First look at Shirley MacLaine in Downton Abbey - SPOILER

Elizabeth McGovern introduced the clip of third season Downton Abbey featuring Shirley MacLaine as her mother. There's been lots of anticipation from fans waiting to see Shirley and Maggie Smith on screen together. Will their characters get along? Here's a brief clip from TV Land of their first scene together.

AFI's Shirley MacLaine Tribute: See Her 'Downton Abbey' Debut

Shirley MacLaine on Downton Abbey's success

Shirley MacLaine spoke with The Daily Beast about the success of Downton Abbey.

One question she has been asking herself lately is why she and so many millions are fanatically gripped by the Masterpiece drama, Downton Abbey, in which she was recently cast. The publicity generated by her hiring prompted the producers of Downton to call her agent, ICM’s Jack Gilardi, to thank him.

“She is so professional and very creative,” said Gilardi, who has represented her for 20 years. “She has a great gift understanding people. She knows how to make you tingle.”

She had never seen the series—but after watching the first two seasons, she was hooked. Now, she is muzzled by creator Julian Fellowes’s edict that no one from the cast can talk about Season 3: MacLaine, who will play Martha Levinson, Lady Cora Crawley’s mother, could not offer much insight.

“Why is this a hit? I haven’t come up with the answer,” she said. “I think Maggie Smith is one answer. I liked Upstairs Downstairs, but not like this. It is really worth an examination.”

Downton Abbey Season 3 SPOILER Roundup

There have been rumors and false spoilers adrift for a while now about what's to come in season three of Downton. I've been trying to weed through fact and fiction to compile a comprehensive list of factual spoilers.

Here's what has been confirmed so far:

• Mary & Matthew (Michelle Dockery & Dan Stevens) will be married. (Wedding Shoot Photos)
• Lady Cora's mother (Shirley MacLaine) will provide a cash infusion into the family coffers.
• The Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) detests feeling needy to the American, which will make for some great sparks between them. The shows producer Rebecca Eaton states, “There are some wonderful scenes between Maggie and Shirley MacLaine — Shirley MacLaine being as ditsy as ever, and Maggie barely restraining her sneer in having to deal with this American.”
• The third season will be set during the Roaring 20s.
• There will be a birth and a death. Producer Rebecca Eaton reveals, "Somebody will be born, and somebody will die, somebody pretty key in the cast, unfortunately is not going to make it."
• Dan Stevens and Maggie Smith have yet to sign on for season 4.
• Matt Milne ("War Horse") has been cast as O'Brian's nephew, a new footman named Alfred.
• Ed Speleers has been cast as the second new footman, Jimmy.
• Cara Theobald will play a new kitchen maid named Ivy.
• Lucille Sharp will play Martha Levinson's (Shirley McLaine) lady's maid Miss Reid.

Anything else floating around out there I haven't been able to confirm and therefore won't post.

Follow this site to stay up with the current news. 


The third season of "Downton" premieres in the U.K. in September and in the U.S. in January 2013. 

Sources: Wetpaint.com, socialitelife.com, Digital Spy

Downton Stars talk Shirley MacLaine

The following are from The Press Association.

Downton Joanne: Shirley's such fun

Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt has said Shirley MacLaine was lots of fun to have in the cast.
The Oscar-winning actress will appear in series three as Martha Levinson, the wealthy mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), and has been over in England filming her scenes.

Joanne, who plays housemaid Anna, said: "We haven't worked together but I met her twice on set and she was absolutely lovely.

"She was amazing, everybody loved having her there. She was so much fun to have around, she's really fantastic."

The 31-year-old actress, who usually wears a dowdy maid's outfit in the hit ITV show, was partying at the Empire Film Awards 2012 and admitted she loved being able to dress up.
She said: "I love Anna, and I love playing her and I love my little maid's outfit, but any excuse to dress up and I'm all for it, definitely."

Source

Leech: My moment with MacLaine

(UKPA) – Mar 19, 2012 

Downton Abbey star Allen Leech has confessed he fluffed his lines when Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine turned up on set.
The Irish actor - who plays Branson the chauffeur in the hit ITV1 show - got starstruck when he filmed a scene with the Oscar winner, who will appear in series three as Martha Levinson, the wealthy mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern).

"I sat down and the first line I did with her, it came out as 'Blah blah blah' and she went, 'Darling I think you got that wrong'," Allen revealed.

"She's amazing. Lovely. And so down to earth, which was really brilliant. She arrived on set and she kind of just became part of the cast.

"It's one of those casts where everyone just gets on so well. It's like a big family and when she arrived she just got embraced into it and she went with it, and it was brilliant."

Allen said Shirley got on particularly well with Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Downton's matriarch, the formidable Dowager Countess.

He added: "They got on like a house on fire. They know so many of the same people, they were sitting there swapping stories. Just watching them, there are three Oscars sitting there in front of you, it's amazing."
And the actor insisted he wasn't worried about ratings, despite rival BBC show Upstairs Downstairs experiencing a dip in its new series.

"You can never really think about stuff like that. You can only go on the success you've had before, and given the success we had, we'd love to match it and better it. It comes down to the storylines and I think they're there this year and I think we can do it."

Source

New season 3 Downton Abbey cast members

Ed Speleers has been cast in the new season of Downton Abbey. The Eragon actor will play a footman named Jimmy when the ITV drama returns.

Cara Theobald will play a new kitchen maid called Ivy and Lucille Sharp will play Martha Levinson's (Shirley McLaine) lady's maid Miss Reid (pictured.)

Matt Milne, War Horse star, will play a footman named Alfred, who is O'Brien's nephew.







Source: Digital Spy

Behind the Scenes - Season 3 - SPOILERS

Updated 3/14/12

Shirley MacLaine is pictured filming "Downton Abbey" on February 21, 2012 in London, UK. The 77-year-old actress will be playing Martha Levinson, the mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) in the third season.

Photos by FameFlynet Pictures




More Spoiler News for Season 3

A new footman is coming to Downton Abbey ... one who is very closely connected to O'Brien.
With Thomas likely to become Lord Grantham's valet now that Bates is imprisoned, Downton hires a new footman named Alfred.
Digital Spy reports that Matt Milne (War Horse) will join the cast in Season 3 as Alfred, who also happens to be O'Brien's nephew!

Source: Wetpaint.com



3/9/12

Behind the scenes of the wedding in Season 3:

The cast of Downton Abbey gathered in Oxfordshire, England on March 5th to film the much talked-about wedding scene between Mary and Matthew (cousins, but lovers) for season three.  From the looks of things on the set, it appears that nuptials went on as planned.
Source: socialitelife.com

Photos by FameFlynet Pictures	Is that Shirley MacLaine in that car? I believe so! :)