WHEN Hollywood star Jude Law shows up for a film premiere, he is normally greeted by a red carpet and hoards of adoring fans.
But when the heart-throb arrived for a special festival commemorating the life of one of his closest friends it was a bit more low-key.
The 36-year-old was met by just a handful of fans when he arrived in a 4x4 at the Medina Theatre in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, where he was giving a talk on his friend Anthony Minghella.
It was part of a three-day film festival to honour the director, who died last March aged 54.
A galaxy of stars from stage and screen attended the event including Inspector Morse actor Kevin Whately, Martin Freeman of the hit TV show The Office, Lord David Puttnam and Harry Potter star Alan Rickman, all of whom remain close friends with the Minghella family.
Hundreds of people paid £5 to hear Jude Law introducing a screening of The Talented Mr Ripley in which he starred and Mr Minghella, whose family run an island ice cream firm, directed.
Mr Minghella looked upon the actor as a “family friend” and the pair also teamed up for hit film Cold Mountain.
Mr Law said: “I always came out of a film having learned something.
“With Anthony by your side you often felt you were learning something that was a lot more than just the surface value of what this film might mean, or what the character might mean.
“You often felt you had met some new people or learned how to overcome something because it felt like a very personal experience.
“It ran a lot deeper than the parts just rubbing off or the experience of making yet another movie.”
He joked that actors and film crew would sing to each other during awkward moments on set “just to relax the atmosphere”.
Mr Law added: “He was a very dear friend and a like mind.”
On Saturday night, Inspector Morse star, Kevin Whately, appeared at a glittering gala screening of Mr Minghella’s multi-Oscar winning smash hit, The English Patient In which he appears as an Army sergeant.
He revealed how he still had a copy of the script, which he treasured. The two men met when Mr Minghella wrote the first three episodes of Inspector Morse.
Yesterday Martin Freeman joked that although Mr Minghella had an enormous intellect, he took pleasure in being an idiot.
He said: “Being stupid was one of his favourite pastimes.”
Mr Minghella’s sister, Gioia, revealed that the Minghella family wanted to stage a bigger festival on the Island next year.
She said: “It has been a wonderful experience and we are sure this is something we will be building on.”
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