Kenneth Branagh Page 4

The ensemble cast of Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express is shaping up to be pretty special.

Branagh, who will direct and star in the adaptation, is to be joined by Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench and Michelle Pfeiffer for the classic Agatha Christie murder mystery.

Johnny Depp is among the A-list cast for Murder on the Orient Express

Continue reading: Daisy Ridley And Judi Dench To Join Johnny Depp On Board 'Murder On The Orient Express'

Sir Kenneth Branagh is to play fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in a film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express for Fox Studios that he will also be directing, according to reports.

The 54 year old English actor, whose directing credits include Thor, Henry V and 2015’s box-office success Cinderella, is reported by Variety to have signed up for the Fox re-make that has been in the pipelines since 2013. Ridley Scott, fresh from his success with The Martian, is also attached to the project as a co-producer.

Sir Kenneth Branagh will be directing and starring in the new adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic novel

Continue reading: Kenneth Branagh To Star In And Direct 'Murder On The Orient Express' Movie

As Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit prepares for release worldwide, the critics' reviews have been formed and filed and could determine whether many see the film or not this January. If you're a film fan who was looking forward to Kenneth Branagh's new realisation of the late Tom Clancy's CIA hero Jack Ryan, you may want to click away now because it's not too pretty.

Chris Pine Leads As Jack Ryan In The Franchise's New Incarnation.

After Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford's incarnations of the young but heroic CIA agent, it's now Star Trek's Chris Pine's turn to take on the action role. Pine's Ryan starts out as a CIA office worker but is propelled into a daunting new world of special operations when he is enlisted to help thwart a major Russian terrorist plot.

Continue reading: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Is A "Muffled" Reboot Of Tom Clancy's CIA Hero, Say Critics

Talented spy author Tom Clancy died earlier this week, but his legacy lives on via his many novels, his video games and his movies, which are still being made. The 66 year-old novelist died in a Baltimore hospital after a short illness.

Clancy Brought Thrilling Tales Of Espionage To Life.

With a personal fortune estimated at $47.8m (£33m), Clancy was one of the most productive, not to mention richest authors in the world. His most famous character Jack Ryan appeared in many of Clancy's novels and movies, including the famous The Hunt For Red October, starring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery.

Continue reading: Tom Clancy's Legacy Lives On In New Kenneth Branagh Movie, 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit'

Cate Blanchett might've put on a jaw-dropping performance in her most recent film Blue Jasmine, but she's about to display a new talent as a budding film director in the upcoming adaptation of The Dinner.

Perhaps working with such iconic directors as Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine), Peter Jackson (The Hobbit), George Clooney (The Monuments Men, due out 2014) and Kenneth Branagh - who she is currently filming the new adaptation of Cinderella with - has inspired her to branch out in her film career as she finally takes on the tricky role new in a new film based on the novel by Herman Koch.

It's a suspenseful thriller about two couples who are trying to make a drastic decision about their teenage sons who have been involved in a horrific situation that's now in the hands of the police. There is little action and one setting, but that will only make it harder to infuse each second with nail-biting tension and heart-stopping dread when it is put to film.

Continue reading: Cate Blanchett Will Debut As Film Director In Herman Koch's Epic 'The Dinner'

Marion Cotillard has been chosen to bring some Gallic glamour to one of Scotland's most malevolent (fictional) characters in the latest big screen adaption of William Shakespeare's MacBeth. The Oscar-winning actress is set to star along German/Irish actor Michael Fassbender, who will be taking on the titular role, under the direction of Snowtown's Justin Kurzel, The Hollywood Reporter first revealed.

Marion Cotillard will replace fellow Oscar-winner Natalie Portman in the latest adaption of 'The Scottish Play'

Distributed through StudioCanal and Film4, the latest rendition of the classic Shakespearean tragedy is being produced by The King's Speech backers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, who run the production house See Saw. Which happens to be the same company that worked on the Fassbender-starring Shame. No further details of the film have been released just yet, so it is still unknown who Cotillard and Fassbender will be starring alongside when filming begins in January 2014.

Continue reading: Marion Cotillard Lined-Up For Lady MacBeth Role In Upcoming Film Adaption

Why Baby Why: The country music world lost a true legend in the shape of George Jones last week. The musician was dubbed No Show George for his unpredictability throughout his touring career though he never failed to entertain and certainly had a tale to tell. The musical luminaries turned out en masse for his funeral too.

The Slipper Fits: Lily James landed the biggest role of her short career this week, filing the part of Cinderella in Kenneth Branagh's new big-budget movie for Disney. You may remember that Emma Watson turned down the role earlier this year - could that be a movie that comes back to haunt her? 

Continue reading: A Week In News: Tributes Paid To George Jones, Tyler The Creator Finds Controversy, Lily Collins Goes Zombie-Hunting

The Downton Abbey actress Lily James has landed the role of Cinderella in Disney's live-action retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy-tale, reports Variety. Kenneth Branagh will direct the project, based on a script by Chris Weitz. Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett co-stars as the evil stepmother.

James is a name that's hardly been mentioned throughout the casting process, with Disney originally offering the role to Harry Potter star Emma Watson. On that occasion - Variety's Marc Graser (who broke news of Lily James' casting) - reported how negotiations had broken down, with Watson instead choosing to focus on Guillermo del Toro's planned Beauty and the Beast movie, over at Warner Bros. The film is still in development at the studio, though there's no production start date or release date yet.

Lily James began her career in several notable theatre roles, including alongside Dominic West in a production of Othello at the Crucible in Sheffield. She went onto star in Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre. She landed a movie roles in Noel Clarke's 2012 film Fast Girls about a group of young female athletes competing in the World Championships before appearing in Wrath of the Titans, alongside Rosamund Pike, Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson. Her television credits include Secret Diary of a Call Girl and season three of Downton Abbey. 

Continue reading: The Slipper Fits! Lily James Snags Role As Disney's Cinderella: Who Is She?

Lily James, who found fame as Lady Rose MacClare in Downton Abbey, has been chosen by Disney to play Cinderella in their upcoming live-action reboot of the fairy tale. The English beauty has beaten off competition from the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Bella Heathcote and Emma Watson for the sought after role, with filming set to begin on the project later this year.

Lily James should make a fitting Cinderella

Kenneth Branagh has already been signed on to direct the live action take, with Cate Blanchett playing the evil stepmother. Disney have been planning on bringing a live-action version of Cinderella to cinemas since 2010, following the success of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, but have only now gotten round to filling in all the gaps in the project. Blanchett was confirmed to take on the evil stepmother role at the end of last year, but since then the producers have been in a mad dash to sign their lead actress, with many of the would-be Cinderellas, most notable Watson, declining the part due to other commitments.

Continue reading: Lily James Chosen To Play Cinderella In New Disney Flick

The actress Alex Kingston has been cast as Lady Macbeth, to star alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh in a new production of the Shakespearian tragedy. The new production of the play will be co-directed with the Emmy and Tony award-winning director Ron Ashford. Kingston, aged 50 is perhaps best known for her roles as Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER and River Song in Doctor Who.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she revealed “I’m excited - and a bit terrified, as well - about being given the challenge and being pushed… It’s going to be a workout, that’s for sure. Emotional things are already starting to percolate.” She also explained how she came to be working with Branagh; they met in Los Angeles for tea and discussed the not-so-happy Macbeth couple. Kingston and Branagh saw eye to eye when it came to approaching the characters and their development throughout the play. “it’s more interesting if you don’t consider them sort of quintessentially evil at the beginning of the play, because then, ultimately, you’re only playing one note,” said Alex. “There are references in the play that their castle is very pleasant; it’s not some sort of terrifying, glowering place that has an evil presence.”

Co-director Ron Ashford explained that he wanted an actress of Alex’s “stature” to carry off the complexities of Lady Macbeth’s character and highlight her vulnerabilities. 

Continue reading: Alex Kingston Lands Lady Macbeth Role Alongside Kenneth Branagh

Emma Watson is officially out of the running to play the submissive Anastasia Steele in Kelly Marcel's adaptation of the S&M novel 'Fifty Shades of Grey.' Watson - who, of course played Hermione Granger in Harry Potter - has long been considered one of the favourites to play the female lead in theUniversal and Focus Pictures movie, though she shot down the rumors in a couple of posts on her Twitter page this week. Watson, who recently turned down the opportunity to play Cinderella in Kenneth Branagh's upcoming Disney movie, started off by telling followers, "Who here actually thinks I would do 50 Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life."

After encouraging her fans to respond, Watson presumably got few affirmative replies, or plenty of tweets warning her off the project, tweeting, "Good. Well that's that sorted then." The nature of her tweets suggest Watson has been approached by Universal about playing Anastasia and it's likely she would have been the studio's first choice. "I haven't read the book, I haven't a read a script, nothing," Watson told EW.com in July 2012, "There are so many movies you become attached to when I've literally never even received a phone call. It was the same way with 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' - I never even saw a script!"

The Fifty Shades movie remains without a lead actor, actress or director, despite Universal's hopes of releasing the film in summer of 2014. Shooting is likely to go ahead within the next couple of months, though Watson ruling herself will have given producers a potential headache. Is she isn't playing Steele, then who is?

Continue reading: If Emma Watson Isn't Doing 'Fifty Shades Of Grey,' Then Who Is?

Emma Watson has weighed up the pros and cons of Kenneth Branagh's Walt Disney movie 'Cinderella' and determined that now is probably not the time to take another family friends kids movie.

Last month, Variety's Marc Graser reported that former Harry Potter actress Watson was in early talks to join the project, which stars Cate Blanchett and boasts a crew including 'Devil Wears Prada's Aline Brosh on script duty and Twilight's Chris Weitz on rewrites. The movie is planned to begin shooting in London this fall, though the entire project has been dealt a serious blow with news that Watson - the studio's first choice for Cinderella - has passed.

It's probably a wise decision by Watson, who is slowly but surely moving away from family movies in a bid to be considered a serious actress. This year, she'll be seen in Darren Aronofsky's historical-epic Noah, with Russell Crowe, and plays a teenage thief in Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring.' She also stars in Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen's This Is The End.

Continue reading: Slipper Didn't Fit: Emma Watson Passes On Disney's 'Cinderella'

Legendary television actor Richard Briers, who played the enduring Tom in BBC comedy The Good Life, has died at the age of 79. The actor, who also starred in Ever Decreasing Circles, Monarch of the Glen and numerous successful stage productions, had been ill for a number of years with emphysema.

Tributes Are Pouring In For The Legendary Richard Briers

His agent, Christopher Farrar, said in a statement, "Richard was a wonderful man, a consummate professional and an absolute joy to work alongside. Following his recent discussion of his battle with emphysema, I know he was incredibly touched by the strength of support expressed by friends and the public, adding, "He has a unique and special place in the hearts of so many. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his family at this sad time."

Continue reading: The Good Life: Legendary TV Actor Richard Briers Dies Aged 79

James McAvoy can add future King of Scotland to his resumé when he takes to the West End stage early next year for a new production of Shakespeare's Macbeth, run by director Jamie Lloyd.

The updated production will be held at the newly opened Traf Transformed theatre at Trafalgar Studio in Whitehall, beginning in February next year (13), running from February 9 until  April 27. The latest version has been re-written by Lloyd and is set in a dystopian separatist Scotland, which has been ravaged by war. Although little else has been revealed about the plot of the latest adaption, is is believed that the story will largely follow Shakespeare's original plot, with the setting and a few other details being changed for the new adaption.

After the show's run, McAvoy will be heading back to Hollywood to film the sequel for last years X Men: First Class, where he will reclaim his role as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Don't worry if you want to see Macbeth after McAvoy calls it quits though, as the newly knighted Sir Kenneth Branagh will be teaming up with director Rob Ashford to bring their own interpretation of the Bard's most famous story at the Manchester International Festival in July.

Kenneth Branagh was honoured by the Queen at Buckingham Palace earlier this week, receiving his knighthood from the royal following his awarding of the title during her birthday honours list in June this year.

The actor, director and writer, who also had a starring role in Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for this years Olympics, taking on the role of famed Victorian industrialist Isambard Kingdom Brunel, received his honour from the Queen, saying after to the BBC that he felt "humble, elated and incredibly lucky" to be bestowed with such an honour.

Known best for his Shakespearean roles, most notably Henry V, as well as his role on television as the Swedish detective Wallander on the BBC of the same name, Branagh was recognised for his ongoing services to drama, which have spanned more than three decades already. 

Continue reading: Kenneth Branagh Honoured By The Queen: Thats SIR Kenneth Now

Yesterday (Nov 9), Kenneth Branagh was officially made Sir Kenneth Branagh, with the actor declaring the day to be the pinnacle of "one hell of a year."

The actor, who first bowed before the Queen after a performance in Hamlet when he was a 19-year-old drama student, took to one knee in front of Her Majesty once again as he has given his knighthood after it was announced during the Queen's birthday honours list in June this year reports The Daily Mail. The actor/director/writer was officially recognised by the Queen for his outstanding services to drama over a career that was spanned more that three decades. 

Throughout his distinguished careers, the Belfast-born thespian has been nominated for five Academy Awards and won three BAFTAs, however he has said that the knighthood knocks all these recognitions out of the water. Known best for his Shakespearean roles, especially Hamlet and Henry V, Branagh also received recognition for his roles on TV as the Swedish detective Wallander, as well as receiving plaudits for his roles behind the camera, for Frankenstein and most recently Thor.

Continue reading: Kenneth Branagh Declares Knighthood As The Icing On The Cake To A Great Year

Actor/writer/director and all round renaissance-man Kenneth Branagh received his knighthood today at Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II, having been told of his accolade following the announcement of Queen's birthday honours in June this year.

Sir Kenneth, who is perhaps best known for his Shakespearean roles both in front and behind the camera, also played a part in this year's Olympic opening ceremony, donning the trademark stove-pipe hat as he played Britain's most famous industrialist Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel at the start of Danny Boyle's breathtaking spectacle.

Branagh was not the only person honoured in the Birthday list from the entertainment industry, with X Factor judge and Diamond Jubilee organiser Gary Barlow recognised with an OBE for his services to the entertainment industry and to charity. Comedy writer Armando Iannucci, known for his work on sitcoms such as The Thick Of It and I'm Alan Partridge, was also given an OBE in the honours.

Continue reading: Arise Sir Kenneth: Kenneth Branagh Knighted By The Queen At Buckingham Palace

Kenneth Branagh has received his knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to drama and the community of Northern Ireland. The Oscar-nominated actor, director and screenwriter, is best known for his Shakespearean works though most recently played Swedish detective Wallander in the BBC series of the same name.

Sir Kenneth joins the likes of Sir Michael Caine, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ben Kingsley and Sir Laurence Olivier in becoming a thespian knight. Branagh - who recently starred in the Marilyn Monroe movie My Week With Marilyn - told Sky News that he felt "humble, elated and incredibly lucky," to have received the award, adding, "When I was a kid I dreamed of pulling on a shirt for the Northern Ireland football team. I could only imagine how proud you might feel. Today it feels like they just gave me the shirt and my heart's fit to burst." Branagh spent his early years in Northern Ireland though moved to Reading with his family at the age of nine. 

In today's ceremony, two British servicemen were awarded the Military Cross for bravery. Corporal Carl Taylor from Birmingham ran 80 feet across open ground under Taliban fire to rescue three young Afghan children. Bombardier Mark Carpenter of the Royal Artillery was also honoured, as were four fire-fighters from Nottinghamshire who received the Queen's Gallantry Medal for acts of bravery. 

Continue reading: Kenneth Branagh? That's Sir Kenneth Branagh To You!

Legendary thespian and film star, Sir Ian McKellen, came under fire from the late Richard Harris several years ago when he landed the role of the wise but mischievous Gandalf in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. McKellen claims that Harris was furious for not being cast in Peter Jackson's fantasy epic, and this was exacerbated by McKellen being chosen over him.

Related: Sir Ian McKellen Inspires Bristol Students With Famous Gandalf Line

Harris reportedly exploded at the rumour that McKellen would then take the role of Dumbledore as well in 2002 when Harris' health steadily began to fail. The actor explained: "Before Richard Harris died, there was an enquiry: would I be interested in playing in Harry Potter? And I said, 'Yes, certainly'. But I've not heard anything since."

Continue reading: Gandalf Vs Dumbledore - Sir Ian Mckellen Discusses Disagreement With Richard Harris