LIFESTYLE36 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 Music & Movies

Natalie Dormer: emma Arterton found it “weird” playing Idris Elba’s wife. The 28-year-old beauty stars alongside the 42-year-old actor in ‘A Hundred Streets’ and Jennifer Lawrence Gadmits their friendship made playing a married couple raising children is ‘cool’ seem a bit peculiar. She said: “Idris and I are good mates - so it was weird to play husband and wife, especially when he’d play husband and wife, especially when atalie Dormer thinks Jennifer Lawrence is “the he’d point to the young actors playing our children and say, ‘That’s what our kids coolest girl”. The 32-year-old actress - who would look like, Gem.’ “Away from her acting work, the ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands Nstars in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part of Time’ actress has set up a production company with her friend and they are I’ as Cressida - is in awe of her co-star and thinks the hoping to create more opportunities for women through the new venture. 23-year-old beauty is wise beyond her years. She Explaining how they want to establish strong, complex female roles, she told said: “Jennifer Lawrence is just the coolest girl. Britain’s Glamour magazine: “Not just in films - but in TV and theatre too. And we Everyone forgets how young she is because she’s so want to work with female writers, directors, camera operators - there are just so together, such an old soul. She just gets it. She’s one few. “It’s early days, but watch this space.” Gemma recently made her stage musi- savvy chick.” Natalie admits it was a “thrill” to be cast cal debut as Rita O’Grady in ‘Made in Dagenham’ on London’s West End and in the latest installment of the movie series because recently admitted she took on the singing role in a new production so she would- she is such a fan of the franchise. She said: “I went to n’t be compared with anyone who had had the role before. She said: “I’ve always the world premiere of ‘Catching Fire’ last year and it

Arterton wanted to do a musical. Always. I sang when I was younger and that went out of was amazing. To be joining ‘The Hunger Games’ fami- the window when I went to drama school. “I’ve been offered a few musicals ly is such a thrill. It deserves the hype because it’s well before but it just didn’t feel right. I wanted to do something that nobody else had written, handles really big subject matter, but doesn’t sung yet. I just don’t want to be compared to somebody who has sung it better. talk down to its audience. And then there’s the found screen marriage weird weird marriage screen found I’ve not got the most amazing voice but I don’t think Rita would have either.” romance element. ‘The Hunger Games’ has some- thing for everyone.” The role forced Natalie to under- go a radical transformation, but she was relieved she didn’t have to change her appearance in as extreme a way as was originally planned. She told Britain’s Glamour magazine: “When they offered me the role they asked me if I would consider shaving my entire head.”Ultimately the director and I decided Cressida would look funkier, more Capitol, which is where she comes from, if she rocked.

Wahlberg to star as The Six Billion Dollar Man

ark Wahlberg is to star in ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’. The 43-year-old actor will appear on screen as former astronaut Steve Austin, who requires bionic repairs to

‘sensational’ ‘sensational’ M his body after a suffering a near-fatal crash. The eagerly-awaited movie - based on the 1972 novel ‘Cyborg’ by Martin Caidinwill - sees the central character fitted with bionic legs, right arm and left eye, as he works to help the US government. The novel also spawned TV series ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ and popular spin-off ‘The Bionic Woman’. Wahlberg, 43, is to reunite with ‘Lone Survivor’ director Peter Berg for the project, which he’s arvey Wenstein has dubbed “sensational” ing in this movie - she holds her own and then also set to produce alongside Bob Weinstein, Deadline reports. Rita Ora his “biggest discovery”. The some.” Clearly smitten with the singer, Harvey told Meanwhile, it was revealed recently that Wahlberg is to appear Hollywood veteran - who produced the MailOnline: “I will work with Rita again and again alongside Will Ferrell in ‘Daddy’s Home’. The duo starred in the

by Hollywood big wig by H Academy Award-winning film ‘Shakespeare in and again. Personally, I think she’s my biggest dis- 2010 comedy film ‘The Other Guys’ and they’re to reunite for the new movie directed by Sean Anders. Ferrell, 47, plays the Ora dubbed Ora Love’ - has given the 23-year-old ‘Hot Right Now’ covery as an actress this year.” ‘Southpaw’ has an singer his seal of approval after they worked all-star cast, featuring Rachel McAdams, Naomie part of a mild-mannered radio executive who wants to be the together on his new film ‘Southpaw’, which also Harris and Forest Whitaker. Rita has already made best stepfather to his wife’s two children. Wahlberg, on the oth- stars Jake Gyllenhaal. He said: “Rita Ora did a sen- a name for herself in the industry after she fin- er hand, is the freeloading biological father of the children who sational job. “Her scene is breathtaking, because ished filming scenes for the highly-anticipated reappears in their lives. she’s a very glamorous, beautiful woman. “But we movie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, which stars Jamie did the opposite, we made her up to look like a Dornan and Dakota Johnson, and is scheduled for tough junkie. “She is heartbreakingly real and release in February 2015. wonderful and acting opposite Jake - who is rivet-

Knightley didn’t know movie title changed eira Knightley “didn’t realize” her new movie’s title had changed in the UK. The 29-year-old actress was left embar- Krassed when quizzed in interviews about ‘Say When’ and kept denying she was in the film because she was unaware it had had its US title ‘Laggies’ altered to suit a British audience. She explained: “I didn’t even realise it had had a name change here, it’s called ‘Laggies’ in America because that’s a term for people who are being a bit lazy. But the guys over here went, ‘But in England nobody knows what that is’ and they don’t it’s true, because I didn’t know either, so they changed it. “They didn’t tell me until really late so I was doing all Spacey and Shannon to these interviews and being asked about this film called ‘Say When’ and I had no idea what it was and was going, ‘I think you’ve got the star in Elvis and Nixon wrong person, I wasn’t in that.’ But I am!” Keira enjoyed shooting the movie in Seattle because it was a “celebration of the suburbs”. She Wood ‘will always be seen as Frodo’ evin Spacey and Michael Shannon are to star in the period added: “It was great [in Seattle], it’s very deeply indie, very low budg- drama ‘Elvis & Nixon’. Deadline reports that the film, written et. It was originally written for LA but Lynn Shelton, the director, is Kby actor Cary Elwes, will see two-time Oscar winner Spacey, Seattle born and bred and loves making films there, it was a great lijah Wood admits he will never completely emerge from the shadow of ‘The 55, play the role of President Nixon, with Shannon assuming the city. It’s definitely a celebration of the suburbs, which I quite liked Lord of the Rings’. The 33-year-old star rose to worldwide prominence part of Elvis, the legendary rocker. ‘Elvis & Nixon’ will tell the story of about it.” Ebetween 2001 and 2003 - when he appeared as Frodo Baggins in Peter a strange real-life meeting between two of the most important fig- Jackson’s trilogy - and despite featuring in a wide variety of roles since then, Elijah ures of the 20th centuries, both of whom courted a fair degree of admits it’ll be tough to completely disassociate himself from the iconic character controversy through the course of their respective careers. The par- in the eyes of some film fans. Elijah - who subsequently appeared in ‘Eternal ticular meeting occurred on December 21, 1970, when Elvis Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘Sin City’ and ‘Green Street’ - told the Evening appeared on the White House lawn asking to speak with the Standard newspaper: “I’ve done ten years of other movies. But ‘The Lord of the President, who received him in the Oval Office. The pair discussed Rings’ will be with me for the rest of my life, I’d be a fool not to recognize that.” Elvis’ views on drug use and hippies, while the music icon also Elijah also confessed the pressure of growing up in the spotlight and the collapse asked to be sworn in as an undercover federal agent. Both men of his relationship with Pamela Racine - his co-star in ‘Everything is Illuminated’ - were at the height of their respective careers when the famous led him to seek therapy. He explained: “I highly advocate it. It’s not an admission meeting took place, but less than four years later, Nixon resigned that there’s something wrong, it’s an admission of vulnerability. “All these things over the Watergate scandal. And three years after that, Elvis was bubbled up when I was 29. I’d just broken up with my girlfriend of five years. dead aged 42. Shooting for the film - which takes place over the Someone suggested therapy and I thought, ‘I actually think I need this.’ I was an course of a week - is set to begin early next year. adult from a young age, I had to deal with so much familial responsibility. “Some might say I lost my childhood. I missed out on certain things, but if anything that shaped me. By the time I really needed friends my own age, I had them.” McKellen and Stallone cast in Animal Crackers

ir Ian McKellen and Sylvester Stallone have been cast in ‘Animal Crackers’. Blue Dream Studios has confirmed the Sanimated film will also feature the voices of Danny DeVito, Patrick Warburton, Gilbert Gottfried, Raven-Symoné and Harvey Fierstein. Animator Scott Christian Sava said: “When I was writing Animal Crackers I had specific voices in my head. “Certain charac- ters I wrote with actors in mind. “Horatio was always Sir Ian McKellen. Brock was totally Patrick Warburton. Bullet-Man could be no one else but Stallone. To find out that each and every one of these actors have agreed to come on board this film and bring these characters to life ... I’m flipping out.” The film follows a fami- ly that inherits a run-down circus and a box of old Animal Crackers, which they discover can be transformed into different animals. ‘Animal Crackers’ is set to be completed by the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, Sir Ian admitted recently that luck has played a major part in his recent career success. The actor - who was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts - said a number of his contemporaries would have fared as well in the iconic role of Gandalf in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, including John Hurt. Speaking at TimesTalks London, Sir Ian - who was sat beside his ‘Vicious’ co-star Sir Derek Jacobi - reflected: “We’re no better than a whole lot of people. But genuinely, being quite honest about it all, it’s luck. John Hurt could’ve played Gandalf.”