Helen Mirren has graced the AFI Fest’s red carpet at the premiere for “The Comedian”, husband Taylor Hackford’s new film. The film, set for a theatrical release in 2017, follows a raging comic who strives for the fame he once had – but is instead sentenced to community service after he hits an audience member in the head with his microphone. “The Comedian” stars Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann and Danny DeVito. Pictures from the premiere have been added to the photo gallery.

Marie Claire has posted a wonderful extensive article on Helen Mirren, featuring a couple of stage photographs and a school picture on their website: When Helen Mirren was invited to appear on Michael Parkinson’s eponymous chat show in 1975, he must have assumed she would be one of his less contentious guests. This was her first primetime appearance and he was the doyen of celebrity interviews – how could it possibly go wrong? Yet it did – for him – as seen when the footage resurfaced on social media and went viral last August. When Parkinson blithely suggested her ‘equipment’ (nodding towards her breasts) might detract from her acting, Mirren didn’t simper and giggle as he clearly expected her to. Instead, quietly ‘enraged’ as she would later reveal, the actress – then 30 – shut down his sexist questioning with masterful aplomb: ‘I’d like you to explain what you mean by “my equipment”, you mean my fingers? Come on, spit it out,’ she urged him, before dismissing his questions as ‘boring’. Now a Dame, with her latest film Collateral Beauty hitting cinemas this December, she is one of only 13 actresses ever to have achieved what’s known as the Triple Crown of Acting – winning a Tony, Emmy and Oscar. Born Illiana Lydia Petrovna Mironova on 26 July, 1945, in west London, she was one of three children. Her Russian father Vasily, a civil servant, anglicised their names when Helen was nine. Her mother, Kathleen, was the daughter of an east London butcher who supplied meat to Queen Victoria. The family relocated to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, when Mirren was two, because her parents felt the seaside was a nicer place to raise children. Mirren is fiercely proud of her roots. ‘I am still very much an Essex girl,’ she said. ‘My poshed-over voice was all learnt.’ The complete article can be read here.

Here comes the second theatrical trailer for “Collateral Beauty” with some obversations from Entertainment.ie: With its plot drawing likeness with A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life, plus a release date of 30th December, it’s clear that Will Smith’s latest aims to get you all worked up after the presents are opened but before the season has wrapped. From the trailer, we’re getting the idea that Will Smith’s character, Howard, is still in mourning over the death of his young daughter. His colleagues, who include Kate Winslet and Edward Norton, are worried about him. Howard starts to write letters to Death (Helen Mirren – ‘turns out death is an elderly white woman,’ quips Howard), Time (Jacob Latimore) and Love (Keira Knightley, who is just permanently crying for some reason). The trailer also seems to give away an awful lot, so you have been forewarned.

October has been a busy month for Helen Mirren. These past days she has most recently, attended the 23rd Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards, where she was she was honored as one of the magazine’s “legends” alongside Lupita Nyong’o, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams and more. Earlier last week, Helen and director Gavin Hood were guests at an “Eye in the Sky” Luncheon hosted by Bleeker Street and Tina Brown (as a wink to award juries to remember the film, which was released in the Spring). Also, Helen spoke in New York City at a Broadway fundraiser event held For Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign. Pictures from all events can be found in the photo gallery.

Photo Gallery – Appearances – 23rd Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards
Photo Gallery – Appearances – “Eye in the Sky” Luncheon by Bleeker Street
Photo Gallery – Articles – Fundraiser Event Held For Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign

Helen Mirren has stepped out in one of her boldest looks yet, wearing a black satin turban to a Hollywood event where she was honoured for her charity work. Helen was looking as elegant as ever with her matching black suit and heels, adding a touch of quirkiness with her headpiece, as she accepted her award for her work with the Stuttering Association for the Young. The event, the annual Variety Power of Women luncheon, was packed with some of the most popular women in entertainment and the Dame herself even got up on stage to make a speech about the importance of women supporting each other. “It’s time for the best role model in the White House,” Mirren said to cheers from the overwhelmingly American audience. She said she used to believe such women’s events weren’t necessary and that women should just “barge their way in” to positions of power. “I’ve come to realise this is a fantasy,” she said. “Without an organisation, without a megaphone to make your voice heard, your voice remains feeble. It is ignored. “In the next few weeks we will see a real-life example of this,” she continued, “as women of all ages and all economic situations, all professions, vote.” Over 200 pictures from the luncheon have been added to the photo gallery.

In Variety’s 2016 Power of Women issue, Helen Mirren is honored for her work with SAY, the Stuttering Association for the Young. Just after the issue’s cover photo shoot in New York, she sat down for a chat with Variety’s Gordon Cox to talk “Fast 8,” women in Hollywood and the pay gap. In their interview she dishes on the upcoming Fast 8: I had always had a secret hankering to do “Fast and Furious,” because I love driving cars. Of course, when I finally got my chance, I wasn’t driving the bloody car. I was in the back of an ambulance with Jason Statham. Or what superhero would she want to play?
“I’m not really into superheroes very much. But certainly someone who can fly!” Mirren also talks about how Hollywood and roles for women have changed:

There’s been massive progress. I’ve always said this, for my whole career: Don’t worry about the number of roles available for women in drama; worry about the number of roles for women in real life. Because as women’s profile gets raised in all the arenas in real life — politics, business, the medical professions, science, technology, whatever — the world of drama will inevitably reflect that, and roles for women will get better. However, having said that, it still really pisses me off that in many movies, the only time you see more women on the screen than men is in a swimming pool scene, in which case suddenly the world is populated by women in bikinis. And often they’re wearing high heels! No woman ever wears a bikini and high heels around a swimming pool!

The complete interview can be read over at Variety. The cover, alongside this wonderful new photoshoot (and a new imagefrom the Elle shoot as well) have been added to the photo gallery.

Elle has just released the eight different covers for its Women in Hollywood issue. Although all the cover stars look stunning, including Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, and Anna Kendrick, there was one cover that stole the show in our minds: Hellen Mirren’s. The 71-year-old looks like a badass wearing a Trademark trench coat and statement earrings. With 68-year-old Kathy Bates also nabbing a gorgeous cover of her own, it’s clear that Elle knows that beauty has no age limit. See the rest of the covers on Elle’s website. To see Helen’s cover in full size, simply click the preview on the left.

Helen has attended two more events in New York this past week, another television premiere celebration for “Versailles”, and a screening for “Manchester by the Sea”, which brought us a mini-reunion of “White Nights”, as Helen posted with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Also added are two scans from the September 9 issue of Entertainment Weekly, with many thanks to Alvaro, and the November issue of Empire Magazine, with a first look at “Collateral Beauty”.

Photo Gallery – Appearances – “Manchester by the Sea” New York Screening
Photo Gallery – Appearances – Ovation TV Celebrates the Premiere of “Versailles”
Photo Gallery – Articles – Empire (United Kingdom, November 2016)
Photo Gallery – Articles – Entertainment Weekly (USA, September 09, 2016)

Here comes a real treat for the archives. Helen Mirren’s career will always be related to The Queen, or several queens. After all, these performances have won her the triple crown of acting – an Emmy for “Elizabeth I.”, the Oscar for “The Queen” and, most recently, the Tony Award for “The Audience” – a fictional recount of The Queen’s meetings with the Prime Ministers during her reign. Stage performances are almost impossible to find, so it’s a wonderful exception to the rule that the National Theater has broadcast and streamed various performance in the past years, including “The Audience”. Over 1.000 screencaptures from the National Theater taping have been added to the photo gallery. Enjoy.

On Wednesday, Helen Mirren has attended a screening for the tv series “Versailles” in New York. She was joined by her nephew Simon, who is a co-writer on the BBC period drama. Pictures from the event can be found in the photo gallery.