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Liam Neeson is known for his intense action roles, but his filmography goes beyond the blockbuster hits. While movies like Schindler's List and Taken solidified Neeson's status as a Hollywood icon, he has also taken on a range of lesser-known films that showcase his versatility and depth as an actor. From complex characters in psychological thrillers to emotionally charged performances in intimate dramas, these underrated gems highlight the breadth of his talent.

Many of these action films did not receive the widespread recognition they deserved but remain standout examples of Neeson's skill. Whether it's his portrayal of a tortured soul seeking redemption or a man battling external and internal forces, these films offer a chance to see him in roles just as compelling as some of Neeson's best action movies. They allow audiences to rediscover one of cinema's most dynamic actors through a fresh lens.

Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) The...

BAFTA-winning producer Patrick Spence is leaving ITV Studios after three years, Variety has confirmed.

Spence, who serves as creative director, will leave at the end of March, ITV Studios managing director Julian Bellamy told staff via an internal memo on Thursday. Spence will continue to partner with ITV Studios on upcoming projects including “People vs. Post Office” (working title).

Spence joined ITV Studios in 2020 and secured several acclaimed commissions, including the BBC’s drama-romance “Ralph & Katie,” a spin-off of “The A Word,” about the lives of a couple with Down syndrome; Itvx’s “Litvinenko,” about the investigation into the death of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko; the BAFTA-nominated Cold War spy drama “A Spy Among Friends,” also for Itvx; and post-pandemic frontline medical drama “Maternal” for ITV.

The producer spent 15 years in commissioning and production at the BBC. He served as head of drama for Northern Ireland from 2003 to 2010. In...

Oliver Hirschbiegel, the director of “Downfall” and Sundance-winner “Five Minutes of Heaven,” is set to produce and direct “Europe” (working title), a contemporary drama series about African migrants coming to Europe.

Hirschbiegel told Variety at the Zurich Film Festival that the series was being co-developed with Sky.

Stefano Bises, the co-creator and co-writer of the TV series “Gomorrah,” as well as co-writer of “The New Pope” and “Midnight Sun,” is writing “Europe.” Munich-based production house Pantaleon Films and Italy’s Indiana Production are producing alongside Hirschbiegel.

While the plot is under wraps, Hirschbiegel said the series would explore the current situation with migrants in the Mediterranean. It’s inspired by “Bilal,” a book written by the journalist Fabrizio Gatti.

The cast will be a mix of Italian, German, English and African actors.

Having recently directed the three episodes of “Criminal: Germany” for Netflix, Hirschbiegel said he was looking to work...

Acorn TV and Viacom’s Channel 5 have come on board psychological crime thriller Blood starring Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar.

The Svod service has taken U.S. rights and the British linear broadcaster has picked up UK rights to the six-part series, which was originally commissioned by Ireland’s Virgin Media Television. The deal was struck with All3Media International.

The drama follows Cat Hogan, played by Unforgotten’s Carolina Main, an isolated woman on the run from her past, a past she is forced to confront when the sudden ‘accidental’ death of her mother, Mary, played by 7 Days in Entebbe’s Ingrid Craigie, draws her back to the family she has spent the last ten years trying to avoid. Her suspicions start to mount against her father, played by Dunbar, when she begins to notice discrepancies in his stories

Written by Riviera and The Last Kingdom writer Sophie Petzal,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… Insistent chemistry between David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike fuels a true story of passionate romance with an urgent message about love as radical and political. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast; desperate for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

Here is a story to drive bigots crazy. And it’s even true.

In 1947, Seretse Khama was a young man from the British protectorate of Bechuanaland in southern Africa studying in London when he met Ruth Williams, a young English woman. They fell in love, and that upset all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. He was black, and she was white, and both their families took issue with their romance for the usual stupid irrational reasons. But the governments of both countries also freaked out. Seretse was heir to the throne of Bechuanaland,...

While Oliver Hirschbiegel is still accurately referred to as the director of the meme-spawning “Downfall,” to be quite blunt, he hasn’t quite made anything worthy of similar note in the dozen years that have passed since the release of that film. His attempt to go Hollywood badly backfired with the trouble-plagued “The Invasion,” his pretty decent low key thriller “Five Minutes Of Heaven” went largely ignored, while the less said about the atrocious “Diana,” the better.

Continue reading Netflix Picks Up ‘Downfall’ Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Six-Part Series ‘The Same Sky’ at The Playlist.

The British director Amma Asante achieved great acclaim with her 2013 film Belle – which greatly boosted the career of excellent lead actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Now, Asante is about to deliver her third feature film, and its cast need no such boost – featuring, as it does, high profile award nominees David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. The trailer for A United Kingdom showcases powerful performances from these two leads, as well as beautiful direction from the accomplished filmmaker at the helm.

The story is a historical drama that centres around African Prince Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), who is summoned back to Botswana from London to lead his nation. During his time in London, however, he has met and fallen in love with Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) – and proposes marriage before he departs. As he returns to Botswana with his wife, the newlyweds find that their union stirs fierce international controversy.

“London, 1947. Jazz lovers Seretse Khama (Oyelowo,...

Arriving on Blu-ray next week is Gavin Hood‘s drone thriller Eye in the Sky starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman. We’ve teamed with Universal Home Entertainment to give away two Blu-rays of the film. See how to enter below and all entries must be received by 11:59 Pm Est on Sunday, June 26th.

To enter, do the first two steps and then each additional one counts as another entry into the contest.

1. Like The Film Stage on Facebook

2. Follow The Film Stage on Twitter

Follow @TheFilmStage

3. Comment in the box on Facebook with your favorite Helen Mirren film.

4. Retweet the following tweet:

We're giving away #EyeintheSky on Blu-ray. Rt this & follow us to enter. See more details: https://t.co/nXUOxU7qKK pic.twitter.com/WgItkaYPEA

— The Film Stage (@TheFilmStage) June 22, 2016

We will select the winners at random and notify via Facebook or Twitter message. One entry per household.

The moral implications of modern warfare are confronted in Bleecker Street’s powerful drama, Eye in the Sky, coming to Digital HD on June 14, 2016 and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on June 28, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Tackling an ethical dilemma in a thought-provoking suspenseful story, the gritty film stars Academy Award® Winner, Helen Mirren (Trumbo, The Queen), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Need for Speed), Academy Award® Nominee Barkhad Abdi (Captain Philips), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and the late Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Harry Potter) in his final on-screen performance. Eye in the Sky “holds us in a vise and keeps squeezing” according to Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. Directed by Academy Award® Winner Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Ender’s Game) and written by Guy Hibbert (Complicit, Five Minutes of Heaven), Eye in the Sky follows Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren), a UK-based military officer in...

As entertaining on an escapist level as it is irrefutably engaging on a level that is essential for citizens who are players in our political environment. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

This is warfare today. It’s a colonel in a bunker in outer London (surrounded by computers) and a general in an office building in Whitehall (surrounded by politicians) and a drone pilot in Las Vegas (flying a robot armed with missiles and also, more importantly, with cameras, from thousands of miles away) and a facial-recognition technician at a workstation in Pearl Harbor and an agent of the Kenyan military on the ground in Nairobi collaborating in an operation to capture most-wanted terrorists in a civilian suburban neighborhood in a country that neither the Us nor the UK is at war with.

Signature Entertainment

Reintroducing loyal fans to the tortured Carlton Leech (Ricci Harnett – The Rise And Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan, 28 Days Later), we pick up with our hero a shadow of his former self following the murder of three of his closest friends and fellow gang members. Fearing for his own life and self prescribing drugs on top of alcohol, Carlton must find the strength to fight in order to regain his place in the criminal underworld. That is until circumstances conspire to place him at the heart of what might just become his final job.

Rise Of The Footsoldier 2 sees the return of one of the most feared men in home entertainment history. Released in cinemas from 11th December and on demand, Blu-ray and DVD from December 26th courtesy of Signature Entertainment, the film also features legendary actor Steven Berkoff (Rambo, A Clockwork Orange) Luke Mably (28 Days Later,...

Period drama stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.

Principal photography has begun on A United Kingdom, directed by Amma Asante (Belle), and will shoot for seven weeks in Botswana and the UK.

Pathé will distribute the film in the UK and France and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.

The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams.

Other cast include Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden (‘71) and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey).

Scripted by Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes of Heaven, Omagh), the film is based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams.

Described as an “epic love story”, A United Kingdom is based on true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, fell in love with London office worker Ruth Williams.

Their marriage...

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Amma Asante (who most recently directed Belle) is set to direct her third feature film A United Kingdom, with David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike in talks to star. The film will depict the true story of one of the members of the royal family of Botswana. Here’s the synopsis:

Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London in the late 1940s.

The film will be financed by Pathe International, who will also be one of the companies producing the feature. Along with hopefully starring in the film, David Oyelowo will also serve as one of the producers alongside Rick McCallum (producer of the Star Wars prequels) and folks from Pathe International. With Oyelowo and Pike just coming off there acclaimed performances in 2014 (Oyelowo with Selma and Pike with Gone Girl), it will certainly be...

Over the summer, we learned that Helen Mirren would team with Colin Firth for a military drone drama called Eye in the Sky from Ender's Game director Gavin Hood. Now some photos from the film have surfaced online from Empire showing off Mirren as military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell, remotely commanding a drone operation to locate terrorists in Nairobi, and another photo with Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi. Meanwhile, Aaron Paul has also been revealed as American Steve Watts one of the drone pilots in the story who questions his mission when a 9-year old girl enters the kill zone. Look! Here's the first photos from Gavin Hood's Eye in the Sky from Empire and The Wrap: Eye in the Sky is directed by Gavin Hood (Ender's Game, Rendition) and written by Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes of Heaven). An American drone pilot (Aaron Paul) finds himself at a...

Hans Funck, the German film editor of such features as the Oscar-nominated Downfall and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, died suddenly on Wednesday night in Munich. He was 61. One of Germany's most acclaimed editors, Funck was perhaps most closely associated with Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel. Photos Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 In addition to Downfall and sleeper hit The Experiment, Funck was the editor on all of Hirschbiegel's English-language productions, including The Invasion, starring Nicole Kidman, Five Minutes of Heaven with Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt and, most recently, the Lady Di biopic Diana with Naomi Watts.

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We've already told you about the new drone thriller Eye in the Sky produced by and starring Colin Firth. The script comes from BAFTA winning writing Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes of Heaven) and follows a London-based female military intelligence officer, who is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation aiming to capture a group of terrorists in Nairobi. Now THR reports the cast is expanding with Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad") and Helen Mirren taking the roles of the intelligence officer and the drone pilot respectively. However, we're not sure who Firth will end up playing in the film from Gavin Hood. As for the rest of the story, the situation gets complicated when a mission that started with the task to capture terrorists turns into an assassination mission when it's discovered that her targets are getting ready to enact a suicide attack that will kill many innocent civilians. At the same time,...

After heading into space for the adaptation of Ender's Game, director Gavin Hood is coming back to Earth, and heading across the pond for an action thriller called Eye on the Sky. Deadline has word that Entertainment One has set Hood to direct the film that has Colin Firth attached to start and also produce the film through his Raindog Films production banner. With a script from BAFTA winning writing Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes of Heaven), the film follows a London-based female military intelligence officer, who is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation aiming to capture a group of terrorists in Nairobi. However, the job becomes more dire when a mission that started with the task to capture terrorists turns into an assassination mission when it's discovered that her targets are getting ready to enact a suicide attack that will kill many innocent civilians. At the same time, an...

Exclusive: SundanceTV (formerly Sundance Channel) has set its next scripted project, signing a deal with BBC Worldwide to board four-hour miniseries One Child as co-producer. Penned by BAFTA-winning writer Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes Of Heaven), One Child, a BBC Drama production for BBC Two, stars Harry Potter franchise alumna Katie Leung as Mei, a first-born Chinese girl adopted by English parents, who gets called back to Guangzhou when her birth mother desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son. How far will Mei go to help the woman who gave her away and the brother she’s never met? “One Child is a deeply affecting work that delves into the heart of a human struggle,” said SundanceTV President Sarah Barnett. “It tells the story of an ordinary young woman who is plunged into a situation that challenges her to her core.” Filming on One Child begins in May in London...

Exclusive: Fresh from his turn in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, David Oyelowo has been set to star in and produce A United Kingdom, a love story based on the true tale of Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams. The film is backed by UK-based Pathe, which is coming off Philomena and Mandela. They are out to directors and will film next year in London and Botswana. Oyelowo will play Seretse, heir to the African throne of Botswana, who created a sensation in 1948 by engaging in a whirlwind romance in London with Williams, a white English office worker he married. The interracial union was opposed by both their families, as well as the British government, the Tribal elders of Botswana and the apartheid government of South Africa. The couple would not be denied, overcoming huge obstacles to be together, including exile and the abdication of the throne. Their son, Ian Khama, is...

Naomi Watts channels the world's favorite Princess in Oliver Hirschbiegel's ("Downfall," "Five Minutes of Heaven") "Diana." This film chronicles the last two years of Diana's life and her love affair with surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews).

We may soon hear more about "Diana" as we enter the awards season but for now, the film has no U.S. release date yet. In the U.K., "Diana" will be seen on September 20. Here's the full international trailer:...

Appropriately, the new full international trailer for the Princess Diana biopic opens with the incessant clicks of camera shutters. Oliver Hirschbiegel's ("Downfall", "Five Minutes of Heaven") new film takes place during the last two years of Diana's life, when her every move was captured in the tabloids.  "Diana" finds the Princess (played by Naomi Watts) falling in love with surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews). The constant presence of cameras and reporters, however, makes it difficult for the most famous woman in the world to reconcile her public life with her personal one. The film's romantic storyline, strong lead performances, and (so far unannounced) fall release date means we should be hearing more of it come awards season.  No word on a Us release date yet, but we presume it is coming soon via eOne. September 20 is the UK release date.

The first trailer has been released of the Princess Diana biopic starring Naomi Watts – and the signs are that this is going to be a pretty soft-centred affair

The first trailer for Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel's Princess Diana biopic has hit the web, hinting at an adulatory portrait of the figure it dubs "the most famous woman in the world".

Diana is seen escaping from scurrilous paparazzi, smiling as third world children run through a sumptuous garden, and gingerly stepping through landmine-strewn African terrain, a Red Cross symbol pasted to her chest. "An icon, adored by millions", the trailer tells us, to soaring strains of uplifting piano.

Starring Naomi Watts as the princess and titled simply Diana, the film is Hirschbiegel's followup to 2009's Northern Ireland troubles-themed Five Minutes of Heaven. The German director is best known for the acclaimed 2004 film Downfall, retelling of the last days of Adolf Hitler.

Taken 2

Directed by: Olivier Megaton

Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Rade Serbedzija, Famke Janssen

Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: October 5, 2012

Plot: A bodyguard (Neeson) is kidnapped along with his wife (Janssen) by men attempting to avenge their brethren who he previously killed.

Who’S It For? If the first Taken movie felt like a surge of ass-kicking action, well, here’s a disappointing second serving. Those who own Taken will likely appreciate this movie more, as it will at least remind those lucky few of what awaits at home.

Expectations: Late January moviegoers back in 2009 were hyped on Taken for the surprising ruthlessness it offered, along with the introduction to Neeson as a Jack Bauer-esque, super-American super badass. But now that we are more used to Neeson in these action roles, both good and bad, would another Taken movie be able to hit as hard, if at all?...

Some UK TV news for next season... Of note in the below press release is the David Oyelowo MI5/Guantanamo Bay thriller titled Complicit, which centers on the moral dilemmas posed by the war on terror, as an MI5 agent (played by Oyelowo) becomes involved in the torture of a suspected terrorist to prevent an attack in the UK. We now have an official full synopsis for the drama which reads: In fighting the War on Terror is torture ever justified? David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Red Tail, The Help) stars in a compelling new single drama from acclaimed writer Guy Hibbert (Blood and Oil, Five Minutes of Heaven, Omagh) that explores the murky moral compromises that...

Northern Irish feature film 'Good Vibrations' will be released in cinemas towards the end of this year after securing a distribution deal with UK distribution company The Works.The Terri Hooley biopic, which was directed by husband and wife Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn was written by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson. Andrew Eaton (The Trip), Chris Martin (Peacefire) and musician David Holmes produced. The film is a co-production between Belfast's Canderblinks Film and Music, London-based Revolution Films and Dublin's Treasure Entertainment. Richard Dormer (Five Minutes of Heaven), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) and Jodie Whittaker (One Day) star.

One of the best reviewed TV series to be screened this year, BBC2 police corruption drama 'Line of Duty' debuted last week with the largest audience for a new show on BBC2 in seven years. Irish cinematographer Ruairi O'Brien (Five Minutes of Heaven) worked on all five episodes of the police corruption thriller, working alongside 'Love/Hate' director David Caffrey on the first three episodes. He talks to Iftn about the series and his recent work on Chris O' Dowd's 'Moone Boy' and BBC thriller 'The Fall'.

Although the role was originally tipped for Jessica Chastain -- who we love -- it would seem that her subsequent replacement, Naomi Watts, is proving to be the perfect fit for "Caught In Flight." It looks like lensing has begun on the film, the first set pic has dropped, and yeah, Watts is dead ringer for Princess Diana, in a film that will surely draw attention and perhaps some controversy.

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel ("Downfall," "Five Minutes Of Heaven") and written by Steven Jeffreys ("The Libertine"), the film will focus on Diana's affair with Dr. Hasnat Kahn (played by "Lost" star Naveen Andrews) that lasted from 1995 until a few months before her death in 1997. He was regarded by many to be the love of her life, and she was said to be devastated when the relationship was over, with some speculating that she dated Dodi Fayed in order to make him jealous.

Irish feature film 'Good Vibrations' will receive its Irish premiere on May 31 as part of the Belfast Film Festival. Directed by Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Cherrybomb), the feature will be screened in Belfast's Ulster Hall as the festival's opening film. 'Good Vibrations' tells the story of Belfast music legend Terri Hooley, played by Richard Dormer (Five Minutes of Heaven, A Mighty Celt), who opened up a record shop named Good Vibrations on the most bombed half-mile in Europe during the Troubles.

It was a little surprising to hear Tarsem express a seemingly legitimate desire to go small — as in, My Dinner with André small — but (already low) expectations of this effort even coming together were essentially squandered when another fantasy project, Killing on Carnival Row, came his way. He can talk up a Louis Malle riff all he wants, but when the contracts get signed…

Now, he’s looking for that middle ground. As was revealed in an interview with ThePlaylist, Tarsem is close to something that’s already been compared to Traffic, Contagion, and Syriana: Eye in the Sky, a contemporary war story that tells things on the large and small scales. Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) was originally lining up the project with his Five Minutes of Heaven screenwriter, Guy Hibbert, as of last fall, but, with him being out of contention, Tarsem hopes to be the new voice of this story.

The use of drones in military exercises is becoming a more and more popular topic of debate and discussion. It’s a glimpse into the possible future of war where avatars can do the recon and, to some extent, the fighting in place of human soldiers and airmen. FilmNation is keen to explore the issue with a thriller from Five Minutes of Heaven writer Guy Hibbert. Until recently, Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel was on deck for the project – titled Eye in the Sky – but The Playlist is reporting that with him out, visual dynamo Tarsem Singh is actively pursuing the gig. “It’s about a drone attack, and what it means to the people playing with their thumbs in Nevada, what it means to the people saying, ‘Go ahead and strike,’ what it means to other politicians at war in Europe, and what it means to the people on the ground where it happens [in East Africa]. There are people...

Naomi Watts risks public backlash by playing Diana, Princess of Wales, while Danny Boyle's biggest headache concerns the pronunciation of his latest movie

Stage or screen?

Trash made one of its infrequent visits to the theatre last week as a panellist for Nt Live, the National Theatre's whizz idea of transmitting live stage performances into cinemas around the world. The play in question was Travelling Light, written by Nicholas Wright and directed by the Nt's artistic director, Nicholas Hytner, both of whom joined me on the panel, hosted by Emma Freud. So while we and the audience at the Lyttelton watched a play starring Antony Sher, about the invention of silent film in a Jewish shtetl as recounted in flashback by a Hollywood mogul, audiences around the world watched too via a live broadcast.

"Was the character based on any real-life Hollywood mogul?" I asked Wright. I couldn't tell...

It's been announced that Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts (currently shooting the drama The Grandmothers in Australia) has been cast in the coveted role of Princess Diana in the upcoming film Caught In Flight, which will begin production in the UK later this year, according to Deadline.   Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (the German filmmaker behind Five Minutes Of Heaven, The Invasion, and the Oscar nominated Downfall) and based on a screenplay by Stephen Jeffreys (The Libertine), the film will follow the Princess of Wales during the last two years of her life - a time when she found "true personal happiness for the first time", and chart her evolution into a major international campaigner and humanitarian.

Ifta nominated writer Guy Hibbert's (Five Minutes of Heaven, Omagh) latest feature drama script has been commissioned by Channel 4. The feature length single drama called 'Complicit' will investigate the moral dilemmas facing MI5 officers involved in the war on terror and follows main character Edward in the Middle East as he wrestles with some of the key moral questions...

"The second-to-last interview that Pier Paolo Pasolini gave before he was murdered in 1975 (a case that still remains mysterious) and that was long believed lost has turned up," reports the New Yorker's Richard Brody. "Eric Loret and Robert Maggiori tell the story in Libération — Pasolini was introducing his work in Sweden, a round-table discussion was recorded for broadcast, then held, then lost, until his Swedish translator, Carl Henrik Svenstedt, recently found his personal recording of the talk. The Italian weekly L'Espresso has published a partial transcript of the discussion, along with the audio recording." And he's got excerpts. For example: "I consider consumerism to be a Fascism worse than the classical one, because clerical Fascism didn't really transform Italians, didn't enter into them. It was a totalitarian state but not a totalizing one."

In other news. "This month Offscreen groups together (four of the five) essays that attempt to illuminate...

Oscar nominated director Louis Marcus (1798 agus O'Shin, Famine) has been awarded the Screen Director Guild of Ireland and Foras na Gaeilge special prize for outstanding work with the Irish language at the Sdgi annual meeting which took place in Fallon and Byrne in Dublin last night. Louis Marcus was presented with a plaque and a prize of €5,000 by fellow directors including German director Oliver Hirschbeigel (Five Minutes Of Heaven, Downfall), Dearbhla Walsh (Little Dorrit, The Tudors), Paddy Breathnach (Red Mist, Shrooms), Lenny Abrhamson (What Richard Did, Garage) and Ciaran Donnelly (Titanic; Blood and Steel, Stardust).

Jessica Chastain has starred in a variety of movies already this year from the spy thriller, The Debt, to the heavy drama of The Tree of Life, just to name a few (there were five others just this year). In September, Chastain forged ahead with yet another role, landing one of the two leading female roles in the upcoming sci-fi epic Horizons, opposite Tom Cruise. She could also end up playing the late Princess Diana in an upcoming biopic as well.

Thompson on Hollywood reports that one of the projects that might move forward after being announced at the American Film Market is Caught in Flight, which would see Chastain as Diana in a story described as "love story between a princess locked in a tower and an ordinary man". The story is based on the secret love affair between Diana and heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn and reportedly portrays...

Two completely separate bits of film-related news concerning unmanned aerial vehicles hit this week, though surprisingly only one of them involves a surefire precursor to man's enslavement by robots.  The first is news that Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel has signed on to direct Eye in the Sky, a globe-spanning story about how a handful of characters' lives are, "impacted by the decision to drop a drone missile on a house in East Africa." Eye in the Sky is written by Guy Hibbert, who last worked with Hirschbiegel on the great Liam Neeson/James Nesbitt drama Five Minutes of Heaven.  The project was originally developed as a BBC film, but FilmNation acquirred the script and will, in Variety's words, "aggressively" put it together. As...

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German director Oliver Hirschbiegel has had his share of career ups and downs. His searing look at Adolf Hitler’s final days, Downfall, helped get him noticed by Hollywood (and launched a thousand YouTube video parodies), but his first Us pic, Body Snatchers remake The Invasion, suffered trouble during production and flopped. Since then, he’s bounced back quality-wise with Northern Irish drama Five Minutes of Heaven and is now attached to what could be his most ambitious project yet, sprawling thriller Eye in the Sky.Written by Heaven’s Guy Hibbert, Sky spans the globe to follow several characters caught up in the decision to drop a drone missile on a house in East Africa.While it was originally developed at BBC Films, the script is now the property of FilmNation Entertainment, which bought it and looked to put Hibbert and Hirschbiegel back together. ''As a company we have...

Oliver Hirschbiegel ("Downfall," "Five Minutes of Heaven") is attached to direct the international thriller "Eye in the Sky" for FilmNation says The Hollywood Reporter.

Guy Hibbert penned the script about a group of characters around the globe who've each been impacted by the decision to drop a drone missile on a house in East Africa. The story will explore how modern war is detached from our everyday lives.

Pre-production aims to kick off later this year. Karen Lunder, Aaron Ryder and Stephen Wright will produce.

Basically no-one saw "Five Minutes Of Heaven." Which was a shame, because it was a powerful drama of guilt and reconciliation set amongst the Troubles in Northern Ireland, was easily German director Oliver Hirschbiegel's best since "Downfall," and showcased excellent performances from James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson, the latter given a now-rare opportunity to do something other than punch Europeans in the head. Fortunately, it seems that someone other than us likes it, as an email from FilmNation (the upcoming "The Raven") announces that the company bought a new script from Guy Hibbert, the writer of "Five Minutes of Heaven,"…...

FilmNation has acqured Guy Hibbert’s screenplay Eye in the Sky for Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel to helm, a move that reteams the writer and director who collaborated on the 2009 Liam Neeson-starrer Five Minutes of Heaven, which won directing and screenwriting awards at Sundance. FilmNation Evp Production Karen Lunder brought in Eye in the Sky to the company and will produce alongside FilmNation production president Aaron Ryder. Stephen Wright, who works with the BBC where the project was initially developed, will also produce; FilmNation acquired the rights from BBC Films, in cooperation with BBC TV. The company plans to fast-track the movie — an international thriller that follows a group of characters impacted by the decision to drop a drone missile on a house in East Africa — and want to begin prep on it this year.

FilmNation Entertainment announced today that they have acquired Guy Hibbert's ( Omagh , Boy Soldier ) screenplay Eye in the Sky as a directing vehicle for Oliver Hirschbiegel ( Downfall , Das Experiment ). FilmNation are aggressively putting the film together with the aim of starting to prep later this year. Eye in the Sky is an international thriller that follows a group of characters around the globe as they are each impacted by the decision to drop a drone missile on a house in East Africa. This will be Hibbert and Hirschbiegel's second collaboration following Five Minutes of Heaven , starring Liam Neeson. FilmNation Evp Production Karen Lunder brought in the project to the company and will produce alongside FilmNation's President of Production Aaron Ryder. Stephen Wright...

Guy Hibbert's screenplay Eye in the Sky acquired by FilmNation for Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) to direct At Toronto today, FilmNation announced that they are ''aggressively'' assembling the thriller, aiming to start prepping later this fall. Eye in the Sky tells of a group of characters around the world, each affected by a decision made to drop a drone missile on a home in East Africa, reports Variety. This marks the secon collaboration between Hirschbiegel and Hibbert after Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt starrer Five Minutes of Heaven in 2009.

Guy Hibbert's screenplay Eye in the Sky acquired by FilmNation for Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) to direct At Toronto today, FilmNation announced that they are ''aggressively'' assembling the thriller, aiming to start prepping later this fall. Eye in the Sky tells of a group of characters around the world, each affected by a decision made to drop a drone missile on a home in East Africa, reports Variety. This marks the secon collaboration between Hirschbiegel and Hibbert after Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt starrer Five Minutes of Heaven in 2009.

Yesterday it was the royal hunks, today's "The Hobbit" dwarf pictorial (via Stuff.co.nz) features three more dwarves who represent a quite different background - the rougher and life loving working class trio of Bombur (Stephen Hunter), Bofur (James Nesbitt) and Bifur (William Kircher). Here's the description of their characters:

"Born and bred in the West, descendants of coal miners and iron workers, they have joined the Quest for the Lonely Mountain partly to seek their fortune and partly because they were told the beer was free."

Hunter is a familiar face on Australian and New Zealand television with a role in several episodes of the acclaimed "Love My Way" along with guest starring roles on "All Saints," "Spirited," "Mercy Peak" and "Street Legal".

Irish actor Nesbitt is an outright legend of British television with memorable leading role turns in "Jekyll," "Cold Feet," "Ballykissangel," "Playing the Field," "Murphy's Law,...

This Irish actor is too old:

This Irish actor is too young:

This English actor is too clean (and a little goofy):

But, this German/Irish actor is just right:

All you young whippersnappers out there, you rebels and lovers of anarchy, join me in taking a moment to acknowledge our forefathers: Punk bands. And hey, didja know that while The Ramones and The Clash and Sex Pistols were kicking it in New York and London, Belfast had its own music revolution breaking out via a record company called Good Vibrations? Founder and promoter Terry Hooley did his best to get new bands noticed outside of Northern Ireland; his greatest success was with The Undertones. Legendary radio personality John Peel loved their hit Teenage Kicks, giving it 28 stars (out of 5 and no, that's not a typo) and declaring it his favorite song.

So somewhat akin to 24 Hour Party People,...

With extraordinary performances in movies like "Fish Tank," "Hunger," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Jane Eyre," plus big Hollywood pictures like "X-Men: First Class" and Ridley Scott's pseudo-"Alien" prequel "Prometheus," Michael Fassbender is officially on a roll.

Now, he's going to add a little rock to it.

According to CineEuropa, Fassbender, along with Liam Cunningham ("Clash of the Titans") and relative unknown Richard Dormer (he co-starred with Liam Neeson in "Five Minutes of Heaven") have joined the cast of "Good Vibrations," a biopic based on the life of Terri Hooley. Hooley was the founder of a record store in Belfast, Ireland called -- you guessed it -- "Good Vibrations," which later went on to evolve into a music label that started the careers of many a Irish punk rock band.

Dormer is set to play Hooley in the film, while Fassbender and Cunningham's roles are undetermined.

While we love seeing...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son – Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson, Jessica Lucas

I Am Number Four – Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron

Unknown – Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones

Movie of the Week

Unknown

The Stars: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones

The Plot: A man (Neeson) awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity. With the help of a young woman (Kruger), he sets out to prove who he is.

The Buzz: Liam Neeson rocks. So happy to see his career is still in full swing. There have been a couple missable films on his most recent filmography (Clash of the Titans, The A-Team), but those were smaller roles, and he’s had his fair share of ‘must sees’ over the past few years (Taken, Five Minutes of Heaven, Chloe). The trailer for Unknown was thoroughly enticing.

This coming Monday, 17th January, will see the UK DVD release of debut director Colm McCarthy’s Scottish/Irish folklore tale Outcast. To get you ready to jig, we’ve got a few new clips along with two copies to give away to a pair of lucky UK readers courtesy of the fine folks at Momentum Pictures.

Synopsis:

Boasting a strong cast of established British and Irish acting talent that includes James Nesbitt (Five Minutes of Heaven; Murphy’s Law), Therese Bradley (The Bill; Miles Away), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), James Cosmo (Sons of Anarchy), Kate Dickie (Somers Town; Red Road) and Christine Tremarco (Waterloo Road) along with up-and-coming newcomers Niall Bruton and Hanna Stanbridge (Lip Service), the film has been described as “a monster movie, a murder mystery, and a Polanski-style tale of strange emotional ties that gradually unravel in several unpleasant ways” (FearNet.com) and as “a bold,...

Outcast, the debut feature from director Colm McCarthy boasting a strong cast of established British and Irish acting talent that includes James Nesbitt (Five Minutes Of Heaven; Murphys Law), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), James Cosmo (Sons Of Anarchy), Kate Dickie (Somers Town; Red Road) and Christine Tremarco (Waterloo Road), will be released on UK DVD by Momentum Pictures on January 17 2011. Inside you'll find a slew of new images, awesome DVD cover art, along with the UK DVD trailer! Indomnia Releasing will be releasing here in the States next year. It's a pretty fun flick, I'm excited to see it in a theater (hopefully).