Sleuth Movie Trailer
I’ve never seen the original 1972 mystery film Sleuth which featured a young Michael Caine up against an older Laurence Olivier, but I know it’s consider a classic. The movie was nominated for 4 Oscars and users have rated the film at an 8.2 (#204 of all time) on the Internet Movie Database. Michael Caine even returns for Kenneth Branagh’s (Henry V) updated version which stars Jude Law. Sleuth tells the story of an out-of-work actor who becomes embroiled in an affair with the wife of a wealthy writer, who in turn is having an affair with a much younger woman.
Watching the trailer, I wondered to myself - why wasn’t this ever turned into a play. The interaction between the two characters and the minimal set location set-up seemed perfect for the stage. One google search later and I had my answer: The original 1972 thriller was actually based on Anthony Shaffer’s Tony award-winning play. Check out the new trailer after the jump.
Natascha McElhone Biography
A tall, cool beauty, Natascha McElhone (pronounced MAC-el-hone) became a star overnight with her portrayal of Francoise Gilot opposite Anthony Hopkins’ artist in the Merchant-Ivory production “Surviving Picasso” (1996).
Born near London and raised in Brighton, McElhone honed her craft in various stage productions throughout Britain. The elegant brunette with expressive eyes and high cheekbones studied at LAMBDA and landed her first stage role in “The Count of Monte Cristo” in the early 1990s. After amassing other credits (including a stint performing Shakespeare at an open-air theater in London), McElhone was cast as the mistress of the famous Spanish painter in “Surviving Picasso”. She subsequently appeared in the British TV production of “Karaoke” (1996), written by Dennis Potter and landed feature roles as Brad Pitt’s love interest in Alan J. Pakula’s “The Devil’s Own” (1997) and the young version of the title character in “Mrs. Dalloway” (1998). A co-starring role opposite Robert De Niro in the actioner “Ronin” followed by a primary supporting role in Peter Weir’s “The Truman Show” (both 1998) exposed McElhone to a larger audience. She was next featured in Kenneth Branagh’s musical adaptation of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” (2000).
In 2002, McElhorne co-starred with Stephen Dorff in the feature thriller “Feardotcom”. McElhorne played an ambitious researcher who join forces with a detective (Dorff) to find the answers behind the mysterious death of four people who died after logging on to a popular website. She was also seen in the thriller “Killing me Softly” (2002) starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes as well as the space thriller “Solaris.” (2002)
- Also Credited As:
Natascha Taylor, Natasha Taylor - Born:
on 03/23/1971 in Brighton, England - Job Titles:
Actor
Family
- Brother: Damon McElhone.
- Mother: Noreen Taylor. Irish
- Step-father: Roy Greenslade. worked at the Mirror
Significant Others
- Husband: Martin Hirigoyen.
Education
- London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, London, England, 1993
Milestones
- 1993 Cast in production of “The Count of Monte Cristo” in Manchester, England
- 1995 Appeared as Helena in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Lady Anne in “Richard III” in open-air productions in London’s Regent Park; spotted by Israel Merchant and James Ivory
- 1996 Feature film debut in the Merchant-Ivory production “Surviving Picasso”
- 1997 Played opposite Brad Pitt in “The Devil’s Own”
- 1998 Co-starred with Robert De Niro in “Ronin”
- 1998 Played Jim Carrey’s ex-lover in “The Truman Show”
- 2000 Appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s musicalized adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost”
- 2002 Co-starred in the thriller feature “Feardotcom”
- 2002 Landed female lead opposite George Clooney in “Solaris”
- Raised in Brighton, England
- Toured Britain in production of “The Cherry Orchard”
Helena Bonham Carter Biography
While she may seemingly be typecast in period films, Helena Bonham Carter has proven her range and ability in a variety of roles in her relatively short career. As a teenager, the pale-skinned, dark-haired beauty won a writing contest and used the proceeds to buy an advertisement in a British casting guide. The great-granddaughter of British Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, Bonham Carter has often been cast in solemn aristocratic roles. To some, she has become the quintessential Edwardian heroine, particularly after her successful turns in several adaptations of E M Forster novels.
Her dark looks and heart-shaped face made Bonham Carter a perfect choice for her first film lead in Trevor Nunn’s film version of the life of the doomed Tudor monarch “Lady Jane” (1986). Despite her relative youth, she was also able to project the requisite mix of hauteur and innocence required for the role. Her second film, the Merchant-Ivory production of Forster’s “A Room With a View” (1986), firmly established her as a screen presence. As Lucy Honeychurch, Bonham Carter perfectly essayed a young woman swept up in passion. She further solidified her stereotyping as a “period player” with her dead-on mad Ophelia to Mel Gibson’s “Hamlet” (1990), by playing the impulsive younger sister of Emma Thompson in Merchant-Ivory’s meticulous rendering of “Howards End” (1992) and her turn as the delicate love interest of scientist Kenneth Branagh in “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (1994).
Breaking free from her usual fare, Bonham Carter delivered a fine portrayal of a drug addict engaged to Don Johnson’s detective on NBC’s “Miami Vice” in 1987. She won applause as a working-class stripper in the British TV-movie “Dancing Queen” and was superb as Marina Oswald in the NBC telefilm “Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald” (both 1993). As Woody Allen’s unhappy spouse contemplating an affair in “Might Aphrodite” (1995), Bonham Carter seemed to be eerily channeling Mia Farrow, especially in her vocal cadences. The role of the foul-mouthed, married coal miner’s daughter in the Canadian-made “Margaret’s Museum” (also 1995) earned her fine notices (and a Genie Award) but the film was little seen.
Returning to the bread-and-butter roles in period garb, Trevor Nunn tapped her for Olivia in his filming of “Twelfth Night” (1996). For personal reasons, Bonham Carter turned down the role of Bess in Lars von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” (1996) and watched Emily Watson receive critical bouquets and accolades. In 1997, it was her turn in what many felt was the best role of her career to date. As the manipulative Kate Croy, a role that in another era may have been played by Bette Davis, in Iain Softley’s “The Wings of the Dove”, Bonham Carter finely walked a line between desperation and hedonism (and also performed her first nude scenes). Her imaginative and finely calibrated performance earned her a number of year-end critics’ awards and spawned talk of an Oscar nomination. After a turn as a dowdy spinster in “Keep the Aspidistra Flying”, she and Branagh reunited for the modern romance “Theory of Flight” (both 1998), in which she essayed a victim of motor neuron disease. And not forsaking period roles, Bonham Carter was the bewitching Morgan Le Fey opposite Sam Neill’s “Merlin” (NBC, 1998).
In 1999, she once again left behind the petticoats and pretty frocks to essay a contemporary neurotic, a woman who attends various self-help groups just for a kick, opposite Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in the intriguing if not wholly satisfying “Fight Club”. Bonham Carter easily made Marla a complex yet sexily engaging character and the change of pace made audiences and critics recognize anew her prodigious gifts. For her next high profile role — that of the sympathetic Ari in the new adaptation of “Planet of the Apes” (2001) for director Tim Burton, the actress’ pretty features were covered with simian makeup. Still, her expressive eyes and plummy voice made her recognizable and she once again offered a fine turn. Later that year, Bonham Carter once again played an alluring siren as a patient who drives her dentist (Steve Martin) into a world of sex, drugs and murder in the thriller “Novocaine” (2001).
In 2003, Bonham Carter was cast in Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s “The Heart of Me”. That same year, she lured Guy Pearce into a supernatural mystery as the enigmatic amnesiac, Ruby, in the haunting tale, “Till Human Voices Wake Us.” Her personal relationship with
* Also Credited As:Helena Bonham-Carter
* Born:on 05/26/66 in
* Job Titles:Actor, Model
Family
* Brother: Edward Bonham Carter. older
* Brother: Thomas Bonham Carter. served in the Irish Guards; older
* Father: Raymond Bonham Carter. was alternate UK director representing the Bank of England at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC for two years in the 1960s; became ill when Bonham Carter was around 10 years old; suffered a stroke while undergoing an operation to remove a benign brain tumor; subsequently confined to a wheelchair
* Grandmother: Violet Bonham Carter.
* Great-grandfather: Herbert Henry Asquith. was Liberal Party prime minister in
* Great-uncle: Anthony Asquith. made such famous and acclaimed English features as “Pygmalion” (1938), “Quiet Wedding” (1940), “The Browning Version” (1950) and “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1952)
* Mother: Elena Bonham Carter. half-Spanish, half-French; reportedly had a nervous breakdown when Bonham Carter was five years old
Significant Others
* Companion: Kenneth Branagh. together from c. 1994 to summer 1999; co-starred together in “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (1994) and “Theory of Flight” (1998)
* Companion: Tim Burton. born in 1958; directed her in “Planet of the Apes” (2001); reportedly began relationship in October 2001
Education
*
Milestones
* 1979 At age 13, entered national writing contest; used money won in poetry competition to pay for her entry into the actor’s directory, “Spotlight”
* 1982 Professional acting debut, a commercial at age 16
* 1983 Acting debut in British telefilm, “A Pattern of Roses”
* 1985 Feature film debut, “Lady Jane”, directed by Trevor Nunn
* 1986 First collaboration with director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, “A Room with a View”, which brought her to international attention
* 1987 Played Don Johnson’s girlfriend in two episodes of “Miami Vice”
* 1987 US TV-movie debut in “A Hazard of Hearts” (CBS)
* 1988
* 1990 Co-starred as Ophelia to Mel Gibson’s “Hamlet”, directed by Franco Zeffirelli
* 1992 Cast as Emma Thompson’s sister in the Merchant-Ivory production “Howards End”
* 1993 Played Marina Oswald in the NBC TV-movie “Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald”
* 1994 Did a comic cameo as a dream version of Julia Sawalha’s Saffron on the comedy “Absolutely Fabulous”
* 1994 Portrayed Elizabeth, Victor Frankenstein’s lover, in Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”
* 1995 Appeared as Woody Allen’s American wife in “Mighty Aphrodite”
* 1995 Played a foul-mouthed miner’s daughter in the Canadian film “Margaret’s Museum”
* 1996 Returned to Shakespeare to play Olivia in Trevor Nunn’s “Twelfth Night”
* 1997 Garnered critical attention and accolades for her performance as the manipulative Kate Croy in “The Wings of the Dove”; nominated for a Best Actress Oscar
* 1998 Cast as Morgan Le Fey in the NBC miniseries “Merlin”
* 1998 Played a wheelchair-bound woman in “Theory of Flight”
* 1999 Co-starred in “Women Talking Dirty”; screened at the Toronto Film Festival
* 1999 Was the female lead opposite Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in “Fight Club”
* 2001 Played Ari, the ape daughter of a powerful politician, in Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Planet of the Apes”
* 2001 Starred opposite Steve Martin in the thriller “Novocaine”
* 2002 Co-starred in the feature drama “Live From
* 2003 Co-starred in the 1930’s based-on-a-novel feature “The Heart of Me”
* 2003 Co-starred with Ewan McGregor and Alison Lohman in “Big Fish”
* 2003 Received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Moviefor her role in “Live From Baghdad”
* 2003 Starred opposite Guy Pearce in the supernatural thriller “Till Human Voices Wake Us”
* 2005 Cast as Charlie’s mother in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic tale “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
* 2005 Voiced the title role in Tim Burton’s animated feature “Corpse Bride”
Kate Beckinsale Biography
Petite and pretty, with dark hair, pale skin and flashing eyes, Kate Beckinsale made a strong film debut as the virginal Hero in Kenneth Branagh’s sun-dappled adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993). Although she was a screen novice, the actress projected the requisite intelligence and star quality that deemed her one to watch. As the daughter of comic Richard Beckinsale (who died when she was five years old) and actress Judy Loe, it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually find her way to the limelight. Beckinsale, however, spent a good portion of her teen years struggling with an eating disorder (of which she has spoken frankly in interviews) before she decided to try her hand at acting. After a bit part in the BBC mystery “Devices and Desires” (1991), she landed the pivotal role of the rebellious daughter of a British woman (Judy Davis) involved with the French Resistance during WWII in “One Against the Wind” (CBS, 1991). Once she had become established as an ingenue with “Much Ado About Nothing”, Beckinsale carefully crafted a career path that would not find her typecast.
Simultaneous to pursuing her education at Oxford, Beckinsale continued to find challenging roles. In “Royal Deceit/The Prince of Jutland” (1994), which was based on the Danish prince whose life inspired Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, she starred opposite Christian Bale. A lighter, more charming side to the actress was displayed in “Marie-Louise, or The Leave” (1995), in which she played a young woman searching for her lover in a crowded train station. Beckinsale delivered a strong turn as the meddlesome orphan taken in by eccentric relatives in the brittle comedy “Cold Comfort Farm” (also 1995). As Flora Poste, she anchored the film and managed to make a busybody character seem charming, and in some ways it was a warm-up for her tackling “Jane Austen’s Emma” (BBC/AE, 1996). Although Douglas McGrath’s feature version starring Gwyneth Paltrow had opened on American screens first, this version found its partisans who felt it was more faithful to the spirit of Austen.
Capitalizing on the sass and intelligence she had projected in both “Cold Comfort Farm” and “Jane Austen’s Emma”, Beckinsale shone as an aristocratic med student who falls in with two charming con men (Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend) in the underrated caper flick “Shooting Fish” (1997). Adopting a flawless American accent, the actress next registered as the bitchy junior publishing executive seeking fun and perhaps Mr. Right in Whit Stillman’s “The Last Days of Disco” (1998). The following year, Beckinsale retained the Americanisms to portray a mousy tourist in Thailand who falls for a slick Australian, dragging herself and her traveling companion (Claire Danes) into accusations of drug smuggling in “Brokedown Palace”. After time out for motherhood, she returned to the big screen as Nick Nolte’s daughter in the Merchant Ivory adaptation of Henry James’ “The Golden Bowl” (2000).
The attractive actress finally had a shot at more mainstream success with two high profile leading roles in 2001. In the big-budget epic “Pearl Harbor”, she was cast as a US Navy nurse who falls in love with a dashing pilot (Ben Affleck) but when news of his death arrives turns to his best friend (Josh Hartnett) for comfort. And Beckinsale was cast opposite John Cusack in the mildly engaging romantic comedy “Serendipity”, playing a woman who believes more in fate than love at first sight and faces a long but seemingly inevitable road to romance. The actress surfaced again in 2003 in the arty indie “Laurel Canyon” as the icy fiancee of an L.A. native (Christian Bale) who returns to his eclectic mother’s home in Laurel Canyon, where Beckinsale’s character slowly becomes seduced by the sultry Los Angeles lifestyle.
Her highest profile role to date came in “Underworld” (2003), a glossy supernatural thriller with Romeo-and-Juliet overtones, in which Beckinsale played Selene, a vampire emobroiled in her kind’s long feud with a werewolf clan who falls in love with one of her blood enemies (Scott Speedman). Beckinsale followed up with another action-packed supernatural thriller, teaming with Hugh Jackman for “Van Helsing” (2004), in which she played Anna Valerious, a vampire slayer from a long line committed to ending the reign of Count Dracula who teams with the count’s longtime human foe. The actress was better served by her next project, director Martin Scorses’s Howard Hughes glamorous and visually arresting biopic “The Aviator” (2004), in which the actress provided a sultry spark as the firey film icon Ava Gardner, Hughes’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) most challenging, yet sympathetic, paramour.
- Born:on 07/26/73 in London, England
- Job Titles:Actor, Waitress
Family
- Daughter: Lily Sheen. born on January 31, 1999; father, Michael Sheen
- Father: Richard Beckinsale. born in 1947; died of a heart attack in 1979
- Half-sister: Samantha Beckinsale. older
- Mother: Judy Loe. born c. 1948
- Step-siblings: has five
Significant Others
- Companion: Edmund Moriarty. dated while at Cambridge
- Companion: Michael Sheen. born on February 5, 1969; acted together on stage in “The Seagull” (1995); no longer together as of January 2003
Education
- New College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, French and Russian, 1991-94
Milestones
- 1991 Co-starred in CBS TV-movie “One Against the Wind”, playing the rebellious daughter of Judy Davis
- 1991 Played small role in British TV-miniseries “Devices and Desires” (shown on PBS’ “Mystery!” in USA)
- 1993 Acted opposite Christian Bale in “The Prince of Jutland/Royal Deceit”, purportedly the real-life story of the Danish prince upon which “Hamlet” is based; played character of Ethel who is the Ophelia figure
- 1993 Made feature film debut as Hero in Kenneth Branagh’s film version of “Much Ado About Nothing”
- 1994 Played female lead in “Marie-Louise or The Leave”
- 1995 Made stage acting debut in “The Seagull” in Chester, England
- 1995 Portrayed the orphan Flora Poste who goes to live with her relatives at “Cold Comfort Farm” (shot in 1994 for BBC; released theatrically in USA in 1996)
- 1996 Appeared in London stage productions “Sweethearts” and “Clocks”
- 1997 Co-starred with Stuart Townsend and Dan Futterman in “Shooting Fish”
- 1997 Had lead in British TV version of Jane Austen’s “Emma” (aired in Great Britain on ITV; shown in USA on A&E)
- 1998 Appeared in Whit Stillman’s ensemble drama “The Last Days of Disco”
- 1998 Played Alice in British TV production of “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
- 1999 Co-starred with Clare Danes in the prison drama “Brokedown Palace”
- 2000 Portrayed Nick Nolte’s daughter in the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of Henry James’ “The Golden Bowl”
- 2001 Acted with John Cusack in the romantic comedy “Serendipity”
- 2001 Portrayed a 1940s army nurse who becomes involved in a love triangle with two pilots in “Pearl Harbor”
- 2003 Cast as Christian Bale’s love interest in “Laurel Canyon”
- 2004 Cast as Anna opposite Hugh Jackman in horror thriller “Van Helsing”
- 2004 Cast as Ava Gardner opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s “Aviator”
- Became anorexic as a teenager; underwent four years of five-day-per-week analysis
- Will play the romantic lead opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy “Click” (lensed 2005)