Bloody Sunday screens in Berlin Nov 29, 2008
Another Golden Bear entry from the UK is director Richard Eyre's Iris, starring Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent and Judi Dench. It tells the story of novelist Iris Murdoch's battle with Alzheimer's disease. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Dame Judi's proper greeting: A good laugh May 2, 2008
Not long ago she was photographed with her Iris and Notes on a Scandal director, Richard Eyre the husband of Cranford writer/producer Sue Birtwistle. "And by God wasn't it in the paper, asking, 'Is this my new man?' " Dench says with a chuckle. (USA Today -- Life)
Griffin: Issues of aging on the silver screen Jan 16, 2008
And I remember Iris, the 2001 film in which Judi Dench plays the writer Iris Murdoch, afflicted by the same disease ... The directors of both The Savages and Away From Her are female and, of course, so were the standout performers in those two movies and in Iris. (Watertown TAB & Press, MA)
Scott Rudin drove 'No Country' Dec 7, 2007
Rudin has turned some of these challenging properties into such movies as "The Wonder Boys," "Angela's Ashes" and "Iris." (Still in the works are "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and "The Corrections. ") With Cormac McCarthy's dark Western novel "No Country for Old Men," Rudin found the perfect match between material and filmmakers.While many Rudin-produced films have yielded acting nominations for the likes of Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett ("Notes on a Scandal"), Peter O'Toole ("Venus"), and... (Variety)
Win a Home Entertainment System with 'Notes on a Scandal' Jun 4, 2007
Based on Zoe Hellers award-winning novel of the same name, this psychological thriller is directed by Richard Eyre (Iris, Stage Beauty) from an adaptation penned by Patrick Marber (Closer) and has a stellar support cast including Bill Nighy (Love Actually) who plays Cates cuckolded husband. Notes on a Scandel is available to buy on DVD NOW. (Digital Spy)
DVD: Craig sexier as he gets beaten up Mar 17, 2007
U.S.-Mexico border crossers will navigate between two time zones until April 1 because the United States went to Daylight Saving Time three weeks early this year. Share your stories with us about missed appointments, sleep deprivation, and how you are managing to keep track of the time. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
'The Departed' wins Oscars for best director, film Feb 27, 2007
"Mostly, I have to thank Al Gore for inspiring me, showing me that caring about the earth is not Republican or Democrat, it's not red or blue. It's all green,'' Etheridge said. In other Oscar news on Sunday: First-time screenwriter Michael Arndt won the original screenplay award for his work on "Little Miss Sunshine," edging out Paul Haggis and Iris Yamashita for "Letters from Iwo Jima;" Guillermo del Toro for "Pan's Labyrinth;" Guillermo Arriaga for "Babel;" and Peter Morgan for "The Queen. "... (CTV.ca)
Oscars: Mini-biographies of contenders for best actress Feb 27, 2007
Since then, she has racked up five more Oscar nominations in eight years including her Oscar-winning role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998, for Chocolat in 2000, for Iris in 2001, for Mrs Henderson Presents in 2005, and for Notes on a Scandal in 2006. Helen Mirren in The Queen. (Playfuls.com)
Rescuers of the lost Oscars Feb 25, 2007
Jim Broadbent, Iris (2001) - Typically solid work from a still-underrated actor ... George Chakiris, West Side Story (1961) - Great dancer, exotically handsome but where's the acting ... Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way (1944) - The impish Irishman was so popular in Hollywood that he also was nominated for best actor for the same role in the same movie. (St. Petersburg Times)
Official Oscar Quiz Feb 24, 2007
Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Gloria Stuart as Old Rose in Titanic (1997) and Kate Winslet as Young Iris Murdoch and Judi Dench as Iris Murdoch in Iris (2001). 12. (Monsters and Critics.com)
* Bricks in the wall Feb 23, 2007
Heller reveals on the third page of her novel that Sheba is out on bail for having had sex with a 15-year-old pupil (Andrew Simpson) from a working-class Irish background ... In a magnificently un-self-regarding performance, Dench brings to Barbara that chilly aloofness combined with a desperate desire to reach out for comfort and warmth that informed her Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown and Iris Murdoch in Iris ... Richard Eyre, who directed Iris, has done nothing as good as this since his... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Break a Leg! Judi Dench Won't Bet on Oscar Win Feb 14, 2007
Brown" in 1997 and best supporting actress in "Chocolat" in 2000. She was also nominated for best actress for "Iris" in 2001 and "Mrs. Henderson Presents" in 2005. She said she felt honored to be named Dame Judi Dench at home in Britain but added the title posed problems abroad. "It's a wonderful honor to be made a Dame but it makes it difficult for you when you go to America because there it is something different to be a dame," she quipped. "So no one knows what to call you there. (Xinhuanet, China)
Oscar luncheon in Beverly Hills Feb 7, 2007
I m praying, said Iris Yamashita, screenwriter of Letters From Iwo Jima. Maybe to Buddha. (Suite101.com)
`Dreamgirls' gets a leading 8 Oscar nominations, but is shut out of best-picture category Jan 29, 2007
Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen.". 10. (North County Times)
How to make a scandalously good movie Jan 27, 2007
He has made several TV films, mainly for the BBC, and latterly the modestly-sized cinema features Iris and Stage Beauty. He can do splashy he directed Guys and Dolls at the National and Mary Poppins in the West End but it's not his calling card. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Judi Dench continues to earn Academy's respect Jan 26, 2007
Since then, she has managed to defy the Hollywood notion that there are no decent roles for actresses over 40, scoring leading roles in such films as "Mrs. Henderson Presents" and "Iris" -- both of which earned her Oscar nods. In "Notes on a Scandal," Dench plays a lonely and manipulative schoolteacher who develops an unhealthy obsession with a fellow teacher (played by Cate Blanchett), who is having an affair with a teenage student. (CTV.ca)
For your consideration Jan 26, 2007
Martin Scorsese returns to form with this complicated cops-and-Irish mafia saga (based on a 2002 Hong Kong action flick); Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and best supporting actor nominee Mark Wahlberg all do quality work, but Jack Nicholson steals the film as, essentially, Whitey Bulger's evil twin ... Directed by Richard Eyre ("Iris"). (Boston Globe -- Living)
Oscar dreams Jan 25, 2007
Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen.". Editor's choice: "Letters" or "Labyrinth." "Letters or Labyrinth." "Letters" will probably win, but who deserves it. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
Oscars: Select company for nominees Jan 25, 2007
The 74-year-old Irish actor, who has yet to land an Academy Award, threatened to turn down an honorary trophy a few years ago because he still wanted to win a competitive Oscar ... Guillermo Arriaga, Babel ; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, Letters From Iwo Jima ; Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine ; Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth ; Peter Morgan, The Queen. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
'Departed,' 'Babel' top Oscar noms Jan 24, 2007
The nominees for best original screenplay were Guillermo Arriaga for "Babel," Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis for "Letters from Iwo Jima," Michael Arndt for the dark comedy about a dysfunctional family, "Little Miss Sunshine," Guillermo Del Toro for his gothic fairy tale, "Pan's Labyrinth," and Peter Morgan for "The Queen.". Vying for best adapted screenplay are Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynhan, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips for the ribald mockumentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of... (Yahoo News -- Academy Awards)
Performers win by portraying actual people Jan 20, 2007
In the next eight decades, the list would grow with actors embodying well-known subjects (Paul Gauguin in "Lust for Life," Mahatma Gandhi in "Gandhi" and Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood") and not-so-well known or instantly recognizable (Sister Helen Prejean in "Dead Man Walking," John Bayley in "Iris" and Alicia Nash in "A Beautiful Mind") ... Defining characteristics: Born with severe cerebral palsy, the Irishman learned to write and paint with the toes of his left foot. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Warning: Acts Of Adultery Jan 18, 2007
In Notes On A Scandal, Dame Judi Dench (Shakespeare In Love) and Cate Blanchett (Babel) put on an acting clinic while fusing Patrick Marber's (Closer) melodramatic screenplay with Richard Eyre's (Iris) unobtrusive direction to create great entertainment. Dench portrays the conniving, manipulative Barbara, and Blanchett is the young, new art teacher Sheba. (The Daily Targum, NJ)
Friends and Enemies Jan 8, 2007
Barbara s narration may seem, at first, a noirish device, but this brightly lit movie is not another noir exercise; the emphasis is on class and manners, not on dark hidden places ... The young Japanese soldier Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a gentle baker who was conscripted into the Army and just wants to get back to his family, is meant to be a life-affirming figure among the death cultists, but, as constructed by the screenwriter, Iris Yamashita, he s a slight and bashful man who can t carry the... (New Yorker)
Worst of pals Jan 5, 2007
Not to take anything away from the work of director Richard Eyre ("Stage Beauty," "Iris"), who maintains intense momentum throughout, but Dench and Blanchett are such pros and know their characters so well, this is almost a point-and-shoot movie. Adapted by screenwriter Patrick Marber from Zoe Heller's novel "What Was She Thinking: Notes on a Scandal," the film centers on desperately lonesome Barbara Covett (Dench), a stern, churlish teacher who lives alone with her only friend, her cat. (Indianapolis Star)
Notes on a Scandal | A dark, comic lesson in human (mis)behavior Jan 5, 2007
is a brilliant satire on modern mores and the wildly different ways we humans cope with weakness, and its finely honed rhythms blossom under the ministrations of Eyre (Iris, Stage Beauty) and writer Patrick Marber, who adapted his play Closer for the screen and brought Patrick McCabe's unsettling Asylum to life. Notes on a Scandal is an even more magnificent adaptation, with Eyre and Marber perfecting Heller's knowing observations about sex, love and power. (The Miami Herald)
Ah, delicious 'Scandal' Jan 5, 2007
Richard Eyre, who directed Dench well as Iris Murdoch in Iris, really digs into Patrick Marber's script (from a Zoe Heller novel). At times you might wish he would take a cold shower. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Touch of evil Jan 2, 2007
The film is set in a decaying London high school and directed by Richard Eyre (who also directed Dench in Iris) ... Dench won an Oscar for her eight minutes as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love; more recently, she portrayed author Iris Murdoch during her descent into Alzheimer's disease, the sexy spymaster M in Casino Royale, and the irrepressible wartime theatre owner in Mrs Henderson Presents. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
