Helen Mirren made an appearance at The American French Film Festival outside Paris on Wednesday evening, showing up to its annual awards ceremony with husband Taylor Hackford. Pictures from the ceremony have been added to the photo gallery.

While I was expecting a busy October for Helen Mirren, not much has happened. “Documentary Now!” has been released rather quietly – and “White Bird: A Wonder Story” hasn’t been released at all, it seems. The film was slated for a theatrical release on October 14, but it hasn’t been listed anywhere nor have there been any reviews. So, its release remains a mystery. At least, the archives are not going to run dry. I have added another batch of production stills from various film and television projects, as well as a new picture from the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, one of Helen’s very first public appearances on the international stage, for the release of “O Lucky Man!”. Have a look at all updates below and enjoy your Sunday.

Screencaptures and videos from recent and older appearances have been added to the archives – including PSAs for Italian causes that Helen Mirren promotes, television interviews for “The Good Liar” in 2019 and “The Queen” in 2006 and an appearance in a festival trailer for the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary in 2013. For a complete list of updates, have a look at the previews below. Enjoy.

There’s not much going on right now, which will surely change next month with the releases of “White Bird: A Wonder Story” and “Documentary Now!”. In the meantime, I went through my archives and have added additional pictures that are new to the site, including some wonderful new stills from “White Nights” and “Prime Suspect”, a new cover story from the promotional time of “The Queen” and a couple of new editorial pictures. Have a look at the list below for all latest additions. Enjoy your weekend.

IFC today announced “Documentary Now… and Forever!”, a week-long cinematic celebration pairing classic documentaries and the landmark series. The in-person, retrospective screening series will play at The IFC Center located in New York, NY, from Wednesday, September 14 through Tuesday, September 20. For fans who cannot make it to the in-person screenings, a curated selection of documentaries will also be available on AMC+, AMC Networks’ premium streaming destination, beginning the same day. Hosted again by Helen Mirren, the two-part season premiere episode, “Soldier of Illusion,” written by John Mulaney and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicholas Braun, and August Diehl, was inspired by the Werner Herzog-focused documentary Burden of Dreams. In the early 1980s, a visionary German filmmaker (Skarsgård) tries to will his magnum opus into existence while working in the remote, punishing conditions of the Russian Ular mountains. Screencaptures from the trailer have been added to the photo gallery.

Helen Mirren was a special guest on last Wednesday’s “Luci nel bosco” festival in the wood-garden of Palazzo Baronale Serafini-Sauli in Tiggiano, in the heart of Salento, in the province of Lecce. Organized by Associazione Cinema del Reale, OfficinaVisioni and Big Sur with the contribution of the Municipality, Mirren told of the his love for Salento and the urgency to safeguard nature: “I grew up witnessing the phenomenon of consumerism and the consequences this has had on our society”, she said, “we are so lucky to be in Tiggiano, where the local administration and organizations such as Cinema del Reale they fight to defend the environment. I arrived here 16 years ago and I was able to immediately witness the growth of attention that not only in this country but in various municipalities of Salento is towards the environment. I think that each of us human beings, like animals, can instinctively understand the importance of protecting it. I have faith in young people. I think they can find methods, ways and ideas to preserve it more and more ”. Pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery (credit to Cinema del reale, Martina Leo).

The first full trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods has just landed online, giving us a glimpse of Dame Helen Mirren in action as one of the film’s central villains. In the new DC Extended Universe film, coming to cinemas this December, Mirren plays Hespera, one of the daughters of Atlas along with Kalypso, played by Lucy Liu, who make up the film’s central villains. They’ll take on Zachary Levi’s returning hero Billy Batson/Shazam, who is seen in the trailer struggling to bring his ‘Shazamily’ of super-powered foster siblings together, while still indulging in the fun of being a boy in a superhero’s body. The trailer was released during Warner Bros Theatrical’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, which also saw an appearance from Johnson dressed as Black Adam to hype up the crowd. In a message recorded with Zegler for the panel, Mirren said she “absolutely loved playing Hespera” and that she’s “such a delightful baddie and a bad ass”. Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be released in cinemas on 21st December 2022.

Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford have spent their busy weekend in Puglia, Italy, where they received the Attestato di Benemerenza “for having restored an ancient farmhouse and having contributed to the enhancement of the period and historical architectural and real estate heritage of Puglia”. The award was given during the event organized in Santa Maria di Leuca by the Italian Legend Club , the club promoted by Assocastelli to combine historic motoring with the historic and historical architectural and real estate heritage, chaired by Flavio Greco. Later in the evening, Helen was a guest at the opening of Santa Maria’s monumental waterfall. Pictures and screencaptures from the media coverage of both events have been added to the photo gallery.

Accompanying her appearance on The South Bank Show next Wednesday (27th July), Helen Mirren sat down with the series’ host Melvyn Bragg for an interview in this week’s Radio Times magazine as the latest issue’s cover star. In the interview, the pair talk about insecurities, Mirren’s Russian aristocratic heritage and what she really thinks of the Queen having played her in 2006. As part of the conversation, Mirren reveals that she wrote to the monarch before taking part in The Queen. She says: “I realised we were investigating a profoundly painful part of her life, so I wrote to her. How do you write to your queen? Was it Madam, or Your Highness, or Your Majesty? I said, ‘We are doing this film. We are investigating a very difficult time in your life. I hope it’s not too awful for you.’ “I can’t remember how I put it. I just said that in my research I found myself with a growing respect for her, and I just wanted to say that. She didn’t write back, of course, but her secretary did. You know, ‘Yours sincerely, da di da di da,’ on behalf of the Queen. I was very relieved subsequently that I had written that letter.”

It seems Helen Mirren receives an honor for her contribution to her designated second home region in Italy every time she sets foot in Puglia for the Summer Holidays. On July 13, Helen received the Inaugural Hypogeum Prize by the association of the same name for her cultural contribution to the region of Presicce and Puglia. Pictures from the event have been added, alongside a news report from RAI and accompanying screencaptures. Enjoy.