one of those was for emma thompson, who you mentioned. james, was she your first choice for that part? >> absolutely. yeah. she was wonderfully easy to be with because she's sane. >> not a lot of actress is are sane? >> she's not crazy and she also has a great sense of humor. immensely talented, of course, and fun to be with. >> vanessa, you're one of the few actresses in history, i think there are 12 of you, to have won the triple crown of acting, an oscar, emmy and tony. you got two best actress awards here in cannes. are those awards important to you looking back? >> i don't want to get complicated. it's always terrific like in the case of "howard's end" when a film you're in gets the recognition you think it deserves and if that include an extra little puppet, why not? how lovely. >> you and your producing partnerish male merchant worked together for some four decade until his depth in 2005, which i think is unheard of in hollywood. you made so many great films, howard's end, room with a view. what was it about "merchant's ivory" that worke