March Madness Role Call: Voldemort Wears a Suit, and Sirius Falls for Keyboard Cat?
We’re never quite sure which roles will be next for the former Potter cast, but it’s always something interesting. In this edition of Role Call, we find our favorite actors as busy as ever with a variety of roles, including Voldemort trading in his robes for a well-cut suit, Professor Trewlaney taking on the New York stage, and Sirius Black being highly entertained by a piano-playing cat! Have we piqued your interest? Let’s get to it!
In this month’s Reader’s Digest, you may see a familiar face. Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) will be gracing the cover of the magazine and providing readers with an inside look into his lengthy career. The actor has joined the BBC comedy Blandings, playing an eccentric aristocrat. In his interview, which is available only with a subscription to the magazine, he also talks how his “anti-romantic hero” looks have been an asset to his career.
“It’s not a struggle for me to look like these downtrodden characters. I’m blessed by looking the way I do, so I don’t have to fight against natural beauty!”
As The Grand Budapest Hotel nears its limited release, Ralph Fiennes will grace the pages of M for the 2014 spring edition. He looks far from his Voldemort years, the gorgeous suit bringing out the blue of his eyes. Voldemort who? Fiennes also talks about his character Gustave in the Wes Anderson flick.
“There is a wonderful…something…It’s hard to put these things into words, but there’s an interior brightness to Gustave.”
We haven’t been able to find a sale date for this issue, but you can view the cover here!
Speaking of Voldemort, Christian Coulson, the actor who played Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secrets, will be taking part in The Meeting at Joe’s Pub in Lower Manhattan on March 16. The show is a monthly variety/comedy show that honors different celebrities or cultural works for their contributions to gay culture. You can learn more about the show and purchase tickets here.
Domhnall Gleeson‘s new movie Frank now has a trailer. The film has been selected for Sundance 2014 and stars Michael Fassbender as the titular character and Domhnall as Jon. Jon joins a pop band led by Frank, who never takes his giant fake head off, no matter what. Much like the plot, the film will be showing at this year’s Austin SXSW. You can view the trailer below!
Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney) continues to juggle all sorts of roles! Her new film with Pierce Brosnan, titled Survivor, is slated to begin filming in Bulgaria and centers around a female foreign service officer in London who attempts to stop a terrorist attack against New York. Her role in this film is currently unknown, but we’ll keep you updated once it has been revealed!
Interestingly enough, Survivor won’t be the only film she partners with Pierce Brosnan for. Opening April 19 nationwide is the romantic comedy The Love Punch. The pair play a divorced couple who come together to fight a common foe: a businessman who has stolen their pension. You can view the trailer for the movie below!
Emma’s play in New York, Sweeney Todd, has begun as well, and Broadway World released rehearsal photos a few days ago in anticipation of the March 5 opening date. You can see the photos and learn more about the production here. This is Emma’s first time on the New York stage, but we’re pretty sure she’ll nail it!
Finally, Variety reports that Sold, an independent film executive produced by Emma, is premiering at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles at the Opening Night Gala. Of the film, which explores the brutal world of child trafficking through the eyes of a young girl and is based on true accounts, Emma had this to say:
“Because of ‘Sold’s'[s] marvelous script and courageous and brilliant cast, it is a story that we can all watch – so that we may understand the processes of slavery in modern India and feel able to act without feeling the kind of rage and hopelessness that gets in the way of doing anything.”
Chris Columbus is set to direct Pixels, a movie adaptation of a short film of the same name, starring Adam Sandler. The film about videogame characters like Donkey Kong attacking New York is set for a 2016 release.
Students who attend the Cambridge International Student Film Festival in Watersprite will get the chance to hear Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) speak at the Closing Gala on March 9. No word on what the topic will be, but it’s bound to be interesting, considering the varied career Jim has had!
Variety reports that Natalie Tena‘s film, Long Distance, has been picked up by Visit Films for worldwide rights outside Spain. The romantic drama will premiere at next month’s Austin SXSW and will be released in Spain this May.
In addition to his play See How They Run, Warwick Davis (Filius Flitwick/Griphook) has partnered with Motorpoint in Peterborough to celebrate its newly refurbished car supermarket. Motorpoint has also supported his Reduced Height Theatre Company.
“[Since] the good folk at Motorpoint are helping my theatre production company, the least I could do was come along and support their opening.”
While the American fans of Downton Abbey are just finishing up Season 4, casting news for the new season of the series have been floating around. One of the rumors for the new season was that it was possible Dame Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall) would not return, but fans can breathe a sigh of relief! Executive producer Gareth Neame says she’ll be back next season and says that she’s really a muse for series creator Julian Fellowes.
“Maggie Smith will be in the show as long as she wants to do it. She’ll be back this coming season. She’s a huge part of the show, and I think she enjoys doing it.”
A third international trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette have been released for the upcoming Noah, starring Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). View the trailer below!
The featurette “Building the Ark” is almost five minutes long and can be viewed on IMDb here.
Mike Newell‘s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations is finally being released on Blu-ray. The film will be available for purchase on April 15. The film is full of Harry Potter stars: Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), and Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid). You can view the trailer below.
Finally, have we told you how much we enjoy Gary Oldman‘s (Sirius Black) comedic genius? While he is often seen in more serious roles, including his new role as acting producer in the horror series The Diabolic, the man has great comedic timing. Last Thanksgiving, Gary teamed up with Jimmy Kimmel for a skit that knocked the American holiday on its ear. He’s teamed up again with the late night host for a modern retelling of the Academy Award-winning 1984 film Amadeus. We’ve posted it below for your viewing pleasure.