Helena Bonham Carter to Star in BBC Two’s Virtual Staging of Pantomime Classic “Cinderella”

It’ll be a wicked Christmas for Helena Bonham Carter.

The part-Spanish actress will star opposite her The Crown co-star Olivia Colman in a socially distanced, virtual staging of pantomime classic Cinderella for BBC Two, with Richard Curtis executive producing.

Helena Bonham Carter

Bonham Carter and Colman will perform from the safety of their homes for the Comic Relief special, which airs on Christmas Eve and will be brought to life with illustrations from iconic children’s illustrator Quentin Blake.

Colman plays the fairy godmother, while Bonham Carter features as the wicked stepmother Lady Devilia. Meanwhile, the breakout star of Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy, will play the title role.

Other cast includes The Night Manager star Tom Hollander and Guz Khan as Baron Hardup and Buttons respectively. Daisy May and Charlie Cooper, the stars and creators of This Country, have been cast as the evil step-sisters. The pair are siblings in real-life.

Written by the Dawson Brothers, and based on an original script by Ben CrockerCinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will be a retelling of the timeless panto classic. It is made by Crook Productions.

Curtis said: “It’ll be very funny and merry — and also a great seasonal opportunity to raise crucial funds for the projects that will help the most vulnerable people, at home and abroad — especially now when Covid has made things harder than ever for many.”

The BBC has promised other starry cameos, including an “incredibly famous person wearing an incredibly unconvincing horse costume.”

First Trailer Released for Andy Garcia’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”

It’s all Greek to Andy Garcia

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to Mamma Mia! The Movie, starring the 61-year-old Cuban actor.

Andy Garcia,

The sequel shifts back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present.

Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed $610M worldwide, everybody’s back on the Greek island of Kalokairi for an all-new original musical based on the songs of the Swedish pop sensations.

All of the original cast returns including Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard.

Garcia is new to the island, along with Lily James showing off some pipes as Young Donna, Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner.

Cher also turns up in the trailer above as grandmother Ruby Sheridan.

Ol Parker writes and directs the sequel from a story by Catherine Johnson, Richard Curtis and Parker.

The musical comedy will open domestically in the U.S. on July 20, 2018.

Trejo to Participate in This Year’s Red Nose Day Special on NBC

It’s a Rudolph-like moment for Danny Trejo

The 72-year-old Mexican American actor, best known for portraying villains and anti-heroes, has signed on for NBC’s Red Nose Day Special.

Danny Trejo

The fundraiser, which aims to help lift kids out of poverty, will be broadcast live on May 26 from 9:00 – 11:oo pm ET on NBC.

The special, hosted by Craig Ferguson, features comedy, musical performances and short films that shed light on children in need here at home and around the world.

Also scheduled to make an appearance on the special are Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tony Hale, Iwan Rheon, Sterling K. Brown, Yvette Nicole Brown, Margot Robbie, Jane Lynch, Connie Britton, Jay Pharaoh, Mayim BialikEllen DeGeneres, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan, Key & Peele, Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Ellie Kemper, along with Kristen Bell, Emma Watson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Rose Byrne, Blake Griffin, Emma Thompson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Steve Buscemi, Adam Devine and Ron Funches. Additional talent will be announced at a later date.

Created by Oscar nominee and Emmy-winning writer-director Richard Curtis, the idea of Red Nose Day was built upon the foundation that mass media and celebrities can help raise money and awareness of poverty to save and change millions of lives.

Red Nose Day has raised more than $1 billion globally in the last 25 years, and in the UK has become a cultural phenomenon where people across the country come together to have fun, raise money and change lives.

Red Nose Day launched in the U.S. in 2015, and raised more than $23 million, with the money now at work in all 50 states and 15 countries internationally through programs to keep children and young people safe, healthy and educated.

Sheen to Star in the Near-Future Mystery Film “Trash”

Martin Sheen has landed a trashy new project…

The 72-year-old half-Spanish actor and former West Wing star, who was born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez, has been cast opposite Side Effects’ actress Rooney Mara in the mystery film Trash.

Martin Sheen

Based on Andy Mulligan‘s young adult novel, the film centers on three homeless boys living in an intentionally ambiguous “third world” country in the near future who discover something in a trash heap worth protecting.

Filming is expected to begin in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil next month.

Mara will portray an NGO worker and Sheen is set to play Father Julliard. Rickson Teves, Eduardo Luis and Gabriel Weinstein will make their film debuts as the three boys.

The HoursStephen Daldry is set to direct the project, which was adapted for the screen by Richard Curtis.