Bill Paterson

The story begins with Beatrix Potter (Rene Zellweger) nervously packing her portfolio and narrating that she is a London spinster, and that her ambition to become a children's author meets with wide disapproval. She and her chaperon, Miss Wiggin, visit the publishing house of the Warne brothers and they decide to publish her book. Beatrix is thrilled and returns home, not without taking a drive through the parks to celebrate first. However, it is revealed that the Warne brothers think her book is ridiculous and will no doubt be a failure. The only reason they agreed to publish her story is because they promised their youngest brother, Norman, a project. When Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor) arrives, Beatrix makes decisions about her finished book, regarding size, color and price. Norman admits he has never done anything like this before but has given her book a great deal of thought. Beatrix realizes what the Warne brothers have done regarding her and Norman, but they become determined to prove them wrong. Norman takes Beatrix to the printer, and she has her drawings reproduced and copies of her book sold. Thrilled, Beatrix and Norman visit the Warne family, where Beatrix meets the wheelchair-bound but lovely Mrs. Warne, and Norman's sister, Amelia, nicknamed "Millie". Millie has decided that she and Beatrix are going to be friends and is overjoyed that Beatrix is a spinster, as is Millie, who believes men to be nothing but bores. The family befriends Beatrix, yet Helen Potter, Beatrix's social-climbing mother, is unhappy about her daughter spending time in the company of tradesmen. When she returns home, Beatrix, and Helen bicker about Beatrix's stubborn decision not to marry. Beatrix reminds her mother of the book she wrote, and her mother retorts she believes the venture will fail. However, the book sales are very successful, and copies are displayed in many store windows. Even Beatrix's father, Rupert, buys a copy along with friends at the Reform Club. Encouraged by this success and her father's support, Beatrix invites Norman and Millie to her family's Christmas party, despite her mother's misgivings. At the party everyone enjoys themselves and Beatrix shows Norman a story she is writing especially for him, "The Rabbits' Christmas Party". She shows him a drawing from the story and shows him her studio where she writes and draws. Miss Wiggin falls asleep from too much brandy (a generous portion of which had been added to her coffee cup by Norman), and Norman plucks up the courage to propose to Beatrix. Mrs. Potter interrupts before Beatrix can reply, and they join the other guests in the drawing room. Beatrix confides in Millie about Norman proposing, and Millie encourages her to say yes. Beatrix then tells the guests of the stories she writes, and they are delighted and amused. Mrs. Potter, however, cannot see what all the fuss is about. As the guests leave, Beatrix whispers her agreement to marry Norman, who is overjoyed. Soon after, Rupert Potter invites Norman to his office and tells him his opinion of him. At the Potter household, Beatrix and her parents argue about her decision to marry Norman. Beatrix is adamant and will not be dissuaded. Mrs. Potter tells her no Potter can marry into trade, but Beatrix reminds her that her grandfathers were both tradesmen. When Mrs. Potter threatens to cut her daughter off, Beatrix reminds them of her brother, Bertram, who married a wine merchant's daughter and was not disowned. She states she can survive on her own with her novels. Mr. Potter attempts to reason with his daughter, but she tells him she wants to be loved and not simply marry someone because he can provide for her. Beatrix inquires with the bank about her royalty earnings, wondering if she would perhaps someday be able to buy a house in the country. She is amazed and delighted to learn that her book sales have made her wealthy enough to buy several estates and a house in town if she wishes. When she returns home her parents offer a proposition: that Beatrix keep her engagement to Norman a secret and vacation with them in the Lake District for the summer. If she still wishes to marry him at the end of the summer, they agree that they will not object to the marriage. Beatrix agrees to the proposition and is quite convinced that she will not change her mind, telling her parents to prepare for an October wedding. Norman and Beatrix kiss each other goodbye at the train station and write many letters during their time apart, until one day a letter arrives from his sister Millie, informing her that Norman is ill. Beatrix travels back to London only to find that Norman has died. Overcome with grief, Beatrix shuts herself up in her room. She turns to her drawing but discovers that her characters disappear off the page. Millie comes to visit and comfort her, and Beatrix decides she must leave the house. Beatrix buys a farm in the country in the Lake District and moves there to resume her work. She hires a farmhand to run the farm and finds comfort in her surroundings. With the help of her solicitor, William Heelis, she outbids developers at auctions and buys many other farms and land in the area to preserve nature. Eight years after moving to the Lake District she marries William. The land eventually forms part of the Lake District National Park in northwestern England.

This story is about a ne'er-do-well and his girlfriend as they search for a thief. Two Americans living sumptuously abroad find their relationship challenged by an unexpected lack of finances. When Jake, a commodities broker, is unable to pay the bills (due to a dock strike that holds up a cocoa shipment), he suggests that Tina (sensuous, beautiful, and still married to another man) file an insurance claim on her 'little Henry Moore' in order to help pay their bills. Tina balks. The statue is her only source of security, all that she owns in the whole world. Does he realize what he's asking of her? Then the statue simply disappears. Circumstances become more dire and questions emerge. Can Tina trust Jake? Can Jake trust Tina? When things spin out of their control, each is forced to reckon with doubt--doubt of themselves, doubt of each other, and doubt of the strength of their bond. As it is with love, "to some people, cocoa is very scary." The story that unfolds is sensuous, understated, witty, and elegant--a true 'Object of Beauty.' —JCrickett American couple Jake and Tina are living in an expensive London hotel way beyond what they can afford. When they were asked to pay the bill, Jake wants to sell Tina's 20,000-pound Henry Moore sculpture, but she is not happy about that. The deaf-mute hotel maid admires the sculpture for its beauty rather than its value. When the sculpture goes missing, the couple start fighting over it. —Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com> Charming comedy about how a couple's relationship wavers in tandem with the disposition of their statuette. With no fixed abode, Jake and Tina live in hotels across the world. With a large bill due and money in short supply, their plan to "steal" their Henry Moore statue and claim against it is thwarted when someone else steals it first. They soon start distrusting each other's motives as they search for the statue, and keep trying to get its valuation boosted while avoiding the bill. With no sign of it, they drift apart, despite being in love, and don't reconcile until it reappears one day--having been stolen by a deaf-mute maid who feels the statue "spoke" to her. —Cynan Rees <cynanrees@hotmail.com>

Vacationing at a hotel with his grandmother, a young boy finds that a coven of witches is also staying there and are planning to rid Britain of children by turning them into mice.

An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits. The fantastic tale of an 18th-century aristocrat, his talented henchmen, and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from defeat by the Turks. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, journeying to the moon, dancing with Venus, and escaping from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures. —Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca> In the late 18th century, a European town is under siege of the Turkish army. Meanwhile, the theater company owned by Henry Saltis entertains the dwellers with the production of "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". Out of the blue, an old man interrupts the presentation claiming that he is Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen and the tells that he is the one to be blamed by the Turkish attack. The Baron Munchausen tells how he had won a bet against the Sultan with the abilities of his servants Berthold, Adolphus, Albrecht, and Gustavus, and earned his treasure. Further, he offers to help the locals against the Turks and builds a balloon to seek out his missing servants. During his journey, he finds a girl named Sally hidden in the balloon and they travel to the moon, where they meet Roger, the deranged King of the Moon with a detachable head, and his wife, Ariadne, the Queen of the Moon. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Bent on saving a besieged European city from the clutches of a Turkish Sultan and his soldiers, Baron von Munchausen, the incredible aristocrat of fabrication, embarks on an enchanting odyssey to the four corners of the world--and beyond. Accompanied by young stowaway Sally Salt, the dauntless Baron sets off on a dangerous mission to assemble his old team of remarkable gentlemen, only to face regal Selenites; lovelorn deities; the immaculate personification of beauty; and gigantic, deep-sea leviathans. Now the fate of the war-ravaged town rests in the hands of a handful of defenders; however, a persistent, and above all, eternal dark adversary threatens to thwart the Baron's altruistic plans. Can the extraordinary Baron von Munchausen carry out his impossible task? —Nick Riganas During the late 18th century, when Austria is at war with the Turks, an Austrian town is besieged and in the town a local theatrical producer is presenting the story of Baron Munchausen. One night a man appears, claiming to be the actual Baron Munchausen. —grantss