Helen Mirren-related stories
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 2:08PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, British TV
Is it cynical of me to question the wisdom of
NBC trying to adapt the British detective series Prime Suspect for American TV? It probably is, but after the disappointment of
Life on Mars (I know, some of you liked the ABC version, but I was not in that camp), I have worries about the way American writers and producers rework excellent British TV shows and suck the life out of them in the process.
What makes
Prime Suspect particularly of concern is that the British show had a great actress starring in it.
Helen Mirren has deserved every award -- Oscar, Tony, Golden Globe -- that she's received. As the tough-as-nails detective chief inspector Jane Tennison, she was simply amazing.
Continue reading NBC to adapt UK's Prime Suspect
Posted Mar 6th 2009 10:02AM by Nick Zaino
Russell Brand made his mark in England as a comedian before climbing up the ladder and landing roles in films. American audiences first got to know him as the aloof rock star Aldous Snow in
Forgetting Sarah Marshall and as the host of the
2008 MTV Music Awards. Sunday, America gets its first real glimpse of Brand as a stand-up comedian, when his first one-hour special, Russell Brand In New York City, premieres at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
Brand is going to be everywhere in 2009. His autobiography,
My Booky Wook, hits shelves next week, and he's working on
Get Him To the Greek, a new Judd Apatow-produced vehicle for the Aldous Snow character and a remake of Arthur. He's already got the Julie Taymor-directed film of
The Tempest, with Helen Mirren as "Prospera," waiting for release. I caught up with him by phone as he was at the airport on his way to Los Angeles.
TVS: Do you feel you have to introduce yourself to America as a comedian because most people know you from movies or perhaps as a host? Continue reading Russell Brand talks stand-up comedy and Aldous Snow
Posted Aug 13th 2008 11:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
This news makes me cringe more than a little.
At this year's
Emmy Awards (September 21 on ABC), celebrities will utter famous catch phrases and lines from 60 years of television.
Doesn't this immediately sound just awful? The scripts for these award shows are often cringe-worthy anyway, the forced humor and banter between two people presenting at the same time, and now they're going to make them say famous lines from TV shows? I can just see Helen Mirren up on stage saying, "And the award for Lead Actress In A Television Series goes to...Glenn Close!...Oh, and by the way, Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?"
Hopefully the lines will be put into some sort of context and not just randomly uttered. I mean, wouldn't it just be terrible in the stars came out on stage throughout the show for special segments on catch phrases, said them ("Kiss My Grits"), and got some weird round of applause from the audience?
Posted Feb 26th 2007 11:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: ABC, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Awards
ABC really needs to stage an intervention with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It really does. Because, year in and year out, the Academy puts on an Oscars ceremony that not only runs far longer than the network intends, it just ends up boring the crap out of viewers, many of whom are asleep by the time the real categories are decided.
This year's ceremony ran from 8:30 PM ET (after a
Road to the Oscars red-carpet special that was just pointless and dull) to about 12:15 AM. That's 3 hours and 45 minutes of speeches, montages, and musical numbers. My god; even the Grammys aren't that bloated, and it's nothing
but musical numbers.
Continue reading Just like the winners, the Oscar ceremony was just "meh"
Posted Nov 13th 2006 1:54PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: OpEd, The Five, Celebrities, Firefly, The X-Files, Strangers With Candy
With Helen Mirren's Detective Tennison bowing out on
Sunday's Prime Suspect finale, television is losing one of its finest tough broads.
Tough broads have feelings and faults, but they're nobody's baby. They also don't give a crap what you think of them. They dress for utility not for style, and they work -- usually in domains stereotypically belonging to men.
We'll miss you, Detective Tennison. You are the inspiration for this list of tough TV broads - the ones little girls and little boys can look up to.
Continue reading The Five: Tough broads
Posted Nov 12th 2006 9:15AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, PBS, Web
The final episode (episode? movie? miniseries) of PBS' acclaimed series
Prime Suspect will air tonight (and conclude next Sunday - it's a two-parter, four hours). Tim Goodman over at The Bastard Machine
has a review.
It's titled
Prime Suspect: The Final Act and chronicles detective Jane Tennison's last case before retirement (she's almost 60 now), involving the search for a missing 14 year-old girl, a case that's a lot more complex than she first realizes. It also involves Tennison's heavy drinking and blackouts and sadness. OK, so it's not the most uplifting drama.
Actually, Helen Mirren has always given fantastic performances in these shows (she has won an Emmy for Best Actress and the show itself has won three Emmys), and Goodman says that this one is no exception. The state of Florida even figures into this last episode.
Posted Sep 3rd 2006 9:04PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: NBC, Industry, Music and Variety, Celebrities
Oh, puh-lease. The Parent Television Council, a group that has a stick up its collective ass, has made a formal complaint to the FCC about last week's Emmy telecast. It wasn't the
plane crash skit that ignited their anger, it was a comment by winner Helen Mirren as she accepted her Emmy for Best Actress in HBO's
Elizabeth I. You may recall, Helen worried about taking a tumble on her way up to the stage. She mentioned falling "tits over ass", a common British phrase. Calista Flockhart later presented with Mirren and said the phrase again in playful banter. NBC did air the show on a delay but chose not to censor the comment. The PTC released this statement, "It is utterly irresponsible and atrocious for NBC to air this vulgar language during the safe harbor time when millions of children were in the viewing audience." The FCC is reportedly trying to decifer its own rules to determine whether the offense is worthy of a fine.
Posted Apr 15th 2006 10:15AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV Royalty, Talent, Industry, Programming, Celebrities
Hugh Laurie himself dissects the characters on House.- Matt Roush likes Elizabeth I, and is rooting for What About
Brian?
- Tara Lipinski
talks about her guest appearance on Malcolm in the Middle.
- What's the beast from Beauty and the Beast up to?
- In
the print edition: an A to Z guide to Alias, a look at Deal Or No Deal and Howie Mandel's OCD, the
"real story" behind Katie's jump to CBS, and a sneak peek at Rob Lowe's return to The West Wing
(warning: spoilers!). And why does it seem like the Lost castaways aren't even worried about Walt and
Michael?
Gone Too Soon: Invasion
Scrubs season nine -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
