Bankside Films has boarded Calum Macdiarmid’s prison thriller Wasteman starring 2023 Screen Star of Tomorrow David Jonsson and Tom Blyth and has struck an early deal with Lionsgate for UK & Ireland rights.
Macdiarmid’s feature debut follows parolee Taylor, whose hopes of a fresh start are jeopardised by the arrival of dominant cellmate Dee, played by Blyth, who recently played the young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.
As Taylor finds solace and protection in Dee’s shadow, their bond is tested when Dee becomes the target of a vicious attack, leading to an...
Macdiarmid’s feature debut follows parolee Taylor, whose hopes of a fresh start are jeopardised by the arrival of dominant cellmate Dee, played by Blyth, who recently played the young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.
As Taylor finds solace and protection in Dee’s shadow, their bond is tested when Dee becomes the target of a vicious attack, leading to an...
- 5/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
The bridge between Indian and American action cinema has unfortunately yet to be built. There are throughlines between the two industries, that's for sure; recently, Siddharth Anand's “Fighter” borrowed the luscious aesthetics and jingoistic tone of the “Top Gun” franchise, and the work of Lokesh Kanagaraj wouldn't quite be the way it is without his trusty, robust list of North American favorites. But there has yet to be a film that solidly unifies the nations with an equal balance of what makes each industries' take on high-octane thrills so heady. That is perhaps until now, with Dev Patel's American-produced, Mumbai-set one-man-army action-extravaganza “Monkey Man” that pounds its chest onto screens around the world with unparalleled levels of energy, swagger and savagery.
Follow our coverage of Hindi cinema by clicking on the image below
Patel is Kid, a bottom-of-the-ladder bare-knuckle brawler who has gained a reputation as a fall...
Follow our coverage of Hindi cinema by clicking on the image below
Patel is Kid, a bottom-of-the-ladder bare-knuckle brawler who has gained a reputation as a fall...
- 4/5/2024
- by Simon Ramshaw
- AsianMoviePulse
The Harry Potter and Bridget Jones star is a dazzlingly versatile performer, with a string of Michael Winterbottom films under her belt, as well as Star Wars, TV’s Happy Valley and an Olivier award. She explains how she keeps on top of it all
It is easy to feel protective of Shirley Henderson on this gloomy winter afternoon. Is she warm enough? Does she want to put the heating on? “Aye, I’m Ok,” she says from her home in Fife, a few strands of chestnut hair falling over her glasses as she huddles close to the laptop. “It’s a wee bit blowy out. But I’m at the age where you can get too warm, so I’m all right.” Her giggle is helium-high: the sort of sound you want to trap, like in one of those toy moo boxes, so that you can play it when...
It is easy to feel protective of Shirley Henderson on this gloomy winter afternoon. Is she warm enough? Does she want to put the heating on? “Aye, I’m Ok,” she says from her home in Fife, a few strands of chestnut hair falling over her glasses as she huddles close to the laptop. “It’s a wee bit blowy out. But I’m at the age where you can get too warm, so I’m all right.” Her giggle is helium-high: the sort of sound you want to trap, like in one of those toy moo boxes, so that you can play it when...
- 3/29/2024
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Independent titles lead the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with Thea Sharrock’s comedy Wicked Little Letters starting in 685 sites through Studiocanal.
Written by Jonny Sweet and based on a true scandal from 1920s England, Wicked Little Letters centres on an English seaside town targeted by a series of obscene letters, that are investigated by a group of women from the area.
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast, that also includes Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby and Timothy Spall. Buckley, Vasan and Kirby were named Screen Stars of Tomorrow in 2017, 2021 and 2013.
It is the third feature from UK filmmaker Sharrock,...
Written by Jonny Sweet and based on a true scandal from 1920s England, Wicked Little Letters centres on an English seaside town targeted by a series of obscene letters, that are investigated by a group of women from the area.
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast, that also includes Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby and Timothy Spall. Buckley, Vasan and Kirby were named Screen Stars of Tomorrow in 2017, 2021 and 2013.
It is the third feature from UK filmmaker Sharrock,...
- 2/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
Michael Winterbottom’s drama centres on the romance between a British police officer and a socialist Zionist writer but puts history-telling over emotion
Working with co-writers Laurence Coriat and Paul Viragh, Michael Winterbottom hits a clear, confident stride with a robustly well made, if emotionally flavourless historical drama set during the British mandate in what was then Palestine. It is a film that speaks in a complex way to the current Gaza debate, contending that Zionism has anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism in its 20th-century manifestation: a rage against the British masters. But the implication is that it learned habits of ruthlessness from these very people.
The film is based on the true story of Shoshana Borochov, a socialist Zionist writer who came with her Ukrainian family to Tel Aviv as a child in the 1920s and grew up to have a long-term romantic relationship with a British police officer called Thomas Wilkin,...
Working with co-writers Laurence Coriat and Paul Viragh, Michael Winterbottom hits a clear, confident stride with a robustly well made, if emotionally flavourless historical drama set during the British mandate in what was then Palestine. It is a film that speaks in a complex way to the current Gaza debate, contending that Zionism has anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism in its 20th-century manifestation: a rage against the British masters. But the implication is that it learned habits of ruthlessness from these very people.
The film is based on the true story of Shoshana Borochov, a socialist Zionist writer who came with her Ukrainian family to Tel Aviv as a child in the 1920s and grew up to have a long-term romantic relationship with a British police officer called Thomas Wilkin,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £6.9 million ($8.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore.
Universal’s animation “Migration” dropped a spot to second place with £2.7 million in its third weekend and now has a total of £13.5 million. Sony’s “Madame Web” debuted in third position with £2.2 million.
In fourth place, in its third weekend, Universal’s “Argylle” earned £544,846 for a total of £5 million. Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” that collected £424,825 in its 11th weekend for a total of £62.1 million.
There were no other debuts in the top 10.
The midweek release coming up is the 48th & 1/2 anniversary, as the makers style it, re-release of Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones’ cult 1975 comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Gilliam and Jones, from Graft Entertainment. It opens Wednesday, Feb. 21.
“All of Us Strangers...
Universal’s animation “Migration” dropped a spot to second place with £2.7 million in its third weekend and now has a total of £13.5 million. Sony’s “Madame Web” debuted in third position with £2.2 million.
In fourth place, in its third weekend, Universal’s “Argylle” earned £544,846 for a total of £5 million. Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” that collected £424,825 in its 11th weekend for a total of £62.1 million.
There were no other debuts in the top 10.
The midweek release coming up is the 48th & 1/2 anniversary, as the makers style it, re-release of Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones’ cult 1975 comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Gilliam and Jones, from Graft Entertainment. It opens Wednesday, Feb. 21.
“All of Us Strangers...
- 2/20/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton who was awarded a Fellowship at the Ee BAFTA Awards on Sunday has called for more investment in British cinema.
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.
The U.K....
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.
The U.K....
- 2/18/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Matteo Garrone rose to international prominence with his gritty Mafia thriller Gomorrah (2008), depicting Naples as a hellish war zone. His latest endeavor, Io Capitano earned him the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice, is a scorching topical drama that provides a unique perspective on Italy, seen through the eyes of outsiders who perceive it as the beacon at the end of a dark and twisted tunnel. The narrative follows a young protagonist lured by the allure of Europe, abandoning the warmth of his domestic life and congenial community to embark on a journey that unveils the harsh reality that the grass on the other side is not always greener. The tale meticulously traces the migrants’ hardships and injustices, unfurling a merciless portrayal of what people inflict upon those they see as helpless. Through the lens of two Senegalese teenagers, the film exposes the punishing process of illegal migration, delving...
- 2/17/2024
- by Dipankar Sarkar
- Talking Films
Doctor Rachel Clarke and ex-junior doctors Jed Mercurio and Prasanna Puwanarajah have teamed up to make Covid drama Breathtaking, here’s the trailer.
It is perhaps no surprise that following the most tumultuous, traumatic time in our recent history, writers quickly opened Final Draft and began to try to make some sense of it all.
Jack Thorne’s astonishingly powerful film Help, which starred Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, shone a light on the brutal reality or running a care home during the pandemic.
Michael Winterbottom and Keiron Quirke aimed their anger at the political side of things, with Kenneth Branagh playing Boris Johnson in mini series This England, while writer Stephen Knight and director Doug Liman took a more lighthearted approach with comedy drama Lockdown, which saw Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor stage a diamond heist in Harrods.
Jed Mercurio is no stranger to medical dramas, drawing on his...
It is perhaps no surprise that following the most tumultuous, traumatic time in our recent history, writers quickly opened Final Draft and began to try to make some sense of it all.
Jack Thorne’s astonishingly powerful film Help, which starred Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, shone a light on the brutal reality or running a care home during the pandemic.
Michael Winterbottom and Keiron Quirke aimed their anger at the political side of things, with Kenneth Branagh playing Boris Johnson in mini series This England, while writer Stephen Knight and director Doug Liman took a more lighthearted approach with comedy drama Lockdown, which saw Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor stage a diamond heist in Harrods.
Jed Mercurio is no stranger to medical dramas, drawing on his...
- 2/8/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
British actor, writer, and director Samantha Morton will be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at next week’s Ee BAFTA Film Awards.
Born in Nottingham in 1977, Morton garnered international attention in 1997 with her performance in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award first for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America (2003).
Other notable film credits include work with directors such as Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), for which she won Best Performance, Toronto Film Critics Award and a BIFA for Best Actress; Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche,...
Born in Nottingham in 1977, Morton garnered international attention in 1997 with her performance in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award first for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America (2003).
Other notable film credits include work with directors such as Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), for which she won Best Performance, Toronto Film Critics Award and a BIFA for Best Actress; Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche,...
- 2/7/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will be awarded a Fellowship at the upcoming Ee BAFTA Film Awards.
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).
For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).
For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...
- 2/7/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Samantha Morton, the British actor (She Said, The Whale, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Walking Dead), writer (I Am…Kirsty) and director (The Unloved), will receive the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor.
She will be given the honor at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), in London on Feb. 18.
“As a proud BAFTA member I am honored, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award,” Morton said.
Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, lauded her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range,” adding: “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds.” She concluded:...
She will be given the honor at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), in London on Feb. 18.
“As a proud BAFTA member I am honored, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award,” Morton said.
Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, lauded her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range,” adding: “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds.” She concluded:...
- 2/7/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
February––particularly its third week––is all about romance. Accordingly the Criterion Channel got creative with their monthly programming and, in a few weeks, will debut Interdimensional Romance, a series of films wherein “passion conquers time and space, age and memory, and even death and the afterlife.” For every title you might’ve guessed there’s a wilder companion: Alan Rudolph’s Made In Heaven, Soderbergh’s remake, and Resnais’ Love Unto Death. Mostly I’m excited to revisit Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a likely essential viewing before Megalopolis.
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment picked up U.S. distribution rights to the Tel Aviv-set political thriller Shoshana from BAFTA-winning filmmaker Michael Winterbottom.
The pic, which debuted at TIFF before playing the London Film Festival, was written by Laurence Coriat, Paul Viragh, and Winterbottom. Cast includes Irina Starshenbaum (Leto), Douglas Booth (That Dirty Black Bag), and Harry Melling (The Pale Blue Eye). Greenwich will release the film next year.
Inspired by real events, Shoshana is a political thriller set in 1930s Tel Aviv. Thomas Wilkin, who works in the anti-terrorist squad of the British Palestine Police Force, is in love with Shoshana Borochov. Through their relationship the film explores the way extremism and violence drive a wedge between people, forcing them to choose sides.
Shoshana is an Italian-uk coproduction between Vision Distribution, Revolution Films, and Bartlebyfilm. Producers on the film include Melissa Parmenter, Massimo Di Rocco, Josh Hyams,...
The pic, which debuted at TIFF before playing the London Film Festival, was written by Laurence Coriat, Paul Viragh, and Winterbottom. Cast includes Irina Starshenbaum (Leto), Douglas Booth (That Dirty Black Bag), and Harry Melling (The Pale Blue Eye). Greenwich will release the film next year.
Inspired by real events, Shoshana is a political thriller set in 1930s Tel Aviv. Thomas Wilkin, who works in the anti-terrorist squad of the British Palestine Police Force, is in love with Shoshana Borochov. Through their relationship the film explores the way extremism and violence drive a wedge between people, forcing them to choose sides.
Shoshana is an Italian-uk coproduction between Vision Distribution, Revolution Films, and Bartlebyfilm. Producers on the film include Melissa Parmenter, Massimo Di Rocco, Josh Hyams,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
A Gritty Realism Foray with Welcome to Sarajevo The film Welcome to Sarajevo marked a significant turn in Michael Winterbottom’s career, propelling him into the realm of war-torn settings and gritty realism. The movie’s blend of fiction and documentary footage brought the Bosnian conflict’s harrowing reality to an international audience. In his own words, Winterbottom aimed to bring attention to the war, expressing his concern for the lack of action despite the widespread media coverage. Our hope when we made the film was that it might bring Sarajevo to the attention of people, he said, highlighting his drive to tackle...
- 12/8/2023
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Red Sea jury president was speaking during an In Conversation event at the festival
Elvis and Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrmann says he would rather retire than simply add to the huge amount of “noise” in the entertainment world.
Luhrmann, who is presiding over the jury at the Red Sea International Film Festival, revealed in an In Conversation event in Jeddah that he is considering retirement because he won’t allow himself to direct a film unless it is worth spending years of his effort or of his audience’s time.
“I would rather retire, which I am considering now,...
Elvis and Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrmann says he would rather retire than simply add to the huge amount of “noise” in the entertainment world.
Luhrmann, who is presiding over the jury at the Red Sea International Film Festival, revealed in an In Conversation event in Jeddah that he is considering retirement because he won’t allow himself to direct a film unless it is worth spending years of his effort or of his audience’s time.
“I would rather retire, which I am considering now,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Mona Sheded
- ScreenDaily
Blyth’s recent credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Michael Winterbottom has written and is set to direct a new film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s classic World War I novel A Farewell To Arms starring Tom Blyth
Blyth, whose recent credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and MGM+ series Billy the Kid, will play the role of volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during the First World War.
The Fremantle-backed film is set to start shooting in...
Michael Winterbottom has written and is set to direct a new film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s classic World War I novel A Farewell To Arms starring Tom Blyth
Blyth, whose recent credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and MGM+ series Billy the Kid, will play the role of volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during the First World War.
The Fremantle-backed film is set to start shooting in...
- 12/7/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
“Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” breakout Tom Blyth has found his next starring role in a new film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s seminal novel “A Farewell to Arms.”
Directed and written by Michael Winterbottom, the film stars Blyth as protagonist Frederic Henry, a young volunteer ambulance driver for the Italian Army during World War I who gets wounded and falls in love with his nurse. Produced by Fremantle, Revolution Films and Passenger, “A Farewell to Arms” is set to start shooting in Italy later next year.
Published in 1929, Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” is considered one of the greatest war novels of the 20th century and made the author a household name. Based on Hemingway’s own experience serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI, the book is both an unflinching account of the atrocities of war and a dramatic love story. It...
Directed and written by Michael Winterbottom, the film stars Blyth as protagonist Frederic Henry, a young volunteer ambulance driver for the Italian Army during World War I who gets wounded and falls in love with his nurse. Produced by Fremantle, Revolution Films and Passenger, “A Farewell to Arms” is set to start shooting in Italy later next year.
Published in 1929, Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” is considered one of the greatest war novels of the 20th century and made the author a household name. Based on Hemingway’s own experience serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI, the book is both an unflinching account of the atrocities of war and a dramatic love story. It...
- 12/7/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Blyth is exchanging the Hunger Games for a hospital bed. The British actor, who plays a young Coriolanus Snow in Francis Lawrence’s Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, has signed on to play the lead role in Michael Winterbottom’s new adaptation of the Ernst Hemingway WWI classic A Farewell to Arms.
Blyth will play Frederic Henry, a volunteer ambulance driver who is injured in Italy during the first World War and falls in love with his nurse.
The Hemingway novel, first published in 1929 and closely based on the writer’s own experience as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front, A Farewell to Arms has been adapted multiple times in the past, including in 1932 with Gary Cooper in the Frederic Henry role, in 1957 starring Rock Hudson, and as a 1966 mini-series with George Hamilton as Henry.
Winterbottom’s feature version...
Blyth will play Frederic Henry, a volunteer ambulance driver who is injured in Italy during the first World War and falls in love with his nurse.
The Hemingway novel, first published in 1929 and closely based on the writer’s own experience as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front, A Farewell to Arms has been adapted multiple times in the past, including in 1932 with Gary Cooper in the Frederic Henry role, in 1957 starring Rock Hudson, and as a 1966 mini-series with George Hamilton as Henry.
Winterbottom’s feature version...
- 12/7/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tom Blyth is set to follow in the footsteps of Gary Cooper, Rock Hudson and George Hamilton to star in Michael Winterbottom’s new adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel A Farewell to Arms.
Fremantle, Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films and Passenger are joining forces on the production.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Billy the Kid star Blyth will play volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during World War One.
Published in 1929, A Farewell To Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front.
Considered one of the greatest war novels of the twentieth century, it established Hemingway as a household name.
The novel has previously been...
Fremantle, Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films and Passenger are joining forces on the production.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Billy the Kid star Blyth will play volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during World War One.
Published in 1929, A Farewell To Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front.
Considered one of the greatest war novels of the twentieth century, it established Hemingway as a household name.
The novel has previously been...
- 12/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Kit Vincent’s debut ‘Red Herring’ also won best UK feature
US actor Michael Pitt was among the winners at the UK’s 31st Raindance Film Festival (October 25-November 4).
Pitt won best performance for his portrayal of a once-renowned boxer on a path to redemption in Jack Huston’s directorial debut Day Of The Fight. The UK drama premiered in Venice’s Horizons Extra strand earlier in September.
Best UK feature was won by Kit Vincent’s debut Red Herring, a documentary about his diagnosis with a terminal brain tumour. It is also one of the five films nominated for the Bifa Raindance Maverick award.
US actor Michael Pitt was among the winners at the UK’s 31st Raindance Film Festival (October 25-November 4).
Pitt won best performance for his portrayal of a once-renowned boxer on a path to redemption in Jack Huston’s directorial debut Day Of The Fight. The UK drama premiered in Venice’s Horizons Extra strand earlier in September.
Best UK feature was won by Kit Vincent’s debut Red Herring, a documentary about his diagnosis with a terminal brain tumour. It is also one of the five films nominated for the Bifa Raindance Maverick award.
- 11/6/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Kit Vincent’s debut ‘Red Herring’ also won best UK feature
US actor Michael Pitt was among the winners at the UK’s 31st Raindance Film Festival (October 25 – November 4).
Pitt won best performance for his portrayal of a once-renowned boxer on a path to redemption in Jack Hutson’s directorial debut Day Of The Fight. The UK drama premiered at Venice Horizons Extra earlier this year.
Best UK feature was won by Kit Vincent’s debut Red Herring, a documentary surrounding his diagnosis of a terminal brain tumour. It is also one of the five films nominated for the Bifa Raindance Maverick award.
US actor Michael Pitt was among the winners at the UK’s 31st Raindance Film Festival (October 25 – November 4).
Pitt won best performance for his portrayal of a once-renowned boxer on a path to redemption in Jack Hutson’s directorial debut Day Of The Fight. The UK drama premiered at Venice Horizons Extra earlier this year.
Best UK feature was won by Kit Vincent’s debut Red Herring, a documentary surrounding his diagnosis of a terminal brain tumour. It is also one of the five films nominated for the Bifa Raindance Maverick award.
- 11/6/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Bangladeshi filmmaker Nuhash Humayun’s “Pett Kata Shaw” won best international feature at the 31st Raindance Film Festival’s jury awards. British documentary filmmaker Kit Vincent won best U.K. feature for his debut feature “Red Herring.”
Some 75% of this year’s features are debuts and debut features swept the board at the jury awards with all eight award-winning films being debuts.
Michael Pitt won best performance for British actor Jack Huston‘s directorial debut “Day of the Fight.” Fisnik Maxville was named best director for his debut feature “The Land Within,” which previously won awards at Tallinn Black Nights, Galway Film Fleadh and PriFest. Catalan directors Alejandro Rojas and Sebastián Vasquez won the discovery award for their debut feature “Upon Entry.”
Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman and Edivan Guajajara’s “We Are Guardians” won best documentary while David Wyte won best cinematography for “All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White.
Some 75% of this year’s features are debuts and debut features swept the board at the jury awards with all eight award-winning films being debuts.
Michael Pitt won best performance for British actor Jack Huston‘s directorial debut “Day of the Fight.” Fisnik Maxville was named best director for his debut feature “The Land Within,” which previously won awards at Tallinn Black Nights, Galway Film Fleadh and PriFest. Catalan directors Alejandro Rojas and Sebastián Vasquez won the discovery award for their debut feature “Upon Entry.”
Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman and Edivan Guajajara’s “We Are Guardians” won best documentary while David Wyte won best cinematography for “All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White.
- 11/3/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Soberly relevant in light of the current Israel-Hamas conflict, filmmaker Michael Winterbottom takes us back to the pre-1948 establishment of the state of Israel and early rise of Zionist activism, as told through a love story between a Jew and a Brit. Shoshana is an ambitious project as it weaves action sequences with socio-political ideas of the era with some degree of success – greatly helped by its protagonists’ professions that allow greater insight into the region’s developing unrest.
Set in 1930s’ cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, Shoshana (Irina Starshenbaum) casually meets Englishman Thomas Wilkins (Douglas Booth) at a party, who is assigned to the Palestinian police force, and they begin an affair. Their union is doomed from the beginning as work and social alliances threaten journalist Shoshana’s wellbeing, while Wilkins investigates escalating violence against Arabs from various Zionist militant factions and puts himself in danger’s path.
At the same...
Set in 1930s’ cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, Shoshana (Irina Starshenbaum) casually meets Englishman Thomas Wilkins (Douglas Booth) at a party, who is assigned to the Palestinian police force, and they begin an affair. Their union is doomed from the beginning as work and social alliances threaten journalist Shoshana’s wellbeing, while Wilkins investigates escalating violence against Arabs from various Zionist militant factions and puts himself in danger’s path.
At the same...
- 11/1/2023
- by Lisa Giles-Keddie
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A group of 55 prominent artists and advocates in the entertainment industry have signed an open letter to President Joe Biden, urging for a call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
The signatories include names such as Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett, Jon Stewart, Kristen Stewart, Susan Sarandon, Mahershala Ali, Riz Ahmed, Ramy Youssef and Quinta Brunson.
“We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages,” the letter reads.
The statement, distributed by the organization Artists 4 Ceasefire, also includes a comment from Unicef spokesperson James Elder, emphasizing the devastation inflicted on the population of Gaza by ongoing Israeli air strikes and blockades on water and power.
“Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals,...
The signatories include names such as Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett, Jon Stewart, Kristen Stewart, Susan Sarandon, Mahershala Ali, Riz Ahmed, Ramy Youssef and Quinta Brunson.
“We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages,” the letter reads.
The statement, distributed by the organization Artists 4 Ceasefire, also includes a comment from Unicef spokesperson James Elder, emphasizing the devastation inflicted on the population of Gaza by ongoing Israeli air strikes and blockades on water and power.
“Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals,...
- 10/20/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
More than 2,000 figures from the UK’s arts and culture world have signed an open letter calling for the immediate cessation of Israel’s blockade and bombing of Gaza.
“We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians,” reads the letter. “In the words of the Un’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, ‘the spectre of death’ is hanging over the territory.”
The signatories include acting stars Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake and Khalid Abdalla.
The Israeli action is in retaliation for a brutal terror attack out of Gaza by Hamas on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people and resulted in the taking of 199 hostages.
More than 2,750 Palestinians are reported to have died in Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign, while electricity, food and...
“We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians,” reads the letter. “In the words of the Un’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, ‘the spectre of death’ is hanging over the territory.”
The signatories include acting stars Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake and Khalid Abdalla.
The Israeli action is in retaliation for a brutal terror attack out of Gaza by Hamas on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people and resulted in the taking of 199 hostages.
More than 2,750 Palestinians are reported to have died in Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign, while electricity, food and...
- 10/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
’Shoshana’ world premiered at Toronto, ahead of screenings at Dinard film festival and BFI London Film Festival.
Michael Winterbottom is one of the UK’s more prolific independent filmmakers, with over 30 features to his name across a 35-year career – but his latest, Shoshana, has been rather a slow burn.
The drama, based on real people and events, premiered in Toronto, before playing in French festival of UK and Irish film Dinard, and will have its UK premiere at BFI London Film Festival on October 7.
It is set in 1930s Tel Aviv, as violence erupt in the British Mandate for Palestine,...
Michael Winterbottom is one of the UK’s more prolific independent filmmakers, with over 30 features to his name across a 35-year career – but his latest, Shoshana, has been rather a slow burn.
The drama, based on real people and events, premiered in Toronto, before playing in French festival of UK and Irish film Dinard, and will have its UK premiere at BFI London Film Festival on October 7.
It is set in 1930s Tel Aviv, as violence erupt in the British Mandate for Palestine,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
“It’s absolutely clear, there is a real appetite for British independent cinema in France,” said artistic director Dominque Green.
Sasha Polak’s Silver Haze scooped the top prize at this month’s Dinard Film Festival, the French seaside festival that spotlights UK and Irish cinema for French audiences, that ran from September 27 to October 1.
Berlinale Panorama title Silver Haze won the Golden Hitchcock for best film. Polak’s feature reunites the Dutch filmmaker with UK actor Vicky Knight, after working together on Dirty God in 2019. It is loosely based on Knight’s own experience as a child, in which she survived an arson attack.
Sasha Polak’s Silver Haze scooped the top prize at this month’s Dinard Film Festival, the French seaside festival that spotlights UK and Irish cinema for French audiences, that ran from September 27 to October 1.
Berlinale Panorama title Silver Haze won the Golden Hitchcock for best film. Polak’s feature reunites the Dutch filmmaker with UK actor Vicky Knight, after working together on Dirty God in 2019. It is loosely based on Knight’s own experience as a child, in which she survived an arson attack.
- 10/2/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Robby Müller: Living The Light director Claire Pijman will do a Q&a with Andrea Müller-Schirmer following the 2:30pm screening at Metrograph on Sunday, October 1 Photo: Claire Pijman
Claire Pijman’s resourceful and enlightening documentary, Robby Müller: Living The Light (with a score by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s Sqùrl), is a big part of the series, Robby Müller: Remain in Light, at Metrograph that celebrates the legendary cinematographer, who died in 2018. Films by Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Sara Driver’s When Pigs Fly, Andrzej Wajda’s Korczak, Alex Cox’s Repo Man, Peter Bogdanovich’s Saint Jack, William Friedkin’s To Live And Die In LA, and Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People will all be shown.
Claire Pijman with Anne-Katrin Titze on Robby Müller and Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club: “That’s how I got to know him, and since then we stayed...
Claire Pijman’s resourceful and enlightening documentary, Robby Müller: Living The Light (with a score by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s Sqùrl), is a big part of the series, Robby Müller: Remain in Light, at Metrograph that celebrates the legendary cinematographer, who died in 2018. Films by Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Sara Driver’s When Pigs Fly, Andrzej Wajda’s Korczak, Alex Cox’s Repo Man, Peter Bogdanovich’s Saint Jack, William Friedkin’s To Live And Die In LA, and Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People will all be shown.
Claire Pijman with Anne-Katrin Titze on Robby Müller and Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club: “That’s how I got to know him, and since then we stayed...
- 9/27/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The London Film School has appointed Chris Auty as its new Director. He will take over from Neil Peplow and start his new role in November.
Auty has been a senior Head of Department at the National Film and Television School for the past ten years. He ran the school’s two-year Ma producing program and was responsible for designing, validating, and running new Ma courses.
Prior to taking up his role at the Nfts, Auty worked several roles within the industry. He was the founder and CEO of The Works plc, and before that, Managing Director of the Recorded Picture Company. He has worked with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, and Vincent Ward.
“I’m delighted to be taking on the leadership of this renowned film school in the heart of London. It happens to be the place where my own journey into film began...
Auty has been a senior Head of Department at the National Film and Television School for the past ten years. He ran the school’s two-year Ma producing program and was responsible for designing, validating, and running new Ma courses.
Prior to taking up his role at the Nfts, Auty worked several roles within the industry. He was the founder and CEO of The Works plc, and before that, Managing Director of the Recorded Picture Company. He has worked with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, and Vincent Ward.
“I’m delighted to be taking on the leadership of this renowned film school in the heart of London. It happens to be the place where my own journey into film began...
- 9/26/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with latest: The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicked off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that included world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
- 9/18/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury, Valerie Complex, Pete Hammond, Todd McCarthy and Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Britain’s official post-wwi administration of Palestine lasted from 1920-48 and is probably the UK colonial enterprise least addressed by its fiction filmmakers. But now prolific writer-director Michael Winterbottom uses that complicated era as a backdrop to the compelling historical romance “Shoshana.” A passion project 15 years in the making and based on real people and events, the film employs the ill-fated, cross-cultural relationship between a ranking member of the British Palestine Police Force and a young Jewish woman to explore the way extremism and violence push people apart, forcing them to choose sides.
It’s worth noting upfront that while the British rulers had to deal with both Palestine’s Arab and Jewish citizens, each of whom want an independent country, the narrative here hews firmly to a British and Jewish p.o.v., with Arabs barely characterized except as victims and troublemakers. By the 1930s, Palestine is a cauldron...
It’s worth noting upfront that while the British rulers had to deal with both Palestine’s Arab and Jewish citizens, each of whom want an independent country, the narrative here hews firmly to a British and Jewish p.o.v., with Arabs barely characterized except as victims and troublemakers. By the 1930s, Palestine is a cauldron...
- 9/17/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Winterbottom Cranks Yet Out Another One, This Time A Forgettable Thriller With No Bite
Michael Winterbottom never stops. For over three decades, the filmmaker has been working at a clip; just when you think you’ve caught up with him, he’s got another one on the way. However, efficiency hasn’t always favored quality control for the filmmaker, and with the instantly forgettable, patience-testing thriller Shosana, the time has arrived for the filmmaker to reconsider the assembly line for a slower, more artisanal approach.
Unafraid to step into the tinderbox of Israeli/Palestinian politics, Winterbottom finds a unique entry point, taking viewers into 1930s Tel Aviv when Palestine was under British administration.…...
Michael Winterbottom never stops. For over three decades, the filmmaker has been working at a clip; just when you think you’ve caught up with him, he’s got another one on the way. However, efficiency hasn’t always favored quality control for the filmmaker, and with the instantly forgettable, patience-testing thriller Shosana, the time has arrived for the filmmaker to reconsider the assembly line for a slower, more artisanal approach.
Unafraid to step into the tinderbox of Israeli/Palestinian politics, Winterbottom finds a unique entry point, taking viewers into 1930s Tel Aviv when Palestine was under British administration.…...
- 9/14/2023
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- IONCINEMA.com
Christian Cooke’s directorial debut ‘Embers’ is among the world premieres.
The UK premieres of Jack Huston’s Day Of The Fight and Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor will respectively open and close the 31st Raindance Film Festival, which will take place in London from October 25 – November 4.
Day Of The Flight launched in Horizons at Venice earlier this month, It is the directorial debut of UK actor Huston and stars Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman and Joe Pesci in a story about a once-renowned boxer on his first day out of prison.
Coixet’s latest feature Un Amor stars Lai Costa...
The UK premieres of Jack Huston’s Day Of The Fight and Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor will respectively open and close the 31st Raindance Film Festival, which will take place in London from October 25 – November 4.
Day Of The Flight launched in Horizons at Venice earlier this month, It is the directorial debut of UK actor Huston and stars Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman and Joe Pesci in a story about a once-renowned boxer on his first day out of prison.
Coixet’s latest feature Un Amor stars Lai Costa...
- 9/13/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The 31st edition of London’s Raindance Film Festival will open with the U.K. premiere of British actor Jack Huston’s directorial debut “Day of the Fight.”
The film comes to Raindance fresh off its Venice debut, where Huston was honored by Variety as a breakthrough director.
The story of a once-renowned boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison stars Michael Pitt alongside a cast including Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, and a cameo from Steve Buscemi.
The U.K. premiere of Isabel Coixet’s “Un Amor” will close the festival after it bows at San Sebastian. Based on Sara Mesa’s bestselling novel, Laia Costa plays a young woman who escapes her stressful life in the city and relocates to rural Spain. When she accepts a disturbing sexual proposal, it gives rise to an all-consuming and obsessive passion.
The film comes to Raindance fresh off its Venice debut, where Huston was honored by Variety as a breakthrough director.
The story of a once-renowned boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison stars Michael Pitt alongside a cast including Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, and a cameo from Steve Buscemi.
The U.K. premiere of Isabel Coixet’s “Un Amor” will close the festival after it bows at San Sebastian. Based on Sara Mesa’s bestselling novel, Laia Costa plays a young woman who escapes her stressful life in the city and relocates to rural Spain. When she accepts a disturbing sexual proposal, it gives rise to an all-consuming and obsessive passion.
- 9/13/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is so fraught and thorny most filmmakers these days who are not of Israeli or Palestinian heritage or from somewhere nearby the region generally tend to steer clear of all the loaded burdens and pitfalls. Versatile filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, however, is braver and/or has less compunction about that—for better and perhaps for worse. He has found another lesser-known entry point into the story, which is Mandatory Palestine, a period in history between WWI and WWII (1920-1948) when the British were in control of Palestine, and their intercession and mistakes arguably led to many of the problems that still linger in the regions today.
Continue reading ‘Shoshana’ Review: Michael Winterbottom Examines Love, Violence & Extremism In The British Ruling Years Of Palestine [TIFF] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Shoshana’ Review: Michael Winterbottom Examines Love, Violence & Extremism In The British Ruling Years Of Palestine [TIFF] at The Playlist.
- 9/8/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Scripted films about political revolutions often have the luxury of marinating in esoteric debates about philosophies and forms of government that are completely detached from reality. If a filmmaker’s mission is to advance one ideology over another, it’s easy to abandon real-world nuance and cast their preferred parties as underdogs in a Hollywood-style good vs. evil saga. Michael Winterbottom’s “Shoshana” takes a different approach, immediately demonstrating its understanding that even the most intellectually committed activists have to consider dubious alliances to avoid total annihilation.
The British director’s new political thriller is set in Tel Aviv in the 1930s, during Britain’s occupation of Palestine that saw the military try to find a peaceful compromise between Palestinian natives and Zionists trying to establish Israel on their faith’s holiest grounds. Locals are forced to choose between supporting an unwanted occupation from an imperialist nation or violent nationalist...
The British director’s new political thriller is set in Tel Aviv in the 1930s, during Britain’s occupation of Palestine that saw the military try to find a peaceful compromise between Palestinian natives and Zionists trying to establish Israel on their faith’s holiest grounds. Locals are forced to choose between supporting an unwanted occupation from an imperialist nation or violent nationalist...
- 9/8/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The U.K. has a robust presence at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, and several of the films screening there find contemporary resonance while exploring historical subjects.
In Thea Sharrock’s 1920s-set “Wicked Little Letters,” Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley play neighbors who get on each other’s nerves in a small English town where residents start receiving anonymous, expletive-laden letters. Sharrock sees parallels in the film’s theme with today’s social media trolling replacing poison-pen letters.
“The parallels are both so immediate and so obvious, but they’re very subtly made in the writing and therefore in the film,” Sharrock says. “You wonder how far we’ve come in 100 years. Technology-wise, it’s very obvious how far we’ve come, but as human beings in terms of humanity, actually, how much is exactly the same? And how much have we developed in a good way? And...
In Thea Sharrock’s 1920s-set “Wicked Little Letters,” Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley play neighbors who get on each other’s nerves in a small English town where residents start receiving anonymous, expletive-laden letters. Sharrock sees parallels in the film’s theme with today’s social media trolling replacing poison-pen letters.
“The parallels are both so immediate and so obvious, but they’re very subtly made in the writing and therefore in the film,” Sharrock says. “You wonder how far we’ve come in 100 years. Technology-wise, it’s very obvious how far we’ve come, but as human beings in terms of humanity, actually, how much is exactly the same? And how much have we developed in a good way? And...
- 9/8/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The company has also unveiled an Israel-based €150m fund for film and scripted TV projects.
With five films playing in competition, European production and distribution group Fremantle is enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Fremantle’s Ireland-uk label Element Pictures is behind one of the hottest films on the Lido this year, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, while Italian label Wildside produced Saverio Costanzo’s big budget Finally Dawn.
Another Fremantle Italian production label The Apartment, meanwhile, is involved in three films in competition – Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla , Stefano Sollima’s Adagio and Piero Castellito’s Enea.
With five films playing in competition, European production and distribution group Fremantle is enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Fremantle’s Ireland-uk label Element Pictures is behind one of the hottest films on the Lido this year, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, while Italian label Wildside produced Saverio Costanzo’s big budget Finally Dawn.
Another Fremantle Italian production label The Apartment, meanwhile, is involved in three films in competition – Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla , Stefano Sollima’s Adagio and Piero Castellito’s Enea.
- 9/8/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Penélope Cruz is set to star as Olga, a writer forced to give up her artistic ambitions when her husband suddenly leaves her and their two young daughters, in Isabel Coixet’s English-language adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s “The Days of Abandonment.”
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
- 9/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films is opening an Italian outpost, Variety can exclusively confirm.
The production outfit, known for films and TV series including the Boris Johnson-inspired “This England” and the upcoming TIFF contender “Shoshana,” is in the process of setting up an office in the country, say sources with knowledge of the expansion. Longtime Revolution exec Melissa Parmenter will be running the new branch.
Revolution has increasingly been working in Italy in recent years and a source tells Variety the company is looking to make more films there. “Shoshana” (which was previously titled “Promised Land”) is set in Israel but was entirely shot in Italy. The film, which will premiere at TIFF on Friday, is set during the British Mandate of Palestine in the 1930s, when the daughter of an Israeli revolutionary (Irina Starshenbaum) falls in love with a British soldier (played by Douglas Booth).
“Shoshana...
The production outfit, known for films and TV series including the Boris Johnson-inspired “This England” and the upcoming TIFF contender “Shoshana,” is in the process of setting up an office in the country, say sources with knowledge of the expansion. Longtime Revolution exec Melissa Parmenter will be running the new branch.
Revolution has increasingly been working in Italy in recent years and a source tells Variety the company is looking to make more films there. “Shoshana” (which was previously titled “Promised Land”) is set in Israel but was entirely shot in Italy. The film, which will premiere at TIFF on Friday, is set during the British Mandate of Palestine in the 1930s, when the daughter of an Israeli revolutionary (Irina Starshenbaum) falls in love with a British soldier (played by Douglas Booth).
“Shoshana...
- 9/5/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
’Silent Roar’, ‘Shoshana’ and ’How To Have Sex’ will also play at the French seaside festival that spotlights UK and Irish cinema.
France’s Dinard Festival of British Film has unveiled the line-up of its 34th edition, which includes Cannes titles Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest and Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex.
Also on the line-up is Charlotte Regan’s Sundance title Scrapper. The comedy drama stars Harris Dickinson and follows a young girl forced to confront reality when her estranged father returns, and is currently on release in...
France’s Dinard Festival of British Film has unveiled the line-up of its 34th edition, which includes Cannes titles Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest and Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex.
Also on the line-up is Charlotte Regan’s Sundance title Scrapper. The comedy drama stars Harris Dickinson and follows a young girl forced to confront reality when her estranged father returns, and is currently on release in...
- 8/31/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Four years after his last full-length feature — the black comedy Greed, starring Steve Coogan as a venal business tycoon — Michael Winterbottom is back, this time with a political drama set in Tel Aviv, based on real-life people and events that occurred during the 1930s, in the run-up to the foundation of Israel in 1948.
Making its world premiere next week at the Toronto International Film Festival, it stars newcomer Irina Starshenbaum as the title character, a newspaper journalist with strong leftist leanings and ties to underground Jewish groups. Against the odds, Shoshana is romantically involved with Tom Wilkin (Douglas Booth), whose job as an assistant superintendent with the British Palestine Police puts him in conflict with outlawed organizations such as Irgun and Lehi.
The couple’s unlikely relationship is called into question by the arrival of Geoffrey Morton (Harry Melling), who comes to head up the anti-terrorist squad and, specifically,...
Making its world premiere next week at the Toronto International Film Festival, it stars newcomer Irina Starshenbaum as the title character, a newspaper journalist with strong leftist leanings and ties to underground Jewish groups. Against the odds, Shoshana is romantically involved with Tom Wilkin (Douglas Booth), whose job as an assistant superintendent with the British Palestine Police puts him in conflict with outlawed organizations such as Irgun and Lehi.
The couple’s unlikely relationship is called into question by the arrival of Geoffrey Morton (Harry Melling), who comes to head up the anti-terrorist squad and, specifically,...
- 8/30/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Thomas Rabe was born in tiny Luxembourg, the mini-nation squeezed in between France, Germany and Belgium. But when it comes to business, as CEO of pan-European broadcast giant Rtl Group and chairman and CEO of Rtl’s parent, global media conglomerate Bertelsmann, Rabe likes to think big.
At an Rtl shareholders’ meeting back in August 2021, Rabe dropped a bombshell: Fremantle, Rtl’s production division, making of entertainment formats like X Factor and American Idol and already one of the biggest independent TV producers in the world, was about to get a lot bigger. In four years, Rabe said, Fremantle would boost revenue by a cool $1.1 billion (€1 billion) to hit a new revenue target of $3.3 billion (€3 billion) by 2025.
Rtl gave Fremantle the cash to pump into M&a expansion, fueling a buying spree that has seen the company spend more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the past three years snatching up independent companies,...
At an Rtl shareholders’ meeting back in August 2021, Rabe dropped a bombshell: Fremantle, Rtl’s production division, making of entertainment formats like X Factor and American Idol and already one of the biggest independent TV producers in the world, was about to get a lot bigger. In four years, Rabe said, Fremantle would boost revenue by a cool $1.1 billion (€1 billion) to hit a new revenue target of $3.3 billion (€3 billion) by 2025.
Rtl gave Fremantle the cash to pump into M&a expansion, fueling a buying spree that has seen the company spend more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the past three years snatching up independent companies,...
- 8/28/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: BritBox International is stacking the shelves with more high-profile UK drama series.
The streamer has acquired North American rights to The Sixth Commandment and U.S. rights to This England. Both series, which are based on real events, have made significant noise in the UK and their acquisition follow on from BritBox’s July captures of cop series Granite Harbour and psychological drama The Ex-Wife.
The Sixth Commandment will play as a BritBox Original. The series, written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the BAFTA-nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From the Grave.
It follows one of the most complex criminal cases in recent British history and tells the story of inspirational teacher Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and charismatic young student Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who meet and bond over their love of...
The streamer has acquired North American rights to The Sixth Commandment and U.S. rights to This England. Both series, which are based on real events, have made significant noise in the UK and their acquisition follow on from BritBox’s July captures of cop series Granite Harbour and psychological drama The Ex-Wife.
The Sixth Commandment will play as a BritBox Original. The series, written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the BAFTA-nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From the Grave.
It follows one of the most complex criminal cases in recent British history and tells the story of inspirational teacher Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and charismatic young student Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who meet and bond over their love of...
- 8/22/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...
- 8/14/2023
- MUBI
On July 19, the MPA ratings board handed an Nc-17 rating to “Passages,” Ira Sachs’s acclaimed drama about a very unusual love triangle. The film was set to be released just two weeks later; Sachs and his distributor, Mubi, were understandably upset. The scene that triggered the Nc-17 rating, as is often the case in situations like this one, was an extended sex scene (the MPA does not like things that are long). As almost always happens, the filmmaker and the distributor immediately committed themselves to releasing the movie unrated. “There’s no untangling the film from what it is,” Sachs told the Los Angeles Times. “It is a film that is very open about the place of sexual experience in our lives. And to shift that now would be to create a very different movie.”
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
- 8/13/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Veep creator Armando Iannucci is bringing to London’s West End his first play – a satire on former UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Variety reports that Iannucci – Oscar-nominated for his screenplay In the Loop – has called the play Pandemonium: Being a Scornful Account of the Activities of Mr Boris Johnson and ‘Others’ during the Pandemic and its Aftermath, which will debut at the Soho Theatre on December 1.
The play will be directed by Patrick Marber, previously Oscar-nominated for his Notes on a Scandal screenplay, and a Tony Award winner for Leopoldstadt.
Iannucci is also hard at work on a new stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 political satire Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Variety quotes Iannucci, one of the UK’s most celebrated political satirists with Veep and previously In the Thick of It skewering the British government’s conduct,...
Variety reports that Iannucci – Oscar-nominated for his screenplay In the Loop – has called the play Pandemonium: Being a Scornful Account of the Activities of Mr Boris Johnson and ‘Others’ during the Pandemic and its Aftermath, which will debut at the Soho Theatre on December 1.
The play will be directed by Patrick Marber, previously Oscar-nominated for his Notes on a Scandal screenplay, and a Tony Award winner for Leopoldstadt.
Iannucci is also hard at work on a new stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 political satire Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Variety quotes Iannucci, one of the UK’s most celebrated political satirists with Veep and previously In the Thick of It skewering the British government’s conduct,...
- 8/5/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has penned an ITV drama about a doctor in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic starring Joanne Froggatt.
Mercurio co-wrote Breathtaking with Rachel Clarke, the author of the 2021 novel that the show is based on, and Prasanna Puwanarajah, who played Martin Bashir in The Crown Season 5. All three are qualified doctors.
Filming wrapped quietly earlier this year in Belfast.
Breathtaking is based on Clarke’s unflinching memoir having looked after the most gravely unwell patients in the early days of the pandemic. Amid the tensions, fatigue and rising death toll, she witnessed the courage of patients and NHS staff alike in conditions of unprecedented adversity.
Golden Globe-winner Froggatt, who most recently starred in James Graham’s BBC drama Sherwood, played lead Dr Abbey Henderson and Craig Viveiros (The War of the Worlds) was director.
“Everyone has felt privileged to dramatise Rachel Clarke...
Mercurio co-wrote Breathtaking with Rachel Clarke, the author of the 2021 novel that the show is based on, and Prasanna Puwanarajah, who played Martin Bashir in The Crown Season 5. All three are qualified doctors.
Filming wrapped quietly earlier this year in Belfast.
Breathtaking is based on Clarke’s unflinching memoir having looked after the most gravely unwell patients in the early days of the pandemic. Amid the tensions, fatigue and rising death toll, she witnessed the courage of patients and NHS staff alike in conditions of unprecedented adversity.
Golden Globe-winner Froggatt, who most recently starred in James Graham’s BBC drama Sherwood, played lead Dr Abbey Henderson and Craig Viveiros (The War of the Worlds) was director.
“Everyone has felt privileged to dramatise Rachel Clarke...
- 7/25/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
With one announcement we got confirmations for films that will either exclusively play in Toronto or will hit either Telluride and/or Venice just prior. Among the major grabs for World Premiere status we find Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, Ellen Kuras’ Lee, Mahalia Belo’s The End We Start From, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Maggie Betts’ The Burial, Anand Tucker’s The Critic, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Dk & Hugh Welchman’s The Peasants, James Hawes’ One Life and Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters. Again, if the strike is still in place all these titles will be presented without that deeply appreciated red carpet glam factor.…...
- 7/24/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
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