Alec Guinness in 'The Man in the White Suit' (1951), which was filmed at Ealing Studios. (Internet Movie Database)

The first studio movie to be shot entirely in sunny Hollywood was In Old California, directed by film pioneer D.W. Griffith, in 1910 for Biograph Studios. That very same year, in foggy London, Will Barker, a trailblazer in British cinema, acquired a site in West London where he established a studio and began cranking out early silent pictures.

That site became home to Associated Talking Pictures in the early 1930s and then was renamed Ealing Studios – now one of the most illustrious monikers in British film history – in 1938.  Late last week, Guinness World Records, publishers of the Guinness Book of World Records, officially recognized Ealing Studios and its West London site as the world’s oldest, continuously operating movie studio.

On hand for the presentation ceremony and the photo op were cast members of Downton Abbey, the popular, Emmy-winning British TV series, which is currently filming parts of its third season at Ealing. Joining the celebration were Rob James-Collier, Michelle Dockery, Lesley Nicol, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville and Joanne Froggatt.

'Downton Abbey' cast members honor Ealing Studios' history. (London & Partners)

Ironically, the first season of Downton Abbey was set in 1912, meaning that the characters could easily have gone to see a film made at Barker’s London studio, though Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess would doubtless have disapprovingly sniffed, “What’s a moving picture?”

The awarding of the Guinness record came as part of an effort by London & Partners, one of the city’s promotional organizations, to make news by breaking (or at least have recognized) 20 records in London before the city serves as host of the Summer Olympics in July.

Famous films shot at Ealing Studios and its predecessors include the very first movie version of Hamlet in 1912, as well as the 1950s Alec Guinness comedy classics, The Ladykillers and Kind Hearts & Coronets. More recently, the popular pair of St. Trinian’s films was shot there as well as Shaun of the Dead.

This year, Colin Firth completed shooting on his remake of the heist film, Gambit, at Ealing and soon will be shooting Bridget Jones’ Baby, the third film in the successful series, there.

Trekkers! Whovians! (Truvians?) Attention: the Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover comic has been released today (May 30). In Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory team up with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise against an unholy alliance between the franchises’ notorious villains, the Cybermen and the Borg. And IDW Publishing have provided us with cover images and the first seven pages of the comic as a preview. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Andrew Scott at the BAFTAs (Rex Features via AP Images)

Andrew Scott made viewers squirm and swoon in equal measure as charismatic psychopath Moriarty on Sherlock, and this past Sunday (May 27), won a BAFTA for his efforts. In real life, Irish actor is a great deal nicer than his evil alter ego: BBC’s Alan Moloney chatted with him about Sherlock‘s cliffhanger finale and whether he was influenced by previous versions of Holmes’ nemesis. And would Mr. Scott be interested in turning up on that other Steven Moffat series, Doctor Who?

Would you like to see Andrew Scott on Doctor Who? Tell us below:

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Alan Rickman at the New Group Annual Gala 2012, February 27, 2012 (PatrickMcMullan.com via AP Images)

A sure-bet to scoring Oscar gold has been a role as a real-life figure – just ask recent winners Meryl Streep and Colin Firth. Now Alan Rickman, a respected fan favorite who has never been invited to the Academy’s party, is throwing a gauntlet down with two upcoming parts. He’s set to play President Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels‘s upcoming film The Butler, which tells the true story of a White House butler who serves several presidents. Meanwhile, he has also recently signed on to play Hilly Kristal, late founder of legendary New York punk club CBGB’s, in a new biopic.

Rickman has played historical figures before, but after his Oscar snub for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, fans have been beating the drums to lock him into a vehicle that could nab him some hardware. And these parts could have the heft to do it.

Here’s an interview with Hilly Kristal. Certainly, Rickman could nail his laconic growl:

Reagan is a bit trickier, as portrayals have often skirted the line of caricature.

Which role are you more excited about? Tell us below:

Syvester McCoy in Big Jim and the Figaro Club

Sylvester McCoy, for better or worse, was a step in a different direction for the producers of Doctor Who. Beforehand, every new Doctor had been selected due their sterling work in the dramatic or comedic arts, and then expected to perform in a show with a broad appeal for children. Sylvester was already a children’s entertainer, having made his name performing madcap antics on various kids’ TV shows, who then had to act seriously for the more grown up bits of the show. And after the ‘serious actor in a colorful coat’ Colin Baker era, this felt like a fresh approach, albeit one which needed tempering with lots and lots of serious storylines, lest the show vanish in a puff of space whimsy.

Anyway, here are some of the things Sylvester did before and after his time as a Time Lord:

Here he is in Vision On (about three minutes in), the ’60s art and cartoons show that made him a household name for a generation of children, even though at that time, the name was Sylveste, and not Sylvester:

Here he is in 1973′s Roberts Robots, playing a robot entertainer:

And here he is on anarchic Saturday morning kids’ TV show TISWAS, some time in the late ’70s, pretending to be flower. You don’t get this kind of thing with Colin Baker:

And here he is enjoying a spot of snail-racing in 1979′s Big Jim and the Figaro Club:

And here he is alongside Sir Laurence Olivier, in 1979′s Dracula (5:30 or thereabouts):

On a similarly bleak note, here he plays Lt. ‘Birdie’ Bowers , one of the ill-fated travellers with Scott of the Antarctic.

Here he is in 1986, playing alongside Mary Tamm (of Romana fame) in the (possibly not very expensive) action movie Three Kinds of Heat:

Then there were two years (1987-89) where he played some kind of very famous time traveller in a shoebox, or something, after which there were quite a few straight-to-video parodies of the show he’d just left, because it had been axed:

And then, back to scene-stealing cameos in comedy shows again, with the likes of Still Game, from 2004 (seven mins or so):

Or for something more upmarket, here’s his Fool, in the 2008 Trevor Nunn production of King Lear, starring Gandal- sorry, Sir Ian McKellern:

And best of all, Sylvester is currently filming with Peter Jackson in New Zealand, and will be making an appearance in both of the new Hobbit movies. You can’t keep a good fool down!

Next: Paul McGann

Prince Charles delivering the weather on Scottish television earlier this month.

After wrapping up last week’s whirlwind Jubilee visit to Canada, Prince Charles arrived back home for next weekend’s festivities to some very good news: a majority of people in the UK now support him as England’s next monarch.

The survey by research firm Ipsos MORI found that 51 percent think that Charles should succeed his mother as monarch, while only 40 percent would like to see Prince William leapfrog his father to the throne.

Even though it’s not as if Britons vote for the Queen’s successor, it’s a change in perceptions about the Prince, who has often appeared to lag behind his eldest son in popular sentiment. In fact, says the Sun, which commissioned the poll, it’s the first time in ten years that the Prince of Wales’ popularity has decisively outweighed William’s.

Support for the Charles came from almost every age group, with the largest approval coming from 45 to 54-year-olds: 60 percent chose him, while only 30 percent wanted William to succeed his grandmother directly.

The numbers, however, were nearly reversed among young people: 18 to 24-year-olds prefer William by a margin of 57 to 36 percent.

The Sun poll also showed increased support for the Duchess of Cornwall.

“Britons are also warming to the Camilla,” the paper wrote, “who is quietly grafting for good causes and acting as a mentor to Kate.”

In other news about Prince Charles:

• The survey didn’t report the reasons for the renewed enthusiasm for Charles. For example, we don’t know if his staunch environmentalism or sense of social justice played any role in the new poll numbers.

We do know, however, that even though his day job as King-in-waiting has never truly been under threat, he’s also appeared to be sharpening other skills for his resume recently. In Canada, he tried his hand at being a DJ. And, around the same time his mum was opening Parliament, he delivered the weather on television while he visited the BBC’s headquarters in Scotland. He had the personality and banter just right, at one point even quipping, “Who the hell wrote this script?” during the forecast for Balmoral.

• “I go my own way and stick to what suits me,” writes Charles, trying his hand at yet another profession – magazine contributor. Charles, who was named one of Britain’s best-dressed men by the UK edition of GQ earlier this year, has written an essay for the glossy about British tailoring.

Charles, the consummate traveler, writes that durability is a key personal requirement.

“Given the demands of my life, it is a great help if a suit looks as good at the end of a day as it did at the start; and it also has to withstand the heavy battering it can sometimes receive,” he says.

But the Prince of Wales wears his environmental concerns on his sleeve, as well.

“The challenge to tailors, shirt and shoe-makers is a tough one,” he he notes. “Clothes have to combine style with sustainability and I find British-made tailoring more than meets that challenge.” (via The Telegraph)

• Charles and Camilla are just back from Canada – and there’s still the big weekend just days away – but there are still more Jubilee responsibilities in store for the couple. It’s just been announced that they’ll visit Jersey on behalf of the Queen on July 18. (via BBC News)

• One of the projects near to Charles’ heart is his restoration of Dumfries House in Scotland. After a plan to sell the historic property to the Scottish National Trust fell through, its owners decided to sell it off and auction its contents, including some 50 original pieces of Chippendale furniture – until Charles stepped in to halt the sale in 2007.

Tonight, ITV in Britain is airing a documentary about how the Prince saved the estate. “This film,” writes The Mirror, “sees [presenter] Alan Titchmarsh follow the Prince through his wide-ranging plan not just to restore the house, but also to regenerate the entire community.”

• It’s not much of a surprise that Cheryl Cole gets around, but we’re still amused by the quote the Guardian pulled from its interview with the celebrity singer to use as a headline: ”I’ve dined with Prince Charles, but I’ve also sat in a crack den, if you like.” Hey, what’s not to like?

The Eleventh Doctor and Captain Jean-Luc Picard: together at last. That’s right, the first issue of IDW Publishing’s Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover comic — titled Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 — hits stores May 30. Wired Magazine has tantalized us with an exclusive preview and some choice quotes from the writers including Tony Lee and Scott and David Tipton. (J.K. Woodard provides art.) “I’ve been watching both Star Trek and Doctor Who my entire life, but I’d never much dwelled on the idea of crossing them over, because it just seemed like such an impossibility,” Scott Tipton told Wired. “But once that door opened, we couldn’t wait to throw these universes together to see what happened. I think the TARDIS qualifies as someplace no one in Star Trek has gone before.”

Indeed. The new comic finds our Doctor, his companions, and the Enterprise crew facing off against an alliance between the Borg and the Cybermen. For Whovians, Wired says the writers “effectively capture Doctor Who executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat‘s humor, star Matt Smith‘s charisma and the British sci-fi show’s enduring cast chemistry.”

• Yep, you knew someone had to do it: when Google posted a playable Moog synthesizer as their Doodle on the late Dr. Robert Moog‘s 78th birthday back on May 23, it was almost inevitable that a fan would dash off a version of the Doctor Who theme. But who knew it would be this brilliant? Here’s something that will make you smile on this post-holiday weekend Who’s Day.

• New Yorker magazine’s Emily Nussbaum has done a marvelous piece on cult TV fandom, zeroing in, interestingly enough, on Doctor Who and Community (which has recruited many Whovians with its Inspector Spacetime parody). Comparing classic and modern Who, she finds a striking dichotomy: “The original Who dwelt on pure sci-fi obsessions, abstract questions of how society is organized and the line between humans and machines. But, as deeply as fans loved the show, its themes were rarely emotional… I was surprised, and delighted, to find that the modern Doctor Who has a very different emphasis: it’s a show about relationships, in an epic and mythological vein.”

She adds, “Although he’s literally been there and done that, [Matt] Smith’s Who is a Tigger of high spirits, a characterization nicely shaded by moments of darker self-questioning. ‘I took you with me because I was vain,’ he confesses to Amy in one scene. ‘I wanted to be adored.’ This is one of the most provocative aspects of the recent Doctor Who: since Amy was enraptured by the Doctor as a child, her relationship to the Doctor is essentially that of a fan, who spends years drawing pictures and building models of his adventures, her low-tech version of a Dreamatorium. This generous devotion balances, but never quite erases, the show’s sadder themes; on Doctor Who (and on Community, too) the fan’s experience of loyalty and loss is its own, legitimate form of romantic love.”

What do you think of Nussbaum’s take on the series? Does she nail what it means to be a Doctor Who fan?

• This past Saturday (May 26), hundreds of fans turned out at the crack of dawn in Cardiff to watch Matt Smith carry the Olympic flame in a leg of the torch relay leading up to the London Olympics. A beaming Matt told The Daily Telegraph, “I feel immensely privileged. The torch and the idea of the torch has been around a long time. I would do it in my underpants. I would probably get a bigger crowd for that.”

The Doctor and his Torch. (Photo via Doctor Who Facebook)

• Speaking of the Olympics, did you get to see the special Summer Games-themed Doctor Who episode written by schoolchildren, and featuring the Weeping Angels? You didn’t? Well feast your eyes on this:

• It seems everyone at Doctor Who will be feeling the loss of Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill for a while yet, and not without good reason, as Steven Moffat revealed to Digital Spy: “The thing you can forget about this is, while the audience are losing people that they see for a few months per year, Karen and Arthur are walking out of something that they’ve been involved with every day for years. It’s not just a professional change, it is a personal upheaval.”

“I’m trying not to say it’s like being dumped, but a huge part of your life changes. I think of Karen and Arthur, and from Matt’s point of view – people that you saw every single day and have become absolutely part of your de facto family are now gone, never ever to be in that place in your life again.”

• On the plus side, the departure of Amy and Rory means the Doctor’s newest traveling companion has started work. Jenna-Louise Coleman reported for duty alongside Matt Smith and the crew at the Welsh medieval manor of Plas Llanmihangel in the Vale of Glamorgan, ready to shoot her introductory adventure, according to Den of Geek.

• There’s been the very slightest hint from Mr. Moffat about what the Daleks might be up to in the new series. He’s not given any of the plot away, except to say that it’s going to be rotten. He told ITV: “The Daleks are coming back and they’re worse than ever. Just you wait until you see what they’re going to do.”

But he refused to be pressed on details, saying “if I even told you the title you would say, ‘Ah!’”

And we can’t have that.

• Doctor Who superfan RitchandSpace has put together a really helpful guide to watching the original series, from a time before Russell T Davies. Should you ever find yourself faced with an old Third Doctor adventure and wondering what all the fuss is about, watch this, change your viewing habits and maybe you’ll feel differently. This does not mean you are being unfaithful to David Tennant or Matt Smith, so you mustn’t feel guilty:

• Did we mention that the Doctor Who Playstation 3 game The Eternity Clock is now on sale? We did? OK.

• The rogues in this week’s rogues gallery are the Slitheen, or Raxacoricofallapatorians, to give them their proper title. They’re human-skinning, farty, baby-faced killers every one of ‘em.

• Wanna see a very fast painting happening of David Tennant’s face? Course you do:

• We’ve been looking at the pre- and post-Doctor Who career of Sixth Doctor Colin Baker this week, including some footage which caused more than one person to mutter “wow, without that wacky coat and the curly hair… he was HOT!”

Martin Freeman as John Watson in Sherlock

Way back in 2001, when The Office was just taking off as a global concern and acting work was starting to flow towards the singularly talented Martin Freeman, he took a role in Sasha Baron Cohen’s first movie, based on his gangsta wannabe character Ali G.

Ali G: Indahouse was a scripted affair, a farce closer in spirit to Sasha’s recent movie The Dictator than either of his staged-reality affairs: Borat or Bruno. And as he was playing a suburban white boy with delusions of ghetto cool, his choice for the character of Ricky C, Ali’s best mate, was Martin (who is in reality a soul-boy from the military town of Aldershot).

Which is all the explanation you are going to get for this scene, in which the future John Watson, Arthur Dent (movie version) and Bilbo Baggins demonstrates some not-altogether-shabby beatboxing:

Sadly, it was not for this performance that Martin won his Best Supporting Actor award at last year’s TV Baftas. That was for Sherlock:

And yes, ISN’T he lovely?

Whoopi Goldberg in 'Downton Sixbey'

Jimmy Fallon is at it again. The host of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon aired a follow-up parody late last week to his original spoof of the popular British TV drama, Downton Abbey.

The new episode of Downton Sixbey – it’s named after Studio 6B, the Rockefeller Center studio where Fallon’s show is shot in Manhattan – again features Fallon in the Hugh Bonneville role as the titled head of the British manor household. Brooke Shields reprises her role as his wife and Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen returns as Lady Headith, the looks-challenged second daughter of the family.

Fred Armisen returns as Lady Headith

New name guest stars this time around include Whoopi Goldberg (“You know, we tape The View only a few blocks away,” she says, upon arriving at Downton Sixbey) and Last Call host Carson Daly.

Take a look:

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What’s your favorite line or moment?

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