Welcome to The Helen Mirren Archives, your premiere web resource on the British actress. Best known for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, "Prime Suspect" and her Oscar-winning role in "The Queen", Helen Mirren is one of the world's most eminent actors today. This unofficial fansite provides you with all latest news, photos and videos on her past and present projects.  Enjoy your stay.
Celebrating
10 years
on the web
Jul
17
2017

Disney showcased their entire upcoming live-action movie slate at D23 this weekend and they didn’t disappoint. They brought out the big guns with A Wrinkle in Time, Mary Poppins Returns, Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But they also had time to give us some details on a new project in the form of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which will be a new take on the classic Christmas tale. Unfortunately, Disney didn’t release the footage online, but the cast is top-notch. The Sugar Plum Fairy will be played by Keira Knightley, Mother Ginger will be played by Helen Mirren, and Drosselmeyer will be played by Morgan Freeman, with ballerina Misty Copeland also set to star. The Mouse King is going to be a CG creation, with Charles Riley, aka “Lil Buck,” providing the motion capture. Per Slash Film, here is a description of the footage from Nutcracker and the Four Realms that debuted at D23.

The trailer we saw opens with a carriage moving through the snow, while the instantly recognizable voice of Morgan Freeman narrates that it is Christmas Eve, a time of mystery. We then see an elaborate Christmas party, with a young girl wandering through the house, following a strange thread. Eventually, her path leads her into a snow-covered land, fantastic and over-the-the-top in its design. There are a lot of patterns in this world and it looks, for better or worse, very similar to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland remake.

The Nutcracker story debuted in 1892 and comes from the mind of author E.T.A. Hoffmann. The original story follows a young girl named Clara who, on Christmas Eve, receives a bounty of gifts from her toymaker godfather. Among these toys is a wooden nutcracker shaped like a man. When Clara goes to check on her new toy later that night, the clock strikes twelve and, in classic fairytale fashion, the nutcracker grows to life size. Clara then finds herself in the middle of a battle between gingerbread men and mice. The Nutcracker is one of the world’s most famous ballets, but it has never been given the big screen treatment in the way that Disney seems to be doing here. Lasse Hallstrom is directing with Ashleigh Powell writing the screenplay. And, in case you were wondering, the four realms that will be visited in the movie consist of The Land of Flowers, The Land of Snowflakes, The Land of Sweets and the fourth realm, which belongs to the Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). The film releases November 2, 2018.

May
10
2017

According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS Films will release Winchester, starring Helen Mirren, on Feb. 23, 2018. The period supernatural thriller is inspired by the real-life tale of Sarah Winchester, the eccentric heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company fortune who spent her life constructing an enormous mansion in San Jose, California, complete with secret passages and trap doors, in order to keep at bay what she thought were the angry spirits of the people killed by her family’s firearms. In the film, Sarah Winchester is visited by a skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist (Jason Clarke) who discovers that her obsession may not be so insane after all. Today, the Winchester Mystery House is a well-known tourist attraction. Construction on the mansion commenced in 1884. Sarah Snook and Angus Sampson also star in the movie, which is directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig. Tim McGahan and Brett Tomberlin produced.

May
07
2017

A spotlight is shining on one of the South Bay’s most mysterious landmarks with the production of a movie set at the Winchester House. Helen Mirren stars in “Winchester Mystery House,” a historical thriller about real-life rifle heiress Sarah Winchester. Winchester was famously convinced she was haunted by the souls of those killed by the guns that made her family rich. While some of the movie has already been filmed in Australia, on Friday, Mirren was shooting scenes at the actual house in San Jose. When asked what it was like filming in the real house, Mirren said with a laugh, “Far out as we used to say in the olden days. It was fantastic.” This week, the movie crew is shooting in one of the 160 rooms in the mansion. They recreated a larger version the house to use as a set in Australia because some of the spaces in the Winchester House were just too small for shooting. A first look photo of Mirren from the production was recently released. It reveals a striking resemblance between the actress and the historical figure she plays. “Yes, it’s rather frightening! And I don’t think Sarah was [frightening] actually, in the original photograph,” said Mirren. “She’s actually got a mysterious little smile; a Mona Lisa like smile on her face.” The picture is the only known photograph of Sarah Winchester. “This house is a manifestation of Sarah Winchester, and I think in that sense it’s haunted,” said Mirren. Shooting at the house is expected to go well into Friday night and is scheduled to wrap on Saturday. “Winchester Mystery House” is set to be released in early 2018.

Apr
28
2017

A first look image of Helen Mirren as eccentric firearms heiress, Sarah Winchester has emerged online, with Mirren looking eerily scary in her Victorian costume reminiscent of the Queens grandmother, Queen Mary. Winchester tells the story of the eccentric firearm heiress, Sarah Winchester who believed she was being haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester repeating rifle. After the sudden deaths of her husband and child, she threw herself into the 24/7 construction of an enormous mansion designed to keep the evil spirits at bay. A sceptical San Francisco psychiatrist soon learns her obsession may not be insane. In an interview with People Magazine Mirren divulged she didn’t actually believe in ghosts; “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe people can be haunted, and Sarah Winchester is a haunted person. That was the appeal in the role.” The film which is currently in production and directed by Daybreakers Michael and Peter Spierig will be shot at the actual Winchester mansion in San Jose, California. The Spierigs say Winchester tells a different sort of ghost story. Michael Spierig says the heiress, who died in 1922, “was an intelligent woman and a little misunderstood,” while Peter Spierig went on to say in the same interview: “Sarah Winchester is quite a remarkable woman, and the idea of her being just a crazy person who was haunted by ghosts is not the full story. Helen Mirren, in particular, I think is great in portraying that … It’s about a woman who is deeply troubled by the violence of the rifle and what she inherited. She’s trying to come to terms with that.”

Apr
08
2017

The first footage of Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw, the mother of Deckard (Jason Statham) and Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), has been released. In the few brief snippets, we first see Magdalene meet with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) in a dimly-let bar. She asks him, “”And why do I think you’re about to suggest something very wicked, Mr. Toretto?” In the second snippet, she slaps her son, Deckard, and happily says: “There’s my boy!” Back in March 2015, Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) let it be known that her “great ambition” was to be in a part of the Fast and Furious franchise, because she thinks Diesel is brilliant and desperately wants to play a “mad driver.” Three months later, when asked about her comments, Diesel said he would be interested in getting her in the next film and described her as “amazing.” However, she didn’t officially become part of The Fate of the Furious until a year ago. “She came up to me at a party last year and said, ‘I want to be in Fast & Furious with you,’” Diesel told Total Film. “The script was [already] greenlit, but she told the right person because a week later she got written in.” The Fate of the Furious opens in theaters April 14, 2017.

Mar
14
2017

Today, “Collateral Beauty” has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States. You can buy it or stream it on Amazon, iTunes and Netflix (and probably all other streaming services that I don’t know about). I didn’t expect too much from the film after the bad reviews and a shared Razzie nomination for “The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors”. Unfortunately, the movie is really not that good – somewhere deep down lies a good idea, but it didn’t get through. Of the actors, Kate Winslet and Naomie Harris came off best, so there’s something positive at least. Screencaptures from the Blu-Ray and from the accompanied featurette that can be found on the disc have have been added to the photo gallery.



Dec
24
2016

Last week, the promotional tour for “Collateral Beauty” moved to Europe with several appearances on British talkshows and press junkets. Meanwhile, other American outlets have broadcast interviews with Helen that were filmed during the US promotion. Have a look at the new videos added below. Since this will probably be the last update of the year, I’d like to wish all visitors of the Helen Mirren Archives a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


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Dec
16
2016

On Wednesday, the cast and crew of “Collateral Beauty” were present at the film’s London premiere. Afterwards, Helen Mirren and Will Smith taped an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. Earlier that day, press junkets were filmed, so check back later for lots of great video additions. For now, enjoy the pictures from the London premiere.


Dec
14
2016

On Monday, the cast and crew of “Collateral Beauty” have attended the film’s New York premiere. “The beauty of love, time, and death. Allan Loeb wrote a brilliant screenplay,” said Will Smith, while Helen Mirren said she felt compelled to participate in the project because of “the beauty of the story.” “It is a very, very beautiful and intense story,” added Mirren. Directed by David Frankel and written by Allan Loeb, Collateral Beauty follow ssuccessful New York advertising executive Howard Inlet (Smith) after a tragic loss from which he tries to cope by writing letters to “life,” “death,” and “love.” “You kind of know that you’re going through a very dramatic story, but there’s going to be a payoff that’s so powerful,” said Frankel. Pictures from the premiere have been added to the photo gallery.


Dec
12
2016

Universal Pictures has released the trailer for the highly-anticipated eighth Fast & Furious movie! On the heels of 2015’s Furious 7, one of the fastest movies to reach $1 billion worldwide in box-office history and the sixth-biggest global title of all time, comes the newest chapter in one of the most popular and enduring motion-picture serials of all time: The Fate of the Furious. Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game—and the rest of the crew has been exonerated—the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman (Oscar winner Charlize Theron) seduces Dom into the world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea, our elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage…and to bring home the man who made them a family. For The Fate of the Furious, Vin Diesel is joined by a returning all-star cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky and Kurt Russell. In addition to Theron, the series welcomes newcomers Scott Eastwood and Oscar winner Helen Mirren. The film is directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) and produced by returning producers Neal H. Moritz, Michael Fottrell and Diesel. The Fate of the Furious opens in theaters on April 14, 2017.