The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the agesDame Maggie Smith’s trophy cabinet reflected her extraordinary achievements across theatre, film and television – and in the biggest arenas of British and US culture, from the BBC to Hollywood, the West End to Broadway. A measure of her versatility and durability is that, in the 1960s, she played nine major roles in the formative years of the National Theatre, but also, from the start of the 2000s, appeared in five series of Downton Abbey, the ITV Sunday night series that became one of the biggest popular hits of the new millennium.Her role in that show was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who lived in such a bubble of exclusive comfort that, in trademark one-liners, she would drawl in mystification, for example: “What is a ‘weekend’?” That acerbic superiority was a signature throughout Smith’s career, including the part that brought her first Academy award in 1970, against a shortlist also featuring Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, for the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted from Muriel Spark’s novel about a maverick, arrogant schoolteacher in Edinburgh. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-09-27 13:37:47 UTC ]
Sony announced the release window today for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the sequel to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man and 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The PlayStation 5 exclusive will launch in the fall of 2023.Insomniac Games’ sequel continues the stories of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-15 18:51:23 UTC ]
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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today delayedHogwarts Legacy yet again, but the most demanding versions of the game are spared. Instead, the postponement pushes the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions back to April 4th, 2023, with the Nintendo Switch variant arriving on July... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-13 18:54:21 UTC ]
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The year’s autobiography big-hitters haven’t sold as well as expected, with buyers disenchanted by pricing and lack of feelgood topicsFrom actors and musicians to athletes and presenters, there are no shortage of celebrity memoirs on bookshop shelves. This year has seen new books published by a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-09 10:52:17 UTC ]
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The first time I felt possessed by a fantasy series, I was fifteen. It was 2004, and from my family’s small computer room, I spent the after-dinner hours in a web forum devoted to NC-17 Harry Potter fanfiction. This was the same room where my brother had constructed a secret liquor cabinet from... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-11-01 11:05:00 UTC ]
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Colleen Hoover has the #1 book in the country – and so much more – with 'It Starts with Us.' Plus new celeb memoirs include two by Harry Potter movie alums, and Jen Hatmaker and Phil Rosenthal each feed readers' need for new cookbooks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In his memoir 'Beyond the Wand,' Tom Felton shares behind-the-scenes tales from the 'Harry Potter' franchise and chronicles his struggle with alcohol. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-18 20:19:47 UTC ]
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The actor, known for playing Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise and Fitz in the series Cracker, has died aged 72. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2022-10-14 18:09:44 UTC ]
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Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, who played a forensic psychologist on the TV series Cracker and Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, has died. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-10-14 17:36:32 UTC ]
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From early comedy in Tutti Frutti to damaged psychologist Fitz, via Hagrid, Falstaff, Blackadder and finally National Treasure’s complex, hard-to-hate lead, Coltrane – who has died aged 72 – was a one-off“You’re a wizard, Harry!”For an entire generation all over the world, this was the key... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-14 17:08:39 UTC ]
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I wasn’t sure Marvel could shoehorn its characters and stories anywhere else, beyond all the movies, TV shows, games and toys, but now it wants you thinking about those heroes wherever you go. It’s teamed up with Pokémon Go developer Niantic to create an augmented reality mobile game launching... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-09-12 11:15:39 UTC ]
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PlayStation’s game-streaming scheme, at its top tier, is now competing directly with Xbox Game Pass, the service that proved the concept by earning 25 million-plus subscribers over the past five years. It’s now been over a month since PlayStation Plus Premium went live, offering similar cloud... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-08-15 11:15:56 UTC ]
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Three of the sport’s governing bodies recently announced that they’re officially changing the name to “quadball,” both out of trademark concerns and a desire to distance themselves from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling in light of her... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-08-13 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Try as it might, Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software can't magically make its creation arrive any sooner. In fact, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has once again delayed the game, which at least now has a firm release date. It will hit PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-08-12 18:52:47 UTC ]
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What are some of the best short stories about childhood, and the experiences of children? Although there are dozens of classic tales about those formative years, the following stories represent, for our money, some of the finest stories about children taking the rocky path of knowledge and... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-08-05 14:00:32 UTC ]
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Fifteen years ago, we reported on the publication of the final installment in J.K. Rowling’s megaselling Harry Potter series, which sold 8.3 million copies in the first day after its release. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Quidditch, a sport invented by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, is rebranding as “quadball” amid controversy over the author’s comments. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-20 13:42:04 UTC ]
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People who turned to books during Covid lockdowns continuing to buy them, company saysBloomsbury has reported a record year for sales, as the Harry Potter publisher said the increase in reading during the pandemic had become “permanent” after lockdowns eased.The company benefited substantially... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-15 08:09:40 UTC ]
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Welcome to Ad Age’s NewFronts 2022 newsletter. We’ll be sharing a daily roundup of events, interviews and sessions from IAB. You can sign up here to get updates delivered to your inbox.Amy Poehler’s Twitch tutorial Comedian Amy Poehler helped Amazon’s pitch to media buyers on Monday, at the... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2022-05-03 23:15:06 UTC ]
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The ‘fascinating insight into what was to become an iconic work’ is the only known surviving copy of its kind and is to be auctioned along with a first edition signed by RowlingA prepublication version of the first Harry Potter book by JK Rowling is expected to fetch at least £20,000 when it is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-04-26 09:29:11 UTC ]
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Viewers have long complained about the early HBO Max app’s tendency to crash, and its lack of discoverability features. There have been a number of overhauls and fixes since then. Now we know why. Turns out that HBO Max launched its apps before they were ready in order to keep up with its... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-04-14 23:32:58 UTC ]
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