Dame Helen Mirren and actor Nicholas Hoult are among the stars wearing vintage festive knits while holding messages from children across the world in support of Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign, according to The Independent. This year stars, including model and actress Poppy Delevingne, activist Munroe Bergdorf and Bafta EE Rising Star winner Bukky Bakray, have all been photographed holding messages from young people about their hopes for the future to celebrate 10 years of the annual fundraiser. Dame Helen is pictured holding a message that reads “Defend the rights of girls”, written by a 14-year-old named Maya from Syria, while Hoult’s sign reads “Ban plastic. Reduce pollution” and has been written by siblings James and Isla who attend a school in Wales which is supported by Save the Children.

To celebrate 10 years of Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, famous faces from across the nation have joined forces to amplify the urgent changes that children want to see in the world.The striking images, shot by celebrated photographer Misan Harriman, connects influential names from the worlds of fashion, film and music with young people’s messages of protest and hope for the future. Launching a month before Christmas, the series aims to give children from communities across the globe a platform to share the changes they want to see in the world – from reducing pollution to ending racism – and share their messages of hope for the future.“Defend the rights of girls” are the poignant words written by 14-year-old Maya from Syria and chosen by Helen Mirren to feature in her portrait. Maya, who now lives in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan is a powerful advocate for the rights of girls and is determined to end child marriage. Supported by Save the Children to deliver advocacy training in the camp, Maya now helps to raise awareness among parents of child marriage and the importance of female empowerment. “I always tell girls to defend their rights, to defend their roles and to be the voice of all women in the community. I tell them don’t stay quiet,” she says.“A girl has dreams, a future and many other things. We must prevent early marriage, prevent harassment and prevent anything that might be a factor in destroying girls’ lives.”Speaking of her involvement in the campaign, Dame Helen Mirren said: “I’m delighted to be supporting Save the Children’s 10th Christmas Jumper Day. “My placard says ‘defend the rights of girls’ and the words were chosen by a young Syrian refugee called Maya who is a strong advocate for girl’s rights within her camp and is particularly passionate about ending child marriage and campaigning for better education for girls and I feel very lucky to be able to share the message of such a powerful cause.

The campaign also advocates sustainability as each celebrity photographed is wearing a one-off vintage jumper, some of which will be distributed back into Save the Children outlets across the country and will be available to purchase from December 1. Save The Children said its Christmas Jumper Day – being held on December 10 and which asks those taking part to donate £2 – has raised more than £27 million since launching in 2012. The fundraiser is encouraging the nation to upcycle, borrow or buy a second-hand festive sweater this year to make it the most sustainable Christmas Jumper Day yet.

Sad news today. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roger Michell, the British stage, television and film director whose movies include the hit romcom Notting Hill, has died. He was 65. Michell’s family announced his death on Wednesday in a statement on Thursday. They didn’t disclose the place or cause of death. “It is with great sadness that the family of Roger Michell, director, writer and father of Harry, Rosie, Maggie and Sparrow, announce his death at the age of 65 on Sept. 22,” said the statement released through Michell’s publicist. Michell directed for British theaters including the Royal Court, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and made acclaimed television series in the 1990s, including adaptations of Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Buddha of Suburbia and Jane Austen’s Persuasion. On the big screen, his biggest commercial hit was Notting Hill, the Richard Curtis-penned comedy about an awkward romance between a movie star played by Julia Roberts and a London bookshop owner, played by Hugh Grant. After its release in 1999 it was for a time the highest-grossing British film in history, and Michell followed it with Hollywood thriller Changing Lanes, starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. But he largely made films in Britain, including Enduring Love, based on an Ian McEwan novel, and Venus, which gained Peter O’Toole an Academy Award nomination. Later films included Hyde Park on Hudson, a historical drama starring Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the upcoming The Duke, a real-life art heist story starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. Michell is survived by ex-wives Kate Buffery and Anna Maxwell Martin, both actors, and by his four children.

Dame Helen Mirren and legendary comic actor Stephen Fry are to join a Best of British cast to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. A spectacular equestrian display showcasing horses from across the globe will also be staged in events across four nights in the grounds of Windsor Castle next May. A Gallop Through History has been billed as a “personal tribute to our monarchy” and will feature more than 500 horses and over a thousand dancers and musicians taking the audience on a journey from Elizabeth I to the Queen. The monarch has a life-long love of all things equestrian and is being kept informed by organisers of their plans, and her ponies and horses are expected to feature in the event, with royal fans hoping to see members of the royal family taking part. Marking the monarch’s record breaking 70 years on the throne, volunteers from across the UK and all corners of the Commonwealth will create a special pageant along the streets of London. An extended bank holiday, from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June, will begin with Trooping the Colour, which will be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic, followed by a service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign at St Paul’s Cathedral on the Friday. On Saturday, the Queen will be accompanied by members of her family at The Derby at Epsom Downs with a special concert outside Buckingham Palace in the evening. The BBC will stage and broadcast the live concert that will bring together some of the world’s biggest entertainment stars to celebrate the most significant and joyous moments from The Queen’s seven decade reign.

According to Variety, Helen Mirren is set to host a four-part “Harry Potter” wizarding world competition event in celebration of the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” The event, officially titled “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses,” will put superfans of the beloved book and film series to the test as they use their “Harry Potter” knowledge to compete for the coveted House Cup. The special will feature hundreds of “Harry Potter” trivia questions and include a few special guest appearances. Although a date for the event has yet to be announced, it will be simulcast on Cartoon Network’s ACME Night and TBS and will then be available to stream on HBO Max. “I knew someday I’d get a ‘Harry Potter’ role, and I’m so pleased to take part in the 20-year film celebration,” Mirren said in a statement. “The films inspired such enchantment and wonder for so many of us, and it will be such a treat to reignite that magic for the countless fans who continue to revel in this spellbinding world.”

The special is set to film this month and will premiere later this year.

To mark the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, Milan-based theatre producer Julia Holden, collaborating with award-winning UK playwright Justin Butcher, is curating a 24-hour marathon live reading in Florence of the whole of the Divine Comedy, in the acclaimed English translation by Robert and Jean Hollander. According to The Florentine, Speaking Dante will take place with a live audience and live-streamed, with contributors including Ralph Fiennes, Helen Mirren, Adjoa Andoh, Jessie Buckley, Dominic West, Stephen Dillane, Rupert Everett, Ian McDiarmid, Tim McInnerny and John Nettles, and a team of top UK and international theatre professionals. It’s a fitting tribute to the Florentine poet’s astonishing legacy and the enduring power of The Divine Comedy. Speaking Dante will be hosted and live-streamed by the Cinema La Compagnia, in partnership with the Teatro della Pergola, the City of Florence, The British Institute in Florence and The Florentine, from 7pm CET on Monday, September 13 to 7pm CET on Tuesday, September 14.

Echoing the theme of exile in Dante’s life and work, Speaking Dante will be a charity fundraising event, with all proceeds going to support projects working with refugees and migrants in Italy, specifically in Florence. The charity partner is the Community of Sant’Egidio, whose pioneering work supporting refugees and migrants in Italy includes the Schools of Language & Culture, the Humanitarian Corridors Project, the Genti di Pace (People of Peace) project and work with the Roma people. As a celebration of the first great work of Italian literature written in the vernacular, Speaking Dante will raise funds for the Schools of Language & Culture, Community of Sant’Egidio, Florence, an empowering project enabling refugees and migrants to learn the Italian language and engage with Italian culture. The founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio is the internationally renowned academic, politician and human rights activist, Professor Andrea Riccardi, who is also the current president of Società Dante Alighieri.

According to Deadline, Bleecker Street and ShivHans have secured U.S. rights to Golda by Oscar-winning director Guy Nattiv’s (Skin), about Israel’s legendary and only female Prime Minister, Golda Meir. Helen Mirren will star as “The Iron Lady of Israel.” The film shoots in October in Europe. Written by Nicholas Martin (Florence Foster Jenkins), Golda is a ticking-clock thriller following the intensely dramatic events and controversial decisions Meir faced during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Her blend of tough leadership, plain speech and compassion, in impossible circumstances, would ultimately decide the fate of millions of lives. Producer Michael Kuhn of Qwerty, says; “History recalls Meir gracefully accepted her role as political scapegoat for the Yom Kippur War – and, in revisiting her story, Golda intimately draws the cinema audience up-close and personal to a globally influential woman facing the pressure of saving her people and, in never shying away from her own failings, acting with the utmost humanity. Amidst all global controversy, she stands apart.”

ABC’s unscripted wildlife comedy series ‘When Nature Calls’ has found its voice in British actor Helen Mirren, who will narrate the series, which will now be titled ‘When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren’. According to Deadline, the series, which premieres on Thursday, June 24, looks at the funny things that animals get up to in the wild such as the surprising sounds that come out of the mouths of majestic beasts, teeny-tiny frogs and beatboxing badgers. ‘When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren’ will be based on a BBC Studios format, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, which aired on BBC One in the UK for two seasons. It is produced by BBC Studios’ L.A. production arm, the division behind ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and Nat Geo’s ‘Life Below Zero’ and ‘Breaking Bobby Bones’. K.P. Anderson, the executive producer of ‘The Soup’ and ‘Norm Macdonald Has a Show’, will executive produce and serve as showrunner with Ryan O’Dowd exec producing for BBC Studios. Brad Stevens and Boyd Vico will serve as head writers and executive producers. “I am excited by the opportunity to reveal the ‘true inner lives’ of the noble creatures with whom we share the planet,” said Mirren. “When you’ve won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony, the only way to further add to your legacy is to narrate When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren,” said Rob Mills, executive vice president, Unscripted & Alternative, Walt Disney Television. Valerie Bruce, general manager, LA Productions, BBC Studios said, “Helen Mirren is without a doubt one of the greatest talents of our time, and we consider it a privilege to bring her iconic voice to this series. She is the perfect storyteller to take us on this journey as we reimagine the animal kingdom with a comic twist and bring to life the more humorous side of creatures great and small.”

According to People Magazine, the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards are nearing and its list of presenters is getting the star treatment. Helen Mirren, Jimmy Fallon, Henry Golding, Cynthia Erivo and Ethan Hawke will present on Sunday, April 4 during the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards. The stars join Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Lily Collins, Daveed Diggs and Sterling K. Brown, who are already set to present that night. This year’s SAG Awards will be different from past shows. Earlier this month, the guild announced its upcoming awards show will be pre-taped and will only last one hour. “We’re looking at trying to do a unique award ceremony in an hour and leave people saying, which they very rarely do [with an awards show], ‘Man, I wish we had more,'” co-executive producer Todd Milliner told Variety. The show will include the presentation of 13 awards and feature comedy bits as well as the traditional “I Am An Actor” segments from nominees and other presenters. The event will also include an “In Memoriam” segment. According to Variety, the awards will be handed out in the days ahead of the air date in Zoom rooms for each category, where the nominees will gather and the winner will be announced. The winner will then get the chance to make an acceptance speech. That means spoilers are possible, but co-executive producer Kathy Connell hopes that won’t happen. Will & Grace actor Sean Hayes rounds the team of executive producers. “We hope they respect the show enough and everybody does, and their fellow actors, that they don’t want to disappoint the audience at home by letting any surprises go,” Connell said of nominees who will know outcomes ahead of the show’s airdate. The 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast on TNT and TBS on Sunday, April 4, 2021, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, with an encore airing on TNT at 11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT.

Things are looking pretty rubbish for the Queen right now but I have some news that will cheer her up – sort of. The Sun has revealed that the unlikely duo of Dame Helen Mirren, who once played the monarch in a film, and Damian Lewis are teaming up for an album to celebrate Her Majesty’s 95th birthday next month. The actors are making the record with composer Debbie Wiseman and Decca Records, and it will be called The Music Of Kings & Queens. An industry insider said: “Helen and Damian are quite good pals and have a mutual love and respect for the Queen. “They felt it was a very significant birthday and achievement for her to reach 95, so they wanted to do it in a special way. It’s come at a good time and they are hoping it will bring a smile to her face.” Helen won an Oscar for her performance as Elizabeth II in 2006 film The Queen, and three years earlier Prince Charles made her a dame during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. She did eventually meet Her Majesty in 2014 and five years later was invited to an intimate tea, where she had a “lesson in embarrassment” because she forgot how to address Prince Philip. Damian also has blue blood connections. He played Henry VIII in BBC drama Wolf Hall and his ancestor is The 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, who was a doctor to the Royal Family in the early 20th Century. Helen, meanwhile, claims to have none. She has said of her brief stint playing the piano: “It was a disaster. It must have been heartbreaking for my poor father to realise that his only daughter had no musical talent.” If, at 95, The Queen is hard of hearing, that won’t be such a bad thing.

Reflecting on diversity and gender equality in the entertainment industry, Dame Helen Mirren said there has been “exponential change” since she stared her career, particularly in the past five years, but there is still a ways to go. “If it’s climbing [Mount] Everest, when I started we were at the bottom of Everest and now I would say we are maybe three-quarters of the way up, still a long way to go,” Mirren said. “I’m kind of pissed off that I wasn’t born 20 years later, not because I particularly want to be younger but…I would love to have experienced this world as a young woman.” As Yahoo! reports, Mirren was the host of the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Awards Gala on March 8, part of the Women of Worth initiative, which provided $110,000 in charitable grants to 10 Canadian women who have created innovative programs to provide important supports for their communities. This includes supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs, mental health education for marginalized communities, supports for survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence, and assistance for newcomer and low-income Canadian families. “They work sometimes in very difficult circumstances, it’s not, as you call, glamorous work, it’s real, grassroots, community based work and these women are incredible heroines,” Mirren said. “I applaud L’Oréal so much for doing this.” Supporting this initiative is very much aligned with how Mirren explained she has tried to live her life, “in a way that is inclusive and recognizing of other people’s abilities and brilliance.” She does also recognize that throughout her career, she has been “ahead of the game” in terms of speaking up as a woman in the entertainment industry. “I would like to have shown more courage, when I think of people like Jane Fonda who exhibited such bravery in her life and her life’s choices,” she revealed. “But…I always was an argumentative person, I was always annoyingly argumentative saying, ‘no why should I, just because I’m a women I’m not going to do that.'”