Sir Michael Caine – forever iconic, forever imitable, forever a gentleman

Double Oscar-winning British actor Michael Caine is often described as “the pin-up for gentlemen around the world.” There’s something about his laconic accent, his youthful charm, and his sharp style, that has kept in in the spotlight for seven decades, appearing in more than 160 films – he says as many as 175 if uncredited…

Idris Elba – promoter of diversity

British actor Idris Elba is not afraid to take on epic roles. Think of his biographical portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the 2013 film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – the life of anti-apartheid activist and the first black head-of-state and president of South Africa (1994-1999) and the 2015 American war drama Beasts of No Nation about a young…

Clint Eastwood at 91 brings modern masculinity to the screen

At 91 years old, actor and director Clint Eastwood is still bringing his quiet intensity and modern masculinity to the big screen. His latest film is “Cry Macho” in which the nonagenarian filmmaker returns to 1970s drama. Film critic Eric Neuhoff says of “Cry Macho” that “there is in this pure and simple film, a…

Mad Al Jaffee folds in at 99 years of age

  Al Jaffee is the world’s longest-working comic artist. And he has just retired at the age of 99 years. Al Jaffee worked at the satirical Mad magazine for 65 years, drawing comics and creating the back-page Fold-In. His career at Mad began in 1955 and will end after his June 2020 retirement announcement. Throughout…

The man who wrote 1,001 novels: Kovvali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao

Kovvali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, from Andhra Pradesh in India, wrote about 1,001 novels in his lifetime. He was born in Tanuku in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. In his 63 years, Kovvali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (1912-1975) was a prolific story-teller, writing in his native Telugu language. His aim was to bring reading to…

Rami Malek: from flamboyant Freddy to supervillain Safin

  Rami Malek will play the villain in the next James Bond film, No Time to Die, to be released in November 2020. He will play supervillain Safin. The audience will know Malek from his award-winning role as Freddy Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen in the 2018 movie biopic Bohemian Rhapsody….

Lin-Manuel Miranda: from jingles to Jack

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the American composer, rapper, and actor, is taking a giant leap of faith into a children’s musical about a British nanny – a far cry from the hip hop, pop, rap, show-tune music of the award-winning 2015 Hamilton: An American Musical.  From the history of the founding fathers to the diversity of character…

Director Ron Howard, the star in Star Wars spin-off Han Solo movie

Ron Howard will direct the untitled Han Solo spinoff movie for Lucasfilm and Disney – who own the Star Wars films – after directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller left the production midstream. Howard’s directorship was announced on 22 June 2017, swiftly after the previous directors left. “At Lucasfilm … we’re thrilled to announce that…