Olivier Awards 2015 Full Nominations List
The Olivier Awards 2015 nominations list was announced today in London by James McAvoy and Lesley Manville. Memphis The Musical and Carol King biopic Beautiful lead the way with nominations. Closely followed by shows like Sunny Afternoon and Miss Saigon. Full list of official nominations below. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 12 April
Best revival
A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire at Young Vic
The Crucible at Old Vic
My Night With Reg at Donmar Warehouse and Apollo theatre
Skylight at Wyndham’s theatre
Best actor in a supporting role
David Calder for The Nether at Duke of York’s theatre
Richard Goulding for King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
John Light for Taken at Midnight at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Nathaniel Parker for Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at Aldwych theatre
Best actress in a supporting role
Phoebe Fox for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
The Girls playing Iris for The Nether at Duke of York’s theatre
Angela Lansbury for Blithe Spirit at Gielgud theatre
Lydia Wilson for King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
White Light award for best lighting design
Jon Clark for King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
Paule Constable and David Plater for Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at Aldwych theatre
Howard Harrison for City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse
Jan Versweyveld for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
Best sound design
Tom Gibbons for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
Matt McKenzie for Sunny Afternoon at Hampstead theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Gareth Owen for Memphis The Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Brian Ronan for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Best entertainment and family
Dance ’Til Dawn at Aldwych theatre
Hetty Feather at Vaudeville theatre
La Soirée at La Soirée Spiegeltent
Best costume design
Rob Jones for City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse
Christopher Oram for Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at Aldwych theatre
Paul Tazewell for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Alejo Vietti for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych Theatre
XL Video award for best set design
Bunny Christie for Made in Dagenham at Adelphi theatre
Es Devlin for The Nether at Duke of York’s theatre
Rob Jones for City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse
Jan Versweyveld for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
Best new dance production
32 Rue Vandenbranden by Peeping Tom at Barbican
Mats Ek’s Juliet and Romeo by Royal Swedish Ballet at Sadler’s Wells
Tabac Rouge by Compagnie du Hanneton/James Thiérrée at Sadler’s Wells
Outstanding achievement in dance
Christopher Wheeldon for The Winter’s Tale at Royal Opera House
Crystal Pite for her choreography in the productions of The Associates – A Picture of You Falling, The Tempest Replica and Polaris at Sadler’s Wells
Rocio Molina for Bosque Ardora at Barbican
The Elders Project as part of the Elixir festival at Sadler’s Wells
Virgin Atlantic best new play
King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
The Nether at Duke of York’s theatre
Taken at Midnight at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at Aldwych theatre
Best actor
Richard Armitage for The Crucible at Old Vic
James McAvoy for The Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studio 1
Tim Pigott-Smith for King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
Mark Strong for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
Best actress
Gillian Anderson for A Streetcar Named Desire at Young Vic
Kristin Scott Thomas for Electra at Old Vic
Imelda Staunton for Good People at Hampstead theatre and Noël Coward theatre
Penelope Wilton for Taken at Midnight at Theatre Royal Haymarket
This Morning audience award
Billy Elliot the Musical at Victoria Palace theatre
Jersey Boys at Piccadilly theatre
Matilda the Musical at Cambridge theatre
Wicked at Apollo Victoria theatre
Best new comedy
Handbagged at Vaudeville theatre
The Play That Goes Wrong at Duchess theatre
Shakespeare in Love at Noël Coward theatre
Magic Radio best musical revival
Cats at London Palladium
City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Miss Saigon at Prince Edward theatre
Best new opera production
Benvenuto Cellini at London Coliseum
Dialogues Des Carmélites at Royal Opera House
Die Frau Ohne Schatten at Royal Opera House
The Mastersingers of Nuremberg at London Coliseum
Outstanding achievement in opera
Jonas Kaufmann for Andrea Chénier and Manon Lescaut at Royal Opera House
Richard Jones for his direction of The Girl of the Golden West, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Rodelinda at London Coliseum
Royal Opera House and Early Opera Company for their offsite programme at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and Roundhouse
Welsh National Opera Chorus for Moses und Aron at Royal Opera House
Outstanding achievement in an affiliate theatre
Bull at The Maria at Young Vic
Four Minutes Twelve Seconds at Hampstead Downstairs
Juma Sharkah for her performance in Liberian Girl at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
Tanya Moodie for her performances in Intimate Apparel at Park theatre and The House That Will Not Stand at Tricycle theatre
Best theatre choreographer
Jerry Mitchell for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical) at Savoy theatre
Annie-B Parson for Here Lies Love at National theatre, Dorfman
Josh Prince for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Sergio Trujillo for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Best director
Rupert Goold for King Charles III at Almeida theatre and Wyndham’s theatre
Jeremy Herrin for Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at Aldwych theatre
Josie Rourke for City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse
Ivo Van Hove for A View from the Bridge at Young Vic and Wyndham’s theatre
Autograph Sound award for outstanding achievement in music
The orchestra for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim for Here Lies Love at National theatre, Dorfman
David Bryan, Joe DiPietro, Tim Sutton and the Memphis band for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Ray Davies for Sunny Afternoon at Hampstead theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Best actor in a supporting role in a musical
Rolan Bell for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
George Maguire for Sunny Afternoon at Hampstead theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Ian McIntosh for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Jason Pennycooke for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Best actress in a supporting role in a musical
Samantha Bond for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical) at Savoy theatre
Haydn Gwynne for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown the Musical at Playhouse theatre
Nicole Scherzinger for Cats at London Palladium
Lorna Want for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Best actor in a musical
Jon Jon Briones for Miss Saigon at Prince Edward theatre
John Dagleish for Sunny Afternoon at Hampstead theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Killian Donnelly for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Brandon Victor Dixon for The Scottsboro Boys at Garrick theatre
Best actress in a musical
Gemma Arterton for Made in Dagenham at Adelphi theatre
Katie Brayben for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Tamsin Greig for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown the Musical at Playhouse theatre
Beverley Knight for Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Mastercard best new musical
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Aldwych theatre
Here Lies Love at National Theatre, Dorfman
Memphis the Musical at Shaftesbury theatre
Sunny Afternoon at Hampstead theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Inside Out Latest Pixar Trailer
Here’s the latest trailer for forthcoming Pixar adventure Inside Out. The surprisingly meta adventure sees Pixar exploring the previously uncharted territory f the human mind and the endearingly animated emotions which populate it. Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black provide the voices of those emotions for one young girl.
This latest trailer reveals the full extent of the plot, which sees the mismatched duo of Joy and Sadness stuck on a quest to recover the minds ‘core memories’ which have been tainted by sadness and forgotten. It may sound like pretty serious psychological stuff, but it feels a more uplifting in a trailer packed with adorable cartoon characters,rainbow dream unicorns and Boston hit ‘More Than A Feeling’ ironically rocking out on the soundtrack.
Unfinished Business Review
The Plot
After being fired from his job Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) teams up with two businessmen, one recently retired (Tom Wilkinson) the other, a young inexperienced man in every sense of the word (Dave Franco). But the trio’s first big deal is put in jeopardy when Dan’s old boss (Sienna Miller) turns up to steal his wealthy client.
The Good
Vince Vaughn still has at least some appeal for fans who prefer their comedy tall and nervously sarcastic. Likewise Dave Franco’s cult following & viral video fans will perhaps be more inclined to enjoy watching him fully indulge his inner moron. The film might also help those looking to entirely disengage their brain for 90 minutes as it never demands any thought from audiences either.
Sadly there’s not much to save Unfinished Business from the mess it ends up being, but the faint glimmers of silver lining behind the thunderous clouds come mainly thanks to Tom Wilkinson.He doesn’t come close to rescuing the film, but he’s more successful at amusing audiences than his overly eager co-stars. Wilkinson’s character at least has the most potential, playing a businessman fighting against reluctant retirement while suffering the woes of a loveless marriage. The mere presence of an actor of his caliber elevates proceedings, even if you suspect he’s only on board to add to his actual retirement fund in lieu of a second visit to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The Bad
Unfortunately for Wilkinson, his character and subsequent storyline is largely pushed aside to make way for the headline act of the consistently disappointing Vince Vaughn. We can only hope Unfinished Business proves to be the last time Vaughn tries to squeeze laughs out of characters failing at their jobs. Vaughn’s affable blend of borderline obnoxious charms and underachievement may have worked in hits like Swingers or Dodgeball, but it’s also seen him relegated to a series of unimpressive comedy flops. Sadly this time cinemas are likely to yet again echo with deafening silences as the majority of the jokes fall flat.
Finishing off this terrible trio is Dave Franco, an actor who, like Vaughn, has indeed got good comedies in his back catalogue and knows how to make us laugh (21 Jump Street comes instantly to mind). Unfortunately Franco is brought down by a character so inherently dumb that he comes extremely close to doing precisely what Robert Downey Jr warns against in Tropic Thunder. When a comedy character’s biggest and arguably only comedic moment is the fact that his surname resembles that of a breakfast meal, you know you’ve got problems!
Even the attempt at giving the film a heart and soul with the inclusion of Vaughn’s children who are both dealing with bullying at school, albeit in completely opposite ways, does more harm than good. It simply gives us more reason to hate Vaughn’s character as he constantly feigns a frozen connection on his iPhone. Add shameless product placement to the growing list of movie sins.
We haven’t even mentioned the actresses in the film, but there is a very simple explanation for this. They are another thing recklessly discarded in favour of more underwhelming screen time for the film’s misfiring leads.
The Ugly Truth
Unfinished Business is a messy disappointment which sacrifices far too much real potential to make way for Vince Vaughan and Dave Franco in showboating performances that miss the mark badly. So badly in fact that it’s actually a relief when the business is finally finished. We can only hope Vince Vaughn manages to dramaticaly redeem himself in the second series of the superb True Detective.
Chappie Review
The Plot
In the near future, police droids are patrolling the streets of South Africa, bringing the crime rate down drastically. But when their creator (Dev Patel) steals a decommissioned droid and programmes it to think and feel for itself, trouble begins…
The Good
While Chappie is certainly not quite welcome up to the high standards of Blomkamp’s brilliant debut District 9, it’s certainly a step up from his rather disappointing follow-up, Elysium. Chappie shows that he still has what it takes to explore interesting themes in challenging new sci-fi. As the third piece of an unofficial trilogy of stylish dark science fiction, it’s also proof that the Alien franchise is now definitely back in safe hands with Blomkamp’s planned sequel.
Chappie opens with the same documentary style showcased in District 9, before swiftly moving onto the main action and exploring some great ideas. Though it occasionally loses its footing, the film stumbles along proudly.
Blomkamp’s past success and distinctive style has helped him assemble a talented cast of familiar faces. Dev Patel delivers a great performance as the kind hearted robot inventor determined to educate and protect Chappie, keeping his existence secret from his more sinister colleagues. Hugh Jackman has fun playing against type as a mullet sporting bad guy and sci-fi legend Sigourney Weaver is a welcome addition as his ruthless boss.
It’s an undoubtedly strong supporting cast, but praise must go first and foremost to Sharlto Copley in the titular role. As the voice of heroic robot Chappie, Copley breathes so much life into the character that audiences completely forget they’re watching a carefully crafted CGI creation. It’s a compelling combination of performance and visual effects which equals the widely celebrated achievements of Andy Serkis in the recent Planet of the Apes franchise.
As Chappie comes to life, so does the film. Chappie starts out with an endearingly infantile and navie personality. Slowly learning about the world and himself, just like a human child would. A task made more complex by the dramatic contrast between his creator and his adoptive gangster parents played by members of real life South African rap group Die Antwodd.
The juxtaposition and conflict between these three characters injects some interesting and thought provoking themes into the film amongst its actions sequences. It helps Chappie almost reach the impressively high standards set by Blomkamp’s auspicious debut Dirstrict 9.
The Bad
As mentioned before, Chappie does come a little loose in terms of its style and the message it wants to bring to audiences.
In one corner we have a genuinely interesting plot which raises questions about artificial intelligence that, although not particularly groundbreaking, are still exciting to explore in this near future world of robocop type police droids. In the other, we have a genuinely exciting action movie with some great set pieces and Hugh Jackman playing a villainous cliché who spends most of his time talking to himself in an almost pantomime way.
The film struggles to reconcile these different elements and combine them into a cohesive story. It’s hard to find a middle ground between the film’s somewhat schizophrenic intention to be a both a scientific think piece and a crowd-pleasing action blockbuster. The film’s contradicting ambitions risks leaving it a confused mess.
An even bigger risk is the film’s occasionally lazy plot holes that are a little too silly to be comfortably ignored. You’d expect evil high-tech weapons manufacturers to have a state of the art security system. Yet somehow Dev Patel manages to walk expensive and dangerous materials for his homemade artificial intelligence out the back door without anyone noticing until the third act.
The Ugly Truth
Chappie is an accomplished third effort from one of the most distinctive and innovative directors in the sci-fi genre. It’s mostly a return to the impressive form of Distrcit 9 after the relative disappointment of Elysium. While the film occasionally gets confused as to where it should be tonally, Chappie is still a good bit of fun that’s worth your time. Bring on Blomkamp’s Alien sequel.
Star Trek Icon Leonard Nimoy Dies At 83
Leonard Nimoy the beloved Star Trek actor who portrayed iconic pointy eared hero Mr Spock has died at the age of 83 in Los Angeles. The legendary film and television star passed away after battling chronic lung disease COPD for some time.
Leonard Nimoy was the only actor to survive from the 1965 Star Trek pilot when the series launched in 1966. He went on to play Mr Spock the fiercely logical half Vulcan science officer of the USS Enterprise for nearly 50 years, through the original series and long running film franchise. Indeed he was the only member of the original cast to feature in J.J. Abrams successful movie reboots including the most recent 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness.
Of all the amazing characters and creations of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek Universe, Nimoy’s Spock remains one of the most memorable and beloved.Distinguished by his arched eyebrows, bowl haircut and pointed ears; Spock was the monotone voice of reason and logic that held Captain Kirk’s reckless bravado in check. Spock’s struggles to reconcile his own emotional half-human side, embracing humour and imperfections, was perhaps the most sincerely human journey in the long running space adventures.
Nimoy had other notable roles in cult favorite series like Mission Impossible and Fringe. He also had considerable success as a director, directing several of the Trek films, including one of the most popular installments The Voyage Home.
The news of his sad passing was met with shock and sadness by fans and former colleagues alike. William Shatner described his co-star as a ‘brother’ while others have been quick to priase his generosity, kindness and talent.
In a fitting gesture Nimoy’s final Twitter message was poignant and signed off with Mr Spock’s famous epitaph
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. Live Long And Prosper.