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Margot Robbie and Rosamund Pike are among the nominees for the National Film Awards.The stars of 'Barbie' and 'Saltburn' respectively will compete against talent including Patricia Hodge ('Arthur's Whiskey'), Jo Hartley ('Swede Caroline'), Eiza Gonzalez ('The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare') and Emma Stone ('Poor Things)' in a star-studded Best Actress category.This year's ceremony is set to take place on July 3 at the Porchester Hall in London and marks the 10th anniversary of the prestigious awards. It will feature a lineup of nominees from around the globe consisting of seasoned acting veterans and emerging young talents.The Best Actor category is equally competitive with stars including Barry Keoghan ('Saltburn), Kevin Hart ('Lift') and Ewan McGregor ('Bleeding Love') competing for the prize with Kane Robinson ('The Kitchen') and Lakeith Stanfield ('Book of Clarence').Meanwhile,...

The juxtaposition at the core of director James Hawes’s frustratingly staid One Life is between the gravity and urgency of Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransport rescue movement, which began almost a year before the start of World War II, and the man’s relative obscurity in 1987 living in Maidenhead, England. Winton helped to save 669 children in Prague from the horrors of the Holocaust, so Hawes’s film constitutes an attempt at immortalizing an unsung hero. But given the profound lack of risk that it takes in depicting Winton’s heroic efforts, One Life seems ironically destined to also fade into obscurity.

Throughout, One Life toggles between two time periods. In one, the young Winton (Johnny Flynn) conceptualizes and then carries out his humanitarian mission to move as many refugee (and mainly Jewish) children as he could out of Czechoslovakia, and in the other, the seventysomething Winton (Antony Hopkins) lives a...

John Krasinski, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Hall, J.J. Abrams, Neill Blomkamp introduce footage.

Studio brass took part in theatrical showcase ‘The Big Screen Is Back’ on Wednesday (May 19) as they teased upcoming releases for summer and beyond to invited press at AMC Century City in Los Angeles.

Stars and filmmakers including J.J. Abrams and Maggie Q, who both turned up in person, and recorded messages from John Krasinski, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Hall introduced footage.

Abrams spoke of his love for cinema-going, teed up footage of a longtime cinema employee, and signed off by saying, “I...

It was longer than usually, but at long last, the Oscar nominations are here. The field was led this year by Mank, scoring ten citations, with a number of films next in line. More to come, but for now, why not just get right to the good stuff, no? The movies deserve the stage. So, here you go… Here are the Academy Award nominees for this year: Best Picture The Father Judas And The Black Messiah Mank Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound Of Metal The Trial Of The Chicago 7 Actor in a Leading Role Riz Ahmed Chadwick Boseman Antony Hopkins Gary Oldman Steven Yeun Actress in a Leading Role Viola Davis Andra Day Vanessa Kirby Frances McDormand Carey Mulligan Actor in a Supporting Role Sacha Baron Cohen Daniel Kaluuya Leslie Odom Jr Paul Raci Lakeith Stanfeld Actress in a Supporting Role Maria Bakalova Glenn Close Olivia Colman Amanda Seyfried...

Forget the ‘famous book’ doldrums — this exciting seagoing drama will take your head off. Criminally unseen and unheralded, Allied Artists’ classic is an impressive feat by director-co-screenwriter and star Peter Ustinov. It introduced Terence Stamp and provided Robert Ryan with a deserved career highlight.

Billy Budd

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1962 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 3, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Rogers, John Neville, David McCallum, Ronald Lewis, Robert Brown, John Meillon, Niall MacGinnis, Terence Stamp.

Cinematography: Robert Krasker

Film Editor: Jack Harris

Original Music: Antony Hopkins

Written by Peter Ustinov, DeWitt Bodeen from the play by Louis O. Coxe, Robert H. Chapman from the novel Billy Budd, Foretopman by Herman Melville

Produced by A. Ronald Lubin, Peter Ustinov

Directed by Peter Ustinov

Talk about a book that works like gangbusters… When Warners’ first DVD came out in 2007 I found out...

Paul Martinovic Jul 28, 2017

John Travolta and Nicolas Cage scored a big hit in John Woo's Face/Off. We take a look back...

One of the great pleasures of following genre cinema is the long, enduring onscreen conversation that’s taken place between movie directors from the East and the West, a creative push and pull which has resulted in some of the most boundary-pushing, inventive and important films ever made. When Akira Kurosawa wrote The Hidden Fortress, an airy homage to the John Ford Westerns he loved so much, he can’t have predicted its rollicking adventuring would be re-interpreted and sent into space by George Lucas to form the basis of the most successful film franchise in history in Star Wars: A New Hope. Similarly, when Ringo Lam took the tropes of 70’s Eurocrime and American gangster movies of the 30s and 40s, and upped the machismo and...

Ever since production started on Paramount's Transformers: The Last Knight, director Michael Bay has been sharing photos of the vehicles that will be used in this highly-anticipated sequel. We've already gotten glimpses of Megatron, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and the new Transformer Squeeks, and today the filmmaker has unveiled another returning Autobot, Drift. We also have word that the growing cast has a new addition, with Santiago Cabrera coming aboard.

Drift made his Transformers franchise debut in 2014's Transformers: The Age of Extinction, where his automotive form was a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. MichaelBay.com reveals that, in Transformers: The Last Knight, this Autobot will be a Mercedes Amg Gt R. Ken Watanabe voiced Drift in the last Transformers movie, but it isn't known quite yet if he will return to voice the character in this follow-up.

In related news, Santiago Cabrera has joined the cast in an unspecified role.

Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs is seen as one of the finest of the last 30 years. That’s why he picked up the Best Actor Academy Award for his work. However, when he returned as the character for Hannibal and Red Dragon, the reaction was less impressive. And now the Welsh actor admitted he shouldn’t have reprised the role. Anthony Hopkins made this admission to The Wrap, confessing that because of the mixed response to both 2001’s Hannibal and 2002’s Red Dragon he no longer has any interest in playing the character. He said: I did it once. Made the mistake of doing it twice – three times. The Silence Of The Lambs is okay. It was a good film. When Sir Antony Hopkins was pushed for an answer on whether he’d ...

New Zealanders have a chance to invest in Lee Tamahori's second New Zealand film. The last 5% of the funding for "The Patriarch" ($500,000) is being sought via the country's first equity crowdfunding platform, Snowball Effect, and investors will be rewarded with a stake in the film's profits.

Producer Robin Scholes, who has produced New Zealand feature films like "Once Were Warriors", “Rain" and most recently “ Mr. Pip", says, “This is a great opportunity for film lovers and genuine investors alike to play a vital part in getting an exceptional film made, while also having the ability to gain a return for investment through this new form of crowd funding.”

Lee Tamahori's first film, "Once Were Warriors", was a huge cultural, critical and financial success. It returned more than $6.5 million to its kiwi investors and catapulted the director into an international film career. Tamahori went on to make huge Hollywood films like James Bond's "Die Another Day", "Along Came a Spider" starring Morgan Freeman and "The Edge" starring Antony Hopkins.

Twenty years after the release of "Once Were Warriors", Lee Tamahori wants to come back to New Zealand and make another film with the same team, including producer Robin Scholes and actor Temuera Morrison.

Shaun Edlin, head of Snowball Effect’s company pipeline, says “We are really excited that Robin and the team behind 'The Patriarch' want to offer this film investment opportunity to New Zealanders through Snowball Effect. It’s our chance to show the world how innovative equity crowdfunding can be. If Kiwis get behind this offer, it will demonstrate that equity crowdfunding can be utilized to fund commercially viable creative projects and one-off events”.

"The Patriarch" is based on Witi Ihimaera's novel, Bulibasha. It is a classic story of the struggle of family dynamics and the conflict of generations for a rural East Coast Maori family in 1950s New Zealand. Ihimaera has said that this is Tamahori's " return home" film based on one of his best-loved novels Bulibasha. Witi says, “Lee's talent as a film maker combined with John Collee's strong script, will deliver a film with universal appeal."

For Tamahori the story is a return to the sights and scenes of his childhood. He says he has a personal empathy and understanding of the era, the place and the people at the heart of Ihimaera's story. “I badly want to put this environment and its characters on the big screen. They deserve no less."

“I haven't seen a script with this much power, a story so strong since 'Once Were Warriors',” says Temuera Morrison. “Our best stories and our best work comes from our own earth and our own country and we have a story to do this with The Patriarch.”

Producer Robin Scholes explains, “The people who put money forward for this final $500,000 will be part of an elite tier of investors. They will be first priority to recoup their capital along with a 20% premium from net income. Other rewards for investors include being named in the film credits, invitations to the set during filming and invitations to the film's premier.

The goal is to raise $500,000 by beginning of October so that Tamahori can return to New Zealand to begin work on "The Patriarch" in December.

“It's time for him to come home, make one of our real stories and work with some real actors as well – enough of those Hollywood ones!” says Morrison.

Snowball Effect made headlines in August by launching the first ever equity crowdfunding offer in New Zealand, where Renaissance Brewing's $700,000 funding target was fully subscribed in less than 2 weeks from 287 investors.

For more information visit Here...

Sunday Night at the Palladium: ITV, 7pm

Originally airing between 1955 and 1967, the iconic weekend variety show finally makes a return to our screens tonight, hosted by Stephen Mulhern.

Promising comedy from Alan Davies, musical performances from Little Mix and Bryan Adams, and other assorted novelty acts, it promises to be a total riot.

Richard Attenborough: A Life: Channel 4, 7pm

A tribute to the late actor and director who passed away last month, this moving documentary sees Attenborough's peers from across the film industry lining up to discuss his genius.

Stephen Spielberg, Kenneth Branagh and Antony Hopkins are among the big names paying their respects, alongside Hayley Mills and Penelope Wilton.

The X Factor: ITV, 8pm

Who will be through to Boot Camp? That's the question on the minds of the judges, the audience and the auditionees themselves tonight, as they step up one by one onto the...

They may be retired, but games of shuffleboard are hardly in their future. Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Antony Hopkins look ready for action in this new, exclusive poster for "Red 2." With guns, handcuffs, and rocket launchers (what?!) in hand, the cast of the action-comedy sequel is clearly prepared to take on anyone who gets in their way. "Red 2" -- the follow up to 2010's "Red" -- follows retired CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) as he reunites with a semi-retired team of government operatives and begins a global quest to track down a missing nuclear device. Check out the poster below. "Red 2" hits theaters July 19. Click to zoom...

Life of Pi has replaced The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the top of the Australian box office standings. In spite of a 20% drop in receipts compared to the previous weekend, Ang Lee's movie's takings of Au$$3.95 million were enough to move it up into first place in the top ten. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey's takings were down 44% on last weekend, but it still holds second place with earnings of Au$$3.3 million. There are three new entries in the top ten - Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling's period crime thriller Gangster Squad, Sir Antony Hopkins and Dame Helen Mirren's Hitchcock (more)...

The small, dimpled-face rascal Freddie Highmore aims to subvert his previous screen personality by playing the infamous character Norman Bates. Bates was famously portrayed by Antony Perkins in Hitchcock’s Psycho (and a few banal sequels) as well as Vince Vaughn in the awful shot-by-shot remake. The latest presentation of Bates will be structured around a new A&E television series, Bates Motel. The programme is a prequel to Hitchcock’s film and is based around the relationship between Norman and his mother Norma (played by Vera Farmiga).

Highmore is most recognised as the eponymous character from Tim Burton’s version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He’s recently played a more mature role in The Art of Getting By but nothing will challenge his child-star image than playing the memorable serial killer. It could transform Highmore’s career but it could also typecast him (like it did for...

Antonio Banderas may be in his 50s but this suave Spanish gentleman has not only managed to have an unrivalled grasp of female lust falling at his feet and men wishing they possessed his astonishing good looks, but he also still manages to enthral and rouse us with his sweeping performances.

To celebrate the 12th March 2012 DVD and Blu-ray release of slick action crime thriller The Big Bang, we take a look back at the Top 5 Banderas films of all time.

1) Evita (1996)

It was the strength of Antonio Banderas’ performance that stole the show and won him a Golden Globe nomination for the best performance by an Actor in a motion musical. Based on the incredible true story of Evita Perone, the wife of President Juan Peron, Che (Antonio) acts as the narrator in this film adaptation from the hit Broadway musical as he tells the story of how an...

Right! It’s another caffeine fuelled night ahead of us as we prepare to liveblog the 84th Academy Awards.

The Artist is the favourite to scoop up the awards tonight, which would round off a grand few days for Michel Hazanavicius and his silent film which run rampant through the Cesars and Independent Spirit awards but we may see Martin Scorsese’s Hugo do well with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Meryl Streep and Viola Davis front runners for the acting awards.

Whether you agree with the relevance and importance of the Oscars it is the one night of the year when a huge amount of people are talking and celebrating movies, and that can only be a good thing. Debate will begin with the first award and continue with every golden envelope opened.

So, join us below, or on Twitter at @HeyUGuys for our take on film’s biggest night.

360 screenwriter Peter Morgan has said that the London Film Festival opener is a movie that comes "completely from the heart". Oscar-nominee Morgan told Digital Spy that the romantic drama, which stars Antony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz, focuses on people rather than spectacle. "This is a pet project insofar as it came completely from the heart and it's clearly not motivated by financial greed - otherwise there'd be someone in a leotard in it," he said. "This is a film without special effects, it's a human character story." The Constant Gardener director Fernando Meirelles signed up to (more)...

To put a little thunder into our Friday, Marvel has unleashed two new Thor international one-sheets. The pair of promos assembles the Norse god and his fellow players in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation: dad Odin, brother Loki, Asgardian sentry Heimdal and love-interest Jane Foster. They're basically the most ripped family portraits ever. Of them, only Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is sporting anything approximating a smile, albeit the kind of mischievous twinkle you'd probably boast if you were planning evil conquest in the realm of mortals. Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) is shown bearing his trusty hammer Mjölnir, while Antony Hopkins and Idris Elba gaze on with patrician concern, no doubt pondering the chaos the cocky thunder god has wrought on Asgard (or that 'From the studio that brought you "Iron Man"' tag).Of course, the Thor cast now boasts two Oscar winners - Natalie Portman is scientist Jane Foster who falls...

Entertainment Weekly, the magazine that has the first look at "Green Lantern" also has a new shot from "Thor," featuring a photo of Chris Hemsworth as the title character and Antony Hopkins as his father Odin. Check out the photo below. Plot: "Thor" spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. The new film is directed by Keneth Branagh (Frankenstein) and is scheduled to hit 2D and 3D theaters on May 6th, 2011. Photo: (click to enlarge) Click here to read more about "Thor.