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Two struggling actors living in far from perfect conditions in late 1960s London isn't that far from the truth for countless dreamers. 1987'sWithnail and I, directed by Bruce Robinson, gained cult status through its observant wit and darkly comical portrayal of the '60s countercultural movement winding down. Despite its initial modest success, the film grew in stature by word of mouth, in part through movie fans hosting viewing parties and quoting memorable dialogue.

Although the humor is distinctly British, the themes are universal, finely balancing comedy and melancholy. Director Bruce Robinson used his lived experience as a luckless actor in London to frame the film, and the chemistry between the leads, the great Richard E Grant and Paul MacGann, makes their dysfunctional companionship feel lived-in and real. Withnail and I has come back in a big way through a 4K release from The Criterion Collection, the first reissue of...

Film enthusiasts have much to anticipate in May with a captivating lineup of releases that span various genres and eras for the estimable Criterion Collection.

This bespoke DVD/Blu-Ray label’s eclectic selection for May includes three new films never part of the collection before Charles Burnett’s classic black-slice-of-life street poetry film, “Killer of Sheep,”—often described as very Terry Malick in tone— Abbas Kiarostami’s “The Wind Will Carry Us,” and Richard Lester’s “The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers.”

Read More: Criterion’s April Releases Include ‘Anora,’ ‘Chungking Express,’ ‘Some Like It Hot’ & More

Previously released titles either long out of print or upgraded into new editions include Bruce Robinson’s “Withnail and I” and “How to Get Ahead in Advertising,” Jacques Demy’s “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” and Norman Jewison’s “In the Heat of the Night.” These films offer a unique glimpse into the artistry...

Richard Griffiths is best known for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter series, but one of his most iconic and memorable performances actually came much earlier in his career. The veteran actor offered a wide array of characters, from the grumpy Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter to the cerebral Hector in The History Boys.

Harry Potter actor Richard Griffiths | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

However, despite his illustrious career and diverse roles, there was one character that continued to haunt him long after the credits rolled: Uncle Monty, the lascivious and flamboyant homosexual character from the cult classic Withnal & I. Griffiths shared that though he played characters of varied sexual orientations throughout his career, this particular role shaped people’s assumptions about him, especially regarding his sexuality.

Richard Griffiths discussed how Uncle Monty contributed to the misunderstanding of his identity

Released in 1987, Withnail & I became a defining movie for Richard Griffiths,...

David Fincher had his idea for the 'Harry Potter' film series rejected because it was too "creepy".The 62-year-old filmmaker met with Warner Bros. executives to explore the possibility of overseeing the beloved wizarding franchise but ultimately his vision was deemed too dark.He told Variety: “I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter. “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’” The 'Fight Club' director explained producers didn't consider his take on the franchise as they had something more wholesome in mind for the adaptations of the J.K. Rowling novels. He added: “They were like, ‘We want Thom Browne schooldays by way of ‘Oliver’.’”David has previously...

While we’re eternally grateful to the likes of Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón, who transformed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels into stunning visuals, there were several other directors eyed for the project, who ultimately lost or gave up the offer. One among them was the visionary filmmaker David Fincher, known for his cult classic Fight Club.

Filmmaker David Fincher | image: Raffi Asdourian, licensed under Cc By 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Given his decorated career spanning over three decades, David Fincher was initially considered to direct the Harry Potter films. But surprisingly, after he pitched his take on the material, Warner Bros. never moved forward with him. Now, in retrospect, we’re more than glad for the way things turned out because Fincher’s take on Rowling’s novel was rather “creepy”.

David Fincher was initially eyed to helm the Harry Potter films

During the early 2000s, in the wake...

David Fincher reveals that he pitched a creepier version of the Harry Potter movies. Chris Columbus was ultimately chosen to direct the adaptation of the first Harry Potter book and went on to direct Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as well. However, many well-known directors were considered to helm the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, including Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan, Rob Reiner, Terry Gilliam, and Tim Robbins. Fincher, who had already directed Se7en and Fight Club at that point in his career, was also considered.

While speaking with Variety, Fincher explained that he was invited by Warner Bros. to pitch his creative vision for Harry Potter. He recalls how he emphasized that he did not want to "do the clean Hollywood version of it" and wanted the movie to be reminiscent of the 1987 dark comedy film Withnail and I. Warner Bros. was...

The wizarding world of Harry Potter could have looked a bit more like “Se7en” if a certain meeting had played out differently.

In a new interview with Variety, David Fincher recalled taking a meeting with Warner Bros. about directing a film in the “Harry Potter” franchise. The director explained that his vision for the series would have leaned into the darker elements of J.K. Rowling’s books.

“I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter,’” Fincher said. “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’”

Fincher said that Warner Bros. was more interested in the warmer aspects of the books, so he never became involved: “They were like, ‘We want...

Despite taking a darker tone with each iteration, David Fincher is one of the last filmmakers you’d expect to see at the helm of a Harry Potter movie. Famously known for directing stand-out thrillers like Seven, Fight Club, and Zodiac, Fincher’s style promotes a gritty, scarred look with film grain, imperfections, and striking mood lighting. Harry Potter’s journey to defeat Voldemort and prevent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from falling into ruin takes many dark turns. However, there’s still something about Fincher’s sensibilities that makes the thought of him tackling a Potter film perplexing. Then again, what do I know? According to David Fincher, he met with Warner Bros. about directing a movie in the Harry Potter series, though the project never materialized.

“I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter,'” David Fincher told...

Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance, Fiona Shaw, Tom Davis and Weruche Opia are boarding the Netflix comedy Ladies First opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike.

Thea Sharrock is directing from a screenplay by Katie Silberman, Cinco Paul and Natalie Krinsky.

Pic, which is based on Eléonore Pourriat’s Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile, follows a womanizer who gets a real wakeup call when he finds himself in a parallel world dominated by women – a fiery female counterpart makes things far more complicated.

Producers are Liza Chasin for 3dot Productions, Eleonore Dailly and Edouard de Lachomette.

The feature project falls under Chasin’s creative partnership with Netflix, which sees her produce feature films via her shingle, 3dot Productions. Recently released is Lonely Planet...

This week on Comfort Eating, Grace is joined by one of the most successful and enduring film stars of the past 40 years: Richard E Grant. The Swaziland-born English actor made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I, and has since starred in the likes of Star Wars, Gosford Park and Saltburn. Richard and Grace chew over the food he ate when he ran away from home as a child, the breakfast he eats every single day but hates, and what exactly he cooked Melissa McCarthy for brunch before the Oscars ceremony.

If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with James Norton, David Harewood and Tamsin Greig

New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will be released every Tuesday...

It takes more than a village to make a movie; it’s more like a small army. And in the case of “The Franchise,” that army has a lot of faces you’ll recognize.

Streaming on Max and airing on HBO on Sundays, the comedy series tells the story of a film crew working to put together the next installment in a major (fictional) superhero franchise. Along the way, they run into the many hurdles of Hollywood, with the show lovingly poking fun at how real superhero films seem to be made.

Like we said, you’re going to see a lot of familiar actors, some of whom have actually starred in real-life franchises. We’ve rounded them up for you below.

Here’s who’s who in “The Franchise.”

Colin Hutton/HBO Daniel (Himesh Patel)

Daniel is the First Ad on the fictional movie “Tecto,” and he basically keeps things afloat in the series.

Ever since its 1987 release, Bruce Robinson's cult classic Withnail and I has earned a reputation as an underrated and witty dark comedy. Set in 1969, the film stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann as Withnail and Marwood, two unemployed aspiring actors who leave their decrepit London flat for an alcohol-fueled weekend in the countryside. Even with all of its hilarious moments, Withnail and I has a touching core. Withnail and I is a love story between the two main characters, whose dynamic is simultaneously funny and tragic.

The Murder Mysterenaissance just keeps getting better and better! As production ramps up Rian Johnson's star-filled Knives Out threequel Wake Up Dead Man, Netflix's other big upcoming whodunit, Chris Columbus' adaptation of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, is continuing to add to its own stacked ensemble. Per Deadline's reporting, Withnail & I star Richard E. Grant and Lucifer's Tom Ellis lead the latest round of additions to the buzzy Brit-led crime caper.

Hailing from writer-director Columbus and backed by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, there's some serious creative firepower behind Netflix's take on Osman's tale of crime-solving pensioners caught up in a real high-stakes murder mystery. As has already been confirmed, The Thursday Murder Club's central quartet consists of Helen Mirren's ex-spy Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan's former union man Ron, Ben Kingsley's retired psychiatrist Ibrahim, and Celia Imrie's kindly former nurse Joyce.

Jonathan Morano, a Peabody Award-winning writer of CBS’ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, died peacefully June 20 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles following a 15-month battle with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. He was 56.

His death was announced by his wife Aimee Blisten.

Born December 23, 1967, in St. Helens, Merseyside, England, Morano began his writing career with a grant and a fellowship from Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Films for his dramatic screenplay Benjamin Garrett at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival.

Two years later, he was writing for The Late Late Show, where he’d work for the next 10 years, moving from writer to writing supervisor and, during his final two seasons with the program, as head writer. Although Ferguson left the show in 2014, Morano stayed on with the show writing for various guest hosts until James Corden took over as host in March 2015.

In addition to The Late Late Show,...

In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks to to TV producer Yvonne Grace about her new book From Creation To Pitch: How To Write Stories For Television That Sell and “3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life,” which includes:

An American Werewolf In London (1981) Strictly Ballroom (1992) Withnail & I (1987)

“3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life” is about those films that made you fall in love with film. The guest selects their trio of movies and we talk for 5 minutes, against the clock. When the alarm goes off for five minutes we move on to the next film.

Powered by RedCircle...

Ralph Brown's characters in "Withnail & I" and "Wayne's World 2" are practically identical, from dress sense to accent. Dana Carvey was inspired by Brown's character in "Withnail & I" to create Del Preston in "Wayne's World 2". Ralph Brown's diverse roles, from a pirate radio DJ to a criminal associate, showcase his range as an actor.

Star Wars actor Ralph Brown played identical characters in both Wayne's World 2 and a completely unconnected movie from five years earlier. British actor Ralph Brown started out working in London's legendary Scala cinema before he landed a career making role as Danny the drug dealer in 1987's Withnail & I. The classic comedy starred Saltburn's Richard E. Grant as Withnail, and Doctor Who's Paul McGann as "I", and is still a beloved cult classic to this day. Five years later, Ralph Brown was cast in Mike Myers and Dana Carvey's...

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Everyone here at /Film loves watching movies and TV shows. But every now and then, you need a break from the screens. However, that doesn't mean you can't still bask in the glory of moving pictures. There's an endless array of books out there about your favorite movies and TV shows. Whether it's the story of the two most famous film critics ever, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, a chronicle of the making of movies like Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" or the screwball comedy spoof "Airplane!," memoirs from your favorite stars like Patrick Stewart and Barbra Streisand, an exhausting timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or a cookbook with recipes straight from the "Star Wars" universe, we've got a huge collection of books for the film and TV lover in your life.

So let's dig into Part 2 of the 2023 /Film Holiday Gift Guide now!

Most of the cameos in Frasier were celebrity callers on Frasier's radio show, and some main and supporting characters from Cheers also appeared in singular episodes. The cameos in Frasier spanned across different seasons and included actors such as Robbie Coltrane, known for playing Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, and Laura Linney, who had a regular role as Frasier's love interest, Charlotte Connor. Many other famous faces made cameos in the beloved sitcom Frasier, including Richard E. Grant, Patrick Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Linda Hamilton, Michael Keaton, John Hannah, Dr. Phil, Bill Gates, John Glenn, Bob Hoskins, Teri Hatcher, Brian Cox, Jennifer Tilly, and Rosie Perez.

There were hundreds of famous cameos throughout the run of Frasier, but a much smaller number of them were not Cheers characters or radio callers. The original Frasier series ran for 11 seasons, from 1993 through 2004. Over those 11 years, a flurry of famous faces encountered the titular radio psychiatrist.

With film festival season comes a multitude of glimpses at the upcoming winter cinema slate, and one of the most exciting is a new trailer for "Saltburn," a psychological thriller from Emerald Fennell, the writer-director of the Oscar-winning "Promising Young Woman." This first look gives us illustrious aristocratic parties, ominous butlers, steamy sex scenes through windows, and a never-been-sexier Jacob Elordi ("Euphoria") doused in glorious sunlight. The film's stacked cast features Barry Keoghan, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Rosamund Pike, and Richard E. Grant.

The first trailer dropped shortly before the film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, and early reviews demonstrate that this is one to watch. The latest trailer, released on Oct. 19, follows the first look we were given in September. The movie has been described by critics as "diabolical, sexy, dangerous, horny, brave, hilarious, audacious, and insane," with Entertainment Weekly calling it "a provocative, violent portrait of repulsion and desire.

Exclusive: Emerald Fennell likened making Saltburn, her dangerously dark comedy of class and lack of manners, “to taking your clothes off and exposing yourself.”

The filmmaker, who won an Oscar and BAFTAs for her debut feature Promising Young Woman, clarified that the “transgressive” material that she’s interested in working on means “that you have to spend a lot of your time as a director saying, ‘Trust me, I think this how we’re going to do it.’ And so then people watch it, which is so thrilling. But yeah, you are showing yourself. You are taking your clothes off and exposing yourself.”

She added that Saltburn, while made on a big canvas, is a ”very intimate“ movie.

She told me during a long conversation at the Telluride Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere, that this is a film “about needing and wanting and desire and sex.

Emerald Fennell likes things to be deeply cinematic, with elements that are vast, weird and flamboyant. No matter what you thought of the actor-turned-director’s genre-defying and much debated “Promising Young Woman”—it’s been called unapologetically feminist by defenders like this critic and, well, whatever’s the opposite of that, by others—her filmic appetite that rejected the mundane and conventional was undeniable in that original debut.

After a recent appearance as Midge in “Barbie,” Fennell is back in the directing chair with her unclassifiable sophomore caper “Saltburn,” a studiously mannered dark comedy-cum-thriller that spans across Oxford University and a massive mansion in the North Yorkshire town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, and feels marvelously British. It’s almost as British as the likes of “Withnail and I” and “Jeeves and Wooster.”

This is both an observation and a bit of a warning, in that you will need a specific sense of...

The first trailer for director Emerald Fennell's upcoming drama, Saltburn, showcases powerful performances from Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. Described as a "beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire," Saltburn follows a struggling student who is drawn into an eccentric aristocratic family over the summer. Saltburn will open the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 4, 2023.

The first trailer for director Emerald Fennell’s upcoming drama, Saltburn, has been unveiled, and teases powerful performances from Academy Award nominee Barry Keoghan and Euphoria star Jacob Elordi. Coming courtesy of Amazon Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Saltburn finds the two talented actors starring as Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) and Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), with the former developing an infatuation with the latter, who invites him to meet his aristocratic but eccentric family over the summer. Check out the first trailer for Saltburn below.

Described as “a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire,...

Richard E. Grant is a towering figure in film, and not just because he's a great actor of considerable height. He also has a tendency to play larger-than-life characters, people with sizable egos and so much self-inflation they often float. He's mastered this in great films like Withnail & I and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and has played with that character type to hilarious degrees in projects like How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Girls, and Loki. He injects varying degrees of melancholy or menace into these characters as well, so that none of them are quite the same. He's a master of the craft.

His latest conjuring act is J.M. Sinclair, one of the four main characters of the tense but witty chamber drama The Lesson, which is part film noir, part dark comedy, and part literary thriller. Sinclair is a famous novelist who hasn't published a book in several years,...

In Alice Broughton’s tense literary drama “The Lesson,” Richard E. Grant plays one of Britain’s most noted authors, J.M. Sinclair, who hasn’t put out a book in years. He decides to mentor aspiring novelist Liam (Daryl McCormack) after he’s hired as a tutor for his college-bound son Bertie (Stephen McMillan), but the power dynamic between them soon shifts.

Ahead of the film’s limited theatrical release on Friday, TheWrap chatted about with the Oscar-nominated “Can You Ever Forgive Me” actor about his narcissistic character — who would never watch anything as “squalid” as Grant’s breakout indie “Withnail & I” — and how it’s a little like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca.”

TheWrap: You play a famous writer who’s quite mercurial and manipulative. How would you describe him?

Richard E. Grant: Self-entitled old literary lion who is facing writer’s block.

Also Read:

‘Based on a True Story...

Julie Delpy is magic. She always has been, ever since the great but grumpy Jean-Luc Godard first cast her in his film Detective. She has worked with some of the most important directors in the world on masterpieces like White and the Before Sunrise trilogy, and has directed her own witty romantic comedies, 2 Days in Paris and 2 Days in New York. She's incapable of a bad performance; she's magnetic even in those anomalistically weak films. Maybe it's in the eyes, or hidden in the voice.

Her latest movie is The Lesson, in which she stars opposite the legendary Richard E. Grant and young Daryl McCormack. Delpy and Grant star as Hélène and J.M. Sinclair, respectively, two artists in a lengthy marriage whose son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) is preparing for difficult entrance exams; the Sinclair's hire Irish tutor Liam Sommer (McCormack) to help Bertie in his knowledge of literature and creative writing.

In Alice Troughton's The Lesson, Richard E. Grant and Julie Delpy portray J.M. Sinclair, a renowned novelist, and Hélène, his neglected artist wife. The noir thriller follows Liam (Daryl McCormack), a young, aspiring writer who takes a position tutoring the couple's son, Bertie (Stephen McMillan). Liam idolizes Sinclair but quickly realizes that there are some lingering familial issues. In The Lesson, the relationship between Sinclair and Hélène is definitely complicated, but that didn't stop Grant and Delpy from sharing real-life relationship advice with us.

Asked whether she believes artists should date or marry other artists, Julie Delpy provided some insight, saying, "I don't necessarily think artists should date artists. I think artists are better off being with people that understand artists, that could be in the sphere of artists' world, but not necessarily artists themselves." She continued:

I think it's complicated, two artists together. Yeah, I think it...

Bruce Robinson's 1987 cult comedy classic Withnail & I gifted the world a cinematic drunk for the ages. A mixture of despair, relatability, and tragedy combined to create a film that will make you laugh, cry, and recite until your dying days. Now, it is widely cherished and viewed by some as a rite of passage watch for those coming of age. Its popularity hails from the expertly crafted dialogue and distinguished performances. It is a hard task for any actor to convincingly pull off the art of intoxication and the star of this film has bested them all. Intriguingly, without the help of a certain member of The Beatles, the film may not have been made. It is a film that still attracts attention today and should be viewed as essential viewing for any struggling actor, student, or befuddled millennial dreaming of life in the '60s.

It was a phone call from James Cameron that first gave a young Mia McKenna-Bruce the inspiration to act. Well, almost.

Having watched Titanic at home in London around the age of six, she says she was so “traumatized” by the film that she couldn’t sleep. After several weeks, her mum had the bright idea to get the film’s director to ring her up so he could explain over the phone to the terrified child that what she’d seen was just a movie, with people wearing costumes on a set. “And I was like, wait, this is a real job that you can do, and you can make people cry,” she recalls. As a hugely energetic and overdramatic youngster, McKenna-Bruce knew what she wanted to do with her life.

It would be several years later — after she’d landed her first professional job on the West End...

The story goes that Belgian bartender Gustave Tops invented the Black Russian cocktail back in 1949 to honor the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, who was visiting Brussels at the time. Sources vary, but it is estimated that sometime in the '50s or early '60s Tops, or some other mixologist, later added cream to the blend and gave birth to the White Russian. The drink never made the A-grade of cocktails and might have died out altogether if it hadn't found its moment in the spotlight as the preferred tipple of Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) in "The Big Lebowski."

Nowadays the White Russian is synonymous with the film and you can get it in just about any cocktail bar. Has anyone ever ordered one without seeing the movie first? Only a handful of movie characters are so well-known for their choice of alcoholic beverage. Of course, there's...

Actress Rhea Seehorn discusses a few of her favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Swimmer (1968)

Linoleum (2023)

Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992)

Short Cuts (1993)

Lars And The Real Girl (2007)

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Breaking The Waves (1996)

Sound Of Metal (2020)

Starman (1984)

The Worst Person In The World (2021)

Beatriz At Dinner (2017)

Frida (2002)

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

The Lobster (2015)

Delicatessen (1992)

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

The Favourite (2018)

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Birdman (2014)

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

The Stepford Wives (2004)

Triangle Of Sadness (2022)

Get Out (2017)

Nope (2022)

Brazil (1985)

Safe (1995)

Withnail & I (1987)

The Fisher King (1991)

Regarding Henry (1990)

Lost in La Mancha (2002)

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote...

Acquisition

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights from Participant to “A Compassionate Spy,” the new documentary from Steve James. The film, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival ahead of its North American launch at Telluride, is a real-life spy story about Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Magnolia will release the film in theaters later this year.

“A Compassionate Spy” is presented by Participant and is a Mitten Media and Kartemquin Films production produced by Mark Mitten p.g.a., Dave Lindorff, and Steve James. Executive producers are Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Tim Horsburgh and Gordon Quinn.

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia executive VP Dori Begley and senior VP of acquisitions John Von Thaden; Participant’s Liesl Copland, executive VP content strategy and sales, Adam Macy,...

The nominees for the 2023 BAFTA film awards were revealed Thursday, with Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh making the announcement at noon local time (4 a.m. Pt) from the British Academy’s headquarters at 195 Piccadilly in London.

Earlier this month, the longlists for each category — the results of the first round of voting — were unveiled, with Netflix’s anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front emerging as a surprise early frontrunner having been named in 15 categories, including best film and director. Lurking just behind was Martin McDonagh’s already honor-amassing awards season favorite The Banshees of Inisherin, shortlisted 14 times, and Everything Everywhere All At Once and Elvis, longlisted 12 times each.

The longlists also provided some early snubs likely to draw a line in the sand between the BAFTAs and the Oscars this year, most notably Steven Spielberg, who didn’t make the 16-strong shortlist for best director.

On Tuesday, the...

Richard E. Grant is set to host the BAFTA film awards for the first time.

The star, who was BAFTA and Oscar-nominated for his supporting role in 2018’s Can You Ever Forgive Me but is perhaps best loved in the U.K. for his debut performance as an alcoholic, unemployed actor in 1987 cult classic Withnail & I, will oversee proceedings on stage at the ceremony on Feb. 19 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, where the awards are moving to after several years at the Royal Albert Hall.

“I feel hugely privileged to be hosting the Ee BAFTAs for the first time and the opportunity to celebrate the very best of the extraordinary range of this year’s films,” said Grant, who would do well to beat the headlines generated by 2022 host Rebel Wilson. Also a BAFTA first-timer, the Australian actress ensured the ceremony had a far less sedate air than...

For the season 5 season finale, Writer/Director/Producer Adam McKay returns to the podcast to discuss movies from his favorite year of cinema… 1987.

The Movies That Made Me will return with Season 6 in January. Happy Holidays! Thank you for listening!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Tin Men (1987)

Billy Jack (1971)

The Menu (2022)

Boyz N The Hood (1991) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Menace II Society (1991)

Straight Out Of Brooklyn (1991)

Do The Right Thing (1989) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

School Daze (1988)

The Swarm (1978) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Squeeze (1987)

Squeeze Play (1979) – Lloyd Kaufman’s trailer commentary

Diner (1982)

Robocop (1987) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews

The Evil Dead (1983) – Fede Alvarez’s trailer commentary

Evil Dead II (1987) – Mike Mendez’s trailer commentary, Alex Kirschenbaum’s review

Broadcast News (1987)

Raising Arizona (1987)

The Princess Bride (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – John Landis’s...

Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Archie Madekwe (See) and Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends) are the newest additions to the cast of Prime Video’s upcoming feature Saltburn, written and directed by Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). The trio joins an ensemble, which also includes Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, as previously announced.

The film hailing from MRC Film and Amazon Studios, which is currently in production in the UK, is billed as a story of obsession, though more specific plot details are being kept under wraps. Fennell is producing alongside LuckyChap Entertainment’s Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. Prime Video holds worldwide streaming rights to the film, and will release it in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, with Amazon Studios and MGM set to release it in theaters.

“From the second we read Saltburn, we were completely hooked.

The cast for Academy Award-winner Emerald Fennell’s upcoming film “Saltburn” is shaping up with the addition of Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver. The trio join previously announced stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike in the MRC Film and Amazon Studios project.

Following her best picture-nominated feature directorial debut “Promising Young Woman,” Fennell wrote and is directing “Saltburn,” which is described as a “story of obsession” with other plot details kept under wraps. Production is currently underway in the U.K.

Variety exclusively announced plans for the film in January, noting that Fennell would also produce the project alongside LuckyChap Entertainment’s Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. Prime Video landed worldwide streaming rights to “Saltburn,” which will also be released in theaters by Amazon Studios and MGM, and then stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

“From the second we read ‘Saltburn,...

“Saltburn,” the second feature film from writer-director Emerald Fennell, has added Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver and Archie Madekwe to its cast.

The trio joins previously announced stars Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike and Barry Keoghan. Plot details are being kept under wraps, with the official description calling it “a story of obsession.”

“Saltburn” is Fennell’s follow-up to “Promising Young Woman,” for which she won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. She will write and produce the film alongside Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara and Tom Ackerley of LuckyChap Entertainment. The MRC and Amazon Studios film will debut in theaters courtesy of Amazon and MGM before it streams on Prime Video.

Also Read:

‘Promising Young Woman’ Filmmaker Emerald Fennell to Direct Next Film at MRC

“From the second we read ‘Saltburn,’ we were completely hooked,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios and Julie Rapaport, head of movies at Amazon Studios.

Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver also sign on to ’Promising Young Woman’ director’s follow-up.

Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe, and Alison Oliver have joined the cast of Emerald Fennell’s Prime Video and MRC Film feature Saltburn, which is in production in the UK.

Fennell, who won the original screenplay Oscar last year for Promising Young Woman, wrote and will direct the feature, described as a story of obsession.

Prime Video previously acquired worldwide streaming rights to the film and will debut on its global platform after Amazon Studios and MGM release theatrically.

The trio of actors join previously announced cast members Barry Keoghan,...

Denis O’Brien, best known for producing the comedy Monty Python’s Life of Brian with former Beatle George Harrison, died December 3 in a Swindon, UK hospital. He was 80 and passed away from intra-abdominal sepsis, his daughter said.

O’Brien and Harrison’s Handmade Films had a hit right out of the box with the 1979 comedy Life of Brian, a semi-blasphemous story of a young Jewish-Roman man who is born on the same day and next door to Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. It was banned in several locations or slapped with an X for its outrageous stunts, including a closing sing-along on the cross.

With Monty Python regulars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Mochael Palin in the cast, the producers thought the film would at best lose money and be a tax write-off. Instead, it was a smash, leading them to explore other films.

Lock the doors. Turn on the lights. Check under the bed. Crank up the volume. It’s time for another Halloween Parade!

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Click here, and be sure to indicate The Movies That Made Me in the note section so Josh can finally achieve his dream of showing Mandy to his wife!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Scream Blacula Scream (1973)

Mandy (2018)

Carnival of Souls (1962) – Mary Lambert’s trailer commentary

Night Tide (1961) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

A Bucket Of Blood (1959) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s DVD review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dementia 13 (1963) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Region B Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s director’s cut Blu-ray review

The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

The Conversation (1974) – Josh Olson...

The movie “Yesterday” imagines what the world would be like if no one had ever heard of The Beatles. You can guess the impact that would have on the world of rock music, but we’d also be without a handful of great movies that found just the right note because they managed to score a movie moment in the way no other song would do. This list however excludes The Beatles movies like “Yellow Submarine,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!” and even the “Across the Universe” jukebox musical that are loaded with perfect such moments.

“The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001) – “Hey Jude”

The Mutato Muzika Orchestra, did up this lovely, twinkling, instrumental version of “Hey Jude” that captures the miniature, picturesque quality of the prologue to Wes Anderson’s family dysfunction comedy “The Royal Tenenbaums.” But the smaller in scope orchestration doesn’t change the sweeping, inspiring quality of the melody,...

There’s an old saying in Hollywood: You haven’t truly lived until Richard E. Grant causes you to bend over in laughter by pointing out his — and your — physical shortcomings.

At least, that’s what happened when the Oscar-nominated character actor — from 2018’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” to 2001’s “Gosford Park” to 1987’s “Withnail & I” — spoke with Variety about his scene-stealing turn on last week’s episode of the Marvel Studios series “Loki.” The penultimate episode of the season finds Tom Hiddleston’s titular god of mischief trapped in the Void, a limbo plane of existence that plays home to dozens of other variant Lokis who’ve been pruned by the Time Variance Authority. Along with Grant’s Classic Loki (who escaped death by living alone on a remote planet), Hiddleston meets Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Boastful Loki (Debbie Oparei), and Alligator Loki — basically, an alligator wearing...

Imagine the protagonist of a Richard Curtis film woke up on the morning of whichever wedding or funeral they were to attend, suddenly cursed with self-awareness. The resulting movie, a comedy that elicits such bone-deep cringe it’s indistinguishable from horror, might look a lot like Andrew Gaynord’s “All My Friends Hate Me,” a ferociously witty, deeply British evisceration of upper-class Millennial anxiety, dedicated to the truism that if you can’t spot the asshole in any group of five or more people, the asshole is you.

Pete (Tom Stourton) is just back from a volunteer stint at a refugee camp, and is setting off in high spirits to spend his birthday weekend in the enormous stately home owned by his friend George (Joshua McGuire). Pete’s down-to-earth girlfriend Sonia (Charly Clive) will join him the following day, but initially it’s just going to be him and his...

Paul Heller, the American film producer known for his work on UK classic Withnail & I, the Oscar-winning My Left Foot and the Bruce Lee-starring Enter the Dragon, has died at the age of 93.

BAFTA confirmed his death and offered condolences to his family. He had been a BAFTA Los Angeles Board Member for a long time, supporting the org’s work in the area including backing career starters and local students through community-based education activities.

He was instrumental in the launch of BAFTA’s family screenings at Helen Keller Park, a series that led to mentorship and school programs throughout LA, and helped to create and launch the inaugural BAFTA Student Film Awards.

A New York native who spent years working in the UK, Heller also had credits including 1962 feature David and Lisa, which received two Oscar nominations. He worked as an executive at Warner Bros on pics such...

Producer was longtime BAFTA LA board member.

Paul Heller, the US producer whose credits included Withnail & I and Enter The Dragon and My Left Foot as executive producer, died on December 28 in Los Angeles. He was 93.

Heller, a longtime board member of BAFTA LA, was born in New York on September 25, 1927, and spent many years in England producing some of his most acclaimed films.

His first feature, the 1962 mental health drama David And Lisa directed by Frank Perry, earned two Oscar nominations for directing and for Eleanor Perry’s adapted screenplay.

Encouraged to pursue his career with gusto, Heller...

In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with film and TV director Stuart Urban as he discusses his picks of 5 Great Black Comedies, including:

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

A distant poor relative of the Duke of D’Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.

Dr Strangelove (1964)

An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.

The King Of Comedy (1982)

Rupert Pupkin is obsessed with becoming a comedy great. However, when he confronts his idol, talk show host Jerry Langford, with a plea to perform on the Jerry’s show, he is only given the run-around. He does not give up, however, but persists in stalking Jerry until he gets what he wants. Eventually he must team up with...

Paul McGann, best known among fans of genre TV from Doctor Who as the eighth incarnation of the Time Lord, celebrates his 60th birthday today.

McGann initially had only a single outing as the Doctor in a TV movie aired in 1996, seven years after the series went on indefinite hiatus due to its steadily declining ratings and long before work began on the 2005 revamp, which will soon return for a second season with Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.

Sometimes referred to as Enemy Within, the film was made as a pilot episode for a new series of Doctor Who produced with an American audience in mind, but fared poorly due to its radical alteration of the show’s core ideals and mishandling of established lore. However, McGann’s performance as the Doctor was still celebrated, and despite the movie’s failure he’s remained an integral aspect of the mythology.

What, exactly, are we to make of Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett), the dysfunctional slacker architect with the racing tongue and the porcupine disposition who’s at the center of Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”? Bernadette lives in a beautiful crumbling mansion, perched on a Seattle hilltop, that she spends her days indolently renovating. Everywhere in the house, there are signs of her visual imagination (printed pamphlets folded into cones and stacked as wallpaper; splashes of surreal color). But it’s clear that the project stalled a long time ago, because the place is a half-finished wreck, with chipped paint and scarred moldings and barely furnished rooms.

What does Bernadatte do? Basically, she does nothing at all, except talk a blue streak of manic invective. She’s a drop-dead misanthrope who spends all day, every day, putting down everybody and everything. She hates the neighbors. She hates the...

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is available on Digital Download 27th May and on DVD & VOD 3rd June and to celebrate we are giving 3 lucky winners the chance to win a special bundle prize of the DVD and a copy of Lee Israel’s memoir in which the film is based on.

From the director of The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller, comes Can You Ever Forgive Me?, a true-life comedic drama that sees Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I) come together as terrific partners-in-crime. Both McCarthy and Grant received a BAFTA®, Academy Award® and Golden Globe nomination for Leading Actress and Supporting Actor respectively for their incredible performances in this fascinating & captivating biopic.

McCarthy portrays Lee Israel, a frustrated, hard-drinking author who can barely afford to pay her rent or bills in 1990s New York. Desperate for money, Israel soon hatches a scheme to...

Richard E. Grant has seen a few things in his 61 years. He was raised in the then-British colony of Swaziland. He went to school with Mandela’s daughters. He lay silent in the back seat of a car on an African dirt road as his mother screwed a man who was not his father, and then endured said father taking a shot at him in an alcoholic rage.

Later, he moved to London and became an actor making his permanent mark as Withnail, an alcoholic wastrel and the title character in Withnail & I,...