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Take a look at actress Gemma Arterton, aka 'Polly' in director Matthew Vaughn's prequel action feature "The King's Man", opening December 22, 2021, posing for "The Rake" magazine, wearing Caroline Andrew, Meváris and a whole lot more, photographed by Mariano Vivanco:

Arterton's extensive film work includes playing 'Bond Girl' 'Strawberry Fields' in "Quantum of Solace"...

...lead roles in  "Clash of the Titans" (2010), "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010), "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" (2013)...

..."The Disappearance of Alice Creed" (2009), "Tamara Drewe" (2010), "The Escape" (2017) and "Vita and Virginia" (2018). 

Since 2016 Arterton has run her own production company, Rebel Park Productions...

...focusing on creating female-led content in front of and behind the camera.  

"The King's Man" will be released December 22, 2021.

Click the images to enlarge...

Jessica Barden began her professional career at a young age, shooting an episode of “My Parents Are Aliens” when she was only 7. At the time, she was just having fun. “I was just a showoff, I wasn’t good at acting in any way,” the British actor reveals. It wasn’t until she was 17 and had a role in Stephen Frears’ 2010 film “Tamara Drewe” that she knew she was hooked. “He’s a director for actors, through and through. I don’t know a single person that has worked for him that didn’t have the best time with him,’ she notes. “He didn’t speak to me like I was a child. He spoke to me like I was an adult, he asked me what I thought about the scenes as we were shooting. And I realized I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”

Perhaps...

Take a look at new images of actress Gemma Arterton ("The King's Man") in the March 2021 issue of  "M Revista de Milenio":

Arterton's extensive film work includes playing 'Bond Girl' 'Strawberry Fields' in "Quantum of Solace"...

...lead roles in  "Clash of the Titans" (2010), "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010), "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" (2013)...

..."The Disappearance of Alice Creed" (2009), "Tamara Drewe" (2010), "The Escape" (2017) and "Vita and Virginia" (2018). 

Since 2016 Arterton has run her own production company, Rebel Park Productions...

...focusing on creating female-led content in front of and behind the camera.  

Click the images to enlarge...

Take a look at new images of actress Gemma Arterton ("The King's Man") in the February 2021 issue of "The Rake" magazine, wearing Caroline Andrew, Meváris and a whole lot more, photographed by Mariano Vivanco:

Arterton's extensive film work includes playing 'Bond Girl' 'Strawberry Fields' in "Quantum of Solace"...

...lead roles in  "Clash of the Titans" (2010), "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010), "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" (2013)...

..."The Disappearance of Alice Creed" (2009), "Tamara Drewe" (2010), "The Escape" (2017) and "Vita and Virginia" (2018). 

Since 2016 Arterton has run her own production company, Rebel Park Productions...

...focusing on creating female-led content in front of and behind the camera.  

"The King's Man" will be released February 26, 2021.

Click the images to enlarge...

To begin with, a disclaimer: There are practically no 2019 titles on my Best of the Decade list, not because there weren’t a lot of great films this year, but because I haven’t had the opportunity to live with them for all that long. My Best of 2019 list was its own challenge to write, but this year’s movies are just too new for them to have knocked around in my central nervous system the way these earlier titles have. Film historians can debate the major movie-related events of the decade — the rise of streaming, the dominance of Disney — but these are the films took up residency with me and refuse to move out:

11-30 (alphabetically): “Anomalisa,” “Before Midnight,” “Bernie,” “Bridesmaids,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Certain Women,” “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Ex Machina,” “Force Majeure,” “The Great Beauty,” “The Handmaiden,” “Happy Hour,” “Holy Motors,” “Leave No Trace,...

Superhero movies, it has been (accurately) said, rule the box office. But although billions of dollars are made every year adapting comic books about costumed vigilantes, there is a whole universe of comic-book storytelling that frequently goes unexplored. Human dramas, light comedies, sci-fi and action comics alike, these works are frequently brought to the screen but sometimes overlooked by mainstream audiences who equate comics with the superhero genre. We were paying attention. These are the non-superhero comic book films that moved us and thrilled us this decade.

10. “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” (2017)

Audiences are bizarrely unkind to space operas that aren’t called “Star Wars,” which is a shame, because “Valerian” is one of the best in the genre. Based on the French comic book series “Valérian and Laureline,” which helped inspire “Star Wars” in the first place, “City of a Thousand Planets” begins with a phenomenal,...

Author: Competitions

To mark the release of Their Finest on 21st August, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.

1940, London, the Blitz. With the country’s morale at stake, inexperienced screenwriter, Catrin (Gemma Arterton; The Girl With All The Gifts, Tamara Drewe) and a makeshift cast and crew work under fire to make a film to lift the country’s flagging spirits and inspire America to join the war. Partnered with fellow screenwriter, Buckley (Sam Claflin; My Cousin Rachel, Me Before You), the pair set off to make a film that will warm the hearts of the nation whilst navigating the constant threat of The Blitz, limited resources and the demands of gloriously egotistical actor, Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Love, Actually).

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only

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The Small Print

Open to UK residents only...

Louisa Mellor Jun 1, 2017

Some exciting new UK drama and comedy commissions are making their way to TV over the next year or so…

We know, we know. You still have two episodes of Fargo season two before you can think about starting season three. You’ve already fallen behind on American Gods. Your planner memory is chock-a-block with Big Little Lies and that Oj Simpson thing and some Spanish prison series your workmate bullied you into recording. You’re struggling to make time for Twin Peaks. New Game Of Thrones is just around the corner. And guess what, Netflix UK have just added a whole new season of It’s Always Sunny, those sods. You need a list of new TV show recommendations like you need a hole in the head.

See related Metroid: Other M Nintendo Wii review

And yet, as long as they keep making them, we’ll keep recommending them.

Exclusive: Jackie Collins’ 10-novel series based based around mob daughter Lucky Santangelo is headed for the big screen. Universal Pictures has acquired the book series, which will be produced by Monumental Pictures partners Debra Hayward & Alison Owen, and Working Title partners Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner. Moira Buffini, whose credits include the Cary Fukanaga-directed Jane Eyre and the Stephen Frears-directed Tamara Drewe, will adapt the novels. The hope is to make a…...

British director’s latest film, Florence Foster Jenkins, to screen at the festival’s open air theatre.

Stephen Frears, the British director of The Queen and Philomena, is to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 12-20).

Frears, who was previously the subject of the festival’s tribute programme in 2002, will have his latest film - Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant - screened as part of Sarajevo’s Open Air programme.

Previous recipients of the honorary award have included Angelina Jolie, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mike Leigh and last year Benicio del Toro.

Frears breakthrough as a feature film director came with the low budget hit My Beautiful Laundrette in 1985 and made his Hollywood debut with Dangerous Liaisons in 1989, which received six Oscar nominations.

His first Oscar nomination as best director can in 1991 for The Grifters, produced by Martin Scorsese, while his 1998 western...

Murtada here. Stephen Frears recent output has been uneven. This month, his Lance Armstrong biopic The Program was met with lukewarm reviews and a VOD purgatory release, while Lay the Favorite (2012) and Tamara Drewe (2010) were both immediately forgotten. However he does well when teamed with grand actresses in intimate dramas (The Queen, Philomena). So we are cautiously optimistic about his collaboration with Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins. The story, of an amateur opera singer, known and ridiculed for her very bad singing and her complete delusion about her abilities, is intriguing.

Let's break down the newly released trailer..... after the jump.

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Meryl Streep, Simon Helberg and Hugh Grant star in upcoming comedy drama, Florence Foster Jenkins. Here's the trailer...

Get yourself a bunch of Stephen Frears movies and you're going to end up with a good night in. We'd recommend Philomena, High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things, Tamara Drewe and My Beautiful Laundrette to get you going. Let us know if you need more.

Frears' next film is Florence Foster Jenkins, which brings Meryl Streep, Simon Helberg, Hugh Grant, Rebecca Ferguson and Nina Arianda together in its cast. The first trailer and synopsis for the movie have just been released too, so let's take a mooch.

Trailer first....

And here's the synopsis.

The comedy drama directed by Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen) tells the inspirational true story of the eponymous New York heiress who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The film celebrates the human spirit,...

The distributor has taken UK rights to Evolutionary Films’ Sci-Fi feature.

Altitude Film Entertainment has taken UK distribution rights to Sci-Fi action genre film The Carrier from sales agent Evolutionary Films.

The film premiered at London’s Raindance Film Festival (Sept 23 - Oct 4).

The Carrier follows eights survivors of a pandemic on Earth who escape to the skies in a damaged commercial jet.

The film is the second feature from director Anthony Woodley, after 2011’s Outpost 11.

Woodley also worked as an aerial technician on bond films Casino Royale and there recently released Spectre.

The film stars Edmund Kingsley (Hugo), Jack Gordon (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Josie Taylor (Tamara Drewe).

Luke Healy produced the film, and also co-wrote the script with director Woodley, Stefan Mitchell and Helen Kingston.

Screen International has revealed its Stars of Tomorrow, spotlighting the hottest up-and-coming actors and filmmakers.

Click here to access the Screen Stars of Tomorrow microsite, including full profiles, picture gallery and digital edition

Now in its 12th year, the annual showcase spotlights up-and-coming actors, writers, directors and producers who will be making waves in the years to come.

Scroll down for the full list

Past Stars of Tomorrow selected by Screen include Benedict Cumberbatch (2004), Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (2005), Suffragette star Carey Mulligan, Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor John Boyega (2011) and last year’s cover stars Taron Egerton, Olivia Cooke and Sam Keeley.

Stars of Tomorrow editor Fionnuala Halligan curates the stars after considering hundreds of candidates and consulting with industry experts including casting agents, talent agents, managers, producers and directors.

This year marks a partnership with the BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18), which will present the Stars as part of its programme of events.

Halligan...

Screen International has revealed its Stars of Tomorrow, spotlighting the hottest up-and-coming actors and filmmakers.

Click here to access the Screen Stars of Tomorrow microsite, including full profiles, picture gallery and digital edition

Now in its 12th year, the annual showcase spotlights up-and-coming actors, writers, directors and producers who will be making waves in the years to come.

Scroll down for the full list

Past Stars of Tomorrow selected by Screen include Benedict Cumberbatch (2004), Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (2005), Suffragette star Carey Mulligan, Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor John Boyega (2011) and last year’s cover stars Taron Egerton, Olivia Cooke and Sam Keeley.

Stars of Tomorrow editor Fionnuala Halligan curates the stars after considering hundreds of candidates and consulting with industry experts including casting agents, talent agents, managers, producers and directors.

This year marks a partnership with the BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18), which will present the Stars as part of its programme of events.

Halligan...

Gemma Arterton is a joy to watch but can’t carry this Posy Simmonds-meets-Flaubert caper alone

Mercurial Gemma Arterton provided the spark that sold Tamara Drewe to cinema audiences, and she’s the main attraction again in this latest Posy Simmonds adaptation. Arterton plays Gemma Bovery (the on-screen title initially withholds the “G”), a restless Brit who decamps to bucolic Normandy, where her life imitates that of literature’s most infamously bored housewife. Under the lustful gaze of Flaubert fan Martin (Fabrice Luchini, all startled eyes and hangdog mouth), Gemma is soon bedding the local young buck, unnoticed by husband Charlie (Jason Flemyng), who’s too busy restoring antiques to keep track of his marriage.

Arterton has flirty fun with the title role, and her scenes with Luchini boast a satirical crackle that’s missing elsewhere. Cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne drools over the picturesque landscapes while Bruno Colais’s music...

Director: Anne Fontaine; Screenwriters: Anne Fontaine, Pascal Bonitzer; Starring: Fabrice Luchini, Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng, Niels Schneider; Running time: 99 mins; Certificate: 15

Gemma Arterton sets pulses racing in rural France as a modern, much fluffier version of Gustave Flaubert's 19th-century heroine Madame Bovary, but in essence, she is merely replaying her part in 2010's similarly-themed comedy drama Tamara Drewe; that is to say, an object of lust rather than a fully fleshed-out human being.

Both films are based on graphic novels by Posy Simmonds which started life as cartoon strips for The Guardian (the former being a reworking of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd). In this case, Flaubert's fallen woman, Gemma, is a Londoner who moves to Normandy with her furniture restorer husband (Jason Flemyng) to live the bucolic life that many a tube-riding, broadsheet-reader fantasises about. Arterton is, as usual, bursting with charm, although the focus is...

Well aren't these two looking adorable? Pathé and BBC Films have debuted a first look photo at the film Florence Foster Jenkins, the latest from director Stephen Frears following Philomena, Lay the Favorite and Tamara Drewe. In Florence Foster Jenkins, Meryl Streep plays the legendary New York heiress who became an opera singer. Hugh Grant plays her partner St Clair Bayfield. The two can be seen riding in the back of a car, heading home from (what seems like) a night at Carnegie Hall. No release date is set yet, and the film just barely started shooting, so this is a very early first look and we likely won't see this until 2016. Anyway, take a look at the two in full below. Photo sent out directly from Pathé and BBC Films' publicity. Florence Foster Jenkins is the true story of the legendary New York heiress and socialite who obsessively...

Watch: Carey Mulligan Smolders On and Off-Screen in 'Far from the Madding Crowd' Trailer Published in 1874, Thomas Hardy's Victorian-era novel "Far From the Madding Crowd" is hardly unique material for the screen. It was first adapted in 1915, revisited in John Schleinger's 1967 version, uprooted to modern times in Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe," and transformed into a "Masterpiece Theater" miniseries in 1998. Thomas Vinterberg's gorgeous treatment of the story, which tracks individualistic farm owner Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) as she runs her property and evades the advances of various suitors, arrives in theaters this week treading no fresh ground. At the same time, the movie rejuvenates the material with a restrained eye for the details of the story — the relationships between a small cast of passionate characters — that frees it from the constraints of its era. With its gorgeously photographed backdrop of the British countryside's rolling...

It’s All About Love: Vinterberg Revamps Hardy’s Classic Romance

Inevitably, we would have seen some filmmaker tackle a revamp of Thomas Hardy’s classic 1874 novel Far From the Madding Crowd, so it’s mostly surprising to note that it wasn’t Michael Winterbottom, who has made several Hardy adaptations since the 1990s. Instead, Danish director Thomas Vinterberg takes the reins from director John Schlesinger, who previously held credit for a famous 1967 adaptation starring Julie Christie, with Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates as the trio of suitors (and let’s not forget to mention a modern reimagining of this novel, the comic strip serial Tamara Drewe, made into a film by Stephen Frears in 2010). Curiously, this is Vinterberg’s follow-up to his 2012 critically acclaimed title The Hunt, which won Mads Mikkelsen Best Actor at Cannes and received an Oscar nod for Best Foreign Language Film, making...

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

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

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

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

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

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

[link...

‘Who would play me? Emma Stone, if she could pull off a Kent accent’

Born in Kent, Arterton, 29, graduated from Rada. Her movies include St Trinian’s, Quantum Of Solace, Tamara Drewe and Song For Marion. On TV, she played the title role in Tess Of The d’Urbervilles, and her stage work includes The Duchess Of Malfi and, currently, Made In Dagenham. Her new film, The Voices, opens on 20 March. She is divorced and lives in London.

When were you happiest?

In Corsica, climbing mountains and finding waterfalls.

Continue reading...

Duncan chats to Luke Evans about stunts, green screens, and being turned into a toy

Spoilers ahead for The Hobbit movies…

Having been a fan of Luke Evans's work for some years now, it was a strange coincidence that after finally getting a chance to interview him for Dracula Untold a few months back in October, we were almost immediately offered another chance for a catch up for the release of The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies, which is finally unleashed on the 12th December.

The timing couldn’t be better though, as if there was one part of the trilogy to discuss all things Bard the Bowman, it was this one. After Peter Jackson controversially decided to end The Desolation Of Smaug on a cliff-hanger, it left poor Bard trapped in a jail and postponed his rightful moment to shine with his face off against the titular dragon,...

Director of The Queen, Philomena and the upcoming Lance Armstrong biopic to receive honour at BFI London Film Festival.

British director Stephen Frears is to receive a BFI Fellowship on Oct 18, ahead of the close of the 58th BFI London Film Festival.

The BFI Fellowship is awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television and is the highest honour bestowed by the organisation.

BFI chairman Greg Dyke described Frears as one of the UK’s most important directors.

“Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen has produced a body of work which never fails to surprise – from sweeping costume drama to powerful social realism, his films strike a perfect balance between drama, humour and pathos helping to make them a hit with audiences and critics alike,” added Dyke.

Frears said he was “thrilled” to be receiving the honour. “I’ve spent much of my life in the cinema and quite a lot of it at...

After shoring up in Toronto with their Cannes pick-ups in Alleluia and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, the Music Box Films folks have landed their Tiff item. In what should be a significant month of post Tiff month of deal announcements, Music Box’s William Schopf has, according to Variety, made his first item pick-up (we feel that there’ll be more in the pipeline) in Anne Fontaine’s Gemma Bovery. Starring another Gemma in Gemma Arterton, the title had the odd distinction of being included at the fest alongside Sophie Barthes’ Madame Bovery. Fontaine’s film as an outside chance at picking up France’s Foreign Oscar nom, and though the trade doesn’t mention it, we expect a 2015 release.

Gist: Martin is an ex-Parisian well-heeled hipster, more or less willingly transformed into the baker in a Norman village. All that remains of his youthful ambitions is a...

Exclusive: Long-time Ruby exec departs; teams with BBC-twc on first production.

Ruby Film and Television production executive Faye Ward has departed the company after 14 years.

The London-based executive’s first feature job as a stand-alone producer will be BBC-twc-Lookout Point TV movie Stan and Ollie, the biopic of iconic UK comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, scripted by Philomena writer Jeff Pope.

Joining Ruby soon after its inception, Ward worked on films including Jane Eyre and Tamara Drewe, and produced TV drama including Stephen Poliakoff’s BBC series Dancing on the Edge and BBC Films TV movie Toast.

Ward and Ruby founder Alison Owen are currently in post-production on women’s suffrage drama Suffragette, starring Carey Mulligan.

Ward, who will look to work across film and TV, described her time at Ruby as a “phenomenal” experience: “It was fantastic working with Alison and we achieved a great deal. However, there comes a time when one has to move...

• Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie is set to join Vin Diesel in The Last Witch Hunter, a supernatural thriller about a “semi-immortal” witch hunter (Diesel) who teams up with a witch (Leslie) to take down a more evil witch. And, despite being mortal enemies, the witch and the witch hunter also flirt with romance. Breck Eisner is directing the Summit pic, which recently got a polish from Dallas Buyers Club writer Melisa Wallack. [THR]

• Gary Oldman, who’s currently starring in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, is in talks to star alongside Kevin Costner in Criminal. The movie...

Exclusive: Cast is revealed for Sherlock Holmes film starring Ian McKellen and directed by Bill Condon.

As principal photography begins on a new Sherlock Holmes film starring Ian McKellen, the cast has been revealed as well as a change of name and a first image.

A Slight Trick of the Mind will now be titled Mr Holmes and filming will take place over seven weeks on location in London and on the South Coast of England, according to co-producers AI Film, Archer Gray, See-Saw Films and BBC Films.

McKellen himself tweeted the first image, which shows the actor made up and aged up to play Arthur Conan Doyle’s private detective aged 93.

As previously announced, Bill Condon will direct the film - reuniting him with McKellen after they made Gods and Monsters together in 1998 - and Laura Linney will play his housekeeper Mrs Munro. Linney worked with Condon on Kinsey in 2004 and The Fifth Estate in 2013 as...

Ryan Reynolds in Marjane Satrapi’s “The Voices”

The Voices Written by Michael R. Perry Directed by Marjane Satrapi USA, 2014 From the director of Persepolis comes The Voices, an odd film that is sure to repel some viewers with its bloodthirsty darkness but draw others in with its winning protagonist who is lovable, thoughtful and incidentally, a serial killer. It treats blood spatter flippantly while completely sympathizing with the lonely man with psychopathic tendencies who is responsible for it. The best twist on identifying with a serial killer’s point of view (the likes of which is seen in Hitchcock’s Frenzy and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom) is that Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) isn’t a bad guy at all. The film is non-judgmental of this well-meaning man, reveling in the spontaneity of his decisions and the potential friendship he sees in others that they often fail to fully reciprocate.

Philomena is as surprising in its existence as it is in its ability to transform a story that ought to be cliche syrup into something real and moving. The film’s ability to deliver honest emotion may be more surprising, given the synopsis, but the existence question may need some explanation.

Steve Coogan, of Alan Partridge and other comedic efforts fame, isn’t a name you immediately associate with not only starring in a venture like this, but also co-writing it and becoming something of a driving force behind the production. Moreover, it’s rare to get anyone behind a film that is taking a pretty serious shot at the Catholic Church, much less big names like Judi Dench and Stephen Frears. And, speaking of Stephen Frears, though he manages a lot of variety in his films, ranging from Dangerous Liasions, and Liam, to High Fidelity, and Tamara Drewe, a biopic exploration of hope,...

Cate Blanchett is in talks to star in Susanne Bier's new drama "The Dig".

Adapted from John Preston’s novel, the story deals with one of Britain's most famous archaeological finds - the Sutton Hoo burial grounds.

The film explores the characters behind the excavation in 1938 and 1939 which uncovered sixth and seventh century riches included a 27-metre ship just as the second World War was getting under way.

Blanchett would play amateur archaeologist Edith Pretty, one of the driving forces behind the excavation who was also coming to terms with the recent death of her husband at the time.

Moira Buffini ("Tamara Drewe," "Byzantium") penned the script and filming aims to begin later this year.

Source: Screen...

Susanne Bier doesn't stop. Already in post-production on "A Second Chance" starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (first look here), and with "Serena" forever dangling over her head as that completed but still somewhat shelved Bradley Cooper/Jennifer Lawrence joint, the director is already plowing ahead on new a movie, one that is aiming to shoot this fall, with a pretty big star attached. Screen Daily reports that two-time Oscar winner Cate Blachett is in talks to star in "The Dig." Penned by Moira Buffini ("Tamara Drewe," "Byzantium") and based on the novel by John Preston, the story follows amateur archaeologist Edith Pretty, who with the onset of World War II, leads a team in excavating the English site of Sutton Hoo, a cemetery site from the 6th and 7th century, with untold artifacts inside, including a full-blown ship used in a burial. The film is said to be in the vein of "The Remains Of The Day,...

Exclusive: Cate Blanchett is in talks to star in The Dig, a drama about one of Britain’s most famous archaeological finds - the Sutton Hoo burial grounds.

Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Bier is attached to direct the feature, which is written by Tamara Drewe and Byzantium writer Moira Buffini.

Buffini’s buzz script, adapted from John Preston’s novel The Dig, explores the story and characters behind the 1938/9 excavation of Sutton Hoo, whose sixth and seventh century riches included a 27-metre ship and which is the likely burial site of King Raedwald of East Anglia.

Blanchett, who picked up a second Oscar earlier this year for her lead role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, is in talks to play amateur archaeologist Edith Pretty, one of the driving forces behind the excavation.

Producers are Murray Ferguson of Clerkenwell Films, former Clerkenwell exec Ellie Wood, and Philomena producer Gaby Tana with backing from BBC Films, whose head Christine Langan...

Fuck, pardon my French, this cast rules. You should know and love Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. He directed “Dogtooth” and “Alps” and quickly landed as a Cannes favorite and one-to-watch shortly thereafter. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s making his English-Language debut, it’s called “The Lobster” and it already features the star-studded cast of Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, Léa Seydoux, Olivia Colman, Ariane Labed (“Alps”) and Angeliki Papoulia (“Dogtooth”). Today, four more actors were announced as additions to the cast including John C.Reilly, Scottish actress Ashley Jensen, Michael Smiley (perhaps best remembered for "A Field in England," "Kill List" and "The World's End") and Jessica Barden (“Tamara Drewe”). The synopsis is pretty awesome too: a love story set in the near future where single people, according to the rules of The City, are arrested and transferred to The Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days.

London’s Birds Eye View Film Festival will include 10 UK premieres and titles from Girls star Lena Dunham and Kelly Reichardt.

The Birds Eye View Film Festival (April 8-13), celebrating women’s work in film, has revealed details of its 2014 programme including works by British director Destiny Ekaragha and Laura Checkoway to films by Lena Dunham and Kelly Reichardt.

The festival will also celebrate inspiring female filmmakers and actors of recent times including the late pioneering animator Joy Batchelor, Broadway legend Elaine Stritch and award-winning British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha.

The festival will comprise 19 features including 10 UK premieres such as German director Katrin Gebbe’s debut Nothing Bad Can Happen and the London premiere of Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky’s Watermark, the follow-up to their 2006 documentary hit Manufactured Landscapes.

The programme also includes an American Indie strand featuring Kelly Reichardt’s thriller Night Moves starring Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning; Chiemi Karasawa’s documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me; and the...

Director: Stephen Frears

Writer: John Hodge

Producers: Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, Tracey Seaward, Kate Solomon

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Lee Pace, Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd, Guillaume Canet, Jesse Plemons, Dustin Hoffman

He has to be one of the most fascinating real-life, hero and villain protagonists in this media age, and might just make for a great duality character on screen. This picture could be “dope” if Ben Foster delivers like we know he can — and though we’ve beaten up on Philomena helmer Stephen Frears for recent efforts such as Lay the Favorite and Cheri, he nonetheless delivers the goods when bio-elements are concerned.

Gist: This follows the rise of Armstrong, his cancer battle, retirement and exposure by journalist David Walsh.

Release Date: Filming took place midway last year and seeing that Frears has a good rapport with Cannes (having shown Tamara Drewe...

At the age of 30, this Welsh actor became an overnight success. Now he's playing dragon-slayers and Draculas in big-budget movies

"They were the first victim of my career," sighs Luke Evans ruefully. He was very attached to his tropical fish; at the end of each day he'd melt into a beanbag and gaze at them endlessly. But as the movies got bigger, stealing him from his London home for months at a time, they had to go. "These discus were beautiful. The fish man came into my house and scooped them out into bags, gave me £20 for them. I said, 'Just take them, it's all too much...' So the fish tank is now in the attic and shall stay there until I can afford to not work, when I'll look at fish all day long."

After breaking into the film world in 2010, Evans was suddenly everywhere: five films in that first year,...

An interesting addition to the cast of Stephen Frears' currently untitled Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Ben Foster as the cyclist. The production has announced that Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, last seen in Little Fockers and Barney's Version, will appear in the film. "Hoffman will join when the production moves to the Us for the final stages of the shoot." No word on exactly what role he's playing in the story, which has many players. In addition to Ben Foster, the cast includes Chris O’Dowd, Guillaume Canet and Jesse Plemons. They also announced that Lee Pace (of The Fall, A Single Man, The Hobbit) is in the cast, but don't specifiy his role yet. I like this cast and the first look photo caught my attention, we'll be following. This big screen take on the Lance Armstrong story is being directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Tamara Drewe, Philomena...

The hiring of Sally Caplan as head of production at Screen Australia has prompted several producers to ask If: How can a Brit who has never worked in Australia get up to speed with the complexities of the Oz screen industry?

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason acknowledges that Caplan will not be familiar with the .minutiae. of some local screen projects but he is supremely confident her skills, experience and knowledge of global development, production, distribution and acquisition are precisely what the agency needs.

..She will be aware of the Australian films and programs and formats that have been successfully exported,. Mason tells If. .She has worked with a wide variety of filmmakers and genres, from Ken Loach and Mike Leigh to Streetdance 3D and The King.s Speech, from the art-house and speciality arena to wide multiplex releases.

.She has proved she can work incredibly well with culturally-specific material.

Highly experienced UK film executive Sally Caplan has been named Screen Australia's head of production, which combines development and production investment.

Caplan replaces Ross Matthews, who is stepping down as head of production investment, and head of development Martha Coleman, who is joining Goalpost Pictures. Both depart the agency at the end of the year. Matthews intends to take a break before he returns to independent production.

A former entertainment lawyer, Caplan worked with Screen Australia.s new CEO Graeme Mason for five years from the mid-1990s at Polygram Filmed Entertainment and at Universal, where she was senior VP, worldwide acquisitions.

She has worked as a consultant in the UK since June after leaving eOne where she was managing director of international film sales operations.

Sally headed the UK Film Council.s premiere fund for five years until 2010, responsible for funding and overseeing the production from script stage of more than 45 films,...

The fastest man on two wheels. The biggest liar of our time. The greatest downfall in sports history. He is many things, and his story will be scrutinized and discussed for many years to come. In addition to the documentary about cyclist Lance Armstrong being released this year, titled The Armstrong Lie from Alex Gibney, a couple of different competing feature films telling his story are in the works. One of them, directed by Stephen Frears, just started shooting a few days ago with Ben Foster starring and our first look has already arrived. I can hardly tell that is Foster beneath the jersey and cap, but apparently it is. Take a look. Here's the first look photo from Stephen Frears' still untitled Lance Armstrong biopic, originally via Empire: This big screen take on the Lance Armstrong story is being directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Tamara Drewe, Philomena...

Producer Alison Owen says it is “crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies”.Scroll down for full speech

Alison Owen, managing director of Ruby Film and Television, has used her keynote speech at the BFI London Film Festival to defend the art of movie storytelling and play down the threat of the internet.

Speaking at the Curzon Soho this afternoon, Owen said: “There’s many a Cassandra touting the death of the movie industry. But is that true?

“It is crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies… The problem is not technology per se but the management of that technology – and the lack of a pervasive business model.”

Using YouTube clips such as “Charlie bit my finger”, Owen said such content was “incredibly simple” and that “people still want good stories”.

“As digital comes of age, there’s going to be more and more demand for content,” she said.

“If...

Producer Alison Owen says it is “crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies”.Scroll down for full speech

Alison Owen, managing director of Ruby Film and Television, has used her keynote speech at the BFI London Film Festival to defend the art of movie storytelling and play down the threat of the internet.

Speaking at the Curzon Soho this afternoon, Owen said: “There’s many a Cassandra touting the death of the movie industry. But is that true?

“It is crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies… The problem is not technology per se but the management of that technology – and the lack of a pervasive business model.”

Using YouTube clips such as “Charlie bit my finger”, Owen said such content was “incredibly simple” and that “people still want good stories”.

“As digital comes of age, there’s going to be more and more demand for content,” she said.

“If...

Our series continues with a look at an unexpectedly insightful exercise in Hollywood self-congratulation: on making the books of Pl Travers into a film called Mary Poppins

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This year's …

Argo, in that the film's prospects depend on Hollywood's love of itself.

What's it all about?

In a series of children's books featuring a nanny called Mary Poppins, Walt Disney scents House of Mouse catnip. Unfortunately the English lady author refuses to grant him the rights. Her traumatic childhood down under has left her clinging to her books' characters as the family she's yearned for in vain. After 16 years spent trying, Walt heals her troubled soul, elicits her consent and delivers a big-screen classic.

How did it happen?

British newcomer Kelly Marcel and Australian Sue Smith wrote a screenplay that made it to 2011's "Black List" of the scripts not yet in production that scored...

British actor Joel Fry ("Tamara Drewe," "Svengali") has scored the key role of Hizadahr zo Loraq in the upcoming fourth season of HBO's "Game of Thrones".

In the series, Hizadahr is the young scion of an ancient family in Meereen, the last of the three key cities of Slaver's Bay. The Daenerys Targaryen storyline dealt with the other two cities, Astapor and Yunkai, in the third season.

Much of Daenerys' storyline in this fourth season will revolve around Meereen, where she encounters Hizadahr. The new season kicks off next Spring on HBO.

An interesting twist is that the character doesn't appear in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' novels until the fifth book "A Dance of Dragons," whereas this fourth season will focus primarily on the second half of the third book "A Storm of Swords".

Source: EW...

Entertainment Weekly reveals that Joel Fry (10,000 BC, Tamara Drewe) has joined the cast of Game of Thrones as 'Hizdahr zo Loraq'. His role in the HBO series is described as, "the young scion of an ancient Meereenese family who crosses paths with Daenerys Targaryen." Meereen is the largest of the three great Slaver Cities of Slaver's Bay, and after Dany liberated Yunkai in the season three finale, it makes sense that she has now set her sights on this one. Hizdahr was first introduced in George R.R. Martin’s fifth novel, A Dance with Dragons. Other major casting additions this season have included Pedro Pascal as 'Prince Oberyn Martell', Indira Varma as 'Ellaria Sand', and Mark Gattis as a Braavosi banker. How do you guys feel about this newest cast member?...

If the real Philomena Lee is anything like the character written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope and portrayed by Judi Dench in Stephen Frears' Philomena it instantly makes the world a better place. Her very nature makes this film as uplifting, moving, funny and heartfelt as it is. Based on the 2009 book written by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, Philomena traces the story of an aging Irish woman as she's aided by Sixsmith to track down the son she had to give up 50 years earlier when she was only a teenager at the convent in Roscrea, County Tipperary. The search follows a path you won't soon expect and as each page of the story is written you find yourself increasingly invested in what they find. Coogan stars as Martin, bringing his particular dry sense of humor and wit to a character that may in fact be over-matched by Judi Dench in the title role.

When the awards season rolls around, you can't count out Judi Dench. She's a seven time Oscar nominee (winning in 1999 for "Shakespeare In Love"), a beloved legend and simply a damn good actress. So even though this new poster for her upcoming "Philomena" has caused our blood sugar level to rise, again, she's not one to dismiss no matter how treacly the material might look like. Directed by Stephen Frears and co-starring Steve Coogan, the movie is based on Martin Sixsmith's book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and a 50 Year Search," and tells the true of an Irish woman who searches for the illegimate son she was forced to give up when she was in a convent. Cue hankies. While this might be slam dunk, the wildcard here is Frears, whose last few movies — "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," "Lay The Favorite," and "Tamara Drewe" — don't inspire much confidence.

Every Labor Day weekend, cinephiles journey out to a small town nestled in a remote corner of southwest Colorado’s San Juan mountain range for the Telluride Film Festival. Production staff are hard at work building state-of-the-art theaters for more than a month before the event and readying for a sudden influx of dedicated filmgoers. Veteran pass holders, staff, and volunteers make the trip largely out of faith in the festival’s superb programming that’s famously kept completely secret up until the day before it begins. The shroud of mystery, the breathtaking scenery of a box canyon and the fact that there are no press lines, competitions, or paparazzi lend a sanctified awe to this complete cinematic immersion. Venturing deep into uncharted storytelling territory with old or new friends make the cost of getting out here and the intensive labor involved with putting it all together worth it each and every time.

He's been behind some greatness over the years ("The Grifters," "High Fidelity"), but since his award-winning success with "The Queen" in 2006, Stephen Frears has had a rotten run—no one's been particularly keen on "Cheri," "Tamara Drewe" or "Lay The Favorite," while HBO movie "Muhammed Ali's Greatest Fight" won few over at Cannes. But in a few weeks, he's returning to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs, and going back to the Venice Film Festival, where "The Queen" was unveiled, for new film "Philomena." Like the earlier film, it's a film designed as a hopefully awards-grabbing vehicle for an older British actress, in this case Dame Judi Dench. And the first trailer for the picture, unveiled this morning by UK distributors Pathe, suggest she might well be in with a shout when Oscar season nears. The based-in-fact film stars Steve Coogan (who also co-wrote the script) as disgraced journalist/spin-doctor Martin Sixsmith,...