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After notable appearances in Notting Hill (1999) and Iris (2001), Hugh Bonneville found global stardom as the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey. And he remains in period mode for the new film Viceroy's House, which dramatises the independence and partition of India in 1947.

Hugh Bonneville stars in 'Viceroy's House'

Of course, while he was filming the role, he couldn't have predicted how relevant the movie would be. "Any project you undertake, you have no idea how it's going to land," Bonneville says, "and then when it does land, what the ripple effect is. But it seems more pertinent than ever that this is a film about strife, division, neighbour turning on neighbour, lack of understanding of different communities within the same country. And those are the key notes that unfortunately chime within so many countries at the moment, not least the huge one across the pond."

Continue reading: Hugh Bonneville Sees Viceroy's House As Relevant Today

As Sarah Parish appeared on the One Show on Wednesday ahead of new comedy 'W1A's' debut episode, there was much to be made about how good the BBC is at poking fun at itself.  Only, it's not really, and the team that brought us 'Twenty Twelve' don't appear to have gone anywhere near far enough with their latest offering.

Hugh Bonneville And His Team in 'W1A'

Sure, the first episode brought about a passing reference to the Jimmy Savile affair as "a learning opportunity" but other than that, it seems as though the writers missed a golden opportunity to tap into the endless mine of material that the corporation has offered up over the past couple of years.

Continue reading: 'W1A' Is A BBC Mockumentary, Without The Mocking

A teaser trailer has been released to promote this year's upcoming Paddington movie, based on Michael Bond's much-loved children's books and the animated television shows. The King's Speech's Colin Firth will voice the little brown bear, who everybody knows has a penchant for marmalade sandwiches.

Upcoming Children's Film 'Paddington' Will Add A Modern Twist To Michael Bond's Much-Loved Children's Classic.

Released this coming November, the Paul King-directed movie will follow the classic tale of the conscientious little bear who arrives in London from Peru feeling frightened and alone at Paddington Station. Luckily, the kind Brown family notice Paddington with his "Please look after this bear" tag and take him in.

Continue reading: He's Almost Here! New 'Paddington' Trailer Teases Arrival Of The Marmalade-Loving Bear [Trailer + Pictures]

World War II movies: haven't we had our fill of them yet? Apparently not, according to George Clooney who is currently watching his new war film, The Monuments Men, open across the world after months of anticipation. For every soldier there are a thousand stories and millions fought across all of the nations involved in the Second World War. If that's the case, we've barely scratched the surface.

George Clooney Assembled A Truly Fine Cast For His WWII Movie, 'The Monuments Men.'

Continue reading: 'The Monuments Men' Just "Another War Film"? George Clooney Would Disagree [Trailer + Pictures]

Downton Abbey came to a close in the UK last night (10 Nov.) on ITV and even though it won't air in the US (on PBS) until January, producers of the show and bosses at the UK station have already agreed to bring the show back for a fifth run. ITV and co-producer Carnival Films announced Sunday (10 Nov.) that the Crawley family will be back for at least one more time, as the channel continues to capitalise on its most successful export.

Hugh Bonnevile and co. keeping the grounds of Downton Abbey reputable

According to ITV, the program brings in an average of at least 24 million viewers each week when it airs in the US, making it the most-watched drama in PBS' history. Understandably, both ITV and PBS want to continue capitalising on the immense success of the series and a fifth season seems like the most logical step fo producers to take. The hit series has already been sold to over 220 territoires and has an estimated global audience of 120 million people.

Continue reading: 'Downton Abbey' Green-Lit For Fifth Season

The period drama show 'Downton Abbey' has been renewed for a 5th season. ITV and Carnival Films, who make the TV series, made the announcement today (No 10th).

Hugh Bonneville (Center) leads the cast of 'Downton Abbey'

ITV reports, The 4th season, which also ended today, produced average viewing figures of 11.8 million people, making it the highest rated drama of 2013.

Continue reading: ITV's 'Downton Abbey' Renewed For A 5th Season

George Clooney's latest venture in front of and behind the camera; The Monuments Men, has been held back from it's planned release date following problems in applying the visual effects to certain scenes. The World War II set drama, which was also co-written and directed by Clooney, was due to be released on 18 December, however a statement from Clooney, given to the Los Angeles Times, revealed that the film is no longer running on schedule and as such it's release will be delayed until early 2014.

The Monuments Men was initially set for a 18 December release

The film, in which Clooney leads a team of art historians, museum curators and academics in a race to rescue a number of priceless works of art looted by the Nazis during their rampage through Europe. The screenplay was written by Clooney and Grant Heslov, who used the Robert Edsel account, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, to base the movie on.

Continue reading: Clooney's 'The Monuments Men' Out Of Oscars Race After Delay

A second trailer has been released for The Monuments Men, giving us another look at the sideways take on WWII. These men aren’t soldiers fighting to kill Nazis, rather captains of creative industries, over in Western Europe with a view to preserve the culture Hitler was vying to destroy.

George Clooney starring in The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men is based on a book by Robert Edsel and tells the true story of a World War II platoon charged with rescuing artistic and architectural landmarks from the Nazis before Hitler has his way with them.

Continue reading: A Fresh Look At The Art Of War– 'The Monuments Men' Trailer #2 [Trailer + Pictures]

The second episode of Downton Abbey's fourth season managed to pull in 9.6 million viewers according to Inquisitr - beating the premiere episode last week. Ratings are expected to be equally impressive for the American premiere of season 4, set to air in January.

Matthew's Death Devastated Downton.

As rating rose, so did the widowed Lady Mary's spirits as the doom and gloom of episode one's grieving was lightened with some dancing. Although Mary (Michelle Dockery) did not join in with said dancing despite the invitation from Cousin Rose (Lily James), there was a palpable optimism in the air as the Lady moved out of her slump and back into the land of the living.

Continue reading: 'Downton Abbey' Season 4 Episode 2 Enjoys High Ratings As Lady Mary's Mood Lifts

Colin Firth has agreed to play Paddington Bear in a re-boot of the famed Michael Bond books about a bear from Peru with a taste for marmalade. In the original Bond books, Paddington is found by the Brown family in London's Paddington Station after getting lost on the way over from his South American homeland. It is thought that the origins from the book will be mirrored on to the screen.

Colin Firth will play the marmalade-loving bear

In a discussion with the Daily Mail, Firth revealed that the movie will all be live action, except for the computer animated Paddington. Firth also revealed that as well as providing the voice for Paddington, his facial expressions will be mapped and used by the animators to construct the Paddington we see on stage, using the same methods used to capture Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films.

Continue reading: Colin Firth Will Put On His Wellies & Raincoat As He Lends His Voice To Paddington Bear

The awe-inspiring Highclere Castle, set of the fictitious Golden Globe-nominated Downton Abbey television drama, is now open to the public so that fans of the show can stroll through the hallways and dining rooms and picture themselves as part of the early 20th century storylines.

Highclere Visitors Can Pretend They're Part Of The Downton Cast.

Highclere Castle sits at the centre of a 1,000-acre estate about 70 miles west of London in the English county of Berkshire. The castle, with its striking square design, has been in the Earl of Carnavon's family for centuries. PBS' Downton Abbey has been filmed at the castle since 2010 and the decision to open up parts of the castle to the public will provide a welcome income and relieve the pressure of the costs required to keep such a large residence open, maintained and heated.

Continue reading: Visit The 'Downton Abbey' Castle In Anticipation Of The Next Series.

ITV's hit period drama Downton Abbey will return to our screens later this year, and in the meantime we've been given plenty of tidbits about what we can expect from season four, and our latest news story from the set of the show is that we have two new, very young stars joining the cast. Cumbria-born twins Logan and Cole Weston have been picked to share the role of Baby George, the son of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and her late husband Matthew, who was written out of the show during last years' Christmas finale.

Dockery will have a son to look after on the next season of the show

The twins, who hail from Meathop, near Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, will appear throughout the series as the youngest addition to the series, with filming for the new season coming to an end in the last few weeks. As reported by the BBC, the twins were given the all-star treatment on the set, and were treated with their own trailer and a limitless supply of sweets, milk and attention during the filming for the upcoming season. The twins make up just one of the many new stars due to join up with the Crawley family, including Hollywood star Paul Giamatti, James Fox and Gary Carr, who will star as the first black actor to appear on the show.

Continue reading: Downton Abbey Unveils Two New Stars: One-Year-Old Twins Logan & Cole Weston

Bosses behind the major British period drama Downton Abbey - which has also proved a huge hit stateside - have moved quickly to tie down the show's biggest stars in a bid to avoid another Dan Stevens-esque exit.

According to The Sun, stars including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern have signed three year deals worth over £1 million each. The move was made to avoid another cast member leaving in the same way that Stevens did last year.

The 30-year-old, who played Matthew Crawley, was the ITV drama's major draw though left abruptly to pursue other interests. The actor is a keen fan of literature and has narrated several audiobooks including The Angel's Game, Wolf Hall and War Horse. In 2012, he was a member of the judging panel for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and is currently editor-at-large for The Junket, an online quarterly is co-founded.

Continue reading: Downton Abbey Hands Out Golden Deals To Avoid Dan Stevens Style Exits

A host of Hollywood stars, including Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville have landed in southern English locations while filming World War II movie The Monuments Men in Rye, Sussex, and Duxford's Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire.

Adapted from the 2010 true story novel, Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves And The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History, by Robert M. Edsel, the film will be centred upon a group of historians and art curators - members of the 'Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives' program - a taskforce who work together to recover priceless artwork stolen by Nazis and other important cultural items, before they are destroyed by Hitler or bombed in the six-year-long conflict.

The film, which is produced and directed by Clooney, will also co-star Cate Blanchett and The Artist's Jean Dujardin, and will use the former airfield in Duxford for plane scenes and American war-base footage, and the coastal Rye location for shotting of a nautical nature.

Continue reading: Hollywood Meets Sussex: Clooney And Co Shoot 'The Monuments Men' [Pictures]

James McAvoy in Macbeth is causing quite a stir. Both the critics and the stars in the audience have lavished praise over the Scottish actor who has applied his trade in Hollywood, in X Men and The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. He is perhaps best known, though, for his roles in The Last King of Scotland and Atonement.

Stephen Merchant said he “loved it. I loved the bloodiness of it, the passion and the youthfulness of it, which was a nice take on the play.” Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville said of him, “James McAvoy is a brilliant actor, full stop,” while singer Beverley Knight had kind words for the plays writer. “Only Shakespeare himself could come up with the words to describe what I’ve just seen. I’m at a bit of a loss. It was so spellbinding, so intense, incredibly gripping. I thought I knew the play but now I’m seeing it with fresh eyes. It was absolutely unreal,” she said. The Director of the play, Jamie Lloyd, said of the play: “It's an apposite, urgent play for today, and that's why I don't want it to be set in period. I don't want the production to be a reflection of a time long past, I want it to resonate here and now."

Continue reading: James McAvoy Gets The Critics And Stars Excited With His Performance In Macbeth

George Clooney has signed up British actors Daniel Craig and Hugh Bonneville for his new World War 2 movie The Monuments Men. The Bond and Downton Abbey stars will join established Hollywood actors John Goodman, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Oscar winner Jean Dujardin, according to Deadline.

The movie, written by Clooney and Grant Heslov, tells the story of a group of art experts chosen by the US government to retrieve works stolen by the Nazis, before Hitler destroys them. It's based on Robert M Edsel's book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, And The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History. "I'm excited about it," Clooney told industry website TheWrap. "It's a fun movie because it could be big entertainment. It's big budget - you can't do it small - it's landing in Normandy". Hitler's forces swept through the museums and private collections of Europe during World War II, though 'The Monuments Men' were the directors, curators and art historians who risked their lives to retrieve the masterpieces. "I'm not opposed to doing a commercial film, I'm just opposed to doing a commercial film that doesn't feel organic to me," Clooney said of the subject matter, adding, "So if we're going to do a commercial film we thought 'let's do something that seems fun and actually have something to say."

The movie is due to begin production in March 2013, with a release date likely to be set for 2014.

Continue reading: George Clooney Signs Up Daniel Craig For WW2 Flick 'The Monuments Men'