Beloved Cork TV personality and author Graham Norton will host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, it has been confirmed. The BBC announced the full presenting team on Wednesday, with Norton set to be joined on stage by singer Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina. Comedian and former Great British Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc will also be on hand to assist, with commentary provided by Scott Mills and Rylan.
The actor is at the 75th edition of the prestigious festival to premiere two sweeping dramas in which he has complex leading roles. The first is Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer’s GOD’S CREATURES, a gripping thriller set on the Irish coast following a mysterious man who is accused of a terrible crime that his devoted mother can’t possibly imagine him committing. The second is Charlotte Wells’s delicate, touching AFTERSUN, in which he’s cast as a divorcé on a summer holiday in Turkey with his young daughter. Both films have been met with rave reviews, particularly for Mescal’s measured, nuanced performances.
Principal photography has wrapped on the female-driven survival thriller NO WAY UP, with Colm Meaney taking over the role originally to have been played by Kelsey Grammer, who departed the production due to scheduling conflicts. In the film from director Claudio Fäh (Northmen – A Viking Saga), an airliner crashes into the Pacific Ocean and comes to rest perilously close to the edge of a deep ravine, leaving the surviving passengers and crew trapped in an air pocket. With their air supply rapidly running out, a nightmare fight for survival ensues as dangers from all sides hone-in on them.
This Oscar weekend, there is much to be proud of for Irish film lovers. The Irish Times takes a look back at the great wins Ireland has snagged at the ceremony over the years, including double-wins for Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker for MY LEFT FOOT in 1990, Neil Jordan’s win best for original screenplay for THE CRYING GAME in 1992 and Glen Hansard’s Best Original Song for ONCE in 2008.