News

This loved-up ensemble piece is cheerfully apolitical, pro-drugs and pro-hedonism – and features a very funny film debut from Danny Dyer

A warm nostalgic glow surrounds this likably daft and zeitgeisty one-crazy-night clubbing adventure from 1999. It’s a Cool Britannia time-capsule written and directed by Justin Kerrigan, starring John Simm, Shaun Parkes, Lorraine Pilkington, Nicola Reynolds and a cherubic young Danny Dyer making his movie debut. Dyer’s character ends up down the pub moodily swearing off drugs for ever – and if we wondered how that was going to turn out, we can flashforward to his performance this year in Nick Love’s Marching Powder, in which he does much the same thing.

Human Traffic revolves around a group of gurning mates: a classic 90s ensemble of mononymous characters – Jip, Koop, Lulu, Nina and Moff – individually introduced in freeze-frame voiceover in that distinctive 90s Britmovie style, as popularised by Danny Boyle...

Stephanie Leonidas is "begging to work" with Nick Love again after starring in Marching Powder.The 41-year-old actress played Dani Jones the wife of Danny Dyer's ageing football hooligan character Jack Jones who is given one last chance at couples therapy to save his marriage in Lowe's modern day rom-com.Stephanie cannot praise writer-and-director Nick enough and she is ready for a role in his next project, whatever that may be.In an exclusive interview with Bang Showbiz, she said: "I'm begging him to work with me again!"I love Nick, I love working with him, I love his comedy. "I think Nick wrote really well for her [Dani], I had some great one liners. "Some of the scenes just slid off the page like butter, it felt so easy to say Nick's lines."Nick is an incredible writer and he's an incredible director. He brings so much to the set.

To celebrate the home entertainment release of “proper naughty” comedy Marching

Powder – available on digital now and on DVD and Blu-ray 2nd June, we’re giving away a playful Marching Powder plate as well as a poster signed by director Nick Love and stars

Danny Dyer and Stephanie Leonidas.

Set in the irreverent and profane world of cult classic The Football Factory, Marching Powder is a hilarious and action-packed big screen comedy that reunites Danny Dyer with acclaimed British director, Nick Love.

The film follows the story of Jack Jones (Danny Dyer), an aging, drug-taking football hooligan who feels increasingly irrelevant in today’s society as he struggles to keep his family together. Hooked on drugs and adrenaline; and struggling to resist the pull of his firm of fellow football fans, Jack is arrested after some violent matchday exploits and given six weeks to turn his life around, or else...

Long before Rockstar Games became known for the billion-dollar franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, the studio tried its hand at something very different: movies. Exactly 21 years ago this week, the studio stepped outside of game development and into film production, and helped bring The Football Factory to UK theaters on May 14, 2004.

You may have seen this movie at some point because it is quite a cult classic, especially among the British audience. But at the time, it didn’t achieve the multi-million or even billion-dollar successes that blockbuster movies have today. Which is fair because it wasn’t a blockbuster in the first place.

Did you even know that Rockstar made a movie? The movie is so old that you probably don’t even remember it. | Image Credit: Rockstar

The Football Factory follows Tommy Johnson, a hardened Chelsea “firm” member who lives for late-night brawls and heavy drinking.

Having landed Latin Grammy and Billboard nominations as a singer/songwriter, turned heads for her debut movie role in Jon M. Chu’s musical drama “In the Heights” and sadly seen her superhero universe entrance as the lead in “Batgirl” nixed by Warner Bros. accountants, Leslie Grace will next be taking on something completely different: the insides of a giant sperm whale.

The fast-rising Hollywood star is set to take the lead in survival thriller “Propel,” billed as “‘Gravity’ meets ‘127 Hours’ underwater,” from director Felipe Vargas (“Rosario”) and about a diver’s fight for survival after a boating accident leaves her for dead.

Altitude has come on board for international sales and will introduce the project, described as a “pulse-pounding elemental thriller that will leave you breathless,” to buyers in Cannes next week.

Written by Jeremy Marwick and inspired by real events, “Propel” will see Grace star as Kate Acosta,...

The British Film Institute has announced the eight feature films selected for this year’s “Great 8” initiative at the Cannes Marché du Film, featuring a new generation of UK directors making their first or second films. The initiative, now in its eighth year, pairs rising talent with international buyers and programmers through curated screenings and digital showcases.

One of the high-profile selections is Animol, the debut feature from Top Boy actor Ashley Walters. Written by Nick Love and produced by Walters alongside Sky, Film4, the BFI, and Joi Productions, the film stars Tut Nyuot and Stephen Graham. It follows 15-year-old Troy, who is incarcerated for a murder he didn’t commit. Inside a notorious Young Offenders’ Institution, he forms a bond with another inmate, Krystiyan, as the pressure of survival escalates. Walters, known for his music career with So Solid Crew and his breakout role in Bullet Boy, brings his...

The BFI has revealed the lineup of titles it will take to the upcoming Cannes Market as part of its Great 8 initiative for first and second-time filmmakers.

The list of features includes Animol, the debut feature from Top Boy actor Ashley Walters, and Madfabulous from filmmaker Celyn Jones. The BFI will present the features to international buyers in Cannes. The full list of titles are:

Animol – director Ashley Walters, writer Nick Love Ish – director Imran Perretta, writers Imran Perretta, Enda Walsh Learning to Breathe Under Water – director Rebekah Fortune, writer Richard Brabin Madfabulous – director Celyn Jones, writer Lisa Baker Mission – director/writer Paul Wright On the Sea – director/writer Helen Walsh Retreat – director/writer Ted Evans The Son and the Sea – director Stroma Cairns, writers Imogen West, Stroma Cairns

Now in its eighth year, the 2025 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council. As part of the scheme,...

Ashley Walters’ feature directorial debut Animol and Celyn Jones’ second feature, Madfabulous, are among the eight projects taking part in the 2025 Cannes Great 8 online showcase of UK feature films from first-and second-time UK filmmakers.

Animol is written by Nick Love, with Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor among the producers. It is a BFI, Film4 and Sky-backed coming-of-age story that takes place within the confines of a young offenders’ institution. Stephen Graham, with whom Walters’ co-starred in Netflix seriesAdolescence,is among the cast.

Madfabulous is Jones’ second film followingThe Almond And The Seahorse.Set in the 19th century, it isinspired by the flamboyant life...

The British Council and British Film Institute have unveiled the crop of films that will make up its annual Great 8 lineup of projects to be showcased in Cannes.

The features — from either first-time or early career filmmakers — will be introduced and screened to buyers and festival programmers in Cannes, where all eight will be available to distributors at the market.

This year marks the eighth year of the Great 8 initiative, funded and produced by the BFI and British Council with thanks to BBC Film and Film 4. Previous films to have been selected include Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not A Witch” and Rose Glass’s “Saint Maud.”

“The 8th edition of Great 8 shows once again that UK film is in rude health with an upcoming slate that we can be proud of,” said Briony Hanson, the British Council’s Director of Film. “Again, this shows off...

As has become annual tradition, the British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled its 2025 crop of “Great 8” movies, eight features from the “most exciting first-time and early career filmmakers” that it will showcase to international distributors and festival programmers in the run-up to and during the Marché du Film market taking place during the Cannes Film Festival.

They include a movie directed by actor and creative Ashley Walters (Netflix hit Adolescence, Top Boy, Missing You) with Stephen Graham, a drama thriller starring George MacKay and Rosy McEwen, a drama featuring Rory Kinnear and Maria Bakalova, a thriller set in an isolated deaf community, and a Welsh alternative period drama with Rupert Everett.

“Now in its eighth year, the 2025 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with thanks to BBC Film and Film4,” the BFI said. “In preparation for the Marché, unseen footage from all of...

Marching Powder (2025) is British icon Danny Dyer’s return to the big screen with past collaborator Nick Love, and it’s also the first film that has felt reflective of Keir Starmer’s Britain. A crushed velvet, hyper machismo, misanthropic ninety minutes that is as dull as it is mean-spirited and dated. The film follows Jack Jones (Dyer), a forty-year-old grumpy cocaine addicted football hooligan who is now forced to turn his life around after all his violent, misanthropic behaviour and substance abuse catch up to him.

He gets told by a judge he has six weeks to become a new man, or he gets thrown into jail. His wife left him, taking the kids. What follows is a film that feels repetitive, dated, and cynical to a fault. For a comedy, it’s not very funny. It’s mean-spirited in the most boring way possible. The anger the film...

Exclusive: “It’s good to feel like you have range, which is something I’ve never been acknowledged for,” Danny Dyer told Deadline as he reacted to his first ever BAFTA nom and a double award win for Disney+ hit Rivals.

Known for portraying ‘hard men’ and for performances in the likes of The Football Factory and EastEnders, along with hosting a hit podcast with his daughter, Dyer has been in something of a purple patch of late.

He won Rts and Bpg awards for his role as Freddie Jones in Rivals and has been recognized by BAFTA for a different show, Sky’s Mr Bigstuff, where he is up for Male Performance in a Comedy against the likes of Kaos’ Nabhaan Rizwan and Smoggie Queens lead Phil Dunning.

“Arguably these two jobs were my best work to date,” said Dyer. “I’ve done films back to back that were...

The UK-Ireland box office suffered a slow month in March, with takings dropping 35% compared to March 2024.

The £50.7m total in Marchbrought year-to-date takings to £245.5m - on a par with 2024, having been 15% up at the end of Fabruary.

The drop is partly explained by the school Easter holidays, which are yet to occur in 2025 and fell during March 2024; but also by a weaker release slate, with Dune: Part Two contributing £22.2m in March 2024.

UK-Ireland March 2025 top 10 RankTitle (origin)DistributorRelease dateMarch total2025 total 1

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy(Fr-uk-us) Universal 14/2/25 £7.5m £45.8m 2 Disney’s Snow White(US) Disney 21/3/25 £7.3m £7.3m...

UK-Ireland top five Mar 21-23 Rank Film (origin) Distributor Mar 21-23 gross Total Week 1 Snow White (US) Disney £3.9m £3.9m 1 2 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy(UK-Fr-us)

Universal £772,874 £44.6m 6 3 Black Bag(US) Universal £734,932 £2.2m 2 4 Mickey 17 (US-s Kor) Warner Bros £724,113 £5.9m 3 5 The Alto Knights (US) Warner Bros £386,698 £386,698 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.29

Disney’s latest foray into live-action remakes, Snow White, has started off with a modest £3.9m at the UK-Ireland box office.

Marc Webb directs the live-action musical re-imagining of Disney’s 1937 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs animation, which stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, and was released at 651 sites,...

UK-Ireland top five Mar 14-16 RankFilm (origin)DistributorMar 14-16 grossTotalWeek 1 Mickey 17(US) Warner Bros £1.24m £4.5m 2 2 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy(UK-Fr-us) Universal £1.2m £42.9m 5 3 Black Bag(US) Universal £897,744 £913,877 1 4 Marching Powder(UK) True Brit £563,897 £2.1m 2 5 Captain America: Brave New World(US) Disney £395,000 £17.4m 5

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.30

Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson retained the UK-Ireland box office lead on its second weekend as Steven Soderbergh thriller Black Bag started in third place.

Warner Bros’ Mickey 17 added £1.24m on its second weekend – a 41.6% drop. Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi has £4.5m in total – down on the huge...

Warner Bros.’ “Mickey 17” claimed the top spot at the U.K. and Ireland box office in its opening weekend, earning £2.1 million ($2.7 million), according to Comscore.

The sci-fi thriller from director Bong Joon Ho, starring Robert Pattinson, made a solid debut, though it faced strong competition from holdover hit “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.”

Universal’s “Bridget Jones” sequel continued its remarkable run, landing in second place with $2.6 million in its fourth weekend. The film has now amassed $52.2 million, making it one of the biggest releases of the year so far.

True Brit Entertainment’s “Marching Powder” opened in third with $1.3 million. The film marks the long-anticipated reunion of director Nick Love and lead Danny Dyer after 2007’s “Outlaw.” The filmmakers indicate that the film – a comedy-drama about addiction, violence and happy endings told through individuals with real lived experience – is on track to gross the equivalent of is...

You can make good films about bad people, and certainly not every redemption story has to result in a sinner becoming a saint. But making a film about a bad person who doesn’t want redemption, who seems driven by grievance and who expresses his contempt for and sense of superiority to the audience – without any obvious justification for that feeling – is a tougher sell. Director Nick Love relies on star Danny Dyer’s considerable charm in an attempt to do so here, but even he can’t quite sell it.

Dyer's Jack is a strange figure. He married into money, so he has a nice house, beautiful wife and son – at a fee-paying school – and no obvious material concerns. He spends his time getting off his face and into fights at lower-league football matches – until a prison sentence forces him to re-think his approach. But Love can’t seem...

UK-Ireland top five Mar 7-9 RankFilm (origin)DistributorMar 7-9 grossTotalWeek 1 Mickey 17 (US) Warner Bros £2.13m £2.1m 1 2 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (UK-Fr-us) Universal £2.05m £40.4m 4 3 Marching Powder (UK) True Brit £1.1m £1.1m 1 4 Captain America: Brave New World (US) Disney £614,000 £16.8m 4 5 Dog Man (US) Universal £373,654 £12.5m 5

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.29

Fantasy adventure Mickey 17 topped the UK-Ireland box office on its opening weekend, ending the three-week run atop the chart of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.

Mickey 17 opened to £2.1m for Warner Bros, from 668 sites at a £3,182 location average. That is the biggest opening for a...

Stars: Danny Dyer, Stephanie Leonidas, Calum MacNab, Dean Harrison, Arty Dyer, Philippe Brenninkmeyer, Phillip Ray Tommy | Written and Directed by Nick Love

Danny Dyer reteams with director Nick Love for Marching Powder, a sweary geezer comedy-drama that feels like a throwback (or should that be a dragback?) to the early ’00s. It marks their fifth collaboration – following Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001), The Football Factory (2004), The Business (2005) and Outlaw (2005), as well as Dyer’s return to the big screen after a ten-year absence.

In some ways, Marching Powder could be seen as a sequel to The Football Factory, since Dyer once again plays a coke-snorting (the title is a euphemism for cocaine), c-word-dropping part-time football hooligan. The difference is, well, he’s a lot older this time around, and the film does a decent job of questioning his life choices.

Dyer plays Jack Jones, a 45-year-old geezer who still indulges in coke...

Charging headfirst into controversy with no apologies and a bag full of wince-inducing inappropriate jokes, Marching Powder does exactly what’s on the tin – it knows its intended demographic inside out. Directed by Nick Love — the man behind The Football Factory — this new film drags viewers into the chaotic world of Jack Jones, played by Danny Dyer, a former football hooligan whose glory days are long behind him. After yet another brawl lands him in court, Jack is handed one final chance to sort himself out — but anyone familiar with Love’s work can probably guess that redemption won’t come easy.

Jack’s sentence involves keeping his nose clean – literally and figuratively – but between old mates urging him to neck whatever drugs are on offer and a general refusal to grow up, Jack finds it hard to stay on the straight and narrow. His chaotic antics put him at...

Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17finally makes its bow as the Warner Bros title opens in 668 UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend.

Robert Pattinson leads this sci-fi comedy as “expendable” on board a spaceship heading for the colonisation of another planet. Warner Bros will hope to capitalise on Pattinson’s strong box office career. The UK actor headlined theTwilight films, which collectively brought in £135.5m across the five titles,while his more recent stint asThe Batmanopened on £13.5m in 2022.

Bong has also had successes in the territory with his Oscar-winnerParasite opening on £1.1m in the UK and Ireland in February 2020 from 136 sites.

Teaming up with writer-director Nick Love once more, Dyer is back in boisterous action as a middle-aged cocaine enthusiast and lower-leagues football hooligan

The brick-hard forehead of Nick Love’s new geezer comedy lands with an uncompromising crunch on our sensitive nasal bridge. “Have that!” the film appears to say, “you progressive, cinephile, intersectional …” and the next word is probably a particularly brutal noun to which Love is fiercely committed. Marching Powder is broad, it’s unsubtle, and its cheerfully nonjudgemental attitude to drugs has got it a rare 18 certificate – something that offers its own frisson, given the movie’s laidback attitude to underage consumption of adult porn. But this film has got energy and chutzpah and there are one or two laughs. It’s the kind of film Love has been making for 25 years; the type that goes down best with humour – which Love knows how to do.

With lordly presence,...

Marching Powder marks the much-anticipated reunion of director Nick Love and his iconic leading man Danny Dyer, bringing fans back into the gritty adrenaline-fuelled world of The Football Factory. This time, Dyer plays Jack, a middle-aged football hooligan clinging to the chaos of his youth, despite a life that’s falling apart at the seams.

Jack’s world revolves around a messy cocktail of matchday violence, heavy drug use and family tensions. The whole thing comes to a head when he’s arrested after one clash too many. Given six weeks to clean up his act or face prison time, Jack is forced to confront his demons, navigate his crumbling marriage to Dani (Stephanie Leonidas) and dodge the influence of his hard-as-nails father-in-law.

HeyUGuys sat down for a chat with Dyer and Leonidas and Dyer to talk about the fun they had working on the movie. We got the chance...

Universal’s “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” continued its reign at the U.K. and Ireland box office, pulling in £4.1 million ($5.2 million) in its third weekend, according to Comscore. The fourth installment in the “Bridget Jones” franchise has now grossed $45.6 million, maintaining a solid lead over the competition and proving to be one of the year’s biggest hits so far.

Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” held onto second place with $1.8 million in its third weekend, pushing its cumulative total to $19.8 million. While overshadowed by the continued success of “Bridget Jones,” the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is showing decent legs as it heads into its fourth week.

Universal’s “Dog Man” took third place, adding $861,838 in its fourth weekend. The animated family feature has now reached $15.2 million. Black Bear’s horror entry “The Monkey” earned $763,907 in its second weekend in fourth place, bringing its total to $2.7 million.

Actor and rapper Ashley Walters of Top Boy fame is making his feature directorial debut with Animol which has just gone into production. More on that below.

If you’ve watched Top Boy, Channel 4 and later Netflix’s hit London-set drama, you know Ashley Walters is the real deal. Walters’ raw performance as the series’ main character Dushane is a memorable one, but the actor and rapper is now looking to shift his focus elsewhere, specifically behind the camera.

Word has reached the Film Stories news desk that Walters’ feature directorial debut Animol has just gone into production. Written by Nick Love and drawing from Walters’ own experiences, Animol takes us inside the harsh conditions of a Young Offenders’ Institution. Tut Nyuot and Vladyslav Baliuk will play two teenagers at the heart of the story with Stephen Graham and Sharon Duncan-Brewster joining them in supporting roles.

This isn’t Walters’ first time directing.

Veteran actor and musician Ashley Walters (Top Boy) has started production on Animol, his debut feature as a director.

Written by Nick Love the project is described as a “poignant coming-of-age story” based on life within the confines of a Young Offenders’ institution.

Animol was developed by Film4 in collaboration with Joi Productions. Sky is collaborating with Film4 for the first time as co-financiers on the project, with the BFI also financing. Bankside Films is handling international sales for the film.

Starring in the flick are Tut Nyuot and Vladyslav Baliuk, who feature as the two central teenagers in the Young Offenders’ institution. Veteran actor Stephen Graham joins the supporting cast as a Welfare Officer tasked with supporting the young offenders during their incarceration. Sharon Duncan-Brewster rounds off the ensemble.

The film is...

Ashley Walters — the trailblazing British actor and star of “Top Boy” and “Missing You” — has started production on his directorial feature debut and unveiled his main cast.

“Animol” — written by Nick Love — draws on Walters’ own experiences and is described by the filmmakers as a “searing portrayal of life within the confines of a Young Offenders’ institution” and a “raw and poignant coming-of-age story highlights the power of humanity in the midst of adversity.”

Leading the feature are a pair of young rising stars in Tut Nyuot and Vladyslav Baliuk, who will play two teenagers embroiled in the prison’s harsh environment. BAFTA winner Stephen Graham joins the cast as a welfare officer tasked with supporting the young offenders during their incarceration, while Sharon Duncan-Brewster rounds out the lineup.

“Animol” was developed by Film4 in collaboration with Joi Productions. Sky is collaborating with Film4 for the first time as co-financiers on the project,...

Despite being a relatively new actor, Marcus Rutherford has appeared in several high-quality movies and TV showsover the past couple of years. Since his debut in the 2017 short film, County Lines, the British actor's career has been picking up steam. Just one year later, he broke out in his native England when he starred in Obey (2018). Rutherford has continued to go from strength to strength, and 2024 has seen him star in Academy Award hopeful, September 5.

However, across the pond in Hollywood, Rutherford is by far most famous for his role as blacksmith Perrin Aybara in The Wheel of Time cast. The Amazon Prime Video fantasy series premiered in 2021 and has released two seasons, both featuring Rutherford. It was renewed for a third season, so even though Rutherford doesn't have any upcoming credits listed on his IMDb page, he will likely return for more Wheel of Time adventures. Until he does,...

John Trafford-Owen, former executive at Studiocanal and Paramount Pictures, has joinedZygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment as head of theatrical sales.

Trafford-Owen was previously head of theatrical distribution at Studiocanal UK as well as sales director for the UK and Ireland at Paramount Pictures International and United International Pictures UK. More recently, Trafford-Owen has worked withGower Street Analytics, Anton Capital,RealD, Dolby Cinema and IMAX.

True Brit has also hired Kate Willoughby as its senior marketing manager and Rob Barnes as head of home entertainment.

Willoughby began her career at Momentum Pictures and went on to work with distributors including Universal Pictures,...

Warning — this article and accompanying trailer definitely contains swearing and peak geezer Danny Dyer

Most ordinary movie trailers don’t begin with an introduction in which the lead actor sniffs a line of coke, drops the C-bomb, and punts a passer-by in the nards. But then again, Danny Dyer is no ordinary star. Whether in Human Traffic or The Football Factory, Eastenders or Mr Big Stuff, the proud Londoner has long since proven himself one of the toughest, nuttiest, most unpredictable geezers in British media. And with his latest movie Marching Powder, a hard 18 joint that reunites the protegé of Harold Pinter with his Football Factory director Nick Love, it looks like the cockney icon is going maximum Dyer. Check out the trailer below, but be warned — it's not for the easily offended and 100% not for the ears of children:

“Fighting at football, possession of cocaine, at your age… don...

Nick Love and Danny Dyer are back together for the new British film Marching Powder. And here’s the first trailer for it.

Director Nick Love and star Danny Dyer are taking something of a swerve for their new film, the freshly-announced Marching Powder.

Due in cinemas next year, the press announcement we’ve just received describes it as a “an outrageous, proper naughty comedy about addiction, violence, and happy endings”. Said announcement also tells us that the trailer for the film is a bit rude, and that we’re not allowed to cut it in any way, although we’re allowed to offer you an explicit content warning.

We’d best do that. The trailer for Marching Powder includes fruity language, a bit of talculm powder, a relatively disrobed lady and Danny Dyer using his fists to interface with people.

It’s a film that reunites Danny Dyer with director Nick Love,...

Michael Head stars in this less than convincing story of a London crime lord and his associates

There was a period in the Cool Britannia days when you couldn’t throw a brick at a cinema in the UK without hitting a British gangster movie with a castful full of dodgy geezers blagging their way around an underground scene full of drugs and farfetched capers. Some were ludicrously entertaining creations of actual working-class talent, such as Nick Love’s The Business, others transcended genre pigeonholing to work their way into various top critics’ lists (such as Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast), and still others were Guy Ritchie movies. There were hundreds of less high-profile efforts too, destined for VHS or DVD, but each having somehow found funding.

These days the British gangster flick is no longer flavour of the week, or month, and there’s something appealingly bullish about attempts to make these films now.

Folks, I just got done digging through the dustiest, crustiest, mustiest box of 80s schlock that I could get my hands on and… Well, I found something I needed to share with you guys. Now, the art of making an original horror film with unique ideas, clever storytelling, and engaging characters to bounce off a scary antagonist can be damning if not extremely difficult. And this movie is proof that sometimes it can be Too difficult because it has none of those things. 1980’s The Boogey Man (watch it Here) is the story of a pair of siblings as they battle with the trauma of their childhood and the return of an evil entity that once possessed them in a blood-soaked trance. The movie was written, directed, and produced by German actor Ulli Lommel and starred his then wife (Suzanna Love) and her brother Nick Love as the film’s main protagonists.

In any given year, British TV can be relied on to provide plenty in the way of crime drama, and 2023 was no different. Between these returning series and newcomers A Town Called Malice, Blue Lights, Marlow, Payback, Rebus, Steeltown Murders, The Gold, The Sixth Commandment, Wolf and more, crime continued to flourish on the small screen.

Happily though, that was far from all that UK TV offered this year. There was fantasy too, in the form of Netflix’s South London super-powers drama Supacell, ghost detective series Lockwood & Co., Greek and Roman mythology series Kaos, and sci-fi in Prime Video’s The Rig.

Add to all those the romances, dramas inspired by real-life, and several other book adaptations, period and otherwise plus music-based dramas Champion and This Town, and it was a pretty full slate.

January Stonehouse

Succession‘s Matthew Macfadyen and Crossfire‘s Keeley Hawes star in this three-part ITV drama,...

The actor is ‘buzzing’ to be making a film about drug-taking and football hooliganism directed by his old collaborator Nick Love. Does this mean his time as an unexpected national treasure is nearing an end?

Lock up your mugs and chain down your slags, for something proper naughty is on the horizon. Danny Dyer, the UK’s surliest and most unlikely national treasure, is making another film with Nick Love.

They said it wouldn’t happen. They said it couldn’t happen. They definitely thought it shouldn’t happen. But despite everything, here it is: next month, Dyer and Love will start production on a film called Marching Powder.

Exclusive: Former Lionsgate UK & Europe chief Zygi Kamasa’s recently formed UK distributor True Brit Entertainment has found its first feature film with 18-rated Marching Powder, which reunites writer-director Nick Love with Danny Dyer, star of their previous collaborations such as The Football Factory, Outlaw and The Business.

Marching Powder, which isn’t a sequel to The Football Factory but is inspired by a similar subject, follows the story of Jack (Danny Dyer), a middle aged, drug-taking football hooligan, who is arrested and given six weeks to turn his life around, or else face a long spell in prison. Juggling his marriage, his hard nut bully of a father-in-law and his wayward 25-year-old stepbrother, Kenny Boy, Jack tries to get his life back on track, but slowly his world starts to spiral out of control.

The movie, which starts principal photography in London in January 2024, will have elements of comedy,...

A sequel to 'The Football Factory' is in development.The follow-up to the 2004 movie about football hooligans has been given the working title 'Marching Powder' in a reference to the drug-taking featured in the original film.Danny Dyer will reprise his role as the Chelsea hooligan Tommy Johnson, with shooting set to start in the coming weeks as film bosses aim for a 2024 release to mark 20 years since the original flick.A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "It's full steam ahead for 'Football Factory 2' and filming is due to start in January."The hope is they can turn it around quickly enough so it comes out in 2024 – in time for the 20th anniversary."The insider continued: "The script for 'Marching Powder' will reveal what happened to the rival factions of hooligans after the end of the last film."It's a real passion project for Danny...

Danny Dyer is in talks to star in a sequel to 'The Football Factory'.The 46-year-old former 'EastEnders' actor has met with the cult film’s original director Nick Love to discuss a new script, ahead of the movie's 20th anniversary next year.The film followed a group of football hooligans, including Danny's Chelsea supporter Tommy Johnson, who started to question his morals, and those of his friends.A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "Danny is a free agent after leaving EastEnders and he has been in talks with the director Nick about a sequel to 'The Football Factory'."The film ended with Danny’s character Tommy recovering from being battered by a group of Millwall fans."The idea is that the new project would follow Tommy in the years that followed, what happened in the firm and the new generation coming up behind him.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking to UK indie veteran Vertigo Films, producer of hit TV shows Britannia, Bulletproof and James Corden and Sally Hawkins starrer Mammals and feature films Monsters, Bronson and Streetdance 3D. Last year, Federation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the company and we talk about that deal, Vertigo’s pivot from UK indie film to television and why they’re turning their heads back to the indie film space again.

James Richardson and Allan Niblo remember the exact moment they decided to make the jump from the indie film space into the television sphere. It was at the 2014 American Film Market – one of their busiest markets – when the Vertigo Films co-founders walked into the Loews in Santa Monica...

Exclusive: The sun is setting on Sky’s Spanish crime drama A Town Called Malice after just one season.

Sky has this week informed producers Vertigo Films and Rogue State of its decision to cancel the show, which has come as a surprise to some given preparations were underway for Season 2.

Penned by Bulletproof co-creator and The Football Factory director Nick Love, A Town Called Malice was set in the Costa del Sol crime wave in the 1980s.

Jason Flemyng starred as Albert Lord, the head of a family of petty thieves from South London who decamp to Spain to profit from an unexpected windfall.

Sky backed A Town Called Malice with its full marketing heft and the series was a key part of its 2023 originals slate, but the show has not performed as hoped.

The drama’s ratings were lower than expected and...

Is there any corner of the globe left untouched by the British crime drama? If it’s not Kenneth Branagh stalking through the inky expanses of the Swedish winter, or Roger Allam quaffing rosé in Provence, it’s Ralf Little, Ben Miller, Kris Marshall or Ardal O’Hanlon nicking killers (and evading taxes) in Guadeloupe. Now, British crime turns its attention to the Costa del Sol with A Town Called Malice (Sky Max). a pulpy, blood-soaked vision of Brits abroad. “Death arrives on the Costa,” growls the local Spanish detective. “I like it.”

Gene (Jack Rowan) is the youngest of the Lord brothers, heirs-apparent to a south-London crime family. But he’s different, determined to make it as a newspaper journalist. “My family couldn’t lie in bed straight, but that’s not me,” he tells Cindy (Tahirah Sharif), a beautiful bartender. Soon enough, Gene and Cindy are engaged to be married,...

If you love the 1980s – specifically, the neon-lit, Talking Heads-blaring, Delboy swagger of the 1980s Cockney – then Sky’s new crime thriller A Town Called Malice is right up your street.

Meet the Lords

Created by The Sweeney’s Nick Love, this eight-part drama centres on the Lord family, a South London gang whose criminal heyday might be behind them, but who are still up for causing trouble. After a spot of bother with a rival gang (and leaving a policeman for dead), they flee to Spain’s Costa del Sol to lay low, and in amongst the pina coladas and palm trees realise they have a chance to recapture their former glory and become criminal top dogs once more.

The series premiered on Sky Max at 9pm on Thursday 16th March, and the full box-set is already available to watch on Now.

Who’s in the cast of A Town Called Malice?...

Sky is seeking inspiration from Happy Valley for its next hit show as programs boss Zai Bennett says the pay-tv giant is taking a ‘less is more’ approach to original content.

Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild event this morning, Sky Studios Director of Original Drama Meghan Lyvers said conversations are taking place with producers about shows that have “an investigative spine with complicated, dysfunctional, flawed, human and relatable characters at the center,” evoking Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire’s Catherine Cawood.

She responded “perhaps yes” when questioned if the next big Sky drama could be led by a Cawood-esque figure and talked up the way in which the BBC One/AMC+ sensation places an older woman front and centre of the story. A similar show, the Kate Winslet-starring Mare of Easttown, was launched by Sky and HBO in 2021 to critical acclaim.

“There are always trends in terms of...

Exclusive: Hot off the heels of their Sundance premiere of Rye Lane, writers Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia have teamed up with Vertigo Films for their next romantic comedy The Whole Hog.

The project follows a newly broken up couple who are forced to temporarily reconcile their differences and travel the food festivals and markets of Britain together as they try and make a success of the food truck that they sunk their savings into before they split up.

Bryon and Melia are currently preparing for the release of youthful Brit pic Rye Lane for Searchlight Pictures, which opened to rave reviews in Sundance last month. Deadline’s Anna Smith described the Raine Allen Miller-directed pic as a “delight” and a “sunny, irreverent take on life and love”

The Whole Hog, which is produced by Vertigo’s Allan Niblo, will apply the same razor sharp and freewheeling insights into...

Sky has launched the teaser trailer for its upcoming crime thriller series ‘A Town Called Malice.’

This intoxicating cocktail of crime thriller and family saga in the early ’80s follows the Lords – a family of former South London gangsters who’ve fallen to the bottom of the criminal food chain – and they’re not happy about it. When they flee to the Costa del Sol in Spain following a gangland battle, the Lords realise this is a golden opportunity to re-invent themselves and re-capture their former glory. However, they spend as much time battling each other as they do their opponents. This high-octane, neon Western is a musical love letter to the ’80s – filled with romance, obsession, violence, deceit, and swagger.

The Lord family is headed up by Jason Flemyng as Albert Lord, Jack Rowan (Born to Kill) as Gene Lord, Tahirah Sharif (The Haunting of Bly Manor) joins as Cindy Carter,...

Sky Studios has confirmed its commitment to premium content at Mia Market in Rome.

“When we say premium, we talk about mature, provocative, sophisticated storytelling,” said Meghan Lyvers, director of original drama at Sky Studios U.K. Noting the company’s interest in prestige, high-end limited series (“‘Chernobyl’ was an incredible example of that”), “blockbuster” event series, but also ones that can potentially return.

An adaptation of Heather Morris’ novel “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” is in the works, which will see Sky partnering up with Peacock. TNT has acquired “The Lazarus Project,” while crime series “A Town Called Malice,” created by Nick Love and launching next spring, will be a “love letter” to the 1980s.

“We will continue to push forward these ambitious stories,” assured Lyvers.

In Italy, viewers can expect the second season of “Romulus,” shot in proto-Latin, while “Django” with Matthias Schoenaerts as a Wild West gunslinger will premiere internationally on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article.

International studio Federation (The Bureau, Around the World in 80 Days) has struck a deal to acquire a majority stake in London-based British film and television production company Vertigo Films (Britannia, Bulletproof, The Sweeney, Monsters).

Financial and other terms weren’t disclosed.

“The deal underlines both Vertigo Films’ and Federation’s ambitions to expand their offering of premium content to the global market and marks the continued expansion of the independent European studio, as it increases its investment in acclaimed production labels and creative talent,” the companies said.

“The acquisition follows an exceptionally busy year for Vertigo, which is currently in post-production on new comedy-drama series Mammals, by Jez Butterworth, starring James Corden and Sally Hawkins for Amazon, forthcoming ’80s set gangster epic A Town Called Malice by Nick Love for Sky Max, and has just wrapped principal photography on a new star-studded film for Sky Cinema,...

Sky Sets ‘A Town Called Malice’ Cast

Sky has set cast and filming dates for 1980s Costa del Sol drama A Town Called Malice. Save Me star Jason Flemyng will helm the project as Albert Lord, the head of a family of petty thieves from South London who decamp to Spain to profit from an unexpected windfall. Joining Flemyng are Jack Rowan (Born to Kill), Tahirah Sharif (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Martha Plimpton(Mass), Dougray Scott (Ever After, Mission: Impossible 2), Lex Shrapnel (Captain America), Daniel Sharman (Fear the Walking Dead), George Jaques (The Third Day: Autumn) and Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom). Filming begins later this month on the series from Vertigo Films, Rogue State and Sky Studios, which is due to air on Sky Max and Now TV next year. Bulletproof scribe Nick Love is lead writer and is joined in the writers’ room by Melissa Bubnic,...

Gemma Arterton (“Black Narcissus”) will headline “Funny Girl,” a series adaptation of Nick Hornby’s bestselling novel for Sky and Now.

Arterton stars as Barbara Parker, a force of nature who takes London by storm during the cultural explosion of the 1960s. The series follows the character’s journey from Blackpool beauty queen to comedy superstar and nation’s sweetheart. Clare-Hope Ashitey (“Riviera”), Arsher Ali (“Informer”) and Alexa Davies (“White House Farm”) will also star.

The series is written by multi-award-winning writer Morwenna Banks (“Damned”) and directed by BAFTA nominee Oliver Parker, who directed Arterton’s film debut “St. Trinian’s.”

Arterton said: “It’s a heart-warming story of an ambitious woman with a dream of making people laugh – it’s going to be something special. It’s an honour to be working with such an incredible team and be reunited with my first ever director, Oliver Parker.”

Director of comedy for Sky Studios,...

Comcast-owned Sky has revealed multiple commissions, including a Gemma Arterton comedy based on Nick Hornby novel Funny Girl.

The new Gemma Arterton comedy series is about a young woman from Blackpool finding her comic voice in the male dominated world of the 1960s sitcom. Clare-Hope Ashitey (Riviera), Arsher Ali (Informer) and Alexa Davies (White House Farm) will also star with more cast to be confirmed.

Potboiler and Rebel Park Productions are producing, in association with Sky Studios. Executive producers are Nick Hornby, Gemma Arterton, Morwenna Banks, Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan, Jessica Parker and Jessica Malik. The series is being written by Morwenna Banks and will be directed by Oliver Parker. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios.

The series was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky, Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy at Sky Studios and Tilusha Ghelani,...