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You know a biopic is gaining traction in the awards race when it’s hounded by claims of historical inaccuracies. Last year, films like “BlacKkKlansman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Green Book” came under fire for presenting distorted or incomplete depictions; this year, Focus Features’ “Harriet” runs the gauntlet. However, writer-director Kasi Lemmons isn’t having it: She firmly believes that it’s impossible to operate as both a first-rate screenwriter and a first-rate historian.

“Of course I embellished, I’m a screenwriter,” said Lemmons, who wrote the script with Gregory Allen Howard. “I added to the story because anybody that’s a writer that approaches a real story has to embellish.”

Since Tubman never learned to read or write, details about her life come largely from first- and second-hand accounts. Lemmons’ primary sources were Tubman biographies, including “Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman,” written in 1869 by Tubman’s abolitionist friend Sarah Bradford.

They were America’s closest thing to royalty — and in 1961, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy traveled across the pond for an extraordinary meeting with the world’s ultimate royals: Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip.

But while the two ladies appeared to hit it off in person, The Crown depicts some post-visit drama between the Queen and the first lady.

The Buckingham Palace visit is the subject of a season 2 episode of the Golden Globe-winning drama, which returned to Netflix December 8. The episode features guest stars Michael C. Hall as JFK and Jodi Balfour as Jackie,...

They were America’s closest thing to royalty — and in 1961, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy traveled across the pond for an extraordinary meeting with the world’s ultimate royals: Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip.

The Buckingham Palace visit is the subject of an upcoming season 2 episode of the Golden Globe-winning drama The Crown, which returns to Netflix December 8. The episode will feature guest stars Michael C. Hall as JFK and Jodi Balfour as Jackie, alongside Claire Foy‘s Elizabeth and Matt Smith’s Philip.

For the glamorous real-life meeting, Jackie looked every inch the...

Prince Charles knew that when he popped the question, there was no margin for error.

In The Story of Diana, a two-night television event from People and ABC, insiders open up about Charles and and Princess Diana‘s romance, which at one point seemed like a fairy tale — but eventually was revealed to have deep cracks in its foundation.

Even when the couple married, those who knew Charles well — including his former girlfriend Jane Ward — worried that Diana, just 19 when she got engaged, was too young to tackle the often-intrusive life of a royal.

“I watched it on the television,...

Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom's longest-reigning British monarch, but we can't help but wonder who will take on the crown after her. If she were to abdicate (give up the royal throne), retire, or pass away, her eldest son Prince Charles would become king - making him the oldest heir to accede to the British throne. Of course, he also has the option to immediately pass the crown on to his oldest son, Prince William, who is second in line to the throne, followed by William's two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Even though Elizabeth II recently celebrated her 90th birthday, it appears she isn't ready to give up her royal title quite yet. Sarah Bradford, the author of Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times, revealed that she's never even contemplated abdication, adding, "The queen simply feels she must do her duty." RelatedThe Queen's...

This restrained portrayal of Queen Victoria's relationship with her gallant gillie puts the Victorian gossips to shame

Mrs Brown (1997)

Director: John Madden

Entertainment grade: B

History grade: B+

Queen Victoria was widowed in 1861. Four years after Prince Albert's death, she became attached to her gillie, John Brown.

Taste

John Brown (Billy Connolly) joins Victoria's staff at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, then moves with her to Balmoral in Scotland. The film invents some Upstairs Downstairs drama, but sticks approximately to the facts. The only conspicuous error is that the Balmoral sets are far too tasteful. Balmoral, like Osborne, was bought and decorated by Victoria and Albert as a couple, and its interiors were famously hideous. All the wood was painted dark ginger, fake thistles abounded, and anything that stayed still long enough was covered in violently clashing tartans – including curtains, carpets, furniture, linoleum and small children.

It's 6:45 on a Monday evening in Los Angeles, and while many Angelenos are arriving home and unwinding after a day of work, at the intersection of Santa Monica and Hayworth, the work is just beginning. There is nothing particularly notable about this West Hollywood corner, but as the clock inches toward 7, a small, lively group is gathering here. Some polish off cigarettes; others grab snacks at the 7-Eleven across the street. Some are busily discussing the work at hand. These engaged, motivated individuals—mostly young, many from other countries—are students at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.Dedicated thespians have gathered like this for decades, before class, on East 15th Street in New York City, where the institute was founded, and here in Los Angeles, where its West Coast branch opened shortly thereafter. Styles have changed. Social behaviors have changed. Wars and regimes and inventions and lives have come and gone.

Model/actress Sarah Bradford has been cast in Ken Kushner's horror film "When The Devil Comes," which is currently shooting in New York City as well as in upstate New York and Long Island.

The film's cast also includes Dechen Thurman, Patrick McMullan and Liam McMullan.