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Dame Judi Dench has admitted to feeling torn in two directions by the sexual misconduct allegations rocking Hollywood.

Speaking to Sky News at the London premiere of The Murder on the Orient Express on Thursday, the Oscar-winner said, “It’s very hard when a lot of people concerned are great friends of yours.”

“I feel loyal to them and at the same time I feel appalled by what has happened to a lot of young actresses who had no way of getting out.”

Dench — who plays Princess Dragomiroff in the revamped murder-mystery alongside Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, and Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom Jr.

Harvey Weinstein, one of the most prolific modern Oscar influencers, has been ousted from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors met today to discuss the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and has voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy,” the organization said in a statement on Saturday. “We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that...

Judi Dench is speaking out against Harvey Weinstein amid allegations of decades of sexual misconduct.

In a statement released Monday, Dame Judi Dench, 82, called the allegations against the Hollywood mogul “horrifying” and offered her “sympathy to those who have suffered.”

“Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offences which are, of course, horrifying and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out,” she said.

Dench has long credited Weinstein for her start in Hollywood.

After debuting at Venice and Toronto in September, Stephen Frears' playful period drama Victoria & Abdul surprised absolutely no one by immediately becoming one of the awards-buzz titles of the season, scoring a cool $9.4m on release in its native UK. With Oscar-nominated Mrs. Brown star Dame Judi Dench reprising that critically acclaimed film's role as Queen Victoria, Frears' latest tells the little-known story of how the long-reigning monarch – and then-empress of India…...

Fall is the season of Real-People movies — the biopics that often fuel Oscar hopes. Recent weeks brought “The Battle of the Sexes,” “Stronger,” and “Victoria & Abdul” and there’s more than a dozen to come, including “Marshall,” “The Post,” “Darkest Hour,” and “The Current War.” There’s good reason to believe that a biopic might produce awards. In the last five years, 28 of the 100 Oscar acting nominees played real-life characters, as did four of the 20 winners. But when it comes to the box office, the odds aren’t as kind.

Read More:With ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Darkest Hour’ Showing Strong, Will Churchill-Heavy Britpics Storm the Oscars?

Since 2012, there have been about 100 biopics including hits like “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” and “Julie and Julia.” But while recent years featured real-life characters and stories in some of the biggest non-franchise hits, the format may have reached a saturation point.

Last year,...

Judi Dench (left) stars as Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal (right) stars as Abdul Karim in

director Stephen Frears’ Victoria And Abdul, a Focus Features release. Photo credit: Peter Mountain / Focus Features ©

Director Stephen Frears’ funny, charming Victoria And Abdul was inspired by a real event late in the life of Queen Victoria, when the aging British monarch had her mood brighten by the arrival of a visitor from India, much to the dismay of her advisers and her son, the crown prince. Judi Dench gives a brave and bitingly funny performance as the elderly Queen Victoria, which feels a bit like a kind of sequel to her role as the same queen earlier in life in 1997’s Mrs. Brown. Frears’ handsome historical comedy/drama has a script written by Lee Hall, who penned Billy Elliot, and is based on journalist Shrabani Basu’s “Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant.

An Oscar movie could hit theaters at any time during the year -- as far as the rules are concerned, it only needs to be released between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 to be eligible -- but everyone knows that all of the true contenders arrive in the last quarter of the year.

I suppose some Academy-worthy movies have already been released: Dunkirk, right? The Big Sick and Get Out less likely, but perhaps! I guess some people believe Wonder Woman could really get a Best Picture nomination.... So, instead of considering this our first round of Oscar predictions, think of it as a Ones to Watch list to prepare you as studios start showing off their films that could earn noms at next year's Academy Awards. (Which are still five months away, Fyi, on March 4, 2018.)

Best Picture

The Contenders: The surest things at this point appear to be The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro's already...

Here at Et, we’re obsessed with a lot of things – and this is what we’re most excited about this week:

Why We’re Obsessed With Judi Dench

For the second time in 20 years, Dame Judi Dench is tasked with portraying Queen Victoria—this time in Stephen Frears’ Victoria and Abdul, an unofficial sequel to her Oscar-nominated turn in Mrs. Brown, about the friendship between an Indian Muslim functionary and the monarch of England. Her portrayal is earning her rave reviews, which will certainly mean more of Dench during awards season as she promotes the Oscar-bait film and the upcoming star-studded mystery, Murder on the Orient Express, which is in theaters on Nov. 10. Already, she’s rapped with British grime star Lethal Bizzle and been quite cheeky in interviews, revealing she’s mooned Harvey Weinstein, has a tattoo on her bum and that she’s crushing on Johnny Depp. Bow down!

Victoria and Abdul...

At the Toronto International Film Festival Judi Dench opened up about playing Queen Victoria in the upcoming movie Victoria & Abdul and on getting her first and only tattoo at 81 — or at least the only tattoo she’ll confirm that she has.

“The whole business of getting ready and into that huge suit and then to the corsets and then to the dress and then having got your wig on and everything else, it conditions entirely the way you walk, the way you sit,” Dench, 82, told Entertainment Weekly about getting into character. “All you have to do then is just, you know,...

In 1887, a 24-year-old Indian man named Abdul Karim traveled from his home country to England, to be a servant for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Karim made such an impression on the monarch that she handpicked him to become her tutor in the ways of his home country, and even teach her Urdu. The two developed a close friendship that scandalized the Royal Household and would go on until the time of the Queen’s death in 1901. Karim’s story remained mostly unknown until the release of a book by Shrabani Basu which recounted his years in the Queen’s court. Basu’s book was used as the inspiration for Victoria & Abdul, a film by Stephen Frears. Speaking from the Toronto Film Festival, Frears expressed he wanted to tell the story because of its provocative elements and to show the Queen was “more interesting than those statues of her.” “She...

The extraordinary story of the close relationship between Queen Victoria and the first Indian member of the royal household is now being told.

The platonic relationship between Abdul Karim and the 19th-century monarch was one of tremendous devotion: He taught her Urdu, spent time with her at her summer house in Scotland and the two shared intimate letters.

Their closeness sparked racism and jealousy among the court and other members of the Queen’s family. But Victoria, who was just 18 when she became Queen, showed herself to be an enlightened woman who faced down her court as she remained loyal...

Since Dame Judi Dench is acting royalty she has no trouble playing the hell out of Queen Victoria in her last years on the throne of England. Even better, she lets her ingrained mischief remove any hints of sanctimony from the old girl. Sadly, Victoria & Abdul, directed by the usually scrappy Stephen Frears from a dutiful script by Lee Hall, only sets one place at the table. Abdul Karim (Bollywood star Ali Fazal), the lowly Indian Muslim clerk who's sent from Agra to England to present the Queen with a ceremonial coin,...

Victoria & Abdul depicts the relationship between Queen Victoria, played by Judi Dench, and her servant Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal). Funnily enough, this is the second time Dench has played Victoria, the first time being in the 1997 film Mrs. Brown, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. In the video above, we…

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Victoria & Abdul depicts the relationship between Queen Victoria (played by Judi Dench, who also played the character in Mrs. Brown) and her servant Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal). In the video above, Dench and Fazal reflect on the world’s obsession with royalty.

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With the whole world still seemingly in the grip of clown-mania, it’s doubly difficult for a movie to make a real impact at the moment. With Victoria & Albert however, we may have something that is powerful enough to step out of the shadows that It has created in cinematic circles this month.

The sequel to 1997’s Mrs. Brown, and based on the book of the same name as well as real-life events, Judie Dench reprises her role as Queen Victoria, now in her dotage at the age of 81. This second story echoes the sentiments of its predecessor, in that a servant finds favour with the ruler of the largest empire that the world has ever seen. Although Ali Fazal‘s Abdul Karim is a completely different character to the irreverent Scotsman portrayed by Billy Connolly in Mrs. Brown, the similarities are striking.

Karim and his fellow servant Mohammed (Adeel Akhtar...

Among this year’s leading Oscar contenders in Best Actress is Judi Dench, once again taking on the role of Queen Victoria (a part that scored her an Oscar nomination for 1997’s “Mrs. Brown”), this time in Stephen Frears‘ “Victoria & Abdul.” The picture focuses on the friendship between the Queen and Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), […]...

Is Victoria And Abdul a genteel arthouse version of the 20-years-later sequel? It’s not from the same creative team that delivered 1997’s Mrs. Brown, in which Judi Dench played Queen Victoria in a close relationship with a Scottish servant. But it does feature Dench playing Queen Victoria again—and again forging an…

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MaryAnn’s quick take… Charming based-on-fact British costume dramedy gently snarks about power and propriety but cuts a lot deeper when it comes to bigotry and bootlicking. I’m “biast” (pro): love Judi Dench, mostly love Stephen Frears’s films

I’m “biast” (con): we’re still telling stories about this dead queen?

I have not read the source material

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

The ribbing writes itself: Hey, they finally made the sequel to 1997’s Mrs. Brown! You know, the movie in which Judi Dench as Queen Victoria develops a close platonic friendship — or maybe even a romance — with royal groundskeeper John Brown in the early years of her widowhood, in the 1860s. It was a scandal! And now here’s Victoria & Abdul, which opens 20 years later and stars Judi Dench (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...

Dame Judi Dench, even in her sleep, could probably play any British Queen, especially Victoria, but as she proves in Stephen Frears’ latest royal delight Victoria & Abdul, she seems to be finding new avenues to bring history alive. An Oscar winner as a Queen in Shakespeare In Love and a Best Actress nominee for Mrs. Brown in 1997, Dench returns to the latter film’s character of Queen Victoria, making it look like the first time anyone has tackled the part. As I say in my v…...

Stephen Frears’ “Victoria & Abdul” is an otherwise benignly toothless, pleasantly glossy affair, but it does force us to confront one tricky question: When treating a subject as fraught as British imperial rule, when does a film’s benign inoffensiveness become offensive in and of itself? Still, that’s about the only food for thought in what is at once a breezy, lion-in-winter vehicle for Judi Dench in queen-mode and a “Lifestyles of the Rich and Noble” bit of wealth porn, and not much more.

Dench is back as Queen Victoria, returning to a role she had previously played in John Madden’s “Mrs. Brown,” a film that must have not only inspired Frears and screenwriter Lee Hall, but acted as their foundational text. Little is known about the very real relationship that existed between the aging monarch and her advisor Abdul Karim, and so Hall has essentially grafted their story...

Twenty years ago, Judi Dench earned her first Oscar nomination for her heartfelt portrayal of Queen Victoria in “Mrs. Brown.” Despite winning the Golden Globe and BAFTA, she lost at the Academy Awards to Helen Hunt for the comedy-drama “As Good As It Gets.” Dame Judi returns to the role in “Victoria and Abdul,” which […]...

Judi Dench knows the weight of carrying the crown, having played Queen Victoria twenty years ago in John Madden‘s “Mrs. Brown.” Now, the Oscar winning actress is back on the throne to play the royal role again in “Victoria And Abdul,” and awards season chatter is already buzzing about her performance. And today we have an exclusive clip from the film.

Directed by Stephen Frears, who previously worked with Dench on “Philomena,” “Mrs.

Continue reading ‘Victoria And Abdul’ Exclusive Clip: Judi Dench Learns Urdu at The Playlist.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: What fall movie are you most excited to see?

E. Oliver Whitney (@cinemabite), Screencrush.com

Is there any acceptable answer besides “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”? No, no there is not. (Unless you count December as ‘fall,’ which means the new PTA is my most anticipated.) “The Lobster” would’ve been my favorite film of last year had “Moonlight” not taken the top spot, and “Dogtooth” leaves me in a mix of amazement and horror each time I watch it. So new Yorgos Lanthimos is like a drug for me. But while I’m at it, I also can’t wait for “The Florida Project,...

Up until a few years ago, Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, was the longest reigning monarch. That is until Queen Elizabeth II, her great-great granddaughter surpassed her in September 2015. Elizabeth has been Queen since 1952.

With a reign of 63 years, seven months and two days, Victoria was the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history.

Focus Features has released the first poster and trailer for the upcoming Victoria & Abdul, from director Stephen Frears (The Queen,” “Philomena,” “Mrs. Henderson Presents”). The cast features Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Adeel Akhtar, Simon Callow, Eddie Izzard, Ruth McCabe, Tim Pigott-Smith, Julian Wadham, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar and Michael Gambon.

Many fans of the 1997’s Mrs. Brown wanted more of the story of a bereaved Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and her relationship with a Scottish servant, John Brown (Billy Connolly), and the subsequent uproar it provoked.

BBC Two has commissioned fictional single drama Diana and I, about the impact Princess Diana's death had on people's lives. It’s produced by Big Talk Productions and written by Mrs. Brown and The Last King of Scotland scribe Jeremy Brock. The Full Monty director Peter Cattaneo is set to direct. It tells the story from the point of view of four ordinary people and is set across the week that followed her tragic death on August 31, 1997. The characters' fictional stories…...

Kathryn Adams, an actress who appeared in such notable films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur and the Charles Laughton-starring The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and who retired from Hollywood upon her marriage to Leave It To Beaver‘s Hugh Beaumont, died October 14 at 96. Other film credits include 1939’s Fifth Avenue Girl, 1940’s The Invisible Woman and 1946’s Blonde For a Day. In 1942, she played Mrs. Brown, a young mother, in Hitchcock’s Saboteur. In 1942, Adams married…...

While his latest music video 'Pyar Manga Hai Tumhi Se' is creating waves online, Ali Fazal is all set for yet another stint in Hollywood. After Furious 7 , Ali Fazal is all set to star in Victoria & Abdul opposite none other than the Hollywood star Judi Dench. The film in question is directed by Stephen Frears and is a period drama set in the 1800s revolving around a unique friendship between a queen and clerk. While Judi Dench will reprise the role of Queen Victoria (after the one in Mrs. Brown in 1997) Ali will play the role of Abdul Karim, a young clerk from India in this upcoming film. Ali who is excited about his character jokingly added that he is currently looking like a homeless guy since he has started to grow a beard for his role in the film. He will be leaving for the shoot in London...

Mrs. Brown

Academy Award winner Judi Dench will star as Queen Victoria and Academy Award nominee Stephen Frears (The Queen) will direct Working Title Films’ Victoria And Abdul, to which Focus Features will hold worldwide rights as part of the company’s renewed global initiative. The movie is slated to go into production this year for a 2017 release. Focus will release the movie domestically and Universal Pictures International will distribute the film around the world. Victoria And Abdul is being co-financed by Focus in association with BBC Films.

The screenplay of Victoria And Abdul is by Lee Hall, an Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner for Working Title’s Billy Elliot; and is based on Shrabani Basu’s book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant.

Victoria And Abdul was developed by Beeban Kidron and Lee Hall at Cross Street Films with BBC Films, and is being produced by Ms.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation by Cecil Beaton

This week marks the 90th birthday of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in 1926. The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on the 21st of April and her official birthday on the second Saturday in June. (Trooping of the Colours)

She is the world’s oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain’s longest-lived. In 2015, she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regent in world history.

Looking to celebrate her Majesty’s birthday? First, everyone rise for the national anthem of the United Kingdom.

God save our gracious Queen!

Long live our noble Queen!

God save the Queen!

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us:

God save the Queen!

For more on the Queen’s schedule, visit the official site: www.

Universal

To celebrate the release of comedy phenomenon Brendan O’Carroll and his cast of family and friends in the live stage show How Now Mrs. Brown Cow, out now on Blu-Ray™ and DVD, we’re giving 5 lucky winners a copy on Blu-ray.

You’re invited to join the Brown household this Christmas in How Now Mrs. Brown Cow, as the turkey is getting plucked and Grandad is getting stuffed! Mrs. Brown is eagerly awaiting the return of her son Trevor, whom she has not seen in five years, but has promised to pay a long overdue Christmas visit home. However, in typical fashion, nothing seems to go to plan, with family mix-ups and uncontrollable slapstick all brought to life in this dynamic and side-splitting live performance.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer to the following question to contest@whatculture.com…

Q) Which actor plays Mrs. Brown?...

Studiocanal

Christmas is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with a limited edition 3D DVD sleeve of the UK’s most beloved bear, Paddington.

Paddington brings together an all-star cast, with Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Monuments Men) and Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham, Blue Jasmine) as Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Nicole Kidman (The Hours, Moulin Rouge) as the evil taxidermist, Julie Walters (Billy Elliot, the Harry Potter series) as Mrs. Bird the housekeeper, Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter, The Iron Lady) as Mr. Gruber the owner of the antiques shop, Peter Capaldi (Dr. Who) as the Browns’ neighbour, Mr. Curry and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer to the following question to contest@whatculture.com…

What kind of bear is Paddington?

A) Peruvian Bear

B) Polar Bear

C) Grizzly Bear

Paddington is available now...

To celebrate the release of comedy phenomenon Brendan O’Carroll and his cast of family and friends in the live stage show How Now Mrs. Brown Cow, released on Blu-Ray™ and DVD from 30th November 2015, we’re giving 3 lucky winners a copy of The Christmas Cracker’D Boxset and The Complete Live Collection Boxset on Blu-ray/DVD!

The post Win Mrs. Brown’s Boys live stage show How Now Mrs. Brown Cow on Blu-ray™! appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Worries about the look of the main character turned to smiles and a healthy run at the box office for one of last year’s most pleasant surprises. So it makes sense that, when starting to think about a second Paddington, the producers might want co-writer/director Paul King to return, and Deadline brings word that he is now aboard. King, who helped develop the story of the original with writer Hamish McColl, is going to be even more closely involved from the start for this one, working alongside regular collaborator Simon Farnaby to create the sequel’s narrative. We'd expect Farnaby, who showed up to memorable effect in Paddington, to also play some role this time.Little else is known about the film: we don’t know what our furry hero will be up to this time, but it’s a fair bet that his human family, including Hugh Bonneville’s Mr. Brown,...

Elizabeth has Elizabeth, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The Virgin Queen; Victoria has Young Victoria and Mrs. Brown; heck, Elizabeth 2 is still alive and even she has The Queen. And yet what does Queen Anne, who ruled Britain from 1702 to 1714, get? Absolutely squat — until now. According to Deadline, The Lobster's Yorgos Lanthimos is making a Queen Anne biopic called The Favourite, and Kate Winslet, Emma Stone, and Oilvia Colman are all in talks to star. The film is reportedly centered on the "political machinations behind the scenes" of Anne's rule. Colman would play Anne; Winslet would play her friend Sarah Churchhill, wife of the popular Duke of Marlborough; and Stone would play Abigail Masham, Churchill's young protégé, who ended up usurping her in the Queen's affections. (And, it was rumored, enjoyed an affair with her.) So, basically, it's All About Eve in bodices. Can't wait!

"The enjoyment of a work of art, the acceptance of an irresistible illusion, constituting, to my sense, our highest experience of "luxury," the luxury is not greatest, by my consequent measure, when the work asks for as little attention as possible. It is greatest, it is delightfully, divinely great, when we feel the surface, like the thick ice of the skater's pond, bear without cracking the strongest pressure we throw on it. The sound of the crack one may recognise, but never surely to call it a luxury." —Henry James, from The Preface to The Wings of the Dove (1909) "[The critic’s] choice of best salami is a picture backed by studio build-up, agreement amongst his colleagues, a layout in Life mag (which makes it officially reasonable for an American award), and a list of ingredients that anyone’s unsophisticated aunt in Oakland can spot as comprising a distinguished film. This prize picture,...

The hit Bcc comedy comes to the big screen this Summer with The Bad Education Movie seeing Jack Whitehall’s immature teacher Alfie Wickers embark on a chaotic class trip with his tear away students. This might go over the heads of our American friends, but those in Ireland and the U.K. should know know exactly what to expect. No doubt, this will hope to emulate the success of fellow t.v. to movie converts Alan Partridge, The Inbetweeners, and Mrs. Brown, and judging from the below trailer, which brings with it a fair amount of chuckles, it shouldn’t have a problem, with Whitehall being his usual liable self, and joined by an ables cast, including Harry Enfield, Matthew Horne, and Game of Thrones’ Ian Glen. The Bad Education Movie hits our shores August 21st.

4:10 Pm Pt -- Ayeb plead not guilty and the judge put a protective order in place ... for 3 Years. She remains in custody as of Friday afternoon. Chris Brown's naked intruder is getting nailed with 3 felonies in court ... but, interestingly ... she is Not being held on a 5150. Amira Ayeb is appearing before a judge for the first time since getting arrested in Brown's home on Wednesday night. She will be charged with stalking, vandalism and burglary.

He’s no stranger to having women throw themselves at him, but when Chris Brown returned home from a trip to Las Vegas, there was a naked lady waiting in his bed.

According to TMZ, the “Don’t Wake Me Up” singer and his security team entered his Agoura Hills, California residence to find “I Love You” spray painted across his kitchen counter and various women’s clothes strewn about the foyer. Of course, Chris called the police and had the 21-year-old woman arrested after he found her sleeping in his bed. Later, he also discovered the words “Mrs. Brown” spray painted on his Range Rover and Rolls Royce.

Brown posted a photo of the woman via Instagram along with the message, “I get home and find this crazy individual in my house. She had broken the hinges off the doors. She Found time to cook her several meAls. She wrote,...

The woman who was arrested for breaking into and vandalizing the home of Chris Brown may have recently flown off the hinges ... living a delusion in which she believes she is Brown's wife. Amira Kodcia Ayeb posted a message online 4 days ago, in which she says she's in Malibu "searching for her home." The 21-year-old from Tunisia also says her last name is Brown. It's apparent she thinks Chris is her husband, which is why...

Chris Brown might be off the hook for an alleged battery case in Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean his legal troubles are over. For once the tables have turned, and it's Brown who could be taking someone to court. In an Instagram post, the singer alleges that a female fan broke into his home while he was out of town. According to TMZ, Brown returned to his California residence Wednesday night to find a naked woman he didn't know in his bed. She reportedly vandalized his property, spray-painting the words "I Love You" and "Mrs. Brown" on his kitchen counter and cars. Brown also says she threw away his 10-month-old daughter's clothing and appears to have been in his home for days, having cooked herself "several meals." But it wouldn't be Chris Brown without some misstep: Rather than leave the matter to law enforcement (who took her into custody...

Chris Brown came home Wednesday night to find a naked woman in his bed ... problem is he had no idea who she was ... so he called the cops and they carted her away.  Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Cb returned to his home in Agoura Hills, CA with his security team around 9:00 Pm when he found a woman's clothes in the foyer and "I Love You" spray painted on the kitchen counter. We're told...

Norman Thaddeus Vane, a writer-director behind such films as the 1983 cult horror film Frightmare and Club Life, a 1986 drama starring Tony Curtis, has died. He was 86. Vane died Saturday morning of heart failure at his home in Hollywood, according to his housemates, actor-producer John Makshanoff and Jeff Vella. Vane also penned the screenplays for the Herman’s Hermits showcase Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) — co-starring his then-wife Sarah Caldwell, whom he married when she was 16 and he was about 38 — and Lola (1970), a Richard Donner

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Dame Judi Dench was mostly working in British television before kingmaker Harvey Weinstein cast her in the lead role of Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown, for which she earned the first of seven Oscar nominations. How could she thank Weinstein, the man who had everything? Well, Dench got him the best gift she could think of: his name on her ass. Specifically, she got "Jd Loves Hw" tattooed. Weinstein relayed a delightful story of when she first showed the tattoo to him at the Four Seasons Grill on The Graham Norton Show. "What can you say to see Judi Dench's name stenciled on your ass?" Weinstein mused. And he's not the only one she has shown it to publicly: Dame Dench also showed the tattoo off to Oprah Winfrey at the BAFTAs last year.

Chicago – It may prove hard to recall an era of talking creatures in live-action movies before the napalm hellfire of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” or “The Smurfs.” But, lest we forget, “Babe” has more Academy Awards than “The Master.” Arriving at the coy and wise time of the film year where expectations are either golden or underneath the barrel, talking bear Paddington arrives stateside as a well-behaved throwback to brighter days for a simple genre, with an efficient sense of humor and a few globs of vision, too.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Voiced with clear-eyed wonder by Ben Whishaw, cheery children’s book icon Paddington is a Peruvian bear with both a refined English vernacular and ravenousness for orange marmalade, attributes learned from British artifacts left by visiting explorer Montgomery Clyde. When Paddington’s home is destroyed in an earthquake, the young bear stows away to foggy London to meet the revered adventurer.

The new family film "Paddington" is quite a charmer, and should delight kids and adults alike. It's adapted from author Michael Bond's popular children's book series. The film concerns a young bear from darkest Peru, who is sent by his aunt from his earthquake ravaged jungle abode to try to find a new home in London. The bears had been visited years before by an explorer who told them they'd be welcome to visit him, should they ever make their way out to England. After stowing away on a boat, the bear later finds himself alone at a train station where he is found and taken in by a kindly family. They put him up temporarily while they try to help him locate the explorer. Once the newly named Paddington is ensconced in his new digs, the clumsy bear wreaks havoc in the house causing all sorts of damage.

Just what we need, another cute kids’ movie about a lovable, talking animal. Children can’t seem to get enough of these movies, despite how dreadfully awful they usually are, by most adults’ standards. Spy on parents some time while they treat their little ones to these chatty creature films and you’re likely to find most of them struggling to grin and bear the experience. Yeah. See what I did there?

Normally, you’d be hard pressed to find me caught anywhere near one of these movies. There are, of course, always those rare exceptions that lead you to eat that bitter N word… “never.” This is why I try and never say never about a film, unless its in the title. Paddington (2014) is a family-friendly film, and by that I mean its friendly for the entire family, children and adults. The film is based upon the beloved books by author Michael Bond,...

One of the more obnoxious trailers I've seen in the last six months was for "Paddington," which looked like loud, annoying children's trash. I've sat through so many of those movies since I had my kids, and even when it's my job to review them, it is one of those things that I have to steel myself for ahead of time. Whoever cut the trailers for "Paddington" owes writer/director Paul King a personal apology, though. I mean, I get it. I know why they didn't push the whole "From the director of 'The Mighty Boosh'" angle in the trailers, but it would have at least convinced me. I am delighted to report that King's movie is sweet and smart and silly, beautifully made from top to bottom. While my kids were entertained by it, I found it very moving and was pleased to see how well King's sense of style,...

 

Paddington follows the comic misadventures of a young Peruvian bear who travels to London in search of a home.  The cast of Paddington is led by acclaimed British Talent, Ben Whishaw (voice of Paddington), Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Brown), Sally Hawkins (Mrs. Brown) and Nicole Kidman as the villainous Millicent. Nicole Kidman and producer  David Heyman, known for the Harry Potter films, sat down in Los Angeles to talk about the live action and CGI film, and why Colin Firth was dropped as the voice of Paddington in favor of Ben Whishaw (Skyfall).

We're going to get real for a second: When Titanic came out, we saw it in the theaters no less than 13 times. And during those 13 viewings (which, truth be told, have at least doubled by now), we managed to catch pretty much every not-so-subtle joke that James Cameron snuck in. (Picasso not amounting to anything, anyone?) But apparently, Jim had a few more wisecracks up his sleeve—at least according to this recently-surfaced deleted scene. The latest gag comes courtesy of everyone's favorite Unsinkable Molly Brown (played by Kathy Bates). As Mrs. Brown sits in one of the Titanic's restaurants downing drinks and harassing the waitstaff for more ice, the infamous iceberg floats by in the...

This sweetly funny adaptation of the popular children’s book series avoids one misstep after another, resulting in a film that will delight kids and parents...

Even before they replaced the lead voice actor and punted the U.S. release date from December to January, the odds weren’t exactly in favor of “Paddington.” After all, so many charming children’s storybooks have had the delight squeezed out of them after being elongated into a three-act structure on the way to the big screen. (Remembering the “Cat in the Hat” movie still brings on an involuntary shudder.)

See Video: ‘Paddington...