Exclusive: London and La-based production and management firm 42 is on a roll. Latest movie Ironbark, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, was yesterday snapped up by Lionsgate at Sundance in a mid-seven figure deal, while feel-good comedy pic Military Wives was one of the sparkier U.S. acquisitions at Toronto.
Today, we can reveal that Netflix has re-upped its first-look movie deal with the company for another two years. After features including In Darkness and In The Shadow Of The Moon, 42 is now making Anthony Mackie sci-fi Outside The Wire and Adam Randall’s Night Teeth for the streamer. Company co-founder Ben Pugh is currently in pre-production in New Orleans on the latter.
It’s a busy time for 42, which is expanding on both sides of the pond. Head-count has grown to 50. New La hires include former Imperative Entertainment and Paramount Pictures staffer Kari Hatfield who has joined as Director Of Development, Film...
Today, we can reveal that Netflix has re-upped its first-look movie deal with the company for another two years. After features including In Darkness and In The Shadow Of The Moon, 42 is now making Anthony Mackie sci-fi Outside The Wire and Adam Randall’s Night Teeth for the streamer. Company co-founder Ben Pugh is currently in pre-production in New Orleans on the latter.
It’s a busy time for 42, which is expanding on both sides of the pond. Head-count has grown to 50. New La hires include former Imperative Entertainment and Paramount Pictures staffer Kari Hatfield who has joined as Director Of Development, Film...
- 1/28/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Patrick Melrose producer Two Cities Television and Spotlight producer Topic Studios have partnered to bring a drama based on the life and death of Jamal Khashoggi to the small screen.
The two companies have optioned Jonathan Rugman’s The Killing in the Consulate: Investigating the Life and Death of Jamal Khashoggi, which is published this month by Simon & Schuster.
It comes a year after Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Eye In The Sky writer Guy Hibbert has come on board to adapt the book, which includes interviews with the likes of Khashoggi’s fiancée Hatice Cengiz as well as access to the Turkish investigation.
The rights were picked up from James Carroll at Northbank Talent Management.
Two Cities Television is a BBC Studios-backed firm run by Michael Jackson, the former President of Programming at USA Entertainment, Chairman of Universal Television and President of Programming for Iac,...
The two companies have optioned Jonathan Rugman’s The Killing in the Consulate: Investigating the Life and Death of Jamal Khashoggi, which is published this month by Simon & Schuster.
It comes a year after Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Eye In The Sky writer Guy Hibbert has come on board to adapt the book, which includes interviews with the likes of Khashoggi’s fiancée Hatice Cengiz as well as access to the Turkish investigation.
The rights were picked up from James Carroll at Northbank Talent Management.
Two Cities Television is a BBC Studios-backed firm run by Michael Jackson, the former President of Programming at USA Entertainment, Chairman of Universal Television and President of Programming for Iac,...
- 10/3/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
AMC has ordered six hourlong episodes of an anthology drama series about the intersection of love and science, from Emmy-winning writer Will Bridges and Brett Goldstein, Fearless Minds, a Banijay Group company, and AMC Studios. The Untitled Bridges/Goldstein Project, based on the duo’s short film For Life, is slated for a 2020 premiere on AMC.
Co-created by Bridges and Goldstein, each episode will feature an entirely new story and different cast, a first-time format for AMC. The series takes place 15 years from now, when science makes a discovery that changes the lives of everyone on the planet – a way to find your soulmate. The series uses the sci-fi conceit to tell six provocative stories about the cost of finding true love, all different in tone and featuring a spectrum of people and relationships.
Bridges and Goldstein executive produce with Jolyon Symonds via Fearless Minds.
Co-created by Bridges and Goldstein, each episode will feature an entirely new story and different cast, a first-time format for AMC. The series takes place 15 years from now, when science makes a discovery that changes the lives of everyone on the planet – a way to find your soulmate. The series uses the sci-fi conceit to tell six provocative stories about the cost of finding true love, all different in tone and featuring a spectrum of people and relationships.
Bridges and Goldstein executive produce with Jolyon Symonds via Fearless Minds.
- 5/16/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: UK production company Ugly Duckling Films, whose features include 2013 sci-fi Coherence and Lena Headey-starrer The Broken, is in development on its first TV project: crime series We Are Your Children based on San Francisco’s ‘Doodler’ serial killer.
The series, about the 1970’s killer who targeted San Francisco’s gay community, is being scripted by emerging Brit writer Ryan Brown. The murderer became known as the ‘Doodler’ from the elaborate drawings of his victims that he’d leave behind at the scenes of his crimes. At the time, two of his victims survived and identified a man, but refused to testify in court and the man was never charged.
Inspired by these events, the series will see a female cop unite with a gay rights activist and drag queen after the targeted homosexual killings disrupts the city. Ingenious Media arranged early development funding on the project.
Until recently,...
The series, about the 1970’s killer who targeted San Francisco’s gay community, is being scripted by emerging Brit writer Ryan Brown. The murderer became known as the ‘Doodler’ from the elaborate drawings of his victims that he’d leave behind at the scenes of his crimes. At the time, two of his victims survived and identified a man, but refused to testify in court and the man was never charged.
Inspired by these events, the series will see a female cop unite with a gay rights activist and drag queen after the targeted homosexual killings disrupts the city. Ingenious Media arranged early development funding on the project.
Until recently,...
- 2/19/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
London-based Saudi philanthropist and film producer Hani Farsi is venturing into TV production with two projects for high-end series, one on the advent of jet-set society and the other on Winston Churchill’s adventures as a young war reporter.
Through his Corniche Pictures, Farsi has optioned rights for the books “Swans —Legends of the Jet Society” by British journalist Nicholas Foulkes and to “Winston Churchill Reporting” by Simon Read. He intends to adapt both these properties into high-end series for which his company intends to fully finance development and a pilot episode. They are now in early development.
Rather than boarding projects initiated by others, as he’s done in the past, Farsi said he now “wanted to be able to own the IP and at the same time have more control over what we are doing.” “I’ve put myself in the position of being able to go [shop it around] with...
Through his Corniche Pictures, Farsi has optioned rights for the books “Swans —Legends of the Jet Society” by British journalist Nicholas Foulkes and to “Winston Churchill Reporting” by Simon Read. He intends to adapt both these properties into high-end series for which his company intends to fully finance development and a pilot episode. They are now in early development.
Rather than boarding projects initiated by others, as he’s done in the past, Farsi said he now “wanted to be able to own the IP and at the same time have more control over what we are doing.” “I’ve put myself in the position of being able to go [shop it around] with...
- 5/15/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Author: Competitions
The irresistible love story of the year – Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom – arrives in the UK on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD through Twentieth Century Fox and Pathé on 20 March 2017. To celebrate, we’re giving away 3 DVDs!
The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments.
A United Kingdom is directed by Asante (Belle) from a screenplay by Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama, with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden...
The irresistible love story of the year – Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom – arrives in the UK on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD through Twentieth Century Fox and Pathé on 20 March 2017. To celebrate, we’re giving away 3 DVDs!
The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments.
A United Kingdom is directed by Asante (Belle) from a screenplay by Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama, with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden...
- 3/13/2017
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chicago – Actor David Oyelowo is very familiar with portraying a man of consequence put into a difficult leadership role. In 2014, he took on the role of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma.” Currently, he is in theaters with “A United Kingdom,” which tells the story of an African prince who led his country to a new mindset in the 1950s.
Oyelowo portrays Seretse Khama, the first democratically elected president of the African country of Botswana. To get to that point, he first had to abdicate his right to ascend as king of the country, mostly because he had met and married a white British commoner (Rosamund Pike) while studying in England. Angering both his fellow countryman and the British government (who was the “protectorate” of Botswana), Khama used the exile as a strategy, and inspired his people through his call for acceptance of his situation and autonomy from colonization.
Oyelowo portrays Seretse Khama, the first democratically elected president of the African country of Botswana. To get to that point, he first had to abdicate his right to ascend as king of the country, mostly because he had met and married a white British commoner (Rosamund Pike) while studying in England. Angering both his fellow countryman and the British government (who was the “protectorate” of Botswana), Khama used the exile as a strategy, and inspired his people through his call for acceptance of his situation and autonomy from colonization.
- 3/5/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Rosamund Pike as “Ruth Williams” and David Oyelowo as “Seretse Khama” in the film A United Kingdom. Photo by Stanislav Honzik. © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
A United Kingdom is one of those movies where one is compelled to say “based on a true story” lest viewers scoff that such a thing couldn’t happen. Set in the late 1940s, the film is based on a real-life romance between a white middle-class English office worker and an African prince attending college in London but due to return home to ascend as king of his country. In this visually beautiful, romantic historical drama, the two meet, fall in love and marry, which sparks not only outrage in both their families but an international crisis.
The story takes place shortly after World War II, when European colonial powers still controlled most of Africa and apartheid was just taking hold in South Africa.
A United Kingdom is one of those movies where one is compelled to say “based on a true story” lest viewers scoff that such a thing couldn’t happen. Set in the late 1940s, the film is based on a real-life romance between a white middle-class English office worker and an African prince attending college in London but due to return home to ascend as king of his country. In this visually beautiful, romantic historical drama, the two meet, fall in love and marry, which sparks not only outrage in both their families but an international crisis.
The story takes place shortly after World War II, when European colonial powers still controlled most of Africa and apartheid was just taking hold in South Africa.
- 2/24/2017
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A United Kingdom and Belle director Amma Asante; "I love the idea that things aren't always what they seem." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The day before the red carpet Us Premiere at The Paris Theatre in New York, Amma Asante, the director of A United Kingdom, which stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike with Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jessica Oyelowo, Terry Pheto, Abena
Ayivor, Vusi Kunene, Jack Davenport and Tom Felton, sat down with me for a conversation. Screenwriter Guy Hibbert, production designer Simon Bowles, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, The Color Bar by Susan Williams, setting up the meeting of Ruth Williams and Seretse Khama, sisterhood, the importance of a speech, Brighton Rock with Richard Attenborough, and her next film Where Hands Touch with Amandla Stenberg and George MacKay were touched upon.
Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo)
The private obstructions for Ruth (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse (David Oyelowo...
The day before the red carpet Us Premiere at The Paris Theatre in New York, Amma Asante, the director of A United Kingdom, which stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike with Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jessica Oyelowo, Terry Pheto, Abena
Ayivor, Vusi Kunene, Jack Davenport and Tom Felton, sat down with me for a conversation. Screenwriter Guy Hibbert, production designer Simon Bowles, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, The Color Bar by Susan Williams, setting up the meeting of Ruth Williams and Seretse Khama, sisterhood, the importance of a speech, Brighton Rock with Richard Attenborough, and her next film Where Hands Touch with Amandla Stenberg and George MacKay were touched upon.
Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo)
The private obstructions for Ruth (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse (David Oyelowo...
- 2/10/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
David Oyelowo, born in England to Nigerian parents, is an actor of blazing talent and rare grace. On screen, he's stirring and soulful as Martin Luther King in Selma; on HBO, he's chilling and heart-piercing as a war vet coming apart in Nightingale; on stage, doing Shakespeare, he's miraculous at capturing the stature and tragic weakness of the Moor in Othello. So to say that Oyelowo is giving one of his best and most electrifying performances in A United Kingdom – that means something. He's set the bar high.
Based on...
Based on...
- 2/9/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Rosamund Pike stars with David Oyelowo in Amma Asante's potent A United Kingdom Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The last time I spoke with Rosamund Pike was on the opening night of the 52nd New York Film Festival for the World Premiere of David Fincher's Gone Girl, co-starring Ben Affleck. At The Peninsula in New York, we sat down for A United Kingdom conversation on her role as Ruth Williams, the wife of the man who would become the first president of Botswana, Seretse Khama. A betrayal by Winston Churchill, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, Isabelle Huppert's advice on footwear, Amma Asante's desire to inject female elements into the script by Guy Hibbert, Cédric Jimenez's The Man With The Iron Heart, based on Laurent Binet's novel HHhH, and José Padilha's Entebbe were discussed.
Rosamund Pike on Seretse (David Oyelowo): "He is a very striking man...
The last time I spoke with Rosamund Pike was on the opening night of the 52nd New York Film Festival for the World Premiere of David Fincher's Gone Girl, co-starring Ben Affleck. At The Peninsula in New York, we sat down for A United Kingdom conversation on her role as Ruth Williams, the wife of the man who would become the first president of Botswana, Seretse Khama. A betrayal by Winston Churchill, costume designer Anushia Nieradzik, Isabelle Huppert's advice on footwear, Amma Asante's desire to inject female elements into the script by Guy Hibbert, Cédric Jimenez's The Man With The Iron Heart, based on Laurent Binet's novel HHhH, and José Padilha's Entebbe were discussed.
Rosamund Pike on Seretse (David Oyelowo): "He is a very striking man...
- 2/7/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Actor David Oyelowo has been impressing people with his skilled performances on stage and screen for quite a number of years, but his portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava Duvernay’s Selma certainly turned a lot more heads and made him much better known.
That increased popularity for his acting has helped Oyelowo get films like A United Kingdom made.
Directed by Amma Asante (Belle), Oyelowo plays Seretse Khama, the future king of the African nation of Botswana, who while attending college in England during the ‘40s, falls in love with Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a working class British woman, only for them to learn that their interracial love wouldn’t be accepted by either of their countries. On returning home to be inaugurated, the obstacles become clearer as Seretse’s regent uncle and various British politicos want to separate him from Ruth even after they’ve been married.
That increased popularity for his acting has helped Oyelowo get films like A United Kingdom made.
Directed by Amma Asante (Belle), Oyelowo plays Seretse Khama, the future king of the African nation of Botswana, who while attending college in England during the ‘40s, falls in love with Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a working class British woman, only for them to learn that their interracial love wouldn’t be accepted by either of their countries. On returning home to be inaugurated, the obstacles become clearer as Seretse’s regent uncle and various British politicos want to separate him from Ruth even after they’ve been married.
- 2/7/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Playwright Stoppard wins outstanding contribution award.
Tom Stoppard was presented with the outstanding contribution to writing award at the 2017 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards.
Stoppard accepted the honour from fellow playwright David Edgar at the ceremony on Monday (January 23), held at the Royal College of Physicians.
He said: “For a writer, no award can compare to an award from other writers. The Writers’ Guild is a bright spot in a dark world and I feel very grateful to it.”
Stoppard has written extensively for the stage, TV and film. His plays Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties, and The Real Thing all won Tony Awards.
He also co-wrote Shakespeare In Love (which won him an Oscar) and Brazil.
Presenting him the award, Edgar said: “Like the BBC, he [Stoppard] has educated and entertained. Like no one else, he has challenged, dazzled, and amazed.”
The event’s best first screenplay award went to Rachel Tunnard for Adult Life Skills while...
Tom Stoppard was presented with the outstanding contribution to writing award at the 2017 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards.
Stoppard accepted the honour from fellow playwright David Edgar at the ceremony on Monday (January 23), held at the Royal College of Physicians.
He said: “For a writer, no award can compare to an award from other writers. The Writers’ Guild is a bright spot in a dark world and I feel very grateful to it.”
Stoppard has written extensively for the stage, TV and film. His plays Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties, and The Real Thing all won Tony Awards.
He also co-wrote Shakespeare In Love (which won him an Oscar) and Brazil.
Presenting him the award, Edgar said: “Like the BBC, he [Stoppard] has educated and entertained. Like no one else, he has challenged, dazzled, and amazed.”
The event’s best first screenplay award went to Rachel Tunnard for Adult Life Skills while...
- 1/25/2017
- ScreenDaily
It’s hard to imagine a more timely war film than Gavin Hood’s $13 million drone warfare drama “Eye in the Sky,” which was acquired by Bleecker Street at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and opened early last spring. It’s the kind of mid-budget independent actioner that we don’t get nearly enough of these days, and moviegoers ate it up: The thriller grossed nearly $19 million during its 19 weeks in theaters.
Bolstered by major star power, including Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman in one of his final roles, Hood’s film compellingly tackles the sensitive questions and complications of drone warfare. Using multiple points of view, the feature follows the aftermath of the murder of a high-ranking British agent by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, kicking into motion a plan to capture and try to annihilate a pair of involved Al-Shabaab militants before they can carry out a suicide bombing.
Bolstered by major star power, including Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman in one of his final roles, Hood’s film compellingly tackles the sensitive questions and complications of drone warfare. Using multiple points of view, the feature follows the aftermath of the murder of a high-ranking British agent by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, kicking into motion a plan to capture and try to annihilate a pair of involved Al-Shabaab militants before they can carry out a suicide bombing.
- 12/29/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Last year IndieWire shared free scripts available to download from 2016 Oscar Contenders such as “Carol,” “Spotlight,” and “Room,” among others. Now, we have a new list full of screenplays that you can skim over, read how the writer envisioned the film, and then go see how the director interpreted it on the big screen. These scripts are also great for aspiring writers to get ideas for their own stories, as well as see how a Hollywood film screenplay really looks like.
Among the screenplays included in this year’s list include “Captain Fantastic” written by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen, “The Girl on the Train” penned by Erin Cressida Wilson” and “Hail, Caesar!” written by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Read More: Free Scripts! Download 2016 Oscar Contenders ‘Inside Out,’ ‘Carol,’ ‘Spotlight’ and More
We’ll continue to update this list throughout awards season, so keep checking back for more free scripts.
Among the screenplays included in this year’s list include “Captain Fantastic” written by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen, “The Girl on the Train” penned by Erin Cressida Wilson” and “Hail, Caesar!” written by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Read More: Free Scripts! Download 2016 Oscar Contenders ‘Inside Out,’ ‘Carol,’ ‘Spotlight’ and More
We’ll continue to update this list throughout awards season, so keep checking back for more free scripts.
- 12/22/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Here's the full list of winners of the London Film Critics' Circle. Winners will be announced on January 22:
The full list of nominees is below:
Film Of The Year
American Honey
Fire at Sea
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Love & Friendship
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann
Foreign-language Film Of The Year
Fire at Sea
Son of Saul
Things to Come
Toni Erdmann
Victoria
Documentary Of The Year
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week . The Touring Years
Cameraperson
The Eagle Huntress
Fire at Sea
Life, Animated
British/Irish Film Of The Year
American Honey
High-Rise
I, Daniel Blake
Love & Friendship
Sing Street
Actor Of The Year
Casey Affleck . Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver . Paterson
Andrew Garfield . Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Gyllenhaal . Nocturnal Animals
Peter Simonischek . Toni Erdmann
Actress Of The Year
Amy Adams . Arrival
Kate Beckinsale . Love & Friendship
Sandra Hüller . Toni Erdmann...
The full list of nominees is below:
Film Of The Year
American Honey
Fire at Sea
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Love & Friendship
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann
Foreign-language Film Of The Year
Fire at Sea
Son of Saul
Things to Come
Toni Erdmann
Victoria
Documentary Of The Year
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week . The Touring Years
Cameraperson
The Eagle Huntress
Fire at Sea
Life, Animated
British/Irish Film Of The Year
American Honey
High-Rise
I, Daniel Blake
Love & Friendship
Sing Street
Actor Of The Year
Casey Affleck . Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver . Paterson
Andrew Garfield . Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Gyllenhaal . Nocturnal Animals
Peter Simonischek . Toni Erdmann
Actress Of The Year
Amy Adams . Arrival
Kate Beckinsale . Love & Friendship
Sandra Hüller . Toni Erdmann...
- 12/21/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Though one might be tempted to roll their eyes at yet another Hollywood period piece romanticization of a real-life story of a couple on opposite ends of a racial divide, perhaps we should start building up our tolerance for films like A United Kingdom once again. After all, in a world where white nationalists are advising the president and even the casting of multi-ethnic actors in Star Wars movie is grounds for a boycott, every little bit of pushback has its value. Even when it’s got the sweeping cinematography and lush melodramatics of your average Merchant Ivory knock-off.
Directed by Amma Asante (Belle) from a script by Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), David Oyelowo stars as Sir Seretse Khama, prince of Bechuanaland. As fate would have it, the future first president of Botswana falls into a star-crossed romance with a London office worker with the very British name...
Directed by Amma Asante (Belle) from a script by Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), David Oyelowo stars as Sir Seretse Khama, prince of Bechuanaland. As fate would have it, the future first president of Botswana falls into a star-crossed romance with a London office worker with the very British name...
- 12/8/2016
- by Dennis DiClaudio
- avclub.com
Though it’s been largely overshadowed by Jeff Nichols’ poignant drama Loving hitherto, Amma Asante’s Brit period drama A United Kingdom is beginning to stage its marketing push ahead of a release in February 2017.
Much like Nichols’ picture before it, A United Kingdom chronicles the journey of an interracial couple – played here by David Oyelowo and Gone Girl‘s Rosamund Pike – fighting tooth and nail to shield their forbidden love during the formative years of apartheid in South Africa. Considered a taboo union by all those around them, here we see Oyelowo and Pike’s lovestruck characters clinging on to some semblance of humanity, even if that means turning their backs on the British empire. Asante’s period piece features a script penned by Guy Hibbert, and though it appears to boast all of the necessary ingredients to become an awards favorite – the true-life romance, the historic context – the...
Much like Nichols’ picture before it, A United Kingdom chronicles the journey of an interracial couple – played here by David Oyelowo and Gone Girl‘s Rosamund Pike – fighting tooth and nail to shield their forbidden love during the formative years of apartheid in South Africa. Considered a taboo union by all those around them, here we see Oyelowo and Pike’s lovestruck characters clinging on to some semblance of humanity, even if that means turning their backs on the British empire. Asante’s period piece features a script penned by Guy Hibbert, and though it appears to boast all of the necessary ingredients to become an awards favorite – the true-life romance, the historic context – the...
- 12/8/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Watch the first Us trailer for A United Kingdom, directed by Amma Asante (Belle) and written by Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky). The film stars David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
A United Kingdom is the true story of the forbidden love of King Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s just as apartheid was being introduced into South Africa. It was a decision that altered the course of African history.
A United Kingdom is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2017.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and opened in UK cinemas in November.
In their Tiff review, Hey U Guys’ Stefan Pape wrote, “the film looks remarkable, and much like Asante’s preceding picture Belle, there’s an...
A United Kingdom is the true story of the forbidden love of King Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s just as apartheid was being introduced into South Africa. It was a decision that altered the course of African history.
A United Kingdom is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2017.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and opened in UK cinemas in November.
In their Tiff review, Hey U Guys’ Stefan Pape wrote, “the film looks remarkable, and much like Asante’s preceding picture Belle, there’s an...
- 12/8/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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,...
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,...
- 11/25/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Much like her last one, Amma Asante’s newest feature is purposefully subversive. The director’s sophomore effort, 2013’s Belle, took the English period drama and swapped the generic pretty white debutante out for a young black woman, while A United Kingdom, Asante’s latest based-on-fact tale, is a historical romantic epic that keeps the standard porcelain beauty but makes the dashing leading man a black African.
The very title of the film is subversive, a reference to poor, troubled Bechuanaland, the home of David Oyelowo’s Seretse Khama, rather than misty old colonial-era Great Britain, where Seretse first meets Rosamund Pike’s Ruth Williams. Early scenes set in 1940s post-war London deliberately toy with conventions, as law student and secret royal Seretse begins a whirlwind romance with Ruth, a local clerk, with neither initially acknowledging their color at a time when interracial relations were a major taboo.
When the...
The very title of the film is subversive, a reference to poor, troubled Bechuanaland, the home of David Oyelowo’s Seretse Khama, rather than misty old colonial-era Great Britain, where Seretse first meets Rosamund Pike’s Ruth Williams. Early scenes set in 1940s post-war London deliberately toy with conventions, as law student and secret royal Seretse begins a whirlwind romance with Ruth, a local clerk, with neither initially acknowledging their color at a time when interracial relations were a major taboo.
When the...
- 11/24/2016
- by Brogan Morris
- We Got This Covered
Director Amma Asante follows up the excellent Belle with another terrific drama...
Amma Asante is no stranger when it comes to mixing the personal and political. As with her second feature, 2013’s Austenesque period piece Belle, Asante dusts off and illuminates another historic humanist story, earnestly transporting it to a global platform with a vividly crafted Hollywood sheen. A 1947 post-war London sees insurance clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and imminent heir of Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) daringly lock eyes in amongst a swirl of tepid jazz music and smoke at a local missionary society dance. Their connection is instant and intimate yet also exceedingly dangerous.
See related Shane Black: a career retrospective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman
Adapted from Susan Williams’ novel Colour Bar, A United Kingdom initially rushes the whirlwind yearlong courtship which is interspersed with fractured familial relations (on both sides) and vulgar societal racism.
Amma Asante is no stranger when it comes to mixing the personal and political. As with her second feature, 2013’s Austenesque period piece Belle, Asante dusts off and illuminates another historic humanist story, earnestly transporting it to a global platform with a vividly crafted Hollywood sheen. A 1947 post-war London sees insurance clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and imminent heir of Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) daringly lock eyes in amongst a swirl of tepid jazz music and smoke at a local missionary society dance. Their connection is instant and intimate yet also exceedingly dangerous.
See related Shane Black: a career retrospective Zack Snyder interview: Batman V Superman
Adapted from Susan Williams’ novel Colour Bar, A United Kingdom initially rushes the whirlwind yearlong courtship which is interspersed with fractured familial relations (on both sides) and vulgar societal racism.
- 11/24/2016
- Den of Geek
One of the few benefits of the frenzied awards race is Hollywood’s outpouring of materials associated with the contenders. Perhaps the biggest perk is the release of full scripts one is able to download legally, directly from the studios.
The first batch has now arrived, ranging from at least one of our favorite scripts this year (Coens‘ Hail, Caesar!) to, well, let’s say, some outside the box choices. As we await the screenplays for Silence, Manchester By the Sea, Arrival, La La Land, 20th Century Women, Moonlight, Jackie, Loving, Hell or High Water, Nocturnal Animals, and more contenders, one can start brushing up now.
We’ll be updating this post as these and more arrive over the coming months, so bookmark the page, but one can check out everything thus far below (right click and save to download, or open in your browser by clicking the titles). To...
The first batch has now arrived, ranging from at least one of our favorite scripts this year (Coens‘ Hail, Caesar!) to, well, let’s say, some outside the box choices. As we await the screenplays for Silence, Manchester By the Sea, Arrival, La La Land, 20th Century Women, Moonlight, Jackie, Loving, Hell or High Water, Nocturnal Animals, and more contenders, one can start brushing up now.
We’ll be updating this post as these and more arrive over the coming months, so bookmark the page, but one can check out everything thus far below (right click and save to download, or open in your browser by clicking the titles). To...
- 10/19/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s hard to imagine a film more timely than Gavin Hood’s “Eye in the Sky,” which follows a high-ranking British military officer — Helen Mirren as the conflicted Colonel Katherine Powell — who is tasked with directing a top-secret drone operation. The tension-filled film sees Powell and her subordinates often struggling with the decisions they have to make while in pursuit of a band of terrorists in Kenya, a mission that is made all the more complicated when they are asked to target a kill zone that includes various innocent bystanders, including a young girl.
And, Mirren, as ever, is more than happy to discuss the kind of topical questions the film raises — and so much more — when asked about them. At a luncheon held in the film’s honor today at Manhattan’s Le Bernardin restaurant, Mirren and director Gavin Hood participated in a twenty minute chat moderated by...
And, Mirren, as ever, is more than happy to discuss the kind of topical questions the film raises — and so much more — when asked about them. At a luncheon held in the film’s honor today at Manhattan’s Le Bernardin restaurant, Mirren and director Gavin Hood participated in a twenty minute chat moderated by...
- 10/18/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The studio on Friday confirmed the acquisition of North American rights to Amma Asante’s film that recently premiered in Toronto and will open the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday (October 5).
Fox Searchlight plans a February 2017 theatrical release on the David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike starrer after securing rights from Pathe UK on behalf of the filmmakers.
Pathé, BBC Films, the BFI and Ingenious Media financed the true story about the forbidden love between King Seretse Khama of Botswana and Ruth Williams, a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s as Apartheid was being introduced into South Africa.
Guy Hibbert of Eye In The Sky fame wrote the screenplay.
Richard McCallum produced with Oyelowo, Brunson Green, Peter Heslop, Justin Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason.
Searchlight released Asante’s previous directorial outing Belle in the Us in 2014.
Fox Searchlight plans a February 2017 theatrical release on the David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike starrer after securing rights from Pathe UK on behalf of the filmmakers.
Pathé, BBC Films, the BFI and Ingenious Media financed the true story about the forbidden love between King Seretse Khama of Botswana and Ruth Williams, a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s as Apartheid was being introduced into South Africa.
Guy Hibbert of Eye In The Sky fame wrote the screenplay.
Richard McCallum produced with Oyelowo, Brunson Green, Peter Heslop, Justin Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason.
Searchlight released Asante’s previous directorial outing Belle in the Us in 2014.
- 9/30/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Fox Searchlight confirmed today that it has scooped up North American rights to A United Kingdom, Amma Asante’s historical drama about forbidden love starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. The film, which premiered at Toronto and will open the London Film Festival next week, is set for release February 17. Written by Guy Hibbert, A United Kingdom recounts the story King Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Pike), a white woman from London, which…...
- 9/30/2016
- Deadline
Fox Searchlight has acquired the North American rights to “A United Kingdom” starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, presidents Stephen Gilula and Nancy Utley announced Friday. The film, which premiered at this month’s Toronto International Film Festival, was directed by Amma Asante and written by Guy Hibbert. Searchlight has scheduled a release for Feb. 17, 2017. “A United Kingdom” is the true story about the forbidden love of King Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Pike), a white woman from London. Their marriage caused an international uproar because at the time, apartheid was just being introduced in South Africa.
- 9/30/2016
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Who knew the power of love ultimately won independence for the democratic republic of Botswana? I sure didn’t. But this is the based-on-a-true-story film writer Guy Hibbert and director Amma Asante have delivered with A United Kingdom. It’s a tale of racial segregation, politically driven cowardice, and the heart prevailing over fear as two kindred spirits choose to write their own destinies. Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) couldn’t know the London-based missionary event her sister dragged her to would change her life forever. Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) couldn’t have predicted in his wildest dreams the ramifications for his homeland Bechuanaland that asking her to dance would inflict. And it’s doubtful anyone would expect his amateur boxer/philosopher to reveal himself as an African prince.
Ruth and Seretse’s romance is one we’ve seen before: an interracial relationship alienating family, earning bigoted remarks in public, and showing how love trumps all.
Ruth and Seretse’s romance is one we’ve seen before: an interracial relationship alienating family, earning bigoted remarks in public, and showing how love trumps all.
- 9/13/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
If Amma Asante’s newest historical romance “A United Kingdom” — like her breakout “Belle,” the film is based on a true story and rooted in real emotion — is hamstrung by anything, it’s the necessity of Guy Hibbert’s script (based on Susan Williams’ book, “Color Bar”) to zip over the early, blooming days of the film’s central love story and buckle down on the tough stuff. Asante’s film, unlike other, more “traditional” Hollywood love stories, isn’t interested in the joys of falling in love so much as the ability to stay in love against heartbreaking odds.
The result is a rich, stirring look at one of modern society’s most enduring — and yes, inspirational — marriages, underpinned by political machinations that remain all too relevant.
Picking up in 1947, with the world still jarred by the events or World War II and exhilarated that they are finally over,...
The result is a rich, stirring look at one of modern society’s most enduring — and yes, inspirational — marriages, underpinned by political machinations that remain all too relevant.
Picking up in 1947, with the world still jarred by the events or World War II and exhilarated that they are finally over,...
- 9/10/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
David Oyelowo is stepping back into the commanding shoes of a leader in “A United Kingdom,” the actor’s new bid for Oscar gold. Oyelowo plays Prince Seretse Khama, the heir to the throne of what would become Botswana in the 1940s. Khama’s relationship with Ruth Williams (played here by Rosamund Pike), a white English woman, proved a point of contention in the former British colony of Bechuanaland. Co-starring Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, Charlotte Hope, and Jessica Oyelowo, “A United Kingdom” chronicles one of the most controversial interracial relationships in history. Read: “David Oyelowo Brings Mlk to Life in ‘Selma’ ” Directed by Amma Asante (“Belle”) and adapted for the screen from Susan Willliams’ “Colour Bar” by Guy Hibbert (“Eye in the Sky”), the drama touches on the far-reaching consequences of British colonization, race relations, and love in the face of it all. Watch the trailer below! Looking to build...
- 8/26/2016
- backstage.com
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,...
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,...
- 8/25/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
David Oyelowo is a king with Rosamund Pike as his queen in the first trailer for “A United Kingdom.” The film is based on the true story of Seretse Khama (Oyelowo), heir to the throne of Botswana, who defied societal norms when he fell in live with a white woman named Ruth Williams in 1940’s England. The two eventually returned to Khama’s native land as husband and wife, where they faced racial bigotry from the apartheid government. Amma Asante directed the film, which will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Guy Hibbert wrote the screenplay, in addition to...
- 8/25/2016
- by Joe Otterson
- The Wrap
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.
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.
- 6/22/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
Set in the late 1940s, the true story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who caused an international stir when he married white British office worker Ruth Williams (Pike).
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton ([link...
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
Set in the late 1940s, the true story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who caused an international stir when he married white British office worker Ruth Williams (Pike).
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton ([link...
- 6/21/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
The story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who causes an international stir when he marries a white woman (Pike) from London in the late 1940s.
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng ([link...
The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).
The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.
Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.
The story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who causes an international stir when he marries a white woman (Pike) from London in the late 1940s.
Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng ([link...
- 6/21/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, will open the 60th BFI London Film Festival. The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1947 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky) wrote the script, based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams, and exec…...
- 6/21/2016
- Deadline
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...
- 4/29/2016
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
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.
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.
- 4/15/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman star in the superb drone drama, Eye In The Sky. Here’s Ryan’s review...
If the nuclear bomb was the great fear-inducing topic of the 20th century, then drone warfare is surely its equivalent in the 21st. Movies as mainstream as Captain America: Civil War and Jose Padhila’s RoboCop remake have dealt with the subject in a sci-fi context; Andrew Niccol’s claustrophobic Good Kill, starring Ethan Hawke, explored the psychological impact of remote strikes on the American pilot tasked with pulling the trigger.
Directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ender’s Game), Eye In The Sky is an ensemble drama-thriller which ambitiously tries to tackle drone warfare from multiple angles: the various levels of politicians, generals and soldiers who authorise the use of missile strikes on targets thousands of miles away, and the spies, would-be...
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Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman star in the superb drone drama, Eye In The Sky. Here’s Ryan’s review...
If the nuclear bomb was the great fear-inducing topic of the 20th century, then drone warfare is surely its equivalent in the 21st. Movies as mainstream as Captain America: Civil War and Jose Padhila’s RoboCop remake have dealt with the subject in a sci-fi context; Andrew Niccol’s claustrophobic Good Kill, starring Ethan Hawke, explored the psychological impact of remote strikes on the American pilot tasked with pulling the trigger.
Directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ender’s Game), Eye In The Sky is an ensemble drama-thriller which ambitiously tries to tackle drone warfare from multiple angles: the various levels of politicians, generals and soldiers who authorise the use of missile strikes on targets thousands of miles away, and the spies, would-be...
- 4/8/2016
- Den of Geek
Eye In The Sky Entertainment One Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya, d-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B+ Director: Gavin Hood Written by: Guy Hibbert Cast: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen, Phoebe Fox Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, 2/24/16 Opens: March 11, 2016 While World War I was raging in Europe in 1914, Americans had hoped to keep out of the action, to maintain a spirit of neutrality. But public opinion in the U.S. turned against Germany when propaganda spread about the inhumane treatment of conquered people by the German army. Ultimately the U.S. entered the war on the side of the [ Read More ]
The post Eye in the Sky Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Eye in the Sky Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/1/2016
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Chicago – The new film “Eye in the Sky” is as contemporary a war film that currently could be made. The overview of drone warfare includes the distant “pilots” on the computer screen, the leaders in their paneled offices, and the target on the ground – which includes the enemy, but also several innocents.
The film features Helen Mirren as a no-nonsense (naturally) military operative who is commanding the mission, which includes Alan Rickman in his last role as her military representative with the British and American leadership. The film has the tension of great battle movies, combined with the morality lessons that must be learned through distant bombing. It is a reminder of an earlier and similar film, “Fail-Safe” (1964) about the impracticalities of nuclear engagement.
Director Gavin Hood and Helen Mirren Set Up a Scene in ‘Eye in the Sky’
Photo credit: Bleecker Street Media
Gavin Hood is a veteran actor and director.
The film features Helen Mirren as a no-nonsense (naturally) military operative who is commanding the mission, which includes Alan Rickman in his last role as her military representative with the British and American leadership. The film has the tension of great battle movies, combined with the morality lessons that must be learned through distant bombing. It is a reminder of an earlier and similar film, “Fail-Safe” (1964) about the impracticalities of nuclear engagement.
Director Gavin Hood and Helen Mirren Set Up a Scene in ‘Eye in the Sky’
Photo credit: Bleecker Street Media
Gavin Hood is a veteran actor and director.
- 3/20/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
With the compelling and thrilling new drama Eye In The Sky, we finally have a drone movie worth cheering about. After last year’s rather lame Ethan Hawke attempt The Good Kill, which mixed a soap operatic subplot into a genuinely potentially interesting story on the human emotional toll taken on Las Vegas-based drone pilots, Oscar-winning South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) and screenwriter Guy Hibbert have tacked the controversial subject head-on with a…...
- 3/16/2016
- Deadline
“Eye in the Sky” is burdened with two unavoidable bummers: First, camouflage turns out to be the one pattern on earth that’s unflattering to Helen Mirren. And second, it’s the late Alan Rickman‘s penultimate film. (His final, “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” comes out in May.) Ok, admittedly there’s also a bit of absurdity in the script, but considering it involves bureaucratic pingpong, perhaps it’s not absurd enough. Director Gavin Hood (“Tsotsi,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) and TV writer Guy Hibbert have crafted a tight thriller about a single event: the mission to capture terrorists in Nairobi.
- 3/11/2016
- by Tricia Olszewski
- The Wrap
Suspense comes in many different packages, cinematically speaking. Eye in the Sky generates almost unbearable tension by taking a big subject (drone warfare) and narrowing its focus to the decision of whether to order a deadly strike if it means killing an innocent little girl. I don’t know if this is realistic or not, but it certainly plays that way in Guy Hibbert’s screenplay, masterfully orchestrated by director Gavin Hood, who gave us the Oscar-winning South African film Tsotsi a decade ago. Helen Mirren is outstanding as a no-nonsense British officer in charge of a military operation to rout out terrorists in Kenya. She commands a wide range of men and women, some in the...
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[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...
- 3/11/2016
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Contemporary warfare seems to be conducted with all the calculation of insurance adjusters studying figures in ledgers, or sports executives applying “Moneyball”-style management techniques on their teams. Acts of war have been dehumanized by acronyms, decisions of life and death are lightened by multiple layers of bureaucracy, and now drone warfare enables the act of killing with nothing more than joystick with a trigger. It’s within a combination of those whirling elements that Gavin Hood (“Tsotsi,” “Rendition”) drops viewers for “Eye In The Sky,” and while certainly imperfect, there is something to admire about the film’s attempt to present the tangled logistics of a single military operation, where it seems everyone wants success but none of the responsibility of the tough decision making involved. The script by Guy Hibbert (“Five Minutes In Heaven”) is as lean as it is clever, with the entire movie taking place over...
- 3/8/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Credit : Keith Bernstein / Bleecker Street
Check out the new images of Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman from director Gavin Hood’s Eye In The Sky.
The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to a standing ovation and rave reviews.
The upcoming thriller about a top secret military operation that escalates into international crisis opens in select theaters Friday, March 11.
Alan Rickman stars as Lt. General Frank Benson.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
(Left to Right) Actress Phoebe Fox, director Gavin Hood and actor Aaron Paul on the set of Eye In The Sky.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
Director Gavin Hood (left) and actress Helen Mirren (right) on the set of Eye In The Sky.
Barkhad Abdi stars as Jama Farah.
(Left...
Check out the new images of Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman from director Gavin Hood’s Eye In The Sky.
The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to a standing ovation and rave reviews.
The upcoming thriller about a top secret military operation that escalates into international crisis opens in select theaters Friday, March 11.
Alan Rickman stars as Lt. General Frank Benson.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
(Left to Right) Actress Phoebe Fox, director Gavin Hood and actor Aaron Paul on the set of Eye In The Sky.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
Director Gavin Hood (left) and actress Helen Mirren (right) on the set of Eye In The Sky.
Barkhad Abdi stars as Jama Farah.
(Left...
- 2/5/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Check out Academy Award winner Helen Mirren in the new poster from Bleecker Street’s Eye In The Sky.
From director Gavin Hood and writer Guy Hibbert, the upcoming thriller starring Mirren alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Barkhad Abdi opens in select theaters March 11.
Eye In The Sky stars Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya.
Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of Us and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
Also starring Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox,...
From director Gavin Hood and writer Guy Hibbert, the upcoming thriller starring Mirren alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Barkhad Abdi opens in select theaters March 11.
Eye In The Sky stars Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya.
Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of Us and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
Also starring Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox,...
- 1/7/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A United Kingdom
Director: Amma Asante
Writer: Guy Hibbert
Following the critical success of her 2013 sophomore film Belle (read review), which showcased the impressive talents of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, actress turned director Amma Assante assembles acclaimed talents Rosamunde Pike and Davie Oyelowo for this tale of forbidden love, which filmed in the UK and Botswana. A United Kingdom details the tribulations of Seretse Khama, the man who would become the first president of Botswana after gaining freedom from England, his marriage to a white woman would compromise his relations with surrounding countries which deemed such a union illegal.
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, David Oyelowo
Production Co./Producers: Brunson Green, David Oyelowo, Peter Heslop, Charlie Mason, Rick McCallum, Justin Moore-Lewy
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic). Pathe (international).
Release Date: Fox Searchlight managed to give Assante’s handsomely assembled Belle the platform it deserved, and her continued recuperation...
Director: Amma Asante
Writer: Guy Hibbert
Following the critical success of her 2013 sophomore film Belle (read review), which showcased the impressive talents of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, actress turned director Amma Assante assembles acclaimed talents Rosamunde Pike and Davie Oyelowo for this tale of forbidden love, which filmed in the UK and Botswana. A United Kingdom details the tribulations of Seretse Khama, the man who would become the first president of Botswana after gaining freedom from England, his marriage to a white woman would compromise his relations with surrounding countries which deemed such a union illegal.
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, David Oyelowo
Production Co./Producers: Brunson Green, David Oyelowo, Peter Heslop, Charlie Mason, Rick McCallum, Justin Moore-Lewy
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic). Pathe (international).
Release Date: Fox Searchlight managed to give Assante’s handsomely assembled Belle the platform it deserved, and her continued recuperation...
- 1/5/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Here’s the first look at new trailer for Eye in the Sky which is set for release 8th April 2016 in the UK. It’s directed by Gavin Hood (Ender’s Game / X-Men Origins: Wolverine) with a script from Guy Hibbert and stars Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul & Alan Rickman. The movie tells the story of
The post Eye in the Sky Trailer starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul & Alan Rickman appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Eye in the Sky Trailer starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul & Alan Rickman appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 12/8/2015
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Mirren plays British Col. Katherine Powell, the commander of a top secret drone operation that spins out of control when the capture of a Kenyan terrorist turns into a targeted assassination—and a young child enters the kill zone. Pitched as a debate over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare—a slightly worrisome angle, given how poorly didactic war dramas "Lions for Lambs" (2007) and "Rendition" (2007) fared in the midst of the Iraq War—"Eye in the Sky" is directed by Gavin Hood ('Tsotsi') and written by Guy Hibbert ('Prime Suspect'). Producers are Ged Doherty, Colin Firth and David Lancaster. The film co-stars Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad") as an American pilot with his hand on the trigger thousands of miles away in Nevada, Alan Rickman as a British general, Jeremy Northam, and "Captain Phillips" breakout Barkhad Abdi. Distributor Bleecker Street has slated the film for a limited theatrical.
- 12/4/2015
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
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