Julio Torres is stepping into a very literal and gender-swapped “Girl With a Pearl Earring” rendition for HBO.
The “Los Espookys” creator is back at the network with new surreal series “Fantasmas,” which he created, directed, and stars in. The series debuted at the Atx TV Festival earlier this year.
Torres plays a fictionalized version of himself as he tries to uncover a lost gold oyster earring. In his search to find the precious object, Torres’ character Julio reflects on the offbeat folks he encounters in introspective, eerie, and comedic vignettes set in a dreamy, alternate version of New York City. The surreal series is billed as a “fantastical six-part tale” that is a “kaleidoscope of color” to “weave together stories of people looking for meaning, purpose, and connection in an increasingly isolating world.”
In addition to Torres, the cast includes Martine Gutierrez, Tomas Matos, and Joe Rumrill as the voice of Bibo.
The “Los Espookys” creator is back at the network with new surreal series “Fantasmas,” which he created, directed, and stars in. The series debuted at the Atx TV Festival earlier this year.
Torres plays a fictionalized version of himself as he tries to uncover a lost gold oyster earring. In his search to find the precious object, Torres’ character Julio reflects on the offbeat folks he encounters in introspective, eerie, and comedic vignettes set in a dreamy, alternate version of New York City. The surreal series is billed as a “fantastical six-part tale” that is a “kaleidoscope of color” to “weave together stories of people looking for meaning, purpose, and connection in an increasingly isolating world.”
In addition to Torres, the cast includes Martine Gutierrez, Tomas Matos, and Joe Rumrill as the voice of Bibo.
- 5/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Tim Richards’ Vue, Europe’s largest privately owned cinema operator, is teaming with UK producers Andy Paterson and Annalise Davis, and virtual production outfit Dimension Studios, to form Virtual Circle, to deliver a slate of £5m-£15m UK films. Vue will directly release the films into cinemas.
Virtual Circle has been set up in response to the new 40% Independent Film Tax Credit (Iftc); the first two films, 2040 and Campbeltown ‘69, are expected to shoot this summer.
The aim is to use virtual production to “bring additional scale” to the films, said Davis.
“Script always comes first but at Virtual Circle, we...
Virtual Circle has been set up in response to the new 40% Independent Film Tax Credit (Iftc); the first two films, 2040 and Campbeltown ‘69, are expected to shoot this summer.
The aim is to use virtual production to “bring additional scale” to the films, said Davis.
“Script always comes first but at Virtual Circle, we...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Charithra Chandran is not in Season 3 of “Bridgerton,” the British star has confirmed, but she has a range of other projects coming up.
Chandran, who is of Indian heritage, will produce a reality TV series based on ancient Sanskrit-language text the “Kama Sutra.” While the text was primarily designed as an art of living guide, many of the film and TV interpretations of it have focused on its sexual aspects.
“I’m working on a reality TV show, which is inspired by the ‘Kama Sutra,’ [for] which I would be just behind the scenes. I would just be producing obviously, not on the show,” Chandran told Variety. “The ‘Kama Sutra’ is actually an ancient Hindu text, but in the West it has this not-so-pleasant, or positive, reputation and connotation. And it’s about taking ownership back of things that belong to us and our culture, and actually showing the beauty and...
Chandran, who is of Indian heritage, will produce a reality TV series based on ancient Sanskrit-language text the “Kama Sutra.” While the text was primarily designed as an art of living guide, many of the film and TV interpretations of it have focused on its sexual aspects.
“I’m working on a reality TV show, which is inspired by the ‘Kama Sutra,’ [for] which I would be just behind the scenes. I would just be producing obviously, not on the show,” Chandran told Variety. “The ‘Kama Sutra’ is actually an ancient Hindu text, but in the West it has this not-so-pleasant, or positive, reputation and connotation. And it’s about taking ownership back of things that belong to us and our culture, and actually showing the beauty and...
- 2/26/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Anyone who didn’t perfectly predict this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design has a uniquely valid excuse. This applies to all but a tiny fraction of Gold Derby’s nearly 11,000 prognosticators, whose solid consensus ultimately conflicted with the academy’s highly unusual decision to populate both categories with the same five films: “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Napoleon,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Poor Things.” Since these two craft races have only been completely congruent twice before, it’s especially understandable that very few people anticipated this outcome.
The film that mainly tripped folks up in this case was “Napoleon,” which garnered support from only 49.9% of our users in the costume design race and scraped by with a production design backing rate of just 7.5%. In the former category, many had trouble settling on two of four on-the-bubble candidates, while the latter’s pesky fifth slot...
The film that mainly tripped folks up in this case was “Napoleon,” which garnered support from only 49.9% of our users in the costume design race and scraped by with a production design backing rate of just 7.5%. In the former category, many had trouble settling on two of four on-the-bubble candidates, while the latter’s pesky fifth slot...
- 2/2/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Tom Wilkinson, a character actor who was also adept when called upon to play leading parts, has died. The charismatic performer, able to embody both warm, relatable heroes and cunning villains, was 75.
Born in Leeds before moving to Canada and then Cornwall in childhood, Wilkinson knew he was destined to work in entertainment at the age of 18 when he was asked to direct a play.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) before forging a career in theatre, film and TV. In 1986, he got his first major screen role in mini-series First Among Equals, based on politician-turned-author Jeffrey Archer’s best-selling novel.
That kicked off a successful career on screens big and small, with his film resume including the likes of Shakespeare In Love, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Patriot, Selma, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,...
Born in Leeds before moving to Canada and then Cornwall in childhood, Wilkinson knew he was destined to work in entertainment at the age of 18 when he was asked to direct a play.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) before forging a career in theatre, film and TV. In 1986, he got his first major screen role in mini-series First Among Equals, based on politician-turned-author Jeffrey Archer’s best-selling novel.
That kicked off a successful career on screens big and small, with his film resume including the likes of Shakespeare In Love, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Patriot, Selma, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,...
- 12/30/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Wilkinson died “suddenly at home” according to a statement on behalf of his family.
UK actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in films including The Full Monty, Shakespeare In Love and Batman Begins, has died suddenly at the age of 75.
His death was confirmed in a statement shared by his agent on behalf of his family.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time,” read the statement.
Wilkinson received two Oscar nominations, for best...
UK actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in films including The Full Monty, Shakespeare In Love and Batman Begins, has died suddenly at the age of 75.
His death was confirmed in a statement shared by his agent on behalf of his family.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time,” read the statement.
Wilkinson received two Oscar nominations, for best...
- 12/30/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
British actor Tom Wilkinson, who won a Bafta for his work in The Full Monty and was Oscar-nominated for Michael Clayton and In The Bedroom, has died at 75 on Saturday. No cause was given.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30,” said a statement from his agent. “His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time.”
He also starred in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins, and 2011 thriller Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
He was also in the Disney+ streaming series of The Full Monty, reprising his role as factory foreman Gerald Cooper.
His film resume includes The Grand Budapest Hotel and Girl with a Pearl Earring among more than 130 film and TV credits.
He also won an Emmy for playing Benjamin Franklin in 2008 mini-series John Adams and...
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30,” said a statement from his agent. “His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time.”
He also starred in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins, and 2011 thriller Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
He was also in the Disney+ streaming series of The Full Monty, reprising his role as factory foreman Gerald Cooper.
His film resume includes The Grand Budapest Hotel and Girl with a Pearl Earring among more than 130 film and TV credits.
He also won an Emmy for playing Benjamin Franklin in 2008 mini-series John Adams and...
- 12/30/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy will be honored with this year’s Desert Palm Achievement, Actor Award at the Palm Springs International Film Fest.
The film awards will take place on Jan. 4, 2024, with the festival running through Jan. 15.
“After working together on five previous films, including The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk, Cillian Murphy and writer-director Christopher Nolan reunite for one of the most ambitious and epic films of the year. Murphy gives a stunning portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer as a conflicted scientist leading the Manhattan Project to produce the world’s first atomic bomb,” festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi says. “For this career-best performance, we are honored to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Cillian Murphy.”
Past recipients of the award include Riz Ahmed, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Adam Driver, Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Andrew Garfield, Matthew McConaughey, Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne.
The film awards will take place on Jan. 4, 2024, with the festival running through Jan. 15.
“After working together on five previous films, including The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk, Cillian Murphy and writer-director Christopher Nolan reunite for one of the most ambitious and epic films of the year. Murphy gives a stunning portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer as a conflicted scientist leading the Manhattan Project to produce the world’s first atomic bomb,” festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi says. “For this career-best performance, we are honored to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Cillian Murphy.”
Past recipients of the award include Riz Ahmed, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Adam Driver, Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Andrew Garfield, Matthew McConaughey, Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne.
- 11/17/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Emma Thompson has turned in a host of eclectic, effective, excellent performances throughout her illustrious career. She started out with period dramas such as “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day” before later moving into fantasy with roles in “Nanny McPhee” and “Harry Potter.” Add to that top-tier performances in the likes of “Sense and Sensibility,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” “Cruella,” and “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” and you’ve got one hell of a performer.
However, Thompson has stated herself that the role she gets the most praise for is actually… “Love Actually.” The classic Richard Curtis Christmas movie, which turns 20 this year, tells the interconnected love stories of eight different sets of people with Thompson delivering the most emotional and heartbreaking storyline of all of them. Thompson’s Karen is an under-appreciated stay-at-home mother who spends her days looking after the kids, making costumes for their school nativity,...
However, Thompson has stated herself that the role she gets the most praise for is actually… “Love Actually.” The classic Richard Curtis Christmas movie, which turns 20 this year, tells the interconnected love stories of eight different sets of people with Thompson delivering the most emotional and heartbreaking storyline of all of them. Thompson’s Karen is an under-appreciated stay-at-home mother who spends her days looking after the kids, making costumes for their school nativity,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
McCracken will still be involved with his long-gestating Alexander McQueen project.
After 23 years producing films in the UK, French mini-major Pathe will close its UK theatrical film distribution business by the end of 2023 to focus on the development and production of scripted TV series under managing director Faith Penhale.
Cameron McCracken, head of film at Pathe UK, is retiring but will remain involved with several ongoing projects at Pathe including a film about Alexander McQueen to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.
The roles of three key people are being made redundant: Lee Bye, long-time head of theatrical distribution and technical,...
After 23 years producing films in the UK, French mini-major Pathe will close its UK theatrical film distribution business by the end of 2023 to focus on the development and production of scripted TV series under managing director Faith Penhale.
Cameron McCracken, head of film at Pathe UK, is retiring but will remain involved with several ongoing projects at Pathe including a film about Alexander McQueen to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.
The roles of three key people are being made redundant: Lee Bye, long-time head of theatrical distribution and technical,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has been wowing audiences for years with her roles in films such as ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ and ‘Lost in Translation’. Although she oozes glamour, Johansson has much higher priorities than her looks and profile.
She served as an Oxfam Ambassador for eight years, starting in 2007, and created a video journal of her visit to Kenya with the organization. In 2007 she skipped the Oscars in order to tour India and Sri Lanka as part of Oxfam projects. During her 10-day trip she visited an Oxfam-funded school in Uttar Pradesh, got involved in a few healthcare projects and one domestic violence project involving Indian women, and travelled to Sri Lanka to see how the charity was helping in reconstruction projects after the 2004 tsunami.
Johansson also spent time helping Hurricane Katrina victims by dishing out food from USA Harvest to the homeless at the Made Love Cafe in St.
She served as an Oxfam Ambassador for eight years, starting in 2007, and created a video journal of her visit to Kenya with the organization. In 2007 she skipped the Oscars in order to tour India and Sri Lanka as part of Oxfam projects. During her 10-day trip she visited an Oxfam-funded school in Uttar Pradesh, got involved in a few healthcare projects and one domestic violence project involving Indian women, and travelled to Sri Lanka to see how the charity was helping in reconstruction projects after the 2004 tsunami.
Johansson also spent time helping Hurricane Katrina victims by dishing out food from USA Harvest to the homeless at the Made Love Cafe in St.
- 10/9/2023
- Look to the Stars
The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing with a bevy of titles competing both for global distribution and awards prestige. The festival has had its share of lumps in the last month, losing their 28-year-sponsor, Bell Telephone, back in August, as well as being enmeshed in the on-going SAG-AFTRA/WGA duel strike. It is that strike that is the most insurmountable goal for the event, as actors and writers are unable to attend and promote their films, though some have with a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.
And while the movie landscape is looking different, with movies switching release dates (in the wake of both the strike and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour), this year’s TIFF is showcasing what amazing movies are still being made. Here are 25 of the hottest titles to be excited for at this year’s TIFF.
Courtesy of TIFF
“Dumb Money” (Sony)
Craig Gillespie’s...
And while the movie landscape is looking different, with movies switching release dates (in the wake of both the strike and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour), this year’s TIFF is showcasing what amazing movies are still being made. Here are 25 of the hottest titles to be excited for at this year’s TIFF.
Courtesy of TIFF
“Dumb Money” (Sony)
Craig Gillespie’s...
- 9/9/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Cillian Murphy has had quite the career since he first appeared in the 1997 short film Quando. He would rise to prominence in the 2000’s by appearing in Danny Boyle’s post apocalyptic zombie tale 28 Days Later before finding even more success being one of Christopher Nolan’s go to guys in films such as Batman Begins and Inception. It would be that collaboration that would give Murphy his biggest leading roles yet in the massively successful Oppenheimer, a film that will hopefully see Murphy’s name on the short list for Best Actor during this years Awards season. So with quite the Pre-Oppenheimer resume, we wanted to know what film starring the Irish born actor has been your favorite. As always, if you don’t see your favorite listed, click other and let us know in the comments. We kept films like Tron: Legacy, Dark Knight and Dark Knight...
- 8/20/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
To celebrate the release of Nanny McPhee coming to DVD and with bonus material, on 28th August, we have 2 DVDs to give away!
A dark and witty fable starring Oscar-winners Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Nanny McPhee is a classic children’s adventure.
Emma Thompson plays Nanny McPhee – a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies but as Nanny McPhee takes control, they begin to notice that their vile behaviour now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences.
Cast: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly MacDonald, Celia Imrie, Imelda Staunton, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Adam Godley
Extras: Feature Commentary with Director Kirk Jones and Children, Feature Commentary with Producer Lindsay Doran and Emma Thompson, How Nanny McPhee came to be,...
A dark and witty fable starring Oscar-winners Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Nanny McPhee is a classic children’s adventure.
Emma Thompson plays Nanny McPhee – a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies but as Nanny McPhee takes control, they begin to notice that their vile behaviour now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences.
Cast: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly MacDonald, Celia Imrie, Imelda Staunton, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Adam Godley
Extras: Feature Commentary with Director Kirk Jones and Children, Feature Commentary with Producer Lindsay Doran and Emma Thompson, How Nanny McPhee came to be,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
February ushers in a new slate of movies and TV shows making their way to HBO and HBO Max, from a slew of James Bond movies to the recently released Olivia Colman-led “Empire of Light” to, yes, the Puppy Bowl.
“The Terminator,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Footloose,” “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs” all mark notable library offerings this month, in addition to “Superbad,” “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “Eighth Grade.”
Despite HBO Max pulling a number of originals from its roster over the past several months, HBO Max originals premiering on the platform this month include a Dionne Warwick documentary, an adult European animated series titled “Poor Devil” and “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” based on the popular animated series.
HBO Max is also beefing up its sports offerings by streaming soccer matches featuring the U.S. national teams,...
“The Terminator,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Footloose,” “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs” all mark notable library offerings this month, in addition to “Superbad,” “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “Eighth Grade.”
Despite HBO Max pulling a number of originals from its roster over the past several months, HBO Max originals premiering on the platform this month include a Dionne Warwick documentary, an adult European animated series titled “Poor Devil” and “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” based on the popular animated series.
HBO Max is also beefing up its sports offerings by streaming soccer matches featuring the U.S. national teams,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and HBO Max got the memo. With its list of new releases for February 2023, the HBO streamer is bringing a very special Valentine’s Day episode into the fold.
Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special premieres on Feb. 9 and finds Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together. Consider this a fun little aperitif for the fast approaching Harley Quinn season 3 – which will feature none other than freshly-installed DC czar James Gunn. Other HBO Max original series this month include another C.B. Strike special on Feb. 6 and Spanish-language animated comedy Poor Devil a.k.a. Pobre Diablo on Feb. 17.
February also looks to be a jam-packed month for movies on HBO Max. February 1 sees the arrival of many appealing library titles like Birdman, Casino Royale, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Terminator. Later on HBO Max...
Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special premieres on Feb. 9 and finds Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together. Consider this a fun little aperitif for the fast approaching Harley Quinn season 3 – which will feature none other than freshly-installed DC czar James Gunn. Other HBO Max original series this month include another C.B. Strike special on Feb. 6 and Spanish-language animated comedy Poor Devil a.k.a. Pobre Diablo on Feb. 17.
February also looks to be a jam-packed month for movies on HBO Max. February 1 sees the arrival of many appealing library titles like Birdman, Casino Royale, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Terminator. Later on HBO Max...
- 2/1/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Scarlett Johansson hasn’t shied away in recent months from sharing frustrations about being typecast in blonde bombshell roles early in her career. Now, EW reports the actress brought up the topic again on the latest episode of the “Table For Two With Bruce Bozzi” podcast. In short, she felt Hollywood wanted to sexualize her as an “ingenue” the minute she turned 18, and she couldn’t outrun those parts for years.
Read More: Scarlett Johansson Says She Was “Pigeonholed” Into “Hypersexualized” Roles Earlier In Her Career
“I did “Lost in Translation” and “Girl With A Pearl Earring” — by that point I was 18, 19 — and I was coming into my own womanhood and learning my own desirability and sexuality,” Johansson said on the podcast.
Continue reading Scarlet Johansson Feels Like Hollywood “Groomed” Her As A “Bombshell-Type” Actress In Her Early Career at The Playlist.
Read More: Scarlett Johansson Says She Was “Pigeonholed” Into “Hypersexualized” Roles Earlier In Her Career
“I did “Lost in Translation” and “Girl With A Pearl Earring” — by that point I was 18, 19 — and I was coming into my own womanhood and learning my own desirability and sexuality,” Johansson said on the podcast.
Continue reading Scarlet Johansson Feels Like Hollywood “Groomed” Her As A “Bombshell-Type” Actress In Her Early Career at The Playlist.
- 12/15/2022
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Exclusive: Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia franchise) and Katelyn Rose Downey (Clean Sweep) have signed on to star alongside Taissa Farmiga and Storm Reid in New Line’s The Nun 2 — the sequel to 2018’s global blockbuster The Nun, which came in as the highest-grossing film out of the Conjuring Universe to date.
The original film watched as a priest with a haunted past (Demián Bichir) was sent by the Vatican along with Sister Irene (Farmiga), a novice on the threshold of her final vows, to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun. Corin Hardy directed from a script by Gary Dauberman, which was based on his story written with James Wan.
Details as to the sequel’s plot are being kept under wraps, though Farmiga will reprise her role as Sister Irene. Popplewell will play Kate,...
The original film watched as a priest with a haunted past (Demián Bichir) was sent by the Vatican along with Sister Irene (Farmiga), a novice on the threshold of her final vows, to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun. Corin Hardy directed from a script by Gary Dauberman, which was based on his story written with James Wan.
Details as to the sequel’s plot are being kept under wraps, though Farmiga will reprise her role as Sister Irene. Popplewell will play Kate,...
- 10/25/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger) has signed on to adapt the Italian psychological thriller You Will Find the Words (Le parole lo sanno) for the screen.
British director Peter Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring, Hannibal Rising) is attached to direct the film, which Rome-based Fenix Entertainment are producing.
Franzoso’s novel centers around a man with a terminal illness who has a chance encounter with a woman on a park bench, an encounter that leads to an extreme act of violence.
Camon told The Hollywood Reporter Fenix approached him about the adaptation and introduced him to Webber.
“We immediately hit it off,” he notes, calling Webber a “Renaissance man. He’s a cosmopolitan, he loves many genres and languages, and he’s truly into what he does.”
The film version of Franzoso’s novel will, like the book, be set...
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger) has signed on to adapt the Italian psychological thriller You Will Find the Words (Le parole lo sanno) for the screen.
British director Peter Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring, Hannibal Rising) is attached to direct the film, which Rome-based Fenix Entertainment are producing.
Franzoso’s novel centers around a man with a terminal illness who has a chance encounter with a woman on a park bench, an encounter that leads to an extreme act of violence.
Camon told The Hollywood Reporter Fenix approached him about the adaptation and introduced him to Webber.
“We immediately hit it off,” he notes, calling Webber a “Renaissance man. He’s a cosmopolitan, he loves many genres and languages, and he’s truly into what he does.”
The film version of Franzoso’s novel will, like the book, be set...
- 9/26/2022
- by Gianmaria Tammaro
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A housekeeper waltzing into Christian Dior and choosing a couture gown may sound like the height of fantasy, but the biggest stretch in Anthony Fabian’s “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” may be all the nice French people she meets along the way. Starring the inimitable Lesley Manville, in a role that effectively transitions the frequent Mike Leigh collaborator into the Helen Mirren phase of her career, “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is a charming confection of a middle-aged, middle-class fantasy.
Imbuing the lavish period delights of “Mrs. Maisel” with a lively post-menopausal heroine “Hacks” made trendy, “Mrs. Harris”
The movie begins in 1957 London, where Mrs. Ada Harris (Manville) has finally received word, after years of holding out hope, that her dear Eddie was killed in action some dozen years prior. As she goes about her usual routine, cleaning the flats of the entitled rich who regard her as nothing more than reliably good-natured help,...
Imbuing the lavish period delights of “Mrs. Maisel” with a lively post-menopausal heroine “Hacks” made trendy, “Mrs. Harris”
The movie begins in 1957 London, where Mrs. Ada Harris (Manville) has finally received word, after years of holding out hope, that her dear Eddie was killed in action some dozen years prior. As she goes about her usual routine, cleaning the flats of the entitled rich who regard her as nothing more than reliably good-natured help,...
- 7/14/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Peter Webber (Girl With A Pearl Earring) is set to direct The Pianist, Valkyrie and Indiana Jones 5 star Thomas Kretschmann in WWII movie The Prominents.
Set in the chaotic final days of World War II, the story follows a group of Nazi Germany’s most prominent prisoners as they are transported across Europe, out of Allied reach, to be used as bargaining chips in the German surrender. On their journey, they endure aerial attacks, collapsing bridges, partisan raids, and the escalating threat of liquidation by their Nazi captors.
Kretschmann will star as Bogislaw von Bonin, a German prisoner battling his own demons: complicity in the war’s atrocities and the drug abuse he uses to cope with it.
Hippolyte Girardot (The French Dispatch) and Irène Jacob (The Double Life of Veronique) will play French prime minister Leon Blum and his wife Janot, respectively. Valentina Cervi (Jane Eyre) is playing...
Set in the chaotic final days of World War II, the story follows a group of Nazi Germany’s most prominent prisoners as they are transported across Europe, out of Allied reach, to be used as bargaining chips in the German surrender. On their journey, they endure aerial attacks, collapsing bridges, partisan raids, and the escalating threat of liquidation by their Nazi captors.
Kretschmann will star as Bogislaw von Bonin, a German prisoner battling his own demons: complicity in the war’s atrocities and the drug abuse he uses to cope with it.
Hippolyte Girardot (The French Dispatch) and Irène Jacob (The Double Life of Veronique) will play French prime minister Leon Blum and his wife Janot, respectively. Valentina Cervi (Jane Eyre) is playing...
- 4/29/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
As the crow flies, only about 30 miles separate the port towns of Dover and Calais — a distance that, in many parts of the world, wouldn’t span any greater culture shift than a slight tweak in accent. When those miles are filled with the English Channel, however, opposite coastlines represent opposite worlds, where everything from language to sexual mores are poles apart. It’s a short but jolting journey, an exercise in social and geographic disorientation that British-Pakistani filmmaker Aleem Khan probes to layered, thoughtful effect in his auspicious first feature “After Love.”
Galvanized by Joanna Scanlan’s quiet, searing turn as a white Muslim widow piecing together the separate lives her late husband led on both shores, Khan’s debut confidently blends old-school melodrama with a contemporary political consciousness, suggesting broader, Brexit-era cross-cultural friction while maintaining an intimate domestic focus. Selected for the Critics’ Week program of 2020’s nixed Cannes festival,...
Galvanized by Joanna Scanlan’s quiet, searing turn as a white Muslim widow piecing together the separate lives her late husband led on both shores, Khan’s debut confidently blends old-school melodrama with a contemporary political consciousness, suggesting broader, Brexit-era cross-cultural friction while maintaining an intimate domestic focus. Selected for the Critics’ Week program of 2020’s nixed Cannes festival,...
- 3/13/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The expanding Antalya Film Forum dedicated to fostering a new generation of Turkish directors seems poised to really have the goods this year for buyers and festival programmers who would like to know what’s coming down the pike.
The Antalya Film Festival’s industry section – which will run online Oct. 6-8 — features a fresh batch of projects spanning a wide range of often innovative genres mostly germinated from rookie producer-director teams that provides a sharp snapshot “of what’s to come,” vows the Forum’s new co-chief Müge Özen.
Özen, who is a young but experienced producer of standout titles from Turkey such as recent Istanbul hip-hop scene drama “When I’m Done Dying,” which was a Forum project in 2017, has now taken the section’s reins with Pınar Evrenosoğlu.
She points out that “the selection is very different from previous years” since seven out of the eight feature projects...
The Antalya Film Festival’s industry section – which will run online Oct. 6-8 — features a fresh batch of projects spanning a wide range of often innovative genres mostly germinated from rookie producer-director teams that provides a sharp snapshot “of what’s to come,” vows the Forum’s new co-chief Müge Özen.
Özen, who is a young but experienced producer of standout titles from Turkey such as recent Istanbul hip-hop scene drama “When I’m Done Dying,” which was a Forum project in 2017, has now taken the section’s reins with Pınar Evrenosoğlu.
She points out that “the selection is very different from previous years” since seven out of the eight feature projects...
- 10/2/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sales
Vmi Worldwide has closed several major territory sales for western “Old Henry” from Shout! Studios and Hideout Pictures. Sales buzz reached its fever pitch as the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday evening.
So far, Vmi has closed deals in Italy (Blue Swan), the U.K. and Australia (Signature), France (Ace Entertainment), Germany (Koch), Benelux (Three Lines), the Middle East and Turkey (Phoenicia Pictures International) and South Korea (Jaye Entertainment).
“Old Henry” was written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli (“Still the King”) and produced by Shannon Houchins and Michael Hagerty. Starring Tim Blake Nelson (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Scott Haze (“Children of God”), Gavin Lewis (“Little Fires Everywhere”), Trace Adkins (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) and Stephen Dorff (“Blade”), the film turns on Henry, a farmer who helps an injured man with a bag of cash. Eventually, a gang shows up claiming to be the money’s rightful owners.
Vmi Worldwide has closed several major territory sales for western “Old Henry” from Shout! Studios and Hideout Pictures. Sales buzz reached its fever pitch as the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday evening.
So far, Vmi has closed deals in Italy (Blue Swan), the U.K. and Australia (Signature), France (Ace Entertainment), Germany (Koch), Benelux (Three Lines), the Middle East and Turkey (Phoenicia Pictures International) and South Korea (Jaye Entertainment).
“Old Henry” was written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli (“Still the King”) and produced by Shannon Houchins and Michael Hagerty. Starring Tim Blake Nelson (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Scott Haze (“Children of God”), Gavin Lewis (“Little Fires Everywhere”), Trace Adkins (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) and Stephen Dorff (“Blade”), the film turns on Henry, a farmer who helps an injured man with a bag of cash. Eventually, a gang shows up claiming to be the money’s rightful owners.
- 9/8/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Andreas Prochaska has signed on to direct the climbing film White Out for Chockstone Pictures.
The action-adventure pic is based on a story from climbing legend Reinhold Messner. It follows a young man who’s grown up in the shadow of a famous father, known as the world’s greatest mountaineer. In the end, it will take a perilous climb on a sacred Himalayan peak for the pair to finally face each other.
Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring), Sascha Arango (The Silent Guest) and Don Bohlinger (Elles) wrote the script for White Out. Chockstone partners Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz will produce, alongside Boris Schönfelder of Neue Schönhauser Filmproduktion. Reinhold Messner and Andreas Prochaska will exec produce; Simon Messner and Roger Schwartz are also on board as co-producers.
“White Out has every element for an immersive cinematic experience: Epic scale and personal drama,...
The action-adventure pic is based on a story from climbing legend Reinhold Messner. It follows a young man who’s grown up in the shadow of a famous father, known as the world’s greatest mountaineer. In the end, it will take a perilous climb on a sacred Himalayan peak for the pair to finally face each other.
Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring), Sascha Arango (The Silent Guest) and Don Bohlinger (Elles) wrote the script for White Out. Chockstone partners Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz will produce, alongside Boris Schönfelder of Neue Schönhauser Filmproduktion. Reinhold Messner and Andreas Prochaska will exec produce; Simon Messner and Roger Schwartz are also on board as co-producers.
“White Out has every element for an immersive cinematic experience: Epic scale and personal drama,...
- 7/19/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Scarlett Johansson, whose long-awaited solo Marvel movie Black Widow finally hits theaters and Disney+ next month, is being feted this fall as the 35th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award. After going with a virtual presentation last year for 2020 honoree Spike Lee, the organization’s marquee event returns to normalcy, with its November 18 ceremony taking place at the Beverly Hilton where it was held last in 2019, when Charlize Theron was the recipient.
The event is an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit organization that continues its year-round programming at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. After a year-plus shutdown due to the pandemic, the Aero just reopened June 10. The Egyptian, now under the purview of Netflix, is undergoing renovations before reopening as a venue both Netflix and American Cinematheque (on the weekends) will be using for their programming.
American Cinematheque board chair Rick Nicita announced Johansson...
The event is an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit organization that continues its year-round programming at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. After a year-plus shutdown due to the pandemic, the Aero just reopened June 10. The Egyptian, now under the purview of Netflix, is undergoing renovations before reopening as a venue both Netflix and American Cinematheque (on the weekends) will be using for their programming.
American Cinematheque board chair Rick Nicita announced Johansson...
- 6/22/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
And just like that – here comes spring. Amazon Prime‘s list of new releases for April 2021 isn’t as cheery as one would expect from the sunny season. But perhaps that’s by design – you should be outside anyway!
Amazon’s most prominent original series for April 2021 is undoubtedly Them from multi-hyphenate Lena Waithe. This horror anthology’s first season, subtitled “Covenant”, will center on a Black family in the 1950s who move from North Carolina to a white neighborhood in Los Angeles. It premieres on April 9. Given its name and premise, Them is drawing some (largely joke-y) comparisons to Jordan Peele’s Us on social media. But hey, the world could always use some more Us.
Read more TV Does the Latest Lord of the Rings Amazon Series Cast Exit Signal Trouble? By Joseph Baxter TV New On Amazon Prime Video UK March 2021: Invincible, Coming 2 America and More!
Amazon’s most prominent original series for April 2021 is undoubtedly Them from multi-hyphenate Lena Waithe. This horror anthology’s first season, subtitled “Covenant”, will center on a Black family in the 1950s who move from North Carolina to a white neighborhood in Los Angeles. It premieres on April 9. Given its name and premise, Them is drawing some (largely joke-y) comparisons to Jordan Peele’s Us on social media. But hey, the world could always use some more Us.
Read more TV Does the Latest Lord of the Rings Amazon Series Cast Exit Signal Trouble? By Joseph Baxter TV New On Amazon Prime Video UK March 2021: Invincible, Coming 2 America and More!
- 3/31/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
While the first day of spring technically belongs to March, everyone knows that it kicks into high gear in April. To celebrate the changing of the seasons, Hulu is finally bringing back its signature original series for April 2021.
Season 4 of the multiple Emmy award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale premieres on April 28. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen June and her dystopian world. In fact, it’s been so long that our own world decided to endure its own dystopian pandemic in the meantime. Hopefully this series’ return will mean we can keep our political and social collapses on television where they belong.
Aside from The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu isn’t brining much else to the table in terms of originals this month. Thankfully, the one other original that Hulu has in store for April sounds completely righteous. Sasquatch, the latest docuseries from the Duplass brothers producing team, will cover exactly what the title promises.
Season 4 of the multiple Emmy award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale premieres on April 28. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen June and her dystopian world. In fact, it’s been so long that our own world decided to endure its own dystopian pandemic in the meantime. Hopefully this series’ return will mean we can keep our political and social collapses on television where they belong.
Aside from The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu isn’t brining much else to the table in terms of originals this month. Thankfully, the one other original that Hulu has in store for April sounds completely righteous. Sasquatch, the latest docuseries from the Duplass brothers producing team, will cover exactly what the title promises.
- 3/31/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir’s Gaza-set drama “The Oblivion Theory” has won the top prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Presented by Paris-based Incognito Films and Berlin’s One Two Films, the film is based on José Eduardo Agualusa’s novel “A General Theory of Oblivion,” although the book’s story has been moved from Angola to Palestine during the First Intifada, the sustained protests by Palestinians against Israel occupation that lasted from 1987 to 1993.
The film centers on an American woman who accidentally gets stuck in an apartment in Gaza at the outbreak of the protests, becoming an unlikely witness and survivor in a country in the midst of massive upheaval.
“Forever etched in my psyche, the First Intifada marked my life and changed me forever,” said Jacir, who last year served on the Berlinale Competition jury. “‘The Oblivion Theory’ describes a very different experience of that time in my country’s story.
Presented by Paris-based Incognito Films and Berlin’s One Two Films, the film is based on José Eduardo Agualusa’s novel “A General Theory of Oblivion,” although the book’s story has been moved from Angola to Palestine during the First Intifada, the sustained protests by Palestinians against Israel occupation that lasted from 1987 to 1993.
The film centers on an American woman who accidentally gets stuck in an apartment in Gaza at the outbreak of the protests, becoming an unlikely witness and survivor in a country in the midst of massive upheaval.
“Forever etched in my psyche, the First Intifada marked my life and changed me forever,” said Jacir, who last year served on the Berlinale Competition jury. “‘The Oblivion Theory’ describes a very different experience of that time in my country’s story.
- 3/4/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Maria Bakalova has been collecting critical plaudits left and right for her breakthrough role as the title character’s daughter Tutar in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” That recognition has mostly been as a supporting actress, but she’ll be competing as a lead at the Golden Globes, where she has quickly risen up the ranks in our racetrack odds. Now she’s challenging Golden Globes queen Meryl Streep (“The Prom”) for the win.
Bakalova has been awarded Best Supporting Actress by Chicago, Florida, Indiana, New York, Online, and National Society film critics groups for her performance. And since we learned she’d be competing for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress at the Globes, she has risen to second place with 4/1 odds based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users. Compare that to January 1, when Bakalova was down in fourth place with 7/1 odds.
SEEMaria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’) on...
Bakalova has been awarded Best Supporting Actress by Chicago, Florida, Indiana, New York, Online, and National Society film critics groups for her performance. And since we learned she’d be competing for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress at the Globes, she has risen to second place with 4/1 odds based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users. Compare that to January 1, when Bakalova was down in fourth place with 7/1 odds.
SEEMaria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’) on...
- 2/2/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto is set to star in and executive produce Spy Princess, a limited series based on Shrabani Basu’s Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, the definitive biography of Noor’s life, from writer Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring) and Red Room Films.
Hetreed will pen the adaptation based on the book, and Basu will serve as a consultant on the series.
Noor was the first female wireless operator sent into occupied France in 1943 – a role with a life expectancy of just six weeks.
“She was a fierce and amazing woman, the most unlikely heroine of World War 2,” Pinto said. “Sending women to the front line is controversial even now. Then it was unthinkable. Sending a Sufi mystic, who won’t use a gun, daughter of a long-haired Indian Guru who preaches love and peace – ridiculous! But Noor thrives, not in spite of her differences,...
Hetreed will pen the adaptation based on the book, and Basu will serve as a consultant on the series.
Noor was the first female wireless operator sent into occupied France in 1943 – a role with a life expectancy of just six weeks.
“She was a fierce and amazing woman, the most unlikely heroine of World War 2,” Pinto said. “Sending women to the front line is controversial even now. Then it was unthinkable. Sending a Sufi mystic, who won’t use a gun, daughter of a long-haired Indian Guru who preaches love and peace – ridiculous! But Noor thrives, not in spite of her differences,...
- 1/15/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks to Alistair Owen, author of The Art of Screen Adaptation: Top Writers Reveal Their Craft, about his picks for 5 Great Screen Adaptations – dipping into 5 case studies from the book:
Drive – Hossein Amini – how to write a great opening Atonement – Christopher Hampton – fidelity to the novel Pride & Prejudice – Deborah Moggach – importance of point of view / use of voiceover (compare and contrast with Andrew Davies’ TV version) Great Expectations – Sarah Phelps – how small changes can make a big difference (compare and contract with David Nicholls’ film version) Wild – Nick Hornby – the challenges of nonfiction
Hollywood. Netflix. Amazon. BBC. Producers and audiences are hungrier than ever for stories, and a lot of those stories begin life as a book – but how exactly do you transfer a story from the page to the screen? Do adaptations use the same creative gears as original screenplays?...
Drive – Hossein Amini – how to write a great opening Atonement – Christopher Hampton – fidelity to the novel Pride & Prejudice – Deborah Moggach – importance of point of view / use of voiceover (compare and contrast with Andrew Davies’ TV version) Great Expectations – Sarah Phelps – how small changes can make a big difference (compare and contract with David Nicholls’ film version) Wild – Nick Hornby – the challenges of nonfiction
Hollywood. Netflix. Amazon. BBC. Producers and audiences are hungrier than ever for stories, and a lot of those stories begin life as a book – but how exactly do you transfer a story from the page to the screen? Do adaptations use the same creative gears as original screenplays?...
- 11/9/2020
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
16 regional and international features are competing for the festival’s $50,000 Golden Star award.
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival kicked off its fourth edition against the Covid-19 odds over the weekend, feting French actor Gérard Depardieu and UK director Peter Webber with its special Golden Star Career Achievement Award at the opening ceremony.
Taking to the stage, Depardieu praised the festival for pulling off such a large-scale event and professed his admiration for late Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine.
A host of film and TV stars from Egypt as well as a smattering of international guests walked the red carpet at the glitzy opening event,...
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival kicked off its fourth edition against the Covid-19 odds over the weekend, feting French actor Gérard Depardieu and UK director Peter Webber with its special Golden Star Career Achievement Award at the opening ceremony.
Taking to the stage, Depardieu praised the festival for pulling off such a large-scale event and professed his admiration for late Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine.
A host of film and TV stars from Egypt as well as a smattering of international guests walked the red carpet at the glitzy opening event,...
- 10/26/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Director Peter Webber is preparing a six-part series sequel to his Colombia-set teen drama “Pickpockets” (“Maestros del robo”), which Netflix launched globally in 2018. The film tells the story of aspiring teenage thieves learning how to be successful pickpockets.
“Apparently, it did really well amongst teenagers,” Webber told Variety. “They asked us to do a sequel, so at the moment we are working on six one-hour episodes following up the main characters.”
Netflix is not believed to be officially attached to the sequel, which is still in development stages.
It’s understood that the project will have a broader scope than the film. “As the series develops, the locations change,” Webber said. “It’s a bit more international than the last one.”
British native Webber is currently at the El Gouna Film Festival, where he is serving as jury president of the Feature Narrative Competition section. The jury also comprises iconic Egyptian actor Asser Yassin,...
“Apparently, it did really well amongst teenagers,” Webber told Variety. “They asked us to do a sequel, so at the moment we are working on six one-hour episodes following up the main characters.”
Netflix is not believed to be officially attached to the sequel, which is still in development stages.
It’s understood that the project will have a broader scope than the film. “As the series develops, the locations change,” Webber said. “It’s a bit more international than the last one.”
British native Webber is currently at the El Gouna Film Festival, where he is serving as jury president of the Feature Narrative Competition section. The jury also comprises iconic Egyptian actor Asser Yassin,...
- 10/26/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (October 23-30), the Middle East’s first sizeable Covid-era physical film event, has set Peter Webber (Girl With A Pearl Earring) as jury president.
Gérard Depardieu will receive the festival’s Career Achievement Award and actor Said Taghmaoui (La Haine) will received the Omar Sharif Award.
Hannibal Rising and Emperor director Webber told us: “It has been a difficult year for many and especially those of us in the film industry, yet it is important to remember that it is our work that has been keeping so many people entertained, inspired and engaged as they were trapped in their homes or struggling during the biggest pandemic in living memory.
“Therefore it’s a great delight and a privilege to be invited to be president of the jury at El Gouna Film Festival, a festival that will celebrate the importance of film at this crucial time.
Gérard Depardieu will receive the festival’s Career Achievement Award and actor Said Taghmaoui (La Haine) will received the Omar Sharif Award.
Hannibal Rising and Emperor director Webber told us: “It has been a difficult year for many and especially those of us in the film industry, yet it is important to remember that it is our work that has been keeping so many people entertained, inspired and engaged as they were trapped in their homes or struggling during the biggest pandemic in living memory.
“Therefore it’s a great delight and a privilege to be invited to be president of the jury at El Gouna Film Festival, a festival that will celebrate the importance of film at this crucial time.
- 10/13/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Fan Bingbing stars as an emperor’s wife having her portrait painted in this artful yet inert period drama
This French-Chinese co-production about an earlier French-Chinese collaboration offers handsome pageantry amid its lavish recreation of 18th-century imperial court life, but it isn’t quite enough to compensate for a puttering narrative motor. Longtime Apichatpong Weerasethakul producer Charles de Meaux has turned director with a far eastern equivalent of Girl With a Pearl Earring – another decorous, ever so slightly sleepy matinee sit.
The film’s subject is Jean-Denis Attiret (played by Melvil Poupaud), a real-life French Jesuit missionary who spent half of his 60-odd years employed as the Chinese court painter. His trickiest commission, recalled here, came from the emperor’s bored wife (Fan Bingbing), thirsting to preserve an image that might turn her indifferent husband’s head.
This French-Chinese co-production about an earlier French-Chinese collaboration offers handsome pageantry amid its lavish recreation of 18th-century imperial court life, but it isn’t quite enough to compensate for a puttering narrative motor. Longtime Apichatpong Weerasethakul producer Charles de Meaux has turned director with a far eastern equivalent of Girl With a Pearl Earring – another decorous, ever so slightly sleepy matinee sit.
The film’s subject is Jean-Denis Attiret (played by Melvil Poupaud), a real-life French Jesuit missionary who spent half of his 60-odd years employed as the Chinese court painter. His trickiest commission, recalled here, came from the emperor’s bored wife (Fan Bingbing), thirsting to preserve an image that might turn her indifferent husband’s head.
- 9/10/2020
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated Girl With A Pearl Earring writer Olivia Hetreed is to adapt Shankari Chandran’s debut novel Song Of The Sun God for Synchronicity Films, producer of Jenna Coleman-fronted BBC drama The Cry, and Australia’s Dragonet Films.
Hetreed is working on a six-part series based on the 2017 novel, which is a family saga that brings to light an untold story of the conflict in Sri Lanka during the country’s two-decade-long civil war.
The novel is set across three generations, beginning in 1948 when the country gained independence, and journeying to the present day. Hetreed’s adaptation will focus on the youngest generation through Leela, a young woman living in London, who is disconnected from her culture and long-held family secrets.
Set against the backdrop of the controversial Sri Lankan presidential election of Autumn 2019, Leela embarks on a quest to find her Aunt Dhara, a former frontline medic...
Hetreed is working on a six-part series based on the 2017 novel, which is a family saga that brings to light an untold story of the conflict in Sri Lanka during the country’s two-decade-long civil war.
The novel is set across three generations, beginning in 1948 when the country gained independence, and journeying to the present day. Hetreed’s adaptation will focus on the youngest generation through Leela, a young woman living in London, who is disconnected from her culture and long-held family secrets.
Set against the backdrop of the controversial Sri Lankan presidential election of Autumn 2019, Leela embarks on a quest to find her Aunt Dhara, a former frontline medic...
- 7/28/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
For the busiest man in movies, life during quarantine hasn’t been all that different from the way it was before. Taking a rare break from work in order to field a phone call from his recording studio in the heart of Paris, ultra-prolific composer Alexandre Desplat admitted that he’s been undeterred by the global shutdown: “It’s been very quiet in the streets, and it’s sad not to see my friends, but aside from that things have actually been almost the same as normal for me. I’ve still been able to go to the studio — every day I am here!”
Desplat never slows down, even when the world stands still. You wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who’s scored at least 70 different films since he broke into the English-language market with “Birth” in 2004. Desplat’s range and virtuosity is unrivaled in modern cinema — who...
Desplat never slows down, even when the world stands still. You wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who’s scored at least 70 different films since he broke into the English-language market with “Birth” in 2004. Desplat’s range and virtuosity is unrivaled in modern cinema — who...
- 5/21/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Renee Zellweger has won Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Awards for playing Judy Garland in the biopic “Judy,” so it’s no surprise that she’s the BAFTAs front-runner too with 31/10 odds. But is she a lock? Not according to a couple of our Experts.
As of this writing 14 out of the 16 Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from top media outlets thus far say Zellweger will continue her awards season sweep: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Edward Douglas (Weekend Warrior), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Fox TV), Susan King (Gold Derby), Jack Mathews (Gold Derby), Wilson Morales (BlackFilm), Perri Nemiroff (Collider), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Brian Truitt (USA Today) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby).
SEEWho will win at the BAFTAs? Check out our official odds
In addition to her awards romp for “Judy” thus far, Zellweger is a...
As of this writing 14 out of the 16 Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from top media outlets thus far say Zellweger will continue her awards season sweep: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Edward Douglas (Weekend Warrior), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Fox TV), Susan King (Gold Derby), Jack Mathews (Gold Derby), Wilson Morales (BlackFilm), Perri Nemiroff (Collider), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Brian Truitt (USA Today) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby).
SEEWho will win at the BAFTAs? Check out our official odds
In addition to her awards romp for “Judy” thus far, Zellweger is a...
- 2/1/2020
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Margot Robbie got doubly good news on Tuesday: The actress received two BAFTA nominations in the same category, making the Best Supporting Actress cut for both of her 2019 outings, “Bombshell” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” She now joins a short list of actors who’ve had to face off against themselves.
Through the 1970s, BAFTA allowed performers to be nominated for multiple films in a single year as one nomination. For example, Jodie Foster won Best Supporting Actress as a single citation for both of her 1976 performances in “Taxi Driver” and “Bugsy Malone.” The British academy then tweaked its rules to allow performers to receive separate nominations for different films in a category in a single year — something that is prohibited at the Oscars.
Since then, an elite handful have managed to double dip, with one person, Kate Winslet, pulling it off twice.
1. Michael Caine: Best Actor...
Through the 1970s, BAFTA allowed performers to be nominated for multiple films in a single year as one nomination. For example, Jodie Foster won Best Supporting Actress as a single citation for both of her 1976 performances in “Taxi Driver” and “Bugsy Malone.” The British academy then tweaked its rules to allow performers to receive separate nominations for different films in a category in a single year — something that is prohibited at the Oscars.
Since then, an elite handful have managed to double dip, with one person, Kate Winslet, pulling it off twice.
1. Michael Caine: Best Actor...
- 1/7/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Renee Zellweger (“Judy”) is the front-runner to win Best Film Drama Actress at the Golden Globes just like she’s the front-runner at the Oscars. But the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that decided the Globes have always been fond of Scarlett Johansson, who is currently nominated for the fifth time for “Marriage Story.” But Johansson has never won before, while Zellweger already has three trophies under her belt. Might this be the time for Johansson to shine?
Most of the Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets agree with the overall consensus that Zellweger will win, but two of them are taking a chance on Johansson: Eric Deggans (NPR) and Joyce Eng (Gold Derby). Johansson is also backed by three of the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby: Matt Noble and myself in addition to Eng.
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions...
Most of the Expert journalists we’ve polled from top media outlets agree with the overall consensus that Zellweger will win, but two of them are taking a chance on Johansson: Eric Deggans (NPR) and Joyce Eng (Gold Derby). Johansson is also backed by three of the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby: Matt Noble and myself in addition to Eng.
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions...
- 12/24/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Oscar nominations are still two months away, but the Best Actress race feels pretty solid with top contenders Renee Zellweger (“Judy”), Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”) and Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”) expected to be shortlisted. If it feels like déjà vu, that’s because it is (sort of). These three were the queens of the 2003-04 Oscar season, with two of them ultimately taking home the big prize and one left out in the cold.
Back then, the trio wasn’t all contending in the same category. Theron was in lead for turning into serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster” and Zellweger was in supporting for “Cold Mountain.” Johansson had the first-world problem of two acclaimed performances in a huge breakthrough year with “Lost in Translation” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” She was indisputably lead in the latter, so for a while she was campaigned in supporting for “Lost in Translation.
Back then, the trio wasn’t all contending in the same category. Theron was in lead for turning into serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster” and Zellweger was in supporting for “Cold Mountain.” Johansson had the first-world problem of two acclaimed performances in a huge breakthrough year with “Lost in Translation” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” She was indisputably lead in the latter, so for a while she was campaigned in supporting for “Lost in Translation.
- 11/26/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
The tide has turned in the Oscar race for Best Supporting Actress. According to the consensus of the Expert journalists we’ve polled, Margot Robbie has dropped out of the top five likeliest nominees for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” She has been replaced by … Margot Robbie in “Bombshell.”
As of October 21, Robbie’s “Bombshell” role as an up-and-coming Fox News personality who experiences sexual harassment places her fifth with 10/1 odds. She’s predicted for a nomination by 13 out of 28 Experts as of this writing . That pushes her “Once Upon a Time” role as real-life actress Sharon Tate down to sixth place with 15/1 odds and support from 9 out of 28 Experts, including one who thinks she’ll win for that performance (NPR’s Eric Deggans).
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“Bombshell” has only recently started screening for press and industry, so just how quick has Robbie’s ascent been?...
As of October 21, Robbie’s “Bombshell” role as an up-and-coming Fox News personality who experiences sexual harassment places her fifth with 10/1 odds. She’s predicted for a nomination by 13 out of 28 Experts as of this writing . That pushes her “Once Upon a Time” role as real-life actress Sharon Tate down to sixth place with 15/1 odds and support from 9 out of 28 Experts, including one who thinks she’ll win for that performance (NPR’s Eric Deggans).
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“Bombshell” has only recently started screening for press and industry, so just how quick has Robbie’s ascent been?...
- 10/25/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Will Margot Robbie earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress? If so, will it be for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” or “Bombshell”? Academy rules prohibit an actor from being nominated twice in the same category. But maybe it doesn’t matter. Having two roles getting attention in the Oscar race could lead to a victory no matter which one you’re actually nominated for. Just ask Alicia Vikander.
Vikander was one of the breakout stars of 2015, showing up in a handful of films including “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Burnt,” but the two she got the most attention for were “The Danish Girl” and “Ex Machina” in which she played the wife of a transgender artist and a robot, respectively. Critics were most fond of her role in “Ex Machina” — that performance won her prizes from Los Angeles, Chicago and many other regional journalist groups — but industry groups favored “The Danish Girl.
Vikander was one of the breakout stars of 2015, showing up in a handful of films including “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Burnt,” but the two she got the most attention for were “The Danish Girl” and “Ex Machina” in which she played the wife of a transgender artist and a robot, respectively. Critics were most fond of her role in “Ex Machina” — that performance won her prizes from Los Angeles, Chicago and many other regional journalist groups — but industry groups favored “The Danish Girl.
- 10/20/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
To mark the release of Inna De Yard, out now, we’ve been given a signed vinyl and poster to give away to 1 winner.
Inna De Yard is a joyous, vibrant film set against the backdrop of the lush green mountains of Jamaica in which a superstar group of reggae legends gather to record a new album of infectious hits in an unplugged style that harks back to their roots. The musicians include Ken Boothe, Winston McAnuff, Kiddus I, Cedric Myton and Judy Mowatt whose iconic songs capture the poetry and passion of their homeland.
Directed by Peter Webber (Girl With A Pearl Earring), the film is studded with intimate acoustic versions of classic tracks (such as Ken Boothe’s Everything I Own) and dazzling live performances from their unforgettable all-star concert in Paris.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Inna De Yard...
Inna De Yard is a joyous, vibrant film set against the backdrop of the lush green mountains of Jamaica in which a superstar group of reggae legends gather to record a new album of infectious hits in an unplugged style that harks back to their roots. The musicians include Ken Boothe, Winston McAnuff, Kiddus I, Cedric Myton and Judy Mowatt whose iconic songs capture the poetry and passion of their homeland.
Directed by Peter Webber (Girl With A Pearl Earring), the film is studded with intimate acoustic versions of classic tracks (such as Ken Boothe’s Everything I Own) and dazzling live performances from their unforgettable all-star concert in Paris.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Inna De Yard...
- 9/4/2019
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Greatest 20 living actresses never nominated for an Oscar, including Scarlett Johansson, Emily Blunt
With the debut of teaser trailers for “Marriage Story” from Noah Baumbach, actress Scarlett Johansson is once again in the conversation for a possible Oscar nomination. She will also have the anticipated film “Jojo Rabbit” later this awards season. If she gets a bid, it would surprisingly be her first ever in a career filled with contenders such as “Lost in Translation” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring” plus her blockbusters including “The Avengers” franchise.
Just a few months ago, Emily Blunt won her first SAG Award in 2019 but also still can’t gain attention from Oscar voters. She took home the trophy in the supporting category for “A Quiet Place” but also had a bid as a lead actress for “Mary Poppins Returns.”
SEEEmily Blunt Interview: ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and ‘A Quiet Place’
They are both featured in a photo gallery above that no lady would want — the 20 greatest...
Just a few months ago, Emily Blunt won her first SAG Award in 2019 but also still can’t gain attention from Oscar voters. She took home the trophy in the supporting category for “A Quiet Place” but also had a bid as a lead actress for “Mary Poppins Returns.”
SEEEmily Blunt Interview: ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and ‘A Quiet Place’
They are both featured in a photo gallery above that no lady would want — the 20 greatest...
- 8/21/2019
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The British director on his love of Jamaican reggae – subject of his documentary Inna de Yard – and why he’s no longer a doom-monger
Director Peter Webber was born in 1968 and grew up in west London. His 2003 feature Girl With a Pearl Earring, starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, received three Oscar and 10 Bafta nominations. In 2007, he directed Hannibal Rising, a prequel to Silence of the Lambs. Following music documentaries about Schubert and Wagner earlier in his career, Webber’s new film Inna de Yard focuses on a group of veteran reggae artists – including 70s star Ken Boothe and Cedric Myton from the Congos – revisiting their glory days in the hills above Kingston, Jamaica.
What compelled you to make a reggae documentary?
This film really went back to passions and enthusiasms I’ve had since I was a teenager. What really hooked me into reggae was listening to the first...
Director Peter Webber was born in 1968 and grew up in west London. His 2003 feature Girl With a Pearl Earring, starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, received three Oscar and 10 Bafta nominations. In 2007, he directed Hannibal Rising, a prequel to Silence of the Lambs. Following music documentaries about Schubert and Wagner earlier in his career, Webber’s new film Inna de Yard focuses on a group of veteran reggae artists – including 70s star Ken Boothe and Cedric Myton from the Congos – revisiting their glory days in the hills above Kingston, Jamaica.
What compelled you to make a reggae documentary?
This film really went back to passions and enthusiasms I’ve had since I was a teenager. What really hooked me into reggae was listening to the first...
- 8/4/2019
- by Killian Fox
- The Guardian - Film News
Netflix announced earlier this month it would be setting up a new production base at England’s Shepperton Studios, a new power move at a time when Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, and more are all gearing up to launch their own streaming platforms to compete against Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more. The streaming wars are nearly upon us and British film producers are worried what that means for the future of independent film in the UK. Several producers recently spoke to The Guardian expressing their fears that all of the attention on streamers will leave the UK film industry neglected.
Andy Paterson, who co-produced the Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman-starring drama “The Railway Man” and “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” said the amount of content needed to fill all of the various streaming platforms means there’s never been a better time to be a filmmaker or producer in Britain.
Andy Paterson, who co-produced the Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman-starring drama “The Railway Man” and “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” said the amount of content needed to fill all of the various streaming platforms means there’s never been a better time to be a filmmaker or producer in Britain.
- 7/11/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The scheme is open to writers, directors and producers who are Scottish residents.
Young Films Foundation’s second-annual residency on Scotland’s Isle of Skye welcomed mentors including producer Margaret Matheson, actor Joe Thomas, director Jonny Campbell, writers Olivia Hetreed (Girl With A Pearl Earring) and Francesca Gardiner and more to mentor six selected rising Scottish film and TV creatives.
Other top industry attendees included Dan MacRae (StudioCanal), Dionne Farrell (BBC Films), Celine Coulson (Film4), Isabel Davis and Sean Greenhorn from Screen Scotland, producers Beth Willis and Liz Lewin (Derry Girls).
The six participants, selected from more than 100 applicants, were:
Daisy Costello,...
Young Films Foundation’s second-annual residency on Scotland’s Isle of Skye welcomed mentors including producer Margaret Matheson, actor Joe Thomas, director Jonny Campbell, writers Olivia Hetreed (Girl With A Pearl Earring) and Francesca Gardiner and more to mentor six selected rising Scottish film and TV creatives.
Other top industry attendees included Dan MacRae (StudioCanal), Dionne Farrell (BBC Films), Celine Coulson (Film4), Isabel Davis and Sean Greenhorn from Screen Scotland, producers Beth Willis and Liz Lewin (Derry Girls).
The six participants, selected from more than 100 applicants, were:
Daisy Costello,...
- 7/2/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The 10th anniversary of the UK and Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, was once again a huge success. The prestigious festival featuring the biggest line-up to date, with 100 events across 5 cities in the UK brought audiences into the world of these incredible films with special screenings that included Q and A conversations and as well as fascinating talks and master classes on filmmaking!
Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE, Executive & Programming Director of Liff, says, “On our 10th Birthday year I’m delighted that we have not only expanded to 5 cities with 100 screenings, but also showcased our strongest film selection ever, helmed by the world premiere of politically daring film Article 15. Continuing to push the boundaries of diversity, I’m very pleased that our women protagonist led and Lgbtq+ themed films have seen audiences flocking to them, redefining images of Indian and South Asian culture in the media.”
Liff...
Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE, Executive & Programming Director of Liff, says, “On our 10th Birthday year I’m delighted that we have not only expanded to 5 cities with 100 screenings, but also showcased our strongest film selection ever, helmed by the world premiere of politically daring film Article 15. Continuing to push the boundaries of diversity, I’m very pleased that our women protagonist led and Lgbtq+ themed films have seen audiences flocking to them, redefining images of Indian and South Asian culture in the media.”
Liff...
- 7/1/2019
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
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