Julie Christie

In Entertainment today, we listen to parts of an interview with a beautifulBritish screen icon! She talks about fame and good fortune – or as she calls it,'getting lucky'.
　　Julie Christie is famous for her roles in films like Dr Zhivago, way back in the1960s, and in the 1970s, came films like Don't Look Now with those famouslove scenes with Donald Sutherland. Then she turned her back on Hollywoodfor a couple of decades, but now she's back, playing the lead role in a new filmcalled Away From Her.
　　The film is about how Alzheimer's disease changes the lives of a couple whohave been married for over 40 years. Julie Christie plays the wife, who realisesthat Alzheimer's disease is destroying not only her memory but also heridentity, and she makes the painful decision to go and live in a home for peoplewith the disease.
　　Julie Christie believes the film makes you think about 'mortality', about theknowledge that people do not live forever. She says this is a 'concept', an ideathat 'the western thought pattern' – the way of thinking in the western world –doesn't include. Try to catch the first three words of her answer – 'life is …'?
　　Julie Christie'Life is short and I think mortality is not a concept that is built into the western thoughtpattern - it's not dealt with on any level, I don't think.'
　　Amber:  Did you catch it? Julie Christie says 'Life is short'. Notice too, the expression'to deal with something', meaning to include something.
　　Julie Christie'Life is short and I think mortality is not a concept that is built into the western thoughtpattern - it's not dealt with on any level, I don't think.'
　　Amber:  Next, Julie Christie talks about how her glittering fame in the film world –she won an Oscar by the time she was in her in her mid- 20s, for example –isn't part of her life now, nor is it important to her identity, her sense of self.
　　She says it was just good luck, good fortune, just 'me getting lucky'.
　　Julie Christie'I sort of look back – none of that is relevant to me – my past. It's absolutely irrelevant. It wasme getting lucky and having all these terribly interesting things happening to me and sort ofexperiencing fame and, you know, which not everybody does, and success, and in thatparticular world, which again, not everybody does, and that was interesting – I've sort of putit away in a drawer – it's got nothing to do with anything.'
　　Amber:  Notice too, Julie Christie uses both the word 'relevant' and its opposite,'irrelevant'. She also describes how she ignores her famous past; by sayingshe's 'put it away in a drawer' – which is a lovely figure of speech, isn't it?
　　Julie Christie'I sort of look back – none of that is relevant to me – my past. It's absolutely irrelevant. It wasme getting lucky and having all these terribly interesting things happening to me and sort ofexperiencing fame and, you know, which not everybody does, and success, and in thatparticular world, which again, not everybody does, and that was interesting – I've sort of putit away in a drawer – it's got nothing to do with anything.'
　　Amber:  Finally, we asked if she thinks life has changed very much for film stars sinceshe began landing leading roles. She says it was extremely stressful for herwhen she was young – she 'got exhausted and anxious and awfully worried andstressed'! But she wasn't aware of how hard it was on her at the time, and she'shorrified by the 'concentration', or attention, on celebrities today.
　　Julie Christie'I mean, I wasn't aware of how hard it was on me, personally. I just did it and got exhaustedand anxious and awfully worried and stressed, but now it has changed – God, yes, I'm so gladI'm not plunged into that because the concentration on celebrity is so hideous – absolutelyhideous to have to deal with that, it must be.'