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Ian McKellen is an Oscar-nominated thespian whomhas excelled at everything from Shakespeare to sci-fi on both the stage and screen. Let's take a look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1939 in Lancashire, England, McKellen first came to prominence on the stage, appearing in a number of classic plays from the likes of Anton Chekhov and William Shakespeare (including an acclaimed production of "Richard III" that he brought to the screen in 1995). His performance as Salieri in the 1981 production of "Amadeus" brought him a Tony award as Best Actor in a Play.

McKellen appeared in films sporadically throughout this period, earning his first starring role in "Priest of Love" in 1981. He became increasingly recognizable onscreen throughout the 1990s, earning his first Oscar nomination when he was 59-years-old: Best Actor for "Gods and Monsters" (1998). For his acclaimed performance as "Frankenstein" (1931) director James Whale, McKellen won prizes...

Playwright Anton Chekhov believed that if you place a gun onstage in the first act of a production, it had better go off in the second, and Coco Jones believes that if you’re going to title an album, Why Not More? you damn well better have more to offer. Only a week has passed since the former Disney star issued her debut album and she has already put out an expanded reissue, Why Not More? (Extended), which contains three bonus tracks. So it’s not just, more, More, More!

The current Off-Broadway run of the Olivier Award-winning smash-hit, Vanya, starring Olivier Award winner Andrew Scott has recouped its initial investment. Having opened on March 18 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street), this new adaptation of Chekhov's play, co-created by Mr. Scott, adaptor Simon Stephens, designer Rosanna Vize and director Sam Yates, has played to sold out audiences every performance after opening to rave reviews. Vanya's final performance will be on Sunday, May 11. Anton Chekhov's timeless masterpiece has captivated audiences and influenced dramatists for more than 125 years, thanks to the emotional depth and subtle humor it brings to the exploration of unfulfilled dreams, existential yearning,...

Actress Natalie Portman (“Fountain of Youth”) poses for the Spring 2025 issue of “Interview" magazine, wearing Pierre Cardin, Dior, Coach and a whole lot more, photographed by Katja Rahlwes:

Portman began her acting career at age twelve, when she starred in "Léon: The Professional" (1994).

While in high school, she made her Broadway debut in a 1998 production of "The Diary of a Young Girl" then gained international recognition starring as 'Padmé Amidala' in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999).

From 1999 to 2003, Portman attended Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology…

….while continuing to act in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy and in The Public Theater's 2001 revival of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull".

,In 2004, Portman was nominated for an ‘Academy Award ‘for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ and won a ‘Golden Globe Award’ for the romantic drama "Closer".

Portman's career progressed with starring roles as 'Evey Hammond' in "V for Vendetta...

With two Oscars in tow over the course of her 30-year-plus career — where she has played everyone from Queen Elizabeth I to fantasy heroes to an embattled maestro — Cate Blanchett said she is “serious” about stepping away from her craft one day.

The reveal came during a new interview with the U.K.’s Radio Times magazine, where the venerated actress is promoting her forthcoming and first-ever audioplay, BBC Radio 4’s The Fever, premiering this weekend. The adaptation of Wallace Shawn’s drama features a 90-minute monologue from an unnamed woman who travels to a civil war-torn country and becomes ill, realizing that her material comforts and privileges are bankrolled by oppression spurred by global capitalism.

While introducing herself for the tape, she hesitated to announce her title as actress, which co-director John Tiffany pointed out. She replied, “I did, didn’t I? It’s because I’m giving up.

Cate Blanchett said she sees herself retiring soon; she has a handful of projects to complete. Reflecting on a fulfilling career in film, theater, and TV, she said there are other things she now wants to do with life outside of acting.

Cate Blanchett has appeared in more than 70 films and 20 theater productions; her impressive, critically acclaimed career is highlighted by films like Elizabeth, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Lord of the Rings. She's also prolific on stage and TV. Garnering a total of 166 wins across multiple award-giving bodies, she holds multiple Oscar Awards records; she is the only female actor to earn an Oscar nomination for playing the same role in multiple films (Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age). Speaking to the Radio Times, Blanchett mused over her legacy and why she's now looking at retiring.

"My family roll their eyes every time I say it,...

Cate Blanchett has said she is seriously considering stepping away from acting, citing other personal interests and a long-standing discomfort with public attention. In a recent interview with Radio Times, the two-time Academy Award winner stated that her family often dismisses her comments about retiring, but she remains firm in her intent.

“My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it. I am serious about giving up acting,” Blanchett said. “There are a lot of things I want to do with my life.”

Blanchett is currently featured in BBC Radio 4’s upcoming drama The Fever. The interview also touched on her ongoing discomfort with public appearances and celebrity culture. Speaking about the experience of being quoted out of context, she said, “When you go on a talk show, or even here now, and then you see soundbites of things you’ve said, pulled out and italicized,...

Cate Blanchett is surprising fans by revealing in an upcoming issue of Radio Times (via The Standard) that she is not going to be an actor forever. That’s not to say retirement is imminent for the two-time Oscar winner (“The Aviator” and “Blue Jasmine”), but there will come a time when Blanchett leaves the profession behind.

“My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it. I am serious about giving up acting,” Blanchett said. “[There are] a lot of things I want to do with my life.”

Blanchett most recently starred opposite Michael Fassbender in Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed spy drama “Black Bag,” which has earned $21 million at the domestic box office. She told the publication that she’s “spent a lifetime getting comfortable with the feeling of being uncomfortable” in the public eye as a famous actor.

“When you go on a talk show, or even here now,...

Ted Kotcheff, the Canadian filmmaker who introduced moviegoers to Sylvester Stallone’s traumatized Vietnam War veteran John Rambo with “First Blood” and helmed comedies like “Weekend at Bernie’s,” “Fun With Dick and Jane” and “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,” died Thursday. He was 94.

His death was confirmed by his family to Canadian publication The Globe and Mail.

After beginning his career in Canadian television and working in the U.K. industry, Kotcheff broke through, first with the Australian thriller “Wake in Fright,” then with his 1974 feature “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,” a Canada-produced adaptation of Mordechai Richler’s 1959 coming-of-age novel starring then-rising star Richard Dreyfuss. The film took home the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and earned an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay (for Richler and Lionel Chetwynd), launching Kotcheff’s career in the American film industry. In later years, Kotcheff worked in the Dick Wolf...

Exclusive: The London Barbican Theatre’s scintillating production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, boasting an all-star ensemble led by Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke and Emma Corrin and directed by the estimable Berlin-based Thomas Ostermeier, is setting course for New York in 2026, multiple sources inform me.

The play, adapted by Duncan Macmillan and Ostermeier, is propelled by blasts of oomph. It feels so marvelously fresh that it could have been written today. Indeed, Macmillan and Ostermeier keep on eye on current events and amend their script as and when significant news emerges.

Like, on Thursday night, Jason Watkin’s Sorin made a point about the “f*cking high tariffs” he has to pay on his country estate’s farm produce, a clear reference to the tariffs introduced Wednesday by the Trump administration.

Jason Wakins in ‘The Seagull’ at the Barbican Theatre

The line had the Barbican audience whooping with irresistible,...

While Anton Chekhov always thought of The Seagull as a comedy, that fact has frequently been forgotten through productions that fall into the soporific trap set by angsty, moping, lovelorn characters losing their hearts and minds in the Russian countryside.

There’s no such danger with Thomas Ostermeier, who once declared that he wanted to bring “some rock ‘n’ roll” to Ibsen (his Enemy of the People had the protagonist play Bowie covers in a band and open a political discussion with the audience). The firebrand German director now blasts the cobwebs off Chekhov with boisterous, dazzling delight.

But as irreverent as Ostermeier may seem — as self-referential, ironic, meta, playful — he’s true to his material. The reality of The Seagull is that it treads that fine line between comedy and tragedy. And while this production is an incredible blast, teetering on farce, Ostermeier and co-adaptor Duncan Macmillan (People, Places...

British actor Tom Burke has been spending a lot of time with Cate Blanchett lately.

Burke (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”) is currently starring alongside the Oscar winner in a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic “The Seagull” at London’s Barbican, and the two also worked together on Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming espionage thriller “Black Bag.”

In “The Seagull,” Blanchett stars as Arkadina, a celebrated actress whose larger-than-life presence dominates both the stage and her personal relationships. Arriving at her family’s country estate for the weekend, she finds herself caught in a storm of conflicting desires. Her playwright son, Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), struggles to step out of her shadow as he pursues his own artistic ambitions and her lover Trigorin (Burke) becomes the object of affection for the aspiring young actress Nina (Emma Corrin).

Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s adaptation caused the cast to collectively embrace...

The actor is teaming up with old friend Thomas Ostermeier for a bold new take on Chekhov. The pair discuss censorship, risk-taking, the far right, and ask: are celeb-led plays ruining the West End?

The first time Cate Blanchett was cast in The Seagull, she was in Sydney and in her 20s, a young stage actor playing the part of another young stage actor who was desperate for fame and dizzyingly in love. It was 1997, at Belvoir St theatre, and Blanchett was very much in love herself, having recently got together with the writer-director Andrew Upton, who she would marry later that year. Though the part of Nina in Anton Chekhov’s drama involved far more heartbreak – the character is left emotionally wrecked after being dropped by her lover – and Blanchett remembers “I’d just met Andrew and was madly in love and thought: ‘How am I going to go...

As a title, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig sounds like a parody of a Middle Eastern movie Jerry, George and Elaine might have gone to see on Seinfeld. But the actual film couldn’t be more genuine and vital. A well-deserved nominee in this year’s Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s near three-hour drama was made in secret in late 2023, deemed illegal by the country’s theocratic dictats.

When the finished film was announced and selected for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the director was sentenced by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court to eight years in jail, flogging and a fine. Rather than serve time, Rasoulof skipped the country after sentencing and fled to a safe house in Germany (which explains why the film is the German entry into the Best International Feature category). And all some filmmakers have to worry about is getting the final cut.

Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Edgar Ramirez (“Emilia Perez”) and Jack Farthing (“Spencer”) will star in “Next Life” from writer-director Drake Doremus (“Like Crazy”), L.A. and London-based production and management company 42, Mutressa and Fetisoff Illusion have announced.

“Next Life” tells the love story of Ivy (Emilia Clarke), who finds herself confronted with parallel universes in which her life unspools in very different ways set against the modern London jazz scene.

Mutressa’s Elika Portnoy, Gleb Fetisov of Fetisoff Illusion and 42’s Ben Pugh and Kate Buckley are producing alongside Doremus. John Palfery Smith will also produce. Production is currently underway in London and set to wrap in late December. CAA Media Finance is representing worldwide rights.

Clarke is best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO award winning series “Game of Thrones,” for which she received four Emmy nominations and three Critics Choice Award nominations.

The French-Danish actor Niels Arestrup passed away on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, according to his wife, the actor and writer Isabelle Le Nouvel. While he may not be well-known by mainstream Western audiences, he holds the record in France for the most César Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and has starred in films by many of Europe's best directors — Alain Resnais, Chantal Akerman, Claude Lelouch, Marco Ferreri, Jacques Audiard, Julian Schnabel, Bertrand Tavernier, Volker Schlöndorff, and Albert Dupontel, not to mention American directors like Steven Spielberg and Angelina Jolie. His wife wrote in an Afp press release:

I am extremely sad to announce the death of my husband, the immense actor Niels Arestrup, after a courageous fight against illness. He passed away surrounded by the love of his family.

Born to working-class parents and spending his youth in public housing projects, Arestrup failed school and took on odd jobs until he found...

Some of the highest-profile Spanish films of 2024 – from Málaga Festival winner and now Spain’s Oscar entry “Saturn Return” to San Sebastián laureates “I Am Nevenka” and “Glimmers” – feature in Mass, a Spanish film showcase which will unspool in Buenos Aires over Nov. 28-30 and Montevideo during Dec. 2-4, running parallel with the Uruguayan capital’s Ventana Sur market.

The film season represents the latest collaboration between Spain’s San Sebastián and Málaga Festival, here in partnership of Spain’s Icaa film agency and Argentina’s Orca Films, as Spain’s seeks to capitalize on its predominant presence on global streamers among E.U. film powers to consolidate production and co-financing relations in Uruguay, a building film-tv hub, and with regions of Argentina.

During their stay in Argentina, the San Sebastian and Malaga Festivals will meet representatives of the Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos and Santiago del Estero provinces to work...

Emma Corrin, hot from playing villainous Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine, will join Cate Blanchett in the eagerly awaited new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull at London’s Barbican Theatre in 2025.

Another addition to an already sizzling company is Kodi Smit-McPhee, who shot to fame in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. He also appears with an incandescent Angelina Jolie in Netflix’s awards-season hopeful Maria.

It’s a family reunion, of sorts, for Blanchett and McPhee. They play mother and son in Alfonso Cuarón’s brilliant seven-part Apple TV+ drama Disclaimer, which premieres on the streamer October 11. The two Australian-born actors also play related characters in The Seagull: Blanchett takes on the part of theatrical grand dame Irina Arkadina and McPhee plays her son Konstantin.

Cate Blanchett at this year’s Cannes Film Festival

The Seagull‘s director Thomas Ostermeier chose Corrin, who shot...

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is adding another series to her schedule.

The multiple Emmy nominee will star in Ponies, a spy thriller that has landed a straight-to-series order at Peacock. The Cold War-era show comes from Universal Television and co-creators Susanna Fogel (Booksmart, The Flight Attendant) and David Iserson (Mr. Robot).

Clarke is currently filming another streaming series, Criminal, for Amazon’s Prime Video. She stars opposite Charlie Hunnam Richard Jenkins, John Hawkes and Adria Arjona (among others) in that drama, based on the graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Ponies is set in Moscow in 1977. It centers on two “Ponies”(persons of no interest) who work anonymously as secretaries at the American embassy — until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the Ussr and they become CIA operatives. Clarke will play Bea, an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. The other lead character, Twila...

Emilia Clarke is set for a lead role in the espionage thriller “Ponies,” which has been ordered straight to series at Peacock.

The series hails from co-creators Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, with Clarke set to executive produce in addition to starring.

The official description for the series states:

“Moscow, 1977. Two ‘Ponies’ (‘persons of no interest’ in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the Ussr, and the pair become CIA operatives. Bea (Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila, is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.”

Fogel will also direct for the series, while Iserson will serve as showrunner. Jessica Rhoades executive produces under her Pacesetter Productions banner.

Cate Blanchett will return to the stage for the first time in six years.

The Australian Oscar winner will perform as Arkadina in a new version of Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull at the Barbican Theatre in London for six weeks from February.

Blanchett will be joined by Tom Burke (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) in the performance with the pair having recently wrapped on Steven Soderbergh film Black Bag, coming in 2025. The play has been adapted by Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier, who will also direct the show.

“I have known and admired Cate for many years, and to see her on stage is always a privilege,” Ostermeier said. “I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once-in-a-generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina. I’m...

Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in a new stage adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull at the Barbican in London.

The production will mark Blanchett’s first stage appearance in six years.

Blanchett will portray Arkadina in the adaptation, which is also set to star Tom Burke (The Souvenir). The production will run for six weeks from February 2025.

The production will be directed by Thomas Ostermeier who told BBC News of Blanchett’s casting: “I have known and admired Cate for many years, and to see her on stage is always a privilege.”

He added: “I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once-in-a-generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina. I’m also very pleased to be forging a new artistic relationship with Tom Burke,...

The Apple TV+ Emmy Award-winning series The Morning Show has added Emmy and Tony Award-nominee William Jackson Harper to its growing Season 4 cast in a major recurring role. He will play ‘Ben,’ the network’s self-assured and innovative Head of Sports.

The Morning Show explores the cutthroat world of morning news and the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning. Season 3 left the fate of Uba once again up in the air after Alex (Jennifer Aniston) manages to take down Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) by logjamming the sale of Uba to his tech company, Hyperion. But now, it appears Uba will be merging with another media company to keep the network afloat, which could spell layoffs and restructuring in Season 4.

Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Greta Lee and Nicole Beharie also star. Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons...

Sony Pictures Classics announced on Friday that it will release the Saoirse Ronan drama The Outrun theatrically in North America in partnership with Stage 6 Films, opening it in theaters nationwide on October 4.

The project reunites Sony Pictures Classics with Ronan, who previously starred in its 2018 film adaption of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.

Based on the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Nora Fingscheidt (System Crasher), The Outrun follows Rona (Ronan), a 29-year-old who, after a decade away in London, returns home to the Orkney Islands. Sober but lonely, she tries to suppress her memory of the events which set her on this journey of recovery. Slowly, the mystical land enters her inner world and — one day at a time — Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.

World premiering at this year’s Sundance Film...

Emilia Clarke has been cast in the lead of an upcoming Prime Video drama series.

The Game of Thrones and Last Christmas actress has joined the cast of Criminal, which is based on the graphic novel series created by Ed Brubaker (Westworld) and Sean Phillips.

Clarke will play Mallory, “a slick and daring armed robber, as quick with a gun as she is with her wits. Part of a heist crew with Ricky Lawless (Gus Halper), who she’s in a passionate Bonnie-and-Clyde-like affair with. Mallory is a woman on the edge, living on the wrong side of the law and hiding secrets that will bring her and her entire crew into the danger zone.”

Previously announced cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Richard Jenkins, John Hawkes, Adria Arjona, Logan Browning, Kadeem Hardison, Pat Healy, Taylor Sele, Aliyah Camacho, Michael Mando, Marvin Jones III, Michael Xavier and Dominic Burgess.

Brubaker will co-showrun with Jordan Harper.

Emilia Clarke has been cast in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series adaptation of the “Criminal” graphic novels in a lead role, Variety has learned exclusively.

Clarke will star alongside previously announced cast members Charlie Hunnam, Richard Jenkins, John Hawkes, Adria Arjona, Logan Browning, Kadeem Hardison, Pat Healy, Taylor Sele, Gus Halper, Aliyah Camacho, Michael Mando, Marvin Jones III, Michael Xavier, and Dominic Burgess.

The graphic novels were created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. The official description states the series is “an interlocking universe of crime stories.”

Clarke will appear in the role of Mallory, described as “a slick and daring armed robber, as quick with a gun as she is with her wits. Part of a heist crew with Ricky Lawless (Halper), who she’s in a passionate Bonnie-and-Clyde-like affair with. Mallory is a woman on the edge, living on the wrong side of the law and hiding...

Depending on how Russian your sense of humor is, Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” could be classified as either the darkest of comedies or a tragedy that sometimes manages to be mildly humorous. The play follows a past-their-prime family of Russian aristocrats who are forced to sell their eponymous orchard, which they spent most of their lives ignoring and neglecting. But once it’s time to actually part ways, they become overwhelmed by morose nostalgia as they struggle to let go of something that they assumed would always be there. It’s both a brilliant satire of wealth-induced decadence and a somber exploration of how humans struggle to say goodbye at the ends of their eras.

So it’s fitting that, whether she knows it or not, Lillian Hall’s (Jessica Lange) upcoming turn as Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” will be her final performance. Michael Cristofer...

Sneak Peek actresss Natalie Portman (“Lady In The Lake”) posing for the May 2024 issue of “L’Officiel” magazine, wearing Dior, Armani, Stella McCartney and a whole lot more, photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Portman began her acting career at age twelve, when she starred in "Léon: The Professional" (1994).

While in high school, she made her Broadway debut in a 1998 production of "The Diary of a Young Girl" then gained international recognition starring as 'Padmé Amidala' in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999).

From 1999 to 2003, Portman attended Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology, while continuing to act in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy and in The Public Theater's 2001 revival of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull".

In 2004, Portman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for the romantic drama "Closer".

Portman's career progressed with her...

There were multiple crossovers between the original "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." This first happened in the 1987 pilot episode of the latter, wherein DeForest Kelley appeared as a very elderly — 137! — Dr. McCoy. Then in 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. McCoy were put on trial in a Klingon court, and their Klingon defense lawyer was played by "Next Generation" Worf actor Michael Dorn. There is some debate as to whether or not Dorn was playing an ancestor of Worf's in that film. What's more, Sarek (Mark Lenard) appeared on "Next Generation" in an episode devoted to him.

Later still, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) appeared in a two-part episode of "Next Generation" as a rogue diplomat trying to reunify the Romulans and the Vulcans. Luckily, Vulcans are very long-lived. And finally, Scotty (James Doohan) appeared on an episode of "Next Generation," having...

Many filmmakers who've experienced success with a short film are tempted to pad the initial project out into a feature. However, in the case of Japanese director Mayu Nakamura, she's taken the key themes and filmmaking principles of her successful short “Among Four of Us” (2021) and produced the touching anthology, “She is Me, I am her”. In just a brisk 70 minutes, the film explores loneliness, life in post-pandemic Japan, and the importance of human connection. Minor spoilers follow

“She is Me, I Am Her” is streaming on Sakka Films

The film is made up of four short films; the first, “Among Four of Us”, follows a phone call between three former college friends reuniting, while the second, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, concerns the relationship that develops between a delivery driver and a regular customer. With the third short, “Ms. Ghost”, we see two street workers of different generations share their stories of lost dreams,...

Laura Linney has everything going for her. She has an incredible career that spans television, film, and theatre, she has a beautiful family and is aging like fine wine. I mean, can you even tell that she is sixty? She has a ton of prestigious awards to her name including two Golden Globe awards and 4 Primetime Emmy awards. Needless to say, she is one of the finest actresses in today’s time.

Laura Linney in Ozark

However, there was a point in her life when Laura Linney believed that her career was nearing its end. This happened when she was a part of a production of The Seagull at the Lyceum Theater. While the play is a classic, the production was horrible and Laura Linney knew it all too well. While recalling her time in the Broadway play, the actress revealed how she actually ended up trauma bonding with co-actor Ethan Hawke.

The opening, multi-minute shot of “Evil Does Not Exist” stares upwards at the trees, floating backwards through the forest, while Eiko Ishibashi’s haunting score casts a spell on us. It’s contemplative but not peaceful; weirdly arresting, like a thriller with no tangible thrills. It’s almost a shock when the story kicks in, but writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi looks at his characters much the same way. He’s fascinated and concerned by who they are and what they might do, and he watches them float by.

Hamaguchi’s previous film, “Drive My Car,” was a nearly three-hour drama about a man directing a stage version of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” where every character speaks a different language. Along the way, he formed a relationship with his production-mandated chauffeur who — fittingly enough — drives his car, as they listen to recordings of his recently-deceased wife reading the script. You...

The 16th edition of the Habitat Film Festival, which opened in the national capital on Friday, will offer film enthusiasts what its organisers described as a “360-degree experience”.

The ten-day festival at the India Habitat Centre will see the screening of films as varied as the Manoj Bajpayi-starrer ‘Joram’, which is now an international festival circuit favourite, to undiscovered gems in the Bodo, Tulu and Maithili languages, and from Manipur, which is yet to recover from the aftermath of the ethnic riots that wracked the state last year.

Varun Grover’s ‘All India Rank’ and Vetrimaaran’s Tamil film ‘Viduthalai Part 1’ are two of the other much-anticipated films on the Festival roster.

Festival spokesperson Vidyun Singh said the event will feature a curated selection of feature films, documentaries and short films. As many as 27 languages will be represented at the event.

Speaking about the Festival’s heritage, Singh said,...

Sneak Peek actresss Natalie Portman (“Lady In The Lake”) posing for the May 2024 issue of “L’Officiel” magazine, wearing Dior, Armani, Stella McCartney and a whole lot more, photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Portman began her acting career at age twelve, when she starred in "Léon: The Professional" (1994).

While in high school, she made her Broadway debut in a 1998 production of "The Diary of a Young Girl" then gained international recognition starring as 'Padmé Amidala' in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999).

From 1999 to 2003, Portman attended Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology, while continuing to act in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy and in The Public Theater's 2001 revival of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull".

In 2004, Portman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for the romantic drama "Closer".

Portman's career progressed with her...

Kasba.The epic may go to the origins: the archetypes of thought, emotion and spiritual desire, and dissolve them in the present. The sensuous, contemporary life, seen from the perspectives of both past and future: film. Like music, the cinema is experienced as a continuous, live process of energies. It is conceived and best remembered in a flash, a composite whole.—Kumar Shahani, Film as a Contemporary ArtA sequence from Kasba (1990), directed by Kumar Shahani, has remained imprinted in my mind. Adapted from Anton Chekhov’s 1900 novella In The Ravine, Shahani’s melodrama is an exploration of feudal patriarchy in a small township in the mountains of Kangra. The film follows the younger daughter-in-law Tejo’s (Mita Vashisht) brutal power grab, which will finally culminate in the killing of the male heir to the family business. Immediately following this harrowing scene, Tejo stands at the edge of an open window,...

“I’m always waiting for something different, a different and new challenge,” reveals Anika Noni Rose. A worthy challenge arose in the form of Anton Chekhov, and the latest Broadway revival of his classic play “Uncle Vanya.” The actress had never performed in a Chekhov play before, but for her first Broadway role in 10 years, she “thought it was just time to do something for me that was going to be very different.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Rose portrays Yelena in the revival, who is wedded to the older and egotistical professor Serebryakov (Alfred Molina). At their rural estate, the glamorous Yelena expresses boredom and begins to question whether her life choices have led her to the right destination. When Yelena agrees to help Sonia (Alison Pill) discover if her feelings for Astrov (William Jackson Harper) are reciprocated, she unknowingly unleashes a fiery passion in him which overwhelms the estate.

Acompaña a Nina en su búsqueda de justicia en este impactante thriller contemporáneo. © BTeamPictures

Ya se ha publicado el tráiler de “Nina”, un thriller y western femenino contemporáneo donde pasado y presente se funden en una historia de venganza.

La película, que ganó el Premio de la Crítica en el festival de Málaga, sigue a Nina (Patricia López Arnaiz), que decide volver al pueblo costero donde creció, con una escopeta en el bolso y un objetivo: vengarse de Pedro, un famoso escritor al que ahora el pueblo rinde homenaje. El reencuentro con su lugar de origen, con sus recuerdos del pasado y con Blas, un amigo de la infancia, le harán replantearse si la venganza es su única opción.

El reparto lo encabeza Patricia López Arnaiz, que estuvo nominada en la pasada edición de los Goya a Mejor actriz por su interpretación en “20.000 Especies de Abejas”.

La película está...

Nicole Scherzinger, Succession star Sarah Snook, Game of Thrones and Sherlock actor Mark Gatiss, a revival of the musical Sunset Boulevard and the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow were among the winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater. The ceremony at Royal Albert Hall in the British capital was hosted by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham.

The revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard, which has starred Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and is set to come to Broadway this year, won the best musical revival award, the best actress honor for the former Pussycat Dolls singer and five other honors after also leading the nominations with 11.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix hit series, which has hinted at its Broadway ambitions, won the best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the Olivier for best set design.

Dear England,...

Succession star Sarah Snook and singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger were among the big winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which were revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for the full list of winners.

Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.

Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...

The actor, 43, talks about irreverence, trying to look more awake, his love of music, and the pursuit of art

I have mixed feelings about being the first non-white actor to win a Bafta. I was very grateful, but it also raised questions. I remember watching The Buddha of Suburbia and Bhaji on the Beach as a kid. British-Asian culture didn’t start in 2017, when I won. It’s weird to think it wasn’t recognised until that point.

Working on Four Lions with Chris Morris was a great lesson in irreverence. Even if people insist you take things seriously, you don’t have to. Actually, it’s probably more important not to. Comedy can take the teeth out of even the most serious issues.

I only started acting because my mum wanted me to pronounce my “T”s properly. When I was seven, she took me to speech and drama lessons.

This article contains Curb Your Enthusiasm spoilers through season 12 episode 9.

You’ve likely heard of Chekhov’s Gun – the narrative principle from Russian playwright Anton Chekhov that posits if a gun is introduced in the first act, then it must go off in the third act. What you might be less familiar with, however, is “(Larry) David’s Trial.” And that’s because I just made it up.

David’s Trial states that “if a trial is introduced in the first act, then the character put on trial must be found guilty in the third act, thus referencing a controversial series finale of a beloved sitcom said character co-created in the ’90s.” As the final act of Curb Your Enthusiasm approaches, it sure seems like we’re about to experience the first-ever application of David’s Trial.

The 12th and final season of the long-running HBO comedy begins with Larry David...

With his victory on Monday at the Critics’ Circle Theatre awards, Andrew Scott has made history. The Irish performer, recognized as best actor for his one-man West End show, “Vanya,” previously was named best actor at the 2024 Critics’ Circle Film Awards for his performance in “All of Us Strangers.” He’s the first person to win lead actor Critics’ Circle prizes in both film and television in the same year.

“It’s a thrilling delight,” Scott says. “I’ve been involved with both film and theater ever since I started acting when I was 17 years old. I’ve always worked between the two mediums. So to have these two projects, which were very dear to me, be recognized is more than I could have wished for.”

In the case of “Vanya,” Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” Scott played all of the show’s eight roles. That was a herculean task,...

Take a look at new images of actress Natalie Portman posing for the April 2024 issue of “Marie Claire’ (Australia) magazine, photographed by Felix Cooper for Christian Dior Parfums:

Portman began her acting career at age twelve, when she starred in "Léon: The Professional" (1994). While in high school, she made her Broadway debut in a 1998 production of "The Diary of a Young Girl" then gained international recognition starring as 'Padmé Amidala' in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999).

From 1999 to 2003, Portman attended Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology, while continuing to act in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy and in The Public Theater's 2001 revival of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull". In 2004, Portman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for the romantic drama "Closer".

Portman's career progressed with her starring roles as 'Evey Hammond' in "V for Vendetta...

Sarah Snook, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andrew Scott and David Tennant were among the nominees for the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater.

Parker was nominated for best actress for her role in Plaza Suite, opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, while Snook was nominated in the same category for her one-woman take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tennant was nominated for best actor for his role in Macbeth, in the same category as Andrew Scott, in a one-man version of Vanya.

Sunset Boulevard, which starred Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated, and is set to come to Broadway next year, received 11 nominations, while Dear England, a play by James Graham about an English football manager, received nine nominations. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the television series, which has also hinted at its Broadway ambitions, is up for best new entertainment or comedy play.

The Olivier...

Stars including Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarah Snook, Andrew Scott and David Tennant will compete for Olivier Awards at the UK’s most prestigious theater ceremony next month.

The Sex and the City stars is up for Best Actress for her performance in Plaza Suite – her first Olivier – while Succession’s Snook has picked up a nod for her critically-acclaimed performance as 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

In the Best Actor category, Scott’s performance in Vanya will come up against Tennant’s role in Macbeth, while the starry nominee list also includes Joseph Fiennes for Dear England, which is being made into a BBC series, Mark Gatiss for The Motive And The Cue and James Norton in A Little Life.

Other notable nominations include for singer Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard, where she has picked up a nod for Best Actress in a Musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s...

Filmax has acquired international rights to Spanish thriller “Nina,” the new feature written and directed by Andrea Jaurrieta (“Ana by Day”) that bows at this week’s Málaga Film Festival as one of its higher profile titles in main competition.

Loosely based on the play of the same name by José Ramón Fernández, which borrows elements of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” “Nina” tells the story of a woman, an actress, who returns to her home town on Spain’s rugged northern coast seeking to take revenge on a celebrated writer. As she encounters past acquaintances, including a once close childhood friend, and faces dark memories, she begins to question whether vengeance is the only way forward.

“Nina” stars Goya-winning actress Patricia López Arnaiz (“Ane is Missing”) as the titular character and San Sebastián Silver Shell winner Darío Grandinetti, famed for his performance in Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk to Her,...

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Feb 23-25)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Bob Marley: One Love (Paramount) £2.4m £11.3m 2 2. Wicked Little Letters (Studiocanal) £1.5m £1.6m 1 3. Migration (Universal) £1.5m £16.4m 4 4. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - To The Hashira Training (Sony) £641,878 £641,878 1 5. Madame Web (Sony) £601,910 £3.4m 2

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.27

Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love rolled steady at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, holding off competition from Studiocanal’s Wicked Little Letters to maintain top spot.

One Love recorded a £2.4m session – a 42.9% drop - pushing it to a decent £11.3m total.

Thea Sharrock’s UK-French comedy Wicked Little Letters...

More than 40 years ago, in 1982, director Nicholas Meyer's "The Wrath of Khan" revitalized "Star Trek," overcoming its low budget to be the shot in the arm that "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" failed to be.

This was the second time that the "Star Trek: The Original Series" cast reunited on the silver screen. With how long it has been, it's sadly unsurprising that most of the original "Star Trek" main cast is no longer with us. Spock's sacrifice and emotional last exchange with Kirk in "The Wrath of Khan" are even sadder and more poignant now with Leonard Nimoy's real-life passing in 2015.

Even most of the film's own supporting cast have passed on. Ricardo Montalbán, who delivered the performance of a lifetime as Khan Noonien Singh himself, died in 2009 at age 88. However, a select few of the movie's cast are still with us.

Read more: Celebrities You...

In the history of Rod Serling's original run of "The Twilight Zone," the season 2 episode "The Silence" sticks out like a sore thumb. The episode in no way falls under the categories of science fiction or fantasy, instead opting to tell a disturbingly human story about an extreme bet between two men. Wealthy Archie (Franchot Tone) bets fellow men's club member — and known chatterbox — Jamie (Liam Sullivan) that he can't spend a year in silence.

The episode unfolds in an odd and surprising but never unbelievable fashion. Jamie accepts the bet, hoping to win $500,000 (about 5 million dollars today). In an attempt to surveil his colleague and prevent cheating, Archie erects a public glass room in which Jamie will be trapped for the year. Archie also spends much of his time taunting Jamie with lies about his wife, but Jamie doesn't fall for the low blow. At year's end, Archie...

Andrew Scott, Nicole Scherzinger and writer Jack Thorne were among the winners at last night’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London.

Scott’s performance in Vanya landed him a second Best Actor Awards after his 2019 win for Present Laughter. The play, billed as a “radical new version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya,” saw Scott portray numerous characters. It ran at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

The Sherlock actor wasn’t on hand to collect his prize, so Jenna Coleman, who announced his win, collected it on his behalf.

Former Pussycat Doll singer and reality TV judge Scherzinger took home Best Musical Performance for her role in Sunset Boulevard, which began in September at the Savoy Theatre. The play also landed a Best Director win for Jamie Lloyd.

His Dark Materials writer Thorne’s The Motive and the Cure, about the off-stage happenings of Sir JohN Gieldgud’s...