Branagh To Tackle ‘Macbeth’ In Manchester
Kenneth Branagh is returning to the stage in his first Shakespeare role for more than a decade. In summer 2013, Branagh will take on Macbeth at the UK’s Manchester International Festival, the BBC reports. Branagh, who was recently knighted at Buckingham Palace, will give 17 performances as Macbeth in a new production by Emmy and Tony Award winner Rob Ashford. Branagh directed a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost in 2000, four years after his Oscar-nominated direction of a big-screen version of Hamlet. In 1995, he played Iago in Oliver Parker’s feature of Othello and in 1993 directed and starred in Much Ado About Nothing with his then-wife Emma Thompson. The first feature that brought him great acclaim in the U.S. was 1989’s Henry V for which he was nominated as Best Actor and Best Director.

Cinematographer Harris Savides Gets Tribute
Plus Cameraimage, the international film festival that celebrates cinematography, will pay a special tribute to the late cinematographer Harris Savides (American Gangster, Zodiac, The Game, Milk). Savides’ friend and collaborator on Milk, Gus Van Sant, will be on hand in Bydgoszcz, Poland for the homage along with Savides’ colleagues Chris Doyle (Hero, In the Mood for Love, 2046), Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later…, The Last King of Scotland) and James McCormick, who was Savides’ first camera assistant. Van Sant will also accept the festival’s Director Duo Award on behalf of Savades and himself. As a part of the tribute, the festival will screen two of their films, Elephant and Last Days. Savides passed away in October at age 55.