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Co-owner of west London studios tells of dunking Victoria Beckham, industry upheavals and 25-year labour of love

The first time film-maker Barnaby Thompson visited Ealing Studios it was to shoot Victoria Beckham, who at the time was better known globally as Posh Spice, being unceremoniously plunged underwater.

“It was 1997, we were making Spice World and there was a sequence where Posh Spice got thrown into the Thames,” says Thompson, whose film credits include Wayne’s World, the remake of St Trinian’s and an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband. “We have a tank at Ealing so we shot Posh being thrown into the tank. It was the first time I had been on that hallowed ground.”...

It is a bold claim to call anything the "best" of its respective medium, whether it be books, comics, music, or film. This is particularly true of the horror genre, with fans often divided about what even constitutes a good horror movie: do you prefer slow burn or do you want gore in abundance? Still, there is one movie that is hard to argue about not being the best of the 1990s when it comes to zombie movies, with Cemetery Man offers a wholly unique experience for the genre and looking gorgeous while doing it.

We will examine what makes Michele Soavi's Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore) such a stand out of the era, and the horror genre in general. This is a movie you will want to get into your Halloween rotation if you have not seen it.

Cemetery Man aka Dellamorte Dellamore Plot and Cast

Caretaker for...

See-Saw Films producer Iain Canning, Barnaby Thompson, producer of Wayne’s World, An Ideal Husband and director of the St Trinian’s films, and Boiling Point actor Ray Panthaki have been elected to Bafta’s film committee.

Canning’s See-Saw credits include The King’s Speech, The Power Of The Dog and Apple TV series Slow Horses.

They have been elected by the Bafta membership, made up of 12,000 creatives from across the screen industries.

Journalist and broadcaster Jason Solomons has been re-elected.

They join chair Anna Higgs and deputy chair Emily Stillman, as well as Anthony Andrews, Julie La’Bassiere,...

One of the most celebrated comedies of 1999 is “Notting Hill,” starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Roger Michell, the film tells of a famous movie actress named Anna Scott who falls in love with a small-town England bookstore owner named William Thacker. Released 25 years ago in May 1999, “Notting Hill” was a major box office success, grossing $364 million worldwide on a $42 million budget. Read on for more about the “Notting Hill” 25th anniversary.

The nation’s critics gave mostly positive reviews to “Notting Hill,” unusual for a studio romantic comedy. Derek Elley in Variety wrote, “[The film] has buckets to spare of that rarest screen commodity — genuine, engaging charm — plus a cast and production values that fully deliver.” Wesley Morris in San Francisco Examiner said, “Director Michell isn’t content to rest on his stars’ slapstick laurels, mining instead the more sophisticated if subversive socio-romantic pratfalls in Curtis’ script.

First-look photos of Malala Yousafzai’s cameo in the second season of We Are Lady Parts, launching on Peacock in the U.S. and on Channel 4 in the U.K. on Thursday, May 30, have been released and feature her in fringed western wear.

Early glimpses of her season 2 appearance also show the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner wearing a cowboy hat atop a horse. Produced by Working Title Television, part of Universal International Studios, the show is written, created, and executive-produced by Nida Manzoor.

The cast of ‘We Are Lady Parts’.

Yousafzai, a fierce advocate for girls’ education, joins We Are Lady Parts band members Anjana Vasan (Wicked Little Letters, Black Mirror), Sarah Kameela Impey (Vera, Halcyon Heights), Juliette Motamed (Halo, Magic Mike’s Last Dance), Faith Omole (An Ideal Husband, Endeavour) and Lucie Shorthouse (Rebus, Henpocalypse!).

Season two sees their band return with “a renewed artistic mission after the high of their first U.

Johns was a regular in British films of the forties and fifties and later in Hollywood productions.

British actress Glynis Johns, best known for her role in Disney’s 1964 classic Mary Poppins, has died aged 100.

Johns died in Los Angeles, where she had been living in an assisted living home for the past few years, according to her manager Mitch Clem.

Born in South Africa while her parents – her mother was a concert pianist and her father the Welsh actor Mervyn Johns – were on tour, Johns’ grew up in the UK. In the 1940s and early fifties she appeared in a string of British films,...

Johns was a regular in British films of the forties and fifties and later in Hollywood productions.

British actress Glynis Johns, best known for her role in Disney’s 1964 classic Mary Poppins, has died aged 100.

Johns died in Los Angeles, where she had been living in an assisted living home for the past few years, according to her manager Mitch Clem.

Born in South Africa while her parents – her mother was a concert pianist and her father the Welsh actor Mervyn Johns – were on tour, Johns’ grew up in the UK. In the 1940s and early fifties she appeared in a string of British films,...

Glynis Johns, remembered by movie audiences as Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins and by Broadway devotees as the first person to sing Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” on a national stage, died Thursday of natural causes at an assisted living home in Los Angeles. She was 100.

Her death was announced by her manager and publicist Mitch Clem. “Today’s a sad day for Hollywood,” Clem said in a statement. “She is the last of the last of old Hollywood.”

A Tony winner (Best Actress/Musical) for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt in the original 1973 Broadway cast of the Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler A Little Night Music, Johns both debuted and, due to her widespread acclaim, helped popularize what would become perhaps Sondheim’s most beloved and well-known songs with “Send in the Clowns.”

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, the Welsh Johns made her West End debut in 1931 at age...

In 2000 – merely two years after she scored her first Golden Globe nomination for her supporting turn in “Boogie Nights” – Julianne Moore earned concurrent lead notices from the same organization for “The End of the Affair” (drama) and “An Ideal Husband” (comedy/musical). That instance of dual recognition made her the 16th woman to have competed for all three possible film acting Golden Globes, joining the likes of Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine, and Emma Thompson.

Now, two decades deeper into her career, she just landed another Best Film Supporting Actress bid for “May December,” which makes her only the third performer with at least three mentions in each film Golden Globe category.

With this new film nomination, Moore has three of each kind. The 63-year-old’s sophomore supporting notice came in 2010 for “A Single Man,” while her remaining lead bids were for the comedies “The Kids Are All Right” (2011) and “Maps to the Stars...

“May December,” the newest acclaimed drama film from Todd Haynes, is now available to stream on Netflix, and one of the film’s stars, Julianne Moore, is already an early favorite to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her spellbinding performance. Let’s look back at her five Academy Award races and talk about why Moore finally won her first gold trophy in 2015 for “Still Alice” (2014).

Her first Oscar nomination came in 1998 in the Best Supporting Actress category for “Boogie Nights” (1997). Moore’s only Academy Award nom of the 1990s put her up against Joan Cusack for “In & Out,” Minnie Driver for “Good Will Hunting,” Gloria Stuart for “Titanic” and Kim Basinger for “L.A. Confidential.” Moore didn’t have a chance that first time around because Basinger dominated the category all season, her beloved film often showing up in the Best Picture and Best Director categories,...

The voice of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 is provided by one of Britain’s most acclaimed actors. Released in 2004, Shrek 2 was one of the best-received sequels ever made, with universal critical acclaim to match its predecessor and even more success at the box office. The Shrek sequel also continued to subvert the expectations of fairy tale traditions: after Prince Charming embarked on a daring quest to free the princess from the tower, he was shocked to learn she’d already been rescued by and married her savior – an ogre. Whereas Prince Charming is typically depicted as a hero, he's one of the villains of the Shrek franchise.

The Shrek movies have one of the most star-studded voice casts of any animated franchise. It’s headlined by a trio of A-list icons – Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Fiona – with just as much...

India’s Kajol To Star Disney+ Hotstar Remake Of ‘The Good Wife’

As Disney+ Day continues ahead of the D23 Expo in Anaheim, India’s Disney+ Hotstar has revealed Hindi cinema star Kajol’s debut streaming series: a local remake of CBS drama The Good Wife, titled The Good Wife — Pyaar, Kanoon, Dhoka. Due to debut soon on the streamer, the Banijay Asia-produced show will see Kajol in the lawyer role Juliana Margulies made famous during the U.S. show’s seven-year run between 2009 and 2016. Suparn Verma is directing. “The beauty of Ott platforms is that they give creators and actors an opportunity to reinvent and experiment with different formats, and with Disney+ Hotstar’s The Good Wife, that’s exactly what I got,” said Kajol. News of the show first emerged over the summer. Rights to the Good Wife format are shopped by Paramount Global Content Distribution and have previously been licensed in China,...

Exclusive: The Rosenzweig Group is expanding its international client list, with the additions of actors Or Ben-Melech, Faith Omole and Aaron Poole.

Israeli actor Ben-Melech is known for his work on HBO’s limited series Our Boys, which won 14 Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards and received a Peabody Award nomination. He earned an Israeli Academy Award nomination for best actor for his leading role in the first season of Yes Studios’ Magpie and will next be seen in Season 2. Also upcoming for Ben-Melech is Terrence Malik’s The Way of the Wind. He continues to be repped by Shaked & Perri in Israel.

British actor Omole stars as Bisma in the new Peacock/Channel 4 series We Are Lady Parts. She recently played Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe Theatre and guest starred on ITV’s Endeavour. Her previous stage work includes a starring role in...

Exclusive: BAFTA-nominated St. Trinian’s, Johnny English Reborn and An Ideal Husband director Oliver Parker has launched a production shingle with former Red Arrow Studios CEO James Baker and Metro International Partner Sam Parker, and the outfit is taking a packed slate to Mip TV.

Anyway Content opened quietly several months ago and is leading its 10-strong Cannes slate with Influencer Inc., a business format developed with Forbes Content and LA-based digital agency G & B Digital Management.

The London-based 10-staff indie is developing multi-genre shows targeted at a range of platforms and networks and said it is currently working with a range of established and emerging talent.

Oliver Parker, an esteemed British director with a wealth of feature credits including the BAFTA-nominated An Ideal Husband, is Creative Director.

Baker, a veteran UK exec who departed Red Arrow Studios two years ago and used to be a Sky Controller, is Chair,...

Michael Caine said Friday on a BBC podcast that his newest film, Best Sellers, may be his last part, citing the pandemic, a lingering back issue and the lack of projects for “a leading man that’s 88.” But that’s not quite true, he clarified in a statement today.

“Regarding retirement,” said the Oscar-winner, “I’ve spent over 50 years getting up at 6:00 a.m. to make movies, and I’m not getting rid of my alarm clock!”

Caine reinforced the point in a tweet posted this morning saying, “I haven’t retired and not a lot of people know that.”

I haven’t retired and not a lot of people know that

— Michael Caine (@themichaelcaine) October 16, 2021

The actor, who has been remarkably prolific over the decades, told Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo Friday on the BBC podcast “Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review” that he’s now interested in writing.

Actors Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, who’ve won a brace of Oscars each, will headline the cast of “The Great Escapers,” which Pathé will present at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

Inspired by true events, the film will tell the story of Bernard Jordan’s (Caine) escape from his care home in 2014 to attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France. Jordan’s adventure, spanning 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Irene (Jackson), and the story celebrates their love without sentimentality.

The film will be directed by BAFTA nominee Oliver Parker (“An Ideal Husband”) from a script by BAFTA nominee William Ivory (“Made in Dagenham”). Principal photography is scheduled for June this year.

“No one can resist a script that makes people both laugh and cry – I loved Billy’s writing and the story itself, so inspirational and so moving, seemed...

Oscar winners Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson will lead the cast of The Great Escaper, which will be directed by Oliver Parker (An Ideal Husband) from a script by BAFTA nominee William Ivory (Made in Dagenham). The project is scheduled to start principal photography in June this year.

The film will tell the story of Bernard Jordan’s escape from his care home to attend the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France.

Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae (Nowhere Boy) are producing, pic is an Ecosse Films production for Pathe, BBC Film and Ingenious Media. Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken and Jenny Borgars for Pathé; Rose Garnett for BBC Film; and Andrea Scarso for Ingenious.

Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world at the upcoming virtual European Film Market.

Rupert Everett, Derek Jacobi and Tom Felton have joined the ensemble cast of “Lead Heads,” described as a “drama about greed and the repercussions it has on the soul.” Also in the cast are Luke Newberry, Mark Williams and Olatunji Ayofe. Giles Borg directs. Principal photography begins in March in London.

The film centers on “a group of men, strangers to one another but all corrupted by greed, who, in their desperation, are drawn together for one night to play a game that may cost them both their souls and lives,” according to a statement from the producers, Lawrence Steven Meyers, Randy Dannenberg and John Evangelides.

Alexa Waugh is onboard to line produce. The script was written by Patrick Makin.

Borg has worked in film and television for more than 20 years, directing commercials, music videos, TV series and feature films. He made his feature debut with “1234” in 2008, a quirky music-themed drama,...

I did a double take when I saw the headline myself. Despite only launching a week ago, a not inconsiderable number of titles will be leaving HBO Max at the end of June. Logically, distribution contracts that were already running out weren’t going to stop running out just because Warner launched their new service, so you best get on these quick.

Here’s the list of all the movies leaving HBO Max on June 30th:

The Abyss

Akeelah and the Bee

American Wedding

An Ideal Husband

Arthur

Asylum

The Beverly Hillbillies

The Big Green

Blindspotting

Bye Bye, Love

Empire of the Sun

Glengarry Glen Ross

Grandma’s Boy

Great Expectations

A Handful of Dust

Head Full of Honey

Heaven & Earth

Hellboy

The Hoax

I Love You Phillip Morris

Indignation

Jiminy Glick in Lalawood

Jobs

Johnny English

Keeping Up with the Steins

Kin

Les Miserables

Hellboy Gallery 1 of 6

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Experience an epic tale of heroism, leadership, and female empowerment when The Warrior Queen of Jhansi arrives on Digital and DVD May 19 from Lionsgate.

Experience an epic tale of heroism, leadership, and female empowerment when The Warrior Queen of Jhansi arrives on Digital and DVD May 19 from Lionsgate. This film is based on the true story of Rani of Jhansi, the Indian Queen who was a leading figure and symbol of resistance in the 1857 Indian rebellion against the British Empire. Directed by Swati Bhise (one of the producers of The Man Who Knew Infinity) and co-written by Swati, her daughter Devika Bhise (Mosaic), who also stars as “Rani Lashkmi Bai,” and Olivia Emden (Hero), The Warrior Queen of Jhansi features Nathaniel Parker, Golden Globe® nominee Rupert Everett, Ben Lamb, Jodhi May, and Primetime Emmy® winner Derek Jacobi. The Warrior Queen of Jhansi will be available on Digital for the suggested...

Rupert Everett will take over for the previously announced Eddie Izzard as George in director Joe Mantello’s upcoming Broadway staging of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? co-starring Laurie Metcalf as Martha.

The announcement was made today by producers Scott Rudin/Barry Diller/David Geffen, who said Izzard is leaving the production due to scheduling conflicts.

The revival will also feature Russell Tovey and Patsy Ferran, and begins its limited engagement Monday, March 2, 2020, with an official opening night set for Thursday, April 2 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced.

Everett’s casting marks the actor’s return to Broadway after a 10-year absence.

Everett’s stage career began in London’s West End in 1981 with Another Country (he later starred in the film version). Since then he’s appeared on the London stage...

Exclusive: Olivia Cooke, Ben Hardy, and Daryl McCormack will star in Pixie, a comedic thriller directed by Oscar nominee Barnaby Thompson and written by Preston Thompson. Rounding out the cast are Colm Meaney (Layer Cake), Dylan Moran (Black Books), and multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner Alec Baldwin.

Filming is currently underway. The plot centers on Pixie (Cooke), who wants to avenge her mother’s death by masterminding a heist, but her plans go awry and she finds herself on the run with two young men who are way out of their depth being chased across the Wild Irish countryside by gangsters. She has to pit her wits against everyone, taking on the patriarchy to claim the right to shape her own life.

Thompson, who picked up an Oscar nom as a producer of the short film Dear Rosie,...

Best known for chumming it up with Steve Coogan in The Trip To Italy and The Trip to Spain, Rob Brydon bonds with an entirely different group of dudes in the upcoming feature Swimming With Men.

Directed by Oliver Parker, the narrative centers on Eric (Brydon), an accountant who is [...]

The post Rob Brydon Takes A “Synchronized” Male Bonding Trip In ‘Swimming With Men’ Trailer appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

For “The Happy Prince” star Rupert Everett, “Oscar Wilde seemed like a perfect portrait to try and paint because I find him a very fascinating, inspiring patron-saint kind of figure, almost a Christ figure.” In addition to playing the sharp-witted author in his tragic final years, Everett made his screenwriting and directing debut with this passion project, which took 10 years to make its way to the screen. Watch our exclusive video interview with him above.

See Oscars 2019: Sony Pictures Classics contenders include six-time nominee Glenn Close in ‘The Wife’

The actor has a long history with Wilde: he portrayed him in a 2002 revival of David Hare‘s play “The Judas Kiss” and appeared in screen adaptations of “An Ideal Husband” (1999) and “The Importance of Being Earnest” (2002). Everett considers him a “genius” and “the last great vagabond of the 19th century.” In focusing his film on the last few years of his life,...

Timothée Chalamet charmed audiences last fall with his Oscar-nominated performance in Call Me By Your Name. This season he’s opposite Steve Carell in bio-drama Beautiful Boy, based on two best-selling memoirs by father and son David and Nic Sheff. The feature, from Amazon Studios, opens this weekend in New York and L.A., leading to national expansions in early November. Rupert Everett comes out with his directorial debut, The Happy Prince, based on the final days of Oscar Wilde. Everett also wrote, and stars along with Colin Firth and Emily Watson in the feature which opened Wednesday in limited release via Sony Pictures Classics.

Roadside Attractions’ The Oath takes a comedic look at a divided America. The film by Ike Barinholtz, co-starring Tiffany Haddish, opens in 10 locations Friday before jumping to 250 next week. And SXSW debut Sadie opens in a self-release by Megan Griffiths.

Other limited releases include Paladin...

Rupert Everett turns his fascination with Oscar Wilde, the 19th-century Irish poet and playwright who was persecuted and jailed for “gross indecency with men” (the word homosexual was never uttered), into a film of righteous anger, touching gravity and wicked Wildean wit. Having played the literary lion on stage in David Hare’s The Judas Kiss and characters in film versions of An Ideal Husband (1999) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Everett shows a kinship with the role that goes beyond an openly gay actor playing a gay icon. Any...

In his directorial debut The Happy Prince, actor Rupert Everett offers a spellbinding, honest and hugely compelling account of a lesser known period in the life of one of the most iconic literally figures of our times. Charting the life of Oscar Wilde shortly after his release from prison on charges of homosexual activity, and all the way up to his untimely death 3 years later, the film offers a rare chance for audiences to reconcile themselves with a life destroyed by prejudice and bigotry, and which culminated in the heartbreaking demise of a man who deserved way more than to live out his final days in abject poverty and squalor.

The year is 1887 and Oscar Wilde (Rupert Everett) is finally free and looking forward to starting afresh away from the stuffiness of London and its treacherous high society. Arriving in France to a warm welcome from his long-suffering friends Robbie Ross...

With The Happy Prince on its way and St Vincent directing a female The Picture 0f Dorian Gray, fandom for the self-declared genius is rife in 2018

“Formerly we used to canonise our heroes. The modern method is to vulgarize them. Cheap editions of great books may be delightful, but cheap editions of great men are absolutely detestable.” For any given situation there is always an Oscar Wilde quotation. In this case, the situation is the canonisation, or otherwise, of Wilde himself. His position in the pantheon is entirely justified: his work is never out of production on stage and screen – but for some Wilde-worshippers that’s not enough. They want to get closer to his self-declared genius, perhaps in the hope that it will rub off on them.

The latest edition of the great man is Rupert Everett, who jowls up unrecognisably to portray Wilde in his creatively depleted but...

The UK premiere of British comedy Swimming With Men – starring Rob Brydon, Adeel Akhatar, Jim Carter, Rupert Graves, Thomas Turgoose and Daniel Mays – will close Edinburgh International Film Festival on July 1.

Directed by BAFTA-nominated Oliver Parker and written by Aschlin Ditta (Scenes Of A Sexual Nature) the film stars Brydon as an accountant who finds escapism from his mid-life crisis after joining an all-male group of synchronised swimmers. Initially keeping their personal lives in the locker, the ramshackle squad and coach Susan (Charlotte Riley) slowly begin to reveal their inner lives, as well as their paunches. But can they get their routines, not to mention their lives, in sync as they embark on an unlikely journey to Milan to compete in the World Championship? Brydon and Parker are expected to attend...

It’s taken Rupert Everett nearly a decade to bring The Happy Prince to the screen. In addition to starring as Oscar Wilde in the story of the writer’s final years, Everett wrote and, in his directorial debut, helmed the $13 million drama, which picks up where most Wilde biopics end: with the literary legend’s conviction to two years of hard labor for “sodomy and gross indecency,” followed by his self-imposed exile in bitter poverty to Italy and France. Everett — who has starred in adaptations of Wilde’s An Ideal Husband (1999) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and whose...

Emmy winners Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”) and Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”) head up the new Hulu original series “The Looming Tower,” which chronicles the rise of Osama Bin-Laden. Also featured in this docudrama about the inter-agency rivalry between the CIA and FBI in the first part of this century are Golden Globe nominees Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg. The first of the 10 episodes starts streaming on Hulu on Feb. 28.

Before then, Hulu viewers will get a chance to see another acclaimed docudrama, the film “Detroit” by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”). She reteamed with screenwriter Mark Boal, who also picked up an Oscar for “The Hurt Locker,” for this acclaimed film. “Detroit” documents the riots that beset the motor city in the summer of 1967 after the police raid an unlicensed bar on July 23 and arrest the 82 patrons and staff. Over the course of just five days, 43 people died...

There's no doubting Rupert Everett's affinity for Oscar Wilde. He has played the famed writer's alter ego in film adaptations of The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, and starred as the man himself in London and on tour in a 2012 revival of the biographical drama The Judas Kiss, which persuaded many critics to reconsider the 1998 David Hare play. Making his debut feature as writer-director, Everett returns to the role in what could almost be an expansion of that stage work, creating a richly inhabited characterization that counters louche irreverence with glimpses of melancholy fatalism.

But ...

There's no doubting Rupert Everett's affinity for Oscar Wilde. He has played the famed writer's alter ego in film adaptations of The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, and starred as the man himself in London and on tour in a 2012 revival of the biographical drama The Judas Kiss, which persuaded many critics to reconsider the 1998 David Hare play. Making his debut feature as writer-director, Everett returns to the role in what could almost be an expansion of that stage work, creating a richly inhabited characterization that counters louche irreverence with glimpses of melancholy fatalism.

But ...

Cayenne Pepper Productions released today the first look image of Devika Bhise as Rani Lakshmibai from Swati Bhise’s forthcoming feature Swords and Sceptres, which follows the true story of the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.

Revealing one of Rani’s looks, this first image exposes the incredible detail and work which Swati Bhise and her team have put into portraying an authentic version of the historical queen. The intricate costumes with original designs that existed during the period, all custom and individually handmade 14 months in the making, have been created by costume designers Vidhi Singhania, Riyaz Ali Merchant and Swati Bhise with make-up by national award winning make-up supervisor Vikram Gaikwad. The jewellery has been loaned by Gadgil Jewellers known for their heritage jewellery from this period, with uncut diamond jewellery made by Shri Hari of Delhi.

Susan B. Landau, a producer and manager whose clients included writer Simon Beaufoy, died May 31 in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to her family. She was 65.

Landau managed Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner Beaufoy, Wayne’s World 2 director Stephen Surjik and The Originals co-executive producer Christopher Hollier, among others. She earned an Emmy nomination for Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color: Young Harry Houdini, as well as an Ace Award for 1993's Tiger Town.

Landau's producing credits also included Mr. Destiny (1990), Cool Runnings (1993) and 1999's An Ideal Husband.

“In a town sometimes overrun with sequels and reruns, Susan was a true original,” Beaufoy said in...

Susan B. Landau, a producer whose credits include 1993’s Cool Runnings, the 2000 TV-movie reunion Mary and Rhoda, and 1999’s An Ideal Husband, died May 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a brief illness. She was 65. Her death was confirmed by her twin brother Paul Landau. Landau, who also managed (Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy, Wayne’s World 2 director Stephen Surjik, The Originals co-executive producer Christopher Hollier), was the…...

Susan B. Landau, a producer whose credits include 1993’s Cool Runnings, the 2000 TV-movie reunion Mary and Rhoda, and 1999’s An Ideal Husband, died May 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a brief illness. She was 65. Her death was confirmed by her twin brother Paul Landau. Landau, who also managed (Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy, Wayne’s World 2 director Stephen Surjik, The Originals co-executive producer Christopher Hollier), was the…...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

The Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)

Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that South Korea will submit the as-yet-unreleased espionage thriller The Age of Shadows for Oscar consideration instead of Cannes hits The Handmaiden and The Wailing. Premiering out of competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, writer/director Jee-woon Kim’s return to Korean-language cinema after a brief stint in Hollywood with the Schwarzenegger-starrer The Last Stand...

Vaughan was best known for roles in TV series Porridge and Game Of Thrones.

British actor Peter Vaughan, best known for roles in Game of Thrones and Porridge, has died at the age of 93.

Vaughan played Maester Aemon in the HBO series and Grouty in the TV sitcom.

He was BAFTA-nominated for his performance in 1997 BBC series Our Friends In The North.

Movie performances included Brazil, An Ideal Husband and Straw Dogs. His most recent feature work was on 2011 drama Albatross.

Vaughan, whose career spanned more than 60 years, was also known for his work in theatre.

The Acting Company will continue its 2016 John McDonald Salon Series with a reading of Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy An Ideal Husband on Monday, April 18th at 7 Pm at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side Ymca, 10 W. 64th Street, New York, NY. Single tickets are 35 and include a post-show reception with the cast. The performance is sold out. For waitlist information, call 212 258-3111 or visit www.theactingcompany.org.

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Cheer on local talent with these potentially great UK films from 2016, including drama, comedy, action, horror, fantasy & more…

While Batman Vs Superman, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men Apocalypse and other mega franchises are expected to dominate cinemas in 2016, let’s hear it for the films below. None are sequels, few have titanic budgets, all of them are British and each of them has the potential to be great.

2016 looks to be a particularly strong year for UK crime drama, with Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, Adam Smith’s Trespass Against Us and Michael Apted’s Unlocked on their way. Military thrillers are also well represented this year, with Gavin Hood’s Eye In The Sky, Fernando Coimbra’s Sand Castle, and Simon West’s Stratton incoming. There’s also comedy, fantasy, drama, horror and even a musical waiting for you below.

A Street Cat Named Bob (dir.

What’s new, what’s hot, and what you may have missed, now available to stream.

new to stream

Easy Money (Snabba cash): a smart, affecting, slow burn of a movie, a spectacular example of Nordic noir [my review] [at Netflix] Nothing But the Truth: flawed but earnest and honest journalism drama, with a great performance by Kate Beckinsale [my review] [at Netflix]

streaming now, before it’s on dvd

Tim’s Vermeer: must-see, chills-inducing documentary looks at the intersections of art, craft, and technology [at Amazon UK Instant Video] The Wolf of Wall Street: a debauched end-of-empire horror story disguised as an outrageous comedy, with remarkable performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill [my review] [at Amazon UK Instant Video]

new to Prime

Chronicle: the superhero origin story in its purest form, stripped of all the pulp and all the camp that has accreted around the genre [my review] [at Amazon UK Instant Video] The Descendants: the meaning of life, via Alexander Payne and George Clooney: funny and brutal, crazy and...

What is the value of art in society, and what are the artist’s moral imperatives? How must artists reconcile their predisposition toward sensory indulgences with modern mores, particularly if they gravitate towards a lifestyle that is largely stigmatized? Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray examined all of these questions. It was a seminal work of Gothic horror literature, and, although he was a highly accomplished playwright and critic, this was the only novel of Wilde’s that was ever published.

Wilde's book tells the story of an artist named Basil Hallward, who finds something of a muse in the young man Dorian Gray. It is during one of his visits to Basil's studio that Dorian meets the ultra-hedonistic Lord Henry Wotton, who quickly "befriends" Dorian and persuades him that sensory indulgences and worldly pleasures are what life is truly about. Basil finishes his portrait of Dorian,...

Wendy Hughes, who has died in Sydney aged 61, will be remembered by her peers as one of the finest actors of her generation.

Hughes won the AFI award for best actress for Careful, He Might Hear You in 1983 and was nominated on six other occasions, for Newsfront, My Brilliant Career, Lonely Hearts, My First Wife, Echoes of Paradise and Boundaries of the Heart.

.She was a brilliant actress who set the standard and was pioneering for her era,. filmmaker Philippe Mora, who was a close friend in the 1980s and early 1990s, told If.

.In my opinion without Wendy there would have been no Judy Davis, no Nicole Kidman and no Cate Blanchett. If timing had been different she would have been a major international star. As it is she leaves a legacy of perfect performances as one of Australia's greatest actresses..

Mora wanted to cast Hughes as the female...

Oscar Wilde's magical stories for children have often been dismissed as lesser works, but as examples of how important imagination is to us all – young and old alike – they are a delight

"Far off, like a perfect pearl, one can see the city of God. It is so wonderful that it seems as if a child could reach it in a summer's day. And so a child could. But with me and such as I am it is different. One can realise a thing in a single moment, but one loses it in the long hours that follow … "

– Oscar Wilde, "De Profundis"

Oscar Wilde wrote "De Profundis" in Reading gaol where he was serving two years hard labour for being himself; he was homosexual. He was sent to prison in 1895 after one of the most notorious trials in English history. Wilde's fatal amour, Lord Alfred Douglas, was son of the Marquess of Queensberry,...

And now, Debbie Allen‘s review of this So You Think You Can Dance recap: “Louis! You shined tonight. You brought us into your shine. We needed to be brought there, and you brought it. We were there with you. With you, Louis. There’s a play called A Delicate Balance — there was a balance, and you were so, so delicate on it. I don’t know why you keep ending in the bottom every week, but let me tell you: This week? You’re the top. You really were. The top of the bottom. Which is still the bottom. The bottom. Thank you.”

Really, what else needs to be said? Debbie Allen guest-judged and brought a bindle full of wisdom with her. She ruled, and she only sounded like an impromptu Maya Angelou poem six or seven times. The final ten dancers were paired with all-stars, and that meant...

Paulette Goddard: An Ideal Husband and Paris Model on TCM Paulette Goddard height: Supposedly 5’4″. Paulette Goddard age: Well… Goddard would have turned 108 today. Or 103. Or 102. Or 98. It all depends on the source, though Goddard herself apparently — and not at all surprisingly — preferred the 1915 birth date, which would have made her 98 years old in 2013. Whether a centenarian or a nonagenarian, Paulette Goddard is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Day. TCM has already shown several Goddard movies, among them Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times and the Luise Rainer star vehicle Dramatic School, and it’s currently showing An Ideal Husband. (Picture: Paulette Goddard publicity shot, ca. 1940.) Made in England for London Films, An Ideal Husband (1947) was quite a prestigious production so as to justify the presence of a top Hollywood star in a British film. No less a figure than London Films founder Alexander Korda directed this movie adaptation of...

Oscar Wilde died on this day in 1900, and my refrain about the Irish genius remains the same: Not only did he die for (gay) people's sins, he was funny too. That literally makes him better than Jesus, guys. It's just a fact.

I happen to be a pretty big fan of movies based on Wilde's work. I loved Cate Blanchett in the '99 version of An Ideal Husband, and I'm particularly fond of George Sanders and Angela Lansbury in 1945's The Picture of Dorian Gray. But my single favorite performance in a Wilde film? That's easy.

"I know nothing, Lady Bracknell."

"I'm pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance."

Killer.

Give it up for Dame Edith Evans in The Importance of Being Earnest ('52, of course!). The unmistakable British actress is an imperial, sneering goddess as Lady Bracknell. Ian McKellen once...

Rupert Everett's new memoir has landed him in hot water. Again. But he thinks we just need to lighten up

Poor old Rupert Everett thought he'd taken every care to say nothing in his first memoir that could upset his friend Madonna. Then the book came out, she threw a strop and stopped talking to him. His new memoir is less scandalously gossipy, so further fallings-out had looked unlikely – but before its release this week, he was already in hot water again. Everett can't understand it. "What's happened to humour? We're becoming American. Everyone gets so angry over everything."

But I'm not sure how much he really cares, and to my mind you'd have to be even more humourless than Madonna to hold anything against him. After reading Vanished Years, I didn't just want to buy the book but kidnap its author and gallivant about town with him for ever.

An Adaptation of the classic Elizabethan tale Doctor Faustus, starring Doctor Who sidekick Arthur Darvill as Mephistopheles, is among a trio of theatre productions heading to the big screen.

Shakespeare's Globe in partnership with Arts Alliance Media have launched a Globe On Screen season by releasing the stage versions of All's Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing and Doctor Faustus to cinemas in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Originally staged at Shakespeare's Globe in 2011, the three productions will be shown in their entirety on screens in hundreds of local cinemas, including the Showcase in Coventry. A trailer for the upcoming season is included below.

All's Well That Ends Well kicks off the season on September 26 and is followed by Much Ado About Nothing on October 10 and Doctor Faustus from October 24.

With sumptuous costumes and acclaimed original music, All's Well That Ends Well is directed by John Dove...