Author: Laura Robinson

Judi Dench, theatrical dame of the realm, lamented that due to failing eyesight she is no longer able to sew her famous saucy tapestries. For years, the actress would while away her downtime on set creating intricate needlework that she would give to friends.A lot of folks — including David Hare and Richard Eyre — have been recipients of her handiwork over the years. ‘They’ve probably thrown them out,’ she said, laughing.We were meant to be chatting about the Oscar nomination she received this week for her witty, poignant performance as Granny in Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s family drama set during…

Fourteen years ago Jessie Buckley was singing for her supper on a TV talent show – last night she was celebrating her first Oscar nomination.The 32-year-old London-based Irish star was listed for Academy Award recognition when she was named as a best supporting actress nominee for her role in the Netflix film The Lost Daughter.The ceremony in Hollywood next month will be the next step on the path to success that began for her over several weeks in 2008, when viewers were glued to their sets following her progress to the final of I’d Do Anything, the hunt for a…

Dame Maureen Lipman stirred up a blistering row last month when she insisted Dame Helen Mirren should not portray former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in a new film – because she’s not Jewish.Dame Maureen complained that the choice of a non-Jewish actress to play the legendary premier in Golda was unacceptable.Writing in a letter to The Guardian, she made the point: ‘If the ethnicity or gender of the character drives the role, then that ethnicity should be prioritised.’The story provoked fierce debate, with several leading Jewish voices arguing that Dame Maureen was wrong. But Dame Helen kept her counsel…

Film legend Denzel Washington has got the Bard bug bad, following his acclaimed screen performance, full of lethal menace, as the slasher Scot Macbeth.Now, Washington has revealed that he has his eye on another great Shakespearean role: King Lear. And this time, he wants to play him on stage. ‘The L word!’ the actor roared.’That’s the good stuff. These are great parts — and the greatest challenge.’ He said that playing the ageing, troubled king was ‘absolutely something I want to do’.And the two-time Oscar winner did not rule out the possibility of bringing Lear to London. Though he cautioned:…

Kirsten Dunst (pictured) said she would have joined the cast of the latest Spider Man had she been askedKirsten Dunst would happily have joined the ‘boys’ in the blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home — had she only been invited.Instead, the actress can be seen giving a sublime performance in Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog (streaming now on Netflix), as a woman hurled into psychological despair after being shunned by her brother-in-law (Benedict Cumberbatch).Twenty years ago, Dunst played Peter Parker’s girl Mary Jane Watson in the first three Spidey movies — opposite Tobey Maguire as the teenage webslinger.Maguire and…

As a child, Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain thought larger-than-life televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker was a silly woman with over-sized eyelashes.But now she is playing her in a new film she has changed her mind.’I didn’t watch religious television, but I knew she was silly and easy to make fun of. She was on the cover of tabloid magazines, so I thought she must be a terrible person,’ Chastain said of Bakker who, with her fraudster husband Jim, used to broadcast a religious TV show from their Christian HQ in Heritage, North Carolina, in the 1970s and 80s. Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain…

As some of Doctor Who’s most formidable enemies, you would expect the Cybermen to try to turn humans into an android army – not help out in care homes and hospitals.But luckily these gentle robots resemble the TV villains in looks alone, having been created to fill shortages in sectors suffering from understaffing.The high-tech invention, Beomni 1.0, is set to be unveiled for the first time in public at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.It is so nimble it can pick up a pinch of salt, but is strong enough to lift up to 30kg (4st…

Has Corrie’s Max overdosed on spinach? Is there any other explanation for his having sprouted up 3ft in lockdown?Yes, it’s a different actor, but there’s not a smidgen of similarity; he’s also undergone a personality transplant. Yes, Little Max had problems, but Big Max looks as if he’s eaten three of him for breakfast and still had room left for several Big Macs.Corrie’s Todd transplant has worked because the character had not been around for aeons, although his transformation into the devil incarnate was never wholly convincing. Now, however, they’ve paired him with undertaker George (played by the hilarious Tony Maudsley), and, lo…

To understand the new smart watched and other pro devices of recent focus, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Diana saves Steve Trevor who has crashed on Themyscira. He warns her of the great war, World War I, raging across the globe. Wonder Woman…

To understand the new smart watched and other pro devices of recent focus, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Diana saves Steve Trevor who has crashed on Themyscira. He warns her of the great war, World War I, raging across the globe. Wonder Woman…