LONDON -- Films by Ken Loach, Shane Meadows, Antonia Bird and Richard Eyre are among the 12 entries listed Wednesday to compete in the Edinburgh International Film Festival for the Michael Powell Award for best new British feature film. The festival runs Aug. 18-29. In an inventory of films by established and up-and-coming directors, Loach's "Ae Fond Kiss", Meadows' "Dead Man's Shoes", Bird's "Hamburg Cell" and Eyre's "Stage Beauty" will go head-to-head with eight other titles for the award. They include Eleanor Yule's "Blinded", Shona Auerbach's "Dear Frankie", Terry Loane's "Mickybo and Me", Pawel Pawlikowski's "My Summer of Love", C.S. Leigh's "Process", Richard Jobson's "The Purifiers", Marc Evans' "Trauma" and Kenny Glenaan's "Yasmin".
- 8/11/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Scottish screenwriter Andrea Gibb is on a roll with "Dear Frankie", a gem of a picture that, like her Edinburgh Film Festival success "AfterLife", has flinty characters dealing with everyday hardships who are suddenly faced with a predicament of their own making.
First-time director Shona Auerbach, a photographer who has been successful making commercials, leaves the slick surfaces of that world behind to craft a deeply felt human drama that she also shot beautifully. With Miramax International at the helm, a film that derives much from a sense of geography and seamanship should travel well.
Emily Mortimer and Jack McElhone, who both appeared last year in "Young Adam", here are mother and son in the port town of Greenock, where they have fled once again to escape the grasp of her ex-husband. The boy, Frankie, is deaf and can barely speak, but he wasn't born that way. It was "a present from Daddy," as his mother, Lizzie, puts it. But he's a very bright boy, intelligent and quick. He also has the kind of resolve that allows him to make a friend out of a cocky kid sitting next to him in class who scrawls "Def Boy" on the desk. Frankie smiles and corrects his spelling.
The lad is unaware of his mother's fears; he just wishes they would settle down somewhere. Lizzie has told him that his dad is a sailor on a ship named Accra, and Frankie writes to him diligently, tracking his travels on a huge wall map. He doesn't know that his letters go only as far as his mother, who writes back letters as if they were from his father.
It goes well until one day they learn that a ship named Accra is headed for Greenock. Frankie's school friend makes him a bet that his dad won't want to see him. It's a bet Frankie can't turn down, and it leaves his mum with a huge dilemma.
Enter a tall, dark stranger, but in the sure hands of Gibb and Auerbach, this Scottish sailor (Gerard Butler) is not quite the nameless man with no history that Lizzie has in mind, and his stint pretending to be Frankie's dad leads to many more complications.
The potential for sickly sentiment is high with all these ingredients, but there is nothing mawkish about the film. The beautiful Mortimer appealingly understates her glamour. She and a sterling cast, including Mary Riggans as her mother and Sharon Small as a new friend, all bring steel to their characters. McElhone shines in the difficult task of acting with an affliction, and he doesn't put a foot wrong. Butler ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life") downplays his movie-star presence to play a man of quiet mystery and strength.
The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom, like when Lizzie says she thought Frankie would give up on writing to his dad, but she's glad he didn't. "It's the only way I can hear his voice," she says.
DEAR FRANKIE
Presented by Miramax Films & Pathe Pictures in association with the UK Film Council and Scottish Screen. A Scorpio Films Production in association with Sigma Films. Produced in association with Inside Track Productions.
Credits:
Director and cinematographer: Shona Auerbach
Screenwriter: Andrea Gibb
Producer: Caroline Wood
Co-producers: Gillian Berrie, Matthew T. Gannon
Executive producers: Stephan Evans, Angus Finney, Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Duncan Reid
Production designer: Jennifer Kernke
Editor: Oral Norrie Ottey
Original music: Alex Heffes
Costume designer: Carole K. Millar
Cast:
Lizzie: Emily Mortimer
Frankie: Jack McElhone
Stranger: Gerard Butler
Marie: Sharon Small
Nell: Mary Riggans
Catriona: Jayd Johnson
Ricky Monroe: Sean Brown
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
First-time director Shona Auerbach, a photographer who has been successful making commercials, leaves the slick surfaces of that world behind to craft a deeply felt human drama that she also shot beautifully. With Miramax International at the helm, a film that derives much from a sense of geography and seamanship should travel well.
Emily Mortimer and Jack McElhone, who both appeared last year in "Young Adam", here are mother and son in the port town of Greenock, where they have fled once again to escape the grasp of her ex-husband. The boy, Frankie, is deaf and can barely speak, but he wasn't born that way. It was "a present from Daddy," as his mother, Lizzie, puts it. But he's a very bright boy, intelligent and quick. He also has the kind of resolve that allows him to make a friend out of a cocky kid sitting next to him in class who scrawls "Def Boy" on the desk. Frankie smiles and corrects his spelling.
The lad is unaware of his mother's fears; he just wishes they would settle down somewhere. Lizzie has told him that his dad is a sailor on a ship named Accra, and Frankie writes to him diligently, tracking his travels on a huge wall map. He doesn't know that his letters go only as far as his mother, who writes back letters as if they were from his father.
It goes well until one day they learn that a ship named Accra is headed for Greenock. Frankie's school friend makes him a bet that his dad won't want to see him. It's a bet Frankie can't turn down, and it leaves his mum with a huge dilemma.
Enter a tall, dark stranger, but in the sure hands of Gibb and Auerbach, this Scottish sailor (Gerard Butler) is not quite the nameless man with no history that Lizzie has in mind, and his stint pretending to be Frankie's dad leads to many more complications.
The potential for sickly sentiment is high with all these ingredients, but there is nothing mawkish about the film. The beautiful Mortimer appealingly understates her glamour. She and a sterling cast, including Mary Riggans as her mother and Sharon Small as a new friend, all bring steel to their characters. McElhone shines in the difficult task of acting with an affliction, and he doesn't put a foot wrong. Butler ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life") downplays his movie-star presence to play a man of quiet mystery and strength.
The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom, like when Lizzie says she thought Frankie would give up on writing to his dad, but she's glad he didn't. "It's the only way I can hear his voice," she says.
DEAR FRANKIE
Presented by Miramax Films & Pathe Pictures in association with the UK Film Council and Scottish Screen. A Scorpio Films Production in association with Sigma Films. Produced in association with Inside Track Productions.
Credits:
Director and cinematographer: Shona Auerbach
Screenwriter: Andrea Gibb
Producer: Caroline Wood
Co-producers: Gillian Berrie, Matthew T. Gannon
Executive producers: Stephan Evans, Angus Finney, Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Duncan Reid
Production designer: Jennifer Kernke
Editor: Oral Norrie Ottey
Original music: Alex Heffes
Costume designer: Carole K. Millar
Cast:
Lizzie: Emily Mortimer
Frankie: Jack McElhone
Stranger: Gerard Butler
Marie: Sharon Small
Nell: Mary Riggans
Catriona: Jayd Johnson
Ricky Monroe: Sean Brown
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
LONDON -- Film and television production spending in Scotland rose during 2003 to £23.5 million ($43.6 million), according to the latest estimate from Scottish Screen published Wednesday. According to the Glasgow-based funding and strategy agency, cash spent on productions rose by £1.5 million ($2.8 million) from the previous year, on the back of several high-profile location shoots, including work on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Other movies shooting in Scotland during 2003 include Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss, Shona Auerbach's Dear Frankie and Blue Harvest, a spoof documentary shot on location around Loch Ness by Werner Herzog.
CANNES -- Scottish screenwriter Andrea Gibb is on a roll with "Dear Frankie", a gem of a picture that, like her Edinburgh Film Festival success "AfterLife", has flinty characters dealing with everyday hardships who are suddenly faced with a predicament of their own making.
First-time director Shona Auerbach, a photographer who has been successful making commercials, leaves the slick surfaces of that world behind to craft a deeply felt human drama that she also shot beautifully. With Miramax International at the helm, a film that derives much from a sense of geography and seamanship should travel well.
Emily Mortimer and Jack McElhone, who both appeared last year in "Young Adam", here are mother and son in the port town of Greenock, where they have fled once again to escape the grasp of her ex-husband. The boy, Frankie, is deaf and can barely speak, but he wasn't born that way. It was "a present from Daddy," as his mother, Lizzie, puts it. But he's a very bright boy, intelligent and quick. He also has the kind of resolve that allows him to make a friend out of a cocky kid sitting next to him in class who scrawls "Def Boy" on the desk. Frankie smiles and corrects his spelling.
The lad is unaware of his mother's fears; he just wishes they would settle down somewhere. Lizzie has told him that his dad is a sailor on a ship named Accra, and Frankie writes to him diligently, tracking his travels on a huge wall map. He doesn't know that his letters go only as far as his mother, who writes back letters as if they were from his father.
It goes well until one day they learn that a ship named Accra is headed for Greenock. Frankie's school friend makes him a bet that his dad won't want to see him. It's a bet Frankie can't turn down, and it leaves his mum with a huge dilemma.
Enter a tall, dark stranger, but in the sure hands of Gibb and Auerbach, this Scottish sailor (Gerard Butler) is not quite the nameless man with no history that Lizzie has in mind, and his stint pretending to be Frankie's dad leads to many more complications.
The potential for sickly sentiment is high with all these ingredients, but there is nothing mawkish about the film. The beautiful Mortimer appealingly understates her glamour. She and a sterling cast, including Mary Riggans as her mother and Sharon Small as a new friend, all bring steel to their characters. McElhone shines in the difficult task of acting with an affliction, and he doesn't put a foot wrong. Butler ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life") downplays his movie-star presence to play a man of quiet mystery and strength.
The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom, like when Lizzie says she thought Frankie would give up on writing to his dad, but she's glad he didn't. "It's the only way I can hear his voice," she says.
DEAR FRANKIE
Presented by Miramax Films & Pathe Pictures in association with the UK Film Council and Scottish Screen. A Scorpio Films Production in association with Sigma Films. Produced in association with Inside Track Productions.
Credits:
Director and cinematographer: Shona Auerbach
Screenwriter: Andrea Gibb
Producer: Caroline Wood
Co-producers: Gillian Berrie, Matthew T. Gannon
Executive producers: Stephan Evans, Angus Finney, Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Duncan Reid
Production designer: Jennifer Kernke
Editor: Oral Norrie Ottey
Original music: Alex Heffes
Costume designer: Carole K. Millar
Cast:
Lizzie: Emily Mortimer
Frankie: Jack McElhone
Stranger: Gerard Butler
Marie: Sharon Small
Nell: Mary Riggans
Catriona: Jayd Johnson
Ricky Monroe: Sean Brown
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
First-time director Shona Auerbach, a photographer who has been successful making commercials, leaves the slick surfaces of that world behind to craft a deeply felt human drama that she also shot beautifully. With Miramax International at the helm, a film that derives much from a sense of geography and seamanship should travel well.
Emily Mortimer and Jack McElhone, who both appeared last year in "Young Adam", here are mother and son in the port town of Greenock, where they have fled once again to escape the grasp of her ex-husband. The boy, Frankie, is deaf and can barely speak, but he wasn't born that way. It was "a present from Daddy," as his mother, Lizzie, puts it. But he's a very bright boy, intelligent and quick. He also has the kind of resolve that allows him to make a friend out of a cocky kid sitting next to him in class who scrawls "Def Boy" on the desk. Frankie smiles and corrects his spelling.
The lad is unaware of his mother's fears; he just wishes they would settle down somewhere. Lizzie has told him that his dad is a sailor on a ship named Accra, and Frankie writes to him diligently, tracking his travels on a huge wall map. He doesn't know that his letters go only as far as his mother, who writes back letters as if they were from his father.
It goes well until one day they learn that a ship named Accra is headed for Greenock. Frankie's school friend makes him a bet that his dad won't want to see him. It's a bet Frankie can't turn down, and it leaves his mum with a huge dilemma.
Enter a tall, dark stranger, but in the sure hands of Gibb and Auerbach, this Scottish sailor (Gerard Butler) is not quite the nameless man with no history that Lizzie has in mind, and his stint pretending to be Frankie's dad leads to many more complications.
The potential for sickly sentiment is high with all these ingredients, but there is nothing mawkish about the film. The beautiful Mortimer appealingly understates her glamour. She and a sterling cast, including Mary Riggans as her mother and Sharon Small as a new friend, all bring steel to their characters. McElhone shines in the difficult task of acting with an affliction, and he doesn't put a foot wrong. Butler ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life") downplays his movie-star presence to play a man of quiet mystery and strength.
The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom, like when Lizzie says she thought Frankie would give up on writing to his dad, but she's glad he didn't. "It's the only way I can hear his voice," she says.
DEAR FRANKIE
Presented by Miramax Films & Pathe Pictures in association with the UK Film Council and Scottish Screen. A Scorpio Films Production in association with Sigma Films. Produced in association with Inside Track Productions.
Credits:
Director and cinematographer: Shona Auerbach
Screenwriter: Andrea Gibb
Producer: Caroline Wood
Co-producers: Gillian Berrie, Matthew T. Gannon
Executive producers: Stephan Evans, Angus Finney, Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Duncan Reid
Production designer: Jennifer Kernke
Editor: Oral Norrie Ottey
Original music: Alex Heffes
Costume designer: Carole K. Millar
Cast:
Lizzie: Emily Mortimer
Frankie: Jack McElhone
Stranger: Gerard Butler
Marie: Sharon Small
Nell: Mary Riggans
Catriona: Jayd Johnson
Ricky Monroe: Sean Brown
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
- 5/19/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Paramount Classics is in negotiations to acquire helmer Roger Michell's big-screen adaptation of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love in a multiterritory pact that includes North America, Latin America and Australia, sources said. The film would mark Michell's return to the Paramount fold following last year's Scott Rudin-produced thriller Changing Lanes, starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. The Love pact is being struck with Pathe International, the London-based sales arm of Pathe Entertainment. Love was one of a handful of Pathe titles that stirred serious buzz at the recent MIFED confab in Milan, with specialty buyers circling. Pathe closed a deal this week with Miramax Films on Shona Auerbach's directorial debut, Dear Frankie, for a slew of territories (HR 11/20). Shot from a screenplay by Joe Penhall, Love stars Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans in the story of two strangers whose lives become dangerously intertwined after they both witness a tragic accident. Kevin Loader produced through Michell and Loader's Free Range Films shingle. McEwan's novel was originally published by Bantam in 1998. The director's The Mother premiered at the Festival de Cannes this year. Mother's distributor is Sony Pictures Classics. The helmer's credits also include Notting Hill and Titanic Town.
- 11/21/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Miramax Films has inked a deal to acquire Shona Auerbach's directorial debut, Dear Frankie, in a multiterritory pact that includes North and South American rights. The Emily Mortimer starrer was one of the hotter titles screening at the recent MIFED confab through Pathe International, the London-based sales arm of Pathe Entertainment. The mini-major also snapped up distribution rights for Spain, Italy and Australia on the project, which is in postproduction and scheduled for completion in January. Also starring Gerard Butler (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) and Jack McElhone (Young Adam), Frankie follows a deaf boy and his mother as they struggle to hide the fact that they've run away from the boy's father.
- 11/20/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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