'The Debt': Helen Mirren plus Jessica Chastain equals one Nazi hunter

Ever wonder what actress Helen Mirren looked like when she was young? Stop before searching for those photos online, because the folks behind "The Debt" would have you believe she looked just like actress Jessica Chastain.

Mirren and Chastain play two incarnations of the same Mossad agent in a spy thriller premised on the idea that in 1997, three retired Nazi-hunting Mossad agents discover their widely praised 1966 Nazi-hunting mission might not have been as successful as they'd believed.

Photos: "The Debt" premiere

With Mirren and Chastain playing Rachel, the double-cast Mossad trio is rounded out by Marton Csokas as a younger incarnation of Tom Wilkinson's Stephan and Sam Worthington as Ciarán Hinds' David with fewer candles on the cake.

Mirren and Chastain were among those making the red carpet scene Tuesday at the film's New York premiere. Also spotted: author Toni Morrison,  designer Zac Posen, Justin Bartha of "The Hangover" films,  Alan Cumming of "The Good Wife," Darren Criss from "Glee," Gina Gershon, Arianna Huffington and Billie Jean King.

"The Debt" opens Aug. 31.

RELATED:

Helen Mirren, 66, tops Body of the Year poll in Britain

'The Help' premiere: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer bring the buzz

Helen Mirren's waxwork double unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London

-- Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Jessica Chastain, left, and Helen Mirren at the premiere of "The Debt" in New York on Aug. 22. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press

Helen Mirren, 66, tops Body of the Year poll in Britain

Talk about a dame: Helen Mirren has the body of the year, according to a new poll out of Britain.

The 66-year-old Oscar-winner and wife of director Taylor Hackford came out ahead of Jennifer Lopez, Cheryl Cole and Pippa Middleton to claim the top spot in the eyes of 2,000 folks surveyed at the request of LA Fitness.

Photos: Helen Mirren and her hot bod

"It's great to see the public celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes, and proving that you really can look fabulous over 40 and 50," a rep for the gym chain said. 

For the guys, David Beckham clocked in with the best physique, with Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt on his heels.

While the win must be flattering for Mirren, the appreciation of her figure is nothing new. Her "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig in the show's most recent season touched on her oft-discussed shape -- and assets. 

Check out a clip below featuring Nasim Pedrad, Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Mirren's "magical bosom."

 

RELATED:

Gwyneth Paltrow: I'm in the best shape of my life

Tina Fey unveils her 2011 swimsuit calendar [Video]

Andrew Garfield reveals new guns, 'Spider-Man' ambitions

-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Helen Mirren in June 2011. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press.

'Arthur' movie premiere: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren get dodgy in New York

The stars of "Arthur" gathered on the red carpet Tuesday for the premiere of the film remake of the eponymous Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli classic. The new movie features  Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Greta Gerwig.

A Katy Perry-less Brand hit the premiere at the Ziegfield Theater in New York for the screening. He portrays the title character, a wealthy playboy who tries to prove his mother, played by Geraldine James, that he can be independent. However, he has never worked a day in his life and has a potent case of Peter Pan Syndrome. So his mother says she'll cut him off if he doesn't marry a proper woman.

Mirren plays Hobson, Arthur's tireless nanny who was actually a man in the 1981 original. She also played Prospera in 2010's "The Tempest," a character who was also male in Shakespeare's classic. How's that for androgyny?

Garner, who also attended the premiere, plays Arthur's quasi-love interest Susan Johnson, whom Arthur is forced to marry in order for his mother to bequeath his inheritance.

Also at the premiere were "Greenberg" actress Gerwig, who plays Arthur's real love interest, and Luis Guzman, who plays Bitterman, Arthur's chauffeur.

The film is directed by Jason Winer, a co-executive producer on the comedy "Modern Family."

Click the pics for more red carpet photos.

New Twitter member Billy Crystal and comic Robin Williams, currently appearing on Broadway in "Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo," walked the carpet Tuesday night. "Friends" star and "Trust" director David Schwimmer and wife Zoe Buckman, as well as stage and screen actor Brian Dennehy, also attended.

"Arthur" opens in theaters April 6.

RELATED:

Russell Brand writes about his Kate Moss courtship

Oscars: Mom at his side, Russell Brand smooches the media

Russell Brand and Katy Perry: 'Tempest' premiere twosome

— Nardine Saad
Twitter.com / NardineSaad

Photos, from top: "Arthur" cast members Russell Brand and Helen Mirren (credit: Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters); Greta Gerwig, Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner at the "Arthur" prmiere (credit: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images)

Oscars: Helen Mirren, Channing Tatum, Gerard Butler party for 'The Fighter'

Its post-Oscar party is among the most coveted invites ever, so who better to kick off a week of Oscar excitement than Vanity Fair? 

Helen Mirren, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, Gerard Butler, Malin Akerman and nominee Amy Adams turned up at Hollywood's new fresh market joint District on Monday to kick off a week of events as part of VF's Campaign Hollywood -- specifically in celebration of the nominated flick "The Fighter."

Mirren was the belle of the ball, donning a prop championship belt around her waist as she buzzed about the venue, chatting up producers and procuring her own hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen for director husband Taylor Hackford, while Cuba Gooding Jr., Dulé Hill and Isabel Lucas chatted nearby. Click the pics to see more photos from the event.

"True Blood" hunks Ryan Kwanten and Grey Damon circulated, while Adams dutifully greeted producers and admirers of her Mark Wahlberg- and Christian Bale-lead film. 

GQ coverboy Tatum was in great spirits despite recent leg surgery, sticking close to wife Dewan, who was just cast on NBC's vintage "Playboy" pilot. 

Better late than never was the still-shaggy-haired Butler, rocking a casual track jacket and conversing with Relativity Media's Tucker Tooley. 

Sound like a decent Academy Awards kickoff? Tell us in comments.

RELATED:

'Chloe Sevigny' reminds us that Oscar week has begun

Camille Grammer hired for CNN Oscars red carpet show

James Franco gets Oscars hosting advice from Judd Apatow

-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photos: Guests at the Vanity Fair party for "The Fighter" included Helen Mirren, top left; Malin Akerman, top right; and Channing Tatum, bottom right, smiles post-surgery. Credits: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Russell Brand and Katy Perry: 'Tempest' premiere twosome

Just a few steps across Hollywood Boulevard from "The Fighter's" premiere Monday, stars of a Shakespearean inclination banded together to premiere Julie Taymor's rock-and-goth-tinged "The Tempest." 

Cast members Helen Mirren, Chris Cooper, Djimon Hounsou and Russell Brand, with wife Katy Perry, turned up to celebrate the film adaptation of the play, which Taymor estimated was 400 years old to the day when she introduced the film.

An after-party commenced at H.wood, with Mirren entertaining a host of visiting family members, "Glee" star Chris Colfer chatting up guests after his Jay Leno taping and Hounsou looking cozy with bride Kimora Lee Simmons.

Hounsou portrays the disfigured slave Caliban, a role the actor wanted nothing to do with.

"I screen-tested for [a different version] of 'The Tempest' years ago and had a bad experience, but then my manager and wife made me meet with Julie. Then I couldn't say no," he told the Ministry. 

Though Caliban has high drama with his sorceress master Prospera, the actor gets some on-screen levity with the colorful Brand's Trinculo. 

"It was about four hours in makeup everyday," Hounsou said of the monstrous touches he was given, "so by the time I was finished I was in that dark place, but I think you can see it was fun [with Russell]."

In one such scene, Hounsou is covered by a large cloth and Brand attempts to identify if Caliban is man or creature. Identify in the literal sense. 

We asked if it was a normal workday, getting felt up by Russell Brand?

"No," the actor said, smiling.

Click the pic of Hounsou and his wife, above, for more photos from the red carpet. "The Tempest" opens Friday.

RELATED:

Russell Brand nabs Variety's Power of Comedy award

-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Right photo: Katy Perry, in Elie Saab, with husband Russell Brand at "The Tempest" after-party on Dec. 6, 2010, in Hollywood. Credit: WireImage

Left photo: Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou at "The Tempest" premiere at El Capitan in Hollywood. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Russell Brand nabs Variety's Power of Comedy award

Being funny is its own reward, but Russell Brand certainly enjoyed a perk on Saturday night -- the actor picked up Variety's first Power of Comedy award in downtown Los Angeles.

With new wife Katy Perry in tow, Brand turned up at Club Nokia for a program that featured performances by several of his heavyweight comic colleagues. Tickets were open to the public, with all proceeds benefiting the Noreen Fraser Foundation, a cancer-research nonprofit. 

Aziz Ansari, B.J. Novak, Bob Saget, Patton Oswalt, Brandon T. Jackson and Garry Shandling were among those doing a few minutes for the good cause and for their pal Brand, with actor Justin Long serving as host.

"I think he's trying to cut the circulation off ... so he'll be faithful," Shandling said of Brand's trademark tight pants.

Perry took the joke in stride, sitting at a table front and center with a girlfriend.

Above Club Nokia's black-box stage, a VIP pre-reception hosted by the Sims 3 and Bing was attended by the likes of Brand's "The Tempest" costar Dame Helen Mirren, actress Lake Bell, the cast of "Outsourced," Sarah Silverman and "Little Britain" mastermind Matt Lucas. Click the Bing Twitpic of Mirren with comedian Brandon T. Jackson, above, to see more photos from the red carpet.

Hollywood's A-List turns out to celebrate Mike Nichols at AFI tribute

If it’s true that a man can be judged by the company he keeps, Mike Nichols must be a whale of a guy.

The gala to present the 38th AFI Life Achievement Award to the director on Thursday evening was so star-studded, it could have vied with the Oscars for sheer wattage. As the director of such films as “The Graduate,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “Carnal Knowledge” and “Silkwood” looked on with his wife, Diane Sawyer, a steady parade of Hollywood A-listers — several of whom were AFI Life Achievement Award-winners or had seen their careers launched by his films — stood up to make warm and often hilarious remarks: Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Elaine May, AFI Board of Trustees Chairman Howard Stringer, Calista Flockhart, Candice Bergen, Shirley MacLaine, Natalie Portman, Cher, Nora Ephron, Aaron Sorkin, Kevin Spacey, Robin Williams and Emma Thompson.

And that didn't even include Eric Idle performing a song from the Nichols-directed Broadway hit “Spamalot” — while wearing wings that referenced Nichols’ HBO work “Angels in America” — or such distinguished audience members as Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Tim Curry and Wallace Shawn.

As last year's AFI honoree, Michael Douglas, quipped, “Where the hell were all of you last year?”

But the ambiance at the Sony Pictures Studios soundstage, where Judy Garland once walked down the Yellow Brick Road, had a couple of differences from the Academy Awards: The tribute for the 78-year-old was more intimate and, as Helen Mirren said while waiting for her car after the festivities, “there was lots of love in the room.”

How much?

Helen Mirren's waxwork double unveiled in London

Helen Mirren stopped by Madame Tussauds in London on Tuesday for the unveiling of a wax figure in her likeness -- a doppelganger even more double take inducing than George Lopez's statue at the Hollywood branch of the museum.

"My husband wants to marry her," Mirren said, speaking of hubby Taylor Hackford, the film director and USC graduate. "I'm much more argumentative than she is." Mirren donated the gown, which she wore to an award show in 2008.

Our thoughts couldn't help but drift back to January's Golden Globe Awards, at which James Cameron was rocking his best impersonation of Mirren's hairdo. Dare we say, wax or no wax, the dame wears it much better.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Top photo: Helen Mirren with the new waxwork of herself at Madame Tussauds in London on Tuesday. Credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

Photos at right: Helen Mirren, left, and James Cameron on stage at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 17. Credits: Paul Drinkwater / NBC; Associated Press

Do a double take on Ministry of Gossip headlines by following us on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs on Twitter) and swinging by our Facebook page, where you can 'like' us right into your news feed.

PREACH IT! Ladies, please! No crowding. Only one of you will fill Helen Mirren's shoes in the new 'Prime Suspect.'

Oh, yay. The TV people are producing a brand-new cop show, and they’re letting a woman play the lead.

Prepare yourself for at least one or two triumphant posts from naive bloggers who will inevitably mistake NBC’s announced production of “Prime Suspect” as some sort of hooray moment for the female audience.

It isn’t really.

“Prime Suspect” is a remake, albeit a remake of an extraordinarily fabulous British cop drama starring Helen Mirren as the dogged DCI Jane Tennison. The character was unmarried, alcoholic, middle-aged, underestimated by her bosses, and very sexy. She occasionally jumped in the sack with a guy for some good times. Sometimes she even bedded the same dude twice.

The re-imagining will involve a bang-on good role for exactly one crackerjack actress. NBC first floated its  intentions for this show in September, but they confirmed it this week during the Winter Press Tour.

We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to amazing actresses -- which means, of course, we will have a poll.