Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman lead acting nominations at BAFTA TV Awards... as X Factor is snubbed in the Entertainment category

DAILY MAIL
By LUCY MAPSTONE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 03:02 EST, 8 April 2015 | UPDATED: 05:13 EST, 8 April 2015



He missed out on the Academy Award for Best Actor during this year's awards season.
But Benedict Cumberbatch is now in the running to pick up a TV BAFTA for his performance as the master detective Sherlock Holmes, arguably his most famous role of all.

The star, who lost out on a Best Actor Oscar earlier this year for his portrayal of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, is nominated for the Leading Actor prize at the House Of Fraser BAFTA Television Awards, which will take place on May 10.

However, he faces stiff competition from the esteemed likes of Toby Jones for Marvellous, James Nesbitt for The Missing and Jason Watkins for The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jefferies.
It is the third nomination for Benedict's performance in the hit show, a modern day re-imagining of the beloved detective who lives on Baker Street, but he has yet to take home the title.

Seasoned BAFTA TV winner Olivia Colman - who has three BAFTA wins under her esteemed belt - has received yet another nomination, this time in the Female Performance In A Comedy Programme category for Rev.

Nominated for the fourth consecutive year, she'll be up against the incredible talents of Tamsin Greig in Episodes, Jessica Hynes in W1A and Catherine Tate for Catherine Tate's Nan.

The actresses nominated in the Leading Actress category are Line Of Duty star Keely Hawes, Sheridan Smith for Cilla, Sarah Lancashire for Happy Valley and Georgina Campbell who starred in Murdered By My Boyfriend.

The nominations were announced at BAFTA’s central London headquarters by actors Freddie Fox and Sherlock star Amanda Abbington.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3029972/Benedict-Cumberbatch-Olivia-Colman-lead-way-nominations-BAFTA-TV-Awards-announced.html#ixzz3WlCztr3c
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Richard Armitage & James Nesbitt Speak On ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ (FLICKS AND BITS)

Sitting down with Digital Spy for the UK release of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ on DVD and Blu-ray (April 8th), Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt shed some light on the second part of ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.’ First up, Richard Armitage was asked about the future of the relationship between his character Thorin Oakenshield and Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins in the the upcoming film, “I think in ‘The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug’ the relationship developes and is enhanced. It becomes a very firm friendship, which, in ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again,’ that friendship becomes so tight…. and that’s something Tolkien looks at very much in the books. So we’re kind of building to that point in the film.”

James Nesbitt, who plays the disarmingly forthright, funny and occasionally brave dwarf Bobur in the series, also spoke on ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,’ “I’m excited about ‘The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug,’ because now we’re up and running. Not only as a films, but with the Dwarves, we’re into it, we’re on our adventure. Now the journey is really taking off, there’s a lot to come. I can think of so much that is going to happen in ‘The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug’ that is very exciting. We introduce a lot of new characters, there’s a lot of danger lurking, we’ve got Giant Spiders, we’ve got the Forest of Enchantment…. there’s a lot of stuff going on. And then also I think we get to Lake-town, and Lake-town is an extraordinary set with extraordinary characters – some that are very close to me, actually.” Head on over to Digital Spy for the full interview.

The adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ was originally made as a two-part film, however Warner Bros, Peter Jackson, producer Fran Walsh and writer-producer Philippa Boyens announced last year that ‘The Hobbit’ films will be a trilogy. The release schedule for the subsequent two films are as follows: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ arrives in cinemas on December 13th; while ’The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ concludes the trilogy on December 17th, 2014. Earlier in the week Peter Jackson took to his official Facebook page to reveal a 6-minute excerpt of the live event he hosted last week for ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,’ providing us with a first official look at the film.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ recently became the 15th film in history to hit $1 billion in global ticket sales, not accounting for inflation. The film has grossed $302,075,203 million in North America and $708,100,000 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $1,010,175,203. The film, the first in a trilogy, has grossed roughly $37.3 million in its first 10 days of play in China, the movie’s final major market. The top foreign markets for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ are as follows: Germany ($90 million), followed by the UK ($84.3 million), France ($44.9 million), Australia ($44.3 million) and Russia ($43.8 million).

READ MORE: http://www.flicksandbits.com/2013/04/05/richard-armitage-james-nesbitt-speak-on-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug/43821/

Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, James Nesbitt for The Hobbit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QNBVJnrDssw

FINAL ‘THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY’ VIDEO BLOG IS ONLINE by Jacob Hall Yesterday

After years of anticipation, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ is finally in theaters and outside of money and transportation, there’s nothing stopping you from going to see it right now. However, if money or transportation are a problem for you right now, you can always watch the concluding chapter of Peter Jackson‘s wonderful video blog about the making of the film. The focus this time? Finishing the film and getting it to the premiere!

View the final blog here

Richard Armitage, Martin Freeman, Luke Evans: Doing their Hobbit for Christchurch By Rachel Glucina (NZ HERALD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fznfX4947A&feature=player_embedded

While some stars of Sir Peter Jackson's The Hobbit have enjoyed relaxing weekends, Sir Ian McKellen has toured his one-man show - Ian McKellen on Stage - around the country after working a five-day week on set.

 He's been raising funds for Christchurch's earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal. The tour ended at the weekend. On Saturday night, at Wellington's Opera House, Jackson and a collection of Hobbit stars - including Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Martin Freeman, Aiden Turner and Richard Armitage - were in the audience to watch McKellen's final performance.

 They took to the stage at the end, joining McKellen for a spot of Shakespeare. The invitation was extended to the crowd, too. "It's a good opportunity if anyone wants to come on to the stage and do a little bit of Shakespeare acting with me and the cast," McKellen invited.

 The audience did not need to be asked twice. Dozens raced on stage, eager to be a part of the action. Rounding his flock like a shepherd, McKellen gathered everyone around, gave a few instructions, then faced the audience and recited from Henry V. On cue, The Hobbit stars and the audience members, performing the role of slain French troops, fell down dead.

The audience applauded wildly.

 Later, carrying white buckets, The Hobbit stars collected donations in the foyer as the crowd exited the building. Like McKellen, Connolly, Freeman, Nesbitt and co were doing their bit for Christchurch.

 "It must be dreadful living in Christchurch right now," McKellen told the Dominion Post. "The Isaac Theatre Royal is one of the few iconic buildings that has survived, so it's going to make it all the more precious that the sooner it's up and running, the better for locals."

 Shooting on The Hobbit is expected to finish at the end of next month. The world premiere of the first film will take place in Wellington in November, while further premieres are set for London, New York, Berlin and Tokyo.

 READ MORE: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/television/news/article.cfm?c_id=339&objectid=10815426

the Dame Edna Show - oh how I love her! With James Nesbitt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8hkOX03zjw&feature=related

Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, Martin Freeman, Benedict CumberbatchThe Hobbit Video Blog 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B95ltJi6Gs

Visit the Facebook page for the full video
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151028043926807

Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes; Coriolanus Review (Blog Critics)

Following in the footsteps of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, for example, Coriolanus puts Shakespeare in a modern setting. Under the direction of veteran actor Ralph Fiennes, making his directorial debut, the material is complex and sometimes Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan (Hugo) fail to keep everything entirely comprehensible.

However, for the most part this is a tough, no-nonsense approach to a classic work, with assured direction from Fiennes behind the camera and an unforgettable performance in front of it. Even when some of the supporting performances don't quite seem to work in tandem with others - the likes of Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, and Brian Cox don't quite seem to fit or feel comfortable delivering the alien dialogue - it is Fiennes magnetic presence that lends conviction to it all. Luckily he is in the majority of the scenes so while it may stumble here and there, Fiennes is there to hold it together.
Set in "A Place Known As Rome," which is actually more akin to Belgrade, Serbia (where it was filmed), Ralph Fiennes plays Caius Martius, a soldier and powerful figure who hates the Roman people for the way they view and treat him, as well as his enemy Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler). After he gains the title "Coriolanus," the people rise up against him and banish him from the city. He then enacts his revenge.

The language of Shakespeare will likely be unfamiliar to most modern movie goers and it is, indeed, jarring to hear it be spoken in a modern setting, especially a ruthless warfare setting like this. But through sheer conviction to the idea of marrying Shakespeare with present day - transferring the ideas to relevant issues of our here and now etc - it works pretty well. And as the film progresses and we settle more into the rhythm and style of it - aided by the fact that the characters are wearing regular clothes, speaking on mobile phones, driving modern cars - the strangeness starts to feel not so strange.
The film is a tad on the long side, with a handle of baggy scenes that either could have been trimmed or removed completely, and much like another recent Shakespeare-related project, Roland Emmerich's ludicrous Anonymous, some of the performances don't seem to gel all that well. But ultimately Fiennes is one in a long line of first-time directors who has delivered a more than competent and actually quite brave first effort.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-coriolanus/#ixzz1jC2ROj86

Hobbit stars back as movie gears up

Orlando Bloom wheels into town

 

 

The Hobbit's biggest stars have arrived in Nelson, with Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom spotted at the city's airport. Nelson freelance cameraman Ross Wearing got a tip-off that The Hobbit crew were arriving on a chartered plane yesterday and went along to snap the stars.

Wearing said Bloom was putting a mountainbike and luggage into a vehicle and talking to other cast members. "Orlando wanted to know who I was and where I came from. I just told him I lived here. It is not every day these sorts of guys come to town," he said.

Wearing said he also saw Luke Evans and James Nesbitt, who plays the two-part film's main character, Bilbo Baggins.

"They all left the airport in four-wheel-drives and some of them were spotted in town last night eating out and all that," he said. Production company 3 Foot 7 was in the region last month, filming the Sir Peter Jackson-directed movie at Canaan Downs on Takaka Hill and other venues.

They will return to Canaan Downs for more filming and have also been based at the Pelorus Bridge Campground between Nelson and Marlborough.

The Press NZ

Stars land in Nelson for Hobbit shoot

NZN, The West AustralianDecember 7, 2011, 12:24 pm

Enlarge photo

Hollywood star Orlando Bloom has flown into Nelson, where the cast of The Hobbit is filming under a veil of secrecy this week.

Other stars, including Martin Freeman, James Nesbitt and Stephen Fry, are believed to be shooting scenes with director Sir Peter Jackson and a crew of around 400.

A smaller crew spent a week in November filming at Kaohoka Lakes, Mount Owen and the Takaka Hill, the Nelson Mail reports.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will have its world premiere in Wellington in November next year, before a world-wide release on December 13.

It will be the first of two movie adaptations of JRR Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings.

The West.com.au

Hobbit cast, crew mass for filming

Secrecy continues to surround The Hobbit as film crew and cast members return to the Nelson region this week.

Production company 3 Foot 7 publicist Ceris Price has declined to reveal anything about this week's activities or allow media access to filming locations where The Hobbit's biggest stars are expected to be.

Famous faces such as Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, James Nesbitt and Stephen Fry are part of a 400 to 500-strong crew that is in the region.

A smaller contingent of about 150 crew members spent a week in the region last month filming at Canaan Downs on the Takaka Hill and other scenic places like Kaihoka Lakes and Mt Owen. A crew member told the Nelson Mail that the Mussel Inn in Onekaka was popular with crew members after long days – working from 4.30am to 7pm most days.

A reporter and photographer from the Marlborough Express went hobbit hunting at the Pelorus River last Friday.

They found sets prepared for a scene featuring the Pelorus River, where barrels will plunge down the river during a perilous journey undertaken by Bilbo Baggins and the dwarfs.

Contact Anna Pearson at annap@nelsonmail.co.nz or phone (03) 546 2874 with any hobbit news.

Nelson Mail