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Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby (“The Fantastic Four: First Steps”), posing for the Cartier “Panthère de Cartier” accessories collection:

In 2011, Kirby made her TV debut in BBC's "The Hour".

She then played 'Estella' in the BBC' mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the TV movie "About Time".

In 2012, she filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

;

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser" and May 2015, was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original Brit TV series "The Crown"…

…winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019)…

…winning a Venice Film Festival 'Best Actress' award for her work in "Pieces of a Woman" (2020).

She co-starred in "Mission Impossible- Dead...

Every year, hundreds of films are produced, but only a handful of them ever receive the expensive and sustained advertising push needed to muscle their way into the public consciousness. Most movies are completely unheard of to all but die-hard cinephiles and film festival-goers. Often there are incredible films hidden among these unknowns.

Earning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is no easy task. A perfect score may not mean that a film is perfect, but it does indicate that every critic has given it a good review. Whether they rely on stunning cinematography, breathtaking performances, or innovative storytelling, films that have achieved this high honor somehow manage to please everyone.

Paper Spiders Inverts the Mother/Daughter Dynamic It Showcases a Relationship Full of Both Love and Trauma

Paper Spiders centers on Dawn (Lili Taylor), a recently widowed woman struggling with mental illness, and Melanie (Stefania Lavie Owen), her teenage daughter. An uncomfortable...

Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby, aka 'Sue Storm’ in the upcoming feature “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”, posing for “Madame Figaro” magazine, photographed by Rankin:

In 2011, Kirby made her television debut in the BBC's "The Hour". She then played 'Estella' in the BBC's mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the film "About Time ".

In 2012, Kirby filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser".

May 2015, she was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original Brit TV series "The Crown", winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019)...

...winning a Venice Film Festival 'Best Actress' award for her work in "Pieces of a Woman...

Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby (“The Fantastic Four: First Steps”), posing for the Cartier “Panthère de Cartier” accessories collection:

In 2011, Kirby made her TV debut in BBC's "The Hour".

She then played 'Estella' in the BBC' mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the TV movie "About Time".

In 2012, she filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

;

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser" and May 2015, was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original Brit TV series "The Crown"…

…winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019)…

…winning a Venice Film Festival 'Best Actress' award for her work in "Pieces of a Woman" (2020).

She co-starred in "Mission Impossible- Dead...

Jon M. Chu

Pulp Fiction Losing Best Picture to Forrest Gump in 1995.

Despite missing out on Oscar’s top prize, Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction did win best original screenplay and became a cultural mainstay.

“Pulp Fiction I felt was one of the biggest snubs, only because I was about to go to college at that time and 90 percent of the people in film school [were there] because of Pulp Fiction. But I know the movies that really change things aren’t always rewarded or recognized at that moment because it’s just too soon. I think Quentin Tarantino changed the landscape and changed a whole generation of filmmakers.”

Peter Sarsgaard

Tom Courtenay in The Dresser losing best actor to Robert Duvall in 1984’s Tender Mercies

“This is one of my favorite parts ever. This guy is just a servant for Albert Finney, and he goes totally underappreciated. When I first started acting,...

What would the moviegoing experience be without Sir Ian McKellen? An actor with a towering, half-century-plus career, theater-trained performer McKellen has become synonymous not just with great plays and serious dramas, but with huge sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters. McKellen headlined two major franchises in the aughts, playing indelible parts in both Peter Jackson' "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (plus the less beloved prequel saga) and pre-mcu superhero standout the "X-Men" trilogy.

McKellen adds his signature gravitas to every role, and he's elevated plenty of so-so films, like "The Da Vinci Code," "The Golden Compass," and -- dare I say -- "Cats." With a career so sprawling and significant, it's difficult to say just which of McKellen's films is his best, but where human brains fail, the (sometimes super-wonky) metrics of the Rotten Tomatoes algorithm theoretically succeed. We may not be able to pick just one McKellen performance that stands above the rest,...

Ian McKellen is an Oscar-nominated thespian whomhas excelled at everything from Shakespeare to sci-fi on both the stage and screen. Let’s take a look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1939 in Lancashire, England, McKellen first came to prominence on the stage, appearing in a number of classic plays from the likes of Anton Chekhov and William Shakespeare (including an acclaimed production of “Richard III” that he brought to the screen in 1995). His performance as Salieri in the 1981 production of “Amadeus” brought him a Tony award as Best Actor in a Play.

McKellen appeared in films sporadically throughout this period, earning his first starring role in “Priest of Love” in 1981. He became increasingly recognizable onscreen throughout the 1990s, earning his first Oscar nomination when he was 59-years-old: Best Actor for “Gods and Monsters” (1998). For his acclaimed performance as “Frankenstein” (1931) director James Whale, McKellen won...

Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby, aka 'Sue Storm’ in the upcoming feature “The Fantastic Four”, posing for “Madame Figaro” magazine, photographed by Rankin:

In 2011, Kirby made her television debut in the BBC's "The Hour". She then played 'Estella' in the BBC's mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the film "About Time ".

In 2012, Kirby filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser".

May 2015, she was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original Brit TV series "The Crown", winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019)...

...winning a Venice Film Festival 'Best Actress' award for her work in "Pieces of a Woman...

Albert Finney had an acting legacy including triumphs on stage and television. He was primarily known worldwide for his career, which lasted over half a century, as a film actor, equally adept in lighthearted musicals and complex dramas.

Finney’s work has been heralded in all three media. He won London’s Olivier Award for “Orphans” on stage, and won an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for his performance as Winston Churchill in TV’s “The Gathering Storm.” But it was in film that Finney was most honored. In 2000, Finney scored a rare double at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor for his work in Steven Soderbergh‘s “Erin Brockovich,” and even though he had little more than a cameo part in Soderbergh’s “Traffic” later that year, the role was big enough for him to win a second SAG Award that night as part of the film’s ensemble cast.

Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby (“Napoleon”) posing for "Harper's Bazaar" (UK) magazine, photographed by Scott Trindle:

In 2011, Kirby made her television debut in the BBC's "The Hour".She then played 'Estella' in the BBC's mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the film "About Time ".

In 2012, Kirby filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser" and May 2015, she was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original British series "The Crown", winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019), winning a Venice Film Festival 'Best Actress' award for her work in "Pieces of a Woman" (2020).

Click the images to enlarge...

"Mission: Impossible II" is the most James Bond-flavored of the film series. John Woo's action is characteristically explosive, especially compared to Brian De Palma's lighter touch in the first film and the later movies' emphasis on death-defying stunts.

It's the only film so far where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) isn't framed for treason or disavowed by the Impossible Mission Force (Imf). No, foiling the terrorist theft of a bio-weapon is just a day at the office for him, the way it is for Bond. Ethan even has a girl of the week, Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton).

Sir Anthony Hopkins also makes an uncredited appearance as Commander Swanbeck, who is M in all but name. Like the MI6 director in "Bond," Swanbeck is the old British man who gives our hero his mission. Originally, Woo and his crew had a different knighted British thespian in mind for the part: Sir Ian McKellen.

Take a look at actress Vanessa Kirby ("Napoleon") posing for the April 2023 issue of "The Pop Magazine":

In 2011, Kirby debuted in the BBC production "The Hour". This was followed with a co-starring role as 'Estella' in the BBC mini-series "Great Expectations".

In 2012, Kirby filmed "The Rise", "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser" and May 2015, was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original Brit series "The Crown", winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for roles in action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019), also winning a Venice Film festival 'Best Actress' award for her performance in the drama "Pieces of a Woman" (2020). She stars in "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part 1" (2023) and director Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" (2023).

When she was 23, Sonia Friedman was—to use her expression—thrown into a rehearsal room with Harold Pinter at London’s National Theatre. She was his deputy stage manager during production for the premiere of his one-act play Mountain Language starring theatrical royalty Michael Gambon and Eileen Atkins.

“I was the person sitting right next to [Pinter],” she recalls. “He would whisper into my ear all the way through,” about how he wanted it to look, where’d there’d be a cue. She says the playwright would make almost no changes to his script. “Though he did at one point add a pause and asked me to write that into the script,” she says, smiling at the memory. It was a life-changing moment for her, working with playwrights who directed their own work. “I fell in love at that point, particularly with new work, watching actors mine something that no...

Liz McCann, a groundbreaking Broadway producer who, as one of the first and most successful women to achieve a prominent leadership role in the theater industry – a term she hated, preferring “theater community” — died Thursday of cancer at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 90.

Her death was announced by her longtime associate and friend Kristen Luciani.

Elizabeth Ireland McCann — known throughout the Broadway community simply as Liz — started her career in theater as a production assistant and manager with Proscenium Productions at the Cherry Lane Theatre in the 1950s. In 1955, the company would be the first Off Broadway theater to win a Special Tony Award for its seminal productions of The Way of the World and Thieves’ Carnival.

Following a series of short-term theater jobs, McCann, who had acted in plays during her student years at Manhattanville College, completed a law degree at Fordham University. She later earned a...

Take a look at new images of actress Vanessa Kirby ("The Crown") posing for the December 2020/January 2021 issue of "Harper's Bazaar" (UK) magazine, photographed by Scott Trindle:

In 2011, Kirby made her television debut in the BBC's "The Hour".She then played 'Estella' in the BBC's mini-series adaptation of "Great Expectations", followed by the film "About Time ".

In 2012, Kirby filmed "The Rise", followed by film roles in "Kill Command", "Jupiter Ascending" and "Queen and Country".

In 2015, she appeared in "Everest", followed by "The Dresser" and May 2015, she was cast as 'Princess Margaret' in Netflix's first original British series "The Crown", winning the 'British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress'.

Kirby gained wider recognition for her roles in the action films "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018) and "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019), winning a Venice Film festival 'Best Actress' award for her performance in the drama "Pieces of a Woman" (2020).

Click the images to enlarge.

Back in 1999, Anthony Hopkins was ready to quit acting after playing the demanding title role in Julie Taymor’s “Titus.” “I put it behind me,” the 82-year-old actor said on a recent phone call from his home in Santa Monica. “Most of the time, things have been pretty good. When I was younger, I had a healthy ego and ambition and I was insecure. The great thing about getting older is that it falls away. I look in the mirror at myself, and say, ‘What’s the big deal? Come on! Thank you very much!’ I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”

Methinks he doth protest too much. At the moment, the 82-year-old Hopkins is on a roll. Last year he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor as Pope Benedict in “The Two Popes,” opposite fellow Welshman Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis. “I didn’t know Jonathan,...

Back in 1999, Anthony Hopkins was ready to quit acting after playing the demanding title role in Julie Taymor’s “Titus.” “I put it behind me,” the 82-year-old actor said on a recent phone call from his home in Santa Monica. “Most of the time, things have been pretty good. When I was younger, I had a healthy ego and ambition and I was insecure. The great thing about getting older is that it falls away. I look in the mirror at myself, and say, ‘What’s the big deal? Come on! Thank you very much!’ I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”

Methinks he doth protest too much. At the moment, the 82-year-old Hopkins is on a roll. Last year he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor as Pope Benedict in “The Two Popes,” opposite fellow Welshman Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis. “I didn’t know Jonathan,...

Ronald Harwood's Adaptations Oscar-winning screenwriter and playwright Sir Ronald Harwood has died, of natural causes, at the age of 85.

Tributes were paid last night to Harwood, who won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for Roman Polanski's The Pianist in 2003. He had previously received two other Oscar nominations in the same category - for The Dresser in 1983 and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2007, for which he won a BAFTA. His filmography also included screenplays for Being Julia, Cry, The Beloved Country and Love In The Time Of Cholera . In addition to his screenplays and stage work, including Taking Tea With Stalin, he also wrote the book Adaptations, about the art of writing for cinema.

Among those paying tribute on Twitter was documentarian David Nicholas Wilkinson, who distributed Harwood's film adaptation of his play Taking Sides.

He wrote on Twitter: "When Ronald Harwood won the Oscar for The.

Sir Ronald Harwood, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the 2002 film “The Pianist,” has died. He was 85.

He died Tuesday of natural causes, his agent Judy Daish said in a statement to BBC. “His wife Natasha died in 2013 and Sir Ronald is survived by their children Antony, Deborah and Alexandra,” Daish said.

Harwood was born in South Africa and went on to become one of Britain’s greatest playwrights. He is perhaps best known for his play “The Dresser,” which follows the assistant of an aging actor and is based on Harwood’s own time as a dresser. The play debuted on West End in 1980 and then on Broadway in 1981.

“The Dresser” was then adapted into a 1983 film, for which Harwood wrote the screenplay. Star Tom Courtenay, who portrayed the dresser, won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama. The story was also adapted for TV and radio.

Harwood wrote...

Sir Ronald Harwood, an Oscar-winning screenwriter and playwright, died on Tuesday of natural causes, his agent told BBC on Wednesday. He was 85.

The British writer won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” in 2003. Harwood was nominated in the same category for Peter Yates’ “The Dresser” in 1983 and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” in 2007.

Harwood was highly regarded as one of Britain’s most successful post-war dramatic scribes. Two of his plays, “The Dresser” and “Quartet,” were adapted from stage plays to the big screen. His other screenwriting credits include Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia,” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Polanski’s 2005 adaptation of “Oliver Twist,” “Being Julia” starring Annette Bening, “Love in the Time of Cholera” and more.

Some of this written stage plays include “Taking Tea With Stalin,” “Taking Sides,” “Ivanov,” “The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold” and many others.

The writer...

Ronald Harwood, a South African screenwriter most known for The Pianist has died. The Oscar-winning writer was 85.

Harwood, who also wrote The Dresser and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, died Tuesday of natural causes in his Sussex home.

The writer was born in South Africa in 1934. His first credit was for 1961’s Playdate. Throughout the sixties he went on to write a number for a number of titles including TV series ITV Television Playhouse, Knock on Any Door and ITV Play of the Week.

As his career progressed he went on write films, ranging from the 1966 film Arrivederci, Baby! to the 1981 picture Evita Peron. In 1983 Harwood wrote the screenplay for The Dresser, which follows a personal assistant’s struggle to help a veteran actor get through a difficult performance of King Lear. The film, which starred Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, received five nominations in 1984 included a nod for best Harwood’s screenplay.

Sir Ronald Harwood, the Oscar-winning British screenwriter of The Pianist and films such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Dresser and Quartet, has died. He was 85.

His agent, Judy Daish, told the BBC that Harwood died of natural causes on Tuesday.

Harwood wrote the script for Roman Polanski’s World War II drama The Pianist, which won him the 2003 Academy Award for best-adapted screenplay. He was nominated for a best-adapted screenplay Oscar on two other occasions for 1983’s The Dresser and 2007’s The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.

Highly regarded in Hollywood for his film work, in his native Britain, Harwood ...

Sir Ronald Harwood, the Oscar-winning British screenwriter of The Pianist and films such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Dresser and Quartet, has died. He was 85.

His agent, Judy Daish, told the BBC that Harwood died of natural causes on Tuesday.

Harwood wrote the script for Roman Polanski’s World War II drama The Pianist, which won him the 2003 Academy Award for best-adapted screenplay. He was nominated for a best-adapted screenplay Oscar on two other occasions for 1983’s The Dresser and 2007’s The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.

Highly regarded in Hollywood for his film work, in his native Britain, Harwood ...

It had been more than three decades since Sir Anthony Hopkins last trod the stage in the kind of Shakespeare role that defined his fiery early theater career, and 20 years since tackling the Bard's Titus onscreen. But all it took was a brief scene shot onstage for another project entirely to stoke the actor's appetite again — and in turn launch Amazon Studios' sleek, propulsive, modernized take on the play, now Emmy-nominated as outstanding television movie.

Colin Callender was serving as executive producer of the 2015 film adaptation of The Dresser — starring Hopkins and directed by Richard Eyre ...

A star-studded cast pulls off one of the biggest bank heists in history when King of Thieves arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital March 26 from Lionsgate. This film is currently available On Demand. Based on the unbelievable true story of the Hatton Garden Heist, this hilarious and thrilling crime caper stars two-time Oscar® winner Michael Caine, Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent, two-time Oscar® nominee Tom Courtenay, Charlie Cox, with Golden Globe® nominee Michael Gambon, and Ray Winstone. From director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) and from producer Michelle Wright (Baby Driver), the King of Thieves Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Check out this trailer:

A famous thief in his younger years, widower Brian Reader, 77 years of age, pulls together a band of misfit criminals to plot an unprecedented burglary at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. The thieves, all in...

Chicago – He moved deftly from British matinee idol to formidable movie star to reliable character actor, and was nominated four times for an Academy Award (no wins). Albert Finney had a nearly 50 year stage and screen career that encompassed virtually all types and genres of acting. He died in London on February 7th, 2019. He was 82.

He was born Albert Finney Jr., and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating at age 20 in 1956. He became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company shortly thereafter, and appeared on the stage throughout the late 1950s, and throughout his career. His debut film role was “The Entertainer” in 1960. He was the title character in the Oscar Best Picture “Tom Jones” (1963), and other films in that decade included “Night Must Fall” (1964), “Two for the Road” (1967) and “Charlie Bubbles”.

An Early Career Albert Finney

Photo credit: File Photo

His most fruitful film era was arguably the 1980s and ‘90s,...

The scope of this slice of wartime history is so small, it’s almost the movie equivalent of a one-man show. There are perhaps only a dozen speaking roles. Brian Cox is impressive as The Man Who Saved England in its Darkest Hour, but the drama reduces both the man and the historical crisis to trivial status, as little more than a personal emotional crisis: “Winston, the Haunted Imperialist.”

Churchill

Blu-ray

Cohen Media Group

2017 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 30.99

Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, James Purefoy.

Cinematography: David Higgs

Film Editor: Chris Gill

Original Music: Lorne Balfe

Written by Alex von Tunzelmann

Produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Nick Taussig, Piers Tempest, Paul Van Carter

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

No, it isn’t Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill … that’s another movie, Darkest Hour. This is the Brian Cox Churchill movie.

Any...

'Under the Volcano' screening: John Huston's 'quality' comeback featuring daring Albert Finney tour de force As part of its John Huston film series, the UCLA Film & Television Archive will be presenting the 1984 drama Under the Volcano, starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, and Anthony Andrews, on July 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Billy Wilder Theater in the Los Angeles suburb of Westwood. Jacqueline Bisset is expected to be in attendance. Huston was 77, and suffering from emphysema for several years, when he returned to Mexico – the setting of both The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Night of the Iguana – to direct 28-year-old newcomer Guy Gallo's adaptation of English poet and novelist Malcolm Lowry's 1947 semi-autobiographical novel Under the Volcano, which until then had reportedly defied the screenwriting abilities of numerous professionals. Appropriately set on the Day of the Dead – 1938 – in the fictitious Mexican town of Quauhnahuac (the fact that it sounds like Cuernavaca...

The 2017 Golden Globe nominations are here, and although a few big names earned awards buzz leading up to the noms, they won’t have a shot at the prestigious award.

A few lesser known films, television shows and actors, however, pulled some unexpected nods (congrats to Sing Street and Aaron Taylor-Johnson!).

Here’s who will have – and who should have had – a chance at a Golden Globe award on Jan. 8.

Films Snub: Denzel Washington

Although the Oscar winner was recognized for his acting in Fences, his directing work for the 1950s-set drama failed to secure him a nomination or a best motion picture drama honor.

Want to make Tom Cruise seem more heroic? Add Simon Pegg. Need Chris Pratt to be more macho? Add Michael Sheen. Why are British character actors becoming kooky foils to Hollywood smoothies?

Waking up before the alarm goes off can be irritating, especially when there’s still another 90 years to go until you need to get out of bed. This is the situation in which Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt find themselves in the new science-fiction adventure Passengers, when they are roused prematurely by a system malfunction a quarter of the way into their journey through deep space. At least there is one thing on board their spacecraft that will assuage any intergalactic disorientation: an offbeat British character actor.

In this instance, it’s Michael Sheen, who provides drinks and gentle banter in a sleek, deserted bar. A pan down to the nuts-and-bolts of this bartender’s lower half reveals...

“The Dresser” was not only intensely personal for Anthony Hopkins in returning to his bittersweet theatrical roots, but also for costume designer Fotini Dimou (“Ripley’s Game”) — the real dresser, so to speak.

The World War II-set backstage drama about the symbiotic relationship between an aging English actor, Sir (Hopkins), and his personal assistant, Norman (Ian McKellen), brilliantly explores the tension between approval and rejection.

“Dressers were like personal assistants and looked after the stars in every way,” explained Dimou. “And what I researched is how these companies used to work. They didn’t have designers as such but what they had was a wardrobe mistress or master or the chief dresser, the role that Norman plays, who provides the costumes for the actor/manager, who ran the company.”

“The Dresser,” by Ronald Harwood (who had personal experience as a dresser), first opened in London’s West End in 1980 and...

In this summer blockbuster season of franchise overkill and souped-up CGI decadence, it’s not hard to crave the more understated, yet still electric thrill that can be found in watching two performers encircle one another, building in intensity with every exchanged snatch of dialogue, exploring their respective ranges through mere interaction.

The Dresser, Starz’s stately entrance into the original filmmaking game, is an archetypal reminder of what makes those sorts of movies, when done right, so inherently cinematic. Two-handers are a classic of real, performance-driven entertainment, and with the starry one-two punch of Sirs Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins leading this latest take on the Ronald Harwood play, The Dresser goes for the theatric jugular early on, with an extended conversation between steadfast backstage assistant Norman (McKellen) and his boss’s quietly miserable wife (Emily Watson) that effortlessly lays out the main drama.

Norman is the long-suffering yet consummately devout attendant to “Sir,...

Every once in a while something made for television comes along that seems like art for art's sake, a production meant less to be a hit or an event than simply a good idea matched with the willingness to do it and a place to show it. Such is the case with The Dresser, the Starz-bbc co-production premiering Monday night on Starz (it aired on the BBC last year) based on Ronald Harwood's famous play of the same name (which ran in the U.K. and on Broadway and also was made into an acclaimed 1983 film) starring

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There are movies that exist only to highlight the towering work of their performers, and then there are films like "The Dresser." A play by Ronald Harwood first staged in 1980 and re-envisioned for the silver screen in 1983 with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, the feature-length appreciation of the theatre — with an eye toward the actors willingly indentured to it — functions almost surprisingly well as a meta-narrative on aging, acting and the differing perspectives on the importance of both. With Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen digging into the meaty roles in front of them, there's plenty of juice for the audience to savor, even if each viewer digests "The Dresser" differently. Considering its history, both on stage and now with two filmed versions, "The Dresser" could have easily gone the other way. Harwood's play has always walked a fine line between doing service to the script (and thus the art form it honors) and satirizing it,...

The play’s the thing in The Dresser. King Lear, to be exact. And whether — apologies, Hamlet — it is to be or not to be. And a pair of Sirs make Starz’ upcoming film adaptation of the Ronald Harwood play a must-see, whether you’re a Shakespeare lover or not. The Dresser follows Sir (Sir Anthony Hopkins), an embittered, once-famous actor whose star has faded to twilight in a local Shakespeare troupe. As Sir’s anger and despair get the better of him — and World War II rages across England — Sir’s faithful dresser Norman (Sir Ian McKellen) tries to ensure that Lear … Continue reading →

The post The Dresser — Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen shine in Starz original film appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Before crowning its final champion, American Idol will welcome back two of its most successful victors.

Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are set to perform on Idol’s series finale, airing Thursday, April 7, at 8/7c. The divas will take the stage as part of Fox’s three-night Grand Finale event, beginning with the 90-minute retrospective American Idol: American Dream on Tuesday, April 5, at 8 pm.

RelatedAmerican Idol: Get the Full Set List for Sia Songbook/American Rock Night!

The last-ever performance show will then air April 6 at 8 pm, leading up to Idol‘s swan song the following night.

Starz has debuted the first trailer for "The Dresser," its upcoming telemovie adaptation of Ronald Harwood's acclaimed play which will premiere on the cable network on May 30th.

Richard Eyre ("Notes on a Scandal," "Iris") directs and Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen star in the film which is set on one night in a small regional theatre during World War II as a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeare's "King Lear".

With the curtain call coming and the leading man nowhere to be found, it's up to his dresser to keep the production alive. Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire, Edward Fox and Vanessa Kirby also star.

Plus: Tribeca unveils Sloan screenwriting winner; and more…

Starz will premiere its first movie for television, Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s acclaimed play The Dresser starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins, on Starz on May 30.

The film will also be made available simultaneously for Starz subscribers on Starz Play and Starz On Demand in the Us.

Tribeca Film Institute announced on Thursday that Nyu’s Tisch School Of The Arts film student Shawn Snyder will receive the 2016 Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for screenwriting. Snyder co-wrote and will direct To Dust. Jennifer Edwards of UCLA will receive an honourable mention for her screenplay, Family Brew. The American Film Institute has announced its collaboration with the White House on the third annual White House Student Film Festival, to be held in late summer. Participant Media joins AFI in support of their work with young filmmakers of the White House Student Film Festival for a second...

Class

BBC America has announced a 2016 air date for "Class," an upcoming eight episode "Doctor Who" spinoff which was confirmed on Friday at the Television Critics Association press tour.

Young-adult author Patrick Ness is behind the series which will be executive produced by Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin. BBC America and BBC Cymru Wales will co-produce the Cardiff-shot series. [Source: Variety]

Grease Live

Legendary R&B group Boyz II Men will make a cameo appearance as a group version of the Teen Angel character to perform the iconic song "Beauty School Dropout" as part of the "Grease: Live" event airing January 31st on Fox. Frankie Avalon played the singular version of the role in the classic 1970s musical. There's also a new featurette for the production which you can see below:

TNT

TNT is making an unprecedent move - planning to cut the number of advertisements during three new 2016 drama series by 50% - roughly 8-9 minutes.

'Son of Saul': Géza Röhrig in the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards' Best Foreign Language Film winner. Charlotte Rampling, Michael Fassbender: Los Angeles Film Critics Awards 2015 The Los Angeles Film Critics Association's 2015 winners were announced on Sunday, Dec. 6. Lafca is one of the two most influential critics groups – i.e., those whose decisions get at least some mainstream media mileage – in the United States. The other one is the much older New York Film Critics Circle, followed by the National Society of Film Critics. Five-decade movie veteran Charlotte Rampling,[1] who'll turn 70 next Feb. 5, was one of the day's big winners. Besides being selected Best Actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics for her performance in 45 Years, Rampling was also the 2015 Boston Society of Film Critics' pick. Earlier this year, Andrew Haigh's marital drama costarring Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago, The Dresser) earned her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival.

You may remember a while back when True Detective season two was first announced, fans started campaigning for their dream castings to take over from Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. Our favourite suggestion? Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart.

Sadly we had to make do with Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams, but would Sir Ian ever consider season three? Well, when Digital Spy asked him, he in fact hadn't heard of the HBO anthology drama, but he could be tempted.

When we told him about the online picks, he said: "God bless you! Who knows. I would consider anything, I've got very Catholic tastes. I love pantomime, I've had some of my greatest fun playing the Dame. I love sitcom, I've enjoyed being in Vicious with Derek Jacobi. I adore Coronation Street and I loved being in it. I adore Shakespeare, ditto.

"I don't mind, any old thing really.

The playwright behind The Dresser has said that his 'criticism' of the upcoming BBC TV adaptation was a joke, and that his quotes were "wrongly reported".

Ronald Harwood was previously quoted as saying he was only "happy-ish" with the adaption of his play, which stars Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen and Emily Watson.

At a BFI screening of the adaptation, Harwood had also suggested that he was initially reluctant to make a TV programme, saying: "What I was keen on was it being revived in the theatre... But it didn't happen that way, and then they put pressure on me, and I thought, 'Oh screw it'."

The playwright has now released a statement saying that he was being sarcastic, and he is in fact "extraordinarily proud" of the TV production.

"The truth is that for a lifetime I've been burdened by my wit and intellect and while it doesn't always translate...

I sensed early on with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" that James Horner was going to become the finest film composer of his generation. He boldly seized the Jerry Goldsmith mantle head on and made it his own. Now, after his tragic plane crash near Santa Barbara Monday morning, I can proclaim it online: His scores were epic, intimate and emotionally and spiritually transcendent. And he was prolific, scoring more than 100 movies since the late '70s, highlighted by "Titanic" (for which he received two Oscars for score and the blockbuster hit song with Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On," co-written by Will Jennings), "Avatar," Braveheart," "Apollo 13," "Aliens, "A Beautiful Mind," "Field of Dreams," "Glory," "Brainstorm" and  "Cocoon." But there were also such gems as "Something Wicked This Way Comes," "The Dresser,"...

On the Ealing Studios lot, which once played host to Alec Guinness and the Ealing Comedies — and is now the residence of Downton Abbey — Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen have been shooting BBC/Starz's upcoming The Dresser. This is the adaptation of Ronald Harwood's classic play that's produced by Colin Callender's Playground Entertainment. It's the first time in many years that a play has been adapted in such a way for television. And it joins the two veteran stars…...

The first picture of Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen in the BBC's The Dresser has been released.

The actors are starring in Richard Eyre's TV adaptation of the Ronald Harwood play alongside Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire and Edward Fox.

The play is set one night during World World Two as a theatre company puts on King Lear, but with main actor Sir missing and no-one with any idea of where he is, it falls to his dresser Norman to keep the production going - with or without Sir.

Both Hopkins and McKellen have played Lear on stage and are both renowned for their Shakespearean roles, but this is the first time the pair have shared a screen together.

Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning, said: "To bring such incredible and world class talent together for The Dresser is testament to Ronald's wonderful play which is as current and...

Ian McKellan and Anthony Hopkins have a new effort for Starz and BBC, and The Dresser is now in production.

The made-for-television film based on the famous play is loaded with stars, and is going to be one of the most interesting efforts to come along in quite some time. At least, if the cast itself can be taken as grounds for extremely high hopes. McKellan and Hopkins are perfect for the roles, and the story has proven itself, not only as a great story, but one that holds up over time.

Get all the details below, and make sure you watch out for this one.

Starz, in partnership with the BBC, today announced that production has officially begun on the movie for television “The Dresser,” an adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s play, to be directed by Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal, Iris). The production will film in and around London.

Production has begun in London on BBC Two/Starz drama The Dresser. Richard Eyre is directing the adaptation of Ronald Harwood's classic portrait of theater life backstage. Teaming for the first time on screen, Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins star. The two-hour TV movie has also now added Emily Watson, Happy Valley‘s Sarah Lancashire and Edward Fox — who appeared in the 1983 Oscar-nominated Peter Yates version of The Dresser that starred Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay…...

“An incredible selection” was the verdict given by jury president Darren Aronofsky about the Berlinale’s 2015 competition line-up.

Speaking at the the closing gala, Aronofsky said: “Hats off to Dieter [Kosslick], the curators have made an incredible selection. It’s been incredibly difficult to decide on the prizes (…) there were so many quality films that it was hard not to award many, many of the films.“

In fact, the International Jury, which included actors Daniel Brühl and Audrey Tautou and the former Golden Bear winner Claudia Llosa from Peru, gave awards to nine of the 19 Competition titles by splitting two of the prizes, and showed the unanimity of its decisions by all being on stage together for the presentation of the awards in the Berlinale Palast.

Jafar Panahi’s Taxi became the second Iranian film in the Berlinale’s 65-year history to win the Golden Bear - after Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation in 2011 - and is Panahi...

The Dresser's Us TV rights have been picked up by Starz.

Based on Ronald Harwood's classic play, the film marks the first time Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Anthony Hopkins have worked together.

The movie will be set during World War II and is based on Harwood's own experiences as a dresser for the distinguished British actor Sir Donald Wolfit. Hopkins has been cast as Wolfit, while McKellen will play his dresser, Norman.

The BBC co-production is directed by Richard Eyre and executive-produced by Colin Callender, Sonia Friedman, Polly Hilly and Ben Stephenson.

"The Dresser is a timeless and poignant story about the relationship between artists, and to have this classic play brought to life on-screen by such acting giants as Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen is thrilling," said Starz managing director Carmi Zlotnik (via Entertainment Weekly).

"We are glad to be working in partnership again with the...

Starz will co-produce the movie “The Dresser,” which will feature legendary actors Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen performing together for the first time.

The film, a co-production between Starz and BBC, will be directed by Richard Eyre (“Notes on a Scandal”), with Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions also producing, with Callender and Friedman serving as executive producers.

Also Read: Starz Drops New Trailers for ‘Outlander,’ Season 2 of ‘Power’ (Video)

“The Dresser,” an adaptation of the Ronald Harwood play, is set against World War II. Welsh actor Hopkins will star as Sir, while English counterpart McKellen will portray Sir’s dresser,...