Welcome to The Helen Mirren Archives, your premiere web resource on the British actress. Best known for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, "Prime Suspect" and her Oscar-winning role in "The Queen", Helen Mirren is one of the world's most eminent actors today. This unofficial fansite provides you with all latest news, photos and videos on her past and present projects.  Enjoy your stay.
Celebrating
10 years
on the web
Jan
05
2024

Happy New Year everybody. Helen Mirren, while spending the Holidays in Italy, was on hand on Thursday to attend a screening for “White Bird” at the Cinema Moderno in Tricase. While Lionsgate has moved the film’s release forward once again – this time a whopping 10 months to October 2024 – the history drama releases Italian cinemas this week. A couple of pictures from the premiere and some additional production stills have been added to the photo gallery. A compilation of Italian tv reports have been added as well.

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Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2024 – “White Bird” Screening at Cinema Moderno
Video Archive – Public Appearances – “White Bird” Tricase Screening (2024)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – Antenna Sud (January 05, 2024)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – Nuovo Quotidiano di Puglia (January 05, 2024)
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – White Bird – Production Stills

Dec
30
2023

A late Christmas surprise is coming our way from Vanity Fair Italy’s December 29 issue with Helen Mirren on the cover and an in-depth interview inside in which she dishes on the recent release of “Golda” and its time in recent history, the January release of “White Bird” (which has been pushed by its American distributor to October 2024) and enjoying the Italian life. A translated version can be found in the press archive with the cover being added to the photo gallery. Enjoy the additions and a Happy New Year to everybody.

I read many history books and it seems clear to me that horror has always been a constant in the human condition. What was Alexander the Great great for? For killing millions of innocents? And Stalin? I grew up in England with the troubles (the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, ed.) and I saw how these pseudo-racial conflicts can last indefinitely, unless truly excellent leaders are found. I believe, and perhaps I’m wrong, that if there were more women in politics things would be different. You know, seeing these summits with heads of state that are almost always all men makes me angry, frustrates and saddens me. I would like to see parties made up of half women, in every part of the world. (Helen Mirren, Vanity Fair Italy, December 29, 2023)

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Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – 2023 – Vanity Fair (Italy, December 29, 2023)

Jul
27
2023

According to Deadline, Lionsgate is pushing the theatrical releases of this August’s White Bird: A Wonder Story from filmmaker Marc Forster due to the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. White Bird, the spin-off to the studio’s 2017 box office smash Wonder, was set to launch limited on Aug. 18 and go wider on Aug. 25. It’s now undated for Q4 at the end of this year. That leaves the last weekend in August without a wide theatrical release, which isn’t that unusual for that point in summer. White Bird stars Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson, and it’s the type of movie that really needs the push from its actors to raise it above the fray. Now it’s in the Oscar season corridor, which is a better spot than the dog days of August. Best to wait the strike out. White Bird is helmed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Christopher Robin), based on R.J. Palacio’s same-name 2019 follow-up. Bryce Gheisar reprise his role as Julian, who has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie. To transform his life, Julian’s grandmother (Helen Mirren) finally reveals to Julian her own story of courage – during her youth in Nazi-occupied France, a boy shelters her from mortal danger. They find first love in a stunning, magical world of their own creation, while the boy’s mother (Gillian Anderson) risks everything to keep her safe.

Apr
18
2023

Lionsgate has released a new trailer for “White Bird” (formerly distributed as “White Bird – A Wonder Story”), based on the graphic novel of the same name. Directed by Marc Forster, with a screenplay by Mark Bomback, the film follows a boy named Julian who meets his French grandmother, played by Helen Mirren, who tells him the harrowing story of her upbringing as a young jewish girl in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II – and how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her saviour and best friend. The film also stars Gillian Anderson, Bryce Gheisar, Ariella Glaser, and Orlando Schwerdt. “White Bird” will be released in theatres on August 25th, 2023.

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Video Archive – Career Videos – White Bird – Theatrical Trailer #2

Jan
20
2023

For those of us wondering what happened to “White Bird: A Wonder Story” after its initial September 22 release never happened and the film vanished without a trace, Lionsgate has now announced that the film will be released in limited engagements on August 18, 2023, and will enter wide release on Friday, August 25, 2023. “White Bird: A Wonder Story” follows on the release of “Wonder”, the film adaptation of R. J. Palacio’s previous book, which was a global hit in 2017, taking in $305 million in worldwide box office. R.J. Palacio’s books have sold more than 16 million copies with editions published in 47 languages. Lionsgate and Participant are collaborating with USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education to build educational programming around the film.

From the best-selling author of Wonder, the book that sparked a movement to “choose kind,” comes the inspirational next chapter. In White Bird: A Wonder Story, we follow Julian (Bryce Gheisar), who has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman. To transform his life, Julian’s grandmother (Helen Mirren) finally reveals to Julian her own story of courage – during her youth in Nazi-occupied France, a boy shelters her from mortal danger. They find first love in a stunning, magical world of their own creation, while the boy’s mother (Gillian Anderson) risks everything to keep her safe. The film also stars Ariella Glaser and Orlando Schwerdt.

Jun
23
2022

Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson headline the upcoming coming-of-age film White Bird: A Wonder Story – and People has an exclusive first look at the moving trailer. The drama is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Wonder author R. J. Palacio, which was adapted into a 2017 film starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, and sparked a movement to “choose kind.” White Bird, the inspirational next chapter, follows Julian (Bryce Gheisar), who has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman. To help transform Julian’s life, the boy’s grandmother (Helen Mirren) tells him of her own story of courage – as a child in Nazi-occupied France, a boy sheltered her from danger. White Bird: A Wonder Story, with a screenplay by Mark Bomback, opens in theaters October 14. A first set of production stills have been added to the photo gallery.

Related Media

Photo Gallery – Career Photography – White Bird – A Wonder Story – Production Stills
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – White Bird – A Wonder Story – Screencaptures – Trailer

Feb
26
2021

Helen Mirren has joined the cast of Marc Forster’s White Bird: A Wonder Story. Based on Palacio’s 2019 graphic novel, the story centers on Julian Albans, the 11-year-old bully who left Beecher Prep, who is still waiting for the insight of how kindness has the power to save lives when he is visited by his Grandmère from Paris and is transformed by her remarkable story of compassion and courage. Grandmère’s fairy-tale life before the war abruptly changes as the Nazis occupy France, and the outcast classmate who she once shunned becomes her savior and best friend. Alongside Mirren, who joins previously cast Emmy winner Gillian Anderson, the cast has also seen the additions of Ariella Glaser, Bryce Gheisar and Orlando Schwerdt. Gheisar will be reprising his role from the first film as Julian while Mirren will star as Grandmère, Julian’s Parisian grandmother, Glaser as Sara, the younger version of Mirren’s character in Nazi-occupied France, and Schwerdt as Julien, a classmate who chooses to hide Sara from the Nazis along with his parents, his mother who is being played by Anderson. “I am deeply honored to have Helen Mirren join us on this journey,” Forster said in a statement. “Beyond being a brilliant actress, Helen brings an immeasurable level of depth, humanity, and empathy to her roles, elevating any project she is a part of. She is a true artist and I couldn’t be more excited to have her alongside our incredibly talented cast.” The script for the adaptation is being penned by Mark Bomback (The Art of Racing in the Rain, War for the Planet of the Apes), with the film set to be produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, who produced the original film, alongside Palacio, with Renée Wolfe attached to executive produce with Alex Young.

“Helen Mirren is a screen legend – one of our industry’s most accomplished and talented actresses – so, obviously, it’s hugely exciting to know that she loves this story as much as we do and wanted to be a part of it,” Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “We’re equally excited to showcase Ariella and Orlando’s talents – as they take on their first major roles, they’ll bring heart, emotion, and magnetism to their performances and we are thrilled Bryce will return to bridge his role from Wonder. White Bird: A Wonder Story is the kind of movie that the world needs now and it’s a thrill to have these incredible actors bringing to life this story of compassion, empathy, kindness, and hope.” Wonder, directed by author-turned-filmmaker Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), starred Owen Wilson (Loki), Julia Roberts (Homecoming) and Jacob Tremblay (The Little Mermaid) and received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and was a box office hit for the studio, grossing over $305 million at the global box office on a $20 million budget.