News

Long-time Film4 head Tessa Ross is stepping down from her role later this year to become chief executive of the National Theatre.

Ross will remain in the post until September 2014, and will stay on as chair of the Growth Fund Advisory Council.

She has been on the board of the prestigious Theatre for the past three years.

Her 13-year tenure at the broadcaster began in 2000. She became Head of Film4 in 2003, followed by her current position of Controller of Film and Drama in 2008.

Her exit follows deputy head of film Katherine Butler’s departure from Film4 in January.

Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham will look to fill Ross’ role in the next months.

Abraham said: “Tessa has made as big a contribution to Channel 4 as anyone in its history. I would like to personally thank her for her extraordinary commitment, talent and leadership over 13 remarkable years. I am looking forward to working with her over...

The actor on his collaboration with Jake and Dinos Chapman, how Irish folk singer Fionn Regan inspired his tattoo, and the war film he thinks is the best ever made

Born in Pembrokeshire, Rhys Ifans made his earliest screen appearances as a presenter on Welsh-language television. After a brief stint as a founding member of psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals, Ifans launched an acting career. He was Bafta-nominated for his breakthrough role as Hugh Grant's flatmate, Spike, in the 1999 film Notting Hill, before winning the award for his portrayal of Peter Cook in Not Only But Always. He also starred in the film adaptation of Howard Marks's autobiography, Mr Nice, and counts the villainous Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man among his notable big-screen roles. Ifans has made several stage appearances, including roles in Under Milk Wood and Volpone at the National Theatre, where he is currently starring in Protest Song,...

Rhys Ifans, known for his portrayal of character Jed Parry in Enduring Love (Daniel Craig’s stalker) who will appear as Dr. Curt Connors The Lizard in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man has been also cast in a new James Bond film, in an unknown role.

A source close to Telegraph’s Richard Eden, said:

Ifans will appear in the film, as well as Javier Bardem, who will play the baddie… Much of the filming will take place in South Africa.”

Bond producers also have yet to make the official announcement for Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes that have recently been rumored to have roles in the iconic movie. Bardem is anticipated to play the villain, while Harris is said to be taking on the role of Miss Moneypenny and Fiennes is seen to be a second villain.

It was confirmed that screenwriter Patrick Marber (Closer) came on...

Winter's Bone; Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; Mr Nice; Amer; World's Greatest Dad

Somewhere between the doomed romance of Badlands, the communal violence of Deliverance and the dysfunctional family drama of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre lurks the haunting spectre of Winter's Bone (2010, Artificial Eye, 15). Directed by Debra Granik, whose use of authentically barren locations in the Ozark mountains of Missouri pays chilly dividends, this adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's novel walks a thin line between downbeat rural realism and mythological gothic horror. It's a beautiful balancing act that invests even the most incidental scene (a round-the-table rendition of "Fair and Tender Ladies", for example) with a level of eerie threat that elevates the entire drama into the realms of the metaphysical, a matter of life and death.

At the heart of the film's otherworldly appeal is rising star Jennifer Lawrence, whose best actress nod was just one of four...

Place your bets. Which villain will he play? Vulture? Mysterio? Lizard? Carnage? I’d say the smart money’s on The Vulture. He might look like an old fogey in an fur collar, but the Vulture is a vicious enemy. Along with Electro, he once almost beat Spider-Man to death. Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes, first appeared in .Amazing Spider-Man #2″

Press release:

Rhys Ifans will play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, in the next installment of Spider-Man from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures. The film, to be directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and produced by Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will begin production in December and will be released in theaters nationwide in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Commenting on the announcement,...

Rhys Ifans (Anonymous), who will next be seen as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has signed on to play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland) as Gwen Stacy, in director Marc Webb‘s as yet Untitled Spider-Man Reboot.

Check out the official press release below for all the details.

Culver City, Calif., October 11, 2010 – Rhys Ifans will play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, in the next installment of Spider-Man from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures. The film, to be directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and produced by Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will begin production in December and will be...

Welsh thesp Rhys Ifans has finally joined the Hollywood big league after landing the lead villain in Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot. Of course there’s no word who’ll he be playing but it is surprising news to say the least.

Ifans is currently buying up all copies of Little Nicky on DVD and videotape before studios execs see his interpretation of villainy*.

The Notting Hill actor will be joining the ace Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Dude and Emma Stone, who has been cast as Gwen Stacy. Below is the official studio press release. Expect internet sites to be speculating like lunatics over who’ll Ifans will play.

“Culver City, Calif., October 11, 2010 – Rhys Ifans will play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, in the next installment of Spider-Man from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, it was announced today by Amy Pascal,...

With the announcement of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in Sony’s reboot of Spider-Man we were left with the vacancies for female lead and the main villain of the piece.

Emma Stone was recently confirmed as Gwen Stacey and now we have news that Rhys Ifans will be playing the villain, though they are not saying which of the many bad guys he will be playing.

There were reports that Philip Seymour Hoffman was talking to Columbia about playing Venom but strong indications say that Marc Webb and co. are not looking to Venom or Hoffman for their Spidey-reboot, and now with Ifans in the frame the internet is sure to whizz into a frenzy as to the identity of the villain he will play.

Director Marc Webb is quoted as saying that Ifans is capable of displaying the ‘warmth and rage’ of the villain in question, and there...

Sony has just sent out a press releases announcing that Rhys Ifans (Noting Hill) will play the villain in Marc Webb’s upcoming Spider-Man. However, the press release says:

“The filmmakers prefer to not reveal which character Ifans will be playing in the forthcoming film.”

I would imagine in the next few hours, rumors are going to hit the net about which villain Ifans will be playing. I have absolutely no idea who it’ll be, but with the fact that they’re going with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) in the first movie, I’ll bet it’s going to be a villain from the first 100 issues of the comic. Hit the jump for the full press release. Spider-Man begins filming in December and it gets released in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Culver City, Calif., October 11, 2010 – Rhys Ifans will play the villain, opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy,...

Cameras will roll at the end of this week on the Dublin set of Parallel Films' 'Neverland' a two-part prequel to the Peter Pan story commissioned by Sky Movies HD starring Oscar nominee Bob Hoskins (Hook, Made in Dagenham), Golden Globe nominee Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies, Bathory) and BAFTA nominee Rhys Ifans (Not Only but Always). The 2 x 90 minute project, the first original feature length commission for Sky Movies HD, is written and directed by Nick Willing (Alice, Tin Man). The Irish producers on board include Redmond Morris (The Reader, Notes on a Scandal) and Alan Moloney (Triage, Intermission) for Ireland's Parallel Films on behalf of Mng Films and in association with Syfy and Sky Movies.

Scruffy Welsh comic Rhys Ifans shot to fame in 1999, when his pant-posing character Spike stole the show in Richard Curtis's fluffy rom-com Notting Hill. Since then he has gone on to give sterling performances in the likes of TV film Not Only But Always and Ian McEwan adaptation Enduring Love. He reteams with Curtis this month on pirate radio comedy The Boat That Rocked and has just confirmed a role in the final Harry Potter films. To celebrate, here are ten tidbits about Siena Miller's ex that you may not have heard. 1. The Notting Hill star was born Rhys Evans in Haverfordwest, Pembrokshire to teachers Beti-Wyn and Eurwyn Evans. He allegedly changed the spelling of his name "just to be difficult". 2. Rhys isn't the only actor in the Ifans family. His brother Llŷr is also a fully-fledged thespian. The pair made (more)...