Celebrating the launch of the streaming service in the UK and Ireland, Paramount Plus announced that the Yellowstone sequel series will now be titled “1923”, which will “explain the end of World War I (1918) and the beginning of Prohibition (1920), both of which will be woven into the story.” The show follows the Duttons “as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle rustling.” In addition, they also have to deal with the “Great Depression of Montana,” which occurred a few years before the Great Depression of 1929. The show takes place 40 years after the popular Paramount Plus series 1883, which was the most watched series on Paramount Plus worldwide. The series will debut in December, although no further details have been announced at this time.

According to this Sky press release, The South Bank Show, one of the UK’s most loved and longest standing arts and culture programmes, returns on Wednesday 20th July on Sky Arts, Freeview channel 11, and NOW with three brand new episodes. Edited and presented by Melvyn Bragg, the new three-part series of The South Bank Show showcases talent from the worlds of acting, comedy, and dance with films about Helen Mirren, Frank Skinner and Carlos Acosta. Helen Mirren is one of the best-known and most respected actresses in the world, with a career that spans over 30 years. In the first episode of the series, she joins Melvyn to discuss her diverse and prolific career across theatre, film, and television, exploring a range of work including her early days at the Royal Shakespeare Company to her extraordinary Oscar winning performance in The Queen. Longer-form 90-minute episodes of The South Bank Show will also air in late-August, giving audiences the opportunity to learn more about the incredible careers of Helen, Frank and Carlos through extended interviews with host Melvyn Bragg.

Pathe Distribution UK will bring to Blu-ray Roger Michell’s “The Duke”, starring Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Aimee Kelly, and Craig Conway. The release will be available for purchase on June 13. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly – he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage – how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

Special Features and Technical Specs:
Q&A session with Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren and Producer Nicky Bentham
The Making of The Duke – of Featurette
Nothing But The Truth – Featurette
Original trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

On Friday, Helen Mirren made the most out of a red carpet appearance at the Cannes Film Festival this week, dazzling at the screening of the film “Mother And Son (Un Petit Frere)”. Wearing a silver sequin and tinsel long-sleeve gown, Mirren turned heads with her extra-long hair extensions and dark eyeliner. She was seen dancing and grooving on the red carpet. At one point, she grabbed actor Andie MacDowell and twirled her around as photographers snapped the two having a blast. That night, Mirren was accompanied by her husband Taylor Hackford. Pictures from the screening have been added to the photo gallery.

According to Variety, Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are set to star in Taylor Sheridan’s new “Yellowstone” prequel “1932” at Paramount+, Variety has learned. The show follows the Dutton family in the titular year, a time of Prohibition, the Great Depression, and westward expansion. “1932” is a followup to “1883,” the latter of which told the story of the Dutton family as they made their way to Montana to found what would become the Yellowstone Ranch in the mothership series. “1932” was ordered to series at Paramount+ back in February. The show falls under Sheridan’s expansive overall deal with Paramount. Mirren and Ford starred way back in Peter Weir’s 1986 film “The Mosquito Coast.” “1932” will debut on Paramount+ in December. It is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Bosque Ranch Productions.

It was an evening of praise and merriment as a myriad of acts graced Windsor Castle on Sunday, May 15, to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-years on the throne. As the 96-year-old Monarch was welcomed with a standing ovation upon arrival at the arena, Dame Helen Mirren offered the nation’s “most loving thanks” for her “unswerving” leadership thought her reign. “For all these years you have carried our nation. You have been at its heart, its drumbeat. You have given us purpose and when situations have been challenging, your hope, guidance and leadership have been unswerving,” she said. Taking to the stage, Mirren once again transformed herself into the royal Monarch, as viewers were taken through A Gallop through Time of the first Elizabethan era. Other key celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee this June include a four-day bank holiday weekend, an extravagant carnival, and a Platinum Jubilee Pageant on the last day of celebrations. Pictures of Helen Mirren’s appearance have been added to the photo gallery.

Helen Mirren made a surprise appearance at this week’s CinemaCon alongside co-star Zachary Levy to promote the upcoming “Shazam! Fury of Gods” during the Warner Bros. Pictures panel. Initially slated to hit theatres in 2023, Shazam! Fury of the Gods has now finally settled on its 2022 release date of December 21, a recent shift of just a few days after having shared its previous December release date with the long-awaited Avatar 2. Much of what Shazam! Fury of the Gods holds in store for audiences in terms of storyline has been kept largely under wraps. However, it has been confirmed that Mirren and Lucy Liu will both make their DC debuts as the daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso. CinemaCon offered a number of exciting teases for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, including confirmation of its new release date. Attendees were shown a short piece of footage from the upcoming release, which confirmed the much-rumored appearance from Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, as well as offering a glimpse of Mirren as Hespera. Pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery.

When Dame Helen Mirren learned she’d been chosen as the cover star of PEOPLE’s 2022 Beautiful Issue, “I was absolutely sort of gobstruck, as we say in England. I never considered myself ‘beautiful.’ And at my age! So I was amazed,” she says. It’s not a false play at modesty, she makes clear: “Don’t get me wrong – I love beauty and I love looking at beautiful things. But I don’t like the word beauty as it’s associated with the beauty industry – makeup and products, skincare and all the rest of it — because I think it excludes the vast majority of us who are not beautiful.” You can read the whole article over at People Magazine‘s website. Scans and a lenghty video interview conducted during the shoot can be found below.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, U.K. network ITV has lined up a host of big names to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee next month. Among those leading the festivities for the monarch’s 70 years on the throne will be Tom Cruise, Helen Mirren and Damian Lewis, who will take part in a grand theatrical event, including 1,300 performers and 500 horses taking viewers through various moments in history, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I through to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Mirren is set to play Queen Elizabeth I (a role she has performed before in a 2005 TV series), while a cast of “Queen’s Players” will be introduced by a character called The Herald, played by actor and comic Omid Djalili. Each act will reflect on key moments in history, including Elizabeth I’s Tilbury Speech and James I and the Gunpowder Plot. The Commonwealth will also be celebrated, as well as the four nations within the United Kingdom. All of this will be interspersed with a number of military and equestrian displays from around the world, including Azerbaijan, India, Oman, France, Norway, Switzerland and Trinidad & Tobago. Music will be provided by a 75-piece orchestra comprising Tri-Service personnel and augmented with members of The National Symphony Orchestra, with special performances from Keala Settle, Gregory Porter and Katherine Jenkins. The musical director will be the multi-award winning composer, Debbie Wiseman, whilst the principal director for music will be Lieutenant Colonel Jason Burcham RM. The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be broadcast live from the private grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday, May 15.

I’ve made a deep dive into my Helen archives and have added some great finds to the photo gallery – reviews for some of her early television work, interviews from the 90’s “Prime Suspect” releases as well as some fantastic new theatre pictures. For a complete overview, have a look at the list below.