Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited)[1] is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the majority of commuter/regional services from its Central London terminus at London Liverpool Street to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire as well as many regional services throughout the East of England.

Abellio began operating the franchise, then known as the Greater Anglia franchise, in February 2012. Initially it traded under the same name until it rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2013. In May 2015, most of the company's suburban services were transferred to London Overground and the precursor to Crossrail, TfL Rail.

The franchise was re-tendered as the East Anglia franchise and awarded to Abellio in August 2016. The company resumed trading as Greater Anglia on 16 October 2016 when the new franchise commenced. In January 2017, Abellio announced that subject to gaining Department for Transport approval, it had agreed to sell a 40% stake in the business to Mitsui. The sale was completed in March 2017
History
Background

Abellio Greater Anglia logo as used from December 2013 until October 2016
In December 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the Greater Anglia franchise to National Express, with One commencing operations starting on 1 April 2004.[3][4] The franchise was to run until March 2011, with provision for a three-year extension if performance targets were met.

In November 2009 the Department for Transport announced that National Express would not be granted the three-year extension for which it had met the criteria, after National Express East Coast had defaulted on the InterCity East Coast franchise.[5][6]

Following a change of government as a result of the 2010 general election, the Department for Transport announced in June 2010 that all refranchising would be put on hold while a review was conducted into the franchising process.[7] As a result, National Express East Anglia was granted an initial extension until October 2011, followed by another until February 2012.[8]

Abellio granted franchise
In March 2011 the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, Go-Ahead, and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise.[9] In October 2011 it awarded the new franchise to Abellio; the services operated by National Express East Anglia transferred to Greater Anglia on 5 February 2012.[10][11][12]

The franchise was originally to run until July 2014. The reason for awarding a short franchise, at the same time as the government was speaking of a desire to move to longer franchises, was to allow the government to digest the recommendations of the McNulty Rail Value for Money study before letting a long-term franchise.

In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would again be extended until 15 October 2016.[13] Greater Anglia was rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2013.

On 31 May 2015 the Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford services, as well as the Romford to Upminster service, transferred to London Overground Rail Operations.[14] On the same day, the Liverpool Street to Shenfield stopping services transferred to the TfL Rail concession managed by MTR.[15]

On 22 December 2014 the refurbishment of the company's fleet of Mark 3 carriages began, involving a total internal rewiring, new toilets with waste-retention tanks, improved Wi-Fi provision, plug sockets at each seat, and a complete refresh of body panels, carpets and seat covers. The refurbishment programme was completed in 2016.

Franchise renewal
See also: 2016–18 United Kingdom rail strikes § Greater Anglia
In June 2015, an Abellio (60%)/Stagecoach (40%) joint venture, FirstGroup and National Express were shortlisted to bid for the franchise.[16] In December 2015 it was announced that Stagecoach had pulled out of the joint bid with Abellio, and that Abellio would continue the bid alone.[17]

In August 2016, it was announced that Abellio had successfully bid to retain the franchise until 2025. A franchise commitment is to purchase 1,043 new carriages, 660 from Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works with the other 383 to be built by Stadler Rail.[18][19] In January 2017, Abellio announced that subject to gaining Department for Transport approval, it had agreed to sell a 40% stake in the business to Mitsui.[20]

In August 2017, amidst a background of ongoing rail strikes on a national level, Greater Anglia conductors voted in favour of going on strike in a dispute over planned ticket office closures and the planned introduction of more widespread driver-only operation on the Greater Anglia network.[21] Industrial action has been held on numerous occasions since October 2017, and the dispute remains unresolved as of February 2018; Greater Anglia has been criticised by the RMT for its alleged strike-breaking tactics.[22][23]

Franchise commitments
Greater Anglia franchise (2012–2016)
Further information: Greater Anglia franchise
A number of improvements were planned during the first franchise period (2012-2016) which included:[10]

Improved station and ticket facilities and better information for passengers;
A text messaging service to keep passengers informed of any disruptions;
Extending Oyster card pay-as-you-go capabilities between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield/Hertford East;
Mobile-phone and print-at-home ticketing facilities;
600 extra car park spaces at stations;
Additional bicycle storage facilities;
New automatic ticket barriers at Brentwood (no automatic ticket barrier was installed by Abellio Greater Anglia and management of the station later passed to TfL Rail).
East Anglia franchise (2016–2025)
Further information: East Anglia franchise
The following improvements have been planned as part of the Abellio bid for the East Anglia franchise (2016-2025):[24]

Replacement of the entire current fleet, with 1,043 new vehicles by September 2020 to run on the Rural, Intercity, Stansted Express, West Anglia and Great Eastern routes.
Extensive refurbishment of some of the existing vehicles, prior to replacement.
Raise Public Performance Measure scores to at least 92.9%.
Two weekday trains operating between Norwich and Ipswich to London with a journey time of 90 min and 60 min respectively.[25]
Free WiFi on trains and stations.
£60 million investment for station upgrades with a focus on Broxbourne, Cambridge, Cheshunt, Harlow Town and Southend Victoria stations.
Introduction of digital information screens on all stations with improvements in car and cycle parking (1,800 and 4,000 extra spaces respectively) along with upgrades to ticket offices and vending machines.
New ticketing programmes with offers for infrequent travellers and part-time workers.
Introduction of an automatic Delay Repay service for season and advance ticket holders.
£120 million of investment into depots with a new maintenance facility at Manningtree.
Hiring of twenty trainees per year and at least thirty apprenticeships by 2019.
Extension of the Gainsborough Line from Marks Tey to Colchester Town.[26]
Reintroduction of four direct Lowestoft to London services on the East Suffolk Line.
Improving the frequency of the Ipswich to Ely Line services to Peterborough from every two hours to hourly with some additional services extending to Colchester.
Improving the frequency of the Ipswich to Cambridge Line and East Suffolk Line services from every two hours to hourly respectively on Sundays.
Stansted Express
Greater Anglia operates the Stansted Express sub-branded airport rail link between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport.[28]

Dutchflyer
Greater Anglia operates the Dutchflyer sub-branded boat train between London Liverpool Street and Harwich International.[29] There is no special livery for trains.

Performance
The latest punctuality statistics released by Network Rail for period 7 of 2013/2014 were 94.0% PPM (Public Performance Measure) down 1.0 percentage points on the same period last year and the MAA (Moving Annual Average) up to 12 October 2013 also fell slightly to 92.3%.[30] In 2013, Abellio Greater Anglia was named train operator of the year.[31] However, a survey in February 2014 by the consumer group Which? found that customer satisfaction of Abellio Greater Anglia was at last place (out of 20 train operators) with a satisfaction percentage of 40%[32] and in 2016 Abellio Greater Anglia were rated the fourth worst UK train operator with a commuter rail services satisfaction rating of 35%.[33]

Rolling stock
Greater Anglia inherited a fleet of Class 90, Mark 3 carriages, Driving Van Trailers, Class 153, Class 156 and Class 170 diesel multiple units, and Class 315, Class 317, Class 321, Class 360 and Class 379 electric multiple units from National Express East Anglia. Due to its short initial franchise term, Greater Anglia was not planning to introduce any new trains[34] before their second franchise term started in October 2016.

In November 2013, an online petition was launched, aiming to stop Greater Anglia trains from dumping raw sewage from the train toilets.[35] There were also concerns with the 'sewage mist' from passing trains making Network Rail staff ill, and Greater Anglia announced it was "working closely" with the government to introduce a fleet upgrade.[36] As of October 2016 all Mark 3 carriages and class 156 units have controlled emission toilets.[37]

On 31 May 2015, the company's fleet of Class 315 trains were cascaded to London Overground and TfL Rail, and some Class 317 trains have been cascaded to London Overground, which has taken over local services in North and East London from the Greater Anglia franchise.

In August 2016, it was announced 1,043 new carriages would be purchased, which will allow for all of the ageing stock to be replaced, especially necessary given that a number of coaches are not compliant with accessibility requirements beyond 2020 and they would not be able to meet Abellio's new targets for lower journey times without extensive modification.[38][39] One part of the contract went to Bombardier with nearly £1 billion to build 111 Aventra electric multiple units and the other part of the purchase went to Stadler to build 58 FLIRT electric multiple units, all of which would enter service between August 2019 and September 2020.[19][24][40]

Bombardier's order included all 111 Class 720 units for taking over local and commuter services out of Liverpool Street.[41] Stadler's order included 20 twelve-carriage Class 745 units for taking over intercity services on the Great Eastern Main Line and the Stansted Express[42] as well as 38 three and four carriage Class 755 units for taking over all local diesel route services from the previous outdated rolling stock.[43]

The first unit of the new order to enter service was the Class 755 fleet, of which the first one entered service on 29 July 2019 on the Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft route.[44] The next of the order was the Class 745/0 fleet, of which the first one entered service on 8 January 2020 on the Great Eastern Main Line operating services between Norwich and Liverpool Street.[45] From here on, units of the fleet will gradually enter service alongside the introduction of the 745/1 fleet and the whole 720 fleet.

Billy Porter

Billy Porter (born September 21, 1969) is an American Broadway theater performer, singer, and actor. He attended the Musical Theater program at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School's School of Drama, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, and achieved fame performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.[1]

Porter won the 2013 Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots at the 67th Tony Awards. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity.[2] For the role, Porter also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. In 2014 Porter won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Kinky Boots. He currently stars in the television series Pose for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first openly gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.
Early life
Porter was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to William E. Porter and Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter Ford.[3][4] His sister is Mary Martha Ford-Dieng.[5][6][7] After attending Reizenstein Middle School, Porter went to Taylor Allderdice High School and then the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School, where he graduated in 1987.[8] He graduated from the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University with a B.F.A. in Drama and earned a certification from the graduate-level Professional Program in Screenwriting[9] at UCLA.

During the summers of 1985–1987, Porter was a member of entertainment groups, "Spirit" and "Flash," which performed daily at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.[10]

Career
Porter played Teen Angel in the 1994 Broadway revival of Grease. Other shows he has been in include Topdog/Underdog at City Theatre (2004),[11] Jesus Christ Superstar and Dreamgirls at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (2004),[12] and the song cycles Myths and Hymns and Songs for a New World (Off-Broadway, 1995).[13]

Porter wrote and performed in his one-person autobiographical show, Ghetto Superstar (The Man That I Am) at Joe's Pub in New York City in February and March 2005.[13][14][15] He was nominated for "Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off Broadway Award" at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards.[16]

In September 2010, Porter appeared as Belize in Signature Theatre Company's 20th Anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.[13][17]

Porter originated the role of "Lola" in Kinky Boots on Broadway in 2013, with songs by Cyndi Lauper, book by Harvey Fierstein and directed/choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Porter won both the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this role.[18][19]

Porter has also appeared in many films. He played a major role as Shiniqua, a drag queen who befriends Angel (David Norona) and Lee (Keivyn McNeill Graves) in Seth Michael Donsky's Twisted (1997), an adaptation of Oliver Twist.[20] He has also appeared on The RuPaul Show.

He has had a musical career with three solo albums released, Billy Porter on DV8/A&M Records in 1997, At the Corner of Broadway + Soul in 2005 on Sh-K-Boom Records and Billy's Back on Broadway (Concord Music Group) in 2014. He featured in a number of songs in the tribute album; It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino in 2006 released on PS Classics.[21] He sings on Adam Guettel's 1999 album Myths and Hymns studio cast album on Nonesuch Records.[22] He also covered "Only One Road" that was included on the Human Rights Campaign compilation album Love Rocks.

Porter wrote the play While I Yet Live, which premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in September 2014 in previews, officially on October 12. In addition to Porter, the cast included Lillias White and S. Epatha Merkerson.[13][23]

Porter released Billy Porter Presents the Soul of Richard Rodgers in April 2017. The album, which features new, soulful takes on classic Richard Rodgers songs, includes solos and duets from the following artists (in addition to Porter himself): Tony and Grammy Award winners Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Tony Award-winner Patina Miller (Pippin), Grammy Award winners Pentatonix and India Arie, Tony Award nominees Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along), Joshua Henry (Violet), and Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), alongside YouTube and Kinky Boots star Todrick Hall and multiple Grammy Award nominees Deborah Cox and Ledisi.[24]

Porter reprised the role of Lola in Kinky Boots in September 2017 on Broadway, where he did a 15-week run.[25]

In 2018, Porter starred in the FX show Pose in the role of Pray Tell. In 2019, Pose earned its renewal for a third season after airing just one episode from the second season. In August 2018, Porter confirmed via Instagram that he was joining the cast of American Horror Story for its eighth season, subtitled Apocalypse.[26][27] Porter duetted with Pose co-star Dyllón Burnside and sang from his album in a benefit concert emceed by Burnside on July 23, 2018, to celebrate the season 1 finale and to raise money for GLSEN.[28][29][30] In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, sparking the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named him one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people."[31] Also in June 2019 he presented the Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the 73rd Tonys at Radio City Music Hall. However, he earned media coverage for his haute couture red and pink gown, upcycled from Kinky Boots' stage curtains, in a uterine shape,[32] and his impromptu performance of "Everything's Coming up Roses" from Gypsy, for host James Corden's "Broadway karaoke."[33] In September 2019, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Pose, becoming the first openly gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.

Also, in 2019, Porter had a cameo appearance in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video that featured twenty LGBTQ icons.[34]

Fashion
At the 2019 Golden Globes, Porter gained attention for wearing an embroidered suit and pink cape designed by Randi Rahm.[35] He continued to make fashion waves that year when he wore a fitted tuxedo jacket and a velvet gown by Christian Siriano with 6" Rick Owens boots to the 91st Academy Awards.[36] In February 2019, he was an Official Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Ambassador for New York Fashion Week: Mens.[37] Porter attended the 2019 Met Gala and embraced the Camp: Notes on Fashion theme by being carried on a litter by six shirtless men while sporting a "Sun God" ensemble. The Blonds designed Porter's outfit, and it included a bejeweled catsuit outfitted with 10-foot wings, a 24-karat gold headpiece, as well as custom gold-leaf Giuseppe Zanotti shoes and fine jewels by Andreoli, John Hardy, and Oscar Heyman.[38]

Personal life
Porter is openly gay; he married his partner Adam Smith on January 14, 2017.[39]

Discography
Albums
1997: Billy Porter (DV8/A&M Records)[40]
2005: At the Corner of Broadway + Soul (Sh-K-Boom Records)[40][41]
2014: Billy's Back on Broadway (Concord Music Group)[40]
2017: Billy Porter Presents the Soul of Richard Rodgers (Masterworks Broadway)[24]
Singles
1997: "Show Me"/"What Iz Time"
2005: "Awaiting You"/"Time" (Live) (Sh-K-Boom Records)
2017: "Edelweiss"
2019: "Love Yourself"
Other songs
"Only One Road" on Love Rocks compilation album
"Love Is on the Way" on The First Wives Club album
"Destiny" with Jordan Hill on Jim Brickman's Greatest Hits album
"Where Is Love?" with Liz Callaway
Appears in
Featured on a number of songs on tribute album It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino[21]
Adam Guettel's album Myths and Hymns in 1999[42]
He is featured with Alan Cumming, David Raleigh and Ari Gold in a cover of "That's What Friends Are For", of 'The Friends Project' in support of the Ali Forney Center, a NYC shelter for homeless LGBT youth. The song was arranged and produced by Nathan Leigh Jones and directed by Michael Akers.[43]
Concerts
Porter has performed at various venues in New York City, including Lincoln Center, which was broadcast on PBS in 2015 [44] and Joe's Pub in New York City

KentOnline

KM Media Group aka KM Group, formally known as Kent Messenger Group, is a multimedia company in the county of Kent. Operating local newspapers, radio stations and websites throughout the county. Iliffe Media Ltd acquired KM Media Group in April 2017.
History
KM Media Group can trace its roots back to 1859, when the Maidstone Telegraph (now the Kent Messenger) was first published in Kent's county town of Maidstone. The newspaper was taken over by Barham Pratt Boorman in 1890, after its owners, the Masters brothers, were jailed and forced to sell up. Boorman had already started his own newspapers in Ashford.

Barham was succeeded by his son, Henry Pratt Boorman, in the late 1920s. He realised that people would be keen to buy the paper if it included their picture or pictures of their own towns and villages. Henry's son Edwin joined the firm in the late 1950s and was managing director from 1962 until 1986. That was when his father stepped down as chairman and became President of what had developed into the Kent Messenger Group. Edwin took the Chair and remained at the helm until the end of 2005 when he was succeeded by his oldest daughter, Geraldine Allinson.

Cancelled acquisition of further titles
In July 2011, it was announced that Northcliffe Media intended to sell nine of its titles to the KM Media Group. The newspapers involved include the Dover Express, East Kent Gazette, Folkestone Herald, Herne Bay and Whitstable Times, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Medway News and Thanet Times. KM Media Group referred the matter of the acquisition of the titles to the Office of Fair Trading.[1]

The Office of Fair Trading then referred the newspaper deal to the Competition Commission, because of the possible monopoly it might create. This meant the cost of the deal and process of takeover would have increased.[2]

Due to this interest by the Office of Fair Trading and Competition Commission, the take-over of the papers was scrapped. Since then several local newspapers then closed including the Medway News and Isle of Thanet Gazette.[3]

Acquisition
Iliffe Media Ltd acquired the entire shareholding of KM Media Group in April 2017.[4]

Newspapers
Paid-for newspapers
KM Media Group operates a number of weekly newspapers for different parts of Kent which have been acquired over the years.

Kent Messenger, with three editions
Maidstone
Malling
Weald
Dartford Messenger
Gravesend Messenger
Medway Messenger
Faversham News
Sheerness Times Guardian
Sittingbourne Messenger
Sittingbourne News Extra
Kentish Gazette (Canterbury)
Whitstable Gazette
Herne Bay Gazette
East Kent Mercury (Deal and Sandwich)
Dover Mercury
Folkestone & Hythe Express
Kentish Express, with three editions
Ashford
Hythe and Romney Marsh
Tenterden
Apart from the Medway Messenger, which is published twice-weekly on Monday and Thursday all titles are published weekly. Also published is Kent Business, a monthly publication which has been going since 1993.

Free newspapers
In 1981[5] KM Media Group launched its Extra series, beginning with the Thanet Extra.[6] There are currently 4 Extra newspapers around the county what are distributed through letterboxes and available at pick-up points.

Radio
KM Media Group owns and operates seven commercial FM radio stations in Kent. Six of them were previously independent stations, acquired by the Group between 1999 and 2006 and collectively rebranded KMFM. The programming is networked across the stations, however, there is also unique content on each station including; what's on, local advertisements and sponsorship and when relevant other content e.g. traffic reports and school closures. The network also includes a DAB station.

Internet
KM Media Group's main consumer website is KentOnline.co.uk, launched in 1998.[7] The website offers local news, travel, jobs, motors, holidays and other features. As of 2017 the site attracts over 2.7 million monthly unique browsers.[8]

Offices
KM Media Group has offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Deal, Gravesend, Maidstone, Medway, Ramsgate and Sheerness.[9] It previously had offices in Dover, Faversham, Sittingbourne and Tunbridge Wells (which were closed in 2008);[10] Folkestone (which closed in April 2009); and London (which closed in 2011).

جوان كولينز

جوان هينرييتا كولينز (بالإنجليزية: Joan Henrietta Collins)؛ ممثلة وكاتبة وصحفية إنجليزية بريطانية ولدت في يوم 23 مايو 1933 في مدينة لندن عاصمة إنجلترا والمملكة المتحدة، كولينس نالت الشهرة خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية خلال أدائها لمسرحية بيت الدمية. كما أنها من الفائزات بجائزة غولدن غلوب.

الأعمال
أرض الفراعنة
باتمان
ستار تريك
بلاي بوي
روزان
المربية
ويل وغريس
أجاثا كريستي ماربل
ديك ويتينغتون
بنيدورم

Joan Collins

Dame Joan Henrietta Collins, DBE (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author, and columnist. She made her stage debut at the age of nine, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, entered British films in 1951 and went to Hollywood under contract to 20th Century Fox in 1955. In 1981, she landed the role of Alexis Carrington, the vengeful and scheming ex-wife of John Forsythe's character, in the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty, which made her an international superstar and brought her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1982. In 2015, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity.
Early life
Collins was born in Paddington, London, and brought up in Maida Vale, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant, 1906–1962), a dance teacher, and Joseph William Collins (1902–1988), a talent agent[2] whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, the Beatles and Tom Jones.[3] Her father, a native of South Africa, was Jewish, and her British mother was Anglican.[4][5][6][7] She had two younger siblings, Jackie (1937–2015),[2] a novelist, and Bill, a property agent.[8][9] She was educated at the Francis Holland School, an independent day school for girls in London.[10]

She made her stage debut in the Henrik Ibsen play A Doll's House at the age of nine, and at the age of sixteen trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. At the age of 17, Collins was signed to the Rank Organisation, a British film studio
Rank Organisation
After signing with the Rank Organisation, Collins appeared in many British films. Her feature debut was as a beauty contestant in Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) followed by The Woman's Angle (1952) in a minor role as a Greek maid. Next was a more significant role as a gangster's moll in Judgment Deferred (1952).

Her big break came with a major, highly publicised role as a juvenile delinquent in I Believe in You (1952). Her success in the part brought her stardom and the press nickname "Britain's Bad Girl".

Her subsequent films whilst under contract to Rank included Decameron Nights (1953) with Joan Fontaine; England's first X certificate drama, Cosh Boy (1953), directed by Lewis Gilbert; Turn the Key Softly (1953), a drama about three women released from prison on the same day; and the boxing saga The Square Ring (1953).

She was top-billed in the desert island comedy Our Girl Friday (1953), then directed again by Lewis Gilbert in The Good Die Young (1954) with Laurence Harvey and Gloria Grahame.

Between films, she appeared in several plays in London including The Seventh Veil (1952), Jassy (1952), Claudia and David (1954), and The Skin of Our Teeth (1954), as well as a UK tour of The Praying Mantis (1953).

Land of the Pharaohs
In 1954, Collins was chosen by famed director Howard Hawks to star as the scheming Princess Nellifer in her first international production, Land of the Pharaohs. The lavish Warner Brothers historical epic was not a success upon release but has attracted considerable interest over the years and has been lauded by Martin Scorsese and French critics supporting the auteur theory for numerous elements of its physical production. Danny Peary in his book Cult Movies (1981), selected it as a cult classic.[12] The film's reputation continues to improve with the test of time.

Collins' sultry performance so impressed 20th Century Fox chief Darryl Zanuck that he signed the young star to a seven-year contract with the Hollywood studio.
Hollywood and 20th Century Fox
Collins made her Hollywood film debut in the lavish historical drama The Virgin Queen (1955). The British newcomer was given equal billing with established stars Bette Davis and Richard Todd. The same year, Collins was cast in the starring role of Evelyn Nesbitt in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing with Ray Milland and Farley Granger. The part had originally been intended for Marilyn Monroe, however problems between Monroe and Fox led to Collins winning the role.[13]

MGM borrowed Collins for The Opposite Sex (1956), a musical remake of The Women (1939) in which she was cast as the gold digging Crystal, the role played by Joan Crawford in the original. She then starred as a young nun in Sea Wife (1956), top-billed over co-star Richard Burton, followed by the all-star Island in the Sun (1957), which was a major box office success. The film earned $5,550,000 worldwide, and finished as the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1957.[14]

In 1957, she was top-billed over Jayne Mansfield in the film version of John Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus, which despite disappointing reviews[15] was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear Award at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.[16] She then starred opposite Robert Wagner in the espionage thriller Stopover Tokyo (1957), and was Gregory Peck's leading lady in the Western drama The Bravados (1958).

The Leo McCarey comedy Rally Round the Flag, Boys (1959) cast Collins as a temptress out to seduce Paul Newman away from Joanne Woodward. Next came the tense crime caper Seven Thieves (1960) opposite Edward G. Robinson and Rod Steiger.

In 1960, Collins became increasingly disillusioned with 20th Century Fox when, having been the original choice to play the title role in Cleopatra, the part went instead to Elizabeth Taylor. Collins withdrew from the studio's production of Sons and Lovers, and requested a release from her contract, however she agreed to star in one last film for Fox, top-billed again in the biblical epic Esther and the King (1960).

The 1960s
As a freelance actress, Collins made only occasional films in the early-mid 1960s, whilst raising her first two children (she had married the actor/singer Anthony Newley in 1963).

In 1961, she returned to London to star opposite Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in the last of that movie duo's "road" pictures, The Road to Hong Kong (1962). Former "road" leading lady Dorothy Lamour was relegated to a guest appearance in the film. In Italy, Collins starred in Hard Time for Princes (1965); back in the US she played David Janssen's wife in the detective thriller Warning Shot (1967); in the UK she was the leading lady in the spy caper Subterfuge (1968); and made a cameo appearance in the comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969).

In the US, Collins starred opposite her husband in Newley's autobiographical musical Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969). Then came the female lead in the Italian drama L'amore Breve (1969), The Executioner (1970), a thriller with George Peppard, and Up in the Cellar (1970), a quasisequel to Three in the Attic.

Television
Although she had made several appearances on interview and game shows in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Collins began her television dramatic career with a guest role in The Human Jungle in 1963. Her notable appearances on American television during the 1960s included playing the villainous Siren in Batman, Run For Your Life, The Virginian, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Star Trek; in the latter, she played Edith Keeler in the episode The City on the Edge of Forever, widely regarded by fans as one of the best episodes across all the Star Trek series, if not the best.

In the 1970s, Collins remained busy on television. She starred in the TV movies The Man Who Came to Dinner (1972) with Orson Welles and Lee Remick, and Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973) opposite Brian Kelly. Her many guest appearances during the decade included The Persuaders! alongside Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, Fallen Angels with Susannah York, Space 1999, Orson Welles Great Mysteries, Police Woman, The Moneychangers with Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer, Starsky and Hutch, Switch, Future Cop, Ellery Queen, The Fantastic Journey, Baretta and three separate episodes of Tales of the Unexpected. She rounded off the decade playing Cleopatra in an episode of Aaron Spelling's Fantasy Island.

British film star
In 1970, Collins returned to Britain and starred in several films, mostly thrillers and horror films: Revenge (1971), as the vengeance-seeking mother of murdered child; Quest for Love (1971), a romantic science-fiction piece; Tales from the Crypt (1972), a highly successful horror anthology; Fear in the Night (1972), a psychological horror from Jimmy Sangster; Dark Places (1973), a thriller with Christopher Lee; and Tales That Witness Madness (1973), another horror anthology.

She went to Italy for the football-themed comedy L'arbitro (1974), to Spain for The Great Adventure opposite Jack Palance and returned to England for yet another horror, playing the mother of a murderous infant in I Don't Want to Be Born (1975).

After two comedies, Alfie Darling (1975) and The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976), Collins returned to the US to make what she now refers to as the nadir of her film career, the giant insect science-fiction piece Empire of the Ants (1977). In Italy she was the leading lady in the thriller Fearless (1978); in the US made the lighthearted Zero to Sixty (1978); and back in the UK appeared with Robert Mitchum in The Big Sleep.

The Stud and The Bitch
In 1978, Collins was catapulted back to major stardom in the UK when she starred in the film version of her sister Jackie Collins's racy novel The Stud. It was made for $600,000 and went on to gross over $20,000,000 internationally.[17] At the same time she published her autobiography, Past Imperfect, which went to number 1 in the bestseller charts. The Stud was so successful that a sequel, The Bitch (1979).[18] was hastily arranged. It too was a huge hit.

After shooting Game for Vultures (1979) opposite Richard Harris and Sunburn (1979) with Farrah Fawcett, Collins returned to the stage for the first time in many years to play the title role in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1980) in London's West End.

Collins' heightened popularity in Europe did not go unnoticed in America. In 1981 she would receive a job offer from US television which would totally change the course of her life and career.

Dynasty
In 1981, Collins accepted a role in the second season of the then-struggling soap opera Dynasty (1981–89), as Alexis Carrington, the beautiful and vengeful ex-wife of oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Her performance is generally credited as the chief factor in the fledgling show's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings[19] to a hit rivaling Dallas. In the 2001 E! True Hollywood Story episode featuring Dynasty, former ABC executive Ted Harbert stated, "The truth is we didn't really believe that we had this thing done as a hit until Joan Collins walked down that courtroom aisle." Co-star Al Corley noted that Collins "just flew" in the role that was "tailor made...just spot on." In Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling's final press interview, he said of Collins: "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins. Am I right? We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."[20]

In recognition of her superstar status, in 1983 Collins was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for career achievement.

Whilst filming Dynasty, Collins starred in the feature film Nutcracker (1982) and the TV movies Paper Dolls (1982), The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982), Making of a Male Model (1983) with Jon-Erik Hexum, Her Life as a Man (1984), and The Cartier Affair (1984) with David Hasselhoff. She made guest star appearances in The Love Boat and Faerie Tale Theatre, and co-hosted an ABC-TV special created for her, Blondes vs. Brunettes.

Dynasty was an enormous worldwide phenomenon, and by 1985 the programme was the number-one show in the United States, beating out CBS rival Dallas, which ranked number two.[21] For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning in 1983,[22] the same year she was nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in a Drama Series.[23] In accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren for turning down the part of Alexis.[24] At the age of 50, Collins appeared in a 12-page photo layout for Playboy magazine shot by George Hurrell.[25]

With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins both produced and starred in the smash hit 1986 CBS miniseries Sins,[26] and the following year, Monte Carlo
When Dynasty ended in 1989, Collins began rehearsals for her Broadway stage debut, as Amanda in a successful revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives (1990). She subsequently toured the US in the same play and also starred as Amanda in a production in London's West End.[29] In 1991, she also starred for BBC Television in a series of eight individual Noël Coward plays under the title Tonight at 8.30.

In 1991, Collins rejoined her co-stars for Dynasty: The Reunion, a miniseries that concluded the cliffhanger ending left after the show's abrupt 1989 cancellation. In the 1990s, Collins continued to star in films including Decadence (1994) and In The Bleak Midwinter (1995).

On American television she made the TV movies Hart to Hart – Two Harts in 3/4 Time (1995), Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995) and Sweet Deception (1998). She also made guest-star appearances on series such as Roseanne (1993), The Nanny (1996) and Will & Grace (2000), and played a recurring role in seven episodes of Pacific Palisades (1997).

She was selected as the cover star for the relaunch of the popular celebrity magazine OK! when it changed from a monthly to a weekly.[30]

In 1999, Collins was cast in the film version of the musical theatre show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with Donny Osmond. She then starred opposite Nigel Hawthorne in the film The Clandestine Marriage (1999), which she also co-produced.

2000 to present day
In 2000, Collins replaced Elizabeth Taylor as Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma Flintstone's mother, in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, a prequel to the Universal Studios live-action film The Flintstones (1994). (Taylor had originated the role in the first film). The following year, Collins co-starred with Taylor, Shirley MacLaine and Debbie Reynolds in the television film These Old Broads, written by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher.
In 2002, Collins returned to soap operas in a limited guest run on the American daytime soap Guiding Light.[31] In 2005, actress Alice Krige impersonated Collins in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, a fictionalised television film based on the creation and behind-the-scenes production of Dynasty.[32]

In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in An Evening with Joan Collins (US title One Night With Joan), a one-woman show in which she related the highs and lows of her career and life. The show was directed by her husband Percy Gibson, whom she married in 2002. She has continued to tour the world with the show and its sequel Joan Collins Unscripted ever since, including appearances in New York, Las Vegas, Dubai, Sydney, and twice at the London Palladium. In 2006—2007 she also toured North America for 30 weeks in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans.

In the mid-2000s, Collins' television work included the hit British television series Footballer's Wives (2005), the BBC series Hotel Babylon (2006) and Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar, a 2006 special featuring several of her Dynasty co-stars reminiscing about the original series.

Collins guest-starred in They Do It with Mirrors, a two-hour episode of the murder-mystery drama Marple in 2009, as Ruth Van Rydock, a friend of detective Miss Jane Marple. In 2010 she joined the cast of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) for a short run, playing an aristocratic British woman, Lady Joan, who takes a young German prince in tow.[33]

She made her first (and, to date, only) venture into pantomime as Queen Rat in Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome during the 2010 Christmas season, starring alongside Nigel Havers and Julian Clary.[34]

In 2012–2013, she appeared in the US sitcom Happily Divorced, and in 2013 joined the cast of the British sitcom Benidorm in a recurring guest role. She lent her voice to the animated feature film Saving Santa (2013).

From 2014–2018, she played the Grand Duchess of Oxford, mother of fictional British Queen Helena (Elizabeth Hurley) in the E! drama series The Royals.[35]

In June 2015, Collins backed the children's fairytales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF, together with others such as Roger Moore, Ewan McGregor, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, and Michael Caine.[36] The same year she starred in the fantasy film Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism.

In 2016, Collins made a cameo appearance as herself in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. The following year she returned to the big screen with the starring role in the British comedy-drama The Time of Their Lives, playing a faded Hollywood star. In 2018 she appeared in a critically acclaimed short film, Gerry, for which she won the Best Actress award at the LA Shorts International Film Festival.

In April 2018, Ryan Murphy announced that Collins had joined the cast of American Horror Story for its eighth season American Horror Story: Apocalypse. She first portrayed Evie Gallant, the glamorous and rich grandmother of Evan Peters' character, and later portrayed witch actress Bubbles McGee. In March 2019 she guest-starred in an episode of the new Hawaii Five-O TV-series.[37]

In October 2019 she worked on the feature film The Loss Adjuster opposite Luke Goss, for release in 2020.

Family and personal life
Collins has been married five times,[38] first to Northern Irish actor Maxwell Reed, whom she married on 24 May 1952 after he allegedly raped her.[39] She divorced Reed in 1956.[2]

In 1959, Collins began a relationship with the then-unknown actor Warren Beatty. They became engaged in 1960, but his infidelity led to their split.[40] Collins revealed in her 1978 autobiography that she became pregnant by Beatty but had an abortion to avoid a scandal that at the time could have seriously damaged their careers.[41]

In 1963, she married actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley with whom she had two children, Tara and Alexander. She wed her third husband, American businessman Ron Kass in 1972, and the couple had a daughter, Katyana Kennedy Kass.

After Collins' marriage to Kass ended in divorce in 1983, she married former singer Peter Holm[2] on 3 November 1985 in a ceremony in Las Vegas. After a bitter separation they were divorced on 25 August 1987.

She married her fifth and current husband Percy Gibson (born 1965) on 17 February 2002[2] at Claridge's Hotel in London.

As of 2019, Collins has three grandchildren.[42]

Collins' younger sister was Jackie Collins, a bestselling author, who died in September 2015. Collins was told only two weeks before her sister's death about the breast cancer Jackie had battled for over six years.

Over the years, Collins has been named "England's most beautiful girl[43] ", "the most beautiful woman in the world", and "the world's sexiest woman".

Collins maintains residences in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and France,[44] describing her life in 2010 as being "that of a gypsy".[45] In 2019, she and Gibson escaped a "terrifying" fire at her London flat in Eaton Square. Gibson was able to contain the blaze using a fire extinguisher before the emergency services arrived. Collins was treated for smoke inhalation but was otherwise unharmed and thanked the emergency response crews on social media.[46][47]

Merchandising
Collins has launched several products bearing her name, beginning with Joan Collins Jeans in 1980. During her time on Dynasty she produced collections of Joan Collins jewellery and eyewear. In 2012, her line of wigs went on sale, and in 2015, she launched her own brand of makeup, perfume and cosmetics, Joan Collins' Timeless Beauty.

Political views
In 2004, said: "I do feel that my country – I am English – is losing a lot of what I grew up with. I feel we are eroding ourselves to Brussels."[48] In early 2005, Collins commented that she was a supporter of the Conservative Party, stating, "The Labour Party doesn't care about the British people."[citation needed]

She was a supporter of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and was invited to attend Thatcher's funeral on 17 April 2013.[49] Collins is also a staunch monarchist, stating "I'm a big monarchist and I love the Queen."[50] Collins favours British withdrawal from the European Union.[51]

Charitable work
Collins has publicly supported several charities for several decades. In 1982, Collins spoke before the U.S. Congress about increasing funding for neurological research. In 1983, she was named a patron of the International Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, earning the foundation's highest honour in 1988 for her continuing support. Additionally, 1988 also saw the opening of the Joan Collins Wing of the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. In 1990, she was made an honorary founding member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

In 1994, Collins was awarded the lifetime achievement award from the Association of Breast Cancer Studies in Great Britain for her contribution to breast cancer awareness in the UK. Collins is patron of Fight for Sight; in 2003, she became a patron of the Shooting Star Chase Children's Hospice in Great Britain, while continuing to support several foster children in India, something she has done for the past 35 years. Collins serves her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as the Honorary President of the RADA Associates.[52]

Writing career
Since the late 1990s, Collins has been a regular guest diarist for The Spectator. In 2008, she had a weekly opinions column in The Sunday Telegraph. She continues to write occasionally for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Lady in the United Kingdom, and Harper's Bazaar in the United States.

Collins has established herself as a successful author. In addition to her bestselling novels, including Prime Time and Love & Desire & Hate, she has also written six lifestyle books, including The Joan Collins Beauty Book, as well as memoirs, including Past Imperfect. To date, she has sold over 50 million copies of her books, which have been translated into 30 languages.[53]

Memoir

Past Imperfect: An Autobiography – UK version (1978)
Katy: A Fight for Life, A Memoir (1982)
Past Imperfect: An Autobiography – US version (1984)
Second Act: An Autobiography (1996)
The World According to Joan (2011)
Passion For Life: An Autobiography (2013)
[54]

Nonfiction

The Joan Collins Beauty Book (1980)
My Secrets (1994)
Health, Youth and Happiness: My Secrets (1995)
My Friends' Secrets (1999)
Joan's Way: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2002)
The Art of Living Well: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2007)
Fiction

Prime Time, a novel (1988)
Love and Desire and Hate, a novel (1990)
Too Damn Famous, a novel (1995) retitled Infamous for US (1996)
Star Quality, a novel (2002)
Misfortune's Daughters, a novel (2005)
The St. Tropez Lonely Hearts Club, a novel (2015)
By other authors

Joan Collins by John Kercher, Gallery Books (1984)
Joan Collins: The Unauthorised Biography by Jeff Rovin, Bantam Books (1984)
Joan Collins, Superstar: A Biography by Robert Levine, Dell Publishing (1985)
A Touch of Collins by Joe Collins, Columbus Books (1986)
Portraits of a Star by Eddie Sanderson, Hodder & Stoughton (1987)
Inside Joan Collins: A Biography by Jay David, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. (1988)
Hollywood Sisters: Jackie and Joan Collins by Susan Crimp and Patricia Burstein, St. Martin's Press (1989)
Joan Collins: The Biography of an Icon by Graham Lord, Orion (2007)
In the early 1950s, Collins appeared as a teenager in a Gas Board commercial.

In 1978, she began appearing alongside Leonard Rossiter in a very popular series of Cinzano TV commercials in which the drink was inevitably spilled down her dress. One of these was included among Top 100 British commercials in a poll by Channel 4.[when?]

In the early 1980s, Collins appeared in television commercials and magazine advertisements for British Airways, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class", a title she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades.

In the mid-1980s, Collins appeared in print ads for Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Sanyo and was the face of Revlon's Scoundrel perfume.[citation needed]

In 1992, she appeared in internationally broadcast television commercials for Marca Bravaria beer, and was the face of the perfume Spectacular.[citation needed]

Since 2000, she has appeared in TV commercials for UK retailer Marks & Spencer, Olympus cameras, and US clothing retailer Old Navy.

In 2007, Collins fronted two high-profile advertising campaigns. The first was as the face of skincare company Cellex-C's Ageless 15 Skin Serum; the second was as the face of the Royal Mail's Christmas campaign.

In 2010, Collins was named the face of Alexis Bittar Jewelry for Spring Fashion Week.[55]

In 2012, she starred in a Europe-wide commercial for Snickers chocolate bars, alongside Stephanie Beacham. Within a short time the ad was re-edited and Beacham's appearance cut.[56]

In July 2019, Collins starred as herself in a commercial campaign for Three mobile telecommunications.

In September 2019 she appeared in a worldwide commercial for Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Foundation makeup.

In November 2019, Collins starred in a Christmas commercial for Valentino haute couture.
Collins is known to have made several forays into singing.

In 1959, she performed "It's Great Not to Be Nominated" at the Academy Awards with actresses Angela Lansbury and Dana Wynter.
In 1962, she sang "Let's Not Be Sensible" and "Team Work" in the film The Road to Hong Kong with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
Collins teamed up with Peter Sellers and her then-husband Anthony Newley in 1963 to record the album Fool Britannia, which made the UK Top 10.
In 1968, she sang the zodiac-themed "Chalk & Cheese", in Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?.
Also in 1968, she recorded an album of songs produced by her then-husband Anthony Newley, entitled And She Sings Too!, however her subsequent separation from Newley led to the album being shelved. It remains unreleased.
In a 1984 episode of Dynasty, Collins (in character as Alexis) sang the old Marlene Dietrich number "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have".
Collins's role in the 1986 miniseries Monte Carlo was as Katrina Petrovna, a singer who doubles as a spy; "The Last Time I Saw Paris" was one of the songs she sang in character.
In 2001, Collins sang several songs in the television movie These Old Broads, including the production number finale What a Life.
In 2001, Collins appeared in Badly Drawn Boy's video for "Spitting in the Wind".
In a 2016 episode of Benidorm, Collins (in character as Crystal) sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".
Honours
Collins was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1997 New Year Honours for services to drama.[57]

She was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to charity.[58]

Although she does not insist upon it, her correct form of address is Dame Joan.

1917

1917 is a 2019 British epic war film directed, co-written, and produced by Sam Mendes. The film stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, with Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch in supporting roles. It is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes.[6] The film tells the story of two young British soldiers during the First World War who are ordered to deliver a message calling off an attack doomed to fail soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich in 1917. This message is especially important to one of the young soldiers as his brother is taking part in the pending attack.

The project was officially announced in June 2018, with MacKay and Chapman signing on in October and the rest of the cast the following March. Filming took place from April to June 2019 in the UK, with cinematographer Roger Deakins and editor Lee Smith using long takes to have the entire film appear as one continuous shot.

1917 premiered in the UK on 4 December 2019 and was released theatrically in the United States on 25 December by Universal Pictures, and in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2020 by eOne. The film received praise for Mendes's direction, the performances, cinematography, musical score, editing, sound design and realism. Among its accolades, the film received ten nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, including Best Cinematography. It also won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, and at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards won a leading seven, including Best Film and Best Direction. It also won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture, and Mendes won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film.
Plot
On 6 April 1917, aerial reconnaissance has observed that the German army, which has pulled back from a sector of the Western Front in northern France, is not in retreat but has made a strategic withdrawal to the new Hindenburg Line, where they are waiting to overwhelm the British with artillery. In the British trenches, with field telephone lines cut, two young British soldiers, Lance Corporals Tom Blake and William Schofield, a veteran of the Somme, are ordered by General Erinmore to carry a message to Colonel Mackenzie of the Second Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, calling off a scheduled attack that would jeopardise the lives of 1,600 men, including Blake's brother Lieutenant Joseph Blake.

Schofield and Blake cross no man's land to reach the abandoned German trenches. In an underground barracks, they discover a booby-trap tripwire. This is triggered by a rat, and the explosion almost kills Schofield, but Blake saves him, and the two escape. They arrive at an abandoned farmhouse, where they witness a German plane being shot down in flames. Schofield and Blake drag the injured pilot from the plane. Schofield proposes a mercy kill, but Blake insists they help him. The pilot stabs Blake and is shot dead by Schofield. Schofield comforts Blake as he dies, promising to complete the mission and to write to Blake's mother. Schofield is then picked up by a passing British unit.

A destroyed canal bridge near Écoust-Saint-Mein prevents British lorries from crossing. Schofield uses what is left of the bridge to cross alone, and comes under fire from a German sniper. He kills the sniper, only to be knocked out by a ricocheting bullet. He regains consciousness at night. Under fire, Schofield stumbles into the hiding place of a French woman with an infant. She treats his wounds, and he comforts the infant by reciting a poem, giving the woman his canned food and milk from the farm. Continuing, Schofield is shot at. He meets more German soldiers, strangling one and pushing past another who is inebriated. Other soldiers give chase, but he escapes by jumping into a river. He is swept over a waterfall before reaching the riverbank by morning. In the forest, he finds D Company of the 2nd Devons, which is in the last wave of the attack. As the company starts to move toward the front, Schofield tries to reach Colonel Mackenzie.

Realising that the trenches are too crowded for him to make it to Mackenzie in time, Schofield sprints across the battlefield, just as the infantry begins its charge. He forces his way into meeting Mackenzie, who reads the message and reluctantly calls off the attack. Schofield is told that Joseph was in the first wave, and he searches for him among the wounded, finding him unscathed. Joseph is upset to hear of his brother's death, but thanks Schofield for his efforts. Schofield gives Joseph his brother's rings and dog tag, and asks to write to their mother about Blake's heroics, to which Joseph agrees. Schofield sits under a tree, looking at photographs of his two young daughters and his wife.

Cast
George MacKay as Lance Corporal William "Will" Schofield
Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Thomas "Tom" Blake
Mark Strong as Captain Smith
Andrew Scott as Lieutenant Leslie
Richard Madden as Lieutenant Joseph Blake
Claire Duburcq as Lauri
Colin Firth as General Erinmore
Benedict Cumberbatch as Colonel Mackenzie
Daniel Mays as Sergeant Sanders
Adrian Scarborough as Major Hepburn
Jamie Parker as Lieutenant Richards
Michael Jibson as Lieutenant Hutton
Richard McCabe as Colonel Collins
Chris Walley as Private Bullen
Nabhaan Rizwan as Sepoy Jondalar
Michael Cornelius as Private Cornelius
Production
Development and casting
Amblin Partners and New Republic Pictures were announced to have acquired the project in June 2018, with Sam Mendes directing, and co-writing the screenplay alongside Krysty Wilson-Cairns.[7] Tom Holland was reported to be in talks for the film in September 2018, though ultimately was not involved,[8] and in October, Roger Deakins was set to reunite with Mendes as cinematographer.[9] George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman entered negotiations to star the same month.[10] Thomas Newman was hired to compose the score in March 2019.[11] The same month, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Claire Duburcq joined the cast in supporting roles.[12]

Writing
In August 2019, Mendes stated, "It's the story of a messenger who has a message to carry. And that's all I can say. It lodged with me as a child, this story or this fragment and obviously I've enlarged it significantly. But it has that at its core."[13] In Time in 2020, Mendes stated that the writing involved some risk-taking: "I took a calculated gamble, and I'm pleased I did because of the energy you get just from driving forward (in the narrative), in a war that was fundamentally about paralysis and stasis." The ideas for a script, which Mendes wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, came from the story that Mendes's grandfather, Alfred Mendes, a native of Trinidad who was a messenger for the British on the Western Front, had told him.[14] Mendes stated: "I felt an obligation to honour my grandfather. It’s important to remember they were fighting for a free and unified Europe. Good to be reminded of that now."[15]

Filming
Roger Deakins was cinematographer for the film, reuniting with Mendes for their fourth collaboration, having first worked together on Jarhead in 2005.[14] Filming was accomplished with long takes and elaborately choreographed moving camera shots to give the effect of one continuous take.[16][17] Time reported, "The camera stays with the two lance corporals from the film's first frame to its last, as if unfolding in one long take, much like the technique used by Alejandro González Iñárritu in his 2015 Best Picture winner Birdman. The aim is to immerse the viewer in a propulsive, at times headlong journey that travels like a lit fuse."[18]

1917 was the first film to be shot with the Arri Alexa Mini LF digital cinema camera. Deakins wanted to use a camera with a large format image sensor, but thought that the original Alexa LF was too large and heavy to capture the intimate shots he wanted. Arri provided him with a prototype of the Mini LF two months before filming was set to begin, and two more cameras a week before.[19][20] His lenses were Arri Signature Primes, of which he used two focal lengths: a 40 mm lens for most of the film, and a wider 35 mm for scenes in the tunnels and bunkers, to emphasise feelings of claustrophobia.[20]

Filming began on 1 April 2019 and continued through June 2019 in Wiltshire, Hankley Common in Surrey and Govan, Scotland, as well as at Shepperton Studios.[21][22][23][24] Concern was raised over the planned filming on Salisbury Plain by conservationists who felt the production could disturb potentially undiscovered remains, requesting a survey before any set construction began.[25][26] Some shots required the use of as many as 500 background extras.[2]

Sections of the film were also shot near Low Force, on the River Tees, Teesdale in June 2019. The production staff had to install signs warning walkers in the area not to be alarmed at the prosthetic bodies strewn around the site.[27]

Music
Release
The film premiered on 4 December 2019 at the 2019 Royal Film Performance.[28] The film began a limited release in the United States and Canada on 25 December 2019 in eleven venues. This made it eligible for 2020 awards, including the 77th Golden Globes, held on 5 January 2020, where the film won both the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Motion Picture and Best Director for Mendes.

Reception
Box office
As of 9 February 2020, 1917 has grossed $132.5 million in the United States and Canada and $154.8 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $287.3 million,[4] against a production budget of $90–100 million.[2][3]

In the US, the film made $251,000 from 11 venues on its first day of limited release.[29] It went on to have a limited opening weekend of $570,000, and a five-day gross of $1 million, for an average of $91,636 per-venue.[30] The film would go on to make a total of $2.7 million over its 15 days of limited release. It then expanded wide on 10 January, making $14 million on its first day, including $3.25 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to gross $36.5 million for the weekend (beating the original projections of $25 million), becoming the first film to dethrone Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at the box office.[31] In its second weekend of wide release the film made $22 million (and $26.8 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday), finishing second behind newcomer Bad Boys for Life.[32] It then made $15.8 million and $7.7 million the following two weekends, remaining in second both times.[33][34]

Critical response
On review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 398 reviews, with an average rating of 8.38/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Hard-hitting, immersive, and an impressive technical achievement, 1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy."[35] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, and PostTrak reported it received an average 4.5 out of 5 from viewers, with 69% of people saying they would definitely recommend it.[31]

Several critics named the film among the best of 2019, including Kate Erbland of IndieWire[37] and Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter.[38] Karl Vick, writing for Time magazine, found the film to stand up favourably when compared to Stanley Kubrick's WWI film Paths of Glory, stating, "motion pictures do require a certain amount of motion, and the major accomplishment of 1917, the latest film to join the canon, maybe that its makers figured out what the generals could not: a way to advance."[39] Rubin Safaya of AwardsWatch.com described the movie as "A visceral experience and visual masterclass."[40] Writing for the Hindustan Times, Rohan Naahar stated, "I can only imagine the effect 1917 will have on audiences that aren't familiar with the techniques Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins are about to unleash upon them."[41]

In his review for NPR, Justin Chang was less positive. He agreed the film was a "mind-boggling technical achievement" but did not think it was that spectacular overall, as Mendes’s style with its impression of a continuous take “can be as distracting as it is immersive.”[42]

Top ten lists
1917 appeared on many critics' year-end top-ten lists:[43]

1st – Sam Allard, Cleveland Scene[44]
1st – Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post[45]
1st – Tim Miller, Cape Cod Times[46]
1st – Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte Observer[47]
1st – Mal Vincent, The Virginian-Pilot[48]
1st – Sandy Kenyon, WABC-TV[49]
2nd – Randy Myers, The Mercury News[50]
3rd – Matt Goldberg, Collider[51]
3rd – Jason Rantz, KTTH[52]
3rd – Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly[53]
3rd – Chuck Yarborough, Cleveland Plain Dealer[54]
4th – Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press[55]
4th – Benjamin Lee, The Guardian[56]
4th – Brian Truitt, USA Today[57]
5th – Staff consensus, Consequence of Sound[58]
5th – Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal[59]
6th – Cary Darling, Houston Chronicle[60]
6th – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone[61]
6th – Ethan Alter, Marcus Errico and Kevin Polowy, Yahoo! Entertainment[62]
6th – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo[63]
6th – Peter Howell, Toronto Star[64]
7th – David Crow, Den of Geek[65]
7th – Tom Gliatto, People[66]
8th – Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter[67]
8th – Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner[68]
8th – Anita Katz, San Francisco Examiner[68]
8th – Col Needham, IMDb[69]
9th – Richard Whittaker, The Austin Chronicle[70]
9th – Dann Gire, Chicago Daily Herald[71]
9th – Mike Scott, New Orleans Times-Picayune[72]
10th – Max Weiss, Baltimore Magazine

جائزة الأوسكار

جائزة الأكاديمية (بالإنجليزية: Academy Award) تعرف كذلك بالاسم الشائع جائزة أوسكار تقدمها سنويا أكاديمية فنون وعلوم الصور المتحركة، وهي من أرفع الجوائز السينمائية في الولايات المتحدة ويعدها البعض أهم جائزة سينمائية في العالم.
لمحة تاريخية
الجهة المانحة للجائزة هي أكاديمية فنون وعلوم الصور المتحركة التي تعد أكاديمية فخرية وليست تعليمية تأسست في 11 مايو 1927 في كاليفورنيا وتضم هذه الأكاديمية أكثر من 6000 عضو مختص بالفنون السينمائية منهم لجنة تصويت ضخمة تتكون من 5,816 ممثل وممثلة ومختصين في السينما منهم 1311 ممثل وممثلة. وتنظم الأكاديمية إضافة إلى تنظيم مسابقات جوائز الأوسكار السنوية مسابقات سنوية للطلاب غير المتخرجين بعد من الجامعات المختصة بالفنون السينمائية. ويقام الحفل في 28 من فبراير كل عام.

التسمية
لم يتفق المؤرخون على أصل كلمة "أوسكار" غير أنه يشاع أن أمينة مكتبة الأكاديمية مارغريت هاريك قالت عندما شاهدت التمثال لأول مره عام 1928: "انه يشبه عمي اوسكار." البعض يقول أن الممثلة الراحلة بيت ديفيس اطلقت الاسم نسبة إلى زوجها الأول.

تمثال الأوسكار
يبلغ طول الجائزة 34 سم ووزنه 3.85 كغم وهو على شكل فارس يحمل سيفا وواقف على شريط فلمي وهو مصنوع من مادة البريتانيوم الذي هو خليط من القصدير والنحاس ويطلى في المرحلة الأخيرة من التصنيع بطبقة من الذهب.

الترشيحات
لكي يرشح الفيلم في هذا الحفل يجب أن يكون الفيلم قد تم عرضه في صالات السينما في كاليفورنيا في السنة السابقة من 1 يناير إلى 31 ديسمبر ويجب أن يكون طول الفلم لايقل عن 40 دقيقة لكي يتنافس على جائزة الأفلام الطويلة والا فسوف يصنف كفيلم قصير ويجب كذلك ان يكون حجم الفلم الذي صور عليه العمل السينمائي اما 35 ملمتر أو 70 مليمتر. تصدر الترشيحات عادة أوائل شهر فبراير من كل عام, وهذه الترشيحات تصدر لجوائز السنة.

حفل الجوائز
ينظم عادة حفل توزيع الأوسكار سنويا في شهر مارس أو فبراير في صالة مسرح كوداك في مدينة لوس انجلوس ,كالفورنيا. ويعتبر هذا الحدث من الأحداث التي تحضى بتغطية إعلامية واسعة ومشاركة الكثير من الشركات الكبرى التي تحاول استخدام ليلة الحفل لترويج منتوجاتها من الملابس والزينة وفي بعض الأحيان يستخدم الحفل للتعبير عن آراء سياسية مثيرة للجدل من قبل الحائزين على الأوسكار. مثل رفض الممثل الشهير مارلون براندو الحصول علي جائزة أفضل ممثل بسبب موقف حكومة الولايات المتحدة من الهنود الحمر . وأيضا أثناء حفل توزيع الجوائز عام 2003 حينما ندد العديد من الفائزين بالحرب على العراق لاسيما المخرج مايكل مور الذي حاز على جائزة أفضل فيلم وثائقي .

الفئات
أفضل ممثل
أفضل ممثلة
أفضل ممثل مساعد
أفضل ممثلة مساعدة
أفضل فيلم رسوم متحركة
أفضل فيلم رسوم متحركة قصير
أفضل تصوير سينمائي
أفضل تصميم أزياء
أفضل مخرج
أفضل فيلم وثائقي
أفضل فيلم وثائقي قصير
أفضل مونتاج
أفضل فيلم بلغة أجنبية
أفضل فيلم حي قصير
أفضل مكياج وتصفيف شعر
أفضل موسيقى تصويرية
أفضل أغنية أصلية
أفضل فيلم
أفضل تصميم إنتاج
أفضل مونتاج أصوات
أفضل خلط أصوات
أفضل تأثيرات بصرية
أفضل نص سينمائي مقتبس
أفضل نص سينمائي أصلي
مرشحون وفائزون
بن حور حصل على 11 جائزة أوسكار من أصل 12 ترشيحاً في عام 1959. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل ممثل رئيسي (تشارلتون هيستن) وأفضل ممثل ثانوي وأفضل إخراج وأفضل تصميم أزياء وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية.
تايتانك حصل على 11 جائزة أوسكار من أصل 14 ترشيحاً في عام 1997. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل تصميم أزياء وأفضل إخراج وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية.
سيد الخواتم: عودة الملك حاز على 11 جائزة أوسكار من أصل 11 ترشيحاً في عام 2003. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل إخراج وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية وأفضل تصميم أزياء وأفضل تقطيع وأفضل مكياج.
قصة الحي الغربي حاز على 10 جوائز أوسكار من أصل 11 ترشيحاً عام 1961. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل ممثل ثانوي وأفضل ممثلة ثانوية وأفضل تصميم أزياء وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية.
جيجي حاز على 9 جوائز اوسكار من أصل 9 ترشيحات عام 1958. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل إخراج وأفضل ديكور وأفضل تصميم ازياء وأفضل تقطيع.
الإمبراطور الأخير حاز على 9 جوائز اوسكار من أصل 9 ترشيحات عام 1987. ومن ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل تصميم ازياء وأفضل ديكور وأفضل إخراج وأفضل تقطيع وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية.
المريض الإنكليزي حاز على 9 جوائز اوسكار من أصل 12 ترشيحا عام 1996. ومن ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل ممثلة ثانوية (جولييت بينوش) وأفضل إخراج وأفضل تقطيع وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية وأفضل تصميم ازياء.
ذهب مع الريح حاز على 8 جوائز أوسكار من أصل 13 ترشيحاً عام 1939. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل ممثلة (فيفيان لي) وأفضل ممثلة ثانوية هاتي ماكدانيال التي تعتبر أول ممثلة أمريكية من أصول إفريقية تحصل على الأوسكار وأيضا حصل الفيلم عل جوائز الأوسكار في الإخراج والتقطيع.
مليونير متشرد حاز على 8 جوائز أوسكار من أصل 10 ترشيحات عام 2008. من ضمنها جوائز أفضل فيلم وأفضل إخراج وأفضل تصوير وأفضل موسيقى تصويرية.