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18 articles from 2008

30 June 2008 10:29 AM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

The first teaser trailer for Marc Forster’s upcoming James Bond adventure “Quantum of Solace” is online, and it certainly delivers the goods. As you can see above, the film promises plenty of wild pursuits, awesome stunts and hot chicks.

The story of “Quantum of Solace” is strongly tied to “Casino Royale,” and follows James Bond (Daniel Craig) on his quest to uncover the truth behind the betrayal of Vesper. Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench and Jesper Christensen co-star. The film opens Nov. 7, 2008. What do you think? Doesn’t this teaser look fantastic?

Franck Tabouring

30 June 2008 9:07 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Hugh Grant's beloved film favourite Four Weddings And A Funeral has topped a new internet poll to find the best British movie of all time.

The 1994 film, which launched Grant's Hollywood career, topped the poll, closely followed by Monty Python's religious satire Life Of Brian.

The romantic comedy saw off competition from cult favourites such as Trainspotting and the Bond blockbuster Casino Royale, which were awarded third and fourth places respectively.

The top five was rounded out by Guy Ritchie's gangster directorial debut film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Also in the film poll, conducted by Virgin Media, Sir Anthony Hopkins shared the title of Britain's favourite actor with Sir Sean Connery and Dame Judi Dench was given the gong for best actress.

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25 June 2008 9:06 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actress Dame Judi Dench has been made a Doctor of Letters at Scotland's oldest university.

The James Bond star, 73, was presented with the honorary degree at St. Andrews University's graduation ceremony on Tuesday in recognition of her stage and screen achievements.

The Oscar winner was on hand to receive the accolade - but admitted the grand ceremony was a little overwhelming.

She says, "I had never been to St. Andrews before, so I'm very pleased and I'm going to boast about it a lot.

"It was very embarrassing, you know. You see a photograph of yourself and that's embarrassing and then you have to stand up in front of a lot of people while someone says the whole of your life to you.

"But it is a huge day of celebration and I'm frightfully pleased to have been asked."

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10 June 2008 4:51 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Italian actress Sophia Loren is using her role in forthcoming screen musical Nine to help her recover from the death of her husband.

Loren's partner of more than 40 years, Carlo Ponti, died last year at the age of 94, and the actress admits she was devastated by the loss.

But the 73-year-old is convinced that her appearance in the Hollywood adaptation of the Broadway show will finally help her feel happy again.

She says, "I met him (Ponti) when I was 15; we were together for a lifetime, it's so sad for me.

"To be in an American musical is the dream of my life. Musicals make you feel alive. I can't wait to start."

Loren will star alongside Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench in the Rob Marshall-directed movie, which is scheduled to begin production later this year.

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31 May 2008 2:11 AM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

The perfect female voice is a combination of Mariella Frostrup, Dame Judi Dench and Honor Blackman, new research has found. Experts made the discovery after creating a new mathematical formula to find the ideal voices for men and women. Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons and Michael Gambon performed best in the male category of the poll, which was commissioned by Post Office Telecoms. The ideal voice should speak no more than 164 words per minute and pause for 0.48 seconds between sentences, (more)

By Beth Hilton

25 May 2008 7:14 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Veteran actress Dame Judi Dench is to receive an honorary degree from one of the U.K.'s oldest universities.

The James Bond star's achievements on the stage and screen will be recognised by Scotland's University of St Andrews when she is made a Doctor of Letters at the school's summer graduation ceremony in June.

And the 73-year-old is delighted by the news.

She says, "I am thrilled to be coming to St Andrews and I am looking forward to it enormously."

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15 May 2008 9:14 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Daniel Day-Lewis is in talks to replace fellow 2008 Oscar-winner Javier Bardem in a new movie version of Broadway musical Nine.

Best Supporting Actor-winner Bardem pulled out of the Rob Marshall-directed movie earlier this month, complaining he is exhausted after a busy 2007.

Producers have now set their sights on Day-Lewis - who recently won the Best Actor Academy Award for a spectacular performance in There Will Be Blood.

If he accepts, the Englishman will play Guido Contini, a director struggling to juggle the many women in his life - who will be played by Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench.

Convincing the intensely private star to act again so soon after last year's There Will Be Blood would be a major coup; he famously leaves long gaps between projects, and has only made three pictures in the last ten years.

A spokesperson for the movie has dampened speculation by telling Variety, "Any of the names being thrown around is pure conjecture, and when we're ready to make an announcement, we'll let you know."

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15 May 2008 12:13 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Dame Judi Dench was devastated when Kim Cattrall was forced to pull out of a play they were both due to appear in.

The Oscar winner was set to play the mother of the Sex + The City star Cattrall's character, but 51-year-old Cattrall had to withdraw from the role in London because of filming commitments.

Cattrall says, "I remember meeting her. I was supposed to do a play with her years ago at the Royal Haymarket (theatre), called the Royal Family. I was supposed to play her daughter.

"I couldn't do it because of a series. I went backstage two or three weeks before the closed. She looked at me and she went, 'I'm so sad you couldn't do this. You know, my American accent is awful.'"

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26 April 2008 3:12 AM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

Holy City actress Amanda Mealing has revealed that she was snubbed by Dame Judi Dench at the recent Bafta TV awards.

The BBC One show picked up the best continuing drama award at Sunday's ceremony and Mealing, who plays Connie Beauchamp on the medical series, admitted that she was ignored by Dench when she went up to introduce herself.

Speaking to Shane Ritchie, who was acting . . .

Simon_Reynolds_imdb_@digitalspy.co.uk (Simon Reynolds)

20 April 2008 4:05 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Veteran British TV host Bruce Forsyth received the highest accolade the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) Academy can award at a ceremony in London on Sunday night.

The 80-year-old entertainer was presented with The Fellowship Award in recognition of his "outstanding body of work" at the Bafta Television Awards.

Forsyth joins director Ken Loach, screenwriter/director Richard Curtis, Lawrence of Arabia film editor Anne Coates and Hollywood star Sir Anthony Hopkins among the recipients of the coveted prize.

Upon receiving his award at the glitzy London Palladium prizegiving, Forsyth said, "This is quite overwhelming.

"(British comedy duo) Morecambe and Wise and Charlie Chaplin were the only light entertainment people to get this award before."

Other winners at the annual ceremony included comedian/TV presenter Harry Hill, who won the Best Entertainment Performance and Best Entertainment Programme for his show Harry Hill's TV Burp, and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who claimed the night's Best Feature honour for cookery show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Sci-fi drama Heroes won the International Prize and The Street was named Best Drama Series for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, Dame Eileen Atkins won the battle of the dames - she beat Dame Judi Dench in the Best Actress category for her role in Cranford. Andrew Garfield was named Best Actor for his role in Boy A.

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20 April 2008 1:02 PM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

BBC Three comedy Gavin & Stacey has been named programme of the year at the Bafta Television Awards.

The series beat The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's Got Talent to the title, which is the only category voted for by the public.

Star and co-writer James Corden won the award for best comedy performance, ahead of Stephen Merchant (Extras) and David Mitchell (Peep Show).

Andrew Garfield - aged 24 - was named best actor for his role as a child killer in the Channel 4 drama Boy A, while Eileen Atkins beat her Cranford co-star Judi Dench . . .

Neil_Wilkes_imdb_@digitalspy.co.uk (Neil Wilkes)

20 April 2008 1:00 PM, PDT | From Digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news

Here is the full list of winners at this year's Bafta Television Awards, held tonight at the London Palladium:

Actor

Andrew Garfield - Boy A - Winner!

Tom Hardy - Stuart: A Life Backwards

Matthew Macfadyen - Secret Life

Anthony Sher - Primo

Actress

Eileen Atkins - Cranford - Winner!

Judi Dench - Cranford

Gina McKee - The Street

Kierston Wareing - It’s A Free World

Entertainment Performance

Simon Amstell - Never Mind The Buzzc***s

Alan Carr & Justin Lee Collins - The Friday Night Project

Stephen Fry - Qi

Harry Hill - Harry Hill’s TV Burp - Winner!

Comedy Performance

Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It

James Corden - Gavin and Stacey - Winner!

Stephen Merchant - Extras Christmas . . .

Nick_Levine_imdb_@digitalspy.co.uk (Nick Levine)

6 April 2008 8:03 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Dame Judi Dench is lending her support to a campaign protesting against the building of an eco-village near the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

The revered actress is infuriated at the British government's plans for a carbon-neutral development just six miles (9.65 kilometres) from Stratford-upon-Avon in the heart of England and has joined forces with locals to fight the new buildings.

Local residents claim the new eco-town will have a devastating impact on the historic surroundings, and bring traffic chaos to the quaint area.

Dench is also worried about the effect the proposed eco-town will have on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

She says, "Stratford is a jewel in the crown of the nation's heritage. There can be very few places in the world of such cultural significance as the town in which the world's greatest dramatist lived and worked. It is folly to put this at risk.

"Having appeared in more than a dozen productions in the town over a period of 40 years, I am very concerned about the potential impact the new eco-town will have on the town and its famous theatre."

But Dench insists it is not the idea of the town that offends her: "I should stress that I am not against eco-towns per se - far from it. It is the location of the proposed site - so close to historic Stratford - that gives me cause for concern."

"The Bard (Better Accessible and Responsible Development) campaign's message is very clear: yes to eco towns, but not in a location that will devastate a town of such historical and cultural importance."

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4 April 2008 9:09 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

British actress Dame Eileen Atkins has beaten competition from fellow Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith to scoop the prize for Best TV actress at the U.K.'s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

The 73-year-old took home the honour for her roles in Bbc dramas Cranford and Ballet Shoes.

Cranford, a series based on three Elizabeth Gaskill novels, won four gongs including Best Drama and Best Writer.

The awards, which took place in London on Friday, are voted for by British journalists.

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4 April 2008 9:09 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench are reportedly in talks to join the all-star cast for the film adaptation of hit Broadway musical Nine.

The movie, based on the 1982 stage production, will be directed by Rob Marshall, who was in charge of 2002's critically-acclaimed Chicago.

Actors already signed up to the project include Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, and Sophia Loren.

And, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Kidman and Dench are the latest stars to be courted for roles in the film.

Kidman previously showed off her singing and dancing skills in 2001 hit Moulin Rouge! while James Bond star Dench played the lead role in the original West End production of Cabaret in 1968.

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26 March 2008 9:07 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Dame Judi Dench's hit TV series Cranford has picked up more prize nominations - this time for the Bafta Craft Awards.

The Bbc period drama scored seven nominations in various categories for the British ceremony, which celebrates the people behind the scenes.

Cranford has already been shortlisted for four TV BAFTAs at the main event on 20 April.

Screenwriters Jimmy McGovern and Doctor Who's Stephen Moffat will also be honoured for their craft, while comedy partners David Croft and Jimmy Perry - the team behind hit U.K. shows Dad's Army and Hi-de-Hi! - will be presented with a special award when winners are announced on 11 May.

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21 March 2008 12:43 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Dame Judi Dench has led the tributes to late Oscar-winning actor Paul Scofield who died on Thursday.

The English star of screen and stage - who won an Academy-Award in 1966 for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons - died after a long battle with leukaemia. He was 86.

Dench - who starred with Scofield in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Oscar-winning film Henry V - was shocked to hear the news, stating, "He was a great friend and a great man."

Revered British actor Simon Callow has described Schofield as "one of the greatest actors in the world".

He adds, "He had a charisma, a hypnotism, a kind of spell that he cast on an audience, which was an extraordinary thing to negotiate as a young actor. He was an absolutely towering actor."

Famed for his distinctive voice, Scofield rejected the offer of a knighthood on three occasions, but was awarded a Cbe (Commander of the Order of The British Empire) in 1956 and became a Companion of Honour in 2001.

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19 March 2008 5:12 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Dame Judi Dench has picked up her 26th Bafta nomination after landing a nod for her latest role in Bbc drama series Cranford.

The James Bond star is nominated for the Best Actress gong at this year's Bafta TV awards, bringing her total up to 26 for all of her film and television work.

Dench has taken gold in the prestigious category three times during her career - in 1968, 1982 and in 2001 - and has claimed 11 Bafta gongs overall including the coveted Fellowship award for her contribution to the film and TV industry.

Cranford, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskill's novels about a small English town in the 1840s, swept the nominations at this year's awards, picking up three nods.

The ceremony will take place at the London Palladium on 20 April.

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18 articles from 2008