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Among many other contributing factors, much of House of the Dragon's enormous success can be chalked down to its impressive and star-studded ensemble cast. From Emma D'Arcy to Olivia Cooke and former Doctor Who, Matt Smith, the triumph of the show thus far will see even more eyes follow its many acclaimed actors in their future projects. One such actor, Phil Daniels, who portrays Maester Gerardys in the series, is someone with a wonderful pedigree as a performer, with many likely excited to learn of his latest casting in a brand-new BBC prison drama, Waiting for the Out (w/t), where he portrays prisoner Frank.

As cited on Radio Times, the Quadrophenia actor joins several other exciting names in the upcoming six-part adaptation of Andy West’s memoir The Life Inside, including the likes of Gerard Kearns (The Day of the Jackal), Stephen Wight (Bergerac), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education...

The BBC has greenlit Matilda: The Musical scribe Dennis Kelly’s adaptation of Andy West’s hit memoir about his life teaching philosophy in prisons.

BAFTA-nominated Josh Finan (The Responder) leads the cast as Dan, a philosopher who begins teaching a class of men in prison. The character is based on West and the show currently has working title Waiting for the Out.

Finan is joined by Gerard Kearns (The Day of the Jackal), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Phil Daniels (House of the Dragon), Stephen Wight (Bergerac), Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Rain Dogs), Neal Barry (Rain Dogs), Alex Ferns (Andor), Francis Lovehall (A Thousand Blows), Steven Meo (House of the Dragon), Ric Renton (One Off), Tom Moutchi (Gladiator II), Nima Taleghani (Heartstopper), Sule Rimi (The Day of the Jackal), Charlie Rix (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) and Jude Mack (Such Brave Girls).

Through his work, the show follows how...

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Shameless is a dark family comedy-drama series created by Paul Abbott. Based on Abbott’s British series of the same name, the Showtime series is set in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and it follows the extremely dysfunctional Gallagher family, whose patriarch, Frank Gallagher, an alcoholic who never properly took care of his six children, leaving the eldest, Fiona Gallagher to care for her siblings. Shameless stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Jeremy Allen White, Cameron Monaghan, Noel Fisher, Joan Cusack, Laura Slade Wiggins, and Emma Greenwell. So, if you loved the hilarious dark comedy, intense drama, and compelling characters in Shameless, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Shameless Credit – Channel 4

Showtime’s Shameless, which we all love and adore, is actually...

It's official: Eddie Redmayne will return for season two of The Day of the Jackal. The hit series—a co-production between UK television network Sky and US streamer Peacock—has given fans the news they were so craving in the weeks since its renewal was initially announced last month.

In a new video posted on SkyTV's Instagram (which we first saw via Variety), the actor started out by thanking fans for watching the show and making it a hit. And then, he put the announcement plainly: "If there's one thing the jackal can't stand, it's a loose end. So we will see you soon for season two."

What Is 'The Day of the Jackal' About And How Did Season One End? View this post on InstagramA post shared by Sky TV (@skytv)

After—and major spoiler alert if you haven't seen the series yet!—killing his target...

I might be one of the few people on the internet who are really enjoying Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal. I liked the way it has kept the mystery intact without revealing much about its titular protagonist and his true motives behind becoming a contract killer. The ending of The Day of the Jackal episode 8, however, did delve into the Jackal’s military background, where a tragic incident completely changed his perspective towards life. The episode’s ending also hinted that Osita Halcrow, Bianca Pullman’s senior at MI6, might be the mole who was leaking information to the terrorists and rich capitalists like Timothy Winthorp so the Jackal could kill Udc without any hindrance from the intelligence agencies.

From the very beginning, Bianca believed that the infamous Jackal might be ex-military, and this was the reason why she had asked her junior, Damian, to look into the...

NBCUniversal's Peacock and U.K. broadcaster Sky have renewed The Day of the Jackal for a second season. The series, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, will soon wrap up its first season.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the renewal follows the successful launch of The Day of the Jackal stateside and in the U.K. The series attracted three million viewers in its first week on Sky Atlantic, its best series debut in two years. Based on preliminary Nielsen data, the show ranked among the top five original streaming series in the U.S. for its opening weekend on Peacock. It remains unclear whether Redmayne and Lynch will return following the conclusion of the ten-episode first season.

Related Ben Stiller Felt a Responsibility to 'Ratchet Up the Stakes' for Severance Season 2

Ben Stiller addresses the 'responsibility' of giving fans answers to some of season 1's biggest questions.

Created and...

Lashana Lynch and Eddie Redmayne make a compelling pair as the cat and mouse in The Day of the Jackal, the new TV show updating the novel by Frederick Forsyth and the 1973 movie. Redmayne plays the Jackal, the highly skilled assassin, with Lynch as an MI6 agent hot on his trail. It's hard to argue that there will always be a place for a well-crafted spy thriller on television, and while The Day of the Jackal wouldn't have had any trouble finding its audience, it pushes itself regardless. The series fulfills a niche that viewers have been waiting for.

The Day of the Jackal (2024)

Cast Eddie Elks, Jan-Martin Mller, Andreas Jessen, Russell Balogh, Christy Meyer, Stuart Whelan, Sule Rimi, Martin McDougall, Ben Hall, Jonjo O'Neill, Florisa Kamara, Lee Byford, Eleanor Matsuura, Lia Williams, Adam James, rsula Corber, Chukwudi Iwuji, Eddie Redmayne, Lucy Russell, Gerard Kearns, Richard Dormer, Khalid Abdalla, Lashana Lynch,...

Eddie Redmayne found major inspiration from an unlikely place when preparing for his captivating role as an elusive and lone assassin (the titular Jackal) in Peacocks new spy thriller, The Day of the Jackal: an iconic, chameleonic singer. There's a brilliant woman called Alexandra Reynolds, shes a dancer who I first worked with on The Theory of Everything. We worked on the different physicalities of Jackal to pin down who he was, because he is this vessel in some ways. He's so enigmatic," explained Redmayne.

And there was this brilliant interview found with David Bowie from the 70s, Redmayne went on to say in a recent MovieWeb interview, noting that the interview article showcased the singer in a such a different light than his typical glam stage persona. Its one of the rare times you see him being completely him, clothing-wise, in no makeup. Nothing. Drawing a comparison between...

Superstition, science and faith collide in an Essex fishing village when a centuries-old rumour resurfaces about a biblical sea serpent haunting the waters. Some believe the beast has come to punish Aldwinter’s people for their sins. Others – like Tom Hiddleston’s vicar Will Ransome – don’t believe in it at all. Widower Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) hypothesises that it’s an evolutionary throwback to the age of the dinosaur. Will’s fey wife Stella (Clémence Poésy) secretly welcomes it as her lord and saviour. So unfurls Apple TV+’s atmospheric six-episode adaptation of Sarah Perry’s celebrated 2016 novel.

The Essex Serpent is the latest in a line of quality Apple TV+ shows unlikely to get the audience they deserve because they weren’t made for a mainstream broadcaster or streaming service with higher subscriber base. This one has stars, beauty, brains, a transportive atmosphere and a quasi-hypnotic pull, and...

Drama

“Floodlights,” a feature-length single drama for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer tells the story of Andy Woodward, the former professional soccer player whose revelations about the sexual abuse he suffered as a youth player sent shockwaves throughout the industry. In 2016, Woodward went public about sexual abuse by his youth coach, Barry Bennell. After doing so, hundreds more men, many also victims of Bennell, found the courage to speak up about their experiences of abuse, lifting the lid on a national scandal in the U.K.’s most popular sport.

Gerard Kearns (“The Last Kingdom”) portrays Woodward and the cast also includes Jonas Armstrong (“Hollington Drive”), Morven Christie (“Lockwood & Co”) and Steve Edge (“Benidorm”).

“Floodlights,” made with the full cooperation of Woodward, is written by BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Matt Greenhalgh and directed by BAFTA-nominated Nick Rowland (“Calm With Horses”). It is produced by Expectation, part of BBC Studios’ portfolio of indies...

BBC Greenlights Drama On Football Sexual Abuse Scandal; Nick Rowland & Matt Greenhalgh Attached

The BBC has greenlit a factual drama telling the story of the former footballer whose revelations about the sexual abuse he suffered as a youth player sent shockwaves through the footballing world. Calm With Horses’ Nick Rowland is directing and Control’s Matt Greenhalgh is writing Floodlights, which will spotlight Andy Woodward, whose public retelling of the horrific trauma he experienced led to a national inquiry. The Last Kingdom’s Gerard Kearns will play Woodward and the show will also feature Jonas Armstrong (The Bay), Morven Christie (Lockwood & Co) and Steve Edge (Benidorm). “Since speaking out in 2016 I wanted to continue to encourage people to talk without fear, to make a change,” said Woodward. “Floodlights tells my story, which no child should ever have to go through. I hope this film helps to stop abuse in football...

Netflix has launched a new trailer for the latest series from ‘Downton Abbey’ creator Julian Fellowes, ‘The English Game’.

The six-part drama charts the origins of football and how those involved in its creation reached across the class divide to establish the game as the world’s most popular sport.

Directed by Birgitte Stærmose and Tim Fywell, the series stars Edward Holcroft, Kevin Guthrie, Charlotte Hope, Craig Parkinson, James Harkness, Niamh Walsh, Gerard Kearns, Joncie Elmore, Sam Keeley, Daniel Ings, Kate Dickie, Henry Lloyd Hughes, Kate Phillips, Ben Batt, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Harry Michell and Anthony Andre.

Also in trailers – Michiel Huisman stars in trailer for ‘The Other Lamb’

The show will launch on Netflix March 20th

The post The class divide exists in trailer for Julian Fellowes’ new Netflix series ‘The English Game’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Production has kicked off on Julian Fellowes’ Netflix drama The English Game. This comes after HBO picked up Downton Abbey creator’s period drama The Gilded Age, taking over from NBC.

The English Game, which is written and exec produced by Fellowes and produced by Traitors and Watership Down producer 42, is a six-part series that charts the origins of football and how those involved in its creation reached across the class divide to establish the game as the world’s most popular sport. It is currently shooting in the UK and will launch on Netflix in 2020.

The series will star Edward Holcroft (Kingsman: The Golden Circle), Kevin Guthrie (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Charlotte Hope (The Spanish Princess), Craig Parkinson (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), James Harkness (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Niamh Walsh (Jamestown), Gerard Kearns (Last Kingdom), Joncie Elmore (Downton Abbey), Sam Keeley (Anthropoid), Daniel Ings (The Crown...

Paul Ritter, Jessie Buckley, Adrian Rawlins and Con O’Neill have joined HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl, a co-production between HBO and Sky. They join previously announced Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson.

Production on the miniseries began last month in Lithuania. Chernobyl will debut on HBO in the U.S. and on Sky Atlantic in their territories as well as on their streaming service Now TV.

Written by Craig Mazin, the five-part miniseries dramatizes the true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history — the April 26, 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in then- Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic — and tells of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.

Also joining the large-scale production are Sam Troughton, Adam Nagaitis, Ralph Ineson, Mark Lewis Jones, Fares Fares and David Densik.

Cast also includes Robert Emms, Jay Simpson, Gerard Kearns, Michael Socha, Jamie Sives, Kieran O’Brien, Karl Davies, Billy Postlethwaite, Alex Ferns and James Cosmo.

Cherynobyl is produced by Sister Pictures and the Mighty Mint as an HBO/Sky Television co-production. Carolyn Strauss executive produces with Jane Featherstone and Craig Mazin. Co-executive producing are Chris Fry and Johan Renck, who also directs. Sanne Wohlenberg produces.

Although The Last Kingdom TV show was not cancelled by BBC America, viewers on this side of the pond won't be able to watch the fictional British historical drama on that cable network. After the first season of the BBC Two series, Netflix boarded as a co-producer, so The Last Kingdom, season two, will be stream on Netflix in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Japan, Spain and Portugal.Based on Bernard Cornwell’s book series, The Saxon Stories, season two of The Last Kingdom drops to Netflix on Friday, May 5, 2017. The large cast includes: Alexander Dreymon, Tobias Santelmann, Emily Cox, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Joseph Millson, Matthew MacFadyen, Ian Hart, David Dawson, Simon Kunz, Harry McEntire, Amy Wren, Thure Lindhartdt, Eva Birthistle, Gerard Kearns, David Schofield, Peri Baumeister, Eliza Butterworth, Peter McDonald, Mark Rowley, Alexandre Willaume, Julia Bache-Wiig, Björn Bengtsson,...

Louisa Mellor Mar 16, 2017

Bernard Cornwell series The Last Kingdom returns to BBC 2 tonight. We chatted to its cast about what to expect...

This interview contains spoilers for The Last Kingdom series one.

See related The Maze Runner 3: Dylan O’Brien seriously injured on set Maze Runner 3 release now delayed, Dylan O’Brien still not back

It’s a year of inadvertent real-world relevance for escapist TV drama. As right wing nationalism bleeds into European politics, SS-gb happens to imagine an England occupied by Nazis. As Donald Trump sits in the white House, American Gods happens to show a con-man’s rise to power in the Us. And as the UK flounders through Brexit and the Scottish government moves to hold a second referendum on independence, The Last Kingdom happens to dramatise King Alfred’s ninth-century campaign to unite a divided England into a single country. None of it was intentional,...

Kayti Burt Jan 26, 2017

Little America will be set in a future where a "Trump-like" president has bankrupted America. Michael Bay is producing.

If you're looking for escapist entertainment to avoid thinking about the current socio-political climate, Universal's upcoming dystopian action thriller Little America might not be it. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal just won the bidding war for Little America, the spec script written by Rowan Athale. Athale will direct the film, with Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes producing.

The premise of Little America? In a dystopian future where a "Trump-like" president has bankrupted the United States and China is calling in its debts, Americans begin immigrating to China to find work.

In the midst of this political climate, a Chinese billionaire hires a former American Force Recon member to rescue his daughter from an American ghetto. Action thriller or prophetic documentary? We'll let you decide. According to THR's sources,...

Author: Jon Lyus

We’re pleased to bring you the first look at the new UK poster and trailer for Adam Smith’s feature debut Trespass Against Us. The crime drama centres around a heist gone wrong and a family fractured in the fallout. Smith’s film has played well on the festival circuit in recent months, playing at Toronto and London and earning Bifa nomination for the director.

The film stars Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal, Tony Way, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Gerard Kearns, Killian Scott, Rory Kinnear and Sean Harris.

We spoke to the cast at the London Film Festival last year, including Lyndsey Marshal who earned a Jury Prize for Best Actress at the Toronto Film Festival the previous month. You can find those interviews below, and then the new posters and your first look at the new UK trailer.

Lff Premiere Interviews

Movie Synopsis

The Film follows...

We present our interviews from the red carpet premiere of Adam Smith’s Trespass Against Us direct from the 2016 London Film Festival (LFF2016) in London’s Leicester Square. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal, Tony Way, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Gerard Kearns, Killian Scott, Rory Kinnear and Sean Harris. Scott Davis and Dave Sztypuljak were […]

The post Lff Premiere Interviews: Michael Fassbender for Trespass Against Us appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Before bringing a hit video game to life this December with Assassin's Creed, Michael Fassbender will play a man trying to escape his family's criminal enterprise in Trespass Against Us. A24 has released the first trailer and poster for this thriller, which will debut on DirecTV through their deal with A24 on November 24, before hitting theaters sometime in early 2017. We also have the first poster, which pits Michael Fassbender's Chad Cutler against his nefarious father Colby, played by Brendan Gleeson.

Trespass Against Us is set across three generations of the Cutler family who live as outlaws in their own anarchic corner of Britain's richest countryside. Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender) is heir apparent to his bruising criminal father, Colby (Brendan Gleeson) and has been groomed to spend his life hunting, thieving and tormenting the police. But with his own son, Tyson (Georgie Smith) coming of age, Chad soon finds himself...

The BBC has unveiled its plans to mark the centenary of World War I this year, airing a wide range of documentaries, drama and arts to recognise the impact of the conflict.

"This summer is the moment to explain and reflect on how the war started and to examine its lasting effects," the BBC's Adrian Van Klaveren said. "It's a time of national commemoration as we remember those who died and so the BBC will be there to share events and unite people in their acts of memorial." Read on to find out what the BBC has arranged...

Commemoration

World War One Commemoration (August 4)

The major events in the UK and across Europe to mark Britain's declaration of war will be covered by Huw Edwards in London and Sophie Raworth in Belgium. The service of commemoration for the Commonwealth in Glasgow will be covered, along with the memorial in Belgium's...

To celebrate the release of Brand New hard-hitting drama The Smoke on DVD, we’ve teamed up with Acorn Media to give 3 lucky WhatCulture.com readers the opportunity to win a copy of the show on DVD, following its run on Sky One.

Written by acclaimed writer Lucy Kirkwood (Skins), The Smoke is a show about ordinary men and women, about fire-fighters, and heroes, about life and death stories of risk and rescue. Charged with adrenaline, gut-wrenchingly emotional, surprisingly funny, and often outrageously audacious, it’s a show with big thrills, huge heart, and characters who leave an indelible mark.

Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch) plays Trish, Kev’s girlfriend, who is striving to hold on to love and hope against the odds, while Rhashan Stone (Bodies) is Kev’s best mate Mal, whose loyalty is tested to the extreme. Then there’s the rest of the watch: Little Al (Gerard Kearns...

★★☆☆☆ The rollicking heist movie is one of those genres that can easily feel redundant nowadays. With elaborate plot machinations its central tenet, this specialist variety of thriller relies on having an original way to dupe its audience who will naturally be looking for clues towards some final act twist. Trying to find a unique spin on the material is director Rowan Athale, who brings to DVD and Blu-ray his debut feature in the form of 2012 British crime caper The Rise (formerly Wasteland). Whilst it's hurtling pace means it rarely bores, it is ultimately unable to find any innovation within the genre trappings and viewers will be far from fooled.

Brutally beaten yet surprisingly smug hipster Harvey (rising star Luke Treadaway) sits in a police station as he's questioned by Detective Inspector West (Timothy Spall). Charged with robbery, GBH and only six weeks after serving a prison sentence, things don't look good for our protagonist,...

You’ve probably seen Iwan Rheon in something over the last few years, he’s one of the hardest working men in the British film and TV industry, but with his remarkable and chameleon-like ability to inhabit characters, there’s every chance you won’t have realised. Most recently he’s starring in The Rise, the Leeds-set heist movie that hits stores on DVD today.

We recently spoke with Rheon about filming The Rise, as well as his plans for the next step in his career, and the appeal of theatre acting.

How do you find doing the publicity interviews?

It’s kind of the bit I don’t like most, about the job, but I understand that it’s crucial, and that you need to do it. Red carpets are a bit stressful for me. I really love doing the job and the work, but then you have to go through all that,...

In The Rise, Luke Treadaway, Matthew Lewis, Gerard Kearns and Irwan Rheon play a group of close friends who plot a heist that will set them up for a new and more comfortable life. We recently sat down with Treadaway, Kearns and Lewis – Rheon was delayed getting to the interview venue, so we spoke to him separately – about heist movies in, getting to know one another and the shenanigans that happened on-set.

As in the film, the trio get on spectacularly well, with a constant level of matey banter. It certainly made the interview fun, although it also made transcribing it quite hard work. We began by talking about their favourite heist movie.

Mathew Lewis: The Italian Job for me, I reckon.

Luke Treadaway: Does Shawshank count as a heist film? It’s an escape, isn’t it, not a heist.

Gerard Kearns: Yeah, but he does do...

Matthew Lewis and Luke Treadaway have discussed their new Leeds-set crime thriller The Rise with Digital Spy.

The film, directed by newcomer Rowan Athale, centres on four close friends plotting a heist at a working men's club in Leeds. Lewis revealed that it was Athale's script that made him want to get involved in the film.

"Rowan attracted me to it, meeting him and hearing what he wanted from it," the former Harry Potter star said.

"He didn't want it to fall into that group of being the same old South London hoodie or football hooligan story, he didn't want that. We don't have any guns in it, we tried to keep it as much to his experience of growing up in Barnsley as possible."

Treadaway added that the film was "as much about their friendship as it is about the heist".

The Attack the Block star admitted that fans...

Marking new British director Rowan Athale’s feature directorial debut, The Rise premiered to the world out in Toronto last year – then screening under the name Wasteland – to promising early reviews.

The crime-thriller has been pegged as one of the best British movies of the year, and we’ve got the new UK quad poster to share with you before it arrives on our shores next month.

Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Miller (Treadaway) sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West (Spall) has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery, and the subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper (Maskell).

Denying nothing, Harvey agrees to tell his version of events in full. We take in his release from prison a month earlier and the malevolent, unjust act that put him there. We see his...

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Chicago – I’m not sure there’s ever been a heist film in which the heist is discussed, debated, and argued about more than “Wasteland,” opening in Chicago this Friday, August 2, 2013. We know from the beginning, with its “Usual Suspects” narrative trick of an arrested man telling a cop how he got there, that things went wrong. And then we get to hear about the plan for things to go wrong over and over and over again. Writer/director Rowan Athale thinks he has made a crime caper a la “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” but the constant spinning of wheels drains the piece of its energy until a final act gets so convoluted that the whole thing falls apart.

Harvey (Luke Treadaway) was framed by a notorious crime lord named Steven Roper (Neil Maskell). As he explains it to D.I. West (Timothy Spall), successful crime bosses...

The heist film is a genre that is practically as old as the cinematic medium itself, dating all the way back to the famed silent "The Great Train Robbery." And over the decades we've seen all manner of lowlives, thugs and hoods plot, plan and steal all manner of loot big and small (and you can check out the ones we love in our feature, Casing 'The Town': Our All-Time Favorite Heist Movies). Sometimes it's one last score before they disappear for good, and other times it's an act of simple revenge. But we'd wager that not many films find a gang embarking on a break-in so they can raise money for...a coffee shop. That's the idea behind "Wasteland," the British heist film from director Rowan Athale. Starring Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon, Timothy Spall, Neil Maskell, Matthew Lewis, Vanessa Kirby and Gerard Kearns, the story follows young Harvey,...

There are twists aplenty but few surprises in this warm-hearted but routine heist drama from first-time writer-director Rowan Athale. After serving time for crimes he didn't commit, 22-year-old Harvey (Luke Treadaway, terrific) returns to his Yorkshire, England, hometown intent on revenge against Roper (Neil Maskell), the neighborhood drug lord who set him up. A born leader, Harvey easily persuades his three best friends (Iwan Rheon, Gerard Kearns, and Matthew Lewis) to join him in an elaborate heist of Roper's safe. Harvey is actually telling his tale in flashback, post-heist, to a detective (Timothy Spall), and these brief interrogation scenes are a highlight. If it takes Athale a bit too long to get to the robbery itself, that's because he can't get enough of the loving camaraderie ...

Check out the first poster for Rowan Athale's Wasteland also known as The Rise, starring Matthew Lewis, Iwan Rheon and Timothy Spall. Oscilloscope Laboratories distributes with a U.S. release date set for July 26th, 2013. Athale directs and writes crime thriller also includes Luke Treadaway, Vanessa Kirby, Neil Maskell and Gerard Kearns. Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Miller (Luke Treadaway) sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West (Timothy Spall) has no doubt in Harvey's part in a foiled robbery, and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper. Denying everything,...

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired U.S. rights to Rowan Athale’s heist thriller “Wasteland,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The company plans a 2013 release. “Wasteland” concerns an ex-con who recruits his best friends to rip off the drug kingpin responsible for his incarceration. Luke Treadaway, Timothy Spall, Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis, Gerard Kearns and Vanessa Kirby star. Read More: Tiff Futures: 'Wasteland' Director Rowan Athale On Why His Film is a British 'Ocean's Eleven' Gareth Pritchard of Mischief Films produced along with Mark Foligno of MoliFilms and Ed Barratt of Hook Pictures. Executive producers are Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Norman Merry, Peter Hampden, Brad Moore and Iain Richardson. “‘Wasteland’ is an incredibly clever and fun piece of filmmaking, and we are thrilled to be able to bring it to Us audiences,” said...

Oscilloscope Laboratories will distribute Rowan Athale's Wasteland in the U.S. and will release the film which marks the directorial debut of Athale, some time next year, reports Deadline. Molifilms produced the crime thriller which stars Matthew Lewis (Dodd), Timothy Spall (D.I West), Iwan Rheon (Dempsey), Luke Treadaway (Harvey), Gerard Kearns (Charlie), Vanessa Kirkby (Nicola), Neil Maskell (Steven Roper), Paul Clayton (Albert), Brad Moore (Sgt Kendon and Peter Foster (Del). Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Denton sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery, and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper.

Oscilloscope Laboratories will distribute Rowan Athale's Wasteland in the U.S. and will release the film which marks the directorial debut of Athale, some time next year, reports Deadline. Molifilms produced the crime thriller which stars Matthew Lewis (Dodd), Timothy Spall (D.I West), Iwan Rheon (Dempsey), Luke Treadaway (Harvey), Gerard Kearns (Charlie), Vanessa Kirkby (Nicola), Neil Maskell (Steven Roper), Paul Clayton (Albert), Brad Moore (Sgt Kendon and Peter Foster (Del). Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Denton sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery, and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper.

We must say that we have a certain soft spot for hardboiled British crime thrillers (everything from "The Long Good Friday" to "RockNRolla"), so it's not going to take a lot to sway us to the particular charms of "Wasteland," the debut feature from writer/director Rowan Athale, which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight. (You guys have your tickets?) The trailer, which predominantly features lead Luke Treadaway (from "Attack the Block") along with "Harry Potter" star Matt Lewis (yep, that's Neville Longbottom...), "Misfits"' Iwan Rheon, and U.K. "Shameless" star Gerard Kearns, seems to have enough energy and wit to set it apart from the post-Guy Ritchie clones out there. We hope, at least.  While the trailer opens with Treadaway all bruised and beaten and in the custody of a very stern-looking Timothy Spall, and there promises to be some level of violence in the.

Not to be confused with the Oscar-nominated documentary of the same name a few years ago, Wasteland is a British heist film that’s set to premiere at Tiff tomorrow. Both Luke Treadaway and Matthew Lewis are on display in much grittier roles than their previous Attack the Block and Harry Potter films, respectively.

Directed by Rowan Athale, the film’s structure shows our lead being caught by the cops, only to have it flashback to the heist that they just attempted. It looks like a tense, fun thriller and as we saw with Treadaway’s creature feature, crime is just better with UK accents, isn’t it? Check out the trailer below via Collider for the film being compared to Ocean’s Eleven and The Usual Suspects, which also stars Iwan Rheon, Gerard Kearns, Timothy Spall, Vanessa Kirbya and Neil Maskell.

Synopsis:

Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Miller...

The only thing better than a heist movie is a heist movie told in a thick British accent. By that admittedly shallow yardstick, the Tiff 2012 selection Wasteland delivers. The story is framed by an interrogation between Harvey Miller (Luke Treadaway) and Detective Inspector West (Timothy Spall). Harvey fully confesses to his part in a foiled robbery and attempted murder of local busnessman Steven Roper, but there is more to his tale than pure criminality: "As the story unfolds, we discover that a malevolent and unjust act perpetrated by Roper put Harvey in prison and now he has a score to settle." I cannot claim to understand too much of the dialogue, but the first trailer signals that writer/director Rowan Athale has assembled a slick thriller. Iwan Rheon, Gerard Kearns, Matthew Lewis, Vanessa Kirby, and Neil Maskell co-star. Watch the trailer after the jump. Official synopsis: Battered, bruised and under arrest,...

British crime-thriller is one of the final films to be added to the Tiff line-up this week, and with the addition comes four new images from the film, giving us a look at its leading stars, with Luke Treadaway (Attack the Block) particularly battered and bruised in one.

Joining Treadaway will be the brilliant Iwan Rheon (who you’ll no doubt love from Misfits), Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter), Gerard Kearns (Shameless), Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), and Vanessa Kirby (The Hour).

“Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Miller sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery, and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper. Denying nothing, Harvey agrees to tell his version of events in full.

Wasteland is a bold take on a much-loved genre. A heist film,...

After a string of announcements, it looks like the Toronto International Film Festival have locked down their line-up and it’s looking like a fantastic slate. Much of the additions today come in the form of previous Cannes premieres, including Michael Haneke‘s Amour (review), Cristian Mungiu‘s Beyond the Hills (review), Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love (review), Bernardo Bertolucci‘s Me and You (review), Hong Sang-soo‘s In Another Country and the Venice premiere Olivier Assayas‘ Something in the Air. Most notably missing is Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors, but we do get a new Michael Winterbottom film titled Everyday. Out of the Discovery section, the biggest film seems to be The Brass Teapot, and indie drama starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano and one can check out all the additions below.

Masters

Amour Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany North American Premiere Screen legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and...

Screenterrier rising star Toby Regbo and newcomer Avigail Tlalim join the cast of The Town (previously known as Hometown), a new three-part contemporary drama for ITV from Bigtalk Productions written by award-winning playwright Mike Bartlett.

They join BAFTA winner Andrew Scott alongside an ensemble cast including Julia McKenzie, Charlotte Riley, Gerard Kearns, Kelly Adams and Martin Clunes.

Andrew Scott, who won a BAFTA for his role in Sherlock, stars as 30 year-old Mark Nicholas who returns to the town where he grew up following a shocking incident involving his parents.

16 year old newcomer Avigail Tlalim (represented by United Agents) from London plays Jodie, Mark's wayward younger sister who he barely knows. She strikes up a relationship with posh boy Harry played by Toby Regbo (represented by Bwh). Toby starred in Sky's Treasure Island, and will be seen in the soon-to-be released internet feature film chiller uwantme2killhim?.

“We’re thrilled to...

Sherlock star Andrew Scott will head up an all-star cast in new ITV1 drama miniseries The Town. Scott, who won a BAFTA for his role as the villainous Moriarty in the BBC's Conan Doyle reboot, will star alongside Julia McKenzie, Charlotte Riley, Gerard Kearns, Kelly Adams and Martin

Clunes in this new three-part contemporary drama. Penned by Laurence Olivier award-winning playwright Mike Bartlett, The Town follows the story of 30-year-old Mark Nicholas (Scott), who returns to his hometown Renton after 10 years away and he is drawn into the life he left behind. Julia McKenzie stars as his grandmother Betty, Charlotte Riley plays his first love Alice, who is now married with a child, and Martin Clunes is the alcohol-soaked (more)...

Part Marty, part Annie Hall, this low-budget movie about a sad, 25-year-old, Yorkshire singleton (Gerard Kearns) dumped in Kentish Town, north London, on the eve of his wedding is almost calculatedly ingenuous and not without its truthful moments.

It reminded me of Graham Fellows's 1978 novelty song celebrating self-pity, "Jilted John". Quite a pleasant memory.

ComedyRomancePhilip French

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Black Swan (15)

(Darren Aronofsky, 2010, Us) Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel. 108 mins

Another tale of driven professionalism to go with Aronofsky's The Wrestler, but this goes further and gets away with more, whipping a tale of theatrical ambition into a delirious, hallucinogenic melodrama. Portman is superb as the brittle ballerina facing up to her nightmares when she lands her dream role, and between the punishing routines, her monstrous mother (Barbara Hershey) and the fever of performance, we're swept away.

Neds (18)

(Peter Mullan, 2010, UK/Fra/Ita) Conor McCarron, Martin Bell, Linda Cuthbert. 134 mins

Mullan turns his memories of 1970s Glasgow into a muscular yet compassionate youth drama. McCarron is outstanding as a bright boy whose promise is warped by brutal conditions in and out of school.

Morning Glory (12A)

(Roger Michell, 2010, Us) Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton. 107 mins

McAdams delights and Ford grouches in a breakfast TV comedy that is...

Jason Solomons meets Black Swan star Mila Kunis to discuss her award-winning role opposite alongside Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman.

Jason is also joined by the documentary-maker and banjo player Josh Fox, whose new film GasLand exposes the ecological and social damage caused by the mining of gas shale reserves across the Us.

Xan Brooks pops in to review some of this week's other releases, including Peter Mullan's Neds, Shameless star Gerard Kearns getting dumped in British indie Honeymooner and Bill Murray in Get Low.

Xan BrooksJason SolomonsJason Phipps...

The comedy "Honeymooner" finds Fran(Gerard Kearns) being woken up by a phone call on the day of his wedding.  The only problem is that his wedding is no longer a reality:  he was dumped by his fiancée at nearly the last minute.  His friends try to get him out of the house, where he spends most time alternating between spoken-word relaxation and rock music on the stereo while drinking wine and popping pills.Disenchanted but not willing to give up, Fran continues his quest to find his dream woman.  This leads to many humorous encounters, including one...

Day 10 – Friday

Friday has to be one of my favourite days at Eiff.

It began with Superhero Me at the Cameo – a.k.a. the comfiest cinema in the universe. Enveloped in its cozy red seats, we were swept away on a magical journey of cheap spandex, a novice superhero named Sos, and a network of eccentrics. Superhero Me is a documentary from Steve Sale, a first-time filmmaker who wondered – “Long before Kick-Ass!” - what it would be like to become a superhero.

Quickly taking action, he shot his forays into real life comic book filmmaking on home video equipment, camera phones, and whatever else he could get his hands on. It’s an enjoyable romp, with a poignant message to be found in later scenes with an Orlando-based superhero named Master Legend. Unfortunately it was ill-projected, so we missed the subtitles while he spoke with an Italian vigilante and some other details.

Former Shameless star Gerard Kearns has thrown his support behind an upcoming American adaptation of the hit British TV show - but he's disappointed Woody Harrelson won't be taking the lead role.

The BAFTA award-winning drama series, which follows the lives of a working class family in northern England, has been running in the U.K. since 2004 and TV bosses recently announced plans to take the show to the U.S.

The programme will be remade with an American cast and both Harrelson and William H. Macy were rumoured to be in talks to sign on.

Kearns admits he's delighted with the news that the show is heading Stateside, but he's disappointed Harrelson has since dropped out of negotiations to take the lead role.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival screening of Honeymooners, he tells WENN, "Woody Harrelson was supposed to be playing Frank, the alcoholic dad. I don’t think he’s doing it anymore. Everything they do on American television is f**king brilliant. They have such a good way of handling and dealing with things over there and the series are amazing like The Sopranos. It’s amazing TV.

"I love it so I know it will be good. Look at the remake of The Office; they know how to handle it so well so go for it, man!"...

Quickcard Review

Looking For Eric

Directed by: Ken Loach

Cast: Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns

Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: June 18, 2010 (limited)

Plot: A suicidal father (Steve Evets) tries to pull his life together with the help of his imaginary friend, real-life soccer legend Eric Cantona.

Who’S It For?: This will please the optimists of the art-house crowd, but even mainstream audiences have the potential to find this movie to be quite enjoyable. Familiarity with Eric Cantona beforehand is not necessary.

Overall

According to soccer player Eric Cantona in his worshipful film, the greatest moment in his sports career “was a pass.” With Looking For Eric, the therapeutic assistance offered by the Yoga Berra of soccer proverbs becomes a guiding light for a man who starts off in drastic darkness (the first scene of the movie has a suicide attempt) and ends...

Chicago – In our latest comedy/sports edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Looking for Eric”! It’s a soccer comedy that was an official selection at 2009’s Cannes Film Festival and our very own Chicago International Film Festival.

The film from director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty features Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns, Stefan Gumbs, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Cole Williams, Dylan Williams, Matthew McNulty and Laura Ainsworth.

To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Looking for Eric” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 7 p.m. in Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie poster for “Looking for Eric”.

Image credit: IFC Films

Here is...

At first, "Looking for Eric" seems like a typical Ken Loach picture, proletarian through and through. We meet Eric Bishop (curly-mopped, thickly accented newcomer Steve Evets) literally going in circles, driving the wrong way on a roundabout and getting into an accident. Stumbling home from the hospital, he takes time to trade insults with his two teenage stepsons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs). Pointed dialogue reveals that he still mourns the absence of his beloved first wife, Lily (Stephanie Bishop), who left him long ago. At the post office where he works as a mail sorter, his colleagues, led by a fellow dubbed Meatballs (John Henshaw), take turns trying to cheer Eric up by telling him jokes. Only the life-sized poster of Cantona on Eric's bedroom wall seems willing to lend the poor bloke a sympathetic ear. Then one day, Cantona himself is standing there, in the flesh,...