Hollywood legend Daniel Day-Lewis announces retirement

CEBU, Philippines - Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the most acclaimed performers of his generation, has announced he is retiring.

In a statement, the 60-year-old star’s spokeswoman, Leslee Dart, said he “will no longer be working as an actor,” trade magazine Variety reported.

“He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years,” Dart said. “This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”

Day-Lewis, a master of method acting known for being extremely selective about his roles, is the only performer to have ever won three best actor Oscars.

He earned a golden statuette for “My Left Foot” (1989), in which he plays writer and artist Christy Brown, who was confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy; a second one for “There Will Be Blood” (2008), in which he plays a fierce oil man; and a third for the lead role in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” (2013).

He also earned Oscar nods for “Gangs of New York” and “In the Name of the Father.”

Away from the limelight

His last film is slated to hit theaters in December. The movie – which saw the actor reunite with “There Will Be Blood” director Paul Thomas Anderson – is about 1950s London, with Day-Lewis playing a fashion designer.

Born in London, Day-Lewis is the son of British poet Cecil Day-Lewis and actress Jill Balcon.

He made his film debut in 1971 in “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” but then turned to the stage. He appeared on screen again more than a decade later in 1982, when he landed his first adult role.

His strong on-screen presence and remarkable range quickly set him apart, earning him praise from critics and audiences alike.

He was said to be so deeply invested in his roles that he would stay in character even when not shooting – as was the case with “Gangs of New York,” when he kept the New York accent and would be seen sharpening his knives at lunch.

He also reportedly listened to rapper Eminem to get into an angry mood for the role.

Apart from his Oscar performances, some of his most memorable other roles were in “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985), “A Room With a View” (1985), “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” (1988) and “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992).

But despite his stardom, the actor shied away from the limelight, remaining throughout his career notoriously reclusive. He took long stretches of time away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to be with his family in Ireland and to learn “rural skills.”

During one such period in the late 1990s, while learning to be a cobbler in Florence, Italy, he was reportedly lured back to the US by producer Harvey Weinstein, director Martin Scorcese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio to take on the lead role in “Gangs of New York.”

“I was very happily out of the world of filmmaking,” Day-Lewis said at the time. “I was just happily working away at other things.”

In a sign that acting would not be his lifelong passion, he told a magazine in 2005: “In every actor’s life, there is a moment when they ask themselves, ‘Is it really seemly for me to still be doing this?’”

The actor is married to Rebecca Miller – the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller – a US actress and writer with whom he has two children.

From 1989 to 1994 he had a tumultuous relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani, with whom he has one son.

Han Solo spinoff film loses directors

A spinoff movie of the “Star Wars” franchise about the early life of smuggler and crack pilot Han Solo has lost its two directors, the production company behind the project said Tuesday.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller left the project due to creative differences, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said.

Lord and Miller “are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways,” Kennedy said.

“A new director will be announced soon,” said Kennedy, who is also the film’s producer.

In a statement, Lord and Miller also cited “creative differences.”

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences,’ but for once this cliché is true,” they said.

“We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew,” they added.

The surprise announcement came as filming is underway at London’s Pinewood Studios for the untitled movie, which is scheduled to come out several months ahead of “Star Wars: Episode VIII” in December 2018.

Culture clash

Variety magazine – which said the directors had been fired – cited an anonymous source saying that the directors chafed at Kennedy’s tight control on the set.

“It was a culture clash from day one,” the source told Variety. “She didn’t even like the way they folded their socks.”

“Kathy, her team and [writer/producer] Larry Kasdan have been doing it their way for a very long time. They know how the cheese is made and that’s how they want it made,” the source said. “It became a very polarizing set.”

In the movie, Alden Ehrenreich stars as Solo, a role that made Harrison Ford a Hollywood superstar in the original 1977 movie and its sequels.

The movie also stars Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover as Solo’s pal Lando Calrissian.

The film is set in the period before the original 1977 movie, which was released as “Star Wars” but was later retitled “Episode IV: A New Hope.”

This is the second of a series of standalone films that began with “Rogue One,” released in December, which earned $1 billion worldwide.

Lord and Miller took over the Han Solo directing job after co-directing the box-office hits “The Lego Movie” and both “21 Jump Street” and “22 Jump Street.”

Lucasfilm, founded by filmmaker George Lucas, is the production company behind the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises. It was bought by Disney in 2012. (AFP)(FREEMAN)