CRUELLA : Tuesday 15th June 2021.

'CRUELLA' which I saw at my local multiplex this week is a PG Rated American crime comedy-drama film Directed by Craig Gillespie whose previous film making outings include 'Lars and the Real Girl', 'Million Dollar Arm', 'The Finest Hours' and 'I, Tonya' most recently in 2017. This film is based on the character Cruella de Vil, introduced in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel 'The Hundred and One Dalmatians' and specifically on the version from the Walt Disney 1961 animated film 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians'. It is the third live-action film in the '101 Dalmatians' franchise which were '101 Dalmatians' released in 1996 and '102 Dalmatians' released in 2000 both with Glenn Close playing Cruella de Vil. Those first two instalments grossed a total US$505M off the back of production budgets amounting to a combined US$160M. This film was released theatrically and simultaneously available on Disney+ with Premier Access from the end of May, has generated mostly positive Critical Reviews aside from the screenplay, has so far taken US$132M off the back of a production budget of somewhere in the vicinity of US$150M, and Disney announced earlier this month that a sequel is officially in the early stages of development with both Emma's (Stone and Thompson, who play the leads here) having stated that they would like to make a second film. 

The film opens up sometime in the early 1960's and we are introduced to young five year old Estella Miller (Billie Gadsdon) and her mother Catherine (Emily Beecham) at home fashioning clothes out of scraps of material for Estella's dolls. Already it is clear that the young child has an eye for fashion but also a mean streak, so her mother coins the nickname 'Cruella' for her. We then fast forward to Estella aged twelve (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) and starting at a new school she is already out of sorts with her student cohort for her outlandish fashion sense, outspoken nature, rebellious streak and never say die attitude which gets her into all sorts of trouble with the Headmaster resulting in him blotting her record with black mark upon black mark. Ultimately Catherine is forced to pull Estella out of school before she is expelled, and the pair decide to travel to London to seek a fresh start there. En route, Catherine pulls over at the cliff top mansion of Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson) who is hosting a lavish ball. She asks the Baroness for financial assistance, at which Estella witnesses her mother being shoved over the edge of a cliff to her death by three of the Baroness' ferocious Dalmatian dogs. 

Needless to say the young Estella is mortified by what she witnessed and flees the scene, hitching a ride in the back of a garbage truck all the way to London. She gets out of the truck at a fountain at Regent's Park and is later the next morning greeted by two young street urchins - brothers Jasper and Horace Badun (Ziggy Gardner and Joseph MacDonald respectively). After being chased down by a Policeman on the beat the threesome all come together in an abandoned loft in what looks like a condemned building. In an attempt to go unnoticed she dies her unusual half black half white head of hair red. 

We then fast forward ten years and Estella (Emma Stone) remains with Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and have become very adept grifters, so much so that they are able to eek out a reasonable standard of living for themselves by picking pockets, stealing wallets and sundry items of jewellery from unsuspecting members of the public and shops around the city. All the while Estella works on her fashion skills by designing their disguises. On the occasion of her birthday Jasper and Horace present Estella with a contract of employment at the Liberty department store (a store that she has always aspired to work at), albeit as an entry level cleaner. After numerous attempts to convince her boss that she is more talented than scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets, but failed, one night in a drunken stupor she changes the window dressing of a particular display much to the chagrin of her boss, but also and more importantly, much to the prise of the Baroness who happens to be the owner of the store. Estella as a result lands a much coveted job with the Baroness who is a famous highly regarded albeit very demanding and authoritarian fashion designer. 

In time Estella wins over the confidence of the Baroness, until one day Estella notices the Baroness wearing a necklace and pendant that previously belonged to her mother Catherine, and which she had given her daughter on the night on her death. In fleeing the scene of the crime, the young Estella had dropped the necklace in panic and only noticed she had lost it when she arrived in London. Estella makes a casual enquiry as to the origin of the distinctive necklace, and the Baroness responds that an employee has once stolen it. At that Estella asks Jasper and Horace to help her steal it back. 

Estella, under the auspices of Cruella and now donning her natural half black half white hair colour, crashes one of the Baroness' lavish parties to steal back the necklace. When the Baroness uses a whistle to command her Dalmatians, Estella comes to the realisation that she used the same whistle to direct her dogs to murder Catherine. 

Now fuelled by revenge for her mother's death, Estella taunts the Baroness by appearing at her parties and social gatherings and upstaging her as Cruella in ever increasingly flamboyant outfits, designed with the aid of vintage clothing store owner, Artie (John McCrea). 

Cruella's unpredictable and often outrageous appearances gain publicity through her childhood friend Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) a gossip columnist. However, meanwhile Cruella's egotistical and arrogant behaviour increasingly antagonises Jasper and Horace so much so that they consider going their separate ways. The Baroness in the meantime, fires her lawyer Roger (Kayvan Novak) for failing to stop Cruella. Estella also kidnaps the Baroness' three Dalmatians after one of them accidentally swallows her mother's necklace, then relies on Jasper and Horace to retrieve the necklace when it appears out of the other end of the dog that swallowed it. 

Cruella later on sabotages the latest Spring collection hosted by the Baroness and stages her own show in front of the fountain at Regents Park wearing an outfit supposedly made out of Dalmatian fur. The Baroness in the meantime has come to the conclusion that Estella and Cruella are in fact the same woman. With her heavies in tow, the Baroness infiltrates their loft and when Estella returns from her successful Regents Park gig she is confronted by a tied and bound Jasper and Horace. Estella is tied and bound, and petrol is doused all around the place, with Jasper and Horace both being framed for her untimely death. The Baroness in turn lights a flame and leaves Estella to die in the fire which quickly engulfs the building. Jasper and Horace are both arrested. 

Cruella while presumed dead and reported as such in the press, is in fact rescued by the Baroness' long serving and trusted valet John (Mark Strong). When she comes round in John's modest home he reveals that he found the necklace, cleaned it with bleach, and therein is a key to a box containing Estella's birth records. She discovers that the Baroness is in fact her biological mother, and ordered John to have the baby Estella killed so she could concentrate exclusively on her fashion career. John couldn't bring himself to commit such an act so instead gave the baby to Catherine, one of the Baroness' maids, who raised Estella in secret. Estella is initially angered by Catherine's deception but in time comes to terms with the truth in an effort to complete her vengeance, so taking on the name Cruella permanently.

Cruella breaks Jasper and Horace out of jail using a garbage truck to ram the front entrance to the Police Station where they are being held (straight out of 'The Terminator' 1984), recruiting them and Artie for her final scheme. They sneak into the Baroness' charity gala, where Cruella has previously sent out an identical costume and black and white wig for all female guests to wear on the night under the pretext that it was sent by the Baroness (straight out of 'V for Vendetta' 2005). Cruella (dressed as Estella) standing on the same spot as her mother was thrown over the cliff all those years before, reveals to the Baroness that she is her abandoned daughter. The Baroness feigns remorse for her actions and asks to hug her before pushing her over the cliff top into the raging sea below, unaware her guests had been led outside and had witnessed the whole thing. The Baroness claims that Estella jumped just as the Police arrive. Cruella survives the fall using a parachute built into her clothing and picked up in a row boat by Horace. She discards her Estella disguise before returning to witness the Baroness being arrested, as Cruella.

Having adopted the last name de Vil (inspired by her stolen Panther De Ville car), Cruella inherits Hellman Hall, shortening it to Hell Hall, as its rightful biological heir, and she, Jasper and Horace attend the funeral of Estella as the only mourners in attendance. Stay seated for the mid-credits sequence in which Cruella has delivered to Anita and Roger (now married since he got fired as the Baroness' lawyer) two Dalmatian puppies named Pongo and Perdita. Roger is now writing songs for a living and begins singing the lyrics to 'Cruella de Vil' while tapping away at his piano. 

I have to say that I enjoyed 'Cruella' a whole lot more than I was expecting. For a Disney film this is quite dark in places and wickedly entertaining in the process. Director Craig Gillespie has here fashioned a Disney origin story that we never knew we needed, and delivered the goods in spades. The production values are top notch; the set designs impressive; the make up artistry equally so; and as for the punk era costumes as worn by Cruella and the haute couture outfits as worn by the Baroness, well they are awards worthy in the own right and worth the price of your ticket alone. Both Emma's shine in their roles, underscored by a strong supporting cast and Paul Walter Hauser nails it with his London accent and is about as far removed from 'Richard Jewell' as you can get. For a live action remake of a beloved Disney animated classic this film is right up there with the best of them and as for the running time of two hours fourteen minutes - fear not, it flies by and never leaves you wanting.

'Cruella' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 27th May 2021.

The 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards were broadcast on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th May. It was the 29th edition of the awards and the fourth to jointly honour movies and television, and the first to feature a second night, which was devoted exclusively to awards in reality television. The American Actress and Comedian Leslie Jones hosted the ceremony on the Sunday and on the Monday the American Actress, stand-up Comedian and podcast, radio and TV host Nikki Glaser also hosted an event titled 'MTV Movie & TV Awards : Unscripted', for awards going to reality television shows. The ceremony took place in the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California.

While the bulk of the awards were presented to TV series, those winners and nominees in the movie categories are as given below :-

Best Movie

* Awarded to 'TO ALL THE BOYS : ALWAYS AND FOREVER', beating out 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', 'Judas and the Black Messiah', 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Soul'.

Best Performance in a Movie

* Awarded to CHADWICK BOSEMAN for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', beating out Sacha Baron Cohen for 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', Daniel Kaluuya for 'Judas and the Black Messiah', Carey Mulligan for 'Promising Young Woman' and Zendaya for 'Malcolm & Marie'.

Best Comedic Performance

* Awarded to LESLIE JONES for 'Coming 2 America', beating out Eric Andre for 'Bad Trip', Annie Murphy for 'Schitt's Creek', Issa Rae for 'Insecure' and Jason Sudeikis for 'Ted Lasoo'.

Best Music Documentary

* Awarded to 'BTS – BREAK THE SILENCE : THE MOVIE', beating out 'Ariana Grande : Excuse Me, I Love You', 'Framing Britney Spears', 'The Bee Gees : How Can You Mend a Broken Heart', 'Biggie : I Got a Story to Tell', 'Billie Eilish : The World's a Little Blurry', 'Demi Lovato : Dancing with the Devil', 'Tina', 'Shawn Mendes : In Wonder' and 'Taylor Swift : Miss Americana'.

Of the TV awards 'WANDA VISION' won four for Best Show, Best Performance in a Show going to Elizabeth Olson, Best Villain going to Kathryn Hahn and Best Fight going to 'Wanda vs. Agatha'. 'THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER' picked up two awards for Best Hero going to Anthony Mackie and Best Duo going to Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Best Breakthrough Performance was awarded to REGE-JEAN PAGE for 'Bridgerton' and Most Frightened Performance went to VICTORIA PEDRETTI for 'The Haunting of Bly Manor'.

The Comedic Genius Award was presented to SASHA BARON COHEN and the MTV Generation Award was presented to SCARLETT JOHANSSON. 

For the complete low down on all the glitz and glamour, the winners and the also rans across all categories, you can go to the official website at : https://www.mtv.com/movie-and-tv-awards

This week we have five latest release new films coming to your local Odeon, and we launch with a sequel to a critical and commercial horror film success from 2018 that leaves a mother and her three children to venture forth beyond their farmhouse and into an unknown world, where blind monsters with an acute sense of hearing are not the only terrors that lie in wait on unsuspecting prey - there are other humans too! Next up we have the origin story of teenaged Estella who has a dream of becoming a fashion designer, having been gifted with talent, innovation, and ambition all in equal measures, but, life seems intent on making sure her dreams never come true, leading her down a life of crime with a particular liking for Dalmatian fur. And we close out the week with three documentary films - the first is an up close and personal look at the life and times of one of Australia's most famed indigenous Actors as he approaches the end of his life. This is followed by the exploits of a true underdog of the European soccer scene who in 2004 upset the status quo by winning the European Championship against all the odds; and we close out the week with an in-depth account of the last survivors of those who participated in Hitler's Third Reich and the impact of what they left behind. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'A QUIET PLACE : PART II' (Rated M) - is an eagerly anticipated long awaited American horror follow-up to 2018's 'A Quiet Place' which grossed US$341M off the back of a US$20M production budget, and was Co-Written, Directed and starred John Krasinski. For this sequel John Krasinski returns to the Directors chair and he also wrote, Co-Produced and once again has a small role in this film, even though his character was killed off in the first film. This film saw its World Premier screening in New York City back on 8th March 2020, with a worldwide release set from 20th March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was rescheduled to 4th September 2020. It was then changed to 23rd April 2021 and then changed again to 17th September 2021. After three postponements, it was moved earlier in the year to this week.

Following the deadly events at home in which Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) was killed by the blind monsters with an acute sense of hearing, the Abbott family now headed up by mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), with her three children, the deaf Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and their new born baby must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realise that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path. Also starring Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounsou and John Krasinski in newly filmed flashback sequences set before the events of the first film. 

'CRUELLA' (Rated PG) - this American crime comedy-drama film is Directed by Craig Gillespie whose previous film making outings include 'Lars and the Real Girl', 'Million Dollar Arm', 'The Finest Hours' and 'I, Tonya' most recently in 2017. This film is based on the character Cruella de Vil, introduced in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel 'The Hundred and One Dalmatians' and specifically on the version from the Walt Disney 1961 animated film 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians'. It is the third live-action film in the '101 Dalmatians' franchise which were '101 Dalmatians' released in 1996 and '102 Dalmatians' released in 2000 both with Glenn Close playing Cruella de Vil. Those first two instalments grossed a total US$505M off the back of production budgets amounting to a combined US$160M. Set in 1970's London during the punk rock movement, we here follow Estella de Vil (Emma Stone), an ambitious and aspiring fashion designer, and explores the path that will lead her to become a notorious and dangerous criminal, with a penchant for Dalmatian fur, known as Cruella de Vil. Also starring Emma Thompson, Mark Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Joel Fry and Kirby Howell-Baptiste. The film is scheduled to be released theatrically and simultaneously available on Disney+ with Premier Access this week too in the US.

'MY NAME IS GULPILIL' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Directed and Co-Produced by Molly Reynolds whose prior film making credits take in 'Twelve Canoes', 'Still Our Country', 'Another Country', and 'ShoPaapaa' most recently in 2020. David Gulpilil is an iconic figure of Australian cinema and has been for fifty years, since his breakout role in Nicolas Roeg's 'Walkabout' in 1971. His mesmerising, electrifying presence has leapt off the big screen and changed Australian screen representation forever. The only Actor to appear in both of the two highest-grossing Australian films of all time, 'Crocodile Dundee' and 'Australia'. Gulpilil is known throughout the world for his unforgettable performances - from his breakthrough 'Walkabout' to films including 'Storm Boy', 'Mad Dog Morgan', Peter Weir’s 'The Last Wave', 'The Tracker', 'Rabbit-Proof Fence', 'The Proposition' and his Cannes Best Actor award-winning role in Rolf de Heer’s 'Charlie’s Country'. Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories, Gulpilil, now nearing the end of his life having been diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2017, to which his Doctors gave him six months to live. Now four years later, he generously shares his own story with us as the Actor, dancer, singer and painter takes us boldly on the journey that is his most extraordinary, culture-clashing life.

'KING OTTO' (Rated G) - this sports documentary film is Directed and Co-Produced by Christopher Andre Marks in his full length doco debut having Directed two short films previously - the seven minute documentary 'Tiger Hood' in 2015 and the fifteen minute comedy 'Being Richard Kensington' in 2013 - both of which he also Produced and wrote. This documentary charts how in the summer of 2004, audiences looked on in disbelief as the Greek National Football Team, a country that had never previously won a single match in a major tournament, took down the giants of world football to become the unlikeliest of European Champions. The architect behind this unprecedented triumph was legendary German football coach 'King' Otto Rehhagel. After accomplishing every major success in Germany, he made the bold decision to leave all he knew behind and work in a foreign country with the underachieving Greek National Team. This is the story of how these two contrasting cultures came together to speak the same language and write a new chapter of Greek mythology.

'FINAL ACCOUNT' (Rated M) - is a German-language British-American documentary film Directed Produced and lensed by Luke Holland, who died shortly after filming completed on June 10, 2020. Holland's previous film making credits were two TV movie doco's only - 1993's forty-six minute 'Good Morning, Mr. Hitler' and 2000's one hour long 'I Was a Slave Labourer'. This film follows the last living generation of German participants in Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Over a decade in the making, it raises vital, timely questions about authority, conformity, complicity and perpetration, national identity, and responsibility, as men and women ranging from former SS members to civilians in never-before-seen interviews reckon with – in very different ways – their memories, perceptions and personal appraisals of their own roles in the greatest human crimes in history. The film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival in September last year, and has garnered generally favourable Reviews. 

With five new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the coming week, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 5th - 11th November 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Emma Stone does on 6th November - check out my tribute to this Actress Producer Birthday Girl turning 29, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 5th November

• Elke Sommer - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actress
• Tilda Swinton - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director
• Tatum O'Neal - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actress | Producer
• Famke Janssen - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Robert Patrick - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer 
• Sam Rockwell - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer

Monday 6th November

• Nigel Havers - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor 
• Vince Colosimo - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor
• Ethan Hawke - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer | Singer
• Sally Field - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actress | Producer | Director | Writer
• Lori Singer - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actress | Producer
• Thandie Newton - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress | Producer
• Rebecca Romijn - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress | Producer
• Emma Stone - Born 1988, turns 29 - Actress | Producer | Singer

Tuesday 7th November

• Morgan Spurlock - Born 1970, turns 47 - Producer | Writer | Director | Actor 
• Adam Devine - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer | Songwriter | Director  

Wednesday 8th November

• Richard Curtis - Born 1956, turns 61 - Writer | Producer | Director 
• Parker Posey - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress | Singer
• Gretchen Mol - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress   

Thursday 9th November

• Lou Ferrigno - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor 
• Tony Slattery - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Television Personality  

Friday 10th November

• Ennio Morricone - Born 1928, turns 89 - Composer | Songwriter | Musician | Conductor
• Roland Emmerich - Born 1955, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Writer 
• Hugh Bonneville - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actor 
• Walton Goggins - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Producer
• Taron Egerton - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actor  

Saturday 11th November

• Stanley Tucci - Born 1960, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Leonardo DiCaprio - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Scoot McNairy - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | Producer
• June Whitfield - Born 1925, turns 92 - Actress
• Demi Moore - Born 1962, turns 55 - Actress | Producer
• Calista Flockhart - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actress | Singer

Emily Jean Stone was born in Scottsdale, Arizona to mother Krista Jean Yeager, a housewife and homemaker and father Jeffrey Charles Stone, the CEO and founder of a general contracting company. She attended Sequoya Elementary School and then Cocopah Middle School in Scottsdale. By her own admission she did not particularly like school but having a controlling nature she was determined to do well and score 'A's' in all subjects. As a child she suffered from panic attacks which negatively impacted her social skills, but attending therapy coupled with her local theatre interests in play acting helped cure her of this ailment. She first developed an interest in acting at the age of just four, and for several years took voice coaching lessons. Her acting debut came at age eleven in a stage production of 'The Wind in the Willows', after which she was home schooled for two years, and during which time she appeared in a further sixteen productions at the Phoenix Valley Youth Theatre. She travelled to Los Angeles to audition for the Nickelodeon Produced live action sketch comedy variety show 'All That' but was unsuccessful. Following this her parents enlisted her for private acting lessons. She then attended Xavier College Preparatory Catholic Girls High School in Phoenix but dropped out after just one semester to pursue a career as an Actress. 

In 2004 Stone moved with her mother to Los Angeles and auditioned for just about every role that she felt best qualified for . . . meeting with rejection at every turn. At the same time she registered for the Screen Actors Guild but the name of Emily Stone was already taken by someone else. She initially opted to use the stage name of Riley Stone but following one-off appearances on 'Medium', 'Lucky Louie' and 'Malcolm in the Middle' she favoured Emma Stone, and that name stuck. She auditioned for the Sci-Fi action drama series 'Heroes' but was unsuccessful here too, and appeared in the illegal car racing action drama series 'Drive' which was canned after just seven episodes in 2007. Stone got her first feature film role in 'Superbad' in 2007 starring Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Dave Franco and Michael Cera. Stone was praised for her performance and it garnered her a Young Hollywood Award for the most 'Exciting New Face'. 'The Rocker' followed in 2008, then Comedy Romance 'The House Bunny' with Anna Faris, Colin Hanks and Hugh Heffner; followed by 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' with Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas; 'Paper Man' with Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels and Lisa Kudrow, and the commercially successful adventure comedy horror offering 'Zombieland' with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Murray and Abigail Breslin seeing out the decade.  

2010 saw Stone launch with lending her voice to the animated feature film 'Marmaduke' with an all star voice cast including Steve Coogan, Kiefer Sutherland, Owen Wilson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Also that year saw 'Easy A' in which Stone got top billing as a clean cut high school student who uses the schools grape vine and rumour mill to progress her social and financial standing. The film also starred Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow and Malcolm McDowell, garnered Stone a number of award wins and nominations including her first Golden Globe nod, and was financially successful too.  

2011 saw 'Friends with Benefits'; then 'Crazy, Stupid Love' with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Kevin Bacon and then a change of pace with the historical drama offering 'The Help' which picked up eighty award wins and another 116 nominations - among them Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA's and SAG's wins and nods. Stone starred with Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film grossed US$217M off the back of a US$25M production budget. The reboot of the 'Spider-Man' franchise for Marvel with Marc Webb's rendition of 'The Amazing Spider-Man' followed in 2012 with Stone playing Gwen Stacy to Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker/Spider-Man's first love interest. Stone would reprise the role in 2014's 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' again opposite Andrew Garfield. The two films combined grossed a total US$1,47B off a budgeted US$480M with Critics saying positive things about the Stone/Garfield pairing in the film and the on-screen chemistry that exists that only serves to heighten both performances.

Historical 1949 LA set gangster and mobster action crime drama 'Gangster Squad' was released in 2013 with Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena and Robert Patrick with this time Critics being kind to the pairing of Stone and Gosling, but less positive about the film generally. The film recovered US$106M from its US$75M outlay. The next year saw the Woody Allen Written and Directed 'Magic in the Moonlight' with Colin Firth. In between time there had been an appearance on a single episode of '30 Rock' and 'iCarly', and Stone lent her voice talents to the video game 'Sleeping Dogs' and the DreamWorks animated feature 'The Croods' together with Ryan Reynolds, Nicolas Cage and Catherine Keener, grossing US$588M from a US$135M budget expense.

2014 was seen out with the hugely successful Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu Co-Written and Directed 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)' starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Andrea Riseborough. The film collected 193 Award wins and another 277 nominations including four Academy Award wins and five nominations, two Golden Globe wins and five nominations, one BAFTA win and nine nominations, and one SAG win and three nominations, of which Stone was nominated at each of these prestigious Awards for her Best Supporting Actress performance. The film also took US$104M in Box Office receipts against its US$18M budget investment.

This led to a turn with Writer/Director Woody Allen again in 2015 with the release of 'Irrational Man' alongside Joaquin Phoenix, and then later that same year in the Cameron Crowe Written and Directed 'Aloha' opposite Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, Jaeden Lieberher and Danny McBride.








After appearing in uncredited roles in 'The Interview' and 'Popstar : Never Stop Never Stopping', along came Damien Chazelle's Written and Directed song and dance drama 'La La Land' with Stone playing the female lead as Mia opposite Ryan Gosling's Sebastian with Rosemary DeWitt, John Legend and J.K. Simmons. The film was a huge critical success bagging 212 Award wins and a further 248 nominations including six Academy Awards and eight nominations, seven Golden Globe wins, five BAFTA wins and six nominations and one SAG win and one nomination. Amongst these Awards ceremonies Stone picked up the award for Best Leading Actress at each. The film also returned US$446M from its US$30M budget.

Released just a short time ago, next up for Stone was the biographical sports drama 'Battle of the Sexes' in which Stone portrays tennis legend Billie Jean King as she faces off against former mens tennis champion Bobby Riggs played by Steve Carell back in 1973 in what was back then the most widely watched television sports event in history. The film also stars Andrea Riseborough, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue and Jessica McNamee. Whilst the film garnered mixed Critical Reviews and did lacklustre Box Office, Stone's performance was largely praised.

This brings us up to date, with next up for Stone is the Netflix series 'Maniac' alongside Jonah Hill which is currently in production for airing in 2018. Then there is the Yorgos Lanthimos Directed 18th Century historical biographical feature film 'The Favourite' about royal intrigue, envy, betrayal and passion in the court of Queen Anne, and starring Olivia Coleman, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult and due in 2018 too. Currently in pre-production is 'Cruella' a live action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, following the storyline from '101 Dalmatians' with Stone playing the title character. And finally, and also in pre-production, Stone is set to reprise her role as Eep in the animated feature follow up 'The Croods 2' due in 2020.

All up Stone has forty-two Acting credits to her name and two Producer credits for upcoming TV series 'Maniac' and action comedy feature film 'Little White Corvette'. During her career to date she has also amassed 54 award wins and another 109 nominations including the Academy Award win, Golden Globe win, BAFTA win, AACTA win and SAG win for 'La La Land' as well as other wins from around the festival and awards circuit for 'The Help', 'Birdman' and 'Easy A'. For a few years from 2010 Stone and 'Spider-Man' Co-Star Andrew Garfield were said to be romantically linked, but by 2015 they were reported to have split. She is a supporter of charitable organisations and worthy causes including for the promotion of breast cancer awareness, Earth Hour, autism awareness, and various fundraisers for the Motion Picture and Television Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Emma Stone - branded by some publications as one of her generations most talented Actresses; has appeared on numerous 'Top' lists over the years including Top 20 Rising Stars Under 30, Top 20 Actresses Under 30, 100 Most Powerful People in the World, Top 10 Best Value Stars, 100 Most Influential People in the World, Hot 100, 100 Sexiest Women in the World, 100 Most Beautiful Women, 100 Hottest Women, Top 99 Women, Most Desirable Women, Best Dressed Woman and in 2017 made it to the top of the highest paid Actress league by raking in a cool US$26M. With your trademark bright green eyes, husky voice, red hair and always playing out of your comfort zone you have proven yourself time and again as the accolades will attest to. So much achieved, and not even thirty yet! Happy Birthday to you Emma, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-