Helena Bonham Carter goes glam to play Elizabeth Taylor (NEW STRAITS TIMES)

British actors Helena Bonham Carter (R) and Dominic West are pictured in this undated handout photo released by BBC. Carter and West play Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, respectively, in BBC's production "Burton and Taylor", a TV movie that will explore Taylor's tempestuous relationship with actor Burton which captivated audiences and headlines. REUTERS/BBC/Gustavo Papaleo/Handout via Reuters

The first photograph of Bonham Carter as Taylor and British actor Dominic West as Burton was released by BBC on Wednesday, ahead of the premiere of “Burton and Taylor” on BBC America in fall this year.

The film’s central focus will be on Taylor and Burton’s appearance as co-stars in a 1983 Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s 1930 risque comedy play “Private Lives.”      In the play, which brought Taylor and Burton together seven years after their second divorce from each other, the former couple portrayed a man and woman having an affair while married to other people.

Taylor, who died from heart failure in 2011 aged 79, became one of the most recognisable Hollywood actresses in the 1950s, famed for her beauty and violet eyes. She was married eight times, twice to Burton.

Read more: Helena Bonham Carter goes glam to play Elizabeth Taylor - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/helena-bonham-carter-goes-glam-to-play-elizabeth-taylor-1.294870#ixzz2VRKBhMTc

Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West to Star in BBC America’s 'Burton and Taylor'(DEN OF GEEK)

According to published reports Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West will play cinema’s iconic couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the upcoming “Burton and Taylor” that will be produced by BBC America. The hour-and-a-half TV movie is said to be set at the 1983 stage revival of Noel Coward’s “Private Lives,” which ran at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and was directed by Milton Katselas. The movie will air in the network’s Dramaville block. The movie was written by William Ivory and directed by Richard Laxton. The film will premiere in 2014

READ MORE: http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/bbc-america%E2%80%99s-burton-and-taylor-to-star-helena-bonham-carter-and-dominic-west/84399/bbc-america%E2%80%99s-burton-and-taylor-to-star-helena-bonham-carter-and-dominic-west

Richard Burton Finally Makes It In Hollywood By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on Friday, February 15th, 2013 (BBC AMERICA)

Richard Burton (AP Images)

I don’t wish to appear cynical about kind-hearted gestures, or long-standing historical wrongs that have finally been put right, but the news that Richard Burton is to be awarded a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 1, has raised at least one of my eyebrows so high it is currently keeping my neck warm.

Really? Richard Burton gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2013? Some three decades after he died? Doesn’t this raise some worrying questions about the validity of the whole ‘stars in the pavement’ scheme in the first place?

Questions like:

• Huh? Isn’t he already there? Shouldn’t someone go and check?

• Who else is missing from the list? If you can forget about a star of the magnitude of Richard Burton, shouldn’t we have a quick check to see if, say, Humphrey Bogart made it? Should we check for Charlie Chaplin?

• How many stars are there on the list that really shouldn’t have been there before Burton? I mean, Randy Newman has a star on the Walk of Fame. I love Randy Newman. I bow to no one in my appreciation of his salty songs (and his vinegary songs are even better), but I think even Randy Newman would be tempted to conclude that he’s behind Richard Burton in the putting-your-name-in-a-star-on-the-floor stakes.

• Seriously, someone should check he’s not already there…

READ MORE: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/02/richard-burton-finally-makes-it-in-hollywood/

British roots of stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor published Robin Turner, WalesOnline Jan 4 2013

The British roots of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor have been published online for the first time.

Millions of United States census records are included in the collection, detailing British actors and actresses who moved to the US during the golden age of movies.

The 1940 US Federal Census Records, now being published by family history website Ancestry.co.uk, includes the names of Elizabeth Taylor, born in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London and Port Talbot’s Richard Burton.

The files also include London born Alfred Hitchcock, currently being played in a biopic of his life by another Port Talbot actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins, who moved to the US to direct some of the best-known films of all time, such as Psycho and The Birds.



Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2013/01/04/british-roots-of-hollywood-stars-richard-burton-and-elizabeth-taylor-91466-32544953/#ixzz2H1BmTrbK

Scots comedy legend Billy Connolly in tears as he accepts BAFTA award

Kevin Bridges and Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly sobbed as he received a Scottish Bafta award last night (10 Dec)

He was presented with a gong for an Outstanding Contribution in Television and Film by stand-up comedian Kevin Bridges. Kevin thanked Billy for being a inspiration to generations of Scots comics and Billy replied: “This is a delightful thing, especially coming from Scotland. “I’ve been nominated for loads of things and got b***** all. I occasionally get these good attendance things, like the guy in remedial class getting a prize for being kind. “Genuinely, to get this from Scotland, I almost say it breaks my heart. It just hits me somewhere where I live.”

As Billy burst into tears, the crowd in Glasgow’s Fruitmarket applauded wildly. He continued: “I don’t know what to do now. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to you. I guess you only get these things once … but could we meet every second week?”

The presentation came at the end of a 90-minute discussion about Billy’s Life In Pictures alongside a few dodgy jokes about thalidomide and the Gorbals. The Big Yin talked about his roles in films such as 1978’s Absolution with Richard Burton and Mrs Brown with Judi Dench. Of Burton, he said: “The funny thing was, I was drunk and he was sober. “They shot the graveyard scene from the back and what you couldn’t see was him singing I Belong to Glasgow. “He was a priest and I showed him where the pocket was in the cassock for his fags.”

Mrs Brown also left a big impression. Billy said: “At one point, I thought that Judi Dench fancied me. She kept giving me the eye in one scene and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ I danced about more and she started doing it again. “It was getting worse and then it dawned on me that she was being Queen Victoria, so I fancied her back.”

Billy admitted he was disappointed to miss out on a Bafta for Mrs Brown – instead it went to Ewan McGregor for Trainspotting. He said: “Ewan beat me with that filth about drugs in Edinburgh – and that language, too. “I hate Ewan for beating me. When you get beaten by somebody you like, it’s worse.

READ MORE: http://scottishactors.blogspot.com/2012/12/billy-connolly-bafta-award.html 

Gerard Butler: Lindsay Lohan wants Gerard Butler to be her 'Liz and Dick' co-star Last Updated: 1:07 PM, April 26, 2012 Posted: 1:06 PM, April 26, 2012 (NEW YORK POST)

Lindsay Lohan is hoping that Gerard Butler might be cast opposite her in the upcoming Lifetime movie "Liz and Dick," about Elizabeth Taylor's turbulent relationship with Richard Burton, who the actress married twice.

"He actually does remind me of [Burton] a lot," said Lohan, when Butler's name was floated during an interview with "Access Hollywood" last night. But she isn't so sure that the actor would sign on for the television film. "I don't know if he would do that," she continued.Lohan and Butler have some history themselves.

Reports claim that the two made out at a party in Morocco in 2009, after hitting the dance floor together. Sources also claimed that the two had flirted heavily before leaving a party together a year later in Beverly Hills.


READ MORE:  http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/lindsay_lohan_wants_gerard_butler_sBDX0PDxPwqYvoSVPe5m4H

Brendan Coyle: Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor, Who Should Play Richard Burton? BY CARLOS GREER (PEOPLE)

Lindsay Lohan appears to be putting her days of trouble behind her and getting back to work. The actress has signed on to play the legendary Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime Original movie Liz & Dick.

Liz & Dick will portray Taylor's highly publicized romance with actor Richard Burton, which started when they met on the set of Cleopatra. "Lindsay is very excited to begin production and tell this amazing and true story," Lohan's rep, Steve Honig, tells PEOPLE. Now that Taylor's shoes are filled, whom do you want to see as Richard Burton?

GO HERE TO VOTE FOR EITHER BRENDAN COYLE, RUSSELL CROWE, CLIVE OWEN OR JEMAINE CLEMENT


READ MORE:  http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20589736,00.html

Liam Neeson joins War of the Worlds musical as hologram replacing Richard Burton

By Tim Masters Entertainment and arts correspondent, BBC News

Liam Neeson was a fan of the original album when it came out in 1978

Liam Neeson is to appear as a 3D hologram in a new version of Jeff Wayne's long-running The War of the Worlds musical.

The actor takes over the narrator role from Richard Burton, whose holographic head has appeared in the show since it began touring in 2006.

The Northern Irish star said he was "very flattered" to take on the part.

Burton's narration had been taken from Jeff Wayne's original 1978 double album, which has sold some 15m copies.

The cast on the original recording included David Essex, Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott and Julie Covington.

In a new element to the production, Neeson's holographic character will appear interacting with the live performers on stage.

The show, based on HG Wells' classic science fiction novel, tells the story of a Martian invasion of Victorian England.

At the launch of the 2012 "New Generation" show and album in London on Friday, Wayne said he had decided to "re-explore" HG Wells' storyline and characters for the new tour.

This, he said, included the main character of George Herbert, The Journalist, as voiced by late actor Burton.

"While it may have been the greatest opportunity, it was also the hardest decision to make because I knew that with a re-developed storyline, a new Journalist would need to be sought, as Richard Burton's original performance was finite," Wayne said.

"And whoever that person might turn out to be, he would have to be of no less stature and quality of voice than that of Richard - an incredibly tough act to follow."
'Head and shoulders'

Jeff Wayne is taking a new approach to the story and the music for the 2012 tour

Burton appeared in 74 sequences in the old show, while Neeson's character features in 90.

He will take three separate forms: As a full-length hologram, as a holographic "head and shoulders" and also in filmed CGI sequences on a giant screen.

Neeson said he had been a fan of the original album, having bought it on cassette tape in 1978.

He also recalled working with Burton on a 1984 US TV mini-series, Ellis Island, shortly before the Welsh actor died.

"I remember coming out of my trailer and he was listening to this lady with his arms behind his back, and he looked incredibly fit," he told the BBC.

"I thought 'wow - that's Richard Burton'. I didn't want to go over, I wished I had, but two weeks after that he passed away. He had this 'halo' round him."

The new War of the Worlds tour takes place in the UK in December 2012

BBC News