Last Sunday, Helen Mirren joined the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda Show extravaganza in Venice, Italy – a three-day celebration of fashion ahead of the Venice Film Festival’s opening (which Helen also attended, see next update). Pictures from the arrivals, front row and after-party have been added to the photo gallery.

Helen Mirren has been a guest on the 74th Cannes Film Festival’s red carpet as the ambassador for L’Oreal to celebrate the brand’s 50th anniversary of their “I’m Worth It” slogan. She attended the opening night and was seen with husband Taylor Hackford at the premiere of “The Velvet Underground”. Pictures from both appearances have been added to the photo gallery. Also, Helen has given a very insightful and lenghty video interview to France 24, in which she talks about her two wins at Cannes (1984 for “Cal” and 1995 for “The Madness of King George”) and the current state of the upcoming biopic “Golda” (which is “not set in stone yet”). The full interview can be watched in the video archive.

Following the success of the first series of Talking Shakespeare earlier this year, the RSC have today announced the return of the popular online conversation from Monday 16 November. Hosted by RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, guests confirmed for the new series of Talking Shakespeare include Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Roger Allam, David Oyelowo and Jane Lapotaire with further dates and names to be announced. The live, online event series runs weekly on a Monday from 6-7pm from 16 November – 14 December and is open to Subscribers, Members and Patrons of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The events are free as a thank you for the ongoing support given to the Company during the pandemic, but with a suggested donation of £10. Those interested can become subscribers for as little as £20 per year. Booking opens on Wednesday 4 November at 10am and further details of how to support can be found here. All donations received will go towards the Keep Your RSC campaign to help secure the future of the RSC and its mission to transform lives through amazing experiences of Shakespeare and great theatre. You can find more information on the event and booking options on the Official London Theatre website.

Helen Mirren has made a surprise public appearance on Thursday in Monte-Carlo, supporting the Monte-Carlo Gala For Planetary Health. Pictures from the red carpet have been added to the photo gallery.

Join STC and like-minded fans of the Bard for Shakespeare Hour LIVE!, an ongoing tour through every corner of the Shakespeare universe. Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Resident Dramaturg Drew Lichtenberg gather online with special guests each week to discuss a new topic and allow audiences the opportunity to ask questions live. From the landmark films of Akira Kurosawa (Throne of Blood, Ran), Orson Welles (Othello, Chimes at Midnight), and Sir Laurence Olivier (Hamlet, Henry V) to more recent adaptations by Kenneth Branagh (Much Ado, As You Like It, Henry V), Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet), Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho), and Julie Taymor (Titus, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Shakespeare’s plays have proven to be a fertile source of cinematic imaginings. Join Julie Taymor and more guests for an in-depth discussion of the process of translating Shakespeare’s language to the most visual of mediums.

Week 17, September 16: Shakespeare & Film
Guests: Dr. Peter Holland (McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies, University of Notre Dame; former Director of the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon); Dame Helen Mirren (Oscar, Emmy, Tony, BAFTA, and Olivier Award-winning actor); and Julie Taymor (Tony Award-winning director, The Lion King; Will Award honoree)

Something I completely forgot to cover for the site, probably because public appearances have become so rare these days. On July 05, Helen Mirren was honored at the 47th Flaiano International Awards in Abruzzo, Italy. “It is a great honor for me to receive this award, in the name of a giant of the Italian Cinena, Ennio Flaiano. I can’t say how important this award is to me. It was an Italian film, “The Adventure” with Monica Vitti that made me passionate about cinema. I was 16 and worked as a maid in my aunt’s small bed and breakfast, I saw the film in an old English cinema near the sea, on a rainy day. The beauty of the Italian language and the landscape have been formative for me, the mystery and magic have captured my imagination. I fell in love with cinema and the Italian language. I am attracted to the power of Italian directors such as Fellini, Visconti, Sergio Leone, Tinto Brass and Paolo Virzì with whom I have worked. My greatest muse is Anna Magnani, the Italian spirit has captured my artist’s heart, as years later I was captured by the landscapes of Salento, where I am a farmer and I greet all my neighbors in Tiggiano”. A couple of pictures from the press conference, ceremony and photoshoot have been added to the photo gallery.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has announced a virtual benefit hosted by Dame Helen Mirren, starring Lahav Shani and iconic soloists for June 28 at 11am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CET / 9pm IDT. This landmark moment in the IPO’s history will be available to stream internationally, free of charge, on their website. So far, no further information have been announced. Edit: You can stream the complete gala above and on Youtube: Join Dame Helen Mirren, Maestro Lahav Shani and iconic soloists and conductors for an exceptional Global Gala, featuring Maestro Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman & Amanda Forsyth, Itzhak Perlman, Khatia Buniatishvili, Yefim Bronfman, Sir András Schiff, Gil Shaham and Adèle Anthony, Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, Chen Reiss, Martin Fröst and Evgeny Kissin The Gala is dedicated in memory of Leon Nacht z”l, and in honour of his loving wife Aneta, friend of the IPO.

The National Theatre today launches its National Theatre at Home Quiz, to be played from home featuring familiar faces from the world of stage and screen as the quizmasters. Each quiz will include rounds of five questions on a wide variety of topics. On the final Monday of each month people will be able join the virtual quiz directly from their homes via the NT’s YouTube channel and Facebook page live at 7pm BST (2pm EST). The first quiz will be 27 April with quizmasters Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Lenny Henry, Lesley Manville, and Sir Ian McKellen asking questions on topics including history, sport, nature, and of course, The National Theatre.

Here comes another Berlin related update, and probably the final one, since all related video interviews from the festival have been added to the video archive (some have been posted last week already, in case you missed ’em). Several German broadcasters have aired reports on Helen receiving the Honorary Golden Bear and talked with her about the award and her career. For a complete overview of all added videos, have a look below. Enjoy watching.

Viola Davis and Dame Helen Mirren teamed up in Beverly Hills on Tuesday to promote launch of L’Oréal Paris’ Age Perfect Cosmetics. The brand ambassadors – who are both a Grammy away from elite EGOT status – did the photo shoot six months after Helen had publicly told Viola she was “really looking forward to us working together.” Make-up artist Jo Strettell applied the Age Perfect mascara on Helen, whose sideswept white bob was coiffed by hairstylist Richard Collins. Mirren doesn’t have a set beauty routine aside from daily moisturizer, but she told CNN on Tuesday that she likes “to experiment’ and ‘spend many hours in the mirror finding the best ways to get into character.” Make-up artist Autumn Moultrie made sure Viola’s complexion glowed and hairstylist Jamika Wilson coiffed her curly side-parted wig for the sun-filled shoot. If that summary wasn’t enough, you can read more about the event over at the Daily Mail 🙂 Pictures have been added to the photo gallery.