Maggie Smith: Last News

David Beckham, 46, has been hit with criticism after he took to Instagram today to share a tribute to the Queen ahead of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, with many believing he had an ulterior motive.The former footballer posted a string of posts, including one of him and the Queen in 2016, leaving fans to mock the star as they claimed he is "begging" for a knighthood.David has been mocked by fans as he shared a gushing tribute to the Queen, with many joking he is "still trying for his knighthood".He posted a series of seven snaps in view of his 73.7 million followers, showing the Queen throughout her reign and ending with a picture of her with David at the Young Leaders Awards in 2016.David captioned the post: "Today, we celebrate our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Sister Act was released to rave reviews. Starring Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier (and Sister Mary Clarence), the film provided dozens of laughs and powerful musical performances from its diverse cast.The movie begins with a young Cartier at her Catholic school being a class clown before cutting to her as an adult, performing as a lounge singer in Nevada.

Jodie Whittaker still made time for a royal appointment with The Crown star Claire Foy on an outing with her new baby. The Doctor Who actress, 39, was spotted for the first time with her newborn as she enjoyed a coffee with Miss Foy. Miss Whittaker, who already has a daughter with her actor husband Christian Contreras, looked relaxed and chatty as the baby curled up in a sling on her chest.

William Earl The “Doctor” is still in, as Marvel’s newest film continues to lead the box office against some very proper competition.“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” added another $8.5 million to its box office total on Friday, bumping its cumulative gross up to $318 million. Meanwhile, “Downton Abbey: A New Era” is estimated to end the weekend with $18 million,“Downton Abbey: A New Era,” the second film spin-off of the beloved U.K.

Jordan Moreau “Downton Abbey” ushered in its “New Era” with $1 million in previews on Thursday.This weekend, the drama will face off against A24’s cerebral horror “Men” and Marvel powerhouse “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which has dominated the box office since it launched two weeks ago.“Downton Abbey: A New Era” is the second feature film to spin off from the popular U.K. TV series, following the critically and commercially successful 2019 movie, simply titled “Downton Abbey.” The first movie opened to $31 million, beating original box office estimates, and marked the biggest launch for a Focus Features film.

 reunites the beloved sprawling ensemble cast that make up the extended Crawley family and their many household staff members, there is one performer notably absent from the new film. Matthew Goode, who joined the franchise as Henry Talbot in season 5 and later wed Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), sadly is nowhere to be seen onscreen despite previously returning for the franchise’s first film.Goode's absence, however, doesn’t come as a total surprise given that he has not appeared in any of the trailers or images leading up to ’s theatrical debut.

exciting and neeeeew than that old show.There are two concurrent plots here, both of which play like rudimentary fan fiction. The Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), who’s in poor health, is shocked when she learns she’s inherited a villa in the south of France from a summer fling decades earlier.

EXCLUSIVE: Hayley Mills ,still fondly remembered for Disney classics Pollyanna and The Parent Trap, is checking into The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ,to take it on the road in the UK and then to London’s West End.

Downton Abbey’s Dame Penelope Wilton, 75, has weighed in on her role as Lady Merton in the hit ITV drama. The actress has compared her character to that of Dame Maggie Smith, 87, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, who Lady Merton often bickers with.Reflecting on both character’s personalities, Penelope said her on-screen counterpart often wins the arguments.She also claimed that the series' creator Julian Fellowes never lets her character win a bickering match.The TV star said: “Maggie gets all the best lines!“With Maggie, you need to be on your game to hit the ball back at her.“I said to Julian: ‘Can I at least win one of the arguments?’ and he said: ‘No,'" she said to the Daily Mail.Fans of the period drama were left in tears with the much-anticipated sequel film, Downton Abbey 2: A New Era.Some took to Twitter to share their review of the film, as they recounted feeling a mix of emotions.MerviRyynanen said: “We just watched Downton Abbey A New Era and felt like being back with old friends.“As we expected - absolutely loved it!“Such a feel-good film (a few tears too!).“Felt like the closing chapter of a beloved story. Bloody Marvellous!”DaniellaLaverty added: “Just wow! There was laughter and there was tears.“A new era indeed @DowntonAbbey #DowntonAbbeyANewEra”Sineadekennedy tweeted: “Saw it this evening in Ireland.

“We have our own superheroes here at Focus Feature and they are going to bring older filmgoers back to your movie theaters,” Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features distribution chief, promised thousands of cinema execs at the Universal presentation today.

“Hollywood is the ultimate dream factory … and I need dreams as much as the next man,” says Mr Molesley (Kevin Doyle) in Downton Abbey: A New Era. It’s a line that sums up the mission of the TV series’ second cinematic outing: to continue the “dream factory” tradition. And so the wishes of many a familiar character are granted over the course of two hours — along with plenty of drama.

The big screen is back this spring - and with blockbuster film releases, original plots, and new and familiar characters, there has never been a better time to get lost in a great story on the big screen.

sequel,. While speaking to ET, Nicol reflects on a decade of playing the cook in charge of the downstairs kitchen staff in the acclaimed British drama and what inspired her return to the stage. Created by Julian Fellowes, first launched in the U.K. in 2010 before quickly becoming an international sensation, thanks to its captivating stories about the lives upstairs versus downstairs at the Crawley family estate in Yorkshire county in the early 1900s.

The latest trailer for Downton Abbey has been released and some more details of the plot are now out ahead of the film's release next month. The huge Yorkshire estate can be seen to be taken over by actors and crew members, causing the residents of Downton to look for a change of scenery. Unsurprisingly, the new destination is a beautiful location as the Crawleys head to the south of France.

The brand new trailer for Downton Abbey: A New Era just debuted online!

Death on the Nile (★★☆☆☆) miscalculates from the start, marching into a mystery Christie herself showed no interest in exploring: the origins of Hercule Poirot’s trademark mustache.Director and star Kenneth Branagh, helming his second Christie adaptation following the 2017 hit Murder on the Orient Express, digs into a black-and-white, WWI-set prologue that firmly establishes Belgian sleuth Poirot as the film’s romantic hero.Christie’s sturdy plots and colorful characters certainly invite inventive reinterpretation, but it feels misguided making this or any Poirot story more about the man solving the mystery, than about the mystery that Poirot must solve.The sprightlier 1978 version of Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin and scripted by Sleuth playwright Anthony Shaffer, struck a more satisfying balance between the famous detective and the cast of suspects all harboring motives for murder.That whodunnit boasted a lineup of eccentric legends — Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, David Niven, and, of course, Peter Ustinov as Poirot — inhabiting Dame Agatha’s larger-than-life characters while swooning about in Anthony Powell’s Oscar-winning ’30s-era costumes.The result was gloriously camp, as much as it was wickedly intriguing.

Bamber Gascoigne, the first University Challenge host who became one of the UK’s most beloved TV quiz presenters, has died aged 87, his representatives confirmed to the BBC. Gascoigne died at his home in Richmond, London after a short illness and is survived by his wife Christina, who he was married to for more than 50 years.

Bright Road (1953), Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), and 1974’s comedy Uptown Saturday Night, which the actor and singer directed. That film, in particular, is notable for its cast, which includes Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Calvin Lockhart, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bill Cosby.Also on the bill, Robert Altman’s 1996 jazz-noir Kansas City, in which Belafonte plays a gangster named “Seldom Seen.” The film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, and Steve Buscemi.The channel is also highlighting the innovative independent works of Melvin Van Peebles, a one-man creative force who often starred in, wrote, directed, and composed his films.Of the four entries, the most notable are Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), in which a Black man outruns white police authorities (the score, by Van Peebles, was performed by Earth, Wind & Fire) and Watermelon Man (1970), a renowned social comedy starring Godfrey Cambridge and Estelle Parsons, in which a white bigot wakes up to find his skin has turned Black.Also on tap: The Harder They Come (1972), featuring reggae artist Jimmy Cliff as a singer who faces down corruption in Jamaica’s music industry.

The UK government has forged a £21M ($28M) Global Screen Fund to help build the nation’s reputation for independent film internationally.

The Gilded Age is in many ways the spiritual successor to Downton Abbey – but do the shows exist in the same universe?

A mesmerizing presence. Over the years, Maggie Smith has captivated audiences with her vast collection of roles. From stage plays to large movie productions, the U.K. native made a name for herself by channeling a wide range of emotions and exploring dramatic character development.