Since there were some Emmy wins for HBO's "Elizabeth I" I thought I'd post the trailer for "The Queen" starring Helen Mirren. Helen plays the current Queen on of England, Elizabeth II, during the days surrounding Princess Diana's death.

Trailer for "The Queen"

Mirren is amazing - every performance of hers is worth seeing, and I'm sure this will not be the exception.

Another for Helen Mirren, one of my faves.

Dynamite with a laser beam!

Agreed.

I was reading about this, it looks interesting. Michael Sheen also played Tony Blair in Morgan's and Frears' TV movie The Deal.

Also, the casting of James Cromwell is inspired. Heh. "Cromwell"...I chuckled.

I just got back from seeing this. I thought it was interesting that two of the most talked about performances in theatres now are both of heads of state (even if figurative). This movie was much less dry than I was expecting (at worst, some sort of updated Merchant-Ivory production). But it's a great combination of historical fact with imaginative events and conversations and ultimately one family's struggle with a difficult and famous member's death. There were two minor gripes I had:



I thought Helen Mirren's portrayal of the role was fantastic.

Even though Helen Mirren is the star here, the actor who plays Tony Blair is also top notch.

I thought Michael Sheen (as Blair) was really good as well. To me he looks less like Tony Blair and more like Tony Blair's charicatures. Apparently he's done Tony Blair before: he portrayed him in a 2003 TV movie, The Deal.

Went to see this one yesterday. Again, to me, this was an example of an amazing actress (Mirren) trapped in a extremely dull and boring movie (Elizabeth on HBO being the other one). Her performance is nothing short of timeless, but the movie held no interest for me (and that was the general consensus among the crowd). I'd like to see her out of a historical role and into something new and fresh.

He's Lucian from UNDERWORLD.

I happen to LOVE "boring" British films like Elizabeth I. So I have a feeling I'll love The Queen.

haha.. didn't realize that...

Among your group or among the people you overheard in the theatre?

It's odd since this movie seems to have generally good word of mouth (and it's per-screen averages are incredible).

Yeah i didn't realize it until a few weeks ago.

...and i did.

Very good film -- loved the performances by Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen. I spent much of the film with tears in my eyes because it was like reliving that tragedy again.

Just caught this today. Anyone know how much of it is fact?

Well diana is dead. And that was the reaction from the Palace, as far as what went on behind closed doors at Balmoral who's to really say..

I really enjoyed it, and it did make me sad that she is gone.

I know we may never find out but I would LOVE to hear what the real Royal family thought of it. I thought everyone except Prince Phillip came off well. Phillip could never get away from his traditional views on the matter while sooner or later others at least saw the situation for what it was.

I loved The Queen's line to Blair towards the end about...

This is the one movie this year I keep thinking back to as to how good it was. It's just, for the most part, an extremely well made film. I do hope it wins some awards.

I'm going to try and see it this weekend. Mirren seems to be a front runner for an Actress nomination.

He's also the Priest that Balian kills in "Kingdom of Heaven".

I wouldn't mind seeing him get an award for playing Blair.

I can see how in the future, harry might say something about it, but for some reason with all the in-breeding they typically live a very long time...

Mirren will most definitely win the Best Actress award for this performance. I'd also place money that Michael Sheen will get a nomination for Best Supporting actor. And the film will be nominated for Best Picture. Somehow I think Frears will be overlooked for Best Director though. Hope not.