News

Dame Judi Dench opened up about the difficulties her deteriorating eyesight has caused — as well as a few cheeky positives — during a recent interview on the Fearless podcast.

The 90-year-old actress has been battling advanced macular degeneration (Amd), a condition that does not cause blindness, though it does make facial recognition and reading especially difficult. On Fearless, Dench said that in any event she goes to these days, “Somebody will always be with me,” adding with a laugh: “I have to now because I can’t see and will walk into something or fall over.

Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Clara Rugaard and Til Schweiger lead the international cast of “Desperate Journey,” a newly-announced thriller set in the burlesque world of 1940s Paris.

The film — which has now wrapped production — comes from Emblem Pictures, and was written by two-time Oscar nominee Michael Radford (best known for directing 1994 global sensation “Il Postino”) and directed by Emmy winner Annabel Jankel (“Tell It to the Bees”).

Produced by Warren Derosa and Zsófia Kende, “Desperate Journey” is based on the true story of Freddie Knoller (played by Tønnesen), a young man forced to flee Vienna as Nazi hysteria takes hold. Knoller’s captivating story has been widely recognized around the world and he was honored by the late Queen Elizabeth.

Rounding out the supporting cast of the film are Sienna Guillory (“Meg 2: The Trench,” “Clifford the Big Red Dog”), Steven Berkoff, Fernando Guallar (“Love Divided”), Hugo Speer (“The Full Monty...

Playwright Alan Bennett has written original screenplay The Choral, which will begin filming this summer.

There’s a reason a remake of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues (pictured above) was one of the first things put into production when the pandemic started in 2020. Not only were they easy to film with a single cast member, but the texts are also regarded as modern classics of drama, each story a masterpiece in construction and storytelling. You only have to watch the original versions to see the astonishing power of David Haig in Playing Sandwiches or Dame Thora Hird in A Cream Cracker Under The Settee.

The Choral, meanwhile, is Alan Bennett’s first original script written for the screen in forty years, after 1984 comedy A Private Function. The synopsis reads as follows:

Set in Ramsden, Yorkshire in 1916, the plot centers on the chorus master and most of the men of the ambitious local Choral Society,...

Bookmark this page for the latest updates in the territory.

Screen is listing the 2023 release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.

For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here. Screen is also running a calendar for festival and market dates throughout 2023 here.

December

December 31

Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2023 (Trafalgar - event cinema)

Previous releases January

January 6

Piggy (Vertigo), The Enforcer (Vertigo), Alcarràs (Mubi), A Man Called Otto (Sony), Rashomon (BFI), Till (Universal)

January 7

Andre Rieu In Dublin 2023 (Piece of...

McCracken will still be involved with his long-gestating Alexander McQueen project.

After 23 years producing films in the UK, French mini-major Pathe will close its UK theatrical film distribution business by the end of 2023 to focus on the development and production of scripted TV series under managing director Faith Penhale.

Cameron McCracken, head of film at Pathe UK, is retiring but will remain involved with several ongoing projects at Pathe including a film about Alexander McQueen to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.

The roles of three key people are being made redundant: Lee Bye, long-time head of theatrical distribution and technical,...

Judi Dench is opening up about the eye condition that is making it more difficult for her on the set and read her scripts.

“I mean I can’t see on a film set anymore,” Dench told The Daily Mirror’s Notebook in an interview. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But you know you just deal with it. Get on.”

She continued, “It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”

Dench has a condition that is called age-related macular degeneration (Amd), which she was diagnosed with back in 2012. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, this condition affects the central vision but people rarely go completely blind from it.

At 88, Dench continues to work on acclaimed projects.

The total U.K. and Ireland box office for May 2023 is £78.2 million ($97.7 million) which is 19% lower than May 2022, per numbers released by Comscore.

Year-to-date 2023 is currently running 1% behind the same period in 2022. This is in contrast to most other territories where 2023 is significantly higher than last year, Comscore said.

“Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” opened at the beginning of May and achieved the highest three-day opening of the year with £9.2 million. It is the highest-grossing film in May with £33.6 million. It is currently the 16th-biggest title in the MCU all-time chart in the territory, tracking just behind “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which earned £34.4 million. “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” is also the second-biggest release of the year so far, behind Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (£52.9 million).

In second position for the month is Universal’s “Fast X,” grossing £12.2 million since its debut two weeks ago. Its...

Exclusive: British comedy legend Jennifer Saunders will make her pantomime debut as Captain Hook in Peter Pan this winter holiday season at the world famous London Palladium.

The top-of-the-bill casting coup was the brainchild of Michael Harrison, of Michael Harrison Entertainment and Crossroads Pantomimes. He’s the UK’s pantomime supremo with 24 panto productions set to open across the country in December.

“I thought: ‘Hello! Captain Hook is often played by a man and I thought why not do a gender change? It’s what pantomime is all about, isn’t it?” Harrison told us.

The comic performance artist and writer Rob Madge) will play Tinker Bell.

Peter Pan will run at the Palladium from December 9-January 14.

Last year, Harrison booked Saunders’ longtime comedy partner Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,...

Further new releases to make the top five include ‘Air’ and ’The Pope’s Exorcist’.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Apr 7-9) Total gross to date Week 1. Super Mario Bros: The Movie (Universal) £8.7m £19.8m 1 2. Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (eOne) £1.6m £8.2m 2 3. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) £1.3m £13.4m 3 4. Air (Warner Bros) £807,693 £1.6m 1 5. The Pope’s Exorcist (Sony) £689,666 £921,015 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.24

Super Mario Bros: The Movie blasted the competition at the UK-Ireland box office during the Easter bank holiday weekend, taking £8.7m from 720 locations for Universal –the biggest wide release for an animation in the territory.

This gives...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #333: Masterclass in filmmaking: From Theatre to Film with Allelujah,...

Lionsgate’s ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, Disney’s ‘Rye Lane’ hold well.

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Mar 31-Apr 2)Total gross to date Week 1. Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (eOne) £3.4m £3.5m 1 2. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) £2.6m £10.1m 2 3. Mummies (Warner Bros) £647,234 £647,234 1 4. Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (Warner Bros) £468,853 £4.9m 3 5. Creed III (Warner Bros) £424,645 £13.5m 5

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.24

Action-adventure film Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves has opened top of the UK-Ireland box office with a £3.4m weekend.

The eOne title took a £4,940 average from 680 cinemas. It is up to £3.5m in total, with the film having made over...

Box office is currently 3% behind the same period in 2022.

The UK and Ireland box office has not “reached its full potential” so far in 2023 with the lack of wide releases dated for later in the year a concern, according to a report published today from ComScore.

The overall box office total in 2023 is currently 3% down on the same period in 2022.

The top-grossing titles for the year so far are Avatar: The Way Of Water; Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania; Puss In Boots: The Last Wish; and Creed III.

ComScore’s report, presented at the Ukca (UK Cinema Association) conference today...

Warner Bros.’ “Shazam! Fury Of The Gods” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £2.3 million ($2.9 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

In its third weekend, in second place, another Warner Bros. title, “Creed III,” punched its way to £1.2 million for a total of £11.6 million. In third place, Paramount’s “Scream VI” scared up £987,312 in its second weekend and now has a total of £5.1 million.

Debuting in fourth position was Warner Bros.’ “Allelujah” with £715,783 and rounding off the top five was Sony’s “65,” which earned £567,710 in its second weekend for a total of £2.4 million.

The other debut the past weekend was Disney’s well-reviewed British romantic comedy “Rye Lane” that bowed in seventh place with £260,210. Another British romantic comedy, Studiocanal’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It?,” collected £242,791 in eighth position in its fourth weekend for a total of £4.2 million.

Coming up, Trafalgar Releasing is...

‘Pearl’, ‘Allelujah’ and ‘Winners’ are also out this weekend.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is leading the charge this week at the UK-Ireland box office, opening in 654 sites across the UK and Ireland for Warner Bros.

Star Zachary Levi returns as the hapless crime fighter, with director David F. Sandberg also back for the DC sequel. The 2019 original, Shazam!, topped the box office in its opening weekend in April 2019, taking £4m debut from 603 sites – an average of £6,634.

Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu round out the cast for the sequel, as two Greek gods who want control over planet Earth.

Pathe...

‘Pearl’, ‘Allelujah’ and ‘Winners’ are also out this weekend.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is leading the charge this week at the UK-Ireland box office, opening in 654 sites across the UK and Ireland for Warner Bros.

Star Zachary Levi returns as the hapless crime fighter, with director David F. Sandberg also back for the DC sequel. The 2019 original, Shazam!, topped the box office in its opening weekend in April 2019, taking £4m debut from 603 sites – an average of £6,634.

Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu round out the cast for the sequel, as two Greek gods who want control over planet Earth.

Pathe...

On the surface, Allelujah looks like standard Mother’s Day weekend fare; sweet and a bit twee with a rousing clap for the heroes spirit and the thrilling need to shove a hankie up your sleeve just in case Dame Judi dies at the end.

This is not that film.

It all starts off predictably enough; The Beth is a small Yorkshire hospital under threat of closure and the vulnerable patients in its respected geriatric unit have the most to lose if the battle to save it should fail. Figuratively and literally holding their hands through this turbulent time are Sister Gilpin (Jennifer Saunders) and Dr Valinder Singh Vashish (Bally Gill), who generously adopted the moniker Dr Valentine after patients repeatedly failed to pronounce his name. Dr Val also serves as our narrator.

The inhabitants of the precious beds on the ward are a checklist of sweet and sour, cheeky and confused archetypes,...

I used to think that directing was all about commanding – about knowing the answers to all the questions,” says Richard Eyre. “Now I feel the opposite.” Eyre, one of the titans of British theatre since the 1970s, has of course done his share of commanding in the past. Of Ian McKellen in one of the definitive stagings of Richard III. Of Daniel Day-Lewis in Hamlet, which saw the actor walk off stage mid-performance and never return. Of the National Theatre, throughout his 10-year stint as creative director between 1987 and 1997, when he championed the work of firebrand artists such as David Hare and Howard Brenton.

On screen, he cut his teeth on Play for Today before moving on to films such as 2006’s Notes from a Scandal and the BBC’s 2018 King Lear starring Anthony Hopkins and a cusp-of-stardom Florence Pugh. Now 79 years old, Eyre speaks to me over video chat...

With the NHS and healthcare in general never far from the headlines, the arrival of Richard Eyre’s Allelujah couldn’t be more timely.

Based on Alan Bennett’s stage play and set in the geriatric wards of much-loved hospital, The Bethlehem – known to the community at “The Beth” – the film follows the staff and patients as they cope with the possibility of closure and the many pressures and challenges of working or living there. Some confront personal problems, others find themselves questioning their beliefs and, ultimately, the hospital is rocked by an unexpected event. It’s a heartwarming drama with a serious side.

Director Richard Eyre, together with actors David Bradley and Bally Gill spoke to us about the making of the film, and especially how the cast and crew were more like a family. Eyre had worked with many of them before – particularly Judi Dench – and recalled a wonderful atmosphere on set.

Dame Judi Dench has opened up about how her degenerative eye condition has led to eyesight loss.

In an appearance on The Graham Norton Show that aired Friday, the Oscar winner said her vision has made it difficult to remember her lines.

In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022

“It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page,” Dench said.

The actress first announced her macular degeneration diagnosis in 2012, saying she struggled to read scripts and see other people’s faces.

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of severe eyesight loss among people over 50. Because only the center of vision is affected, people rarely go blind from it, instead only losing the ability to see small details. However, as it worsens, people lose the ability to drive,...

Dame Judi Dench claims that her eyesight is getting so bad that she is struggling to continue acting.

Speaking on The Graham Norton Show Friday, the 88-year-old actress said an age-related degenerative eye condition is affecting her ability to remember lines.

“It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines, but also tells me where they appear on the page,” Dench said. “I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now.”

Dench has had macular degeneration for more than a decade now.

“You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult,” she said. “I’ve had to find another way of learning lines and things, which is having great friends of mine...

Judi Dench has been quite open with fans over the last several years about her degenerative eye condition, which has made it increasingly difficult for the 88-year-old Oscar winner to learn her lines. In a new interview on “The Graham Norton Show” (via People magazine), Dench said it’s now become “impossible” to learn lines because of her eyesight loss. The actor has long prided herself on having a photographic memory when it comes to scripts, but she can no longer rely on it.

“It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page,” Dench said. “I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of ‘Twelfth Night’ right now.”

During a 2021 conversation with the Vision Foundation,...

Judi Dench has opened up about the challenges her eyesight condition has brought on, revealing that it’s become “impossible” for her to read scripts.

Years ago, the award-winning actor revealed she had Amd (age-related macular degeneration), a common condition that usually occurs in people’s fifties and sixties and affects vision.

Amd doesn’t cause total blindness, but can make reading and recognising faces difficult, according to the NHS website.

Last October, the 88-year-old Belfast star said the condition was “bad enough”, admitting she “can’t see”.

Now, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Dench said “it has become impossible” for her to read scripts (via Entertainment Tonight).

“Because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page,” she explained.

“I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them.

At the age of 88, Judi Dench is still working regularly and even has a new movie, Allelujah, arriving in theaters next month. But the storied actress has had to find new ways to practice her craft, especially as her degenerative eye condition has made it “impossible” to learn her lines from a script.

Dench discussed her condition — known as advanced macular degeneration — during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show Friday, Feb. 17 (via People).

“It has become impossible, and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a...

Judi Dench is opening up about her continued struggled while losing her vision due to advanced macular degeneration (Amd).

The Oscar-winning actress, age 88, joined “The Graham Norton Show” in an episode airing Friday when – joined by Hugh Jackman, Michael B. Jordan, Eugene Levy, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Pink – she shared that reading scripts and learning her lines has become an “impossible” uphill battle since being diagnosed with Amd in 2012.

“It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory,” she said. “I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page.”

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‘The Crown’ Star Helena Bonham Carter Thinks It’s Time for the Netflix Series to End: ‘It’s Very Different Now’

She added that due to her photographic memory, memorizing lines never used to be a hurdle for her. “I used to...

Shot in 2021, a film of Allelujah, Alan Bennett’s 2018 play set on a geriatric ward, is released next month. How relevant does it remain? Its stars, including Jennifer Saunders and Bally Gill, share their thoughts during production – and more than a year later

I live 10 minutes’ walk from a disused psychiatric hospital in north London. Well, partly disused: 40 of St Ann’s in Tottenham, with the glossy new assessment centre and low-rise 30s blocks, is still going strong. The other side of the site, built as a fever hospital in 1892, has been gradually abandoned.

There is a Victorian laundry, grand as an ocean liner. A massive castellated water tower, like the rook in a giant’s chess set. A gorgeous sprawl of red-brick wards and lodges, with shaped gables, stacked chimneys and blind boxes over intricate windows.

Faith Penhale will join Pathe U.K. as managing director from March 1, 2023.

Penhale is currently CEO of Lookout Point, one of the U.K.’s best known producers of scripted television, responsible for “Gentleman Jack,” “Les Miserables,” “Happy Valley” and “War and Peace.”

In her new role, Penhale’s immediate focus will be on leading Pathe U.K.’s expansion into television drama.

After 23 years with Pathe, Cameron McCracken will be stepping down as managing director to take up the newly created role of head of film, reporting into Penhale. McCracken will continue to manage the production and distribution of the film slate which includes Richard Eyre’s “Allelujah” and Oliver Parker’s “The Great Escaper.”

Penhale said: “Pathe is iconic, setting the bar for the highest quality filmmaking. It is amazing that during Cameron’s tenure, Pathe’s productions have been nominated for 70 BAFTAs and 50 Oscars, ranging from ‘Slumdog Millionaire...

Allelujah TIFF Special Presentations Section Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Richard Eyre Writer: Heidi Thomas Cast: Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, David Bradley, Russell Tovey, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench Screened at: Scotiabank Theatre, Ontario, 9/16/22 Opens: September 10th, 2022 (Toronto International Film Festival) Few people set out to live out their last days in […]

The post TIFF 2022: Allelujah Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Click here to read the full article.

Like some kind of cinematic equivalent of the vault in the Tower of London where the Crown jewels are stored, the stage-to-screen adaptation Allelujah piles a number of “national treasures” atop one another: a script based on a play from 2018 by national treasure Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George); a cast featuring such treasured national stars as Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi and Jennifer Saunders; direction from feted theater and film veteran Richard Eyre (Iris, Notes on a Scandal) and so on. It’s all rolled up in a story about the institution every Brit most loves to love and moan about in equal measure, the National Health Service. What could possibly go wrong?

At the risk of having my Leave to Remain resident status in the U.K. revoked, I am sad to report that Allelujah the film is something of a disappointment.

Toronto – Sometimes films with the best intentions just doesn’t come together. A great cast, a notable filmmaker, and fine source material don’t always coalesce. That’s certainly the case with Richard Eyre’s “Allelujah,” which debuted at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival this weekend.

Read More: “Bros Review”: Billy Eichner’s witty gay from com works [TIFF]

Based on Alan Bennett’s 2018 play of the same name, the ensemble piece is set at The Bath, a fictional Yorkshire, England hospital whose services have slowly been widdled away by the British government.

Continue reading ‘Allelujah’ Review: Not Enough Judi Dench In This Hospital Drama Searching For Urgency [TIFF] at The Playlist.

“Allelujah,” Richard Eyre’s latest film, unfolds in a Yorkshire geriatric hospital, following a group of patients as they make peace with or rage against the indignities of old age. It’s a story that resonates with Eyre, a legendary stage and screen director.

“I’m about to be 80,” he says. “So old age isn’t my consuming passion, but it’s a subject that has been forced on me and that has become difficult to ignore. I’m acutely aware of having outlived both my parents and many of my friends.”

Perhaps unwittingly, “Allelujah,” which premieres this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival, also serves as a showcase for a generation of English actors such as Judi Dench, David Bradley, and Derek Jacobi, who have all entered their ninth decades.

“I’m not sure I was fully conscious of it it, but what a privilege to have this professional continuity,...

Daniel Radcliffe plays a parallel universe version of Weird Al Yankovic in the (faux) biopic “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” according to the film’s writer and director Eric Appel. Check out the video, above.

“This version of Weird Al that we’ve created in the movie is like a bizarro version of Weird Al that exists in an alternate universe,” director Eric Appel said at TheWrap and Shutterstock’s Interview and Portrait Studio at the Toronto Film Festival, where the movie debuted.

Appel added: “What we really wanted was to find an actor that both worked well in drama and in comedy and that would get what we were going for, have the comedy chops to pull it off, and also be able to, like, 100 fully commit to playing this absurd comedy as straight as possible and as dramatic as possible.” Radcliffe met those criteria and then some.

Also...

“I have always loved the old” are some of the first voiceover words we hear from idealistic young Dr. Valentine (Bally Gill) as he heads off to work in “Allelujah,” Richard Eyre’s film (premiering at the Toronto Film Festival) about a hospital in Britain’s state-run health system facing the closure of its geriatric ward. The old are, Valentine tells us, “my work, my joy, my purpose.”

That sentiment could also stand in, though, for the wry yet sincere feelings of its source author, the brilliantly witty English writer Alan Bennett — a channeling master of unvarnished everyday folk, often of the vintage sort, but also a deft chronicler of timeless ways we deal with life’s surface nicks and deeper cuts.

Caring for the aged is at the core of Bennett’s 2018 play “Allelujah!,” adapted by “Call the Midwife” creator Heidi Thomas (who first removed that exclamation point) and,...

Britain’s free and eternally beleaguered National Health Service has long been both a boost and a burden to the country’s political leaders. The present-day Conservative administration is only the latest to congratulate themselves on the progressive social generosity the NHS stands for — never more cynically than during the global pandemic — while cutting its funding and functionality at their convenience. A predominantly pro-nhs protest film that muffles its march with fluffy slippers, “Allelujah” also plays things two ways, and several times over. It didactically calls out governmental hypocrisy while exposing corrupt elements and inefficiencies within the precious institution itself. It hedges its bets politically between nostalgic keening for a kinder, fairer Britain of old and advocating for a top-down socialist makeover. It wavers tonally between cozy comedy and head-on polemic.

Richard Eyre’s film has, to be fair, inherited these inconsistencies from its source material: a 2018 play by revered...

The Toronto International Film Festival isn’t as well-known for dealmaking as Sundance, and the clamor around Oscar-friendly titles tends to dominate, but buyers attending the festival always have a lot of possibilities to dig through. Many of the roughly 200 feature films screening the the biggest fall festival arrive without distribution.

In the past, TIFF has yielded plenty of big deals, including some that impact awards season, such as Neon’s 6 million 2017 pickup of “I, Tonya” that resulted in a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Allison Janney and Sony Pictures Classics’ 2014 acquisition of “Still Alice” that ultimately landed Julianne Moore her first statuette for Best Actress. Even during the pandemic, the sales continued: In 2020, Netflix picked up Halle Berry’s directorial debut “Bruised” for a reported 20 million after it premiered at a drive-in.

Still, buyers aren’t exactly bullish on acquisitions these days, as arthouse box office continues to struggle on every level,...

Back in person for the first time since before the pandemic, the Toronto International Film Festival will make its grand return with a slate that builds on its expansion from previous years. The 2022 lineup boasts the world premieres of several high-profile films, including Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and the Billy Eichner comedy “Bros.” However, there are a number of hot titles due to screen at the festival that have yet to be acquired. Documentaries by the likes of “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and narrative features led by stars such as Margaret Qualley, Brian Cox and Tessa Thompson just may incite a bidding war. Here are 15 buzzy sales titles to watch.

“Sanctuary”

After leading Claire Denis’ Cannes prizewinner “The Stars at Noon,” Margaret Qualley continues to shine bright with “Sanctuary.” In this Special Presentations showing, she...

Click here to read the full article.

The 2022 BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its full lineup.

Among the new titles added to the schedule are a number of big hitters that have already bowed in Cannes or are just about to have their world premieres in Venice.

Park Chan-wook’s Cannes best director winner Decision to Leave is among the newly announced films getting a special gala screening, as is Noah Baumbach’s White Noise (which opened Venice on Wednesday night), Maria Schrader’s She Said, Florian Zeller’s The Son, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, Chinonye Chukwu’s Till, Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.

Meanwhile, special presentations will be given to Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, Michael Grandage’s My Policeman, Sally El Hoseini’s TIFF opener The Swimmers,...

Making it to the Toronto International Film Festival is a huge deal for filmmakers at any stage of their careers. The annual Canadian festival features everything from smaller movies by up-and-coming filmmakers to potential blockbusters from some of the biggest names in the business.

The selections for the 2022 festival, which runs Sept. 8 through Sept. 18, reflect some of the best and most creative minds in filmmaking today. TIFF 2022 has divided its presentations up into a few different categories. The marquee categories are the Gala Presentations and the Special Presentations, which are where some of the festival's most-anticipated movies will make their debuts.

Among the 2022 Gala lineup are "The Woman King," starring Viola Davis and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Tyler Perry's latest film, "A Jazzman's Blues." The Special Presentations, meanwhile, include buzzy films such as "My Policeman," starring Harry Styles and Emma Corrin; the "Knives Out" sequel "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery...

The Toronto International Film Festival is back this year.

Seriously, they’re really back.

Unlike last year which was a significantly quieter festival with fewer stars and feature films at a count of 130, this year TIFF will see the celebratory closing down of King Street (sans streetcars), full capacity maskless theaters, no proof of vaccinations, live press conferences, the return of concessions and orange shirt volunteers, as well as a robust curation of 260 feature films, of which today the fest announced 18 galas and 45 special presentations.

In a fall and holiday corridor at the domestic box office that’s chock-a-block full of adult counterprogramming primed for awards season, distributors require a TIFF launch now more than ever in order to generate buzz and stoke older moviegoers who are still slow to return during the pandemic. A critically acclaimed film out of TIFF can propel a movie to cross-over to wider audiences,...

Click here to read the full article.

The 2022 Toronto Film Festival has added world premieres for Tyler Perry’s new Netflix film, A Jazzman’s Blues; Peter Farrelly’s Vietnam War movie The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which stars Russell Crowe and Zac Efron; and the Catherine Hardwicke dramatic thriller Prisoner’s Daughter, starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox.

As TIFF unveiled 18 Gala program titles to screen in Roy Thomson Hall, the festival booked red carpet launches for Hubert Davis’s Black Ice, a documentary about Black hockey players executive produced by Drake; Alice, Darling, director Mary Nighy’s psychological thriller led by Anna Kendrick; Gabe Polsky’s frontier epic Butcher’s Crossing, which stars Nicolas Cage; and Francesca Archibugi’s The Hummingbird, toplined by Nanni Moretti, Berenice Bejo and Pierfrancesco Favino.

Toronto is returning for a 47th edition to run Sept. 8 to 18 that will be in-person, with Hollywood stars on red carpets...

Eighteen galas, 45 special presentations unveiled for 47th edition of Toronto festival.

Stephen Frears’ drama The Lost King starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, Shekhar Kapur’s comedy What’s Love Got to Do With It? with Lily James and Emma Thompson and Apple’s Jennifer Lawrence drama Causeway from Lila Neugebauer are among this year’s gala and special presentations for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Further previously unannounced world premiere selections include Richard Eyre’s hospital drama Allelujah (pictured) from Pathé with Jennifer Saunders and Judi Dench, Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain in Tobias Lindholm’s Netflix true-life crime drama The Good Nurse,...

The 2022 TIFF lineup features new films from Tyler Perry, Peter Farrelly, Sam Mendes, Catherine Hardwicke, Martin McDonagh, Sarah Polley, Henry Selick, Stephen Frears and many more.

In all, 18 Galas and 45 Special Presentations were unveiled as part of the 47th Annual Toronto International Film Festival lineup, with 38 of the total films announced on Thursday slated to world premiere at the festival.

Among the Gala presentations are Farrelly’s “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” his follow-up film after winning the audience prize at TIFF for “Green Book.” There’s also Tyler Perry’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” Paul Weitz’s “Moving On” with Jane Fonda, and “Sidney” from Reginald Hudlin.

Those join previously announced titles such as “The Woman King” starring Viola Davis and the opening night film “The Swimmers” from Sally El Hosaini. Lee Jung-jae’s “Hunt,” which first premiered at Cannes, will also receive a Gala presentation, as will “The Son” from Florian Zeller,...

To the degree that a global sales division can shape its own image, Pathé’s international arm has built and bolstered its current brand around strong IP, recognizable faces and unbelievable but true stories.

To see those elements in play, one need only look to last year, when projects including Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta” and Martin Bourboulon’s “Eiffel” lifted from world and film history as they showcased stars such as Virginie Efira, Romain Duris and Emma Mackey, while collectively finding homes in more than a hundred international territories.

To witness those same imperatives, but supercharged, one need only glimpse Pathé’s 2022 slate, which goes long on hometown IP and star power.

“Being exhibitors ourselves, we make films for the big screen,” says Marie-Laure Montironi, exec VP of international sales. “Today, names and universal stories drive audiences to cinemas. To hook people, you need a big spectacle, a big story,...

Exclusive: UK sales and production firm Embankment is teaming up with veteran UK producer Kevin Loader to create new label Free Range Entertainment.

The key shareholders in the company are Embankment’s Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar and Free Range’s Kevin Loader.

The combined company will develop, produce, co-produce, sell, and distribute film, TV and “allied” content, while also investing directly into production and working with third party investors and financiers.

Tim Haslam explained: “Free Range Entertainment is a creative hub for like-minded storytellers, writers, directors, and producers; converting IP from inception and development, through to production and commercial global exploitation. The Embankment sales brand will continue.”

Free Range Films was founded by producer Kevin Loader and director Roger Michell in 1996. Following Michell’s untimely passing last September, the production company has decided to embark on a new structural partnership.

Pathé has released the first images from its new feature film, ‘Allelujah,’ a darkly comic tale about surviving old age.

Based on the stage play by Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The Lady in The Van), Richard Eyre (Notes on A Scandal, Iris) directs from a screenplay by Heidi Thomas.

The synopsis reads; When the geriatric ward of a small Yorkshire hospital is threatened with closure, the hospital decides to fight back by galvanizing the local community. They invite a news crew to film their preparations for a concert in honour of the hospital’s most distinguished nurse. What could go wrong? The story celebrates the spirit of the elderly patients whilst paying tribute to the deep humanity of the medical staff battling with limited resources and ever-growing demand. But in the midst of the tears and the laughter, we slowly realise that there is something threatening the...