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Tag: Ian McKellen

  • BBC HARDtalking anniversary interview with Sir Ian McKellen

    MUMBAI: BBC World News’ legendary interview show HARDtalk will be marking 20 years of asking the questions that matter with a raft of dedicated content.

    The cornerstone of a week of programming will be a special edition of the half hour programme, as presenter Stephen Sackur interviews legendary actor Sir Ian McKellen, in front of an audience in the BBC’s historic Radio Theatre in London (recording Monday 3 April for broadcast on Tuesday 4 April).

    Sir Ian McKellen is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BIF Award, two Saturn Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, and two Critics’ Choice Awards. He has also received two Oscar nominations, four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award nominations.

    HARDtalk launched on BBC World News on 31 March, 1997, with award-winning journalist Tim Sebastian at the helm. The first ever guest was the acclaimed British actor and film director, Richard Attenborough. The late writer and theorist Edward Said, journalist Irma Kurtz, yachtsman Pete Goss and the late raconteur Quentin Crisp rounded out HARDtalk’s first week.

    Since then there have been more than 4500 guests willing to sit in the HARDtalk hot seat, from international political leaders to entertainers; from corporate decision-makers to ordinary individuals facing huge challenges or finding themselves on the news agenda.

    With up to four shows a week, the team, based in the BBC’s New Broadcasting House in London, strive to find interesting voices as well as holding those in power to account. And the list of past guests is both impressive and extensive, covering all corners of the globe. Nelson Mandela, Donald Trump, Nina Simone, Angelina Jolie, Benazir Bhutto and Robert Mugabe have all appeared.

    The main presenter of HARDtalk is Stephen Sackur, one of the BBC’s most respected journalists. Before joining the programme in 2006, he worked as a BBC correspondent in the Middle East, America and Brussels. Other presenters include renowned presenters Zeinab Badawi and Sarah Montague.

    Commenting on the secret of HARDtalk’s longevity and popularity Editor Carey Clark said:

    “We always have our viewers in mind. They expect us to ask the difficult questions and we don’t shy away from that. In a world that is increasingly coloured by misinformation and conjecture this is a show that holds those in power to account and gets to the heart of the matter.”

    Presenter Stephen Sackur added: “HARDtalk is a unique interview show and I think people see taking part as a badge of honour. Where else do you get half an hour of one-on-one serious, in-depth Q and A to make your case? And it’s not about sound bites or political posturing, nor is it a platform for celebs to plug their latest book. It’s intelligent talk. Most guests know and understand that, and it’s when guests are up for it that HARDtalk works well.”

    Alongside the Sir Ian McKellen edition, BBC World News and BBC.com is showcasing a raft of content from 3 April. It will include two special programmes asking current and former presenters what HARDtalk has meant to them, looking back at the highs and lows, and asking what the changing media landscape means for news media in the future. Plus in the coming months the HARDtalk team will delve into the programme’s extensive archive and showcase the best interviews from the past two decades, as well as content on BBC.com and social media.

    HARDtalk is broadcast on BBC World News, the BBC’s commercial international TV news channel, weekdays at 9 am, 2 pm and 8 pm IST and also on BBC World Service Radio.

  • ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    BENGALURU:  Earning more than US$350 million, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has bagged the top position at the international box office.  The announcement was made today by New Line Cinema president and chief operating officer Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures president of worldwide marketing and international distribution Sue Kroll, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman and Warner Bros. Pictures president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.

     

    Emmerich stated, “For Peter Jackson, the adventure that began with his benchmark The Lord of the Rings trilogy has reached a high water mark with this incredible response to the epic finale of The Hobbit Trilogy.  Along with our colleagues at Warner Bros. and MGM, we congratulate Peter on this exciting conclusion to his 16-year endeavor to bring this enduring saga to life for millions of moviegoers all over the world.”

     

    Jointly produced by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), the film is the conclusion to Peter Jackson’s acclaimed “The Hobbit” Trilogy based on the timeless classic by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

     

    The film has earned US$90.63 million domestically and has also expanded across the majority of international markets, taking in US$105.5 million over the weekend.  The international total stands at US$265 million and counting. 

     

    With maximum shows sold out internationally on the first day, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies enjoyed the biggest opening day of year in a number of key markets, including Germany, Scandinavia and the director’s home country of New Zealand, where it had the widest release ever in that country.

     

    The film also shot to #1 in Brazil and Mexico, where it went up against the final match of the Mexican Soccer League. It also broke records for the biggest opening of all time in Sweden, Finland, Croatia and Czech Republic; and the biggest opening of the year in Spain, Germany, Russia, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

     

     Commenting on the positive response for the film, Kroll stated, “We are very proud to have accompanied Peter Jackson and his remarkable team of collaborators on his hugely successful cinematic journey.  The positive response of both critics and audiences to this final film in ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy is a tribute to the talents of everyone who dedicated years to bringing these ambitious films to fruition, and we applaud them all on this tremendous success.”

     

    Fellman said, “This is an extraordinary start for our final adventure in Middle-earth.  We are excited by the enthusiasm of moviegoers, who have already made ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ a blockbuster, and this is just the beginning.  We expect word of mouth to continue to drive the box office through the holiday season and well into the new year.”

     

    Kwan Vandenberg noted, “This is a timeless story that speaks to audiences all over the world, and the anticipation for the Trilogy’s electrifying finale has yielded tremendous results.  Everywhere it’s opened, the film has seen huge debuts, strong holds and amazing buzz, and the momentum will only build as we move into 2015.” 

     

    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stars Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. 

     

    The film also stars Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Adam Brown, John Bell, Manu Bennett and John Tui.

  • Bill Condon and Ian McKellen reunite for a new Sherlock flick

    Bill Condon and Ian McKellen reunite for a new Sherlock flick

    MUMBAI: The acclaimed director is all set to recreate a new Sherlock Holmes movie in which McKellen will play a retired Holmes. The movie titled A Slight Trick of the Mind is based on a novel by Mitch Cullin and the screenplay is adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.

     

    Condon and McKellen were previously seen together in Gods and Monsters. The finance is done by Icon UK’s production department called AI and BBC is co-financing. AI is also co-producing. The shooting is set to begin sometime next April in UK.

     

    Anne Carey is producing via Archer Gray Productions. King’s Speech producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films, Icon/AI Film’s Aviv Giladi, and Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries owns the Icon UK group, are exec producing as is BBC Films’ Christine Langan.

     

    International sales are being handled by FilmNation. Condon is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, Wayne Alexander and Robert Nau. McKellen is repped by Chris Andrews at CAA and Paul Lyon-Maris at Independent Talent Group.