Emma Thompson Page 3

The youngest ever Oscar nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis – with a touch of autotune thrown in for good measure - plays the iconic and titular role of Annie in Columbia Pictures’ upcoming modernisation of the classic, 1977 Broadway smash, 1982 film and 1999 TV-movie. 

Quvenzhane Wallis plays the plucky orphen, Annie, upon whom the film centres

The new trailer gives us a glimpse Will Stacks’ (Jamie Foxx) and Annie’s relationship as they move from life-saving encounter, to mutually beneficial work buddies to father & daughter dynamic, all told via the medium of cute dogs, hip-hop infused dancing and Harlem. 

Continue reading: It's A Hard Knock Life This Christmas With 'Annie' - [Trailer + Pictures]

The Love Punch is due out in UK cinemas next week so what are we in for from Last Chance Harvey writer and director Joel Hopkins?

From L-R: Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan star in The Love Punch.

The Love Punch promises a stellar cast including British acting powerhouses Emma Thompson, Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall, whilst Irish actor Pierce Brosnan completes the comedic foursome. The film follows Thompson and Brosnan, as Kate and Richard, a divorced couple who find they have been conned out of their retirement funds after Richard's company suffers a hostile takeover. Furious at the injustice, they set out on a mission accompanied by friends Imrie and Spall to recover their stolen savings. Their quest leads them to the Côte d'Azur, via Paris, where they embark on a jewellery heist. We see the relationship between Kate and Richard blossom after their years apart and we're definitely in with a few laughs along the way.

Continue reading: Emma Thompson & Pierce Brosnan Are Amateur Jewel Thieves In 'The Love Punch' [Trailer & Pictures]

Emma Thompson has been unveiled as one of the leading faces in a new campaign by Marks & Spencer. The actress was selected alongside a host of other accomplished women to front new advertisements for the British retailer, set to launch on the 31st March.

Emma Thompson Features In A New M&S Ad Campaign.

In the latest promo shot from the campaign, the Saving Mr. Banks actress joins pop star Rita Ora, singer and human rights campaigner Annie Lennox, chef, food writer and broadcaster Rachel Khoo, campaigner and life peer Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, supermodel, activist and artist Alek Wek, designer Lulu Kennedy, and structural engineer and advocate for Technical Careers, Roma Agrawal.

Continue reading: Emma Thompson, Annie Lennox, Rita Ora Unveiled As M&S "Leading Ladies" In Ad Campaign

There’s a generation out there who have been practically weened on Harry Potter. The books and the films have become a religion for devout fans of the series, but would it have been the same if different actors had been cast in the leading roles? You may be surprised to hear that before the perfect cast was set in stone, there were some strange alternate actors vying for the parts!

Ian McKellen turned down the role of Dumbledore

Sir. Ian McKellen was once thought in the running to play Hogwarts’ headmaster, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He was, in fact, offered the role after original Dumbledore actor, Richard Harris, passed away just after filming the first Harry Potter film. However, Sir. Ian turned down the role, citing the reason that Richard Harris had once publicly declared what a dreadful actor he thought McKellen was! Eventually, Michael Gambon took on the role and the rest is Harry Potter history.

Continue reading: What Would 'Harry Potter' Have Been Like With This Alternative Cast?

If there was ever any doubt over whether Bryan Cranston was rightfully awarded the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama award at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, those doubts will have surely been quashed by his amazing, and some might say tuneful, acceptance speech.

A True Dude: Bryan Cranston Was Humbled By His Second Individual SAG Award.

The gleeful actor bounded up on to the stage after his win had been announced and gripping the trophy tightly in his hands, he began to show Breaking Bad fans a side of Heisenberg that that they would have never expected. "IIII won a SAG awaaard," sang Cranston operatically to laughter from the audience.

Continue reading: Bryan Cranston Owns SAG Awards With Singing Acceptance Speech [Video]

The Bafta nominations didn’t really throw up any surprises, with many of the year’s top actors, directors and films being recognised. The constant metronome of: ‘Gravity,’ ’12 Years a Slave’ and ‘American Hustle’ still chimes away; the Oscar favourites are set to do battle.

Gravity is leading the way with 11 Bafta nominations

So 'Gravity' leads the way with 11 nominations; it’ll go up against '12 Years a Slave' in the Best Film Category as well as 'American Hustle', 'Captain Phillips' and 'Philomena', a film the Alfonso Cuaron space thriller must also beat to win Outstanding British Film gong. 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom', 'Rush', 'Saving Mr. Banks' and 'The Selfish Giant' make up that category.

Continue reading: Baftas 2014: 'Gravity' Pulls In The Nominations While Chiwetel Ejiofor Stands A Great Chance

While Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson head up the posters and marketing for Saving Mr. Banks with their turns as Walt Disney and P.L Travers; the roles of Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as Richard and Robert Sherman – composers during Disney’s pomp – are just as pertinent and significant to the story of Mary Poppins’ journey from page to screen.

Travers herself wasn't a big fan of made up words

The brothers, who are now separating following Robert’s death, were responsible for the most-loved, iconic music in movie history, including ‘Trust in Me’ from ‘The Jungle Book,’ ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ from… you guess it; the theme tune for ‘Winnie The Pooh,’ and ‘Bedknobs & Broomsticks’.

Continue reading: Getting To Know 'Saving Mr. Banks' Through Disney's Long-Time Composer, Richard Sherman

John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks is a biographical dramedy, centering on Walt Disney’s life and the creation of Mary Poppins and starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson – in short, it is practically the perfect storm for critical success. Both the story and the performances are praised throughout the internet and critics are already pegging this for an Oscar nod, or several.

Critics are practically in awe of the charming biopic.

A particular favorite is Emma Thompson’s performance as author PL Travers – the original creator of the Mary Poppins character. As Travers, Thompson is sharp, snippy, but still relatable in her passion to protect the essence of Mary Poppins. As The Guardian’s Mark Kermode puts it, Thompson is “sheer perfection in the complex role of "Mrs PL", never allowing the author to descend into crotchety caricature, constantly suggesting a strain of melancholia behind the biting, control-freaky hautiness.”

Continue reading: Review Roundup: Critics Enchanted By The Emotion And Depth Of 'Saving Mr. Banks'

In the wake of last week's Catching Fire fever, new releases this week are a little more low key. Thanksgiving audiences in America will be choosing between Disney's acclaimed new animated film Frozen and Spike Lee's much more adult remake of the 2003 Korean thriller Oldboy. 

Meanwhile in the UK moviegoers will get a taste of Thanksgiving in the wacky animated romp Free Birds, plus a chance to savour the awards-buzz on Saving Mr Banks, about Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) trying to coerce PL Travers (Emma Thompson) into signing over the rights to her book Mary Poppins. Read our Saving Mr. Banks review here.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: More High-Profile Releases, Trailers For Muscle-Man Movies, And A New Life Of Jesus

When news of Saving Mr. Banks was announced, the words on everybody’s lips were: ‘Tom Hanks is playing Walt Disney. Cool’. But, as details of the film emerged, the characters of P.L Travers emerged as the more interesting angle. And so it has proved now the critics have taken a look.

Emma Thompson as P.L Travers in Saving Mr. Banks

Perhaps it’s because Travers’ story isn’t particularly well known; not everyone was aware of the trouble she faced when Disney weighed in on her book, with a view to turning it into – as it became – one of the biggest films of all time. Either way, Thompson as Travers is the focus as Saving Mr. Banks hurtled towards a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Continue reading: Emma Thompson Steals The Plaudits From Under Hanks' Nose In Saving Mr. Banks - Reviews

The long-awaited Walt Disney film, featuring Tom Hanks as the controversial man himself, is getting closer and closer, and we’ve got some stills of Hanks in action as well as his co-stars, Emma Thompson, B.J Novak and Jason Schwartzman.

Tom Hanks as the controversial Walt Disney

Saving Mr. Banks, which is to be showcased at Disney's annual D23 Expo, follows the story of Mary Poppins’ journey from page to screen as Author P.L. Travers travels from London to Hollywood to see her novel change in front of her eyes. She didn’t want Disney to do whey they did with her creation; wasn’t what she had planned.

Continue reading: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Tom Hanks In Saving Mr. Banks [Trailer + Pictures]

We love the Tom Hanks Walt Disney picture, it’s not quite the transformation we expected – we can still see Hanks in it – but it has certainly whetted the appetite for Saving Mr Banks: the upcoming biographical drama about the production of the popular Walt Disney film Mary Poppins.

Hanks sports a 'tache at a portrait unveiling at Sardi's restaurant

Next to Hanks – who appears to be towing the company line, waving to fans – is a rather disgruntled Emma Thompson, who plays P.L. Travers in the film. Her struggle, which stems from Disney’s desire to adapt her novel, is a central plot point from the film. 'Saving Mr Banks' – also starring Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman and Colin Farrell - is due out on January 17.

Continue reading: Tom Hanks Walt Disney Picture - First Still From 'Saving Mr Banks'

Sandra Bullock is in talks with producers of the upcoming Hollywood remake of ‘Annie,’ according to The Wrap. Rumours of Bullock’s involvement started circulating in March, although it is believed talks have since reopened with Sony and Overbrook Entertainment.

The musical, first shown on Broadway in 1977, was made into a film in 1982. Should the studio’s plans come into fruition, the actress would be playing Miss Hannigan: the abusive overseer of Annie’s orphanage. As such, Bullock will be competing with Carol Burnett’s performance.

This role would mark a change for the actress who has previously appeared as the heroine in the majority of her films including The Blind Side, The Proposal and All About Steve.

Continue reading: Sandra Bullock In Talks For Jay-z And Will Smith’S ‘Annie’

Beautiful Creatures may boast a stellar cast, with the likes of Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons in the midst of its line-up, but that did not save it from a receiving a serious trouncing in the press and a bitterly disappointing opening weekend. The movie, which only managed to dredge up a meagre 44% on the Rotten Tomatoes review site, opened with just $7.5 million in domestic box office sales.

It seems that a smattering of quality cast members simply wasn’t enough to save Beautiful Creatures. Touted as the next Twilight, the overall look of the movie feels cheap in comparison and the story (boy moves to small Southern town, boy meets girl, boy discovers girl’s dark secrets) felt all too familiar and yawnsome. Too amateur-looking to draw in the adult crossover audience that Twilight and The Hunger Games so successfully entrapped and lacking the hype that they benefitted from so greatly, Beautiful Creatures has simply fallen through the cracks and failed to find its niche.

The top earner for the President's Day Weekend sales (and let’s not forget, it was also Valentine’s Day Weekend) was the latest Bruce Willis blockbuster, A Good Day To Die Hard, which somehow rakes in $25 million in its debut weekend, despite having received even worse reviews than Beautiful Creatures and managed only a laughable 16% score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Continue reading: Beautiful Creatures... Ugly Box Office Results. Fantasy Drama Fails To Attract An Audience

The Beautiful Creatures reviews are out, and it would appear as though the supernatural drama has divided the critics. Let’s have a look.

The inevitable comparisons to Twilight are ample, and like the vampire franchise, Beautiful Creatures is set for sequel after sequel; something The Telegraph wouldn’t mind. “There's just enough here to make the inevitable sequels a not-entirely-unwelcome prospect,” they write in a review that seems positive and negative at the same time. The Los Angeles Times’ review were delighted with it, saying “The movie is an intriguing, intelligent enigma - three words not typically associated with teen romances.” Similarly, Time Magazine seemed to accept it for what it is: “Beautiful Creatures is good fun and I want to know what happens next for Lena the teenaged witch.”

Continue reading: Beautiful Creatures Reviews – Critical Response Is Mixed

The latest trailer for fantasy film Beautiful Creatures offers an insight into the narrative's tale of fate and how much of it can be controlled. The story focuses on a young witch - they use the term Caster - called Lena who feels self-conscious at all the attention she receives in the normal world for her magic powers. So what better thing to do than move to a small conservative town in the backwaters of America? They're sure to take to someone so different there. Here she meets someone she falls in love with, of course. And they're also a 'mortal' (one of us, basically) so you can be sure that won't go down too well with her fellow Casters. 

Watch the trailer for Beautiful Creatures.

Continue reading: New Beautiful Creatures Preview Dissects Fate And Our Control Over It (Trailer)