Maggie Smith Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

Lady In The Van Trailer – Bisexual writer Alan Bennett gets an unexpected driveway guest (in the form of Maggie Smith)

February 26, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Alan Bennett has had huge success as a writer on projects as diverse as History Boys and The Madness Of King George. The soft-spoken Yorkshireman has become a beloved figure, but Lady In The Van takes a look at a lesser known chapter in his life.

However it’s one that seems fitting for Bennett, quietly eccentric, oddly British and rather sweet.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Lady in the Van tells the true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.’

Maggie Smith is the lady, with Alex Jennings as Bennett. Alan himself wrote the script, and the movie features many of those who’ve worked with him before, including History Boys James Corden and Dominic Cooper and Madness Of King George director Nicholas Hytner.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the script addresses Bennett’s sexuality, as for most of his life he’s been pretty quiet about it, although it’s known he’s had relationships with both men and women, and is currently in a civil partnership with a man. [Read more…]

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Trailer – Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and co. are back

August 8, 2014 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel turned out to be a far bigger hit than anyone expected, grossing over $135 million around the world and ensuring a sequel was put into the works. Now the trailer for the film has arrived, which you can watch below.

Original cast members Judi Dench (Evelyn), Maggie Smith (Muriel), Bill Nighy (Douglas), Dev Patel (Sonny), Penelope Wilton (Jean), Celia Imrie (Madge), Ronald Pickup (Norman), Tina Desai (Sunaina), Diana Hardcastle (Carol) and Lillete Dubey (Mrs. Kapoor) are joined by the likes of Tamsin Greig, David Strathairn and Richard Gere for the follow-up.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Dev Patel), and it’s making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina (Tina Desai). Sonny has his eye on a promising property now that his first venture, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful’, has only a single remaining vacancy – posing a rooming predicament for fresh arrivals Guy (Richard Gere) and Lavinia (Tamsin Greig). Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) have now joined the Jaipur workforce, and are wondering where their regular dates for Chilla pancakes will lead, while Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are negotiating the tricky waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two eligible and very wealthy suitors. Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is newly installed co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone’s secrets. As the demands of a traditional Indian wedding threaten to engulf them all, an unexpected way forward presents itself.

‘Directed by John Madden from an original screenplay by Ol Parker THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL will open across the UK and Ireland on 27 February 2015, distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.’ [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere DIRECTORS: John Madden FILMS: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2

Quartet (Blu-ray)

May 16, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon
Director: Dustin Hoffman
Running Time: 97 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: May 6th 2013

A couple of years ago, if you’d put a bet on Dustin Hoffman’s first movie as a director being about a bunch of musicians in a British old folks home, you would have been very rich when Quartet opened. It’s a surprising choice for the veteran actor, especially as it’s such a quintessentially British movie, but he has a steady hand behind the camera, and also ensured he had some pretty powerful acting talent in front of the camera. [Read more…]

Quartet Trailer – Take a fresh look at Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut

October 29, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

It’s interesting that after a 50-year acting career, Dustin Hoffman would decide that his directorial debut should be about British retirees, but considering the success of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, perhaps he’s onto something. Quartet, based on Ronald Harwood’s play, screened at the London Film Festival a few days ago, and now a new trailer has arrive. The film is about Cecily (Pauline Collins), Reggie (Tom Courteney) and Wilfred (Billy Connolly), who are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10the, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday and they take part. Jean (Maggie Smith), who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on… and it does. The film is currently due out in the UK on January 4th, 2013.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Pauline Collins, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly DIRECTORS: Dustin Hoffman FILMS: Quartet

Quartet Trailer – Take a look at Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut

July 3, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

It’s interesting that after a 50-year acting career, Dustin Hoffman would decide that his directorial debut should be about British retirees, but considering the success of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, perhaps he’s onto something. Based on Ronald Harwood’s play, the film is about Cecily (Pauline Collins), Reggie (Tom Courteney) and Wilfred (Billy Connolly), who are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10the, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday and they take part. Jean (Maggie Smith), who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on… and it does. The film is currently due out in the UK on January 4th, 2013.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Maggie Smith, Bill Connolly, Tom Courteney, Pauline Collins DIRECTORS: Dustin Hoffman FILMS: Quartet

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (DVD)

June 25, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson
Director: John Madden
Running Time: 118 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: June 25th, 2012

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Dev Patel, Ronald Pickup – if you assemble a cast like that, you could get them to read the phone book and it would be entertaining. It would be tough to get them to make something that wasn’t at least worth a look, and thankfully although The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a relatively slight tale, it’s never less than charming.

Dench, Smith, Nighty, Wilkinson, Imrie, Wilton and Pickup play a group of aging Brits, who for one reason and another respond to an advert for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The ad promises an Indian idyll where retirees can live out their days in luxury that brings to mind the days of the Raj. After a rather problematic journey to the hotel, the reality turns out to be rather different than what was promised, with the hotel falling to bits and little of the advertised luxury. [Read more…]

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Cinema)

February 20, 2012 By Stephen Sclater Leave a Comment

Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Tom Wilkinson
Director: John Madden
Running Time: 123 mins
Certificate: 12A
Release Date: February 24th, 2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel doesn’t have the catchiest title I have ever heard. However, based on the novel by Deborah Moggach, the film stars the ‘crème de la crème’ of our favourite geriatric British film and TV actors, and is directed by John Madden (Shakespeare In love, Mrs Brown and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).

After the phenomenal success of Slumdog Millionaire, it was inevitable that at some point mainstream British cinema would be return to India. The premise of the film is that seven elderly people decide to up-sticks from the UK and go to India, moving into a hotel for the ‘elderly and beautiful’. However it doesn’t quite live up to the image of the photoshopped promos! [Read more…]

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Trailer – Dench, Smith & co. go to India

December 6, 2011 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

With a cast including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup, you’d expect something ridiculously classy and highbrow, but The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel seems a whole lot more fun than that. Indeed it seems kind of like Carry On Abroad but with loads of Oscar winners. For a disparate group of English pensioners, retirement takes an unconventional turn when they are enticed by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a seemingly luxurious sanctuary for ‘the elderly and beautiful’ in Jaipur, India. On arrival, they discover that the hotel falls somewhat short of the idyll promised in the brochure, but they are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic young manager Sonny (Dev Patel), and embark on a new adventure, finding that life can begin again when you let go of the past. The film hits cinemas next February.