Tag Archives: Vanessa Redgrave

Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave and Indira Varma Among Stars Urging UK Government Not to Repeal Human Rights Act

Benedict Cumberbatch, Vanessa Redgrave, and Games of Thrones Indira Varma are among a number of stars that have recorded videos celebrating the Human Rights Act, which is under threat by the UK’s government.

During the State Opening of Parliament, the Queen confirmed “proposals” for a British Bill of Rights, which is expected to replace the law. The UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron has pledged to “once and for all” repeal the Human Rights Act, and 

 

Prime Minister David Cameron claimed it is necessary in order to “break the formal link between British Courts and the European Court of Human Rights.”

But campaigners such as head of human rights organisation Liberty Shami Chakrabarti have condemned the decision, saying:

Government plans to scrap the Act play populist games with hard-won freedoms and undermine the United Kingdom at home and abroad.”

Article 14 of the Human Rights Act, which affords protection from discrimination, has been used in many legal cases to argue for protection for LGBT people.

Vanessa Redgrave, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Harewood, Simon Callow and Indira Varma voice the stories of ordinary people who have successfully held the powerful to account through human rights laws.

Chakrabarti said:

These films tell just a few of the stories of our Human Rights Act giving a voice to some of the most vulnerable people‎ in our country.

Soldiers, journalists, victims of rape, domestic violence and slavery all found justice thanks to Churchill’s Legacy. Government plans to scrap the Act play populist games with hard-won freedoms and undermine the United Kingdom at home and abroad.”

 

Jane Anderson Discusses the Legacy of ‘If These Walls Could Talk 2’

Although she’s had career in Hollywood since the early 1980s, writer, producer and director Jane Anderson is perhaps best known for her work on ‘If These Walls Could Talk 2’.

A movie that aired on television in 2000, ‘If These Walls Could Talk 2’ starred Sharon Stone, Vanessa Redgrave and Ellen DeGeneres (along with several other well-known names) as three lesbian couples in several different time periods. The director of the 1’961′ part of the film, Anderson’s third focused on an elderly couple and when one half of the couple falls ill, the laws of the time meant that she couldn’t see her partner in the hospital and when she passes, she has no rights to the possessions or the house that she left behind.

But a lot has changed since 1961 and Anderson notes that:

“I can’t tell you how far we’ve come. I’m so impressed with our community. It’s breathtaking. What happened with the supreme court last summer that was one of the greatest days of our lives. [If These Walls Could Talk 2] is still quite relevant. We need to be reminded of these things. The lack of validity and the sense of shame back then was overwhelming.”

Jane Anderson

She also gives praise to shows like Transparent, which has many scenes dedicated to showing the stigma towards (trans lead) Maura several decades ago. Anderson explains that it’s “still really important” to tell these stories to show gay millennials just how far the LGBT community has come since then.

As for her future projects, her TV miniseries Olive Kitteridge aired on HBO earlier in the month whilst she is also working on another film similar to ‘If These Walls Could Talk 2’.

Whilst Anderson didn’t offer much about the project (she told AfterEllen that it hasn’t been greenlit yet) she did say that it would be set in the 1950s, so we’ll keep you posted on that.