The accusations against former producer Harvey Weinstein resulted in a series of similar cases in Hollywood, one of which was opened against two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, who was then earning praise for his work on the series House of Cards. Spacey was first accused of inappropriate behavior by actor Anthony Rapp, after which 15 other alleged victims came forward. Several cases were opened, and Spacey was tried in both the United States and the United Kingdom, but as it turned out, Spacey was cleared of all the charges made against him, which led to a series of reactions.
Namely, as you might have assumed, Kevin Spacey was blacklisted completely and his career was destroyed because of these proceedings. No one wanted to hire him and while he himself decided to withdraw from the public, the actor had vehemently denied the allegations, especially those of a criminal nature.
So, what actually happened there?...
Namely, as you might have assumed, Kevin Spacey was blacklisted completely and his career was destroyed because of these proceedings. No one wanted to hire him and while he himself decided to withdraw from the public, the actor had vehemently denied the allegations, especially those of a criminal nature.
So, what actually happened there?...
- 5/17/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
After the controversial Channel 4 documentary against Kevin Spacey, a number of actors including Liam Neeson have come out in defense of the Oscar winner. Neeson called for the actor to be reinstated in the film industry, adding that he’s a man of character and a great actor. Fans are not happy with the Taken actor’s stand on the issue and took to X to express their discontent.
Spacey in a still from House of Cards | Netflix
Spacey was found not liable in the s*xual harassment lawsuit filed against him in New York. He was also acquitted of all charges in a separate case in London. However, the new documentary, Spacey Unmasked, included testimonies from 10 different men, who were not involved in the lawsuit, accusing the actor of s*xual harassment.
Liam Neeson’s Support For Kevin Spacey Doesn’t Sit Well With Fans Liam Neeson as...
Spacey in a still from House of Cards | Netflix
Spacey was found not liable in the s*xual harassment lawsuit filed against him in New York. He was also acquitted of all charges in a separate case in London. However, the new documentary, Spacey Unmasked, included testimonies from 10 different men, who were not involved in the lawsuit, accusing the actor of s*xual harassment.
Liam Neeson’s Support For Kevin Spacey Doesn’t Sit Well With Fans Liam Neeson as...
- 5/17/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
Kevin Spacey is facing another sexual assault trial in the UK next year, but today the two-time Oscar winner saw some major star power in his corner.
Liam Neeson, Sharon Stone and Stephen Fry have come forward with unequivocal support for Spacey as the much-accused actor has been back in the spotlight via new Channel 4 docuseries with even more allegations of severe misconduct.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of these accusations against him,” Taken franchise star Neesom told the Telegraph today. “Kevin is a good man and a man of character. He’s sensitive, articulate and non-judgmental, with a terrific sense of humour. He is also one of our finest artists in the theatre and on camera.
“Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly,” Neeson, no total stranger to controversy himself, concluded.
Basic Instinct star Stone told the UK broadsheet: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work.
Liam Neeson, Sharon Stone and Stephen Fry have come forward with unequivocal support for Spacey as the much-accused actor has been back in the spotlight via new Channel 4 docuseries with even more allegations of severe misconduct.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of these accusations against him,” Taken franchise star Neesom told the Telegraph today. “Kevin is a good man and a man of character. He’s sensitive, articulate and non-judgmental, with a terrific sense of humour. He is also one of our finest artists in the theatre and on camera.
“Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly,” Neeson, no total stranger to controversy himself, concluded.
Basic Instinct star Stone told the UK broadsheet: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work.
- 5/16/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Michael Jackson wasn’t just one of the music industry’s most successful artists. He was also interested in pursuing an acting career as well. He was especially intrigued by playing the character Peter Pan, so much so that he begged for the role at one point.
Michael Jackson cried when asking to play Peter Pan michael jackson hits
Jackson had an unfulfilled dream of being an actor. But his acting ability wasn’t completely untested. He featured in projects like The Wiz and Ghosts to help showcase his skills in front of the camera. But there was one character he always had his eye on, and that was the mythical hero who never grew up Peter Pan.
Theater director Sir Trevor Nunn reflected on Jackson approaching him for the role. Since Nunn had a lot of experience with stage-directing, Jackson went to Nunn for advice for a stage tour...
Michael Jackson cried when asking to play Peter Pan michael jackson hits
Jackson had an unfulfilled dream of being an actor. But his acting ability wasn’t completely untested. He featured in projects like The Wiz and Ghosts to help showcase his skills in front of the camera. But there was one character he always had his eye on, and that was the mythical hero who never grew up Peter Pan.
Theater director Sir Trevor Nunn reflected on Jackson approaching him for the role. Since Nunn had a lot of experience with stage-directing, Jackson went to Nunn for advice for a stage tour...
- 5/15/2024
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: Jamie Lloyd, director of the history-making reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, reveals that his star Nicole Scherzinger initially “refused to consider” accepting his offer to play Norma Desmond in the show adapted from Billy Wilder’s 1950 classic.
“Nicole was not flattered,” he gasped, speaking to Breaking Baz backstage at the London theatre awards, held at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night.
Lloyd says that the show’s “obviously associated with Glenn Close’s iconic performance and therefore people think about Norma Desmond being a much older woman.”
Mmm, that’s unlikely to amuse Glenn Close.
He tells me that Scherzinger, a one-time member of The Pussycat Dolls, called Norma Desmond a “has been” and stormed at Lloyd that she “still looks good under the bright lights.”
Lloyd encouraged her to study Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s book and lyrics and to listen to Lloyd Weber’s music.
“Nicole was not flattered,” he gasped, speaking to Breaking Baz backstage at the London theatre awards, held at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night.
Lloyd says that the show’s “obviously associated with Glenn Close’s iconic performance and therefore people think about Norma Desmond being a much older woman.”
Mmm, that’s unlikely to amuse Glenn Close.
He tells me that Scherzinger, a one-time member of The Pussycat Dolls, called Norma Desmond a “has been” and stormed at Lloyd that she “still looks good under the bright lights.”
Lloyd encouraged her to study Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s book and lyrics and to listen to Lloyd Weber’s music.
- 4/15/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s Tonys will be held on June 16, so the American Theatre Wing will likely be announcing its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in the near future. Who do you think should take home this prestigious trophy, which honors an individual’s body of work? It has gone to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers and designers. In some years we get multiple recipients.
Last year these honors went to actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander. The following living male Broadway vets have also received this award in the past and thus won’t be chosen again: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Marshall W. Mason, Tommy Tune, James Earl Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Harold Wheeler.
Here are 10 possibilities featured in our poll below, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote to let us know who you’d like to see honored. And take a...
Last year these honors went to actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander. The following living male Broadway vets have also received this award in the past and thus won’t be chosen again: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Marshall W. Mason, Tommy Tune, James Earl Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Harold Wheeler.
Here are 10 possibilities featured in our poll below, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote to let us know who you’d like to see honored. And take a...
- 3/26/2024
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
BAFTA-nominated Irish actor Robert Sheehan (The Umbrella Academy) has signed on to lead a stage adaptation of Bruce Robinson’s 1987 cult tragi-comedy Withnail and I at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre alongside actors Adonis Siddique and Malcolm Sinclair.
Directed by the double Olivier Award-winning Sean Foley, Artistic Director of Birmingham Rep, and designed by Alice Power, the show will premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with performances from 3 May until 25 May 2024.
The adaption was written by Robinson. The original film was based on an unpublished novel by Robinson and was produced by Handmade Films, with Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, and Richard Griffiths leading. On stage, Sheehan will star as Withnail while Siddique is Marwood, and Malcolm Sinclair is Uncle Monty.
Sheehan made his acting debut in Aisling Walsh’s acclaimed feature Song For A Raggy Boy. Since then, his screen credits include Season of the Witch, Cherrybomb, Killing Bono, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,...
Directed by the double Olivier Award-winning Sean Foley, Artistic Director of Birmingham Rep, and designed by Alice Power, the show will premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with performances from 3 May until 25 May 2024.
The adaption was written by Robinson. The original film was based on an unpublished novel by Robinson and was produced by Handmade Films, with Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, and Richard Griffiths leading. On stage, Sheehan will star as Withnail while Siddique is Marwood, and Malcolm Sinclair is Uncle Monty.
Sheehan made his acting debut in Aisling Walsh’s acclaimed feature Song For A Raggy Boy. Since then, his screen credits include Season of the Witch, Cherrybomb, Killing Bono, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
"All in the Family" might've been Norman Lear's finest half-hour as a sitcom producer, but I'm not sure he ever put a funnier show on the airwaves than "The Jeffersons." For 11 seasons, Sherman Hemsley's dry-cleaning magnate George Jefferson and Isabel Sanford's good-hearted Louise "Weezy" Jefferson led a stellar cast that delivered edgy-for-network-television laughs revolving around race, class, gender, and whatever happened to be grinding the hot-headed George's gears that particular week. It was the African-American answer to "All in the Family" (on which the characters of George and Weezy originated), and might actually be more shocking today for its fearless deployment of the n-word (particularly early in the series' run).
And if you're making a list of the most memorable theme songs in television history, "The Jeffersons" better be in the top five. Anyone who grew up watching the show in prime time or via syndication should...
And if you're making a list of the most memorable theme songs in television history, "The Jeffersons" better be in the top five. Anyone who grew up watching the show in prime time or via syndication should...
- 3/18/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Brian Cox says Succession creator Jesse Armstrong was a “gentleman” to salute him during his acceptance speech at Sunday night’s Emmy Awards.
The celebrated HBO drama won the top drama prize, and Armstrong praised the show’s cast, creatives and crew then lauded Cox, “who the show was revolved around whether he was in it or not.”
Later at the HBO | Max Emmy afterparty at San Vicente Bungalows, Cox tells me he was “touched” by Armstrong singling him out. “Jesse’s a gentleman in an industry where there aren’t many of those,” he says.
Cox adds that the entire team deserved the praise. ”All of them. The drama series win belongs to each and every one of them.”
The acclaimed actor says he knew Succession would become a “cultural landmark” from the time he read Armstrong’s first script. “I was in no doubt that it would become a benchmark.
The celebrated HBO drama won the top drama prize, and Armstrong praised the show’s cast, creatives and crew then lauded Cox, “who the show was revolved around whether he was in it or not.”
Later at the HBO | Max Emmy afterparty at San Vicente Bungalows, Cox tells me he was “touched” by Armstrong singling him out. “Jesse’s a gentleman in an industry where there aren’t many of those,” he says.
Cox adds that the entire team deserved the praise. ”All of them. The drama series win belongs to each and every one of them.”
The acclaimed actor says he knew Succession would become a “cultural landmark” from the time he read Armstrong’s first script. “I was in no doubt that it would become a benchmark.
- 1/16/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Starring an electrifying Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard ends its limited run at London’s Savoy Theatre on January 6. However, Deadline can reveal in its 2024 West End look ahead that the singer will lead the Andrew Lloyd Webber show to Broadway in November, according to insiders connected with the production.
Scherzinger, who won the Evening Standard’s best musical performance prize for her show-stopping turn as Norma Desmond, has indicated to producers that she will commit to a six-month season in New York, we understand. The Es also recently named the show’s helmer Jamie Lloyd as Best Director [Disclosure: this writer is a member of the Es judging panel].
Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Boulevard’
Meanwhile, another Es winner, Jack Thorne’s glorious drama The Motive and the Cue, staged by Sam Mendes, has transferred from London’s National Theatre to the Noël Coward, and we can also reveal The Motive and the Cue is in the early stages of discussions for a run in NYC.
Scherzinger, who won the Evening Standard’s best musical performance prize for her show-stopping turn as Norma Desmond, has indicated to producers that she will commit to a six-month season in New York, we understand. The Es also recently named the show’s helmer Jamie Lloyd as Best Director [Disclosure: this writer is a member of the Es judging panel].
Nicole Scherzinger in ‘Sunset Boulevard’
Meanwhile, another Es winner, Jack Thorne’s glorious drama The Motive and the Cue, staged by Sam Mendes, has transferred from London’s National Theatre to the Noël Coward, and we can also reveal The Motive and the Cue is in the early stages of discussions for a run in NYC.
- 12/21/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Indhu Rubasingham, an acclaimed theater practitioner, has broken the decades-long white male hold on the reins of power at the National Theatre by being appointed its artistic director, it was being revealed Wednesday in London.
She succeeds current director and chief executive Rufus Norris, who, by the time he departs in 2025, would have held the job for a decade over two terms.
Long tipped for the job, Rubasingham will assume Norris’s director title but will share chief executive duties jointly with present Nt executive director Kate Varah.
In a statement released via the Nt, Rubasingham said that her appointment was ”a huge honor — for me, this is the best job in the world.“ She added that the opportunity to play a role in the Nt’s history “is an incredible privilege and responsibility.”
She said she has witnessed firsthand “the commitment, collaboration, brilliance and pride of those who bring the magic to the building.
She succeeds current director and chief executive Rufus Norris, who, by the time he departs in 2025, would have held the job for a decade over two terms.
Long tipped for the job, Rubasingham will assume Norris’s director title but will share chief executive duties jointly with present Nt executive director Kate Varah.
In a statement released via the Nt, Rubasingham said that her appointment was ”a huge honor — for me, this is the best job in the world.“ She added that the opportunity to play a role in the Nt’s history “is an incredible privilege and responsibility.”
She said she has witnessed firsthand “the commitment, collaboration, brilliance and pride of those who bring the magic to the building.
- 12/12/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Brian Cox became a familiar face all over the world thanks to playing Logan Roy in the hit HBO series “Succession,” but there have been some consequences. The actor is a veteran with some 240 credits to his name, but it is “Succession” that made him a household name.
“I’ve lost my anonymity and I’ve realized that that was what was important to me. I haven’t ever experienced anything like this,” Cox told The Guardian. “I mean, you ask for success in your work, and you get it, and then you have to deal with the consequences. I’ve always valued my privacy, but that’s gone. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had it for so long. You know, I’ve been doing this for over 60 years. And finally it’s over.”
Cox also turned down roles in “Game of Thrones” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
“I’ve lost my anonymity and I’ve realized that that was what was important to me. I haven’t ever experienced anything like this,” Cox told The Guardian. “I mean, you ask for success in your work, and you get it, and then you have to deal with the consequences. I’ve always valued my privacy, but that’s gone. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had it for so long. You know, I’ve been doing this for over 60 years. And finally it’s over.”
Cox also turned down roles in “Game of Thrones” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
- 10/18/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Glenda Jackson, the British actress who hit the snooze bar on her acting career for a 23-year career in politics, died on Thursday, as per her representatives. During her peak years in the 1970s and 80s, she won two Oscars (and was nominated for two more) and two Emmy Awards. She was nominated for four Tony Awards, finally winning one in 2018 after a late-in-life career resurgence. She was 87 years old.
Jackson, whose father was a bricklayer and whose mother was a barmaid and domestic, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was told by the academy’s principal that, due to her looks, she would likely only find work as a character actress, and she shouldn’t depend on getting jobs after 40.
This proved to be the opposite of true. Her big break came when experimental theater director Peter Brook cast her in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s groundbreaking adaptation of “Marat/Sade.
Jackson, whose father was a bricklayer and whose mother was a barmaid and domestic, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was told by the academy’s principal that, due to her looks, she would likely only find work as a character actress, and she shouldn’t depend on getting jobs after 40.
This proved to be the opposite of true. Her big break came when experimental theater director Peter Brook cast her in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s groundbreaking adaptation of “Marat/Sade.
- 6/15/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Jackson won Academy Awards for ’Women In Love’ and ’A Touch Of Class’.
UK actress Glenda Jackson, known for her Oscar-winning performances in Women In Love and A Touch Of Class, has died aged 87.
Jackson, who was also a former Labour MP, ”died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side,” according to her agent Lionel Larner.
Born in Birkenhead, UK, Jackson’s acting career began in theatre in the late 1950’s before she made her big screen debut with an uncredited role in Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life...
UK actress Glenda Jackson, known for her Oscar-winning performances in Women In Love and A Touch Of Class, has died aged 87.
Jackson, who was also a former Labour MP, ”died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side,” according to her agent Lionel Larner.
Born in Birkenhead, UK, Jackson’s acting career began in theatre in the late 1950’s before she made her big screen debut with an uncredited role in Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life...
- 6/15/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Eve Hewson has joined the cast of 'Hedda'.The 31-year-old actress is set to feature alongside Tessa Thompson in the movie that is being directed by Nia DaCosta.The film is billed as an epic reimagining of Henrik Ibsen's 1891 stage play 'Hedda Gabler'.The play dramatises the experiences of Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. It was initially met with negative reviews but has since gone on to great acclaim.'Hedda Gabler' has been adapted for both the big and small screen in the past as Ingrid Bergman featured in a BBC television production in 1962 while Sir Trevor Nunn's 1975 film version 'Hedda' earned Glenda Jackson an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the character.Tessa will play the title role in the flick but it has not yet been revealed who Eve – the daughter...
- 6/6/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
The 76th annual Tony Awards have already made history. For the first time, two of the acting nominees identify as non-binary: Harrison Ghee who is contending for lead actor in musical for “Some Like It Hot” and Alex Newell, vying for featured actor in a musical for “Shucked.” Their nominations have been warmly embraced. But 40 years ago, a history-making acceptance led to death threats.
At the 37th annual Tony Awards on June 5, 1983, producer John Glines thanked his lover when he accepted the best play honor for Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song Trilogy,” a three-act drama set in New York in the 1970s and early 80s starring Fierstein as a gay, drag queen and torch singer. “He expressed gratitude to an assortment of people , ‘lastly but most importantly, to the one person who believed and followed the dream from the beginning, who never said ‘You’re crazy; it can’t be...
At the 37th annual Tony Awards on June 5, 1983, producer John Glines thanked his lover when he accepted the best play honor for Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song Trilogy,” a three-act drama set in New York in the 1970s and early 80s starring Fierstein as a gay, drag queen and torch singer. “He expressed gratitude to an assortment of people , ‘lastly but most importantly, to the one person who believed and followed the dream from the beginning, who never said ‘You’re crazy; it can’t be...
- 5/31/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Actor Hugh Jackman, aka Marvel's 'Wolverine' is the star of a restored live recording of the original 1998 stage musical "Oklahoma!", a 'dark-themed' production presented by the National Theatre in London at the Olivier Theatre, directed by Trevor Nunn, choreographed by Susan Stroman and orchestrated by William David Brohn, now scheduled for a limited, theatrical re-release July 16 and 19, 2023 in over 800 theaters worldwide:
"....Oklahoma! the musical was based on "Green Grow the Lilacs", a 1931 play by Lynn Riggs. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers. The lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein.
"In Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906., the cowboy 'Curly McLain' (Jackman) is in love with farm girl 'Laurey Williams.' But Laurey makes her choice, and 'Jud Fry', a farm hand, is also in love with Laurey.
And Curly will have none of it..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"....Oklahoma! the musical was based on "Green Grow the Lilacs", a 1931 play by Lynn Riggs. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers. The lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein.
"In Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906., the cowboy 'Curly McLain' (Jackman) is in love with farm girl 'Laurey Williams.' But Laurey makes her choice, and 'Jud Fry', a farm hand, is also in love with Laurey.
And Curly will have none of it..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 5/15/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Tessa Thompson will lead the cast of 'Hedda'.The 39-year-old actress is to play Hedda Gabler, a character considered to be one of the greatest dramatic roles in theatre history, in the new movie from director Nia DaCosta.The film is billed as an epic reimagining of Henrik Ibsen's 1891 stage play 'Hedda Gabler' and reunites Thompson and DaCosta after they worked together on the 2018 feature 'Little Woods'.The play dramatises the experiences of Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. It was initially met with negative reviews but has since gone on to great acclaim.Thompson is to produce the film via her own Viva Maude label with DaCosta and Gabrielle Nadig also working on the movie.'Hedda Gabler' has been adapted for both the big and small screen in the past as Ingrid Bergman...
- 4/17/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Sound the reunion klaxon! The Little Woods team of star Tessa Thompson and Nia DaCosta are re-teaming for a new film. And it's a heady one — or rather a Heddy one? — as Thompson will take the lead in DaCosta's Hedda.
As adapted by DaCosta, The Hollywood Reporter has heard that the film will be an epic and visceral reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play. Hedda Gabler dramatizes the experiences of the title character, Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. While it premiered to negative reviews, it has gone on to great acclaim, and the lead role is considered one of the greatest for a woman in theater.
It has also been successful in other mediums: Ingrid Bergman starred a BBC TV production in 1962, while Trevor Nunn’s 1975 film — also entitled Hedda — earned Glenda Jackson...
As adapted by DaCosta, The Hollywood Reporter has heard that the film will be an epic and visceral reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play. Hedda Gabler dramatizes the experiences of the title character, Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. While it premiered to negative reviews, it has gone on to great acclaim, and the lead role is considered one of the greatest for a woman in theater.
It has also been successful in other mediums: Ingrid Bergman starred a BBC TV production in 1962, while Trevor Nunn’s 1975 film — also entitled Hedda — earned Glenda Jackson...
- 4/16/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Fresh from her appearance in box office boxing smash hit Creed III ($265 million and counting), Tessa Thompson has been cast as a character considered one of the greatest dramatic roles in theater history.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Thompson is set to play Hedda Gabler in Nia DaCosta’s upcoming film Hedda for MGM’s Orion Pictures and Plan B.
Written and directed by Nia DaCosta — coming off both the success of 2021’s Candyman and her upcoming MCU debut The Marvels (the first trailer for which recently landed) — the feature is billed as an epic and visceral reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play, and reunites the filmmaker with Thompson after she starred in the director’s critically acclaimed 2018 debut feature Little Woods.
Producers on Hedda are Plan B, DaCosta, Gabrielle Nadig (who produced Little Woods) and Thompson, who produces via her own Viva Maude label, launched in...
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Thompson is set to play Hedda Gabler in Nia DaCosta’s upcoming film Hedda for MGM’s Orion Pictures and Plan B.
Written and directed by Nia DaCosta — coming off both the success of 2021’s Candyman and her upcoming MCU debut The Marvels (the first trailer for which recently landed) — the feature is billed as an epic and visceral reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play, and reunites the filmmaker with Thompson after she starred in the director’s critically acclaimed 2018 debut feature Little Woods.
Producers on Hedda are Plan B, DaCosta, Gabrielle Nadig (who produced Little Woods) and Thompson, who produces via her own Viva Maude label, launched in...
- 4/14/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham lifted up her arms and proudly showed off the bruises she received, not on the soccer field at AFC Richmond, but doing “kick-ass” stunts on David Leitch’s action movie The Fall Guy.
The bruises “are a badge of honor” she boasts.
“You should see the other guy,” she jokes.
Related Story Jason Sudeikis Says ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 “Is The End Of This Story We Wanted To Tell,” Addresses Potential Spinoffs Related Story 'Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt & Brett Goldstein Talk The Show's Future; Pitch Spinoff Ideas Related Story 'Prehistoric Planet' Renewed For Season 2 At Apple TV+
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Everything, Everywhere All at Once Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, The Fall Guy is one of several gigs the British actress has lined up now that the upcoming third season of the popular Apple TV+ show will be its last.
The bruises “are a badge of honor” she boasts.
“You should see the other guy,” she jokes.
Related Story Jason Sudeikis Says ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 “Is The End Of This Story We Wanted To Tell,” Addresses Potential Spinoffs Related Story 'Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt & Brett Goldstein Talk The Show's Future; Pitch Spinoff Ideas Related Story 'Prehistoric Planet' Renewed For Season 2 At Apple TV+
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Everything, Everywhere All at Once Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, The Fall Guy is one of several gigs the British actress has lined up now that the upcoming third season of the popular Apple TV+ show will be its last.
- 3/8/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Three decades ago Michael Ball (Les Miserables) had teeny-bopper groupies waiting for him at the stage door — in London and on Broadway — thanks to a heartthrob role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love. It didn’t hurt that Ball got to belt out “Love Changes Everything,” which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ball will star in a new production of the musical, and will sing that song again.
Aspects of Love is set to open in May at London’s Lyric Theatre, owned by Nimax Theatres, a company controlled by Nica Burns and producer Max Weitzenhoffer. Burns will produce.
Ball is the first to acknowledge that he no longer can play the youthful Alex Dillingham, the part he created in the original production in 1989 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. During a recent reception at that very same theater, Ball told Deadline...
Ball will star in a new production of the musical, and will sing that song again.
Aspects of Love is set to open in May at London’s Lyric Theatre, owned by Nimax Theatres, a company controlled by Nica Burns and producer Max Weitzenhoffer. Burns will produce.
Ball is the first to acknowledge that he no longer can play the youthful Alex Dillingham, the part he created in the original production in 1989 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. During a recent reception at that very same theater, Ball told Deadline...
- 10/5/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Giles Terera (Death of England: Face to Face), winner of an Olivier Award for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the London transfer of Broadway hit Hamilton, will star in a history-making production of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, with Rosy McEwen, who won acclaim in the second season of The Alienist, as Desdemona.
The play will be directed at the UK’s National Theatre by Clint Dyer, marking the first time the play has been directed by a Black man at a major British venue. American-born Shakespearean scholar Dr. Jami Rogers hailed the outcome as “a major milestone in the history of British Shakespeare.”
Rogers told Deadline: “This means that the white lens through which the play has almost always been viewed will be challenged.”
The play, about a man who rose from slavery to become a respected Black military leader and ambassador who marries a powerful Venetian senator’s white daughter,...
The play will be directed at the UK’s National Theatre by Clint Dyer, marking the first time the play has been directed by a Black man at a major British venue. American-born Shakespearean scholar Dr. Jami Rogers hailed the outcome as “a major milestone in the history of British Shakespeare.”
Rogers told Deadline: “This means that the white lens through which the play has almost always been viewed will be challenged.”
The play, about a man who rose from slavery to become a respected Black military leader and ambassador who marries a powerful Venetian senator’s white daughter,...
- 7/5/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Ian McKellen’s Broadway credits include starring opposite Patrick Stewart in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, and with Helen Mirren in Conor McPherson’s adaptation of August Strindberg's Dance Of Death
Oren Jacoby’s fabulous tribute On Broadway features Helen Mirren, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Tony Kushner, August Wilson, Christine Baranski, Hal Prince, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, David Henry Hwang, Trevor Nunn, Julie Taymor, Jack O’Brien, Viola Davis, and George C Wolfe (director of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Best Costumes Oscar win Ann Roth) sharing their thoughts on the impact of Broadway. Stephen Sondheim, James Earl Jones, Sam Shepard, Bob Fosse, David Byrne, Michael Bennett, Adam Driver, Neil Simon, Michael Mayer, John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C Reilly, and Ethan Hawke, Patricia Schoenfeld’s role, and the importance of theatre came up during our conversation.
Oren Jacoby’s fabulous tribute On Broadway features Helen Mirren, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Tony Kushner, August Wilson, Christine Baranski, Hal Prince, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, David Henry Hwang, Trevor Nunn, Julie Taymor, Jack O’Brien, Viola Davis, and George C Wolfe (director of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Best Costumes Oscar win Ann Roth) sharing their thoughts on the impact of Broadway. Stephen Sondheim, James Earl Jones, Sam Shepard, Bob Fosse, David Byrne, Michael Bennett, Adam Driver, Neil Simon, Michael Mayer, John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C Reilly, and Ethan Hawke, Patricia Schoenfeld’s role, and the importance of theatre came up during our conversation.
- 8/19/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
London-based film sales and financing house Embankment Films has closed a major international deal for “Joyride,” starring Olivia Colman, who is Oscar nominated for Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” another of Embankment’s titles. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought “Joyride” for the world, excluding North America and U.K.
The deal comes as Embankment – led by Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar – amps up its pre-sales slate, with the recent addition of Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern to the cast of Zeller’s “The Son,” which sees Zeller reuniting with “The Father” co-writer Christopher Hampton, and news that Helen Mirren will play Israel’s legendary Prime Minister Golda Meir in “Golda,” directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv, and produced by BAFTA winner Michael Kuhn (“Florence Foster Jenkins”).
“Joyride” is a feel-good, foul-mouthed fairy-tale centering on two lovable rogues. Joy, played by Colman, is pissed off. She’s got a baby...
The deal comes as Embankment – led by Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar – amps up its pre-sales slate, with the recent addition of Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern to the cast of Zeller’s “The Son,” which sees Zeller reuniting with “The Father” co-writer Christopher Hampton, and news that Helen Mirren will play Israel’s legendary Prime Minister Golda Meir in “Golda,” directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv, and produced by BAFTA winner Michael Kuhn (“Florence Foster Jenkins”).
“Joyride” is a feel-good, foul-mouthed fairy-tale centering on two lovable rogues. Joy, played by Colman, is pissed off. She’s got a baby...
- 4/19/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Arthur P. Siccardi, a longtime Broadway production supervisor whose five-decade career included work on such notable original and revival stagings as Sweeney Todd, Whose Life is it Anyway?, Sunday in the Park with George, Gypsy, The Heidi Chronicles and Sunset Boulevard, to name a few, died December 23 of complications from pneumonia. He was 89.
His death was announced by his son Drew Siccardi.
Born in Englewood, NJ, and raised in Fort Lee, Siccardi began his professional life as a minor league baseball pitcher for the Johnson City Cardinals from 1951-53. An employment offer to work as a show carpenter on the original national tour of Gypsy led to what would be his life’s work.
Siccardi established Arthur Siccardi Theatrical Services in 1975 at the suggestion of Michael Bennett, and he’d go on to work with such notable directors as Mike Nichols, Jerome Robbins, Tommy Tune, Gower Champion, Trevor Nunn and Michael Blakemore.
His death was announced by his son Drew Siccardi.
Born in Englewood, NJ, and raised in Fort Lee, Siccardi began his professional life as a minor league baseball pitcher for the Johnson City Cardinals from 1951-53. An employment offer to work as a show carpenter on the original national tour of Gypsy led to what would be his life’s work.
Siccardi established Arthur Siccardi Theatrical Services in 1975 at the suggestion of Michael Bennett, and he’d go on to work with such notable directors as Mike Nichols, Jerome Robbins, Tommy Tune, Gower Champion, Trevor Nunn and Michael Blakemore.
- 12/28/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Vanessa Redgrave has called on businesses and entrepreneurs to come to the aid of the U.K.’s arts sector, which is facing major financial challenges due to the Covid-19 crisis.
The Oscar winner and BAFTA Fellow was joined by Maxine Peake (Black Mirror, Peterloo), comic and campaigner Lenny Henry and theater director Trevor Nunn at a public appeal to save arts jobs held outside London’s National Theatre on Tuesday night.
“We theater and arts people must campaign to raise funds from private enterprise to add to any government funds, so that we can help to restore all ...
The Oscar winner and BAFTA Fellow was joined by Maxine Peake (Black Mirror, Peterloo), comic and campaigner Lenny Henry and theater director Trevor Nunn at a public appeal to save arts jobs held outside London’s National Theatre on Tuesday night.
“We theater and arts people must campaign to raise funds from private enterprise to add to any government funds, so that we can help to restore all ...
Vanessa Redgrave has called on businesses and entrepreneurs to come to the aid of the U.K.’s arts sector, which is facing major financial challenges due to the Covid-19 crisis.
The Oscar winner and BAFTA Fellow was joined by Maxine Peake (Black Mirror, Peterloo), comic and campaigner Lenny Henry and theater director Trevor Nunn at a public appeal to save arts jobs held outside London’s National Theatre on Tuesday night.
“We theater and arts people must campaign to raise funds from private enterprise to add to any government funds, so that we can help to restore all ...
The Oscar winner and BAFTA Fellow was joined by Maxine Peake (Black Mirror, Peterloo), comic and campaigner Lenny Henry and theater director Trevor Nunn at a public appeal to save arts jobs held outside London’s National Theatre on Tuesday night.
“We theater and arts people must campaign to raise funds from private enterprise to add to any government funds, so that we can help to restore all ...
This year’s edition of the UK theater world’s Olivier Awards, which had been set for April 5 at Royal Albert Hall in London, has been canceled. Organizer the Society of London Theatre made the call Tuesday as the UK government ramped up its restrictions in the fight against coronavirus.
“Following the government’s new advice on social distancing yesterday, and the subsequent closing of many theatres and public venues, we no longer feel that it is feasible to host the ceremony that we had planned to deliver,” Solt said in a statement today. It said all tickets would be refunded.
More from DeadlineCoronavirus: List Of Canceled Or Postponed Hollywood & Media EventsOlivier Awards: Gillian Anderson Scores 3rd Nomination With 'All About Eve' - Complete ListOlivier Awards Organizers Take Action After Peter Hall In Memoriam Snafu
Organizers said they are working through plans “on how to properly honour and announce this year’s winners,...
“Following the government’s new advice on social distancing yesterday, and the subsequent closing of many theatres and public venues, we no longer feel that it is feasible to host the ceremony that we had planned to deliver,” Solt said in a statement today. It said all tickets would be refunded.
More from DeadlineCoronavirus: List Of Canceled Or Postponed Hollywood & Media EventsOlivier Awards: Gillian Anderson Scores 3rd Nomination With 'All About Eve' - Complete ListOlivier Awards Organizers Take Action After Peter Hall In Memoriam Snafu
Organizers said they are working through plans “on how to properly honour and announce this year’s winners,...
- 3/17/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Wendell Pierce and Toby Jones are going head-to-head for best actor in this year’s Olivier Awards, while Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hayley Atwell, Juliet Stevenson and Sharon D Clarke have been nominated for best actress.
New musical & Juliet has nabbed nine nominations, Trevor Nunn’s Fiddler on the Roof has secured eight and Dear Evan Hansen has scored seven.
The UK awards, which celebrates the best theatre in London, will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on April 5.
Here’s the full list of play and musical nominations:
Best New Play
A Very Expensive Poison at The Old Vic
The Doctor at Almeida Theatre
Leopoldstadt at Wyndham’s Theatre
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at National Theatre – Dorfman
Best New Musical
& Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre
Amelie The Musical at The Other Palace
Dear Evan Hansen at Noel Coward Theatre
Waitress at Adelphi Theatre...
New musical & Juliet has nabbed nine nominations, Trevor Nunn’s Fiddler on the Roof has secured eight and Dear Evan Hansen has scored seven.
The UK awards, which celebrates the best theatre in London, will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on April 5.
Here’s the full list of play and musical nominations:
Best New Play
A Very Expensive Poison at The Old Vic
The Doctor at Almeida Theatre
Leopoldstadt at Wyndham’s Theatre
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at National Theatre – Dorfman
Best New Musical
& Juliet at Shaftesbury Theatre
Amelie The Musical at The Other Palace
Dear Evan Hansen at Noel Coward Theatre
Waitress at Adelphi Theatre...
- 3/3/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: MGM has set Dee Rees to write and direct a feature film adaptation of George Gershwin’s acclaimed Porgy and Bess. Irwin Winkler and Charles Winkler will produce. The film rights were granted to MGM by the Gershwin Estate, which worked closely with Winkler and Rees to secure them.
Originally written as an opera and adapted from the 1925 DuBose Heyward novel by composer George Gershwin with libretto by Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin, Porgy and Bess is a tale set in the slums of Charleston, Sc. There in Catfish Row, a disabled beggar named Porgy tries to rescue Bess from her violent lover Crown, and drug dealer Sportin’ Life. It first reached Broadway in 1935, and was turned into a 1959 film that Otto Preminger directed with Sidney Poitier playing Porgy, Dorothy Dandridge as Bess, Brock Peters as Crown, Sammy Davis Jr as Sportin’ Life, and a cast that included Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll.
Originally written as an opera and adapted from the 1925 DuBose Heyward novel by composer George Gershwin with libretto by Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin, Porgy and Bess is a tale set in the slums of Charleston, Sc. There in Catfish Row, a disabled beggar named Porgy tries to rescue Bess from her violent lover Crown, and drug dealer Sportin’ Life. It first reached Broadway in 1935, and was turned into a 1959 film that Otto Preminger directed with Sidney Poitier playing Porgy, Dorothy Dandridge as Bess, Brock Peters as Crown, Sammy Davis Jr as Sportin’ Life, and a cast that included Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll.
- 2/11/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
At the box office, 2019 ended much as 2020 began: Studios are in crisis mode as they try to figure out how to get moviegoers into theaters. This is how Universal came to back two disastrous movies like the $95 million “Cats,” Tom Hooper’s movie version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical blockbuster, and the $175 million “Dolittle,” Stephen Gaghan’s adaptation of the children’s book classic “Dr. Dolittle.”
It’s easy to armchair quarterback. What were they thinking? What was it about these two costly projects that propelled them forward? Didn’t the risks seem obvious?
Here are the reasons why smart people at studios come to back such boneheaded movies.
1. They have global slates to fill.
This is the primary impetus for someone like Donna Langley, a veteran executive who champions edgy movies like “Get Out,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Fifty Shades of Gray,” and “Queen & Slim,” to push forward...
It’s easy to armchair quarterback. What were they thinking? What was it about these two costly projects that propelled them forward? Didn’t the risks seem obvious?
Here are the reasons why smart people at studios come to back such boneheaded movies.
1. They have global slates to fill.
This is the primary impetus for someone like Donna Langley, a veteran executive who champions edgy movies like “Get Out,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Fifty Shades of Gray,” and “Queen & Slim,” to push forward...
- 1/22/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
At the box office, 2019 ended much as 2020 began: Studios are in crisis mode as they try to figure out how to get moviegoers into theaters. This is how Universal came to back two disastrous movies like the $95 million “Cats,” Tom Hooper’s movie version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical blockbuster, and the $175 million “Dolittle,” Stephen Gaghan’s adaptation of the children’s book classic “Dr. Dolittle.”
It’s easy to armchair quarterback. What were they thinking? What was it about these two costly projects that propelled them forward? Didn’t the risks seem obvious?
Here are the reasons why smart people at studios come to back such boneheaded movies.
1. They have global slates to fill.
This is the primary impetus for someone like Donna Langley, a veteran executive who champions edgy movies like “Get Out,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Fifty Shades of Gray,” and “Queen & Slim,” to push forward...
It’s easy to armchair quarterback. What were they thinking? What was it about these two costly projects that propelled them forward? Didn’t the risks seem obvious?
Here are the reasons why smart people at studios come to back such boneheaded movies.
1. They have global slates to fill.
This is the primary impetus for someone like Donna Langley, a veteran executive who champions edgy movies like “Get Out,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Fifty Shades of Gray,” and “Queen & Slim,” to push forward...
- 1/22/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
When Andrew Lloyd Webber and Taylor Swift had the opportunity to write a song together for “Cats,” they, well, pounced on it.
“We wrote 90 percent of it pretty much over an afternoon,” Lloyd Webber tells Variety about his and Swift’s fast-combusting collaboration on “Beautiful Ghosts,” the one brand new song written for the forthcoming movie adaptation of the 1981 stage musical.
They didn’t actually meet up with the intention of writing a new song… at least, not ostensibly. Swift had gone over to Lloyd Webber’s last December during filming to rehearse her performance of a song she sings in the film, “Macavity the Mystery Cat,” in her supporting role as Bombalurina. But at some point in the afternoon the fact that Lloyd Webber had written the instrumental basis of a new song came up. He played it on the piano, she began improvising lyrics and topline vocal elements,...
“We wrote 90 percent of it pretty much over an afternoon,” Lloyd Webber tells Variety about his and Swift’s fast-combusting collaboration on “Beautiful Ghosts,” the one brand new song written for the forthcoming movie adaptation of the 1981 stage musical.
They didn’t actually meet up with the intention of writing a new song… at least, not ostensibly. Swift had gone over to Lloyd Webber’s last December during filming to rehearse her performance of a song she sings in the film, “Macavity the Mystery Cat,” in her supporting role as Bombalurina. But at some point in the afternoon the fact that Lloyd Webber had written the instrumental basis of a new song came up. He played it on the piano, she began improvising lyrics and topline vocal elements,...
- 10/24/2019
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Nina Sosanya, Laurence Spellman, Nicola Sloane, Tereza Srbova, Freddie Gaminara, Raj Swamy | Written by Lindsay Shapero | Directed by Trevor Nunn
Red Joan, directed by Trevor Nunn, is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney and is loosely based off the life of Melita Norwood. An elderly British woman who in the early 2000s was outed in secret documents by British Intelligence, alleging that Norwood provided detailed plans to the Ussr communist regime about Britain’s developing secret nuclear program, throughout her time working as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. Nunn’s film follows the truly bizarre story of a young woman emotionally manipulated and internally conflicted on her political beliefs and the direction her heart wants to take.
It is a shame with what noticeably offbeat material Nunn has at his hands,...
Red Joan, directed by Trevor Nunn, is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney and is loosely based off the life of Melita Norwood. An elderly British woman who in the early 2000s was outed in secret documents by British Intelligence, alleging that Norwood provided detailed plans to the Ussr communist regime about Britain’s developing secret nuclear program, throughout her time working as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. Nunn’s film follows the truly bizarre story of a young woman emotionally manipulated and internally conflicted on her political beliefs and the direction her heart wants to take.
It is a shame with what noticeably offbeat material Nunn has at his hands,...
- 8/20/2019
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
‘Toy Story 4’ (Photo credit: Disney/Pixar).
The fourth installment in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise has smashed the opening weekend record for an animated title worldwide, ending a run of sequels and reboots which audiences showed they did not want or need.
Directed by Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 grabbed $244.5 million, beating Incredibles 2‘s $235.8 million, although the $120.9 million domestic debut was only the fourth biggest for the genre, trailing Incredibles 2 ($182 million), Finding Dory ($135 million) and Shrek the Third ($121 million).
It was a buoyant weekend in Oz as Toy Story 4 and Universal/Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets sequel drew kids and families and fans of Indian cinema turned out for Kabir Singh and Shadaa.
However Child’s Play, the remake of the 1988 horror movie about a ghastly voodoo doll named Chucky, found few takers for Roadshow. Among the specialty releases, Sony’s Never Look Away...
The fourth installment in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise has smashed the opening weekend record for an animated title worldwide, ending a run of sequels and reboots which audiences showed they did not want or need.
Directed by Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 grabbed $244.5 million, beating Incredibles 2‘s $235.8 million, although the $120.9 million domestic debut was only the fourth biggest for the genre, trailing Incredibles 2 ($182 million), Finding Dory ($135 million) and Shrek the Third ($121 million).
It was a buoyant weekend in Oz as Toy Story 4 and Universal/Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets sequel drew kids and families and fans of Indian cinema turned out for Kabir Singh and Shadaa.
However Child’s Play, the remake of the 1988 horror movie about a ghastly voodoo doll named Chucky, found few takers for Roadshow. Among the specialty releases, Sony’s Never Look Away...
- 6/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jessie Buckley is having what is popularly known as A Moment, that cultural curiosity when an actor seems to appear from nowhere to star in all of the most interesting projects, all at once. In HBO’s “Chernobyl”, her performance as Lyudmilla Ignatenko, the pregnant housewife who must bear witness to the horrific radiation poisoning of her fireman husband, keeps being singled out for praise. Soon, those kudos will have to compete with the ones she received at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of “Wild Rose,” with Buckley in the title role of convict-turned-songbird Rose-Lynn Harlan.
In truth, none of this — not the acting, nor the singing, or even the outsized acclaim — is new. The Killarney-born actress-musician shot out of the gate at age 18 when she came in second on BBC talent show “I’d Do Anything” (belting out the Judy Garland ballad “The Man That Got Away”). “Jessie...
In truth, none of this — not the acting, nor the singing, or even the outsized acclaim — is new. The Killarney-born actress-musician shot out of the gate at age 18 when she came in second on BBC talent show “I’d Do Anything” (belting out the Judy Garland ballad “The Man That Got Away”). “Jessie...
- 6/19/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Jessie Buckley is having what is popularly known as A Moment, that cultural curiosity when an actor seems to appear from nowhere to star in all of the most interesting projects, all at once. In HBO’s “Chernobyl”, her performance as Lyudmilla Ignatenko, the pregnant housewife who must bear witness to the horrific radiation poisoning of her fireman husband, keeps being singled out for praise. Soon, those kudos will have to compete with the ones she received at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of “Wild Rose,” with Buckley in the title role of convict-turned-songbird Rose-Lynn Harlan.
In truth, none of this — not the acting, nor the singing, or even the outsized acclaim — is new. The Killarney-born actress-musician shot out of the gate at age 18 when she came in second on BBC talent show “I’d Do Anything” (belting out the Judy Garland ballad “The Man That Got Away”). “Jessie...
In truth, none of this — not the acting, nor the singing, or even the outsized acclaim — is new. The Killarney-born actress-musician shot out of the gate at age 18 when she came in second on BBC talent show “I’d Do Anything” (belting out the Judy Garland ballad “The Man That Got Away”). “Jessie...
- 6/19/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
‘Men in Black: International.’
Sony Pictures and Amblin’s decision to reboot the Men in Black franchise without director Barry Sonnenfeld or stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, whose onscreen chemistry was crucial to the success of the first three editions, now seems questionable.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson were a winning combo in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame but did not attract sizable audiences globally for Men in Black: International last weekend.
The F. Gary Gray-directed sci-fi comedy did open more strongly in Australia than in the Us and most other markets, almost certainly due to Hemsworth’s fan base, particularly among females, but it’s tracking far below all its predecessors.
Meanwhile Damon Gameau’s 2040 advanced to $871,000 after earning $73,000 in its fourth weekend, now on 68 screens, for Madman Entertainment. Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding topped $5 million after taking $53,000 in its seventh frame for Universal.
The top 20 titles harvested $13 million,...
Sony Pictures and Amblin’s decision to reboot the Men in Black franchise without director Barry Sonnenfeld or stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, whose onscreen chemistry was crucial to the success of the first three editions, now seems questionable.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson were a winning combo in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame but did not attract sizable audiences globally for Men in Black: International last weekend.
The F. Gary Gray-directed sci-fi comedy did open more strongly in Australia than in the Us and most other markets, almost certainly due to Hemsworth’s fan base, particularly among females, but it’s tracking far below all its predecessors.
Meanwhile Damon Gameau’s 2040 advanced to $871,000 after earning $73,000 in its fourth weekend, now on 68 screens, for Madman Entertainment. Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding topped $5 million after taking $53,000 in its seventh frame for Universal.
The top 20 titles harvested $13 million,...
- 6/17/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix.’
After 12 films in 20 years including sequels, prequels and spin-offs, the final edition of Fox’s X-Men franchise is a global disaster.
The Simon Kinberg-directed X—Men: Dark Phoenix posted the lowest debut ever for the series in the Us and Australia, in the latter entering in third spot behind Aladdin’s triumphant third weekend and Rocketman’s second.
Meanwhile Damon Gameau’s 2040 climbed to $780,000 after making $139,000 from Thursday-Monday on 86 screens in its third weekend for Madman Entertainment, easing by just 17 per cent. Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding reached $4.9 million after taking $115,00 in its sixth for Universal.
In the Us pundits questioned the wisdom of entrusting the $200 million X-Men finale to a first-time director (albeit an experienced screenwriter and producer) and said the marketing campaign suffered in the handover from Fox to Disney. Apart from the rotten reviews, the fundamental problem...
After 12 films in 20 years including sequels, prequels and spin-offs, the final edition of Fox’s X-Men franchise is a global disaster.
The Simon Kinberg-directed X—Men: Dark Phoenix posted the lowest debut ever for the series in the Us and Australia, in the latter entering in third spot behind Aladdin’s triumphant third weekend and Rocketman’s second.
Meanwhile Damon Gameau’s 2040 climbed to $780,000 after making $139,000 from Thursday-Monday on 86 screens in its third weekend for Madman Entertainment, easing by just 17 per cent. Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding reached $4.9 million after taking $115,00 in its sixth for Universal.
In the Us pundits questioned the wisdom of entrusting the $200 million X-Men finale to a first-time director (albeit an experienced screenwriter and producer) and said the marketing campaign suffered in the handover from Fox to Disney. Apart from the rotten reviews, the fundamental problem...
- 6/11/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Judi Dench as “Joan Stanley” in Trevor Nunn’s Red Joan. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Judi Dench plays a widowed retired librarian living a quiet suburban life who is suddenly arrested for spying in the Cold War, in the fact-inspired Red Joan. Director Trevor Nunn based his film on a shocking real spy case, when an innocent-seeming older woman was arrested by the British Secret Service for passing classified information about the atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War. Told in part as the harmless-looking older woman is interrogated and in flashback as a young physics student recruited for the war effort, Joan Stanley relives the events of her life that led to the accusation.
The screenplay by Lindsay Shapiro is more inspired by than based on the sensational story of real spy Melita Norwood, an unassuming 87-year-old...
Judi Dench plays a widowed retired librarian living a quiet suburban life who is suddenly arrested for spying in the Cold War, in the fact-inspired Red Joan. Director Trevor Nunn based his film on a shocking real spy case, when an innocent-seeming older woman was arrested by the British Secret Service for passing classified information about the atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War. Told in part as the harmless-looking older woman is interrogated and in flashback as a young physics student recruited for the war effort, Joan Stanley relives the events of her life that led to the accusation.
The screenplay by Lindsay Shapiro is more inspired by than based on the sensational story of real spy Melita Norwood, an unassuming 87-year-old...
- 5/10/2019
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In certain circles (and in scads of UK tabloids), Melita Norwood was known as the “granny spy.” In 1994, the aging former British civil servant was outed as a former Kgb spy who passed nuclear secrets to the Ussr. That came as quite a shock to her family and friends, who were likely only somewhat soothed by the government’s decision not to prosecute her because of her age.
While Trevor Nunn’s “Red Joan” isn’t an exact biographical treatment of Norwood’s story (her Russian code name was Hola), the spy drama pulls generously from both her life and the Jennie Rooney novel inspired by it. The result is a strange, bifurcated tale of love and espionage, with Judi Dench stuck in a thankless role that does nothing to capitalize on her talents. The film is worse for it.
At least Sophie Cookson, who plays the younger version of Joan throughout the film,...
While Trevor Nunn’s “Red Joan” isn’t an exact biographical treatment of Norwood’s story (her Russian code name was Hola), the spy drama pulls generously from both her life and the Jennie Rooney novel inspired by it. The result is a strange, bifurcated tale of love and espionage, with Judi Dench stuck in a thankless role that does nothing to capitalize on her talents. The film is worse for it.
At least Sophie Cookson, who plays the younger version of Joan throughout the film,...
- 4/19/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
‘Greta’, ’Dragged Across Concrete’ among new titles.
Holdovers look set to dominate the UK box office this weekend, with Trevor Nunn’s spy drama Red Joan amongst the new openers.
Produced by David Parfitt’s Trademark Films, the Lionsgate-distributed feature is led by Judi Dench and 2014 Screen Star of Tomorrow Sophie Cookson, and based on the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney. Cookson plays Joan Stanley, a Cambridge physics student in 1938 who falls for a young communist; while Dench takes up the character in 2000 when MI5 come to arrest her.
The film will be aiming to top...
Holdovers look set to dominate the UK box office this weekend, with Trevor Nunn’s spy drama Red Joan amongst the new openers.
Produced by David Parfitt’s Trademark Films, the Lionsgate-distributed feature is led by Judi Dench and 2014 Screen Star of Tomorrow Sophie Cookson, and based on the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney. Cookson plays Joan Stanley, a Cambridge physics student in 1938 who falls for a young communist; while Dench takes up the character in 2000 when MI5 come to arrest her.
The film will be aiming to top...
- 4/19/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Our first shot of Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) in “Red Joan” is inauspicious enough. A librarian in a cozy cardigan, she’s pruning roses outside her small, neatly kept row house in a London suburb. But then there’s a knock at the door. And a charge of treason.
Unfortunately, director Trevor Nunn can’t match the rest of the film to this intriguing open, in part because he loses Dench for so much it.
Nunn — who usually focuses on the stage, alternating between Shakespearean adaptations and splashy productions like “Cats” and “Les Misérables” — does know how to craft a good-looking movie. He just doesn’t seem motivated to make a particularly challenging one. There’s a sense of missed opportunity hovering around the edges of this curious story, which ought to be tense and complex but rarely is.
Also Read: Kenneth Branagh's William Shakespeare Movie 'All Is True...
Unfortunately, director Trevor Nunn can’t match the rest of the film to this intriguing open, in part because he loses Dench for so much it.
Nunn — who usually focuses on the stage, alternating between Shakespearean adaptations and splashy productions like “Cats” and “Les Misérables” — does know how to craft a good-looking movie. He just doesn’t seem motivated to make a particularly challenging one. There’s a sense of missed opportunity hovering around the edges of this curious story, which ought to be tense and complex but rarely is.
Also Read: Kenneth Branagh's William Shakespeare Movie 'All Is True...
- 4/18/2019
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
There are few bigger legends among actresses than Judi Dench. An Oscar winner, almost anything she chooses to be in is with your attention. Whether it’s a prestige Academy Award hopeful or a blockbuster like the James Bond franchise outings, she’s usually able to elevate the material and provide a reason to watch. However, that’s not the case here with Red Joan. This independent drama does her no favors and she’s unable to save it. This is the poorest use of Dench in some time. Boring, meandering, and constantly unsure of how to generate intrigue, it’s a tale that falters almost immediately. The film is a drama, though that posits that anything especially dramatic occurs. The first scene is interesting, as we see Joan Stanley (Dench) arrested by British police. What could they want with a little old lady? Well, it turns out she’s...
- 4/18/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Trevor Nunn’s film about ‘granny spy’ Melita Norwood aims for The Imitation Game-style spring, but squanders its greatest acting asset
This 40s period piece tootles picturesquely along like a cold war, heterosexual version of The Imitation Game, the biopic of wartime codebreaker Alan Turing. There is the same prestige Britpic furniture: clipped vowels, kindly officer-class boffins, sexy smoulderers, brilliant women patronised by pipe-smoking, pint-quaffing chaps, illicit (straight) relationships in cramped rooms with a sixpence for the meter.
Related: Every Judi Dench film – ranked!
This 40s period piece tootles picturesquely along like a cold war, heterosexual version of The Imitation Game, the biopic of wartime codebreaker Alan Turing. There is the same prestige Britpic furniture: clipped vowels, kindly officer-class boffins, sexy smoulderers, brilliant women patronised by pipe-smoking, pint-quaffing chaps, illicit (straight) relationships in cramped rooms with a sixpence for the meter.
Related: Every Judi Dench film – ranked!
- 4/17/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Red Joan IFC Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net with a Rotten Tomatoes link by: Harvey Karten Director: Trevor Nunn Screenwriter: Lindsay Shapero based on Jennie Rooney’s novel Cast: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Ben Miles, Tereza Srbrova Screened at: Digital Arts, NYC, 3/13/19 Opens: April 19, 2019 Tom Lehrer sang […]
The post Red Joan Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Red Joan Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/14/2019
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Here’s your first look at Oscar-winner Judi Dench in Red Joan. The film is inspired by the True Story of the Granny Spy Melita Norwood.
Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places her under arrest. The charge: providing classified scientific information—including details on the building of the atomic bomb—to the Soviet government for decades. As she is interrogated, Joan relives the dramatic events that shaped her life and beliefs: her student days at Cambridge, where she excelled at physics while challenging deep-seated sexism; her tumultuous love affair with a dashing political radical (Tom Hughes); and the devastation of World War II, which inspired her to risk everything in pursuit of peace.
Based on a sensational true story, Red Joan vividly brings to life the conflicts—between patriotism and idealism, love and duty,...
Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places her under arrest. The charge: providing classified scientific information—including details on the building of the atomic bomb—to the Soviet government for decades. As she is interrogated, Joan relives the dramatic events that shaped her life and beliefs: her student days at Cambridge, where she excelled at physics while challenging deep-seated sexism; her tumultuous love affair with a dashing political radical (Tom Hughes); and the devastation of World War II, which inspired her to risk everything in pursuit of peace.
Based on a sensational true story, Red Joan vividly brings to life the conflicts—between patriotism and idealism, love and duty,...
- 3/7/2019
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Downtown Music Publishing has entered into a multi-year publishing administration deal with Faber Music, which represents the musical repertoire from “Cats,” the beloved and long-running Broadway sensation currently being turned into a feature film starring Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Idris Elba and Judi Dench, among others. The Universal picture, directed by Tom Hooper, recently started production and is slated for release in Dec. 2019.
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the music of “Cats” is rooted in the poetry collection “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot. The stage show’s Broadway and London runs both broke records with the U.K. production launching in 1981 and in New York the following year. The former ran for 21 years and the latter nearly as long, winning seven Tony Awards.
Downtown’s deal with Faber, which includes royalty collection and marketing, covers the U.S. and Canada.
“We’ve chosen...
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the music of “Cats” is rooted in the poetry collection “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot. The stage show’s Broadway and London runs both broke records with the U.K. production launching in 1981 and in New York the following year. The former ran for 21 years and the latter nearly as long, winning seven Tony Awards.
Downtown’s deal with Faber, which includes royalty collection and marketing, covers the U.S. and Canada.
“We’ve chosen...
- 1/23/2019
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Lionsgate has debuted the trailer for the adaptation of Jennie Rooney’s best-selling novel ‘Red Joan’ starring Judi Dench.
Directed by Trevor Nunn, the cast is led by multi-award winning actress Judi Dench (Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love) and Sophie Cookson (Gypsy, Kingsman: The Secret Service) who star as the eponymous central character, Stephen Campbell Moore (The Child in Time, Goodbye Christopher Robin) as Max, a physics professor and Young Joan’s mentor, Tom Hughes (Victoria, London Town) as Leo, a young communist and Young Joan’s first love, Ben Miles (The Crown, Woman in Gold) as Joan’s son and lawyer Nick and Tereza Srbova as a fellow Cambridge University student and Young Joan’s confident.
Also in trailers – Tessa Thompson and Lily James star in trailer for ‘Little Woods’
The film is out in cinemas April 19th
Red Joan Synopsis
The year is 2000 and Joan Stanley (Dench) is living...
Directed by Trevor Nunn, the cast is led by multi-award winning actress Judi Dench (Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love) and Sophie Cookson (Gypsy, Kingsman: The Secret Service) who star as the eponymous central character, Stephen Campbell Moore (The Child in Time, Goodbye Christopher Robin) as Max, a physics professor and Young Joan’s mentor, Tom Hughes (Victoria, London Town) as Leo, a young communist and Young Joan’s first love, Ben Miles (The Crown, Woman in Gold) as Joan’s son and lawyer Nick and Tereza Srbova as a fellow Cambridge University student and Young Joan’s confident.
Also in trailers – Tessa Thompson and Lily James star in trailer for ‘Little Woods’
The film is out in cinemas April 19th
Red Joan Synopsis
The year is 2000 and Joan Stanley (Dench) is living...
- 1/16/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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