Prince And Princesses Denounce ‘Grace Of Monaco’
Monaco’s Prince Albert and his sisters Princesses Caroline and Stephanie criticized as glamorized fiction the screenplay for the movie starring Nicole Kidman as their mother, former Hollywood actress Grace Kelly. A statement released by the royal palace of Monaco charged that Grace of Monaco contained “historical untruths” and some “purely fictional” parts. Their statement was intended to debunk a story in the magazine Paris Match that said the Monaco royals had been reassured by producers about the credibility of director Olivier Dahan’s project. “Their Highnesses were quite surprised when they received the script,” said the statement emailed to Reuters. “The Palace had submitted many requests for changes to the producers of the film, not all of which were taken into consideration.” The statement added, “Consequently, the Princely family wishes to emphasize that this film is by no means a biopic”.
Marion Cotillard To Be Feted At Harvard
Oscar winning French actress Marion Cotillard has been named Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ woman of the year. Cotillard won her Best Actress Academy Award for 2007’s La Vie En Rose and last year won accolades for her role in Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone. She will be feted with a parade and a roast and given her ceremonial pudding pot at Harvard on January 31. She’s the first French actress to receive the honor.
Karl Pilkington To Discover ‘The Moaning Of Life’
Karl Pilkington is coming back to television with SKY 1’s The Moaning Of Life. The five-part documentary series will chart a journey of self-discovery for the star who’s best known for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s An Idiot Abroad series. Moaning hails from Me & You Productions and Pilkington’s RoundEd Productions (the name a nod to Gervais’ common refrain that Pilkington has a “perfectly round head.”) Celia Taylor is exec production for Sky and Richard Yee and Krishnendu Majumdar are exec producers for Me & You. After traveling the world for An Idiot Abroad, Pilkington will go it alone as he experiences turning 40, “I’ve been on the planet for 40 years now, and I’m still none the wiser as to what it’s all about really. I’ve never worried about life’s big questions. People at my age sit about pondering about ‘why are we here?’ The only time I ever asked meself that is when (girlfriend) Suzanne booked us a surprise holiday to Lanzarote.” The show is set to air in the fall on Sky 1 in the UK. An Idiot Abroad aired on the Science Channel in the U.S.
‘Dancing On The Edge’ Finds International Partners
ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Dancing On The Edge has been picked up in Australia (UKTV), Israel (HOT) and Finland (YLE). The drama created by Stephen Poliakoff was pre-sold in the territories and features a cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Goodman, Matthew Goode and Jacqueline Bisset. The series is set in 1930s London and follows the rise to success of a black jazz band until violence and prejudice bring it crashing back to earth. As the band grows in popularity and starts to mix with the upper classes, the combination of music, money and parties pull the characters into a glamorous but perilous world. Dancing On The Edge is a Ruby Film and Television Production for BBC Two.
Lachlan Murdoch’s Year Ahead
Some Australian analysts are tipping the 41-year-old will take a seat on the board of the “new” publishing-based News Corp. when the company splits rather than on the board of Fox. Sydney-based Murdoch’s main focus remains resurrecting Network Ten, where he is non-executive chairman, and on overseeing DMG Radio Australia, which he owns through family investment company Illyria. Some observers believe Murdoch may try to sell DMG Radio to News Corp, although that may run afoul of cross-media restrictions. Lachlan will collect a fee of $189,000 as Ten’s non-executive chairman this year, relatively scant for trying to rejuvenate a company whose share price plunged by 60% last year as ratings and revenues tumbled. Through Illyria, he owns just under 9% of Ten. This week the stock was trading at 35 cents, which values Illyria’s 230M shares at $80.5M. One broker, Citi, recently released a bullish report on Ten, upgrading its stock to a buy from neutral. Given Murdoch’s responsibilities at Ten and DMG Radio, it’s considered highly unlikely Lachlan Murdoch would contemplate returning to an executive role at News Corp. – Don Groves
Sun Journalist Among New Arrests In Alleged Bribery Scandal
A journalist for Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper was arrested today by police investigating alleged payments to police and public officials. Anthony France, a crime reporter for the News Corp. title, was believed to be one of three men arrested in the early hours of the morning as part of Operation Elveden, which arose out of Operation Weeting, the police investigation into the phone hacking brouhaha. Two serving police offers were arrested separately, bringing the total number of Operation Elveden arrests to 56. Today’s is the first such arrest under the reign of new News International chief executive Mike Darcey, who was appointed in December. He described the arrest as “particularly disappointing” and said the company would “continue to seek further clarity on the state of the police investigations.” Earlier this month, Met police inspector April Casburn became the first person convicted under Operation Elveden, for trying to sell information on the phone-hacking investigation to journalists at the News Of The World. – Joe Utichi
Glasgow Sets ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ ‘Game Of Thrones,’ ‘Doctor Who’ Panels
The Glasgow Film Festival promised its “biggest-ever programme” as it unveiled the line-up for its 2013 edition. The festival kicks off on February 14 with the UK premiere of candy-coated French rom-com Populaire and will end with Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing 10 days later. In between, the event will celebrate UK premieres for Sundance players Stoker, from Park Chan-wook; Michael Winterbottom’s The Look Of Love; and Eran Creevy’s much-anticipated Welcome To The Punch. There are also first UK showings for The Place Beyond The Pines, Arbitrage and The Paperboy. But the biggest crowds may well gather for a special panel featuring actors from the HBO hit Game Of Thrones, who will screen Neil Marshall’s second season episode ‘Blackwater’ and introduce season three, set to launch March 31. A second panel will celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, with cast members and series writer Tom MacRae in attendance. – Joe Utichi
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