January 3, 2007
Rupert Everett
Popped into Rupert Everett's fabulous new apartment in central London for a cup of tea. 'I've got a wonderful man called Andrew Palmer who renovated it for me,' he said, giving me the guided tour round his beautifully decorated spacious two floor batchelor pad, with a connecting staircase (Celia Birtwell's Jacobean print wallpaper was up in the downstairs hall). It's incredible to think that Charles Dickens' doctor used to live in the whole house.
At first, Rupert and I sat at opposite ends of his baronial living room, which had the original cornices and ceiling to floor windows. The room was so enormous, it reminded me of "Citizen Kane". Rupert and I could hardly hear each other speak, so we went upstairs.
Upstairs consisted of two huge bedrooms, which were both separated from their en-suite bathrooms by Palmer's handcrafted, dark paneled doors. After I had finished admiring Rupert's gold bedspread, we ended up sitting on a pair of comfortable armchair chairs facing each other on the landing.
'I must give you a signed copy of my autobiography,' Rupert said.
'And, I must give you an autographed copy of my new novels,' I replied, digging out Frantic and Crushed from my sack.
'What wonderful drawings,' Rupert exclaimed, viewing my Crushed illustrations, before proceeding to read out aloud the first chapter in his hypnotic thespian's voice.
'How long did it take you to write Red Carpets And Other Banana Skins?' I asked.
'A year and a half.'
'Did you work closely with an editor?'
'As soon as I finished a chapter, I e-mailed it to my editor. She commented on it, suggesting I write a bit more of something, or something wasn't working, then I had to rework it.'
'That's how I'm working with Curt Eiworth, who's editing my next novel. If you send your stuff off chapter by chapter, there's less chance of you going off the rails.'
After Rupert and I finished our literary conversation and our tea, I escorted him to his local gym. Even Actors have to work on their biceps.
Posted by frances on January 3, 2006
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