Emma Thompson Reveals Why She Won't Take Part in 'Love Actually' Sequel

by Jennifer Drysdale 3:24 PM PST, February 24, 2017
ET

Photo: Universal Pictures
Emma Thompson says she won't be participating in the upcoming Love Actually sequel because it's "too soon" after her co-star Alan Rickman's 2016 death.

The 57-year-old actress played Rickman's wife in the 2003 movie, which also starred Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson and Colin Firth.



RELATED: 'Love Actually' Cast to Reunite and Film a Mini Sequel for Charity

A short sequel to the film is in the works for charity, set to debut on March 24 for Red Nose Day. Neeson, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Martine McCutcheon, Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Lucia Moniz, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nighy, Marcus Brigstocke and Olivia Olson will all be a part of the upcoming project, with Neeson and Brodie-Sangster already photographed in character.

But for Thompson, revisiting her role would be "too sad."

http://www.etonline.com/news/211341_emma_thompson_reveals_why_she_won_t_take_part_love_actually_sequel/

Nicole Kidman Goes Head-to-Head with Colin Firth in Exclusive Clip from Genius

PEOPLE
BY ANDREA PARK @scandreapark 06/09/2016 AT 02:00 PM EDT

In this exclusive clip from upcoming biographical drama Genius, you can cut the tension with a butter knife.

The dinnertime scene begins with Look Homeward, Angel author Thomas Wolfe, played by Jude Law, describing the major role costume designer Aline Bernstein (Nicole Kidman) has played in the production of his latest novel.

Bernstein shakes off the praise, turning instead to Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth), the famous editor of authors like Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

"Tom speaks of your contribution with such passion," Bernstein tells Perkins, reminding Wolfe that Perkins "is the genius who made all of your dreams come true."

READ MORE: http://www.people.com/article/nicole-kidman-colin-firth-jude-law-exclusive-genius-clip

Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli make a seriously stylish arrival in Cannes on their elegant yacht

DAILY MAIL
By BECKY FREETH FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:07 EST, 15 May 2015 | UPDATED: 14:53 EST, 15 May 2015



The Cannes Film Festival tends to bring out the best in red carpet stars.

But straight from disembarking their docked yacht on the Riviera, Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli put on an exquisite display.

Handsome gentleman Colin, 54, and his beautiful counterpart Livia, 45, looked stylish as they stepped off the luxury sunliner in sunglasses on Friday morning in the sunshine.

Colin may be the moviestar but this was the time for Livia to shine in the movie world.

On the red carpet and on the big screen in Cannes, she will have a big role to play because she is a keen purveyor of ethical fashion.

Livia is the executive producer on The True Cost, a new documentary film exploring the impact of fashion on people and the planet.

Inside the yacht, the couple posed for pictures with the film's director Andrew Morgan and producer Michael Ross as well as fellow female producer Laura Piety.



Colin has already received some good Cannes news, since his new film Genius - starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney - has been acquired Lionsgate.

The Michael Grandage-directed film will chronicle the work of scribe Max Perkins when he was book editor at Scribner, overseeing works such authors as Thomas Wolfe.

The film explores the complex relationship between Max and Thomas Wolfe, played by Jude Law, and Ernest Hemingway, portrayed by Dominic West, who are both authors whose work Perkins oversaw.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3083431/Colin-Firth-wife-Livia-Giuggioli-stylish-sunglasses-leave-elegant-Cannes-yacht.html

Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Brühl feature in trailer and stills from The Fifth Estate

FANCARPET
29 August, 2013

The release of Bill Condon and R.J. Cutler's The Fifth Estate is fast approaching and The Fan Carpet are pleased to make available some new stills, the trailer and the UK Quad poster!

Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization.

Also starring Carice Van Houten, Stanley Tucci, Peter Capaldi, Anthony Mackie, Laura Linney and David Thewlis, The Fifth Estate opens on October 11.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.thefancarpet.com/NewsPage.aspx?n_id=8322

Benedict Cumberbatch: "The Fifth Estate": First trailer arrives for WikiLeaks film (CBS NEWS)

The first trailer has been released for "The Fifth Estate," the upcoming film about the early days of WikiLeaks.

Benedict Cumberbatch ("Star Trek Into Darkness," "Sherlock") stars as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, with Daniel Bruhl as Assange's former partner Daniel Domscheit-Berg. The cast also includes Laura Linney, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis and Dan Stevens.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57594153/the-fifth-estate-first-trailer-arrives-for-wikileaks-film/

Benedict Cumberbatch takes over the world Neil Simpson 1 May 2013 15:09 (THE SPECTATOR)

Benedict Cumberbatch at a photo call for the adaptation of Parade's End that aired last year. (NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images)

What do you do if you wake up to discover your colleagues have told the papers you don’t deserve your job? If you’re Benedict Cumberbatch, you just stick to your Star Trek script and carry on trying to destroy the world.

Benedict was right there in the crossfire when Downton Abbey’s Rob James-Collier said actors from public schools have it easy and are sucking up all the best jobs. James-Collier (double-barrelled, but Stockport-born working class) reckons you need a rich family behind you if you’re to survive the auditions circuit and stick it out till some decent-paying jobs come along. Worse still, James-Collier isn’t sure that the rich kids make the best actors. ‘If I’d had a comfort blanket I wouldn’t have been as passionate and driven,’ he said.

Having spent the first part of this year examining all things Cumberbatch for a new Behind the Scenes biography, I’ve got to say that The Batch is about as passionate and driven as they come. Yes, he went to Harrow. Yes, Downton’s Julian Fellowes is a pal of his actor parents. Yes, he admits he’s the ultimate ‘posh bloke with a silly name’. But that’s not stopped the new Star Trek baddie from paying his dues.

Agents and casting directors I spoke to say Benedict surprises everyone by the number – and the variety – of jobs he takes on. If there’s an overlap of dates he’ll try to juggle things so he can take as many roles as possible. If there’s a choice between a holiday and a job – even something as low-paying as a Radio 4 comedy show – then he always takes the job.

Why the ferocious work ethic? It’s partly because he wants to prove himself to the world, and to his peers. It’s also because he’s terrified of being type-cast. For years the man The Sun calls ‘the brooding brainbox’ worried that he would be forever cast as ‘slightly asexual, sociopathic intellectuals’. And there are less of those on telly than you might think, especially in drama.

That’s why he still reads radio scripts and won’t rule out a return to live theatre. That’s why he is going back to Wales this year to film the third series of Sherlock – even though you might expect him to be kicking back in Hollywood. After the madness of Star Trek we’ll see him act alongside Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Laura Linney in a trio of big films before Christmas.

He’s certainly hoovering up a lot of great jobs. But that’s not because he had posh parents. It’s not because his posh school gave him an unfair head-start. In fact, when Harrow old-boy Andrew Birkin tried to give Benedict the lead in The Cement Garden, the teenager turned him down.


READ MORE: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/nsimpson/2013/05/benedict-cumberbatch-takes-over-the-world/

Benedict Cumberbatch - Assange savages film about WikiLeaks (THE AGE)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says a film about his whistle-blowing website is propaganda designed to fan the flames of a war against Iran.

The Fifth Estate, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is due to be released in November.

Assange on Wednesday night said WikiLeaks had managed to get hold of a copy of the script of the DreamWorks movie.

And he doesn't like what he's read.

"It is a mass propaganda attack against WikiLeaks the organisation," the 41-year-old Australian told students in Oxford via a video-link from the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Photo: AFP

"But it is not just an attack against us – it is an attack against Iran.

"It fans the flames to start a war with Iran."


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/assange-savages-film-about-wikileaks-20130124-2d8sh.html#ixzz2IuKEePLW

Laura Linney 'in talks to join Benedict Cumberbatch in WikiLeaks film' Published Thursday, Nov 22 2012, 5:38am EST | By Emma Dibdin (DIGITAL SPY)

Laura Linney is in talks to join Bill Condon's upcoming WikiLeaks drama.

The Wrap reports that Linney would play an unspecified role in the film, which will star Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.


James McAvoy is said to be in talks to play Assange's former right-hand man Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who wrote the book - Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website - upon which the script is partially based.

READ MORE: http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a440032/laura-linney-in-talks-to-join-benedict-cumberbatch-in-wikileaks-film.html

Keira Knightley Delighted 'Love Actually' Has Remained Christmas Classic BY OWEN TONKS ON NOVEMBER 17, 2012 (E.)

Keira Knightley is delighted 'Love Actually' has become a classic Christmas movie.

The film, directed by Richard Curtis, was released in 2003 and features loosely interweaving story lines following the love lives of eight different people living in London in December.

The flick has continued to be shown during the holidays since its release and Knightley enjoys being a part of Christmas tradition for fans.

She told The Huffington Post: “It's amazing that it turned that kind of Christmas movie, isn't it? I don't think anyone realized it was going to do that. It's nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pikz3DMhu54

READ MORE: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/94884/Keira-Knightley-Delighted-Love-Actually-Has-Remained-Christmas-Classic

'Lincoln,' Daniel Day-Lewis, Laura Linney early Oscar frontrunners (GOLD DERBY)

Steven Spielberg's upcoming biopic "Lincoln" is predicted to win Best Picture at this year's Oscars according to early voting by Gold Derby users. And Daniel Day-Lewis is a clear favorite to claim his third Best Actor Academy Award for portraying the 16th American president.

Laura Linney is forecast to win her first Best Actress Oscar for playing the mistress of the 32nd chief executive, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in "Hyde Park on Hudson." She has lost that race twice ("You Can Count on Me," 2000; "The Savages," 2007) and supporting once ("Kinsey," 2004).


READ MORE:  http://www.goldderby.com/films/news/2902/oscars-academy-awards-predictions-2012-lincoln-daniel-day-lewis-laura-linney-joaquin-phoenix-anne-hathaway-film-news-2468097.html#

The second season turns its gaze from class war on a great estate to the actual Great War. (Slate)

Downton Abbey, Reviewed

By Troy Patterson|Posted Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, at 3:40 PM ET

“Who knew it would be so much fun to watch a house full of magnificently dressed aristocrats and their servants living all under one roof?” Here comes Laura Linney—lovely in black lace, a gracious hostess strolling before a backdrop like a crimson curtain—to ask a trick question of viewers like you, this Sunday on PBS.

The heathens among my readership may not recall that, a few years ago, PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre—that cherished staple of upper-middlebrow media diets—split into Masterpiece Contemporary, Masterpiece Mystery!, and Masterpiece Classic. Contemporary, now hosted by David Tennant, ranges across genres in a tumultuous quest for West End class and BAFTA glamour.

Masterpiece Mystery!, emceed by Alan Cumming, is where Inspector Morse and Miss Marple cock their eyebrows perspicaciously. Classic, with Linney at the helm and on the prow, is devoted—well, to shows about magnificently dressed aristocrats and their servants.

Some Classic programs are greatish-book adaptations, but Downton Abbey, imported from Britain’s ITV, is original and simply great. As a PBS hit, it rivals 1981’s Brideshead Revisited for cultural impact and may yet outrank as a crossover phenomenon.* Linney’s excitement about this is such that she sighs with bliss and gratitude as she introduces the first episode of its second season.

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Linney reminisces with viewers about their first go-round with Downton, ticking through a brief catalog of passion and worries, of fond hopes and rousing hatreds, of roiling scandals and simmering romances. “We were hooked—and then they all went away,” she says. “It’s a great pleasure for me to say that tonight we return at last to that great country house with its hundreds of rooms.” That is a lot of imaginative space to inhabit as we trot up the steps alongside the handsome hunting dog that serves as the show’s mascot.

 

Part of the appeal of Downton Abbey, like Brideshead before it, lies in its presentation of a grand household as an organism. To be sure, the new series vibrates excitingly on many frequencies, but it specially resonates as a rare hybrid of domestic drama and shelter porn. This genre combines the gratifications of “sheer plutography” (to use a term of Tom Wolfe’s that I’ve elsewhere applied to Brideshead) with the more common pleasures of observing efficient household management. There is action in the setting.

 

The parlors and pantries are theaters of war, and the show stimulates a kind of class warfare in the viewer’s human heart and reptile brain. In the interactions between the man of the house (Robert Crawley, played right honorably by Hugh Bonneville) and his valet (John Bates, played by Brendan Coyle), we discover a rich and intimate fantasy of power, dependence, and dedication, a business relationship with love in it. In the dining room, the caste system is ordered as precisely as a table setting.

 

There is very much else going on besides, with heirs and airs and mustard gas. “It’s 1916,” Linney says, to bring us up to date. “The bonds of social class and tradition are exploding in the trenches of World War I. …” Shortly thereafter, Masterpiece abruptly drops us into an actual theater of war, the Battle of the Somme, with an image of writhing fallen soldiers to linger in your head and their atmosphere. One combatant—Matthew Crawley, heir presumptive to cousin Robert’s earldom—is preparing for a furlough. Back home, ladies hopeful of aiding the war effort are learning how to do things previously considered unladylike, like driving cars and boiling water, activities that complicate the business of husband-hunting. The central question of this domestic drama is: What is correct? That’s the issue animating its droll chatter about manners and its swift playlets about morals. With the coming of the war, the question picks up meaning in the Wilfred Owen sense. When is it fitting to die for your country?

 

The author of Downton Abbey is Julian Fellowes, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for Robert Altman’s Gosford Park, about a house full of magnificently dressed aristocrats and their servants living all under one roof. The earlier work was playfully tricksy and dense with incident. With its murder-mystery engine, its roving friskiness, and its Hollywood-imposter subplot, Gosford Park plays like Upstairs, Downstairs as adapted by M.C. Escher. Its brilliance feels cold and a touch cynical when compared with Downton Abbey’s warm and generous sprawl. Appropriate to the pace and the space of series television, it welcomes you into its intrigues at a walking pace. On TV, a great country house must be a home.

 

*Correction: This piece originally incorrectly referred to Brideshead Revisited as a Masterpiece hit. It was a Great Performances program. (Return.)

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2012/01/downton_abbey_season_2_reviewed_.html

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite Christmas Movies - LOVE ACTUALLY