
Whenever you think you already know everything, a new perspective comes along in film or television. Writer and director Aaron Sorkin, for example, takes a look behind the scenes of the 50s sitcom "I Love Lucy" in "Being the Ricardos" with Nicole Kidman as TV icon Lucille Ball. With the help of Kristen Stewart in the title role, director Pablo Larraín describes the egg dance of Lady Diana "Spencer" at the royal Christmas party in 1991. And if you need a real shrink for all the true stories, we recommend the series "The Therapist Next Door" on tv.apple.com.
TV comedian Lucille Ball was and is not only an icon in the USA. In Germany, too, she had a major influence on the so-called 'funny girls' on television, from Gisela Schlüter to Désirée Nick. The 50s sitcom "I Love Lucy" in particular made Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz world-famous. While they played the married couple Ricardo, who always find their way back together after all kinds of turbulence, Arnaz-Ball's marital bliss was anything but perfect. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, on the other hand, prove to be the perfect cast for Lucy and Desi, both in front of and behind the scenes.
Aaron Sorkin
Whether in film or television, if the name Aaron Sorkin is behind the screenplay, there is always good dialogue, three-dimensional characters and a story with depth. It is often about politics ("The War of Charlie Wilson", 2007), sometimes about sport ("Moneyball", 2011) or he takes on the heroes of the internet, as in "Steve Jobs" (2015). The New Yorker, born in 1961, was honoured with an Oscar in 2011 for "The Social Network". His cult series "West Wing" earned him six Emmys between 2000 and 2003. "Being the Ricardos" is his third directorial work.
Film genre: Biopic
Length: 125 minutes
Director: Aaron Sorkin
With: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Nina Arianda, J.K. Simmons, Tony Hale
Age rating: o.A.
On: prime video
From: 21.12.2021
If the series "The Crown" showed the symptoms within the Royal Family, "Spencer" is their diagnosis. Director Pablo Larraín ("Jackie: The First Lady", 2016) and writer Steven Knight ("Eastern Promises" 2007, "Peaky Blinders", 2013) have Diana haunting the corridors and rooms of Sandringham House at Christmas 1991. It's painfully beautiful to watch Kristen Stewart, as the emotionally fragile princess of hearts, skirt royal conventions and traditions and literally vomit her heart out in the process.
Kristen Stewart
Although she grew up around the corner from Hollywood's famous studios, Kristen Stewart didn't think about becoming an actress for a long time. However, at the age of 12, she played Jodie Foster's daughter in "Panic Room" (2002) and could hardly save herself from role offers after that. These included Bella Swan in the five-part "Twilight" franchise, which caused worldwide hysteria between 2008 and 2012. She successfully avoids this with leading roles in European arthouse films, such as 2014's "The Clouds of Sils Maria" and now "Spencer".
Film genre: Drama
Length: 111 minutes
Director: Pablo Larraín
With: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Sean Harris
Age rating: o.A.
Distributed by: DCM
Start: 27.1.2022
Where neuroses flourish, therapists are not far away. Dr Ike Herschkopf, for example, lives just around the corner from Marty Markowitz, the 40-year-old heir to a textile factory with no self-esteem to speak of. Easy game for the shrink, if it weren't for Marty's resolute sister Phyllis.
The tug-of-war for Marty's trust and money was penned by British author Georgia Pritchett. The series "The Thick of It" (2012), "Veep" (2014) and currently "Succession" have already thrived on her wicked wit. The fact that "The Shrink Next Door" is also a real case makes the humour even blacker.
Genre: Drama
Length: 8 x approx. 40 minutes
Developed by: Georgia Pritchett
With: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Kathryn Hahn, Casey Wilson, Cornell Womack
Age rating: o.A.
On: tv.apple.com
Recycling, upcycling - major fashion and sportswear chains have now discovered the sustainability trend for themselves. But can we trust their promise to turn old clothes into usable new goods? The cross-media and interactive online report "Sneakerjagd" - a collaboration between "Die Zeit", NDR and the alternative business platform "Flip" - uses tricks and trackers in celebrities' old trainers to track down the claimed reuse of individual materials or entire shoes.
Type: cross-media online reportage
Developer: Flip GmbH
Available for: any type of browser
Address: sneakerjagd.letsflip.de