Gosford Park

Mary Selway, the British casting agent whose transatlantic career led her to cast some of the most successful films of her time, including "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi," "Gosford Park" and "Out of Africa," as well as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," which she helped to cast, has died. She was 68. Selway had been ill with cancer and died April 21 in London, where she lived, according to the London Guardian.

Filmmakers are natural raconteurs — they have to be — at least when talking about their films. There are the money men who must be convinced to invest, the studios they need to sign on for distribution, the actors they want to hire and the press and public they hope will see the finished film and like it. The American Film Institute captures all that and more in "Conversations at the American Film Institute with the Great Moviemakers: The...

"Gosford Park" is an amusing amalgam, the surprisingly happy child of the cross-breeding of an Agatha Christie-style plot with an "Upstairs, Downstairs" setting. Even more unexpectedly, its large ensemble cast, which has become something of a broken record for director Robert Altman, functions here as advertised. Altman, of course, with "MASH," "Nashville," "The Player" and the like, has made some of the most celebrated ensemble films.

British film hyphenate Julian Fellowes, 61, who won an original screenplay Oscar for "Gosford Park," returns to early 20th century England for the script of his latest TV drama, "Downton Abbey. " The four-episode series about life on a great country estate, starring Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville, last year became ITV's most-watched costume drama in the U.K. since 1981's " Brideshead Revisited. " "Downton" makes its American debut on PBS' "Masterpiece" on Sunday night.

British film hyphenate Julian Fellowes, 61, who won an original screenplay Oscar for "Gosford Park," returns to early 20th century England for the script of his latest TV drama, "Downton Abbey. " The four-episode series about life on a great country estate, starring Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville, last year became ITV's most-watched costume drama in the U.K. since 1981's " Brideshead Revisited. " "Downton" makes its American debut on PBS' "Masterpiece" on Sunday night.

"Gosford Park" and "A Beautiful Mind" were the feature film winners Saturday night at the 54th annual Writers Guild of America Awards. Episodes of "The Sopranos" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" took home awards for TV series writing. Julian Fellowes won for best screenplay written directly for the screen for "Gosford Park," director Robert Altman's sophisticated satire of the British upper class in the 1930s. Fellowes is also nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay.

How's this for a story pitch? A bald and avuncular character actor turning 50 comes to the painful conclusion that life has no marvelous surprises in store for him. The actor, a child of an "imperial family" who's done a bit of writing on the side, will continue to play upper-class snobs on British TV series with the occasional bit in James Bond movies when toffs and/or twits are required.

Would the movie world be the same without " Happy-Go-Lucky," "Man on Wire" or "Gosford Park"? That's the question, in essence, being asked by film figures on both sides of the Atlantic in a growing controversy over the announcement by the new British government that it plans to abolish the UK Film Council, which provides millions of pounds annually to British-based independent productions. The group also offers logistical and other support to Hollywood studios filming in Britain.

Robert Altman's career has been defined by its peaks and valleys. For every "MASH," "Nashville," "The Player" and "Short Cuts," there has been a "Brewster McCloud," "Buffalo Bill and the Indians," "Quintet," "Ready to Wear" or last year's "Dr. T & the Women." Altman, who is just two months shy of his 77th birthday, is a survivor. After a long lull, Altman has scaled another peak in his 50-year career with his latest film, "Gosford Park," which opens Wednesday in limited release.

Tuesday: "Ocean's Eleven" and "Waking Life." May 14: "The Others," "From Hell" and "Corky Romano." May 21: "Vanilla Sky," "Lantana," "Snow Dogs," "Sidewalks of New York," "Out Cold" and "How High." May 28: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Dark Blue World" and "Slackers." June 4: "Shallow Hal" and "The Mothman Prophecies." June 11: "Black Hawk Down," "Monster's Ball," "Kate & Leopold" and "Behind the Sun."

Would the movie world be the same without " Happy-Go-Lucky," "Man on Wire" or "Gosford Park"? That's the question, in essence, being asked by film figures on both sides of the Atlantic in a growing controversy over the announcement by the new British government that it plans to abolish the UK Film Council, which provides millions of pounds annually to British-based independent productions. The group also offers logistical and other support to Hollywood studios filming in Britain.

"The Young Victoria," starring Emily Blunt as the 18-year-old queen of England circa 1837, is such a rich pastiche of first love, teen empowerment, fabulous fashion and fate that you almost wish a few brooding vampires had been thrown in for good measure, since that's the crowd that should fall head over heels for this movie. Which isn't to suggest that "Young Victoria" is sophomoric. It is anything but. What filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée has done in this delicious historical romance is capture that hot blush of pure emotion that comes before kisses, sex, heartbreak and the rest can dilute it. Vallée understands the power in the promise of things to come, and though kings and queens might abuse the power, the director uses it wisely.

Mary Selway, the British casting agent whose transatlantic career led her to cast some of the most successful films of her time, including "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi," "Gosford Park" and "Out of Africa," as well as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," which she helped to cast, has died. She was 68. Selway had been ill with cancer and died April 21 in London, where she lived, according to the London Guardian.

The rise and rise of Julian Fellowes, after he spent 25 years languishing in semiobscurity, is one of the British film industry's most extraordinary stories. Best known as a character actor specializing in upper-class, slightly silly characters (he can be seen as Lord Kilwillie on BBC America's "Monarch of the Glen"), Fellowes pulled off the astonishing feat of winning an Oscar for his first produced feature film script, "Gosford Park" (2001).

Tuesday: "Ocean's Eleven" and "Waking Life." May 14: "The Others," "From Hell" and "Corky Romano." May 21: "Vanilla Sky," "Lantana," "Snow Dogs," "Sidewalks of New York," "Out Cold" and "How High." May 28: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Dark Blue World" and "Slackers." June 4: "Shallow Hal" and "The Mothman Prophecies." June 11: "Black Hawk Down," "Monster's Ball," "Kate & Leopold" and "Behind the Sun."

How's this for a story pitch? A bald and avuncular character actor turning 50 comes to the painful conclusion that life has no marvelous surprises in store for him. The actor, a child of an "imperial family" who's done a bit of writing on the side, will continue to play upper-class snobs on British TV series with the occasional bit in James Bond movies when toffs and/or twits are required.

Movies Drama "A Beautiful Mind" "In the Bedroom" "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" "The Man Who Wasn't There" "Mulholland Dr."

It's the most extraordinary spectacle: a relatively confined space consisting of a staircase and two corridors intersecting at right angles. And everyone occupying this space is a distinguished British actor, each dressed as a servant in a large English country house in the 1930s. There goes Helen Mirren hurrying by, looking stern. The veteran Alan Bates strolls up and down, speaking his lines to himself.

For most Hollywood directors, doing DVD commentaries is one of the great perks of the job. After all, how often do you get, in effect, to direct your movie a second time, guiding the audience through all the clever authorial touches they might have missed without the captain of the cinematic ship at the tiller, whispering in their ears? But when the famously contrarian Robert Altman arrived at a Sony Pictures studio recently to record his commentary for the DVD of his Oscar-nominated "Gosford Park," he had the grim air of a man slipping into the dentist's chair.

"Gosford Park" and "A Beautiful Mind" were the feature film winners Saturday night at the 54th annual Writers Guild of America Awards. Episodes of "The Sopranos" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" took home awards for TV series writing. Julian Fellowes won for best screenplay written directly for the screen for "Gosford Park," director Robert Altman's sophisticated satire of the British upper class in the 1930s. Fellowes is also nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay.