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Hailed as one of the greatest actors and the brightest of gems of all time in the world of acting, Daniel Day-Lewis is a talent unparalleled. From his method acting to his uncanny ability to disappear behind his roles and become one with his characters, the actor deserves all the credit in the world for his unforgettable performances.

Whether he is playing Christy Brown, an artist with cerebral palsy, in My Left Foot, the menacing oil tycoon Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, or Honest Abe in Lincoln, the actor has always delivered performances that hit right in the hearts and remain in our minds for eternity to come.

One of the best, if not the best, actor of all time, Daniel Day-Lewis | Credit: Gangs of New York / Miramax

While he is notorious for taking long gaps between films to immerse himself in characters or recover from them, it...

From beneath the Southern Cross come a pair of genuine noirs that happen to have been made in Argentina, where film art flourished in a system almost totally divorced from the American awareness. The Beast Must Die is a hardboiled tale of tragedy and murder told in an upside-down way that would make Orson Welles applaud; its star was called the Vincent Price of Argentina. In the visually bizarre The Bitter Stems a generous crook makes plans to murder his cheating partner in fraud, only to fall into a whirlpool of guilt. Expert testimony from Guido Segal, Fernando Martín Peña and Daniel Viñoly introduce us to an exotic film world almost unknown in the U.S.. Hear Eddie Muller try out his Spanish language pronunciation skills!

Argentine Film Noir

The Beast Must Die + The Bitter Stems

Two Argentine films noir

restored by the

Film Noir Foundation

and the

UCLA Film...

With the pandemic causing a slowdown in production, there’s an opportunity for already-shot shows from across the pond to fill the gap. Adapted from the novel by Cecil Day-Lewis, “The Beast Must Die” is an intense and reflective tale of grief, vengeance, and privilege that’s as impossible to stop watching as I’m sure the book itself is to read. Anchored by Cush Jumbo and Jared Harris’ indomitable performances, the addictive import could even fill the void left by other crime dramas like “Mare of Easttown.”

Frances Cairns (Jumbo) details her intentions in the opening minutes of the series: “I’m going to kill a man.” She doesn’t know who the man is or where he lives, but his days are numbered. Said man ran over her six-year-old son, Marty, in a hit-and-run, leaving Frances to pick up the pieces of a life left utterly broken. Having...

BritBox, the ITV and BBC joint-venture streamer, has announced that it is developing a second season of its UK drama series The Beast Must Die.

Produced by New Regency Television and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, BritBox said the first two episodes of the Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo drama have broken viewing records since premiering last week, but the service declined to disclose actual figures.

Vera writer Gaby Chiappe adapted the first season from the 1938 novel of the same name by Nicholas Blake, the nom de plume of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son.

Season 2 will be an original story told by Chiappe, which has been titled A Sword in my Bones. It will center on Billy Howle (The Serpent), who is poised to reprise his role as Detective Nigel Strangeways.

Cush Jumbo has said that shooting The Beast Must Die on the Isle Of Wight last year was the most challenging experience of her career.

The BritBox UK original, which has been acquired by AMC in the U.S., tells the story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son.

Jumbo, who has starred in The Good Wife, said on a TCA panel that she has not experienced working on a series like it before — both physically and creatively.

“I feel like I was pushed to my very limit on this job. It’s the most challenging shoot I have ever been on for many reasons. I get cast in a lot of dramas, and people think of me as quite a tough person who deals with the dark things on television, but actually, I’m a bit of a wuss,” she said.

‘The Beast Must Die’ Wraps After 5,000 Covid Tests

BritBox UK’s first original drama, The Beast Must Die, has wrapped filming on the Isle of Wight without any coronavirus disruptions. The Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo vehicle, produced by New Regency Television International and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, conducted 5,000 Covid tests on its 190-strong cast and 700 extras during a 61-day shoot. The Beast Must Die will premiere in 2021 and is an adaption of the 1938 novel of the same name by Nicholas Blake, the nom de plume of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son. The five-part series is written by Gaby Chiappe. Executive producers are Ed Rubin and Emma Broughton for New Regency, Marina Brackenbury and David Zucker for Scott Free, and Nathaniel Parker and Chiappe.

Netflix Orders Sophie...

Exclusive: One of BritBox UK’s first original dramas, The Beast Must Die, is ready to begin an 11-week shoot on the Isle Of Wight from next Monday. The series has also rounded out its cast, which is headlined by Jared Harris.

Produced by New Regency Television and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Films, The Beast Must Die is an adaption of the 1938 novel of the same name by Nicholas Blake, the nom de plume of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son.

The five-part series will shoot with “comprehensive” coronavirus safety protocols, which include cast and crew being routinely tested for the disease and having to wear masks on set at all times, except when cameras are rolling. They will undergo daily temperature checks and health screenings, while on-...

The BBC and ITV’s joint-venture streamer BritBox has pulled the curtain back on its first slate of UK drama originals, just weeks after Deadline revealed that Damian Lewis and Dominic West will star in an adaptation of A Spy Among Friends for the streamer.

Building on the Kim Philby espionage thriller, which BritBox is co-producing with Spectrum Originals, the subscription video service has announced three fresh projects — all of which are literary adaptations with British writing, directing, and acting talent at their core. They will premiere in 2021.

First up, New Regency Television and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Films will make The Beast Must Die, an adaption of the 1938 novel of the same name by Nicholas Blake, the nom de plume of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the story of a grieving mother who infiltrates the life of the man she believes killed her son.

Exclusive: The BBC is developing classic murder mystery novel The Beast Must Die into a detective drama series with Taboo producer Scott Free London.

The British public broadcaster is working up a remake of the novel, which tells the story of how respected crime writer Frank Cairns plots the perfect murder but ends up working with a top detective to clear his name.

In the book, Cairns intends to murder the hit-and-run driver who killed his young son but when his intended victim is found dead and Cairns becomes the prime suspect, the author insists that he has been framed. To solve the mystery, one of Cairns’ old friends calls in private detective Nigel Strangeways to help.

The Beast Must Die was written by Nicholas Blake, the nom de plume of poet Cecil Day-Lewis, father of Daniel Day Lewis and was first published in 1938.

Deadline understands that the BBC adaptation...

The man, often hailed as the greatest screen actor of his generation, is famous – some say notorious – for his obsessive attention to detail in building character. His latest role, playing Abraham Lincoln, is no exception

Thick mud and blood mingle in the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg's latest film, Lincoln. In a brutal demonstration of what happens when politics fails, bodies pile up across a boggy battlefield. The rest of the film, also full of dark and muddy tones, looks steadily at how politicians might end or prolong such a grim civil war. And at the heart of the matter, trying to abolish slavery and adorned with a representation of one of the most famous beards of all time, stands Daniel Day-Lewis.

In playing the revered 16th president of the United States, the 55-year old actor adds to the series of New World archetypes he has tackled on screen.

Oxford just inherited a sizable collection of letters and manuscripts from former poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis, The Guardian reports. The archive was donated to the University’s Bodleian Library by his children, actor Daniel Day-Lewis and food writer Tamasin Day-Lewis.

The collection includes letters exchanged between the elder Day-Lewis and other notable figures, such as Kingsley Amis, Alec Guiness, and W.H. Auden. The latter, with whom Day-Lewis was especially chummy following their undergraduate years at Oxford, offers previously unseen criticism of Day-Lewis’ work that ranges from subtle (“The lines ‘For there’s no wonder … When any echo waits’, sound as...

He may be gearing up to do some honorable deeds onscreen in Lincoln, but Daniel Day-Lewis is proving to be quite the altruistic chap in real life. The 55-year-old is donating works by his late poet father, Cecil Day-Lewis, to Oxford University, per The Guardian. Cecil, who was named the U.K.'s poet laureate in 1968 and who died four years later, was a professor at Oxford. The sprawling documents, packed into more than 50 boxes, include correspondence with luminaries like W.H. Auden and Alec Guinness. They also include one particular literary gem: a poem commemorating the birth of son Daniel. Yep—we'd say that Daniel's celebrated career and two Oscars made good on that...

Tamasin and Daniel Day-Lewis hand over poet laureate's archive including manuscripts and letter from Wh Auden.

Wh Auden did not want to appear condescending but his criticism of Cecil Day-Lewis's poem would certainly appear to be crushing: "You are not taking enough trouble about your medium, your technique of expression," he wrote, adding that one line sounded as if Day-Lewis was waiting for his tea.

The letter, from around 1928 or 1929 when both poets were still in their 20s, is one of many to appear in an extensive literary archive that has been donated to Oxford University's Bodleian Library by Day-Lewis's children, the actor Daniel Day-Lewis and the food writer Tamasin Day-Lewis.

The library will on Tuesday host a symposium celebrating the life and work of the former poet laureate and marking what Chris Fletcher, keeper of special collections, said was an extremely generous gift.

"It is a wonderful archive...

After famously revealing that he saw his father's ghost when playing Hamlet at London's National Theatre in 1989, Day-Lewis has now denied the claims

Daniel Day-Lewis has put paid to one of the most infamous stage anecdotes of all time, revealing that he didn't literally see his late father's ghost when playing Hamlet.

The double Oscar winner played the Dane at the National Theatre in 1989 , but quit the production mid-performance and has not returned to the theatre since. He subsequently explained that he had seen his father, the poet Cecil Day-Lewis, who died when his son was 15, standing on the stage staring at him.

However, in an interview published last week , Day-Lewis insisted that he was speaking more metaphorically than literally.

"I may have said a lot of things in the immediate aftermath," he told Time Magazine, "and to some extent I probably saw my father's ghost every night, because of...

Plus: Is the air fresher in a forest? Why do men bother shaving?

Who is the greatest fictional detective? Holmes? Marlowe? Marple?

Philip Marlowe didn't solve all his crimes; his main business was doing what his clients wanted and getting beaten up occasionally. He never sorted out who killed the chauffeur in The Big Sleep (unsurprisingly, because Raymond Chandler, when asked, didn't know either). So it must be one of the other two, and I don't know whether to prefer Holmes because he did it with cocaine or Marple because she did it with knitting. Could we compromise on Father Brown?

jno50

For me, the greatest fictional detective is the virtually unknown Nigel Strangeways, created by Nicholas Blake (which was the pen name of poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis). If you're into detective fiction I highly recommend checking him out (secondhand only, though, as just about all the books are out of print,...

Oscar is an octogenarian so you know he's heard everything. He's been reviled, exalted, and called all sorts of things other than "Oscar" over the years. My favorite name-calling recently was from Daniel Day-Lewis. At the 80th Oscars in February 2008, he called our shiny man the "the handsomest bludgeon in town".

Remember that?

That's the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood so thank you. My deepest thanks to the members of the Academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town. I'm looking at this gorgeous thing you've given me and I'm  thinking back to the first devilish whisper of an idea that came to him and everything since.

Mad Beautiful-Headed P.T.It seems to me that this sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad beautiful head of Paul Thomas Anderson.

I wish my son and my partner H W Plainveiw were up here with me,...

Prolific writer who enjoyed her greatest success with the recycling Wombles

Elisabeth Beresford, who has died aged 84, enjoyed her greatest success with the creation of the Wombles. The family motto of the colourful underground creatures – "making good use of bad rubbish" – sprang from a concern of the writer's that chimed with the growing ecological awareness of the next four decades. Famously, the inspiration for the figures came on a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, south-west London, during which her daughter, Kate, misnamed it Wombledon Common.

As elsewhere with Beresford's work, the point of departure was real – here, the place and the characters, largely drawn from uncles, grandparents, siblings and her children: Marcus, her son, genial and interested in food, inspired Orinoco; Kate inspired Bungo, a strong character in the books, though not in the films.

Their underground and above-ground adventures begin simply; in The Wombles (1968) the characters do little...

Poets, actors, authors all under one roof

On 9 May 1972, a headline appeared in the London Evening Standard: "Poet laureate recuperates at the Amis' home." The poet laureate in question was the great Cecil Day-Lewis, laureate since 1968. The Amises' home was a house called Lemmons, on Hadley Common in Hertfordshire, off at the end of the Northern line near High Barnet.

Already living at Lemmons were Kingsley Amis; his wife, the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard; Howard's mother, Kit, a former ballerina; Howard's brother; and the painter Sargy Mann. Day-Lewis had arrived to stay at the house in April 1972 with his wife, the actor Jill Balcon, and their two teenage children, Tamasin and Daniel. Amis's children from his first marriage – Philip, Martin and Sally – were also frequent visitors. It seems likely that for a brief period in 1972, Lemmons was the most brilliantly creative household in Britain. It was also one of the most unlikely.

Here are the gongs they didn't give out on the night

In France, the Césars honour the best of French cinema; in Spain, the Goyas do so for their Spanish counterpart; and in Germany, the Lolas do likewise for German films. In the UK, we do things differently: the Baftas celebrate achievements in film regardless of national origin, making them uncomfortably similar to, and highly predictive of, the Oscars.

Which is all very well, unless you are British film-maker or actor who would, quite frankly, enjoy your moment in the spotlight once in while. Hence last night's British independent film awards, which have emerged over their 12 years of existence as the premier event celebrating British film.

The organisers of the Bifas would probably acknowledge that their awards are only as good as the British movies produced in any given year. Ever so slightly embarrassing, in other words, when a picture...