Caitriona Balfe's latest project Belfast won Best Original Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards.
12.03.2022 - 08:23 / deadline.com
Bill Maher was back Friday night from a brief hiatus, but he was also happy to enjoy his first maskless studio audience in two years. “It’s great to see you, and I can finally see you,” Maher said at the top of his HBO show, Real Time. “I don’t want to see another mask unless it’s on a surgeon or a Michael Jackson impersonator.”
To celebrate, Maher had a special one-on-one conversation with actor/writer/director Kenneth Branagh, whose coming of age story Belfast is nominated for seven Academy Awards in this years’ ceremony.
Maher had Branagh outline the film’s background for the audience, a story which is based on Branagh’s own experiences growing up in Northern Ireland. One morning, Branagh said, he was playing with his Catholic neighbor. That afternoon, he was warned not to do that, as the religious tensions known as “The Troubles” divided the country into Protestants and Catholics, culminating in a vast number of Catholics being forced out of the country.
Branagh likened those dark days to the US civil rights movement, calling those times in Northern Ireland a “dark, dark period of history.” He said, “We loved our Cathoic neighbors,” and remarked about how they all lived together in similar styles and worked the same kinds of jobs. But “in one fell swoop,” that all changed.
While some, like Branagh’s parents, tried to live what he termed “an independent existence,” where “I’m not with either tribe,” neutrality wasn’t an easily accepted option.
That’s why Branagh said he chose to tell the Belfast story through a nine-year-old’s eyes. “It’s because there’s a simplicity to it,” he said. At that age, “You can be pure and very open.”
Why, Maher asked, did Branagh choose to make Belfast now? One reason is that his parents had a
Caitriona Balfe's latest project Belfast won Best Original Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards.
MORE: The 10 best and worst moments from the 2022 OscarsThink about how often your own parents drove you to things like piano lessons, soccer or hockey, Brownies, Scouts or Girl Guides and many other extracurricular activities or passions. The stars were just the same, and many had parents who made huge sacrifices to help support their dreams.MORE: Will Smith apologizes to the Academy in tearful speech after slapping Chris RockSo it makes total sense that celebrities have a habit of bringing their parents with them to the Oscars.
Video: How Ciarán Hinds went from studying law to Oscars race (Associated Press)Ukrainians in Poland make plea as Biden visit endsCeremony for Biden at Polish presidential palaceBiden meets Ukraine foreign, defence mins in PolandGrammys winner Hit-Boy still at 'top of the top'Desperate scenes at damaged Mariupol hospitalPope presides over special prayer for UkraineNebraska Congressman guilty in campaign probeNYC Amazon workers decide whether to unionizeAP Top Stories 5PAmazon gears up for dual union election resultsOfficials ID teenager who fell to death in FloridaDatabase tracks evidence of potential war crimesUkrainian troops push out Russian forces at a costDirectors of ‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ talk film reception, Ye’s social media activitiesBiden salutes US troops in Poland as the world's bestStreet artists paint their resistance to Ukraine warHe then paid tribute to those “lost along the way”, including John Sessions and Jim Dornan, the father of Belfast’s star, Jamie Dornan. “We miss them, we love them, we will never forget them,” Branagh continued.
Oscar-nominated flick you should screen.Hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, this year’s Academy Awards ceremony recognizes outstanding contributions in film and will hopefully help the show rebound from last year’s record low ratings.With 10 contenders (with some staggeringly long run times among them) for Best Picture, there’s a lot of cinema to sort through. Fear not.
EXCLUSIVE: While most Covid restrictions have been lifted around the country, we get daily reminders that the pandemic has not gone away, with Kenneth Branagh, Hillary Clinton and Jen Psaki among the big names who have announced infections in the past few days.
, director Kenneth Branagh is telling his most personal story yet, about a young boy and his family living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960s, at the beginning of the period known as «The Troubles,» in which division between factions of Catholics/nationalists and Protestants/unionists led to violent clashes, riots and bombings. Branagh, who grew up in Belfast, before moving away at age 9 to escape The Troubles, found his star for the film in 11-year-old Jude Hill, who plays Buddy, a wide-eyed, fun-loving character based on the director and screenwriter himself. is seen through Buddy's eyes — and Hill marveled about seeing his face on a massive Hollywood billboard when he joined ET's Denny Directo for an in-studio chat this week.«It's kind of crazy,» the young actor admitted. «I mean, my face, and a bunch of people seeing it every single day.
Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorAfter a year off, the U.S.-Ireland Alliance’s 16th Oscar Wilde Awards returns on March 24, moving to the Ebell of Los Angeles from its longtime home of Bad Robot studios in Santa Monica.The awards celebrate contributions in entertainment notably from creatives who are Irish (and some who are not). This year’s honorees are Adam McKay, Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan and Dónall Ó Héalai.“The whole purpose of the event is really to build ties between the industry in Northern Ireland, Ireland and the U.S.
Covid at the Baftas earlier this month has led to concerns that some of the Oscar nominees who were at the event will not make the Academy Awards on Sunday (28 March). According to US reports, the talk at the Producers Guild of America nominees breakfast this weekend was largely dedicated to worries that the Baftas at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 13 March was a super-spreader event. One source, who tested positive for Covid just days after attending the Baftas, told The Hollywood Reporter: “It seems the weekend may have been a super-spreader event.
Belfast writer-director Kenneth Branagh and actor Ciarán Hinds have tested positive for Covid-19 and missed the Producers Guild Awards ceremony Saturday, where the film is up for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
The Walt Disney Co. and CEO Bob Chapek are under fire for their perceived slow reaction to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that recently passed the Florida Senate. It now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is likely to sign it into law.
review of the film from TIFF, TheWrap wrote, “Visually stunning, emotionally wrenching and gloriously human, “Belfast” takes one short period from Branagh’s life and finds in it a coming-of-age story, a portrait of a city fracturing in an instant and a profoundly moving lament for what’s been lost during decades of strife in his homeland of Northern Ireland.
David Tennant and his wife Georgia are thrilled with their daughter Olive's latest achievement - her debut movie, Belfast, won the Outstanding British Film award at BAFTAs in London on Sunday night.MORE: BAFTAs 2022 - see the complete winners list hereThe award-winning film holds special meaning for the couple; their ten-year-old daughter Olive made her acting debut on the big-screen alongside the likes of Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds.WATCH: Georgia Tennant's daughter makes her movie debutSharing a black-and-white snapshot of her little girl on set, the proud mother gushed on Instagram: "Outstanding British Film [party popper emoji] #eebaftas #bafta #belfast @belfastmovie #olivetennant."MORE: David and Georgia Tennant spark reaction after sharing romantic selfieSEE: 10 rare photos of David and Georgia Tennant's five adorable childrenFans were quick to react, with one writing: "We watched the film last night and LOVED it. Your sweet girl was so brilliant in it." Another remarked: "Such a great film! Congrats Tennants!"A third post read: "Wahoo! Olive was absolutely brilliant in it! She’s such a natural." A fourth person wrote: "Awesome! Look at that young star and she looks just like her dad except for the pretty blonde hair like you."The new British-Irish drama also stars newcomer Jude Hill and was directed by Kenneth Branagh.
The Harder They Fall, starring Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz and Idris Elba. It is a headbangingly, flesh-splatteringly freaky debut from Jeymes Samuel that reclaims the African-American side of the genre. The drumbeat of brutality became a bit too uniform for me, but it it stylishly made.
Read more: Man gives Belfast one star review after not realising it's in black and white Accepting the award, writer and director Kenneth Branagh said: "Thank you to British cinema audiences for watching in tonnage a UK and Irish cinema film at UK and Ireland cinemas. "All hail the streaming revolution, but all hail the big screen too. It's alive, and long may they live together.
Colm Bairéad’s Irish-language drama An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) was the big film winner at last night’s Irish Film and Television Academy awards with eight wins. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Stuart Miller James O’Donnell’s stuntman resume includes many of the biggest names in action: James Bond, Jason Bourne, “Game of Thrones,” “The Dark Knight,” “Harry Potter,” Marvel. As a stunt coordinator he’s overseen movies from “Kick Ass” to “The 355” but he also revels in more story-driven projects like “Stan & Ollie,” “Rocketman” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” and, most recently, Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical “Belfast,” which was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture.For O’Donnell, who also worked on Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” and “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Belfast” feels personal.
Disney+ but can be rented or purchased for streaming on a variety of platforms. Death on the Nile's synopsis reads: "Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.