helen mccrory Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Recreating well-known political figures has been pretty popular lately. We've had the surprising casting twist of Josh Brolin as Dubya, plus a whole slew of other political figures in W. We've seen Paul Giamatti become a Founding Father. Frank Langella got to take on good ol' Nixon. And now, we're getting Bill and Hillary, and the famous Clinton duo is not being played by Darrell Hammond and Amy Poehler. It's a pair you'd probably never guess.

Variety reports that Dennis Quaid is set to star as President Clinton, with Julianne Moore taking on Hillary in an upcoming HBO film called The Special Relationship. While, at first glance, this might seem like a tale that will discuss certain forays in the Oval Office and risque behavior with cigars, the piece will look at an entirely different relationship -- the "sometimes turbulent political relationship" between Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- who will be played by Michael Sheen.

You might remember that Sheen already played Blair in both The Deal and The Queen, so this will be old hat. (Helen McCrory, who played Cherie Blair in The Queen, is also set to reprise her role.) He was also the Frost to Langella's Nixon, and Frost/Nixon playwright Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay to this project and is hoping to make his directorial debut with the feature, should it get greenlit.
Can you imagine Dennis and Julianne as Bill and Hillary?

Casting has been finalized for the next Harry Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Warner Bros. has sent around a full press release officially announcing all those involved. Who's Daniel Radcliffe? Anyway, newcomers to the series include Jim Broadbent as Potions Professor Horace Slughorn (c'mon, who didn't expect Broadbent to show up in at least one Potter flick?) and the previously-rumored Helen McCrory, who'll be playing Narcissa Malfoy. Included in the release are the casting of Lavender Brown, as well as young Tom Riddle and the teenage Riddle. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will arrive in theaters on November 21, 2008; you can check out the full press release below and two new behind-the-scenes featurettes on the film over here.

"Casting has been completed on the much-anticipated sixth installment of the Warner Bros. Pictures Harry Potter film franchise, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." The announcement was made by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

David Yates, who directed this year's summer blockbuster "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," returns to direct "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." David Heyman, the producer of all of the Harry Potter films, is producing the film, together with David Barron. Screenwriter Steve Kloves, who scripted the first four installments of the film franchise, is adapting the screenplay based on the book by J.K. Rowling.

David Heyman said, "I am really excited that David Yates and all our cast are back for the sixth film and welcome some wonderful new additions to our ensemble. We all share a commitment to Jo Rowling and to Harry Potter fans around the world to keep making these films the best they can be and, as we head into the final installments, I can promise that this level of commitment will not waver."

I guess it goes to show how little I've been paying attention, but I could have sworn Narcissa Malfoy already showed up in the Harry Potter movies. Of course, it could also mean I'm easily mixing up the books and the adaptations, because I must be thinking of the character's first appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- the novel not the film. But Narcissa, who is mother to Draco (Tom Felton), wife to Lucius (Jason Isaacs) and cousin to Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) features prominently in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- the novel -- and so she will be making her cinematic introduction in the movie version. And now we've got word on who will be playing the role. According to BBC, Helen McCrory will play Narcissa, who in Half-Blood Prince is dealing with her husband being a prisoner of Azkaban and her son being a teenage brat.

Audiences are likely most familiar with McCrory through her role as British first lady Cherie Blair in The Queen. She also appeared recently in Becoming Jane, as Mrs. Radcliffe (somewhat a Potter-riffic name, right?), and Casanova, in which she played mother to Heath Ledger's title character. The interesting thing now is that McCrory is actually playing the sister of the character she was originally all set to play. If you remember back to the original casting announcements of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, McCrory was first attached to play Bellatrix Lestrange, a part that went to Helena Bonham Carter when McCrory became pregnant and had to bow out. And you may recall that earlier this year, the part of Narcissa was linked to Naomi Watts, whose reps quickly denied her involvement. As much as I loved the idea of Watts playing the role, I'm intrigued to see McCrory take it on. I wonder, though, will she have to dye her hair, or am I once again revealing my lack of attention to the books? Half-Blood Prince, which is currently in production at the helm of Order of the Phoenix director David Yates, is set to hit theaters in little over a year from now (21 Nov. 2008)

See, when you're an actor who's in the midst of a hot streak, I would think it might be bad karma to star in a film that has you portraying a fading Hollywood star. However, when you have the 007 card in your back pocket, I guess you don't have to worry about karma anytime soon. Variety reports that Daniel Craig will star in Flashbacks of a Fool, which starts shooting later this month in South Africa and London. Music video helmer Baillie Walsh will make his feature directorial debut on the film off a script from which he also wrote. Craig will exec produce, with Lene Bausager and Damon Bryant producing.

In the film, Craig will play a "hedonistic British actor" whose Hollywood career is tanking now that the guy has entered his 40s. When his childhood best friend dies, the actor returns home for the funeral and begins to flashback to a time in his life when a tragedy forced him to re-consider his future endeavors. Also starring in the film are Helen McCrory, Olivia Williams, Emilia Fox and ... Eve. Yeah, see if you can spot the odd one of the group. I normally loathe films whose stories are told primarily through flashbacks; I've always felt it was one of the laziest forms of storytelling (apart from the ever-so-annoying phone conversation). Here though it appears as if these flashbacks are crucial; I mean, the film is called Flashbacks of a Fool -- it would probably look a bit weird if there were no flashbacks. So I guess we'll see. In the meantime, Craig has been busy lining up a number of gigs to take on in between Bond projects. With both The Invasion and The Golden Compass in post production, he also has I, Lucifer, Defiance and Blindness on the horizon.

Just when you thought they were finished casting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, another round of names was thrown into the hat. According to reports, the character of Bellatrix Lestrange will be played by Helena Bonham-Carter, instead of Helen McCrory. Supposedly, McCrory is pregnant and, by the time her scenes are ready to be shot, the woman will be way too big to play the part. Personally, I dig Bonham-Carter and am glad Tim Burton let her sneak away to do another film.

In other Potter casting news, Apple Brook will play Professor Grubbly-Plank and Jason Piper will take on the Bane of Centaur. The roles of the young Marauders are as follows: James Walters as Young Sirius, James Utechin as Young Lupin and Alec Hopkins as Young Snape. Oohh, but as this news comes to us, there's also a little Book 7 talk too. Apparently, Bloomsbury publishing director Liz Calder announced that the last and final Harry Potter chapter will hit shelves in 2007, contrary to reports that J.K. Rowling would play the ultimate practical joke and wait 40 years before releasing the book. Calder also confirmed that this will indeed be Potter's last adventure, but did not rule out Rowling writing other, non-Potter related books for them.