Screw Valentines Day. And I’m not saying that because I’m single. I’m saying it because I’m single and bitter. And let’s face it, if one has to choose between celebrating our loved ones or this lovely site…its a pretty easy choice.

Let’s begin with a great piece of fanart to mark the occaison. In fact it’s the only fanart to mark the occaison. Thanks Sak and F**K the rest of you.

So, 6 years ago, Sanjiro and re-launched NP.com. Back then we had help from guys like Nerf and Sub-Zero (but definitely not Krycek) but it wasn’t long before Kris came on board to take over technical duties and Melody came on board to make the image section her own. Both still play a huge part in the running of the site and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them (altho, recently, Kris is trying to show me).

Mart is another old timer and does a lot of work behind the scenes. Right now he’s actually downloading and editing the stream from Berlinale.

Things are a bit quiet on the NP.comic front but rest assured, there’s some big news around the corner. It’s one of the most popular aspects of the site so a big thanks to Matt and his predecessor Nate.

The last few months have seen NP.com staff: The Next Generation with Omar and Immaculata joining the team and doing a great job so far.

Also, thanks to all of you guys. You may have screwed us when it comes to fanart for today but hundreds of people play a part every year. Imagine if I had to go and find all the news and pics myself…I would probably update once a week.

And finally, 5 years ago I posted this:

“Sanjiro: What can be said about the man that hasn’t already…he’s the heart and soul of this site and a comedic genius to boot. Hell, he should have his own fanclub for godsakes.”

This year my message would be a bit closer to:

“Sanjiro: Post a Corner already, you schmuck!”

I better stop rambling because I’ve got a full update to get to. But I think this is going to be one helluva year for Nat fans and I look forward to playing my part in it.

Those of you still awake, here is the rest of the days update.

The Premiere gallery and the Press Conference gallery have been updated with looots of wonderful Hi Res pics.

Sonoyta also found a couple pics from the afterparty. The coat certainly helps. Click here and here.

And this pic is special simply because it was taken by a regular contributor and friend of the site, Jutze. Hopefully he’ll send in his thoughts on the movie.

Allociné has a blog about the Berlinale, and yesterday night’s post talks about the V press conference and premiere. The article is in french but JP translated the important Nat bits.

“The subjects approached by the movie, for example terrorism, are in every current debate, everywhere in the world, notably in Israel, the country where I was born and where I’ve lived for a long time” The actress said about politic implication “One of the good sides of fame is that you can get people’s attention on subjects that are important to you, as I’ve done for micro-finance (a kind of developpement help), but the work of an actor is to do empathy: we play a character that isn’t ourselves. In the same way, the viewer shares the characters’ feelings he sees on the screen and pays attention to the life of people who don’t have the same life of his. For that, I think cinema is a contribution to social progress.” Words greatly applauded by the present journalists.

Even with the rough translation, that’s very well put.

Jacco sent in this scan from Dutch Magazine Preview. It’s another V article and once again, he was kind enough to translate the interesting bits…

Did the set location (Berlin) had any influence on this thriller? Portman: ?Two suppressing regimes followed each other here, Nazis and communists. That left some marks; especially if you look at how people use their brand-new freedom. A lot of energy comes free with that. If you get confronted with that after shooting a scene you feel you are working on an important movie.?

Evey is a lot gentler than V who doesn?t mind using violence. Is this necessary and is she perhaps the softer sidekick? Portman: ?I?m not going to reveal anything about the plot of Vendetta, but the question is: when is violence justified? ?Never? is hard to say. I?m just reading a novel by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, about a country with peaceful people who don?t stand a chance against violent conquerors. You can say pacifism is the ultimate solution, but history shows this has little effect if your neighbour country doesn?t share that point of view.?

I’ve gotten several emails today, linking to different sites talking about Nat shaving her head for V. Obviously, this is strange since the news is pretty damn old now. This site does a good job covering it.

E! did a “50 Cutest Child Stars All Grown Up” and Nat came in at #47. Morons. Anyway, you can download the video here. Big thanks to Pasha.

That about covers it…for now.