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.

“The Leisure Seeker,” starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland as a runaway couple on a last cross-country adventure, has struck a chord among film distributors. Since Cannes, Paris-based Bac Films has scored a flurry of pre-sales on the film based solely on the script, package and Italian director Paolo Virzi’s reputation as one of Italy’s top directors. Deals were signed for Australia and Canada (eOne), Germany (Concorde), Spain (Karma), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Greece (Strada) and Israel (Lev). Bac, which co-represents the U.S. with CAA, is expecting to close more deals at Toronto, where the first footage of the film will be shown to buyers, said Bac Films’ topper Gilles Sousa. The deal could include multiple territories. The Leisure Seeker combines the best of Europe and American filmmaking and storytelling. It’s a love story that has a true universal appeal carried out by a pair of actors who are on top of their games,” said Sousa. The movie is currently in its last stretch of shooting in the States on the East Coast. Inspired by Michael Zadoorian’s eponymous novel and billed as a sort of “Easy Rider” meets “The Notebook,” “Seeker” turns on a couple embarking on a twilight-years road trip from Boston to Florida in a vintage Winnebago. The screenplay was penned by Italy’s Francesca Archibugi (“Like Crazy”) and Francesco Piccolo (“Human Capital”) in collaboration with Amidon and Virzì.

As production on “Fast and Furious 8” continues, a new behind-the-scenes picture featuring Helen Mirren has surfaced online. Though her role in the upcoming film is still kept under wraps, the 71-year-old actress is featured alongside her co-star Vin Diesel in the new set photo. The Dominic Toretto depicter took to his Instagram account on Tuesday, August 2 to show fans a first look at Helen’s character in the eighth movie. She can be seen wearing a white shirt and seriously listening to what Vin is whispering in her ear. The caption read, “Such a joy and an honor working with Helen Mirren… Happy Toretto Thursday!” The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Ludacris, Jason Statham, Nathalie Emmanuel and Kurt Russell. Lucas Black will also reprise his role as Sean Boswell from “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”. Directed by F. Gary Gray, “Fast and Furious 8” is filmed in several countries, including Cuba and Iceland. The eighth installment of the “Fast and Furious” movie series will race into U.S. theaters on April 14, 2017. It will be followed by a ninth film which is due out April 19, 2019 and a tenth film slated for an April 2, 2021 release.

I’ve been kept away from updating the site for a couple of weeks, so let’s get the photo gallery up to date with some additional pictures of Helen Mirren’s various appearances in Jerusalem last month. Also, pictures from the Art Recovery Hearing have been added as well. Thanks to Helen’s Girl for contributing some unseen images. To view all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

Make sure to grab your DVD or Blu-Ray copy of “Eye in the Sky”, as it has been released in the USA today. The film and Helen Mirren’s lead performance have received rave Reviews from the critics back when it theatrically released in February – but as almost always with war films, the box office numbers have been underwhelming, to say modest at least. Blu-Ray screencaptures from the film as well as its making of have been added to the photo pallery.

This week, Helen Mirren is in Jerusalem to host the Genesis Prize, known as “the Jewish Nobel”. Her arrival and various sightings have been covered, as was the press conference for the prize, which will be given this year to Itzhak Perlman. During her stay, Helen has been honored with the Jerusalem of Gold Award for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Barkat then took her to visit the City of David, an archaeological site of ancient Jerusalem, and said Mirren “has inspired millions through her artistic craftsmanship and devotion to bettering the world.” The actress also joined British Ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, at his residence to celebrate Shakespeare. The pair helped launch ‘Mix the Play’, which is part of a global project to mark the 400th anniversary of his death. The brainchild of the British Council in Israel, the initiative allows people to direct a scene from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, before sharing it online. Pictures from all mentioned events have been added to the photo gallery. If you’re able to find additional press coverage, please let me know. Edit: Pictures from the Genesis prize ceremony have been added as well.

Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – The Genesis Prize – Ceremony
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – The British Council’s Mix the Play Ceremony
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – Jerusalem of Gold Award for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – The Genesis Prize – Press Conference
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – The Genesis Prize – Sightings
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2016 – The Genesis Prize – Arrivals Reception