http://www.helenmirren.com/index.phpHMAS history feedenann@helenmirren.net(cc) The Helen Mirren Appreciation Society2007-10-10T06:49:55+02:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:06:48 +0200ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2007-10-10T06:49:55+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-25http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-25
Elaine made many friends with whom she shared her contagious enthusiasm and excitement about all things Helen.

LINDA ELAINE MATLOCK DEC. 26, 1950 - OCT. 9, 2007]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2007-06-27T19:59:30+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-24http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-24

]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2004-04-11T22:06:57+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-23http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-23
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2007-07-26T21:47:41+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-22http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-22]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2006-06-18T21:39:02+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-21http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-21Once again HMAS member Deb shows her support and passes on the best wishes of the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society. This time at the Las Vegas Film festival, where both Helen and Taylor received awards






]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2007-02-11T21:28:40+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-20http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-20the entire article, the HMAS paragraph is here:
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1997-11-24T13:08:36+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-19http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-19

Sent November 24, 1997 at 21:28:10 GMT
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your letter, and even more, thank you for your fan site on the World Wide W.

You certainly have my approval to form the official international fan club. I am very flattered, and delighted to have such discerning fans from all over the world. I hope that not all of you are fans just because of my TV series. I have decided to finish that particular series and launch off into something else, namely a new piece I have just completed in England for television called Painted Lady. Watch out for it, its fun! I play a washed up blues singer from the 70's who gets invoved in murder and general larceny.

The next piece I will do is a film for Showtime television called The Passion of Ayn Rand, in which I will play Ayn Rand herself.

With all good wishes to you all,
Helen Mirren ]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2004-01-17T19:41:10+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-18http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-18Mourning Becomes Electra or the question-and-answer forum afterwards in New York.

Emma's account:

...curtain call happens...i stand up....nearly everyone in the stalls turned round and stared at me...i didnt care....ok so waiting there with lots of helen fans...by the exit of the car park ramp thing i see a car stop...someone gets out ...walking towards the group...no one else had seen her...i looked at this women then again and she did the classic helen lip thing and i knew straight away it was her...i walked up to her and asked her to sign my prime suspect book and she was like yeah course i will... and then helen goes:

"ive come to look for the banner girls"

we were like OMG thats us!! and she said " i thought you'd be waiting here and i wanted to come see you!) silent squeals... she then signed a photo i had and said: ohhhh i love this photo of me...where did you get it? I answered...she went and signed some more programmes but continued to talk to us...she said: "I can't believe the banner...its so cool... (helen used the word cool!) "helen you rock"...the whole cast were talking about it back stage they all saw it and thought it was so original" - we then gave her the banner and she opened it up and kept saying what a great idea it was and how thankful she was and then she said "right. as soon as i get home this is going above my bed!!"

And a follow-up the next night:

... there was question time...so i put my hand up to ask a question...this is where the fun started!!

me: how do you cope with fame and having such a large fan base?
HM: are you the "helen rocks" girls?
me: yes we are (squeals!!!)
HM: oh my god last night these two girls did the sweetest thing (helen then points to me and steph people turn around) last night i was feeling really shitty and at the curtain call i looked over and they had made this banner and held it up and it said "helen you rock" (lots of laughter)
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2005-04-25T19:36:25+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-17http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-17
At the San Francisco Film Festival HMAS member Deb delighted Helen and Taylor with a colorful banner. A Getty photographer was on hand to capture the event and the images were transmitted across the globe.
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-11-13T16:27:07+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-15http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-15Dear Peter
Thank you for your message. How nice to be able to say hello to the legend himself. That is how your HMAS group view you. Firstly I would like to thank you so much for creating this group. It was extraordinary that they organised themselves to come to london, and it was great pleasure to meet them . I was only sad that you, their inspiration could not be with them. They were such a fun group, a completely different experience from the usual fan types. People with great individuality and above all a sense of humour. I thank them through you for all the messages. Elaine, Diane and Whitney all sent lovely letters and cards. I also would like to say to those whose budgets could not stretch to that kind of expense that I am sure we will meet somewhere else. I will try to keep you all advised of my next projects as they become a reality in my life. The play finishes on Dec 3. I shall be taking a short break in France then, and then Taylor and I will be spending Christmas in Los Angeles.

All the very best to you
herslf
Helen
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-11-09T15:31:10+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-14http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-14On November 9, 1998, Helen Mirren submitted an application from the web site to join
the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society! Here is her application!

Date: 09 Nov 1998 16:27:28 GMT

***************************************************************
Name: helen mirren
Gender: female
Nickname: herself
Email: (suppressed, ed)
Where_Do_You_Live: london
Date_of_Birth: you know it already
How_became_admirer:
I knew her mother really well
More_about_yourself:
just want to say hi from time to time and connect with a great group
***************************************************************
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2001-04-01T15:18:24+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-13http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-13ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1999-10-12T15:02:08+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-12http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-12HMAS convention in Bath for Collected Stories. Several meetings with Helen during the week. Just before this photo was taken, Helen was standing at the top of a small flight of stairs. She agreed to a group photo and, full of fun, insisted that we all move around and gather at the foot of the stairs. She had a number of small tips to improve one's photogenic success, including this one "be sure to be photographed from above rather than below". (Clockwise from left: Jill, Nina, Peter, Ann, Helen, Anne Petree (?), Jette, Jen and Peter's wife Christine.)


]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1999-06-01T13:07:04+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-11http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-11The Passion of Ayn Rand" in Los Angeles, thanks to the cooperation of Tracy Wallace from the L.A. Family Center, the organisation that benefitted from the event and to which the HMAS made a small contribution.

Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 13:06:09 -0400
From: helen mirren
Subject: LA Premiere of "Passion of Ayn Rand"
To: Peter Wright ,

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your message. I guess you know by now that I could not attend the screening of Ayn Rand, as I was in Britain, but I understand it went well.

I am sorry to have missed the blessed hmas group. It would have been fun to see them in LA!

Hope you are well
With warm regards
Helen
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2002-07-26T03:17:33+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-10http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-10]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1997-08-12T01:51:48+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-9http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-9
First Letter from Peter Wright
Subject: Mirren Discussion List
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 16:25:49 +1000
From: Peter Wright [emails removed, many are out of date, ed.]
To: jetta@, Dianeh@, pi_indisguise@, mchughb@, Georgina36@, r.defrank@, ssheffie@, peterw@

Here it is... the first contribution to the Helen Mirren Discussion
List, where no topic is too controversial and irrational worship is encouraged. Let me
introduce the potential discussants:
Bren New Brunswick, Canada
Diane Austin, Texas
Georgina Providence, Rhode Island
Helene whereabouts unknown: Alberta, perhaps?
Peter Sydney, Australia
Rachel Denton, Texas
Sheila Tallahassee, Florida
Tracy Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota

whose email addresses are, respectively,
[emails removed, many are out of date, ed.]
---------------------------------------------------------
To start the ball rolling, I offer an answer (provided by a fan who is not in this group) to Georgina's question: "On page 135 of Amy Rennert's book it says '(remember her novel?)'. Does this mean that Helen Mirren has written a novel?" "Thank you for the updates. To answer the above question for you. Helen has always said she wished to write a novel. She made some half-hearted attempts when she was young. However, she gave up, thinking she didn't have what it took. In Rennert's book, this was mentioned along with the fact that Helen has always had an attachment to the city of Manchester, where the last Prime Suspect episode was filmed. So much so that, in her novel, her main character's name was to be Manchester."
---------------------------------------------------------
For your trivia collection, I'll sign off with: Did you know that HM's mother was a driving-license tester?

Cheers,
Peter :o) ]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2005-07-26T01:51:48+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-8http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-8 ]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2010-01-01T01:51:48+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-7http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-7Drop us a line and tell us what piece of HMAS history we forgot to mention and we'll add it here.
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit2004-05-22T01:51:47+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-5http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-5It was with great sadness that we learned of the sudden and untimely death of our friend and HMAS Founder Peter Wright. Peter created our group and welcomed each member with personal messages. He deflected the occasional "crazy" with tact and humor, he established a warm and respectful relationship between Helen Mirren and the HMAS, he supported the group's activities both financially and emotionally and he is greatly missed. Peter leaves his wife Christine and many many friends all over the world. ]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-11-25T01:51:47+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-4http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-4Dear Helen,
Thank you so much for your lovely letter to the HMAS. We were all absolutely charmed by your sharing your thoughts with us so openly.

As you may have noticed from the lively representatives in London, the HMAS is full of original and enthusiastic fans, and your letter has prompted a great deal of discussion about ways to make your occasional visits to the web site fun and interesting.

Our main question is whether you are interested in receiving mail from us over the internet. f not, we'll gladly send you snail mail and welcome your hellos from cyberland. If you are open to hearing from us electronically, there are several easy ways to accomplish this. The easiest would be for us to write to you directly, but that would entail publishing your private email address to a rather large (and growing) group of people. I wouldn't want the volume of mail that might result to cause you any inconvenience. Here are some other options that would preserve the privacy of your address:

* Our messages could be left on a private message board for you to browse at your leisure. You'd be welcome to respond to our messages and post messages to the group.
* We could use the helenmirren@helenmirren.net mailbox to send letters to you. You could either read this mail as it arrives or ask one of us to screen it for you.
* I could compile greetings from the group and send you a periodic group-hello.

If any of these options interest you, please let us know. Thanks again for taking the time to say hello to us.

Best wishes,
Peter,
on behalf of your friends at the HMAS


On November 25, 1998, Helen Mirren replied to Peter's letter:

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 09:05:32 -0500
From: HELEN L MIRREN
Subject: A question from the HMAS
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your letter. I joined your group really as a way to keep in touch with a great group of fans and let you know my plans as they came up. I don't particularly wish for people to contact me directly as it is very unlikely that I will ever reply. The best way you outline is definitely the third.

One of the small difficulties with being in the job I have is that you tend to be seen as the people you play and not as yourself, and therefore can become a repository for people's problems and dreams. However I do appreciate intelligent and realistic "fans" as I believe most of HMAS to be.

I send you my warm regards
Helen
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-10-12T01:51:47+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-3http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-3Tickets for five days of Antony and Cleopatra previews. Weeks of planning. For some, brand new passports and worries about exchange rates and jet lag.

Fourteen of the original HMAS members met en masse in London, shared a small and slightly seedy hotel, compared notes about the play, and soaked up atmosphere. Besides being able to put faces to names, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the drinking of champagne with Helen in her dressing room after one of the preview performances.
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-07-26T01:51:47+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-2http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-2
See the various layout changes over time at the Internet Archives "Wayback Machine" where old websites go to die.
]]>ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1998-05-21T01:51:46+02:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-1http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-1ann@helenmirren.netPluskit1997-11-24T15:51:46+01:00http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-0http://www.helenmirren.com/pages/history/hmashistory.php#unique-entry-id-0Upon receiving Helen's approval and after a spirited debate, the name "The Helen Mirren Appreciation Society" was chosen. It was - and is - important to emphasize that this group is not a "Fan club" as such but rather an "Appreciation society" - the difference being a higher level of respect for Helen's privacy and the ability to keep separate the actress and the woman in the group's attitudes and behaviour.

The abbreviation HMAS is pronounced to great hilarity by most (including Helen) as "Ham-ass", although a few prefer "H-moss".

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