Laughter on the Orient Express: Judi Dench tells BAZ BAMIGBOYE why she's working with Kenneth Branagh on film adaptation of Agatha Christie classic

Daily Mail
BAZ BAMIGBOYE
Updated October 20, 2017

Judi Dench would like her future contracts to include a clause stipulating that she will refuse to work with grumpy co-stars.

'I don't want to work with anyone who hasn't got a sense of humour,' she insisted, with a hint of merriment behind those blue eyes.

'It's essential! I simply am not interested in working with them if they're miserable by nature.

'It's like the froth on the top of Guinness. You have to have the froth, and then you get to the real thing.

You discover people through larks,' the actress told me, while explaining why she has worked with Kenneth Branagh ten times over the years.

'I always get into trouble with Ken — and I like that!'

The two pillars of the British acting establishment are together again in the Fox 70mm extravaganza of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express.

Branagh directs, and also plays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot; while Judi plays the imperious Princess Dragomiroff.

In the film, the Princess arrives with her personal maid (played by Olivia Colman) and two Shih Tzus.

'She's horrible to Olivia. She's a very autocratic princess. So bossy. And Russian. She's just rude; and you wouldn't want to work for her,' Judi said when we met in Soho.

We had the most glorious time,' she said, of her time on set with co-stars Johnny Depp, Derek Jacobi, Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfeiffer and dancer Sergei Polunin, as well as newcomers Lucy Boynton and Tom Bateman.

'Not only that: he stayed in the hotel I use when I am up in London. He's ruined my reputation!'One reason why everyone got on so well, she told me, was because filming took place in the interior of a luxury train. 'You had to be part of the company, because nobody could get off!'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4998840/Judi-Dench-s-working-Kenneth-Branagh-AGAIN.html#ixzz4w9rLucCq
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Depp, Dench and Kenneth Branagh: Behind the scenes of the star-studded Murder on the Orient Express

Telegraph
 Sally Williams
19 OCTOBER 2017 • 7:00AM

Agatha Christie ‘had always been allergic’ to cinema adaptations of her books, her husband Max Mallowan was quoted as saying. ‘She didn’t like her characters to be portrayed on book covers either,’ says James Prichard, her great-grandson.

Christie, who wrote 66 detective novels between 1920 and 1976, translated into around 45 languages, is the most widely read novelist in history, with sales of more than two billion copies worldwide.

There have been 23 film adaptations of her books in the UK alone, not to mention the multiple TV series. And now we have Murder on the Orient Express. Directed by Kenneth Branagh (who also plays Belgian detective Hercule Poirot), it features a parade of towering greats from stage and screen including Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi.

The 2017 version, co-produced by Ridley Scott, with a screenplay by Michael Green (the writer of Blade Runner 2049 and Alien: Covenant)  sets up the classic whodunnit with 14 strangers boarding the long-distance  passenger train that connects Istanbul with Paris.

These include Caroline Hubbard, an American widow (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Russian Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her maid, Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman).

A businessman named Ratchett (Johnny Depp) is murdered at night in the compartment next to Poirot. The train gets marooned in an avalanche (a snowdrift in the book) and the plot follows Poirot’s interrogation of each of the passengers in the hunt for the killer.

The appeal of the film is clear: stars are not being asked to play anything run-of-the-mill. They are showcased in sumptuous 1930s glamour, dressing for dinner (even on a train), and the cooks produce delicious  fancies such as walnut soufflés.

‘I liked the sense that I could let the audience escape into that world,’ says Branagh, ‘where the details of what the characters are touching, seeing, eating, drinking, wearing are a significant part of the pleasure.

‘We live in a world where everything is so transient and quick, it  seemed to me a period in which, from a piece of linen to a glass of water to an arrangement of flowers, there could be a way of evoking a parenthesis of calm in an incredibly rushed life.’

An ‘avid reader of crime fiction’, he last read the book years ago, but admits to being surprised when he reread it. ‘I’d forgotten how it worked out! ‘I liked the ensemble [nature] of it,’ he continues, ‘I like it being enclosed in snow, the claustrophobia. And it’s a tale that sums up the golden age of travel: a world in which you feel the miles under your feet.

Read more here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2017/10/19/depp-dench-kenneth-branagh-behind-scenes-star-studded-murder/

Behind the scenes with Kenneth Branagh (and a cast to die for) on a blockbusting remake of the Agatha Christie classic Murder on the Orient Express

Mail OnLine
By Clark Collis
PUBLISHED: 17:05 EDT, 14 October 2017 | UPDATED: 17:05 EDT, 14 October 2017

ALL ABOARD! AND WE MEAN ALL ABOARD! A GOODLY portion of planet Earth's most famous residents have gathered today at Longcross Studios outside London to shoot a scene set at Stamboul (now Istanbul) train station for director Sir Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (out Nov. 10).

Branagh, who also plays Christie's famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, is present and properly dressed in 1930s-era attire. So too are Star Wars heroine Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., and British acting royalty Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi.

 There's more. In one corner of the soundstage, Josh Gad and Olivia Colman (Broadchurch) are discussing the Police Academy franchise; Penélope Cruz is gliding past the re-creation of a vintage train talking on her phone in Spanish; and Johnny Depp is ruminating to a reporter about the likelihood of his character's long brown coat being made out of leather. "I'm feeling like it's fake," he says—incorrectly, as the film's Oscar-winning costume designer, Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), will later attest. But the most eye-catching sight is not a person but a thing: the fake mustache sported by Branagh.

The item is so extravagantly outsize it almost seems more alien face-hugger than facial fuzz. "When I saw it I was like, Holy moly!" says Ridley. "But this is a larger-than-life story, so why not make the mustache larger, too?"

 Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-4970852/Agatha-Christie-s-Murder-Orient-Express.html#ixzz4vWgc0Tyj Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Kenneth Branagh is starring in and directing the adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic tale "Murder on the Orient Express"

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
by Rebecca Ford

Kenneth Branagh's star-studded adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express pulled into Las Vegas with the first footage at CinemaCon Thursday.

Branagh directs and stars in the Fox film, which also features Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leslie Odom Jr., Daisy Ridley, Michael Pena and Judi Dench among the cast.

The story centers on a murder onboard the famous train and introduces Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh), who must solve the case while being surrounded by duplicitous passengers.

Branagh, sending in a video from Malta where he’s filming the project, said “we’ve assembled an amazing group” of his cast. “This is not only a who dunnit and how dunnit, it’s crucially a why dunnit,” he said

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/murder-orient-express-cinemacon-trailer-showcases-star-studded-cast-989954

Sir Kenneth Branagh to Receive Special Award at Oliviers

PLAYBILL
BY MARK SHENTON
MAR 02, 2017

He will receive the award at this year's ceremony April 9 at the Royal Albert Hall.

Previously an Olivier Award winner for Best Newcomer in 1982, the stage and screen star has appeared frequently in the West End, with the RSC and at the National Theatre. Most recently, the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company put on its inaugural West End season, comprising seven plays that were staged at the Garrick Theatre, with three of them, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, and The Entertainer, also broadcast to cinemas across the world, where they were seen by over 430,000 people.

In a press statement, Caro Newling, president of the Society of London Theatre, commented, “The Society of London Theatre is delighted to formally celebrate Kenneth Branagh’s outstanding contribution to London theatre. Whether acting or directing, there is no greater advocate for our industry.”

Past recipients of the Special Award include Kevin Spacey, Stephen Sondheim, Judi Dench, and Ian McKellen.

http://www.playbill.com/article/sir-kenneth-branagh-to-receive-special-award-at-this-years-olivier-awards

Benedict Cumberbatch proves a superb villain in The Hollow Crown's Richard III

THE GUARDIAN
Michael Billington
@billicritic
Saturday 21 May 2016 18.10 EDT

 The camera is a close bosom friend … Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III. Photograph: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Carnival Film & Television Ltd


Richard III brings the BBC’s Hollow Crown cycle to a fine climax. It also confirms that Benedict Cumberbatch is a highly physical, as well as a natural Shakespearean, actor. Watching him wrestle his way into his clothes in the opening soliloquy, I was reminded of his superb performance as the creature in the National Theatre’s Frankenstein. On stage, we witnessed the tortured birth of a monster; here we see Richard acquiring a new identity as he gets laboriously dressed.



Cumberbatch starts with two great advantages. The previous episode enabled him to lay the ground for Richard’s throne-hungry mania. Like Olivier in the film of Richard III, he also uses the camera as a close bosom friend. Having wooed Phoebe Fox’s Lady Anne – an episode that here takes place in a forest glade – he confides to the camera, and thereby to us, his rasping astonishment at her pliability.

In fact, Cumberbatch takes us stage by stage through Richard’s systematic progress to power. The dominant image of the production is of Cumberbatch’s index finger tapping a chessboard, as he works out how to remove the pieces that stand between him and the crown. But it is a mark of Shakespeare’s progress that the dramatist also allows us to see inside Richard’s soul: Cumberbatch is especially good in the eve-of-battle soliloquy, where a character who might simply be a murdering monster pathetically realises “there is no creature loves me”.

Although Cumberbatch dominates the screen, this is far from a one-man show. Judi Dench brings all her clarity of speech and matchless sincerity to Richard’s mother, who views her son with undisguised horror: when she asks “What comfortable hour canst thou name / That ever graced me in thy company?” you totally believe her. Sophie Okonedo’s Queen Margaret stalks the action, right up to the climactic battle, like a vengeful ghost. Keeley Hawes turns Queen Elizabeth into a helpless pawn in Richard’s power games. Anyone who has seen the previous episodes will also understand – in a way that is tricky when the play is seen in isolation – just what the women are talking about when they catalogue Richard’s endless crimes.

READ MORE: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2016/may/21/benedict-cumberbatch-the-hollow-crown-richard-iii

Benedict Cumberbatch and his glamorous wife Sophie Hunter get dressed up for a romantic evening out at the opera

DAILY MAIL
By JJ NATTRASS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:29 EST, 12 May 2016 | UPDATED: 06:45 EST, 12 May 2016

They're never far from each other's side - despite his manic filming schedule.

So it was no surprise to see that Benedict Cumberbatch was using some time away from the set of Sherlock to treat his wife, Sophie Hunter, to a romantic date night.

Stepping out for an evening at the opera in London, held at the Barbican, the 39-year-old actor cut a dapper figure whilst the Theater director slipped into a demure and glamorous monochrome dress.



 Heading to a performance of Vincenzo Bellini's Adison e Salvini, the loved-up couple put on a very tender display - sticking close to each other.

Following the performance of the opera, which follows the fortunes of an Italian (Salvini) in Ireland, who falls in love with the eponymous Adelson’s fiancée Nelly, the couple left the arts centre hand-in-hand.

Another famous face: Benedict's Hollow Crown co-star Dame Judi Dench was also in attendance for the opera performed by the BBC's Symphony Orchestra

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3586645/Benedict-Cumberbatch-glamorous-wife-Sophie-Hunter-dressed-romantic-evening-opera.html#ixzz48UXflJlP 
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Charles and Camilla pose with Oscar winners including Judi Dench and Colin Firth as they host a star-studded reception in honour of British filmmaking

DAILY MAIL
By PHOEBE JACKSON-EDWARDS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:54 EST, 4 May 2016 | UPDATED: 18:13 EST, 4 May 2016

Prince Charles and Camilla held a recption celebrating British filmmaking, from second left, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, with Colin Firth and Michael Caine, centre



Dame Judi Dench and Colin Firth, who earned their Oscars playing members of the monarchy, are being celebrated at a royal reception for British Academy Awards winners.



The Prince of Wales, 67, and Duchess of Cornwall, 68, hosted the event at St James's Palace tonight to celebrate British filmmaking, which also saw Sir Michael Caine, Emma Thompson and singer Sam Smith among the Oscar-winning guests from both in front of and behind the camera.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy CEO Dawn Hudson and members of the Academy's Board of Governors were also in attendance.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3573897/Charles-Camilla-pose-Oscar-winners-including-Judi-Dench-Colin-Firth-host-star-studded-reception-honour-British-filmmaking.html#ixzz47jtJPMmF
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Dame Judi Dench plays Benedict Cumberbatch's mother Cecily Duchess of York in new still from BBC's King Richard III period drama Hollow Crown

DAILY MAIL
By REBECCA DAVISON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:07 EST, 2 May 2016 | UPDATED: 17:15 EST, 2 May 2016

Dame Judi Dench plays Benedict Cumberbatch's mother, Cecily Duchess of York in the BBC Two's King Richard III period drama Hollow Crown: The Wars Of The Roses, which is set to air on May 7.

The 81-year-old poses alongside Keeley Hawes, who plays Elizabeth and Phoebe Fox, who plays Anne in a new still from the BBC's collection of Shakespearean adaptations which celebrates the author 400 years following his death and his 800th birthday.

The story will follow Richard III's spiral into madness and will chart his life from when he was a child.

Judi was personally requested to take up the role by Benedict back in 2014 at the Hay Festival.

According to the Independent, she was being interviewed by TV and theatre director Richard Eyre when Benedict asked her to take the part.


Perfect for the role: Keeley cuts a regal figure as Edward IV's wife Queen Elizabeth

READ MORE HERE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3570091/Dame-Judi-Dench-cuts-stern-figure-Cecily-Duchess-York-Hollow-Crown.html

(video) Prince Charles plays Hamlet alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen

THE TELEGRAPH
 Harry Wallop, video courtesy bbc two / shakespeare live
23 APRIL 2016 • 10:12PM



The Prince of Wales - briefly - became the Prince of Denmark on Saturday.

Prince Charles appeared on stage at Stratford as part of a stellar cast in Shakespeare Live, a light-hearted tribute to Britain's most famous writer, 400 years to the day after he died.



Prince Charles uttered Shakespeare's most famous line "to be or not to be", managing to achieve not just every actor's dream, but trump Dame Judi Dench.

His short contribution came as part of a complex and witty homage to Shakespeare and his soliloquy from Hamlet known the world over.

Prince Charles appeared alongside Tim Minchin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Harriet Walter, David Tennant, Rory Kinnear, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, and the RSC’s current Hamlet, Paapa Essiedu.

It was a fitting finale to a day of celebrations in Stratford that mixed solemnity, pomp, quite a bit of low farce - and royalty. William Shakespeare probably would have approved.

Thousands gathered in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Saturday to celebrate the death of Britain’s most famous writer – and his birthday too.
 

READ MORE HERE:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/23/prince-charles-plays-hamlet-in-brilliant-bbc-sketch/

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as crazed royal in trailer for The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses

SUN

Benedict Cumberbatch takes centre stage in the latest instalment of BBC Shakespeare series The Hollow Crown.

Titled The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, Benedict will star alongside Dame Judi Dench, Hugh Bonneville and Sophie Okonedo.

The Sherlock star will be leading the cast as Richard III in the show as the UK celebrates Shakespeare's 800th birthday.


The story will follow Richard III's descent into madness and tracks his life from childhood.

Writer Dominic Cook, while talking to The Express, said of the king, “He’s quite monstrous, he ends up murdering children in the plays. He’s a psychopath. There’s no two ways about it: he’s a psychopath.

“But why did he become like that? There’s a story that leads up to that."

He later added: “There are some incidents he witnesses as a child that are horrific and contribute to him becoming a human being who is not able to empathise with other human beings.”

This new collection will be sure to delight Sherlock fans as Benedict, 39, reunites with Andrew Scott — who plays nemesis Moriarty on the hit BBC show.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/7085904/Benedict-Cumberbatch-stars-in-The-Hollow-Crown.html

Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Benedict Cumberbatch among stars set for Shakespeare anniversary show

BELFAST TELEGRAPH

With an audience including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will bring together acclaimed actors from David Suchet to Dame Judi Dench for a one-night extravaganza of Shakespeare-inspired works spanning genres from hip-hop to opera.

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Shakespeare Live! will be hosted by David Tennant at the RSC's theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The latest names to sign up to mark the Bard's death on April 23 include actors John Lithgow, Anthony Sher and Anne-Marie Duff, comedians Tim Minchin and Rufus Hound, and the cast of Horrible Histories, with music from The Shires and the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/mirren-and-cumberbatch-among-stars-set-for-shakespeare-anniversary-show-34613987.html

(Tom Hiddleston, Matthew Macfadyen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren, Ralph Fiennes, David Tennant...) 12 British Actors Reading Shakespeare for Shakespeare Day

ANGLOPHENIA BBC AMERICA
By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on April 23rd, 2015


Tom Hiddleston (Pic: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

British actors have a particularly strong relationship with the works of Shakespeare, as they’ll have studied his plays when honing their stagecraft and possibly discovered some of their best thespian tricks while working out how to tackle Polonius or Caliban at a tender age.

So, as it’s Shakespeare Day and we love actors who love reading Shakespeare, here they are doing that very thing, starting with Tom Hiddleston reading the “if music be the food of love” speech from Twelfth Night:

And now, Dame Helen Mirren reading from Anthony & Cleopatra, in a special clip for BBC Newsnight. She has played the title role on stage three times, at the National Youth Theatre in 1965, for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1983, and at the National Theatre in 1998:

Or, for people with short attention spans, here’s David Tennant reading a collection of Shakespeare’s greatest hits in verse, performing “Sonnet 2,” “Sonnet 7,” “Sonnet 9,” “Sonnet 17,” “Sonnet 18,” “Sonnet 11,” “Sonnet 14″ and “Sonnet 154:”

Continuing the theatrical metaphors from earlier, here’s Benedict Cumberbatch reading “The Seven Ages of Man” speech from As You Like It, which contains some wonderful descriptive moments, ripe for reuse, including “mewling and puking” and “the lean and slippered pantaloon”:

Poor Matthew Macfadyen is feeling a bit down in the dumps because he’s not a success in his chosen field. This bothers him enough to start reciting the apposite “Sonnet 29″ in a cafe, until, just at the point at which the poet reminds him of his true love, she appears. Then everything is right as rain:

READ MORE HERE: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/04/12-british-actors-reading-shakespeare-for-shakespeare-day/

Film world gathers to remember Lord Richard Attenborough

BBC NEWS
17 March 2015 Last updated at 09:53 ET



Lord Attenborough was among Britain's best-known actors and directors

Dame Judi Dench and Sir Michael Caine were among those who celebrated "a truly great man" of stage and screen.

Also attending were Alan Rickman, Jane Seymour and Sir John Hurt.

Lord Attenborough, a stalwart of the British film industry for more than half a century, died aged 90 last year.

Sir Ben Kingsley and Lord Attenborough's brother, TV wildlife presenter Sir David Attenborough, were among those who spoke during the Westminster Abbey ceremony.

It was led by the Dean of Westminster, the very reverend Dr John Hall.

Hymns included Jerusalem, and there were bible readings from actors Tom Hiddleston and Penelope Wilton.

The service touched on all aspects of Lord Attenborough's life, including the influence his work had on the cultural fabric of the UK.

As well as his two Oscars, six Baftas and four Golden Globes, he was awarded the CBE in 1967, knighted in 1976, and made a life peer in 1993.

Sir David Attenborough read from Lord Attenborough's maiden speech in the House of Lords during the ceremony.

He said: "The arts are not a prerequisite of the privileged few; nor are they the playground of the intelligentsia. The arts are for everyone - and failure to include everyone diminishes us all.'"

The ceremony, which lasted just under an hour, was "absolutely perfect", said Dame Judi Dench.

"I think he'd have loved it," added Dame Penelope Keith, while Sir John Hurt called it "very moving" and "excellent".

"It was very uplifting and it was a testimony to his amazing gift," said Robert Lindsay, revealing that he "used to call [Lord Attenborough] 'the magician.'"



Lord Attenborough was married to actress Sheila Sim, with whom he had three children.

Tragedy struck the family on Boxing Day 2004 when his elder daughter Jane Holland, and her daughter, Lucy, and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, were killed in the south-Asian tsunami.

His son Michael is a theatre director and former artistic director of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, north London, while his daughter Charlotte is an actress.



READ MORE HERE: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31921689

Watch British Actors Reenact Iconic American Movie Scenes

PEOPLE
BY WADE ROUSE @waderouse 02/04/2015 AT 07:50 PM EST

The British are coming – or as anyone in Hollywood has long known, they've already arrived!

Be it Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley or Eddie Redmayne, there has been a British invasion of American movies – and awards ceremonies – over recent years.

That fact is humorously skewered in a cheeky short film for Vanity Fair by London-born photographer Jason Bell, whose work frequently appears in that magazine. (VF's annual Hollywood issue will be available Feb. 5 in digital editions and on newsstands.)




Bell had the idea to shoot an all-U.K. edition of the magazine's annual Hollywood portfolio (whose 30-page portfolio includes 44 English icons this year) after observing that "this British invasion of Hollywood has gotten so out of hand." The short film is cleverly divided into three parts – in the style of a World War II era newsreel – with the first clip showing the Brits "Preparing for War," the second depicting their "Coming to America" to infiltrate the film industry and the final installment, "Victory is Assured."




br /> read more here: http://www.people.com/article/british-actors-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-renact-american-movies

Judi Dench and Downton Abbey stars lobby politicians over dog meat trade

NEW MAGAZINE
January 29, 2015



DAME JUDI DENCH joined DOWNTON ABBEY stars LESLEY NICOL and PETER EGAN at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday (28Jan15) to urge officials to do more to stop the dog meat trade in Asia.

The veteran actress attended a briefing for Members of Parliament (MPs) alongside Nicol and her co-star Egan, who plays Hugh 'Shrimpy' MacClare in the hit period drama, to support a campaign to change animal rights legislation in countries such as China and Thailand.

Long time animal welfare campaigner Egan made a speech to politicians, and fought back tears as he made an impassioned plea to end the suffering of animals in Asia.

He told the meeting, "It's such a cruel trade... and I will dedicate the rest of my life to trying to get it stopped... I hope our MPs here and their colleagues in the Foreign Office and embassies will have these animal welfare discussions with their counterparts in Asia... so the dog meat trade in particular can be put to an end."


READ MORE HERE: http://www.new-magazine.co.uk/latestnews/view/66794/Judi-Dench-and-Downton-Abbey-stars-lobby-politicians-over-dog-meat-trade/

Great Dames: As Judi Dench and Maggie Smith turn 80 we look at how they became movie royalty

MIRROR
Dec 06, 2014 16:13 By Lewis Panther



When Judi Dench and Maggie Smith were a couple of unknowns sharing a dressing room nearly 60 years ago they didn’t have a game plan, much less a Dame plan.

They weren’t banking on stardom and honours. They were just grateful to be working.

And when Dame Judi turns 80 on Tuesday, 19 days before Dame Maggie, they’ll be looking back not just on glittering careers, but on a friendship that has spanned their whole working lives.

So we pay tribute to the great Dames – and an incredible joint body of work that’s seen them notch up more than 350 award ­nominations between them, winning an amazing 108.

In the tale of the tape, Dame Judi is slightly ahead, with 55 awards from 203 nominations against Dame Maggie’s 53 prizes from 147 nominations.

But given that both their mantelpieces must be groaning under the weight of Oscars, Baftas and Golden Globes, who’s counting?



Britain’s greatest living actresses have an easy-going bond that is clear to see when they do interviews together.

Dame Maggie will playfully point out her pal is a fiery Sagittarius while she was born under Capricorn, making her the junior half of their friendship.

And it’s a double act that shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

They may be entering their ninth decade but both stage and screen legends are ­determined the show must go on.

Dame Judi has problems with her eyesight which means it is hard for her to watch movies and she struggles to indulge in her favourite hobbies.

Painting and reading are difficult and to learn her roles she has to have scripts read to her.

But she is still busy making films and was nominated for her seventh Oscar last year for Philomena before joining Dame Maggie, who she affectionately calls Mags, in India to film a sequel to their hit movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/great-dames-judi-dench-maggie-4759348

Benedict Cumberbatch to Receive Variety Award at BIFAs

VARIETY
Leo Barraclough

LONDON — Benedict Cumberbatch is to receive the Variety Award at the Moet British Independent Film Awards on Dec. 7 at Old Billingsgate, London.

The award recognizes a director, actor, writer or producer who has helped to put the international spotlight on the U.K. Paul Greengrass was given the award last year. Previous recipients include Jude Law, Kenneth Branagh, Liam Neeson, Daniel Craig and Helen Mirren.

Cumberbatch’s latest film, “The Imitation Game,” has been nominated in four categories at the British Independent Film Awards: British independent film; screenplay for Graham Moore; actress for Keira Knightley; and actor for Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch commented: “I am delighted to receive this prestigious award, and would like to thank Variety and the Moet British Independent Film Awards for this incredible honor. It is made even more special by the recognition of ‘The Imitation Game’ in this year’s nominations, a film I am very proud to be a part of.”

Cumberbatch is best known for playing the title role of Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock,” Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ adaption of the Arthur Conan Doyle books. The role won him an Emmy this year.

So far this year, Cumberbatch has been filming “Black Mass,” playing Bill Bulger alongside Johnny Depp, and Shere Khan in Andy Serkis’ “Jungle Book.” He is also part of the voicecast in DreamWorks Animation’s “Penguins of Madagascar,” which is released later this year.

He is currently shooting “The Hollow Crown” for the BBC and Neal Street Productions, in which he plays Richard III for director Dominic Cooper, and alongside Judi Dench.

Next he will shoot “Lost City of Z,” based on David Grann’s novel for director James Gray, where he will play British explorer Percy Fawcett, who set out to discover the City of Z in the Amazon in the 1920s.

READ MORE HERE: http://variety.com/2014/film/news/benedict-cumberbatch-to-receive-variety-award-at-bifas-1201355475/

(VIDEO) Benedict Cumberbatch Cast & Crew Filming At Wells Cathedral; Exclusive sneak peak behind The Hollow Crown at Gloucester Cathedral

GLOUCESTER CITIZEN
By The Citizen  |  Posted: November 08, 2014

Filming is set to take place at Gloucester Cathedral for the BBC drama The Hollow Crown.

Crews descended on the Cathedral on Friday to start preparing the building for filming.

The Citizen has managed to get a sneak preview of inside the film set.

It shows a beautiful display of flowers in the garden in the centre of the Cathedral.

The Hollow Crown is a series of British television films featuring William Shakespeare's History Plays - Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 & 2, and Henry V.

Benedict Cumberbatch is said to be playing Richard III and he could be in Gloucester on Monday with co-star Dame Judy Dench.

Read more: http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Exclusive-sneak-peak-Hollow-Crown-Gloucester/story-24476260-detail/story.html#ixzz3IVuoRvgQ 
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Benedict Cumberbatch secret BBC project revealed: Actor to front Best of BBC Drama trailer

MIRROR
Oct 28, 2014 13:15
By Carl Greenwood



Benedict Cumberbatch is to front a new trailer showcasing the best of BBC drama.

The Sherlock actor - who has reportedly been cast as Doctor Strange in Marvel's new superhero film of the same name - will front the trailer which will celebrate the best of British drama.

Cumberbatch will read the All the World’s a Stage monologue from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It as the supercut trailer celebrates BBC drama with moments from seminal productions past, present and future.

The BBC previously teased the actor's involvement in the secret project on Twitter, leading fans to suspect all kind of things were going on.

New shows given their first airing as part of the celebration include the adaptation of JK Rowling's novel The Casual Vacancy, Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman's drama Esio Trot and One Child from BAFTA-winning writer Guy Hibbert.

The highly-anticipated adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize winning historical novel Wolf Hall will also feature, alongside the remake of Poldark and Jimmy McGovern's new eight part series Strange and Norrell.

Doctor Who, Luther, Last Tango in Halifax and Sherlock will also feature as will Call The Midwife, Happy Valley and EastEnders.

The Fall, Line of Duty, Death in Paradise and Peaky Blinders will also be shown, adding to the roster of impressive contemporary drama the BBC producers.

The trailer will also look back at some of the most successful and beloved dramas of the past including The Singing Detective, House of Cards, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, This Life, Pride and Prejudice, Criminal Justice, Small Island, Spooks and Life on Mars.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/benedict-cumberbatch-secret-bbc-project-4522664