The day after the Academy Awards, Helen Mirren was a guest at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in New York to talk about “Woman in Gold” and the story behind the film. Reality became a perfect film plot: A stunning Gustav Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, a Jewish society woman in Vienna in the early 20th century, was stolen by the Nazis in Austria in 1941. Six decades later, declaring that theft irrelevant, the Austrian government refused to return the painting to the woman’s niece. But the 81-year-old, who’d fled Vienna during the Holocaust, refused to be a victim again and fought back… all the way to the US Supreme Court. Helen Mirren, who received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for playing Maria Altman, discussed the ironic transformation of the portrait of a Jewish woman into an Austrian national treasure, her niece’s long legal battle and the importance of pursuing truth. Pictures from the conversation have been added to the photo gallery.

Helen Mirren testified in Congress Tuesday in support of a bill to make restitution easier for American heirs of Holocaust era victims, The Art Newspaper reported. Mirren told two Senate judiciary subcommittees in a joint hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act that “the very act of Nazi expropriation was not only unjust but it was inhumane.” She added, “Greed, cruelty, self-interest and domination will always be with us, it’s an easy option. Justice is so much more difficult, so much more complex. But we all dream of justice. We are incapable of changing the past, but fortunately we have the ability to make change today.” A complete article with more quotes can be read over here. Pictures have been added to the photo gallery.

Congratulations to Helen Mirren for receiving 3 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations this morning! Two nominations for “Trumbo” (as Best Supporting Actress and as part of the Best Ensemble) and one nomination for Best Actress for “Woman in Gold”. This is indeed a crowning achievement for a successful year. She shares the Lead Actress category with Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room) Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), the Supporting Actress category with Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) and the Ensemble category with Beasts of No Nation, Spotlight, The Big Short and Straight Outta Compton. The SAG Awards will be handed out on Saturday, January 30.

“Woman in Gold” has kept Helen Mirren busy throughout the year – from its world-premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February to the most recent promotional tours in Italy and Japan for the film’s theatrical October release. It has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in most European countries. Blu-Ray screencaptures from both the film and the making of featurette have been added to the photo gallery.

Photo Gallery – Career – Woman in Gold – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Photo Gallery – Career – Woman in Gold – Making Of Screencaptures

The promotion tour for “Woman in Gold” continues with a trip to Tokyo, Japan. On October 22, Helen has attended the festival’s opening ceremony, as well as today’s screening of the film. Pictures from both events have been added to the photo gallery.