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Jessica Gunning has just won her first Emmy Award for her portrayal of Martha in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer.” Gunning was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her work, one of 11 total nominations for the show.

After its April premiere, “Baby Reindeer” became one of the buzziest shows of the summer, catapulted into the Netflix Top 10 and earning instant awards speculation for Gunning, creator and star Richard Gadd, and the series itself. The show received nominations at the 76th Annual Emmy Awards for its casting, costuming, directing, editing, and music supervision, as well as in the performance categories for Gunning, Gadd, Tom Goodman-Hill, and Nava Mau (in Gunning’s category). The Creative Arts Emmys earlier in September awarded casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware as well as editors Peter H. Oliver and Benjamin Gerstein.

In “Baby Reindeer,” Gunning plays the stalker Martha, who becomes obsessed...

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books have been beloved for nearly a century. Peter Jackson's movie adaptations are still watched regularly. As we speak, Prime Video is rolling out the second season of The Rings of Power, its Lord of the Rings prequel series. Why not add a stage musical to that lineup?

Way ahead of you. The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale has music by A. R. Rahman, Värttinä and Christopher Nightingale, with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus. A version of the show premiered in London way back in 2007, so it's been around for awhile. It was revived recently and just ended a run at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. As it happens, I live in Chicago and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it. It's going abroad soon, so you may get a chance to see it too.

Sony is rolling out Bad Boys: Ride Or Die at 643 locations to make it the widest release in the UK and Ireland this weekend.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles as two renegade cops standing in the way of a Miami drugs cartel, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directing.

It is the fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise following the most recent, Bad Boys For Life, opening to £3.8m in January 2020, surpassing the £866,215 opening of 1995’s Bad Boys and the £3.2m of 2003’s Bad Boys II.

The Watched, known outside of UK-Ireland as The Watchers,...

Mubi Swoops For Andrea Arnold’s ‘Bird’

Mubi has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Bird, the Andrea Arnold feature that is getting its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by Arnold, the pic stars Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski (Passages, Great Freedom), and newcomers Nykiya Adams and Jason Buda. The plot follows a 12-year-old girl, Bailey, who lives with her dad and brother in a squat in north Kent in southern England. As her dad has little time for his kids, Bailey seeks attention and adventure elsewhere. BBC Studios-owned House Productions made the film, which was shot in the UK around the Kent area. Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Lee Groombridge are the producers. Financiers include BBC Film, the BFI through National Lottery funding), Pinky Promise, FirstGen Content and Access Entertainment. Cornerstone is handling international sales and distribution, striking the deal with Mubi.

2014’s Pride, from director Matthew Warchus, is heading back into cinemas in the UK this June: more details here.

Comfortably one of the best British films of the 2010s is the wonderful Pride, an uproariously funny and really moving ensemble film set in the 1980s. Led by George MacKay, Andrew Scott, Ben Schnetzer, Faye Marsay, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, a sex toy, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy and Freddie Fox, it felt like a movie out of nowhere when it first arrived.

Telling the story of the miner’s strike in the UK in the 1980s, and the efforts of a bunch of lesbian and gay activists to support them, it still remains something of a one-off. Penned by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus, the modestly-budgeted film hardly set the box office alight on its initial release, but it’s earned a rich and deserved reputation since for a film that’s well,...

The Lord of the Rings musical that opened last year in the UK will stage its U.S. debut in Chicago this July, producers announced today.

Based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Paul Hart, The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale will begin performances July 19 at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, running through September 1. An international tour will follow, with venues and dates to be announced in June.

“I can’t wait for this next step in the epic journey of The Lord of the Rings as we craft this new staging for the US premiere production with Chicago Shakespeare Theater for Chicago audiences,” Hart said in a statement. “We loved creating this version which was retold from the perspective of the Hobbits at The Watermill and will now be expanded far beyond those horizons. It will be thrilling to share with new audiences...

There’s something uniquely special about the films you discover when you’re a child. Whether it’s a wondrous flight of fantasy, a mind-boggling work of animation, an adventure in a whole new world, or a coming-of-age tale that teaches you some of life’s biggest lessons, the movies we see when we’re kids stay with us for life — and the best ones help shape who we are. But in an age where you don’t have to leave the house — or even the sofa — to lose yourself in the magic of moving pictures, it can be hard to even know where to start when it comes to finding the films that will truly connect with the next generation of budding young film buffs.

Thankfully, your cool aunt/uncle Empire is here to help. We’ve got down with the kids, reconnected with the child within, and spent...

Voting will close on November 1.

Voting is now open for the Big Screen Award’s Best British Film of the Year 2023.

The vote closes on November 1 and the winner will be announced at the Big Screen Awards ceremony on November 23 at The Brewery in London.

The Big Screen Awards 2023: Best British Film Of The Year

Last year’s best British film was awarded to Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast with Mark Jenkin’s Bait winning in 2019 and 2018’s inaugural prize going to Daniel Kokotajlo’s Apostasy.

The full list of nominees for this year’s Big Screen Awards can be found here.

Aimee Lou Wood for ‘Living’, ‘Rye Lane’ team and ‘Aftersun’ director Charlotte Wells among the nominees

The Big Screen Awards can unveil the shortlists for best British film as well as the nominees for breakthrough British actor and filmmaker.

The nominees for British film, which will be decided by a public vote, include Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees Of Inisherin, Matthew Warchus’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and Sam Mendes’ Empire Of Light.

Vote for Best British Film of the Year here

Also among the nominees is Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun and Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane – both of...

Exclusive: Rock icon Bob Geldof is collaborating on a stage musical about the global phenomenon that was Live Aid. The show, called Just For One Day, devised and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet), will have its world premiere at the Old Vic Theatre in London early next year.

Live Aid was a concert like no other, organized by Geldof and fellow rock ‘n’ roller Midge Ure in July 1985 to raise funds and awareness for the famine crisis then taking place in Ethiopia.

Just For One Day will run at the Old Vic from January 26-March 30.

The UK leg of Live Aid kicked off at Wembley Stadium where the likes of Queen with frontman Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Elton John, George Michael, Sting, Sade, The Who, Paul McCartney, U2, Geldof’s the Boomtown Rats, Ure, Paul Weller and tons of others rocked and raved in the presence of thousands of spectators — including Charles and Diana,...

Netflix typically refuses to release its actual viewership numbers to the public, making its weekly top-10 lists a fascinating peek into how streaming services actually operate. Netflix may pour millions into their original programs, but their ten most popular films or TV tend to (at least partly) be 25-year-old movies experiencing a seemingly random renaissance. Case in point: one of the hottest films on Netflix right now is Danny DeVito's 1996 family film "Matilda" based on the 1988 novel by Roald Dahl. 

"Matilda," critically acclaimed upon its release, is about the titular young girl (Mara Wilson) who lives with caustic, greedy, tacky, and abusive parents. Her new school is a bleak, Dickensian nightmare overseen by the bestial, cruel Mrs. Trunchbull (Pam Ferris). The only person who treats Matilda with kindness is the put-upon Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) who sees how bright and gentle Matilda is. 

Matilda sees little respite from her...

It is, unignorably, right there in the title: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. The 1996 American movie adaptation of Dahl’s 1988 children’s book might have snuck by under the unassuming name of just plain Matilda, but the 2022 film version came with a warning: this is a Roald Dahl tale; expect pain.

Dahl stories don’t shield young readers from danger, they delight in showing it off from every angle. His imaginary worlds aren’t places of safety where adults are uniformly kind and kids are adored, they’re places where cruelty thrives… until it’s made to stop. Sadistic teachers, nasty grandmothers, giant bullies and abusive aunts all operate with impunity, right up until the point that they’re dealt with. Ejected with telekinesis, shrunk by a magical potion, trapped in a massive pit, crushed to death by a giant peach… Goodness wins out, but first, it has a fight on its hands.

In December 2022, the critically acclaimed, mega-successful stage musical based on Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book Matilda came to cinemas translated into a punchy, inventive feature film. Written by playwright and screenwriter Dennis Kelly with songs and lyrics by comedian and writer Tim Minchin (Upright), the musical – like the book – is a terrific blend of poignancy and rebellious satire.

Famously adapted for a 1996 American feature film starring writer Mara Wilson in the title role, Matilda is the story of an extraordinary young girl born into a neglectful family who are unable to see, or appreciate her uniqueness. Matilda Wormwood isn’t just an academic genius, and when she goes up against the cruel, child-hating headmistress Miss Trunchbull, she uses her powers to right a generational wrong.

The new film retains the original musical’s anarchic heart, chiefly by retaining its director Matthew Warchus, who pulled the whole thing together...

That's right, woodchuck-checkers, it's Groundhog Day Day! The sensational musical adaptation of the beloved Harold Ramis/Bill Murray comedy is now back on the London stage at The Old Vic.

In this interview special, Chris Hewitt sits down with Danny Rubin, writer of the original movie and the book for the musical, Tim Minchin, the mastermind behind the music and lyrics, and director Matthew Warchus, to talk about taking another bite of the cherry, the songs of the musical, its ill-fated Broadway stint, and much, much more. Enjoy.

Listen to the episode on the pod app of your choice — or via the PlanetRadio player above.

Music has always played an important role in Tolkien adaptations. J.A. Bayona, producer and director on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, told Den of Geek last year that he played music on set for the actors to help them get “the right tone” for their characters, and that “there’s an… obvious sense of musicality when you read the books” which is “all about language and the beauty of language.” The show’s season one finale even featured a new musical setting for Tolkien’s “Rhyme of the Rings,” written by Bear McCreary and performed by Fiona Apple, which was generally well-received by fans.

Anyone who has read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings knows that the books are full of songs. Aragorn sings old Elvish ballads, Bilbo is quite the composer, the Dwarves have songs about their ancient mines, the Rohirrim love melancholic battle epics,...

Remember how you felt after watching Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for the first time? Exhilarated, slightly speechless, strongly considering going straight back to the box office and getting another ticket to launch yourself straight back in? Same. Now, its sequel Across the Spider-Verse is almost here to leave you feeling like that all over again, and the new issue of Empire is about to take you through the wormhole and into the Spider-Verse itself. We’ve caught up with Miles Morales Dr. Seuss movie The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Warning: contains scenes of child actors going mad with their pay cheques, gorging on hot dogs and vomiting all over the set.

The Deep Dive: Musso & Frank

You know Musso & Frank, even if you’ve never popped in for a quick lobster thermidor. Its wood-panelled walls and plush bar have featured in Ocean’s Eleven, Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Ed Wood,...

Exclusive: A musical stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, originally co-created in 2006 by Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical director Matthew Warchus, is headed to the English countryside.

The Shire of Middle-earth, the inland area inhabited by the hobbits and Bilbo Baggins, will be re-created at the Watermill Theatre to allow a cast of 20 actor-musicians to perform the musical in the open air.

The Watermill Theatre is located in Berkshire, a county adjacent to Oxfordshire, where Tolkien wrote his chronicle of the Hobbit universe’s Great War of the Ring. It will present a semi-immersive production of The Lord of the Rings that takes advantage of the venue’s picturesque setting on the banks of the River Lambourn.

Expect the village of Bagnor close to the town of Newbury, where the Watermill is based, to be overrun by Ringers and Tolkienites eager to see the show,...

Stanislaus Katczinsky (Albrecht Schuch), Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), and Tjaden Stackfleet (Edin Hasanovic) in Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

All Quiet on the Western Front went into the 2023 Ee BAFTA Film Awards with 14 nominations, the most of any film, and emerged the year’s big winner. The brilliant adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel took home Best Film, Best Director (Edward Berger), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Sound, and Film Not in the English Language.

The Banshees of Inisherin scored four wins out of its 10 nominations, collecting acting wins for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon as well as Outstanding British Film and Original Screenplay honors. Elvis also took home four wins including Leading Actor (Austin Butler), Casting, Costume Design, and Make Up & Hair.

Austin Butler, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, and Edward Berger earned their first BAFTA wins while Cate Blanchett picked up her fourth with...

First World War drama won seven awards including best film and director.

All Quiet On The Western Front was the major winner at the 2023 Bafta Film Awards, picking up seven prizes including best film.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Edward Berger won best director, whilst the Netflix First World War drama also collected best film not in the English language, adapted screenplay, sound, original score and cinematography.

In his speech, Berger praised un-nominated lead actor Felix Kammerer, saying: “without your performance, we wouldn’t have had a single nomination”.

The event was held tonight (February 19) at London’s...

‘Banshees’ duo, ’Navalny’, ’Aftersun’ among early winners.

The 2023 Bafta Film Awards show is taking place today (February 19) from London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank this year (it was previously at the Royal Albert Hall).

The show started at around 18:00 UK time, finishing at approximately 21:00, and will be broadcast with a time delay on BBC One starting at 19:00, with the final four awards broadcast live for the first time.

Richard E. Grant is hosting the ceremony, with presenter Alison Hammond providing backstage and winners access through a new Bafta studio.

Screen is posting all the winners...

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical has grossed over 33M in UK cinemas since its release on November 25 last year, picking up two BAFTA nominations along the way. In a unique deal, Sony/TriStar retained UK rights to the movie while Netflix financed the pic and took the rest of the world, debuting it on the service December 25 where it landed at No. 2 in the global Top 10 of English-language movies.

The Matthew Warchus-directed charmer then remained in the Top 10 every week through the end of January, logging over 77M viewing hours, and continued to perform in UK theaters. Meanwhile, Sony this year launched a sing-along version to play alongside the regular version in select UK cinemas.

At BAFTA this weekend, Matilda, starring Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough, is up for Outstanding British Film and Make Up And Hair. Its UK box office exceeds...

Everybody loves an underdog story, we can all enjoy rooting for the little guy, especially when they come out on top in the end. There are all kinds of different ways that the hero can be disadvantaged. They might be battling against forces much bigger than them, operating in a world that’s not designed for them, or simply not listened to in the same way that others might be. Whatever the reason for their underdog status, it’s how they overcome it that matters. All of these underdog stories tell the fascinating and inspiring stories of what happens when the underdog rises up and succeeds. So, get your popcorn ready, sit back on the sofa and prepare yourself for some feel-good streaming.

Poker Queens (2020) Amazon Prime

Next up is a format that certainly isn’t overdone in the world of underdog storytelling and that’s interviewing a selection of professional poker players.

Seen as the main precursor to what you might expect on Oscar nomination morning, the nominations for the 2023 Ee BAFTA Film Awards have been announced, and Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” gained even more steam as a major awards threat, with an impressive 14 nominations in total. The movie equals Ang Lee’s 2001 “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” as the film not the English language with the most nominations in BAFTA’s history.

Other films that had a strong showing in overall noms include “The Banshees of Insiherin” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (10 each), “Elvis” (9 noms), and “Tar” (5 noms), but possibly the most surprising inclusion was that both leads of the acclaimed indie “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” — Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack — scored leading actress and actor nods, respectively.

Among notable snubs are the absence of stateside favorites “The Fabelmans” and “Top Gun: Maverick” in the best film,...

BAFTA has announced the nominations for the 2023 Ee BAFTA Film Awards, celebrating the very best in film over the past year.

A total of 45 feature films received nominations with 14 nominations for ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ 10 nominations for ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once,’ 9 nominations for ‘Elvis’ and 5 nominations for the Cate Blanchett led ‘Tár.’

Actors Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh announced the nominations via a live broadcast from BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London. First-time nominees feature heavily this year, with 14 of the 24 nominees in the performance categories receiving their first BAFTA Film nomination. They include Ana De Armas (Blonde); Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin); Brendan Fraser (The Whale); Paul Mescal (Aftersun), and Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once).

Alongside this year’s Ee Rising Star nominee Daryl McCormack, four former Ee Rising Stars...

World War One drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” leads this year’s BAFTA nominations with 14 nods, tying with “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” as the most-nominated non-English language film in the awards’ history.

The Netflix drama — for which awards chances have quietly gathered steam in the last month — is up for best picture as well as film not in the English language, director, adapted screenplay, supporting actor, original score, casting, cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, make-up and hair, sound and special visual effects.

“Gandhi” is the most nominated film at the BAFTAs with 16 nods and “All Quiet” ties with “Atonement,” which also had 14.

Close behind “All Quiet” with 10 nominations apiece are Searchlight’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” and A24’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Warner Bros.’ “Elvis” follows with nine nominations, while Focus Features’ “Tár” received five nods.

All five titles are nominated for best film this year.

Nominations for the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards will be revealed today in London. Scroll down for the list, which will be updated as nominees are announced.

Among the frontrunners for nominations are Netflix’s German-language World War I drama All Quiet on the Western Front, which was longlisted in 15 categories, and Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin, which landed on 14 lists.

Charlotte Wells’ festival favorite Aftersun also appeared on eight longlists, including Best Film, Director, and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Other titles that were well represented included Oliver Hermanus’s Living and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.

The BAFTA ceremony itself will take place on February 19 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London. Actor Richard E. Grant has been set as the host, while British presenter Alison Hammond will lead the BAFTA studio, a new behind-the-scenes stream launched for this year’s ceremony.

The Bafta Film Awards ceremony will take place on February 19.

German First World War drama All Quiet On The Western Front leads the nominations for the Bafta Film Awards 2023 with 14 nods, tying for the most ever received by a foreign-language feature.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Edward Berger’s Netflix title secured nominations in all but three categories for which it was eligible including best film, director, supporting actor for Albrecht Schuch, adapted screenplay, film not in the English language, casting, and all eight technical categories.

It is the first film to receive 14 or more Bafta nods since...

For Lashana Lynch, 2022 was all about showing off her range. In Sony’s The Woman King, she plays Igozie, a member of the historical, all-female warrior unit known as the Agojie, led by Viola Davis’ General Nanisca. While it required intense training (and doing her own stunts), it fit right along with the other roles in Lynch’s filmography — among them a pilot in Captain Marvel and a secret agent in No Time to Die. But it was Netflix’s Matilda the Musical, based on the Roald Dahl novel and subsequent stage musical that played the West End and Broadway, that was the major departure from Lynch’s string of badass characters. As Miss Honey, the kind and supportive teacher who attempts to protect the young title character from the cruel and brutish headmistress Miss Trunchbull (played by Emma Thompson), Lynch had to embrace her softer, less confident side — and belt some tunes.

An Olivier Award-winning success in the West End and a Tony Award-winning one on Broadway, the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda now arrives as a toe-tapping motion picture, with addictive song-and-dance numbers meant to be streamed over and over again. The key plot details from Dahl’s book (and Danny Devito’s 1996 crack at the material) and characters remain: the title character (Alisha Weir) is a charming young girl with a great imagination and special powers, something that comes in handy once she’s sent to a grade school run like a military bootcamp by the demonic Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Disavowed […]

The post “The Stage Show Would Make for a Terrible Film if I Were to Directly Translate It”: Matthew Warchus on Matilda the Musical first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

An Olivier Award-winning success in the West End and a Tony Award-winning one on Broadway, the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda now arrives as a toe-tapping motion picture, with addictive song-and-dance numbers meant to be streamed over and over again. The key plot details from Dahl’s book (and Danny Devito’s 1996 crack at the material) and characters remain: the title character (Alisha Weir) is a charming young girl with a great imagination and special powers, something that comes in handy once she’s sent to a grade school run like a military bootcamp by the demonic Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Disavowed […]

The post “The Stage Show Would Make for a Terrible Film if I Were to Directly Translate It”: Matthew Warchus on Matilda the Musical first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

While the character of Miss Honey in Roald Dahl’s book “Matilda” is a hero of the story, standing up to the evil Miss Trunchbull and fostering young Matilda’s creativity, actress Lashana Lynch was eager to ensure that her take on the character in Netflix’s musical adaptation wouldn’t continue a tired trope of Black women in parts like this.

“I’m constantly trying to teach the world to dismantle the strong Black woman trope. We did that without even discussing her race, and that’s really important,” she told TheWrap in a recent interview. “I’m glad that that was a decision that was made before I even got to set, that she just exists as a human. We humanized this woman, this Black woman, and we allowed her to live comfortably and grow in private.”

As for the character’s own background, Lynch found discussions around...

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical” director Matthew Warchus didn’t particularly enjoy school until he got to university, and that’s when he discovered what he wanted to do with his life.

“I got to university and I was allowed to use my imagination — I studied music and drama — and I realized that it was a whole career you could have which revolved around using your imagination which is essentially what directing is — writing, performing all of those things,” he said. “It’s lovely to realize at some point in your life that your imagination can be your job. I think that imagination is powerful for everybody. It’s the thing that changes worlds and societies and relationships for the better potentially.”

Based on Dennis Kelly’s stage musical, Netflix’s latest iteration of the beloved Roald Dahl book and story stars Alisha Weir in the titular role of Matilda,...

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical Review — Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Matthew Warchus, written by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin and starring Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Carl Spencer, Lauren Alexandra, Winter Jarrett-Glasspool, Meesha Garbett, Katherine Kingsley, James Laurenson and Ann [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Roald Dahl’S Matilda The Musical (2022): An Overlong but Endearing Family Film with Likable Performers...

Stephen Graham has shared a touching message following the death of his mother.

The actor’s announcement came one day after it was revealed he would reveive an OBE as part of the annual New Year Honours.

On Saturday (31 December), Graham wrote on Twitter: “This incredible, inspirational, woman & the purest heart my mum passed away.”

He continued: “Her words as a child ‘no one is above you and no one is below you all are equal’ have remained with me throughout my life.

“I feel so honoured and proud to share this with her. An OBE for both of us mum.”

Graham, 49, accompanied the post with a selection of photos of himself as a youngster with his mother.

The actor’s credits include This Is England, The Irishman and Boiling Point. Most recently, he appeared in Matthew Warchus’s film adaptation of Matilda: The Musical.

He is receiving an OBE for services to drama.

Plot: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is an inspirational musical tale of an extraordinary girl who discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what’s right, she’s met with miraculous results.

Review: Roald Dahl’s novels have long made for wonderful cinematic adaptations from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to James and the Giant Peach, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Witches, and The Bfg. While Danny DeVito’s 1996 adaptation has remained a cult and nostalgiac favorite for many, the 2011 stage musical brought a more faithful and expansive take on Dahl’s beloved novel about a little girl with big brains and bigger superpowers. In the decade since it hit the stage, an adaptation of Matilda The Musical has been in the works and now has debuted...

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical” hit Netflix on December 25 to rave reviews. The musical fantasy starring Oscar winner Emma Thompson as Miss Agatha Trunchbull and Alisha Weir as the title character is based on the Broadway musical of the same name. The film is directed by Matthew Warchus with a script by Dennis Kelly. Warchus and Kelly brought the stage musical to Broadway in 2011 based on the 1988 novel by Roald Dahl.

This adaptation of their Tony and Oliver award-winning musical tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results. The film currently holds a freshness rating of 92 on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics consensus reading, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical brings the classic story back to the screen with a delightful Emma Thompson, dazzling dancing, and a suitably irascible take on the source material.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda: the Musical is a movie directed by Matthew Warchus starring Alisha Weir and Emma Thompson.

‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda: the Musical’ is now streaming on Netflix. A musical film that succeeds in entertaining. Its musical numbers are perfectly orchestrated and choreographed, in this excellent production with performances that, in all their deliberate theatricality, are amusing.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda: the Musical

A very theatrical movie for this Christmas, in this adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic children’s novel.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda: the Musical has the advantage of knowing what it wants, and especially whom it is for, and counts on the brilliant Dahl story. It adapts the rhythm well with a number of surprises in the script.

It is a “film” that works best due the scenes than the sequences, following the theatrical structures.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda: the Musical

Of course, counting on the performance by Emma Thomson,...

Roald Dahl’s 1988 children’s novel “Matilda” is a beloved, acclaimed book — consistently named one of the best children’s books of all time — for good reason. Dahl was the kind of writer who expressed universal truths about the harshness of childhood and the darker aspects of life as a kid by mining his own childhood experiences and woes, affording his underdog protagonists the kind of wildly imaginative adventures and fantastical comeuppance of which a kid could only dream.

In “Matilda,” as in Stephen King’s “Carrie,” a bookish, abused, and neglected girl asserts her own empowerment against the brawny bullies of the world using her brains; it’s a redemptive and hopeful fable for the scrawny bookworms of the world. That unlikely hero’s story, written with an emotional depth not often afforded to children’s literature, is what makes “Matilda” such a resonant classic, a story to be returned to again and again.

Also out during the Christmas and New Year period: ’Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Singalong’ and ’Peter von Kant’.

In a special festive edition of the UK-Ireland box office preview, Screen has pulled together all the new titles to hit cinemas from December 23 up until January 1, including Corsage, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and a singalong version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical.

Out this weekend (December 23) is Wildcat for Dogwoof, in partnership with Amazon Studios. The documentary, which premiered this year at Telluride, follows a British soldier grappling with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after...

Also out during the Christmas and New Year period: ’Corsage’ and ’Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody’.

In a special festive edition of the UK-Ireland box office preview, Screen has pulled together all the new titles to hit cinemas from December 23 up until January 1. A singalong version of Road Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is the widest release of the period, set to play at 775 locations from January 1.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is directed by Matthew Warchus, with Dennis Kelly writing and Tim Minchin composing, and is based on the stage musical created by the same trio.

The Christmas season brings scores of ticket buyers to Broadway as tourists flood Times Square and locals bring visiting family to the theater. Many of those audiences should catch the bold new version of “A Christmas Carol” at the Nederlander Theater, where Tony-winner Jefferson Mays vaults through every single character in Charles Dickens’ classic ghost story. The production is an artistic triumph, but will it thaw the hearts of Tony nominators?

Holiday themed shows have historically demonstrated a shaky track record at the Tony Awards. The 2016 production of “Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn” earned a sole nomination for Denis Jones’ choreography. Before that, 2009’s “White Christmas” (another Berlin musical) nabbed nominations for Choreography and Orchestrations. In 2013 “A Christmas Story” became the first, and so far only, Christmas themed Best Musical nominee. It was also up for Score (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) and Book of a Musical (Joseph Robinette). None of...

Emma Thompson stars in Netflix's new movie "Matilda," based on the musical of the same name which, in turn, is based upon Roald Dahl's 1988 novel. In the film, Thompson stars as Miss Agatha Trunchbull, the devious, horrible headmistress of Matilda's school who openly hates the kids she's in charge of. Miss Trunchbull has multiple songs in the show, which might leave viewers wondering if Thompson did her own singing for the part. Yes, Thompson is really singing in "Matilda."

Thompson and the rest of the cast were actually live-singing on set, she said during a Dec. 7 interview on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon." During her appearance, the host played a clip of her singing "The Smell of Rebellion," during which she climbs a large structure. She explained, "That last note, my legs were shaking because I was on top of that 80 foot structure with really nothing...

I love, love, love the new “Matilda the Musical” on Netflix based on the Broadway musical adapted from Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel. It stars Alisha Weir as our Matilda matching Emma Thompson’s Miss Agatha Trunchbull wit by wit. I spent some time with Alisha Weir and director Matthew Warchus who also helmed the stage

The post Roald Dahl’s “Matilda the Musical” Interview with Alisha Weir and Director Matthew Warchus appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.

Emma Thompson looks unrecognizable as the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull in “Matilda the Musical,” but achieving this look was no small feat.

At the New York premiere of the Netflix film on Wednesday, Thompson revealed that she spent about three and a half hours a day with the makeup and wardrobe departments as they applied extensive facial prosthetics and padding.

“‘Cruella’ was a long time, actually, but this was the longest,” Thompson told Variety. “There’s an actual body suit, which is to give her the heft and the muscle. And then a massive weighty underwear and pretend chest and all of that. It was a lot to walk around in.”

Alisha Weir, the 13-year-old actor who plays the titular role, said she was initially frightened when she saw Thompson in her Trunchbull costume.

“I had first seen without all the makeup, and then when I did see her in the makeup,...

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Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for M3GAN, Pinocchio, 1923, The Best Man: The Final Chapters and The Recruit.

People’s Choice Awards

Kenan Thompson hosted the awards show live from Santa Monica on Tuesday, where Ryan Reynolds accepted the People’s Icon Award, Shania Twain received the Music Icon Award, Lizzo accepted the People’s Champion Award and Ellen Pompeo and the cast of Grey’s Anatomy reunited onstage to accept the drama show of 2022 award.

Ryan Reynolds Lizzo and James Corden James Pickens Jr., Kelly McCreary, Ellen Pompeo, Caterina Scorsone, Chandra Wilson, Jake Borelli and Camilla Luddington

Pinocchio NY premiere

On Tuesday, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio celebrated its New York premiere at the Museum of Modern Art with stars Finn Wolfhard and Gregory Mann.

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” based on the popular West End show and not the 1996 film with Mara Wilson, doesn’t sing and dance its way to Netflix until Christmastime. But already, one musical number — the foot-stomping anthem “Revolting Children” — has captivated the internet’s attention, much to the surprise of choreographer Ellen Kane.

“I know that dancing is popular on TikTok, but I didn’t really understand quite how popular,” she says from her home in London. But Kane, whose theater credits include “Legally Blonde,” “Billy Elliot” and “Groundhog Day,” is grateful, nonetheless. “It shows you the power of dancers.”

It’s not Matilda (played in the film by Alisha Weir), a young girl with awful parents and a powerfully vivid imagination, who has been commanding the digital limelight. The viral moment — inspiring interpretations from JoJo Siwa to Missy Elliot and possibly every TikToker on the planet — spotlights a student named Hortensia,...

Universal’s ‘Violent Night’ is the top performing new release.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Dec 2-4) Total gross to date Week 1. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Sony) £2.5m £7.8m 2 2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney) £1.5m £29.5 4 3. Violent Night (Universal) £822,352 £822,352 1 4. Strange World (Disney)

£442,409 £1.4m 2 5. The Menu (Disney)

£334,067 £2.6m 3

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.23

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical continues its run of box office joy in the UK and Ireland, topping the chart once again with £2.5m from the weekend.

The Matthew Warchus-directed musical drama, distributed in the territory by Sony, now boasts an overall total of £7.8m, after two weekends out in cinemas.

‘She Said’, ’Strange World’ and ’Bones And All’ also debuted this weekend.

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Nov 25-27)Total gross to date Week 1. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Sony) £4.1m £4.1m 1 2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney) £2.7m £27m 3 3. Strange World (Disney) £717,074 £832,815 1 4. The Menu (Disney) £429,244 £2m 2 5. She Said (Universal) £349,513 £444,806 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.21

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is leader of the pack at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with £4.1m from 668 locations for Sony.

This meant an average of £6,138, way outperforming its recent Sony family musical stablemate Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which took £1.7m in its October opening weekend,...

‘She Said’, ’Strange World’ and ’Bones And All’ also debuted this weekend.

RankFilm (distributor) Three-day gross (Nov 25-27)Total gross to date Week 1. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Sony) £4.1m £4.1m 1 2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney) £2.7m £27m 3 3. Strange World (Disney) £717,074 £832,815 1 4. The Menu (Disney) £429,244 £2m 2 5. She Said (Universal) £349,513 £444,806 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.21

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is leader of the pack at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with £4.1m from 668 locations for Sony.

This meant an average of £6,138, way outperforming its recent Sony family musical stablemate Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which took £1.7m in its October opening weekend,...

Click here to read the full article.

An adaptation of a stage musical about a studious schoolgirl has topped Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from the top of the U.K. box office.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical took 5 million in its opening weekend for Sony Pictures, more than half the overall box office. From director Matthew Warchus and based on his own hugely successful Royal Shakespeare Company production (which itself was based on Dahl’s beloved children’s book), the film earned an estimated 50 percent more than the Blank Panther sequel, five times that of fellow new opener Strange World. At current exchange rates, it is 60 percent ahead of The Greatest Showman, which also opened during the holiday corridor.

Starring Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch and newcomer Alisha Weir (as Matilda), the film — a Netflix and Sony/Tristar partnership from Working Title and the Roald Dahl Story Company — has been...