Latest news with #EddieRedmayne
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Variety's FYC TV Fest Gets Deep on Drama With ‘Yellowjackets,' ‘Day of the Jackal,' ‘Matlock' and More
The morning kicked off with a pair of powerful dramas from executive producers Nigel Marchant and Gareth Neame of Carnival Films, the company responsible for such hits as 'Downton Abbey' and 'The Gilded Age.' Marchant noted that if their projects had a common theme, it was world-building. 'I think that's what we're really good at — really looking at what entertains us is going to entertain an audience.'Both 'Jackal' and 'Lockerbie' are currently streaming on Peacock and feature standout lead performances from Oscar-winning actors. In 'Jackal,' Eddie Redmayne plays the titular assassin, who takes on many disguises. 'He's such a meticulous actor,' said Marchant. 'He had to learn different languages, he [worked] with movement coaches, he had to have all of the prosthetics [work] and he really embraced all of that.''Lockerbie' finds Colin Firth portraying Jim Swire, who spent decades investigating the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 after his daughter was killed in the crash. Asked how they are able to continually attract A-list talent and Neame quipped, 'We pay well.' Marchant, more seriously, added, 'I think it's always the script.'Neame went on to say that they pursue close relationships with the show's writers, such as they did with 'Downton Abbey' creator Julian Fellowes. 'The show was a concept I had wanted to make for years and years but just didn't know who could write that show until I got to know Julian. I pitched him the topline idea.' He said it was similar with 'Jackal' showrunner Ronan Bennett and 'Lockerbie' scribe David Harrower. 'We come up with the ideas, but we love to work with these brilliant writers, whether they're highly established or younger writers. And then just supporting them and their vision.' During Variety's 'Meet the Makers: Yellowjackets, actor Melanie Lynskey told the audience she likes having a conversation with showrunners and executive producers Ashley Lyle, Jonathan Lisco and Bart Nickerson about her overall character's arc. More from Variety Ellen Pompeo, Elisabeth Moss, Niecy Nash-Betts and More Female TV Standouts on Tapping Into Intense Roles and Watching Comfort Shows After Work: 'I Turn to True Crime to Relax' 'The Traitors,' 'Drag Race' and 'The Challenge' Winners Take a Victory Lap, Reflect on Reality TV at Variety's FYC TV Fest: 'It's Like a Sleepover on Steroids' Comedy Stars From 'Animal Control,' 'Going Dutch,' 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage' and More Bring the Laughs to Variety's FYC TV Fest Lynskey told Variety's senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, 'I don't hear too much about what's happening with other characters. It's more Shauna's journey, so I'm still surprised as the season goes on.' In the present-day timeline of the show, Shauna (Lynskey) finds out that Melissa (Hilary Swank) is not only alive — she had faked her death years before — but is married to Hannah's daughter, who has no idea who she really is. When their characters begin fighting, Shauna ultimately bites Melissa's arm before force-feeding her a piece of it. Lyle says that was something that came up early in the writer's room, and the shorthand was 'Shauna eats her hand.' Lyle went on to say they eventually got to the point where they couldn't make the character eat an entire hand. 'We knew that we wanted to have a really brutal, vicious moment for Shauna that is the unlocking of everything that she's been holding back for three seasons.' Lyle also talked about killing off major characters this season and the decision-making process. 'These are characters who've been living in our brains for years, and then they are actors who are our friends and colleagues,' Lyle explained. She went on to say, 'If we've done our jobs right, it should hurt. If it doesn't hurt, then we have failed.' Lisco added, 'Unfortunately, because the show is about trauma, that must have consequences. And if it didn't, I think the audience would rebel because it would start feeling like melodrama and artificial. But because we wanted to keep it as real and as poignant as possible, unfortunately, the characters that you come to love may have to slough off this mortal coil.' 'Matlock' creator Jennie Snyder Urman admits she's still shocked she landed Kathy Bates for the starring role. 'And my mom is still surprised that she knows my name!' joked Urman as Bates laughed was joined by cast members Bates, Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio, Leah Lewis and Jason Ritter to discuss CBS' hit legal drama in which the Oscar-winning plays a lawyer coming out of retirement to work at a big legal firm. Because she's older, few people suspect that the sweet Mattie Matlock is actually undercover, investigating who destroyed evidence.'When we get to a certain age, we do become invisible,' Bates acknowledged. 'And yet it's at the time of our lives when we know more things, we can accomplish more things. But for some reason in our society — and especially in our industry — they're not interested in that.' Bates noted that Urman has 'flipped the script' on that idea and that the show manages to appeal to people of all ages. 'What I love is when people say, 'Oh I watched it with my 16-year-old son, I watched it with my mother.' It's just cool.' Robert and Michelle King have been responsible for several acclaimed shows, including 'The Good Wife' and it's spin-off 'The Good Fight' and were on hand to speak about two of their most recent four seasons, the supernatural thriller 'Evil' signed off the air and even the creators admitted even they can't believe with what the show got away with. But it wasn't evil chatbots or haunted elevators they expected the most resistance to. 'We did a silent episode and I was surprised they didn't read the script and go, 'Wait a minute, where is the dialogue?'' said Robert King. He also praised the production values the show had, particularly an episode where they built a particle accelerator to try and determine the weight of the human Kings were then joined by 'Elsbeth' showrunner Jonathan Tolins and actors Carrie Preston and Wendell Pierce to discuss the CBS hit featuring the lovable attorney character Preston originated on 'The Good Wife' 15 years had previously worked with the Kings on several shows, including the short-lived 2015 sci-fi dram 'Brain Dead,' which was set in Washington D.C. and centered on people whose brains were taken over by alien insects. Tolins jokingly referred to that show as a 'documentary.' Noting that the show was ahead of its time, Robert King added, 'Robert F. Kennedy had a worm in his head. I mean, he stole from us!'Asked about the enduring appeal of the character, Preston spoke of 'her positivity, her joyousness, her ability to be curious. Even when she's feeling hurt or vulnerable, she always willfully makes herself see the good – even in the murderers. That's how she solves the crimes, she has the empathy and compassion to see why they did it.' Echoed Tolin, 'People always say the character is so quirky, but a lot of that comes from the fact that she's willing to say the truth.' The third season of AMC's 'Dark Winds' examines more of Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn's (Zahn McClarnon) past. As he faces new mysteries and 'monsters,' Leaphorn is forced to face his traumatic past. Episode 6 of the latest season delves into the moral gray areas behind some choices. Speaking with Variety's senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, McClarnon said it was fun as an actor to explore that. 'I find it cathartic to tap into some of that stuff that I went through as a kid, which was very similar. I enjoy that process as an actor and that's why I wanted to be an actor.' Writer and director Steven Paul Judd joined McClarnon and discussed how the writer's room was filled with Native storytellers. Judd said, 'You're really pulling from past experiences from yourself, too. So you got a room of people, it's like therapy. Everyone's crying in the room because you're telling personal stories, and because you want the stories to be as true as they can be. So it was cathartic.' Being as authentic as possible is important to the creative team on the show. And that meant McClarnon having to learn Dine, the Navajo language for certain scenes. Cultural consultants on helped ensure each syllable was correct, but it wasn't easy. McClarnon told the audience that it would often take a few weeks 'to learn a couple of lines.' Next season, McClarnon will direct his first episode. He revealed that stepping into prep was the most difficult aspect of the role and having shot lists. 'I relied on everybody around me to hold me up and guide me.' Judd joked that on the first day of shooting, McClarnon showed up with a megaphone wearing boots and a beret. 'He said, 'This is how I saw it in the movie.' As it turns out, McClarnon was inspired by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich's style. While he's not done with the show yet and would like to explore more of Leaphorn's complexities, McClarnon eventually hopes to play other roles. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Frederick Forsyth's mission to take on Clarkson proves impossible
Frederick Forsyth 's life and career are the stuff of legend. No one, after all, will surpass his record of being accepted by the RAF aged just 17, thereafter becoming its youngest ever jet pilot. Even then, he had already given ample evidence of his precocious talents, speaking fluent French and German by the time he was 15, and mastering Spanish – and rudimentary Russian – a couple of years later. Still in his 20s, he was Reuters correspondent in Paris and then in Berlin, where he also began doing occasional missions for MI6. Less than a decade later, after reporting on the war in Biafra, he wrote The Day Of The Jackal in 35 days, and has since sold well over 70 million books. But now, aged 86, Forsyth appears to have been shot down in his quest to fulfil a final ambition: to become the oldest ever celebrity contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? On his previous appearance, in 2002, he was paired with Gloria Hunniford and won £250,000 – a record matched only once since then, by Stephen Fry. Forsyth tells me that he recently contacted a key executive at the production company which makes Millionaire, to see if he might compete again. 'I checked at the highest level – and it's over,' says the author, who's recently seen The Jackal resurrected in a new series starring Eddie Redmayne. 'They're not going to make any more. 'He was very nice about it. He replied to my email and said, 'Unfortunately, we think it's over now'. They've got a few in the bag. They'll get through those and that'll be it.' Yet ITV insists that it has no plans to axe the series. Forsyth, who's convinced he could crack the £1 million prize, is not entirely surprised. 'I suspect that I'm black-marked,' he tells me, adding that he had intended to reveal which charity was going to benefit from his winnings only at the end of the show. 'It would have been the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Special Air Service,' he tells me. 'It gets no crowd-funding, for obvious reasons. They would have appreciated a nice little pot of money,' muses Forsyth, who stood down as president of the Special Forces Club seven years ago. 'I think it would have been very popular.' Hofit Golan warns of 'woke' Cannes Hofit Golan sees through Cannes Film Festival' new dress code which ban 'nude' dresses. 'I'm not offended by a nipple,' the model tells me. 'The French have nude beaches, so why are you going to lose sleep about some nipples?' Hofit, 40, pushed her luck in a revealing dress designed by Joli Poli couture at the Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning premiere. And it caught the eye of star Tom Cruise. 'He said to me he liked my dress,' she says. 'If you take away the glamour from Cannes, what is Cannes? It can't become 'woke' like the Oscars. We don't want that.' The smart set's talking about... Cupid's stroke of serendipity for Tatler star Tatler cover girl Esme Bertelsen, who was listed by the society magazine as one of Britain's 100 most eligible women, has found love in the most random way. The 23-year-old daughter of television personality Susannah Constantine has been swept off her feet by Luke Moreton, an alumnus of £60,000-per-year Milton Abbey School in Dorset. 'We met in Barcelona in the craziest way,' she tells me. 'We literally bumped into each other. I dropped my stuff and he picked it up. 'It sounds like something out of a movie.' Art consultant Esme says Luke, who works at the arty Friends of Friends Festival, has won the approval of her mother, who used to deliver withering verdicts on people's wardrobes on the hit BBC show What Not To Wear. Jerry's secret tips for Georgia May to be a perfect model Jerry Hall once remarked: 'My mother said it was simple to keep a man: You must be a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom. I said I'd hire the other two and take care of the bedroom bit.' Now, the Texan reveals the advice she gave her daughter Georgia May, who followed her mother into modelling. 'I told her to be nice and be on time – and she always is,' Jerry tells me at the Magnum Cannes Beach Party. Georgia, 33, whose father is Sir Mick Jagger, enjoys hitting the town with her mother, 68. 'It's so fun,' she says. 'We love getting dressed up and going out. It's so nice to get to do it together. She's always been my mum, but I knew that she was the most glamorous woman in the world. We've always been close.' Comic's wife is laughing all the way to the bank... Russell Howard had to live apart from his wife, Cerys, during the pandemic lockdowns because she returned to work on the NHS frontline even though she was on sabbatical when Covid struck. And now the comedian, 45, has demonstrated how much he treasures the doctor by giving her half his fortune. I can disclose that Howard, who is in the middle of a world tour, has handed over 50 per cent of his private company Skylarking UK to Cerys, who gave birth to their first child last year. The transfer has just been reported in a confirmation statement filed at Companies House by Howard's performing arts company, which he set up in 2008. Latest accounts, to March 2024, disclose £10.1million worth of shareholders' funds, with Howard enjoying a £730,000 upturn in the value of unlisted investments. His financial assets increased in value to £6.1million, with cash reserves reported at £4.6 million. The Lady's Julia Budworth leaves son out of will Only last month I disclosed that The Lady, oldest and stateliest of women's magazines, had been abruptly placed in liquidation, leaving many of its contributors painfully out of pocket. But they may find consolation in the £1.5million will, published this week, of the splendid Julia Budworth, matriarch of The Lady, founded by her grandfather in 1885. Drawn up in 2022, two years before Julia died aged 92, the will contains a striking omission. Her youngest son, Ben, The Lady's final owner, goes entirely unmentioned, unlike Julia's other sons – Richard, William and Adam – who are primary beneficiaries. Ben bought The Lady's London offices for £6.2 million from his uncle – Julia's brother, Tom – and sold them on for £12.4 million. Resisting his mother's plea to share his windfall with his brothers, he instead bought Bylaugh Hall in Norfolk for £1.9 million, where he lives with Helen Robinson, The Lady's last editor. Ben, who declines to comment, also snapped up a helicopter. Seven months after confirming his romance with vegan 'influencer' Heidi Kadlecova, Hugh Bonneville remains reluctant to give up meat. Asked to describe his ideal diet, the Downton star offers: 'The one where you eat a massive amount of roast chicken with English mustard, bread sauce, sprouts and potatoes and you're guaranteed to shed 20lb.' Don't tell Prince Harry, but King Charles is beefing up his own security. His Majesty seeks a 'physical and technical security manager' who will be paid £60,000 per year. Based at Buckingham Palace, the successful candidate will 'lead on providing protective security advice and support to the Royal Households, covering multiple residences across the UK', says the ad on the royal website. West raises eyebrows, and lots of charity cash Dominic West raised eyebrows with some of his comments as he hosted a charity gala in London. The actor, 55, who played King Charles in The Crown, gave a speech about sick children in India, where a typical salary is less than £3,000 per year. 'If, like me, you're wearing more than £10,000, raise your hands in the air,' said West, who was in a dinner suit. Speaking at the DKMS gala at the Natural History Museum, he said: 'I recently saw two watches I loved that were over £10,000 each and I bought both of them.' He added: '£5,000 – let's face it, that's what some of us call lunch.' His patter seemed to work: Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, set the ball rolling with a donation of £10,000. It was billed as the final film in the series, but Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy might not be the last after all. Sally Phillips, who played Bridget's friend Shazza in all four films, says: 'This was supposed to be the last one, but I've been wrong every single time. 'They asked me after the first one. I said, 'No, that's a standalone thing.' 'Then we did a second one and I said, 'Well, that wasn't as good as the first one, so I don't think they will do another one.' And then we did do another one and they said, 'Is it done now?' and I said, 'It's definitely done now', and we did a fourth one. This one is the highest-grossing – it beat Barbie at the UK box office.'
Scotsman
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Look inside stunning £4m beachside house which could be yours for £10
This stunning beachside house with hot tub is valued at £4 million but it could be yours for just £10. The luxury four-bedroom villa in West Sussex is the latest breathtaking property to go up for grabs - along with £250,000 cash - as part of the Omaze house draws. The striking coastal gem, boasting floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of those views, also includes an outdoor kitchen, a self-contained studio guesthouse and boathouse, and much more. No expense has been spared with the luxury fittings and furniture, and even your furry friend has not been forgotten - with a heated dog shower in the garage. The latest Omaze draw is back by Hollywood actor Eddie Redmayne, who is a patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Omaze has guaranteed a minimum donation of £1 million for the charity - enough to fund 13 vital research nurses for a whole year. The property, which is just a short stroll from the shops, cafes and wine bars of East Preston and Rustington villages, comes mortgage-free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. It is just over a mile from Angmering station, with regular direct trains taking you to London Victoria in around 90 minutes, and it's close to the natural splendour of the South Downs National Park, the historic market town of Arundel and buzzing Brighton and Hove. The winner can decide whether to live in the house, rent it out for an estimated £6,000 a month or cash in and become an instant multi-millionaire. The Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Sussex is now open and closes on Sunday, June 29, 2025 for online entries and on Tuesday, July 1 for postal entries. Paid entries start from just £10. Anyone entering online by midnight this Sunday, May 11 or via post by Tuesday, May 13, will also be in with the chance of winning the Early Bird Prize of a Land Rover Defender and an Airstream, worth more than £150,000 combined. You can also subscribe to Omaze to be automatically entered into every new Grand Prize Draw when your subscription renews each month, with subscribers getting four times as many entries as non-subscribers. The draw is open to over-18s and UK residents only. To enter, visit Eddie Redmayne won an Oscar for playing Professor Stephen Hawking, who lived with motor neurone disease (MND), in the acclaimed film The Theory of Everything. MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing neurological disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, impairing people's ability to walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. Around 5,000 people are living with the condition in the UK at any one time. The MND Association is focused on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND. Eddie Redmayne told how his eyes were opened to the devastation caused by MND while he was researching and filming The Theory of Everything. 'I was struck by the brutality of MND, and how it robs so many people of a future with their families in the cruellest of ways,' he said. 'Every day in the UK, six people are diagnosed with MND and six people die from it. As the biggest charitable funder of MND research in the UK, the MND Association is working tirelessly to change this, investing in research to take us closer to effective treatments and a cure. 'This exciting partnership with Omaze will further the MND Association's vital work while shining a spotlight on MND, and the needs of those affected by it.' 1 . Amazing location You couldn't ask for a better location than this £4m beachside villa, which is up for grabs in the latest Omaze prize draw | Omaze Photo: Omaze Photo Sales 2 . Amazing views The sun room of the £4m beachside villa, with glorious sea views, which is up for grabs in the latest Omaze prize draw | Omaze Photo: Omaze Photo Sales 3 . Hot tub You can take in the views from the hot tub at this £4m beachside villa, which is up for grabs in the latest Omaze prize draw | Omaze Photo: Omaze Photo Sales 4 . Kitchen The stylish kitchen of the £4m beachside villa, which is up for grabs in the latest Omaze prize draw | Omaze Photo: Omaze Photo Sales
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More than 400 actors and industry figures sign open letter backing trans rights
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals have signed an open letter pledging 'solidarity' with the trans, non-binary and intersex communities who have been affected by the recent supreme court ruling. Eddie Redmayne, Katie Leung, Nicola Coughlan, Charlotte Ritchie and Paapa Essiedu are among those to have signed the letter addressing the film and television industry as well as cultural bodies. Bella Ramsey, James Norton, Joe Alwyn, Himesh Patel, Harris Dickinson and the director Ken Loach are also signatories. In mid-April, supreme court judges unanimously ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. This means a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change a person's legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The ruling has been interpreted to mean that trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces like toilets and changing rooms. The open letter said: 'We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.' It added the film and television community had previously come together in response to the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements by 'reflecting' upon working practices and 'uplifting' a broad spectrum of voices. 'We must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry – whether on set, in a production office, or at a cinema.' The letter continued: 'Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.' On Wednesday, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said it is 'absolutely unacceptable' to question the validity of the supreme court ruling that the term 'woman' is defined by biological sex. Giving evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Mahmood said: 'They obviously provided the legal clarity in their legal decision, which is exactly their job. 'I think it's disappointing since then that some individuals have sought to question the validity of the supreme court or cast aspersions, which is absolutely unacceptable. 'I think they've done their job and I think they've sought to do it in a way that recognises that we're talking about a balance of rights, but sought to give confidence to a minority community that they still have protections.' Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the ruling.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals sign open letter supporting trans rights
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals have signed an open letter pledging their 'solidarity' with the trans, non-binary, and intersex communities who have been affected by the recent supreme court ruling. Eddie Redmayne, Katie Leung, Nicola Coughlan, Charlotte Ritchie and Paapa Essiedu are among those to have signed the letter addressing the film and television industry as well as cultural bodies. Bella Ramsey, James Norton, Joe Alwyn, Himesh Patel, Harris Dickinson and the director Ken Loach are also signatories. In mid-April, supreme court judges unanimously ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. This means a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change a person's legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The ruling has been interpreted to mean that trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces like toilets and changing rooms. The open letter said: 'We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.' It added the film and television community had previously come together in response to the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements by 'reflecting' upon working practices and 'uplifting' a broad spectrum of voices. 'We must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry – whether on set, in a production office, or at a cinema.' The letter continued: 'Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.' On Wednesday, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said it is 'absolutely unacceptable' to question the validity of the supreme court ruling that the term 'woman' is defined by biological sex. Giving evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Mahmood said: 'They obviously provided the legal clarity in their legal decision, which is exactly their job. 'I think it's disappointing since then that some individuals have sought to question the validity of the supreme court or cast aspersions, which is absolutely unacceptable. 'I think they've done their job and I think they've sought to do it in a way that recognises that we're talking about a balance of rights, but sought to give confidence to a minority community that they still have protections.' Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the ruling.
