Variety has learned that Helen Mirren has been submitted for Grammy consideration in the spoken word category for her work on “Moriarty: The Silent Order.” The Audible/Treefort Media dramatic podcast is set in the Sherlock Holmes universe. Dominic Monaghan stars as Professor James Moriarty and Phil LaMarr voices Sherlock Holmes. The second season sees Moriarty returning for a new adventure that finds him joining forces with his bitter rival, Sherlock Holmes. Speaking with Variety in 2022, Mirren said, “I would love to get a Grammy, that would be the coolest thing ever,” she says with a laugh. “The problem is, I can’t sing. It would have to be a spoken word album.” A win in the category could secure Mirren a prestigious EGOT status, having won an Oscar, Tony and multiple Emmys already. Only 19 people have achieved the elusive EGOT honor. Elton John became the latest to achieve EGOT after winning the Emmy Award for his Disney+ special, “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.” “Moriarty: The Spoken Order” is also being submitted in the best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording category. The Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 8.

The long-awaited Season 2 of the Yellowstone prequel, 1923, has a new filming location. The hit Paramount+ drama stars Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford. It serves as the origin story to the Kevin Costner-led Yellowstone and is also a sequel to 1883, which are among the seven shows in the Yellowstone universe. After its first season concluded in February 2023, it was revealed that 1923 had been renewed for a second and final season. Production began in June with Austin, Texas, announced as one filming location. But it was recently also revealed that the drama would film scenes in San Antonio, also in Texas. Helen Mirren will be on location in San Antonio, with locals sharing their thoughts about the big TV production, as per the San Antonio Report. “We have been impressed with their attention to detail and commitment to keeping us informed, and we are eagerly anticipating this project, particularly for its potential benefits to the community, and hope it will pave the way for more filming opportunities in downtown San Antonio,” said owner of the Canela Vintage store, Canela Kern. Filming in San Antonio will happen in stages and begin in September as set designers descend on the city to turn the clock back on local streets to make them true to the era of the show. Paramount+ has yet to reveal the premiere date of 1923’s second season. The series premiere of 1923 was the most-watched Paramount+ premiere ever in the U.S. and drew 7.4 million total viewers, which made it the biggest series premiere on cable for 2022, according to the streamer.

It’s been a while since we dived into the Mirren archives. Screencaptures from four television productions have been replaced with better quality. Four films with six performances, because in two of them, Helen played dual roles. In 1974’s “A Coffin for the Bride” from the series “Thriller”, she plays a young woman who tracks down the killer of her sister – in old-lady drag. In 1985’s “The Twilight Zone”, a mousy thrift store clerk gets transformed into a vivacious murder victim through a pair a shoes. Two very obscure and very entertaining episodes you should be checking out on your available streaming services. Also added are screencaptures from the late Shelley Duvall’s “Faerie Tale Theatre” episode “The Little Mermaid” and 2002’s TNT drama “Door to Door”, starring William H. Macy, for which Helen received Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy Award nominations. Enjoy.

A number of celebrities flocked to London on Saturday for Day 13 of the star-studded Wimbledon games. Helen Mirren was among the famous faces to attend the annual tennis tournament, looking chic in a tennis-inspired outfit comprised of a long green dress and a cute white cardigan. The actress was joined by the likes of Tom Cruise and Pink as she stepped out ahead of the highly anticipated women’s final. Pictures have been added to the photo gallery.

Netflix has dropped a first-look photo of The Thursday Murder Club cast to confirm the start of production. Richard Osman’s much-loved book series is being given the big screen treatment, with the all-star cast including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie. The four leads are seen dressed in character in the first-look photo, gathered around Osman on what appears to be the set of the retirement home’s games room – where the characters meet up every Thursday to solve cases. Bridget Jones and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel star Celia Imrie will be playing the role of Joyce. Mirren will star as former spy Elizabeth alongside Pierce Brosnan as trades union official Ron and Sir Ben Kingsley as psychiatrist Ibrahim. “The Thursday Murder Club is officially in production!” reads the tweet caption shared on the official Netflix X account. The Thursday Murder Club movie started filming on June 27. Other cast members include David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Jonathan Pryce, Richard E Grant, Danny Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Tom Ellis, Geoff Bell and Paul Freeman and Sarah Niles. The Thursday Murder Club is the first of Osman’s crime series released in 2020. The story follows four pensioners at the Coopers Chase Retirement Village in Kent as they investigate the murder of a property developer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Richard E. Grant and Tom Ellis are the latest additions to Netflix‘s The Thursday Murder Club film, based on the beloved novel series by Richard Osman. The newly-released cast, alongside Geoff Bell, Paul Freeman, Sarah Niles, and Ingrid Oliver join a star-studded lineup including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. The film, directed and written by Chris Columbus of Harry Potter fame, follows a group of friends in a retirement home who gather to solve murders for fun, but find themselves caught in a real case. The four members of the club are played by Mirren (ex-spy Elizabeth), Kingsley (ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim) Brosnan (former union activist Ron) and Imrie (ex-nurse Joyce). Osman’s book was released to critical acclaim and has fast become a classic among British crime thrillers. It is the latest project to be produced as part of Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership, which also includes the upcoming Carry-On, starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton. Columbus and Jennifer Todd serve as producers on The Thursday Murder Club, while Holly Bario, Jeb Brody, Eleanor Columbus, Jo Burn and author Osman are executive producers.

A scandal upon release, 1979’s Caligula was destroyed when porn scenes were sliced into the cut, unbeknownst to its director or stars Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren. But now rediscovered footage and painstaking work has rescued this raucous Roman epic. The first thing you learn about the film is that it’s shocking, disgusting, immoral. Keep going and soon enough someone dismisses the film – less as shocking, disgusting, and immoral, more as a slog. As Time magazine put it, the film enjoyed “all the success of an open-air orgy in Antarctica”. Such bad reputation’s persisted for nearly 45 years, making so much more commendable Thomas Negovan’s efforts to give Caligula new life. Hence Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, which uses more than 100 hours of footage to create a 173-minute revision. The new cut, among other things, gives more life to Mirren’s Caesonia, whose role was heavily cut for the 1979 theatrical version. As Malcolm Dowell mentions in a new interview with Total Film, “I never thought my full performance would ever be seen or Helen Mirren’s moving, commanding Caesonia would at last be unearthed. It is an unprecedented odyssey.”

Donald Sutherland, whose performances in such films as M*A*S*H, Ordinary People and The Hunger Games proved he could portray sinister, sympathetic, comedic or tragic with equal aplomb, has died. He was 88. Sutherland died Thursday in Miami after a long illness, CAA’s Missy Davy told The Hollywood Reporter. Remarkably, Sutherland was never even nominated for a competitive Oscar, though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made up for the oversight by giving him an honorary statuette in November 2017 at the Governors Awards. He twice collaborated with Helen Mirren – the first time in the long-forgotten “Bethune: Making of a Hero”, about the life and death of Norman Bethune, a Canadian physician who served as a combat surgeon during the Chinese Civil War. More recently, Sutherland and Mirren shared the screen in 2017’s “The Leisure Seeker”. Helen Mirren paid tribute to Sutherland via The Hollywood Reporter:

Donald Sutherland was one of the smartest actors I ever worked with. He had a wonderful enquiring brain, and a great knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. He combined this great intelligence with a deep sensitivity, and with a seriousness about his profession as an actor. This all made him into the legend of film that he became. He was my colleague and became my friend. I will miss his presence in this world. (Helen Mirren, The Hollywood Reporter, June 20, 2024)

Over the weekend, the 10th edition of the Anna Magnani Award (Premio Anna Magnani) took place at the Casa del Cinema in Rome. During the event, Helen Mirren was honored for her international contribution to cinema. She sent in a video message from the United States. The organization plans to honor her with the award personally the next time she is in Rome. The Anna Magnani Award is dedicated to the memory of the great Italian actress, organized and directed by Francesca Piggianelli, conducted by Rai journalist Stefano Buttafuoco, with the recognition of the General Directorate of Cinema of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and the support of Panalight.

Helen Mirren (and her never-ending supply of headbands) has been quite busy with interviews to promote her recent work, former directors and her celebrated tv work from the past. Last year, she participated in a BBC documentary on director Stephen Frears, whom she worked with on “The Queen”. Also for the BBC, Dame Helen sat down to talk about two of her literature adaptations from the 1970’s, “As You Like It” and “Blue Remembered Hills”, both programs entitled “Helen Mirren Remembers”. All three documentaries can be watched on-demand on the BBC website, unfortunately only if you live within the UK. Many thanks to my friend Alvaro for providing screencaptures of Helen’s appearances. “Golda” is also still making the rounds in the theaters, the latest market being Germany. For the film’s promotion, Helen did a new interview, which can be found in the photo gallery as well. Enjoy the new additions.