'Everyone loved making the movie except Gwyneth'

AMERICAN movie stars on the London stage are now a commonplace. They adore our theatre it's serious and it's a novelty. But what happens when the clash of cultures (Hollywood vs the West End) takes place not on stage, but onset?

The set of Shakespeare in Love provided a perfect environment in which to observe such a bout.

Gwyneth Paltrow was the jewel in the cast list. Without her, the film might not have been made. Her co-stars were largely creatures of the British stage Judi Dench, Antony Sher, Simon Callow, Joseph Fiennes, fine actors who learned their trade with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre. OK, Paltrow was on her territory. But then, curiously, so were the Brits; this is a movie about Shakespeare, with a script from every actor's favourite playwright, Tom Stoppard. The Hollywood queen, buffered only by her boyfriend of the time, Ben Affleck (who plays Ned Alleyn and appeared onset only when needed), had to make friends with these people or have a horrible time. Unfortunately, Paltrow's experience was more miserable than not - and in this lies the difference between theatre and film, British tradition and American superstardom. If you believe the scurrilous gossip to be found on the Internet, for example, Paltrow and Dench were at daggers drawn. "Dench was astounded at some of the diva-like demands that Paltrow made on the set of the movie," reports one website, alleging that Paltrow insisted on being driven the 50 feet from her trailer to the set itself. True? Maybe, and possibly with justification sometimes it's important not to ruffle or dirty elaborate costumes onset. But what's certain is that more subtle problems arose because the British and Americans work very differently. "I felt sorry for Gwyneth," says one of the people who worked on the movie. "The cast was very heavily male and I don't know what kicked what off. I don't know whether anyone ever said 'Oi Gwyneth, are you coming down the pub?' which she might have liked. In any case, she didn't socialise with them. And the camera crew were walking around her as if she was a statue. They didn't know how to treat her, and so she ended up thinking: they don't like me. It was as though she thought everyone else thought she was a cold, stuck-up cow." A lack of communication between Brits and movie star, then. Another member of the crew says: "Gwyneth's assistant was very nice, but half the time she was stamping around saying: bitch! Paltrow had all the usual tantrums with her 'little people', but then that really is usual. Trouble is, it didn't go down very well with the English, who aren't used to having assistants, let alone shouting at them." "She was a consummate professional," says one of the actors, who doesn't want to be named because, presumably, he wants to work in movies again. "But she's very Hollywood onset. She switches on and she switches off. All the British actors, by contrast, would horse around in character when filming had stopped. That's a theatrical thing. It's a shame, because everyone loved making that movie, except, I think, Gwyneth." The final word goes to a diplomat who also worked on the movie: "The British way of making films is: whatever people ask for, you say no. Whether it's a juicer machine in the trailer, or a Stairmaster or whatever. And then you go away and think about it, and compromise. The American way is different. You give them as much as you possibly can, and then you're really, really nice when you eventually draw the line. Paltrow suffered from the difference in style. We need to adapt to them, and vice versa."

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