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Maggie Smith in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." The following year, Smith played Desdemona in Olivier's "Othello." Smith played a celebrated British actor reckoning with her complex marriage to a closeted gay man played by Michael Caine. She was also regularly recognized by the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. When the British newspaper The Telegraph asked Smith why she took the role, she quipped: "Harry Potter is my pension."

Persons: Maggie Smith, Oscar, McGonagall, Harry Potter, Dowager, Smith's, Chris Larkin, Toby Stephens, Dame Maggie Smith, Prince, Everett, Larkin, Stephens, Smith, Miss Jean Brodie, Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess Grantham, Nick Briggs, Tony, Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Natalie Smith, Shakespeare’s, Laurence Olivier, Desdemona, Olivier's, Ronald Neame, Vincent Canby, Jean Brodie, Neil Simon, Michael Caine, Rowling's Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall, Nobody Organizations: Warner Bros, PBS, Oxford Playhouse School, Britain's, Evening, New York Times, British Academy, Golden Globes, Screen, British, The Telegraph, Focus, NBC Locations: Downton, Lovage, Essex, England, U.S, London, Edinburgh, California, Los Angeles, British, Gosford

☆ Maggie Smith, Oscar-winning actor known from Harry Potter and 'Downton Abbey,' has died at age 89
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. Smith's sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said in a statement that Smith died early Friday in a London hospital. You have to get up very, very early in the morning to outwit Maggie Smith." "Jean Brodie," in which she played a dangerously charismatic Edinburgh schoolteacher, brought her the Academy Award for best actress, and the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) as well in 1969. English actress Maggie Smith, UK, 8th March 1974.

Persons: Dame Maggie Smith, Peter Nicholls, Maggie Smith, Miss Jean Brodie, dowager Countess of Grantham, Minerva McGonagall, Harry Potter, Smith's, Chris Larkin, Toby Stephens, Smith, Clair Dobbs, Vanessa Redgrave, Judi Dench, Smith drily, McGonagall, Richard Eyre, I've, Jean Brodie, Oscar, Judith Hearne, Mussolini, Tony, " Smith, Richard Burton, Peter Hall, Frank Rich, Coward, Wilde, Noel Coward's, It's, Margaret Natalie Smith, one's, Maggie, Margaret Smith, Laurence Olivier, Joyce Redman, Emilia, Desdemona, Stuart Burge's, Shakespeare's Organizations: Leicester Square, British Academy Film Award, Vaudeville Theatre, Getty, Golden Globes, Globe, New York Times, Oxford Playhouse School, National Theatre, Shepperton Studios, Moviepix Locations: Leicester, London, Downton, British, Edinburgh, Hay, Ilford, Oxford, Surrey

☆ Maggie Smith, beloved ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Harry Potter’ star, dead at 89
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Hilary Clarke | Caitlin Danaher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Dame Maggie Smith, one of Britain’s best-known actresses whose long career ranged from starring opposite Laurence Olivier in “Othello” on stage and screen, to roles in “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey,” has died, her sons announced in a statement shared by their publicist Clair Dobbs. “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. Everett CollectionSmith was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1990, and from then on was widely known as Dame Maggie Smith. She came to the notice of younger viewers as the strict but fair witchcraft teacher Minerva McGonagall in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001), also appearing in several “Harry Potter” sequels. In her later years, Smith became a role model for ageing gracefully, a process she handled with her customary charm and wit.

Persons: Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier, “, ”, “ Harry Potter ”, Downton, Clair Dobbs, Dame Maggie Smith, ” Smith, Smith, William Shakespeare’s “, Olivier’s, Miss Jean Brodie, Neil Simon’s, Judith Hearne, Dowager Countess, Everett, Mussolini, Franco Zeffirelli, Minerva McGonagall, “ Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Violet Crawley, Dowager, Robert Stephens –, –, Beverley Cross Organizations: CNN, Chelsea, Westminster Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford Playhouse School, Oxford University Dramatic Society, The Old, British, Acclaim, Atlantic Locations: Ilford, London, Oxford, “, ”, California, British, Florence, Italy, Grantham, “ Downton, Los Angeles

☆ 'Oppenheimer' steamrolls toward Oscars with Screen Actors Guild Award wins
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Historical epic "Oppenheimer" picked up more prizes on Saturday at Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, bolstering the movie's chances to score the best picture trophy at next month's Oscars. Cillian Murphy, who played scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, won best movie actor, and co-star Robert Downey Jr. best supporting actor. HBO's "Succession" secured best TV drama cast for its final season about the battle for control of a family's media dynasty. Elizabeth Debicki, who played Princess Diana in Netflix series "The Crown," won best TV drama actress. "The Last of Us" star Pedro Pascal was named best actor in a TV drama and appeared stunned when he walked on stage.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr, Murphy, Christopher Nolan's, Lily Gladstone, Gladstone, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Randolph, AFTRA, Idris Elba, Jeremy Allen White, White, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, Pedro Pascal, Pascal, Barbra Streisand Organizations: Guild, SAG, Academy, Golden Globes, British Academy, Producers Guild of America, Osage, Netflix, Hollywood Locations: Los Angeles, Oklahoma

LONDON (AP) — The Associated Press won the best documentary prize at the British Academy Film Awards for Ukraine war documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” produced with PBS’ “Frontline.”Filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov admitted the accolade made him feel conflicted. It’s a huge responsibility,” the Ukrainian journalist said after winning the trophy Sunday at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Chernov arrived in Mariupol one hour before Russia began its bombardment, along with photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko. It is nominated in the best documentary category at the March 10 Academy Awards, the first-ever Oscar nomination for the 178-year-old AP. “Cities get occupied and destroyed and our work represents what is happening to Ukraine now,” Chernov said.

Persons: ”, Mstyslav Chernov, “, It’s, ” Chernov, Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, — unflinchingly, Stepanenko, Lori Hinnant, let’s, Derl McCrudden Organizations: Associated Press, British Academy, Ukraine, PBS, London’s Royal, Hall, AP, Russia, Hamas, International Federation of Journalists Locations: Mariupol, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia, Avdiivka, Israel

Judge Eviscerates Trump Business EmpireThe blistering decision costs the former president some $364 million. But it also strikes at the business empire that fed his ego, cemented his brand and ultimately propelled him to the world’s most powerful political position.

Persons: Eviscerates Organizations: Eviscerates Trump Business

“Poor Things” and “Oppenheimer” are the leading contenders for the British Academy Film Awards, which will be handed out Sunday in front of an audience of filmmakers, movie stars and the heir to the British throne. The ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall will be a glitzy, British-accented appetizer for Hollywood’s Academy Awards, closely watched for hints about who might win at the Oscars on March 10. Photos You Should See View All 33 ImagesGuest of honor will be Prince William, in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. “People keep telling me I should be terribly nervous,” Tennant said about the notoriously pitfall-plagued role of awards show host. I just get to hand them out.”Historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Holocaust drama “ The Zone of Interest” have nine nominations each for the prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards.

Persons: “ Oppenheimer, Yorgos, Christopher Nolan’s, “ Oppenheimer ”, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Rosamund Pike, Ryan Gosling, Ayo, Andrew Scott, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Prince William, He’ll, Kate, “, Who, David Tennant, ” Tennant, “ Barbie, Greta Gerwig —, Justine Triet, ” Emerald Fennell, “ Saltburn ”, Celine Song, ”, Oppenheimer, Napoleon, Wonka, Fantasia, Vivian Oparah, Sandra Hüller, ” Mulligan, “ Maestro, ” Margot Robbie, “ Barbie ”, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Cooper, ” Colman Domingo, “ Rustin, ” Paul Giamatti, Teo Yoo, “ Ted Lasso ”, Hannah Waddingham, Sophie Ellis, Bextor, ” Samantha Morton, Givanni Organizations: British Academy, Royal, Hollywood’s Academy, British Academy of Film, Television Arts, “, The Associated Press, PBS, BAFTA, BBC Locations: ”, London, Ireland, Ukraine, Mariupol, Saltburn, 1900GMT, U.S, Canada, Australia, South Africa

☆ How the Choreographer for ‘Poor Things’ Uses Dance to Tell the Story
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( A.J. Goldmann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bella Baxter, the film’s heroine played by Emma Stone, doesn’t seem to hear him. She is captivated by the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the orchestra serenading the dinner guests. As if possessed, she follows the beat to the dance floor, where she lets loose with a joyous, primitive and sublimely wacky dance that has become one of the year’s defining screen moments. For Constanza Macras, the film’s choreographer, that scene was about more than just having fun. “It’s a moment that defines the relationship,” explained Macras, 53, who hails from Argentina and is based in Berlin.

Persons: ” sulks Duncan Wedderburn, Mark Ruffalo, Bella Baxter, Emma Stone, Macras, ” Organizations: Sunday’s EE Locations: Lisbon, Yorgos, Argentina, Berlin

☆ 'Saltburn' actor Jacob Elordi involved in police investigation following alleged 'altercation' in Australia, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jacob Elordi is reportedly involved in a police investigation following an alleged assault. The actor is said to have had an "altercation" with a radio producer in Sydney, Australia. AdvertisementJacob Elordi is reportedly involved in a police investigation following an alleged assault in Sydney, Australia, local media reported. The 26-year-old "Saltburn" actor got into an "altercation" with KIIS FM radio producer and TikToker Joshua Fox, 32, outside a hotel on Saturday, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Fox approached Elordi outside a hotel in east Sydney where the actor had been socialising.

Persons: Jacob Elordi, —, TikToker Joshua Fox, News.com.au, Fox, Elordi, Barry Keoghan, Felix Catton Organizations: Service, KIIS, Sunday Telegraph, South Wales Police, Eastern, Eastern Beaches Police, Command, Australian Academy of Cinema, Television Arts, British, University of Oxford, New South Wales Police Locations: Sydney, Australia, Eastern Beaches, Eastern, Coast , Queensland, New

☆ With Kate, Charles and William out of action, Queen Camilla left to front the family
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Max Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A royal source said they don’t expect any Counselors of State - the senior royals who can stand in for Charles - will be needed next week. Currently, Princes William, Harry, Andrew and Edward, as well as Princess Anne, are able to fulfil Charles’ duties in his absence. The Princess of Wales was seen over Christmas with the family in Sandringham and appeared well at various public engagements, notes CNN royal historian Kate Williams. Her husband, Prince William, will juggle childcare while being by her side as she recovers, another royal source said. With all this in mind, the monarchy still needs a public facing royal and that will come in the form of Queen Camilla.

Persons: King Charles, Catherine, William, Kate, ”, Britain's King Charles III, Mary Magdalene, Adrian Dennis, Charles, Princes William, Harry, Andrew, Edward, Princess Anne, Charles ’, Wales, Chris Jackson, Kate Williams, “, ” Williams, Prince George , Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince William, William won’t, she’s, That’s, Dan Mullan, she’ll, She’s, Queen Camilla . Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Sophie, Camilla, it’ll Organizations: London CNN, Daily Mail, “ Royals, Dumfries House, Mary Magdalene Church, Getty, State, CNN, Royal Foundation, Rugby, England Rugby Football Union, British Academy, Commonwealth, Westminster Abbey, Irish Guards, Six Nations Locations: Britain, United Kingdom, Scotland, St, England, AFP, Windsor, Kensington, Sandringham, Marseille

☆ ‘Oppenheimer’ Leads BAFTA Nominees
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s movie about the development of the atomic bomb, on Thursday received the highest number of nominations for this year’s EE British Academy Film Awards, known as the BAFTAs. The film secured 13 nods for Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, including for best film, where it is up against four other titles including “Killers of The Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s epic about the Osage murders of the 1920s, and “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s sexually charged take on a Frankenstein story starring Emma Stone. “Poor Things” followed “Oppenheimer” with 11 nominations overall. The nominations for “Oppenheimer” come just days after the movie won three of the major awards at this year’s Golden Globes, and will be seen by many as further boosting its chances at this year’s Oscars; the BAFTA and Oscar voting bodies overlap. This year’s Oscar nominations are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.

Persons: “ Oppenheimer, ” Christopher Nolan’s, ” Martin, Yorgos Lanthimos’s, Emma Stone, Justine Triet’s Palme, ” Alexander Payne’s, “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: Globes

LONDON (AP) — British filmmaker Terence Davies, best known for a pair of powerful, lyrical movies inspired by his childhood in postwar Liverpool, has died at the age of 77. Davies’ manager John Taylor said the director died “peacefully at home in his sleep” on Saturday after a short illness. After making several short films, Davies made his feature debut as writer-director in 1988 with “Distant Voices, Still Lives,” a dreamlike — sometimes nightmarish — collage of a film that evoked a childhood of poverty and violence leavened by music and movie magic. The film won the Cannes International Critics Prize in 1988, and in 2002 was voted the ninth-best film of the past 25 years by British film critics. The autobiographical films opened the door to bigger budgets and more mainstream films, still showcasing Davies' distinctive lyricism and often set in the 19th or early 20th centuries.

Persons: Terence Davies, Davies, John Taylor, “, Michael Koresky, ” Koresky, John Kennedy Toole, ”, Gillian Anderson, Edith Wharton’s, Terence Rattigan, Rachel Weisz, Agyness Deyn, Emily Dickinson —, Cynthia Nixon —, ” Davies, Siegfried Sassoon, Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi, Julian Sands Organizations: National Film School, Cannes International, ”, Liverpool, City, British Film Institute Locations: British, Liverpool, Coventry, U.S, Mirth, Scotland

☆ Oscar success puts 'endangered' Irish language centre stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBLIN, March 12 (Reuters) - Thousands of miles from the glitz of Sunday's Oscars, the first Irish language film to earn a nomination is sparking renewed interest in a native tongue spoken by so few it is considered endangered by the United Nations cultural agency. Competing for best international feature, "An Cailín Ciúin" (The Quiet Girl) last year became the first Irish language film to gross more than 1 million euros ($1.06 million) at the UK and Irish box office. Director Colm Bairéad says the success feels like it is boosting a language he grew up feeling self-conscious about because of its rarity. Mac Conghai's production company, which creates everything from Irish language children's programmes to dating shows, has more than doubled its number of staff in the past decade. "I think it's a way of seeing the language isn't just something academic or something historical in a museum.

Diverse creators are building incubators, their own production pipelines and venues where they can screen work and receive feedback and support each other. Of the 13,252 Oscar nominees since 1929, 6% are from underrepresented ethnicities, a USC Annenberg Inclusion at the Academy Awards report concludes. Located in Atlanta and Los Angeles, it creates collaborative spaces for diverse talent to support each other. As the most underrepresented group in the industry, Latino talent is also keen to change their narrative. There were 32 years without Latino nominees at the Academy Awards, with the most recent shutout in 2002.

☆ Not so quiet on the BAFTA front as anti-war remake tops the billing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Albrecht Schuch, Edward Berger, and Malte Grunert arrive at the world premiere of "All Quiet on the Western Front" at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File PhotoLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A German remake of anti-war classic "All Quiet on the Western Front" leads the contenders at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, the country's highest accolade for the industry. "Banshees", about two feuding friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and "Everything Everywhere" each have received 10 nominations. Bill Nighy ("Living"), Paul Mescal (Aftersun") and Daryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande") complete the leading actor nominees list. BAFTA Chief Executive Jane Millichip said while Grozev would not attend the ceremony, the film's nominated producers would.

☆ And the winner is... London rolls out red carpet for BAFTA Film Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Banshees", about two feuding friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and "Everything Everywhere" each received 10 nominations. Bill Nighy ("Living"), Paul Mescal (Aftersun") and Daryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande") complete the leading actor nominees list. "Woman King" director Gina Prince-Bythewood is the only woman in the running for the director award, but the outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer category features all female nominees. They’re one of the only big award shows that actually shares voting members with the Academy," Riley said. "The Screen Actors' Guild... obviously share some overlap... but BAFTAs really are first look at what the Oscars may be thinking."

☆ BAFTA nominations: German 'All Quiet On The Western Front' gets most nods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Crew from "All Quiet on the Western Front" attend the National Board of Review Awards Gala in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew KellyLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A German remake of the anti-war classic "All Quiet On The Western Front" led nominations for the British Academy Film Awards on Thursday, overtaking other award season favourites with 14 nods. That film and Steven Spielberg's coming-of-age story "The Fabelmans" were the two big winners at the Golden Globes earlier this month, but the latter received just one BAFTA nod, for original screenplay. Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic "Elvis" came in third with nine nominations, including best film and a leading actor recognition for Austin Butler. Drama "Tar", in which Cate Blanchett plays a gay conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal, had five nods, including best film, director, original screenplay and leading actress.

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