Benjamin Rigby (photo credit: Amelia Dowd).
Melbourne-based actor Benjamin Rigby has a solid list of credits, from Neighbours to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to The Secret River, but none of them are quite like his next gig - on Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, currently gearing up to shoot at Fox Studios.
"It's pretty insane", Rigby told If on the line from Melbourne.
"I've known since January, and it has been exceptionally difficult to keep it quiet. My mum and my workplace had to know, but it's been hard" (laughs).
Rigby has worked at Melbourne's Cinema Nova for six years, and "I might still have to go back there after the film and pay my rent. Six years of free movies is pretty good"..
Originally from the Gold Coast, the actor attended boarding school in country Queensland, where his drama class regularly went to see Black Box Theatre productions of Shakespeare at Usq in Toowoomba.
Melbourne-based actor Benjamin Rigby has a solid list of credits, from Neighbours to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to The Secret River, but none of them are quite like his next gig - on Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, currently gearing up to shoot at Fox Studios.
"It's pretty insane", Rigby told If on the line from Melbourne.
"I've known since January, and it has been exceptionally difficult to keep it quiet. My mum and my workplace had to know, but it's been hard" (laughs).
Rigby has worked at Melbourne's Cinema Nova for six years, and "I might still have to go back there after the film and pay my rent. Six years of free movies is pretty good"..
Originally from the Gold Coast, the actor attended boarding school in country Queensland, where his drama class regularly went to see Black Box Theatre productions of Shakespeare at Usq in Toowoomba.
- 3/16/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
One of James Cameron.s Aussie collaborators is to make his directing debut on supernatural thriller Nulla, the debut feature from Red Rock Pictures. producer-writer Gary O.Toole.
Simon Christidis Acs was the lead underwater camera operator on Deep Sea Challenge 3D and underwater cinematographer on Sanctum.
Among his other credits he was underwater Dop on Angelina Jolie.s Unbroken and Jonathan M Shiff.s H2O: Just Add Water and second unit Dop on Kimble Rendall.s Bait.
Black Sails. Rupert Penry-Jones is attached to play the lead, a British soldier and Iraq veteran who sets out to drive from Melbourne to Perth with a buddy, a fellow soldier.
En route there.s a horrific accident. The producer is in talks with an internationally recognized Australian actor to play the co-lead.
Penry-Jones .credits include Silk, Spooks, Whitechapel and the features A Little Chaos, Match Point and Charlotte Gray.
O.Toole said of Christidis,...
Simon Christidis Acs was the lead underwater camera operator on Deep Sea Challenge 3D and underwater cinematographer on Sanctum.
Among his other credits he was underwater Dop on Angelina Jolie.s Unbroken and Jonathan M Shiff.s H2O: Just Add Water and second unit Dop on Kimble Rendall.s Bait.
Black Sails. Rupert Penry-Jones is attached to play the lead, a British soldier and Iraq veteran who sets out to drive from Melbourne to Perth with a buddy, a fellow soldier.
En route there.s a horrific accident. The producer is in talks with an internationally recognized Australian actor to play the co-lead.
Penry-Jones .credits include Silk, Spooks, Whitechapel and the features A Little Chaos, Match Point and Charlotte Gray.
O.Toole said of Christidis,...
- 10/25/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Sydney Film Festival has launched a new $200,000 cash fellowship to kickstart the careers of four Australian filmmakers.
The Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship will be the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Up to four annual Fellowship winners will receive $50,000 each to produce their next short film in 2016 and 2017, to premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in 2017 and 2018.
A shortlist of the best Australian entrants to the Lexus Short Films series will be curated by the Producers at The Weinstein Company, and sent to the Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship jury..
This jury, headed by Sydney Film Festival.s Festival Director Nashen Moodley, will then select the four winners of the Fellowships grants.
Moodley said this substantial new investment would open up vital funding to local filmmakers to enable them to tell their stories.
Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, whose films include Oscar and Lucinda, Charlotte Gray, and Little Women,...
The Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship will be the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Up to four annual Fellowship winners will receive $50,000 each to produce their next short film in 2016 and 2017, to premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in 2017 and 2018.
A shortlist of the best Australian entrants to the Lexus Short Films series will be curated by the Producers at The Weinstein Company, and sent to the Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship jury..
This jury, headed by Sydney Film Festival.s Festival Director Nashen Moodley, will then select the four winners of the Fellowships grants.
Moodley said this substantial new investment would open up vital funding to local filmmakers to enable them to tell their stories.
Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, whose films include Oscar and Lucinda, Charlotte Gray, and Little Women,...
- 10/5/2015
- by Brian Karlovsky
- IF.com.au
Rupert Penry-Jones is attached to play the lead in supernatural thriller Nulla, the debut feature from Red Rock Pictures. producer-writer Gary O.Toole.
The English actor will play a British soldier, an Iraq veteran, who sets out to drive from Melbourne to Perth with a buddy, a fellow soldier.
En route there.s a horrific accident. Fast & Furious. Paul Walker had been in talks to play the character.
Penry-Jones. credits include Black Sails, Silk, Spooks, Whitechapel and the features A Little Chaos, Match Point and Charlotte Gray.
.We know Rupert will bring that determined, but vulnerable quality needed in our main protagonist,. said O.Toole. .The character of Danny Kaine is a rich, dark, complex and compelling character and who doesn't want to play those types?
"I'm a massive fan of this guy's work and he's a brilliant addition to the project. I needed the protagonist to be not Australian,...
The English actor will play a British soldier, an Iraq veteran, who sets out to drive from Melbourne to Perth with a buddy, a fellow soldier.
En route there.s a horrific accident. Fast & Furious. Paul Walker had been in talks to play the character.
Penry-Jones. credits include Black Sails, Silk, Spooks, Whitechapel and the features A Little Chaos, Match Point and Charlotte Gray.
.We know Rupert will bring that determined, but vulnerable quality needed in our main protagonist,. said O.Toole. .The character of Danny Kaine is a rich, dark, complex and compelling character and who doesn't want to play those types?
"I'm a massive fan of this guy's work and he's a brilliant addition to the project. I needed the protagonist to be not Australian,...
- 5/31/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Billy Crudup has mounted an impressive resume of film and theater roles, currently appearing as an eccentric businessman in "Glass Chin," in competition at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. His characters always have an edge to them, but this is the first time we see him as a straight villain, completely confident in his maliciousness. Crudup relished the role and the opportunity to work with director Noah Buschel, who challenged him with his unconventional, surprising style. Crudup’s alluring glee and slick charm seduce audiences as much as they do the film’s hero, a former boxer (Corey Stoll) to whom he promises to help restore his social status.In addition to winning a Tony Award (out of three nominations), Crudup has garnered extensive critical and public praise for his performances in such films as "Almost Famous," "Charlotte Gray," "Jesus’s Son," and "The Good Shepherd." The articulate, good-humored Crudup spoke to Indiewire about his long,...
- 4/23/2014
- by Melina Gills
- Indiewire
The Sydney Film School will host its festival with The Sapphires director Wayne Blair as keynote speaker for the event. Previous speakers at the event include Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Phillip Noyce.
The announcement:
Sydney Film School announces that the 16th Sydney Film School Festival will take place 11 and 12 July with Wayne Blair, director of ‘The Sapphires’, featuring as the keynote speaker for the event. Blair will speak at the Awards Screening Night taking place on Thursday July 12th (7pm start) at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington.
Wayne Blair’s debut feature film ‘The Sapphires’ recently had its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival receiving a lengthy standing ovation. The Sapphires (screening nationally from August 9th) is about an all-girl Aboriginal singing group who tour Vietnam during the war as Australia’s answer to The Supremes.
Blair is also known for his work on the other side of...
The announcement:
Sydney Film School announces that the 16th Sydney Film School Festival will take place 11 and 12 July with Wayne Blair, director of ‘The Sapphires’, featuring as the keynote speaker for the event. Blair will speak at the Awards Screening Night taking place on Thursday July 12th (7pm start) at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington.
Wayne Blair’s debut feature film ‘The Sapphires’ recently had its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival receiving a lengthy standing ovation. The Sapphires (screening nationally from August 9th) is about an all-girl Aboriginal singing group who tour Vietnam during the war as Australia’s answer to The Supremes.
Blair is also known for his work on the other side of...
- 6/26/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Annette Bening has never been the most prolific of actresses. Whenever she's appeared in the last decade or so, she's tended to make a splash, but she's rarely made more than one film every couple of years, preferring, totally understandably, to focus instead on raising her children with Warren Beatty. But her Oscar-nominated turn in "The Kids Are All Right" seems to have revived her interest in acting: she's got as many as four films on the way, including "Imogene," "He Loves Me," "Bomb" and Beatty's gestating Howard Hughes picture. And she's just added one more to her dance card. Screen Daily reports that Bening will star in "The Great," a comedy from Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, the director of "My Brilliant Career," "Little Women," "Oscar & Lucinda" and "Charlotte Gray," among others. The film, set up at British company Bankside Films...
- 2/9/2012
- The Playlist
Filmmaker Bruce Beresford ("Driving Miss Dairy," "Breaker Morant") has set up the biopic "The White Mouse" on his future schedule with funding being arranged and shooting to begin around this time next year reports Variety.
'Mouse' will explore the true story of Nancy Wake, Australia's most decorated servicewoman who worked with the French Resistance to save downed Allied airmen in France.
Wake, who died this past weekend at the age of 98, already saw her story adapted both into the British TV series "Wish Me Luck", a 1987 Aussie TV movie starring Noni Hazlehurst, and the novel and later Cate Blanchett-led film "Charlotte Gray" which combined elements of both her exploits and British secret service agent Pearl Cornioley.
Peter Glover and Sue Milliken will produce. The news comes as Beresford's immediate next project is "Banjo & Matilda," another Aussie hero biopic - this one about legendary bush poet Banjo Paterson who wrote...
'Mouse' will explore the true story of Nancy Wake, Australia's most decorated servicewoman who worked with the French Resistance to save downed Allied airmen in France.
Wake, who died this past weekend at the age of 98, already saw her story adapted both into the British TV series "Wish Me Luck", a 1987 Aussie TV movie starring Noni Hazlehurst, and the novel and later Cate Blanchett-led film "Charlotte Gray" which combined elements of both her exploits and British secret service agent Pearl Cornioley.
Peter Glover and Sue Milliken will produce. The news comes as Beresford's immediate next project is "Banjo & Matilda," another Aussie hero biopic - this one about legendary bush poet Banjo Paterson who wrote...
- 8/9/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The White Mouse to be directed by Bruce Beresford, a biopic on Australian war hero Nancy Wake Peter Glover and Sue Milliken are producing the The White Mouse while Beresford is arranging funding and casting, reports Variety. Wake died this past weekend at age 98 and was Australia's most decorated servicewoman, having worked with the French Resistance to save fallen Allied airmen in France. Wake has already been the subject of a mini series in the 1980s as well as books and was an inspiration for Charlotte Gray starring Cate Blanchett.
- 8/9/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The White Mouse to be directed by Bruce Beresford, a biopic on Australian war hero Nancy Wake Peter Glover and Sue Milliken are producing the The White Mouse while Beresford is arranging funding and casting, reports Variety. Wake died this past weekend at age 98 and was Australia's most decorated servicewoman, having worked with the French Resistance to save fallen Allied airmen in France. Wake has already been the subject of a mini series in the 1980s as well as books and was an inspiration for Charlotte Gray starring Cate Blanchett.
- 8/9/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The White Mouse to be directed by Bruce Beresford, a biopic on Australian war hero Nancy Wake Peter Glover and Sue Milliken are producing the The White Mouse while Beresford is arranging funding and casting, reports Variety. Wake died this past weekend at age 98 and was Australia's most decorated servicewoman, having worked with the French Resistance to save fallen Allied airmen in France. Wake has already been the subject of a mini series in the 1980s as well as books and was an inspiration for Charlotte Gray starring Cate Blanchett.
- 8/9/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
HollywoodNews.com: Academy Award®-winning actress Cate Blanchett will be a presenter at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today.
Blanchett is a five-time Academy Award nominee, who took home the Supporting Actress Oscar® in 2004 for her performance as Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator.” She also received supporting actress nominations for “Notes on a Scandal” and “I’m Not There” in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Blanchett received lead actress nominations for her performances as Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth” (1998) and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007).
Her other film credits include “Robin Hood,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Good German,” “Babel,” “Veronica Guerin,” “Charlotte Gray,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. She will next be seen in “Hanna,” due out in April.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at...
Blanchett is a five-time Academy Award nominee, who took home the Supporting Actress Oscar® in 2004 for her performance as Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator.” She also received supporting actress nominations for “Notes on a Scandal” and “I’m Not There” in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Blanchett received lead actress nominations for her performances as Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth” (1998) and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007).
Her other film credits include “Robin Hood,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Good German,” “Babel,” “Veronica Guerin,” “Charlotte Gray,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. She will next be seen in “Hanna,” due out in April.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at...
- 2/15/2011
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Beverly Hills, CA – Academy Award®-winning actress Cate Blanchett will be a presenter at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today. Blanchett is a five-time Academy Award nominee, who took home the Supporting Actress Oscar® in 2004 for her performance as Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator.” She also received supporting actress nominations for “Notes on a Scandal” and “I’m Not There” in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Blanchett received lead actress nominations for her performances as Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth” (1998) and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007). Her other film credits include “Robin Hood,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Good German,” “Babel,” “Veronica Guerin,” “Charlotte Gray,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. She will next be seen in “Hanna,” due out in April.
- 2/15/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
U.K based Ecosse Films' Douglas Rae and Robert Bernstein are teaming with Silverwood Films's Lynette Howell (Blue Valentine) on the book-to-film, 20-million dollar adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' On Green Dolphin Street. Written by Becoming Jane scribe Kevin Hood, Faulk's tale is set in New York, Washington and a brief spell in Moscow, follows the love affair of Mary, an English rose, and Frank a Chicago journalist. Mary, who is married to diplomat Charlie, soon becomes torn between the love of these two men. A marriage drama with adultery set in the 1950's reminds of Revolutionary Road, but this sounds slightly more ambitious - paralleling the conflicts of a love triangle with the inner (JFK vs. Nixon battle) and outer (Cold War) issues faced in the U.S. Faulks saw his Charlotte Gray made into a film, and the author recently penned a James Bond Ian Fleming...
- 8/13/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Ecosse Films is developing a $20 million film adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' novel "On Green Dolphin Street" says Variety.
Set in 1959 against the backdrop of the Cold War, the story follows the love affair of Mary, the wife of a diplomat, and a Chicago journalist named Frank. The story moves between New York, Washington and Moscow as Mary becomes torn between the love of Frank and her husband Charlie.
Kevin Hood ("Becoming Jane") has already penned the script and three directors are in talks to potentially helm, but no casting is yet confirmed. Filming kicks off in Canada next year.
Ecosse previously adapted Faulks' "Charlotte Gray" into a film starring Cate Blanchett back in 2001.
Set in 1959 against the backdrop of the Cold War, the story follows the love affair of Mary, the wife of a diplomat, and a Chicago journalist named Frank. The story moves between New York, Washington and Moscow as Mary becomes torn between the love of Frank and her husband Charlie.
Kevin Hood ("Becoming Jane") has already penned the script and three directors are in talks to potentially helm, but no casting is yet confirmed. Filming kicks off in Canada next year.
Ecosse previously adapted Faulks' "Charlotte Gray" into a film starring Cate Blanchett back in 2001.
- 6/18/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
We did this with Streisand last month and wasn't it a neat way to snapshot an entire career? For Cate Blanchett, currently "Maid Marion Loxley" in Robin Hood, this overview wasn't as simple. She works so frequently that it had to be narrowed down. This career overview is restricted to films wherein she has a leading role or practically dominates in a barely-not-leading supporting role.
The Wedding Party (1997) | Oscar and Lucinda (1997) | Elizabeth (1998)
An Ideal Husband (1999) | The Gift (2000) | Bandits (2001)
Charlotte Gray (2001) | Heaven (2002) | Veronica Guerin (2003)
The Missing (2003) | The Aviator (2004) | Little Fish (2005)
The Good German (2006) | Notes on a Scandal (2006) | I'm Not There (2007)
Elizabeth the Golden Age (2007) | Benjamin Button (2008) | Robin Hood (2010)
ShareQuestions for you
1. Didn't you immediately miss Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) while looking at those? Kinda makes you wonder if she was meant to glitter from the ensemble rather than go for the floating head star vehicle...
The Wedding Party (1997) | Oscar and Lucinda (1997) | Elizabeth (1998)
An Ideal Husband (1999) | The Gift (2000) | Bandits (2001)
Charlotte Gray (2001) | Heaven (2002) | Veronica Guerin (2003)
The Missing (2003) | The Aviator (2004) | Little Fish (2005)
The Good German (2006) | Notes on a Scandal (2006) | I'm Not There (2007)
Elizabeth the Golden Age (2007) | Benjamin Button (2008) | Robin Hood (2010)
ShareQuestions for you
1. Didn't you immediately miss Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) while looking at those? Kinda makes you wonder if she was meant to glitter from the ensemble rather than go for the floating head star vehicle...
- 5/15/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
In spite of all its controversy and its Emmy and Toronto Film Festival awards, the faux documentary Death of a President was not worth all the hype it received four years ago. I won't say it was terrible, because I've come around to respect some of the positive things said about its purpose, but I certainly did not enjoy watching the film, which depicted the hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush using real footage of the former U.S. president.
However, I'm willing to give director Gabriel Range another shot, especially now that I've learned his next film comes from a script by one of the writers of The Last King of Scotland, Jeremy Brock. Though Peter Morgan may have been the better screenwriter involved in that adaptation, Brock's involvement with other decent British films, such as Charlotte Gray and Driving Lessons, which he also directed, are indicative of his talent.
However, I'm willing to give director Gabriel Range another shot, especially now that I've learned his next film comes from a script by one of the writers of The Last King of Scotland, Jeremy Brock. Though Peter Morgan may have been the better screenwriter involved in that adaptation, Brock's involvement with other decent British films, such as Charlotte Gray and Driving Lessons, which he also directed, are indicative of his talent.
- 2/6/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
Sebastian Faulks has signed up to front a new BBC Two series called The Secret Life Of The Novel. The four-part documentary, which looks at the history of the novel through its characters, is expected to arrive in spring 2010, with production slated to begin later this year. Throughout the series, Faulks, whose novels include 'A Fool's Alphabet' and 'Charlotte Gray', will journey around the country, offering his personal knowledge of characterisation (more)...
- 10/6/2009
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
Those of you who have seen State of Play know that it's a great film for many reasons, but one of them is because Kevin Macdonald's direction is top notch and it adds a lot to the experience. So therefore I'm naturally interested in following him and his projects, since this isn't his first great film (he also directed The Last King of Scotland). Variety announced today that Macdonald will develop and direct an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's 1955 novel "The End of Eternity". But that's not his very next project. He's also set to direct a project called Eagle of the Ninth, a second-century Roman military drama for Focus Features. Eagle of the Ninth is based on a novel of the same name written by Rosemary Sutcliff. The adaptation was written by Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown, Charlotte Gray, The Last King of Scotland, Brideshead Revisited). It sounds pretty...
- 4/23/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
By Neil Pedley
This week finds the U.S. Army bringing war games to a whole other level, a '60s sex icon getting an exposé, Ron Perlman returning as the defender of small fluffy kittens everywhere and Eddie Murphy taking cinema egotism to new heights.
"August"
After the warm reception his first feature "Xx/Xy" received at Sundance in 2002, director Austin Chick returned to the snowy slopes of Park City to debut his sophomore effort, which seemed to impress our own Matt Singer when he saw it in January. Assembling an noteworthy ensemble that includes the likes of Robin Tunney, Naomie Harris, Rip Torn and David Bowie, Chick follows Tom and Josh Sterling (Josh Hartnett and Adam Scott, respectively), two brothers desperately trying to right the sinking ship of their failing dot-com company in the weeks leading up to the devastating September 11th attacks.
Opens in New York.
"Days...
This week finds the U.S. Army bringing war games to a whole other level, a '60s sex icon getting an exposé, Ron Perlman returning as the defender of small fluffy kittens everywhere and Eddie Murphy taking cinema egotism to new heights.
"August"
After the warm reception his first feature "Xx/Xy" received at Sundance in 2002, director Austin Chick returned to the snowy slopes of Park City to debut his sophomore effort, which seemed to impress our own Matt Singer when he saw it in January. Assembling an noteworthy ensemble that includes the likes of Robin Tunney, Naomie Harris, Rip Torn and David Bowie, Chick follows Tom and Josh Sterling (Josh Hartnett and Adam Scott, respectively), two brothers desperately trying to right the sinking ship of their failing dot-com company in the weeks leading up to the devastating September 11th attacks.
Opens in New York.
"Days...
- 7/15/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
- Quick Links > The Weinstein Co. > Death Defying Acts > Gillian Armstrong > Guy Pearce > Catherine Zeta-Jones > My Brilliant Career > The Last Days of Chez Nous Known for his aggressive buying tactics – The Weinstein Co. co-head Harvey Weinstein locked up the rights to Gillian Armstrong's fictionalized Harry Houdini biopic during the final hours of the American Film Market. Variety reports that the film should preem at the Festival de Cannes in May and hit theatres in fall of 2007. Written by Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward, Death Defying Acts is based on true events during the escape artist Harry Houdini's 1926 tour of Britain, the film chronicles the tumultuous love affair between the famed magician (Guy Pearce ) and a psychic (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who tries to con him by holding a seance to contact his dead mother. Gillian Armstrong the director behind Charlotte Gray, My Brilliant Career and The Last Days of
- 11/8/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
LONDON -- U.K. government-backed financing and strategy body the Film Council is earmarking just north of £1 million ($1.6 million) to fund slate development by seven British production companies, the council said Thursday. The cash injection marks the second year of slate-development funding for the seven companies as part of a three-year commitment from the council, which reviews its funding on an annual basis. Ecosse Films (Charlotte Gray) and Kuhn & Co. (The Order) have emerged from the review process each clutching £250,000 ($400,759) for the second year. The council also has dished out £216,000 ($346,246) to production company Autonomous and £130,000 ($208,386) to Company Films (Morvern Callar). Producer Jeremy Thomas (Sexy Beast) secures £150,000 ($240,432) through his company, the Recorded Picture Co., for its second year of development. The other British companies receiving cash injections to help develop project slates are Gruber Films, the outfit behind Waking Ned (aka Waking Ned Devine), which gets £100,000 ($160,293), and October Films, which receives £75,000 ($120,222) to fuel its goal of developing a slate of commercially successful films.
LONDON -- U.K. independent production company Box Film has sealed a multiterritory deal across Germany, Benelux and Switzerland with Dutch theatrical distributor Moonlight Films for Boudica, the company said Tuesday. The British-based production company is handling sales in-house for the project, which is shooting in Eastern Europe. U.K. television rights to the movie already have been secured by U.K. commercial terrestrial broadcaster ITV Network. The $8 million-budgeted movie details the story of Britain's first warrior queen, who, in the first century A.D., defeated the Roman garrisons in Colchester and London, sacking both cities and coming within a hair's breadth of bringing Nero's Rome to its knees. The film marks the feature directorial debut for Bill Anderson. Starring Alex Kingston (television's ER) in the title role, Hugo Speer (The Full Monty) and Jack Shepherd (Charlotte Gray), Boudica is produced by Matthew Bird, with Box Film chief Gub Neal taking an executive producer credit. Box Film, launched earlier this year by independent TV production company Box TV, was founded by producer Neal and former FilmFour senior business affairs executive Justin Thomson-Glover.
- 10/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Billy Crudup will star in Columbia Pictures' adventure feature Big Fish for director Tim Burton. The project goes into production in January in Alabama, with Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney also starring. Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Richard D. Zanuck are producing the project, which is based on Daniel Wallace's Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions. Fish revolves around a dying father (Finney) and his son (Crudup), who is trying to learn more about his dad by piecing together the stories he has gathered over the years. The son winds up re-creating his father's elusive life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his father's great feats -- and his great failings. McGregor will play Finney's character in the re-creation of the tales. John August adapted the Fish screenplay, which is being overseen by senior vp production Andrea Giannetti, who is reporting to production president Peter Schlessel. Crudup, repped by CAA, has starred in such films as Almost Famous, Charlotte Gray and Without Limits.
- 10/21/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Movie stunner Cate Blanchett kept her pregnancy secret from movie bosses for as long as possible - so they wouldn't tell her to take it easy. Blanchett, who recently gave birth to a son, Dashiell John, might have avoided the daunting physical challenges she faced in Charlotte Gray had she let the truth be known. But Blanchett soldiered on, playing a Scottish woman who goes behind enemy lines to join the French Resistance in the Second World War. She says, "I didn't tell anyone at first, not even Gillian Armstrong, the director. It wasn't their fault, and I wanted to do my job. But it was bloody cold, the worst winter in Britain in years, and the first week we had to go through this really nasty military obstacle course."...
- 1/4/2002
- WENN
Actress Cate Blanchett argued with film-makers over her Scottish character in her next film - because they wanted her to make it English. The pregnant BAFTA winner is playing Scottish resistance fighter Charlotte Gray working in France during World War II and was disappointed when crew asked her to make Gray English for the movie. Cate says, "I fought very hard for her to be Scottish because I felt there is a very strong connection between the Scots and the French. If you listen to the vowel sounds in the Scottish accent and the French vowels sounds they are very similar and it would have made for a more fluid transition. But obviously, would draw more attention to it. But in the end, it's an English language film and it didn't bother me."...
- 11/23/2001
- WENN
Pregnant actress Cate Blanchett has found the past year tough because she's always away from her screenwriter husband Andrew Upton. Cate has been making films back to back and has had hardly any time to spend with her man. She says, "It's been exhausting. And hard on a personal level. Andrew and I try to travel together as much as possible, but we knew it was going to be a problem last year; going into it, we said, 'This will be month on/month off.' We had some great reunions, though. We conceived on Charlotte Gray."...
- 11/16/2001
- WENN
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