News

We need regulation of the press and financial sector that will hold people to account without smothering 'animal spirits'

How should David Cameron react to today's High Pay Commission report that blows the whistle on boardroom remuneration rackets that have seen pay rises of up to 5,000% over the past less-than-glorious 30 years? He should ask himself: "What would Dad think?" I imagine Dad would think much as Hugh Grant told us all on Monday what he thinks about the out-of-control tabloids.

I don't actually know what Donald Cameron – he died last year– would have thought of contemporary pay antics in the City, which have infected leading industrial firms and (even worse) the upper echelons of the public sector. But he was a senior partner of stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, which was swallowed up by the big fish after the "big bang" deregulation of the City in 1986 – though it has since been spat...

As the Sherlock star prepares to play a dapper 70s spook in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Benedict Cumberbatch tells Emma John about the joys of kitesurfing, being single and punching Tom Hardy – while presenting the sharpest looks from the coming season

Benedict Cumberbatch is talking Edwardian manners, the brutishness of croquet and a million other things that segue rapidly into each other while my brain struggles feebly to keep up. He is making me a cup of Earl Grey, and a single question – shall we share a teabag? – has triggered this rush of inspiration, from tea ceremonies to post-colonial theory. It's fair to say that Cumberbatch is both a thinker and a talker.

His features – the huge almond eyes, the sweeping Cupid's bow, the acute tapering from cheekbones to chin – can, in repose, hint at something extra-terrestrial; lit with animation, however, they're charmingly boyish. He's soon to begin shooting a...

It's Cheyenne On Glee! Squeeeee!

I thought I'd start of this week's column with some fun new pics I found recently!

First, I've got the exclusive first look at Cheyenne Jackson's first appearance on Glee as Will Schuester's new rival Dustin Goulsby.

Don't you love a man in black!

Adam Rose/Fox

In case you don't remember, last month Glee creator Ryan Murphy told me that Jackson "...is going to sing. He is going to dance, of course. He is the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline. He’s a complete villain. He wears all black. He’s a handsome, villain who will become very intertwined in Will’s life."

And we can't wait for Cheyenne's appearance on Tuesday's ep!

Speaking of things I can't wait for is new Torchwood miniseries (Ha! Whoever threw the rotten cabbage at me missed!) so to tide us over are two new pics I spotted of John Barrowman.

Film: ‘Sherlock Holmes’; Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong; Director: Guy Ritchie; Rating: ***

Trust filmmaker Guy Ritchie to keep reinventing himself with each outing. For someone who made a stunning announcement with ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998) more than a decade back, he continues to have his stamp firmly planted over his films.

Other than Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie.

Established 1974! Our news column is short while we battle technical difficulties.

Updates

Like Spider-man 4, Tron: Legacy is Also going to get a day and date release in regular and IMAX formats, The Hollywood Reporter notes. Its premiere is about 15 months away, December 17, 2010. See this link.

Warner Bros. is teaming with IMAX (and Nasa) for the space-oriented Hubble 3-D. This chronicle of the Space Hubble Telescope will debut March 19.

Blackadder creator Richard Curtis is writing an episode of Doctor Who (which will star the next Doctor, Matt Smith).

The Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins publishers and New Line Cinema have settled the lawsuit over profit participation in the Lord Of The Rings films. This means the two Hobbit films being directed by Guillermo del Toro can go forward without any potential legalities re: this area.

We are here in the last half of 2009, the back nine, as they call it in the golfing world. We have had many ups and downs so far in the year, many disappointments and, probably, just as many pleasant surprises. The last half of the year is sure to have just as many of each, but we are here today to bring you our most anticipated films. These are the films we are most looking forward to from July to December in 2009.

10. Sherlock Holmes (December 25th)

Guy Ritchie tackles the classic detective tale of Sherlock Holmes due out this Christmas. Robert Downey Jr. takes on the role of Sherlock Holmes, a detective known for his observation, logic, reasoning, and deduction to solve difficult cases in the late 19th-early 20th century. With his trusty sidekick Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) by his side, nothing seems to impossible to solve. In this version of the tale,...

Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is set to star as a tough- talking lawyer in an American film adaptation of British mini-series Trust. David Foster will produce the film with Zeta-Jones and her brother, Lyndon, and Jill Green, producer of the original two-part series. The Warner Brothers film is described as a "sexy thriller", in which Zeta-Jones will portray a high-powered lawyer who must defend her psychiatrist husband when he is accused of a brutal murder - only to discover that he is having an affair with one of his patients. Oscar-nominated writer Terry George will move the setting from London to New York. Zeta-Jones recently finished shooting the comedy America's Sweethearts opposite Julia Roberts, John Cusack and Billy Crystal.