The Business: Helen Mirren & Hawk Koch Discuss the Magic of Movies
A Q&A with Helen Mirren and Hawk Koch.
Helen Mirren is one of the most well-known and respected actresses with an international career that spans stage, screen, and television. She has won an Oscar®, Emmy, SAG Award, Tony, multiple BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe, for her powerful and versatile performances. For her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 of “The Queen,” she received an Academy Award®, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
In television she is known for her role as DCI Jane Tennison in “Prime Suspect”, her Emmy award-winning performance in “Elizabeth I” and HBO’s “Phil Spector” for which she won Best Actress at the SAG awards.
Mirren reprised her role as Queen Elizabeth II on the West End stage and Broadway in The Audience, to acclaimed reviews and winning an Olivier Awards and a Tony Award respectively for Best Actress.
She will next be seen in the highly anticipated SKY/HBO limited series in the title role of “Catherine the Great” and Warner Bros.’ film “The Good Liar” alongside Ian McKellen.
Mirren’s recent projects include, “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” “Anna,” “Berlin, I Love You,” “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” IFC’s third season of “Documentary Now!,” “The Leisure Seeker,” and “Winchester.” She was awarded the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship in 2014 for her outstanding career in film.
Hawk Koch is a veteran movie producer, as well as the former President of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America. Koch has been intimately involved with the making of more than 60 major motion pictures, among them such classics as “Chinatown,” “Heaven Can Wait”, “Wayne’s World,” “Marathon Man,” “The Way We Were,” “Primal Fear,” “Peggy Sue Got Married,“ and ”Rosemary’s Baby.” During his tenure at the Academy, Koch spearheaded several initiatives including a call for diversity, and as co-Presidents of the Producers Guild of America, Koch and Mark Gordon secured all the major studios and independents’ commitment to upholding the Producer’s Mark (p.g.a.). Koch serves on the boards of AMC Theatres, Cast & Crew, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and the National Film Preservation Foundation.
