Exclusive: Gersh has signed actor Ben Barnes for representation in all areas.
Barnes can be seen in BAFTA-winning director Anand Tucker’s crime drama The Critic, opposite Mark Strong, Ian McKellen, and Gemma Arterton, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. It’s set for release in the UK on September 13.
Barnes is maybe best known for his lead role as General Kirigan in Eric Heisserer’s popular Netflix series Shadow and Bone, based on the bestselling novels by Leigh Bardugo.
Prior to Shadow and Bone, Barnes starred opposite Crispin Glover in a mind-bending episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Emmy nominated anthology series, Cabinet of Curiosities and most recently played a lead role opposite Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, and Himesh Patel in the latest season of the award-winning Netflix series Black Mirror. His other recent credits include the lead role of Benjamin Greene in the BBC limited series Gold Digger,...
Barnes can be seen in BAFTA-winning director Anand Tucker’s crime drama The Critic, opposite Mark Strong, Ian McKellen, and Gemma Arterton, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. It’s set for release in the UK on September 13.
Barnes is maybe best known for his lead role as General Kirigan in Eric Heisserer’s popular Netflix series Shadow and Bone, based on the bestselling novels by Leigh Bardugo.
Prior to Shadow and Bone, Barnes starred opposite Crispin Glover in a mind-bending episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Emmy nominated anthology series, Cabinet of Curiosities and most recently played a lead role opposite Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, and Himesh Patel in the latest season of the award-winning Netflix series Black Mirror. His other recent credits include the lead role of Benjamin Greene in the BBC limited series Gold Digger,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Mel Brooks will receive this year’s Career Achievement Award at the 84th Peabody Awards, and Quinta will be honored with the Peabody Trailblazer Award. Both received a unanimous vote of the Peabody Board of Jurors and will be recognized at the June 9 awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
“Mel Brooks is not only one of the most beloved comedians of all time, but he literally set the standard for television comedy from its earliest days. Across TV, film, theater, and recordings, Mr. Brooks is in a league of his own. And Quinta Brunson has emerged as a refreshingly creative force in network television comedy,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Peabody is proud to honor Mel and Quinta not only for their extraordinary contributions as storytellers, but particularly for their use of comedy to tell stories that matter, enriching the lives of so many.”
The Career Achievement Award is...
“Mel Brooks is not only one of the most beloved comedians of all time, but he literally set the standard for television comedy from its earliest days. Across TV, film, theater, and recordings, Mr. Brooks is in a league of his own. And Quinta Brunson has emerged as a refreshingly creative force in network television comedy,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Peabody is proud to honor Mel and Quinta not only for their extraordinary contributions as storytellers, but particularly for their use of comedy to tell stories that matter, enriching the lives of so many.”
The Career Achievement Award is...
- 5/2/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Gemma Arterton, the British stage and screen star perhaps best known for playing Bond girl Strawberry Fields in “Quantum of Solace,” is set to star in upcoming period adventure thriller “Storm Witch.”
The independent U.K./Ireland co-production, to be directed by David Blair (a BAFTA winner for “Taking Over the Asylum” and “The Street”) from a screenplay by Tristan de Vere Cole, is being launched at the Marche du Film in Cannes later this month, with Myriad Pictures handling pre-sales.
Arterton, who also starred in “The King’s Man” and recently appeared in the Toronto-bowing “The Critic,” will lead a cast that includes Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Kate Dickie (“Prometheus”) Steven Cree (“Outlander”) and Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”). The film is set to be shot later this year, primarily in Ireland.
Set in the 17th century, “Storm Witch” centers on a small coastal community...
The independent U.K./Ireland co-production, to be directed by David Blair (a BAFTA winner for “Taking Over the Asylum” and “The Street”) from a screenplay by Tristan de Vere Cole, is being launched at the Marche du Film in Cannes later this month, with Myriad Pictures handling pre-sales.
Arterton, who also starred in “The King’s Man” and recently appeared in the Toronto-bowing “The Critic,” will lead a cast that includes Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Kate Dickie (“Prometheus”) Steven Cree (“Outlander”) and Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”). The film is set to be shot later this year, primarily in Ireland.
Set in the 17th century, “Storm Witch” centers on a small coastal community...
- 5/1/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
"The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" is likely not remembered by many people, except for Billy Crystal himself. The variety/talk show ran from January 30 through February 27 in 1982, lasting a grand total of five episodes. Crystal was already a successful comedian and beloved figure in the industry thanks to the popularity of his 1970s stand-up work and his role in the 1977 sitcom "Soap," so he had connections. He was able to secure guest appearances from many of his famous comedian friends, including Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Robin Williams, and John Candy for the debut episode. Subsequent guests included Morgan Fairchild, the Manhattan Transfer, Nell Carter, Shelley Duvall, Cindy Williams, Al Jarreau, and Smokey Robinson.
"The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" fell right in between "Soap" and "Saturday Night Live" on Crystal's professional timeline, and it might be considered something of a dip in his career. The show was canceled after only two episodes aired,...
"The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" fell right in between "Soap" and "Saturday Night Live" on Crystal's professional timeline, and it might be considered something of a dip in his career. The show was canceled after only two episodes aired,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Chris Besseling, former marketing lead at eOne and Pathé UK, is joining Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment as head of theatrical distribution, marketing and publicity.
Besseling is one of the distribution and financing outfit’s first major hires, with True Brit’s speedily expanding slate including Marching Powder, The Scurry, Giant, The Critic and Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma.
He will be based in London and report to Kamasa.
Throughout his career Besseling has been responsible for launching over 200 films at the UK and Ireland box office. He has also held posts at Metrodome, the BFI, Optimum Releasing and consulted for Studiocanal.
Besseling is one of the distribution and financing outfit’s first major hires, with True Brit’s speedily expanding slate including Marching Powder, The Scurry, Giant, The Critic and Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma.
He will be based in London and report to Kamasa.
Throughout his career Besseling has been responsible for launching over 200 films at the UK and Ireland box office. He has also held posts at Metrodome, the BFI, Optimum Releasing and consulted for Studiocanal.
- 4/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
When Futurama premiered on Fox in March 1999, it did so almost a decade after Matt Groening had broken open the gates of modern mainstream TV animation with The Simpsons. The intervening 10 years had seen more mature animated fare on the small screen, from the edgy Ren and Stimpy to the cult favorite The Critic. Though The Critic was created by two longtime Simpsons writers (and led to a moderately controversial crossover between the two), Futurama marked Groening’s first new series since The Simpsons.
- 3/28/2024
- by Josh Spiegel
- Primetimer
In George Lucas' 1977 sci-fi flick "Star Wars," there is a scene wherein a cadre of Nazi-like bad guys, in the employ of the evil Empire, gather around a boardroom table and mention that the mysterious off-screen Emperor has dissolved the senate and taken absolute control. The military generals are outraged, wondering how the Empire might survive without a bureaucracy in place. In Irvin Kirshner's 1980 sequel "The Empire Strikes Back," it's established that Darth Vader (David Prowse), a mysterious masked warlock, was actually the Emperor's right-hand man, indicating that the Emperor retains control of the Empire through the sheer force of his villainy.
In "The Empire Strikes Back," the Emperor appeared in holographic form to have a powwow with Darth Vader and plan his next move. In the original cut of the movie, the Emperor was played on screen by actress Marjorie Eaton, outfitted with eerie, alien eyeballs. Eaton was a long-working character performer in Hollywood,...
In "The Empire Strikes Back," the Emperor appeared in holographic form to have a powwow with Darth Vader and plan his next move. In the original cut of the movie, the Emperor was played on screen by actress Marjorie Eaton, outfitted with eerie, alien eyeballs. Eaton was a long-working character performer in Hollywood,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment has acquired UK rights to Morgan Matthews’s 500 Miles starring Bill Nighy and Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis from Beta Cinema.
Billed as a road movie with heart, 500 Miles follows two young brothers running away from trouble at home in England to reach their estranged grandfather (Nighy) on Ireland’s wild west coast.
The film is being prepped to shoot in Kerry, Ireland in the summer.
Matthews, director of X+Y (A Brilliant Young Mind) and documentary Williams, will direct from a script by Malcolm Campbell, based on the novel Charlie And Me by Mark Lowery.
Billed as a road movie with heart, 500 Miles follows two young brothers running away from trouble at home in England to reach their estranged grandfather (Nighy) on Ireland’s wild west coast.
The film is being prepped to shoot in Kerry, Ireland in the summer.
Matthews, director of X+Y (A Brilliant Young Mind) and documentary Williams, will direct from a script by Malcolm Campbell, based on the novel Charlie And Me by Mark Lowery.
- 2/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
Production has begun in Sardinia on Italian director Louis Nero’s futuristic drama Milarepa, starring Harvey Keitel. The US’ Orwo Studios is handling sales to the film and talking to buyers at the EFM.
Keitel joins a cast that also includes F. Murray Abraham, Angela Molina, Iazua Larios, Al Yamagouchi, Michael Ronda and Bruno Bilotta.
Milarepa takes place in a ‘no tech’ future and follows the story of a young girl who must disguise herself as a boy in order to exact revenge on her father’s family for enslaving her and her mother. The story is inspired by a...
Keitel joins a cast that also includes F. Murray Abraham, Angela Molina, Iazua Larios, Al Yamagouchi, Michael Ronda and Bruno Bilotta.
Milarepa takes place in a ‘no tech’ future and follows the story of a young girl who must disguise herself as a boy in order to exact revenge on her father’s family for enslaving her and her mother. The story is inspired by a...
- 2/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
UK sales outfit Reason8 has added erotic sports drama Her Body to its European Film Market (EFM) slate, from Czech filmmaker Natalie Cisarovska.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia co-production is based on a true story, and follows a talented high diver, getting ready for the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, played by Slovakian star Natalia Germani. After suffering a serious vertebra injury, she is forced to end her sports career, and starts up a career in pornography.
Producers are Czech Republic’s Viktor Schwarcz and Slovakia’s Katarina Krnacova.
True Brit revamping ‘The Critic’ for UK release; Zygi Kamasa talks slate,...
The Czech Republic and Slovakia co-production is based on a true story, and follows a talented high diver, getting ready for the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, played by Slovakian star Natalia Germani. After suffering a serious vertebra injury, she is forced to end her sports career, and starts up a career in pornography.
Producers are Czech Republic’s Viktor Schwarcz and Slovakia’s Katarina Krnacova.
True Brit revamping ‘The Critic’ for UK release; Zygi Kamasa talks slate,...
- 2/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Gilles Bourdos’ Cross Away, starring Vincent Lindon, a French remake of Steven Knight’s 2013 film Locke that starred Tom Hardy, is being launched at the EFM by Newen Connect.
Lindon plays the head of a construction company who takes a series of telephone calls in his car during one long night. The voices of his wife, his mistress, his boss and his co-worker and will be played by Micha Lescot, Pascale Arbillot, Gregory Gadebois, Brigitte Catillon and Cédric Kahn. Curiosa Films is producing.
Also in post for Newen is Marie-Hélène Roux’s second feature Mending Lives about real-life Congolese doctors Denis Mukwege,...
Lindon plays the head of a construction company who takes a series of telephone calls in his car during one long night. The voices of his wife, his mistress, his boss and his co-worker and will be played by Micha Lescot, Pascale Arbillot, Gregory Gadebois, Brigitte Catillon and Cédric Kahn. Curiosa Films is producing.
Also in post for Newen is Marie-Hélène Roux’s second feature Mending Lives about real-life Congolese doctors Denis Mukwege,...
- 2/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has appointed Teresa Cavina as its artistic director.
Cavina joins with over twenty years of experience in programming and artistic roles at festivals including Locarno, El-Gouna, Rome, Venice and Abu Dhabi.
Mediterrane Film Festival’s second edition takes place from June 22-30 in Valletta.
The festival will have four programming strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum - ‘Our Sea’, showcasing narrative and documentary films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions - a selection of experimental VR projects.
Cavina joins with over twenty years of experience in programming and artistic roles at festivals including Locarno, El-Gouna, Rome, Venice and Abu Dhabi.
Mediterrane Film Festival’s second edition takes place from June 22-30 in Valletta.
The festival will have four programming strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum - ‘Our Sea’, showcasing narrative and documentary films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions - a selection of experimental VR projects.
- 2/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
US investment giant RedBird Imi has agreed a £1.2bn deal to buy super-indie All3Media.
The deal, announced today, will see the Jeff Zucker-led Red Bird Imi take ownership of the producer-distributor from current owners Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15bn.
Redbird Imi, a joint-venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments, will now have control over the London-based company which commands some 50 international production labels, including Studio Lambert, Raw TV, Two Brothers Pictures, Silverback Films and houses some of the biggest titles in global TV, such as The Traitors, Squid Game: The Challenge and The Tourist.
The deal, announced today, will see the Jeff Zucker-led Red Bird Imi take ownership of the producer-distributor from current owners Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15bn.
Redbird Imi, a joint-venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments, will now have control over the London-based company which commands some 50 international production labels, including Studio Lambert, Raw TV, Two Brothers Pictures, Silverback Films and houses some of the biggest titles in global TV, such as The Traitors, Squid Game: The Challenge and The Tourist.
- 2/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
Voice actor Maurice Lamarche is one of the preeminent elder statesmen of his craft. He started his career in stand up, finding he was a talented mimic, moving into animation in 1980. He appeared in hit shows like "Inspector Gadget" and "Transformers," really hitting his stride in 1985 playing Ego Spengler in "The Real Ghostbusters." He cycled through the KidsWB canon aggressively in the late '80s and early '90s, appearing in "Taz-Mania," "Batman: The Animated Series," "Tiny Toon Adventures," "Freakazoid!," and "Animaniacs" wherein he employed his spot-on Orson Welles impersonation to voice the power-hungry mouse the Brain. His largest sampling of voice caricatures came from his work on the 1994 series "The Critic," where he voiced celebrities ranging from William Shatner to Elizabeth Taylor (but only when she was belching).
In 1999, Lamarche became one of the regulars on Mat Groening's and David X. Cohen's sci-fi sitcom "Futurama" where he played Kif,...
In 1999, Lamarche became one of the regulars on Mat Groening's and David X. Cohen's sci-fi sitcom "Futurama" where he played Kif,...
- 2/4/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Quentin Tarantino’s scrapped “Star Trek” film might have been the casualty of being Tarantino’s 10th movie.
The director, who announced his 10th and allegedly final film as “The Critic,” previously hinted at a possible R-rated “Star Trek” film installment, written by “The Boys in the Boat” screenwriter Mark L. Smith. Smith has called the script a space-set “gangster movie” and now revealed to Collider that the film was going to have “Pulp Fiction”-level violence. However, Tarantino opted not to have his final movie be one he did not write and also a franchise film. Tarantino has long promised to pivot his career after completing 10 feature films.
“Quentin and I went back and forth, he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films,” Smith recalled. “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If...
The director, who announced his 10th and allegedly final film as “The Critic,” previously hinted at a possible R-rated “Star Trek” film installment, written by “The Boys in the Boat” screenwriter Mark L. Smith. Smith has called the script a space-set “gangster movie” and now revealed to Collider that the film was going to have “Pulp Fiction”-level violence. However, Tarantino opted not to have his final movie be one he did not write and also a franchise film. Tarantino has long promised to pivot his career after completing 10 feature films.
“Quentin and I went back and forth, he was gonna do some stuff on it, and then he started worrying about the number, his kind of unofficial number of films,” Smith recalled. “I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If...
- 12/18/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Year 10, the directorial feature debut of Brit filmmaker Ben Goodger, has wrapped production and is now set to make its market debut at the AFM, where Archstone Entertainment will be handling sales after having acquired worldwide rights.
The apocalyptic adventure is set 10 years after the fall of civilization, with the environment having become hostile and dangerous and cannibalism the only option for humanity’s dwindling survivors. When a violent tribe murders his father and steals the medicine keeping his girlfriend alive, Jake must embark on a treacherous journey battling the elements, packs of vicious wild dogs and the cannibal group or else lose the only thing he has left.
Year 10 comes from U.K. production outfit Bk Studios and is produced by the late Bill Kenwright (Cheri, Another Mother’s Son) and executive produced by David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter) and Naomi George (My Pure Land). Scott Martin, Michael Slifkin and...
The apocalyptic adventure is set 10 years after the fall of civilization, with the environment having become hostile and dangerous and cannibalism the only option for humanity’s dwindling survivors. When a violent tribe murders his father and steals the medicine keeping his girlfriend alive, Jake must embark on a treacherous journey battling the elements, packs of vicious wild dogs and the cannibal group or else lose the only thing he has left.
Year 10 comes from U.K. production outfit Bk Studios and is produced by the late Bill Kenwright (Cheri, Another Mother’s Son) and executive produced by David Gilbery (The Lost Daughter) and Naomi George (My Pure Land). Scott Martin, Michael Slifkin and...
- 10/30/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Theaters across the UK were bathed in blue light Thursday evening, in tribute to the late impresario Bill Kenwright.
Following the death of Kenwright, one of the country’s leading theater producers and mentor to hundreds in the industry, theaters in his home city of Liverpool lit up in blue to pay tribute to his other great love, Everton Football Club, where he served as chairman for over two decades.
The BBC reported that theaters paid tribute in other cities across the UK, including Darlington, London, Blackpool, Brighton and Sheffield.
Kenwright’s death at the age of 78 was announced on Tuesday. Everton Football Club shared the news on X, stating that he had “passed away peacefully last night aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones.” “The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration,” the statement added.
Another statement from Kenwright’s Bill Kenwright Limited...
Following the death of Kenwright, one of the country’s leading theater producers and mentor to hundreds in the industry, theaters in his home city of Liverpool lit up in blue to pay tribute to his other great love, Everton Football Club, where he served as chairman for over two decades.
The BBC reported that theaters paid tribute in other cities across the UK, including Darlington, London, Blackpool, Brighton and Sheffield.
Kenwright’s death at the age of 78 was announced on Tuesday. Everton Football Club shared the news on X, stating that he had “passed away peacefully last night aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones.” “The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration,” the statement added.
Another statement from Kenwright’s Bill Kenwright Limited...
- 10/28/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Actors and theater industry notables are submitting tributes to celebrate the life of longtime theater and film producer William “Bill” Kenwright, who died Monday following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his liver back in August.
Kenwright is best known as one of the longest standing theater, TV and film producers, including being the force behind long-running West End musical “Blood Brothers.” He began as an actor, appearing in British soap opera “Coronation Street.” On top of his work in theater, he also served as a BBC Radio 2 presenter and as chairman of the Everton Football Club for nearly two decades.
“Like many grateful actors I am in debt to Bill Kenwright for employment,” “Lord of the Rings” star and theater legend Sir Ian McKellen shared on X (formerly Twitter). “We were young together, when he was in ‘Coronation Street’ and I was dipping a toe into Shaftesbury Avenue.
Kenwright is best known as one of the longest standing theater, TV and film producers, including being the force behind long-running West End musical “Blood Brothers.” He began as an actor, appearing in British soap opera “Coronation Street.” On top of his work in theater, he also served as a BBC Radio 2 presenter and as chairman of the Everton Football Club for nearly two decades.
“Like many grateful actors I am in debt to Bill Kenwright for employment,” “Lord of the Rings” star and theater legend Sir Ian McKellen shared on X (formerly Twitter). “We were young together, when he was in ‘Coronation Street’ and I was dipping a toe into Shaftesbury Avenue.
- 10/24/2023
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
Kenwright ran Bill Kenwright Films for over 30 years.
Bill Kenwright, the UK film producer who ran several popular stage shows, has died at the age of 78.
Kenwright had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his liver eight weeks ago. A statement from Everton Football Club, of which Kenwright was chairman from 2004 until his death, said Kenwright “passed away peacefully last night [Monday, October 23] surrounded by his family and loved ones.”
Kenwright founded Bill Kenwright Films in 1986, having already established a successful career as a theatre and musicals producer.
In the film sector, his credits as producer included Lewis Gilbert’s 1991 musical Stepping Out starring Liza Minnelli,...
Bill Kenwright, the UK film producer who ran several popular stage shows, has died at the age of 78.
Kenwright had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his liver eight weeks ago. A statement from Everton Football Club, of which Kenwright was chairman from 2004 until his death, said Kenwright “passed away peacefully last night [Monday, October 23] surrounded by his family and loved ones.”
Kenwright founded Bill Kenwright Films in 1986, having already established a successful career as a theatre and musicals producer.
In the film sector, his credits as producer included Lewis Gilbert’s 1991 musical Stepping Out starring Liza Minnelli,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Bill Kenwright, the British West End theater and movie producer, who also acted in Coronation Street, has died aged 78.
Everton Football Club, at which Kenwright was Chairman for two decades, shared the news on X, stating that he had “passed away peacefully last night aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones.” “The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration,” the statement added.
Another statement from Kenwright’s Bill Kenwright Limited said it was “devastated to share the news,” describing him as a “beloved partner, father, grandfather and friend.”
“Bill was driven by his passions and devoted his life to them: his deep love of theatre, film, music, and his beloved Everton and the families they created,” added the statement. “He impacted the lives of thousands, whether that be through launching the careers or his unending loyalty, generosity and unfaltering friendship and support.”
Kenwright was...
Everton Football Club, at which Kenwright was Chairman for two decades, shared the news on X, stating that he had “passed away peacefully last night aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones.” “The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration,” the statement added.
Another statement from Kenwright’s Bill Kenwright Limited said it was “devastated to share the news,” describing him as a “beloved partner, father, grandfather and friend.”
“Bill was driven by his passions and devoted his life to them: his deep love of theatre, film, music, and his beloved Everton and the families they created,” added the statement. “He impacted the lives of thousands, whether that be through launching the careers or his unending loyalty, generosity and unfaltering friendship and support.”
Kenwright was...
- 10/24/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
J.R. was waiting in line with maybe 200 fellow fans to spend a moment getting the autograph of – and perhaps taking a selfie with – Christina Ricci, the actress who made her debut in the “Addams Family” movies in the 1990s who is now an Emmy-nominated star on the Showtime series “Yellowjackets” as well as a regular on Netflix’s “Wednesday.” The setting on Saturday was the Hollywood Autograph Show at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel, a three-times-a-year movie and memorabilia event where fans can come to lay eyes on some old-time celebrity favorites, get their name in ink, pose for a selfie and maybe pick up a book or vintage photograph.
Eighty or so celebrities staked out tables to sign their name and pix for a fee. J.R. was one of those who got hooked on attending these shows a few years back and now never misses one.
Eighty or so celebrities staked out tables to sign their name and pix for a fee. J.R. was one of those who got hooked on attending these shows a few years back and now never misses one.
- 10/10/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve has ably demonstrated that a catty feud between theater critics and actresses is crackling subject matter for witty, adult entertainment. Anand Tucker’s The Critic follows a similar premise and, auspiciously, recruited playwright Patrick Marber––a well-known luminary of the British theater scene––to pen a script packed with sharp, acerbic dialog. This, still, is not half-enough. In its quest to surprise audiences, The Critic jumps down too many rabbit holes, progressively losing all semblance of plausibility or insight it might’ve otherwise yielded.
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
- 9/22/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Netflix spent big at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, picking up Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” for $11 million and Richard Linklater’s well-reviewed “Hit Man” for $20 million. But other than that and despite an unusually numerous 50 titles for sale, the TIFF market at large was muted.
The lack of activity was in sync with the festival season for 2023 so far, as Sundance and Cannes went off with a smattering of deals compared to years past.
“In this marketplace, the studios and streamers, aside from Netflix, would rather spend big bucks on one or two movies that they are passionate about versus spending a boatload of money to fill a slate or clog up the pipeline with regular content,” a high-level distribution executive told TheWrap who declined to be named.
According to multiple executives who spoke to TheWrap, shifting priorities for the streamers, ongoing challenges...
The lack of activity was in sync with the festival season for 2023 so far, as Sundance and Cannes went off with a smattering of deals compared to years past.
“In this marketplace, the studios and streamers, aside from Netflix, would rather spend big bucks on one or two movies that they are passionate about versus spending a boatload of money to fill a slate or clog up the pipeline with regular content,” a high-level distribution executive told TheWrap who declined to be named.
According to multiple executives who spoke to TheWrap, shifting priorities for the streamers, ongoing challenges...
- 9/19/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Toronto – About 20 minutes into “The Critic” it may occur to anyone paying attention that screenwriter and noted playwright and screenwriter Patrick Farber might not be a fan of the profession that is at the center of his new film. Then again, maybe we’re just taking it a bit personally. Maybe every character in the Anand Tucker-directed thriller is as selfish and professionally corrupt as the film’s protagonist Jimmy Erskine, a 1930s newspaper critic often portrayed with devilish glee by none other than Ian McKellen.
Continue reading ‘The Critic’ Review: Ian McKellen Casts A Deadly Love Triangle In This Overstuffed Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Critic’ Review: Ian McKellen Casts A Deadly Love Triangle In This Overstuffed Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.
- 9/11/2023
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
If you want to give a great actor a role he can sink his teeth into with almost unseemly glee, there can’t be many better ways than to cast him as a critic in a period melodrama. That, at least, seems to be the idea behind “The Critic,” Anand Tucker’s tale of a nefarious theater reviewer in 1930s London starring Ian McKellen as the kind of awful person who must have been a lot of fun to play.
It is not, perhaps, a role that would challenge the magnificent McKellen much, but who needs a challenge when you can spit out viciously witty bon mots while wearing fancy duds and being lit at all times for maximum dramatic effect? And while McKellen’s Jimmy Erskine is a villain to remember, he isn’t a one-dimensional baddie. He’s a proudly gay man who can be arrested for who...
It is not, perhaps, a role that would challenge the magnificent McKellen much, but who needs a challenge when you can spit out viciously witty bon mots while wearing fancy duds and being lit at all times for maximum dramatic effect? And while McKellen’s Jimmy Erskine is a villain to remember, he isn’t a one-dimensional baddie. He’s a proudly gay man who can be arrested for who...
- 9/11/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
This critic might want to look for a different job.
The prospect of seeing the great Ian McKellen take on the role of one of London’s most august theater critics of the 1930s must have looked tantalizing on paper, but sadly this is a show that deserved to close out of town. Despite a colorful central character who could have knowledgeably and amusingly navigated a cruise through the dynamic theatrical scene close to a century ago, The Critic unaccountably shifts its focus away from McKellen’s Jimmy Erskin, who entertainingly dominates the film at the start, and onto a group of characters who are almost entirely uninteresting; there’s not even much juicy inside stuff about the legit theater at an exciting time for it. Given the setting, period and endless possibilities of the material, this is a major disappointment, a drag of the first order.
The only scenes...
The prospect of seeing the great Ian McKellen take on the role of one of London’s most august theater critics of the 1930s must have looked tantalizing on paper, but sadly this is a show that deserved to close out of town. Despite a colorful central character who could have knowledgeably and amusingly navigated a cruise through the dynamic theatrical scene close to a century ago, The Critic unaccountably shifts its focus away from McKellen’s Jimmy Erskin, who entertainingly dominates the film at the start, and onto a group of characters who are almost entirely uninteresting; there’s not even much juicy inside stuff about the legit theater at an exciting time for it. Given the setting, period and endless possibilities of the material, this is a major disappointment, a drag of the first order.
The only scenes...
- 9/10/2023
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
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
This article is presented by Hunt A Killer
Why should only the people who made Making a Murderer or The Jinx have all the felonious fun? True crime aficionados are just looking for an excuse to stick pins in a murder-corkboard with newspaper clippings, murder scenes, and mug shots, strung together with red yarn. They could get their fix from the game Hunt A Killer, the most immersive mystery solving game on the docket.
Hunt A Killer is a role-playing police procedural in a box. They have investigations that can be solved in one night and ongoing subscriptions. The subscriptions are structured like a true crime TV show, each box is an episode, and each installment uncovers a new detail or breakthrough in the case. The one time boxes are more like feature films that can be solved in one or two nights.
The game offers an in-depth investigation. Players...
Why should only the people who made Making a Murderer or The Jinx have all the felonious fun? True crime aficionados are just looking for an excuse to stick pins in a murder-corkboard with newspaper clippings, murder scenes, and mug shots, strung together with red yarn. They could get their fix from the game Hunt A Killer, the most immersive mystery solving game on the docket.
Hunt A Killer is a role-playing police procedural in a box. They have investigations that can be solved in one night and ongoing subscriptions. The subscriptions are structured like a true crime TV show, each box is an episode, and each installment uncovers a new detail or breakthrough in the case. The one time boxes are more like feature films that can be solved in one or two nights.
The game offers an in-depth investigation. Players...
- 11/30/2021
- by Chris Longo
- Den of Geek
Mark Gordon Pictures has snapped up screen rights to Walter Isaacson’s latest book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race, about Nobel Prize-winning scientist and co-inventor of Crispr technology Jennifer Doudna, which the label will develop as a limited series.
The project reteams Gordon and Isaacson, the former having previously optioned the latter’s bestselling 2011 biography Steve Jobs, which was turned into a 2015 Oscar-nominated movie directed by Danny Boyle, adapted by Aaron Sorkin and starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs.
The book follows Doudna and her collaborators who turned a curiosity of nature into an invention poised to transform human health: an easy-to-use tool known as Crispr that can edit DNA. Essentially, Crispr-Cas9 allows scientists to rewrite DNA – the code of life – in any organism, including human cells, with unprecedented efficiency and precision, opening up a world of new possibilities and potential. Doudna...
The project reteams Gordon and Isaacson, the former having previously optioned the latter’s bestselling 2011 biography Steve Jobs, which was turned into a 2015 Oscar-nominated movie directed by Danny Boyle, adapted by Aaron Sorkin and starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs.
The book follows Doudna and her collaborators who turned a curiosity of nature into an invention poised to transform human health: an easy-to-use tool known as Crispr that can edit DNA. Essentially, Crispr-Cas9 allows scientists to rewrite DNA – the code of life – in any organism, including human cells, with unprecedented efficiency and precision, opening up a world of new possibilities and potential. Doudna...
- 7/26/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In a competitive situation, the UK office of Mark Gordon Pictures has won film and TV rights to Calla Henkel’s debut novel, Other People’s Clothes, and set Emmy-nominated Unorthodox co-writer and co-creator Alexa Karolinski to adapt.
Set in Berlin in 2009, darkly-comedic thriller Other People’s Clothes charts the story of two young American art students whose lives spiral out of control after they rent an apartment from an eccentric crime writer.
Hodder & Stoughton imprint Sceptre will publish the novel in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as their lead debut on July 8, 2021. Doubleday U.S. will subsequently publish stateside. Emily Hayward-Whitlock at The Artists Partnership brokered the deal on behalf of Eleanor Birne at Pew Literary.
Executive producers will be Beth Pattinson and Mark Gordon for Mark Gordon Pictures, and Danny Davids.
As we first revealed, producer Gordon launched eOne-backed Mark Gordon Pictures last year. The firm has bases in LA,...
Set in Berlin in 2009, darkly-comedic thriller Other People’s Clothes charts the story of two young American art students whose lives spiral out of control after they rent an apartment from an eccentric crime writer.
Hodder & Stoughton imprint Sceptre will publish the novel in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as their lead debut on July 8, 2021. Doubleday U.S. will subsequently publish stateside. Emily Hayward-Whitlock at The Artists Partnership brokered the deal on behalf of Eleanor Birne at Pew Literary.
Executive producers will be Beth Pattinson and Mark Gordon for Mark Gordon Pictures, and Danny Davids.
As we first revealed, producer Gordon launched eOne-backed Mark Gordon Pictures last year. The firm has bases in LA,...
- 3/29/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Producer Orian Williams makes his directorial debut with Jeff Buckley biopic “Everybody Here Wants You.” Culmination will produce and kick off worldwide sales of the pic at the European Film Market.
“Everybody Here Wants You” stars Reeve Carney as the singer-songwriter whose career was cut short by his death in 1997. The film has full support of the Buckley estate and has access to Buckley’s music.
Culmination Prod.’s Tom Butterfield will produce alongside Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, and Alison Raykovich, manager of his estate and VP of Jeff Buckley Music. Culmination’s Harry White handles sales at the EFM.
Jeff Buckley met his father, singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, whose own music spurred an intense following, only once. Tim Buckley died in 1975, but his estranged son did possess the same gift for music. Jeff Buckley released one album, “Grace,” in 1994, which rocketed him to the top of critics lists and inspired a deep fandom,...
“Everybody Here Wants You” stars Reeve Carney as the singer-songwriter whose career was cut short by his death in 1997. The film has full support of the Buckley estate and has access to Buckley’s music.
Culmination Prod.’s Tom Butterfield will produce alongside Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, and Alison Raykovich, manager of his estate and VP of Jeff Buckley Music. Culmination’s Harry White handles sales at the EFM.
Jeff Buckley met his father, singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, whose own music spurred an intense following, only once. Tim Buckley died in 1975, but his estranged son did possess the same gift for music. Jeff Buckley released one album, “Grace,” in 1994, which rocketed him to the top of critics lists and inspired a deep fandom,...
- 3/1/2021
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
“Curtain Call,” starring starring Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu and Simon Russell Beale, has sold to several major territories.
To be directed by “Shopgirl” filmmaker Anand Tucker, the film will commence production later this year in the U.K.
Culmination Productions has sold to Squareone Entertainment (German-speaking Europe), Notorious Pictures (Italy), California Filmes (Latin America), Cineart (Benelux), Tanweer (Greece), Lusomundo (Portugal), Sena (Iceland), Hagi Films (Poland), Shoval Film (Israel), Selim Ramia & Co (The Middle East), Empire (South Africa), Benchmark Films (Taiwan) and to Spain, where a distributor is yet to be announced.
Adapted by Oscar-nominee Patrick Marber (“Notes on a Scandal”) from Anthony Quinn’s novel of the same name, “Curtain Call” revolves around Jimmy Erskine (Beale), the most feared theatre critic of the age, his loyal and long-suffering assistant Tom Turner (Essiedu), David Brooke (Firth), the new owner of the newspaper who wants to be rid of Jimmy,...
To be directed by “Shopgirl” filmmaker Anand Tucker, the film will commence production later this year in the U.K.
Culmination Productions has sold to Squareone Entertainment (German-speaking Europe), Notorious Pictures (Italy), California Filmes (Latin America), Cineart (Benelux), Tanweer (Greece), Lusomundo (Portugal), Sena (Iceland), Hagi Films (Poland), Shoval Film (Israel), Selim Ramia & Co (The Middle East), Empire (South Africa), Benchmark Films (Taiwan) and to Spain, where a distributor is yet to be announced.
Adapted by Oscar-nominee Patrick Marber (“Notes on a Scandal”) from Anthony Quinn’s novel of the same name, “Curtain Call” revolves around Jimmy Erskine (Beale), the most feared theatre critic of the age, his loyal and long-suffering assistant Tom Turner (Essiedu), David Brooke (Firth), the new owner of the newspaper who wants to be rid of Jimmy,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Anand Tucker’s (Hilary & Jackie) period-drama Curtain Call, which is due to star Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu and Simon Russell Beale, has been pre-sold by Culmination Productions to a host of key territories ahead of shoot later this year in the UK.
In addition to the previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the film has been sold to Squareone Entertainment (German Speaking Europe), Notorious Pictures (Italy), California Filmes (Latin America), Cineart (Benelux), Tanweer (Greece) and Lusomundo (Portugal).
Deals were also inked with Sena (Iceland), Hagi Films (Poland), Shoval Film (Israel), Selim Ramia & Co (The Middle East), Empire (South Africa) and Benchmark Films (Taiwan).
The film revolves around Jimmy Erskine (Beale), the most feared theatre critic of the age, his loyal and long-suffering assistant Tom Turner (Essiedu), David Brooke (Firth), the new owner of the newspaper who wants to be rid of Jimmy,...
In addition to the previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the film has been sold to Squareone Entertainment (German Speaking Europe), Notorious Pictures (Italy), California Filmes (Latin America), Cineart (Benelux), Tanweer (Greece) and Lusomundo (Portugal).
Deals were also inked with Sena (Iceland), Hagi Films (Poland), Shoval Film (Israel), Selim Ramia & Co (The Middle East), Empire (South Africa) and Benchmark Films (Taiwan).
The film revolves around Jimmy Erskine (Beale), the most feared theatre critic of the age, his loyal and long-suffering assistant Tom Turner (Essiedu), David Brooke (Firth), the new owner of the newspaper who wants to be rid of Jimmy,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures International Productions on board as co-producer.
Culmination Productions has licensed major territories ahead of an anticipated start of production in the UK later this year on Anand Tucker’s EFM sales title Curtain Call starring Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu, and Simon Russell Beale.
Following previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the film has gone to Square One Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, Notorious Pictures for Italy, and California Filmes for Latin America.
In other deals, Selim Ramia & Co. has acquired rights for The Middle East, Cineart for Benelux,...
Culmination Productions has licensed major territories ahead of an anticipated start of production in the UK later this year on Anand Tucker’s EFM sales title Curtain Call starring Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu, and Simon Russell Beale.
Following previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the film has gone to Square One Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, Notorious Pictures for Italy, and California Filmes for Latin America.
In other deals, Selim Ramia & Co. has acquired rights for The Middle East, Cineart for Benelux,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Benedict Cumberbatch, Gemma Arterton murder mystery ‘Curtain Call’ sells for Culmination Productions
Sony Pictures International Productions on board as co-producer.
Culmination Productions has licensed major territories ahead of an anticipated start of production in the UK later this year on Anand Tucker’s EFM sales title Curtain Call starring Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu, and Simon Russell Beale.
Following previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the film has gone to Square One Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, Notorious Pictures for Italy, and California Filmes for Latin America.
In other deals, Selim Ramia & Co. has acquired rights for The Middle East, Cineart for Benelux,...
Culmination Productions has licensed major territories ahead of an anticipated start of production in the UK later this year on Anand Tucker’s EFM sales title Curtain Call starring Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu, and Simon Russell Beale.
Following previously announced sales to Sony Pictures International Productions for the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the film has gone to Square One Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, Notorious Pictures for Italy, and California Filmes for Latin America.
In other deals, Selim Ramia & Co. has acquired rights for The Middle East, Cineart for Benelux,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A week before the official kick-off of Berlin’s European Film Market, Culmination Pictures has closed a slew of international pre-sales for Curtain Call, a period murder mystery from Anand Tucker’s (Shopgirl, Hilary & Jackie) featuring an all-star British cast including Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu and Simon Russell Beale.
Culmination closed deals for Curtain Call with Squareone Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, with Notorious Pictures for Italy, Hagi Films for Poland, Tanweer for Greece, Lusomundo for Portugal, Sena for Iceland, Hagi Films for Poland, Cineart for Benelux, and Shoval Films for Israel. California Filmes took rights in Latin America, Selim Ramia & Co....
Culmination closed deals for Curtain Call with Squareone Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, with Notorious Pictures for Italy, Hagi Films for Poland, Tanweer for Greece, Lusomundo for Portugal, Sena for Iceland, Hagi Films for Poland, Cineart for Benelux, and Shoval Films for Israel. California Filmes took rights in Latin America, Selim Ramia & Co....
- 2/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A week before the official kick-off of Berlin’s European Film Market, Culmination Pictures has closed a slew of international pre-sales for Curtain Call, a period murder mystery from Anand Tucker’s (Shopgirl, Hilary & Jackie) featuring an all-star British cast including Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Paapa Essiedu and Simon Russell Beale.
Culmination closed deals for Curtain Call with Squareone Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, with Notorious Pictures for Italy, Hagi Films for Poland, Tanweer for Greece, Lusomundo for Portugal, Sena for Iceland, Hagi Films for Poland, Cineart for Benelux, and Shoval Films for Israel. California Filmes took rights in Latin America, Selim Ramia & Co....
Culmination closed deals for Curtain Call with Squareone Entertainment for German-speaking Europe, with Notorious Pictures for Italy, Hagi Films for Poland, Tanweer for Greece, Lusomundo for Portugal, Sena for Iceland, Hagi Films for Poland, Cineart for Benelux, and Shoval Films for Israel. California Filmes took rights in Latin America, Selim Ramia & Co....
- 2/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.