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

Colin Firth, Emily Blunt & Adam Sandler Will Solve A 'Murder Mystery' With Charlize Theron NEWS BY KEVIN JAGERNAUTH (THE PLAYLIST)

So, there's two ways to look at this story: as a reteaming between Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, who star in "Arthur Newman," opening today, or as the rare non-Happy Madison outing by Adam Sandler. We'll let you decide which one you want to go with, but the bottom line is this is a pretty good, and unexpected cast for this upcoming comedy.

First announced last summer, the aforementioned trio will be joining Charlize Theron in "Murder Mystery," which is pretty much exactly what the title implies. Penned by "Zodiac" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" writer James Vanderbilt, the Agatha Christie-esque story follows an American couple on honeymoon in Europe who have to go on the run after witnessing and being accused of murder, and are drawn into a web of international intrigue. Yes, it's a comedy, but it will also apparently have dashes of suspense and romance as well. It seems like the kind of project that needs to really nail a particular kind of tone to work, so we'll see if John Madden -- coming off the massive success of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" -- can deliver.

READ MORE: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/colin-firth-emily-blunt-emily-blunt-will-solve-a-murder-mystery-with-charlize-theron-20130426

Colin Firth, Emily Blunt set to do another movie together: It has been announced that Colin Firth, Adam Sandler and Emily Blunt are set to join Charlize Theron in Murder Mystery. (RTE)

The Hollywood Reporter says the comedy whodunit is coming from director John Madden who recently helmed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Theron is set to act as a co-producer on the film which is being backed by Endgame Entertainment and Tower Hill.

READ MORE: http://www.rte.ie/ten/2013/0426/firthc.html

Dame Judi Dench: Why the sky won’t fall in on a living legend (YORKSHIRE POST)

Dame Judi Dench and director Sam Mendes (right) on the set of the James Bond film Skyfall.

Published on Friday 15 February 2013 09:53

She’s a dame, an Oscar winner, she’s one of our truly great actors and has achieved the status of National Treasure. Film critic Tony Earnshaw talks to Yorkshire’s own Judi Dench.

It would be wrong to assume that Judi Dench, dame of the theatre, film industry darling and – cough, cough – national treasure, treats movies as secondary to theatre or that she sees them in some way as a lesser form of the day job.

She takes the work seriously. Herself she takes far less seriously. This despite the seven Olivier awards (a record), 11 BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, a Tony and an Oscar, the latter for playing one of her many single-minded monarchs.


And she can still be taken by surprise. When the phone rang at her home in Surrey and the voice on the other end of the line announced it was Clint Eastwood, she thought it was a mischievous pal pulling her leg.

The call was genuine, the offer to play J Edgar Hoover’s mother very real. That was how Cleopatra came to be working with Dirty Harry. Even now Dench pinches herself, recalling the experience of acting for Eastwood as “a bit terrifying”. She has admitted to being star-struck.

She is refreshingly free of ego, as most truly great people are. And at 78 refreshingly free of any hang-ups about retirement. She’ll work ’til she drops – in movies, on TV or on the stage.


Thus it was that in the same year as she made her seventh appearance as ‘M’ in a James Bond film she popped up as a bag lady in arch farceur Ray Cooney’s film of his own ’80s hit Run for Your Wife.

Judi Dench likes to work. And it matters not to her if the role is a meaty one in the world’s longest-running iconic franchise or a cameo amongst 150 others in an old-fashioned comedy with an old friend at the helm.

READ MORE: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/the-arts/cinema/dame-judi-dench-why-the-sky-won-t-fall-in-on-a-living-legend-1-5412834

Baftas: Lincoln leads but Spielberg snubbed (BBC NEWS)

US civil war drama, Lincoln has led this year's Baftas with 10 nominations including best film and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis.

Day-Lewis's co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field have been shortlisted for best supporting actor and actress.

However, the film's award-winning director Steven Spielberg missed out in the best director category.

Musical adaptation Les Miserables and Ang Lee's Life of Pi have both received nine nominations.

Speaking to the BBC's Lizo Mzimba at the announcement, film critic Mark Kermode said: "As far as Lincoln was concerned, all the attention was on Daniel Day-Lewis.

"Whatever anybody thinks about the film - and the critics have been somewhat divided, everybody thought his performance was captivating and completely believable."


Best of British
Following closely behind the leaders pack was Bond film Skyfall with eight nominations, including best British film and best supporting actor and actress for Javier Bardem and Judi Dench.

It will battle it out with four other titles to be named outstanding British film at the awards ceremony on 10 February.

They were The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, and Seven Psychopaths.

The nominations were announced by Alice Eve and Jeremy Irvine at the The British Academy of Film and Television Arts headquarters in London on Wednesday.

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman have been recognized in the lead actor and supporting actress categories in Tom Hooper's big-screen adaptation of Les Miserables.


READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20950883

A Very Happy Colin Firth Christmas to You All!

Merirouge

GREAT JOB!!! WOW!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mLE6b63UyAA#!

Colin Firth & Helen Mirren Join 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Sequel December 3, 2012 Source: Showbiz 411

by Ethan Anderton

On Halloween this year, news surfaced that Fox Searchlight had greenlit a sequel to their surprisingly successful adaptation of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (based on Deborah Maggoch's novel These Foolish Things) from Shakespeare in Love director John Madden. All appropriate cast members are returning from the original (watch the film to find out what that means), and now Showbiz 411 (via The Film Stage) has word that Helen Mirren and Colin Firth are in talks to join Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel and Bill Nighy for the sequel. Also, it seems Madden will return with writer Ol Parker for the sequel.


READ MORE: http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/colin-firth-helen-mirren-join-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-sequel/

Dench and Streep in battle for gong (INDEPENDENT IE)

Dame Judi Dench and Meryl Streep are to do battle to be named best actress at the Moet British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).

James Bond star Judi is nominated for her role in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, while Meryl is up for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

Ensemble comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, about a group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India, is nominated for five awards, including best film, John Madden for best director, Tom Wilkinson for best supporting actor, and Dame Maggie Smith for best supporting actress.

Rapper Plan B's acclaimed directorial debut Ill Manors has three nominations, including the Douglas Hickox award for best debut director.

Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave are both nominated for their performance in moving drama Song For Marion, about a man who finds comfort in his local choir after losing his wife to cancer.

READ MORE: http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/dench-and-streep-in-battle-for-gong-3284855.html

Judi Dench: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel in development (Xpose)

Screenwriter Ol Parker is said to be delivering a script for a follow-up to the 2011 original film - which tells the story of a group of retired Brits who move to a newly-restored hotel in India - to Fox Searchlight studios next month.

According to Vulture, cast members including Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Dame Maggie Smith are reportedly willing to reprise their roles for the second film but whether John Madden will return to direct has not been mentioned.

The comedy-drama movie was based on author Deborah Moggach's novel 'These Foolish Things' and became a huge success at the box office after it's release last year, making a whopping $130 million worldwide from a budget of just $10 million.

READ MORE: http://www.tv3.ie/entertainment_article.php?locID=1.803.810&article=86949

Maggie Smith, actress: Women's Impact Report 2012: Creatives (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)

Variety Staff
Variety
3:05 a.m. CDT, October 5, 2012

Smith clearly never got the memo that said actresses after a certain age should just fade gracefully into the scenery. At 77, she has arguably become a bigger star than at any time in her career, thanks not only to her unique talent, but also to her work ethic and astute choice of roles. From the Dowager Countess of Grantham to Professor Minerva McGonagall, from a racist housekeeper in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" to a retired diva in her latest pic "Quartet," she has cornered the market in formidable dames with an acid tongue and a heart of gold, whether they are grand aristocrats or salt-of-the-earth commoners. And it's box office and TV ratings gold. Perhaps uniquely for a character actress in her age bracket, her presence in a project drives international pre-sales and co-production deals, particularly in the U.S. and Australia.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201210041830reedbusivarietynvr1118059860-20121004,0,6411625.story

Will Daniel Day-Lewis or Maggie Smith join exclusive Oscar 3-timers club? (GOLD DERBY)

By Chris Beachum Sep 19 2012 | 18:25 pm

When Meryl Streep earned her third Oscar in February, she joined an exclusive club. Only four other people have ever won at least three Academy Awards for acting in the 84-year history of the ceremony.


It had been a long 14 years since Jack Nicholson picked up his third trophy by the time Streep received hers. It might only take one year for another person to join the ranks. Two-timers Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln"), Maggie Smith ("Quartet"), and Robert De Niro ("The Silver Linings Playbook") are on the radar of Oscar voters this year.

According to Gold Derby statistics, Day-Lewis might be in the best position to prevail for his role as President Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming Steven Spielberg film. He is currently listed in first place at 7/5 as Best Actor. His previous wins were both for lead performances in "My Left Foot" (1989) and "There Will Be Blood" (2007) out of four overall nods.

Smith actually has two shots at Oscar glory this time around. In "Quartet," she has a lead role as Jean, a former opera star who disrupts her quartet's annual concert. For "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," she plays the supporting role of Muriel, a retired housekeeper who needs hip replacement surgery in India. She won a lead Oscar for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969) and one for supporting in "California Suite" (1978). Her career total is six nominations. Smith is listed at 100/1 odds for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, but the recent acclaim in Toronto for "Quartet" and the DVD release of the popular "Exotic" should begin her ascent up the predictions charts.

READ MORE: http://www.goldderby.com/films/news/3391/academy-awards-oscars-daniel-day-lewis-news-entertainment-47283195.html

Big B meets ‘complete sport’ Judi Dench (CanIndia)

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was recently introduced to Hollywood veteran Judi Dench and said it was a delight to meet her.Big B met her at the book launch of designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla at Sotheby’s in London.

“Dame Judi Dench, was a delight to have been introduced to. A soft spoken, keen listener and a complete sport when the lady Mc (emcee) of the evening mispronounced her name as ‘Dame Bench’!” Amitabh wrote on his blog.

Big B (Amitabh Bachchan)

The book launch was followed by a charity auction where various items, including Amitabh’s sherwani and a large black and white photograph of his, were up for grabs.

“The auction went well, and to great admirers of the produce up for sale – a large black and white photograph of mine, self autographed books, and my sherwani that I wore. The sherwani went for the most, after I cautioned all that it was the clothing that up for auction not the one that was wearing it!” he wrote.

“The money for the auction goes for a charity called ‘Breakthrough’ which protects the girl child. Protects them against violence and atrocities committed against them, a factor which has gained great significance lately among the learned, and those unaware of such deeds…


READ MORE:  http://canindia.com/2012/09/big-b-meets-complete-sport-judi-dench/

How Judi Dench and an 8-Year-Old Won the Summer By TIM NEWCOMB | @tdnewcomb | August 27, 2012 | (TIME)

Amid the onslaught of franchises, superheroes and fantasy adventures that dominated the 2012 summer box office (see Richard Corliss’ complete summer box office coverage), independent films carved out their own lucrative corner of the global box office, turning relatively modest investments into massive payouts.

In terms of raw receipts, the most profitable indie of the season turned out to be the British comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring Judi Dench and Tom Wilkinson, which converted a $10 million budget into at least $131 million worldwide (and more than $45 million in the U.S. alone).


Marigold Hotel director John Madden used the star-power of Dame Dench and her supporting cast of seniors to tell the story of an aging group of Europeans looking to retire at a luxurious India hotel. By opening the film—an obvious draw for the older set—just as younger moviegoers clamored to get into The Avengers, Marigold Hotel offered a timely alternative to a key demographic.

“Timing is always a big thing with independent films,” Jeff Bock, a box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, tells TIME. “Reviews are huge for films like this. It helps sustain a film and grow in the marketplace. If the per-theater average holds strong, you’ll get a wider release from the weeks to come.”



Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2012/08/27/box-office-winners-films-exotic-marigold-hotel/

Maggie Smith: Trailer For Dustin Hoffman's Directorial Debut Quartet 1 Comment published: 2012-07-02 09:04:30 Author: Kristy Puchko (CINEMA BLEND)

Having wildly out-grossed expectations after banking more than $122 million worldwide, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has shown the box office drawing power of the such seasoned stars as Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.

It stunned box office analysts by becoming the highest grossing specialty film of 2012, neatly proving there is a market for movies that don't star physically flawless twenty and thirty-somethings.

So there's really no better time for Dustin Hoffman to unveil his trailer for his first directorial effort Quartet, which stars the remarkable Smith along with Oscar nominees Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine) and Tom Courtenay (The Dresser), as well as the ever-charming Billy Connolly, who can now be heard as the rambunctious King Fergus in Pixar's Brave.



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttMzA5SJqdU&feature=player_embedded

Bill Nighy - Bill Nighy: 'I Was Offered Doctor Who Role' 04 June 2012 01:31 (CONTACT MUSIC)

Bill Nighy has risked the wrath of Doctor Who bosses after revealing he was once offered to play the title role, despite strict protocols in place ordering actors to keep quiet about turning down the esteemed job offer.

The eccentric British actor was highly touted for the role of the science fiction hero in the 2005 Bbc series before Christopher Eccleston landed the part.

Nighy has now revealed that he had previously been approached to play the enduring character, but thought the job would invite intense media attention and eventually turned it down.

READ MORE:  http://www.contactmusic.com/news/bill-nighy-i-was-offered-doctor-who-role_1338609

Review: Superb acting makes a trip to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel worthwhile Interwoven tales of British seniors in India has a happy moral By Katherine Monk, Postmedia News (VANCOUVER SUN)

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Starring: Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel and Maggie Smith

Directed by John Madden

Parental advisory: coarse language

Running time: 124 minutes

Rating: Three stars out of five

VANCOUVER — Romance sits at the very heart of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and not just the kissy-kissy kind.

A multi-threaded tapestry of narratives unwinding in India, this new feature from Oscar winner John Madden features an all-star cast of proven veterans preparing for the final exit.

The most sympathetic of them all is our de facto narrator, Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) — a recent widow struggling to deal with the loss of her spouse, but also the looming loss of her home. It seems her hubby didn't tell her about the finances. He overspent, and now she has nothing.

When we meet Evelyn, she's trying to explain to the death of her husband to a call centre operator in India. Frustrated, she hangs up, but the dimensions of her loss are becoming all too clear.

Having been frozen in time, and a marriage, Evelyn feels like she's walking out of a time capsule as she attempts to reinsert herself into the stream — but it's all going so fast, and she's become fearful of change.

Surrounding Evelyn are a host of other retirees looking to enjoy themselves, including a noted judge (Tom Wilkinson), a henpecked husband (Bill Nighy), and a retired housekeeper (Maggie Smith).

Madden gives each scenario a few establishing scenes to provide a sense of character, but by the time everyone ends up on a plane to India, we know we're looking at a Big Chill for the golden-ager set.

Seeking to escape the grey, everydayness of England — as well as the high cost of adult home care – the motley crew of cranky Brits end up at the dilapidated Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

A sprawling and rather seductive palace that's clearly seen better days, the Marigold is home to star-crossed lover, Sonny (Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire), a kid who's fallen in love with a woman who, apparently, doesn't pass the caste test.

Like half the characters in this film, Sonny is a true romantic who puts love above all else, including the hotel and the standard conveniences his uptight and emotionally corseted guests expect.



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Review+Superb+acting+makes+trip+Best+Exotic+Marigold+Hotel+worthwhile/6599968/story.html#ixzz1ufTmJeoJ

Downton Abbey:'Hotel' star Penelope Wilton resides at 'Downton Abbey' By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY

Penelope Wilton plays the killjoy Jean in 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.' "She is a disappointed woman," Wilton says. "I find Jean finds herself difficult, not just other people. She is a mass of insecurities." Ishika Mohan, Fox Searchlight Pictures


NEW YORK – These days, meeting one of the principal players of the British TV sensation Downton Abbey almost feels like encountering one of the Beatles back in their '60s heyday. Instead of outbreaks of twisting and shouting by fans, however, the actors are more prone to be prodded for precious details of future episodes.


Alas, all are sworn to secrecy. That includes Penelope Wilton, 65, whose chic haircut and figure-flattering garb show only a slight hint of Isobel Crawley, her dowdy do-gooder on the glorified soap opera that follows the travails of an upper-crusty English family and its serving staff amid early 20th-century societal upheavals.

But Wilton's feathery vocal inflections immediately give her away as the mother of Matthew, the estate's presumptive heir. Her middle-class matron is a regular source of consternation for Maggie Smith, whose priceless putdowns as the Dowager Countess account for much of the series' popularity.


"We're so pleased we are doing well here," says Wilton. Not that she hasn't had a career full of triumphs already, from conquering Shakespeare, Shaw and Beckett onstage to memorable roles as a middle-age pinup in Calendar Girls, a zombie victim in Shaun of the Dead and a disapproving mum in Woody Allen's Match Point. But global fame is a different game altogether.

Today, she's in town to promote Friday's opening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a picturesque feel-good ensemble piece about seven British seniors — including seasoned stalwarts Smith (she and Wilton are quite chummy in real life), Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy—who pull up stakes to spend their retirement years in India. In a savvy move, promos for the film were shown on PBS when Downton's second season aired earlier this year, taking advantage of Wilton and Smith's participation in both.



READ MORE:  http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/story/2012-05-03/penelope-wilton-marigold-hotel-downton-abbey/54828352/1

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Scores Strong Debut in US By Stacey Yount (BOLLY SPICE)

He called it his super hero movie and it seems that John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel did very well opening opposite the superhero movie The Avengers. The all-star dramedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring Judi Dench and Dev Patel generated a strong opening in North America as it debuted in limited release with an estimated $750,000 from only 27 theaters for a per-theater average of $27,789 – second best among all films after The Avengers. Set in Rajasthan and directed by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), the international hit film played to packed houses in a dozen major cities in the U.S. and Canada and will now expand to additional cities on May 11 and beyond. Hotel ranks among the Top 15 at the North American box office, despite other films playing in thousands of theaters, and has won critical acclaim with Roger Ebert calling it “a charming, funny and heartwarming movie.”






READ MORE:  http://bollyspice.com/42283/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-scores-strong-debut-in-us

Actor Bill Nighy On Career, 'Marigold Hotel' (NPR RADIO)

May 4, 2012

Robert Siegel talks to actor Bill Nighy about his role in the new film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The movie follows a group of British retirees who move to the less-expensive and more-exotic India. Expecting a luxury development, they arrive to discover a hotel filled with dusty sheets and birds nesting in the rafters. Their experiences transform the way they see the world and themselves.

To hear the entire interview, go to NPR radio

Here is an extract:


AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. Fans of British drama will find pleasure in a film arriving on these shores today. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" follows a group of British retirees who move to India looking for a more affordable life.

The ensemble cast includes plenty of familiar faces. From "Downton Abby," there's Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton. Dame Judi Dench plays a widow trying to make her own way and there's also our next guest, Bill Nighy.

There's little that Bill Nighy hasn't done over his long career. In addition to his work on British television and on the stage, American audiences will know him as the cuckolded husband in "Notes on a Scandal," again alongside Judi Dench, and as a hopeless rock star in the romantic comedy, "Love, Actually." Then again, to your kids or grandkids, he will likely always be the tentacled Davy Jones in "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.


READ MORE, OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW:  http://www.npr.org/2012/05/04/152041660/actor-bill-nighy-on-career-marigold-hotel

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith: “Best Exotic Marigold”: Judi, Judi, Judi (LEMONWADE)

You’d think that Dame Maggie (Smith) and Dame Judi (Dench) would be the fiercest of rivals: they are both 77, both British, and both contenders for the Greatest English-Speaking Senior Citizen Actress alive. But no: they are quite good friends and work together occasionally. Latest time: “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” to be released tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q76DXu4OiNE

READ MORE:  http://www.lemonwade.com/2012/05/03/best-exotic-marigold-judi-judi-judi/