Juliette Binoche The film was a critical and commercial failure. "Three Colors: Blue", "The Horseman on the Roof" and "A Couch in New York" all gave Binoche the opportunity to work with prestigious directors she had turned down during the prolonged shoot of "Les Amants du Pont-Neuf". Her next role, in "The English Patient" reinforced her position as an international movie star. The film, based on the novel by Michael Ondaatje and directed by Anthony Minghella, was a worldwide hit. Produced by Saul Zaentz, producer of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", the film reunited Juliette Binoche with Ralph Fiennes, Heathcliff to her
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series) director Anthony Minghella helmed the pilot episode and co-wrote the teleplay with Oscar nominated writer Richard Curtis. Although McCall Smith declined to write the adaptation, he remained involved as an adviser and visited the set during production. While filming the pilot episode Minghella publicly expressed concerns about how the film might be received in cinemas because the story is far removed from crime genre conventions and has little action. Minghella raised the possibility of it appearing on television instead and he decided to offer the film as a feature-length pilot. Once the pilot was completed, HBO and the BBC ordered