Gemma Arterton, the British stage and screen star perhaps best known for playing Bond girl Strawberry Fields in “Quantum of Solace,” is set to star in upcoming period adventure thriller “Storm Witch.”
The independent U.K./Ireland co-production, to be directed by David Blair (a BAFTA winner for “Taking Over the Asylum” and “The Street”) from a screenplay by Tristan de Vere Cole, is being launched at the Marche du Film in Cannes later this month, with Myriad Pictures handling pre-sales.
Arterton, who also starred in “The King’s Man” and recently appeared in the Toronto-bowing “The Critic,” will lead a cast that includes Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Kate Dickie (“Prometheus”) Steven Cree (“Outlander”) and Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”). The film is set to be shot later this year, primarily in Ireland.
Set in the 17th century, “Storm Witch” centers on a small coastal community...
The independent U.K./Ireland co-production, to be directed by David Blair (a BAFTA winner for “Taking Over the Asylum” and “The Street”) from a screenplay by Tristan de Vere Cole, is being launched at the Marche du Film in Cannes later this month, with Myriad Pictures handling pre-sales.
Arterton, who also starred in “The King’s Man” and recently appeared in the Toronto-bowing “The Critic,” will lead a cast that includes Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Kate Dickie (“Prometheus”) Steven Cree (“Outlander”) and Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”). The film is set to be shot later this year, primarily in Ireland.
Set in the 17th century, “Storm Witch” centers on a small coastal community...
- 5/1/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
“Close to You” marks a reintroduction for Elliot Page, a screen presence at once warmly familiar and sharply redefined, finally established on his own terms. In his first film role since coming out as a trans man, the actor has evidently brought much of his own identity and experience to this sensitively observed story of a trans man cagily reunited with his family after a five-year period of estrangement. But Page’s performance isn’t moving merely for whatever parallels it might hold to his life: Rather, it’s a reminder of what a deft and perceptive actor he can be, capable of both naked emotional candor and acidic wit — both assets to a script that sometimes errs on the side of caution.
British director Savage is known for his improvisatory collaborations with actors, which recently drew career-best work from Gemma Arterton in the 2017 feature “The Escape,” and extended to the TV project “I Am…...
British director Savage is known for his improvisatory collaborations with actors, which recently drew career-best work from Gemma Arterton in the 2017 feature “The Escape,” and extended to the TV project “I Am…...
- 3/22/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Francesca Orsi Wins Series Mania Award
HBO programing boss Francesca Orsi is to be awarded Series Mania’s Woman In Series Award and will take the stage with Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter at the Lille confab later this month. Orsi, whose slate has included the likes of The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Euphoria, along with Bad Wolf-made shows such as Industry, will speak about her career and the industry during the Tranter chat. She is one of the biggest draws for the Lille event, which takes place in two weeks and is featuring the likes of Patricia Arquette and Narcos showrunner Chris Brancato. “Awarding Francesca Orsi with this award for 2024 was an easy decision and an obvious choice for us,” said Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania founder. “Francesca is a true leader and I am incredibly honored to be presenting her with our award this year.” Last...
HBO programing boss Francesca Orsi is to be awarded Series Mania’s Woman In Series Award and will take the stage with Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter at the Lille confab later this month. Orsi, whose slate has included the likes of The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Euphoria, along with Bad Wolf-made shows such as Industry, will speak about her career and the industry during the Tranter chat. She is one of the biggest draws for the Lille event, which takes place in two weeks and is featuring the likes of Patricia Arquette and Narcos showrunner Chris Brancato. “Awarding Francesca Orsi with this award for 2024 was an easy decision and an obvious choice for us,” said Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania founder. “Francesca is a true leader and I am incredibly honored to be presenting her with our award this year.” Last...
- 3/8/2024
- by Max Goldbart and Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Iceland’s Stockfish Film Festival has announced a new prize, the Eva Maria Daniels Award for Vital Filmmaking, which honors the legacy of the Icelandic filmmaker who died last year. With the support of Daniels’ partner Moritz Diller and son Henry, the festival will honor one standout producer or director in the shorts categories will receive the inaugural award commemorating her achievements and continued contributions to Iceland’s next wave of filmmakers. The prize includes a $1.5 million Icelandic krona award.
Daniels’ credits include “Reality” and “Joe Bell.” The 10th edition of the festival runs April 4-14.
“Eva’s approach to producing was to listen and support undeniable talent,” said her producing partner, Riva Marker, who will oversee the prize committee. “We will never know all the beautiful stories she would bring to audiences, but we’re honored to create an inaugural award endowed to storytellers that we believe Eva would have championed.
Daniels’ credits include “Reality” and “Joe Bell.” The 10th edition of the festival runs April 4-14.
“Eva’s approach to producing was to listen and support undeniable talent,” said her producing partner, Riva Marker, who will oversee the prize committee. “We will never know all the beautiful stories she would bring to audiences, but we’re honored to create an inaugural award endowed to storytellers that we believe Eva would have championed.
- 3/7/2024
- by Jaden Thompson, Caroline Brew and Diego Ramos Bechara
- Variety Film + TV
Applications are now open for the 21st edition of Screen International’s Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland.
The submissions window is open for one month, from March 6 to April 5, 2024.
Applications are open to UK and Irish citizens and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit, but applicants should be at an early stage in their film career, demonstrate exceptional promise and be ready to progress to the next level.
Applicants should use this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot...
The submissions window is open for one month, from March 6 to April 5, 2024.
Applications are open to UK and Irish citizens and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit, but applicants should be at an early stage in their film career, demonstrate exceptional promise and be ready to progress to the next level.
Applicants should use this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot...
- 3/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
Finalists have been announced for the 2024 British Animation Awards, which will take place on March 7 at London’s BFI Southbank.
Contending for best feature film are “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” “A Cat Called Dom,” “Kensuke’s Kingdom,” “Puffin Rock and The New Friends” and “The Amazing Maurice.”
“Christopher at Sea,” “The Debutante” and “All Gucci My Broski” are nominated in the short film category.
Adjoa Andoh, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emilia Clarke, Idris Elba, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander and Hugh Laurie are among the ensemble cast members nominated for best voice performance for “Mog’s Christmas” “The Amazing Maurice” and “The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse.”
Baa also acknowledges achievement in television, with “Tweedy & Fluff,” “The Sound Collector – Harp Strings,” “The Rubbish World of Dave Spud – Moonbreaker” and “Lloyd of the Flies” nominated for best children’s series.
For best original music, composer David Arnold is nominated for “Mog’s Christmas...
Contending for best feature film are “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” “A Cat Called Dom,” “Kensuke’s Kingdom,” “Puffin Rock and The New Friends” and “The Amazing Maurice.”
“Christopher at Sea,” “The Debutante” and “All Gucci My Broski” are nominated in the short film category.
Adjoa Andoh, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emilia Clarke, Idris Elba, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander and Hugh Laurie are among the ensemble cast members nominated for best voice performance for “Mog’s Christmas” “The Amazing Maurice” and “The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse.”
Baa also acknowledges achievement in television, with “Tweedy & Fluff,” “The Sound Collector – Harp Strings,” “The Rubbish World of Dave Spud – Moonbreaker” and “Lloyd of the Flies” nominated for best children’s series.
For best original music, composer David Arnold is nominated for “Mog’s Christmas...
- 2/14/2024
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Funny Woman, the comedy drama based on a character created by Nick Hornby, is back for a second series. Here are the details...
Production is underway on the second series of Funny Woman, the Sky comedy drama based on the 2014 novel by Nick Hornby.
Gemma Arterton stars as a budding comedian inspired by Lucille Ball, who attempts to make a name for herself in the oppressive, male dominated culture of 1960s London. Production is now underway on the second series, which will comprise four hour-long episodes.
The synopsis for the new series reads as follows:
Series 2 finds Sophie on a high. She is the nation’s favourite TV comedy star; she’s got a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise. But trouble is just round the corner: Dennis’s divorce will take three years; Sophie’s new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret.
Production is underway on the second series of Funny Woman, the Sky comedy drama based on the 2014 novel by Nick Hornby.
Gemma Arterton stars as a budding comedian inspired by Lucille Ball, who attempts to make a name for herself in the oppressive, male dominated culture of 1960s London. Production is now underway on the second series, which will comprise four hour-long episodes.
The synopsis for the new series reads as follows:
Series 2 finds Sophie on a high. She is the nation’s favourite TV comedy star; she’s got a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise. But trouble is just round the corner: Dennis’s divorce will take three years; Sophie’s new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret.
- 1/12/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
PBS‘s latest dramedy Funny Woman is sure to delight as the 1960s-set series tells the story of Barbara Parker, played by Gemma Arterton. The network is known for its period dramas and British content, often depicting real-life stories, but is Barbara Parker and Funny Woman‘s story based on a true story? The answer is a resounding no, as the show takes full inspiration from Nick Hornby‘s 2016 novel Funny Girl. In the series, Barbara Parker is a small-town beauty queen who decides to swap her pageant life for comedy television in London. (Credit: © Potboiler Productions; © Sky UK Limited) After landing a gig with a show following a TV audition, Barbara finds herself challenged by the reality of being a woman in a largely male-dominated environment. In the show, Barbara “finds her funny” voice, and redefines the leading attitude toward funny women all while trying to reinvent herself. When...
- 1/5/2024
- TV Insider
In any given year, British TV can be relied on to provide plenty in the way of crime drama, and 2023 was no different. Between these returning series and newcomers A Town Called Malice, Blue Lights, Marlow, Payback, Rebus, Steeltown Murders, The Gold, The Sixth Commandment, Wolf and more, crime continued to flourish on the small screen.
Happily though, that was far from all that UK TV offered this year. There was fantasy too, in the form of Netflix’s South London super-powers drama Supacell, ghost detective series Lockwood & Co., Greek and Roman mythology series Kaos, and sci-fi in Prime Video’s The Rig.
Add to all those the romances, dramas inspired by real-life, and several other book adaptations, period and otherwise plus music-based dramas Champion and This Town, and it was a pretty full slate.
January Stonehouse
Succession‘s Matthew Macfadyen and Crossfire‘s Keeley Hawes star in this three-part ITV drama,...
Happily though, that was far from all that UK TV offered this year. There was fantasy too, in the form of Netflix’s South London super-powers drama Supacell, ghost detective series Lockwood & Co., Greek and Roman mythology series Kaos, and sci-fi in Prime Video’s The Rig.
Add to all those the romances, dramas inspired by real-life, and several other book adaptations, period and otherwise plus music-based dramas Champion and This Town, and it was a pretty full slate.
January Stonehouse
Succession‘s Matthew Macfadyen and Crossfire‘s Keeley Hawes star in this three-part ITV drama,...
- 1/3/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Holiday Streaming
Australian soap “Neighbours” will air episodes through the Christmas holiday and feature a holiday-themed episode arc. These will include the wedding of couple Chloe Brennan and Elly Conway, played by April Rose Pengilly and Jodi Gordon respectively.
“Neighbours” ran for more than three decades and nearly 9,000 episodes before being canceled in 2022 when the show’s primary funder, U.K.’s Channel 5, pulled out. Freevee then picked up the rights from “Neighbours” producer and distributor Fremantle. The new season is a continuation of the long-running daily drama series about the lives, loves and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne.
The new series launched on Sept. 18 this year and picks up two years after the finale left off. The holiday timeline marks the first time in years that “Neighbours” will air continuous new episodes the week of the Dec. 25 and Jan.
Australian soap “Neighbours” will air episodes through the Christmas holiday and feature a holiday-themed episode arc. These will include the wedding of couple Chloe Brennan and Elly Conway, played by April Rose Pengilly and Jodi Gordon respectively.
“Neighbours” ran for more than three decades and nearly 9,000 episodes before being canceled in 2022 when the show’s primary funder, U.K.’s Channel 5, pulled out. Freevee then picked up the rights from “Neighbours” producer and distributor Fremantle. The new season is a continuation of the long-running daily drama series about the lives, loves and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne.
The new series launched on Sept. 18 this year and picks up two years after the finale left off. The holiday timeline marks the first time in years that “Neighbours” will air continuous new episodes the week of the Dec. 25 and Jan.
- 12/18/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Culprits Season 1 Review Out ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
Culprits Season 1 Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Nathan Stewart-Jarret, Gemma Arterton, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Niamh Algar, Kamel El Basha, Tara Abboud, Karl Collins, Vincent Riotta.
Creator: J. Blakeson
Director: Jake Blakeson, Claire Oakley
Streaming On: Star, Disney+, and Hulu.
Language: English
Runtime: 8 Episodes, Around 1 hour each.
Culprits Season 1 Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube ) Culprits Season 1 Review: What’s It About:
Culprits is a new heist TV series debuting on Hulu, Disney+, and Star, depending on the territory. The eight-season episode focuses on the life of David, a man living several lives at the same time. The show splits into two timelines, showing David during two pivotal moments in his life: during a massive heist and after the heist. The series then goes back and forth between the two timelines, and we see that getting out of the game is easier said than done. How did David get to this place?...
Culprits Season 1 Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Nathan Stewart-Jarret, Gemma Arterton, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Niamh Algar, Kamel El Basha, Tara Abboud, Karl Collins, Vincent Riotta.
Creator: J. Blakeson
Director: Jake Blakeson, Claire Oakley
Streaming On: Star, Disney+, and Hulu.
Language: English
Runtime: 8 Episodes, Around 1 hour each.
Culprits Season 1 Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube ) Culprits Season 1 Review: What’s It About:
Culprits is a new heist TV series debuting on Hulu, Disney+, and Star, depending on the territory. The eight-season episode focuses on the life of David, a man living several lives at the same time. The show splits into two timelines, showing David during two pivotal moments in his life: during a massive heist and after the heist. The series then goes back and forth between the two timelines, and we see that getting out of the game is easier said than done. How did David get to this place?...
- 12/10/2023
- by Nelson Acosta
- KoiMoi
Abstract art plays a featured role in the first few episodes of Hulu’s new heist drama Culprits. A Rothko exhibit is the site of an early meeting between two aspiring criminals, and the artist’s canvases are a topic of conversation. A later episode walks through a full room of striking works, a Mondrian here, a Kandinsky there. Nobody discusses the paintings this time, but London is full of places to hold meetings, so this interest on series creator J Blakeson’s part feels more than incidental.
Like many things in Culprits, however, the eye for 20th-century masterworks ends up being more of a red herring than a fascination with substance, a burst of color or geometry to attract the eye more than a point of thematic resonance. Despite a fragmented narrative and a couple of interesting characters, very little in Culprits feels all that modern and nothing so much as flirts with abstraction.
Like many things in Culprits, however, the eye for 20th-century masterworks ends up being more of a red herring than a fascination with substance, a burst of color or geometry to attract the eye more than a point of thematic resonance. Despite a fragmented narrative and a couple of interesting characters, very little in Culprits feels all that modern and nothing so much as flirts with abstraction.
- 12/8/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For nearly a decade, audiences have been entertained by the secret organization known as The Kingsman in director Matthew Vaughn's series of spy movies that began in 2014 with "Kingsman: The Secret Service." Based on writer Mark Millar and artist Dave Gibbons Millarworld comic book series of the same name, Vaughn's movie adaptation was a big hit that spawned a franchise that has, to date, produced three movies — and more could be on the way.
Be it "Kingsman 3," another prequel film, a spin-off of some sort, or even a TV show, Vaughn seems intent on keeping this universe alive. But for those looking to catch up — or perhaps revisit — the series to date, we're here to go over the correct order to watch the movies in the franchise that have already been released. So, if we ever do get more from Taron Egerton's Eggsy or any of...
Be it "Kingsman 3," another prequel film, a spin-off of some sort, or even a TV show, Vaughn seems intent on keeping this universe alive. But for those looking to catch up — or perhaps revisit — the series to date, we're here to go over the correct order to watch the movies in the franchise that have already been released. So, if we ever do get more from Taron Egerton's Eggsy or any of...
- 12/2/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Alfie Allen, Charlie Murphy and Jack Gleeson are to star in a Dutch-Belgian thriller series from Ozark co-creator Mark Williams, Night Train Media and Submarine.
They are starring alongside emerging Dutch star Martijn Lakemeier in the eight-part drama, which is for Dutch streamer Videoland and Belgium’s Streamz.
Production has begun in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with Williams directing along with Arne Toonen, and we hear the ambition is for Safe Harbor to be a returner that aims to balance edge-of-the-seat thrills with character-based stories and a twisty plot line. Further shooting will take place in Belgium and Ireland, Deadline understands.
The series follows gifted hacker Tobias (Allen) and his ambitious best friend Marco (Lakemeier), who are intent on cracking into the tech billionaires club. They are plucked from quiet obscurity and plunged headfirst into...
They are starring alongside emerging Dutch star Martijn Lakemeier in the eight-part drama, which is for Dutch streamer Videoland and Belgium’s Streamz.
Production has begun in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with Williams directing along with Arne Toonen, and we hear the ambition is for Safe Harbor to be a returner that aims to balance edge-of-the-seat thrills with character-based stories and a twisty plot line. Further shooting will take place in Belgium and Ireland, Deadline understands.
The series follows gifted hacker Tobias (Allen) and his ambitious best friend Marco (Lakemeier), who are intent on cracking into the tech billionaires club. They are plucked from quiet obscurity and plunged headfirst into...
- 11/28/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Culprits has an intriguing plot that holds many elements of mystery and thrill together. Directed by J. Blakeson and starring actors like Nathan Stewart, Gemma Arterton, and others, this series can easily be given the position of the director’s magnum opus after steering films like Pitch Perfect, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, and so on. The story builds on the life of Joe Petrus, also known as David, and his past association with the underworld. When his past takes a toll on his picture-perfect present, threatening to ruin it, Joe must take a stand! He makes a vow to make things right for the sake of his family. Will Joe be able to reverse his past mistakes? What are Dianne’s secrets that massacre many people’s lives? We are yet to find the answers to many questions in the first season of Culprits, streaming on Disney+.
Spoilers Ahead...
Spoilers Ahead...
- 11/9/2023
- by Debjyoti Dey
- Film Fugitives
It’s 2010, and Gemma Arterton is describing to Empire Magazine having spent an entire day shooting kidnap thriller The Disappearance of Alice Creed in tears. “Your body’s not supposed to cry that much. It is exhausting.” Martin Compston, her co-star in the crying scene, agrees in earnest and the interviewer jokes off-camera, “So what you’re saying is: feel-good hit of the summer?”
Compston laughs, “Yeah, Disney Channel!” and Arterton repeats the gag, shaking her head at its ridiculousness “Disney Channel!”
13 years, a brand shift and a streaming revolution later, and Disney is now the UK home of The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Disney+ is also the UK home of writer-director J Blakeson’s latest collaboration with Arterton: TV thriller Culprits, which is out on Hulu in the US.
That eight-part series is the story of consequences catching up with the diverse crew who pulled off a mega-money heist years earlier.
Compston laughs, “Yeah, Disney Channel!” and Arterton repeats the gag, shaking her head at its ridiculousness “Disney Channel!”
13 years, a brand shift and a streaming revolution later, and Disney is now the UK home of The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Disney+ is also the UK home of writer-director J Blakeson’s latest collaboration with Arterton: TV thriller Culprits, which is out on Hulu in the US.
That eight-part series is the story of consequences catching up with the diverse crew who pulled off a mega-money heist years earlier.
- 11/8/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: The first call Stephen Garrett made after acquiring the rights to suspense-fuelled book Culprits: The Heist Was Just the Beginning was to writer and director J Blakeson, who he hailed as “the real deal.”
Blakeson “has seen every crime movie and thriller. You can’t catch him out really,” Garrett pronounced sagely. He was ideal, then, to write and direct the TV adaptation of the multi-layered, heart-stopping anthology, edited by Richard Brewer and Gary Phillips.
The result is Culprits, an eight-part thriller starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in a career-changing role, and Gemma Arterton, about the maelstrom that swirls after a gang of ruthless thieves pull off an ingenious heist.
Disney+ streams Culprits in the UK and Ireland on November 8 and in the U.S. on December 8 on Hulu. Garrett is executive producer, as are showrunner, writer and director Blakeson, and Johanna Devereaux. It’s produced by Morenike Williams.
The two men had met 14 years ago,...
Blakeson “has seen every crime movie and thriller. You can’t catch him out really,” Garrett pronounced sagely. He was ideal, then, to write and direct the TV adaptation of the multi-layered, heart-stopping anthology, edited by Richard Brewer and Gary Phillips.
The result is Culprits, an eight-part thriller starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in a career-changing role, and Gemma Arterton, about the maelstrom that swirls after a gang of ruthless thieves pull off an ingenious heist.
Disney+ streams Culprits in the UK and Ireland on November 8 and in the U.S. on December 8 on Hulu. Garrett is executive producer, as are showrunner, writer and director Blakeson, and Johanna Devereaux. It’s produced by Morenike Williams.
The two men had met 14 years ago,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Year 10, the directorial feature debut of Brit filmmaker Ben Goodger, has wrapped production and is now set to make its market debut at the AFM, where Archstone Entertainment will be handling sales after having acquired worldwide rights.
The apocalyptic adventure is set 10 years after the fall of civilization, with the environment having become hostile and dangerous and cannibalism the only option for humanity’s dwindling survivors. When a violent tribe murders his father and steals the medicine keeping his girlfriend alive, Jake must embark on a treacherous journey battling the elements, packs of vicious wild dogs and the cannibal group or else lose the only thing he has left.
Year 10 comes from U.K. production outfit Bk Studios and is produced by the late Bill Kenwright (Cheri, Another Mother’s Son) and executive produced by David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter) and Naomi George (My Pure Land). Scott Martin, Michael Slifkin and...
The apocalyptic adventure is set 10 years after the fall of civilization, with the environment having become hostile and dangerous and cannibalism the only option for humanity’s dwindling survivors. When a violent tribe murders his father and steals the medicine keeping his girlfriend alive, Jake must embark on a treacherous journey battling the elements, packs of vicious wild dogs and the cannibal group or else lose the only thing he has left.
Year 10 comes from U.K. production outfit Bk Studios and is produced by the late Bill Kenwright (Cheri, Another Mother’s Son) and executive produced by David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter) and Naomi George (My Pure Land). Scott Martin, Michael Slifkin and...
- 10/30/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mister Smith Entertainment has hired Augusta Charlton as director, international sales and acquisitions.
Charlton will attend next week’s American Film Market, where Mister Smith’s slate includes “Greedy People,” a darkly comic crime thriller in the vein of the Coen Brothers, from the producers of “Palm Springs,” and featuring an ensemble cast including Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Himesh Patel and Tim Blake Nelson; “Joey Lauren Adams” from director Potsy Ponciroli (“Old Henry”); and the contemporary romantic comedy adaptation of Goethe’s 1774 novel “Young Werther,” starring Douglas Booth, Alison Pill, Patrick J. Adams and Iris Apatow, written and directed by José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço.
Charlton joins the company from Great Point Media, where she was an associate director in their investments team. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Gpm representing them at international markets.
Charlton started her entertainment career in development and production working for CrossDay Productions and BBC Studios,...
Charlton will attend next week’s American Film Market, where Mister Smith’s slate includes “Greedy People,” a darkly comic crime thriller in the vein of the Coen Brothers, from the producers of “Palm Springs,” and featuring an ensemble cast including Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Himesh Patel and Tim Blake Nelson; “Joey Lauren Adams” from director Potsy Ponciroli (“Old Henry”); and the contemporary romantic comedy adaptation of Goethe’s 1774 novel “Young Werther,” starring Douglas Booth, Alison Pill, Patrick J. Adams and Iris Apatow, written and directed by José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço.
Charlton joins the company from Great Point Media, where she was an associate director in their investments team. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Gpm representing them at international markets.
Charlton started her entertainment career in development and production working for CrossDay Productions and BBC Studios,...
- 10/27/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Mister Smith Entertainment has hired Augusta Charlton as Director, International Sales & Acquisitions.
Charlton joins the company from Great Point Media (Gpm), where she was an Associate Director in their Investments team, responsible for sourcing and structuring film and TV production finance opportunities in the UK and international markets. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Gpm, representing the company at international markets. Charlton started her entertainment career in development and production, working for CrossDay Productions and BBC Studios.
During her previous tenure at Gpm, Charlton oversaw multiple film projects, including Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City; the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Scrapper, starring Harris Dickinson; Blue Jean, starring Rosy McEwen, who won the Best Lead Performance Award for the film at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards; and Rogue Agent starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton.
Charlton’s first sales market for Mister Smith Entertainment will be the upcoming AFM,...
Charlton joins the company from Great Point Media (Gpm), where she was an Associate Director in their Investments team, responsible for sourcing and structuring film and TV production finance opportunities in the UK and international markets. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Gpm, representing the company at international markets. Charlton started her entertainment career in development and production, working for CrossDay Productions and BBC Studios.
During her previous tenure at Gpm, Charlton oversaw multiple film projects, including Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City; the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Scrapper, starring Harris Dickinson; Blue Jean, starring Rosy McEwen, who won the Best Lead Performance Award for the film at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards; and Rogue Agent starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton.
Charlton’s first sales market for Mister Smith Entertainment will be the upcoming AFM,...
- 10/27/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney+ has revealed the official trailer for Character 7’s upcoming UK original darkly comic crime series ‘Culprits.’
The eight-episode series kicks off where most crime stories end: after a high-stakes heist, when the crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind. Past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one. Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem, and will they be able to find one another in time to protect themselves and the people they love?
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Gemma Arterton, Kirby (“Cruella” “The Good Place”), Niamh Algar, Kamel El Basha (“The Insult”), Tara Abboud, Kevin Vidal, Ned Dennehy, and Eddie Izzard star.
‘Culprits’ is executive produced by Stephen Garrett & J Blakeson, created by J Blakeson, directed by J Blakeson and Claire Oakley (“Make up”) and produced by Morenike Williams (“Killing Eve”). Culprits...
The eight-episode series kicks off where most crime stories end: after a high-stakes heist, when the crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind. Past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one. Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem, and will they be able to find one another in time to protect themselves and the people they love?
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Gemma Arterton, Kirby (“Cruella” “The Good Place”), Niamh Algar, Kamel El Basha (“The Insult”), Tara Abboud, Kevin Vidal, Ned Dennehy, and Eddie Izzard star.
‘Culprits’ is executive produced by Stephen Garrett & J Blakeson, created by J Blakeson, directed by J Blakeson and Claire Oakley (“Make up”) and produced by Morenike Williams (“Killing Eve”). Culprits...
- 10/24/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Series creator J Blakeson enjoys heist films but wanted to do something different with the subgenre. The trailer for Hulu’s Culprits shows that he did just that, setting the story years after a heist when the robbers have put their former criminal ways behind them and have established new lives.
“Heists have been done so many times, the great thing about this is that you can sort of play in that sandbox with the tropes and the expectations and the iconography of the heist, but actually tell a story, which is much more about these people who are dealing with this bad thing they’ve done and the consequences of their actions and trying to escape who they were and are trying to become a person who they’d like to be,” said Blakeson in an interview with Variety.
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Candyman) and Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man) lead...
“Heists have been done so many times, the great thing about this is that you can sort of play in that sandbox with the tropes and the expectations and the iconography of the heist, but actually tell a story, which is much more about these people who are dealing with this bad thing they’ve done and the consequences of their actions and trying to escape who they were and are trying to become a person who they’d like to be,” said Blakeson in an interview with Variety.
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Candyman) and Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man) lead...
- 10/24/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Director J Blakeson worked with Gemma Arterton on the former's film directing debut, :a[The Disappearance Of Alice Creed]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/disappearance-alice-creed-review/' }, and that worked okay for him — he's had a healthy career ever since. So you can imagine that they were looking for a way to collaborate again, and now they've found it via new crime thriller Culprits, which will be out via Disney+ in the UK and Hulu across the pond. The first trailer for the show has dropped and you can see it below:
Culprits, as the synopsis explains, kicks off where most crime stories end: after a high-stakes heist, when the crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind. Past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one. Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem,...
Culprits, as the synopsis explains, kicks off where most crime stories end: after a high-stakes heist, when the crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind. Past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one. Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem,...
- 10/23/2023
- by James White
- Empire - TV
The Hulu Original Series Culprits is set to begin streaming on the Hulu service on Friday, December 8th, and all eight episodes of the show will be available to binge on that date. With a little over a month left to go before we reach the release date, a trailer for the series has arrived online and you can check it out in the embed above! Wikipedia notes Culprits will also be released “on Star via Disney+ in several countries around the world as a Star Original.”
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (the Candyman reboot), Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves), Kirby (a.k.a. Kirby Howell-Baptiste of The Good Place), Kamel El Basha (The Insult), Tara Abboud (Amira), Kevin Vidal (Working Moms), Ned Dennehy (Good Omens), and Eddie Izzard (Six Minutes to Midnight) lead the cast of Culprits, which has the following synopsis:
Culprits kicks off where most...
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (the Candyman reboot), Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves), Kirby (a.k.a. Kirby Howell-Baptiste of The Good Place), Kamel El Basha (The Insult), Tara Abboud (Amira), Kevin Vidal (Working Moms), Ned Dennehy (Good Omens), and Eddie Izzard (Six Minutes to Midnight) lead the cast of Culprits, which has the following synopsis:
Culprits kicks off where most...
- 10/23/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
"If we fight, we die. If we run, we die." Hulu has unveiled an official trailer for a crime comedy series titled Culprits, made in England for Disney UK. It's the latest creation from filmmaker J Blakeson, best known for his films The Disappearance of Alice Creed, The 5th Wave, and I Care a Lot previously. After a heist, the crew have gone their separate ways, but now, they are being targeted by a killer one-by-one. Culprits kicks off where most crime stories end: after a high-stakes heist, when the crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways. Past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them. Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem, and will they be able to find one another in time to protect themselves and the people they love? The 8-episode UK dark comedy series stars Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Gemma Arterton,...
- 10/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Filmmaker J. Blakeson, the writer/director of the acclaimed elder scam dark comedy “I Care A Lot” starring Rosamund Pike, is back with a brand new series focusing on high-stakes heists taking place in England. “Culprits” brings the dark humor that Blakeson is known for, with a mix of known and new faces leading the Hulu series. The streamer has dropped a new trailer for Blakeson’s upcoming series (see below) and gives us a good idea of what to expect from the inventive take on the criminal underworld.
Continue reading ‘Culprits’ Trailer: J. Blakeson’s Hulu Dark Comedy Crime Series Stars Gemma Arterton & Debuts December 8 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Culprits’ Trailer: J. Blakeson’s Hulu Dark Comedy Crime Series Stars Gemma Arterton & Debuts December 8 at The Playlist.
- 10/23/2023
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
“Candyman” star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and “The Prince of Persia’s” Gemma Arterton find themselves battling a mysterious assassin in the first trailer for Disney+ U.K. original series “Culprits,” which drops in the U.K. and Ireland on Disney+ on Nov. 8 and in the U.S. on Dec. 8 on Hulu.
The series, from filmmaker J Blakeson (“I Care A Lot”) tells the story of a group of elite reformed criminals who have left their old, bad selves behind. Just when they thought they could start afresh, a ruthless mystery assassin turns up to pick them off one by one — and they begin to realize not everyone is willing to let the past go.
“Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem and will they be able to find one another in time to protect themselves and the people they love?” reads the logline.
The eight-part series from Character...
The series, from filmmaker J Blakeson (“I Care A Lot”) tells the story of a group of elite reformed criminals who have left their old, bad selves behind. Just when they thought they could start afresh, a ruthless mystery assassin turns up to pick them off one by one — and they begin to realize not everyone is willing to let the past go.
“Why are they being stalked, who is behind the mayhem and will they be able to find one another in time to protect themselves and the people they love?” reads the logline.
The eight-part series from Character...
- 10/23/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Director Matthew Vaughn’s 2021 The King’s Man, which served as a prequel to his films Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, only made $121 million at the global box office on a budget that was in the range of $100 million, so you might not expect it to get a follow-up. It was written off as a bomb… until it got a lot of views on the Disney+ streaming service. Thanks to those streaming views, Vaughn confirmed during an interview with Collider that he intends to make a sequel to The King’s Man. He doesn’t know yet if it’s going to turn out to be a film or a TV series, he does know exactly what the story is. It’s going to deal with the rise of Hitler, and the title is The Traitor King.
Set during World War I, The King’s Man had the following...
Set during World War I, The King’s Man had the following...
- 10/17/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
David Yates Set For Raindance Icon Award
David Yates is set to receive the Raindance Film Festival’s Icon Award. The Harry Potter filmmaker will receive the award at the festival’s Opening Gala party on October 25. Yates grew up in St. Helens, Merseyside. He won his first BAFTA Award for the BBC miniseries The Way We Live Now, starring Matthew Macfadyen and Shirley Henderson. Yates went on to helm the last four of the blockbuster Harry Potter films. “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over thirty years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers, and directors, from all over the world,” Yates said. “Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired, and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honor to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of...
David Yates is set to receive the Raindance Film Festival’s Icon Award. The Harry Potter filmmaker will receive the award at the festival’s Opening Gala party on October 25. Yates grew up in St. Helens, Merseyside. He won his first BAFTA Award for the BBC miniseries The Way We Live Now, starring Matthew Macfadyen and Shirley Henderson. Yates went on to helm the last four of the blockbuster Harry Potter films. “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over thirty years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers, and directors, from all over the world,” Yates said. “Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired, and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honor to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of...
- 10/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Director David Yates, who is best known for directing the last four films in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise all the way from ‘Order of the Phoenix’ to ‘The Deathly Hallows Part 2’, is set receive the Raindance Icon Award for his work in the film franchise as well as his contributions to cinema.
Talking on receiving the award, Yates said, quoted by ‘ Variety’, “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over 30 years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers and directors, from all over the world.
“Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honour to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of this year’s latest generation of storytellers,” he added.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave,...
Talking on receiving the award, Yates said, quoted by ‘ Variety’, “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over 30 years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers and directors, from all over the world.
“Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honour to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of this year’s latest generation of storytellers,” he added.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Director David Yates, who is best known for directing the last four films in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise all the way from ‘Order of the Phoenix’ to ‘The Deathly Hallows Part 2’, is set receive the Raindance Icon Award for his work in the film franchise as well as his contributions to cinema.
Talking on receiving the award, Yates said, quoted by ‘ Variety’, “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over 30 years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers and directors, from all over the world.
“Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honour to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of this year’s latest generation of storytellers,” he added.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave,...
Talking on receiving the award, Yates said, quoted by ‘ Variety’, “The Raindance Festival has been part of our filmmaking landscape for over 30 years, championing and showcasing the work of emerging writers, producers and directors, from all over the world.
“Elliot and his team have encouraged, inspired and helped educate so many along the way, including me, and it’s an honour to be the recipient of a Raindance Icon Award as we celebrate and enjoy the work of this year’s latest generation of storytellers,” he added.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
British filmmaker David Yates, known for his extensive work across the “Harry Potter” universe, will be the 2023 recipient of the Raindance Icon Award.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, Gemma Arterton, Michael Caine, Sally Hawkins, Jude Law, Olivia Colman, Terry Gilliam, Guy Richie and Ken Loach.
Yates won his first BAFTA for BBC miniseries “The Way We Live Now” (2002) and the Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for “State of Play” (2003). In 2004, Yates directed “Sex Traffic,” winning another BAFTA.
The filmmaker then directed the the last four of the “Harry Potter” films, culminating in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” In 2016, he directed the action adventure “The Legend of Tarzan” and then returned to J.K. Rowling’s world of wizards with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” the same year. “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018 and “The Secrets of Dumbledore” in 2022 followed.
Previous recipients of the Raindance Film Festival award include Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, Gemma Arterton, Michael Caine, Sally Hawkins, Jude Law, Olivia Colman, Terry Gilliam, Guy Richie and Ken Loach.
Yates won his first BAFTA for BBC miniseries “The Way We Live Now” (2002) and the Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for “State of Play” (2003). In 2004, Yates directed “Sex Traffic,” winning another BAFTA.
The filmmaker then directed the the last four of the “Harry Potter” films, culminating in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” In 2016, he directed the action adventure “The Legend of Tarzan” and then returned to J.K. Rowling’s world of wizards with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” the same year. “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018 and “The Secrets of Dumbledore” in 2022 followed.
- 10/3/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve has ably demonstrated that a catty feud between theater critics and actresses is crackling subject matter for witty, adult entertainment. Anand Tucker’s The Critic follows a similar premise and, auspiciously, recruited playwright Patrick Marber––a well-known luminary of the British theater scene––to pen a script packed with sharp, acerbic dialog. This, still, is not half-enough. In its quest to surprise audiences, The Critic jumps down too many rabbit holes, progressively losing all semblance of plausibility or insight it might’ve otherwise yielded.
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
- 9/22/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Updated with latest: The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicked off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that included world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
- 9/18/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury, Valerie Complex, Pete Hammond, Todd McCarthy and Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The critic of The Critic is the type who might occasionally exist in real life, but seems to loom far larger in fictional tales by artists who evidently have little love for the profession. As played by Ian McKellen, Jimmy Erskine is an erudite brute. Whatever love he once held for the theater is less apparent these days than the savage delight he takes in ripping performers and productions to shreds, and the satisfaction he takes in the status and influence afforded him by his job.
The Critic, directed by Anand Tucker, is the story of how far he’ll go when that position is threatened. Given that the film is scripted by Patrick Marber (of Closer and Notes on a Scandal), it’s little surprise he’ll go very far indeed. And given that he’s performed by McKellen, it’s safe to bet on a ferocious lead turn.
The Critic, directed by Anand Tucker, is the story of how far he’ll go when that position is threatened. Given that the film is scripted by Patrick Marber (of Closer and Notes on a Scandal), it’s little surprise he’ll go very far indeed. And given that he’s performed by McKellen, it’s safe to bet on a ferocious lead turn.
- 9/15/2023
- by Angie Han
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you want to give a great actor a role he can sink his teeth into with almost unseemly glee, there can’t be many better ways than to cast him as a critic in a period melodrama. That, at least, seems to be the idea behind “The Critic,” Anand Tucker’s tale of a nefarious theater reviewer in 1930s London starring Ian McKellen as the kind of awful person who must have been a lot of fun to play.
It is not, perhaps, a role that would challenge the magnificent McKellen much, but who needs a challenge when you can spit out viciously witty bon mots while wearing fancy duds and being lit at all times for maximum dramatic effect? And while McKellen’s Jimmy Erskine is a villain to remember, he isn’t a one-dimensional baddie. He’s a proudly gay man who can be arrested for who...
It is not, perhaps, a role that would challenge the magnificent McKellen much, but who needs a challenge when you can spit out viciously witty bon mots while wearing fancy duds and being lit at all times for maximum dramatic effect? And while McKellen’s Jimmy Erskine is a villain to remember, he isn’t a one-dimensional baddie. He’s a proudly gay man who can be arrested for who...
- 9/11/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The actor makes a convincing big screen comeback as a man visiting his family for the first time since transitioning, but effective moments are offset by clunkiness
Dominic Savage’s work tends to focus on people, usually women, facing some form of disruptive challenge to their everyday life, specific and stressful and never anything but utterly believable. He drew out Gemma Arterton’s greatest performance in 2017’s Toronto premiere The Escape as a deeply unsettled woman wanting out of her responsibilities as wife and mother. His Channel 4 anthology series I Am… has introduced a range of characters at an intersection, from a devastating Vicky McClure grappling with her partner’s emotional abuse to recent Bafta winner Kate Winslet as a mother struggling with a daughter crippled by social media addiction. His preference for often mundane naturalism, with dialogue usually improvised, has teased out grounded, unshowy performances and unusual, instinctive...
Dominic Savage’s work tends to focus on people, usually women, facing some form of disruptive challenge to their everyday life, specific and stressful and never anything but utterly believable. He drew out Gemma Arterton’s greatest performance in 2017’s Toronto premiere The Escape as a deeply unsettled woman wanting out of her responsibilities as wife and mother. His Channel 4 anthology series I Am… has introduced a range of characters at an intersection, from a devastating Vicky McClure grappling with her partner’s emotional abuse to recent Bafta winner Kate Winslet as a mother struggling with a daughter crippled by social media addiction. His preference for often mundane naturalism, with dialogue usually improvised, has teased out grounded, unshowy performances and unusual, instinctive...
- 9/10/2023
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Sam (Elliot Page) has been dreading this day for weeks, maybe entire years: The young trans man is heading home for a long-delayed family visit, back to the sleepy Canadian suburb he fled years earlier, this time more fully himself than ever, even if his own flesh and blood are — at least, he suspects — loathe to fully accept him as he is. And who is he?
In “Close to You,” we eventually learn that Sam is on a delayed calendar, stunted by the years he spent struggling before his somewhat recent transition, though crisper details are harder to come by. At one point, he mentions off-handedly that he graduated high school nearly twenty years ago (Page turned 36 a few weeks after production on the film wrapped), but he’s living a life closer to that of someone who just graduated. He lives in a friend’s house, he’s finding...
In “Close to You,” we eventually learn that Sam is on a delayed calendar, stunted by the years he spent struggling before his somewhat recent transition, though crisper details are harder to come by. At one point, he mentions off-handedly that he graduated high school nearly twenty years ago (Page turned 36 a few weeks after production on the film wrapped), but he’s living a life closer to that of someone who just graduated. He lives in a friend’s house, he’s finding...
- 9/10/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
This critic might want to look for a different job.
The prospect of seeing the great Ian McKellen take on the role of one of London’s most august theater critics of the 1930s must have looked tantalizing on paper, but sadly this is a show that deserved to close out of town. Despite a colorful central character who could have knowledgeably and amusingly navigated a cruise through the dynamic theatrical scene close to a century ago, The Critic unaccountably shifts its focus away from McKellen’s Jimmy Erskin, who entertainingly dominates the film at the start, and onto a group of characters who are almost entirely uninteresting; there’s not even much juicy inside stuff about the legit theater at an exciting time for it. Given the setting, period and endless possibilities of the material, this is a major disappointment, a drag of the first order.
The only scenes...
The prospect of seeing the great Ian McKellen take on the role of one of London’s most august theater critics of the 1930s must have looked tantalizing on paper, but sadly this is a show that deserved to close out of town. Despite a colorful central character who could have knowledgeably and amusingly navigated a cruise through the dynamic theatrical scene close to a century ago, The Critic unaccountably shifts its focus away from McKellen’s Jimmy Erskin, who entertainingly dominates the film at the start, and onto a group of characters who are almost entirely uninteresting; there’s not even much juicy inside stuff about the legit theater at an exciting time for it. Given the setting, period and endless possibilities of the material, this is a major disappointment, a drag of the first order.
The only scenes...
- 9/10/2023
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
By the time I’m 84 years old, I would hope that I’ve been retired for some time, but that’s not something Ian McKellen is considering.
While speaking with Variety, Ian McKellen said that while he’s constantly reminded of his mortality, he’s in no hurry to quit acting. “Retire to do what?” McKellen said. “I’ve never been out of work, but I’m aware that any minute now something could happen to me which could prevent me from ever working again. But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldn’t I carry on? I really feel I’m quite good at this acting thing now.“
Related Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: The Batman, Gandalf, King Kong, Pulp Fiction, Robocop
Although Ian McKellen isn’t considering retiring, he says that a critic who attended previews of his recent stage...
While speaking with Variety, Ian McKellen said that while he’s constantly reminded of his mortality, he’s in no hurry to quit acting. “Retire to do what?” McKellen said. “I’ve never been out of work, but I’m aware that any minute now something could happen to me which could prevent me from ever working again. But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldn’t I carry on? I really feel I’m quite good at this acting thing now.“
Related Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: The Batman, Gandalf, King Kong, Pulp Fiction, Robocop
Although Ian McKellen isn’t considering retiring, he says that a critic who attended previews of his recent stage...
- 9/9/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Sir Ian McKellen nearly missed out on the role of Gandalf in 'The Lord of the Rings'.The legendary actor has revealed that he was not the first choice to play the wizard in the fantasy franchise and only landed the part because Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Sean Connery rejected the opportunity.Ian told Variety: "I don't think you're ever the first choice, I certainly wasn't the first choice for Gandalf."Tony Hopkins turned it down. Sean Connery certainly did. They're all coming out of the woodwork now, and I hope they feel silly."McKellen's latest role is the acerbic theatre reviewer Jimmy Erskine in 'The Critic' and the six-time Olivier Award winner relished playing an antagonistic character.The 84-year-old star said: "Often the devil has the best tunes and the best lines, and it's fun to play an outrageous man who clearly has some emotional problems.
- 9/8/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
When it comes to a career that’s netted him two Oscar nominations, a Tony, six Olivier Awards and a reputation as one of the preeminent Shakespearean actors of his generation, Ian McKellen usually has critics exhausting the superlatives. But he’s not immune to the rare bruising notice, and when that happens, he calls his friends.
“The best thing is to let everyone know that I’ve read it and they needn’t pussyfoot around it,” he says. “I know that I’ve been chastised.”
For his latest role in “The Critic,” it’s McKellen who is delivering the blistering assessments as Jimmy Erskine, an acid-tongued theater reviewer who yields a corrosive influence over a struggling actress named Nina Land, played by Gemma Arterton. He’s a Mephistophelian figure — one who exchanged his moral compass for great orchestra seats.
Alfred Enoch and Ian McKellen in “The Critic”
“Often the...
“The best thing is to let everyone know that I’ve read it and they needn’t pussyfoot around it,” he says. “I know that I’ve been chastised.”
For his latest role in “The Critic,” it’s McKellen who is delivering the blistering assessments as Jimmy Erskine, an acid-tongued theater reviewer who yields a corrosive influence over a struggling actress named Nina Land, played by Gemma Arterton. He’s a Mephistophelian figure — one who exchanged his moral compass for great orchestra seats.
Alfred Enoch and Ian McKellen in “The Critic”
“Often the...
- 9/7/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Daddio, Lee, Boy Kills World, North Star, Woman Of The Hour, Hell Of A Summer among TIFF picks.
Kate Winslet as war photographer Lee Miller, Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn in a taxi cab, and Ewan McGregor in the story of estranged siblings trying to coax their mother out of a furniture store sofa are just some of the storylines of acquisition titles screening at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
This year’s selection boasts a number of feature directorial debuts from Anna Kendrick, Kristin Scott Thomas, Chris Pine, and Finn Wolfhard, as well as sophomore outings by Michael Keaton and Viggo Mortensen.
Kate Winslet as war photographer Lee Miller, Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn in a taxi cab, and Ewan McGregor in the story of estranged siblings trying to coax their mother out of a furniture store sofa are just some of the storylines of acquisition titles screening at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
This year’s selection boasts a number of feature directorial debuts from Anna Kendrick, Kristin Scott Thomas, Chris Pine, and Finn Wolfhard, as well as sophomore outings by Michael Keaton and Viggo Mortensen.
- 9/7/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Quantum of Solace is one of the most divisive movies in the James Bond franchise. The contentious Bond entry was intended to be a direct sequel to 2006’s Casino Royale, successfully launching Daniel Craig as the new 007. Still, in a rush to get it into theaters within two years of that movie, the budget ballooned to make it the costliest film in the series up to that point. It didn’t help that it was filmed during a writer’s strike (history repeats itself) and had a director in Marc Forster, who had never made a film of this scale before. When it came out, the short length (106 minutes) and Bourne-style action scenes were criticized, with many saying the film was a mind-numbing mess. Plus, there was a wimpy villain, a Bond girl with no romantic relationship with 007, and a theme song people mostly hated.
Despite the film’s failure...
Despite the film’s failure...
- 9/6/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Gala screenings include ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’, ‘The Holdovers’ and ‘Nyad’.
Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, David Fincher’s The Killer and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla are among the titles screening at the 67th BFI London Film Festival.
The selection comprises 171 features, up from last year’s 164, and includes 14 world premieres, six international and 22 European.
This year’s festival marks the first edition under new director Kristy Matheson who officially took over the role from Tricia Tuttle in April. Matheson has kept the size and structure largely unchanged with thematic strands all still in place.
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Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, David Fincher’s The Killer and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla are among the titles screening at the 67th BFI London Film Festival.
The selection comprises 171 features, up from last year’s 164, and includes 14 world premieres, six international and 22 European.
This year’s festival marks the first edition under new director Kristy Matheson who officially took over the role from Tricia Tuttle in April. Matheson has kept the size and structure largely unchanged with thematic strands all still in place.
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- 8/31/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Jeymes Samuel’s sophomore feature The Book of Clarence, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki are among the titles that have been announced within the full lineup of the British Film Institute’s (BFI) 67th London Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list.
The Book of Clarence, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Lakeith Stanfield, and David Oyelowo will screen at London as a World Premiere. Running October 4-15, Lff will feature 29 World Premieres, seven International Premieres (six features and one short), and 30 European Premieres.
Eye-grabbing entries from today’s launch include headline gala screenings of May December by Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest feature Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and The Killer by David Fincher, the last three which make their way to London after debuts on the Lido.
The Book of Clarence, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Lakeith Stanfield, and David Oyelowo will screen at London as a World Premiere. Running October 4-15, Lff will feature 29 World Premieres, seven International Premieres (six features and one short), and 30 European Premieres.
Eye-grabbing entries from today’s launch include headline gala screenings of May December by Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest feature Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and The Killer by David Fincher, the last three which make their way to London after debuts on the Lido.
- 8/31/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
What does it mean to be one of the “hottest” or “buzziest” titles in a film festival sales market if there’s no stars drum up that excitement? Or if there’s little likelihood of an all-night bidding war by a streamer spending in the 7-figures to land their next Oscar contender?
As we reported earlier today, those are all ways in which the strike threatens to weigh on the film markets at Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. A handful of those films are directorial debuts by famous actors-turned-filmmakers, and some even have interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA that will let them promote. But all these films should stand on their own merits and could catch the eyes of the many non-amptp distributors that need creative ways to fill out their slates.
In part because of the strikes, the Venice and TIFF slates are loaded with independent movies without U.S. distribution,...
As we reported earlier today, those are all ways in which the strike threatens to weigh on the film markets at Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. A handful of those films are directorial debuts by famous actors-turned-filmmakers, and some even have interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA that will let them promote. But all these films should stand on their own merits and could catch the eyes of the many non-amptp distributors that need creative ways to fill out their slates.
In part because of the strikes, the Venice and TIFF slates are loaded with independent movies without U.S. distribution,...
- 8/28/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Slotherhouse is a horror comedy film directed by Matthew Goodhue from a screenplay by Bradley Fowler and Cadey Lanigan. The film follows the story of Emily Young (Lisa Ambalavanar), a high school who wants to be the sorority’s president in order to get votes she adopts a cute sloth as a mascot for her campaign but things go totally batshit when the sloth is implicated in multiple fatalities. So, if you loved Slotherhouse here are some similar movies you could check out next.
Child’s Play (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – MGM
Synopsis: A contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic, Child’s Play follows Karen (Aubrey Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll, unaware of its more sinister nature.
Sorority Row (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Summit Entertainment
Synopsis: It’s all fun and games until someone gets stabbed with a tire iron. When...
Child’s Play (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – MGM
Synopsis: A contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic, Child’s Play follows Karen (Aubrey Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll, unaware of its more sinister nature.
Sorority Row (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Summit Entertainment
Synopsis: It’s all fun and games until someone gets stabbed with a tire iron. When...
- 8/28/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
The Daniel Craig era of James Bond movies started strong with Martin Campbell's "Casino Royale" in 2006. Audiences reacted incredibly well to the gruffer, more brutal version of the character, as he fit handily into the world's post-9/11 political hopelessness. A dandyish cartoon James Bond did not fit into the zeitgeist of the '00s, and the character became Dionysian and brutish rather than Apollonian and refined.
The Craig Bond films also introduced a novel concept into the franchise: each film was a direct sequel of the one that preceded it. Ordinarily, Bond films stood on their own, not requiring much knowledge of the films that came before. Now, bad guys could be set up in one picture only to pay off in a later chapter.
Sam Mendes' 2015 film "Spectre" was a prime example of this. Throughout the preceding three movies, James Bond discovered increasingly suspicious clues that a massive...
The Craig Bond films also introduced a novel concept into the franchise: each film was a direct sequel of the one that preceded it. Ordinarily, Bond films stood on their own, not requiring much knowledge of the films that came before. Now, bad guys could be set up in one picture only to pay off in a later chapter.
Sam Mendes' 2015 film "Spectre" was a prime example of this. Throughout the preceding three movies, James Bond discovered increasingly suspicious clues that a massive...
- 8/27/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The contracts would include requesting productions put sustainable practices in place
Over 100 high-profile actors, including Mark Rylance, Hayley Atwell, David Harewood and Bill Nighy, have signed their support for Equity’s ‘Green Rider’ plan, which aims to boost sustainability in UK film and TV production.
The proposed Green Rider can be added to actors’ contracts in order to state their own sustainability commitments, and to negotiate bolder sustainability standards on set before accepting a job.
For actors, this would mean avoiding clauses in contracts that consume a lot of materials and carbon, like private jets, while they could also request...
Over 100 high-profile actors, including Mark Rylance, Hayley Atwell, David Harewood and Bill Nighy, have signed their support for Equity’s ‘Green Rider’ plan, which aims to boost sustainability in UK film and TV production.
The proposed Green Rider can be added to actors’ contracts in order to state their own sustainability commitments, and to negotiate bolder sustainability standards on set before accepting a job.
For actors, this would mean avoiding clauses in contracts that consume a lot of materials and carbon, like private jets, while they could also request...
- 8/22/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
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