THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
by Abid Rahman2/10/2015 12:18am PST
James McAvoy has waded into the ongoing debate in the U.K. on the current success and dominance of privately educated actors, telling the Herald of Scotland that if the current trend continues it would be "damaging for society."
The Scottish actor, who paid his way through drama school by working in a bakery, was at pains not to criticize the success of privately educated actors, but he was worried that it wasn't representative of Britain as it is today.
"Whenever we talk about this, we have to be very very clear. There's a lot of posh actors that have been to boarding school and all that who are feeling very embattled, sort of cornered," he said, adding: "[N]obody has got anything against an actor who is posh and is doing really well."
But McAvoy was concerned that people from all walks of life are not getting the same opportunities to work in the arts, and his chief worry was about how this will become a bigger problem five or ten years from now.
If the trends are allowed to continue, McAvoy said, "That's a frightening world to live in, because as soon as you get one tiny pocket of society creating all the arts, or culture starts to become representative not of everybody but of one tiny part, and that's not fair to begin with, but it's also damaging for society."
Private schools such as Eton and Harrow are some of the oldest and most elite in the U.K. They often produce future leaders and captains of industry, but in recent years they have begun to churn out stellar acting talent.
The Eton-educated Eddie Redmayne (a classmate of Prince William) and Harrow-educated Benedict Cumberbatch, who are both in the running for the best actor Oscar, are perhaps the most telling examples of the dominance of "posh" actors. But there's also Dominic West (Eton, classmate of Prime Minister David Cameron), Damian Lewis (Eton), Tom Hiddleston (Eton), Henry Cavil (Stowe), Jamie Campbell Bower (Bedales), Tom Hardy (Reed), Matthew Goode (Exeter) and Dan Stevens (Tonbridge), among others.
And it's not just the guys. A whole generation of British actresses are seemingly disproportionately from so-called posh schools, including Rosamund Pike (Badminton), Alice Eve (Bedales), Juno Temple (Bedales), Carey Mulligan (Woldingham), Kate Beckinsale (Godolphin and Latymer), Imogen Poots (Latymer), Emilia Clarke (St Edward's), Emily Blunt (Hurtwood House) and Rebecca Hall (Roedean).
Here is a new poster (via STYD) for Eliza Graves. The film stars Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine.
The film centers on a Harvard Medical School graduate (Sturgess) who takes a job at an insane asylum, unaware of the fact that it has been taken over by its occupants
HOLLYWOOD filmmaker Ron Howard has enlisted three Irish actors to star in his new blockbuster movie. Silver screen veteran Brendan Gleeson will join Cillian Murphy and newcomer Sam Keeley in a story of a ship destroyed at sea, entitled 'In The Heart of The Sea'. The production is based on the book by Nathaniel Philbrick, which follows the real-life tale of the survivors of the Nantucket whaling ship the Essex. The boat was attacked by a sperm whale in 1820 and is what inspired author Herman Melville in writing his classic novel 'Moby Dick'.
Gleeson (58) will take on the role of a surviving crew member in his later years of life, who is interviewed about the near-death experience. It is going to be a busy year for Gleeson, who is currently filming psychological thriller 'Eliza Graves' with Michael Caine and Kate Beckinsale. The Dubliner is then due to begin shooting with the cast of 'In The Heart of The Sea' in September, with production of Howard's latest project expected to take place in London before moving to the Canary Islands. READ MORE HERE: http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/three-irish-actors-to-star-in-new-ron-howard-movie-29397191.html
With a knockout figure and a perpetually perfect coiffure, it's easy for Kate Beckinsale to ooze confidence.
So naturally, the actress had no concerns as she headed out in Santa Monica wearing a bold pattern from head to toe.
The 39-year-old brunette bombshell wore a matching blue Aztec-print top and trousers as she spent all Saturday shopping with her husband, producer Len Wiseman.
Where other women would shy away from attention-drawing horizontal stripes, Kate forged confidently forward.
The Underworld saga star managed to look as slender as ever while stripes and zig-zags encircled her hips and waist.
Complementing the patterns solid background, the 5ft7 actress boosted her height closer to that of her husband's by wearing cream-coloured pointed-toe pumps.
She's been known to follow a rigorous yoga routine, and it's clear that her time training has been paying off.
Sporting a pair of extremely short shorts, Kate Beckinsale displayed her enviable legs as she, her husband Len Wiseman, and daughter Lily Mo Sheen attended producer Joel Silver's annual Memorial Day beach party in Malibu, California on Monday.
And it looked like her 14-year-old daughter was taking note, walking perfectly in sync with her mother, mimicking her style as they headed to the holiday soiree.
From the first film that you saw with the love of your life to the movie you laughed at so hard you cried with your best friends ... many of life's moments can be mapped out through the films we have seen. A new survey has revealed our movie timeline: from the first movie people want to share with their children, to films that help overcome a mid-life crisis. And the results show that we are relying on the best of British in times of need with Love Actually, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Kate Beckinsale and Colin Firth all coming out tops.
Kate Beckinsale gives Chelsea Handler some tough love during the March 25 episode of After Lately, a semi-scripted behind-the-scenes look at E!'s Chelsea Lately. When the British actress, 39, joins the late-night host, 37, for a private yoga session, Beckinsale can't help but critique Handler's form -- and her figure.
Los Angeles: Actress Kate Beckinsale is in negotiations to star in `Eliza Graves`, a psychological thriller.
Brad Anderson, who directed `The Call`, is directing the movie, which is loosely based on one of Edgar Allan Poe`s early works `The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether`, said the Hollywood Reporter.
There are a whole lot of silly Oscar night traditions to choose from, from the opening song-and-dance to the Best Song performances to the "shocked" speeches from people everyone knew would be winning. But I'd like to add a pretty recent tradition to the list: Jimmy Kimmel's "Movie the Movie." The ABC late night host will have the prime post-Oscar slot again this year, and will be back with the parody that set the Internet on fire after last year's Oscars. Except, in the grand tradition of movies, it's not just a new parody: it's a sequel. Welcome to Movie The Movie: 2V.
Kate feels that it is extremely important to impart the wonders of reading to her 13-year-old daughter Lily.
"I've been very obsessed with reading since I was tiny," Kate told Us Weekly magazine. "My mum was a big reader and very much imposed reading on me and I'm the same with my daughter, who's a huge reader."
Kate slightly regrets allowing Lily to delve so deep into author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.
"She read Twilight and was completely obsessed with them," the actress shared.
"It actually almost ruined Christmas one year because all she wanted to do was be a vampire and she didn't want anything on her Christmas list."
If you haven't seen the full trailer for the "Total Recall" remake yet, you're missing out.
Everyone is fighting everyone: Farrell and Beckinsale, Farrell and stormtrooper looking guys, even Jessica Biel and Beckinsale are throwing punches each other's way. Can you say awesome?
The film comes out August 3. Watch the trailer below:
By SARAH FITZMAURICEIt's been 12 (?) years since the original film his screens but fans of Total Recall can now see a sneak peak of the remake.
In a 32 second sequence Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale are seen springing into action with plenty of explosions, weapons and flying cars along the way.
The film tells the story of Douglas Quaid, played by Farrell, a factory worker whose dreams of heading to Mars lead him to pay a trip to Rekall, the company who turn your dreams into memories
Quaid opts for a trip to the planet and decides to be a secret agent on the journey - but while he is being sedated the Rekall workers discover his memory has already been wiped.
Returning home after the botched dream-to-memory procedure things turn upside down for Douglas - who ends up killing a co-worker and discovers his wife,Beckinsale, isn't actually his wife.
Len Wiseman's forthcoming remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's scifi classic stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston.
10:55 AM PDT 3/27/2012
by Borys Kit
Can there be such a thing as too much anticipation? Director Len Wiseman and Columbia Pictures are testing genre fans' appetite for piecemeal action with a teaser for a teaser trailer.
The studio announced today that it plans to premiere the trailer for Total Recall, Wiseman's remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzennegger scifi opus originally directed by Paul Verhoeven, during an NBA game Sunday between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
Not every 13-year-old wants to be just like her mother but Lily Sheen seems very content with taking after Kate Beckinsale.
When the mother daughter duo arrived at LAX airport together, they bore more than a striking resemblance to one another.
While Lily also looks a lot like her father Michael Sheen, the teen showed she has inherited her mother’s glossy brunette locks as her own tresses looked identical when the pair walked side by side into the terminal in Los Angeles.
Merchant says he finds his comedy in being onstage as victim, not victor – an
interesting take for one so successful in his writing career – but then again,
look at some of the characters he’s created. “I find that for me, a comedian
should be lesser than the audience and self-deprecating. Woody Allen is a big
hero of mine…and Richard Pryor – for all his magnetism and swagger onstage much
of what he says is undermining himself; his crazy behavior – hanging onto the
universe by the fingernails. I find that very appealing; whereas I can admire an
Eddie Murphy, but walking onstage in a one piece leather jumpsuit just seems
very odd to me – if you want to be Rick James, be Rick James. His persona is
sort of a swaggering swordsman and I’m just not that.”
Merchant’s show is funny, empathetic–and popular with a certain set. In the
audience for this show were three Brits: Emily Blunt (with husband John
Krasinski), Kate “Underworld” Beckinsale and Academy Award winner Colin Firth.
And for all his frustrations over his lanky frame and challenging height (he
tells an interesting tale of how one has sex when the average women is 5’4” to
his close to 7’ stature), Merchant is undoubtedly a charmer – handsome in that
geeky sort of way and a man who actually puts his cards on the table – not
something a lot of men are willing to do these days. With that kind of healthy
attitude, Merchant will probably find himself his one and only very soon.
Stephen Merchant’s one-man show continues in San Francisco, Tuesday
January 24th at Cobb’s Pub.
The British contingent were out in force last night to support funnyman Stephen Merchant as he bought his comedy show to the U.S.
It was date night for UK-born actresses Kate Beckinsale and Emily Blunt who were accompanied by their American husbands her husband Len Wiseman and John Krasinki.
And Oscar-winning Colin Firth completed the star-studded ausience, not minding being the third wheel as he walked into Beverly Hills' Coronet Theatre with Emily and John.
Threes a crowd: Colin Firth joined Emily Blunt and her husband John Krasinki at Stephen Merchant's new stand-up show, Hello Ladies
Black attire appeared to be the uniform for the fivesome.
Date night: Kate Beckinsale and her husband Len Wiseman also joined the group
Celebrity friends: John and Emily appeared to be getting on well with the Oscar-winning actor
The couple seemed still so in love after nearly seven years of marriage, as they embraced one another after the show.
Funny: Stephen Merchant has bought his show, Hello Ladies, to Hollywood
Stephen Merchant, known for his collaborations with funnyman Ricky Gervais, who hosted the Golden Globes on Sunday, has brought his successful stand-up show, Hello Ladies, to the states this year.
Yesterday, he spoke about the difference between English and American audiences.
'In England, the audience can be quite surly at times,' he told the Los Angeles Times.
'You can walk on and you get the feeling that they are sitting with their arms crossed sort of, "Yeah, listen. It was raining, we had to park the car, so this better be funny mate".
'American audiences just seemed much more enthusiastic. like 'Yay! It's great, it'll be fun! Let's enjoy.'
Meanwhile, Colin Firth was surprised by talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres when she flew his Madame Tussauds wax figure all the way from London.
Still so in love: Kate and Len shared a intimate moment after the show
This way darling! Len leads his gorgeous wife out of the theatre
She was seen asking him: 'This is a very exciting thing. You have a wax figure in London, right?'
He replied: 'Yes, we have a museum. It’s legendary now, Madame Tussasuds. One of the first tourist attractions I visited I think, when I went to London.
'That was a big deal for me even before the Oscars. You wandered around these startlingly life-sized figures. And I remember thinking "What does to take to become one of these?" And I‘ve just become one.'
Here's looking at you: Earlier, Colin appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' show where she revealed she had flown his was figure all the way from Madame Tussauds in London
My twin: The statue looks remarkably like Colin
She asked him whether he had seen it yet, to which he said 'not in person'.
Ellen then revealed: 'We flew it in from London. I have to say thank you to Madame Tussauds. They actually helped us do this.'
The pair studied the lifelike figure and Ellen showed Colin it was wearing her Ellen boxers.
My special touch: The talkshow host revealed he was wearing her 'Ellen' boxers
The Christmas season is over, and 2012 is now well in play. Some films did well over the holiday period, with many that we mentioned in our last post remaining at the top of the Box Office. This weekend there are a couple of great films being released, including action thriller Contraband, starring Kate Beckinsale and coming-of-age drama Albatross, as well as a few others that are expanding to more theaters. Carry on reading to find out what British movies and actors you can see on the big screen over the next seven days, and where you will be able to see them.
The big release this week is Contraband, which features British actress Kate Beckinsale in Baltasar Kormákur‘s action thriller, also starring Mark Wahlberg. The film is a remake of the Icelandic 2009 film ReykjavÃk-Rotterdam which Kormákur starred in, and follows a former smuggler who heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord. The film will be released on Friday (13th January) and you can see if it is showing in a theater near you here.
British coming-of-age comedy drama, Albatross, gets a limited release from Friday (13th January) too. The film stars Jessica Brown Findlay (TV’s Downton Abbey) as 17-year-old Emelia Conan-Doyle, the heir to the legacy of Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Emelia is an aspiring writer who hopes to follow in the literary footsteps of her grandfather, whilst also working at a seaside hotel on the south coast of England, owned by writers-blocked Jonathan (Sebastian Koch – Unknown), his wife Joa (Julia Ormond – My Week with Marilyn) and their daughter, Beth (Felicity Jones – Like Crazy). Beth and Emelia’s friendship is soon threatened, however, when Emelia and Beth’s father begin an affair.
Starring a number of other Brits including Peter Vaughan, Harry Treadaway, and Thomas Brodie Sangster, you can read our review here and and see if Albatross’ Limited release is showing near you here. If you don’t fancy getting off your sofa this weekend, you may also want to check the IFC films On-Demand section on your cable service , as it should also be available to rent.
Expanding its release this week is The Iron Lady, which opened with a limited release for its Oscar qualifying run on 30th December. The film looks at the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (played by Meryl Streep) in London in the 1980′s. It shows how she came from nowhere, smashing through the barriers of gender and class to make her voice heard in a male dominated world. It also stars British actors Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant, and Olivia Colman. Averaging at $35,275 per theater in five theaters last weekend, The Iron Lady has already grossed $520,669, and will be released officially and nationwide on Friday (13th January). You can see where this film is showing here.
We Need to Talk About Kevin also expands its release over New York, LA and Encino this coming week. Starring British actress Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia), the film won best movie at the recent London Film Festival and has been traveling across the US for the past couple of months.
Adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name, written by American author Lionel Shriver, Swinton plays the character of Eva Khatchadouria, the mother of a troubled teenage boy (Ezra Miller) who embarks on a high-school killing spree. The story is told from the perspective of Eva, seeing her recount the events in her son’s life as she attempts to deal with her grief and feelings of guilt by writing to her estranged husband (Jon C. Reilly).
We Need To Talk About Kevin is expanding to more and more cities over the coming weeks. You can see if this movie is coming to a theater near you here and see what fellow BritScene writer Daniel thought of the tough subject matter and Tilda Swinton’s performance with his review.
With its Brit packed cast of Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Hurt, the film will continue to show nationwide. You can see if it is coming to a theater near you here (although it is now playing all across the country) and see what our take on this much talked espionage thriller is, with our review.
Still at top of box office is a number of films that we mentioned in our last post, the first of these being the fourth instalment to the popular action franchise, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which is number 2 in the Box Office charts. Making another $19.9M this weekend, the film’s overall gross is close to reaching $170M. Starring British actor Simon Pegg in one of the main roles, the film follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) who is carrying out an operation in Moscow when a terrorist bombing destroys the Kremlin, leading the US government to initiate a black operation known as “ghost protocol”. Disavowing the entire Impossible Mission Force, Hunt must now go undercover with his new rogue team to clear their organization’s name. The film will continue to show nationwide and you can watch a clip featuring Simon Pegg’s nerdy IT character below.
David Fincher‘s The Girl With Dragon Tattoo is still holding on at number 4 in the Box Office, and after making $11.4M this weekend, the film’s overall gross has nearly reached $77M. However, in relation to the films $90M production costs, it hasn’t done as well as was hoped. This is probably because the film wasn’t really fitting for its Christmas release, though it seems to be getting good word of mouth and with not a lot of R-rated competition out there at the moment , it will hopefully continue to remain in theaters through award season. Despite not quite meeting box office expectations the sequels for this English adaptation of Stieg Larsson‘s Millennium trilogy have been confirmed, which I think is great news, having loved this movie (read my review here).
The film stars British actor Daniel Craig as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who is asked to help uncover the truth about a woman who has been missing for forty years. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own dysfunctional family. This is where Blomkvist meets Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a young female hacker, as we start to discover the disturbing truth about her past as well. The film will continue to show nationwide and you can watch the 8 minute long trailer for this first novel adaptation below:
Stephen Spielberg’s war time drama War Horse is at number 6 in the charts, having grossed $8.7M this past weekend and $57M overall. The film follows the story of a young boy, Albert, played by Jeremy Irvine (TV’s Life Bites), and his horse, Joey. Despite being too young to enlist in to the cavalry, Albert heads to France when his horse is sold and sent into the trenches of War. Alongside Irvine is fellow Brits Tom Hiddleston (Thor) as Captain Nichols, Benedict Cumberbatch (TV’s Sherlock) as Major Stewart, with David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Emily Watson (Oranges & Sunshine), Johnny Harris (London to Brighton) and Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur). The film will continue to show nationwide, you can watch the trailer below and read our review here.
Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin is then at number 8 in the charts, making $6.7M this past weekend and $62M overall. Despite being a family movie, getting a Christmas release and great reviews, the film does not seem to have captured the imagination of an American audience and results are considered a little disappointing (although internationally the numbers has been huge!).
The film is the first installment in a planned trilogy of computer-animated motion-capture adaptations of George Remi’s series of comic strips, which follows British actor Jamie Bell in the motion captured role of Tintin, as he discovers directions to a sunken ship and sets off on his first adventure, a treasure hunt. Directed by Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, the actors in this movie hold many more big British names too, including the talents of Daniel Craig (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Simon Pegg (Paul), Nick Frost (Attack The Block), and Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor). The film will continue to show nationwide and you can find out if we think it is worth watching with our review.
Continuing to do well, is Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which, after a month of release, is still in the bronze medal position at the Box Office. Taking another $13.7M this weekend, the film’s overall grossing has now reached $157M and will continue to be shown nationwide. It follows Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and his side kick, Dr Watson (Jude Law) who reunite and team up with mysterious gypsy Sim, played by Noomi Rapace (The Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) to bring down the evil Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris (Mad Men).
This was another movie I was lucky enough to catch over the holiday period. Filled with brilliant action and great performances, I highly recommend heading out to see it if you have not already. Take a look at the trailer below and to find out more about what I thought of Guy Ritchie’s take on the classic detective stories, check out my review.
