RALPH FIENNES plays the Duke of Devonshire in the new costume melodrama, THE DUCHESS.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY plays the lead role, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, in THE DUCHESS.

At just 21 years of age Keira Knightley confirmed her status as a rising star with Academy Award?í and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for her acclaimed performance as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's PRIDE & PREJUDICE. More recently she was nominated for a Golden Globe and received a BAFTA nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed ATONEMENT, directed by Joe Wright from the novel by Ian McEwan.

The noted film critic and painter Manny Farber passed away August 18, 2008 of bone cancer in Leucadia, California. He was 91.

Jason Statham is the star of the new actioner “Death Race,” a remake of the Roger Corman's cult film. Born in Sydenham, England, Jason Statham was one of the best divers on the British team. He placed third in the Olympic trials on three different occasions, eventually placing 12th in the world.

Distinguishing herself in two diverse roles, this year represents another high in Frances's work. In “Almost Famous,” as a strong-minded college professor and fiercely protective mother of an emerging rock 'n roll journalist, she gave an indelible performance. “Adolescence is a marketing tool,” she told her son, banning him from participating in the irresistible sex-music-drugs subculture. As Michael Douglas's pregnant lover in “Wonder Boys,” Frances plays a college chancellor who's married to the head of English department and Douglas's boss. She excelled again in a quiet, understated performance, showing another facet of her immense talent.