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In the movie Hook, Steven Spielberg’s 1991 Peter Pan sequel starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, Williams’ Peter visits the London home of his wife’s family, where he reconnects with her grandmother, a very grown up Wendy Darling played by Dame Maggie Smith. She first appears as a ghostly silhouette at the top of a staircase before descending and creeping into the light. Smith was only in her 50s when she shot the movie but had been aged up to look impossibly frail and elderly — her hair a bushy nest,...

The stage and screen director, who filmed Smith in The Lady in the Van, recalls her unblinking wit at work on stage in A German Life

• Smith dies aged 89

• Appreciations by Peter Bradshaw and Mark Lawson

• A life in pictures

• Obituary

• Her 20 best films

• Michael Palin, Mike Newell and Ol Parker remember Smith

• Share your tributes

Maggie Smith seemed in her performances to care nothing about being loved, but she was as widely adored as an actor can be. The two things were connected; everyone who watched her knew that there was an unswerving honesty behind her ruthless wit and her ability, in the blink of an eye, to shine a light on the most terrifying abysses of the human condition.

She found life hysterically funny and unbearably painful. Her company was exhilarating – she was even sharper and wittier than her legions of fans imagined her to be. But since the death of her husband,...

Beloved actor Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89, it has been confirmed. The news was announced by her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin in a statement. “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” it reads. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

Smith’s career spanned several decades, across both stage and screen – she began her theatre career in the early 1950s, while her screen career began in earnest with 1958’s Nowhere To Go. Her cinematic breakout role came in the 1965 adaptation of Othello, in which she played Desdemona – and was nominated for an Oscar. The film also starred Michael Gambon...

Dame Maggie Smith, a celebrated two-time Oscar winner and one of the most revered actresses globally, has passed away at age 89.

Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday, September 27, through their publicist, Clair Dobbs, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dame Maggie Smith.”

Dame Maggie Passed Away Peacefully

The announcement states she peacefully departed this world in the hospital early this morning, Friday, September 27th.

Described as an intensely private individual, she was surrounded by her friends and family in her final moments; Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their compassionate care and unwavering kindness during her last days.

We appreciate all the kind messages and support we have received and kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.

Dame Maggie...

Maggie Smith, the Oscar-winning British actress who starred in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter series, has died at the age of 89.

Smith’s sons announced her death Friday morning in a statement. No cause of death was revealed, but the actress was at a British hospital at the time of her death.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in the statement to Rolling Stone. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,...

Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar and four-time Emmy winner whose work in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Downton Abbey — plus everything before and after — made her one of the most formidable British actors of all time, died Friday. She was 89.

Her sons, actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, told the BBC that she died “peacefully in hospital … an intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”

Best known in recent years for matriarchal roles in seven of the Harry Potter films and the ITV-pbs series Downton Abbey, Smith earned early acclaim with a best actress Oscar...

Beloved British actress Dame Maggie Smith, best known for her roles in the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89.

Smith’s family confirmed her death in a statement to the BBC. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September,” they said. “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

Thanks to her affinity for comedic performances, Smith stole the hearts of viewers across generations — from her breakout title role in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to her work as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey. Her most widely recognized role was as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise.

Smith is one of 24 actors to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting,” being awarded a competitive Academy Award,...

British stage and screen actress Maggie Smith, the “Downton Abbey” and “Harry Potter” star who numbers two Oscars, three Emmys and countless stage awards to her credit, died Friday in London. She was 89.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”

In her late 70s, Smith drew an entirely new legion of fans thanks to her starring role in...

Dame Maggie Smith, the British actress who starred in Harry Potter films, the wildly popular Downton Abbey series and scores of other movies, TV shows, West End and Broadway productions in a career that brought two Oscars, five BAFTAs, four Emmys and a Tony Award, died today. She was 89.

Smith’s death was confirmed by her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin. In a statement shared with UK media, they said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

Smith was one of the finest British screen and stage stars of her generation and will be remembered for her performances in iconic films and TV shows, including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Her...

Playwright Alan Bennett has written original screenplay The Choral, which will begin filming this summer.

There’s a reason a remake of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues (pictured above) was one of the first things put into production when the pandemic started in 2020. Not only were they easy to film with a single cast member, but the texts are also regarded as modern classics of drama, each story a masterpiece in construction and storytelling. You only have to watch the original versions to see the astonishing power of David Haig in Playing Sandwiches or Dame Thora Hird in A Cream Cracker Under The Settee.

The Choral, meanwhile, is Alan Bennett’s first original script written for the screen in forty years, after 1984 comedy A Private Function. The synopsis reads as follows:

Set in Ramsden, Yorkshire in 1916, the plot centers on the chorus master and most of the men of the ambitious local Choral Society,...

Sony Pictures Classics has taken worldwide rights to Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral, written by Alan Bennett, and set to star Ralph Fiennes, Jim Broadbent and Simon Russell Beale.

This is the fourth feature collaboration between Bennett and Hytner after The Lady In The Van, The History Boys and The Madness Of King George. Unlike those films,The Choral is based on an original screenplay rather than a play.

Hytner will produce the film alongside Kevin Loader and Damian Jones. Backing comes from Sony Pictures Classics, BBC Film and Screen Yorkshire, and shooting will commence in Yorkshire this May.

Executive producers include Caroline Cooper Charles,...

Director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett are collaborating again, with The Lady in the Van, The History Boys and The Madness of King George duo set to team on The Choral, which will star Ralph Fiennes, Jim Broadbent and Simon Russell Beale. Production begins in May in Yorkshire, according to Sony Pictures Classics, which said Wednesday that it has acquired all worldwide rights to the pic.

Unlike their previous collaborations that were based on Tony-winning playwright Bennett’s stage plays, this is an original screenplay. Set in Ramsden, Yorkshire in 1916, the plot centers on the chorus master and most of the men of the ambitious local Choral Society, who have volunteered for the front. Under the direction of the demanding, driven Dr. Guthrie (Fiennes), the Choral recruits a crop of teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the joys of singing and the urgency of desire as the new...

Alex Jennings is one of those actors whose face you recognize but whose name may escape American audiences. He portrayed Prince Charles in “The Queen” and his great uncle, King Edward VII, a decade later in “The Crown.” This fine character actor held his own opposite Maggie Smith in “The Lady in the Van” and Hugh Grant in “A Very English Scandal.” Jennings is a consummate thespian who excels in supporting roles but rarely receives the credit he so richly deserves.

His shines in Hulu’s medical drama “This is Going to Hurt,” based on the book of the same name by the show’s creator, Adam Kay. Ben Whishaw is Kay, a doctor working in an NHS hospital in the mid-noughties, while Jennings is Nigel Lockhart, the Chief Consultant in the ward. This limited series is a masterful blend of comedy and drama and is one of the year’s most exquisitely crafted stories.

To mark the release of Allelujah arriving for Premium Digital Ownership and Premium Digital Rental from 17th April and will also be available on Blu-Ray and DVD from 29th May, we have 3 Blu-Rays to give away!

Allelujah is directed by Richard Eyre from a screenplay by Heidi Thomas (Call the Midwife, Cranford), and based on the stage play by Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The Lady in The Van). It is a warm, humorous and deeply moving story about surviving old age:

When the geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, the hospital decides to fight back by galvanizing the local community: they invite a news crew to film their preparations for a concert in honour of the hospital’s most distinguished nurse. Allelujah celebrates the spirit of the elderly patients whilst paying tribute to the deep humanity of the medical staff battling with limited resources and ever-growing demand.

The month of April for Hulu is jam-packed with TV and film goodies, from Adam Sandler’s 1999 comedy “Big Daddy” to Fox’s hit sitcom “New Girl.”

On top of Hulu’s rollout of a new interface, it’s also adding some major film and TV titles to its platform. Some of the highlights that set off the first day of April include “American Psycho,” “Shrek” and its sequel “Shrek 2,” plus the Tim Story-directed “Think Like a Man.”

Anime series will be all the rage on Hulu with the dubbed version of the new popular series “Chainsaw Man” arriving, along with “Spy x Family” and “Black Clover.” If you’re looking for something a little bit more kid-friendly, the family can al enjoy “Despicable Me” and “Despicable 2,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” and “Nanny McPhee.” For the lovers and heartless romantics, “Dear John” and “Date Night...

Hulu’s list of new releases for April 2023 don’t feature many blockbusters, but if we dig a little, I’m sure we can find some gems.

Perhaps the most promising items are on the TV side of things. Tiny Beautiful Things premieres on April 7 and stars Kathryn Hahn as “a floundering writer who becomes a revered advice columnist while her own life is falling apart.” That will be followed by comedy Am I Being Unreasonable? on April 11 and two documentaries: high school football story Algiers, America (April 19) and Tupac Shakur piece Dear Mama (April 22).

The best TV candidate this month, however, is probably Saint X on April 26. This series, told via multiple timelines, “explores and upends the girl-gone-missing genre as it explores how a young woman’s mysterious death during an idyllic Caribbean vacation creates a traumatic ripple effect that eventually pulls her surviving sister into a dangerous pursuit of the truth.

One of the most anticipated television releases of April is coming to Hulu on April 7. “Tiny Beautiful Things” stars Kathryn Hahn as troubled writer Clare. Ironically, she becomes a great advice columnist as her life falls apart. Her marriage is in trouble and her teen daughter hates her. Plus, her writing career is going nowhere. Based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed, the limited series explores the author’s journey toward healing herself and others.

Check out the “Tiny Beautiful Things” trailer:

Also arriving on Hulu in April is the series adaptation of the best-selling novel “Saint X.” The series is based on Alexis Schaitkin’s novel of the same name and follows a woman’s dangerous pursuit of her older sister’s disappearance on an idyllic Caribbean vacation. Through multiple timelines, the series explores all the traumatic ripples the mystery created for countless people. The series will star Alycia Debnam-Carey,...

Even if you’ve signed up for every streaming service out there, it can feel monumental when a title moves from one to another. In April, Netflix mainstay “New Girl” moves to Hulu; still streaming, but not where fans are used to finding it — like rearranging the furniture in your apartment and waking up surprised every day that the couch is over there now.

But what’s important is that “New Girl” lives on, now joining Hulu’s own TV and movie library and originals from Freeform, FX, National Geographic, and more. Later in the month, Leila Gerstein’s “Saint X” — based on the novel by Alexis Schaitkin — premieres with three episodes, recounting the story of a young girl found dead during a family vacation and the sister piecing it together years later. Alycia Debnam-Carey, Josh Bonzie, West Duchovny, Jayden Elijah, Bre Francis, Kenlee Anaya Townsend, Betsy Brandt, and Michael Park star.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the U.S., Latin America, and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to “The Miracle Club.”

Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film stars Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey.

The Dublin-shot film centers on four Dublin women who come together on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Lourdes in France, where they discover the solidarity in their friendship and unveil their own personal miracles.

Produced by Chris Curling, Joshua Maurer and Larry Bass, the film was shot throughout 2022 and is currently in post-production. “The Miracle Club” reunites its leading actresses and Sony Pictures Classics, with all three having starred in previous films released by the distributor, including Linney in “Jindabyne” (2006) and “Driving Lessons” (2006), Smith in the titular role of “The Lady in the Van” (2015), and Bates in “Love Liza” (2002) and “Midnight in Paris” (2011).

Said O’Sullivan:...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the film The Miracle Club starring Oscar nom Laura Linney, Oscar winners Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates, and Agnes O’Casey. Specifics as to the release plan haven’t been disclosed. But SPC nabbed rights in the U.S., Latin America, and assorted territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

Related Story 2023 Independent Spirits’ Best Feature Contender ‘Our Father, The Devil’ Acquired By Cinedigm Related Story Sony Pictures Classics Sets Yogi Berra Doc 'It Ain't Over' For Theatrical Release Related Story Sony Pictures Classics Lands World On 'A Little Prayer' After Rousing Premiere

In the film helmed by Emmy nom Thaddeus O’Sullivan, there’s just one tantalizing dream for the women of Ballygar, a village in outer Dublin, to taste freedom and escape the gauntlet of domestic life: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that...

Cast headlined by Laura Linney, Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up all rights in the US, Latin America and across southeast Asia and eastern Europe to The Miracle Club, directed by Irish filmmaker Thaddeus O’Sullivan, starring Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey.

The UK’s Embankment Films is handling sales.

The feature, shot in Dublin and in post-production, follows the women of Irish village Ballygar, all united in their dream of winning a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes. Thanks to the help of a local priest, three close friends...

Chatting away to Sally Hawkins, as you do, in the fabled Abbey Road Studios in posh North London neighborhood of St. John’s Wood, she tells me ”I feel fine” when I inquire after her well-being.

Our feet are planted in the very spot where The Beatles recorded the track for “I Feel Fine,” a single that topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic back in 1964. I couldn’t tell whether Hawkins purposefully chose those words to chime with where we were stood.

Related Story Breaking Baz: Hot Star Paul Mescal Heats Up London Theater; BAFTA Talks Gender Neutrality; All About Amy Winehouse When We Were Neighbors Related Story 'Glass Onion' Claims Title Of Most-Viewed Film In A Week On Nielsen U.S. Streaming Charts; 'Yellowstone' Has Its First Billion-Minute Week Related Story Joe Cornish Talks Netflix Ghost Hunter Series 'Lockwood & Co...

Click here to read the full article.

Like some kind of cinematic equivalent of the vault in the Tower of London where the Crown jewels are stored, the stage-to-screen adaptation Allelujah piles a number of “national treasures” atop one another: a script based on a play from 2018 by national treasure Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George); a cast featuring such treasured national stars as Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi and Jennifer Saunders; direction from feted theater and film veteran Richard Eyre (Iris, Notes on a Scandal) and so on. It’s all rolled up in a story about the institution every Brit most loves to love and moan about in equal measure, the National Health Service. What could possibly go wrong?

At the risk of having my Leave to Remain resident status in the U.K. revoked, I am sad to report that Allelujah the film is something of a disappointment.

Exclusive: UK sales and production firm Embankment is teaming up with veteran UK producer Kevin Loader to create new label Free Range Entertainment.

The key shareholders in the company are Embankment’s Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar and Free Range’s Kevin Loader.

The combined company will develop, produce, co-produce, sell, and distribute film, TV and “allied” content, while also investing directly into production and working with third party investors and financiers.

Tim Haslam explained: “Free Range Entertainment is a creative hub for like-minded storytellers, writers, directors, and producers; converting IP from inception and development, through to production and commercial global exploitation. The Embankment sales brand will continue.”

Free Range Films was founded by producer Kevin Loader and director Roger Michell in 1996. Following Michell’s untimely passing last September, the production company has decided to embark on a new structural partnership.

Pathé has released the first images from its new feature film, ‘Allelujah,’ a darkly comic tale about surviving old age.

Based on the stage play by Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The Lady in The Van), Richard Eyre (Notes on A Scandal, Iris) directs from a screenplay by Heidi Thomas.

The synopsis reads; When the geriatric ward of a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, the hospital decides to fight back by galvanizing the local community. They invite a news crew to film their preparations for a concert in honour of the hospital’s most distinguished nurse. What could go wrong? The story celebrates the spirit of the elderly patients whilst paying tribute to the deep humanity of the medical staff battling with limited resources and ever-growing demand. But in the midst of the tears and the laughter, we slowly realise that there is something threatening the...

I am not at all religious. But I do despair that so many people — both in my home country of the United States and my adopted land of the United Kingdom — profess to be Christian and claim these nations themselves are fueled by Christian values, and yet absolutely stomp, individually and collectively, on the ideals that Jesus preached. Particularly when it comes to looking after the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized.

So it’s especially nice, on this Easter Sunday, to see such a lovely, gentle film as Theirs Is the Kingdom, one of the very few movies I’ve ever seen that evinces even a passing religiosity that Jesus himself might approve of.

Study for the fresco of a man called Blue.

Asheville, North Carolina, is a hip, artsy, gentrifying college town surrounded by, as someone notes here, “real Appalachian poverty.” This small city, this place of harsh...

Whoopi Goldberg has been tapped to play the menacing Bird Woman opposite Malachi Kirby and Delroy Lindo in Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman’s series adaptation for Prime Video.

Based on Gaiman’s fantasy novel, the six-episode series is set throughout contemporary London and follows a cast of characters in an epic story that stretches from the UK to Florida, the Caribbean and the mythical World Before Time. Kirby stars in the leading roles of Fat Charlie and Spider. The series is filming in Scotland and will premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

2021-22 Amazon Prime Video Pilots & Series Orders

Per Amazon Studios’ descriptions: Anansi Boys follows Charlie Nancy (Kirby) — sometimes known as Fat Charlie (it was his father’s nickname for him; he’s not fat) — a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie...

As principal photography begins on the historical comedy, ‘Seize Them! a lead cast of Aimee Lou Wood, Nicola Coughlan, Nick Frost, Lolly Adefope and Jessica Hynes has been announced.

Directed by Curtis Vowell (Baby Done, Fantail), the female-led comedy is set in the dark ages of Britain. Queen Dagan (Aimee Lou Wood) is master of all she surveys, with an ego to match – until she’s toppled by a revolution led by the charismatic Humble Joan (Nicola Coughlan). The Queen becomes a fugitive in her own land, a hefty bounty on her head. With the help of Shulmay (Lolly Adefope), a former servant with a lot of secrets – and Bobik (Nick Frost), a shit-shoveller who wants more out of life – Queen Dagan must face every conceivable hardship and danger as she embarks on a voyage to win back her throne. She also has to face up to the very worst parts of herself.

Exclusive: A24 will release Roger Michell’s last movie, the documentary Elizabeth about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, we can reveal. The stateside debut has yet to be dated.

The late British filmmaker, known for movies including Notting Hill, The Duke, Hyde Park On Hudson and My Cousin Rachel, completed Elizabeth just days before he passed away last September.

The film has been previously described to us as a “nostalgic, uplifting and fresh modern chronicle of the extraordinary 70-year reign of Her Majesty the Queen, the longest-lived, longest-reigning British monarch and longest-serving female head of state in history.”

Pic is produced by UK producer Kevin Loader, known for movies including Nowhere Boy, The Lady in the Van and The Death of Stalin. Composer is five-time Oscar-nominee George Fenton.

In the UK, Signature Entertainment has set a June 3 theatrical release to coincide with the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee. Embankment handles international sales.

Focus Features has taken global rights to Jim Archer’s feature directorial debut Brian and Charles.

They will release domestically with Universal handling offshore territories.

Movie follows Brian, a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, Brian attempts his biggest project yet. Three days, a washing machine, and various spare parts later, he’s invented Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and has an obsession with cabbages.

Film4, which developed and co-funded the pic, will retain free TV rights to the film in the United Kingdom. BFI awarded funds from the National Lottery to the project directed and edited by Archer.

David Earl and Chris Hayward wrote and produced by Rupert Majendie for Mr Box Productions.

EPs are Damian Jones, Mary Burke for the BFI,...

Exclusive: Roger Michell’s last movie, the documentary Elizabeth about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, has been picked up by Signature Entertainment and set for a Friday 3 June theatrical release to coincide with the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.

The late British filmmaker, known for movies including Notting Hill, The Duke, Hyde Park On Hudson and My Cousin Rachel, completed Elizabeth just days before he passed away last September.

The film is described to us as a “nostalgic, uplifting and fresh modern chronicle of the extraordinary 70-year reign of Her Majesty the Queen, the longest-lived, longest-reigning British monarch and longest-serving female head of state in history.”

Elizabeth is produced by UK producer Kevin Loader, known for movies including Nowhere Boy, The Lady in the Van and The Death of Stalin.

Loader commented: “Roger literally finished this last film the day before he left us, and I know he was excited...

Release

Kenneth Branagh‘s “Belfast” and the late Roger Michell‘s “The Duke” will release theatrically in the U.K. on Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, 2022 respectively.

Featuring an ensemble cast, “Belfast” is an autobiographical story set in late 1960s Northern Ireland. It follows Buddy, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.

The film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and is an odds on favorite at the upcoming awards season.

Universal is giving “Belfast” a wide release of more than 300 screens.

Meanwhile, Pathe is also planning a wide release with more than 300 screens for “The Duke.” The film bowed at...

Festival

The 65th BFI London Film Festival, which concluded Oct. 17, attracted crowds for in-person events and virtually. The festival unspooled over 12 days across London venues, 10 partner cinema venues around the U.K. and online. There were more than 139,000 physical attendances at screenings and events and over 152,000 virtual attendances.

The festival closed with the European premiere of “The Tragedy of Macbeth” at new festival venue, the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with director Joel Coen and key cast, including Frances McDormand, in attendance.

There was a sting in the tail, however, as two people who attended the closing film and after party tested positive for Covid-19, compelling the BFI to send letters to attendees informing them about this. The positive tests came as no surprise as the U.K. is experiencing a dramatic surge in cases currently.

The array of celebrities who attended the festival in person included Jay Z,...

It’s blockbuster season and Amazon Prime is celebrating by bringing a major action film to its stream.

That’s right, Amazon Prime’s list of new releases for July 2021 is highlighted by none other than The Tomorrow War on July 2. The year is 2051 and mankind is locked in a vicious war against an alien species. Our only hope is to go back in time and find…Chris Pratt. Ok, perhaps that’s a little reductive of the film’s plot. Future humanity also comes back to bring Sam Richardson to the future.

In terms of originals, there isn’t much else to speak of on Amazon Prime this month. The only other major release is The Pursuit of Love on July 30. This BBC series is directed by Emily Mortimer and takes place during the WWII era and follows two cousins as they navigate their lives. Lily James and Andrew Scott star.

Casting has been announced, and first-look images released, for the highly anticipated adaptation of Adam Kay’s multi-million copy bestseller ‘This is Going to Hurt.’

The 7 episode series follows Adam, a doctor who we find wending his way through the ranks of hospital hierarchy – junior enough to suffer the crippling hours, but senior enough to face a constant barrage of terrifying responsibilities. Adam is clinging to his personal life as he is increasingly overwhelmed by stresses at work: the 97-hour weeks, the life and death decisions, and all the while knowing the hospital parking meter is earning more than him.

Whishaw is joined by newcomer Ambika Mod as Shruti, a young junior doctor just starting in obstetrics and gynaecology. Naturally bright, diligent and caring, she has everything it takes to be a great doctor, but the job still finds ways to throw her into chaos and doubt.

Michele Austin (Meet the Richardsons,...

While we’re all waiting for cinemas to reopen and the world to return to some semblance of normality, eager film fans have been feasting on the numerous treasure of digital downloads to sate their cinematic appetites. Now, thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment this will be a more affordable pursuit thanks to their collection of Watchlist Movies – all of them films you need to see. Promotions like these are great for film fans wanting to catch up with a classic, or to discover something new.

You can catch all these movies and more, available to rent or buy on digital right here.

The offers last until the 10th of May, so there’s plenty of time to choose your favourites. In that spirit here are our picks from the great films on offer.

Ghostbusters

It’s only right that we begin with a classic film from the ’80s, one...

Exclusive: Here’s a hot one out of Blighty. Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent is set to star in the movie adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s genuinely best-selling novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

BAFTA-winner Hettie Macdonald, who directed BBC and Hulu hit Normal People with Lenny Abrahamson, is aboard to direct, and BAFTA-winner Kevin Loader (The Death Of Stalin) will produce with Juliet Dowling and Marilyn Milgrom. Embankment have launched worldwide sales ahead of the virtual EFM.

Broadbent, who teamed with Loader on box office hit The Lady in the Van and recently starred in Venice Film Festival hit The Duke, will play the eponymous Harold, an ordinary man who has passed through life, living on the side lines, until he goes to post a letter one day…and just keeps walking.

The character embarks on a 450-mile walk across the UK in the simple belief that his journey will...

Cherie Blair will make her first foray into film-making as she serves as executive producer on Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) drama The Rock Pile.

The barrister and wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair is taking on her first producing role on the film, which will tell the story of Time magazine correspondent Bob Hastings (played by Bonneville) who while on assignment in Jerusalem uncovers a story of three young boys of different faiths who are brought together through soccer.

John Deery (Conspiracy Of Silence) is set to direct the English-language film with shoot planned to take place in New York and Israel. David McBrayer (Beat The Drum) has scripted the project which is produced by Deery for Joejack Entertainment, McBrayer for Z Productions and Haim Mecklberg for 2-Teams Productions (Sand Storm).

Also executive-producing are Charles Moore (The Lady In The Van), Gabriela Christian-Hare (The Pinkertons), Rick McCallum (Star...

Seriousness is so overrated. In an apparent bid for gravitas, the year’s box-office busting, critic-charming musical, “A Star Is Born,” opted to compete in the Golden Globes drama category. That choice might have triggered a sense of inferiority in the jolly musical or comedy gang — but, no! The musical or comedy category is often the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s most interesting, and could boost such films as “Green Book” or “Mary Poppins Returns” or “Crazy Rich Asians” in the game of Oscar best picture thrones.

Recently, best picture winners “The Artist” (2011) and “Birdman” (2014) emerged from the musical or comedy grab bag (where the latter lost to Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel”). In 2002, “Chicago” heralded the comeback of the movie musical. It won the category and went on to win six Oscars including best picture.

Sometimes, the winners of the two top Golden Globes categories go head-to-head at the Oscars.

Emmy-winning actress Claire Foy is in a persistent state of professional transformation. While most audiences only got hip to the British star’s talents thanks to her two-season turn as Queen Elizabeth on Netflix’s hit series “The Crown,” the star has spent the past couple of years rounding out her resume with a series of very different big screen parts, from biopics like “Breathe” to the dramedy “The Lady in the Van.”

This year, with “The Crown” behind her — Olivia Colman will take over the role next season — Foy turned her attentions to three new films, including Fede Alvarez’s “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” which marks her biggest transformation yet.

As misanthropic hacker Lisbeth Salander, Foy is tasked with taking on a role that’s not only been played by two different actresses, including Rooney Mara and Noomi Rapace, but one that requires its star to...

Independent handling sales in Cannes.

Screen can unveil an exclusive first look at Chubby Funny director Harry Michell’s upcoming comedy Ilkley.

The film, about an attempted assassination of a controversial secularist at a literary festival, stars Roger Allam (The Lady In The Van) Derek Jacobi (Tolkien) and Anna Maxwell-Martin (Philomena), alongside Harry Melling (The Lost City Of Z) and Tom Brooke (The Death Of Stalin). Vinette Robinson and Flora Spencer-Longhurst also star.

Michell (Chubby Funny) directed from a script he co-wrote with Jamie Fraser. Helen Simmons produced. The film is now in post-production after shooting in Yorkshire, UK.

Executive...

Exclusive: My Cousin Rachel director Roger Michel and producer Kevin Loader are teaming up under their Free Range Films banner on a feature adaptation of upcoming UK novel Little Darlings, which they have optioned from Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency.

Notting Hill director Michel will write and direct the feature adaptation, which is currently in development, while The Death Of Stalin and The Lady In The Van producer Loader will produce.

The debut novel, which was pre-empted in a “significant” six-figure deal by Harper Collins, spans the first five weeks following a traumatic childbirth. It will be published in spring 2019 in UK, Us (Crooked Lane) and Canada (Harper Collins). Free Range secured the deal with Hayley Steed at Madeleine Milburn.

In Little Darlings, which is set in the UK city of Sheffield in the present day, Lauren’s hopes and dreams of being a new mum are shattered when...

Author: Competitions

Studiocanal is pleased to announce that The Sense Of An Ending – a deeply moving and uplifting story about the paths chosen in life, and the power of memory, love and forgiveness – arrives on Blu-ray and DVD 14 August 2017 and will be available on Digital Download from 7 August 2017. To celebrate, we’re giving away a copy on DVD as well as a copy of the book! There is also a DVD copy available for 1 runner up.

Tony Webster (Academy Award®-winner Jim Broadbent, Bridget Jones’ Baby, The Lady in the Van) is divorced, retired and leads a reclusive and relatively quiet life.

One day, he learns that the mother of his university girlfriend, Veronica, left in her will a diary kept by his best friend. Tony’s quest to recover the diary forces him to revisit his flawed recollections of his youth and, digging deeper, uncovers deceit, regrets and guilt buried long ago.

The film co-stars Margot Robbie, and Kelly Macdonald.

The first trailer for Simon Curtis’ Goodbye Christopher Robin has been released.

Watch the trailer below or Here on mobile device.

The film tells the story of the relationship between beloved children’s author A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin (Wil Tilston), whose toys inspired the world and characters of Winnie the Pooh. Margot Robbie and Kelly Macdonald also star as Milne’s wife and Robin’s nanny, respectively.

The film is written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Millions) and Simon Vaughan (War And Peace), and is produced by Damian Jones (The Lady In The Van) and Steve Christian (Belle). Curtis and Vaughan also serve as executive producers.

The film will be released in the UK on September 29, 2017. Fox Searchlight Pictures produced and will distribute the film worldwide.

This weekend, the entire specialized industry is huddled in Cannes in search of the next big things. On the home front, just three noteworthy films opened, each on a single Manhattan screen. Two of them, the Bryan Cranston-starring “Wakefield” and Steve James’ financial world set documentary “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” showed some life.

Eleanor Coppola’s “Paris Can Wait” had a promising second-weekend expansion, and looks to be the standout over the next month and more. Still, results remain minor after a couple post-awards months led by “Gifted” and “The Zookeeper’s Wife.”

Opening

Wakefield (IFC) – Metacritic: 60; Festivals include: Telluride, Toronto 2016

$14,120 in 1 theater: PTA (per theater average): $14,120

Bryan Cranston has become an omnipresent force in TV, Broadway, and features. This film, opening many months after its September festival premieres, “Wakefield” puts him front and center as a Manhattan law partner who zones out of his suburban life...

“I’m ready. I’ve got Bob. He’ll look after me.”

A true feel-good story based on the best-selling book of the same name, which sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Cleopatra Entertainment LLC, the movie division of famed indie record label Cleopatra Records, has acquired all domestic rights to the feel-good true story A Street Cat Named Bob, directed by Roger Spottiswoode (Turner and Hooch, Tomorrow Never Dies) and starring Luke Treadaway (Unbroken), Ruta Gedmintas (The Strain) and Joanne Froggatt (Downtown Abbey). The film, written by Tim John and Maria Nation, is based on the international bestseller by James Bowen and Garry Jenkins. Produced by Adam Rolston for Shooting Script Films, the uplifting story will be released domestically in theaters on November 18th, 2016. Check out the trailer for A Street Cat Named Bob:

Synopsis:

When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation,...

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

A Whit Stillman Trilogy: Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco

Over the course of the 1990s, writer-director Whit Stillman made a trilogy of films about the acid tongues and broken hearts of some haplessly erudite young Americans in New York and abroad. Set in the eighties, these films trace the arc of that decade, led by Stillman’s Oscar-nominated debut, Metropolitan, which introduced moviegoers to a strange, endangered species of privileged New Yorker, the “urban haute bourgeoisie.

Here's what's new recently for your eyeballs.

Newish to DVD/BluRay

• Fifty Shades of Black. Marlon Wayans sends up the Grey S&M movie.

• The Force Awakens. Not available for rental yet but when it is we shall rewatch

• The Forest. In which Natalie Dormer enters Japan's Suicide Forest to confront true terror: the reviews of Gus Van Sant's 'Sea of Trees' which is also set there.

• Ip Man 3. For your completists. I haven't seen any of these since I figured The Grandmaster covered it for me. You?

• The Lady in the Van. In which Maggie Smith gets grittier and descends the economic ladder for once. Maintain high society snobbier via her delusions of

• Norm of the North. Animated. Though probably nothing we need worry about over here.

• The Revenant. That which did rob George Miller of his rightful Best Director Oscar in February.

new to streaming

• Ajin (S1) on Netflix.

At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's new on Netflix and TV, we've got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"The Revenant"

Leo's ready to come home with you this week. Leonardo DiCaprio had a bear of a time making this historical drama, but he won his first Oscar for it, and Alejandro Inarritu won his second in a row for directing. "The Revenant," which also picked up an Oscar for Cinematography, is finally out on DVD/Blu-ray on April 19. Blu-ray extras include "A World Unseen," a documentary of "The Revenant."

"The Lady in the Van"

Maggie Smith plays Miss Shepherd in this British dramedy based on the true story of an eccentric elderly woman who "temporarily" parks her van in Alan Bennett's driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years. The critically acclaimed film, based on Bennett's memoir,...

On Demand DVD New Releases April 18-24 Fifty Shades of Black This parody of Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of an inexperienced college student who meets a wealthy businessman with some unusual sexual practices. Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Fred Willard (R, 1:32) 4/19 The Lady in the Van A man befriends an eccentric homeless woman, allowing her to park the van in which she lives in his driveway. Over time, he learns the true story of her identity and the two become friends. Based on a true story. Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent (PG-13, 1:44) 4/19 Norm … Continue reading →

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