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Crowe Saves 'State of Play'
5 December 2007 (WENN)
Russell Crowe has been confirmed as Brad Pitt's replacement in political thriller State Of Play after Hollywood-strike related issues forced the Troy star to pull out of the project. Director Kevin MacDonald flew to Crowe's native Australia in a bid to persuade him to take the role immediately as production begins this month. Pitt, 43, was onboard the film for months, but pulled out citing concerns with the script - sparking Hollywood fears the actor may face legal action from studio bosses at Universal Pictures after walking away from a film that was stalled by a strike. A star-studded cast including Edward Norton, Dame Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams have already signed on to the film, an adaptation of the 2003 British TV miniseries.

Crowe To Replace Pitt in Political Thriller?
27 November 2007 (WENN)
Russell Crowe is in negotiations to replace Brad Pitt in political thriller State Of Play after Hollywood strike-related issues forced the Troy star to pull out of the project last week. According to industry reports, studio executives at Universal spent the weekend meeting with Crowe in a bid to persuade him to take over the role immediately. Pitt had been onboard the film for months after agreeing to play a journalist who uncovers a murder scandal that implicates a political heavyweight he used to work for. But the movie star felt compelled to walk away from the film when executives refused to await a resolution to the ongoing writers' strike - now in its fourth week - before commencing filming. Pitt also insisted on a script rewrite, which was refused. Trade paper Daily Variety reports Pitt may face legal action from the studio bosses after walking away from a film that was stalled by a strike. As WENN went to press, Helen Mirren and Edward Norton were still attached to supporting roles in the film, which was supposed to have started filming on November 17.

Portman Named Style Queen
19 November 2007 (WENN)
Natalie Portman has topped a new style list, beating best pals Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. The Closer actress has been named number one on the InStyle magazine Style 20. Portman topped the list because "she exhibits unwavering faith in the cut and quality of a great dress." The top 10 is: 1. Natalie Portman; 2. Drew Barrymore; 3. Cameron Diaz; 4. Penelope Cruz; 5. Jennifer Lopez; 6. Anne Hathaway; 7. Cate Blanchett; 8. Sienna Miller; 9. Helen Mirren; 10. Joy Bryant.

Clooney & Fabio Fight at Celebrity Restaurant
8 November 2007 (WENN)
George Clooney and romance icon Fabio stunned diners at Hollywood's swanky Madeo restaurant on Friday, when they exchanged fighting words over a photo session. Fabio was dining with friends when one stood to take photos close to a table Clooney was sharing with his girlfriend Sarah Larson. According to America's In Touch Weekly magazine, Clooney thought the photographer was trying to take shots of him and asked her to stop - a request which annoyed his fellow diner. The magazine reports Fabio went over to Clooney's table to explain, but the conversation became heated, and the long-haired actor was overheard telling the Syriana star, "I thought you were a nice guy. Stop being a diva!" The encounter prompted angry Clooney to stand up and approach Fabio. An eyewitness tells In Touch, "The waiters broke it up before it got out of hand. George looked annoyed... George was drinking but he wasn't drunk." Clooney reportedly skipped the rest of his meal, asked for his bill and left. Fabio's manager has refused to comment about the incident, but says, "George is lucky he didn't end up in the ER (emergency room)." Fabio and Clooney weren't the only celebrities dining at the restaurant on the night of the scuffle - Dame Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci were also guests of Madeo.

Dame Helen's Corgis Tipped To Score Canine Oscars
18 October 2007 (WENN)
The corgis who played Dame Helen Mirren's companions in 2006's The Queen have been tipped to win the film yet another accolade - a Fido award. The five pups have been nominated for the Historical Hound category of this month's Fidos, a British award ceremony recognizing outstanding canine acting. The competition, held as part of the London Film Festival, sees the corgis go head-to-head with fellow movie mutts including the collie-mix owned by Samantha Morton's character in Control, and the brown hunting dog from French picture Moliere. Mirren says, "I loved those corgis because they were funny. I can understand why the Queen has them. Forget winning an Oscar, I'd be more proud of an award for dog handling."

Mirren Attacks Female Fashionistas for Size Zero Problem
2 October 2007 (WENN)
Actress Dame Helen Mirren has launched a scathing attack on the fashion industry's size zero craze, putting the blame for the "horrifically thin" models on female fashion editors. The Academy Award winner, 62, had first hand experience of size discrimination when she took her niece, an aspiring model, to several booking agencies - only to be told she was overweight. And Mirren insists it is all down to senior fashion writers and editors. She says, "I blame my own sex vehemently on this. It is women who run the magazine and women who editorialize and women who make the decisions. I think it is completely iniquitous to have incredibly skinny girls on the runway. A lot of the girls are horrifically thin and of course they have a problem. Mostly, the fashion industry chooses to turn a blind eye."

'The Sopranos' Win & Lose Big at Emmys
18 September 2007 (WENN)
The Sopranos, miniseries Broken Trail, Tony Bennett and Prime Suspect shared the glory at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night, claiming three honors apiece. But, as well as being among the big winners, mobster drama The Sopranos was also the ceremony's big loser - despite making history as the Emmys' most nominated show, its cast members were overlooked in all the individual acting categories. Even Boston Legal star James Spader was stunned when he beat The Sopranos' James Gandolfini for the Best Actor prize. He said, "Oh my goodness, I feel like I just stole a pile of money from the Mob - and they're all sitting right over there." Instead, the show, which ended in America in May, claimed the Outstanding Drama Series prize and awards for writing and directing. In his send-off speech, the show's creator David Chase joked, "Let's face it, if the world and this nation was run by gangsters... Maybe it is!" Tony Bennett's hits show, Tony Bennett: An American Classic, claimed the night's Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special prize, while Rob Marshall was named Outstanding Director for the special and Bennett himself took home the Outstanding Individual Performance honor. Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church won acting prizes for acclaimed western Broken Trail, which also claimed the night's Outstanding Miniseries award. And Oscar winner Helen Mirren added to her 2007 trophies when she claimed an Outstanding Lead Actress honor for Prime Suspect: The Final Act. The British police drama also picked up directing and writing awards. Ugly Betty star America Ferrera was by far the night's most popular individual winner - a huge roar went up at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles when she was named Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.

New Edition of Controversial 'Caligula' To Be Released
18 July 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Caligula, the 1976 film that featured such respected actors at Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, and the late John Gielgud -- all of whom were blindsided when producer Bob Guccioni of Penthouse magazine fame cut x-rated scenes into the movie -- is due to be released on DVD as the "Four-Disc Imperial Edition" by Image Entertainment on October 2nd, the distributor announced Tuesday. The film has previously been released in versions that were as short as 98 minutes and as long as three hours. In a statement, the company said that the DVD set will include newly recorded, no-holds-barred commentary tracks by McDowell and Mirren. In addition, the set includes two versions of The Making of Caligula, one of which includes deleted and alternate scenes. (The movie was also the subject of the book Ultimate Porno: The Making of a Sex Colossal by Piernico Solinas, a first assistant director on the film.)

Knightley to Play Princess Diana?
29 May 2007 (WENN)
Actress Keira Knightley is being lined up to play Diana, Princess of Wales in a movie based on the late British royal's life. A controversial book, Diana and the Paparazzi, is at the center of a bidding war at this year's Cannes Film Festival in France. Film producer Quentin Reynolds, who is bidding for the rights, hopes the movie adaptation will be as popular at the box office as The Queen, which won Dame Helen Mirren a Best Actress Oscar. He says, "Already the word in Hollywood is 'get Knightley'. It's a story that has everything: pathos, tragedy, comedy, adventure...and Princess Diana. For every pound The Queen makes, a film about Diana will make ten."

Mirren Denies Royal Snub
22 May 2007 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren has hit out at reports she shunned invitations from Buckingham Palace following her hugely successful role in The Queen. The actress won an Academy Award for her portrayal of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in the movie, but denies she subsequently refused to pay respects to her real-life inspiration when invited to meet the royal in person. Speaking at last night's Greatest Briton Awards in London she says, "No it is not true that I snubbed the Queen. She is an amazing hard-working woman as I am. If you are working there's absolutely nothing you can do, especially in the job I was doing in South Dakota. It's not as if I was in Manchester." Mirren was crowned Greatest Briton in Film at the ceremony, and used the red carpet opportunity to pay tribute to another winner, David Beckham, who picked up a special global achievement award. Mirren gushed about the soccer star, "I am absolutely speechless. What can I say? He is the best of Britain in every way. He is a great icon for this country."

Mirren Turns Down Buckingham Palace Invite
7 May 2007 (WENN)
Actress Helen Mirren has turned down an invitation to dinner at Buckingham Palace, citing a hectic filming schedule for her no-show. The Oscar-winning actress - who won the coveted gong for her portrayal of the British royal in 2006 movie The Queen - was quick to dismiss reports she has snubbed the British monarch, insisting she is "very sad" to turn down the dinner invitation, which clashes with filming for National Treasure: Book Of Secrets. She says, "The Palace very kindly extended an invitation to dinner last Tuesday, May 1. But, unfortunately I was filming in South Dakota and unable to change my schedule. I am very sad not to have been able to attend."

'American Idol' Charity Drive Brings America to Tears
26 April 2007 (WENN)
Tears of joy and sadness flowed in the US last night as American Idol highlighted the plight of poverty-stricken kids in Africa and America. The TV talent contest became a charity drive for two hours when pop, rock and movie stars filmed special messages, videos and performed live in a bid to highlight charity organization One: The Campaign To Make Poverty History. Among the highlights was a moving rendition of West Side Story love theme Somewhere from opera quartet Il Divo, who performed as images of children blowing out candles were beamed onto a huge screen behind them. Former Idol winner Carrie Underwood also helped hammer home the emotion of child poverty when she shot a video of herself performing The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You" to a group of African schoolchildren. The video, filmed especially for the show, also featured the singer visiting an African graveyard with a young local. Another Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, performed gospel standard "Up To The Mountain" with British guitar great Jeff Beck. But the night's musical highlight came as opera star Josh Groban performed "You Lift Me Up" with the African Children's Choir. The charity special also had a host of comedy moments - Jack Black performed Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" and was critiqued by the British singer himself, while funnyman Ben Stiller had viewers covering their ears as he attempted to raise charity cash by crooning the Little River Band's "Reminiscing" on the TV special. In a taped video message, the funnyman insisted he wouldn't stop singing until viewers of the show raised $2 billion for anti-poverty charities. And stars like Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Teri Hatcher, Gwyneth Paltrow and Oscar winner Helen Mirren lip-synced a hilarious video version of The Bee Gees' "Staying Alive."

HBO, NBC Receive Most Peabody Awards
5 April 2007 (StudioBriefing)
NBC's struggling comedies The Office and Scrubs and its acclaimed but low-rated new drama Friday Night Lights were winners Thursday of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards. ABC's new comedy Ugly Betty was also a recipient. Among news and documentary awards, two had featured the reporting of now-deceased newsmen. The late Ed Bradley's report on the Duke University rape accusations for CBS's 60 Minutes and the ABC documentary Out of Control: AIDS in Black America, which Peter Jennings was working on when he was felled by lung cancer, each won Peabodys. So did Brian Ross's investigation of the Mark Foley sex scandal, which aired across ABC's news and news-magazine programs. Also honored was Spike Lee's HBO documentary on the New Orleans disaster, When the Levees Broke as well as three other HBO documentaries, Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer, Baghdad ER, and The Music in Me. HBO also won for the docudrama Elizabeth I, starring Helen Mirren.

Mirren Sells New Orleans Dream Home
14 March 2007 (WENN)
Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren has sold the New Orleans, Louisiana "Creole cottage" home she showed off in top design magazine Architectural Digest. But the actress and moviemaker husband Taylor Hackford still have property in New Orleans because the couple don't want to lose their ties with the area. She says, "We will never abandon the most beautiful city in America... New Orleans is a totally unique environment, and we encourage every American to make a long-term commitment to preserving this fabulous cultural asset. It's one of the few places that's not precious to the nth degree; it doesn't look as though its history has been cleaned up by Disney. It's funky and untidy. And when I'm working in London, it's New Orleans that I'm homesick for." Mirren, who insists she'd like to die in New Orleans, also shares homes in Los Angeles, London and the South of France with Hackford.

Hackford's Berry Documentary Wins Top Honors At DVD Awards
9 March 2007 (WENN)
Filmmaker Taylor Hackford's documentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll was named Best of Show at the 2007 Music DVD Awards in Hollywood this week. The Ray director - husband to Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren - beat over 100 contenders in Home Media Magazine's contest with the film about Berry's 60th birthday concert in 1986. Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll was also named Best Vintage Concert and Best Special Features/Bonus Materials, with judges praising the documentary for capturing the rocker's lively personality onstage throughout the gig at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, Missouri. The concert was organized by Berry's protege, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. The awards ceremony took place at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

Mirren Laughs Off Royal Invitation Rumors
28 February 2007 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren has categorically dismissed reports she's been invited to visit Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in the wake of her success in the movie The Queen. Oscar-winner Mirren was said to have been asked to lunch with the British monarch along with screenwriter Peter Morgan and director Stephen Frears, who also both received Academy Award nominations. But the actress insists the invitation was a media myth. She says, "No - not a true story. Not a true story. We will never (hear a response from the Palace), I don't think. And if we did, I wouldn't tell you anyway." In fact Mirren is relieved not to have received an invitation to visit the woman she portrayed, as she would be stuck for words. She adds, "I have thought about that. You know, what would I do? I don't think I could handle that. No. 'Thank you, Ma'am, for being who you are, and allowing me to be you.' I mean what do you say? Very, very difficult."

DeGeneres in Tears Over Oscar Feat
27 February 2007 (WENN)
Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres burst into tears on her live post-Academy Awards TV talk show yesterday, after a string of celebrities poured praise on her via video. The humbled comedienne fought to regain composure as her studio audience gave her a standing ovation following footage of DeGeneres' day at the Oscars, where she realized a lifelong dream to host the big show. The proud comic was seen sobbing in her dressing room hours before the Oscars got underway and then she sobbed as she thanked family and friends backstage after her first hosting stint was over. But it was taped post-show comments from Kate Winslet, Marc Anthony, Queen Latifah, Dame Helen Mirren and Will Smith that had DeGeneres sobbing on her show. She said, "I'm crying for many reasons - I'm tired, so I'm emotional... It represented so many things to me. It represented that people believed in me, they took a chance in me to hold something like that together. It was harder than I thought and I was scared to death... It was incredible." DeGeneres explained that watching the footage of her preparations for the big show brought all her emotions back.

Scorsese Finally Scores an Oscar
26 February 2007 (StudioBriefing)
After being nominated six times for a best director Oscar, Martin Scorsese finally held the award in his hands Sunday night. Moreover, The Departed, the film that he won it for, also was awarded the top prize as best picture, which was accepted by producer Graham King. "So many people have been wishing this for me and my family," Scorsese told the audience at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and a worldwide TV audience. "People walking down the street, every time I go to the doctor's office, when I go in for an X-ray, everyone has been telling me I deserve it and they want me to win it." The movie also won for best adapted screenplay (William Monahan) and for best editing (Thelma Schoonmaker). There were no surprises among the other major awards. Helen Mirren received the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen; Forest Whitaker, the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland; Jennifer Hudson, the best supporting actress Oscar for Dreamgirls; and Alan Arkin, the best supporting actor Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine.

The Departed Wins Big at the Oscars
26 February 2007 (IMDb News Flash)
The Departed was the big winner at this year's Academy Awards, taking home four awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. The crime drama also won Best Screenplay and Editing, making it the narrow victor on a night that honored many films. Pan's Labyrinth was the second highest winner, taking home three awards, though surprisingly it lost Best Foreign Language Film to The Lives of Others. As expected, Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) were named Best Actor and Actress, while Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) nabbed Supporting Honors; each of their films picked up another award as well. Other winners for the night included An Inconvenient Truth (Best Documentary and Song) and Happy Feet (Best Animated Feature).

Get all the Academy Award winners and photos from the awards in our Road to the Oscars section.

The Departed Wins Big at the Oscars
25 February 2007 (IMDb News Flash)
The Departed was the big winner at this year's Academy Awards, taking home four awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. The crime drama also won Best Screenplay and Editing, making it the narrow victor on a night that honored many films. Pan's Labyrinth was the second highest winner, taking home three awards, though surprisingly it lost Best Foreign Language Film to The Lives of Others. As expected, Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) were named Best Actor and Actress, while Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) nabbed Supporting Honors; each of their films picked up another award as well. Other winners for the night included An Inconvenient Truth (Best Documentary and Song) and Happy Feet (Best Animated Feature).

Get all the Academy Award winners and photos from the awards in our Road to the Oscars section.

McKellen Blasts "Downmarket" BAFTAs
15 February 2007 (WENN)
English thespian Sir Ian McKellen has branded Sunday night's British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) "downmarket and low key." The Lord Of The Rings star expressed his disappointment the awards had failed to attract neither Little Miss Sunshine actor Alan Arkin, who was named Best Supporting Actor, or Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson, named Best Supporting Actress - both of whom failed to collect their awards at the event in London. Despite Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker being in attendance, he admits, "I thought it was a little down, a little downmarket." The actor also slammed new host Jonathan Ross on his debut presenting the awards, lauding previous host Stephen Fry for his past efforts. He adds, "I thought he (Ross) was a bit low key. He played it respectful. Stephen had been doing it for a long time and he was full of jokes but maybe Jonathan thought, 'I'll be the serious film connoisseur'."

Dench: "I Won't Win Best Actress Oscar"
14 February 2007 (WENN)
Dame Judi Dench is so convinced she won't win this year's Best Actress Academy Award she has advised gambling film fans to bet on another candidate. Dench, who has confirmed she will miss the Oscar ceremony later this month because she will be in hospital undergoing a knee operation, believes her performance in Notes On A Scandal will struggle to compete with fellow nominees Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, Dame Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep. Speaking at the Berlin Film Festival, Dench said, "Don't put any money on me because you'll lose. The thing about the Oscars, it's strange because in the theatre you would say, 'Break a leg.' I can't because I'm to have a knee operation. I can't go to the awards. I'm going to have my leg broken and put back together. I will watch and cheer from my bed."

Awards, Awards, Awards
12 February 2007 (StudioBriefing)
In the latest awards ceremonies prior to the Oscars, the Orange British Academy Film Awards (the BAFTAs) crowned The Queen best film of the year and its star, Helen Mirren, best actress. Forest Whitaker won the best actor trophy for his portrayal of Uganda's Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. British director Paul Greengrass took the director prize for United 93. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America agreed with most critics groups as it presented its top screenplay honors Sunday to Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine in the original category and to William Monahan for The Departed in the adapted category. The decision lifts each film into frontrunner position for this year's Oscars competition. Finally, Pixar's Cars sped away with the top prize Sunday at the annual Annies animation awards.

Mirren Dedicates Award To Late "Mentor" Ian Richardson
12 February 2007 (WENN)
A tearful Dame Helen Mirren dedicated her Best Leading Actress BAFTA to her "mentor" actor Ian Richardson, who died on Friday. The pair starred together in 1968 movie A Midsummer Night's Dream - the actress' second ever film role - and Mirren insists Richardson played a huge part in her success story. After lifting the BAFTA for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, Mirren fought back tears to tell the audience at London's Royal Opera House, "Many years ago when I started off as an actress I had the immense good fortune to work with an actor who was so generous in sharing his craft. He became a mentor to me, he helped me believe in myself. Ian Richardson, I'm not too sure I would be here today if it wasn't for you."

'United 93' Named Best Film in U.K. Critics Poll
5 February 2007 (StudioBriefing)
U.K. film critics selected British director Paul Greengrass's United 93 as the best film of 2006 at Sunday's 34th annual Evening Standard British Film Awards. Daniel Craig received the best actor prize for his role as the new James Bond in Casino Royale, while Dame Judi Dench won the best actress award for her performance in Notes on a Scandal (beating out Oscar favorite Helen Mirren, who was up for The Queen). Sacha Baron Cohen won the Peter Sellers Award for comedy for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Peter Morgan picked up the Best Screenplay award for two films, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland.

The Queen Will Never Watch 'The Queen'
5 February 2007 (WENN)
British monarch Queen Elizabeth II will never watch Oscar nominated movie The Queen because she doesn't want to watch someone else depict her on screen. The 80-year-old isn't keen to relive what is arguably the most painful week of her 55-year reign, the period after Diana, Princess Of Wales' tragic death in August 1997 - which is the subject of the film. A friend of Queen Elizabeth II tells British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph, "It's hard enough for her to have to look at a video of herself after an event. But to try to watch somebody else being you is almost impossible. The Queen is not a great film person. There are small cinema rooms at (her homes) Buckingham Palace, Sandringham and Balmoral, but the Queen rarely takes advantage of them." Peter Morgan, the film's scriptwriter, said, "If the Queen hasn't seen it, that's very, very sensible. It speaks hugely in her favor." Dame Helen Mirren is Oscar nominated for her portrayal of the British royal.

Bond Star Craig Picks Up Best Actor Award
5 February 2007 (WENN)
James Bond star Daniel Craig picked up best actor for Casino Royale at last night's 34th annual Evening Standard British Film Awards - but Dame Helen Mirren lost out on the best actress award. Mirren, who is an overwhelming favorite to pick up the Best Actress Oscar for The Queen at this month's US ceremony, lost out to Dame Judi Dench for her performance as a manipulative schoolteacher in Notes On A Scandal. The best actor prize for Craig is his first award honoring his portrayal of the British superspy, which was both a critical and box office favorite. Paul Greengrass' harrowing 9/11 drama United 93 picked up the best film prize, while Peter Morgan won the best screenplay award for his two scripts - The Queen and The Last King Of Scotland. The Queen and My Beautiful Laundrette director Stephen Frears received a special award "for making British film reverberate around the world." The Evening Standard awards are sponsored by London's afternoon newspaper and selected by a jury of film critics.

Mirren Wins Again As AARP Announce Grown-Up Hits
30 January 2007 (WENN)
Helen Mirren can't stop winning acting honors - now she's claimed Best Actress at the American Association of Retired People (AARP) Magazine's Movies for Grown-Ups Awards. The British star of The Queen joins Donald Sutherland (Best Actor for Aurora Borealis), Clint Eastwood (Best Director for Flags Of Our Fathers & Letters From Iwo Jima) and Little Miss Sunshine (Best Comedy for Grown-Ups) among the recipients of AARP awards, which will be handed out by Kathy Bates and Martin Sheen in Beverly Hills on February 6. Other winners include William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis (Best Screenwriters for Flags Of Our Fathers), The Last King Of Scotland (Best Movie for Grown-Ups) and The Last Kiss (Best Grown-Up Love Story).

SAG Spreads TV Awards Around
29 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Hugh Laurie of Fox's House and Chandra Wilson of ABC's Grey's Anatomy took the top acting awards for TV dramatic series at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards. Alec Baldwin of NBC's 30 Rock and America Ferrera of ABC's Ugly Betty took the top awards for TV comedy series. The cast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy received the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a dramatic series, while the cast of NBC's The Office won the ensemble trophy for a comedy series. Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons received the top awards in the TV movie or miniseries categories for their roles in HBO's Elizabeth I.

SAG Lets 'Sunshine' In
29 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Little Miss Sunshine was increasingly looking like the "little film that could" Sunday as it received the Screen Actors Guild's top trophy at the union's awards ceremonies in Los Angeles. The independent film, snatched up by Fox Searchlight at last year's Sundance Film Festival for $10 million, won the award for best ensemble performance, SAG's equivalent to the best film prize, beating out rival nominees Babel, Bobby, The Departed and Dreamgirls. Since SAG members make up the largest group of voters for the Oscars, their selection puts Sunshine in the pole position for best-picture honors at the Feb. 25 awards ceremony. A week earlier it received the best picture award from the Producers Guild of America. Forest Whitaker was honored by his peers as best leading actor for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, sharing honors with Helen Mirren, who was voted best leading actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. (Mirren also won the leading actress award in the TV movie or miniseries category for playing the first Queen Elizabeth in the HBO drama Elizabeth I.) Supporting actor/actress trophies went to Dreamgirls' Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson.

"God"-less 'The Queen' Yanked From Airlines
26 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
All references to God in the airline version of The Queen, starring Oscar nominee Helen Mirren, were bleeped out by an overly zealous employee of Jaguar Distribution, the company that provided it to the airlines this month, the Associated Press reported Thursday. According to the wire service the unnamed employee was instructed to remove all profanities, including blasphemies. "God" was bleeped seven times, including one time when a character remarks, "God bless you, ma'am." A.P. said that Jaguar is replacing the edited version with the original. The editor who inserted the bleeps continues to work for the company, Jaguar said. The Queen recently received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director and Actress.

U.K. Bookmakers Favor 'The Departed'
24 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Ladbrokes, the British bookmaker, has given 10-to-11 odds that Martin Scorsese's The Departed will win the Oscar for best picture this year. Babel is close behind with 9-4 odds. Little Miss Sunshine follows at 4-1. Dark horses are The Queen with 8-1 odds and Letters from Iwo Jima at 12-1. In the acting category, the bookmaker has already stopped taking bets on Helen Mirren in the best actress category, who is regarded as a shoo-in.

Mirren Is Best Oscar Bet Ever
24 January 2007 (WENN)
Helen Mirren's portrayal of The Queen has turned the British actress into the hottest Oscar favorite ever. Hours after her name was mentioned among this year's Best Actress nominees, Mirren is the clear favorite to claim gold, according to international odds makers. A spokesman for British bookmakers William Hill says, "Mirren is the hottest favorite at odds of 12-1 on. That is the shortest price we have ever had for the nominations." The actress has already won a string of accolades and prizes for her starring role in The Queen. She recently claimed the Golden Globes Best Actress - Drama award for the portrayal. She'll compete for an Oscar with fellow Brits Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, Spaniard Penelope Cruz and Meryl Streep at the Academy Awards next month.

'Dreamgirls': All Bets Are Off
23 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Leaving many Oscar handicappers scratching their heads, Dreamgirls failed to win a nomination for best picture of the year despite garnering more nominations -- eight -- than any other film. Several film critics had suggested that the movie would be the frontrunner for this year's top Oscar. (The movie had won the Golden Globe award as best picture in the musical/comedy category last week.) Those that did win nods for the top film included Babel (which won the Golden Globe for best dramatic picture), The Departed, Letters From Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen. Babel received six additional nominations, including one for best director for Alejandro González Iñárritu, who will compete against Martin Scorsese (The Departed), Clint Eastwood (Letters From Iwo Jima), Stephen Frears (The Queen), and Paul Greengrass (United 93). Best actor nominations went to Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond), Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). Actress nominees are: Penélope Cruz (Volver), Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), and Kate Winslet (Little Children).

Art for Box-Office's Sake
19 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Only one new film is scheduled to debut at the box office tonight (Friday), the horror flick The Hitcher, and it wasn't shown to critics. Most of the attention will be focused on the art films that received Golden Globes recognition last weekend, as they expand into wide -- or wider -- release. In particular, Miramax's The Queen, for which Helen Mirren won the best actress award at the Globes, will expand from 344 screens to 1,586. Paramount Vantage's Babel, which won for best drama, will move from 173 screens to 889. The Last King of Scotland, which brought a Golden Globe award to Forest Whitaker for best actor, will go from just 4 screens to 495. Also expanding are Pan's Labyrinth and Letters From Iwo Jima..Nevertheless, last week's winner, Stomp the Yard, is expected to remain at the top of the box office for a second week, followed by the Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum.

Mirren Refuses Alcohol at Award Shows
18 January 2007 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren refuses to battle awards show nerves with alcohol - because she is afraid she'll embarrass herself. The British star, who picked up two Golden Globe Awards on Monday night for her performances in The Queen and Elizabeth I, admits she gets tipsy easily, and would never want to appear intoxicated onstage - even though a few glasses of wine would help calm her nerves. She explains, "It's a bit of a roller coaster ride... and you can't drink. I can't anyway. I'm too scared to drink and then make a t*t of myself. It's much too scary to do that. Some of the award shows you do there is alcohol on the table, there's wine and things. You have one afterwards and drown your sorrows usually. I've lost a lot of awards in my life. I'm brilliant at going, 'Oh, I'm so glad she won! She's fantastic! I'm a worm by comparison! I don't deserve it at all! I don't know why I'm here!'" Mirren also refuses to eat at glitzy awards shows, adding, "You're too nervous and excited and insecure; you don't want beans in your teeth."

Globes for Everybody
16 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
A wide assortment of movies received recognition in the form of Golden Globes awards Monday, led by the drama Babel and the musical Dreamgirls as best picture in their respective categories. For the best-actor and -actress awards in drama, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association duly honored royalty, the performance of Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and the performance of Forest Whitaker as Uganda's Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. In the comedy/musical category the awards went to Meryl Streep for her performance in The Devil Wears Prada and Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Dreamgirls snagged both the supporting-actor and -actress trophies, handed out to Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Martin Scorsese departed with the best director award for The Departed.

Where Was the Globes' Wackiness? Ask Critics
16 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Although in reporting on the awards ceremony, the Associated Press's David Germain commented that it "failed to live up to its reputation as a freewheeling Hollywood soiree where stars sometimes cut loose with amusing antics," the acceptance speech by Sacha Baron Cohen almost instantly was transcribed and posted on numerous blogs -- including those belonging to "family" newspapers which did not quote him directly in print (Germain referred to his "colorful anatomical language;" Phil Gallo in Variety called his remarks "hilarious and vile.") The speech was also immediately posted on YouTube. There was also Tom Hanks's introduction of Warren Beatty, who received a lifetime achievement award. "What balls this man has," Hanks said, "and by 'balls,' I mean artistic vision." Backstage, the honorees also flung off constraints. Asked about her chances of winning an Oscar, Helen Mirren responded, "I've never had an O. They say the earth moves." Clint Eastwood, who received the award for best foreign-language film (Letters from Iwo Jima), an award that ordinarily goes to a foreign director (the actors in Letters speak Japanese), said that he was so thrilled that he was now planning to make a movie in Hungarian or Lithuanian. Several writers suggested it was a mistake to stage the ceremonies without a host, who might have livened things up. Rick Kushman, writing for the McClatchy newspapers indicated that he was surprised and disappointed to see George Clooney come out "so early" and hand out the first award to Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls. Noting the "large amounts of alcohol sitting on the tables," Kushman remarked, "Get a couple of drinks in the man, maybe he'll say something."

Mirren Reigns Twice
16 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
In what was believed to be a first, Helen Mirren Monday night received a best-actress Golden Globe award in both the motion-picture and television presentations. While her movie trophy was presented for her performance as Elizabeth II in The Queen, her TV award -- for best actress in a miniseries or TV movie -- honored her performance in Elizabeth I, as the queen who ruled the British Empire 400 years earlier. (The TV film also won for best miniseries or TV movie and for supporting actor -- Jeremy Irons.) ABC's Grey's Anatomy was voted the year's best dramatic series, while in its first season, the same network's Ugly Betty was voted best comedy series. Kyra Sedgwick and Hugh Laurie took the acting awards in the drama category, she for The Closer and he for House. The comedy performer awards went to America Ferrera for Ugly Betty and Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock. Bill Nighy claimed the Golden Globe for an actor in a miniseries and Emily Blunt won supporting TV actress for the TV movie Gideon's Daughter.

Top Critics Choice Awards Go to 'The Departed'
15 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
In the run-up to the Golden Globe Awards, which air tonight (Monday) from Beverly Hills, the Broadcast Film Critics Association on Friday selected Martin Scorsese's The Departed to receive its best picture Critics Choice award. Scorsese won the best director award, while Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren won the top actor awards for their performances in The Last King of Scotland and The Queen, respectively. Little Miss Sunshine won for best acting ensemble. Meanwhile, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu's Babel has emerged as the favorite to pick up the best picture award at tonight's Golden Globes ceremony. It is competing against The Departed, The Queen, Bobby, and Little Children. The top award is due to be presented by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is still hobbling on crutches following his recent skiing accident.

'Borat' Nominated for WGA Award
15 January 2007 (WENN)
British funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen has garnered a surprise nomination from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for his spoof documentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan. Despite losing out at with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Friday, the controversial comedy has earned the show's star and co-creator recognition in the category of Adapted Screenplay, where it will compete against The Devil Wears Prada, Little Children, Thank You For Not Smoking and The Departed. The award for Original Screenplay sees nominations for Little Miss Sunshine, Stranger Than Fiction, United 93, and Brad Pitt's new movie Babel, as well as The Queen starring Dame Helen Mirren. The winners will be announced at awards ceremony on February 11 in New York and Los Angeles.

'The Queen' Leads BAFTA Nominations
15 January 2007 (WENN)
The Queen and Casino Royale look set to be the big winners at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, after leading the nominations for next month's ceremony at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. The Queen has earned 10 nominations and will compete against The Departed and Babel for Best Film, while Dame Helen Mirren received a nomination for best Actress In A Leading Role for her part in the royal drama. Casino Royale is up for nine awards, with new 007 star Daniel Craig nominated for best Actor In A Leading Role. He faces competition from Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed, Forest Whitaker for The Last King Of Scotland, Peter O'Toole in Venus and Richard Griffiths in The History Boys. Other actors up for awards include Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson, Little Miss Sunshine actor Alan Arkin, The Devil Wears Prada star Emily Blunt, and Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz for Volver.

Streep and Mirren's Costumes Up for Guild Award
12 January 2007 (WENN)
Oscar winner Meryl Streep's designer outfits in The Devil Wears Prada and Helen Mirren's royal robes from The Queen have both earned nominations from the Costume Designers Guild for their ninth annual awards ceremony next month. The films' wardrobe experts, Patricia Field and Consolata Boyle respectively, will compete for the Excellence in Contemporary Film Award against Nancy Steiner for Little Miss Sunshine, Lindy Hemming for Casino Royale, and Michael Wilkinson for Babel. Nominees for costumes in period film include Milena Canonero for Marie Antoinette, Sharen Davis for Dreamgirls, and Penny Rose for Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The winners will be revealed at the ceremony on February 17 which takes place in Beverly Hills, California.

Spears and Hilton Tie for Worst-Dressed Award
10 January 2007 (WENN)
Pop star Britney Spears and her new pal Paris Hilton are sharing the number one spot on Mr. Blackwell's 47th annual Worst Dressed Women List. The designer unveiled his selection yesterday, branding the pair "two peas in an over-exposed pod" and "style-free and fashion deprived." Scoring the third spot was 20-year-old Lindsay Lohan, who Blackwell said went "from adorable to deplorable." Also targeted was 57-year-old Meryl Streep, who played a fashion editor in The Devil Wears Prada. Blackwell's selections for best-dressed include Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie and Dame Helen Mirren.

Stars Bring Glitter To Awards Show in Palm Springs
8 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Unlike other smaller-market film festivals, the Palm Springs International Film Festival was able to attract winners of its top awards to Saturday night's presentations, including Brad Pitt, who flew cross-country on the same day in order to be among the cast members of Babel to pick up the festival's award for Best Ensemble Performance. Also on hand were Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, who received the Director of the Year Award; Kate Winslet (Little Children), who received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Acting; and Cate Blanchett, winner of the Career Achievement Award for her performances in Babel, Notes on a Scandal and The Good German. Meanwhile, the Spanish-language Pan's Labyrinth was named best picture Saturday by the National Society of Film Critics. Paul Greengrass received the best director award for United 93. The group's acting awards went to Helen Mirren for The Queen and Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland.

Mirren, Whitaker Win National Society of Film Critics Awards
8 January 2007 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren has been named Best Actress by America's National Society of Film Critics for her role in The Queen, with Forest Whitaker taking the Best Actor prize for his turn in The Last King Of Scotland. Mark Wahlberg won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in crime drama The Departed, with Meryl Streep as Best Supporting Actress prize for two roles, as a formidable fashion editor in The Devil Wears Prada and as a singer in A Prairie Home Companion. Spanish-language film Pan's Labyrinth, telling the story of a mother and daughter who come to live in an enchanted forest at the end of Spanish fascism, won the Best Picture prize at the 41st annual awards. Paul Greengrass took home the Best Director award for helming United 93, a film about passengers who rebelled against hijackers on the jet that crashed in rural Pennsylvania during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

SAG Bestows Double Laurels on Mirren, DiCaprio
5 January 2007 (StudioBriefing)
In their annual self-congratulations, the Screen Actors Guild selected Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Mirren as nominees in two different categories of the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. DiCaprio received a best-actor nomination for his role in Blood Diamond and a best-supporting-actor nomination for The Departed. Mirren received the best-actress nod for her title-role performance in The Queen and another best-actress nod in the "TV Movie or Miniseries" category for playing an earlier queen in Elizabeth I. The decision to -- in effect -- demote DiCaprio for his The Departed role avoids his having to compete against himself for a best-actor award, as he will have to do for a Golden Globe. The best-actor category also included Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland, Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson, Peter O'Toole for Venus, and Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness. Surprisingly absent from the list was Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat fame, who has been included in most year-end nominee lists by critics' groups. Besides Mirren, best-actress nominees included Penélope Cruz for Volver, Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal, Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada and Kate Winslet for Little Children. Babel, Bobby, The Departed, Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine were nominated for best performance by a cast.

DiCaprio and Mirren Lead SAG Nominations
5 January 2007 (WENN)
Babel, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, Leonardo DiCaprio and Dame Helen Mirren will lead the way at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards later this month. The three films each earned three nominations, while DiCaprio and Mirren won two acting nominations - DiCaprio in the Best Actor category for Blood Diamond and as Best Supporting Actor for The Departed. Mirren was nominated as Best actress in the movie category for The Queen and in the TV movie category for Elizabeth I. Other actors up for awards include Dreamgirls stars Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, Babel stars Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi and Little Miss Sunshine actors Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin. A Lifetime Achievement award will presented to Julie Andrews at the SAG Awards ceremony in Hollywood on January 28. SAG winners traditionally go on to scoop prizes at the Academy Awards, held a month later.

Chicago Critics Vote 'The Departed' Best Film of the Year
29 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Martin Scorsese's The Departed has received the best-picture award from the Chicago Film Critics Association. The film also received awards for best director and adapted screenplay (William Monahan). Helen Mirren received the best actress award for her performance as The Queen while Forest Whitaker drew the actor award for his performance as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

The Queen Approves 'The Queen'
18 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Queen Elizabeth II has seen reportedly seen The Queen and has given it her tacit approval. Or so it would appear, following reports appearing in the British press that actress Helen Mirren, who stars as the monarch, along with director Stephen Frears, producer Andy Harries, and writer Peter Morgan had received invitations by the queen's private secretary to have lunch at Buckingham Palace early next year. It was not disclosed whether the queen herself will attend.

'Babel' Towers Over Rivals in Golden Globe Noms
15 December 2006 (WENN)
Ensemble drama Babel leads the nominations at next year's Golden Globe Awards, boasting seven nods including Best Dramatic Picture and an acting accolade for star Brad Pitt. The film, spanning several countries telling four inter-related stories, sees Pitt praised in the Best Actor In A Supporting Role category. He'll battle it out alongside Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland) and Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls), as well as The Departed co-stars Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The mob thriller earned a total of six nominations yesterday. Babel's Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza also received supporting acting nods, along with Cate Blanchett for Notes On A Scandal, Emily Blunt for The Devil Wears Prada and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls. But it's Leonardo DiCaprio who looks most likely to convert an acting nomination into a trophy after being named twice in the Best Actor category. His performances in The Departed and Blood Diamond are up against Peter O'Toole's in Venus, Will Smith's in The Pursuit Of Happyness and Forest Whitaker's portrayal of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland. Actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood is another star with a double reason to celebrate - Flags Of Our Fathers competes against his other war film Letters From Iwo Jima in the Best Director category. Meanwhile, Dame Helen Mirren stands to win three awards at the star-studded Hollywood ceremony next month. Her role as monarch-in-crisis Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen pits her against another veteran British actress, Dame Judi Dench, for Notes On A Scandal. Penelope Cruz is also a strong contender for Best Actress in Volver, as well Maggie Gyllenhaal (SherryBaby) and Kate Winslet in the suburban drama Little Children. Mirren's other nods are for small screen work - her roles in Prime Suspect: The Final Act and period piece Elizabeth I could see her pick up a Best Actress In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television.

Little Noticed 'Little Children' a Winner With S.F. Critics
13 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Todd Field's Little Children, which has had limited distribution in the U.S., dominated the awards presented by the San Francisco Film Critics circle on Tuesday. The movie won for best film, best adapted screenplay, and best supporting actor Jackie Earle Haley. Sacha Baron Cohen was named best actor for Borat, while Helen Mirren took the best actress award for The Queen.

'The Last King' & 'The Queen' Reign at Washington Awards
12 December 2006 (WENN)
Forest Whitaker's portrayal of dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland and Dame Helen Mirren's turn as The Queen have earned the two stars top honors from the fifth annual Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA). The US capital's top critics have also named 9/11 drama United 93 as the Best Film at their fifth annual awards. And Martin Scorsese has been honored with the Best Director prize for his hit film The Departed. The Washington critics also honored Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performance of the Year) and Blood Diamond's Djimon Hounsou (Best Supporting Actor). Happy Feet claimed the critics' Animated Feature prize and Pan's Labyrinth was named Best Foreign Language Film.

Eastwood Film Wins Top Award From L.A. Film Critics
11 December 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima, which presents the bloody World War II battle from a Japanese viewpoint (and is the companion film to his Flags of Our Fathers), has been named best picture of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Eastwood himself, however, did not win the best director prize, which instead went to Paul Greengrass for United 93. In a surprise, the group reported a tie in the best-actor category, handing out awards to Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat and Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland. Helen Mirren won for best actress for her performance in the title role of The Queen. Meanwhile, the Boston Society of Film Critics awarded Martin Scorsese The Departed (which coincidentally is set in Boston) its best-picture prize. The Boston critics also selected Whitaker and Mirren for the actors prizes.

LA Critics Pick 'Letter from Iwo Jima'; New York Favors 'United 93'
11 December 2006 (WENN)
Is there a favorite emerging? After picking up the National Board of Review's top honor, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was also named Best Picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Sunday. Though the Japanese-language World War II drama nabbed the group's biggest award (and Eastwood was the runner-up for director honors), overall the LA critics favored The Queen, which took home four awards, including Best Actress for Helen Mirren and Supporting Actor for Michael Sheen, as well as screenplay and score honors; the Queen Elizabeth II drama was also the runner-up for Best Picture. The Best Actor award was a split decision, going to both Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland and, in a bit of a surprise, Sasha Baron Cohen for the hit comedy Borat. Other major awards included United 93's Paul Greengrass for Best Director, Luminita Gheorghiu for Best Supporting Actress for The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Lives of Others for Best Foreign Language Film, Happy Feet for Best Animated Film and An Inconvenient Truth for Best Documentary.

UPDATE: The New York Film Critics Circle voted on their awards Monday morning, giving their top honor to September 11th verite drama United 93 and Best Director to Martin Scorsese for The Departed. Racking up yet even more wins were the now-ubiquitous Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) and Helen Mirren (The Queen), taking home their third Best Actor and Actress awards thus far; The Queen was also honored with the screenplay award. Supporting awards went to former child star Jackie Earle Haley for his role as a pedophile in Little Children, and star-in-the-making Jennifer Hudson for her scene-stealing turn in Dreamgirls. Other major awards included Army of Shadows for Foreign Language Film (the 1969 Jean-Pierre Melville film received its first US release just this year), Happy Feet for Animated Film, Deliver Us from Evil for Non-Fiction Film, Pan's Labyrinth for Cinematography, and Half Nelson for Best First Film. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

LA Critics Pick 'Letter from Iwo Jima'
8 December 2006 (WENN)
Is there a favorite emerging? After picking up the National Board of Review's top honor, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was also named Best Picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Sunday. Though the Japanese-language World War II drama nabbed the group's biggest award (and Eastwood was the runner-up for director honors), overall the LA critics favored The Queen, which took home four awards, including Best Actress for Helen Mirren and Supporting Actor for Michael Sheen, as well as screenplay and score honors; the Queen Elizabeth II drama was also the runner-up for Best Picture. The Best Actor award was a split decision, going to both Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland and, in a bit of a surprise, Sasha Baron Cohen for the hit comedy Borat. Other major awards included United 93's Paul Greengrass for Best Director, Luminita Gheorghiu for Best Supporting Actress for The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Lives of Others for Best Foreign Language Film, Happy Feet for Best Animated Film and An Inconvenient Truth for Best Documentary. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

'Letters from Iwo Jima' Tops National Board of Review
6 December 2006 (WENN)
In firing the opening shot of this year's awards season, the National Board of Review went with a bit of a surprise, giving its Best Picture honor to Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, a Japanese-language release that was originally slated for early 2007 but bumped up just a few weeks ago. The movie's English-language companion piece, Flags of Our Fathers, was released in October to mixed reviews and middling box office, and had been expected to be a major Oscar contender this year. While it didn't rate a major award, Flags did receive a spot in the group's top ten films of 2006. Two other surprises were had in the supporting categories as well, with Djimon Hounsou winning for Blood Diamond and Catherine O'Hara named for her comedic turn in For Your Consideration. As for the other major categories, heavy hitters prevailed, with early Oscar faves Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) and Helen Mirren (The Queen) taking lead honors, Martin Scorsese (The Departed) winning Best Director, Volver named as Best Foreign Film, and Cars and An Inconvenient Truth taking animated and documentary honors, respectively. In terms of omissions, the most notable was the absence of Dreamgirls from the group's top ten films of the year, a list that included The Devil Wears Prada, The History Boys, and Little Miss Sunshine, among others. Almost always the first group to hand out awards, the National Board of Review is made up of film professionals, teachers, students and historians.

The top ten films of the year as named by the National Board of Review: Letters from Iwo Jima, Babel, Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, Flags of Our Fathers, The History Boys, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal and The Painted Veil.

No 'Grudge' Match
17 October 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Executives at Sony who are assigned to estimate the weekend box-office gross of the company's releases significantly overestimated earnings for The Grudge 2, which was the top earner with $20.83 million. On Sunday they estimated that the film had taken in $22 million. They may have been thrown, however, by the film's $10.3-million take on Friday. Box-office forecasts are based on actual numbers for Friday and Saturday and best guesses for Sunday. In this case, however, Friday fell on the 13th, a propitious date for a horror film. Moreover, exit surveys of the audience generally registered unhappiness with the film. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' The Departed performed better than forecast, raking in $19.03 million versus the studio's estimate on Sunday of $18.7 million. The biggest surprise may have been the performance of the biblical flick One Night with the King. Although showing on only 909 screens, the film earned $4.1 million, or $4,500 per screen, placing it at No. 9 among the top earners. But The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, playing on just 46 screens, earned $1 million for a per-screen average of more than $22,000.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Grudge 2, Sony, $20,825,300, (New); 2. The Departed, Warner Bros., $19,034,294, 2 Wks. ($56,985,185); 3. Man of the Year, Universal, $12,299,380, (New); 4. Open Season, Sony, $11,112,795, 3 Wks. ($59,267,065); 5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, New Line, $7,485,290, 2 Wks. ($30,192,411); 6. The Marine, 20th Century Fox, $7,138,774, (New); 7. The Guardian, Disney, $5,866,998, 3 Wks. ($41,132,922); 8. Employee of the Month, Lionsgate, $5,271,088, 2 Wks. ($19,581,504); 9. One Night With the King, 8x, $4,106,862, (New); 10. Jackass: Number Two, Paramount, $3,329,091, 4 Wks. ($68,377,686).

Friday the 13th Lucky for 'The Grudge 2'
16 October 2006 (StudioBriefing)
A weekend that began on Friday the 13th proved to represent fortuitous timing for the horror film The Grudge 2, which topped the box office with an estimated $22 million. It was Sony's 12th film to open at No. 1 this year (out of a total of 21), thereby extending the studio's record. (The film earned half its weekend revenue on Friday alone.) Referring to the success of The Grudge 2, which reportedly had a budget of $14 million, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box-office performance, told Bloomberg News: "It's a studio executive's dream to have these movies that have modest budgets and yet are so profitable." The film pushed Martin Scorsese's mob drama The Departed to second place with $18.7 million, a relatively small (27 percent) drop from last week. The Robin Williams political drama Man of the Year, directed by Barry Levinson, opened in third place with a so-so $12.6 million. Meanwhile, The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, had another fit-for-a-queen showing as it took in $1.2 million on just 46 screens, or an average of $22,174 per screen. By contrast, The Grudge 2's per-screen average came to $6,851. Overall, the box office was up 41 percent over the same weekend a year ago as the top 12 movies earned $100.8 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The Grudge 2, $22 million; 2. The Departed, $18.7 million; 3. Man of the Year, $12.55 million; 4. Open Season, $11 million; 5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, $7.75 million; 6. The Marine, $7 million; 7. The Guardian, $5.85 million; 8. Employee of the Month, $5.6 million; 9. One Night With the King, $4.3 million; 10. Jackass Number Two, $3.3 million.

Movie Reviews: 'The Queen'
13 October 2006 (StudioBriefing)
As it expands into 46 theaters this weekend, The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, continues to draw majestic reviews. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times describes it as "a spellbinding story of opposed passions," those of Queen Elizabeth II and those of the avid fans of the divorced Diana, following her death in an auto accident in Paris in 1997. Ebert remarks that Mirren's performance is "sure to be nominated for an Oscar," adding, "What a masterful performance, built on suggestion, implication and understatement." Rick Groen in the Toronto Globe & Mail also lavishes praise on Mirren's performance in which, he writes, she manages "to find, beneath the heavy crown and the wrought-iron perm and the leaden bifocals, a living, breathing, tough, vulnerable, smart, ironic, confused and ultimately sympathetic woman." Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune even suggests that Mirren may have become the reigning queen of cinema. He writes: "Is there a better actress alive than Mirren? Doubtful. Hers is a portrait in injured pride, transcended. ... Mirren is a wizard of scale and economy, yet you never sense she's holding back on the fireworks against her will. They explode when they need to, sparingly but with high impact." Director Stephen Frears shares much of the praise of the critics. Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praises him for "bringing insight and faultless professionalism" to the project.

'Still Life' a Surprise Winner at Venice
11 September 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Following a vote that startled many reporters covering the Venice Film Festival, Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life (Sanxia Haoren) seemed to come out of nowhere to wind up as the winner of the festival's prestigious Golden Lion award. The reporters' favorite, The Queen, did receive a best-actress award for its star, Helen Mirren. Giving his career a new lease on life, the Venice panel awarded Ben Affleck its best actor award for his performance in Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, in which he portrays George Reeves, who starred in the original Adventures of Superman TV series in the 1950s. The festival's Silver Lion for directing was awarded to veteran French director Alain Resnais for Private Fears in Public Places, while Spike Lee took the Horizons documentary prize for When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

Mirren and Affleck Win at Venice
11 September 2006 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck have taken the acting honors at this year's Venice Film Festival in Italy. Mirren was named Best Actress for her performance as British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, while Affleck was a surprise win as Best Actor for his part as 1950s TV Superman actor George Reeves in Hollywoodland. On collecting her award, Mirren said, "It's an incredible honor to have a film take its first steps here in Venice. (Director) Stephen Frears is the mother of the film. I'm just a bit of the DNA of this film." Chinese movie Still Life (Sanxia Haoren) won the festival's top award, the Golden Lion, beating out competition from favorites The Queen, Bobby and Golden Door. Actress Catherine Deneuve, who headed the jury, praised Still Life as "a very special film. We were very touched and we were very moved." French filmmaker Alain Resnais, 84, won Best Director for Private Fears In Public Places, while Best Screenplay went to Peter Morgan for The Queen. Chad movie Daratt won the Special Jury Prize.

Mirren Considers Auctioning Off Emmy Shoes
7 September 2006 (WENN)
British actress Helen Mirren is considering auctioning off the high-heeled shoes that almost led to her most embarrassing moment at the Emmy Awards. The Prime Suspect star, who just won an Emmy for Elizabeth I, stumbled when she walked to the stage to pick up her Best Actress award and then upset family groups across America by joking she almost fell "a**e over tit." Now, Mirren, who doubts she'll ever wear the designer shoes again, is thinking about selling them off for charity. She says, "I may auction them off." The actress previously won an Emmy for her role in The Passion of Ayn Rand.

Mirren Hailed in Venice for Performance As Elizabeth II
4 September 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Giving new nuance to the acclamation, "The queen is dead. Long live The Queen!" Helen Mirren's performance as Queen Elizabeth II is being hailed by critics and audiences at the Venice Film Festival barely a week after she received a best actress Emmy for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I on television. The Rome newspaper La Repubblica headlined "Queen Wins Venice's Heart." In the film Mirren portrays the queen having to deal with a crisis that threatens the British monarchy in the wake of Princess Diana's death in 1997. The British trade publication Screen Daily predicted that Mirren's performance in The Queen "is likely to be crowned with a host of awards nominations." The online film commentator David Poland wrote that Mirren "lives at the center of the work, underplaying the role to within an inch of not connecting with us, but keeps us firmly at the end of the leash until it is time to show us this very reserved character's heart." The French news agency Agence France Presse reported that Mirren, director Stephen Frears, and cast members received a 15-minute standing ovation at Saturday's screening.

Clumsy Queen Toasted in Venice
3 September 2006 (WENN)
Veteran actress Dame Helen Mirren was bowled over by her reception at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday when she stumbled at a photocall for new movie The Queen. The 61-year-old star was honored with a five-minute ovation from critics for her portrayal of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in the days following the death of Princess Diana in 1997. However, the unexpected accolade clearly overwhelmed the actress as she tripped up at a photocall for the movie, joking she'd fallen, "A**e over tit". Still visibly shaken at the premiere later, Mirren dropped her sparkly clutch purse on the red carpet.

PTC Demanding FCC Fine NBC for Emmy Remarks
1 September 2006 (StudioBriefing)
L. Brent Bozell's Parents Television Council, which has spearheaded the campaign against indecent language on television, has demanded that the FCC fine NBC for not censoring the comments by actresses Helen Mirren and Calista Flockhart during Sunday's Primetime Emmy Awards telecast. Both had expressed concerns about falling "tits over ass" as they came up the stairs. Calling the common British colloquialism "vulgar and obscene," Bozell said Thursday, "It is utterly irresponsible and atrocious for NBC to air this vulgar language during the safe harbor time [before 10:00 p.m.] when millions of children were in the viewing audience." The phrase was not bleeped during the live broadcast in the East and Midwest nor on the delayed broadcast in the West. While a common Britishism, it is sometimes abbreviated as TOA in polite company, as in, "I got out of the taxi and fell TOA on the slippery street."

Mirren Backs "Sensitive" Queen Movie
21 August 2006 (WENN)
Dame Helen Mirren insists fans of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II have nothing to fear from her controversial new movie The Queen, because the royal will be portrayed "sensitively." The Prime Suspect star plays the title role in upcoming film, which depicts her emotional turmoil following the tragic death of Diana, Princess Of Wales in a car accident in 1997. But she is adamant the tragic time is dealt with respectfully and without any "bitchiness." She says, "Our piece is enormously sensitive to her; it's not some nasty little bitch piece, it's really trying to get inside what happened within the Royal Family in the week after Diana died. The older generation - what I call my parent's generation - having to confront the Hello! magazine generation, with its fake grief."

History-Based Movies To Premiere at Venice Film Festival
27 July 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Movies based on historical events will take front and center at this year's Venice Film Festival -- and the stars that appear in them will be on hand for the screenings, festival officials indicated today (Thursday). Nicolas Cage will attend the premiere of Oliver Stone's World Trade Center. Sharon Stone will appear for the screening of Bobby, a film about the hours leading up to the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968. Scarlett Johansson will fly in for the festival's opening film, Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, about the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short. And Helen Mirren is due to arrive in Venice for the screening of The Queen, in which she portrays Queen Elizabeth II during the days following the death of Princess Diana.

Mirren Campaigns for Uganda Children
1 December 2005 (WENN)
Calendar Girls star Dame Helen Mirren is pleading with the British government to save the children of Uganda who are caught up in the country's ongoing civil war. The veteran actress is joining forces with charities Oxfam and Christian Aid to put pressure on Prime Minister Tony Blair as Britain begins its presidency of the United Nations Security Council today. Mirren hopes to outlaw the use of child soldiers and the kidnapping of young girls for their wives. The two-time Oscar-nominee is also campaigning to donate Britain's $108 million aid money to the war-torn country to negotiate an end to the bloody conflict. She says, "In a year when Africa has been top of the Government's agenda, the war in Uganda should be a priority."

Mirren To Star As Queen Elizabeth
30 August 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Director Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, High Fidelity, Fail Safe, Dirty Pretty Things) disclosed Sunday that he is seeking backing for the production of a theatrical motion picture that will explore the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and the late Princess Diana. In an interview with Britain's Guardian newspaper, Frears also revealed that the acclaimed British actress Helen Mirren, who received Academy Award nominations for The Madness of King George and Gosford Park, has agreed to play the role of the Queen.

Spidey, The Champ
7 July 2004 (StudioBriefing)
It's now official: Sony's Spider-Man 2 set a Fourth of July box-office record of $115.8 million from Friday through Monday. It also set another record of $180.1 million for total ticket sales in it first six days. The film also helped the box office itself set a new record for a July 4 weekend with the top 12 movies recording $212.8 million in sales. Also continuing to amaze was Michael Moore's documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, which earned $22 million, about as much as it did during its first weekend last week, bringing its total to $61.1 million. In limited release, MGM's De-Lovely, a biography of composer Cole Porter starring Kevin Kline, earned $400,000 in 16 theaters. The Robert Redford-Helen Mirren starrer The Clearing, from Fox Searchlight, took in $618,674 in 56 theaters. Before Sunset, which opened in 20 theaters, garnered $311,194. The only big loser among the new films was Disney's America's Heart and Soul which took in only $184,917 at 98 theaters, despite efforts by Fahrenheit foes to boost it as a patriotic counterweight and put bodies into seats.

The top ten films over the four-day Independence Day weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Spider-Man 2, Sony, $115,817,364, 1 Wks. ($180,072,888 -- From Wednesday); 2. Fahrenheit 9/11, Lions Gate, $22,027,125, 2 Wks. ($61,118,488); 3. White Chicks, Sony, $11,544,456, 2 Wks. ($46,664,718); 4. DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, 20th Century Fox, $11,355,165, 3 Wks. ($87,609,589); 5. The Terminal, DreamWorks, $10,750,087, 3 Wks. ($57,209,326); 6. The Notebook, New Line, $10,362,521, 2 Wks. ($31,674,074); 7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Warner Bros., $8,541,177, 5 Wks. ($225,719,716); 8. Shrek 2, DreamWorks, $8,387,681, 7 Wks. ($410,688,506); 9. Garfield: The Movie, 20th Century Fox, $4,283,154, 4 Wks. ($64,235,505); 10. Two Brothers, Universal, $3,882,180, 2 Wks. ($12,876,545).

Movie Reviews: 'The Clearing'
2 July 2004 (StudioBriefing)
The critics are also widely divided over The Clearing, starring Robert Redford and Helen Mirren. Up against Spider-Man 2 and a raft of teen-oriented movie fare, the film is described as "solid summer counterprogramming" by Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News. Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post praises the performances of the actors, noting that for Redford, the movie could be called "an anti-vanity film," in which he allows himself to be "photographed in the least flattering of light, so that the ravages time has worked upon his face are fully exposed. This spirit of honesty extends to the character himself, which, far from being the heroic Redford of yore, is shown to have been flawed, weak, inadequate and far from heroic." But Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer describes it as "a suspense movie on Prozac. As still and flat as a lake on a windless day." Mike Clark in USA Today takes an in-between position, writing: "This is one of those moderately engrossing movies that seems to collapse all at once during the wrap-up, yet it's well-acted all around, especially by its star, who once again reminds us why audiences have liked him for 40 years."

McDowell Still Appalled by 'Caligula'
9 February 2004 (WENN)
A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell is still appalled by the completed version of his controversial 1979 movie Caligula - because he didn't expect it to become an epic porn film. The British movie star appeared onscreen alongside Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole and Sir John Gielgud in what he hoped would be a film based on an excellent script by Gore Vidal. But Vidal insisted his name was removed from the credits when Penthouse boss and producer Bob Guccione put the film out two years after it was shot. McDowell recalls, "He shot all this hardcore footage two years after the film had been completed and then spliced it in. I mean, it was absurd, because the footage didn't even match much of the time. There would be a shot of me smiling, looking at what was supposed to be my horse or something, and then suddenly they'd cut to two lesbians making out. It was just awful. On the positive side, I got to work with Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud and Helen Mirren, but, needless to say, we were all pretty appalled by the final product."

Mirren's Stripping Confidence
18 December 2003 (WENN)
British actress Helen Mirren finds it easy stripping for cameras now that she's in her 50s - because she no longer cares about being seen as a sex object. The 58-year-old actress, who bared her breasts in the comedy Calendar Girls, admits disrobing for a movie doesn't carry the same pressures for her now. She says, "You don't care anymore. I don't feel the need to be buff, beautiful, fantastic. You become a human being as opposed to an empty sexual person. I was never very gorgeous. Ever. When you're young, you want more than anything to be beautiful, to compete on that level. But as you get older, you don't have that desperate need, and it's a great feeling."

Russell And Halle Triumphant At Eighth SAG Awards
12 March 2002 (WENN)
Russell Crowe has virtually sealed his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar, after winning the category at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday. Crowe added a SAG to his Bafta and Golden Globe wins this year to clinch the red-hot favorite slot at the Academy Awards on March 24th. Crowe beat out Denzel Washington, Sean Penn, Tom Wilkinson, and Kevin Kline to win. Halle Berry surprised many by picking up the Best Actress award for her role in Monster's Ball. Elsewhere it was a good night for the Brits, with the ensemble cast of Gosford Park winning the Best Cast prize, Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) the Best Supporting Actress award and Sir Ian McKellen (Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring) the Best Supporting Actor gong. Newly-knighted Sir Ben Kingsley also took home an award for Best Actor in A TV Movie or Mini-series for his role as Otto Frank in American TV movie Anne Frank. In the TV awards, it was a clean sweep for The West Wing in the drama categories - the show's stars Martin Sheen and Alison Janney claimed the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, and the show's cast won the Best Ensemble prize. The full awards list is: Film Awards: Cast of A Theatrical Motion Picture - Gosford Park, Male Actor in A Supporting Role - Sir Ian McKellen for The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, Female Actor in A Supporting Role - Helen Mirren for Gosford Park Male Actor in A Leading Role - Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind, Female Actor in A Leading Role - Halle Berry for Monster's Ball. TV Awards: Male Actor in A TV Comedy Series - Sean Hayes for "Will & Grace", Female Actor in A TV Comedy Series - Megan Mullally for "Will & Grace", Outstanding Ensemble in A TV Comedy Series - "Sex & The City", Female Actor in A TV Drama Series - Alison Janney for "The West Wing", Male Actor in A TV Drama Series - Martin Sheen for "The West Wing", Outstanding Ensemble in A TV Drama Series - "The West Wing", Male Actor in A TV Movie/Miniseries - Sir Ben Kingsley for Anne Frank, Female Actor in A TV Movie/Miniseries - Judy Davis for Life With Judy Garland: Me & My Shadows, Life Achievement Award - Ed Asner

Crowe, Berry Are Top SAG Winners
11 March 2002 (StudioBriefing)
Moving into front-running position for the Oscars, Russell Crowe and Halle Berry received best-actor and -actress statuettes Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremonies. Crowe received his for A Beautiful Mind; Berry, for Monster's Ball.The cast of Robert Altman's Gosford Park took the ensemble award, while the film's Helen Mirren won for best supporting actress. Ian McKellen won for best supporting actor for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Connelly Amazed At BAFTA
25 February 2002 (WENN)
American actress Jennifer Connelly was shocked at beating four of Britain's most respected thespians for this year's BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award. Connelly won the honor ahead of Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith and Kate Winslet. She says, "I'm shocked. I didn't expect this and I'm absolutely flabbergasted. All the other actresses put in beautiful performances. I'm completely taken by surprise. It was fantastic working with Russell Crowe. He's a great actor and it doesn't get much better." Jennifer admits she's also pleased with her "particularly pretty" award.

The Top Nominees:
12 February 2002 (StudioBriefing)
In the top categories, the nominees were: Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge; Best Actor: Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), Sean Penn (I Am Sam), Will Smith (Ali), Denzel Washington (Training Day), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom); Best Actress: Halle Berry (Monster's Ball), Judi Dench (Iris), Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge), Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary); Best Director: Robert Altman (Gosford Park), Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), David Lynch (Mulholland Drive), Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down); Best Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent (Iris), Ethan Hawke (Training Day), Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast), <