A pre-Oompa-Loompas Willie Wonka heads to the big screen with an amazing cast in tow!

Full disclosure. Re-makes tend to scare me, whether it’s big or small screen. Pre-Endeavour, prequels used to scare me too. Neither really ever came close to meeting expectations based on the original until Shaun Evans brought a young Detective Constable Endeavour Morse to life during his early career with the Oxford City Police CID.

While I’m reserving judgement on an announced 2023 release of Wonka, given it will be really hard to touch Gene Wilder’s definitive 1971 portrayal of the iconic children’s literary character, recent announcements as to casting may just have me looking forward to this one.

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‘Talking Heads’ revamp celebrates Masterpiece’s 50th on PBS in 2021

BBC’s recent revival of a late 80s masterpiece, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologue series complete with a line-up of stars that reads like a who’s who of the British acting world, was not only a ‘masterpiece’ but it’s getting ready to ‘be a masterpiece’, as in PBS’s Masterpiece in 2021. The reboot of the masterful series of […]

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National Theatre At Home: ‘Frankenstein’ with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller premieres TODAY!

If you look up ‘must-see’ in any dictionary anywhere, you’ll be presented with a description of the 2011 National Theatre production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Days) and starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Doctor Strange) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Elementary), the stage adaptation by Nick Dear (Jane Austen’s Persuasion) is headed to the National Theatre’s YouTube channel for a free screening beginning this Thursday.

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Post ‘Great British Bake-Off’, Mel & Sue get the band back together in ‘Hitmen’

Former Great British Bake Off presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc have swapped meringues for murder (thanks, RadioTimes.com for the perfect analogy) in new comedy series Hitmen, in which they star as unconventional ‘hitmen’, Fran and Jamie. This time around, there will be no commenting on soggy bottoms instead focusing on burying bodies and not baking.

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