A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2022: ENTERTAINMENT A MAIL ON SUNDAYS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 Alan Rickman remains one of the most beloved actors of all time across almost every genre, from his breakout role as Die Hard's villainous Hans Gruber to his heart-wrenching run as Professor Severus Snape, and beyond. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate new audiences today. But Rickman's artistry wasn't confined to just his performances. Rickman's writing details the extraordinary and the ordinary in a way that is anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. He takes us behind the scenes on films and plays ranging from Sense & Sensibility, the Harry Potter series, Private Lives, My Name Is Rachel Corrie and many more. The diaries run from 1993 to his death in 2016 and offer insight into both a public and private life. Here is Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveller, the fan, the director, the enthusiast: in short, the real Alan Rickman. Here is a life fully lived, all detailed in intimate and characteristically plain-spoken prose. Reading the diaries is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close friend. Madly, Deeply also includes a foreword by Emma Thompson and a selection of Rickman's early diaries, dating from 1974 to 1982, when his acting life first began.

The moving account of the life and early death of a young female activist, adapted from her own writings. Why did a 23-year old woman leave her comfortable American life to stand between an Israeli army bulldozer and a Palestinian home in the Gaza strip? Compiled from her letters, diaries and emails by Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katharine Viner, My Name is Rachel Corrie recounts, in her own words, her short life and sudden death. My Name is Rachel Corrie was first performed by Megan Dodds at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2005, winning Best New Play at the 2006 WhatsOnStage Awards.

Richard Curtis (writer of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and 'Notting Hill') turns his hand to directing with this British rom-com. Eight stories involving the love lives of more than a dozen characters are brought together over one Christmas and climax on Christmas Eve; from the recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), the failing marriage of Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman), the aging rocker (Bill Nighy) who just wants to get paid (and laid if possible), through to the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) falling for a member of Number 10's staff (Martine McCutcheon). The film was another box-office success for the filmmakers and stars a host of British talent and celebrities.

Double bill of BBC espionage drama mini-series based on the novels by John Le Carré and starring Alec Guinness as master spy George Smiley. In 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1979), Smiley has been in 'retirement' for some time, some say owing to his mishandling of the Czech scandal. However, the retiring superspy finds himself summoned back to the 'Circus' (British secret service) when it transpires that an enemy infiltrator is at work in the department. Smiley returns once again to his old department in 'Smiley's People' (1982) following the murder of his friend, General Vladimir, a Russian who once worked for British Intelligence. When it transpires that Vladimir was in fact a double agent, Smiley becomes engaged in a battle of wills with his old adversaries at the Moscow Centre.

Collection of three British romantic comedies. In 'About Time' (2013), following yet another uneventful New Year's Eve Party, 21-year-old Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns a life-changing secret from his father (Bill Nighy). It seems that the men in Tim's family possess the unique ability to travel in time by simply entering a dark space, clenching their fists, and imagining the place they want to be. Armed with this knowledge, Tim decides to leave rural Cornwall behind and move to London to become a lawyer, and in the process, find love. All seems to be going well when he meets and falls for the dazzling Mary (Rachel McAdams), using his newfound abilities to help win the day. But when a mishap in the time travelling manoeuvre threatens his future happiness, Tim soon comes to realise that, above all else, it's how you live your life in the present that really matters. In 'Love Actually' (2003), eight stories involving the love lives of more than a dozen characters are brought together over one Christmas and climax on Christmas Eve; from the recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), the failing marriage of Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman), the aging rocker (Nighy) who just wants to get paid (and laid if possible), through to the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) falling for a member of Number 10's staff (Martine McCutcheon). In 'Notting Hill' (1999), Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) is the world's most famous movie star, whilst divorcee William Thacker (Grant) owns an ailing travel bookstore in his local neighbourhood of Notting Hill. One day Anna buys a book from William's shop and later collides messily with him on a street corner. She accompanies him home to clean herself up, and from there springs an unlikely romance. However, the path of true love is littered with obstacles, not least the media, the adoring fans and the differences in their lifestyles.

The community of Barchester is shaken from its cosy complacency when a newspaper's crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires.

Overnight, Rev. Harding becomes a pawn in a battle between his younger daughter's beau, John Bold, and his older daughter's husband, Archdeacon Grantly. Little do they realise that the worst is yet to come, until a regime change delivers Barchester into the hands of a most unholy trinity: the weak-willed Bishop Proudie, the domineering Mrs. Proudie, and the insufferable Rev. Obadiah Slope.

A dream cast brings Anthony Trollope's Barchester novels charmingly to life in this engaging production from the golden age of masterpiece theatre. Featuring Alan Rickman in his breakthrough role as the odious Obadiah Slope.

From the makers of Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary comes the ultimate romantic comedy. This blockbuster film includes a fantastic all-star cast and an outstanding soundtrack.

The hilarious Love Actually explores the ups and downs of relationships in the weeks building up to Christmas. Boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, fathers and sons and rock stars and managers all combine to make LOVE Actually not just one story but ten very different ones.

Because if you look hard enough you will find love actually is all around.

"A powerful, thought-provoking and deeply moving piece of theatre."-Daily Telegraph"Theatre can't change the world. But what it can do, when it's as good as this, is to send us out enriched by other people's passionate concern."-GuardianI have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls. You just can't imagine it unless you see it. And even then your experience is not at all the reality . . . [due to] the fact that I have money to buy water when the army destroys wells, and of course, the fact that I have the option of leaving. I am allowed to see the ocean.-Rachel Corrie On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old American, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she was trying to prevent the demolition of the Palestinian homes. My Name is Rachel Corrie is a one-woman play composed from Rachel's own journals, letters, and e-mails-creating a portrait of a messy, skinny, articulate, Salvador DalA--loving chain-smoker (with a passion for the music of Pat Benatar), who left home and school in Olympia, Washington, "to support Palestinian non-violent resistance to Israel's military occupation." The piece premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre, with an award-winning, sold-out run, before its transfer to the West End.

Alan Rickman remains one of the most beloved actors of all time across almost every genre, from his breakout role as Die Hard's villainous Hans Gruber to his heart-wrenching run as Professor Severus Snape, and beyond. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate new audiences today.

But Rickman's artistry wasn't confined to just his performances. Rickman's writing details the extraordinary and the ordinary in a way that is anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. He takes us behind the scenes on films and plays ranging from Sense & Sensibility, the Harry Potter series, Private Lives, My Name is Rachel Corrie and many more.

The diaries run from 1993 to his death in 2016 and offer insight into both a public and private life. Here is Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveller, the fan, the director, the enthusiast: in short, the real Alan Rickman. Here is a life fully lived, all detailed in intimate and characteristically plain-spoken prose. Reading the diaries is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close friend.

Madly, Deeply also includes a foreword by Emma Thompson and a selection of Rickman's early diaries, dating from 1974 to 1982, when his acting life first began.

Collection of four films starring Johnny Depp. In 'The Astronaut's Wife' (1999), on a seemingly routine mission to repair a space satellite, astronaut Spencer Armacost (Depp) loses contact with Mission Control for a period of time. Once Spencer has returned to Earth his wife Jillian (Charlize Theron) falls pregnant with twin boys, but her joy is tempered by the suspicion that something terrible happened to her husband in space - something which could threaten the entire human race. In 'Dark Shadows' (2012), when playboy Barnabas Collins (Depp) breaks the heart of the beautiful Angelique Brouchard (Eva Green), an old family curse is released as Angelique, a witch, turns Barnabas into a vampire before burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. Returning to his former home at Collinwood Manor, he finds his estate in ruins and the dysfunctional dregs of his family in tatters. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has enlisted the services of live-in psychiatrist Dr Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) to help with her numerous family problems - but between Elizabeth's loser brother, Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller), her rebellious teenage daughter, Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Moretz), and Roger's precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath), Dr Hoffman has certainly got her work cut out. 'Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' (2007), Tim Burton's film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical, is based on a 'penny dreadful' tale (which later became an urban myth) from the mid-19th Century. The story centres around Benjamin Barker (Depp), a barber who returns to London after spending years in exile for a crime he didn't commit. He soon discovers from pie-maker Mrs Lovett (Bonham Carter) that, in his absence, his wife has taken her own life and his daughter is now in the care of the man who had him sent away - the dastardly Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Seeking revenge and filled with a murderous rage, Barker sets up a barber's shop above Mrs Lovett's premises. Now calling himself Sweeney Todd, Barker kills off all his customers with a razor to the throat and sends their cadavers to the shop below to be used as a tasty new filling for Mrs Lovett's meat pies. What was once the worst pie shop in London quickly becomes one of the city's most popular eateries, but Barker won't be satisfied until he can lure Judge Turpin into the barber's chair... In 'Don Juan DeMarco' (1994) Marlon Brando plays a psychiatrist whose last case, that of Don Juan (Depp), is his most difficult. Don Juan is the world's greatest lover, having seduced over 1000 women, and his amorous tales totally captivate the analyst, re-awakening passions which he thought had been lost forever.

Richard Madden, Rebecca Hall and Alan Rickman star in this drama directed by Patrice Leconte. When Friederich Zeitz (Madden) lands a job with German nobleman Karl Hoffmeister (Rickman) he throws himself into the position while also agreeing to tutor Karl's son. As Friederich gets closer to young Otto Hoffmeister (Toby Murray) he also forms a bond with his employer's wife Lotte (Hall). When Karl suspects that his wife is growing too fond of his employee, he sends Friederich to Mexico for a two-year position supervising a mining project. Upon his departure, Friederich and Lotte agree to stay faithful to each other, however, when war breaks out Friederich's homecoming is severely delayed. Will Lotte stay true to her word or will time and distance get in their way?

Historical drama directed by Lee Daniels and starring Forest Whitaker. The film tells the story of Cecil Gaines (Whitaker)'s 34-year career working as head butler at the White House. Beginning his tenure under President Eisenhower (Robin Williams), Cecil would see another seven presidents come and go throughout his career and was present at the highest level of the state during some of the most tumultuous periods in the 20th century including the American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. The ensemble cast includes John Cusack, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman and Oprah Winfrey.

Tim Burton's film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Based on a 'penny dreadful' tale (which later became an urban myth) from the mid-19th Century, this musical tells the tale of Benjamin Barker (Depp), a barber who returns to London after spending years in exile for a crime he didn't commit. He soon discovers from pie-maker Mrs Lovett (Bonham Carter) that, in his absence, his wife has taken her own life and his daughter is now in the care of the man who had him sent away - the dastardly Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Seeking revenge and filled with a murderous rage, Barker sets up a barber's shop above Mrs Lovett's premises. Now calling himself Sweeney Todd, Barker kills off all his customers with a razor to the throat and sends their cadavers to the shop below to be used as a tasty new filling for Mrs Lovett's meat pies. What was once the worst pie shop in London quickly becomes one of the city's most popular eateries, but Barker won't be satisfied until he can lure Judge Turpin into the barber's chair...

British masterspy George Smiley (Alec Guinness) returns to his old department following the murder of his friend, General Vladimir, a Russian who once worked for British Intelligence. When it transpires that Vladimir was in fact a double agent, Smiley becomes engaged in a battle of wills with his old nemesis, Karla of Moscow Centre.