Johnny Depp has made a surprise appearance at the London Film Festival to give a career honor to horror icon Christopher Lee.
Depp called Lee “a national treasure” and “a genuine artist” as he presented the 91-year-old actor with a British Film Institute Fellowship on Saturday.
He said it had been “a childhood dream come true” to work with Lee. The two actors appeared together in Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” ”Dark Shadows” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Lee returned the compliment, calling Depp one of the few younger actors “who is truly a star.”
Lee’s 250 movie roles include Dracula in a series of Hammer Films thrillers, Bond villain Scaramanga in “The Man With The Golden Gun,” the founder of Pakistan in “Jinnah” and Saruman in “The Lord of the Rings.”
During a ceremony at London’s Banqueting House, the festival gave its best-picture prize to Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski for “Ida,” the story of a novice nun in 1960s’ Poland.
Pawlikowski, best known for English-language films “Last Resort” and “My Summer of Love,” said he had been warned that “making a film in Poland, in black and white,” with a little-known actress would be a bad career move.
“But that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
The first-feature prize went to Anthony Chen’s Singapore family drama “Ilo Ilo,” and screenwriter Jonathan Asser was named best British newcomer for prison drama “Starred Up.”
The documentary trophy went to Paul-Julien Robert’s “My Fathers, My Mother and Me,” a personal portrait of Europe’s largest commune.
The 57th London Film Festival included 235 features, including Paul Greengrass’ hijacking drama “Captain Phillips,” Alfonso Cuaron’s space odyssey “Gravity,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s folk saga “Inside Llewyn Davis” and Steve McQueen’s hard-hitting “12 Years A Slave.”
The 12-day festival ends Sunday with “Saving Mr. Banks,” starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More