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Paramount+ has unveiled its U.K.-commissioned factual slate ahead of the streaming platform’s U.K. and Ireland launch on June 22.

“Our mission is to make Paramount+ the leading destination for unmissable television in collaboration with the U.K.’s storytelling talent,” said Ben Frow, Paramount’s chief content officer for the U.K. “These new commissions will join an abundance of original content on the service, as well as the pick of Paramount’s vast catalogue to create a compelling offering for viewers in the U.K. and Ireland.”

The new titles include:

“Hot Yachts” from Curve Media

A six-episode series set in South Florida taking viewers into the world of luxury yachts as a team of attractive and hard-partying yacht brokers seek to outdo each other. “Get ready for big characters, insane parties, huge deals and the ultimate Instagram lifestyle in this brand-new reality series,” reads the logline.

Release of the week

The Kings of Summer

Film

Think ‘Stand by Me meets Lord of the Flies’ (with a sprinkle of Beasts of the Southern Wild, throw in for good measure). Then bake with a mixture of part early David Gordon Green, part Michel Gondry and you’re ready to feast upon the disarmingly surreal world of The Kings of Summer.

Joe (Nick Robinson) is forever battling his stern, widowed father Frank (Nick Offerman, giving a wondrously droll performance) that he decides to make a break from his family and brave the suburban wilderness with best friend, Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and bizarre tag-along Biaggio (Moisés Arias). The trio take building a den to the next, altogether fantastical level, and construct a two-storey house in which they plan to make their permanent domicile. So far, so idyllic and carefree, until Joe invites his dream girl to view the property, unbeknownst...

Metro Manila | Diana | The Call | Ripd | Kelly + Victor | Hawking | Cold Comes The Night | A Belfast Story | Harrigan | InRealLife | 9.79* | Mademoiselle C | Phata Poster Nikla Hero

Metro Manila (15)

(Sean Ellis, 2013, UK/Phi) Jake Macapagal, Althea Vega, John Arcilla. 115 mins

Street-level social drama slyly develops into gripping crime thriller in this resourceful Anglo-Asian movie, a distinctive spin on the familiar theme of innocent country folk in the corrupting city. The squalor of modern-day Manila is vividly evoked, as our goodly, hard-up couple struggle to gain a foothold, but the opportunities they get only lead them into the moral shadows.

Diana (12A)

(Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2013, UK/Fra/Bel/Swe/Moz) Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews. 113 mins

History repeats itself as farce in this unintentionally laughable rendition of Diana's final years and her "secret" affair. It's no deeper or better informed than your average celebrity mag.

The Call (15)

(Brad Anderson, 2013, Us) Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Michael Eklund.

In Stephen Finnigan's efficient documentary, we don't really learn anything new about the smartest man on the planet. More frustratingly it doesn't delve enough into the science of black holes, or the process behind the cosmologist's eureka moments. Narrated by Hawking himself, we learn about his motor neurone disease diagnosis at 21, his love of the limelight and the strain his celebrity, after A Brief History of Time, put on his first marriage. There's a lovely Jim Carrey anecdote, though.

Professor Stephen Hawking helped launch the Cambridge Film Festival with a Q&A broadcast to 70 cinemas nationwide and messages from Sir Richard Branson, Morgan Freeman and the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

The 33rd Cambridge Film Festival (Cff) opened last night [Sept 19] with a special gala screening of Hawking presented by the documentary’s subject, Professor Stephen Hawking.

The gala Q&A was broadcast live by Vertigo Films to 70 Picturehouse, Everyman, Empire, Vue and independent cinemas across the UK and Ireland after the screening of the film, making it the first Cff event to have a live Q&A broadcast nationwide.

The film about the life and work of the world’s most famous living scientist is told in Hawking’s own words and by those closest to him.

Special guests at the opening night gala included his sister Dr. Mary Hawking: physicist Kip Thorne; Walt Woltosz, the founder of Word+ who developed the computer software...

Professor Stephen Hawking helped launch the Cambridge Film Festival with a Q&A broadcast to 70 cinemas nationwide and messages from Sir Richard Branson, Morgan Freeman and the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

The 33rd Cambridge Film Festival (Cff) opened last night [Sept 19] with a special gala screening of Hawking presented by the documentary’s subject, Professor Stephen Hawking.

The gala Q&A was broadcast live by Vertigo Films to 70 Picturehouse, Everyman, Empire, Vue and independent cinemas across the UK and Ireland after the screening of the film, making it the first Cff event to have a live Q&A broadcast nationwide.

The film about the life and work of the world’s most famous living scientist is told in Hawking’s own words and by those closest to him.

Special guests at the opening night gala included his sister Dr. Mary Hawking: physicist Kip Thorne; Walt Woltosz, the founder of Word+ who developed the computer software...

An engaging documentary about the world-famous physicist that emphasizes the challenges of his personal life and the resilience of his humor and spirit. I’m “biast” (pro): am totally fascinated by Stephen Hawking

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

In a world where intellectual pursuits are hardly celebrated and scientists aren’t exactly rock stars, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is, well, a rock star. An icon, even, not only for his work but for his resilience in the face of the debilitating motor neuron disease that has seen him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak (or do much else for himself except think) for most of his adult life. Filmmaker Stephen Finnigan did a remarkable thing for this “personal journey through [Hawking’s] life told in [his] own words”: he placed a camera over Hawking’s shoulder facing out, and...

Carers and friends share impressions of eminent physicist at premiere of biopic in Cambridge

Cosmologist Stephen Hawking's carer has said that "working with Stephen is never dull" as she escorted him to the UK premiere of a biopic of his life.

In the film, written and narrated by the 71-year-old author of A Brief History of Time, Hawking tells how he overcame severe disability to become the most famous living scientist in the world.

He attended a reception at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, before a showing at the nearby Picturehouse cinema for the opening night of the Cambridge film festival.

As she helped him on his arrival, one of his carers, Claire Dutson, said: "I have worked with Stephen for 11 years – it has sometimes been harrowing, but mostly fun. People see him as a renowned physicist, but I just know him as Stephen, who has a great sense of humour.

It's understandable that this documentary doesn't try and break down Stephen Hawking's theories, but it could have pressed its subject a bit harder

Stephen Finnigan's film about Professor Stephen Hawking is a heartfelt tribute to the most famous scientist of our times, and Hawking's remarkable career is well summarised: the brilliant young Oxford academic who was struck down with a degenerative disease in his early 20s, told he only had a few years to live, but survived as a legendary wheelchair user to develop new theories of the universe and to write a bestselling popular study of theoretical physics: A Brief History of Time, now enjoying its 25th anniversary.

It's inevitable that a general-interest feature like this should fail to explain his theories in detail. But I would have liked this film to air some heretical questions, some swearing-in-church questions, if only in a devil's-advocate way: has...

★★★☆☆ When celebrated British physicist Stephen Hawking was at school, he was nicknamed "Einstein" but only considered to be at about the middle of his class; he likes to think they were a pretty clever class. Anecdotes and observations pepper Hawking (2013), an autobiographical documentary written and narrated by the man himself and compiled by filmmaker Stephen Finnigan. Conventional in terms of form it may well be, but it does manage to harness its subject's brio into an endearing and familiar portrait that gives both a brief glimpse of his glittering career and a deeper inspection into the mind behind it.

Stitching together interviews with close friends, family, colleagues, and students along with new footage and archive snippets, Finnigan's biopic looks at the breadth of Hawking's life. Beginning with his intellectualist family upbringing, Stephen was a contemplative boy who grew into a party-going undergraduate at Oxford. Despite placing more emphasis on socialising that studying,...

They may share the same first name, but director Stephen Finnigan heartily admits that that’s where the similarities between he and renowned subject of his upcoming documentary Stephen Hawking end. “I got a C grade in Maths and Physics. I didn’t even get an O-Level!”

Whilst Hawking’s achievements are touched upon, Finnigan’s documentary concerns itself with the life of the infamous scientist, painting a vivid portrait of the icon in the process. HeyUGuys caught up with the director to discuss how and why he came to the project, the difficulties he encountered during filming, and his filmmaking process.

How did you come to be involved in this project?

The idea for the film came from the executive producer Ben Bowie. He had worked with Stephen for about three or four years previously making TV series for the Discovery channel and channel 4 about Stephen’s science. Ben...

British films have become globally renowned for their rich dialogue, dazzling casts and groundbreaking innovation, and there's no better way to celebrate the best of British and international cinema than with a film festival. Thankfully for cinephiles, there are dozens of events taking place across the UK every year, giving you plenty of opportunity to see the latest blockbuster and independent releases. One of these cinematic extravaganzas, the Cambridge Film Festival, kicks off tomorrow with its latest incarnation, running from 19-29 September, 2013. To celebrate the return of this prestigious feast of film, here's our rundown of some of the finest festivals the British Isles has to offer.

Cambridge Film Festival

Every September, film buffs flock to the Cambridge Film Festival to enjoy viewings of independent films, some of which are shown outside on a gigantic inflatable screen. This festival has a more cosy, intimate feel, and its film showings, which are accessible to all,...

To mark the release of Hawking on DVD 23rd September, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD.

Featuring interviews with Buzz Aldrin, Richard Branson, Jim Carrey and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as a host of family members and close friends, the film is a celebration of Hawking’s life and offers viewers unprecedented access into his captivating universe. It gives a unique insight into his world, covering his iconic career and struggle with Motor Neurone disease. His personal journey is one of triumph, having been diagnosed with the disease in 1963 and given two years to live, he has gone on to make incredible scientific discoveries and become the world’s most famous living scientist.

Exclusive to the DVD, Blu-ray and digital download are fantastic extras including, a personal message from Stephen Hawking, and a commentary from producer Stephen Finnigan which gives viewers insight into how this extraordinary film came together.

Director: Stephen Finnigan; Screenwriter Ben Bowie, Stephen Finnigan, Stephen Hawking; Starring: Stephen Hawking, Jane Wilde; Running time: 94 mins; Certificate: PG

Conventional though the structure of Stephen Finnigan's scrupulous documentary is, offering a linear walkthrough of Stephen Hawking's life from childhood to the present day, there's an unexpected autobiographical angle that imbues it with immediacy. Hawking himself – in the familiar synthesised voice that he has opted to retain in lieu of more lifelike offerings – co-wrote and narrates the doc, which is described as "a personal journey told in his own words". The results are compelling and touching if only intermittently illuminating.

Hawking has been described as ambivalent towards the idea of being a disability rights champion, and early on here he expresses the understandable fear that he is as famous for his disability as he is for his discoveries. It's perhaps curious, then, that Finnigan focuses at least as...

September 6, 2013

About Time

Director: Richard Curtis

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson

Running time: 123 mins

Certificate: 12A

Riddick

Director: David Twohy

Starring: Vin Diesel, Katee Sackhoff

Running time: 119 mins

Certificate: 15

Ain't Them Bodies Saints

Director: David Lowery

Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara

Running time: 105 mins

Certificate: 15

White House Down

Director: Roland Emmerich

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx

Running time: 131 mins

Certificate: 12A

September 13, 2013

42

Director: Brian Helgeland

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford

Running time: 128 mins

Certificate: 12A

In A World...

Director: Lake Bell

Starring: Fred Melamed, Demetri Martin

Running time: 93 mins

Certificate: 15

Insidious: Chapter 2

Director: James Wan

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne

Running time: 105 mins

Certificate: 15

Rush

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde

Running time: 122 mins

Certificate: 15

Sir Billi

Director: Sascha Hartmann

Starring: Sean Connery, Alan Cummings

Running time: 76 mins

Certificate: U

September 20, 2013

The Call

Director: Brad Anderson

Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin

Running time: 94 mins

Certificate: 15

Cold Comes The Night...

The remarkable story of a beautiful mind. One of the many documentaries this year profiling one of the remarkable minds of this world is titled simply Hawking, about the planet's most famous living scientist Stephen Hawking. This first premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier in the year and has a September release date in the UK, but no Us release set yet, unfortunately. Our friends from the UK recently got their hands on the new quad poster for Hawking, promoting the upcoming theatrical release on the other side of the Atlantic. It's a cool poster for a doc I'm already anxious to see. Hopefully it's as good as the quotes claim. Here's the first UK quad poster for Stephen Finnigan's doc Hawking, found on IMPAwards via HeyUGuys: Hawking is the extraordinary story of the planet's most famous living scientist, told for the first time in his own words...

Next month Vertigo Films are bringing Stephen Finnigan’s documentary on the life of Stephen Hawking to the big screen and we’ve got the first look at the poster for the film.

Finnigan’s film debuted at SXSW this year and takes us on a journey through the ordinary and extraordinary life and times of one of the world’s most eminent and influential scientists. Hawking himself narrates the film and it has been praised for drawing a portrait of the man from a personal standpoint while drawing on the greater scientific focus in a measured capacity.

Here’s the poster and the film’s trailer for you. The film is released in UK cinemas on the 20th of September. Click to embiggen it.

The post Exclusive Look at the UK Poster for Hawking appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Vertigo Films has released a preview clip from the new documentary Hawking exclusively through Digital Spy.

Jim Carrey, one of the film's contributors alongside Buzz Aldrin, Richard Branson and Benedict Cumberbatch, discusses Stephen Hawking's sense of humour and working with him for talk show skits in the video.

"He's willing to teach people in whatever way he has to teach people," Carrey said. "You can't take yourself too seriously no matter how intelligent you are or how important the work you're doing is."

BAFTA-winning director Stephen Finnigan is behind the camera for Hawking, which celebrates the theoretical physicist's life and offers viewers unprecedented access.

Hawking will premiere at the Cambridge Film Festival with a live Q&A by Stephen Hawking on September 19 before heading to UK cinemas on September 20.

★★★★☆ Stephen Hawking's first wife, Jane, once explained that as the years passed and her husband made new discoveries, their relationship evolved two faces. The public image was that of Stephen travelling around from lecture to lecture, picking up science awards and honours all over the place. But internally, their home life was being damaged. Hawking's reluctance to be cared for by nurses, coupled with his determination to work and travel, started to suffocate the life out of their marriage. Now, Ben Bowie and Stephen Finnigan's enlightening documentary Hawking (2013) travels deep into the psyche of the revered British physicist.

Written by Hawking himself, the film uses photos and videos as well as reconstructed scenes to timeline his brilliant and boundless mind. Born to academic parents, Hawking quickly showed signs of a fierce intellect, constantly questioning how things worked - a trait that would continue through his Oxford years.

Famed scientist Stephen Hawking to present the Stephen Finnigan-directed documentary in Cambridge.

The 33rd Cambridge Film Festival, which runs from September 19-29, is to open with documentary Hawking.

Told in his own words and by those closest to him, the film relays Professor Stephen Hawking’s journey from boyhood underachiever, to PhD genius, to being diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease and given just two years to live. Despite the constant threat of death, Hawking has risen to fame and stardom and continues to make scientific discoveries.

Review: Hawking

The professor, best-selling author (A Brief History of Time) and Cambridge resident will present the film in person on September 19.

Stephen Finnigan, BAFTA-nominated series producer of The Choir: Military Wives, directs the Channel 4 and PBS co-production, which is produced by Darlow Smithson Productions (Dsp).

It received its world premiere at SXSW in March and the UK rights have been secured by Vertigo Films. It is also...

When I see a documentary about a famous figure, I expect to learn something new.  I'll leave it to the biopics to play up familiar aspects, dramatize particular moments, and bend the truth.  When it comes to the documentary and the subject is an active participant in the filmmaking, then we should be able to go deeper.  Sadly, Hawking rarely lets us get a fresh look at one of history's greatest minds.  Walking into the film, we know the surface of Stephen Hawking: he's a genius, he's disabled, and he's famous.  Other than some cursory moments about Hawking's marriage and the professor's sense of humor, Hawking is a disappointingly shallow exploration about the man who discovered the depth of the cosmos. Narrated by Hawking, the documentary takes us from his birth to the present as well as examining his daily life working at Cambridge, his nursing care, and his celebrity.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is just one of many film festivals, we here at Sound On Sight cover yearly. The fest, which takes place every spring in Austin, Texas, began in 1987, and has continued to grow in size every year. The fest announced the first wave of films back in early January, and the lineup included some highly anticipated films such as The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Evil Dead, Downloaded and Spring Breakers. Now the full lineup has been announced, and it just might be one of the best lineups the festival has ever programmed.

SXSW takes place March 8-16 in Austin Texas. Here are just some of the films we are excited about.

Narrative Feature Competition – This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,191 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere.

Awful Nice

Director/Screenwriter: Todd Sklar, Screenwriter: Alex Rennie

Estranged brothers Jim and Dave must travel to Branson together when...

Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" adaptation to a horror film about a demon baby growing in a man's colon are among the movies that made the slate that the 2013 South By Southwest film festival. The event -- which runs in conjunction with the rest of the music, interactive, education and comedy conference -- will screen the dozens of selected films over March 8-16 in Austin, Texas. Among the other 109 feature-length flicks on the topline are John Sayles' "Go For Sisters," Stephen Finnigan’s Stephen Hawking documentary "Hawking," the Green Day doc "¡Cuatro!" and the previously announced appearance of "Evil...

Some of the best films of the 2012/2013 calender year from Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Bujalski, Jeff Nichols, David Gordon Green, Shane Carruth and Joshua Oppenheimer are among the headliner names for the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. With a little over 100 plus film line-up (a whopping 2000+ titles were submitted), almost 70 are world premieres: there is the highly anticipated sophomore film (that has been on our radar since it first went into production) with M. Blash’s (The Wait), Joe Swanberg who makes SXSW his second home will premiere Drinking Buddies, veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles saddles in with Go For Sisters, and rounding out the Narrative Spotlight section we’ve got The Bounceback from Bryan Poyser, Loves Her Gun from Geoff Marslett along with titles we thought might break into Park City, but found an Austin home instead with Jacob Vaughan’s Milo and...

SXSW runs March 8th to the 16th this year, and as always Fsr will be on hand to cover the fest and enjoy the hell out of some movies. Organizers have just announced the line-up, minus the Midnighters which will be released on February 6th, and as expected there is a ton of great content within. Some of the smaller titles we’re excited to see include I Give It a Year, Grow Up Tony Phillips, Scenic Route and Milo, but there are also a handful of theater-bound films including Evil Dead, Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing and Spring Breakers. There are even some of our favorites from Sundance making an encore appearance too including Before Midnight, Mud, Prince Avalanche, Sound City and Upstream Color. Check out the full list of films scheduled for this year’s SXSW below. First, the Headliners: Evil Dead Director/Screenwriter: Fede Alvarez, Screenwriter:...

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced Tuesday (April 24) the nominations for its 2012 television awards. British miniseries "Appropriate Adult," which chronicles the real-life serial killer Fred West, leads the way with four nominations.

Other notable nominations include Dame Maggie Smith up for Supporting Actress for her work on "Downton Abbey" - it's the only nomination "Downton" received, after earning two nominations the previous year. "Modern Family" also earned a nomination in the International category.

The full list of nominations:

Leading Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch - Sherlock (BBC One)

Dominic West - Appropriate Adult (ITV)

John Simm - Exile (BBC One)

Joseph Gilgun - This is England '88 (Channel 4)

Leading Actress

Emily Watson - Appropriate Adult (ITV1)

Nadine Marshall - Random (Channel 4)

Romola Garai - The Crimson Petal and the White (BBC Two)

Vicky McClure - This is England '88 (Channel 4)

Supporting Actor

Andrew Scott - Sherlock...