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The British Royal Family attracts considerable media and public attention. This excessive attention, thanks to their position, has given leeway to conspiracy theorists to craft a bunch of ill-founded theories that continue to dominate public discourse even today. Given that the late Princess Diana is one of the most famous royals even today, her life, naturally, has been a web of theories and myths that fans continue to believe in.

Diana, Princess of Wales / Credits: BBC / YouTube

One such myth is that Prince Charles, aka the now King of England, is not Prince Harry’s father, but it is actually James Hewitt, Diana’s lover and riding instructor, who is the real father.

Absurd rumor about Prince Harry’s parentage Prince Harry (L) with Prince William (M) and their father King Charles III (R) | Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Open Government License version 1.0 – Wikimedia Commons

For years, the life of...

The tensions between Prince Harry and the rest of the Royals have been public knowledge for a long time. Even so, nobody was prepared for the revelations the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made during an interview with Oprah Winfrey the following year.

Prince Harry in the documentary Harry – The Lost Prince | Credits: Zdf

However, possibly the biggest blow came after Prince Harry released his memoir, Spare, in 2023. While the book contained many explosive accusations against the British Royals, one particular incident still stood out.

That was, of course, Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle allegedly being banned from meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II by King Charles III. The Duke of Sussex’s response to his father for that alleged ban has only intrigued people more.

Prince Harry stood up to King Charles III for disrespecting his wife Meghan Markle

There had been suspicions about the deepening rift...

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently made headlines for their visit to wildfire evacuation centers in Pasadena, California. They came with donations and warm hugs, offering support to families affected by the fires.

Some praised their efforts, but not everyone was clapping. Actress Justine Bateman slammed them as “disaster tourists,” calling the visit a flashy “photo op.” Living just 90 miles away in Montecito, Prince Harry and Markle donated clothes, kids’ stuff, and supplies to wildfire victims.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Harry – The Lost Prince (Credits: Netflix)

They even offered their $29 million mansion to evacuees. Yet, some critics saw more cameras than compassion. Body language experts and insiders chimed in on the Sussexes’ visit.

The couple stay committed to helping wildfire victims, but their motives? As they aid wildfire victims, questions about their motives light up a bigger discussion.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle labeled as “disaster tourists...

British royal family news reveals that there’s no room at the inn for Horrible Harry, Duke of Sussex. That’s according to many voices in a new German documentary on the traitor and his first wife, Meghan Markle.

Filmmaker Ulrike Grunewald released Harry — The Lost Prince this week and in it explores his post-Megxit life in LA. Here’s what you need to know!

Royal Family News – Harry And Meghan Are Outcasts

Harry and Meghan moved to California with the help of Tyler Perry who enabled their escape from the monarchy by letting the homeless urchins couch surf at his Cali mansion.

This week Meghan was a guest of honor at Perry’s bombastic award event and Harry was nowhere to be seen. Things have changed in four years.

Grunewald argues that the Markles’ conceit of branding themselves as royal victims/philanthropic power players has failed and failed badly.

In May 2010, Prince Harry’s pony Drizzle died of a heart attack after he dismounted from the horse after a polo match. Harry saw that the pony was struggling to run comfortably during the match and decided to take her out of the match. However, the pony sadly never made it. There were some vile rumors at the time that the pony was pregnant, raising allegations of animal brutality against Harry.

Prince Harry in the documentary Harry – The Lost Prince | Credits: Zdf

While PETA made a statement against the use of horses in such sporting activities after the incident, they never accused Harry directly of animal brutality. In the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new Netflix documentary Polo, fans have revisited this controversy.

Rumors About Prince Harry Riding A Pregnant Pony Are Baseless Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a still from Harry – The Lost Prince | Credits:...

Why is Meghan Marlke so scared of Kate Middleton? That’s what a lot of fans and critics on both sides of the pond can’t help but wonder as there’s a new report that suggests the Duchess of Sussex has a reason to be on her toes. Keep reading below for everything you need to know.

Royal Family News – Why Is Meghan Markle So Scared Of Kate Middleton?

Apparently, Meghan Markle is scared about potentially ruining things with Kate Middleton. But this time around, it might be permanent. At least, tha’ts how former butler Grant Harrold recently put it in the new documentary Harry: The Lost Prince.

It’s also being said that the Duchess of Sussex has been left concerned about how she is being viewed in the documentary, which she has had no input on. She’s afraid that Kate Middleton might end up seeing...

If there’s any royal who knows how to keep the headlines buzzing, it’s Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Whether it’s their jaw-dropping royal exit, their glamorous life in Montecito, or their Netflix projects, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become the ultimate conversation starters. Love them or hate them, they always manage to steal the spotlights and now, there’s more to talk about. A brand-new documentary titled, Harry- The Lost Prince is here to take us behind the scenes of their post-royalty.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Created by German network Zdf, this documentary promises to deliver the highs, the lows, and everything surrounding Harry and Markle’s world after they stepped away from royal duties. And yes, it features insights from neighbors and dives deep into their bold choices and the effects of their royal departure. But word on the street is that this...

Tom Hollander once received a seven-figure paystub meant for Tom Holland due to the similarities in their names. The paystub was a box office bonus for one of Holland's Avengers movies, which earned a total of $4.85 billion at the box office. The massive amount of money Hollander received reflects the immense success of the Avengers films, which are Holland's highest-grossing movies.

An understandable name mix-up led to Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Tom Holland's seven-figure Avengers movie box office bonus being sent to the wrong actor. Holland joined the MCU in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, leading his own solo movie before teaming up with fellow members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Both movies, which closed out the first three phases of the MCU timeline, were massive box office successes, earning $4.85 billion across the two Avengers films.

Tom Hollander, who plays Quentin in The White Lotus,...

Michael Gambon, the Irish-English actor best known for his role as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the “Harry Potter” movies, has died, Variety has confirmed. He was 82.

“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon,” his family said in a statement. “Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia.”

While it is easier for a character actor, often working in supporting roles, to rack up a large number of credits than it is for lead actors, Gambon was enormously prolific, with over 150 TV or film credits in an era when half that number would be impressive and unusual — and this for a man whose body of stage work was also prodigious.

He played two real kings of England: King Edward VII in “The Lost Prince” (2003) and his son, King George V,...

In spite of the fact that “American Crime Story” won the Best Limited Series Emmy twice, its third iteration (“Impeachment”) missed out on a nomination last year, and two other Ryan Murphy productions (“American Horror Story” and “Feud”) have failed in their attempts to conquer the category. Naturally, the vast majority of Gold Derby’s thousands of Emmy predictors expect Murphy’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” to falter in this year’s race and are instead backing “Beef,” which, like its strongest challenger, would follow “The Queen’s Gambit” (2021) as the second Netflix series to achieve this top honor.

Also included in the current Best Limited Series lineup are “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video) and “Fleishman is in Trouble” (FX), both of which were adapted from 2019 novels of the same titles. In the final slot is “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which joins continuing dramas “The Mandalorian” (2020-2021) and “Andor...

Plenty of us have experienced helicopter parenting, but how many have had their dad’s film premiere hovering over their own?

First-time feature director Mary Nighy, for one. On Sept. 11, she’ll attend the Toronto Gala world premiere of her psychological thriller “Alice, Darling” just hours after her actor dad Bill Nighy’s drama “Living” has its Canadian debut that afternoon.

“He was joking that I’ve got the ‘cool’ time slot — we were laughing about that,” she says. “‘Living’ is beautiful, and I’m so proud of his work. He watched ‘Alice’ and is really excited for me. I think it will be lovely to do this together.”

But that’s where the synergy ends. Nighy’s parentage (her mom is actress Diana Quick) had nothing to do with Lionsgate financing “Alice” at the script stage. Their confidence stemmed from her early shorts, episodes of the U.K. crime...

They were producers on Sian Heder’s Oscar best-picture winner ‘Coda’

Need to know: Co-CEOs Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are currently flying high as the producers of Sian Heder’s Oscar best-picture winner Coda. They were the first European producers to achieve this feat since Thomas Langmann with The Artist in 2011. Paris-born Rousselet, who has had a foot on both sides of the Atlantic since early in his career, created the group in the early 1990s. He was joined by Gianfermi in 2000. It produces French-­language films under the banners of Vendôme Films and subsidiaries Jerico Films and Prelude,...

The Best Picture-nominee “Coda” is going live and will be adapted as a stage musical as developed by Deaf West Theater.

The producers behind “Coda” will work with Deaf West Theater artistic director DJ Kurs on turning Siân Heder’s award-winning film into a stage musical that’s made for the Deaf community.

Vendôme Pictures’ Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, who produced the original French film on which “Coda” is based, “La Famille Bélier,” are partnering with Pathé’s Jerome Seydoux on the stage project.

Alongside Deaf West, Vendôme and Pathé are currently out to stage directors, composers and writers for the stage project. No specific details were given in terms of when or where the “Coda” musical hopes to debut.

Deaf West is a Los Angeles theater as run by Kurs that weaves Asl with spoken English to create a seamless ballet of movement and voice on stage. It...

A mix of comedies such as Isabelle Huppert starrer “Mama Weed” and Michaël Youn’s “Divorce Club,” and director-driven titles like Claus Drexel’s “Under the Stars of Paris” were among the most buzzed-about market premieres of the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. The five-day showcase kicked off Jan. 17 with the world premiere of Martin Provost’s “How to Be a Good Wife” with Juliette Binoche, and wrapped Monday.

“Divorce Club” stars Arnaud Ducret and François-Xavier Demaison as a pair of 40-something divorcees who set up a dedicated membership club. Represented in international markets by Snd, the film just won the top prize at the Alpe d’Huez Comedy Film Festival.

Jean-Paul Salomé’s “Mama Weed” (pictured) stars Oscar-nominated actress Huppert as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte has now sold the film in major territories. “Mama Weed” was also presented at the Alpe d’Huez festival.

Showcasing the wide scope and many nuances of French comedies, Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Lost Prince,” “Mama Weed” with Isabelle Huppert (pictured), “The Lion” with Dany Boon, and “Welcome to the Jungle” with Catherine Deneuve are having their market premieres at the 22nd edition of the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, which runs Jan. 16-20.

Sold by Studiocanal, “The Lost Prince” is fantasy-filled family comedy headlined by Omar Sy (“Intouchables), François Damiens (“Heartbreaker”) and Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”).

“Mama Weed” directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, is a crime comedy starring Huppert, the Oscar-nominated actress, as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris. Le Pacte is handling international sales.

“The Lion” is an action comedy about Romain (Philippe Katerine), a psychologist who is fascinated by his patient, Leo Milan (Boon), who claims to be a highly-trained international spy.

Helmed by Hugo Benamozig and David Caviglioli,...

Charades, the sales company behind the Oscar-nominated animated film “I Lost My Body,” has boarded three new French films, “Madeleine Collins” with Virginie Efira, as well as the comedies “Felicita” and “The Speech.”

Charades will be introducing the three titles at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, an industry showcase of local movies kicking off on Jan. 16.

“Madeleine Collins” is a psychological drama directed by Antoine Barraud and headlined by Efira, the popular Belgian actress of Justine Triet’s “Victoria” and “Sibyl,” as well as Paul Verhoeven’s anticipated “Benedetta.”

Efira (pictured) stars in “Madeleine Collins” as Judith who leads a double life between Switzerland and France. In one country, she lives with Abdel with whom she raises a little girl, and in another country she lives with Melvil with whom she has two older boys. Judith gets slowly embroiled in a web of lies and secrets, leading her balancing act to explode dangerously.

Claude Barras, director of the breakout Academy Award nominated hit “My Life as a Zucchini,” is returning to stop motion animation for his next feature “Sauvages,” a socially conscious tale set in the jungles of Borneo. Producer Rhea Plangg attended this year’s Cannes Film Market to foster negotiations with potential production partners.

“Sauvages,” a working title which translates to “Wild” in English, follows an 11-year-old, half-indigenous girl who heads deep into the Borneo forests. There, under the watchful eye of her grandfather and with the help of a young European and his veterinarian father, the girl commits to protecting an orphaned orangutan from poachers. Issues of heritage, preservation, the importance of biodiversity and family are all touched on with a sensibility that young audiences can embrace.

More than just onscreen, the importance of conservation and protection is being embraced by the entire production, and the film’s practical effects...

Pathé Films and French producer Philippe Rousselet’s Vendôme Group have signed an exclusive production deal to develop and produce English-language films, kicking off with “Coda,” a remake of the 2014 French box office hit “La Famille Belier,” written and directed by Sian Heder (“Orange Is the New Black”).

Set to start shooting this summer in Massachusetts, the remake will be headlined by Marlee Matlin and newcomer Emilia Jones.

The film will star Jones as 16-year-old Ruby, the only hearing child in a deaf family who finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her family’s reliance on her to be their connection to the outside world.

The three-year pact between Pathé and Vendôme Group aims to produce one to two films a year, and the possibility to add more projects over time. All films produced under the deal will be fully financed by Pathé and Vendôme, and...

Sian Heder is writing and directing the new film to be called ‘Coda’

French studio Pathé Films and Philippe Rousselet’s Vendôme Group have signed an exclusive partnership to develop and produce English-language films for the international marketplace.

Their first production will be Coda, a remake of the 2014 French hit La Famille Belier, with Patrick Wachsberger’s Picture Perfect Entertainment.

The three-year co-development and co-production deal will produce one to two films a year initially with the flexibility to ramp up to more projects over time.

All films produced under the deal will be fully financed by Pathé and Vendôme...

France's Pathe Films and Source Code producer Philippe Rousselet's Vendome are joining forces to co-develop English-language films. 

The three-year deal formalizes a pact between the two groups that have partnered on two French-language projects, last year's Promise at Dawn, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Michel Hazanavicius' upcoming The Lost Prince, starring Omar Sy.

The first project out of the gate is Coda, with Patrick Wachsberger's Picture Perfect on board to produce and launch sales in Cannes. It's Wachsberger's first film producing project since leaving Lionsgate.

Oscar winner Marlee Matlin will take the lead, and newcomer Emilia Jones will ...

France's Pathe Films and Source Code producer Philippe Rousselet's Vendome are joining forces to co-develop English-language films. 

The three-year deal formalizes a pact between the two groups that have partnered on two French-language projects, last year's Promise at Dawn, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Michel Hazanavicius' upcoming The Lost Prince, starring Omar Sy.

The first project out of the gate is Coda, with Patrick Wachsberger's Picture Perfect on board to produce and launch sales in Cannes. It's Wachsberger's first film producing project since leaving Lionsgate.

Oscar winner Marlee Matlin will take the lead, and newcomer Emilia Jones will ...

Studiocanal has sold near all of the world outside the U.S. on Hugo Gélin’s “Love at Second Sight.” The European production-distribution-sales giant, part of Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group, has also kicked off promising sales on a panoply of new foreign-language titles, such as Yvan Attal’s “My Dog Stupid,” Cedric Klapisch’s “Someone Somewhere” and animated feature “Samsam.”

“Our mission at Studiocanal is to ensure we make high-quality European cinema with strong global potential,” said Anna Marsh, Studiocanal Evp, international distribution.

Described by Marsh as a “key title, a high concept movie which really appeals.” “Love at Second Sight” stars François Civil as a young best-selling novelist who forgets the love of his life in one world to wake up in another where she’s a world-famous pianist who’s never met him.

Combining large ambition, a questioning take on gender equality in relationships, and a director whose 2017 debut,...

The Lost Prince

Oscar winning director Michel Hazanavicius embarks on his seventh feature, The Lost Prince (Le prince oublié), set to star his usual collaborator and wife Berenice Bejo alongside Omar Sy and Francois Damiens. Produced by Philippe Rousselet and Jonathan Blumental. Written by Hazanavicius, Bruno Merle and Noe Debre (Dheepan; The Racer and the Jailbird), the project is lensed by Guillaume Schiffman, who has been Hazanavicius’ cinematographer since his Oss 117 films. Hazanacivius notably won Best Director for 2011’s The Artist, which also took home the Academy Award for Best Picture.…...

The holidays have come early for fans of Tom Hollander, with a plethora of new projects for the English actor who has emerged as one of the season’s favorite scene-stealers. Hollander has proven equally at home in period pieces (“Gosford Park”), wordy farce (“In the Loop”), action blockbusters (two “Pirates of the Caribbean” films), or even acting opposite himself (playing twins in last year’s “Breathe.”)

Hollander is now on screens in two films, giving advice and managing Queen in “Bohemian Rhapsody” and playing editor Sean Ryan to Rosamund Pike’s heroic journalist Marie Colvin in “A Private War.” Later this year he’ll bring his special brand of ambiguous menace to “Bird Box” with Sandra Bullock, which premiered Monday night at AFI Fest. He’ll also be heard as Tabaqui the hyena (don’t call him a jackal!) in “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,” from his “Breathe” director Andy Serkis.

“The Alienist’s” Emmy nomination in the Best Limited Series category came as a pleasant surprise to many people, especially as it got in over shows like “The Looming Tower” (Hulu) and “Twin Peaks” (Showtime), which according to our odds were expected to make the cut. The last time TNT was even in the running for Best Limited Series was in 2006 for “Into the West,” and the only time it prevailed in this category was 23 years ago for “Joseph” (1995). Can the cable network finally take home its second statue for this breakout hit?

The program benefits from not only being accessible to watch, but also from being based on a novel (“The Alienist” by Caleb Carr). Of note, the last three winners in this category — “Olive Kitteridge,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson” and “Big Little Lies” — were all based on novels. While “The Alienist” does deal with heavy subject matters such as child prostitution,...

Expect to see the Starz program “Howards End” reap a Best Limited Series Emmy nom on July 12, along with nominations across the board for its actors and below-the-line talent. The series debuted stateside in May, 26 years after the acclaimed 1992 film adaptation that garnered nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director (James Ivory) and won three including Best Actress for Emma Thompson.

Based on the acclaimed 1910 novel by E.M. Forster, this new spin on the timeless classic was adapted by Oscar champ Kenneth Lonergan (“Manchester by the Sea”). It stars Hayley Atwell and Philippa Coulthard as the independent and unconventional Schlegel sisters navigating their way through turn-of-the-century England, whose lives become intertwined with the wealthy Wilcox family and the working-class Bast family. The series also stars Emmy winners Julia Ormond and Tracey Ullman, alongside Matthew Macfadyen, Joseph Quinn and Alex Lawther.

See Emmys 2018 exclusive: Starz categories for ‘Outlander,’ ‘Counterpart,...

Seeing worldwide sales sell-outs on “355” and “Ironbark,” from FilmNation, and Studiocanal’s “The Secret Garden,” the 2018 Cannes Film Festival proved the second big market in a row to buck, although only in part, longer-term pessimism.

After glacial-paced early trading, titles sold from Cannes first weekend both to the U.S. and abroad at a steady, though never spectacular, rate.

But if Cannes, like February’s surprisingly buoyant Berlin, suggested there is still life in the international independent film business, despite a tepid Sundance and dire American Film Market, it also delivered a sobering snapshot of new market realities.

Whichever way the 2018 Cannes Film Market is taken, heartening signs of continued market traction have to be placed in a context of a longer-term attrition in the independent theatrical market affecting both many mid-sized English-language movies and arthouse titles alike. The bottom hasn’t fallen out of either market. But their theatrical space,...

Announcing very possibly the first clean sales sweep on one of the major new titles brought onto the market at Cannes, Studiocanal, part of Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group, sold out worldwide on the David Heyman-produced “The Secret Garden.”

Studiocanal’s notably all-women sales team, overseen by distribution chief Anna Marsh and headed by international sales chief Anne Chérel, has also licensed “The Lost Prince,” to be directed by Academy Award winning Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), to near all the world outside the U.S.

The sales, compounded by bullish first results on Studiocanal’s Romain Gavras’ “The World is Yours,” beg the question as to the possible depth of Cannes’ pre-sales market. This year’s market buzz has, to date at least, centered very largely on a narrow band of high-profile titles backed by standout director, star or producer talent.

At least for Studiocanal, Europe’s biggest movie production-distribution-sales company,...

Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning director of “The Artist” whose latest film “Redoutable” competed at Cannes Film Festival last year, is set to direct “The Lost Prince,” a fantasy-filled family comedy which will star Omar Sy (“Intouchables), François Damiens (“Heartbreaker”) and Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”).

“The Lost Prince” is produced by Philippe Rousselet and Jonathan Blumental. Pathé, Studiocanal and TF1 Films Production are co-producing. Studiocanal also handles international sales and will begin pre-sales at Cannes. Pathé will release the film in France. Shooting will begin July 30.

“The Lost Prince” will star Sy as Djibi, a devoted single father whose life revolves around his beloved 7-year-old daughter Sofia.

Every night as Sofia falls asleep, Djibi takes her into “Storyland”, a fantasy film studio where their extraordinary fairytale adventures come to life starring Djibi in the lead role as the heroic Prince Charming. As Sofia eventually grows out of her father’s stories,...

Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius is set to helm fantasy family film, The Lost Prince. The co-production from Prélude, Pathé, Studiocanal and TF1 Films stars The Intouchables‘ Omar Sy, La Famille Bélier‘s François Damiens and The Artist‘s Berenice Bejo.

Shooting begins July 30 on the story of Djibi whose life revolves around his beloved 7-year-old daughter Sofia. The devoted single father never misses their cherished ritual of bedtime stories. Every night as Sofia falls asleep, he takes her into “Storyland,” a fantasy film studio where their extraordinary fairy tale adventures come to life with Djibi in the lead role as the heroic Prince Charming.

Five years later and nearly a teenager, Sofia starts to grow out of her father’s stories and instead makes up tales of her own with Djibi no longer the heroic lead. As his roles in both the real world and in “Storyland” begin to change,...

Michel Hazanavicius and Berenice Bejo have found their next project in StudioCanal's The Lost Prince.

The real-life husband and wife have worked together on several films, including 2014's The Search and 2017's Godard Mon Amour. They most famously won the Palme d'Or for The Artist, which went on to win the best picture Oscar in 2011. Bejo also took Cannes best actress prize for The Past in 2013.

The family-friendly film will co-star Omar Sy, best known stateside for X-Men: Days of Future Past, and François Damiens, who stars in the upcoming Cannes Director's Fortnight entry The World is Yours....

Michel Hazanavicius and Berenice Bejo have found their next project in StudioCanal's <em>The Lost Prince</em>.

The real-life husband and wife have worked together on several films, including 2014's <em>The Search </em>and 2017's <em>Godard Mon Amour</em>. They most famously won the Palme d'Or for <em>The Artist</em>, which went on to win the best picture Oscar in 2011. Bejo also took Cannes best actress prize for <em>The Past</em> in 2013.

The family-friendly film will co-star Omar Sy, best known stateside for <em>X-Men: Days of Future Past</em>, and François Damiens, who stars in the upcoming Cannes Director's Fortnight entry<em> The World is Yours</em>. <em>What ...</em>...

Most of us agree that "Olive Kitteridge" is out front to win Best Limited Series at the Emmys, but I think it's crazy that "Wolf Hall" currently ranks dead last in our predictions with 50/1 odds. It did well with eight nominations, including bids in key categories of acting, writing, directing, casting and editing. The only other nominee to sweep those fields: you guessed it, "Olive Kitteridge." -Break- What's more, there's lots of precedent for a "Wolf Hall" upset. The Emmys love British dramas, especially period pieces, so much so that they have upset American productions many times before. "The Lost Prince" defeated "Empire Falls" in 2005. "Little Dorrit" overtook "Generation Kill" in 2009. And though we knew voters loved "Downton Abbey" in 2011, we weren't quite expecting how thoroughly it trounced "Mildred Pierce." And let's not forget "S..."'...

Milos Forman was looking for the best writer to adapt the hippie anti-war musical Hair for the big screen. The Czech filmmaker already had a growing U.S. following in the wake of The Firemen’s Ball and Taking Off when 1975’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest took home five Oscars including best film and best director. And while Michael Weller had zero experience as a screenwriter, he did have a reputation for plays that cast a gimlet eye on the generation that came of age in the era of protest against the Vietnam War and for civil rights. His works included Moonchildren (1971), Loose Ends (1979) and Spoils Of War (1988), which interwove the intensely felt political and personal obsessions of Baby Boomers on the cusp of adulthood.

For Forman, Weller would write two of the most underrated films of their time, Hair (1979) and, two years later, Ragtime. Like his...

Stephen Poliakoff has been one of Britain’s great dramatists since the late 1970s, a master of making compelling movies and miniseries for the small screen, including The Lost Prince (three Emmys including best miniseries), Friends and Crocodiles and Gideon’s Daughter (two Golden Globes and a Peabody). He’s one of those writers and directors that British critics seem to tire of at some point because, who knows, maybe because he’s not American. But his latest miniseries, Dancing on the Edge (premiering Oct. 19, 10 p.m., Starz), is a compelling look at race, class and jazz music in England during the

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Starz is excited to announce that the U.S. television debut of the Starz Original Miniseries Event “Dancing on the Edge,” will premiere on Saturday, October 19th at 10pm Et/Pt. The tuneful five-part drama will continue airing on Saturday nights at 9pm and stars Golden Globe® Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years of a Slave–releasing in October 2013, Salt, American Gangster), Matthew Goode (Stoker, A Single Man, Brideshead Revisited), Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Jacqueline Bisset (Joan of Arc, Two Jacks) and Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winner John Goodman (The Monuments Men, Inside Llewyn Davis–both set to release in December 2013, Monster’s University). Written by the multi-award winning writer/director Stephen Poliakoff (Glorious 39, “Gideon’s Daughter,” “The Lost Prince...

He has unparalleled creative freedom within the BBC. But, as Stephen Poliakoff's latest lavish drama reaches our screens, what does he make of his reputation for being a control freak?

'I'm quite sure," Stephen Poliakoff giggles, "there are people within the BBC who run down the corridors blocking their ears when they see me coming." His reputation certainly precedes him – a great galloping colossus of media folklore, variously casting the writer as a genius, control freak, force of nature or diva, sometimes all at the same time. Descriptions of his appearance err towards cartoonish caricature – dishevelled, wild-haired, fidgety, like a mad professor who has accidentally electrocuted himself – only adding to the mythology of a wild man of letters. But to everyone about to fall in love with his latest drama, Poliakoff may well soon be at real risk of becoming a national treasure.

Dancing on the Edge is set...

For those looking to get Benedict Cumberbatch ahead of the pack you can watch him this February in the HBO-bbc miniseries Parade’s End and now the network has released a teaser trailer for the five-part Wwi-era miniseries.

Cumberbatch has plenty on his plate for this year or so and now he continues ‘amazing run’ with Parade’s End starring as Christopher Tietjens, a man caught in a love triangle with two women played by Rebecca Hall and Adalaide Clemens.

Written by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Anna Karenina), the adaptation of Madox Ford’s novel series will be directed by Susanna White.

American audiences will get to experience the upper-class Edwardian-era Britain across three consecutive nights starting on Tuesday, February 26th, 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the video below beginning with Cumberbatch’s character announcing that he’s joining the army.

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to our predictors, FX's "American Horror Story" is in second place in the race for Best Movie/Miniseries with 4-to-1 odds, not far behind "Game Change" (3 to 2). But to win, "Horror" will have to overcome one major handicap: though it's tied with "Mad Men" for the most Emmy nominations overall (17), it's the only nominee in its category without a writing or directing bid. "Hemingway and Gellhorn" received a nod for directing, while the other four – "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia," "Hatfields and McCoys," "Luther," and "Game Change" – are nominated for both writing and directing. The last time a movie or miniseries won the top prize without at least a writing or directing nomination was 2005, when "The Lost Prince" ruled as Best Miniseries in an upset victory. Only two others have prevailed since 2000: "Tuesdays with Morr...

Masterclass: Barry Ackroyd

“The most peaceful place you can be on a film set is when you put your eye to the camera.”

On Monday night at the BFI, British cinematographer Barry Ackroyd talked to Screen International Editor Mike Goodridge about his 30 years in film and TV. It’s a shame there wasn’t a full house in NFT3 and that I had to sit at an uncomfortable 45-degree angle to see the discussion. The good news was that Ackroyd’s eloquence matches his skills behind the camera and he sounded like a poet as he alluded to the “flow” of his work.

If there’s one word you probably wouldn’t use in association with Ackroyd’s recent films it’s peaceful. This is the guy who shot Ralph Fiennes’s Balkan-set Coriolanus, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker and United 93. Given his talent for depicting war zones,...

Gina Mckee

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BBC2 have revealed the cast for Jed Mercurio’s new drama Line Of Duty. Martin Compston takes on the role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott who is tasked with investigating a botched counter-terrorism operation in the show. Compston is ably assisted by Constable Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and before long the duo find themselves looking into corruption allegations involving Dci Tony Gates (Lennie James). A corrupt Dci? What would Gene Hunt have to say about that?

Line of Duty forms part of the network’s line up for 2012 and other notables among the cast include Neil Morrissey, Adrian Dunbar, Kate Ashfield, Craig Parkinson and Paul Higgins. Rather encouragingly, Gina Mckee who most recently appeared in Vera is also in the cast. Previously Gina has appeared in hits that include Notting Hill, Our Friends in the North,...

Vera

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Kieran Kinsella

ITV’s detective drama series Vera comes to the United States on 30 August. The show which has yet to air on American network TV, is being released on DVD by Acorn Media. The drama starring Brenda Blethyn is being released on the same day as Doc Martin: The Movies, but this show is as serious as those films are funny. Unlike, Marple, Poirot and Midsomer Murders, Vera is not set in small-town idyllic Britain where every episode seems to somehow involve a vicar, a butler or a thatched roof. Instead, this show is set in the North of England, a real and gritty place.

The 4-disc set being released by Acorn Media contains four feature length self-contained episodes. The first of the four began with a shot of Gina McKee riding...

Comedian who made her name on TV in the 1980s takes role in new work celebrating the teaching profession

Hollywood stars and the public sector are rarely mentioned in the same breath. But thanks to dramatist Stephen Poliakoff, that is about to change. Multimillionaire, comedian and Hollywood actress Tracey Ullman is to return to the British stage after a 20-year absence in a new play by Poliakoff about the importance of teachers and the public service ethos in our lives.

The British star, who established herself as a household name in America in the 1980s, is returning to appear in My City, which will open at London's Almeida theatre early in September. It will be Poliakoff's first theatrical work for 12 years, following his acclaimed television dramas Shooting the Past and The Lost Prince.

The award-winning writer wrote the "powerful and surprising" play before news of the cuts in education, but...

King George VI consults the only man he can to solve his problem in Tom Hooper's historical drama.

The Basics:

Prince Albert (Collin Firth) has a problem.  Ever since he was a young boy, Albert (or, as his family calls him, Bernie) has had a stutter.  Unfortunetly, Bernie's profession causes him to have to speak a lot.  Because of his condition, Bernie loses the confidence to be a leader.  Hoping to help her husband, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) finds him a speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and, as the two try to conquer his stutter, Bernie has to gain the confidence to become the King during a time of war.

Cast: Collin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, and Michael Gambon

Written by: David Seider

Directed by: Tom Hooper

What is it nominated for?

Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Original Screenplay (David Seider...

Tom Hollander's latest role as an inner-city vicar is earning him popular recognition – and the praise of fan Lily Allen. But he's been a hard-working actor ever since his student drama days with Nick Clegg

Even if Tom Hollander's latest performance doesn't win him awards, riches or the role of his dreams, he has a consolation: it might get his kitchen extension built. Earlier this week, Lily Allen tweeted her love of Rev, the gentle BBC2 comedy in which he stars as an inner-city vicar, adding: "Tom Hollander is my favourite British actor, very, very funny." Hollander looks quietly delighted. "Her boyfriend Sam is a very good builder and I've been trying to get him to do some work on my house. I hope they're still together. Perhaps he'll return my calls now."

Hollander's turn as Adam Smallbone, the embattled leader of a tiny, rackety congregation in grimy east London,...

We all have film sequences that stick in our minds. Some are shared by many – such as the shower scene from Psycho – others are particular to us. Here our film critic and a panel of leading movie-makers reveal their favourites. What are yours?

Who will ever forget the first time they saw the 45-second shower-room murder in Hitchcock's Psycho? I remember 1959 and 1961 as the years when my first two children were born. But the first thing that comes to mind about the year in between was seeing Psycho, which I'd been looking forward to since a radio programme I'd produced the previous October, when Hitchcock had enticingly described Psycho as "my first real horror film". Entering the Plaza, Lower Regent Street, the day the film opened, I passed the cardboard cut-out of Hitchcock in the foyer, from which a tape recording of the Master's familiar Leytonstone undertaker's voice warned us...

'What really buys you freedom is being successful. So long as you deliver, they leave you alone'

For someone best known for Shooting the Past, a television drama apparently so slow and un-televisual that BBC executives begged him to speed it up, Stephen Poliakoff is a very fast talker. Sentences tumble into one another, thoughts jerkily digress, regroup and change their angle of attack. Ideas flit in and out of focus as all the while a plastic drinking straw is furiously twiddled between his fingers. Outlining details of his latest venture, Glorious 39, his first feature film for 12 years, Poliakoff makes glancing references to George W Bush, Bulldog Drummond, the history of the wire tap and Norfolk's evergreen oaks in expressing his fascination and horror at the aristocratic and establishment appeasers who, in the run-up to the second world war, mounted a desperate last effort to do a deal with...

Glorious 39 marks acclaimed filmmaker Stephen Poliakoff’s return to the big screen after twelve long years and it is an epic triumph of ambition and craft, delivering a superb and engaging thriller of duplicity and deceit on the eve of World War II.

Threatened by the impending ‘little war’ the aristocracy, fearing their way of life will be destroyed by Hitler’s army, adopt an aggressive strategy of appeasement and it is this anxiety which propels the plot of Poliakoff’s script forward. The uncertainty and tension of the late summer of 1939 is our scene and an intriguing and poignant journey into the darkness of war produces an unforgettable drama from a writer and director whose ability to illuminate the harrowing detail of betrayal and heartache has never been more potent.

The formidable cast, eager to work with Poliakoff in the first feature production for over a decade, is headed by Romola Garai,...

The long-time PBS program, Masterpiece, began a new season of Masterpiece Contemporary on Sunday, Oct. 25. The series features three programs airing through November. Masterpiece has been produced by Boston's Wgbh Channel 2 for 38 years and gone through various changes. Masterpiece's executive producer Rebecca Eaton has been at Wgbh since 1972. After graduating from Vassar College, she worked in London as a producer for the BBC World Service prior to coming to 'GBH to work on the children's show Zoom. Eaton became the executive producer for Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! in 1985. She's been responsible for high-profile and popular shows including Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse, Cranford, Bleak House, Miss Marple, The Lost Prince, Wallender, The...

Even in Francois Ozon's disappointing first English language film Angel, I'm still enraptured by the magnificence of Romola Garai. If ever there is an actress who can do no wrong, even if the movie is an utter failure, Garai would be that actress. In Steven Poliakoff's Glorious 39, Garai continues to shine.

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Funded by BBC Films, the UK Film Council, Screen East and Quickfire Films, 1939 is set in the Norfolk countryside on the eve of the war and in modern-day London. The story centres on Anne Keyes, the daughter of a traditional English family, played by Atonement star Garai. Poliakoff said he was excited to be making a film about "the extraordinary machinations that went on in British society on the eve of war".

"It is truly thrilling to be making it with such a tremendous cast which combines some of the most exciting...