AMC Networks-backed streamer Acorn TV has snapped up North American rights to Mira Nair’s acclaimed period drama “A Suitable Boy.”
The eagerly anticipated deal, which was brokered with producer Lookout Point and distributor BBC Studios, will see Acorn TV premiere the series to audiences in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 7.
The six-part drama recently closed the Toronto International Film Festival — the first television title to do so — and also screened as part of AFI Fest’s ‘Special Presentations’ program. An adaptation of the eponymous Vikram Seth novel, which weighs in at around 1,349 pages, “A Suitable Boy” was adapted by “War and Peace” scribe Andrew Davies. Seth also served as an executive producer on the show.
Set in post-Partition North India in 1951, “A Suitable Boy” tells the story of spirited 19-year-old university student Lata Mehra (rising star Tanya Maniktala) as she comes of age at the same...
The eagerly anticipated deal, which was brokered with producer Lookout Point and distributor BBC Studios, will see Acorn TV premiere the series to audiences in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 7.
The six-part drama recently closed the Toronto International Film Festival — the first television title to do so — and also screened as part of AFI Fest’s ‘Special Presentations’ program. An adaptation of the eponymous Vikram Seth novel, which weighs in at around 1,349 pages, “A Suitable Boy” was adapted by “War and Peace” scribe Andrew Davies. Seth also served as an executive producer on the show.
Set in post-Partition North India in 1951, “A Suitable Boy” tells the story of spirited 19-year-old university student Lata Mehra (rising star Tanya Maniktala) as she comes of age at the same...
- 10/27/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
BBC One’s adaptation of Vikram Seth’s best-selling novel A Suitable Boy is heading to Netflix outside of the U.S., Canada and China, distributor BBC Studios has announced.
The streamer has also clinched the Lookout Point drama for subscribers in UK and Ireland after its 12-month iPlayer window has expired following its broadcast on BBC One. Lookout Point-owner BBC Studios is currently in talks with a U.S. partner, though no deal has yet been signed.
A Suitable Boy is adapted by Les Misérables and War & Peace writer Andrew Davies and the director is Mira Nair, the Golden Globe-nominated Monsoon Wedding helmer. It stars Bollywood leading man Ishaan Khatter, Indian screen star Tabu and rising actress Tanya Maniktala in the central role of Lata.
The six-part series tells the story of spirited university student, Lata, coming of age in North India in 1951 at the same time as...
The streamer has also clinched the Lookout Point drama for subscribers in UK and Ireland after its 12-month iPlayer window has expired following its broadcast on BBC One. Lookout Point-owner BBC Studios is currently in talks with a U.S. partner, though no deal has yet been signed.
A Suitable Boy is adapted by Les Misérables and War & Peace writer Andrew Davies and the director is Mira Nair, the Golden Globe-nominated Monsoon Wedding helmer. It stars Bollywood leading man Ishaan Khatter, Indian screen star Tabu and rising actress Tanya Maniktala in the central role of Lata.
The six-part series tells the story of spirited university student, Lata, coming of age in North India in 1951 at the same time as...
- 7/16/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Global streaming giant Netflix has come on board “A Suitable Boy,” the BBC Studios and Lookout Point adaptation of Vikram Seth’s bestselling novel. The series begins airing later this month in the U.K. on BBC One.
Netflix will be the exclusive home of “A Suitable Boy” for all global territories, except Canada, the U.S. and China. In the U.K. and Ireland, the Mira Nair-directed series will be available on Netflix 12 months after its release on BBC One. The series was one of the highlights of 17 new Indian films and series announced by Netflix on Thursday.
The cast of the six-part drama, shot entirely on location in India, is led by Bollywood leading man Ishaan Khatter and Indian screen legend Tabu alongside rising star Tanya Maniktala in the central role of Lata.
“A Suitable Boy” tells the story of spirited university student, played by Tanya Maniktala,...
Netflix will be the exclusive home of “A Suitable Boy” for all global territories, except Canada, the U.S. and China. In the U.K. and Ireland, the Mira Nair-directed series will be available on Netflix 12 months after its release on BBC One. The series was one of the highlights of 17 new Indian films and series announced by Netflix on Thursday.
The cast of the six-part drama, shot entirely on location in India, is led by Bollywood leading man Ishaan Khatter and Indian screen legend Tabu alongside rising star Tanya Maniktala in the central role of Lata.
“A Suitable Boy” tells the story of spirited university student, played by Tanya Maniktala,...
- 7/16/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Mira Nair, director BBC’s adaptation of A Suitable Boy, has called the period a “human, funny, political, sexy chronicle of India”.
This comes as the British public broadcaster has unveiled the first-look at the creative team behind the series, which is produced by Gentleman Jack producer Lookout Point.
Nair, director of Monsoon Wedding, is working with Les Misérables and War & Peace writer Andrew Davies, and author Vikram Seth on the drama, which commences filming later this week.
Nair, Seth and Davies gathered in Mumbai to start rehearsals and read through scripts alongside cast including Ishaan Khatter (Beyond the Clouds), Tabu (Life of Pi) and rising star Tanya Maniktala.
A Suitable Boy tells the story of spirited university student Lata (Maniktala) coming of age in North India in 1951 at the same time as the country is carving out its own identity as an independent nation and is about...
This comes as the British public broadcaster has unveiled the first-look at the creative team behind the series, which is produced by Gentleman Jack producer Lookout Point.
Nair, director of Monsoon Wedding, is working with Les Misérables and War & Peace writer Andrew Davies, and author Vikram Seth on the drama, which commences filming later this week.
Nair, Seth and Davies gathered in Mumbai to start rehearsals and read through scripts alongside cast including Ishaan Khatter (Beyond the Clouds), Tabu (Life of Pi) and rising star Tanya Maniktala.
A Suitable Boy tells the story of spirited university student Lata (Maniktala) coming of age in North India in 1951 at the same time as the country is carving out its own identity as an independent nation and is about...
- 9/6/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Hollywood Film Awards® was founded in 1997 and honors excellence in filmmaking and traditionally signals the Official Launch of the Award Season®. The HFAs showcase to the public at large previews of quality films released during the calendar year. The first-ever Hollywood Film Awards® gala took place in October 1997 in the historic Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood. Kirk Douglas took home the inaugural “Hollywood Lifetime Achievement Award.” The Hollywood Film Awards launch the awards season. Over the past 18 years, prior honorees have gone on to garner many Oscar nominations and wins. With participating Hollywood insiders, our Advisory Team identifies and selects the recipients of our honors. Our winners are pre-selected to receive our awards. Our selection is based on their outstanding achievement and contribution to the art of cinema. They are not “nominees.” 2014 honorees included some of the biggest names in Hollywood such as Keira Knightley,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Hollywood Film Awards honor established Hollywood artists. The criteria for these awards is based on the recipient’s body of work and/or a film that they have coming out this year. These awards are bestowed in all disciplines of filmmaking*: Career, Leadership, Producer, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, Editor, Film Composer, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Animation, and Visual Effects. Our award/tribute recipients are selected by our Advisory Team which is comprised of a cross section of Hollywood professionals. To read more about the Hollywood Film Awards The selection process for our honorees takes multiple elements into consideration and involves attending pre-press private industry screenings, press screenings, festival screenings, and research. It also includes the support and participation of established entertainment industry executives, from agents, critics, directors, managers, producers, publicists, screenwriters and studio execs to members of the craft guilds. With participating Hollywood insiders,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Om Puri's West is West was forced to change its shooting location from Pakistan to India over security and insurance issues. Says producer Leslie Udwin, “The story is set in Pakistan and we were keen to shoot there. The writer of the film, Ayub Khan Din and I had even done a recce, but the British Insurance Company refused to cover us if we went ahead with shooting in Pakistan." She adds, “Thankfully, since the topography of Punjab is similar to that of Pakistan, we didn't lose out on much.” Eventually Leslie hired set designer Aradhana Seth, who recreated the feel ...
- 6/11/2011
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
"One Night With the King" has all the trappings of a biblical epic with resplendent Mogul palaces of Rajasthan, India, standing in for fifth century B.C. Persia and sumptuous costumes and design elements re-creating the Persian empire in breathtaking splendor. Yet the heart of the matter, the story of Esther, an orphaned Jewish girl who becomes a queen and saves her people from annihilation, is inert.
Director Michael O. Sajbel never gets a handle on a way to make the story come alive for modern audiences. Scenes jammed with beautifully costumed extras, exotic animals and impressive vistas of the city of Jodhpur quicken one's pulse. Yet whenever the camera moves inside those palaces for intrigues associated with empire building and bloody revenge, the movie devolves into a talky, static affair featuring a cast with wildly varying accents and acting abilities.
The unfortunate upshot is that "One Night" has little chance to cross over to audiences outside its Christian demographic even when Fox Home Entertainment takes over the DVD release in the spring after its national rollout today. The film's biggest potential hook -- the reteaming of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in their first movie since "Lawrence of Arabia" -- disappears in less than a minute. O'Toole appears fleetingly in a prologue, then vanishes, sharing nary a scene with Sharif.
The screenplay by writer Stephan Blinn (basing his script on the novel "Hadassah: One Night With the King" by Tommy Tenney & Mark Andrew Olsen) is filled with plots and schemes but little real action. Not that good filmmakers can't make a banquet out of palace intrigue. But all this movie can manage is meatloaf: Actors stand in awkward-looking poses to declaim dialogue often lifted directly from the Bible. The spark of genuine drama is everywhere missing.
Another problem is casting. As Esther, young American actress Tiffany Dupont's line readings are self-conscious and modern-sounding. Nor does she understand how to use her physical presence to claim scenes that should belong to her. English-born Luke Goss as King Xerxes is competent enough -- once one gets past his ill-defined accent -- but the story confronts him with a character who is more indecisive than Hamlet.
Xerxes wants to rule over a rich culture of enlightenment and tolerance. Yet his princes successfully pressure him into military adventurism. The villain, Haman (a one-note James Callis), bribes Xerxes into issuing a decree to slaughter all Jews within the kingdom. At this juncture, neither man realizes that the king's new wife, Esther, is Jewish. The key point of the story is how Esther, persuaded by her uncle Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies) that she must intervene, goes against all protocols to sway her husband's mind. And he changes his mind in a flash.
Distinguished work is turned in by the veteran Davies and by Tiny Lister Jr., who uses his deep, gravely voice and imposing physique as the royal eunuch to powerful effect. Israeli actor Jonah Lotan is effective as Esther's childhood friend, while Sharif is persuasive as a father figure to the waffling king.
The real heroes, though, are designer Aradhana Seth, costume designer Neeta Lula and cinematographer Steven Bernstein, who furnish a perfect setting for the tale. Jac Redford's generic background music, on the other hand, won't shut up.
Director Michael O. Sajbel never gets a handle on a way to make the story come alive for modern audiences. Scenes jammed with beautifully costumed extras, exotic animals and impressive vistas of the city of Jodhpur quicken one's pulse. Yet whenever the camera moves inside those palaces for intrigues associated with empire building and bloody revenge, the movie devolves into a talky, static affair featuring a cast with wildly varying accents and acting abilities.
The unfortunate upshot is that "One Night" has little chance to cross over to audiences outside its Christian demographic even when Fox Home Entertainment takes over the DVD release in the spring after its national rollout today. The film's biggest potential hook -- the reteaming of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in their first movie since "Lawrence of Arabia" -- disappears in less than a minute. O'Toole appears fleetingly in a prologue, then vanishes, sharing nary a scene with Sharif.
The screenplay by writer Stephan Blinn (basing his script on the novel "Hadassah: One Night With the King" by Tommy Tenney & Mark Andrew Olsen) is filled with plots and schemes but little real action. Not that good filmmakers can't make a banquet out of palace intrigue. But all this movie can manage is meatloaf: Actors stand in awkward-looking poses to declaim dialogue often lifted directly from the Bible. The spark of genuine drama is everywhere missing.
Another problem is casting. As Esther, young American actress Tiffany Dupont's line readings are self-conscious and modern-sounding. Nor does she understand how to use her physical presence to claim scenes that should belong to her. English-born Luke Goss as King Xerxes is competent enough -- once one gets past his ill-defined accent -- but the story confronts him with a character who is more indecisive than Hamlet.
Xerxes wants to rule over a rich culture of enlightenment and tolerance. Yet his princes successfully pressure him into military adventurism. The villain, Haman (a one-note James Callis), bribes Xerxes into issuing a decree to slaughter all Jews within the kingdom. At this juncture, neither man realizes that the king's new wife, Esther, is Jewish. The key point of the story is how Esther, persuaded by her uncle Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies) that she must intervene, goes against all protocols to sway her husband's mind. And he changes his mind in a flash.
Distinguished work is turned in by the veteran Davies and by Tiny Lister Jr., who uses his deep, gravely voice and imposing physique as the royal eunuch to powerful effect. Israeli actor Jonah Lotan is effective as Esther's childhood friend, while Sharif is persuasive as a father figure to the waffling king.
The real heroes, though, are designer Aradhana Seth, costume designer Neeta Lula and cinematographer Steven Bernstein, who furnish a perfect setting for the tale. Jac Redford's generic background music, on the other hand, won't shut up.
- 10/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One Night With the King has all the trappings of a biblical epic with resplendent Mogul palaces of Rajasthan, India, standing in for fifth century B.C. Persia and sumptuous costumes and design elements re-creating the Persian empire in breathtaking splendor. Yet the heart of the matter, the story of Esther, an orphaned Jewish girl who becomes a queen and saves her people from annihilation, is inert.
Director Michael O. Sajbel never gets a handle on a way to make the story come alive for modern audiences. Scenes jammed with beautifully costumed extras, exotic animals and impressive vistas of the city of Jodhpur quicken one's pulse. Yet whenever the camera moves inside those palaces for intrigues associated with empire building and bloody revenge, the movie devolves into a talky, static affair featuring a cast with wildly varying accents and acting abilities.
The unfortunate upshot is that One Night has little chance to cross over to audiences outside its Christian demographic even when Fox Home Entertainment takes over the DVD release in the spring after its national rollout today. The film's biggest potential hook -- the reteaming of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in their first movie since Lawrence of Arabia -- disappears in less than a minute. O'Toole appears fleetingly in a prologue, then vanishes, sharing nary a scene with Sharif.
The screenplay by writer Stephan Blinn (basing his script on the novel "Hadassah: One Night With the King" by Tommy Tenney & Mark Andrew Olsen) is filled with plots and schemes but little real action. Not that good filmmakers can't make a banquet out of palace intrigue. But all this movie can manage is meatloaf: Actors stand in awkward-looking poses to declaim dialogue often lifted directly from the Bible. The spark of genuine drama is everywhere missing.
Another problem is casting. As Esther, young American actress Tiffany Dupont's line readings are self-conscious and modern-sounding. Nor does she understand how to use her physical presence to claim scenes that should belong to her. English-born Luke Goss as King Xerxes is competent enough -- once one gets past his ill-defined accent -- but the story confronts him with a character who is more indecisive than Hamlet.
Xerxes wants to rule over a rich culture of enlightenment and tolerance. Yet his princes successfully pressure him into military adventurism. The villain, Haman (a one-note James Callis), bribes Xerxes into issuing a decree to slaughter all Jews within the kingdom. At this juncture, neither man realizes that the king's new wife, Esther, is Jewish. The key point of the story is how Esther, persuaded by her uncle Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies) that she must intervene, goes against all protocols to sway her husband's mind. And he changes his mind in a flash.
Distinguished work is turned in by the veteran Davies and by Tiny Lister Jr., who uses his deep, gravely voice and imposing physique as the royal eunuch to powerful effect. Israeli actor Jonah Lotan is effective as Esther's childhood friend, while Sharif is persuasive as a father figure to the waffling king.
The real heroes, though, are designer Aradhana Seth, costume designer Neeta Lula and cinematographer Steven Bernstein, who furnish a perfect setting for the tale. Jac Redford's generic background music, on the other hand, won't shut up.
ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING
Gener8Xion Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Michael O. Sajbel
Screenwriter: Stephan Blinn
Based on the novel by: Tommy Tenney, Mark Andrew Olsen
Producers: Matthew Crouch, Laurie Crouch, Richard J. Cook, Stephen Blinn, Lawrence Mortorff
Director of photography: Steven Bernstein
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Jac Redford
Costume designer: Neeta Lula
Editors: Gabriella Cristiani, Stephan Blinn
Cast:
Hadassah/Esther: Tiffany Dupont
Xerxes: Luke Goss
Mordecai: John Rhys-Davies
Prince Admantha: John Noble
Hagai: Tommy Tiny Lister Jr.
Haman: James Callis
Jesse: Jonah Lotan
Prince Memucan: Omar Sharif
Samuel: Peter O'Toole
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Director Michael O. Sajbel never gets a handle on a way to make the story come alive for modern audiences. Scenes jammed with beautifully costumed extras, exotic animals and impressive vistas of the city of Jodhpur quicken one's pulse. Yet whenever the camera moves inside those palaces for intrigues associated with empire building and bloody revenge, the movie devolves into a talky, static affair featuring a cast with wildly varying accents and acting abilities.
The unfortunate upshot is that One Night has little chance to cross over to audiences outside its Christian demographic even when Fox Home Entertainment takes over the DVD release in the spring after its national rollout today. The film's biggest potential hook -- the reteaming of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in their first movie since Lawrence of Arabia -- disappears in less than a minute. O'Toole appears fleetingly in a prologue, then vanishes, sharing nary a scene with Sharif.
The screenplay by writer Stephan Blinn (basing his script on the novel "Hadassah: One Night With the King" by Tommy Tenney & Mark Andrew Olsen) is filled with plots and schemes but little real action. Not that good filmmakers can't make a banquet out of palace intrigue. But all this movie can manage is meatloaf: Actors stand in awkward-looking poses to declaim dialogue often lifted directly from the Bible. The spark of genuine drama is everywhere missing.
Another problem is casting. As Esther, young American actress Tiffany Dupont's line readings are self-conscious and modern-sounding. Nor does she understand how to use her physical presence to claim scenes that should belong to her. English-born Luke Goss as King Xerxes is competent enough -- once one gets past his ill-defined accent -- but the story confronts him with a character who is more indecisive than Hamlet.
Xerxes wants to rule over a rich culture of enlightenment and tolerance. Yet his princes successfully pressure him into military adventurism. The villain, Haman (a one-note James Callis), bribes Xerxes into issuing a decree to slaughter all Jews within the kingdom. At this juncture, neither man realizes that the king's new wife, Esther, is Jewish. The key point of the story is how Esther, persuaded by her uncle Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies) that she must intervene, goes against all protocols to sway her husband's mind. And he changes his mind in a flash.
Distinguished work is turned in by the veteran Davies and by Tiny Lister Jr., who uses his deep, gravely voice and imposing physique as the royal eunuch to powerful effect. Israeli actor Jonah Lotan is effective as Esther's childhood friend, while Sharif is persuasive as a father figure to the waffling king.
The real heroes, though, are designer Aradhana Seth, costume designer Neeta Lula and cinematographer Steven Bernstein, who furnish a perfect setting for the tale. Jac Redford's generic background music, on the other hand, won't shut up.
ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING
Gener8Xion Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Michael O. Sajbel
Screenwriter: Stephan Blinn
Based on the novel by: Tommy Tenney, Mark Andrew Olsen
Producers: Matthew Crouch, Laurie Crouch, Richard J. Cook, Stephen Blinn, Lawrence Mortorff
Director of photography: Steven Bernstein
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Jac Redford
Costume designer: Neeta Lula
Editors: Gabriella Cristiani, Stephan Blinn
Cast:
Hadassah/Esther: Tiffany Dupont
Xerxes: Luke Goss
Mordecai: John Rhys-Davies
Prince Admantha: John Noble
Hagai: Tommy Tiny Lister Jr.
Haman: James Callis
Jesse: Jonah Lotan
Prince Memucan: Omar Sharif
Samuel: Peter O'Toole
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 10/13/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- "Easy" goes down easy. Writer-director Jane Weinstock takes you down a well-trod path in romantic comedy, but her characters are smart and funny, the twists are unexpected and, for once, a romantic triangle is presented realistically with the choice a woman must face being anything but easy.
Since romantic comedy is the one genre studios struggle to get right, meaning there is always a dearth of good romantic films, "Easy" is a date movie that has a chance to break out of specialty venues to reach a wider audience. The problems it faces are that it might be considered too "soft" by classic divisions and lacks name actors to market.
Weinstock's heroine, Jamie (pert Marguerite Moreau), finds going to bed with guys all too easy. But true love always escapes her. She has become, in her own words, a jerk magnet. At age 25, she encounters John (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Indian poet who once taught her poetry. Despite the warnings of her sister, Laura (Emily Deschanel), Jamie does the one thing she knows will attract a man: She sleeps with John at the first opportunity.
For once though, things seem to work out, as the romance turns serious. Then when the relationship hits a major setback, heart-broken Jamie breaks things off and takes a 90-day vow of chastity.
Around this time, at her acupuncturist's, she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), an Irish comic with a late-night talk show. When Mick learns that Jamie has an unusual job in which she creates names for consumer products, he invites her to appear on the show.
Their friendship blossoms, and Mick clearly would like it to blossom into something more intimate. But things are now complicated. There is Jamie's vow, which she is determined to keep, and John has come back into her life, sincerely repentant and begging for a second chance.
Weinstock writes with a wide angle that takes in the social milieu of young, arty Westside Los Angeles and a host of characters with interesting quirks that orbit around her main ones. Jamie's sister, for instance, appears to be in a happy marriage, but there are signs of trouble. Then there is the unresolved guilt felt by the siblings and their father over the suicide-death of their mother years before. John and Mick also have pasts that catch up with them. John's former girlfriend turns up, and Mick's ex-wife Sandy (Caroline Goodall), who is bisexual, is not completely out of his life.
Weinstock locates her story in a world of creativity. Jamie's father, husband and sister are all architects. People meet in bookstores and art galleries. The art and photographs they look at reflect themes within the film. "Easy" is one of those rare movies that captures a real side to L.A. rather than using the city as a mere backdrop.
There is smoothness to the entire production that is astonishing for a film shot in 21 days in many locations. The actors, even in small roles, bring energy and conviction to their parts. Cinematographer Paul Ryan, designer Aradhana Seth and costumer designer Mona May locate the story in places that feel lived-in and unglamorous.
In "Easy", bumps on the road to love hit the characters hard, shaking people who are already gun-shy because of past relationship failures. They often overreact and place in jeopardy the thing they desire the most. A viewer is never completely confident about how things will end. And when the movie does end, one cannot say for certain what will happen next to Jamie and Mick and John and Laura.
EASY
Over Easy Prods
Credits:
Writer-director: Jane Weinstock
Producer: Gloria Norris
Executive producer: James Welling
Director of photography: Paul Ryan
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Grant-Lee Phillips
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Robert Hoffman, Lauren Zuckerman
Cast:
Jamie: Marguerite Moreau
Mick: Brian F. O'Bryne
John: Naveen Andrews
Laura: Emily Deschanel
Sandy: Caroline Goodall
Martin: D.B. Woodside
Lawrence: John Rothman
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- "Easy" goes down easy. Writer-director Jane Weinstock takes you down a well-trod path in romantic comedy, but her characters are smart and funny, the twists are unexpected and, for once, a romantic triangle is presented realistically with the choice a woman must face being anything but easy.
Since romantic comedy is the one genre studios struggle to get right, meaning there is always a dearth of good romantic films, "Easy" is a date movie that has a chance to break out of specialty venues to reach a wider audience. The problems it faces are that it might be considered too "soft" by classic divisions and lacks name actors to market.
Weinstock's heroine, Jamie (pert Marguerite Moreau), finds going to bed with guys all too easy. But true love always escapes her. She has become, in her own words, a jerk magnet. At age 25, she encounters John (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Indian poet who once taught her poetry. Despite the warnings of her sister, Laura (Emily Deschanel), Jamie does the one thing she knows will attract a man: She sleeps with John at the first opportunity.
For once though, things seem to work out, as the romance turns serious. Then when the relationship hits a major setback, heart-broken Jamie breaks things off and takes a 90-day vow of chastity.
Around this time, at her acupuncturist's, she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), an Irish comic with a late-night talk show. When Mick learns that Jamie has an unusual job in which she creates names for consumer products, he invites her to appear on the show.
Their friendship blossoms, and Mick clearly would like it to blossom into something more intimate. But things are now complicated. There is Jamie's vow, which she is determined to keep, and John has come back into her life, sincerely repentant and begging for a second chance.
Weinstock writes with a wide angle that takes in the social milieu of young, arty Westside Los Angeles and a host of characters with interesting quirks that orbit around her main ones. Jamie's sister, for instance, appears to be in a happy marriage, but there are signs of trouble. Then there is the unresolved guilt felt by the siblings and their father over the suicide-death of their mother years before. John and Mick also have pasts that catch up with them. John's former girlfriend turns up, and Mick's ex-wife Sandy (Caroline Goodall), who is bisexual, is not completely out of his life.
Weinstock locates her story in a world of creativity. Jamie's father, husband and sister are all architects. People meet in bookstores and art galleries. The art and photographs they look at reflect themes within the film. "Easy" is one of those rare movies that captures a real side to L.A. rather than using the city as a mere backdrop.
There is smoothness to the entire production that is astonishing for a film shot in 21 days in many locations. The actors, even in small roles, bring energy and conviction to their parts. Cinematographer Paul Ryan, designer Aradhana Seth and costumer designer Mona May locate the story in places that feel lived-in and unglamorous.
In "Easy", bumps on the road to love hit the characters hard, shaking people who are already gun-shy because of past relationship failures. They often overreact and place in jeopardy the thing they desire the most. A viewer is never completely confident about how things will end. And when the movie does end, one cannot say for certain what will happen next to Jamie and Mick and John and Laura.
EASY
Over Easy Prods
Credits:
Writer-director: Jane Weinstock
Producer: Gloria Norris
Executive producer: James Welling
Director of photography: Paul Ryan
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Grant-Lee Phillips
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Robert Hoffman, Lauren Zuckerman
Cast:
Jamie: Marguerite Moreau
Mick: Brian F. O'Bryne
John: Naveen Andrews
Laura: Emily Deschanel
Sandy: Caroline Goodall
Martin: D.B. Woodside
Lawrence: John Rothman
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- "Easy" goes down easy. Writer-director Jane Weinstock takes you down a well-trod path in romantic comedy, but her characters are smart and funny, the twists are unexpected and, for once, a romantic triangle is presented realistically with the choice a woman must face being anything but easy.
Since romantic comedy is the one genre studios struggle to get right, meaning there is always a dearth of good romantic films, "Easy" is a date movie that has a chance to break out of specialty venues to reach a wider audience. The problems it faces are that it might be considered too "soft" by classic divisions and lacks name actors to market.
Weinstock's heroine, Jamie (pert Marguerite Moreau), finds going to bed with guys all too easy. But true love always escapes her. She has become, in her own words, a jerk magnet. At age 25, she encounters John (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Indian poet who once taught her poetry. Despite the warnings of her sister, Laura (Emily Deschanel), Jamie does the one thing she knows will attract a man: She sleeps with John at the first opportunity.
For once though, things seem to work out, as the romance turns serious. Then when the relationship hits a major setback, heart-broken Jamie breaks things off and takes a 90-day vow of chastity.
Around this time, at her acupuncturist's, she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), an Irish comic with a late-night talk show. When Mick learns that Jamie has an unusual job in which she creates names for consumer products, he invites her to appear on the show.
Their friendship blossoms, and Mick clearly would like it to blossom into something more intimate. But things are now complicated. There is Jamie's vow, which she is determined to keep, and John has come back into her life, sincerely repentant and begging for a second chance.
Weinstock writes with a wide angle that takes in the social milieu of young, arty Westside Los Angeles and a host of characters with interesting quirks that orbit around her main ones. Jamie's sister, for instance, appears to be in a happy marriage, but there are signs of trouble. Then there is the unresolved guilt felt by the siblings and their father over the suicide-death of their mother years before. John and Mick also have pasts that catch up with them. John's former girlfriend turns up, and Mick's ex-wife Sandy (Caroline Goodall), who is bisexual, is not completely out of his life.
Weinstock locates her story in a world of creativity. Jamie's father, husband and sister are all architects. People meet in bookstores and art galleries. The art and photographs they look at reflect themes within the film. "Easy" is one of those rare movies that captures a real side to L.A. rather than using the city as a mere backdrop.
There is smoothness to the entire production that is astonishing for a film shot in 21 days in many locations. The actors, even in small roles, bring energy and conviction to their parts. Cinematographer Paul Ryan, designer Aradhana Seth and costumer designer Mona May locate the story in places that feel lived-in and unglamorous.
In "Easy", bumps on the road to love hit the characters hard, shaking people who are already gun-shy because of past relationship failures. They often overreact and place in jeopardy the thing they desire the most. A viewer is never completely confident about how things will end. And when the movie does end, one cannot say for certain what will happen next to Jamie and Mick and John and Laura.
EASY
Over Easy Prods
Credits:
Writer-director: Jane Weinstock
Producer: Gloria Norris
Executive producer: James Welling
Director of photography: Paul Ryan
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Grant-Lee Phillips
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Robert Hoffman, Lauren Zuckerman
Cast:
Jamie: Marguerite Moreau
Mick: Brian F. O'Bryne
John: Naveen Andrews
Laura: Emily Deschanel
Sandy: Caroline Goodall
Martin: D.B. Woodside
Lawrence: John Rothman
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- "Easy" goes down easy. Writer-director Jane Weinstock takes you down a well-trod path in romantic comedy, but her characters are smart and funny, the twists are unexpected and, for once, a romantic triangle is presented realistically with the choice a woman must face being anything but easy.
Since romantic comedy is the one genre studios struggle to get right, meaning there is always a dearth of good romantic films, "Easy" is a date movie that has a chance to break out of specialty venues to reach a wider audience. The problems it faces are that it might be considered too "soft" by classic divisions and lacks name actors to market.
Weinstock's heroine, Jamie (pert Marguerite Moreau), finds going to bed with guys all too easy. But true love always escapes her. She has become, in her own words, a jerk magnet. At age 25, she encounters John (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Indian poet who once taught her poetry. Despite the warnings of her sister, Laura (Emily Deschanel), Jamie does the one thing she knows will attract a man: She sleeps with John at the first opportunity.
For once though, things seem to work out, as the romance turns serious. Then when the relationship hits a major setback, heart-broken Jamie breaks things off and takes a 90-day vow of chastity.
Around this time, at her acupuncturist's, she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), an Irish comic with a late-night talk show. When Mick learns that Jamie has an unusual job in which she creates names for consumer products, he invites her to appear on the show.
Their friendship blossoms, and Mick clearly would like it to blossom into something more intimate. But things are now complicated. There is Jamie's vow, which she is determined to keep, and John has come back into her life, sincerely repentant and begging for a second chance.
Weinstock writes with a wide angle that takes in the social milieu of young, arty Westside Los Angeles and a host of characters with interesting quirks that orbit around her main ones. Jamie's sister, for instance, appears to be in a happy marriage, but there are signs of trouble. Then there is the unresolved guilt felt by the siblings and their father over the suicide-death of their mother years before. John and Mick also have pasts that catch up with them. John's former girlfriend turns up, and Mick's ex-wife Sandy (Caroline Goodall), who is bisexual, is not completely out of his life.
Weinstock locates her story in a world of creativity. Jamie's father, husband and sister are all architects. People meet in bookstores and art galleries. The art and photographs they look at reflect themes within the film. "Easy" is one of those rare movies that captures a real side to L.A. rather than using the city as a mere backdrop.
There is smoothness to the entire production that is astonishing for a film shot in 21 days in many locations. The actors, even in small roles, bring energy and conviction to their parts. Cinematographer Paul Ryan, designer Aradhana Seth and costumer designer Mona May locate the story in places that feel lived-in and unglamorous.
In "Easy", bumps on the road to love hit the characters hard, shaking people who are already gun-shy because of past relationship failures. They often overreact and place in jeopardy the thing they desire the most. A viewer is never completely confident about how things will end. And when the movie does end, one cannot say for certain what will happen next to Jamie and Mick and John and Laura.
EASY
Over Easy Prods
Credits:
Writer-director: Jane Weinstock
Producer: Gloria Norris
Executive producer: James Welling
Director of photography: Paul Ryan
Production designer: Aradhana Seth
Music: Grant-Lee Phillips
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Robert Hoffman, Lauren Zuckerman
Cast:
Jamie: Marguerite Moreau
Mick: Brian F. O'Bryne
John: Naveen Andrews
Laura: Emily Deschanel
Sandy: Caroline Goodall
Martin: D.B. Woodside
Lawrence: John Rothman
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/27/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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