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Emma Thompson, Anna Friel and Christopher Eccleston are aboard Hear Me Roar, a movie telling the story of a transgender woman who took on the British government in a legal battle over her marriage.

Amy Coop’s pic tells the story of Elizabeth Bellinger, who became one of the few transgender people in Britain to get married in the 1980s. She kept this ceremony secret from almost everyone until 2000 when she launched a campaign to have her marriage to Michael Bellinger legally recognized and the case went to the courts. The drama starts with her meeting with barrister Ashley Bayston, who co-wrote the feature with lead writer Lisa McMullin, and charts the resulting complex legal obstacle course they undertook over the next three years.

Two-time Academy Award winner Thompson plays the judge in the case, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss. Friel has been cast as Bayston, Rebecca Root is Bellinger and Eccleston is her husband,...

Emma Thompson, Anna Friel, Christopher Eccleston, Julian Ovenden and Rebecca Root have joined the cast of feature film “Hear Me Roar,” a drama about a groundbreaking British trans marriage case.

The script is co-written by Lisa McMullin and Ashley Bayston, whose story it tells. The feature will be directed by Amy Coop and produced by Darren Stuart and David Nichols.

“Hear Me Roar” tells the story of a transgender woman who, in 2000, took on the British government in a lengthy legal battle which would change the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the U.K.

Elizabeth (Liz) Bellinger married her husband Michael at Southwark register office in South London in 1981, one of the few transgender people in Britain who had gone through a marriage ceremony. For nearly 20 years only her husband knew her secret, however in 1998 she launched a campaign to have her marriage legally recognized and in 2000 the case went to court.

Before Hugh Grant was a bespectacled serial killer in Heretic, the actor featured in a string of cozy-as-pie rom-coms, including the 2003 holiday classic Love Actually, directed by Richard Curtis.

The film, which features a mostly British cast as they wield in and out of the trials and tribulations of love, spotlights Grant as the affable, bachelor Prime Minister pining after his staffer who serves him tea and biscuits at 10 Downing Street. The movie also circles around themes of loss, betrayal, unrequited love, and loneliness — but it can easily be missed...

The Young and the Restless stars Tracey Bregman and Beth Maitland recently opened up about aging in Hollywood. The pair talked to “The Fashion Guy” Lawrence Zarian and provided insightful perspectives on the topic.

Different Approaches To Aging

Zarian recently shared a video clip of his chat with Bregman and Maitland on his Instagram page. He asked the women what they saw when they looked in the mirror at this stage of their lives.

Bregman quipped, “Well, I wonder what the hell happened.” She noted that she is 61 years old and frequently forgets her age.

She shared she typically doesn’t reference being “at this age.” Instead, Bregman will say, “at this level of experience.” She explained that when it comes to age, “I think it’s about finding balance in who I am inside. And a lot of times that sort of reflected outside.”

Despite aging, Bregman said she...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"At that point I was bulletproof. I was the guru of all genre movies." Those are the words of Robert Downey Jr. in 2023 as "Oppenheimer" was making its way to theaters. That film went on to win "Best Picture" and made nearly $1 billion worldwide. It also won Rdj an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The point in time he was talking about? Around 2017 when he was cast in a film called "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle," later shortened to just "Dolittle."

The resounding success of "Oppenheimer" cemented Downey as an unquestioned A-lister, even outside of the confines of "Iron Man" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His turn as Tony Stark for more than a decade revived his career beyond even wildest expectations.

2025 will be an exciting year in movies as Hollywood continues to capitalize on successful franchises. The year promises to deliver several highly-anticipated sequels, including long-awaited continuations to new chapters in film’s biggest franchises.

However, not every sequel fans hope for is set to make the cut in 2025. Script delays, released changes, and more will put a pause on some series.

Movie sequels coming in 2025

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Renée Zellweger (not Jennifer Lawrence), Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson are back for the fourth installment of the Bridget Jones series. The follow-up to 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby is based on the novel by Helen Fielding. Newcomers Isla Fisher, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Leo Woodall join the cast. It hits Peacock on Feb. 13 and theaters worldwide on Feb. 14.

Captain America: Brave New World (Feb. 14) The Marvel Cinematic Universe tries to get back on track with Anthony Mackie’s feature-film debut as Captain America.

Meryl Streep is the best of the best.

Her performance in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Diane Keaton ranked second for Annie Hall (1977), with Jodie Foster following in third for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972) and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent Gold Derby poll of cinema experts declared The Godfather (1972) as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all...

Wicked is one of the biggest and best movies of 2024. It's made over half a billion dollars at the box office, surpassing Mamma Mia! to become the most successful movie ever adapted from a stage musical. Fans have been waiting for a movie version of Wicked ever since the musical hit the stage way back in 2003, so it's no surprise that people turned out to see the film.

Before that, Wicked was a book by author Gregory Maguire: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, published in 1995. The book, which reimagines the story of The Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view, was a hit right from the start, and there were attempts to turn it into a more straightforward movie before composer Stephen Schwartz got ahold of it and made it a musical smash.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter,...

Hulu's original series "Tell Me Lies" became a huge and somewhat unexpected hit after its first season released in 2022, and that's probably because its story of a deeply toxic college relationship is just so universal. Based on Carola Lovering's book of the same name and adapted by Meaghan Oppenheimer (who previously worked on "Fear the Walking Dead" and "Queen America"), "Tell Me Lies" splits its timeline in two, telling the twisted "love" story of Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), who meet at Baird College in upstate New York and carry on an on-again, off-again relationship that ends up creating plenty of collateral damage. In 2008, Stephen and Lucy are carefree students at Baird, but in 2015, they're trapped together at a wedding ... and it's clear that things aren't quite finished between them.

Van Patten, like her co-star White, comes from a Hollywood family (White is...

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This January, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment from the Will Ferrell comedy film You’re Cordially Invited to the beloved romantic action comedy film The Fall Guy. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Prime Video in January 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Boogie Nights (January 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% Credit – New Line Cinema

Boogie Nights is a drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The 1997 film is set in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, and it follows Eddie Adams, a high school dropout working as a dishwasher as he becomes one of the biggest adult film stars,...

The performance by Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977). Following in third place is Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Rounding out the top five are Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent poll had The Godfather (1972) declared as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all time (view...

Rewatching the Richard Curtis directorial Love Actually has become a Christmas-time tradition. The romance comedy stars an ensemble cast headlined by Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, and more. The film has gained a cult following despite mixed reviews upon initial release.

Though loved by millions around the world, the film was reportedly not that monetarily beneficial for many of the actors. However, one person walked out with an amazing payday for only a minute of screentime. Supermodel Claudia Schiffer, who appears as Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s classmate’s mother, reportedly earned $350,000 for her appearance.

Claudia Schiffer earned a $350,000 salary for her 60-second appearance in Love Actually A still from Love Actually | Credits: Universal Pictures

Love Actually is a mosaic of romantic stories set in the lead-up to Christmas time. From a best friend who expresses his love for his friend’s fiance, to a widower trying...

On Friday nights (and holidays!), IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

For December 2024, we’re celebrating the end of the year with a stocking full of Strange Holiday TV Specials and Seasonal Midnight Movies.

First, read the Bait: a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film. Then, try the Bite: a breakdown of the movie’s ending, impact, and any other spoilers you’d want.

The Bait: This Christmas, Give Yourself the Gift of Zero Irony

When “Last Christmas” hit theaters shortly before the pandemic, critics roasted the holiday rom com at such high heat they made “chestnuts on an open fire” sound chilly. That’s a shame, but maybe the best thing that could have happened to Universal’s all-time ode to cinematic whiplash. Five years later, it’s a new cult classic in the making — perfect for midnight,...

In the "Harry Potter" books — and the film franchise they spawned — Harry, played on-screen by Daniel Radcliffe, faces off against a number of different villains and antagonists. None of them loom quite as large as Voldemort, though. Originally named Tom Marvolo Riddle and played, after he regains corporeal form in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," by Ralph Fiennes, the Dark Lord was one of the most feared and evil wizards in the entire wizarding world ... Until he got his butt kicked by a baby. Let me explain.

Before the proper narrative of "Harry Potter" even gets going, Voldemort takes it upon himself to "visit" the Potter family home in the sleepy wizarding hamlet of Godric's Hollow so that he can murder the trio, including baby Harry and his parents James (Adrian Rawlins) and Lily (Geraldine Somerville). So, why does Voldemort attempt infanticide and murder two people in the process?...

The below was part of a previously published interview with “Love Actually” writer/director Richard Curtis.

“Love Actually” may be all around, but according to filmmaker Richard Curtis, the beloved holiday rom-com staple was a “catastrophe” to make.

Curtis told IndieWire while promoting his animated film debut “That Christmas” that “Love Actually” was a pain to edit due to the anthology stories intersecting. The 2003 film starred Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and more.

“The strange thing about ‘Love Actually’ is, when we finished the movie, it was a catastrophe,” Curtis said. “It took six months to re-edit it and learn all these lessons about how to do a multi-thread story.”

Curtis continued, “When I wrote ‘Love Actually,’ and we had the read-through, and it sounded great, I thought you would probably do A, B, C, D, E, F, G. But actually when you’re doing multi-story,...

top actresses who were about to star in Wicked (Photo Credit – Instagram)

The success of Wicked has opened up a lot of unique conversations when it comes to films and their production. Whether it’s the equal pay received by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande or the casting process of the musical fantasy. The blockbuster film, co-starring Jonathan Bailey, has dominated the box office worldwide and its collections are increasing with each day.

But the film which was adapted from the stage musical of the same name wasn’t always supposed to be led by this set of actors. Marc Platt, one of the two producers of the movie, recently opened up about how years back several A-list actors were in talks to star in Wicked. Here’s what we know.

Producer Reveals A-Listers Who Were In Talks To Star In Wicked

During his conversation with Vanity Fair, Platt opened...

When you're trying to make your name in Hollywood, everyone has to start somewhere. It's a fact of life for just about every major actor or actress: You have to start small with your roles, like Amy Adams appearing in the beauty-pageant satire "Drop Dead Gorgeous" or Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" years before she became an A-lister. Perhaps one of the most famous examples people love to trot out is that Michael Shannon plays a Wrestlemania-loving young man very briefly near the end of the 1993 comedy classic "Groundhog Day," 15 years before his Oscar-nominated turn in the Sam Mendes film "Revolutionary Road." But not every actor's humble beginning is the kind of thing they may want to brag about. 

Consider the most recent man to star as 007, Daniel Craig. Craig was a well-known British actor before he was called upon to play James Bond, but most people...

Two decades ago, the Wicked movie could’ve looked very different.

In a joint conversation with Vanity Fair, Marc Platt, who produced the 2024 film, Wicked author Gregory Maguire and composer Stephen Schwartz recalled the first efforts in the late 1990s to turn the story into a feature film.

He detailed a world in which stars like Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman and more were interested in playing the beloved roles of Elphaba and Glinda, which eventually went to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in this year’s adaptation of the musical.

“I am going to try and get the timeline right if I can remember, but I believe when I became the president of production at Universal, the project was already here,” Platt said. “It had been optioned initially by Demi Moore’s company.”

Platt knew that Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of...

Long before Wicked made the jump from stage to screen, the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel had Hollywood in a frenzy.

Jon M. Chu‘s recent movie musical adaptation marks a long journey to the big screen for the Wizard of Oz prequel, with Whoopi Goldberg vying for the rights to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West shortly after the bestseller’s debut.

“This is true,” Goldberg’s rep told Vanity Fair. “Whoopi loved the book and tried hard to get the rights.”

According to Maguire, Goldberg wasn’t the only actress to throw her hat in the ring. “People who had expressed an interest in the first six months included Whoopi Goldberg and Claire Danes. Salma Hayek had had some interest, and Laurie Metcalf,” he recalled.

The author was hoping to work with Demi Moore, who optioned the rights through her production company Moving Pictures,...

The “Wicked” movie is a box office powerhouse with $530 million and counting at the global box office. It’s also a critical darling, earning rave reviews and Oscar buzz for its leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. But what if “Wicked” had originally been made decades ago with Demi Moore as the green-skinned Elphaba? A new report from Vanity Fair dives into the first attempts to bring “Wicked” to the big screen in the late 1990s.

“I am going to try and get the timeline right if I can remember, but I believe when I became the president of production at Universal, the project was already here,” producer Marc Platt told the publication. “It had been optioned initially by Demi Moore’s company.”

Platt was convinced that Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” would make for a great film adaptation.

A new piece from Vanity Fair tracks the journey of Wicked from page to screen, and there were some surprising twists and turns on that yellow brick road. If you've read Gregory Maguire's Wicked, you know it's a lot denser and darker than what ended up on Broadway. Nevertheless,...

Welcome to IndieWire After Dark, where we pick a new theme for our midnight movie programming every month!

Join us on Friday nights (and special occasions!) to explore some of the strangest fringe films available at any hour in the Streaming Age.

The lights are twinkling and the temperature is dropping. But in December 2024, the merry-making vibes are distinctly and resolutely… off. Lean into that discomfort with some Holiday Midnight Movie (and TV!) Madness as we celebrate a weird year.

After several particularly stressful months in current events, the pre-Christmas season feels oddly foreboding. That might be a welcome reprieve for those of us who are usually glum during the holidays (just me?), but the blues can sneak up on anyone. Whether you’re battling a bickering family or dealing with loneliness, weirdo cinema has the power to fight your funk with more funk.

When in doubt, clown it out!

Did you know there’s a 17-minute long sequel to Love Actually, and it’s available to stream on the Internet for free!?

The short film was recorded for the fundraising event Red Nose Day back in 2017…and we have the stream for you here! It’s titled Red Nose Day Actually.

Head inside for more…

The reunion features a lot of the same cast, including Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Andrew Lincoln, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy, Thomas Brodie Sangster, and Rowan Atkinson, among others.

The short film is set 13 years after the events in Love Actually, and gives an update on quite a few of the characters throughout the film.

Find out why Emma Thompson decided to never rewatch the original film. Hugh Grant also once revealed which Love Actually scene he found excruciating to film.

Hit play on the embed below to watch...

Content warning: This article discusses themes and subject matter that some readers may find triggering, including physician-assisted suicide.

In the midst of her tenure as Daenerys Targaryen on "Game of Thrones," Emilia Clarke found the time to shoot a heartfelt, weepy romance movie ... and years later, it's finding new life on Amazon Prime's streaming service. So what's the movie?

Released in 2016, "Me Before You" — based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Jojo Moyes, which came out four years prior — tells the story of Louisa "Lou" Clark (Clarke), a bubbly but unmotivated young woman who ends up working as an in-home carer for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), who led an extremely active life as a banker and athlete before getting into a motorcycle accident. Will deeply struggles with his new life as a tetraplegic (meaning that he has a devastating spinal cord injury that affects his ability to...

It’s safe to say Richard Curtis wasn’t a huge fan of Love Actually postproduction.

The writer-director of the beloved 2003 holiday rom-com recently told IndieWire that it was a “catastrophe” editing the film starring Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Bill Nighy, Martine McCutcheon, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Rowan Atkinson.

“The strange thing about Love Actually is, when we finished the movie, it was a catastrophe,” Curtis said of putting together multiple storylines and character arcs. “It took six months to re-edit it and learn all these lessons about how to do a multi-thread story.”

The film follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during December, leading up to Christmas in London.

“When I wrote Love Actually, and we had the read-through, and it sounded great, I thought you would probably do A,...

Film executive Tristen Tuckfield has been named chief commercial officer at upstart studio Wonder Project, Variety has exclusively learned.

The global skewing “faith and values” content shop will task Tuckfield with developing and managing deals on behalf of the firm’s film and TV slate. Reporting to Wonder Project CEO Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten, Tuckfield will also lead distribution, co-production and co-financing, acquisitions and create alternate revenue streams in categories like merchandise.

“Tristen is a respected leader who brings deep passion and expertise, and I am so excited to welcome her to Wonder Project. With Tristen on our team we can move with both speed and quality to bring more courageous stories to life for a global audience,” Merryman Hoogstraten said in a statement.

Tuckfield joins Wonder Project from Village Roadshow Pictures, where she served as executive vice president in film. There she developed, packaged, financed and oversaw distribution strategies on five features.

From Roger Moore With Love is in UK cinemas this weekend – but there’s a post-credits treat to talk about too.

Playing in cinemas this very weekend, From Roger Moore With Love is a new documentary feature telling the story of Moore’s life and work. Ahead of its prime Christmas Day slot on BBC Two, the feature is getting a brief theatrical run ahead of its television debut. Full disclosure, we know the people who have made it, so can’t review it impartially. But do check it out.

We definitely have no involvement in the Q&a segment playing in cinemas after the feature though. In it, a suave, inquisitive and downright attractive man quizzes director Jack Cocker about the making of the film. It’s absolutely unmissable cinema. The interviewer, Bimon Srew, should absolutely be afforded a multi-zillion dollar contract off the back of this, and we...

There are some Disney characters that can't have any other voice but the ones we've always heard them as. No one would suit Woody but the frantic, flailing tones of Tom Hanks just like no one could warm our hearts singing "Beauty and the Beast" like Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts. But in the case of James Woods as Hades, the Lord of the Underworld in "Hercules," the idea of him being brought to life by Jack Nicholson would've made for an interesting and (admit it) potentially better alternative. Disney just didn't have the dollar for it.

According to The Laughing Place, Jack Nicholson was approached by Disney to be a part of the demi-god's story following the suggestion of Danny DeVito. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker had a meeting with DeVito for the role of Philoctetes, the trainer of heroes and best bud to Hercules (Roger Bart). While...

Someone needs to kick some sense into Warner Bros. when it comes to promoting their films, especially after the lackluster turnout for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The animated film from Peter Jackson’s acclaimed Middle-earth saga dropped a promising trailer a few months ago. The film has hit select overseas markets, including Spain, Mexico, and Brazil, but the reception has been underwhelming.

A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | Credits: Warner Bros.

Fans are not happy about the studio’s attitude toward the project after reports suggest that the film only made $2 million on its debut. The events of the film are set 183 years before the original film trilogy and it explores the story of the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand, and his daughter Héra.

Fans Turn Against WB After They Fail To Promote The Lord of the Rings...

Last Updated on December 9, 2024

It’s strange how the movies you see as a child tend to stick with you throughout the years. Odder still are the movies that have a profound personal impact on you because of one specific scene. Over the years, I’ve written about plenty of them for this long-running feature I’ve done on JoBlo called The Best Movie You Never Saw. For me, one such movie is the 1991 thriller Dead Again, which was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also co-stars along with his then-wife, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Andy Garcia and the late, great Robin Williams (in an unbilled role). I saw this at ten years old on the Canadian equivalent of HBO, First Choice, and it had a profound impact on me for one specific reason I’ll get to shortly.

But first, some background on this often overlooked film. In the late eighties,...

Is that a chill in the air? Perhaps your boots are starting to feel colder and damper with each passing day. Maybe your cheeks are turning pink every time you step outside. Whether we like it or not, winter is here, which means it’s the perfect time to avoid the cold and hurry to your nice, warm movie house. With the holidays right around the corner, repertory theaters are stocking up on Christmas classics and seasonal favorites. For those looking for something more traditional than Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” and Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” which release December 20 and December 25, respectively, cinemas in New York and Los Angeles have plenty of options for the whole family, as well as more festive adult fare for those looking to spice things up.

Selections this month come from the Metrograph located on the Lower East Side in New York City and Village East by Angelika,...

Popularly known for playing the moody and often misunderstood professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, the late actor Alan Rickman had been one of Britain’s most celebrated stars. But while the magical film series catapulted Rickman to global fame, it also left a myriad of his works overlooked and underappreciated.

Alan Rickman in a still from Love Actually | image: Universal Pictures

One such gem from his wealth of underrated movies is Richard Curtis’ Christmas favorite Love Actually, which starred Alan Rickman beside the Mr. Bean star Rowan Atkinson. And while the 2003 movie proved to be one of his best performances to date, Rickman had reportedly reached his limits in the film while working alongside Atkinson.

Alan Rickman Had Almost Reached His Limits With Rowan Atkinson

While Alan Rickman had often been known for his perfectionist attitude towards his craft, there was one time when even the Harry...

Universal Pictures’ blockbuster musical “Wicked” has been named best picture by the National Board of Review, the organization announced on Wednesday, in addition to taking home the directing prize for Jon M. Chu and a special award for the collaboration of stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Over the last 40 years, most of the winners of NBR’s best film has gone on to receive an Oscar nomination for best picture, with the exception of films like 1998’s “Gods and Monsters,” 2000’s “Quills” and 2014’s “A Most Violent Year.” In the 1980s, there were technically two misses with 1987’s “Empire of the Sun” and 1983’s “Betrayal,” the latter of which won in a tie with “Terms of Endearment.” So far this decade, Spike Lee’s war drama “Da 5 Bloods” (2020) is the only film to fail to achieve Oscar recognition. Notably, since the Academy expanded the best picture lineup from...

Sophie Turner Revealed Role Assistance Through Instagram Followers ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Social media might be Hollywood’s secret weapon. According to Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, landing roles in the cutthroat acting world sometimes boils down to numbers—follower numbers, to be exact. In a candid chat with Porter magazine, Turner admitted she snagged a role not because she was the better actress but because she had the bigger audience online.

“I auditioned for a project, and it was between me and another girl who is a far better actress than I am,” Turner confessed. “But I had the followers, so I got the job. It’s not right, but it is part of the movie industry now.”

This revelation is a stark reminder of how social media has reshaped Hollywood. Producers seem to view Instagram and Twitter as the new box office—a cheat sheet for bankability. With...

Speak of Merchant Ivory and most people’s thoughts go straight to English stately homes, elegant costumes and stilted drawing room conversations. This is, however, reflective of only a tiny part of the studio’s output, and even then, the storylines are far from what is popularly assumed. Frequently critical of the aristocracy, if not outright satirical, it also did groundbreaking work around gender and sexuality, and challenged establishment narratives around colonialism. Stephen Soucy’s documentary traces its history across four decades as well as looking back at how its two creative spirits came to meet and moving further on to reflect on Ivory’s work since his partner’s death.

In doing so, it incorporates contributions from some of the most esteemed names in British cinema: Simon Callow, Vanessa Redgrave, Madhur Jaffrey, Emma Thompson – as well as popular stars like Hugh Grant and Helena Bonham-Carter. The voices of studio regulars who are no longer.

Sophie Okonedo will receive the Richard Harris Award at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), organizers unveiled Monday.

The Richard Harris Award recognizes the outstanding contribution of an actor to British film. Previous recipients of the honor include the likes of Samantha Morton, Riz Ahmed, Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and, last year, Stephen Graham.

“Sophie’s celebrated career has seen her embrace both U.K. independent and Hollywood film and has taken her from the National Theatre to Broadway and back, with a significant body of acclaimed television roles in between,” the BIFAs organizers said in a statement. “Sophie’s work has been recognized by, amongst others, BIFA, BAFTA, the Academy, Tony, Olivier, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy Awards.”

They also highlighted: “Her versatility as a performer has seen her in demand across all film genres,...

Disney has just released a great special on the making of Mary Poppins that's a perfect tribute to the film's anniversary!

In the long history of Disney films, there have been a lot of live-action hits. There have been Oscar winners, there have been beloved films, cult classics and more. Yet somehow, 60 years after its release, Mary Poppins has a magic unlike any others. From those iconic songs to Julie Andrews Oscar-winning turn to Dick Van Dyke's wild accent to the groundbreaking special effects, the movie is arguably the best live-action Disney film ever and the last truly great one Walt Disney had a hand in. 

The movie has been celebrated often, yet 20/20 has worked with Disney for the new special The Untold Story of Mary Poppins. Airing on November 27 and now easy to stream on Disney+, the special may seem "fluff" at times, but it's good insight as...

Sophie Okonedo will be honoured with the Richard Harris award at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

The actor will receive the award at the Bifas ceremony held this Sunday, December 8, at the Roundhouse in London.

Okonedo is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in 2004’s Hotel Rwanda while her other film credits include The Secret Lie Of Bees, Christopher Robin, Wild Rose, Death On The Nile and Catherine Called Birdy.

She was previously nominated for two Bifas - in 2002 for Stephen Frears’s Dirty Pretty Things and in 2009 for Anthony Fabian’s Skin.

On the TV side, Okonedo is...

Benski Launches Lumina

Thomas Benski, the former Pulse Films boss who recently unveiled Carousel Studios with Omar Sy and Louis Letterier, has launched talent and IP banner Lumina. Based in London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles, the new venture claims to have been “built to support and grow companies in the modern media and consumer landscape where talent, IP and brand are the multipliers,” and comes with a first-round of funding in the “mid-eight figures.”

Lumina says it will focus on talent-driven studios, production, kids and family content, plus consumer brands. Lumina has already partnered with Carrousel Studios, as well as with Yann Demange’s Wayward Films. On the kids and family side, Lumina is backing gaming studio Creators Corp. and the kids IP business Strike. Its consumer division has backed brands including Metie and Daaci, with its Lumina’s will include a “multi-disciplinary” film studio, Magna Studios, headed...

Sophie Okonedo is set to receive the Richard Harris Award at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) on Sunday 8 December.

The prize is given for an outstanding contribution by an actor to British film. Previous recipients include Samantha Morton, Riz Ahmed, Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and in 2023, Stephen Graham.

Stage and screen star Okonedo was Oscar-nominated for Hotel Rwanda in 2005 and won a Tony for A Raisin In The Sun in 2014. She has twice previously been nominated for a BIFA for roles in Skin and Dirty Pretty Things.

She made her way into acting at the Royal Court’s youth theatre in London, before going on to develop her craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (Rada). She made her big-screen debut in Isaac Julien’s enduring 1991 East-end drama Young Soul Rebels.

Emma Thompson’s hit family film Nanny McPhee will be adapted for the West End stage in 2026.

While Emma Thompson has had a phenomenally successful career as an actor – we’re just coming up to the time of year where people watch her character cry to a Joni Mitchell song in Love Actually – she has arguably had just as much success behind the camera, winning an Oscar for her screenplay for Ang Lee’s 1995 big screen version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

In 2005, she wrote and starred in Nanny McPhee, a fun family film based on the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand. It follows a group of unruly kids who are put right by Thompson’s titular nanny, who uses her magic walking stick to teach life lessons. The sequel, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, arrived in 2010, this time set during the Second World War.

Thompson...

Film Review is unwrapping 24 memorable movies in the countdown to Christmas. From festive favourites to holiday gems, there’s something for everyone on your list. Celebrate the season with the magic of the movies!

Lovely, Still

(2008)

Creative forces and longstanding lifetime members of The Actors Studio, Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau both served as Artistic Director for the org. Read our interview with Ellen Burstyn about the 75th Anniversary.

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It Happened on 5th Avenue

(1947)

The story was originally optioned by Liberty Films in 1945 for director Frank Capra, who decided to direct It's a Wonderful Life instead.

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Arthur Christmas

(2011)

Originally titled Operation Rudolph. The music video for Justin Bieber's end credits song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" was exclusively shown in theatres before the film.

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The Holiday

(2006)

Dustin Hoffman’s cameo wasn’t planned. Hoffman happened to be driving by, noticed the production...

As the Christmas season approaches, you're probably ready to get into the holiday spirit with some on-brand movies — and if we're putting aside all but one streaming service, there are some pretty great selections on Amazon's Prime Video. I'm just as susceptible to holiday cheer as anyone else, and whether they're from my childhood or new discoveries, I like to settle in on a chilly early winter night with a holiday-themed movie. So what are some great selections on Prime Video?

This list obviously excludes anything that requires a secondary subscription — looking at you, movies available on Prime through Max and Starz — as well as anything you have to pay to rent, but there are still some pretty solid holiday movies to choose from on the online retailer's proprietary streamer. From dramatic family Christmases to a sprawling British ensemble comedy to one of the most famous (and emotional) Christmas movies in cinematic history,...

Exclusive: The Emma Thompson-penned musical adaptation of fantasy movie Nanny McPhee, about a witch who possesses magical powers wielded through her walking stick, is being primed to hit London’s West End in 2026, Deadline can reveal.

Oscar-winner Thompson, songwriter Gary Clark and Working Title’s stage division have been developing the production, based on the 2005 film directed by Kirk Jones, which starred Thompson in the title role, on and off for over a decade.

Olivia Colman played the snaggle-toothed nanny at an early workshop in London of the musical in 2018. This was confirmed to me at the time by Thompson, who praised Colman’s “wonderful” performance. Lily James and Rory Kinnear also took part in the original workshop. Sophie Thompson participated in later test-runs.

Colman has not been involved in subsequent run-throughs, but that doesn’t rule out her possible involvement in the West End.

My sources, who declined...

“Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy”, directed by Michael Morris is the fourth rom-com in the “Bridget Jones” film series, based on Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel, starring Oscar-winner Renée Zellweger, releasing February 14, 2025 in theaters:

“…now in her fifties, ‘Bridget Jones’ gets back on track following the death of her husband. As she opens her door to dating once again, she will enter a new decade and a new diary…

Cast also includes Emma Thompson as ‘Doctor Rawlings’, Hugh Grant as ‘Daniel Cleaver’, Jim Broadbent as ‘Colin Jones’, Gemma Jones as ‘Pamela Jones’, Sarah Solemani as ‘Miranda’, Sally Phillips as ‘Sharon’, Shirley Henderson as ‘Jude’, James Callis as ‘Tom’, Celia Imrie as ‘Una Alconbury’, Chiwetel Ejiofor as ‘Mr. Wallaker’, Leo Woodall as ‘Roxster, Isla Fisher as ‘Rebecca’ and Nico Parker as ‘Chloe’.

Click the images to enlarge…...

A fourth Bridget Jones film is on the way, and some returning faces as well as new famous ones have joined the latest installment in the rom-com franchise.

Renée Zellweger, who first brought the titular character to life in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) will return to reprise her role in the film. The news of the fourth film first arrived in April 2024, and a cast has been rounded out. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is the working title for the upcoming film.

For everything we know about the Bridget Jones 4 release date, cast and plot, read on below:

When will Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy come out?

As of August 2024, the film is slated for a streaming release on Galentine’s Day 2025, exclusively on Peacock.

Who will be in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy?

Alongside Zellweger, returning cast include Emma Thompson, who appeared as Bridget’s Ob/Gyn Dr.

On Saturday 23 November 2024, ITV broadcasts The Jonathan Ross Show!

Special Guests Season 2: Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “The Jonathan Ross Show,” titled “Special Guests,” promises to be an exciting trip down memory lane. This episode will air on ITV and will highlight some of the most unforgettable moments from the recent series of the show.

Viewers can look forward to seeing a lineup of special guests who have made a significant impact on the series. The episode will feature well-known personalities such as Jack Black, Stormzy, Grace Jones, Steve Coogan, Emma Stone, Andy Serkis, Emma Thompson, Nile Rodgers, and Brian Cox. Each guest brings their unique charm and stories, making this a must-watch for fans of the show.

As Jonathan Ross revisits these memorable moments, there will be plenty of laughs, surprises, and heartfelt conversations. This episode is set to celebrate the fun and excitement that “The Jonathan Ross Show” is known for.

Renée Zellweger regresa como Bridget en la cuarta entrega de la saga, con Hugh Grant y nuevos personajes. © Universal Pictures

Ya se ha publicado el primer tráiler de Bridget Jones: Loca por él, la cuarta entrega de la icónica comedia romántica basada en la novela de Helen Fielding, que dirige Michael Morries (To Leslie) a partir de un guion de Helen Fielding (Eric).

En Bridget Jones: Loca por él, Bridget se queda sola tras enviudar hace cuatro años cuando Mark murió durante una misión humanitaria en Sudán. Madre de Billy, de nueve años, y de Mabel, de cuatro, se encuentra en una especie de limbo emocional mientras cuida de los niños con la ayuda de sus mejores amigas y de un antiguo amante, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Presionada por su urbanita familia, formada por Shazzer, Jude y Tom, su compañera de trabajo, Miranda, su madre y su ginecóloga, la doctora...

Made under dangerous conditions, this documentary charts how the lives of three women were turned upside down by Afghanistan’s overthrow in 2021

Afghan film-maker Sahra Mani, creator of the rape-survivor documentary A Thousand Girls Like Me from 2018, brought her camera to Kabul to chronicle Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban in 2021 following America’s withdrawal. A strange mixture of amnesia and cross-party reticence means that this issue has not in fact featured much in postmortem discussions of the Biden/Harris administration. Women’s rights were immediately crushed by theocratic misogynists, and Afghanistan’s women cannot have been reassured by the response from the western anti-war left, notably the now notorious, breezily unconcerned tweet from Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis: “Hang in there sisters!”

Mani’s film shows three Afghan women hanging in there with zero help from anyone but themselves and, like Hasan Oswald’s film Mediha (exec-produced by Emma Thompson...

Award-winning actor Mawaan Rizwan and Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau are among this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough cohort.

Spotlighting 43 “must-watch” creatives working across film, games and television in the U.K., U.S. and India, the flagship talent initiative is supported by Netflix and aims to provide a springboard for young creatives in costume design, production, casting, editing, games design, performance, directing, composing and cinematography.

Rizwan is best known for his role in BBC Three comedy Juice, which landed him a BAFTA award in May this year. Mau broke through with her performance in the wildly popular Netflix show Baby Reindeer in April.

Top Boy editor Shahnaz Dulaimy and Kyla Harris of We Might Regret This are among the U.K. Breakthroughs as Jih-e Peng, cinematographer on Girls Will Be Girls and Juliana Hoffpauir, costume designer on the Glen Powell-led comedy Hit Man, made the U.S. list. Game...