Tag: British Things (61-70 of 345)

Aug 22 2011 08:39 PM ET

Kate Winslet saves Richard Branson's mom in a fire

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Kate-Winslet

Image Credit: Fotonoticias/WireImage.com

That headline is so fake-seeming, tragic, and awesome all at once. In what may turn out to be her most heroic role, actress Kate Winslet saved Richard Branson’s mother from a fire early Monday morning. Winslet and her two kids, who were staying with about 20 people at the largest house on Branson’s private isle in the British Virgin Islands, escaped the flames unharmed. The fire ignited as Tropical Storm Irene hit Necker Island with lightning and high winds.

“Many thanks to Kate Winslet for helping to carry my 90 year mum out of the main house to safety,” Branson wrote on his blog. “She was wondering when a Director was going to shout CUT!”

Biz humor! It’s what it’s all about.

What did you do today?

No, no, it’s not a competition. I mean, you already were going to lose because you don’t have a private island.

Read more:
See Kate Winslet in the trailer for Roman Polanski’s ‘Carnage’

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Aug 22 2011 03:02 PM ET

'Ghost the Musical' to head to Broadway this spring. Can it do the movie justice?

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ghost

Image Credit: Everett Collection

A piece of advice to all movie execs hell-bent on re-making beloved Patrick Swayze movies: Make them into a Broadway musicals instead! There’s no way that the news of the musical version of Ghost, which has been playing to good reviews at London’s West End and is headed to the Great White Way this spring, will upset people even half as much as the idea of an upcoming Dirty Dancing big-screen reboot did. On film, the role of the slain Sam Wheat will forever belong to Swayze, but on stage, the part can be given new life, without taking away from the magic of one of the greatest tearjerkers of all-time.

Starting with previews in March of next year, Ghost the Musical is set to open at New York City’s Nederlander Theater in April. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 22 2011 12:24 PM ET

'One Day': Should the ending have been changed?

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One-Day

Image Credit: Giles Keyte

 To be fair, I knew it was coming. Having already read David Nicholls’ charming 2009 international best-seller One Day, about the ups and downs of friends Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew’s relationship over the span of 20 years, I knew the movie was also going to end on a major — if not pretty shocking — downer. For those of you who have not read the novel or seen the adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess (and it seems like that’s plenty of you), beware of MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 10:52 AM ET

Christine O'Donnell walks off Piers Morgan interview

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Christine O’Donnell cut her interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan short after the former Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Delaware grew frustrated with the host’s insistence in discussing her previous statements on sex, gay marriage, and the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The Tea Party darling eventually accused the Brit of being rude, but she initially tried to laugh off his persistent queries into her infamous remarks about masturbation. “Are you the pro-masturbation talk-show host?” she tried to joke, opening the door for Morgan to answer, “If the option is to be the anti, I think I’d be in the pro department, and I’m not afraid to say so.”

O’Donnell tried to steam ahead with her Tea Party talking points, but Morgan interrupted with “Have you committed lust in the heart since then?”

O’Donnell was not amused, but Morgan’s line of questioning seemed to rattle her. “I address that stuff in the book,” she said, before continuing with, “I’m here to talk about the book.” Ooookay. She’d had enough of Morgan and bluntly told him so. “I obviously want to talk about the issues that I choose to talk about in the book,” she remarked, clearly mistaking Morgan for a stenographer.

“Why are you being so weird about this?” Morgan replied. “I’m just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you’ve written in your own book.”

“Okay, I’m being pulled away,” O’Donnell said. “You know, we turned down another interview for this.” Watch the exchange below. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 27 2011 02:17 PM ET

Piers Morgan denies phone-hacking, downplays 2009 radio interview

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piers_morgan

Image Credit: AP Images

The phone-hacking scandal that has wounded Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and shuttered the News of the World tabloid newspaper is also now threatening CNN’s Piers Morgan. Larry King’s replacement was the top editor at News of the World in the mid-1990s and later ran the Mirror, and Louise Mensch, a British politician, erroneously inferred that Morgan had admitted illegal hacking in his 2005 autobiography when she questioned Murdoch and former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks last week. Morgan confronted her on Wolf Blitzer’s show and declared, “For the record, in my time at the Mirror and the News of the World, I have never hacked a phone, told anybody to hack a phone or published any story based on the hacking of a phone.”

Now, a 2009 interview has resurfaced that has Morgan on the defensive again. Appearing on a radio show, Desert Island Discs with host Kirsty Young, Morgan responded to “all that nasty down-in-the-gutter stuff” that tabloid newspapers were notorious for: READ FULL STORY »

Jul 26 2011 02:40 PM ET

MTV dusts off classic Amy Winehouse concert

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Image Credit: Chris Polk/FilmMagic.com

Back in the summer of 2007, just days after her smash album Back to Black was certified gold and critics began comparing her to Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, 23-year-old Amy Winehouse was the headline attraction on the premiere episode of MTV’s then-new live music show, 45th at Night. Backed by the Dap-Kings and pairing with Mos Def for a sizzling rendition of “Love is a Losing Game,” Winehouse was masterful, performing hit songs like “Rehab,” “Back to Black,” “Me & Mr. Jones,” and “You Know I’m No Good.”

Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., MTV will re-air the “rarely-seen set” (except on YouTube) as a musical celebration of the singer, who died tragically on Saturday. Take a peek at MTV’s promotional clip. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 22 2011 11:06 AM ET

A 'Harry Potter' veteran takes a virgin to see 'Deathly Hallows -- Part 2.' Will the magic work on an unenlightened Muggle?

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Once upon a time, a total Harry Potter superfan took a total Harry Potter newbie to see the last Harry Potter film. This is what happened. (Be warned: SPOILERS await!)

ADAM B. VARY: The final Harry Potter movie is finally upon us, Dan, and I could scarcely be more excited. One big reason? I will be seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 seated next to someone who has never seen a Harry Potter movie nor read any of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books: you.

Before we embark on our cinematic adventure — me, the wizened Albus Dumbledore to your fresh-out-of-the-Dursley’s-cupboard-under-the-stairs Harry Potter — I have one question: What do you know (or think you know) about Harry Potter?

DAN SNIERSON: We can start here: Who’s Mrs. Dursley? Clearly, I’ll be reduced to fake-gasping at long-hinted-at revelations and totally not getting inside jokes about characters’ established foibles. Which is why I have mixed feelings about embarking on this experiment. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 20 2011 10:00 AM ET

All is well, but what is your favorite Harry Potter film?

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harry_potter

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Now that Harry Potter’s cinematic journey is gloriously complete, the sheer magnitude of his universe is truly dizzying to behold. Eight epic films made during a 10-year span, costing more than a billion dollars to bring to life, earning more than six billion at the worldwide box-office, employing nearly every distinguished British actor of the age. The Potter films evolved along with its young heroes — from the cutesy Chris Columbus efforts to David Yates’ darker, more-adult action films — and a generation of fans grew up with them.

Asking Potterheads to select a favorite movie of the bunch, therefore, is like asking Ron’s mom to name her favorite Weasley. Does that wondrous childhood thrill of soaring above the Quidditch pitch in The Sorcerer’s Stone still hold a special place in your heart? Did the Dementors from The Prisoner of Azkaban raise the stakes when they delivered the series’ first pangs of real dread? Or have the final two films triumphantly captured the melancholic spirit of J.K. Rowling’s last book? If only there were some magic Sorting Hat to help determine where our true loyalties lie. For now, we’ll settle for a simple poll. Which Potter film is your favorite? Vote below.

READ FULL STORY »

Jul 18 2011 08:00 PM ET

'News of the World' scandal fake movie trailer casts Colin Firth as Hugh Grant, is verrrrrrrrrry British

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hugh_grant

Image Credit: Landov

I spent much of the weekend fantasizing about who I would cast in the inevitable movie version of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Cate Blanchett seemed like a good choice for disgraced, former newspaper editor Rebekah Brooks while Hugh Grant was surely a lock for the role of Hugh Grant. (You may not know this, but the star of The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain does an excellent impression of the Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain star.)

However, the new fake trailer you’ll find below has thrown my fantasy casting into disarray. The clip is very Anglo-oriented but still worth checking out, not least for the rather compelling suggestion that Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall might actually make for a good Rebekah Brooks.

If nothing else, it would save the production a bunch of money on hair-gingerizing products. Check it out:  READ FULL STORY »

Jul 17 2011 02:36 PM ET

Baby Harper Seven Beckham makes her online debut

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David-Beckham-Baby-Harper-Seven

Image Credit: Facebook

Victoria and David Beckham have posted pictures of their week-old baby Harper Seven to Facebook (there’s one of Posh, too) and the Internet is flipping out. Here’s Becks transmitting one of his secrets about how to look hot for the camera to his new spawn via an adorable nose-to-nose download. It’s never too early to start succeeding in life. Take it from me, Baby Harper. I’m posting this. On a Sunday!

Read more:
It’s a girl (finally) for Victoria and David Beckham

Annie on Twitter

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