Kenneth Branagh News

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominees for the 17th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards.

BAFTA has announced the five nominated stars who are up for the 2012 Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, the only publicly voted award to be presented at the ceremony in February.

There's been a lot of talk about a musical based on the new movie MY WEEK WITH MARILYN ever since Harvey Weinsten expressed interest in bringing the story of the blonde bombshell to the Broadway stage, starring music star Katy Perry.

The non-profit US-Ireland Alliance has announced that actress Michelle Williams will be honored with an Oscar Wilde award. Williams, who has received rave reviews including Best Actress awards from numerous critics groups for her portrayal as Marilyn Monroe in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, will be honored on Febuary 23, 2012 at the seventh annual 'Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film.'

Meryl Streep, Fred Armisen, Kenneth Branagh and Mario Cantone are among the upcoming guests on ABC's THE VIEW for the week of December 19 - 23.

Gerard Butler, Woody Harrelson, Rashida Jones, and Sofia Vergara were on hand to announce the nominees for the 2012 Golden Globes Awards this morning. The award ceremony will be held in Beverly Hills on January 15, 2012.

Nominees for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2011 in five film and eight primetime television categories and for the SAG honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood. Several Broadway favorites made the cut, including recent Kennedy Center inductee Meryl Street (The Iron Lady), Tony winner Viola Davis (The Help) and more!

Nominees for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2011 in five film and eight primetime television categories and for the SAG honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association has announced its nominees for the 17th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. 'The Artist' and 'Hugo' tie for first place with 11 nominations each, while 'Drive' and 'The Help' each garnered 8 nominations.

The Shakespeare Society previously announced that Ralph Fiennes will be receiving The Shakespeare Society Medal at a benefit at the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th Street) today.

The winners were announced for the 14th Moet British Independent Film Awards, held at Old Billingsgate which was hosted by actor and comedian Chris O'Dowd and streamed live for the first time ever on LOVEFiLM.

Handel and Haydn Society Presents 158th Annual Handel Messiah, conducted by Artistic Director Harry Christophers.

Recipients of both The Richard Harris Award and The Variety Award were announced today by Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Damon Chua, Executive Director) today announced that Kate Turnbull would join Kathleen Chalfant and Richard Easton for Tina Howe's Painting Churches, the 1983 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Keen Artistic Director Carl Forsman directs.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN is coming to theaters on Wednesday, November 23rd. The comedy drama was written and directed by Simon Curtis and stars Emma Watson, Julia Ormond, Michelle Williams, Dominic Cooper, Kenneth Branagh, Dougray Scott, Eddie Redmayne, Toby Jones and Judi Dench.

As first reported in Variety, the upcoming Kenneth Branagh-directed project ITALIAN SHOES may soon have an all-star cast including Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins.

Today, BroadwayWorld is extremely proud to present an extensive conversation with the modern master of the musical theatre himself, Stephen Sondheim, all about the incredibly revealing and thoroughly riveting second volume of his complete collected (and annotated) lyrics (covering 1981-2011) - following last year's superlative FINISHING THE HAT - titled LOOK, I MADE A HAT. With ample insights pertaining to the Pulitzer Prize-winning SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS, ROAD SHOW, THE FROGS and many more, Sondheim and I also discuss some of his Hollywood endeavors - the proposed film adaptation of INTO THE WOODS, as well as the never-produced SINGING OUT LOUD and his Oscar-winning work for Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY - and his affection for - and process of adapting (in the case of WEST SIDE STORY, the CYMBELINE setting in THE FROGS and his recent scoring of the Public Theatre's production of KING LEAR starring Kevin Kline) - the works of William Shakespeare. Additionally, we discuss the upcoming Encores! revival of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, the currently-running revival of FOLLIES starring Bernadette Peters (as well as its brand new cast album), the West End transfer of the Michael Ball/Imelda Staunton-led SWEENEY TODD in the UK and much, much more!

The Shakespeare Society is pleased to announce that Ralph Fiennes will be receiving The Shakespeare Society Medal at a benefit at the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th Street) on Friday, December 9, 2011.

Producers Lee Dean, Laurence Myers and Joey Parnes announced today that the complete cast of the Broadway premiere of End of the Rainbow, a new play with music, is in place. Michael Cumpsty, Tom Pelphrey and Jay Russell will join two-time Oliver Award-winner Tracie Bennett in Peter Quilter's acclaimed play about the legendary Judy Garland. Directed by the Tony® Award winning Terry Johnson, End of the Rainbow will begin performances on Monday, March 19, 2012 at the Belasco Theatre, with an opening night now set for Monday, April 2.

Noted thespian and master theatre and film director Kenneth Branagh has found himself at a career peak in 2011, excelling in both entertainment arenas with his striking, visionary blockbuster THOR being one of the year's biggest hits as well as his simply incredible portrayal of Laurence Olivier in the new film MY WEEK WITH MARILYN generating considerable Oscar buzz. Sharing his cordial and candid insights on a number of topics ranging from his beginnings in Shakespeare to his directing and acting in a string of Shakespearean stage plays and films - his iconic films of HENRY V and HAMLET among them - Branagh also illustrates his impressions of fellow acting titans such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir John Gielgud, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, Simon Callow and many more. Plus, he shares his deep affection for the most famous musical theatre Shakespeare adaptation of all time - the classic WEST SIDE STORY; based on ROMEO & JULIET - as well as his love of the work of Stephen Sondheim as a composer/lyricist in his own right. Plus, news on his desire to do Broadway in the future, as well as all about Branagh's new lead role in the Belfast-to-West End transfer of THE PAINKILLER - and much, much more!