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Comedians Converge on No Man's Land

PopSugarUK — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Comedians came out in force for No Man's Land's press night at the Duke of York's Theatre last night. The play has transferred from its run at Dublin's Gate Theatre to London, and the stars of the show were joined by playwright Harold Pinter as well as Eddie Izzard, Rob Brydon and Dominic Cooper. David Walliams happily posed with his mother Kathleen as well as his costar Michael Gambon, who's also currently on the big screen in Brideshead Revisited, while Russell Brand brought a touch of Hollywood glamour to the night in his shades. What a lovely bunch of blokes!

To see more pictures of the cast, plus David with his mum,

Monochrome Rules At National Movie Awards

PopSugarUK — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:15:00 -0700

London's Royal Festival Hall was the celeb-filled venue for the second annual National Movie Awards last night. A handful of Hollywood stars joined Brit actors like Emma Watson, Jason Statham and Eddie Izzard for the event, including Samuel L Jackson, Olivia Thirlby (I love her simple black dress), Chris Noth and Maria Bello.

Female Performance winner Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue also attended, although they bypassed the red carpet and sneakily snuck in the back door — you can see them (as well as those who filmed acceptance speeches like Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp) when the ceremony airs on ITV tonight.

For lots more photos from the red carpet, as well as a full list of winners — just

Eddie's Back In England

PopSugarUK — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0700

I've been a fan of Eddie Izzard for a long time now – his seemingly random (but covertly calculated) humour appeals strongly to me in a similar way to The Mighty Boosh. So spotting him out in London fills me with glee, as he's been in the States for so long touring and filming The Riches. The lovely Eddie's been back in the UK partly to visit his childhood home in Sidley and to present an award to his father John Izzard for the work he has done in his local community during his retirement. How lovely is that?

James Jenkins/Ed Cooper/BigPicturesPhoto.com

Prince Caspian: Heavy on the Battle Scenes

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:05:02 -0700

In Hollywood, despite major examples to the contrary, the general school of thought during the summer (especially when adapting fantasy stories) seems to be to rely on battle scenes and action in order to keep audiences riveted, rather than focusing on just telling a good story. This definitely appears to be the dominating mindset of the filmmakers in charge of the second installment of Disney's Narnia franchise, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Capsian. And I'm confused as to why this approach was taken with Prince Caspian when C.S. Lewis has given us a great, fantastical story to work with that even comes with nice allegorical ties to the real world, offering kids lessons in love, courage and honor.

This is my fundamental gripe about an otherwise entertaining movie. Because, sure, while there are some people who could watch giant armies storm an open field and men sweat and grunt as they battle each other for hours, there is no question the kids at my screening grew tired of all that. In fact, the girl next to me who was no older than 10 spent a good portion of the movie with her head buried in her father's shoulder, as it was just a little too violent and scary to endure (some people are even saying it's too violent for the PG rating).

To read more about why I think filmmakers missed an opportunity to tell a great story,

Eddie Izzard Does Darth Vader at the Death Star Canteen

GiggleSugar — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0700

We all need to eat, right? Even his Lord Darth Vader. Well, comedian Eddie Izzard riffs on what it would be like for Darth to do something as mundane (and beneath his dignity) as go to a cafeteria (ewww, the wet trays!). Then someone Lego-izes it. On top of that, the Death Star Canteen is manned by someone who won't just hand him his Penne al Arrabiata and keeps calling him Jeff. Jeff Vader! This is almost as bad as the time 'ol Darth's brother, Chad Vader, worked at a supermarket. . .

Interview: Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver on The Riches

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:27 -0700

The Riches, FX's series about a family trying to steal and swindle their way to the American dream, begins its second season tonight. The show was able to complete just seven episodes before the writers' strike shut down production, but as star Eddie Izzard said in a recent chat with reporters, that just meant this season will have a tighter, quicker pace. He and co-star Minnie Driver had quite a lot to say about the series; here are highlights from the conversation:

On having just seven episodes this season because of the strike:
Izzard: "The writers were obviously aware of this beforehand, and so we built a sort of cliffhanger halfway through the season. So it really didn’t hurt us in any way. . . . The first season, if you watched it all the way through, the tone does move around somewhat. The second season, we just sort of knew where we were going, we locked down, we got on the railway lines, and we just went full steam ahead. So I think it makes it like a tighter punch."
On whether a viewer could start with season two having not seen season one:
Minnie Driver: "I honestly think that condensed trailer that you get at the beginning of any new season is enough to fill you in on where you’re at. And really, if you just read a blurb that says, “A couple of con artists and their kids trying to steal the American dream, move into a rich neighborhood in Louisiana,” you’re kind of good to go. I mean, I think that’s what’s wonderful about our show is that you can explain it really quickly, it’s high concept, and the characters are very immediate. And certainly, we pick up literally 15 seconds after where we left off at the end of season one, so you’re coming straight in, in a really dramatic place."

For more, and to watch a clip from tonight's episode, just

Minnie's Rich With Pregnancy Joy

PopSugarUK — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:35:00 -0700

Having finally confirmed her pregnancy, Minnie Driver is now happy to show off her bump and was full of smiles as she posed with co-star Eddie Izzard at the Hollywood screening of Season 2 of The Riches, which airs in America tomorrow. Virgin 1 showed the first season here in the UK, but as usual we're lagging behind our friends in the States when it comes to TV shows — although not when it comes to a certain eagerly-anticipated film! (I'm sorry, I promise I'll stop bragging about that ... soon.) Although we now know for sure that Minnie's bump isn't just down to some serious cupcake goodness, it doesn't sound like she's worried about those pregnancy pounds she's going to gain. Speaking to People at yesterday's screening, she said: "I'm just going to have the summer to be fat and happy". Sounds like a good plan to me.

Source

First Look: The Riches, Season 2

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:32:47 -0700

The Riches, FX's drama about a family of Irish travelers trying to swindle their way to the American Dream, returns a week from tonight for its second season — and things aren't looking so good for the ~~Riches~~ Malloys. The first season was spent building their lies and getting their ritzy new community to believe them; now, it appears that their precarious dream life is about to collapse.

Maybe that's not giving enough credit to Doug Rich/Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard), the first-class con man who's always been able to get his family out of any jam up till now. But this time around, the rest of the Malloys — especially Wayne's wife, Dahlia (Minnie Driver) — don't seem to be as on board with his scams. It looks like an interesting new dynamic for a family that's gotten where they are by working as a unit, them against the world.

The Riches will only have seven episodes this season as a result of the writers' strike, so I'd expect things to move pretty quickly from the start of the March 18 premiere. To check out a couple of clips with scenes from the season and interviews with the stars, just

Learn to Scam with The Riches Webisodes

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:30:09 -0800

Ever wanted to be a professional con artist? Let Doug Rich teach you how. On the first-season DVD for FX's The Riches, which comes out on Tuesday, several of the bonus features show Doug (Eddie Izzard) teaching his kids how to con.

Best Buy has a few of the clips online now — including two that are exclusive to the Web site and won't be included on the DVD. It's so great to see this dysfunctional family in action again. Season two is slated for this spring, but FX hasn't announced a premiere date yet; I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, you can check out several of the Webisodes, plus a recap of season one, on the Best Buy site. Or, to watch my favorite video, in which a jaded Cael and Delilah brush off their dad's lessons on how to turn nothing into something, just

"Drive" Gets Parked, While FX Shows Get Good News

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:50:55 -0700

Well, the 37 of you who said "Drive" would be off the air within five episodes were right: Fox slammed the brakes on the show today, according to Variety. None of the four episodes that aired got good ratings, but this week's situation was particularly dire: The show finished fourth in its time slot, with the fewest viewers yet.

I didn't think the first episode was that bad, but it also didn't compel me to watch again. I guess it's official that Tim Minear + Nathan Fillion + Fox = early death, as I'm sure "Firefly" fans can attest. Two more episodes of "Drive" were produced, and Fox hasn't announced whether they'll be shown on TV or only online. In the meantime, reruns of "House" will be filling "Drive"'s spot.

Fans of "Dirt" and "The Riches" got better news today, though: The FX president said he expects both shows to get second seasons. While I like "The Riches" more than I liked "Dirt," I'm glad to see FX continuing its tradition of supporting unusual, edgy shows.

Photo courtesy of Fox