Abbie who delighted critics with her performance in Bright Star is being honored with several young female ingenues like Carey Mulligan, Gabby Sidibe, Emily Blunt and more.

Abbie wore a halter-style black dress with a snazzy beaded neckline and diamonds and amethysts from Martin Katz Jewelry. She carried a black clutch and wore purple eyeline (which really brings out her stunning eyes if I say so myself.)

Reportedly She caught up with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including her good friend and Somersault co-star Sam Worthington, Sucker Punch co-star Vanessa Hudgens and Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan as well as Best Director winner Kathryn Bigelow.

Unfortunately, Bright Star did not win Best Costume Design. That award went to The Young Victoria.

Set in the 1950s, Sucker centers on a girl confined to a mental institution by her evil stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternate reality to hide from the pain and in that world begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out.

Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie’s, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga’Hoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggie’s. The film is based on the first three books in the series.

Watch it on Yahoo!

Cornish debuted a new straight, mid-neck bob hairstyle which she looks amazing with. She dawned a red belted Dior dress and black peeptoes for the event and sported think eyeliner and nude lips. She looks absolutely incredible!

E! News reports:

Cornish showed up around 7:30 p.m and avoided all interviews on the carpet while staying glued to her rep’s side the entire night—but she certainly didn’t avoid attention!

She was constantly smiling, laughing, sipping from a wine glass, posing for pics for a guest’s digital camera and showing off jewelry to her pals. She stayed until the party ended shortly after 9 p.m.

The movie, W.E., tells parallel tales about Wallis Simpson in the 1930s and a contemporary woman called Wally Winthrop, who has romantic problems of her own – in addition to the fact that she’s obsessed with the Duchess of Windsor’s life.

Cornish, who starred opposite Ben Whishaw in Jane Campion’s film Bright Star, is being pursued to play the part of Wally.

Vera Farmiga is set to portray the duchess.

Madonna has written the script for the film with Alek Keshishian, who directed the Madonna: Truth or Dare tour documentary in 1991.

The superstar singer will direct the project and is having a firm say in who she wants to play the major characters in the film.

Filming is expected to begin in June on locations in London and surrounding counties, with short forays to New York and the south of France.

Source: Herald Sun

The Australian-born actress, who was generating Oscar-buzz for her performance as Brawne, prior to Feb. 2 when she was left out of the nominations, still hasn’t had a chance to see the special features on the DVD.

“When I’m working, I don’t worry about that behind-the-scenes camera,” she said. “The behind-the-scenes camera is behind the scenes, so I wasn’t sure what they put on there. It’s not where my head is at when I’m making a film.”

The bonuses have a few featurettes with writer-director Jane Campion (The Piano) talking about what went into the film, and a deleted scene.

Cornish said her role as Brawne had been “brewing for a while,” as the shoot date was pushed back several times. She said she spent several weeks researching Keats, but had to develop the role of Brawne on her own.

“There’s not much historically about her. I knew the name John Keats before I read the script, but I didn’t know anything about her,” she said. “[The script] swept me off my feet. The poetry in the film was just beautiful.”

As for working with Campion, Cornish said the Academy Award-winner was “compassionate, sensitive and made you feel comfortable.”

“But you also worked really hard. She made you give more than 100%,” Cornish said.

Sadly, Bright Star didn’t get a Blu-ray Disc release, though Cornish is hoping Sony will revisit that in the future. She said she especially enjoys older films in high-def, of which actor and boyfriend Ryan Philippe apparently has a large collection.

“When you watch an older film in high-def, you can’t believe the quality,” she said. “It’s like watching it for the very first time.”

Source: Home Media Magazine

The Cupid’s-bow lips, the downy-soft cheeks, the button nose: 27-year-old Abbie Cornish has those Ivory-soap-girl features we’re so familiar with, and yet hers is a face it’s hard to stop staring at—testament to the intelligence, vulnerability, and sensuality she brings to her characters. Her breakthrough for American audiences came with fellow Australian Heath Ledger, as a junkie in 2006’s Candy, free-falling from invincible heroin highs to soul-seizing anguish. Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss saw her fleeing the law with Ryan Phillippe’s character. (Enter some real-life drama: Phillippe, then the husband of Reese Witherspoon, would soon become her boyfriend.) She may have been her loveliest in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, playing John Keats’s muse, the flirty and forthright Fanny Brawne.

Check out this sneak peek below.

By the way you can also now follow Abbie Cornish Online at twitter, @abbiecornishcom.

DVD Features include:
- 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- English DD5.1
- English subtitles
- Deleted Scene
- An Inspiring Romance Featurette
- Becoming Keats and Fanny Featurette
- Setting the Scene Featurette

See you back with major changes in 2010!

Source: Variety.com

Cornish jumped on the phone earlier today to discuss Bright Star, but it was her enthusiasm for Punch which was most apparent. Shooting began in Vancouver last month and Cornish says Snyder’s latest is “seriously, six films in one almost.”

An original story by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, Sucker centers on Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a young girl trying to escape a fate of being lobotomized by her evil stepfather. In order to do so, she believes she has to steal five objects before she is caught by a vile man. With only five days until the operation she descends into different imaginary worlds searching for the objects and recruits some of her institutionalized friends to help. Sweetpea is one of those buddies and Cornish says you have to imagine her character like a cube, each with a different side in every dimension.

“In these different worlds you’re constantly turning it and different parts of this character [appear],” Cornish says. “I have had a field day not only play the girl in the psych ward, but the girl in crazy action sequences killing 20 guys in row. Every day is different on this film.”

I’d spoken to another “Sucker” lady, Vanessa Hudgens, before shooting began and the actress was visibly pumped up about her own character’s massive gun. It turns out her co-stars are in awe of the weapon as well.

“Vanessa definitely has the biggest gun. It’s called ‘the saw’ and one day Jena Malone and I fired that gun off for fun, just for therapy,” Cornish says. “It has this blast of light that is so intense. I can see why she’s so fascinated.”

Cornish’s Sweetpea is no slouch, however. The actress notes, “I have a good shot gun, a knife and a broad four.”

Moreover, Sucker Punch is a completely different animal than Bright Star, but it’s the period drama that may put Cornish in a whole new stratosphere.

Already one of the better-reviewed films of the year, “Bright” finds Cornish portraying Frances “Fanny” Brawne, the true love of legendary British poet John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw). The film depicts their unconventional romance that was cut short by Keats’ untimely death at the age of 25. Bright Star is actually the name of one of his most famous poems that professes his love for Brawne. Cornish said that while the letters that documented their affair were helpful the biggest assist came from Keats’ poems themselves.

Cornish says, “Just to read Bright Star again helped so much to understand their relationship and the trials and tribulations.”

Both leads received strong notices for their work, but it’s Cornish’s performance that has garnered the most attention. But even while Cornish may be a major player for year-end awards, she insists she couldn’t have done it without Whishaw’s support.

“Sometimes as an actor your job is made a whole lot easer by being alongside an actor that you admire and respect,” Cornish says. “I absolutely love Ben. I think he’s just a gorgeous human being. To be able to work that way — really makes it a much more pleasant and, I guess, easy experience to go through. It’s not just two people going to work doing their job.”

As the weeks go by, however, Cornish is slowly joining a select group of candidates for the best actress Oscar. That can be daunting for anyone, but Cornish honestly sounds perplexed regarding the increasing buzz.

“I think I am still figuring out how I feel about the whole thing,” Cornish says. “I definitely am so excited that the film is being received the way that it is. Really, it’s a great honor for me for people to say the things they are saying. Bright Star was a very passionate experience. We all put a lot of ourselves in that film and it meant so much to us and it still means so much to us.”

Cornish adds, “I have never been through this experience before, it’s all so new to me.”

Unless some surprise contenders appear on the scene, Cornish will be an old pro by the time Oscar comes around.

Bright Star is now playing in select cities across the country.

Source: Hitflix

As the maligned and socially imprisoned Brawne, Cornish gives one of those ferocious performances that audiences love to cheer. Her Brawne is a strong, witty and determined proto-feminist, a steel buttercup who only looks like a delicate confection made from milk, butter, and spider-web icing.

If she has the energy, Abbie Cornish really ought to give herself a good pat on the back.

Actresses have told me that working with a female director is different than working with a male director. You’ve worked with a handful of women, and just finished working with a female director. So, does it make a difference?

Uhh … in some ways yeah, but the difference is not so striking that I could just compartmentalize all the male directors and all the female directors that I’ve worked with into their own boxes. I mean, I definitely know working with Cate Shortland on Somersault , my first film, was amazing. We talked to each other a lot in rehearsals, really full on, and we did a lot of hashing out of the script and scenes and characters – so when we went to shoot, we hardly spoke! We just did it.

Was it the same with Jane Campion ?

No, Jane likes to keep a constant dialogue. And things change and shift when you’re on set, and in the clothes. But, I just, I don’t know … I think with female directors there’s more emotional sensitivity attached to the process of making the film and talking with actors. But the investment in the project and the story is similar. I worked with Shekhar Kapur in Elizabeth: The Golden Age , and he’s incredible. He’s a very sensitive guy, very aware, and very switched on – kind of a little bit similar to Jane, in just how connected they are. They are both extremely visual, very smart directors with a lot of wisdom behind them.

Bright Star is set circa 1819. Did you have to learn to carry yourself and speak in a way that matched the era?

I did, but it surprisingly came quite naturally. You know, I think when you’re in those clothes that already makes you go like this [sits bolt upright, as if in a binding dress]. It definitely changes things. And I read as much as I could, as much as I could find, and I did a lot of work on the dialect as well, I had this really great dialect coach, and we did intensive work. All that definitely helps, but at the end of the day, once I found her voice, that was the best – I could just switch in and out of her [Brawne], and she seemed complete then, because I couldn’t do Fanny Brawne with my Australian accent! Ha! It doesn’t work at all!

This is a film about poetry – how it is created and how it affects people. And while audiences seem to love it, nobody reads poetry any more .

I’ve always been interested in poetry. I remember in school I used to love when we would do poetry. We would talk about what the poet was trying to say, the rhythms, the structure of the poem, and finding the tempo. I used to love it, like, front row.

Excuse the flattery, but you are very beautiful in this film (and in person). What’s it like to be filmed as if you’re an objet d’art?

It’s funny that you say that, I haven’t really thought that at all … I don’t know, I mean … yeah, I dunno. I’ve never felt that, didn’t feel that.

I’m assuming you’ve seen the film?

Ha! Yeah, I have seen it, but I guess I just see that as all Jane’s work. She’s filmed everything so well. Also, that’s not how I look at things, do I look good or not – I was just so into the film. When I saw it in Cannes, I really was watching the movie, I wasn’t watching myself.

Films about artists rarely get it right, because they never show the actual working lives of artists. In this film, your character is a clothing designer, and we see her making everything by hand. Did you have a sewing coach?

I did have to learn how to sew, but it was fun, because I like sewing anyway, and I already knew how to sew, um, a little bit. Ha! But learning the proper way, how to hem things, different stitches, how to embroider. The only thing was, it was really time consuming. I had this one piece of embroidery I was working on, it was just freestyle flowers and vines, but it just took me forever and ever! I’d sit at home and kind of get into it for about 45 minutes, and then I’d be like, “Okay, I’m done with that!”

Are you tired of being told how much you resemble the young Nicole Kidman?

It happens to me a lot! Especially when I do interviews.

Well, sorry. But it’s not like we’re all saying ‘You remind us of Jack Klugman.’

Ha! I don’t know what the comparisons are – physical, or because we’ve both worked with Jane? But I don’t really mind. I don’t mind at all. It’s flattering, and, ultimately, it’s only someone else’s opinion.

Source: Globe & Mail

Turns out though, she’s more of a TuPac. “Yeah for sure [I'm a romantic],” she said. “I do read and write poetry and lyrics as well. I love music. Music’s a big thing for me. I guess the most contemporary version of poetry would be rap and hip-hop. And I love hip hop. I emcee. I’m a rapper as well.”

Unfortunately, Abbie wouldn’t spit a rhyme or two for us but promises that “next time” she meets up with reporter Josh Horowitz then she just might do it. And, maybe next time she’ll also bring a few of the poems that she says have been written about her by lovers- past, and, perhaps, present.

“Ah yeah,” she responded when asked if she’s ever had a real-life suitor write her romantic poems. But she wouldn’t reveal if one of those suitors include Ryan Phillippe. “Oh, take it easy! Good try though.”

Ask a question of Abbie Cornish and before she answers, she puts her head in her hands and practically stares through the table.

All those pauses – not to mention Cornish’s sharp features and long, blonde hair – can remind you of Nicole Kidman, who also doesn’t serve up easy answers to an interviewer. They’re both Australian, but at 27, Cornish is more than a decade younger. They both have been tabloid magnets – Kidman for all the reasons you know, Cornish as the gossiped-about girlfriend of Ryan Phillippe, ex-husband of Reese Witherspoon.

On screen, however, the resemblance disappears. Cornish seems only like herself, an intense actor with vast capacities for radiance and volatility.

She’s made smart professional choices with supporting parts in smallish films. In A Good Year (2006) she was the backpacking wine-lover who surprises Russell Crowe in Provence. The following year, she was the lady-in-waiting who incurred Cate Blanchett’s wrath by seducing Clive Owen in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.’

Now Bright Star, which opens Friday, puts her at the center of a movie and under the tutelage of no less than Jane Campion, who directed Holly Hunter to an Oscar in The Piano.

Set in the early 19th century, it’s a period romance starring Cornish as Fanny Brawne, an outspoken fan of John Keats’s poetry. She befriends Keats (Ben Whishaw) and falls madly in love with him. But his poverty keeps them from being married, and he dies at 25 of tuberculosis.

Brawne is independent-minded and able to articulate why a piece of writing is beautiful or flawed. She’s also a talented fashion designer, sewing her own clothes – elaborate, flamboyant garments with detailed flourishes. The idea, in part, is that this woman’s sewing is as valid a form of self-expression as Keats’s poetry.

Campion said that working with Cornish and Whishaw was different from older actors she’s worked with. “They don’t talk much, which I’m not used to. They have it all figured out, Abbie and Ben.’’

You mean they think they do? “No, they really do. They’re terribly smart and very instinctive creatures.’’

The director mentioned that Cornish bristled with an energy she’d never quite experienced in an actor before. “She’s like a little racehorse,’’ Campion said, laughing. “She jiggles on the side of the camera. According to her, she can’t wait to get going once she hears that camera whirring. And it’s like that in-the-moment buzz. Some people climb mountains to get that feeling. She performs.’’

Cornish came to the Toronto International Film Festival for the North American premiere of Bright Star. She had just started production on Sucker Punch, an all-woman action-fantasy with Vanessa Hudgens and Jena Malone, directed by Zack Snyder, who made 300 and The Watchmen.

Campion’s description of Cornish’s preparation cracked the actress up. “I’m definitely there ready to go,’’ she said.

But there’s also a practical reason for her energy. “I don’t see the point in dillydallying around,’’ she said. “If they need you on set, then you’re on set. As soon as action is called and the camera’s rolling, that’s the moment.’’

That vigor courses quietly through Cornish’s Bright Star performance. The chance to make a character feel completely alive in a costume drama excited her. “Fanny had a lot of gusto,’’ she said. “I could feel that. And Jane wanting to emphasize that made it, in some ways, easier for me to play. [Fanny] wouldn’t be helpless. She’d be vulnerable, sure, but strong.’’

The Snyder movie appealed to Cornish as a chance to do “something really physical, something I could train for, where I had to learn special skills.

“After Bright Star, my skin was translucent, I was so pale.’’ Cornish said. “I felt unfit and unhealthy. And as a bounce-back, I thought it’d be fun to do something where I’m training throughout the whole movie.’’ So that would explain the intimidating tone of her arms.

She doesn’t like to work for working’s sake. She has other areas of her life to maintain. “When I’m not making movies, I’m painting, making music, being with family and friends, which is more important to me than my career,.’’ she said. Cornish plays guitar and piano, makes hip-hop beats, and raps. That shouldn’t be surprising. And yet when the woman sitting across from you, wearing a black lace Vera Wang evening gown and a black cocktail jacket (to fend off the hotel’s chill) says, “I do some rapping,’’ your eyebrow can’t help itself. It just arches.

“My plan is to record an album in the next couple of years. The bummer is that I don’t have enough time to do everything I want to do. But’’ – she lifted the tablecloth and knocked on wood – “I’ll be around long enough to have time to do it all.’’

The reason you root for Cornish to make the time is that Campion is right. She does seem to have herself figured out. It’s no fun hungering for adult movie stars and seeing only insecure starlets. No one wants Meryl Streep’s career. They want Demi Moore’s body.

Unlike, say, Megan Fox, Cornish doesn’t appear to have a naked need for approval. She acts because she’s good at it. She’s already given two impressive, emotionally grueling performances, one as a drug addict with Heath Ledger in Candy and another as a soldier’s girlfriend in Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss. If she wants to rap, she at least leaves you eager to hear what she’d say.

Source: The Boston Globe