The BBC is celebrating the art of the literary adaptation by screening a variety of classics on BBC Four. More details here.
The BBC is quite rightly celebrated for its rich history of book to screen adaptations, such as the iconic 1995 version of Jane Austen’a Pride And Prejudice to Cbbc’s hugely successful adaptation of Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series.
It has now put together a season of 14 adaptations from the BBC archive, some of which have rarely been seen since their original broadcast.
The dramas are:
The Great Gatsby
Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd lead the cast in this 2000 BBC adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel on the American dream in the jazz age.
Small Island
Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters star in this 2009 TV version of Andrea Levy’s novel focusing on the lives and...
The BBC is quite rightly celebrated for its rich history of book to screen adaptations, such as the iconic 1995 version of Jane Austen’a Pride And Prejudice to Cbbc’s hugely successful adaptation of Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series.
It has now put together a season of 14 adaptations from the BBC archive, some of which have rarely been seen since their original broadcast.
The dramas are:
The Great Gatsby
Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd lead the cast in this 2000 BBC adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel on the American dream in the jazz age.
Small Island
Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters star in this 2009 TV version of Andrea Levy’s novel focusing on the lives and...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
This article contains book spoilers for Island Queen and a trigger warning for racism and sexual assault.
Caribbean history is often ignored in US discussions of the era, despite myself and many other Americans having ancestry from this part of the world. Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park has extended references to Caribbean slavery but many adaptations sidestep these implications or briefly address them before moving back to the white main characters. In addition, the focus is often on male leaders of rebellions such as Toussaint L’Overture leading the Haitian rebellion, or on women with island ancestry such as Dido Elizabeth from the movie Belle living in England. All are written by white novelists and screenwriters who miss cultural nuances and are unaware of subconscious bias. Island Queen, Vanessa Riley’s latest foray into Black historical fiction reveals a hidden figure of Caribbean history. Dorothy Kirwan was born into slavery in Montserrat,...
Caribbean history is often ignored in US discussions of the era, despite myself and many other Americans having ancestry from this part of the world. Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park has extended references to Caribbean slavery but many adaptations sidestep these implications or briefly address them before moving back to the white main characters. In addition, the focus is often on male leaders of rebellions such as Toussaint L’Overture leading the Haitian rebellion, or on women with island ancestry such as Dido Elizabeth from the movie Belle living in England. All are written by white novelists and screenwriters who miss cultural nuances and are unaware of subconscious bias. Island Queen, Vanessa Riley’s latest foray into Black historical fiction reveals a hidden figure of Caribbean history. Dorothy Kirwan was born into slavery in Montserrat,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Kayti Burt
- Den of Geek
“The Long Song” knows what an audience might expect from a period drama airing on the BBC, as it did in the UK in 2018, or under the PBS Masterpiece banner, as it will in the US starting on January 31. The camera, helmed with a steady hand by director Mahalia Belo, pans across still life scenes of porcelain curios and rumpled silks in a manse surrounded by gently swaying palm trees. “The life of a white missus on a Jamaican plantation,” a narrator (Doña Croll) intones, “be surely full of tribulation — from the scarcity of beef to the want of a fashionable hat.” Within seconds, the piercing screech of that “white missus” shatters the idyllic scene, and the acidic streak of sarcasm laden in the narrator’s words comes more clearly into focus. “If that be the story you want to hear, then be on your way. Go,” she says, voice snapping with brittle anger.
- 1/30/2021
- by Caroline Framke
- Variety Film + TV
When Tamara Lawrance starred in and was first promoting “The Long Song,” the Black Lives Matter movement and organization had already been in existence for half a decade. But now the limited series in which she plays a slave in 19th Century colonial Jamaica is debuting on PBS as a part of its “Masterpiece” slate, just months after the movement made global headlines amid the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.
“We are very clearly living in the ramifications of the psychosis of enslaving a body of people and on some level psychological warfare on a body of people and on some level a genocide as well. That is the reason why Black and brown bodies can be killed with video evidence and nobody cares,” Lawrance tells Variety. “Even in the filming of it I was struck by the parallel of walking off set into a world — it...
“We are very clearly living in the ramifications of the psychosis of enslaving a body of people and on some level psychological warfare on a body of people and on some level a genocide as well. That is the reason why Black and brown bodies can be killed with video evidence and nobody cares,” Lawrance tells Variety. “Even in the filming of it I was struck by the parallel of walking off set into a world — it...
- 1/29/2021
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for The Long Song.
The Long Song is the first miniseries featured in PBS Masterpiece’s 50th Anniversary season, and it’s U.S. arrival nearly three years after airing on BBC One is highlighting themes that some viewers may not be ready to process but that remain incredibly important.
The show is an adaptation of Andrea Levy’s 2010 novel recounting the story of how Jamaican slaves gained their freedom in the 1830’s. Levy worked with white screenwriter Sarah Williams on the script for The Long Song before her death in 2019. Although some may want to criticize Williams’ involvement for removing the Own Voices status from the series, it is important to note she successfully worked with Levy to adapt Small Island into a TV miniseries which aired on Masterpiece in 2009. Critics and the Black British community alike praised the miniseries for featuring the Windrush Generation.
The Long Song is the first miniseries featured in PBS Masterpiece’s 50th Anniversary season, and it’s U.S. arrival nearly three years after airing on BBC One is highlighting themes that some viewers may not be ready to process but that remain incredibly important.
The show is an adaptation of Andrea Levy’s 2010 novel recounting the story of how Jamaican slaves gained their freedom in the 1830’s. Levy worked with white screenwriter Sarah Williams on the script for The Long Song before her death in 2019. Although some may want to criticize Williams’ involvement for removing the Own Voices status from the series, it is important to note she successfully worked with Levy to adapt Small Island into a TV miniseries which aired on Masterpiece in 2009. Critics and the Black British community alike praised the miniseries for featuring the Windrush Generation.
- 1/27/2021
- by Kayti Burt
- Den of Geek
PBS’ Masterpiece, which has been home to classic British dramas including Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, Prime Suspect and the original House of Cards, turns 50 on January 10.
The venerable drama strand is celebrating with a slew of period dramas and mystery thrillers. But it is also using the anniversary as an opportunity to shift its programming strategy to allow it to hunt down the next breakout hit from the other side of the pond, amid aggressive competition from streamers such as Amazon, AppleTV+, HBO Max and Netflix.
Susanne Simpson, an exec producer on series including Downton Abbey, took over running Masterpiece in November 2019, replacing Rebecca Eaton.
She told Deadline that the success of the regal ITV drama, which ran for six seasons and ending in 2015, was a turning point for British dramas in the U.S. and it has now pivoted to ensure that it still has a pipeline of shows.
The venerable drama strand is celebrating with a slew of period dramas and mystery thrillers. But it is also using the anniversary as an opportunity to shift its programming strategy to allow it to hunt down the next breakout hit from the other side of the pond, amid aggressive competition from streamers such as Amazon, AppleTV+, HBO Max and Netflix.
Susanne Simpson, an exec producer on series including Downton Abbey, took over running Masterpiece in November 2019, replacing Rebecca Eaton.
She told Deadline that the success of the regal ITV drama, which ran for six seasons and ending in 2015, was a turning point for British dramas in the U.S. and it has now pivoted to ensure that it still has a pipeline of shows.
- 1/8/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019
The actor and singer who was with the pioneering film director on the night she died recalls her as ‘an extraordinary bundle of curiosity and energy’
• Andrea Levy remembered by Bill Mayblin
• Read the Observer’s obituaries of 2019 in full
I’d been to Agnès’s house and met her a few times but I only really got to know her after I wrote to her about the film Sans toit ni loi, starring Sandrine Bonnaire, about a girl tramp, to ask who was responsible for this heartrending film. Agnès rang me to say she couldn’t understand a word I’d written because my handwriting was so bad and suggested we meet so I could read her the letter.
We met in a park and there was little Agnès; although I don’t like walking or parks, that is what she wanted to do. She said she...
The actor and singer who was with the pioneering film director on the night she died recalls her as ‘an extraordinary bundle of curiosity and energy’
• Andrea Levy remembered by Bill Mayblin
• Read the Observer’s obituaries of 2019 in full
I’d been to Agnès’s house and met her a few times but I only really got to know her after I wrote to her about the film Sans toit ni loi, starring Sandrine Bonnaire, about a girl tramp, to ask who was responsible for this heartrending film. Agnès rang me to say she couldn’t understand a word I’d written because my handwriting was so bad and suggested we meet so I could read her the letter.
We met in a park and there was little Agnès; although I don’t like walking or parks, that is what she wanted to do. She said she...
- 12/16/2019
- by Jane Birkin
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Marsha Stephanie Blake and Arinzé Kene have joined Julia Hart’s Amazon feature I’m Your Woman opposite Rachel Brosnahan.
Hart co-wrote the project with her husband, Oscar-nominated producer Jordan Horowitz, who is also producing through their Original Headquarters production company. The story revolves around Jean (Brosnahan) who must go on the run with her child due to her husband’s crimes. Their lives become intertwined with a man and a woman, forming an unlikely partnership that teaches them more than just how to survive. Production is slated to begin this season. Deadline exclusively broke the news about the project. Blake will play the role of Teri, and Kene the part of Cal.
Blake recently received her first Emmy nomination in the supporting actress limited series category for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series When They See Us, which counts 16 Primetime noms. Blake starred in three films which premiered at...
Hart co-wrote the project with her husband, Oscar-nominated producer Jordan Horowitz, who is also producing through their Original Headquarters production company. The story revolves around Jean (Brosnahan) who must go on the run with her child due to her husband’s crimes. Their lives become intertwined with a man and a woman, forming an unlikely partnership that teaches them more than just how to survive. Production is slated to begin this season. Deadline exclusively broke the news about the project. Blake will play the role of Teri, and Kene the part of Cal.
Blake recently received her first Emmy nomination in the supporting actress limited series category for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series When They See Us, which counts 16 Primetime noms. Blake starred in three films which premiered at...
- 9/12/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The BBC are known for their hard-hitting serials, not to mention a period drama or two. The latest piece of brilliance to be added to their mini-series arsenal comes in the adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Man Booker prize shortlisted novel ‘The Long Song’. To be aired over three consecutive nights, the period drama takes us down a route rarely visited by the broadcaster.
The Story
Directed by Mahalia Belo, the series is set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, the story follows the strong-willed, young slave July (Tamara Lawrance) on a plantation owned by her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell). When a charming new arrival to the island, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden), becomes the new overseer, July and Caroline are both intrigued by his seemingly revolutionary determination to improve the plantation for the slaves and mistress alike.
The adaptation took seven years to come...
The Story
Directed by Mahalia Belo, the series is set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, the story follows the strong-willed, young slave July (Tamara Lawrance) on a plantation owned by her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell). When a charming new arrival to the island, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden), becomes the new overseer, July and Caroline are both intrigued by his seemingly revolutionary determination to improve the plantation for the slaves and mistress alike.
The adaptation took seven years to come...
- 12/17/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Tom Winchester has been appointed president of Heyday Television’s U.K. operation. He joins the production outfit, a joint venture between film and TV producer David Heyman and NBCUniversal, in January.
Heyday’s upcoming series out of the U.K. include “The Capture,” which will star Holliday Grainger and Callum Turner, and the adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel “The Long Song,” starring Tamara Lawrence, Hayley Atwell, and Jack Lowden. Both are for the BBC.
Winchester will join Heyday from DNA Films and TV, where, as creative director, he established the firm’s TV department. He is currently producing DNA-produced “Shogun,” a 10-part series for FX based on the international bestseller written by James Clavell.
“From my first meeting with Tom I felt strongly that we shared a creative vision. I am excited about the future and building the company together,” Heyman said.
“I don’t think there are many people in the U.
Heyday’s upcoming series out of the U.K. include “The Capture,” which will star Holliday Grainger and Callum Turner, and the adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel “The Long Song,” starring Tamara Lawrence, Hayley Atwell, and Jack Lowden. Both are for the BBC.
Winchester will join Heyday from DNA Films and TV, where, as creative director, he established the firm’s TV department. He is currently producing DNA-produced “Shogun,” a 10-part series for FX based on the international bestseller written by James Clavell.
“From my first meeting with Tom I felt strongly that we shared a creative vision. I am excited about the future and building the company together,” Heyman said.
“I don’t think there are many people in the U.
- 11/27/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Ex-dna Films and Bentley exec Tom Winchester to lead NBCU-backed drama producer.
Tom Winchester has been named UK president of NBC Universal International Studios-backed drama house Heyday Television.
The former DNA Films and TV creative director and Bentley Productions head of development will lead Heyday Television UK as president from January 2019.
He will work closely with company founder David Heyman, who launched Heyday TV as a joint venture with Nbcuis, to grow a slate of high-end scripted series.
Winchester has already moved to hire former Sky Drama development editor Anna Hargreaves, who has been named development executive.
The hires...
Tom Winchester has been named UK president of NBC Universal International Studios-backed drama house Heyday Television.
The former DNA Films and TV creative director and Bentley Productions head of development will lead Heyday Television UK as president from January 2019.
He will work closely with company founder David Heyman, who launched Heyday TV as a joint venture with Nbcuis, to grow a slate of high-end scripted series.
Winchester has already moved to hire former Sky Drama development editor Anna Hargreaves, who has been named development executive.
The hires...
- 11/27/2018
- by Jesse Whittock Broadcast
- ScreenDaily
NBC Universal-backed Heyday Television has hired DNA Films and TV’s Tom Winchester as President.
He will work closely with David Heyman, who runs the Jv, and will lead the company’s UK business. He was formerly Creative Director at DNA.
Winchester is currently producing Shogun, a ten-part limited series for FX based on the international bestseller written by James Clavell. Shogun will be directed by Tim Van Patten and is FX’s largest scale international production to date.
Winchester joined DNA Films in 2014 to set-up the TV department through a first-look deal with the Fox Network Group. In addition to Shogun, he developed series including Devs for FX and Black Narcissus for the BBC and worked with writers including John Hodge, Bryan Elsley, Danny Brocklehurst, Richard Warlow, David Wolstencroft, Dominic Mitchell, Hilary Mantel and Philippa Goslett.
Heyday Television is to start production on The Capture, a contemporary conspiracy...
He will work closely with David Heyman, who runs the Jv, and will lead the company’s UK business. He was formerly Creative Director at DNA.
Winchester is currently producing Shogun, a ten-part limited series for FX based on the international bestseller written by James Clavell. Shogun will be directed by Tim Van Patten and is FX’s largest scale international production to date.
Winchester joined DNA Films in 2014 to set-up the TV department through a first-look deal with the Fox Network Group. In addition to Shogun, he developed series including Devs for FX and Black Narcissus for the BBC and worked with writers including John Hodge, Bryan Elsley, Danny Brocklehurst, Richard Warlow, David Wolstencroft, Dominic Mitchell, Hilary Mantel and Philippa Goslett.
Heyday Television is to start production on The Capture, a contemporary conspiracy...
- 11/27/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Ben Chanan writing and directing surveillance conspiracy drama.
UK stars Callum Turner and Holliday Grainger have been cast in Ben Chanan’s conspiracy thriller series The Capture, which is being produced by Davd Heyman’s Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One. It starts filming next month.
A timely surveillance thriller set in London, the 6x60 series follows a British soldier (Turner) whose conviction for murder in Afghanistan is successfully overturned due to flawed video evidence. However, when damming CCTV footage emerges from an incident involving the soldier in London, a detective inspector (Grainger) is drafted in to...
UK stars Callum Turner and Holliday Grainger have been cast in Ben Chanan’s conspiracy thriller series The Capture, which is being produced by Davd Heyman’s Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One. It starts filming next month.
A timely surveillance thriller set in London, the 6x60 series follows a British soldier (Turner) whose conviction for murder in Afghanistan is successfully overturned due to flawed video evidence. However, when damming CCTV footage emerges from an incident involving the soldier in London, a detective inspector (Grainger) is drafted in to...
- 10/29/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell and King Charles III’s Tamara Lawrance are to lead the cast of David Heyman’s BBC drama The Long Song.
The pair are to front the three-part series, which tells the story of dying days of slavery in Jamaica, alongside a supporting cast, which includes British comedy legend Lenny Henry.
The Long Song starts in 1838 on the British-ruled Caribbean island as three hundred years of slavery came to a chaotic end. The series follows July, a strong-willed young female slave on a Jamaican plantation, played by Lawrance, who goes from being a slave to the mother of a gentleman. The story is told from July’s perspective as she looks back over her life. Atwell plays her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer, while War and Peace’s Jack Lowden plays a charming new island arrival.
Henry stars as Godfrey, Doña Croll (EastEnders) as Old July,...
The pair are to front the three-part series, which tells the story of dying days of slavery in Jamaica, alongside a supporting cast, which includes British comedy legend Lenny Henry.
The Long Song starts in 1838 on the British-ruled Caribbean island as three hundred years of slavery came to a chaotic end. The series follows July, a strong-willed young female slave on a Jamaican plantation, played by Lawrance, who goes from being a slave to the mother of a gentleman. The story is told from July’s perspective as she looks back over her life. Atwell plays her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer, while War and Peace’s Jack Lowden plays a charming new island arrival.
Henry stars as Godfrey, Doña Croll (EastEnders) as Old July,...
- 7/12/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Harry Potter producer David Heyman and the BBC are understood to have set rising filmmaker Mahalia Belo (Requiem) as their director on anticipated high-end drama The Long Song. I hear the deal is just being finalized now. The Long Song is based on Andrea Levy’s celebrated Booker Prize-shortlisted novel about the dying days of slavery in the Caribbean. The drama will chart the story of a strong-willed young woman on a Jamaican sugar plantation who goes from…...
- 3/16/2018
- Deadline TV
David Heyman is a busy man; in addition to boarding Quentin Tarantino's next film, the Harry Potter producer is adapting Andrea Levy's novel The Long Song into a high-end drama for BBC One. The Long Song, which tells the story of dying days of slavery in Jamaica, is produced by Heyman's Heyday Television, a joint venture with NBC Universal, and will be written by Sarah Williams, who co-wrote BBC One's Small Island with Paula Milne and ITV's Case Sensitive. The project had…...
- 11/28/2017
- Deadline TV
"Small Island" is Andrea Levy’s uplifting story of Jamaican immigrants living in war-ravaged London in the early to mid-20th century. It's a telepic we highlighted on this blog in 2009, before it was to make its premiere in the UK, as well as here in the USA, airing in two parts on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic series. This was a few years before both Naomie Harris and David Oyelowo took on roles that made them widely-familiar to USA audiences. Also, others you'd recognize include Nikki Amuka-Bird (years before she was cast to give Idris Elba trouble in "Luther") and Ashley Walters, the British rapper, actor producer who...
- 7/3/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
It has been a tumultuous journey to the big screen but with MGM finally giving the greenlight to the 23rd Bond film the cast and crew are slowly assembling.
There is excellent news today with a report that Naomie Harris’s role, which was rumoured a month ago and is now in final negotiations, will be that of Miss Moneypenny, marking the character’s return to the franchise after the sparse ‘reboot’ of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Lois Maxwell is perhaps the actress most often associated with the role, though I enjoyed Samantha Bond’s take, and Harris’s previous form, notably in 28 Days Later and the recent TV adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, shows great promise and it will be interesting to see if her role is in any way expanded. While taking Q out into the field would seem a little too much for Bond purists,...
There is excellent news today with a report that Naomie Harris’s role, which was rumoured a month ago and is now in final negotiations, will be that of Miss Moneypenny, marking the character’s return to the franchise after the sparse ‘reboot’ of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Lois Maxwell is perhaps the actress most often associated with the role, though I enjoyed Samantha Bond’s take, and Harris’s previous form, notably in 28 Days Later and the recent TV adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, shows great promise and it will be interesting to see if her role is in any way expanded. While taking Q out into the field would seem a little too much for Bond purists,...
- 7/8/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Anonymous has been at it again. Following Primary Colors's version of Clinton comes O: A Presidential Novel. Mark Lawson on the tradition of insider political fiction, from Disraeli to The West Wing. A preview from tomorrow's Guardian Review.
Also in tomorrow's Review: Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage on why Anna Nicole Smith is a true operatic heroine, Andrea Levy on why she wrote Small Island, Stefan Collini in praise of Eric Hobsbawm and Sarah Churchwell on the scandalous Lillian Hellman
A successful political career demands a tradeoff between fame and anonymity. A leader needs to be known – an Obama, Blair or Clinton has the global recognisability of a rock star – but high-level politics also frequently depends on the exercise of secrecy. The unattributable briefing ("a party insider, speaking on condition of anonymity", "a source travelling with the prime minister") is a standard tool of political journalism, offering an early first...
Also in tomorrow's Review: Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage on why Anna Nicole Smith is a true operatic heroine, Andrea Levy on why she wrote Small Island, Stefan Collini in praise of Eric Hobsbawm and Sarah Churchwell on the scandalous Lillian Hellman
A successful political career demands a tradeoff between fame and anonymity. A leader needs to be known – an Obama, Blair or Clinton has the global recognisability of a rock star – but high-level politics also frequently depends on the exercise of secrecy. The unattributable briefing ("a party insider, speaking on condition of anonymity", "a source travelling with the prime minister") is a standard tool of political journalism, offering an early first...
- 1/22/2011
- by Mark Lawson
- The Guardian - Film News
The BAFTA-nominated war drama has just been released on DVD, and we're giving you the chance to win it!
We're offering five lucky entrants the chance to win a DVD of Small Island, the two-part series based on Andrea Levy's award-winning novel, courtesy of the BBC. For your chance to win simply send your answer to the question below to uktvcomps@cnet.com by midday on Tuesday, June 22.
Please note: to enter you must be a UK resident and accept our normal terms and conditions.
Q. More >>...
We're offering five lucky entrants the chance to win a DVD of Small Island, the two-part series based on Andrea Levy's award-winning novel, courtesy of the BBC. For your chance to win simply send your answer to the question below to uktvcomps@cnet.com by midday on Tuesday, June 22.
Please note: to enter you must be a UK resident and accept our normal terms and conditions.
Q. More >>...
- 6/15/2010
- by TV.com Staff
- TV.com
It aired in the UK. Now, North America will get to see it too.
Small Island is Andrea Levy’s uplifting story of Jamaican immigrants living in war-ravaged London in the early to mid-20th century. MsWOO mentioned the production of this film last summer (read her post Here). I alerted you to its stateside broadcast dates Here.
Starring Naomi Harris and David Oyelowo, the film will air in two parts on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic series, hosted by Laura Linney. The first part already aired, last Sunday, April 18 . The second episode will air this Sunday, April 25th.
I missed part 1, and I’m sure most of you did as well. Thankfully, PBS has made the entire episode available for viewing online! So, head on over to the Masterpiece Classics website and dig in (Click Here). The episode is available online for a limited time, through May 25th, so you...
Small Island is Andrea Levy’s uplifting story of Jamaican immigrants living in war-ravaged London in the early to mid-20th century. MsWOO mentioned the production of this film last summer (read her post Here). I alerted you to its stateside broadcast dates Here.
Starring Naomi Harris and David Oyelowo, the film will air in two parts on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic series, hosted by Laura Linney. The first part already aired, last Sunday, April 18 . The second episode will air this Sunday, April 25th.
I missed part 1, and I’m sure most of you did as well. Thankfully, PBS has made the entire episode available for viewing online! So, head on over to the Masterpiece Classics website and dig in (Click Here). The episode is available online for a limited time, through May 25th, so you...
- 4/21/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
"One should respect his motherland, his culture and his mother tongue because they are givers of happiness." - Rig Veda Adapted from Andrea Levy's novel of the same name, the lyrical and profound Small Island--airing the next two Sundays as part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic--recounts the struggle of two very different couples, bound by a invisible web of fate, who attempt to reconcile their own notions of the motherland and the reality of their circumstances. Set during and immediately after World War II in London, two-part drama Small Island--adapted by Paula Milne (Endgame) and Sarah Williams (Becoming Jane) and directed by John Alexander (Sense & Sensibility)--explores the imaginary landscape of the motherland, the promise of its embrace, and its cold reception towards those who might be willing to lay down their lives to her defense but whose skin color makes them outcasts. For Jamaican schoolmistress Hortense (Pirates...
- 4/16/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
London -- BBC1's 1950s Jamaican immigrant drama "Small Island" took top billing at the Royal Television Society program awards Tuesday night, earning Naomie Harris and David Oyelowo best actress and actor nods.
The TV film, in which a Jamaican couple adopt the illegitimate child of an English woman and her West Indian lover, also starred Benedict Cumberbatch and was based on the novel by Andrea Levy.
The BBC1 lead the field with nine awards, including best drama series for "The Street." BBC2 and BBC4 took home four awards, Channel 4 three awards, ITV earned two awards and E4 one award.
"Mad Men" won the best international award, beating competition from "Damages" and "Generation Kill." Armando Ianucci's acerbic BBC2 political comedy "The Thick of It" was named best scripted comedy, while BBC4's "Newswipe With Charlie Brooker" was the surprise winner in the best entertainment category, voted ahead of blockbuster ratings juggernauts "Britain's Got Talent,...
The TV film, in which a Jamaican couple adopt the illegitimate child of an English woman and her West Indian lover, also starred Benedict Cumberbatch and was based on the novel by Andrea Levy.
The BBC1 lead the field with nine awards, including best drama series for "The Street." BBC2 and BBC4 took home four awards, Channel 4 three awards, ITV earned two awards and E4 one award.
"Mad Men" won the best international award, beating competition from "Damages" and "Generation Kill." Armando Ianucci's acerbic BBC2 political comedy "The Thick of It" was named best scripted comedy, while BBC4's "Newswipe With Charlie Brooker" was the surprise winner in the best entertainment category, voted ahead of blockbuster ratings juggernauts "Britain's Got Talent,...
- 3/17/2010
- by By Mimi Turner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MsWOO mentioned the production of this film last summer (read her post Here).
It’s apparently already aired in the UK. Now, North America will get to see it too.
On Sunday, April 18 and 25, on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic series, hosted by Laura Linney, will feature Small Island, Andrea Levy’s uplifting story of Jamaican immigrants living in war-ravaged London in the early to mid-20th century.
Starring Naomi Harris and David Oyelowo, the film will air in two parts (you’re advised to check your local listings at http://pbs.org/tvschedules).
I haven’t seen it, or know of anyone who has, so I have no idea what can be expected. If you did watch it, chime in with your thoughts below.
Watch the preview:...
It’s apparently already aired in the UK. Now, North America will get to see it too.
On Sunday, April 18 and 25, on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic series, hosted by Laura Linney, will feature Small Island, Andrea Levy’s uplifting story of Jamaican immigrants living in war-ravaged London in the early to mid-20th century.
Starring Naomi Harris and David Oyelowo, the film will air in two parts (you’re advised to check your local listings at http://pbs.org/tvschedules).
I haven’t seen it, or know of anyone who has, so I have no idea what can be expected. If you did watch it, chime in with your thoughts below.
Watch the preview:...
- 2/26/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Producer Vicky Licorish (Goodbye, Mr. Steadman) has recently completed a labour of love in the shape of 'Small Island', a drama from Ruby Television in association with Al Films for BBC, which chronicles the intertwining lives and loves of Jamaicans and Londoners in the 1940s where English landlords' signs reading 'No Irish, No Coloureds, No Dogs' appeared to be the message of almost an entire country. 'Small Island' was filmed in Belfast and Jamaica during February / March 2009, with a few days also spent shooting in Dublin. The crew shot for six weeks in Belfast having transformed parts of the city into post war London. The drama feature, which is expected to broadcast as two 90 minute pieces, is adapted from Andrea Levy's novel of the same name, directed by John Alexander (The Shadow in the North) and adapted by Paula Milne (I Dreamed of Africa). Produced...
- 11/4/2009
- IFTN
BBC One announced their fall line up of programs today, which includes the third (and likely final season) of the award-winning comedy series Gavin & Stacey and the latest Doctor Who special starring David Tennant (entitled "The Waters of Mars"). Also on tap for UK viewers this autumn: a slew of other programming that includes a new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, starring Romola Garai (Atonement), Jonny Lee Miller (Endgame, Melinda And Melinda), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, Cranford), Tamsin Greig (Black Books, Green Wing), Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet), and Jodhi May (Einstein And Eddington, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard); the return of Peter Moffat's BAFTA-award winning thriller Criminal Justice, starring Maxine Peake, Matthew Macfadyen, Denis Lawson, Steven Mackintosh, Eddie Marsan, and Sophia Okonedo. Also announced: family drama Framed starring Waking the Dead's Trevor Eve and Torchwood's Eve Myles; period legal drama Garrow's Law; fashion drama Material Girl, starring Being Human's Leonora Crichlow,...
- 7/9/2009
- by Jace
- Televisionary
Filming will wrap this week on 'Small Island', a new 2 x 90-minute drama produced by Ruby Films for the BBC which has been shooting in Northern Ireland since mid February. The production will move to Jamaica at the end of this week. The drama which is an adaptation based on the award winning novel by Andrea Levy has been filming in various locations across Northern Ireland as well as at the Paint Hall Studio in Belfast and features Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean), David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland), Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre), Benedict Cumberbatch (Starter For Ten), Nikki Amuka-Bird (The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, Survivors) and Ashley Walters (Hustle). The story is set in 1948 and through the relationships of two couples, is a glimpse at Jamaican emigrants settling in post-wwii Britain and the problems faced by both them and original settlers.
- 3/26/2009
- IFTN
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