New 40th Anniversary Funding Initiative Invites Viewers To Help Secure the Future of MASTERPIECE BOSTON, Jan.

NBC is developing a U.S.

By Donna Freydkin NEW YORK -- Helen Mirren is comfortable in her own skin, without question. And the British actress, who won an Oscar for playing Elizabeth II in 2006's The Queen, shows plenty of it in her richly illustrated memoir, In the Frame (Atria Books, $35).

By GREG HERNANDEZ For a heady 12-month period beginning in fall 2006, Helen Mirren was winning just about every major acting award there is to give for her knockout performances in "The Queen,""Elizabeth I" and "Prime Suspect: The Final Act." The treasure trove included the Best Actress Oscar, two Emmys, two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nearly every film festival and critic's prize available.

By Tirdad Derakhshani, The Philadelphia Inquirer Mar. 7--Now that the Oscar season is over, let's take a break from big studio flicks and take a gander at a few of the best indie productions.