The National Portrait Gallery, London, has unveiled its most recent commissioned portrait, a painting of Dame Maggie Smith by James Lloyd. The large (six feet by three) oil painting shows the actress in jacket and trousers sitting in a bare studio on a draped chair which is placed on an intriguing trompe-l’oeil platform. The sittings began in 2011 and took place at the … [Read more...] about Maggie Smith portrait added to the National Portrait Gallery collection
Dustin Hoffman
Billy Connolly, star of Dustin Hoffman’s film Quartet, on old age
Billy Connolly stars in Dustin Hoffman's movie adaptation of Ronald Harwood's stage play Quartet. The film, set in a retirement home for opera singers, with British stalwarts Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins and Tom Courtenay, is an amusing but thought-provoking look at old-age and ageing. Connolly, who turns 70 in two months' time, spoke to the Toronto Sun about old age with … [Read more...] about Billy Connolly, star of Dustin Hoffman’s film Quartet, on old age
Dustin Hoffman to make directorial début with film about retired opera singers
Dustin Hoffman will make his directorial debut with a film about retired opera singers. The Hollywood Reporter said yesterday that Hoffman is scheduled to begin shooting "Quartet" in London later this week. The film, based on Ronald Harwood's tender play, is funded by the BBC, and will star Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, two-time Academy Award winner Maggie Smith, Pauline … [Read more...] about Dustin Hoffman to make directorial début with film about retired opera singers
Director Sidney Lumet Dies at 86
Sidney Lumet, who directed such impassioned, often furious, movies as Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network, died this morning at his home in New York City. He was 86. The cause of death was lymphoma, his stepdaughter Leslie Gimbel told the New York Times. Lumet, who received five Oscar nominations and seven DGA nominations for his work, was awarded an honorary Oscar in … [Read more...] about Director Sidney Lumet Dies at 86
