BAFTA Film Awards Rising Star Nominations
The first BAFTA Film Awards nominations have been announced with the five shortlisted finalists for the EE Rising Star Award. The category is the only one at next month’s BAFTA ceremony voted for by the general public It also seeks to recognize the success and future potential of young talent. Previous winners include James McAvoy, Kristen Stewart, Tom Hardy, Noel Clarke, Adam Deacon and Jack O’Connell.
This year’s line up of nominees includes John Boyega, Taron Egerton, Dakota Johnson, Brie Larson and Bel Powley.
Londoner John Boyega is already enjoying instant global superstardom thanks to starring in box office breaking Star Wars The Force Awakens. Fifty Shades of Grey starlet Dakota Johnson also enjoyed a similarly rapid rise in recognition thanks to last year’s steamy big screen adaptation. British actress Bel Powley meanwhile graduated from children’s television to pivotal coming of age drama Diary of a Teenage Girl. Taron Egerton has also built an eclectic resume with star turns in Kingsman, Testament of Youth and forthcoming Eddie The Eagle biopic. Finally Canadian actress Brie Larson seems poised to add a best actress nominations at the BAFTAs and Oscars for her astonishing performance in Room.
The winner will be announced at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards ceremony on 14th February.
Girls Renewed For Final Sixth Season
HBO have officially confirmed that Lena Dunham’s comedy drama Girls has been renewed for a sixth and definitely final season, with the last episodes are due to finish airing in 2017.
The show has garnered a fierce mix of praise and scorn over the past five series, playing out the lives of four millennial friends living in the Hipster heart of NYC.
It’s highly likely the final series will still be comprised of the shows well established formula of casual nudity, self-indulgent angst and a catchy soundtrack.
Netflix Sets Special Correpondents Premeire Date
Special Correspondents, the feature film starring Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana will premiere on April 29, 2016 exclusively to Netflix members worldwide.
Special Correspondents, a new original feature film for Netflix written and directed by Ricky Gervais and starring Eric Bana (Deliver Us From Evil, Lone Survivor) and Gervais (Muppets Most Wanted, Derek) is about a struggling New York based radio journalist whose arrogance and decadent lifestyle has hindered his career. With his job on the line he fakes front line war reports from the comfort of his hideout above a Spanish restaurant in Queens.
The film also stars Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel, Up in the Air), Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, Brave), Kevin Pollak (The Usual Suspects, Casino), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, How to Train Your Dragon), Raúl Castillo (Looking, Cold Weather), and Benjamin Bratt (Modern Family, 24: Live Another Day).
Daredevil Season 2 First Look
The Netflix original series Marvel’s Daredevil returns with the highly anticipated second season of its epic live-action adventure. The second season debuts amidst the release of the Netflix original Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the upcoming Marvel’s Luke Cage and future release of Marvel’s Iron Fist, all leading up to the teaming of the main characters in Marvel’s The Defenders.
Blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fights against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the superhero “Daredevil” in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil) is joined by a stellar cast including Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle), Elodie Yung (Elektra), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple), and Scott Glenn (Stick).
The new images and recent teaser trailer give fans their first glimpses in particular of comic book favorites Elektra and The Punisher aka Frank Castle. The first series won considerable praise from Marvel fans or embracing the darker side of the Marvel comic book universe. The next season of Daredevil looks set to continue those themes and further integrate it into the other Netflix Marvel series.
The Hateful Eight Wins Capri Festival Awards
THE HATEFUL EIGHT took the Capri Hollywood Film Festival by storm, being awarded four major honors. The festival, which is in it’s 20th year, named writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film Best Movie. Additionally, Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Jason Leigh were awarded Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and legendary composer Ennio Morricone received the prize for Best Musical Score.
Critically-acclaimed romantic drama CAROL also received special recognition from the festival, getting awarded Best Adapted Screenplay for writer Phyllis Nagy and Best Production Design for Judy Becker. CAROL’s three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell was given the Legend Award.
Reacting to the success of The Hateful 8 Harvey Weinstein said:
“Quentin Tarantino and the entire team from THE HATEFUL EIGHT are beyond thrilled to have been acknowledged in such a big way from the Capri Hollywood Film Festival. He is a massive fan of Italian cinema, which he often pays homage to in many of his films. I believe that this fantastic accolade is the beginning of the road to the Academy Award Best Motion Picture nomination that Quentin thoroughly deserves.”
Collecting her best actress award Jennifer Jason Leigh added:
“The experience of being in one of Quentin’s films and a part of this phenomenal cast was rewarding in and of itself, but to be honored by such an incredible institution as the Capri-Hollywood Film Festival makes it all the more meaningful,” she said. “Pascal Vicedomini and the entire organization have made this event a pillar of the awards season, and I am flattered beyond words to be recognized by them this year.”
THE HATEFUL EIGHT is due for release in the UK on January 8th 2016. The film debuted in the U.S. on Christmas Day on 100 screens in 44 cities in a special limited release, which features an extended version of the film shot and exhibited in the exceedingly rare Ultra Panavision 70mm. Since opening nationwide on December 31st, it has grossed an impressive $30.56M at the domestic box office.