Stars attend Minghella memorial at London church

BY SIMON CALDWELL
GORDON BROWN and the Duchess of York were among hundreds of public figures to attend a Memorial Mass for the Oscar-winning film director Anthony Minghella last Saturday.
The Mass was celebrated at St Thomas More Church in Swiss Cottage, north London, the only parish in Britain which is run by Opus Dei.
It was attended by Tony and Cherie Blair, who both received Holy Communion from the parish priest Fr Gerry Sheehan.
Among the mourners were Hollywood stars Matt Damon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Renee Zellweger, who starred in Cold Mountain, one of Minghella's films. Also present were The English Patient co-stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche, and Jude Law, who starred in The Talented Mr Ripley.
Truly, Madly Deeply costars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman were also there along with Helena Bonham-Carter, John Hurt, Bill Nighy, Dexter Fletcher, Ray Winstone, Jamie Bell and Martin Freeman.
Mr Minghella, of Hampstead, London, died last month, aged 54, after a haemorrhage following an operation.