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The Walking Dead actress Samantha Morton has been hospitalized. The British star took to social media this Tuesday to reveal the news. The cause for her hospitalization is currently unknown, but what we do know is that she’s now feeling much better following medical care provided to her by the NHS, whom she praised in a tweet.

“Thank you to all the A and E staff at the Conquest who helped me tonight,” Morton wrote on Twitter. “I’m so grateful for our NHS, to see the red zone first hand and the nurses and doctors being so kind and wonderful to us all was humbling. I’m ok tonight because of them.”

Thankyou to all the A and E staff at the Conquest who helped me tonight. I’m so grateful for our NHS,to see the red zone first hand and the nurses and doctors being so...

Six-time Oscar-nominee Jim Sheridan is busy these days with Sky Studios documentary series “Murder in the Cottage,” but he has plenty more on his plate.

One of Sheridan’s most celebrated films is “In America” (2002), where a family of Irish immigrants adjusts to life in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen while grieving the death of a child. A series based on the film was in the works.

“I tried to do it with HBO and it was difficult because they wanted it to be more dramatic,” Sheridan tells Variety. “I’d still like to do it. I love the immigration story in America.”

“It got very politicized with Trump and everybody wanted higher level, more drama, and it just got difficult to do,” Sheridan adds.

Now with Joe Biden, a President elect with Irish ancestry, Sheridan hopes that the journey will be easier. “I’ve met Joe Biden and he seemed like a sweet,...

The Irish playwright and filmmaker’s new project delves into the murder of television producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork. Oscar-nominated Irish playwright and filmmaker Jim Sheridan is now working on his first documentary series project, entitled Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie. The Dublin-born helmer is best known for his fiction films My Left Foot (1989), In the Name of the Father (1993), The Boxer (1997) and In America (2002). The five-part documentary series revolves around the murder of television producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork, Ireland. In 1996, two days before Christmas, Sophie, the wife of French filmmaker Daniel Toscan du Plantier, was killed at her holiday cottage in Schull. The murder rocked the quiet Irish town, and 24 years later, the case remains a mystery. The key suspect, journalist Ian Bailey, was quickly arrested by local police following eye-witness reports,...

English actor Paddy Considine has been cast in the leading role of King Viserys I, the father of Rhaenyra and Aegon II, on HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” TheWrap has learned.

“House of the Dragon” was co-created by co-created by George R.R. Martin and “Colony” co-creator Ryan Condal based on Martin’s “Fire & Blood.” The 10-episode show is set in the early days of Westeros and focuses on House Targaryen, the family that Emila Clarke’s Daenerys belonged to, along with her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and nephew Aegon Targaryen a.k.a. Jon Snow (Kit Harington). The series is based on Martin’s “Fire & Blood” book, which details the lineage of the Targaryens, and takes place 300 years before the events of “Game of Thrones.”

“The Outsider’s” Considine, the first actor to join “House of the Dragon,” will star as King Viserys Targaryen, who...

Paddy Considine, co-star of the 2020 HBO series The Outsider and The Third Day, will lead the cast of House of the Dragon, the network’s straight-to-series Game of Thrones prequel from George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.

Based on Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.

In the 10-episode first season, Considine will play King Viserys Targaryen, chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.

House of the Dragon was co-created by Martin and Condal. The pilot script that landed the series order was written by Condal. He serves as co-showrunner alongside GoT veteran Miguel Sapochnik,...

“Minari” was a big hit at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in January before the world imploded, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. It’s being distributed by A24, and though it doesn’t have a release date as of this writing, the studio confirmed that it will open before the Oscars’ Covid-extended eligibility deadline of February 28, 2021. Does it look like a potential winner to you? Watch the new trailer above.

The film stars former “Walking Dead” actor Steven Yeun as a husband and father who moves his Korean-American family to Arkansas to work on a farm in the 1980s. So on paper, at least, it’s reminiscent of other culture-clash family dramas that have been nominated for Oscars like “In America” (2003) about an Irish immigrant clan in New York City and “A Better Life” (2011) about an undocumented Mexican gardener raising his son in Los Angeles. And...

“American History X” filmmaker Tony Kaye hasn’t directed a feature film since 2011’s “Detachment” starring Adrien Brody, but he’s back with “African History Y” and Djimon Hounsou will star.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Kaye said: “Djimon and I met just after I did ‘American History X.’ It was a cathartic meeting, and I knew immediately that he was an actor that I had to work with. The material had to be right, and thank God, now we have a project to work together on. The color cameras inside my head are ready to go to work in Africa.”

Hounsou added: “’African History Y’ could not have come at a better time as I explore bringing more extraordinary African stories to the world. I’m excited to be working with Tony, and it’s somewhat preordained that he and I have come full circle to work with each other.

Charlie Daniels, the Grammy-winning country singer and fiddler who scored crossover pop hits with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Uneasy Rider” and “In America,” died today after a massive stroke. He was 83. His publicist Don Murry Grubbs confirmed the news.

Daniels had a mild stroke in 2010 and was fitted with a pacemaker in 2013. He also beat prostate cancer in 2001.

Daniels, an iconic Country Music Hall of Famer who had nine gold or platinum albums, also played on Bob Dylan’s 1969 classic Nashville Skyline, and his group the Charlie Daniels Band appeared in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.

Born on October 26, 1936, in Wilmington, Nc, Daniels fronted 1960s group the Jaguars before going solo in 1968 and working as a session player in Nashville. His breakthrough came in the summer of 1973 with the story song “Uneasy Rider,” about a longhair’s harrowing encounter with some Mississippi locals.

The single hit No. 9 on the...

The Last Dance, one of the most ambitious sports documentaries to come from ESPN since the birth of its 30 for 30 series 11 years ago, is set to air its first two episodes at 9 p.m. Et Sunday, April 19 on the network and its streaming platform.

Over the next five Sundays, the 10-hour miniseries from director Jason Hehir will tell the story of Michael Jordan’s final NBA championship run with the Chicago Bulls during the 1997-98 season. That runtime eclipses even the Worldwide Leader’s lengthy Academy Award-winning marathon doc by more than two hours.

The 30 for 30 franchise and its related endeavors from ESPN Films have produced scores of enthralling feature films, shorts, and podcasts since 2009. For those looking to fill this time without live sports, it’s hard to go wrong by simply picking something at random from the back catalog of sports documentaries available through an ESPN+ subscription.

But...

In this edition of TV Bits: Showtime has changed the schedule of Black Monday and two other shows. Watch a trailer for Billions season 5. The Crown was able to beat the coronavirus and wrap early. Star Trek: Short Treks coming to Blu-ray in June. ESPN is airing an encore presentation of O.J.: Made in America. The coronavirus […]

The post TV Bits: ‘Black Monday’, ‘Billions’, ‘The Crown’, ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’, ‘O.J. Made in America’ appeared first on /Film.

In the second installment of ESPN’s excellent “Oj: Made in America,” we see O.J. Simpson sit for a softball interview with ESPN’s Roy Firestone.

It’s 1989 — five years before Simpson will be charged with his wife’s murder. He has pleaded no contest to beating her in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.

Firestone just can’t believe it. “It got to such a point that you were portrayed in the press for a while there like a wife beater!” he says.

Also Read: 'People v Oj Simpson' Writers Explain 5 Things They Made Up

“Oj: Made in America” feels like ESPN’s way of documenting its past mistakes — and everyone else’s, too. The carnival grotesquerie around the Simpson case has enabled us all to ignore the most horrible truth of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman’s murders: They were achingly preventable.

Fantasy and...

Kenny Rogers, whose music went beyond the country music genre he is known for, died at home in Sandy Springs, Ga., Friday night, according to the New York Times. He was 81.

“The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25Pm at the age of 81,” his family said in a statement to Twitter. “Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.”

Rogers was known for duets like his chart-topping pairing with Dolly Parton, “Islands in the Stream,” and crossover hits like “Coward of the County,” “Lucille,” “Lady,” and his signature song, “The Gambler.” But the Country Music Hall of Famer went through all genres in his musical journey, from playing upright bass in a jazz band, through subtle Vietnam War commentary with his cover of Mel Tillis’ song “Ruby” to psychedelic swing...

HBO has unveiled the first trailer for HBO’s “The Outsider,” the latest Stephen King horror novel to be adapted for the small screen.

The 10-episode series, which is set to hit HBO January 12, will follow police detective Ralph Anderson as he investigates the grisly murder of an 11-year-old. Although authorities quickly make an arrest, the police soon discover contradictory evidence, suggesting their prime suspect (Jason Bateman) was in two places at the same time. Though the case appears simple at first, the show’s trailer suggests that events soon take a more sinister — perhaps even supernatural — turn.

Although investigators looking into a child’s murder might seem like typical whodunit crime drama fare, the trailer for HBO’s “The Outsider” makes clear that the limited series will retain King’s signature horror flairs. Mendelsohn’s character might claim he’s just looking for “facts, evidence, [and] dumb cop shit like that,...

“Bombshell” is set to receive the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America at the upcoming PGA Awards, the guild announced Monday.

The 2020 PGA Awards will be held on Jan. 18, 2020 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The award, established in 2002, honors a production, producer or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.

Last year, the PGA recognized Jane Fonda for her activism. Past winners include “Get Out,” “Loving,” “Fruitvale Station,” “The Nomal Heart,” “The Hunting Ground,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “In America,” “Antwone Fisher,” “Precious,” “In the Land of Blood and Honey” and “Bully.”

Also Read: Jennifer Lopez to Receive Palm Springs Film Festival's Spotlight Award

“‘Bombshell’ proves that cinema has the power to encapsulate moments and movements in a way that serves and enlightens us all,” Producers Guild of America presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher said in a statement.

“Bombshell,” a drama about Fox News journalists who set to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, will be honored the Producers Guild of America’s Stanley Kramer Award.

The award, established in 2002, recognizes a production, producer or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues. “Bombshell” will receive the award at the 31st annual Producers Guild Awards on Jan. 18 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

“’Bombshell’ proves that cinema has the power to encapsulate moments and movements in a way that serves and enlightens us all,” said PGA Presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher.

Directed by Jay Roach, the star-studded cast includes Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil, Allison Janney as Susan Ostrich and John Lithgow as Ailes. Lionsgate is debuting the movie in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on Dec.

No actor on “The Walking Dead” has ever been nominated at the Emmy Awards — not Andrew Lincoln (Rick), not Melissa McBride (Carol), not Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), etc. But all of that could change this year if Emmy voters decide to recognize Samantha Morton as Best Drama Supporting Actress. This acclaimed English actress is a two-time Oscar nominee, so she brings a level of prestige and experience to Alpha, the murderous leader of the Whisperers. Below, see my four reasons why Morton could make history for AMC’s nine-year-old zombie apocalypse drama.

See‘The Walking Dead’ actors on Emmy ballot: Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan are submitted in guest, 5 others in supporting

1. Emmy loves Oscar

It’s true: Emmy’s deep dark secret is that she yearns to one day be as influential and significant as her big brother Oscar. That’s why we often see Academy Awards faves dominating...

The Emmy buzz began the moment that “The Walking Dead” hired Samantha Morton to play new big bad Alpha. This British actress is a two-time Oscar nominee for “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999) and “In America” (2002), so she brings a level of prestige and experience to the role of the murderous leader of the Whisperers. If Emmy voters are still watching, might we see Morton become the first-ever actor to receive a nomination for AMC’s nine-year-old zombie apocalypse drama?

See‘The Walking Dead’ death watch: 5 characters who won’t survive the Season 9 finale

To date “The Walking Dead” has amassed 16 below-the-line Emmy bids, with two wins for Best Prosthetic Makeup (2011 and 2012). None of the show’s cast members have ever received an Emmy nomination, though three earned notices at the Critics’ Choice Awards: departing lead Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) in 2013 and current players Melissa McBride (Carol) in 2014 and Jeffrey Dean Morgan...

Let’s hope that Marina de Tavira was watching the Academy Awards nominations announcement. She defied our odds and was cited for her scene-stealing supporting turn in “Roma.” In so doing, she became the 18th performer to reap an Oscar bid with first contending at either the Golden Globes Or the Critics’ Choice Or the SAG Awards.

Below, we enumerate the lucky few who came out of left field to make history at the Oscars by being nominated without first having been in the running at at least one of these awards. However, for all of these that had to be reward enough as none won.

Be sure to compare this roster of those who defied the odds and reaped surprise Oscar bids without contending at any of these awards with those 23 performers who were snubbed by the academy despite nominations at the Critics’ Choice, SAG Awards and Golden Globes.

Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou is set to portray the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege in “Panzi,” a biopic helmed by actress-turned-director Marie-Helene Roux (“Links of Life”).

Mukwege is a prominent Congolese gynecologist who founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where for decades he has been treating thousands of women who have been raped by armed rebels. He was jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”

Hounsou, who is best-known for his Oscar-nominated performances in Jim Sheridan’s “In America” and Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond,” will headline “Panzi,” which Cynthia Pinet at Paris-based 1divided Films is producing. The film is currently in casting and is scheduled to start shooting next summer.

1divided acquired the exclusive rights to the life and story of...

Samantha Morton (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them) is joining Season 9 of The Walking Dead as a new series regular playing iconic villain Alpha, leader of the Whisperers.

Series creator and executive producer Robert Kirkman announced the casting Friday during the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con.

In the comics, the Whisperers are a mysterious group of survivors who disguise themselves with roamer skin to blend in and not get noticed, and in the series are formidable adversaries of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his allies. Morton’s casting confirms the Whisperers’ arrival in Season 9 and also puts to rest the much-speculated question of who would play Alpha in the series.

The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on October 7 on AMC.

Morton was most recently seen on the big screen as Mary Lou in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and also plays the role of Margaret Wells in Harlots,...

Let’s hope that Lesley Manville was watching the Academy Awards nominations announcement. She defied our odds and was cited for her scene stealing supporting turn in “Phantom Thread.” In so doing, she became the 17th performer to reap an Oscar bid with first contending at either the Golden Globes Or the Critics’ Choice Or the SAG Awards.

Below, we enumerate the lucky few who came out of left field to be nominated at the Oscars without first having been in the running at at least one of these awards. However, for all of these the nominations had to be reward enough.

And be sure to compare this roster of those who defied the odds and reaped surprise Oscar bids without contending at any of these awards with those 21 performers who were snubbed by the academy despite nominations at the Critics’ Choice, SAG Awards and Golden Globes. The newest of...

The new Indiana Jones movie has whipped up a ticket storm in North America, raking in $25 million (GBP12.5 million) from its first full day at the box office.

That's the fourth highest-grossing Thursday debut on record, and keeps Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on course to become the biggest Memorial Day weekend release ever.

The film is expected to make up to $170 million (GBP85 million) over the five day period, breaking the box office record set last year by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

British actress Samantha Morton is pregnant with her second child. The In America star and fiancé Harry Holm are expecting their child in January, reports People.com. Morton's publicist, Karon Maskill, says, "It is wonderful news, they are both very excited and looking forward to having their new baby." The 30-year-old is already mother to Esme, seven, from a previous relationship with British actor Charlie Creed-Miles.

NEW YORK -- Djimon Hounsou will star in Jeff Wadlow's action drama Get Some, the first film to be launched from new indie studio Summit Entertainment.

Hounsou plays a mixed martial arts coach and mentor to an Iowa native (Sean Faris) who moves to Orlando and joins a no-holds-barred Fight Club-style group for teens. Amber Heard (Alpha Dog) plays his girlfriend, and Cam Gigandet (The O.C.) has been cast as his best friend.

The actor earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination this year for Ed Zwick's Blood Diamond, four years after receiving his first nom in the same category for Jim Sheridan's In America. His other film credits include Amistad, Gladiator, Constantine and Eragon.

The Mandalay Independent Pictures production will be produced by Mandalay executive vp David Zelon and Craig Baumgarten. Chris Hauty wrote the screenplay, with Robert Munic and Gavin O'Connor penning later drafts.

Summit president of production Erik Feig and vp production Jean Song will oversee the film. Principal photography is set to begin this month.

Hounsou is repped by the Gersh Agency.

NEW YORK -- Djimon Hounsou is attached to star in the drama The Trunk, which Sylvain White is slated to direct. The Oscar-nominated actor (In America) will play an aspiring concert pianist who fights to escape the ghetto as his jealous friends try to hold him back. Brian White, Boris Kodjoe and Thomas Krestchmann are attached as co-stars on the film, scheduled to begin filming by December in Oakland. Bryan Turner's Melee Entertainment is producing the project from Joseph A. Elmore Jr.'s script. Kodjoe, White and Melee's Scott Aronson and Melina Kevorkian are set as producers.

SYDNEY -- Irish producer Arthur Lappin -- managing director of Hell's Kitchen, the production company he established with director Jim Sheridan in 1992 -- has been confirmed as one of the keynote speakers for the 13th annual Small Country: Big Picture conference. The confab, sponsored by industry agency the Screen Production and Development Assn., will run Nov.17-19. Held in Wellington, New Zealand, Lappin's work with Sheridan includes My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father and In America.

Jim Sheridan has signed on to direct gangster movie Locked and Loaded for Paramount Pictures and MTV. The film, which stars rapper 50 Cent, is the first to fall under a three-year, first-look deal the studio struck with Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine and Eminem manager Paul Rosenberg. Interscope and MTV will be producing with Iovine and Rosenberg producing and Wendy Japhet overseeing for the studio. Locked and Loaded tells the story of an orphaned kid who turns away from crime and lands a successful musical career. The Sopranos scribe Terence Winter penned the script. "A movie starring 50 Cent and directed by an acclaimed talent like Jim Sheridan is exactly what audiences have come to expect from MTV Films," said MTV Films president Van Toffler. "We're thrilled to be working with our old friends at Interscope and these two amazing artists." Van Toffler is producing along with executive vp David Gale and Heather Perry, Eminem, Dr. Dre and Chris Lighty. Sheridan most recently directed In America, his semi-autobiographical tale of growing up in a colorful tenement building in New York filled with weird and wacky underground characters. He has also signed on to direct a remake of Ikiru. Sheridan is repped by CAA.

Djimon Hounsou and Steve Buscemi are headed to The Island for DreamWorks and Michael Bay. Hounsou, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Jim Sheridan's In America, will play the head of security for the utopian community where the story takes place. No details were available on the Buscemi role. The film stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in a story penned by Caspian Tredwell-Owen about a harvested being who becomes self-aware and tries to escape the utopia where he is being kept. Johansson plays the only person he can trust and the carrier of the sponsor's child. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci also co-wrote the script. Marc Haimes is overseeing for the studio. Hounsou, whose other recent credits include Beauty Shop and Constantine, is repped by the Gersh Agency and Brillstein Grey.

British actress Samantha Morton has hit out at countryman Gary Oldman - for refusing to read a low-budget film script. The In America star, 27, has blasted big-budget actors for being swayed only by cash when choosing their next film role. And is furious her own reputation has suffered simply because she's eager to make honest and credible films. Morton says, "I used to be, and still am, considered very difficult. I think, 'What is difficult?' If I'm put in an uncomfortable environment, I become defensive. We really want Gary Oldman for a part in my next film, River Queen, but we cannot even get him a script because he won't read anything we send him unless we offer him a million. I mean, how sad is that? These actors get people to do everything for them and five years down the line they don't know how to pay their bills or even cook their own food."...

After earning Oscar nominations earlier this year for their collaboration on In America, filmmaker Jim Sheridan and his daughter Naomi Sheridan have set their sights on the small screen. The Sheridans have cut a deal with NBC and Paramount Network TV to develop a drama series about a large Irish family struggling to run a restaurant in the United States, reps for NBC and Paramount confirmed. Naomi Sheridan is set to write the pilot script and executive produce the project alongside her father, who might also direct the pilot if his schedule permits.

Six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan has been chosen to receive this year's John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles. BAFTA/LA said Tuesday that the honor will be bestowed on Sheridan -- the writer (with his daughters), director and producer of the multiple prize-winning film In America -- on Nov. 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel as part of BAFTA/LA's annual Britannia Awards ceremony. The award for artistic excellence, now in its second year, is named after the acclaimed late British director-producer John Schlesinger (Darling, Midnight Cowboy), who was honored by BAFTA/LA in May 2002. Last year's award went to director Peter Weir. BAFTA/LA announced earlier that Tom Hanks will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at this year's awards presentations.

Djimon Hounsou, nominated for a best supporting actor Academy Award for his performance as an artist dealing with AIDS in In America, will be honored as ShoWest 2004 Supporting Actor of the Year. "Djimon Hounsou was a true joy to watch in 'In America, ' and we could not be more excited about honoring his performance," said Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the convention, which screened In America at last year's confab. "It's always special to be able to screen a film at ShoWest well in advance of its release date and to have it go on to receive such critical and commercial success."...

Being In America has been good for Paddy Considine. The English actor, who stars in Jim Sheridan's In America, is in negotiations to make his major studio debut starring opposite Russell Crowe in Universal Pictures/Miramax Films' period boxing project Cinderella Man. Ron Howard is directing and producing along with Brian Grazer and Penny Marshall. Cinderella Man tells the tale of real-life heavyweight boxing champ Jim Braddock (Crowe). During the 1930s, Braddock was an aging boxer who made a comeback while trying to provide for his family during the Depression. Considine would star as Hank, Braddock's best friend and fellow dockworker. Considine joins a cast that includes Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti and Craig Bierko. Written by Cliff Hollingsworth, C. Gaby Mitchell and Akiva Goldsman, Cinderella Man is a Universal/Miramax co-production of an Imagine Entertainment presentation. Universal is distributing domestically, with Buena Vista International handling international distribution for Miramax. Considine is repped by Writers and Artists Group International and ICM London. For In America, Considine has been nominated for a British Independent Film Award, a Golden Satellite Award and joins his castmates for a SAG nomination in the outstanding performance by a cast category.

Smaller films from specialty film companies dominated the nominees for original screenplay Thursday in the 56th annual Writers Guild Awards, while several of the year's larger releases, including The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Cold Mountain, featured prominently among the best adapted screenplays. Original screenplay nominees are Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra for Fox Searchlight Pictures' Bend It Like Beckham, a lighthearted look at women's competitive soccer; Steven Knight for Miramax Films' Dirty Pretty Things, a gritty immigrant story; Jim Sheridan and daughters Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan for Fox Searchlight's In America, an intimate portrait of a family struggling with the loss of a child; Sofia Coppola for Focus Features' much-honored Lost in Translation; and Tom McCarthy for Miramax's moody drama The Station Agent. Adapted screenplay nominees are Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman for HBO Films/Fine Line Features' American Splendor, based on the comic book series by Harvey Pekar and novel by Pekar and Joyce Brabner; Anthony Minghella for Miramax Films' Civil War-era drama Cold Mountain, based on the novel by Charles Frazier; Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson for New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien; Brian Helgeland for Warner Bros. Pictures' Mystic River, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane; and Gary Ross for Universal Pictures' Seabiscuit, based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand.

Smaller films from specialty film companies dominated the nominees Thursday for original screenplay at the 56th annual Writers Guild Awards, while adapted screenplays were nominated from several of the year's bigger releases including The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Cold Mountain. Nominated for original screenplay were Gurinder Chadha, Paul Berges and Guljit Bindra for Fox Searchlight Pictures' Bend It Like Beckham, Steven Knight for Miramax Films' Dirty Pretty Things, Jim Sheridan and daughters Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan for Fox Searchlight Pictures' In America, Sofia Coppola for Focus Features' Lost in Translation, and Tom McCarthy for Miramax Films' The Station Agent. Adapted screenplay nominees were: Robert Pulcini and Shari Berman for HBO Films/Fine Line Features' American Splendor, based on the comic book series by Harvey Pekar and novel by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner; Anthony Minghella for Miramax Films' Cold Mountain, based on the novel by Charles Frazier; Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson for New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien; Brian Helgeland for Warner Bros. Pictures' Mystic River, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane; and Gary Ross for Universal Pictures' Seabiscuit based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand.

The Producers Guild of America has selected In America to receive the Stanley Kramer Award, an honor recognizing a company, individual or production that addresses provocative social issues in an uplifting fashion. The award will be presented to producers Jim Sheridan and Arthur Lappin at the 15th annual PGA Awards on Jan. 17 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. "In honoring Jim Sheridan and Arthur Lappin for 'In America, ' we honor the fierce humanity of Stanley Kramer and his determination to find the essential human truths at work on both sides of our social, political and cultural divides," said PGA Awards co-chairs Lawrence Gordon and Debra Hill. "It has long been accepted that America is a nation of immigrants, but rarely has the immigrant experience been captured with such heartbreaking immediacy as in 'In America.' "...

The 2004 Bangkok International Film Festival will feature more than 100 films from 40 countries, including screenings of The Barbarian Invasions, In America and Lost in Translation. The festival, which runs from Jan. 22-Feb. 2, will feature 12 films in international competition, including festival opener The Siamese Renaissance. "This year, we will continue to mark the growing significance of Bangkok to the world's motion picture community as a prime launching platform for quality international filmmaking," said Juthamas Siriwan, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and festival president. In addition to the competition screenings, the festival also will feature cultural events, conferences, industry workshops and lectures. The complete festival lineup is available at www.bangkokfilm.org.

Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, a dark tale of tragedy affecting a tightknit Boston community, leads the list of nominees for the ninth annual Critics' Choice Awards, announced Tuesday by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. The Warner Bros. Pictures release scored eight noms, including best picture, best director and composer for Eastwood, best actor for Sean Penn, best supporting actor for Tim Robbins, best supporting actress for Marcia Gay Harden, best acting ensemble and best writer for Brian Helgeland, who adapted Dennis Lehane's novel on which the film is based. Other leading contenders include In America with seven nominations, Big Fish and Lost in Translation with five noms each, Cold Mountain and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with four noms each and The Last Samurai and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with three noms each.

Fox Searchlight and Warner Bros. Pictures each scored two nominations among the seven films cited for best motion picture drama by the International Press Academy on Tuesday as IPA unveiled its nominations for the eighth annual Satellite Awards. The drama nominees include Fox Searchlight's In America and thirteen, Warners' The Last Samurai and Mystic River, Newmarket Films' Whale Rider, 20th Century Fox's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, a dark tale of tragedy affecting a tightknit Boston community, leads the list of nominees for the ninth annual Critics' Choice Awards, announced Tuesday by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. The Warner Bros. Pictures release scored eight noms, including best picture, best director and composer for Eastwood, best actor for Sean Penn, best supporting actor for Tim Robbins, best supporting actress for Marcia Gay Harden, best acting ensemble and best writer for Brian Helgeland, who adapted Dennis Lehane's novel on which the film is based. Other leading contenders include In America with seven nominations, Big Fish and Lost in Translation with five noms each, Cold Mountain and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with four noms each and The Last Samurai and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with three noms each.

The American Film Institute has anointed 10 movies -- ranging from American Splendor, the biopic of eccentric comic book author Harvey Pekar, to Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's brooding look at dual tragedies afflicting a tightknit Boston community -- as its most outstanding motion pictures of the year. It has also singled out 10 outstanding television programs -- ranging from the globe-trotting spy series, Alias, to the Baltimore-set crime saga, The Wire. In an awards year that has been overshadowed by the contentious screener issue, the AFI's movie choices were evenly divided with five films from the major studios and five from independent distributors. The indie offerings that secured a place on the AFI's fourth annual list include HBO Films/Fine Line Features' American Splendor; Miramax Films' The Human Stain; Fox Searchlight's In America; Focus Features' Lost in Translation; and Newmarket Films' Monster. The films chosen from major distributors include Finding Nemo, from Pixar/Disney; Warner Bros. Pictures' The Last Samurai; New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; 20th Century Fox/Universal Pictures/Miramax's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; and Warners' Mystic River.

The American Film Institute has anointed 10 movies -- ranging from American Splendor, the biopic of eccentric comic book author Harvey Pekar, to Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's brooding look at dual tragedies afflicting a tightknit Boston community -- as its most outstanding motion pictures of the year. It has also singled out 10 outstanding television programs -- ranging from the globe-trotting spy series, Alias, to the Baltimore-set crime saga, The Wire. In an awards year that has been overshadowed by the contentious screener issue, the AFI's movie choices were evenly divided with five films from the major studios and five from independent distributors. The indie offerings that secured a place on the AFI's fourth annual list include HBO Films/Fine Line Features' American Splendor; Miramax Films' The Human Stain; Fox Searchlight's In America; Focus Features' Lost in Translation; and Newmarket Films' Monster. The films chosen from major distributors include Finding Nemo, from Pixar/Disney; Warner Bros. Pictures' The Last Samurai; New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; 20th Century Fox/Universal Pictures/Miramax's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; and Warners' Mystic River.

Writer-director Jim Sheridan and composer Danny Elfman will be honored at the 15th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Sheridan, who is represented onscreen by Fox Searchlight's In America, will receive the International Filmmaker Award, Producing and Directing. Elfman, who has written the score for Tim Burton's Big Fish, which Sony Pictures just opened, will receive the Frederick Loewe Award for Career Achievement in Film Composing. The honors will be handed out Jan. 11 at a gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Jim Sheridan's In America, a semiautobiographical tale of an Irish family newly arrived in New York, led the 2004 Independent Spirit Award nominations, announced Wednesday. It scored six noms, including best feature and director and acting noms for Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou and Sarah Bolger. The Fox Searchlight Pictures release will vie for votes in the feature category with Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's comedic take on Harvey Pekar, American Splendor; Sofia Coppola's love letter to Tokyo, Lost in Translation; Peter Sollett's look at a Latino family on the Lower East Side, Raising Victor Vargas; and writer-director Billy Ray's account of fallen journalist Stephen Glass, Shattered Glass. Of those films, American Splendor and Vargas snagged the most mentions after America, receiving five each, followed by Translation and Shattered Glass, with four apiece. All but one of the best feature nominees received mentions for its director, with the exception being Shattered Glass' Ray. Instead, the fifth slot for best director went to Gus Van Sant for his Palme d'Or-winning Elephant, a fictionalized look at a high school shooting inspired by the real-life events in Littleton, Colo., from HBO Films/Fine Line Features.

Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's brooding adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel about a tight-knit Boston community driven apart by a series of crimes, was named best film of the year Wednesday by the National Board of Review. Sean Penn, who stars in Mystic River as an ex-con whose daughter is missing, was named best actor for both Mystic and 21 Grams, in which he plays a dying man who receives a new chance at life. The best actress honor went to Diane Keaton, who plays a woman who finds herself falling for her daughter's older lover, Jack Nicholson, in the upcoming Something's Gotta Give. Warner Bros. Pictures' Mystic River headed the board's list of the top 10 films of 2003, which also included, in descending order, The Last Samurai, The Station Agent, 21 Grams, House of Sand and Fog, Lost in Translation, Cold Mountain, In America, Seabiscuit and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

In America, director Jim Sheridan's semiautobiographical tale of an Irish family newly arrived in New York City, led the list of nominations for the IFP's Independent Spirit Awards announced Wednesday. The Fox Searchlight feature captured six nominations, including best feature, a best director nom for Sheridan and acting nominations for Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou and Sarah Bolger. The other best feature nominees include American Splendor, a look at the eccentric live of comic book author Harvey Pekar; Lost in Translation, a study of the relationship that develops between two Americans adrift in Tokyo; Raising Victor Vargas, a portrait of teenagers living on New York's Lower East Side, and Shattered Glass, a drama about journalist Stephen Glass, who invented stories while working at the New Republic. The awards will be announced Feb. 28.

Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's brooding adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel about a tightly knit Boston community driven apart by a series of crimes, was named best film of the year by the National Board of Review on Wednesday. Sean Penn, who stars in Mystic River as an ex-con whose daughter is missing, was named best actor for both Mystic and 21 Grams, in which he plays a dying man who receives a new chance at life. The best actress honors went to Diane Keaton, who plays a woman who finds herself falling for her daughter's older lover, Jack Nicholson, in the upcoming Something's Gotta Give. Warner Bros. Pictures' Mystic River headed the board's list of the top ten films of 2003, which also included, in descending order, The Last Samurai, The Station Agent, 21 Grams, House of Sand and Fog, Lost in Translation, Cold Mountain, In America, Seabiscuit and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Drawing first blood in the year-end award frenzy, the National Board of Review gave its best picture honors to Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, and awarded River star Sean Penn with the Best Actor award for his performances in both that film and 21 Grams. While those awards were not entirely unexpected (River has been one of the most acclaimed movies of the year), the group had a few surprises up its sleeve, citing Diane Keaton as Best Actress for the upcoming comedy Something's Gotta Give and an out-of-the-blue Alec Baldwin for Best Supporting Actor for Sundance hit The Cooler. Indie fave Patricia Clarkson took Best Supporting Actress for her work in Pieces of April and The Station Agent, while Edward Zwick nabbed Best Director for The Last Samurai, which finished second behind Mystic River in the group's top ten list. French-Canadian flick The Barbarian Invasions won Best Foreign Film. Breakthrough performance honors went to Paul Giamatti (American Splendor) and Charlize Theron (Monster) and an ensemble award was given to the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The year's top ten films as named by the National Board of Review: Mystic River, The Last Samurai, The Station Agent, 21 Grams, House of Sand and Fog, Lost in Translation, Cold Mountain, In America, Seabiscuit, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. --Prepared by IMDb staff...

Fox Searchlight's In America, a semiautobiographical story of coming to America directed by Jim Sheridan, won the audience award for best feature film at AFI Fest 2003, which concluded Sunday night with Newmarket Films' Monster, written and directed by Patty Jenkins. Other audience winners, announced by fest director Christian Gaines and director of programming Nancy Collet, were Amanda Micheli's Double Dare, named best documentary, and Sikander Goldau's Fragile, named best short film.

LONDON -- Dirty Pretty Things, which centers on an illegal Nigerian immigrant working as a night porter in a London hotel, walked off with the lion's share of this year's British Independent Film Awards. Things, directed by Stephen Frears, scooped up four nods at Tuesday night at London's Hammersmith Palais. The film picked up gongs for best British film and best director, screenplay (Steve Knight) and actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Olivia Williams received the best actress award for her role in The Heart of Me, beating out competition from her co-star Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Ashfield (This Little Life), Samantha Morton (In America) and Tilda Swinton (Young Adam). In the supporting actor category, Susan Lynch scored an award for her role in Richard Jobson's directorial debut, 16 Years of Alcohol.