Beauty spot’s perfect for movie star!
Angelina Jolie
Film-makers are always popping up on the Ashridge Estate, near Dunstable.
So I wasn’t surprised to hear that a hush-hush production team had been up there again.
But I was seriously impressed when I found out who had gone down to the woods this time.
It wasn’t a teddy bear. And this was no picnic.
The VIP visitor was none other than Hollywood queen Angelina Jolie!
The screen beauty had been filming her latest movie at the historic beauty spot.
Just think – while I was up there for a long walk (and an even longer sojourn in the tea shop), Brad Pitt’s significant other could have been acting her heart out not a million miles from me.
Pass the smelling salts. Apparently, she was there for the filming of Maleficent, which is due for release in 2014.
The film tells the story of the princess Maleficent, who is soon to inherit a forest kingdom where fairies live.
But she first she has to defend the kingdom.
Film crews were in the area for a while, but Angelina was just there for one day.
Lawrence Trowbridge, lead ranger for the estate, said: “There was hardly any attention for her while she was here – which is not what we expected, that’s for sure.
“From what we heard, people had been spreading rumours, so we were amazed we did not see more people flocking in to see her.”
I’m sure Angelina appreciated the popular film location.
But she missed a trick if she didn’t try the tea shop’s giant-sized baked goodies.
What’s a film set without a few extras!
Hollywood stardom is all very well, but there’s a special place in our heart for former Dunstablian Una Stubbs.
The veteran actress lived in Markham Crescent in her younger days.
Now you can see her on screen at Luton’s Cineworld next month, appearing in a live theatre production being beamed to the multiplex.
She’s in a National Theatre production adapted from the novel The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time.
The performance starts at 7pm on September 6.
Did you realise the title of the novel owes a debt to a Sherlock Holmes novel?
The quote in the novel went something like this: “Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” “The dog did nothing in the night-time.” “That was the curious incident,” remarked Sherlock Holmes.
So now you know...
Twitterati friends have been debating about well-known people with links to Dunstable.
One came up with Gary Cooper, Faye Tozer of Steps, Una Stubbs, Kerry Dixon...then got stuck.
I suggested the former Dunstable Grammar School pupils Sam Kydd, the actor, and a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, actor John Hopkins, TV presenter Kevin McCloud and artist Mark Titchner.
Another participant in the debate tweeted: “How about Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy).”
My knowledge of Badly Drawn Boy is a bit sketchy...
If you’d like to add a famous name from Dunstable or Houghton or thereabouts to the list, just drop me a line at anne.odonoghue@jpress.co.uk, or tweet me – I’m @Dunstable_Anne.
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Weather for Luton
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
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