News

A quarter century after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Girl, Interrupted,” Angelina Jolie is hoping to pick up the Best Actress trophy for her performance in “Maria.” In terms of Oscar history, she’d join Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Cate Blanchett, and Renée Zellweger, who all won for featured performances before prevailing again for star turns.

Jolie’s role, that of real-life opera singer Maria Callas, has already been proven to be awards-worthy and won Jane Seymour an Emmy nearly four decades ago. This English rose featured in the 1988 TV movie “Onassis: The Richest Man in the World,” opposite Raul Julia as Aristotle Onassis and Anthony Quinn as his father, Socrates. This remains her only Emmy win from five nominations.

Zellweger won Best Actress for her sensitive portrayal of Judy Garland in the 2020 flick “Judy.” Back in 2001, Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis took home Emmys for their work...

Think this year’s outstanding TV movie category is a bit weird? It’s always been a category with an identity problem. Flash back for a moment to 1972, the year that the ABC TV movie “Brian’s Song” won five Emmys. “Brian’s Song” is considered one of the seminal TV movies of all time, a tear-jerker starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams about Chicago Bears player Brian Piccolo (Caan), who discovered he had cancer soon after turning pro.

Nominated for 11 Emmys overall, “Brian’s Song” was so popular, and so successful, that it helped put the ABC “Movie of the Week,” as the franchise was called, front and center — cementing the TV movie as a network staple. The “movie of the week” idea was so groundbreaking that the entire industry continued to call TV movies “MOWs” long after ABC had ditched the name.

But there was no TV movie category then,...

Though the Continental Congress severed political connections with Great Britain on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. has never detached with their obsession with the British Royal Family. Just look at 2021 Emmy nominations.

The fourth season of Netflix’ “The Crown” reaped 24 bids — the show has already won 10 Emmys — including series, for leads Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Emma Corrin as Diana, the Princess of Wales and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and for supporting players Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles. And Oprah Winfrey’s blockbuster interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was nominated for best hosted nonfiction series or special.

There has been a lot of Emmy love over the years for the British monarchs. So make yourself cup of tea, heat up your scone or crumpet — with lemon curd, natch — keep...

When Yes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, the surviving members of the band lined up behind a podium at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and delivered the sorts of speeches you’d expect from veteran musicians who had waited decades for this moment of validation. Frontman Jon Anderson thanked departed Yes members Chris Squire and Peter Banks, 1980s-era guitarist Trevor Rabin thanked his wife and son, drummer Alan White paid tribute to the fans, and guitarist Steve Howe read prepared remarks about how the...

Bodyguard has become the BBC’s first series to be nominated for an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy in nearly 50 years.

The thriller, which aired in the U.S. via Netflix as part of its co-licensing model, where it picked it up at “script stage”, was originally produced by ITV-owned producer World Productions for the British public broadcaster.

While rival ITV has been nominated in the category as recently as 2016 for season six of Downton Abbey, and Netflix picked up noms for its remake of BBC political drama House of Cards, the BBC has to go back to 1972 when Glenda Jackson-fronted drama Elizabeth R, aired by PBS in the U.S. for its original nomination in the main drama category. Strangely, that year BBC drama The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a limited series that aired on CBS, was also nominated.

In addition to its Outstanding Drama Series nomination,...

“In 4-Channel Quadraphonic Sound!”

Yessongs screens Wednesday, April 5th at 8pm at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) as part of Webster University’s Award-Winning Strange Brew Film Series. Admission is $5

Yessongs is a live concert documentary featuring Yes at the height of their popularity during the 1970’s. The film features performances of songs from the classic albums “The Yes Album”, “Fragile” and “Close to the Edge” as well as a medley from Rick Wakeman’s solo album “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”

Despite it’s rather brief running time (only about 72 minutes), Yessongs will delight Yes fans. This rock & roll concert film was filmed on their 1972, ‘Close To The Edge’ tour, before Rick Wakeman decided to step down from the band (and would be replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz),and just as Alan White (ex Plastic Ono Band drummer)joined. The...

The entertainment industry is fascinated by the life of King Henry VIII, and for good reason. One of the most famous monarchs in world history, he had an outsize personality, established a new church and married six times. So it's no wonder he's been depicted so often on stage and screen: his story is ripe with drama. That has to be good news for Damian Lewis, who plays him in "Wolf Hall" and is nominated for an Emmy as Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actor.  -Break- Could 'Wolf Hall' pull off another British upset for Best Miniseries Emmy? This rich role of Henry VIII is a triple crown acting winner, having won an Oscar for Charles Laughton ("The Private Life of Henry VIII," 1932), a Tony for Rex Harrison ("Anne of a Thousand Days," 1949) and an Emmy for Keith Michell ("The Six Wives of Henry VIII," 1972). Just a few months ago,...

1963

Johnny Cash: Blood, Sweat and Tears (Columbia)

Some of Cash's '60s concept albums were burdened with much too talking between tracks; here the tribute to the American working man gets to mostly stand alone on its musical merits, and shines. Notably, it incluces the top version of the traditional "John Henry"” about the most legendarily heroic working man ever, and the version of "Casey Jones" here is classic as well. Politically and psychologically, Cash was the perfect man for this job.

1968

Byrds: Notorious Byrd Brothers (Columbia)

Sometimes transitional albums, confusing listeners expecting a group's earlier style, are underrated. Not so with this classic. It's true that it didn't sell as well as earlier Byrds LPs, nor did the single from the album chart very high, but for decades Notorious Byrd Brothers has been widely revered, and not just by fans; some critics have even anointed it as the band's best album.

This is a banner year for the British at the Emmy Awards. The masters and servants of "Downton Abbey" did well in drama, English detectives "Sherlock" and "Luther" took over the movie/miniseries categories, and British thespians contend in many categories. PBS' "Masterpiece," which airs "Downton," "Sherlock" and three other contenders, earned a series high 37 nominations. Other British programs and performers bring the total up to 50. To see them all View Gallery This Emmy infatuation with all things British is nothing new. "Elizabeth R," a six-parter about Elizabeth I starring Oscar champ Glenda Jackson, won Best Drama Series in 1972 edging out, among others, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII," another BBC six-parter about the love life of Elizabeth's father. The period piece "Upstairs, Downstairs" won Best Drama Series in 1974, 1975 and ...

Paula Kerger seems destined to have become the public face of PBS. Her grandfather, Ed Arnold, founded the public radio station Wbjc in Baltimore, and PBS was a favorite channel in her Baltimore household when she was growing up. "I remember watching Masterpiece Theatre programs like The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth R and I, Claudius," she says. "Public media was always part of my life." Today, it is her calling. Kerger, who began her career in the nonprofit sector, was recruited in 1993 by Wnet, PBS' flagship station in New York, to run a capital campaign.

read more...

A striking stage presence for more than 60 years and a familiar face on TV

Sheila Burrell, who has died aged 89 after a long illness, was a cousin of Laurence Olivier, and a similarly distinctive and fiery actor with a broad, open face, high cheekbones and expressive eyes. She stood at only 5ft 5ins but could fill the widest stage and hold the largest audience. Her voice was a mezzo marvel, kittenish or growling and, in later life, acquired the viscosity and vintage of an old ruby port, matured after years of experience.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, she made her name as a wild, red-headed Barbara Allen (subject of the famous ballad) in Peter Brook's 1949 production of Dark of the Moon (Ambassadors theatre), an American pot-boiler about the seduction of a lusty girl by a witch boy and the hysterical reaction of her local community.

The role remained one of her favourites,...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

I’m going to go as far as to say that my favorite film last year was Chris Morris’s brilliant balance between satire, comedy, and drama - Four Lions (Magnolia, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 Srp) - which focuses on a motley quartet of English Jihadi suicide bombers. Yes, you heard me. Not since Dr. Strangelove has comedy been so dark, so relevant, and so pitch-perfect. Bonus materials include interviews,...