Dame Helen Mirren cheered the Tulane University Class of 2017 with a speech that was funny, sometimes bawdy and always heartfelt Saturday (May 20) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. She told Tulane graduates she knew they would fix the world – and to help with that, she doled out advice, one-liners, a dig at LSU and a drink order: “vodka martini straight up with a bit of lime. The bit of lime is because, you know, I’m a bit of a health fanatic,” she said. She received an honorary degree from the university, as did saxophonist Branford Marsalis, research psychologist Shelley Taylor and civil rights leader Diane Nash. Graduation speeches are supposed to be relatable, she said. So “today’s speech will contain advice for any of you born in England, who decided to become Shakespearian actresses and end up doing nude scenes in 10 films.” She added, “I just mentioned that just to see if any of your fathers are getting out their phones right now to Google me. Dads, stop it. Inappropriate. Put it away.” A pause: “I mean the phone.” In fact, her speech contained ample guidance for a far wider audience, which lapped it up. You can read the whole speech over at the university’s official website, pictures can be found in the photo gallery and the speech is also in the video archive.

On Friday, Helen Mirren donned academic cap and gown for the traditional ‘hooding’ ceremony in Los Angeles, which funnyman Will Ferrell co-hosted with a comical commencement speech. Ferrell , who graduated from USC in 1990 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Information, poked fun at the Oscar winner, joking he still loses out on roles to the British actress. “The most painful one was losing the role of Queen Elizabeth in The Queen,” he quipped. “Apparently, it came down to myself and Helen Mirren. The rest is history.” Ferrell also serenaded Mirren, university staff and the graduating students with his rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You. Pictures from the commencement ceremonies have been added to the photo gallery.

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.

According to Deadline, Helen Mirren will receive the Crystal Nymph at the 57th Monte-Carlo Television Festival next month. The honor goes to a major international television actor or actress in recognition of their body of work. Mirren’s TV work includes early series on the BBC as well as Prime Suspect throughout the 90s and beyond, winning an Emmy for the final season. Her most recent TV role was in David Mamet’s Phil Spector for HBO Films, snagging a SAG award for Best Actress. She will be given the Crystal Nymph at the prize ceremony on June 20. Monte-Carlo runs June 16-20.

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.

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.”

You won’t believe it, but the Easter Bunny has dropped some very rare clips to the new video archive. In best Eastern tradition, you’ll have to search for the new clips, but I give you some hints. Since most of the new additions are some the 60s to 80s, you’ll find them on the last pages of each category. I could also imagine there’s a new section in the career category called Miscellaneous performances, featuring videos from “Troilus and Cressida”, “Teeth ‘n’ Smiles” and “The Duchess of Malfi”. Enjoy the new clips!

In the past few weeks, I have worked behind the scenes to bring a new, mobile friendly video archive to the Helen Mirren Archives. The old one has stopped working a while ago on mobile devices, so I’m happy to finally launch the new archive. All the clips from the old archive are uploaded, over 900 in total! And there are still a lot of additional clips waiting to be added. From Helen’s first appearance in 1967’s Herostratus to today’s releasing The Fate of the Furious, all of her projects are covered with trailers, featurettes – as well as talkshow appearances, awards ceremonies, news appearances and television specials. My thanks to MonicaN for providing the plugin. Enjoy!

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.

A nice batch of additional pictures from the 80s and 90s have been added to the photo gallery – ranging from the 1987 Evening Standard British Film Awards to the 1994 Primetime Emmy Awards to the 1997 Golden Globes Awards, and pretty much in between. To view all last added pictures, have a look at the previews below.

Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1999 – 51st Annual Emmy Awards – Arrivals
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1998 – ELLE Style Awards
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – Cannes Film Festival – Opening Night
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards – Press Room
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1995 – “Absolutely Fabulous” Screening
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1994 – Ivor Novello Awards
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1994 – 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Press Room
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1987 – Evening Standard British Film Awards