David Seidler – best known as the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind the film The King’s Speech – has died at the age of 86, according to reports.
The London-born screenwriter, who had a stammer as a child, was inspired to write about the true story of how King George VI, on the eve of the Second World War, overcame his speech impediment.
Seidler died on Saturday during a fly-fishing trip in New Zealand, according to his manager Jeff Aghassi – US media reported.
Mr Aghassi said: “David was in the place he loved most in the world – New Zealand – doing what gave him the greatest peace, which was fly fishing.
“If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.”
Seidler won the Oscar and BAFTA awards for best original screenplay for the 2010 film The King’s Speech.
“I accept this on behalf of all the stutterers throughout the world. We have a voice, we have been heard,” he said, when collecting his Oscar at the 2011 Academy Awards.
The historical drama starred Colin Firth, who also won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of the king.
Seidler was also behind the stage adaptation of the film, which first opened on the West End in 2012.
His other work included the 1988 biopic Onassis: The Richest Man In The World – starring Raul Julia as the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis – for which Seidler won his first Writers Guild award.
The same year Seidler co-wrote Francis Ford Coppola’s comedy drama Tucker: The Man And His Dream.
Other projects included writing for the animated children’s musicals The King And I, Quest For Camelot and Madeline: Lost in Paris.
He is survived by his two adult children, Marc and Maya.
The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.
She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while director Joel Souza was injured.
A defence lawyer for Gutierrez, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a prison for women in New Mexico, filed a shortly worded appeal notice on Monday.
Her legal team has 30 days to submit detailed arguments. They previously requested a new trial following the verdict.
Gutierrez’s trial was told she unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.
During her sentencing hearing, she told the court she had tried to do her best while working on the production, despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing”.
Baldwin, who was a producer for the film as well as its star, has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
He maintains he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – before it fired, and is set to face trial in July. He denies any wrongdoing.
The 66-year-old was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting, but those charges were dropped a few months later. He was charged again in January this year.
His legal team has filed a motion calling for the charges to be dropped. Prosecutors responded with a 32-page documentclaiming that footage of the star on set shows he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” and “no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Assistant director David Halls, who also faced charges, entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon last year, receiving a six-month suspended sentence.
Gudrun Ure, the star of hit 1980s children’s TV show Super Gran, has died aged 98.
Ure’s portrayal of Granny Smith – who gained superpowers after being struck by a magic ray – won her legions of fans across the globe.
Her death was confirmed by her niece, Kate McNeill.
Ure was born in Milton of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire, on 12 March 1926.
As an actress she starred as Desdemona in a 1951 stage production of Othello, directed by Hollywood legend Orson Welles. She also re-dubbed Suzanne Cloutier’s performance in Welles’ film adaptation.
Ure appeared in other television shows, including Casualty, Midsomer Murders, The Crow Road, The 10th Kingdom, and T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom.
However, it was her role in Super Gran that elevated her to cult status.
More on Scotland
Related Topics:
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The show, based on a series of books written by Forrest Wilson, saw Ure’s character use her powers to protect the residents of Chiselton from a series of villains, including the scheming Roderick ‘Scunner’ Campbell and his gang.
Many guest stars appeared on the programme, including George Best, Spike Milligan, Eric Bristow, Roy Kinnear and comedian Billy Connolly, who also sang the theme song.
If you know the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance and the importance of a scented resumé, you’re going to be excited about Reese Witherspoon’s latest news.
The Hollywood star has announced a prequel series to her hit 2001 film, Legally Blonde, which will premiere in 2025.
Wearing a hot pink suit and pale pink stilettos (because whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed), Witherspoon shared details on her social media channels.
The TV series will follow her character, Elle Woods, as a schoolgirl in the 1990s, before the events of Legally Blonde and its 2003 sequel.
In a video shared on Instagram, Witherspoon can be seen getting dressed and applying pink lipstick before brandishing a “top secret” scented script ahead of an Amazon Prime Video presentation to advertisers – soundtracked by Perfect Day, one of the songs from the film.
“Before she became the most famous Gemini vegetarian to graduate from Harvard Law, she was just a regular ’90s high school girl,” Witherspoon wrote. “And all of you are going to get to know her, next year on @primevideo. I’M SO EXCITED!”
Witherspoon will serve as an executive producer on the Prime Video series, which will be called Elle.
Legally Blonde followed sorority girl Elle Woods as she surprised friends, family and teachers by gaining admittance to Harvard Law School – in pursuit of a boyfriend who had broken up with her.
Advertisement
But during her studies, she showed she had the makings of a highly capable – and murder-trial-winning – lawyer.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Elle will be produced by Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine company, which is now a part of Candle Media, and was previously responsible for shows including Daisy Jones And The Six.