News

Two of the UK’s top comedy stars, Richard Ayoade and Jonathan Ross, have received backlash on social media after reviewing The It Crowd writer Graham Linehan’s memoir.

Irish scribe Linehan has gone from the writer of much-loved Channel 4 comedies The It Crowd, Father Ted and Black Books to an outspoken anti-transgender activist in recent years, leading many in the UK and Ireland to boycott him.

His book, Tough Crowd, has gone on pre-sale on Amazon this week. Its reviews section displays favorable quotes from talk show host and writer Ross and actor-director Ayoade, who starred in The It Crowd between 2006 and 2013. Other advocates include author John Boyne, anti-trans journalist Helen Joyce, comic Simon Evans and British TV director Lissa Evans.

Ross was quoted saying the book is “one of the most compelling and unflinchingly honest memoirs I’ve read in many years. It’s also the funniest,...

Exclusive: George & George, the production company run by Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine in association with Alan Partridge producer Baby Cow, is developing a TV series based on best-selling novel Old Baggage.

The company is working with U.S. producer Braven Films, the company behind Rachel Weisz’s feature film Disobedience, to develop it as a returning series after optioning the book.

Written by Lissa Evans, the book, which made the number spot on The Times best-sellers list, is a comic novel about the legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and one woman’s determination to create a meaningful present in the wake of her own thrilling and revolutionary past. It follows the fiery, indefatigable and wilful, Matilda Simkin, who has made a life of righteous defiance. Once a proudly militant suffragette, her colourful past is littered with acts of bravery and rebellion but, as Mattie enters middle age,...

Exclusive: Kids' adventure book Wed Wabbit is to be turned into a family feature film after Elisabeth Murdoch-backed animation studio Locksmith Animation optioned the book. Wed Wabbit, written by Lissa Evans, follows a ten-year-old girl, Fidge, who lives with her dippy mother and four-year-old sister Minnie and is obsessed her furry red toy rabbit and a book about multi-colored creatures known as Wimbley Woos. However, when her sister is involved in a car accident, Fidge…...

Their Finest Blu-ray Review Their Finest (2016) Blu-ray Review, a movie written by Gabby Chiappe, based on a novel by Lissa Evans and directed by Lone Scherfig, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Jeremy Irons and Bill Nighy. Release Date: July 11th, 2017. Plot “A former secretary, newly appointed as a scriptwriter for propaganda films, joins the cast and crew of a [...]

Continue reading: Blu-ray Review: Their Finest (2016): Rote WWII Melodrama At It’s Finest...

Based on the best-selling novel by Lissa Evans, the delightful and heartwarming period piece, Their Finest, arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD on July 11 from Lionsgate; Digital HD on June 30 and On Demand on July 11 from EuropaCorp.

Now you can own Their Finest Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has Four copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie co-starring Gemma Arterton (mine is Hansel And Gretel – Witch Hunters!). It’s so easy!

Good Luck!

Official Rules:

1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.

2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries.

From the producers of Brooklyn and Carol, Their Finest takes place in Britain during World War II and tells the story of a film crew as they create a movie...

Based on the best-selling novel by Lissa Evans, the delightful and heartwarming period piece, Their Finest, arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital HD) and DVD on July 11 from Lionsgate; Digital HD on June 30 and On Demand on July 11 from EuropaCorp. From the producers of Brooklyn and Carol, Their Finest takes place in Britain during World War II and tells the story of a film crew as they create a movie to boost the country’s morale after the Blitz. Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Golden Globe winner Bill Nighy (2007, Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, Gideon’s Daughter) lead an all-star cast in what Andrew Barker at Variety considers “a relentlessly charming romantic comedy.” Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education, One Day), the Their Finest Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.

1940, London, the Blitz. With England’s morale at stake, Catrin (Gemma Arterton), an untried screenwriter, works under fire with a makeshift cast and crew to make a film to lift the nation’s flagging spirits, and inspire America to join the war. Catrin and a fellow writer, Buckley (Sam Claflin), reluctantly joins forces with fading matinee idol Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy) on a movie to warm the hearts of the nation and capture the imagination of the American public.

Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD Special Features

“Flickers of Hope: The Making of Their Finest” Featurette Audio Commentary with Director Lone Scherfig

Cast

Gemma Arterton Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Sam Claflin The Hunger Games franchise, Snow White and the Huntsman

Jack Huston Ben-Hur, American Hustle, “Boardwalk Empire”

Helen McCrory Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2

Eddie Marsan Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta

Jake Lacy TV’s “The Office,” How to Be Single, Carol

Rachael Stirling The Young Victoria, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

with Richard E. Grant TV’s “Downton Abbey,” Bram Stoker’s Dracula

and Bill Nighy Love Actually, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The post Their Finest Starring Gemma Arterton Arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on July 11th from Lionsgate appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Mark Harrison May 19, 2017

From the currently playing Their Finest to the likes of Bowfinger and Boogie Nights, we salute the movies about making movies...

If you haven't caught up yet, Their Finest is currently playing in UK cinemas and it's a gorgeous little love letter to perseverance through storytelling, set against the backdrop of a film production office at the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Based on Lissa Evans' novel, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy play characters whose access to the film industry has been contingent on the global crisis that takes other young men away from such trifling matters, and it's a real joy to watch.

Among other things, the film got us thinking about other films about making films. We're not talking about documentaries, even though Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, may be the greatest film about...

Author: Linda Marric

With its huge catalogue of self-reflexives productions and behind-the-scene musicals, Hollywood could always be relied upon to add to its own legend and mystique. On the other hand, the British film industry has forever shied away from making a song and dance about its own history. Bar a few examples, there’s been little interest in dramas chartering the British film industry’s formative years, and even less in shining a light on the industry’s prolific body of work during WWII. But fear not, because lo and behold, Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest is here to save the day. This beautifully acted and brilliantly written film set in London during the Blitz is a charming and compelling slice of contemporary cinema.

Adapted by Gaby Chiappe from a novel by Lissa Evans, the film tells the story of those left behind after the majority of men of...

Chicago – In a combined BBC Films, Welsh Government and Pinewood (London) Pictures production, the British-based “Their Finest” pairs England’s history with authentic and passionate romance, to create a sly and funny riff on propaganda films and the British movie industry during the early days of World War II.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

With a top drawer cast – headed by the great scene stealer Bill Nighy – and perfect construction by Danish director Lone Scherfig (“An Education,” “One Day”), “Their Finest” is righteous and tear-jerking entertainment, especially in the actualization of a wonderfully recreated example of the early 1940s British film industry. This is one of those rare films where women are all at the top of the credit list… besides Scherfig, the screenplay was adapted by Gaby Chiappe (from a novel written by Lissa Evans) and the lead role is portrayed by Gemma Arterton, who has never been better. Additionally, the black shadow...

Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” isn’t a biopic, but that doesn’t mean the World War II-set romantic drama isn’t true.

Adapted by Gabby Chiappe from Lissa Evans’ novel, “Their Finest Hour and a Half,” Scherfig’s latest period piece traces a fictionalized heroine as she changes the face of England’s propaganda-film machine in the waning days of World War II. Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) isn’t a big dreamer — in war-torn London, no one is — but when she’s drafted into writing feel-good scripts for the Ministry of Information, she unexpectedly finds her calling.

“There were female scriptwriters at the time, but they weren’t credited,” Scherfig said. “They did write a lot, and the character is very loosely based on one of those.”

Scherfig, known for her early Dogme features and her breakout “An Education,” saw herself in both Catrin and in the character’s new and weird professional world.

MaryAnn’s quick take… Delightful dry and snarky satire on wartime propaganda, sharp feminist commentary, and a brilliant cast make this snappy historical dramedy a real corker. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast, love the period

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

I have not read the source material

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

London, 1940. At the height of the Blitz, the Ministry of Information, Film Division, brings in scriptwriter Catrin Cole (the always marvelous Gemma Arterton: The Girl with All the Gifts) to punch up the “slop” — you know, the girly stuff, the women’s dialogue — of its propaganda pictures. The ministry is particularly eager that one new film will appeal to Americans — and to American mothers and wives — and get them gung-ho to send their sons and husbands off to join the war in Europe. (That film is a very loosely...

There have been many, many movies about World War II, and of course most of them are like Saving Private Ryan, or last year’s Hacksaw Ridge as they focus on the brave heroes who went off to war and found a way not only to survive, but also come home as heroes.

Their Finest, based on Lissa Evans’ 2009 book Their Finest Hour and a Half, instead focuses on the brave women back home who did their part to try to keep spirits up and continue to support the British troops overseas.

In the movie, Gemma Arterton plays Catrin Cole, an ad writer hired to write the female dialogue (or “slop”) for the British Ministry of Information’s propaganda films they release to inspire the people back in England. Working with screenwriter Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin), Catrin finds the story of two twin sisters who borrow their father’s boat...

The action packed and stunning new trailer for Luc Besson’s Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets has landed. Stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne are joined by Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke and Rihanna in the stunning sci-fi adventure.

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers.

In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other.

During World War II, film was thought as a mechanism to boost morale, rally the troops, and heighten hysteria around the potential threat of the enemy. Moreover, propagandized films were methods of encouraging other nations to fight for the cause. “Their Finest” centers around a film crew, specifically headed up by two writers, that commissioned by Winston Churchill in aims of convincing America that WWII was a battle they should be fighting.

Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin) is the chief screenwriter who employs Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) to write “The slope. Women’s dialogue.” The film they craft tells the story of two sisters and the saving of 30,000 men at Dunkirk. The film may obviously center around a love story between two artists, but it also tackles the obstacles, the strongholds, and the rejections of women in the film industry. The obtuse comments Catrin encounters in 1940s London are still prevalent today,...

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, “An Education” director Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” is set to be released in April. Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy star in the film, an adaptation of Lissa Evans’ “Their Finest Hour and a Half.” Avail yourself of the new trailer and four exclusive photos below.

Read More: ‘Their Finest’ Is A Feminist Rom-Com That Lets Down Its Ladies — Tiff Review

Here’s the premise: “With London emptied of its men now fighting at the Front, Catrin Cole (Arterton) is hired by the British Ministry as a ‘slop’ scriptwriter charged with bringing ‘a woman’s touch’ to morale-boosting propaganda films. Her natural flair quickly gets her noticed by dashing movie producer Buckley (Claflin) whose path would never have crossed hers in peacetime. As bombs are dropping all around them, Catrin, Buckley and a colorful crew work furiously to...

Photo courtesy of Stx Entertainment. Motion Picture Artwork © 2017 Stx Financing, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit Ð Nicola Dove

For historical film buffs, 2017 is turning out to feature a treasure trove of WWII films focused on the arduous battle Great Britain faced during the war.

Christopher Nolan’s action thriller Dunkirk is due in theaters July 21, 2017, while Focus Features will release director Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, on November 24th, 2017.

Now comes the latest film Their Finest. Check out the new trailer below starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, and Bill Nighy.

With London emptied of its men now fighting at the Front, Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) is hired by the British Ministry of Information as a “slop” scriptwriter charged with bringing “a woman’s touch” to morale-boosting propaganda films. Her natural flair quickly gets her noticed by dashing movie producer Buckley (Sam Claflin) whose...

Author: Jon Lyus

Director Lone Scherfig’s An Education was a wonderful example of a movie adaptation capturing the chaos and colour of a deeply personal coming of age novel. Her latest film goes a little further back in time to the early 1940s and a Britain plunged into the darkness of war. Their Finest tells the story of a British film crew making a propaganda film following the hell of the Blitzkrieg.

The film is based on Lissa Evans’ novel, ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’, and has bright shining stars Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin falling in love while all around them falls apart. Scherfig and Claflin previously collaborated on 2014’s The Riot Club. Arterton recently lead the powerful post-apocalyptic zombie fest The Girl with All the Gifts.

Gemma Arterton & Sam Claflin in Their Finest

The film’s supporting cast includes Bill Nighy Jack Huston, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan,...

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Lone Scherfig's Their Finest is a film that delights in film itself. Starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy, the director's follow-up to 2014's The Riot Club is a WWII comedy, chronicling a British movie crew as they attempt to boost morale through propaganda films. Though the film is based on a novel by Lissa Evans, the Danish filmmaker made sure to immerse herself in the subject…...

Lone Scherfig’s World War II romantic comedy “Their Finest” first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. It also showed during London Film Festival, and it is set to screen at Sundance later this month before closing the Santa Barbara Film Festival on February 11 in advance of its theatrical release. Watch the trailer below.

Read More: ‘Their Finest’ Is A Feminist Rom-Com That Lets Down Its Ladies

“Their Finest” follows a female scriptwriter (Gemma Arterton) who is hired by the British Ministry of Information to change the female dialogue in the country’s propaganda films during World War II as a way to boost the country’s morale. Her work catches the attention of the very charming lead scriptwriter (Sam Claflin) and, although she is a married woman, they develop a growing attraction towards each other. They team up to make an epic feature about the Battle of...

Author: David Sztypuljak

World War 2 movie Their Finest has been playing at movie festivals around the globe for quite a while now. Starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy Jack Huston, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan, Jake Lacy, Rachael Stirling, Henry Goodman, Paul Ritter, Richard E. Grant and with Lone Scherfig at the directing helm, the movie tells the story of a British film crew who attempt to boost morale during World War II by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg. Their Finest is based on Lissa Evans’ novel, ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’, a witty, romantic and moving portrayal of a young woman finding her way, and her voice, in the mayhem of war…

Gemma Arterton & Sam Claflin in Their Finest

We were fortunate enough to attend the press conference for the film at the London Film Festival in October last year which was attended by most of...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) and EuropaCorp announced today that the 32nd edition of the festival will close with the Lone Scherfig (An Education, The Riot Club) directed comedic drama Their Finest at the Arlington Theatre on Saturday, February 11, 2017 in anticipation of the film’s March 24th theatrical release.

Their Finest is written by Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel by Lissa Evans and stars Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia), Sam Claflin (Me Before You), Bill Nighy (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Franchise), Jack Huston (American Hustle), and Richard E. Grant (Bram Stoker’s Dracula).

Sbiff Executive Director Roger Durling stated, “Lone’s deeply touching film is authentic, funny and depicts the power that cinema has to bring people together and share their stories. It was the perfect choice to close this year’s festival.”

The year is 1940, Britain. With the nation devastated by the war, the British ministry...

The Santa Barbara Film Festival and EuropaCorp said today that the 32nd annual festival will close with the Lone Scherfig’s comedy drama Their Finest at the Arlington Theatre on Saturday, February 11 in advance of the film's March 24 stateside release. The Santa Barbara Film Festival runs February 1-11. Their Finest is written by Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel by Lissa Evans, and stars Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston and Richard E. Grant. Pic…...

EuropaCorp has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to “Their Finest,” a World War II comedy-drama about filmmakers. Director Lone Scherfig‘s movie follows a group working together to make an inspirational war flick during the London Blitz. “Their Finest” stars Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin (pictured above), Bill Nighy, Jack Huston and Richard E. Grant and is based on Lissa Evans’ 2009 novel “Their Finest Hour and a Half.” “There is no one like Lone who can ride the line between comedy and drama in such a profound and beautiful way,” EuropaCorp’s Marc Shmuger said in a statement. “Her film is a total crowd pleaser.

First things first: Bill Nighy is an international treasure (but you already knew that). Singlehandedly capable of transforming a comedy from wan to winsome, the droll patron saint of mediocre British movies has only become more welcome as he’s grown more ubiquitous. “Their Finest” is as wan (and winsome) as anything he has ever made, but Nighy — playing a pompous wartime actor who serves as a glorified prop in his country’s interchangeable propaganda films — has never been better. Alas, the lanky British baritone has no business being the standout of a story that exists in order to celebrate the value of female storytellers; Bill Nighy is many things, but a woman isn’t one of them.

A characteristically lush period rom-com from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig, “Their Finest” winds back the clocks to a time when movies were a matter of life and death. We open in...

Carol producer Number 9 Films is making its first foray into TV.

Carol producer Number 9 is making its first foray into TV with an adaptation of Henry James’ classic novel Portrait Of A Lady.

Elizabeth Karlsen (Carol) and Stephen Woolley (Youth) will executive produce alongside Nicola Shindler (Happy Valley) of Studiocanal-owned Red Production. Studiocanal will handle worldwide distribution.

In Portrait Of A Lady, vivacious ingénue Isabel Archer, leaves America for old world Europe, keen to experience all that life has to offer.

She rejects a series of marriage proposals from eager but safe lovers for a life of independence, but...

Film based on Ian McEwan novel to be produced by Number 9 Films.

Number 9 Films, the team behind the award winning Carol, today announced an Autumn production of On Chesil Beach, based on Ian McEwan’s novel which was selected for the Booker Prize shortlist, 2007.

Set in England in 1962, On Chesil Beach stars Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Atonement) in the lead role as Florence and will be directed by Dominic Cooke (The Hollow Crown).

The story centres on a newly-married couple from drastically different backgrounds who are spending their honeymoon in a small hotel on the Dorset coast. During the course of an evening, both reflect upon their upbringing and the prospect of their futures.

Producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley of Number 9 Films said: “It’s an extremely exciting prospect to be reunited with Saoirse Ronan on such a beautiful and heartbreaking project.”

Upcoming releases for Number 9 Films in 2016/17 include Jane Goldman’s adaptation...

Film based on Ian McEwan novel to be produced by Number 9 Films.

Number 9 Films, the team behind the award winning Carol, today announced an Autumn production of On Chesil Beach, based on Ian McEwan’s novel which was selected for the Booker Prize shortlist, 2007.

Set in England in 1962, On Chesil Beach stars Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Atonement) in the lead role as Florence and will be directed by Dominic Cooke (The Hollow Crown).

The story centres on a newly-married couple from drastically different backgrounds who are spending their honeymoon in a small hotel on the Dorset coast. During the course of an evening, both reflect upon their upbringing and the prospect of their futures.

Producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley of Number 9 Films said: “It’s an extremely exciting prospect to be reunited with Saoirse Ronan on such a beautiful and heartbreaking project.”

Upcoming releases for Number 9 Films in 2016/17 include Jane Goldman’s adaptation...

We already knew that Sam Clafin was reuiniting with his Riot Club director Lone Scherfig for Their Finest Hour And A Half. In the year since that announcement the cast has grown exponentially, with Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy - pictured below in the first official image from the film - at the top of the bill. Richard E. Grant, Helen McRory, Eddie Marsan, Rachel Stirling and Henry Goodman are all also signed up for the WWII-era comedy. And the most recent additions to the ensemble are Jack Huston and Jake Lacey.Based on the novel by Lissa Evans, the film tells the comical story of a disparate group of people brought together in Norfolk to make a British propaganda film. A forgotten actor from the silent movie age, an advertising copywriter from the Ministry of Information, a Madame Tussauds' costumier and a caterer-turned-military advisor are all pitched in to...

Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy stars

The first image of Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy in Lone Scherfig’s romantic comedy Their Finest Hour and a Half has been released.

Recent additions to the film’s cast include Jack Huston (Ben-Hur) and Jake Lacey (Carol). The ensemble also includes Sam Claflin, Richard E. Grant, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan, Rachael Stirling and Henry Goodman.

Based on Lissa Evans’s novel of the same name, the screenplay was written by Gaby Chiappe. Filming began in London last week.

Set in the early 1940s, the story centres on a young, female screenwriter working in London under threat of invasion during The Blitz.

The film was developed and financed by BBC Films, Wales Screen and Pinewood Films. Producers are Number 9 Films and Wildgaze Films, led by Stephen Woolley (Carol, Made in Dagenham) and Amanda Posey (Brooklyn, An Education).

International sales are being handled by Hanway Film. The film is...

Jack Huston and Jake Lacy have joined the cast of "An Education" helmer Lone Scherfig's new rom-com "Their Finest Hour And A Half" for BBC Films, Wales Screen and Pinewood Films.

Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy star in the 1940s-set screwball comedy which follows the misadventures of a British film crew trying to make a patriotic movie to boost morale during the Blitz.

Arterton plays a female screenwriter finding her way in matters of life and the heart. based on the novel by Lissa Evans, Gaby Chiappe adapted the screenplay.

Sam Claflin, Richard E. Grant, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan, Rachael Stirling and Henry Goodman also star in the film which began shooting in London last week.

Source: Deadline...

Directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Gemma Arterton, the romantic wartime comedy will shoot this summer.

Lionsgate UK has taken UK distribution rights to Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest Hour And A Half.

Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy head up the cast of the romantic comedy about a young woman screenwriter during the Blitz in London, which is set to start shooting late summer. It is an adaptation of Lissa Evans’s 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction nominated novel.

Hanway are handling worldwide sales in Cannes.

BBC Films has developed and will co-finance the project, which is being produced by Stephen Woolley for Number 9 Films and Amanda Posey for Wildgaze Films.

Zygi Kamasa, Lionsgate UK CEO, who will executive produce together with BBC Films’ Christine Langan, said: “A project such as this with a visionary director, established producing team and impressive British cast cements the fact that British cinema is thriving and we’re thrilled...

Lone Scherfig to direct BBC Films’ wartime romcom; HanWay to handle worldwide sales.

Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Tamara Drewe) has signed on to star as a young screenwriter in a romantic comedy set in wartime London, Their Finest Hour And A Half.

The film, directed by Lone Scherfig (The Riot Club, An Education), will also star Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) and Bill Nighy (The Second Best Marigold Hotel, Pride), it was announced today.

BBC Films developed and will co-finance the feature, which is being produced by Oscar-nominated Number 9 Films and Wildgaze Films, led by Stephen Woolley (Carol, Made in Dagenham) and Amanda Posey (Brooklyn, An Education).

It has been adapted for the screen by Gaby Chiappe - whose script appeared on the 2014 Brit List - from Lissa Evans’s comic and 2009 novel.

Executive producers are Christine Langan and Ed Wethered of BBC Films, which featured the film on its 25th anniversary slate.

[link...

Ricky Gervais, James Marsh, Armando Iannucci films on slate.

BBC Films has revealed details of its upcoming slate, which includes new projects from Ricky Gervais, Armando Iannucci, James Marsh and Ritesh Batra.

The slate of projects was revealed during an event in London to celebrate the 25th birthday of BBC Films, whose first first theatrical production, Truly Madly Deeply, directed by Anthony Minghella, was released in 1990.

As previously reported, Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) will direct an adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize winning novel The Sense of an Ending.

The adaptation is the debut screenplay of award-winning playwright Nick Payne and tells the story of Tony Webster, whose comfortable world is rocked to its foundations by the emergence of an explosive letter from his careless youth.

David Thompson will produce for Origin Pictures.

Rafe Spall is confirmed for Swallows and Amazons, a reinvention of Arthur Ransome’s classic. Written by Andrea Gibb, the film will...

Actors Lily James and Sam Claflin are circling starring roles in film “Their Finest Hour and a Half”. The story follows the misadventures of a British movie crew as they attempt to make a film for boosting morale during World War II. Based on the novel by Lissa Evans, the film is set to be helmed by Danish director Lone Scherfig. This would be Claflin’s second time working with Scherfig, with production set for next summer in 2015. James is known for her television roles as Lady Rose MacClare on “Downton Abbey” and Poppy on “Secret Diary of a Call [...]

The post Lily James and Sam Claflin To Star In ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’ appeared first on Up and Comers.

Sam Claflin and Lily James have been cast in Their Finest Hour and a Half.

The World War II comedy will reunite Clafin with his Riot Club director Lone Scherfig, reports Deadline.

Based on Lissa Evans's 2009 Orange Prize-nominated novel, the film will centre around the misadventures of a team working on a British propaganda film in Norfolk.

A silent age movie star, an advertising copywriter from the Ministry of Information, a Madame Tussauds costumier and a caterer-turned-military advisor unite to create the unlikely story of two women rowing across the channel to bring relief to the soldiers at Dunkirk.

Downton Abbey's James is currently filming Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

Claflin can currently be seen in Love, Rosie and will reprise his role as Finnick Odair in the two Hunger Games: Mockingjay films.

Their Finest Hour and a Half will begin shooting in summer 2015.

Watch Sam Claflin talking to Digital...

Following The Riot Club, Sam Clafin is set to re-team with director Lone Scherfig next year for Their Finest Hour And A Half. Lily James will also star in the adaptation of Lissa Evans' novel.The book, set during World War II, tells the comical story of a disparate group of people brought together in Norfolk to make a British propaganda film. A forgotten actor from the silent movie age, an advertising copywriter from the Ministry of Information, a Madame Tussauds' costumier and a caterer-turned-military advisor are all pitched in to craft the unlikely narrative of two women in a rowing boat who head off on a rescue mission to Dunkirk. They initially dislike each other, of course, but rally round in the cause of wartime morale.All the pleasing hallmarks of an Ealing comedy there (plus something of the vibe of Dad's Army), but Their Finest Hour And A Half...

• Megan Fox will take the female lead in Zeroville, starring opposite James Franco, who is also directing. Adapted from the novel by Steve Erickson, the story follows a film-obsessed man (Franco) who arrives in Hollywood in 1969, hoping to break in to the business just as the industry is at a major turning point. Fox will play a Hollywood starlet with an uneasy past who becomes the romantic interest and obsession of Franco’s character. Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Will Ferrell, Jacki Weaver, and Horatio Sanz also star. Vince Jolivette of Rabbit Bandini is producing along with Caroline Aragon,...

Their Finest Hour and a Half

Sam Claflin ("The Hunger Games") and Lily James ("Cinderella") are circling the lead roles in "An Education" director Lone Scherfig's "Their Finest Hour and a Half" for BBC Films.

Based on Lissa Evans' 2009 novel, the story follows a WW2 British movie crew trying to boost morale in the wake of the London Blitz. Gabby Chiappe ("Shetland," "The Paradise") is penning the script. Shooting is scheduled to take place in summer 2015. [Source: Deadline]

Ricki and the Flash

Sebastian Stan ("Captain America: The Winter Soldier") is set to play the estranged son of Meryl Streep in the Jonathan Demme-directed, Diablo Cody-penned "Ricki and the Flash". Kevin Kline and Rick Springfield also star.

Streep plays a woman chasing her dreams of being a rock star, which resulted in losing her family. Now a grocery store clerk, she gets one final shot at fulfilling her rock and roll destiny.

The Hunger Games star Sam Claflin and Cinderella‘s Lily James are reportedly circling the lead roles in British comedy, Their Finest Hour And A Half. The witty title harkens to the average length of a film, as the movie explores the shenanigans of a film crew trying to helm a cheery wartime pic after the blitz.

Based on Lissa Evans’ 2009 award-winning novel, the adaptation caught the eye of Lone Scherfig (One Day, An Education), who is now attached to direct. Wild Gaze, Number 9 and BBC Films are working together to produce the movie, which will be introduced to buyers in Santa Monica next month at the American Film Market.

Before either actor commits to the flick, they’ll each have a number of titles hitting the market. Claflin can be next seen in The Riot Club and Love, Rosie. While his potential love interest, James, has two aces up...

Exclusive: Lily James (Disney’s Cinderella) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games) are circling to star in Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest Hour And A Half. James, currently filming Burr Steer’s Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, is one of Britain’s hottest young actresses and is also attached to the plum role of Natasha in The Weinstein Company’s War And Peace miniseries.

Their Finest Hour And A Half, based on Lissa Evans’ 2009 novel that was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Orange literary prize, follows the misadventures of a British movie crew trying to make a patriotic film to boost morale after the Blitz during World War II. TV writer Gabby Chiappe is adapting. Principal photography is set for summer 2015.

The prestige picture is being produced by Wild Gaze’s Amanda Posey (A Long Way Down) and longtime associate Stephen Wooley (Byzantium) through his Number 9 Films. The pair previously...

Exclusive: Amanda Posey, one of the producers of the Oscar-nominated movie, plans to shoot Their Finest Hour And A Half next year. Posey is producing with long-time associate Stephen Woolley (Made In Dagenham). The pair previously made the original Fever Pitch together. TV writer Gabby Chiappe is adapting Lissa Evans’ novel, which was nominated for last year’s Orange literary prize. Their Finest Hour and a Half follows the misadventures of a British film crew trying to make a patriotic film to boost morale after the Blitz. BBC Films is backing the project. Posey is also developing A Long Way Down, [...]...