Lewis Capaldi has opened up about the email of encouragement he received from music legend Elton John.
12.03.2023 - 17:05 / variety.com
Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic The story of Kim Philby is perhaps too good to make up. The British spy, a double agent for Moscow, operated at the highest levels of the intelligence community; his ability to disseminate information to the Soviet Union, to which he eventually defected, is proof, perhaps, of the power of personal charm and erudition to cover over what’s lying in plain sight. That’s the powerfully told story of “A Spy Among Friends,” which streamed on ITVX in the United Kingdom last year and which now arrives on nascent streamer MGM+. Guy Pearce plays Philby, who has at the series’ outset been a valued Soviet source for many years; likely his closest friend in tradecraft, Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis), must get a confession from him. We see the pair’s relationship over time in layered flashbacks, adding context and understanding to Elliott’s failure to nail down Philby.
The story is adapted by Alexander Cary from Ben Macintyre’s novel, which embroiders on the real-life Philby and Elliott’s tale; it’s rather a clever thing to use likely the most infamous real-life British espionage scandal as the backbone of a John Le Carré-esque tale. The story is told through Elliott’s recollections: Anna Maxwell Martin plays a fictional interrogator who walks through the story of Elliott and Philby’s relationship, and who brings a crystalline level of distrust and disdain to her work. Among the pleasures of “A Spy Among Friends” is the spectacle of Elliott’s performing for the woman scrutinizing him, adding shading and dimension to his memories. For what passed between Philby and Elliott is perhaps unknowable even to the men themselves — how, indeed, could a spy as experienced as Elliott let Philby slip away? Part
Lewis Capaldi has opened up about the email of encouragement he received from music legend Elton John.
Damian Lewis is returning to the franchise and a multitude of spinoffs are being explored, but Billions could be set to end with its seventh season.
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In a Broadway season that might be remembered for a lovely, pared-down minimalism – the intriguing starkness of A Doll’s House with Jessica Chastain, the less-is-more near-concert-style presentations of Into the Woods and Parade – director Thomas Kail’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will stand out for, among many other attributes, its full-on, unabashed ambition. A prodigious theatrical event that aims for greatness and achieves it, this revival of the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler masterpiece is not to be missed.
Naman Ramachandran BAFTA-winning producer Patrick Spence is leaving ITV Studios after three years, Variety has confirmed. Spence, who serves as creative director, will leave at the end of March, ITV Studios managing director Julian Bellamy told staff via an internal memo on Thursday. Spence will continue to partner with ITV Studios on upcoming projects including “People vs. Post Office” (working title). Spence joined ITV Studios in 2020 and secured several acclaimed commissions, including the BBC’s drama-romance “Ralph & Katie,” a spin-off of “The A Word,” about the lives of a couple with Down syndrome; ITVX’s “Litvinenko,” about the investigation into the death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko; the BAFTA-nominated Cold War spy drama “A Spy Among Friends,” also for ITVX; and post-pandemic frontline medical drama “Maternal” for ITV.
EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Spence, the executive producer behind ITVX/MGM+ series A Spy Among Friends, is leaving ITV Studios after more than three years.
Martin Lewis is set to become a regular co-host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.The 50-year-old financial journalist and consumer champion will join the weekday breakfast show on various Wednesdays across the year, alongside the show’s long-term presenter Susanna Reid. Speaking about his appointment, Lewis said: “To have the ability to hold politicians to account over the cost of living is a privilege and a responsibility.
EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures has preemptively acquired a remake of the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock-directed psychological thriller Vertigo, with Robert Downey Jr eyeing the James Stewart lead role of the former police detective forced to retire after a line of duty trauma that leaves him with fear of heights and vertigo. The script will be written by Steven Knight, the See and Peaky Blinders creator who just signed on to write a Star Wars film.
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Ghost shirts, which are sacred to certain Indigenous communities, were thought to guard the wearer against bullets through spiritual power. This precious heirloom is at the center of Tony Tost’s directorial debut film at SXSW, Americana. This western dramedy has some tricks up its sleeve, thanks to the brilliant writing and the script’s comedic timing. It boasts a big cast of actors including Sydney Sweeney, Halsey, Paul Walter Hauser, Zahn McClarnon, Simon Rex, Eric Dane and Gavin Maddox Bergman.
You should never talk about politics, religion, or sex in polite company, advised Emily Post in “Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home.” Released in 1922, the guide by the American author and socialite sought to give readers the tools to navigate any social situation. The upper echelon of British society has its own rules and customs, and MGM+’s new six-part espionage limited series “A Spy Among Friends” is as much about what happens when someone steps outside of class hierarchy as it is about Cold War subterfuge.
Damien Lewis) — drives the narrative arc of “A Spy Among Friends,” airing Sundays on MGM+ (10 p.m.). “One part of me feels I know [Philby], to a degree, and there’s another part of me that goes, ‘I have no idea,'” Pearce, 55, told The Post.
An exclusive clip of Prime Video’s highly anticipated action-spy thriller “Citadel”, starring duo Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas was unveiled on Friday.
EXCLUSIVE: Tubi has begun principal photography on dark western thriller The Thicket, based on Joe R. Lansdale’s novel of the same name, starring and produced by Game of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage. Production is underway in Calgary, Canada.
Damian Lewis is back as Axe!
Damian Lewis has announced his return to hit TV show Billions after two seasons away, as fans have said it “wasn’t the same” without him. The British actor, 52, will reprise the role of hedge fund wizard Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod for the upcoming seventh season.
Homeland reunion! Former co-stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis reunited on Monday when they attended the premiere of his new thriller series, A Spy Among Friends. The reunion comes 10 years after Lewis ended his run on the 8-season Showtime hit.Lewis left the show in 2014 after the death of his character, U.S. Marine Sgt.
at the end of season 5, Damian Lewis is now set to return to the Showtime drama. He will reprise his role as Bobby «Axe» Axelrod in season 7, appearing in six of the upcoming 12 new episodes when returns later this year. Lewis will appear alongside his original co-stars, Paul Giamatti as Charles «Chuck» Rhoades, Jr.