Maggie Smith's “The Lady in the Van” gets release dateAugust 25, 2015 - 13:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Sony Pictures Classics has set an awards-qualifying December release in the U.S. for “The Lady in the Van,” starring Maggie Smith, Variety reports. The film will premiere as a special presentation at the Toronto Film Festival. “The Lady in the Van” is a film version of a British play that starred Smith. The movie is directed by Nicholas Hytner, who also directed the play. Producers are Damian Jones, Kevin Loader and Hynter. The film is a TriStar production and tells the true story of playwright Alan Bennett’s strained friendship with Mary Shepherd (Smith), an eccentric woman who parked her broken-down van in Bennett’s London driveway and lived there for 15 years. Alex Jennings plays Bennett. Frances de la Tour, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Jim Broadbent and James Corden also star. The film is Hytner’s first directorial outing after ending his decade at the head of the British National Theatre. He and Bennett previously collaborated on “The Madness of King George” and “The History Boys.” Smith has been nominated for six Oscars and won for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and “California Suite.” Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Armenian delegation participating in NATO PA session The delegation is headed by Andranik Kocharyan, the chairman of the standing committee on defense and security matters. Schengen visa cost won’t change for Armenia – diplomat The increase in the cost of a Schengen visa will not apply to citizens of Armenia, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said. Yeremyan Projects opens state-of-the-art dairy production plant Yeremyan Projects officially launched the Yeremyan Products state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerevan on May 24. Azerbaijan's defense spending set to increase by 11% Azerbaijan's spending on defense and national security will increase by 11%, according to a fresh bill. |