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Amanda Miles Biography & Facts

The Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Coproduced by Bruce A. Block, it was filmed in both California and England and stars Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as Iris and Amanda, two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, who arrange a home exchange to escape heartbreak during the Christmas and holiday season. Jude Law and Jack Black were cast as the film's leading men Graham and Miles, with Eli Wallach, Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, and Rufus Sewell playing key supporting roles. The Holiday premiered in New York City on November 29, 2006, before it was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and United States on December 8, 2006. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures in North America and by Universal Pictures overseas. It grossed over $205 million worldwide against a budget of $85 million. The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising its visual design and the cast's performances, while regarding the plot as predictable. Plot Iris Simpkins, a society columnist for the Daily Telegraph in London, is obsessively in love with her ex-boyfriend, Jasper Bloom; despite the fact that he cheated on her and is currently in a relationship, Jasper has been keeping Iris close under the guise of 'remaining friends'. When he announces his engagement at the company Christmas party, Iris is devastated. Amanda Woods, owner of a film trailer company in Los Angeles, breaks up with her film composer boyfriend, Ethan, after he cheats on her, citing her emotional unavailability. Coming across Iris's listing of her Surrey cottage on a home swap website, she messages her, and the two agree to switch houses for two weeks starting the next day. Iris happily settles into Amanda's large house, but Amanda has trouble adjusting to quiet English country life and decides to return home the next day. That night, Iris's brother, Graham, drops by after drinking too much at the local pub, asking to spend the night. Amanda agrees, and after they talk, Graham unexpectedly kisses her on the lips; she suggests they have sex because she does not expect to see him ever again. The next morning, despite having enjoyed their time together, they go their separate ways. However, Amanda decides to stay and continue seeing Graham. Iris meets Arthur Abbott, Amanda's elderly neighbor, an Oscar-winning screenwriter from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Over dinner, Iris reveals her troubles with Jasper, and Arthur gives her a long list of classic films with strong female characters such as The Lady Eve, so she can become "the leading lady of her own life." She returns his kindness by helping him prepare for a Writers Guild of America gala in his honor. Meanwhile, Iris befriends Miles, a colleague of Ethan's who is dating aspiring actress Maggie. After he catches Maggie with another man, Iris and Miles bond over their similar relationship troubles, and they have dinner together on Christmas Eve. Amanda and Graham become closer, but she believes she is one of many women in his life. Surprising him one evening at his house, she discovers he is a widower with two young daughters, Sophie and Olivia. He reveals that he never tells new romantic partners about his daughters, because compartmentalizing his life helps him deal with the overwhelming responsibility of being a single working father, and he does not want to bring a woman into the girls' lives unless the relationship definitely has a future. On the day of the gala, Maggie asks Miles to take her back, but he refuses. Jasper surprises Iris by showing up at Amanda's wanting to reignite their romance, but when he reveals he is still engaged, she kicks him out. At the gala, Arthur gives a rousing speech, and Miles asks Iris out on a date for New Year's Eve. She tells him that she will be returning to England soon. Miles admits he's never been to England, so he asks if he could accompany her home for New Year's and she happily accepts, and they share a kiss. Graham tells Amanda he has fallen in love with her, and while she says she does not return the sentiment, they pessimistically agree to try to make a long-distance relationship work. While heading to the airport, Amanda breaks down crying for the first time in years, and runs back to the cottage to find Graham similarly in tears; they decide to spend New Year's Eve together with his daughters. On New Year's Eve, Iris, Amanda, Miles, Graham, Sophie and Olivia all happily celebrate together at Graham's house. Cast Kate Winslet as Iris Simpkins: Iris is a society columnist, writing for the Daily Telegraph. Winslet was handpicked by Meyers, who wrote all of Iris's lines with Winslet in mind. The character was named Iris after Jude Law's young daughter. A fan of Meyers' previous work on Something's Gotta Give (2003), Winslet, then primarily known for her portrayals in period films, "loved the idea" of playing a contemporary English woman in a romantic comedy, a genre she had not done before. Winslet said she had initially felt "nervous and ... scared about trying to be funny" at times, stating that "Jude [Law] and I would speak on the telephone a lot before we started shooting, 'Oh my god, they're going to fire us, they're going to recast, what if we don't make them laugh?" In preparing for her role, Winslet watched screwball comedies from the 1940s, such as His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story, to study the dialogues and performances. Cameron Diaz as Amanda Woods: Amanda is the owner of a successful business that produces movie trailers. A fan of Meyers' work, Diaz signed on after reading parts of the script. Commenting on her decision to play Amanda, Diaz said that her character "was totally relatable to because we've all had these relationships that fail. But I loved the bravery that she displays. She ... learns about who she is and opens herself up to possibilities she's never allowed herself to have before. I felt that was such a wonderful message to put out there." Meyers, who envisioned casting her still during the writing process, compared Diaz's performance in the film to Goldie Hawn's, complimenting her adeptness at physical comedy: "It's really hard I think to be that cute and sexy and that funny and that sort of girl-friendly ... She seemed absolutely the right choice for a California girl," she commented. In developing her character, Diaz also improvised on set: "There were a few scenes that were written on the page but then Nancy and I fooled around with them a bit. We didn’t want to take it [the comedy] too broad. We wanted it to be believable, so we included realistic moments," she said. Jude Law as Graham Simpkins: Graham is Iris's brother, a book editor, "countryside widower", and single father raising his two daughters (Miffy Englefield as Sophie, and Emma Pritchard as Olivia) by himself after his wife's death. Robert Downey Jr. auditioned for the role. Law accepted the role as he was interested in.... Discover the Amanda Miles popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Amanda Miles books.