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“Slow Horses” star Gary Oldman is the frontrunner to win Best Drama Actor at the upcoming Emmys. Oldman earned his first and only Oscar six years ago for his portrayal of World War II-era British prime minister Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” That win was sandwiched between two other lead bids for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2012) and “Mank” (2021). His sole Emmy nomination to date came in 2001 for his guest appearance in the two-part seventh season finale of “Friends”; he lost to Derek Jacobi (“Frasier”).

On Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses,” which is based on a series of novels by Mick Herron, Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, a particularly uncouth MI5 officer saddled with the responsibility of supervising a group of service rejects. This constitutes his very first regular role on a continuing series and his first live action TV performance at all in over two decades.

Oldman would be the 12th...

Charlize Theron returned to the Oscar race in 2020 with a Best Actress nomination for “Bombshell.” The Academy Award winner earned raves for her eerie embodiment of former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, but where does the role fall into the rest of her filmography? Tour through our photo gallery of Theron’s 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Success came pretty quickly for the South African born actress. After one uncredited role in a horror film, Theron burst onto movie screens in the film “2 Days in the Valley.” That film launched her into a series of roles usually as the wife or girlfriend and ones that capitalized on her stunning beauty. That all changed in 2003 when she took on the role of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who became a serial killer and was put to death for her crimes. The film won Theron the Oscar as Best Actress...

Geoffrey Rush is one of the rare few who have achieved the triple crown of acting, meaning he has received an Emmy, Oscar and Tony Award (all three major acting awards) for his work (he refers to it as the Toe while waiting on his Egot).

Rush was an acclaimed actor in his native Australia for nearly two decades before the film “Shine” made him a known commodity in the rest of the world. He was 45 years old when suddenly his whole career changed and he was being considered for major roles in various mediums. That film about a pianist dealing with scars from his childhood won Rush the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actor. Those awards and acclaim launched him into a highly successful international career. He has since earned even more Oscar nominations, with two as Best Supporting Actor for “Shakespeare in Love” and...

Upon its August 2023 premiere, the Amazon Prime Video original film “Red, White & Royal Blue” quickly gained a massive audience, a large portion of which reportedly created new subscriptions just so they could view it. Now, the two-hour adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel of the same name is set to embark on a 2024 TV awards run that, of course, won’t include the delayed 75th Emmys but could more than reasonably begin with the 81st Golden Globes. If it does make its way into the upcoming Best Limited Series/TV Movie lineup, it will be the first one-off film in seven years to earn Golden Globes recognition as a general program.

Directed and co-written by Tony winner Matthew López (“The Inheritance”), “Red, White & Royal Blue” stars Taylor Zakhar Perez (“The Kissing Booth” franchise) and Nicholas Galitzine (2021’s “Cinderella”) as two fictional world leaders’ offspring whose bitter rivalry unexpectedly evolves into a romance.

It’s pretty common for limited series to be Emmy-nominated for both writing and directing, as demonstrated by current dual contenders “Beef” and “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” plus “The White Lotus” and the four 2022 shows it knocked out twice. The same cannot be said, however, for TV movies, which compete directly against non-continuing series in the composite Best Movie/Limited Writing and Directing categories. Prior to this year, no telefilm had achieved this nomination combo since 2014, but Hulu’s “Prey” just closed the gap, signaling a return to form for the genre.

“Prey,” which premiered in August 2022, is also gunning for the Best TV Movie Emmy and picked up bids for its sound editing, picture editing and music composition. Set in 18th century North America and featuring a primarily Indigenous cast, it serves as a prequel to the 1987 theatrical horror film “Predator,” which is now the nexus of a seven-part franchise.

Ed Harris is hoping to contend at the Emmys one last time for the HBO sci-fi series “Westworld,” which signed off last year after four seasons. Based on Michael Crichton‘s 1973 movie of the same name, the show comes from Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan and follows a collection of people indulging themselves at a highly-sophisticated theme park that depicts the wild west and is populated by advanced AI.

The show continued to build on its theme with each season and features some wonderful actors, not least including Harris. Harris plays the Man in Black, a sadistic and brutal man who is determined to find out the secrets of the theme park. In the final seasons, Harris also plays William, who is a host who replaces the original Man in Black. In his viciousness and snarling performance, Harris is clearly having a great time on screen and critics have noted...

Since making his screen debut at age eight opposite his father, Lloyd Bridges, on TV’s “Sea Hunt,” Jeff Bridges has enjoyed an acting career that now spans a whopping 65 years. His resume mainly consists of film roles, but he has occasionally ventured back to the small screen, most recently as the star of “The Old Man.” Having already picked up Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his performance on the FX series, he is naturally one of the strongest contenders for this year’s Best Drama Actor Emmy. If his likely bid results in a victory, the Best Actor Oscar winner will join a distinguished group of leading men who were lauded by the film and then TV academies.

Bridges earned his first and only Oscar 13 years ago for his portrayal of recovering alcoholic country singer Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart.” He had previously...

In 2019, the Best TV Movie and Best Limited Series PGA Awards categories were introduced as replacements for a consolidated one that had existed since 1995. Prior to the split, the organization honored 12 telefilms, almost all of which are based on true stories. Of the few proper biopics in that group, only 2013’s “Behind the Candelabra” – which stars Michael Douglas as Liberace – focuses on the life of a musician. Now, after nearly a decade, the HBO movie is expected to gain some company in that distinction since The Roku Channel’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” is the odds-on favorite to take this year’s made-for-tv movie prize.

Naturally, “Weird” differs significantly from a typical biopic in that it parodies the genre’s traditional formula at every turn. Al Yankovic, who co-wrote the script with director Eric Appel, gets across the main beats of the story of his career beginnings while taking increasingly outlandish liberties,...

Two decades after he initially became a Screen Actors Guild Award nominee and 13 years after he won Best Film Actor for “Crazy Heart,” Jeff Bridges has received his first television acting notice from the organization. This Best TV Drama Actor recognition comes for his work on FX’s “The Old Man,” which constitutes the first regular small screen role of his 65-year career. If he succeeds on this bid, he will be only the sixth man to win individual SAG Awards for both film and TV performances.

Aside from his win, Bridges’ SAG Awards resume consists of four film nominations for “The Contender” (supporting), “Seabiscuit” (ensemble), “True Grit” (lead) and “Hell or High Water” (supporting). His challengers in this year’s TV drama actor contest are all, unlike him, also nominated in the corresponding ensemble category. Two of the four are “Better Call Saul” cast mates Jonathan Banks and Bob Odenkirk,...

Exclusive: The feature take of Steve Stoliar’s memoir Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House is finally moving forward, with Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush set to play comedy legend Groucho Marx and Oscar nominee Oren Moverman directing off a screenplay he co-wrote with Stoliar.

Sienna Miller and Moonfall and All the Money in the World actor Charlie Plummer will also star in the Cold Iron Pictures project, which is produced by CEO Miranda Bailey and Moverman.

Set between 1973-1977, Raised Eyebrows follows Steve (Plummer) as he enters Groucho Marx’s house for his dream job of working for the aging, frail comedian, under the watchful eye of Erin Fleming (Miller), who had taken over the Marx brother’s personal and professional life. Marx and Fleming had a controversial relationship in his twilight years, she his devoted girlfriend-turned-manager. The power struggles result in a comedy of horrors in which obsession,...

Fresh off his Emmy win for his supporting turn on “Mare of Easttown,” Evan Peters is sitting pretty in first place in our Screen Actors Guild Awards odds for limited series/TV movie actor. Just like at the Emmys, this would be his first SAG Award nomination, and should he take home the prize on Feb. 27, he’ll become the category’s second youngest winner ever.

Peters turns 35 on Jan. 20 and would be just the second thirtysomething to win the award after Darren Criss, the youngest winner at 31 when he triumphed for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in 2019. Prior to Criss, Gary Sinise was the youngest champ, having been 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise nabbed a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace.”

The average winning age is 53.85. The two oldest champs are legends who never had a chance to win a SAG Award...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival “It Starts With the Script” panel is always my favorite panel of the year, with the year’s most lauded and gifted screenwriters.

Some of this year’s gang wrote scripts about real people. Writers Guild Award nominee Noah Harpster wrote “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” about children’s television host Fred Rogers with his partner Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Lulu Wang based BAFTA and Indie Spirit nominee “The Farewell” on the true story of a family secret.

Critics’ Choice and USC Scripter Award winner Greta Gerwig added real-life details about New England author Louisa May Alcott to her modern adaptation of the classic “Little Women,” which earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, which could repeat on Oscar night.

Annie Award nominee Stephany Folsom wrote the Pixar sequel “Toy Story 4″ with “Finding Nemo” creator Andrew Stanton, while Christopher Markus wrote Marvel...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival “It Starts With the Script” panel is always my favorite panel of the year, with the year’s most lauded and gifted screenwriters.

Some of this year’s gang wrote scripts about real people. Writers Guild Award nominee Noah Harpster wrote “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” about children’s television host Fred Rogers with his partner Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Lulu Wang based BAFTA and Indie Spirit nominee “The Farewell” on the true story of a family secret.

Critics’ Choice and USC Scripter Award winner Greta Gerwig added real-life details about New England author Louisa May Alcott to her modern adaptation of the classic “Little Women,” which earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, which could repeat on Oscar night.

Annie Award nominee Stephany Folsom wrote the Pixar sequel “Toy Story 4″ with “Finding Nemo” creator Andrew Stanton, while Christopher Markus wrote Marvel...

Charlize Theron returned to the Oscar race this week with a Best Actress nomination for “Bombshell.” The Academy Award winner earned raves for her eerie embodiment of former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, but where does the role fall into the rest of her filmography? Tour through our photo gallery of Theron’s 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best.

See Charles Randolph Interview: ‘Bombshell’ screenwriter

Success came pretty quickly for the South African born actress. After one uncredited role in a horror film, Theron burst onto movie screens in the film “2 Days in the Valley.” That film launched her into a series of roles usually as the wife or girlfriend and ones that capitalized on her stunning beauty. That all changed in 2003 when she took on the role of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who became a serial killer and was put to death for her crimes. The film...

The Hollywood Film Awards announced today that Oscar-winning actress, producer, and activist Charlize Theron will receive the coveted “Hollywood Career Achievement Award” at the 23rd Annual “Hollywood Film Awards.” Considered a true artist, Theron has been known throughout her career to fully transform into the characters she portrays, impressing critics and audiences alike with her ability to honestly and authentically convey their stories with heart and integrity. She carries this same passion with her behind the camera and beyond, using her voice to speak for others, especially those in need in her home country of South Africa. As busy as ever, this year Theron returns to the screen for her starring role in the highly anticipated film “Bombshell” alongside Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie, where she plays real life journalist Megyn Kelly. The “Hollywood Film Awards,” hosted by actor and comedian Rob Riggle, will take place on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at...

Kiefer Sutherland is going back on the hunt.

The 24 and Designated Survivor star will topline an updated take on The Fugitive for shortform streaming platform Quibi. Boyd Holbrook (Narcos) will also star in the series, playing the wrongfully accused man Sutherland's detective is trying to track down. 

Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) will direct the series in a reunion with Sutherland. Hopkins directed 12 episodes of 24's first season in 2001-02, including the series pilot and the season one finale.

Written and executive produced by Nick Santora (Prison Break, Scorpion), The Fugitive centers on ...

August 7, 2019, will mark the 44th birthday of Charlize Theron, an actress who has made huge transformations throughout her career. Success came pretty quickly for the South African born actress. After one uncredited role in a horror film, Theron burst onto movie screens in the film “2 Days in the Valley.” That film launched her into a series of roles usually as the wife or girlfriend and ones that capitalized on her stunning beauty. That all changed in 2003 when she took on the role of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who became a serial killer and was put to death for her crimes. The film won Theron the Oscar as Best Actress and took her from pretty face to serious actress.

SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

The transformation wasn’t without some controversy though. Theron gained a good deal of weight and wore prosthetic makeup to...

The temperature has been rising on “Chernobyl” in our Emmy predictions since it premiered on HBO in May. That may be good news for Emily Watson, who plays the composite character of Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet scientist trying to avert a global catastrophe. She’s looking like a strong contender for Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actress, which would be the first Primetime Emmy nomination of her career. But could she actually pull off an upset by beating the two Pattys: Patricia Clarkson (“Sharp Objects”) and Patricia Arquette (“The Act”)?

As of this writing Watson ranks third in our odds, which are based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users. That includes 22 out the 24 Expert journalists we’ve surveyed who are confident that she will be nominated. However, none of those Experts are betting on Watson to win. Instead, 18 of them back Clarkson following her Golden Globe win...

On July 6, 2019, actor Geoffrey Rush celebrates his 68th birthday. The actor is one of the rare few who have achieved the triple crown of acting, meaning he has received an Emmy, Oscar and Tony Award (all three major acting awards) for his work.

SEEWho Needs a Grammy to Reach Egot?

Rush was an acclaimed actor in his native Australia for nearly two decades before the film “Shine” made him a known commodity in the rest of the world. He was 45 years old when suddenly his whole career changed and he was being considered for major roles in various mediums. That film about a pianist dealing with scars from his childhood won Rush the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actor. Those awards and acclaim launched him into a highly successful international career. He has since earned even more Oscar nominations, with two as Best Supporting Actor for...

“It is Michelle Williams, who is overdue for a peer group award — come on, Hollywood! — versus Patricia Arquette, who has swept the derby so far in this race for Best Movie/Mini Actress. Who’s going to win?” asks Gold Derby editor-in-chief Tom O’Neil about one of the Emmys’ closest contests this year between Williams for her role as Gwen Verdon in the showbiz series “Fosse/Verdon” and Arquette for playing Tilly Mitchell in the true-crime tale “Escape at Dannemora.” Watch him debate the race with senior editors Joyce Eng, Daniel Montgomery and Susan Wloszczyna above.

“I just think it’s hers to lose,” says Wloszczyna about Williams. The real Verdon was a theater legend, but she’s not as well known to audiences as she once was, and certainly not as well known as her husband Bob Fosse. Nevertheless, Williams “is filling in the blanks in her life so beautifully.

Most Emmy pundits agree that Peter Dinklage is a shoo-in for another Emmy nomination for “Game of Thrones.” He’s the only actor who has ever won for the HBO fantasy series, and he has done it three times. But if he’s that beloved by the television academy, why aren’t more of us predicting him for his other role this season in the TV movie “My Dinner with Herve”?

Dinklage is the overwhelming favorite to win Best Drama Supporting Actor for playing conflicted royal advisor Tyrion Lannister. He’s backed by 15 out of the 16 Expert journalists we’ve polled thus far, 8 out of 9 Gold Derby Editors, and 21 of our Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Emmy nominations. He previously won the prize in 2011, 2015 and 2018. If he’s nominated for the eighth time this year it will extend his record for the most bids in the category.

The American Cinematheque will present the 33rd American Cinematheque Award to Oscar-winner Charlize Theron (“Monster”) at the 2019 annual benefit gala on Friday, November 8, 2019 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Hollywood assembles at the Cinematheque Ball each year to celebrate the new honoree.

“Charlize Theron is making a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures while breaking through outmoded limitations on what an actress and producer can do,” stated American Cinematheque Chairman Rick Nicita. “It is obvious from her career that her immense talent cannot be categorized or confined.”

The South African actress has shown her range since she broke out early in “The Cider House Rules.” She transformed herself into a serial killer in Patty Jenkins’ “Monster” and earned another Oscar nomination for “North Country.” She demonstrated her physical prowess as Imperator Furiosa in George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” and in the title role in “Atomic Blonde.” She...

The American Cinematheque will present the 33rd American Cinematheque Award to Oscar-winner Charlize Theron (“Monster”) at the 2019 annual benefit gala on Friday, November 8, 2019 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Hollywood assembles at the Cinematheque Ball each year to celebrate the new honoree.

“Charlize Theron is making a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures while breaking through outmoded limitations on what an actress and producer can do,” stated American Cinematheque Chairman Rick Nicita. “It is obvious from her career that her immense talent cannot be categorized or confined.”

The South African actress has shown her range since she broke out early in “The Cider House Rules.” She transformed herself into a serial killer in Patty Jenkins’ “Monster” and earned another Oscar nomination for “North Country.” She demonstrated her physical prowess as Imperator Furiosa in George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” and in the title role in “Atomic Blonde.” She...

The Egot — an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony — is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.

Jack Albertson

Anne Bancroft

Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982)Emmy: Single Performance by an Actress, “Startime” (1960); Actress in Limited Series or Special, “A Woman Called Golda” (1982).Oscar: Actress, “Gaslight” (1944); Actress, “Anastasia” (1956); Supporting Actress, “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974).Tony: Actress (Dramatic), “Joan of Lorraine” (1947).No Grammys to Egot.

Shirley Booth

Ralph Burns Ellen Burstyn Viola Davis (1965 – ) Emmy: Actress in a Drama Series, “How to Get Away With Murder” (2015).Oscar: Actress, “Fences” (2016).Tony: Featured Actress in a Play, “King Hedley II” (2001); Actress in a Play, “Fences” (2010).No Grammys for Egot. Melvyn Douglas

Bob Fosse

Jeremy Irons (1948 – )

Emmy: Voiceover Performance, “The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century” (1997); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, “Elizabeth I” (2006); Narrator, “Big Cat Week” (2014).Oscar: Actor, “Reversal of Fortune” (1990).Tony: Actor in a Play,...

Darren Criss not only completed his awards sweep at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” but he’s now the youngest winner ever in the limited series/TV movie actor category.

Criss, who turns 32 on Feb. 5, is the first person to win the award in his 30s and is nine years younger than the former record holder, Gary Sinise, who was 40 at the time of his victory for “Truman” in 1996. Sinise won a second statuette two years later for “George Wallace” and is twice in the top five youngest champs of all time.

Like the corresponding Emmy and Golden Globe categories, older actors rule this SAG Awards winners roll call, but the former two groups have given their awards to younger men. Criss is the second youngest Emmy champ behind Anthony Murphy (“Tom Brown’s Schooldays”), who was 17 at the 1973 Emmys,...

“Attention, food shoppers. We have a special over at the frozen food department, dead meat!”

Judgement Night (1993) is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives

Noted producer/director Stephen Hopkins navigates this harrowing journey of four suburban men into the nightmarish neighborhood of Chicago’s crime-infested underworld. On their way to a boxing match, four young men in a state-of-the-art Rv take a wrong turn and witness a gang murder. Now, the killer’s boss (Denis Leary) cannot let them live, and starts hunting the friends down through Chicago’s meanest streets… With a powerhouse cast this edge-of-your-seat thriller takes viewers on a life and death road-trip into terror. This ’90s cult action fan favorite comes roaring to life thanks to this crackling new rendition in 1080p HD. 16×9 Letterbox.

The post Emilio Estevez and Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Judgement Night Now Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Darren Criss became the second youngest person to win the Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actor Emmy for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” in September. He could be the third youngest to win the Golden Globe equivalent next month. And if he wins the corresponding Screen Actors Guild Award, he’d set a new benchmark as the category’s youngest winner ever.

Criss, who will be nine days shy of his 32nd birthday at the Jan. 27 ceremony, wouldn’t just break the record; he’d smash it. No one has won that category while in their 30s. The youngest champ is Gary Sinise, who was 40 when he prevailed for “Truman” at the second SAG Awards in 1996; he won a second one two years later for “George Wallace,” so he occupies two of the top four youngest spots. Reigning champ Alexander Skarsgard (“Big Little Lies”), at 41 years and 149 days,...

In the age of peak TV, actors, writers, directors and producers, and subsequently their managers and agents, are open for business in any medium, and that new attitude shows in awards nominations, especially when it comes to the Golden Globe acting fields.

Amy Adams and Regina King scored nominations in both film and TV categories for the 2019 awards, while many actors who normally work in film are now being feted for their TV roles.

The Golden Globes voters are proving to be platform-agnostic now, a relatively new trend that seems to have begun in earnest in 2014 when small-screen stars such as Idris Elba, who had earned plaudits from the Globes for Brit series “Luther,” easily jumped into the big-screen awards mix with “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” From there, Steve Carell (known and perennially Globe-nominated for his work on NBC’s “The Office”) cracked the golden ceiling and grabbed a...

For years, the Emmy Awards stuck stubbornly to their old favorites: The same shows would get nominated year over year, much to everyone’s frustration.

But then two things happened: Peak TV exploded, and the voting rules changed. And suddenly, the only thing you could count on was not being able to count on anything. With 9100 submissions across over 120 categories, it’s become nearly impossible to offer any sense of predictability to the nominations.

As always, this year’s list offered the usual array of snubs and surprises, which Emmy prognosticators — Variety included — dutifully weighed in on. But the main takeaway from the nominations is simply this: rules are made to broken, which is a very good thing.

Star power matters — until it doesn’t.

In the past, the surest way to land a nomination — not to mention the trophy itself — was for an established male movie actor to star in an HBO movie.

Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins has inked with Circle of Confusion. The multihyphenate most recently directed and exec produced Fox’s 24: Legacy and Showtime’s House of Lies and also directed and produced the 2016 Jesse Owens biopic Race for Focus Features.

The filmmaker’s next project is producing Against All Enemies, the political thriller starring Kristen Stewart as iconic actress Jean Seberg.

Hopkins won an Emmy for directing 2004’s The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, starring Geoffrey Rush and Charlize Theron, which premiered in competition at Cannes that year. He also scored Emmy noms for USA Network’s Traffic and two for Fox’s 24 in 2002 — one as director and the other as producer. The latter show also was Hopkins’ first U.S, TV pilot, and he directed and co-exec-produced Season 1 of the Kiefer Sutherland action drama. He also has two DGA noms under his belt, for 24 and...

"In Australia, people will call a lemon meringue pie 'genius,' you know," cracks Australian actor Geoffrey Rush — who currently can be seen playing Albert Einstein in National Geographic's 10-part limited series Genius, the network's first foray into scripted entertainment — as we sit down at New York's iconic Empire Hotel to record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast. "But," continues the 65-year-old winner of an Oscar (1996's Shine), Emmy (2004's The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) and Tony (2009's Exit the King), "Einstein? He was such a lateral thinker, daydreamer, thinking 'outside the box,' as...

National Geographic Channel is venturing into scripted series territory, and for their first drama, the cable network has cast Geoffrey Rush to play Albert Einstein. The Aussie will take on the role of the famed physicist for anthology drama Genius, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It will be Rush’s first major American series television role. (He did win an Emmy for HBO-bbc collaboration The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a TV movie that aired in 2004.) The first season of the anthology series is based on the acclaimed Einstein biography by Walter Isaacson. Ron Howard is directing the first episode of Genius, and Howard’s longtime collaborator Brian Grazer is producing. The Oscar winner who so entertained us with Shakespeare in Love and Pirates of the Caribbean seems like a solid fit for the iconic scientist. He probably won’t even have to wear a wig for Einstein’s recognizable hair.

Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons star in the true story.

Altitude Film Distribution has acquired the UK distribution rights to Stephen Hopkins’ Race, which follows black athlete Jesse Owens’ meteoric rise to become four-time Olympic gold medalist at the 1936 games in Nazi Germany.

The deal was negotiated between Altitude’s Will Clarke and Mister Smith Entertainment’s David Garrett. Focus Features released the film in the Us on February 19, taking $7.35m to date.

The UK release date has yet to be set but is likely to come before the Rio Olympics (Aug 5-21).

Directed and produced by Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), Race stars Stephan James (Selma) as Jesse Owens and Jason Sudeikis (We’re the Millers, Horrible Bosses) and also features Jeremy Irons and William Hurt as well as Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones).

Made with the cooperation of the Jesse Owens Foundation as well as the Owens family...

Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons star in the true story.

Altitude Film Distribution has acquired the UK distribution rights to Stephen Hopkins’ Race, which follows black athlete Jesse Owens’ meteoric rise to become four-time Olympic gold medalist at the 1936 games in Nazi Germany.

The deal was negotiated between Altitude’s Will Clarke and Mister Smith Entertainment’s David Garrett. Focus Features released the film in the Us on February 19, taking $7.35m to date.

The UK release date has yet to be set but is likely to come before the Rio Olympics (Aug 5-21).

Directed and produced by Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), Race stars Stephan James (Selma) as Jesse Owens and Jason Sudeikis (We’re the Millers, Horrible Bosses) and also features Jeremy Irons and William Hurt as well as Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones).

Made with the cooperation of the Jesse Owens Foundation as well as the Owens family...

Descriptors that defined Jesse Owens – like speedy, smooth or brave – are not words likely to be associated with Race, the new biopic from director Stephen Hopkins. The 10.3 seconds in which Owens (played by Stephan James) changed the world unfolds over 134 plodding minutes, completely devoid of tension. Race is a story about an incredible man simply “being incredible,” rather than the circumstances that forced him to drastically defy the odds.

In line with expectations for clichéd biopics, Race begins with extraneous expositional dialogue, with Jesse’s mother, Emma Owens (Michèle Lonsdale Smith) informing her son that he’s “the first boy of mine to go to college,” then reminding him of the “lump” she removed from his chest at 5 that left him with a scar. As co-written by Frankie & Alice screenwriters Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, the screenplay feels stiff on a scene to scene basis, entering its worst stretches whenever...

Sooner or later we were bound to get a biographical sports movie about Olympic runner Jesse Owens. In fact, it’s pretty surprising that it took this long for it to happen. Now we’ve got one though and it comes to us in the form of Race, directed by Stephen Hopkins (A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers).

The movie takes us back to the 1930’s when Jesse (Stephan James) was a student at Ohio State University and being coached by former running star Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis). But while Jesse finds college life challenging, especially with his girlfriend and child back home, he’s soon presented with an even bigger challenge: competing at the Olympics in Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Despite the oppressiveness he’s made to feel, he’s still determined to triumph in spite of seemingly infinite adversity.

Recently, the press...

Sooner or later we were bound to get a biographical sports movie about Olympic runner Jesse Owens. In fact, it’s pretty surprising that it took this long for it to happen. Now we’ve got one though and it comes to us in the form of Race, directed by Stephen Hopkins (A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers).

The movie takes us back to the 1930’s when Jesse (Stephan James) was a student at Ohio State University and being coached by former running star Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis). But while Jesse finds college life challenging, especially with his girlfriend and child back home, he’s soon presented with an even bigger challenge: competing at the Olympics in Adolf Hitler’s Germany. But despite the oppressiveness he is made to feel, he’s still determined to triumph in spite of seemingly infinite adversity.

Recently, the...

Sooner or later we were bound to get a biographical sports movie about Olympic runner Jesse Owens. In fact, it’s pretty surprising that it took this long for it to happen. Now we’ve got one though and it comes to us in the form of Race, directed by Stephen Hopkins (A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers).

The movie takes us back to the 1930’s when Jesse (Stephan James) was a student at Ohio State University and being coached by former running star Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis). But while Jesse finds college life challenging, especially with his girlfriend and child back home, he’s soon presented with an even bigger challenge: competing at the Olympics in Adolf Hitler’s Germany. But despite the oppressiveness he is made to feel, he’s still determined to triumph in spite of seemingly infinite adversity.

Recently, the...

Lifetime's "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" and "Grace of Monaco" each earned Emmy nominations for Best Movie/Miniseries Hairstyling; the former also contends for Best Movie/Miniseries Makeup. These telefilms tell the stories of two of the most famously glamorous women in show business history: Marilyn Monroe (Kelli Garner) and Grace Kelly (Nicole Kidman). Will one of these period pieces prevail at the Creative Arts Emmys on Sept. 12? -Break- Who are this year's famous Emmy-nominated producers: Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga ... Since 2000, the Emmys have honored four films about Hollywood legends -- "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" (2000), "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" (2001), "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (2005) and "Behind the Candelabra" (2012) about the life of Liberace -- with Best Movie/Miniseries Hairstyling. Other films about i...

The Australian actor talks working with Johnny Depp, humankind’s flaws and discovering a musical ancestor thanks to TV series Who Do You think You Are

You’re about to kick off a new series of Who Do You Think You Are? Have they been asking you for years?

They’ve been asking me since the very first season. It only takes three weeks to make, but you have six months of preliminary meetings with genealogists and historians before that and up until now, I haven’t been assured of that gap. I was definitely interested in the show. As long ago as 2003, I was shooting The Life and Death of Peter Sellers with Stephen Fry who’d just done an episode and he said: “Do it, Geoffrey.” It’s not like shooting reality TV or I’m A Celebrity. This is a show made by experts wanting to find...

• Oscar winner William Hurt has joined the ensemble of Race, the Jesse Owens biopic starring Stephan James (When the Game Stands Tall) as the legendary track and field star. Hurt will play the president of the Amateur Athletic Union Jeremiah Mahoney, who led efforts to boycott the 1936 Olympics in Berlin against Hitler. Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) is directing the production currently filming in Montreal and on location at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. In addition to James, Hurt joins Jeremy Irons as future International Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage, Jason Sudeikis as Osu...

Ahead of Captain America: The Winter Soldier's release on disc, we talk to Christopher Markus about sequel screenwriting and Peggy Carter...

Nb: The following contains spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Together with regular collaborator Stephen McFeely, screenwriter Christopher Markus has enjoyed a decade-long career in the film industry, having co-written such films as The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, the three Chronicles Of Narnia movies and Michael Bay's Pain & Gain.

Most recently, Markus and McFeely have been working closely with Marvel, having produced the screenplays for Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor: The Dark World. This year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier represented a new challenge for the duo, however: their aim was to not only follow the success of Cap's debut outing in 2011, but also forge a mature, conspiracy-thriller inspired storyline which would also be accessible to family audiences.

As The Winter Soldier arrives on DVD and Blu-ray,...

Former "SNL" funnyman Jason Sudeikis will get serious alongside Oscar winner Jeremy Irons and rising star Stephan James ("Selma") in the upcoming Jesse Owens biopic "Race." Focus Features has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the drama centered on track and field legend Owens (James), who fought racism and discrimination on his way to winning four gold medals at the 1936 games in Nazi-era Berlin. Sudeikis will star as Owens' determined coach, Larry Snyder, who trained various Olympic track stars to 14 world records and eight gold medals. Irons will play Avery Brundage, the controversial head of the American Olympic committee who fought to keep the U.S. in the Berlin games despite calls for a boycott in the wake of Hitler's rise to power. Brundage faced controversy again as president of the International Olympic Committee during the 1972 Munich games in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by terrorists. Directed by...

Aliya looks back at the film Peter Sellers wanted destroyed and finds it very, very dark indeed...

Feature

Peter Sellers is one of those figures of British comedy whom everyone feels, in retrospect, was only laughing on the outside. If you want to know about his less than happy life then it's worth watching Geoffrey Rush give a brilliant performance in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004). Rush does a really good job of putting across his deep-seated sense of emptiness. Sellers once said of himself, “I could never be myself… You see, there is no me. I do not exist… There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed.” This might sound like a deep statement of angst; it seems entirely fitting to me that he said it to Kermit during his 1978 appearance on The Muppet Show. Ten seconds later you can watch him recite...

An Anthony Mackie twofer... movement on 2 old projects that we've been following for years now... First, not to be left in the dust (pun intended) to the finish line by that other recently-announced Jesse Owens project that Stephan James is attached to star in, Mackie has apparently made his own Owens dream project even more of a priority, currently shopping its script to distributors, says Deadline, hoping that it will be fast-tracked by whomever bites. It's the 3rd Jesse Owens film currently in development - the other 2 being the aforementioned Stephan James starrer (to be directed by Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers);...

John Boyega, the star of the awesome sci-fi horror film Attack The Block, has just landed the role of legendary Olympic athlete Jesse Owens. The biopic is called Race, and it will be directed by Stephen Hopkins (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) from a script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel.

Just so you know, this is not the same film that Disney is developing with director Antoine Fuqua. This one is being developed by Forecast Pictures.

According to Variety, the story will "focus on how Owens, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, shattered Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay."

I love Owens' story, and I think that Boyega is a solid choice to play the man who put Hitler's superiority theories...

The rise of British actor John Boyega continues today as he’s now taken the high-profile lead role in Race – an upcoming biopic of Olympic legend Jesse Owens.

Owens was a Us track and field athlete in the 1930s, specializing in sprinting and long jump events. His fame reached epic proportions when he participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, winning four gold medals and becoming the most successful athlete in the entire competition. Making the triumph even more notable was the fact that Adolf Hitler had originally tried to ban all Jewish and black people from competing in the games, before a threatened boycott from a number of countries forced him to relent.

John Boyega – who burst onto the screen in 2011 with Da Brick and Attack The Block – is considered to be one of the most sought after young actors in the industry today, with a lead role...

24: Live Another Day

British national treasure Stephen Fry is set to play the recuring role of the British Prime Minister on Fox's upcoming event series "24: Live Another Day".

Fry will play Prime Minister Trevor Davies, a strong and charismatic leader whose friendship with President Heller (William Devane), and the Anglo-American alliance itself, come under pressure because of various crises. [Source: Deadline]

Pan

Though already linked, it's now official - Hugh Jackman will play the vicious pirate Blackbeard, the main antagonist in Joe Wright's upcoming Peter Pan reinvention "Pan" at Warner Bros. Pictures. [Source: THR]

Race

John Boyega ("Attack the Block") has been set for the lead role in the Jesse Owens biopic "Race" for Forecast Pictures, ID+, Solofilms, and Trinity Race GmbH. Filming begins this Summer for a Spring 2015 release.

Stephen Hopkins ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers") is slated to direct the project which focuses on Owens' performance at...

• Louis C.K. (American Hustle), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), and Kevin Hart (Ride Along) will all provide voices for the next animated film from the creators of Despicable Me. Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures will produce the action comedy set in a Manhattan apartment building, which is currently being called Untitled Pets Movie. Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) will direct with Yarrow Cheney from a script by Despicable Me writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Stonestreet and Louis C.K. will voice rival dogs, while Hart will play bunny Snowball, the leader of an army of abandoned pets. The film is scheduled for a February 2016 release.

John Boyega has won the lead role in Stephen Hopkins’s (“The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”) upcoming Jesse Owens biopic “Race,” according to a report by Variety. “Race” will chronicle how Owens went from being the son of an Alabama sharecropper to reaching legendary status by becoming a four-time gold medalist at the 1936 [...]

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