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Interview Simon Brew 2 Apr 2013 - 06:30

Sylvester McCoy chats to us about working with Richard Briers, The Hobbit, Doctor Who and more...

The fates didn't seem to be with us when we called up Sylvester McCoy for a brief chat primarily about his work in The Hobbit, which arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK today. A bad line plagued the call, sadly, but we did still manage to talk Doctor Who, The Hobbit and Richard Briers. Here's how we got on..

Shall we get the inevitable Doctor Who question done first! I figure everyone asks you, but do you have any involvement in the 50th anniversary at any level?

No! Somebody mentioned something that the BBC is running on the weekend when it goes out. Big Finish have done us proud, they're coming out with something really exciting. The BBC, we've heard nothing though.

One Doctor Who thing...

Earlier this week, we brought you the news about Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Real Steel) being cast as a new character-the Woodland Elf, Tauriel and Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage) being cast as the Goblin King in director Peter Jackson‘s forthcoming Lord of the Rings prequels, The Hobbit.

Now, Entertainment Weekly has published the first official images from the set of the film. Check them out below, along with quotes from director Peter Jackson.

Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins)

”He fits the ears, and he’s got some very nice feet,” Jackson says of his Bilbo. ”I think he’s got the biggest hobbit feet we’ve had so far. They’re a little bit hard to walk in, but he’s managed to figure out the perfect hobbit gait.”

Peter Jackson With Martin Freeman

”There’s no way you can pace yourself for shoots like these,” Jackson says. ”When we...

Entertainment Weekly June 2011 Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) The Hobbit photos have premiered. The Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen Entertainment Weekly photos are the first official photos of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and a few of the dwarfs from Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit (2012-2013), his prequel to his film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings.

Ian McKellen, The Hobbit

Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, The Hobbit

Martin Freeman, The Hobbit

On Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) from Entertainment Weekly:

“He fits the ears, and he’s got some very nice feet,” Jackson says of his Bilbo. ”I think he’s got the biggest hobbit feet we’ve had so far. They’re a little bit hard to walk in, but he’s managed to figure out the perfect hobbit gait.”

On Gandalf (Ian McKellen) from Entertainment Weekly:

”He’s in fantastic form,” Peter Jackson says of McKellan.

Versatile Irish stage actor who became a familiar face across British drama

Before he became a familiar face on television and cinema screens, the outstanding Irish actor Tp McKenna, who has died after a long illness aged 81, bridged the gap between the old and the new Abbey theatres in Dublin. He appeared with the company for eight years during the interim period at the Queen's theatre; the old Abbey burned down in 1951, the new one opened by the Liffey in 1966.

During that time he made his reputation as a leading actor of great charm, vocal resource – with a fine singing voice – and versatility. He was equally adept at comedy and tragedy, a great exponent of the best Irish playwriting from Jm Synge and Séan O'Casey to Hugh Leonard and Brian Friel. The elder son in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night was a favourite, much acclaimed role.

It was Stephen D,...

Damsels in Distress

Opens: 2011

Cast: Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ryan Metcalf

Director: Whit Stillman

Summary: The story revolves around a group of style-obsessed college girls who take in a new student (Gerwig) and teach her their misguided ways of helping people at their grungy university.

Analysis: The first film in a decade from arthouse darling Whit Stillman, a filmmaker's filmmaker whose three Manhattan-based, yuppie-themed mannerist comedies - "Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" - were a big influence on the likes of auteurs such as Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Stillman says this film varies somewhat from his previous trilogy of sorts, telling First Things that "This film is different, Completely different. Okay, not completely different, but it’s different".

Independently financed by Castle Rock CEO Martin Shafer, the project recently wrapped filming in Manhattan where Stillman returned to last year after having spent much...

Damsels in Distress

Opens: 2011

Cast: Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ryan Metcalf

Director: Whit Stillman

Summary: The story revolves around a group of style-obsessed college girls who take in a new student (Gerwig) and teach her their misguided ways of helping people at their grungy university.

Analysis: The first film in a decade from arthouse darling Whit Stillman, a filmmaker's filmmaker whose three Manhattan-based, yuppie-themed mannerist comedies - "Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" - were a big influence on the likes of auteurs such as Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Stillman says this film varies somewhat from his previous trilogy of sorts, telling First Things that "This film is different, Completely different. Okay, not completely different, but it’s different".

Independently financed by Castle Rock CEO Martin Shafer, the project recently wrapped filming in Manhattan where Stillman returned to last year after having spent much...

A hoard of lost TV dramas – starring the likes of Sean Connery, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi – have resurfaced. What do they say about TV then and now?

We have become used to the idea of major TV dramas being imported from America: series such as The Wire, The Sopranos and The West Wing. But a stash of programmes heading for Britain this month have a more complicated history. These are not strictly imports; rather, they are being returned to their country of origin.

The 65 plays – starring actors such as Sean Connery, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi – were transmitted by the BBC and ITV between 1957 and 1969, but were only seen once. Subsequently, if they were asked after by historians or biographers, they were found to be missing, presumed wiped, a frequent fate in a period when the preservation of TV programmes was an expensive business. However, during a recent stock-taking...

Check out the list of winners of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards!

Best Series, Drama

'Big Love'

'Breaking Bad'

'Damages'

'Dexter'

'House'

'Lost'

'Mad Men'

Best Series, Comedy

'30 Rock'

'Entourage'

'Family Guy'

'Flight Of The Conchords'

'How I Met Your Mother'

'The Office'

'Weeds'

Best Actor, Drama

Bryan Cranston, 'Breaking Bad'

Michael C. Hall,...

Did your favorite TV stars win? Read on to find out! (Winners' names are underlined below.) Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock Kevin Dillon, Entourage Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother Rainn Wilson, The Office Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama Cherry Jones, 24 Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy Dianne Wiest, In Treatment Hope Davis, In Treatment Rose Byrne, Damages Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama William Shatner, Boston Legal Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad William Hurt, Damages Michael Emerson, Lost John Slattery, Mad Men Outstanding Actress, Mini-series or Movie Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby Chandra Wilson,...