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Three children of Beatles members have collaborated on a new song. Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney linked with Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, for “Rip Off.” The song is credited to Mantra of the Cosmos, Starkey’s supergroup with Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez and Andy Bell of Ride. Lennon and McCartney lend vocals to the psychedelic song that Starkey previewed on his Instagram page.

While many may view the song as a sort of Beatles redux moment, Starkey swiftly pushed back on that notion. When...

The past few months have been quite a head-snapping time for Zak Starkey. The roller coaster began April 16 when the Who fired the drummer after three decades of solid work (“The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak”), continued three days later when Pete Townshend announced Starkey was back in (“Zak is not being asked to step down from the Who”), and climaxed a month later when Townshend reversed himself (“After many years of great work on drums from Zak, the time has come for a change...

The Bafta-winning actor answers your questions about taking Angelina Jolie to meet his grandmother down the pub, working with Danny Boyle and directing Paul Weller

Your new film, Sinners, sounds scary. What scares you? MrSOBaldrick

Loneliness.

I’ve always wanted to act, but I’ve never taken the plunge. Has there been a role where you felt you took a plunge out of your comfort zone? AliciaGrace1

Getting to portray an American comes with inherent impostor syndrome, because so many other US actors could take the role. The roles I’ve played in the US have bigger distinctions from my lived experiences than some of my other roles. But it can be rewarding and fulfilling to do something that’s very different, so it works both ways.

Exclusive: Utopia has set a theatrical release for Robert Schwartzman’s Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary with special event screenings on May 12 in several cities –Washington D.C., Boston, Austin, Pittsburgh and Seattle– followed by full theatrical engagements in NY and LA on May 16 respectively at the Quad Cinema and Landmark NuArt Theatre.

The film, which premiered at SXSW 2023, traces the remarkable journey of iconic British rock band The Zombies—from teenage friends to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

“I can’t express how much I love The Zombies. After hearing their music as a teenager, I felt like I understood them musically, melodically and emotionally. Their clever arrangements and sophisticated songwriting gave me a musical foundation that helped me launch my own band, Rooney,” stated director Robert Schwartzman. “As a fan and fellow musician, to get the chance to make a film about their...

Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler are to star in 'Deep Cuts'.The duo have joined the cast of movie that is based on the debut novel by Holly Brickley, which was only published earlier this week.'Deep Cuts' takes place during the 2000s and is a love story about a pair of music-obsessed twenty somethings as they navigate the realities of ambition, belonging and adulthood during an era-defining decade.'The Iron Claw' helmer Sean Durkin is directing the flick, whilst Ronan is set to be involved behind the camera as a producer.Reacting to news of the movie, Brickley wrote on Instagram: "I will never understand how I got so lucky."Saoirse previously revealed that she was wary about being branded "the indie girl" as she has worked on a lot of smaller movies in the past.The 30-year-old star told IndieWire: "I've kind of got one eye...

Rick Buckler, founding drummer for popular and influential British rock trio The Jam, died February 17 after a short illness, his management company said in a statement. He was 69.

“Rick Buckler, best known as the legendary drummer of The Jam, passed away peacefully on Monday evening in Woking, after a short illness with family by his side,” the statement reads. “Rick was a loving husband, father and grandfather and was a devoted friend to many, who will be greatly missed.”

Buckler joined up with frontman singer-guitarist Paul Weller and bassist Bruce Foxton to form The Jam in 1972 and remained with the group until its 1982 breakup. Recording from 1977-82, it was among the era’s most popular bands in the UK, where The Jam racked up 18 consecutive Top 40 singles, nine Top 10s and four No. 1s: 1980’s “Going Underground” and “Start,” followed by “Town Called Malice” — which debuted atop the chart — and...

Rick Buckler, drummer for British rock band the Jam, has died at the age of 69.

Buckler’s former bandmate and lead singer Paul Weller confirmed his death on social media Tuesday. “I’m shocked and saddened by Rick’s passing. I’m thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking,” wrote Weller. “To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey! We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time.

Rick Buckler, drummer for legendary UK rock band The Jam, has died at the age of 69. A statement from his family states that Buckler “passed away peacefully on Monday evening in Woking after a short illness with family by his side.”

The Jam’s Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton both paid tribute to their late bandmate, with Weller stating, “I’m shocked and saddened by Rick’s passing. I’m thinking back to us all rehearsing in my bedroom in Stanley Road, Woking. To all the pubs and clubs we played at as kids, to eventually making a record. What a journey! We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time. My deepest sympathy to all family and friends.”

Foxton added, “I was shocked and devastated to hear the very sad news today. Rick was a good guy and a great drummer whose innovative...

Focusing on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases.

Tct’s top priority is building units in NHS hospitals specifically for teenagers with cancer. As well as superior medical facilities, these units are equipped with day rooms, kitchens and chill-out rooms where teenagers can relax and feel at home or have friends and family to visit in a comfortable environment. There are computers with internet access, pool tables, playstations, satellite TV, musical instruments, and other things teenagers might like to occupy their time with, or share with friends. Most importantly, the units provide an environment where teenagers can meet others in a similar situation and allow patients to build friendships and mechanisms to cope with their disease.

Celebrity supporters

Teenage Cancer Trust has 62 known supporters, including Sting, Paul McCartney, and Ricky Gervais

Areas of work ChildrenHealthCancer Read more about Teenage Cancer Trust's work and celebrity supporters.

In an awards season that is looking pretty wicked on a number of levels, the Golden Globes pulled back the curtain on some magical contenders this morning.

With nominations announced by Mindy Kaling and a slightly named challenged Morris Chestnut very early Monday, the formerly HFPA-run ceremony waved a wand of aspiration in front of the likes of Hacks, Cate Blanchett, Slow Horses‘ Gary Oldman, Emilia Perez, Jodie Foster, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking’s stars, The Bear & more. However, even with so many categories it sometimes feels impossible anyone could be left out, for some it will not be “the party of the year,” to quote Globes boss Helen Hoehne this Am.

Take a look at our list of who was not invited to the Nikki Glaser (who did get a comedy special nom Btw) fronted January 5 shindig on CBS and Paramount+. Plus, no streamer pun intended, a...

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series highlighting the scripts behind the year’s buzziest awards-season films continues with Steve McQueen’s Blitz, a searing period action drama that imagines one story of a million during The Blitz, when Nazi Germany bombed the UK for eight straight months during World War II.

Written and directed by the Oscar-winning McQueen, Apple Original Films’ Blitz had its world premiere as the opening movie of the BFI London Film Festival and closed the New York Film Festival before hitting theaters November 1. It debuted on Apple TV+ on November 22.

The plot follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside amid the bombing. George, defiant and determined to return home, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.

Saoirse Ronan's new World War II movie with an 81% Rotten Tomatoes score becomes a streaming success. The Irish actress, primarily known for her performances in period dramas, broke out with her performance as a precious teenager in Atonement at the age of 13, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Ronan continued her rise with lead roles in The Lovely Bones, Hanna, and a supporting role in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.

It wasn't until 2016 that Ronan earned her second Oscar nomination, this time for a leading role, for her performance as a homesick Irish immigrant during the 1950s in 2015's Brooklyn. In the following years, Ronan earned additional critical acclaim for her collaborations with writer-director Greta Gerwig, receiving two more Oscar nominations for Lady Bird and Little Women. With four total Oscar nods to her name, Ronan is one of the best young actresses working today and,...

It's another epic episode of the Empire Podcast this week, folks, as a smorgasbord of stars join us on the pod — all of whom shared the unique privilege of Chris Hewitt's company in person for their interviews. First to have Hewitts about them there's the great Steve McQueen, writer and director of Apple TV+ bound Blitz, to talk about how he approached the World War II drama, and working with Paul Weller [18:56 — 35:15 approx]. Then, Chris has a cracking conversation with The Piano Lesson stars John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler, which veers from the hilarious to the heartfelt in no time at all [56:44 — 1:15:50 approx]. And finally, *checks notes* a Chris Hewitt rounds it all off with an extended excerpt from his spoilerific chat with Transformers One director Josh Cooley [1:39:54 — 1:54:52 approx] The full thing is available to Spoiler Special subscribers.

Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara...

With a big holiday mere days away. this week’s new film reflects on families that can’t be together, certainly not for the “big feast”. And not by choice as it focuses on a dark time when the whole world was indeed at war. World War II is the setting for this drama. inspired by so many true events of the time. At the heart of this tale is a decision so difficult it may be tough for a modern audience to comprehend. But it was done. But there’s also the fervent desire to reunite, to return to the family unit, no matter how fractured or how dangerous. That’s because death was literally in the air and all around during the time of the Blitz.

As the film begins we watch as bombs drop from a German bomber flying over London in 1940 (a year or so before...

Follow the journey of a boy and his mother separated by war in this Apple TV+ exclusive.

Oscar-winner Steve McQueen is out with his latest film, this time a World War II epic called “Blitz.” This gripping historical drama is told through the eyes of George, a nine-year-old boy (Elliott Heffernan) separated from his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), during the Blitz. While George braves the chaos of war to return to London and get back to his mom, Rita fights desperately to find her missing son. With a stunning premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and a buzzy reception at the New York Film Festival, “Blitz” is one film you don’t want to miss. You can watch it on Apple TV+ when it premieres on Friday, Nov. 22.

How to watch ‘Blitz’ When: Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 Where: Apple TV+ Stream: Watch with a subscription to Apple TV+. 7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month apple.

Plot: During the WW2 bombing of Britain, a young mother (Saoirse Ronan) sends her young son, Georgie (Elliott Heffernan), off to the countryside for his own safety. Angry at being separated from his mother and used to being taunted for his mixed-race heritage, he jumps off the train to the countryside and embarks on an odyssey through a bombed-out London to reunite with his family.

Review: Blitz wasn’t what I expected from director Steve McQueen. One of the most potent directors in the business, Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Widows and Small Axe were all dazzlingly well-directed, but there was nothing in any of them which made me think McQueen had a family film in him. Blitz, which carries a PG-13 rating, is his most accessible film to date, with it a soft-hearted journey through London which sometimes feels almost Spielbergian. While it’s not as good as...

Ed Sheeran has said Band Aid didn’t ask permission to reuse his vocals on the upcoming 40th anniversary version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”

In a post on his Instagram Story, Sheeran further explained that he would have “respectfully declined” a request to include his vocals from the 2014 version after learning more about the negative stereotypes that can be furthered by such initiatives.

Get Ed Sheeran Tickets Here

“My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals,” Sheeran wrote. “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward looking one. Love to all x”

Sheeran referenced a post from Ghanaian-English singer and rapper Fuse Odg, in which...

A decade ago, Ed Sheeran joined the British and Irish supergroup Band Aid to cover the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The 2014 iteration of the song — which originally premiered in 1989 and was updated in 2004 — also featured One Direction and Sam Smith, among others. Last week, these same names appeared when Band Aid announced the lineup for the 2024 version. But now, Sheeran claims he was never contacted to extend permission to use his vocals on the recording — and even if he had been, he would have said no.

Steve McQueen

The director of Blitz talks us through the choices he made to create his dreamlike love letter to wartime London

1 — Don’t look back

None of my films have been similar to any other film, from Occupied City to Hunger to Small Axe to Shame. I mean, they are all very, very, very different. And that’s not just because I want to be different, it’s because the subject matter asks for it to be like that. It’s all about subject matter, and then making work that can enhance what I want to talk about. With Blitz, I wanted to look through a child’s perspective. Like a Brothers Grimm fairytale, it’s very dark, but it’s almost like a dream — and I think that seeing these things through a child’s perspective is what gives it a dreamlike quality. Because I’m putting you...

Saoirse Ronan found Paul Weller to be a “truly special person”.The 30-year-old actress stars opposite the ‘Changingman’ singer in ‘Blitz’, and though playing her dad was the former Jam frontman’s first acting role, the Oscar-nominated star found him very “humble and open to learning”.She told Britain’s Hello! Magazine: “Having Paul Weller play my father was surreal.“Who could ever imagine a rock star like him playing your dad?“He’s the kindest, most down-to-earth person and he really committed to the role.“Even though Paul hadn’t acted before, he was so humble and open to learning.“I absolutely loved spending time with him – he’s truly a special person.”The 1940s-set drama – which was directed by Sir Steve McQueen - sees Saoirse’s character Rita left devastated when she has to send her nine-year-old son George to the countryside with other young World War II evacuees.

Get The Full Scoop On The Saoirse Ronan-Led Historical Drama Blitz.. (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Blitz dropped a bomb at the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2024, and it was released in theaters on November 1, 2024. No worries if you haven’t watched it—it’ll hit Apple TV+ on November 22, 2024.

This one, directed by Steve McQueen, flips the script on your typical war flick. It’s all about the raw, emotional side of World War II, focusing on the real people who lived through the Blitz—not just the battlefields. And trust, it’s going to hit harder than a bombshell.

Blitz Plot Twist: A Kid’s Journey Through the Blitz

Blitz is about a kid’s wild journey through chaos. Set during the London Blitz, it follows 9-year-old George, who’s sent to the countryside by his mom, Rita (played by the excellent Saoirse Ronan), to escape the bombings.

Steve McQueen, the Oscar-winning director behind films such as 12 Years a Slave, Shame, and Widows, revealed that on the eve of shooting his latest film Blitz in 2022, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Deadline reports. The diagnosis delayed filming of Blitz for two weeks while McQueen underwent a procedure to remove the tumor. Fortunately, the filmmaker reports he is "fully recovered and fully functional."

McQueen kept the diagnosis and procedure a secret from his cast and crew at the time, as he didn't want to worry them or cause any distractions from the work at hand. "I really just wanted to get on with the job," he said. "And thats kind of like who I am. Im a get on with it kind of person."

The director's father, Philbert McQueen, sadly died from prostate cancer in 2006, prompting McQueen to become an advocate for early screening:

The cancers gone and thats down to early detection.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen is revealing today that two years ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent a procedure to remove the tumor.

Thankfully, the filmmaker is now “fully recovered and fully functional,” he tells Deadline.

The knight of the British realm is making a speech this afternoon to U.K. lawmakers at the House Of Commons to launch a new campaign for charity Prostate Cancer Research.

The surgery meant that the start of filming on his exceptional wartime feature Blitz was delayed for two weeks.

McQueen then returned to work without divulging to over two hundred cast and crew the reason for his absence. The director says that he kept his medical operation secret because he didn’t want his health issues to be a distraction to those working on the movie.

Today’s date, November 14, has a special significance for the filmmaker, because it’s two...

Ahh November. You know it’s fall in Hollywood because the beaches empty out, the mountains light on fire, and people start to wear fashionable jackets that it’s entirely too warm for. But damn it, if we wish it hard enough, those leaves will change color and it will be perfect pumpkin-spice weather!

It is perfect movie weather though, and we have some hot ones for you this month. We have films from heavy hitters like Steve McQueen and Pablo Larraín, and some exciting sophomore features from the likes of Mati Diop and Jessie Eisenberg. Take a look what this month has to offer below:

Juror No. 2

When You Can Watch: Now

Where You Can Watch: Theaters (limited)

Creator/Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collete, J.K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland

Why We’re Excited: Recipient of the 2007 Spirit of Independent Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, director...

Blitz director Steve McQueen has dropped out of Poland’s Camerimage Film Festival following a controversial editorial about female cinematographers written by the festival’s founder and CEO Marek Żydowicz in the days before the opening of the 32nd edition of the industry event dedicated to the art of cinematography.

“Having read Marek Zydowicz’s op-ed concerning female cinematographers, I have decided not to attend the opening night presentation of my film Blitz this weekend,” the filmmaker said in an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Although he has issued an apology, I cannot get past what I consider deeply offensive words. I have enormous respect for cinematographers of all genders including women, and believe we have to do and demand better to make room for everyone at the table.”

The event was scheduled to kick off on Saturday with a screening of McQueen’s latest feature, with the Oscar-winning director in attendance.

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Blitz,” written and directed by British auteur Steve McQueen, and featuring Saoirse Ronan as Rosie the Riveter by day and devoted mother the rest of the time. In theaters on November 8th, and streaming on Apple TV+ on November 22nd.

Elliot Hefferman is George, being raised by a single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and his grandfather (Paul Weller). George is bi-racial, and has suffered the slings and arrows associated with that status in Britain circa 1940. When the bombs hit too close to home, Rita sends George away through a British initiative designed to send children to rural areas to protect them. However George escapes from the train on the way there, and ends up embarking on a boy’s war adventure back to his city, home and mother.

”Blitz” is in theaters November 8th, and streaming on November 22nd on Apple TV+. Featuring Saoirse Ronan,...

Blitz starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, and Elliot Hefferner, tells the heart-wrenching story of George (Hefferner), a young boy living in England during World War Two. George's mother, Rita (played by Ronan) tries to protect her son from the bombs raining down on London by sending him out of the city. Her defiant son treks back to his home while Rita desperately tries to find him.

Director Steve McQueen presents the horrors of the Blitzkrieg or "lightning war" undertaken by the German air force, the Luftwaffe, with an admirable amount of humanity and intensity. Like many movies about WWII, Blitz highlights the inescapable violence of the conflict, with specific emphasis on the bombing of London. While Blitz takes place over one day and represents the rhythm of daily life during WWII, it is a movie that focuses more on what is going on the ground than the actual aerial attacks.

Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” (Apple TV+) is a tale of two Londons under harrowing German aerial assault during World War II. There’s the communal stiff-upper-lip resilience that defines the Brits and the more personal family drama, which centers on biracial youngster George (Elliott Heffernan), who’s hurled on an incredible “Oliver Twist”-like adventure. After being evacuated out of London on a train with other children for safekeeping, George immediately runs away and perilously heads back home to his munitions worker mom, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), and musical grandfather Gerald Hanway (Paul Weller of The Jam).

The convergence of these two perspectives in “Blitz” becomes the basis of a primal survival story told as social realist fable. It alternates between naturalism and surrealism, yet it’s completely anchored in historical truth. Among the real-life incidents depicted in the film: the East End air-raid shelter run by Mickey (“the Midget”) Davies...

This review was originally published as a part of our 2024 Middleburg Film Festival coverage.

Writer-director Steve McQueen has become adept at making movies of lost characters trying to find their way back to their families. He did it with 12 Years a Slave and hes doing it with his latest feature, Blitz. The historical drama is set in 1940, during Nazi Germanys blitz against Britain. At times harrowing and traumatic, McQueen never shows the moment the bombings happen. Still, there are close-ups of the weapons the Germans dropped on Londons civilian population that foreshadow exactly what will come next. Blitz is a capably made movie that, with a few exceptions, rings hollow.

Blitz (2024)

Director Steve McQueenRelease Date November 1, 2024Writers Steve McQueenCast Cj Beckford, Mica Ricketts, Leigh Gill, Benjamin Clementine, Paul Weller, Kathy Burke, Elliott Heffernan, Sally Messham, Joshua McGuire, Erin Kellyman, Stephen Graham, Harris Dickinson, Hayley Squires, Alex Jennings, Saoirse RonanCharacter(s) Gerald,...

While Hugh Grant horror Heretic has the widest opening, it is awards contenders dominating new releases at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend as Juror #2, Anora and Blitz make their way to cinemas.

Steve McQueen’s World War Two drama Blitzlaunches this weekend for Apple TV+ ahead of hitting the streamer later this month. Saoirse Ronan stars as a mother searching for her son, played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan, who runs away after being evacuated from London.

McQueen’s last fiction feature Widows opened in 573 sites back in 2018 with £1.6m. His biggest success at the box office remains...

Saoirse Ronan did not expect her off-handed comment on The Graham Norton Show to go as viral as it did, but she thinks it's "wild" and "amazing" that the moment resonated with women the world over. Ronan addressed the video clip's popularity on social media to Ryan Tubridy during The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK while promoting her new wartime drama Blitz, as reported on by Rolling Stone.

Ronan appeared on the longstanding British chat show on October 25, alongside Gladiator II actors Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, as well as The Day of the Jackal star Eddie Redmayne. During the conversation, Redmayne brought up a defensive training trick he learned on the set of the TV thriller using your cell phone as a defense weapon which set the men on stage into silly hysterics upon considering the seeming absurdity of using one's cell phone to protect them from an attacker.

There’s a scene early on in Steve McQueen’s Blitz in which Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a munitions-factory worker with a talent for singing, reluctantly packs off her young, mixed-race son George (Elliott Heffernan) to the countryside to avoid the horrors of continuous bombing. It’s a scenario we have seen a million times before — a tearful train-station goodbye — but McQueen makes it heart-rending. Over its two-hour running time, Blitz pulls off this trick constantly. Seen through McQueen’s vibrant but clear-eyed lens, it takes stock situations from countless creaky black-and-white films and makes them feel raw, real and fresh.

The story starts with the ferocity of D-Day: Saving Private Ryan transported to Stepney Green. In the aftermath of a night-time Luftwaffe bombing sortie, firefighters are struggling to contain a raging blaze (think battling Drogon with a couple of pails of water). At one point, a canvas hose escapes from a fireman’s clutches,...

Thanksgiving may promise a bounty on the dinner table, but the multiplex still looks bare. Continuing this year's theme, our November film preview features another relatively light month at the movies. Still, it’s quality over quantity, and if you ignore Red One, the $250 million attempt at turning Christmas lore into a Marvel movie,...

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Apple TV+ entered into the streaming game pretty late but because of the quality of their originals, they are quickly becoming everybody’s favorite. After the success of shows like Ted Lasso and Slow Horses, the Apple-owned streaming service is showing no signs of slowing down and releases new brilliant TV shows and movies every month to expand its impressive content library. So, here are the best new movies and shows coming on Apple TV+ in November 2024.

Bad Sisters Season 2 (November 13)

Bad Sisters returns for its much anticipated Season 2 this November on Apple TV+. Created by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer, the Irish dark comedy-drama series is based on the Flemish TV series by Malin-Sarah Gozin. Season 2 is set two years after the events of Season 1 and it continues the story of the Garvey sisters,...

Apple TV+ has announced the programming that will be added to the streaming service next month. The Apple TV Plus November 2024 lineup includes Bad Sisters Season 2, the documentary Bread & Roses, the war drama Blitz, and Silo Season 2.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment. It is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens.

Silo Season 2 Apple TV Plus November 2024 Schedule

Available November 1

Blitz (PG-13 War Drama Film)

Steve McQueen‘s “Blitz” follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a nine-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.

"Everything about this film feels incredibly authentic. It's a true portrayal of London." Apple TV has just unveiled a behind-the-scenes featurette providing a quick look at Steve McQueen's latest - a WWII drama set in London called Blitz. Taking place during the bombings on London at the start of WWII, following a young boy lost in the city. This premiered at the 2024 London & NYFF Film Festivals and will be opening in November in theaters first before it's later on Apple TV to stream at home. Nice to see McQueen on set in some of this footage. A defiant young boy goes on an adventure running around London during the war only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son. Saoirse Ronan is Rita, with Elliott Heffernan as her 9-year-old son George. The full ensemble cast in this features Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine,...

Steve McQueen’s film work has never exhibited much of an interest in moral complexity or psychological nuance, usually conveying themes such as the institutionalized horror of chattel slavery (12 Years a Slave) or the principled self-negation of Irish republican resistance (Hunger) in easily understood terms. It makes sense, then, that his latest tale of another dark period in recent history is told primarily from the perspective of a child.

Blitz follows George (Elliott Hefferman), a young boy evacuated from London during the heavy German bombing raids of the city that began in September 1940. Bailing early from a train carrying him and hundreds of other children to the relative safety of rural villages, he hops on another heading back to the city, hoping to return to his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), and grandfather, Gerald (Paul Weller), in their increasingly devastated East End neighborhood.

McQueen’s choice to recreate this particular...

It’s strange to discover that “Blitz” is the most anonymous movie that Steve McQueen has made thus far, as this pseudo-Dickensian epic — the story of a half-Grenadian boy’s quest to reunite with his guilt-ridden single mother (Saoirse Ronan) after she evacuates him out of London in the fall of 1940 — would appear to be an ideal showcase for his singular vision as a filmmaker.

Drawn towards subjects that allow him to interrogate and expand upon historical notions of resilience, the “Hunger” director has frequently returned to portraits of life during wartime over the course of his career as both a visual artist and commercial auteur. This one, set at the height of the stiff upper lip spirit that McQueen is eager to question for its cracks, offers such a natural canvas for his favorite subject that it can seem like he’s spent the last 20 years waiting for the budget to paint on it.

With his new World War II drama Blitz, uncompromising filmmaker Steve McQueen is once more tackling weighty, vital material. He tells us about his ongoing mission to break new ground…

Here’s what you need to know about Steve McQueen, as a man and as a filmmaker: he will not waste your time. Not with false modesty, nor with empty boasting. Not by suffering fools or flattering royalty. This is sometimes mistaken for brusqueness. It isn’t. It’s a guarantee that when a single shot of a priest conversing with a prisoner lasts 17 minutes and 11 seconds (as in 2008 feature debut Hunger), or when his 2023 Holocaust documentary Occupied City takes four hours and 26 minutes (not including interval), every moment is necessary and accounted for.

It’s this disciplined focus on what McQueen emphatically calls “the work... The W-O-R-K” which has enabled the 54-year-old to frequently...

BFI CEO Ben Roberts and Working Title producer Tim Bevan praised the confirmation of the Independent Film Tax Credit (Iftc), at the opening night of the 68th BFI London Film Festival.

“It’s really brilliant news that this morning the government confirmed a game-changing new tax initiative to support British films, which will create so many opportunities for filmmaking and developing talent,” said Roberts in his opening address. “A strong and diverse film culture, including this film festival, needs all the support it can get.”

Roberts also welcomed Lisa Nandy, UK culture secretary under the new Labour government, who attended...

Saoirse Ronan is stepping out for the world premiere of her new movie!

The 30-year-old Oscar-nominated actress joined co-stars Elliott Heffernan and Harris Dickinson at the world premiere of Blitz held during the Opening Night Gala of the 2024 BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday (October 9) at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England.

Fellow cast members in attendance included Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Benjamin Clementine, Erin Kellyman, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, and Sally Messham.

Director and writer Steve McQueen was also at the premiere along with his wife Bianca Stigter, their daughter Alex, and their son Dexter.

Here’s the synopsis: “Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Weller) in East London,...

Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson and Steve McQueen have together ushered in the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.

With the world premiere of McQueen’s latest film Blitz opening the fest Wednesday night, fans flocked to the BFI’s Southbank Centre to catch a glimpse of the cast, led by Ronan.

The Academy Award nominee wore a form-fitting white dress with a detailed, silver-buckled belt, and coo-ed over her co-star, 11-year-old Elliott Heffernan, who was shown where and how to pose for the crowd of photographers shouting his name. Stephen Graham, Paul Weller and Benjamin Clementine were among the cast members present.

Shortly before the screening started, McQueen spoke highly of Heffernan and lauded the “stillness” casting directors saw in his tape that landed him the role. “I’m very grateful he exists,” the director said, before Ronan spoke about wanting to make his first film set as welcoming and “fun” as...

Steve McQueen enjoyed the unusual coincidence of celebrating both the world premiere of his latest film and his birthday on Wednesday night.

“Blitz” — McQueen’s WWII drama starring Saoirse Ronan and young newcomer Elliot Heffernan and set during Nazi Germany’s intense bombing campaign of the U.K. between 1940 and 1941 — opened the BFI London Film Festival, the second time McQueen has done so after his 2018 crime thriller “Widows.” As the credits rolled on the emotional mother-son story, the audience gave a round of applause, particularly for Heffernan, while several were seen wiping tears from their eyes.

Speaking on stage at Royal Festival Hall, the filmmaker reflected on the sobering message of the film and gave a shout out to another creative who shares the same birthday.

“I share a birthday with one of the greatest British artists that ever lived, John Lennon,” he said. “And right now I can only think of the song ‘Imagine,...

Steve McQueen’s Blitz is the opening night film at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival, arriving with sky-high expectations. Written, produced, and directed by the award-winning filmmaker and artist, the World War II drama is set during the German air raids on London, with a cast led by Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham (The Irishman) and newcomer Elliott Heffernan. Blitz seeks to explore both personal and collective trauma during the London Blitz, but the end result oscillates between impactful moments and underwhelming narrative execution.

Blitz tells a story of survival, resilience, and the emotional ties between a mother and son amid wartime chaos. The film follows George (played by Heffernan), a young boy who embarks on a dangerous journey through London during the Nazi bombing campaign. Separated from his family and thrust into peril, George’s mother Rita (Ronan) launches a desperate search for her child. Alongside her, we meet characters...

London film festival

The director unexpectedly channels The Railway Children as Saoirse Ronan stars as the single mother whose son is evacuated, only to run away in a perilous bid to find her

Steve McQueen finds the key of C major for this well made and unashamedly old-fashioned wartime adventure, heartfelt and rousing and – yes – a bit trad overall, sometimes even channelling the spirit of Lionel Jeffries’s The Railway Children, although for me that’s no put-down.

This is a film about the blitz of 1940 which tries to restate the accepted imagery, the dramatic stock footage and familiar ideas but also absorb revisionist approaches – themselves increasingly accepted nowadays: it evokes the way that the British wartime authorities reverently invoked the loyalty of empire and Commonwealth but maintained a casually racist attitude to actual people of colour.

The cheerful obedience of the London East End working class was sentimentally taken...

In London, late in 1940, the German bombs fall, erupting into an inferno of buildings gutted by glowing orange flame. People die right in their living rooms, seated in their armchairs. In the streets, the air-raid sirens scream as surging civilians surround a barricaded underground train station, trying to get the police to let them in. This is the desperate face of war. And yet…life goes on. Many of the buildings look like skeletons, but the shops and markets stay open, by day people walk the streets, and the swank patrons of a dance club party into the night…

As a filmmaker, the British director Steve McQueen might be one of the last old-school classicists. That’s not necessarily the first thing you think of when you see a McQueen film like “12 Years a Slave,” with its lacerating vision of human cruelty and resilience, or “Hunger,” about the Irish prison hero Bobby Sands.

Intricately detailed yet broad in its brushwork, Steve McQueen’s Blitz offers a densely packed vision of London at war in 1940, as seen through the eyes of a 9-year-old boy (discovery Elliott Heffernan), trying to make it home to his single mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan). Aptly enough, given the city where it’s set, the film is positively Dickensian in its tendency to heap misfortune on top of melodrama, though it offers relatively little of the sort of light comic relief that Charles Dickens also excelled at. But no one could quarrel with its timely message about how much ordinary folks suffer when bombs fall on civilian targets.

However, while there’s much to admire here — including some bravura sequences, top-notch craft contributions and a long-overdue effort to show that London was more racially diverse than you might guess from watching movies from the time or made later but set...

After exploring the ramifications of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in his 4 1/2-hour 2023 documentary Occupied City, director-writer Steve McQueen returns to the era for his latest narrative feature Blitz, which takes us to the German Blitzkrieg of London as seen through the innocent eyes of a young boy who must survive it. The movie was the opening-night attraction of the London Film Festival, and will also be making its North American premiere later this month at the New York Film Festival. It begins a three-week theatrical window November 1 ahead of its streaming debut on Apple TV+ November 22.

Movies have centered on this dark period in British history before, and notably a Best Picture Oscar-nominated film, Hope And Glory in 1987, detailed it in a lighter fashion (if there could be one) with director John Boorman’s own semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story as a 9-year-old experiencing the Blitz.

McQueen researched the period heavily...

Steve McQueen said he prefers a collaborative style of filmmaking, saying that “being a director is not about being an arsehole”.

“Once you have a situation where everyone’s together – I’ll take a good idea from anybody,” said UK filmmaker McQueen, at a Screen Talk ahead of the world premiere of his new film Blitz, opening the 68th BFI London Film Festival this evening.

“A director is not about being an arsehole. A director is about listening and feeling and smelling and tasting…There are too many arseholes, trust me,” said the director, who did not name names.

This...

Oscar- and BAFTA Award-winning British writer and director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Hunger, Shame, Small Axe, Uprising, Occupied City) got a huge applause in honor of his birthday on Wednesday during a BFI London Film Festival event.

He spoke during a “Screen Talk” Wednesday afternoon and press conference ahead of the world premiere of his new movie Blitz — starring Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Graham, Elliot Heffernan and Benjamin Clementine — which is the opening film of the 68th edition of the London fest (Lff).

The movie, McQueen’s third Lff opening film, follows 9-year-old George (Heffernan) in wartime London after his mother Rita (Ronan) sends him as an evacuee to safety in the English countryside. Defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son.