British screenwriter and playwright Charles Wood, known for such productions as “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Tumbledown” and “Iris,” has died at the age of 87.
His death, on Saturday, was confirmed to Variety by his agent Sue Rodgers at Independent Talent.
Born into a theater family, he began working in his local theater when he was a teen. After studying theatrical design at art college, he spent several years in the British army. After an assortment of jobs, he began to write professionally from 1959, with the completion of his play “Prisoner and Escort,” drawing on his army experience.
His first screenplay was 1965 comedy “The Knack … and How to Get It,” based on Anne Jellicoe’s play. Directed by Richard Lester, and starring Rita Tushingham and Michael Crawford, it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Wood was nominated for the BAFTA for British screenplay.
Among many films with Lester,...
His death, on Saturday, was confirmed to Variety by his agent Sue Rodgers at Independent Talent.
Born into a theater family, he began working in his local theater when he was a teen. After studying theatrical design at art college, he spent several years in the British army. After an assortment of jobs, he began to write professionally from 1959, with the completion of his play “Prisoner and Escort,” drawing on his army experience.
His first screenplay was 1965 comedy “The Knack … and How to Get It,” based on Anne Jellicoe’s play. Directed by Richard Lester, and starring Rita Tushingham and Michael Crawford, it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Wood was nominated for the BAFTA for British screenplay.
Among many films with Lester,...
- 2/5/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
When Colin Firth is good, he's very, very good. And when he's bad, he's in Mamma Mia!. Or Gambit. Or St Trinian's. You can really take your pick.
Judging by the reviews to date, this week's true crime drama Devil's Knot - which stars Firth as a private investigator looking into the case of the West Memphis Three - falls into the latter category. Which, given that Firth's co-stars include Reese Witherspoon, Amy Ryan and Dane DeHaan, is a pretty substantial disappointment.
But why linger on the negative? Instead, we've taken a look back on five of Firth's finest hours across the big and small screens.
1. Tumbledown
Four years after his breakthrough role in Another Country (which just barely missed out on a spot in this list), Firth earned the first of many BAFTA nominations in Richard Eyre's Falklands War drama. He gives a raw and unflinching central performance...
Judging by the reviews to date, this week's true crime drama Devil's Knot - which stars Firth as a private investigator looking into the case of the West Memphis Three - falls into the latter category. Which, given that Firth's co-stars include Reese Witherspoon, Amy Ryan and Dane DeHaan, is a pretty substantial disappointment.
But why linger on the negative? Instead, we've taken a look back on five of Firth's finest hours across the big and small screens.
1. Tumbledown
Four years after his breakthrough role in Another Country (which just barely missed out on a spot in this list), Firth earned the first of many BAFTA nominations in Richard Eyre's Falklands War drama. He gives a raw and unflinching central performance...
- 6/11/2014
- Digital Spy
BBC and ITV enraged the government with early portrayals of the conflict but it is being supplanted by recent conflicts
British TV deployed rapidly – and with frequent controversy – to attack the Falklands war as a subject. The assiduous historical website British Television Drama records, in the decade after the war, 10 dramas based on the conflict.
The BBC screened five plays within five years of the events, which may surprise those who now associate the corporation with editorial caution and at the time clearly astonished the Ministry of Defence, which made numerous objections and obstructed access to actual locations and equipment.
The earliest pieces were oblique, with Don Shaw's The Falklands Factor dramatising an 18th-century dispute over the islands, and Maggie Wadey's The Waiting War focusing on military and naval families. ITV also enraged the MoD and the government with a children's series, Jan Needle's A Game of Soldiers,...
British TV deployed rapidly – and with frequent controversy – to attack the Falklands war as a subject. The assiduous historical website British Television Drama records, in the decade after the war, 10 dramas based on the conflict.
The BBC screened five plays within five years of the events, which may surprise those who now associate the corporation with editorial caution and at the time clearly astonished the Ministry of Defence, which made numerous objections and obstructed access to actual locations and equipment.
The earliest pieces were oblique, with Don Shaw's The Falklands Factor dramatising an 18th-century dispute over the islands, and Maggie Wadey's The Waiting War focusing on military and naval families. ITV also enraged the MoD and the government with a children's series, Jan Needle's A Game of Soldiers,...
- 4/14/2013
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
Nominated for his endearing role as King George VI in "The King's Speech," Colin Firth is an accomplished film, television and stage actor. Colin first received acclaim for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the '90's television version of "Pride and Prejudice," and has since won an array of acting awards.
Learn more about Colin Firth!
Oscar Nominee Trivia File: Colin FirthAcademics and Africa
Born into an academic family on September 10, 1960, Colin Andrew Firth...
Learn more about Colin Firth!
Oscar Nominee Trivia File: Colin FirthAcademics and Africa
Born into an academic family on September 10, 1960, Colin Andrew Firth...
- 2/18/2011
- Extra
It's a sad start to the new year today as British actor Pete Postlethwaite died today at the age of 64. He unfortunately lost to a long battle with cancer. The actor had a very distinct look about him that you would instantly recognize from a mile away, but that wasn't the only thing. His acting skills were great, leaving his mark in many films that spanned throughout the forty years of his career.He first began making his way through with several television shows which include "Minder," "Horse in the House," "Tales of Sherwood Forest" and "Casualty." He gradually transitioned into movies both on the big and small screen with parts in "Treasure Island" and "Tumbledown."Then he sunk his teeth into the world of film in movies that included "Alien 3," "The Usual Suspects," "James and the Giant Peach," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Amistad" and even Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet.
- 1/3/2011
- LRMonline.com
Last week HeyUGuys were invited to attend the Alfred Dunhill BAFTA A Life in Pictures event and in an extended interview on stage at BAFTA Headquarters along with critic, writer and broadcaster Francine Stock, was BAFTA Award Winner and Academy Award Nominee Colin Firth. Greeted with rapturous applause, Firth’s appearance had the audience on tenterhooks as we were privy to a thoroughly engaging evening dedicated to one of Britain’s most respected, versatile and beloved actors.
Having appeared in a variety of critically-acclaimed television, film and theatre productions, Firth’s career shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 50. Much like a fine wine, his body of work just keeps on getting better and better. From his humble family roots in Grayshott, Hampshire, Firth’s journey into acting began as a sprightly 5 year old, whose determination to act was made touchingly clear by his penchant for playing...
Having appeared in a variety of critically-acclaimed television, film and theatre productions, Firth’s career shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 50. Much like a fine wine, his body of work just keeps on getting better and better. From his humble family roots in Grayshott, Hampshire, Firth’s journey into acting began as a sprightly 5 year old, whose determination to act was made touchingly clear by his penchant for playing...
- 12/13/2010
- by Andy Petrou
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Born only one day apart their careers have run in parallel and overlapped, but there is an essential difference in their characters
The year 1987 was a good one for big budget American films of the kind that spawn sequels and stage shows. Three Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon, The Witches of Eastwick, Wall Street, Dirty Dancing and Robocop all came out in rapid succession.
But in Britain the film industry was working at a gentler pace. Two thoughtful, very English films about male friendship came out that year and helped to launch the screen careers of actors who have proved our most enduring homegrown stars. Maurice, the film of Em Forster's tale of blighted love, starred a 27-year-old Hugh Grant opposite James Wilby as Edwardian schoolfriends who fall in love while at Cambridge. A similarly poignant story was being played out in A Month in the Country,...
The year 1987 was a good one for big budget American films of the kind that spawn sequels and stage shows. Three Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon, The Witches of Eastwick, Wall Street, Dirty Dancing and Robocop all came out in rapid succession.
But in Britain the film industry was working at a gentler pace. Two thoughtful, very English films about male friendship came out that year and helped to launch the screen careers of actors who have proved our most enduring homegrown stars. Maurice, the film of Em Forster's tale of blighted love, starred a 27-year-old Hugh Grant opposite James Wilby as Edwardian schoolfriends who fall in love while at Cambridge. A similarly poignant story was being played out in A Month in the Country,...
- 9/27/2010
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
In a truly inquiring film of complex ideas, the quiet, subtle Colin Firth has the ability to lead the spectator into the heart of mystery
It's tempting to buy the notion that Colin Firth has "arrived" – not least because he is as amiable as he is deserving. As it is, he has won the Volpi Cup at Venice for his George Falconer in A Single Man. He added to that the Bafta, and he must be in with a chance at the Oscars on Sunday. Indeed, on another page of this paper, I have declared that he "should" win that Oscar for A Single Man. However, not to endorse that endorsement, I have to admit that my opining for Firth was part of a liking for the actor and a sympathy for the man who did so much to overcome, ignore and resist the quite remorseless and disastrous affectations with...
It's tempting to buy the notion that Colin Firth has "arrived" – not least because he is as amiable as he is deserving. As it is, he has won the Volpi Cup at Venice for his George Falconer in A Single Man. He added to that the Bafta, and he must be in with a chance at the Oscars on Sunday. Indeed, on another page of this paper, I have declared that he "should" win that Oscar for A Single Man. However, not to endorse that endorsement, I have to admit that my opining for Firth was part of a liking for the actor and a sympathy for the man who did so much to overcome, ignore and resist the quite remorseless and disastrous affectations with...
- 3/4/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
His Bafta triumph has been a very long time coming, and could be as career changing as both his Mr Darcys
Colin Firth proved a popular winner last night, and perhaps this very public recognition will prompt him to get over his grumpiness with the whole Mr Darcy/Bridget Jones thing. Up there on the podium, Firth – by some process of thespian stealth – seemed suddenly in possession of genuine gravitas: is this a man, you wonder, who is about to step into the shoes vacated some time ago by Anthony Hopkins, and become the Great British Actor of our time?
If so, it's been a long time coming. Firth had his first major role back in 1984, alongside Rupert Everett in the public school spy drama Another Country. Winning the lead role in Valmont in 1989 wasn't the one-way ticket to stardom everyone expected – it was the "other" Dangerous Liaisons, the one that lost.
Colin Firth proved a popular winner last night, and perhaps this very public recognition will prompt him to get over his grumpiness with the whole Mr Darcy/Bridget Jones thing. Up there on the podium, Firth – by some process of thespian stealth – seemed suddenly in possession of genuine gravitas: is this a man, you wonder, who is about to step into the shoes vacated some time ago by Anthony Hopkins, and become the Great British Actor of our time?
If so, it's been a long time coming. Firth had his first major role back in 1984, alongside Rupert Everett in the public school spy drama Another Country. Winning the lead role in Valmont in 1989 wasn't the one-way ticket to stardom everyone expected – it was the "other" Dangerous Liaisons, the one that lost.
- 2/22/2010
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
First things first - the kiss. How was it for you?
Matthew Goode: Do you know what, I really enjoyed it. As kisses with fellas go, it was right up there. It was very comfortable actually, we only had to do it a few times and it made a lot of sense in the story. And he was very tender.
How were those moments for you Nicholas?
Nicholas Hoult: What, watching them kiss? Amazing!
Well that too... but also your more intimate scenes with Colin?
Nh: One of the most intimate moments, back at George's house, happened on the first day of filming, so I got thrown in at the deep end a bit. When 'cut' is called at the end of the take it's truly horrible but when you're actually doing the scene and being the character you don't think twice about it because you're in the...
Matthew Goode: Do you know what, I really enjoyed it. As kisses with fellas go, it was right up there. It was very comfortable actually, we only had to do it a few times and it made a lot of sense in the story. And he was very tender.
How were those moments for you Nicholas?
Nicholas Hoult: What, watching them kiss? Amazing!
Well that too... but also your more intimate scenes with Colin?
Nh: One of the most intimate moments, back at George's house, happened on the first day of filming, so I got thrown in at the deep end a bit. When 'cut' is called at the end of the take it's truly horrible but when you're actually doing the scene and being the character you don't think twice about it because you're in the...
- 2/9/2010
- Screenrush
The actor's fame was assured in a clinging wet shirt in Pride and Prejudice and now he has an Oscar nomination for his starring role in A Single Man. His true passion, however, is far removed from the trappings of stardom
The idea of being a minority taste appealed to Colin Firth. It was a comfortable place to be. There would be fans around, of course, but not banks of adoring hoi polloi lining the pavement when he went out for a stroll.
"There are some actors who, wherever they go, people show up because they think they are fantastic," he once mused. "Then there are slightly marginalised people who are like somebody's secret. I feel like a Second Division football team that has this following who are more into it for the fellowship of each other."
An Oscar nomination for his lead role in Tom Ford's debut feature, A Single Man,...
The idea of being a minority taste appealed to Colin Firth. It was a comfortable place to be. There would be fans around, of course, but not banks of adoring hoi polloi lining the pavement when he went out for a stroll.
"There are some actors who, wherever they go, people show up because they think they are fantastic," he once mused. "Then there are slightly marginalised people who are like somebody's secret. I feel like a Second Division football team that has this following who are more into it for the fellowship of each other."
An Oscar nomination for his lead role in Tom Ford's debut feature, A Single Man,...
- 2/7/2010
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
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