of JC, unfortunately) go to http://www.empireonline.co.uk/news/ and make a search for Bridget Jones's Diary or Renee Zellweger.

James doesn't seem too be kept as busy as he'd like with shooting scenes (see his latest message) but we can't wait to see him dressed up as Miss Global Warming. Surely they can't cut that scene??

Finally, there is a new article in the article gallery from HEAT with the main cast for BJD, including not the most flattering picture of James (but not the worst either...).

Well, probably not quite that soon. Beginner's Luck might not have made it to Cannes, but James has managed to land himself the role of Tom in the film adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary alongside Ren�e Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth - a role that is guaranteed to draw some attention to him... Filming has already started and is set to keep James busy until the end of July.

As for Beginner's Luck, James assures us it's shortly to be finished and that his agent is confident that it might well secure a small theatrical release. Watch this space.

Not just in sound but also in picture we have the chance to admire our man in a production we've not seen him in yet: Arabian Nights is premiering on BBC1 this bank holiday weekend. It'll be shown in two parts, on Sunday, 30 April 2000, 6:30pm and Monday, 1 May 2000, 6:20pm. Even though he's way down in the cast list, you can't afford to miss it... This is what it says on the BBC website: "Arabian Nights Dramatisation of the `One Thousand and One Nights'. As Scheherezade continues to tell Schahriar the tale of Aladdin, it is clear that he is realising how far the stories reflect his own situation. As Aladdin's tale unfolds, Schahriar must do battle with his evil brother and protect his kingdom."

Suffering from withdrawal symptoms? Well, here's another chance to hear "that" voice: he's apparently on Radio 4, this Saturday (1 April) at 3pm, playing Winterbourne in Daisy Miller. Well spotted, Karen!

Also go and have a look at this - Rikkie's neighbour found something rather interesting in a book he borrowed from the BBC library. Yep, the beginnings of a famous record. Could it be Debbie Horsfield's handwriting?

Finally, the full, uncut collection of James's messages are to be found in the Messages from James section (funnily enough).

Could our man be on his way to Cannes? As work for Beginner's Luck is coming to an end, let's hope it's beginners luck for James & his production company and that his film will make it to Cannes. Read all about it in James's latest message.

If you go to the messageboard, you'll also see a message from James specifically about the messageboard/site. A "full collection" of his messages on a separate page is in preparation, so watch this space!

The Radio Times recently held a RT Covers Party to which James, Joe and Julian Kerridge (aka The Icecubes) were invited. Looks like the food was haute cuisine... there is a feature on it along with a picture of them in the new Radio Times. Karen's kindly supplied us with the photo so you don't have to jump of from your seats and buy the RT right now!

Another chance for you to add yet another JC picture to your collection: James is featured on the cover of the latest paperback reprint of Ruth Rendell's Going Wrong. Thanks to Mia for this and the RT info!

For any of you who've worn out the video tapes of Sex, Chips & Rock'n'Roll just to hear his voice again and again (yes, you know who you are!), there's good news: A recording of The Doctor's Dilemma will be aired on Radio 3 this Sunday! So make sure you tune into Radio 3 at 7:30pm on Sunday 6th February. The comment in the schedule goes as follows: "A special studio recording of the Almeida Theatre's acclaimed, fast and funny 1998 production of Bernard Shaw's play,which reveals the piece as a love story of great passion and a psychological thriller, as well as a dramatic expression of the kind of dilemmas that still face the medical profession as acutely as they did when the play was written in 1906. Cast:Laurence Mitchell, Patsy Byrne, Ian McDiarmid, Toby Salaman, Bernard Horsfall, Martin Jarvis, Tony Britton, RobertDemeger, Victoria Kamilton, James Callis, Harriet Cater and Simon Scott. Director: Michael Grandage."

Thanks a billion to Jenny Pick for spotting this (as well as for sending us the pictures from The Doctor's Dilemma - to be found in the Photo Gallery as well as the Stage Work section)!

We're delighted to see our computers are still working and the website's still up... and even more delighted at the news that Sex, Chips & Rock'n'Roll topped the poll for best new drama for 1999 in the Ceefax poll (nothing to do with us, honest, guv'nor!). But in case Mr Salmon still doesn't get the message, if you haven't already done so, write to him (see message 21/12/99).

Having briefly returned from his adventure in Zanzibar, where good footage was shot for Beginners Luck, he's headed for India for a bit of relaxation (we hope) and to spend Christmas & the new year with his relatives. The tedious job of more editing for Beginners Luck is what awaits him on his return in mid-January, but we're sure he'll manage to find some other excuse to go to warmer climates... All the details in James's message here.

The latest on Sex, Chips and Rock'n'Roll, as you might know from the home page, is that the BBC has decided against commissioning the second series. However, seen as Joe McFadden has apparently been asked by them not to cut his hair just yet, there is hope. If you haven't already done so, please join us in petitioning for a second series. The details are in Anna's message here.

James is back on Blighty's shores, though not for long. Whilst still busy with Jason & The Argonauts which continues filming in Sheperton Studios, other projects are also keeping him busy, including some jetsetting around for his Late Night Pictures project, Beginners Luck. Get the full info from James's latest message.

James has escaped the freezing (well, we think it's freezing) UK weather by going to Turkey where he's currently filming Jason & The Argonauts. Unfortunately, his character faces a pretty nasty end...

As for Sex, Chips & Rock'n'Roll, the second series is actually still in discussion and a decision has yet to be made. Should they decide to go ahead, the filming would probably take place around February/March next year and not be screened for a while yet... patience is a virtue...

"Angel Eye Film and TV is moving into features with Beginner's Luck, a co-production with Late Night Pictures. It is written and directed by James Callis and Nick Cohen, who together comprise Late Night Pictures.

Angel Eye, only 12 months old, is more used to factual shows such as Edinburgh or Bust for Channel 4. It has also produced Roy Dance is Dead for the channel's Comedy Lab, and has had its 50-minute entertainment show, Stand Up Perrier commissioned by C4. Produced by Richard Osbourne and James Harding, the film stars Julie Delpy, Steven Berkoff and Fenella Fielding.

"We had interest from C4 immediately," says Osbourne. Angel Eye also has two sitcoms and a further feature in development. " (Thanks for finding this, Anna!)

Looks like The Wolf will be back! Debbie Horsfield (the writer of S, C & R'n'R) has apparently written some scripts for a second series, set in 1970, with all the same characters. According to the Beeb Forum, Peter Salmon, controller of the BBC, is waiting to see if there's enough demand before deciding, although according to the Joe McFadden webpage (who are in direct contact with Joe), the second series has already been agreed to.

Click here to join the Sex, Chips'n'Rock'n'Roll discussion forum on the Beeb.

Unconfirmed news has reached us that James is set to star in Arabian Nights, a Hallmark Entertainment production. More news as and when we get it. (Thank you Heather for this information!)