BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Prince rooting for Dame Judi

Oscar nominee Dame Judi Dench met the Prince of Wales at a charity premiere on Thursday - just days before she finds out if she has won an Academy Award for playing one of his ancestors.

The two met at a London screening of Tea With Mussolini, along with the film's other stars Lily Tomlin, Dame Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Cher.

Director Franco Zeffirelli was also at the premiere, which was designed to raise money for The Prince's Trust and the British Institute of Florence.

Zeffirelli used the occasion to present the prince with a picture he painted 30 years ago.

The young prince attended the premiere of his film Romeo and Juliet and, inspired by the occasion, Zeffirelli created a picture of the star-crossed lovers embracing.

Dame Judi finds out on Sunday whether she has won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love. The film is nominated for 13 awards.

The prince wished her good luck when he was introduced to the cast of Tea With Mussolini.

Dame Judi Dench: Nominated for an Oscar
Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini follows five expatriate women, known as the Scorpioni, who lead charmed lives in the Tuscany region of Italy.

They mould a local youth into a "perfect English gentleman" - but when Italy enters World War II the women are interned by Mussolini as enemy aliens. It is scripted by John Mortimer, best known for his ITV drama Rumpole Of The Bailey.

The story is partially-based on Zeffirelli's upbringing in Florence, and the women he met as war loomed over the country.

"I felt I had to tell this story. Not just about myself, but about these extraordinary women who tried to resist the madness of war that was sweeping across Europe.

"They simply did not see why Italy and England could not be friends just because a bunch of idiots had decided to go to war." he said.

Tea with Mussolini opens in the UK on 2 April.


		^^ Back to top News Front Page \| World \| UK \| UK Politics \| Business \| Sci/Tech \| Health \| Education \| Entertainment \| Talking Point \| In Depth \| AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> \| To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII\|News Sources\|Privacy