From Popsugar:

Recently I had the amazing opportunity to meet the stars of The Duchess and hear all about the role sex plays in the movie, from the practicalities of filming sex scenes to the sexual politics of the period. Here’s an excerpt of the Q+A with Keira Knightley (who plays the eponymous Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire), Dominic Cooper (who plays her extra-marital love interest, Earl Grey) and Hayley Atwell (who plays the third person in Georgiana’s marriage, Bess Foster). Come back to PopSugar UK later in the week to see what else the gang had to say about the film, including the Diana connection. I’ll also bring you my review before the film’s release on 5 September.

What was it like to get in to the costumes?

KK — We had to be sewn in to some of them, which they would have actually been, sewn in and cut out.
DC — Which is very difficult in a moment of passion to undo at a rapid pace without looking ridiculous [laughter] Sorry!
KK — I can’t add anything after that!

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Now Magazine is giving away a ‘The Duchess’ prize to one lucky person!

To celebrate the release of the absorbing historical drama The Duchess on 5 September, we have joined forces with Pathé to give 1 lucky winner the chance to win an exclusive prize package including a signed poster and exclusive director?s chair used by Charlotte Rampling.

Based on the best-selling biography ?Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire? by Amanda Foreman, the film stars Keira Knightley as Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, who caused controversy in her extravagant political and personal lives. Like Princess Diana, her direct descendent, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire (Knightley) was beautiful, glamorous and adored by the public. But while her beauty and charisma made her a household name, one thing always seemed to escape her: love.

For your chance to win this amazing prize including the chair used by Charlotte Rampling on set, a copy of the book, a specially designed hand-held fan and signed poster, simply answer a question that you can find here.

From mtv.co.uk:

“The dresses are an absolute nightmare because you can’t breathe” revealed Keira Knightley, of her authentic 18th century costume. “But it kind of helps because if you’re feeling at all emotional then it makes it ten times worse as you can’t catch your breath, so that helps in playing the scene.” Miss Knightley continued: “The worst part is after lunch, because they’re so tight they don’t help digestion which meant that Hayley [Atwell, co-star] and I were there playing these very ladylike characters but belching all over the place!”

Like Princess Diana, her direct descendent, Keira’s character Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire is beautiful, glamorous and adored by the public.

It seems the fact that filmmakers use an image of Diana in the trailer and the words “history repeats itself” hasn’t gone down too well: “I didn’t think it was going to be made such a big deal of - perhaps stupidly” said Keira. “I really don’t know the Diana story well enough to know what the similarities are but I think Georgiana’s a fascinating character in her own right. It’s an interesting bit of trivia that they were distantly related, but for me it didn’t go any further than that.”

After finding herself stuck in a loveless marriage, Keira’s Duchess falls in love with with Charles Grey, later the Prime Minister, played by another young British actor Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia, History Boys). We asked Keira about shooting those steamy love scenes….

“I couldn’t stop laughing. He’s a very good looking guy but he’s standing there naked apart from a skin coloured nappy. It’s the most unsexy thing ever. The director even had to ask if I could be a little more supportive and I had to say no - he’s wearing a nappy!”

The Duchess is in cinemas across the UK on September 9th.

From variety.com:

ROME — Teutonic terrorism drama “Der Baader Meinhof Complex,” Keira Knightley starrer “The Duchess,” omnibus pic “8,” and Isabelle Huppert starrer “Un Barrage contre le Pacifique” are among the first titles announced to unspool at the Rome Film Festival.

United Nations-sponsored “8,” which comprises shorts by eight helmers, including Gus Van Sant, Mira Nair and Jane Campion, tackling the subject of hunger on the planet, will world preem in Rome, where the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization is headquartered.

Knightley is expected on the Rome red carpet for Saul Dibb’s 18th century costumer “The Duchess,” which previously world preems in Toronto.

Key talent expected for “Baader Meinhof,” recounting the campaign of violence waged by the Red Army Faction in Germany in the late 1960s and 70s, are Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria Lara (“The Downfall”). Both pics unspooling in Rome’s gala premiere section.

Also unspooling in the Eternal City will be BBC-produced Bob Marley-docu “Exodus 77,” by Anthony Wall, about the making of Marley’s eponymous album in 1977.

As previously announced, Rome will celebrate Brazilian cinema this year. One hot title unspooling in this sidebar is docu “Coracao Vagabundo,” dedicated to pop sensation Caetano Veloso, by young helmer Edoardo De Andrade. Veloso is now expected to attend and to perform live after the screening.

The fest will kick off in style with a lavish carnival-like event being prepared by multi-tasking musician Arto Lindsay.

The Rome fest’s third edition will run Oct. 22-31.

Melly from http://justaboutkeira.skyrock.com/ send us email, saying that Jamie Dornan (Keira’s ex) was in the Cosmopolitan France September issue and he talks about Keira!
Melly made the huge favor in translate the article! Thanks Melly!!!

I ask him if he is not blasé with all those girls shouting on his tail. “It has only happened once or twice, with teenagers. But generally, they don’t recognize me. I don”t go to private parties“. I remind him that he went out with Keira Knightley, not least!

“Yes but I didn’t go out with her to go to parties“, he answered, sheepish. “I was 21, she was 18, we were fucking (in english in the text) in love, it has last for 2 years and a half. She is very intelligent, very funny, very easy to get on with.”
Jealous, I retort : “So why did you leave her?”

There, Mister Jamie Dornan becomes quite speechless : “We were kids. It had to come to an end one day or another.”

From iafrica.com:

Keira Knightley admits she has lost touch with her ‘The Edge Of Love’ co-star, Sienna Miller.

The 23-year-old actress, who plays Vera Phillips in the World War II drama about Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, claims that her and Sienna, who took on the role of Thomas’ wife Caitlin MacNamara in the movie, have drifted apart since the film’s production was finished.

She explained in The Daily Express: “I love Sienna. I think she’s a wonderful actress but we’ve been like two ships passing in the night recently.

“I think that’s what’s lovely but also sad about acting. You get incredibly close to people and as soon as it’s over, you don’t see each other.

“You’re away from home, it’s a very intense relationship and then it’s not there anymore.”

Knightley, whose latest film ‘The Duchess’ is due for release on 12 September, recently confessed that she finds it difficult to maintain friendships with females.

She said in Glamour magazine: “I don’t think I’m very good at figuring out female friendships. I think they’re quite tricky to navigate.

“I have lots of friends who are guys and I find that manipulation and jealousy don’t come into it as much, whereas those things can happen easily between women.”

2 AUGUST 2008

There’s only one thing British beauty Keira Knightley says is missing in her life – a university education.

The Edge Of Love star left school when she was 17 to pursue her stunning career on the silver screen. And that, says the modest 23-year-old, has left her feeling “completely uneducated”.

“Not going to university did give me an incredible driving force,” the actress told Tatler magazine. “It makes me feel I am going to read absolutely everything so I can prove that I am not stupid.”

To expand her knowledge, the Oscar-nominated star has thrown herself into books. Her current reading list includes the works of Mary Wollstonecroft, a history of the Vietnam War and Germaine Greer’s iconic work The Female Eunich.

Next seen on the silver screen in The Duchess, Keira is already being tipped for another Acadamy Award nomination for her performance as Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire. She has also signed on to play Cordelia in a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear alongside Welsh icon Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts.

From nydailynews.com:

Keira Knightley has refused to allow any enhancement of her cleavage on publicity photos for her upcoming movie, “The Duchess,” Britain’s Daily Mail reports.

Studio heads reportedly want to enlarge Knightley’s bosum in the photos, but the actress, 23, put her foot down.

“She has insisted that her figure stay in its natural state,” an insider said. “She is proud of her body and doesn’t want it altered.”

This isn’t the first time Knightley has faced this dilemma. The actress drew negative attention in 2004 with her larger-than-usual breasts in publicity stills for “King Arthur.”

“Those things certainly weren’t mine,” Fox News quoted her as saying in 2006. According to Knightley, the studio marketing team was behind her suddenly C-cup breasts, but gave her final approval on the photos.

“I was like, ‘OK, fine. I honestly don’t give a s—,’” she recalled.

Knightley has expressed dissatisfaction with her small bustline. “I would love to have [breasts]!” she told Britain’s GMTV last year, adding, “I’m never going to get [them]. I’m naturally who I am.”

From The Press Association:

Keira Knightley was the second highest-paid Hollywood actress last year, a study by US business magazine Forbes has showed.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star earned 32 million dollars (£16 million) through her roles in the Pirates sequel At World’s End and in the Oscar-nominated literary romance Atonement.

But the 23-year-old Briton, whose racy ads for Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle perfume also brought in the cash, was beaten to the top spot by Cameron Diaz, who earned 50 million dollars (£25 million) for her roles in Shrek and What Happens In Vegas.

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