Nicole Scherzinger, Succession star Sarah Snook, Game of Thrones and Sherlock actor Mark Gatiss, a revival of the musical Sunset Boulevard and the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow were among the winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater. The ceremony at Royal Albert Hall in the British capital was hosted by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham.
The revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard, which has starred Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and is set to come to Broadway this year, won the best musical revival award, the best actress honor for the former Pussycat Dolls singer and five other honors after also leading the nominations with 11.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix hit series, which has hinted at its Broadway ambitions, won the best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the Olivier for best set design.
Dear England,...
The revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard, which has starred Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and is set to come to Broadway this year, won the best musical revival award, the best actress honor for the former Pussycat Dolls singer and five other honors after also leading the nominations with 11.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix hit series, which has hinted at its Broadway ambitions, won the best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the Olivier for best set design.
Dear England,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Succession star Sarah Snook and singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger were among the big winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which were revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
- 4/14/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
A TV adaptation of the National Theatre play Dear England is heading to BBC, who beat Netflix in a bidding war.
We got a sneak peek at BBC’s upcoming slate of dramas in February. Among those was a TV adaptation of Dear England, the hit play which has been charming football-friendly audiences in the London theatre scene since its debut in June 2023.
Deadline now reports that Dear England could have very narrowly been a Netflix production instead. There was a fierce bidding war over the rights and according to Deadline, Netflix made a “more lucrative” offer but writer James Graham and Left Bank Pictures chose the BBC instead.
The outlet also reports that the reason behind Graham and Left Bank’s decision was because the team “view Dear England as a national story that should be told by the UK’s national broadcaster.”
Dear England is a fictionalised narrative...
We got a sneak peek at BBC’s upcoming slate of dramas in February. Among those was a TV adaptation of Dear England, the hit play which has been charming football-friendly audiences in the London theatre scene since its debut in June 2023.
Deadline now reports that Dear England could have very narrowly been a Netflix production instead. There was a fierce bidding war over the rights and according to Deadline, Netflix made a “more lucrative” offer but writer James Graham and Left Bank Pictures chose the BBC instead.
The outlet also reports that the reason behind Graham and Left Bank’s decision was because the team “view Dear England as a national story that should be told by the UK’s national broadcaster.”
Dear England is a fictionalised narrative...
- 3/27/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
Exclusive: The BBC was victorious in a bidding war with Netflix for Dear England amid fears for the future of British storytelling on television.
Deadline hears that Left Bank Pictures and Dear England writer James Graham wanted the stage play to be adapted on the BBC, despite a more lucrative offer from Netflix.
The four-part series was announced by the BBC last month and will be based on Graham’s National Theatre play, which provides a fictionalized account of England’s soccer team.
Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) featured as waistcoat-wearing England manager Gareth Southgate in the stage show and will reprise his role for the BBC series.
Sony Pictures Television-backed Left Bank and Graham chose the BBC over Netflix because they view Dear England as a national story that should be told by the UK’s national broadcaster.
Financials for the deal were not disclosed and Left Bank will...
Deadline hears that Left Bank Pictures and Dear England writer James Graham wanted the stage play to be adapted on the BBC, despite a more lucrative offer from Netflix.
The four-part series was announced by the BBC last month and will be based on Graham’s National Theatre play, which provides a fictionalized account of England’s soccer team.
Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) featured as waistcoat-wearing England manager Gareth Southgate in the stage show and will reprise his role for the BBC series.
Sony Pictures Television-backed Left Bank and Graham chose the BBC over Netflix because they view Dear England as a national story that should be told by the UK’s national broadcaster.
Financials for the deal were not disclosed and Left Bank will...
- 3/27/2024
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Tammy Faye, the Elton John-Jake Shears-James Graham musical about televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, will open at Broadway’s newly refurbished Palace Theater this fall with Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells reprising their acclaimed London performances, producers announced today.
The musical will begin previews at the Palace on October 19, with an official opening on November 14.
Producers Rocket Stage, Greene Light Stage, and James L. Nederlander announced the move to Broadway last November, but specific dates and initial casting were revealed today. Additional casting will be announced in the coming months.
Brayben will recreate her Olivier Award-winning performance as Tammy Faye Bakker, and Rannells will reprise his Olivier-nominated performance as Jim Bakker. Both starred in the world premiere West End Olivier-nominated production that opened at London’s Almeida Theatre in 2022.
Tammy Faye features music by John, lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Shears, and book by Ink playwright James Graham.
The musical will begin previews at the Palace on October 19, with an official opening on November 14.
Producers Rocket Stage, Greene Light Stage, and James L. Nederlander announced the move to Broadway last November, but specific dates and initial casting were revealed today. Additional casting will be announced in the coming months.
Brayben will recreate her Olivier Award-winning performance as Tammy Faye Bakker, and Rannells will reprise his Olivier-nominated performance as Jim Bakker. Both starred in the world premiere West End Olivier-nominated production that opened at London’s Almeida Theatre in 2022.
Tammy Faye features music by John, lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Shears, and book by Ink playwright James Graham.
- 3/22/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrew Rannells and Katie Brayben will reprise their roles in the musical Tammy Faye on Broadway this fall.
The production, which features music by Elton John, will play the newly renovated Palace Theater starting Oct. 19, with an opening night on Nov. 14. This is the first full production announced for the refurbished theater, which closed in 2018 for renovations and has since been raised 30 feet in the air and refurbished with a new lobby, marquee and backstage area.
Ben Platt is scheduled to play a three-week concert at the theater from May 28 through June 15.
Brayben won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of televangelist Tammy Faye in London. She also won an Olivier for her role in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and appeared in Girl From the North Country and King Charles III on the West End, among other stage roles.
Rannells, known for his starring role in The Book of Mormon and recently in Gutenberg!
The production, which features music by Elton John, will play the newly renovated Palace Theater starting Oct. 19, with an opening night on Nov. 14. This is the first full production announced for the refurbished theater, which closed in 2018 for renovations and has since been raised 30 feet in the air and refurbished with a new lobby, marquee and backstage area.
Ben Platt is scheduled to play a three-week concert at the theater from May 28 through June 15.
Brayben won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of televangelist Tammy Faye in London. She also won an Olivier for her role in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and appeared in Girl From the North Country and King Charles III on the West End, among other stage roles.
Rannells, known for his starring role in The Book of Mormon and recently in Gutenberg!
- 3/22/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sarah Snook, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andrew Scott and David Tennant were among the nominees for the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater.
Parker was nominated for best actress for her role in Plaza Suite, opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, while Snook was nominated in the same category for her one-woman take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tennant was nominated for best actor for his role in Macbeth, in the same category as Andrew Scott, in a one-man version of Vanya.
Sunset Boulevard, which starred Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated, and is set to come to Broadway next year, received 11 nominations, while Dear England, a play by James Graham about an English football manager, received nine nominations. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the television series, which has also hinted at its Broadway ambitions, is up for best new entertainment or comedy play.
The Olivier...
Parker was nominated for best actress for her role in Plaza Suite, opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, while Snook was nominated in the same category for her one-woman take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tennant was nominated for best actor for his role in Macbeth, in the same category as Andrew Scott, in a one-man version of Vanya.
Sunset Boulevard, which starred Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated, and is set to come to Broadway next year, received 11 nominations, while Dear England, a play by James Graham about an English football manager, received nine nominations. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the television series, which has also hinted at its Broadway ambitions, is up for best new entertainment or comedy play.
The Olivier...
- 3/12/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Prolific British screenwriter and playwright James Graham has revealed he has been diagnosed as a workaholic and described the addiction as “no different really from drink, drugs or sex.”
Graham appeared on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs yesterday and opened up about the problem, which he said led him to seek help from family and friends and eventually attend Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
“I knew something wasn’t quite right in my late 20s,” said the Sherwood and Brexit: The Uncivil War writer. “I would go into periods where I would be far too isolated or would self-sabotage relationships as soon as they became intimate and important. I was working around the clock continually and not looking after myself.”
He added: “The moment I realized I had a problem was when I had started to lie to family and friends about stupid things like I’d say I got up at 8 a.
Graham appeared on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs yesterday and opened up about the problem, which he said led him to seek help from family and friends and eventually attend Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
“I knew something wasn’t quite right in my late 20s,” said the Sherwood and Brexit: The Uncivil War writer. “I would go into periods where I would be far too isolated or would self-sabotage relationships as soon as they became intimate and important. I was working around the clock continually and not looking after myself.”
He added: “The moment I realized I had a problem was when I had started to lie to family and friends about stupid things like I’d say I got up at 8 a.
- 3/11/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Christian Bale has been one of the most fascinating actors to witness on screen due to his dedication and commitment to presenting himself differently every time. He is ready to put his heart, mind, and soul into every project and is known for his drastic physical transformations in his films throughout the years.
Christian Bale in 2017’s Hostiles
His breakout role was in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun, which made him an overnight sensation. Unfortunately, with fame came a terrible consequence for young Bale at the time, as he was constantly bullied by his classmates for years.
Christian Bale’s Fame From Empire of The Sun Had Dire Consequences
Christian Bale as James Graham in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun
As a child actor, Christian Bale starred in many commercials and plays in schools. While he initially was interested in acting, he slowly and surely found enjoyment in it.
Christian Bale in 2017’s Hostiles
His breakout role was in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun, which made him an overnight sensation. Unfortunately, with fame came a terrible consequence for young Bale at the time, as he was constantly bullied by his classmates for years.
Christian Bale’s Fame From Empire of The Sun Had Dire Consequences
Christian Bale as James Graham in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun
As a child actor, Christian Bale starred in many commercials and plays in schools. While he initially was interested in acting, he slowly and surely found enjoyment in it.
- 2/27/2024
- by Rahul Thokchom
- FandomWire
Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here steering you away from Berlin and towards London for the Screenings. Please do read on, and sign up here.
London Calling (Once Again)
Heading to the capital: As Insider goes to press, execs, sellers and buyers are descending on the English capital in their droves for what will undoubtedly be the biggest London TV Screenings so far. Around 30 distributor events are planned across the week, mostly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and all within a square mile of Soho — giving the Screenings an old-fashioned feel that harks back to halcyon days. Founder members All3Media International, Fremantle, ITV Studios and Banijay are hosting the biggest events, while BBC Studios Showcase is hitting London for the second year in a row, with the BBC now working in tandem with its distribution rivals.
London Calling (Once Again)
Heading to the capital: As Insider goes to press, execs, sellers and buyers are descending on the English capital in their droves for what will undoubtedly be the biggest London TV Screenings so far. Around 30 distributor events are planned across the week, mostly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and all within a square mile of Soho — giving the Screenings an old-fashioned feel that harks back to halcyon days. Founder members All3Media International, Fremantle, ITV Studios and Banijay are hosting the biggest events, while BBC Studios Showcase is hitting London for the second year in a row, with the BBC now working in tandem with its distribution rivals.
- 2/23/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The BBC has unveiled its biggest drama slate in years featuring a TV version of James Graham play Dear England starring Joseph Fiennes from The Crown producer Left Bank, Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood’s debut writing project and a Rebecca Hall-starrer from Poor Things maker Element.
Unveiled at a glitz London do for press and producers, the 12-strong roster, which features some of Britain’s best and brightest talents, is the first from new Drama Director Lindsay Salt, who took over from A24’s Piers Wenger 18 months ago.
Scroll down for the full slate below, which features an adaptation of Sherwood creator Graham’s Dear England about the England soccer manager Gareth Southgate – the play of which has taken London by storm and recently transferred to the West End. Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) will reprise his role as Southgate and Graham will pen the TV version, which...
Unveiled at a glitz London do for press and producers, the 12-strong roster, which features some of Britain’s best and brightest talents, is the first from new Drama Director Lindsay Salt, who took over from A24’s Piers Wenger 18 months ago.
Scroll down for the full slate below, which features an adaptation of Sherwood creator Graham’s Dear England about the England soccer manager Gareth Southgate – the play of which has taken London by storm and recently transferred to the West End. Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) will reprise his role as Southgate and Graham will pen the TV version, which...
- 2/21/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt has candidly floated the notion that the industry has moved from “peak TV to peak caution,” as she details an ambition to “help reshape the drama landscape at a critical time.”
Addressing producers and press for the first time since taking on the nation’s biggest drama commissioning job, Salt reflected on a decade since the phrase “peak TV” first entered the lexicon, raising concerns over “short-termism” and that “the big bets of the boom era are a thing of the past.”
“We’ve seen buyers retreat into cautious commissioning spaces,” said Salt. “The industry as a whole has become – dare I say it – a little fearful.”
Expanding her point, Salt said “financial pressures and commercial imperatives” have led buyers to “default to safe bets.”
She cited “inflation, content and platform saturation, retrenchment and the writers strike” as the key factors leading to “peak caution,...
Addressing producers and press for the first time since taking on the nation’s biggest drama commissioning job, Salt reflected on a decade since the phrase “peak TV” first entered the lexicon, raising concerns over “short-termism” and that “the big bets of the boom era are a thing of the past.”
“We’ve seen buyers retreat into cautious commissioning spaces,” said Salt. “The industry as a whole has become – dare I say it – a little fearful.”
Expanding her point, Salt said “financial pressures and commercial imperatives” have led buyers to “default to safe bets.”
She cited “inflation, content and platform saturation, retrenchment and the writers strike” as the key factors leading to “peak caution,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The BBC have unveiled a new slate of star-studded dramas including the TV adaptation of James Graham’s football play “Dear England” starring Joseph Fiennes, a new co-pro with “Euphoria” producer A24 and the screenwriting debut from “Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood.
Director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt revealed the 12-strong slate – which adds up to 66 hours of top TV – at a press event in London, U.K. on Wednesday evening. It includes two more series of Belfast-based police drama “Blue Lights.”
“Inflation, content and platform saturation, streamer retrenchment, the writers’ strike… It’s all fed a serious slowdown,” Salt said as she unveiled the diverse slate. “Five years ago, everyone was willing to make brave choices, to experiment, to try something a little unorthodox. I worry that risk-taking is becoming a dirty word… And that, in less than a decade, the industry might be moving from ‘peak TV...
Director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt revealed the 12-strong slate – which adds up to 66 hours of top TV – at a press event in London, U.K. on Wednesday evening. It includes two more series of Belfast-based police drama “Blue Lights.”
“Inflation, content and platform saturation, streamer retrenchment, the writers’ strike… It’s all fed a serious slowdown,” Salt said as she unveiled the diverse slate. “Five years ago, everyone was willing to make brave choices, to experiment, to try something a little unorthodox. I worry that risk-taking is becoming a dirty word… And that, in less than a decade, the industry might be moving from ‘peak TV...
- 2/21/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
First of all – is the BBC allowed to air a drama without a detective or a horse-drawn carriage in it? Can somebody check?
Crime and period’s drama dominance isn’t the only modern TV trend bucked by The Way. Actor Michael Sheen’s directorial debut is a wild throwback to the society-falls-apart TV of the past: Threads. The Year of the Sex Olympics. The Guardians. Cold Lazarus… all those wiggy, provocative Nigel Kneale and Dennis Potter stories that aimed for more than just audience share.
Written by Sherwood and Quiz’s James Graham, and co-created with documentary maker Adam Curtis, The Way also aims high – too high for what it’s able to achieve in three episodes, making it much more a curio than a must-see.
The drama imagines a Welsh civil uprising that turns the country into a closed-border police state and its people into persecution-fleeing refugees. It follows the Driscolls,...
Crime and period’s drama dominance isn’t the only modern TV trend bucked by The Way. Actor Michael Sheen’s directorial debut is a wild throwback to the society-falls-apart TV of the past: Threads. The Year of the Sex Olympics. The Guardians. Cold Lazarus… all those wiggy, provocative Nigel Kneale and Dennis Potter stories that aimed for more than just audience share.
Written by Sherwood and Quiz’s James Graham, and co-created with documentary maker Adam Curtis, The Way also aims high – too high for what it’s able to achieve in three episodes, making it much more a curio than a must-see.
The drama imagines a Welsh civil uprising that turns the country into a closed-border police state and its people into persecution-fleeing refugees. It follows the Driscolls,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell do not court publicity and when the duo welcome Deadline to their London office in early February, it is the first interview they have given about House Productions since they set up the film and TV outfit nearly seven years ago.
The Zone of Interest and The Iron Claw are in UK movie theaters when we speak, serving as a timely reminder of the company’s film credits, which have been built brick by brick. A second season of James Graham’s drama series Sherwood will drop in coming months on the BBC and the House principals are fresh back from L.A. as they line up U.S. partners for new projects.
Drama in the works include a series about the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, a TV adaptation of the musical Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, and an early-stage project with Ncuti Gatwa.
The Zone of Interest and The Iron Claw are in UK movie theaters when we speak, serving as a timely reminder of the company’s film credits, which have been built brick by brick. A second season of James Graham’s drama series Sherwood will drop in coming months on the BBC and the House principals are fresh back from L.A. as they line up U.S. partners for new projects.
Drama in the works include a series about the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, a TV adaptation of the musical Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, and an early-stage project with Ncuti Gatwa.
- 2/13/2024
- by Stewart Clarke
- Deadline Film + TV
Playwright James Graham has teamed up with Michael Sheen for three part BBC drama, The Way. Here’s the trailer.
Michael Sheen has spent a good portion of his career playing real-life figures, perhaps most notably David Frost in Ron Howard’s film version of Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon.
He has also played journalist Robbie Ross in Wilde, writer Jeremy Dyson in The League Of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Chris Tarrant in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? scandal drama Quiz and he played a heightened version of himself opposite David Tennant in Staged. He’s about to take on the role of Aneurin “Nye” Bevan in Tim Price’s play Nye at the National Theatre. Likewise, James Graham often writes political plays based around recent events.
The two have now teamed up for BBC drama The Way, which although it takes its inspiration from real events, follows fictional characters.
The synopsis reads as follows:
Ambitious,...
Michael Sheen has spent a good portion of his career playing real-life figures, perhaps most notably David Frost in Ron Howard’s film version of Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon.
He has also played journalist Robbie Ross in Wilde, writer Jeremy Dyson in The League Of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, Chris Tarrant in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? scandal drama Quiz and he played a heightened version of himself opposite David Tennant in Staged. He’s about to take on the role of Aneurin “Nye” Bevan in Tim Price’s play Nye at the National Theatre. Likewise, James Graham often writes political plays based around recent events.
The two have now teamed up for BBC drama The Way, which although it takes its inspiration from real events, follows fictional characters.
The synopsis reads as follows:
Ambitious,...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Exclusive: Michael Sheen, Adam Curtis and James Graham’s BBC drama The Way has been gestating for almost a decade but, for Good Omens star Sheen, the wait has been a necessary one.
As the BBC prepares to launch the drama set in Sheen’s hometown of Port Talbot, he told Deadline the pandemic and other recent events played an important role in shaping the script and believability of the three-part series, which is one of the broadcaster’s most anticipated of the year, bringing together three of the nation’s supreme creative talents.
Starring Sheen, who is making his directorial debut, Luke Evans (The Hobbit), Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin) and a wealth of talented Welsh actors, The Way tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town. Driven by celebrated documentary maker Curtis, the...
As the BBC prepares to launch the drama set in Sheen’s hometown of Port Talbot, he told Deadline the pandemic and other recent events played an important role in shaping the script and believability of the three-part series, which is one of the broadcaster’s most anticipated of the year, bringing together three of the nation’s supreme creative talents.
Starring Sheen, who is making his directorial debut, Luke Evans (The Hobbit), Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin) and a wealth of talented Welsh actors, The Way tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town. Driven by celebrated documentary maker Curtis, the...
- 2/6/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Feb 2-4) Total gross to date Week 1. Migration (Universal) £3.6m £3.6m 1 2. Argylle (Universal) £1.8m £2m 1 3. Mean Girls (Paramount) £842,000 £6.8m 3 4. All Of Us Strangers (Disney) £797,004 £2.8m 2 5. The Zone Of Interest (A24) £596,565 £595,565 1
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.26
Migration trumped Universal stablemate Argylle to top the UK-Ireland box office this weekend; as Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest made an excellent start in just 106 cinemas.
It was lovely weather for ducks as animation Migration opened to £3.6m. Playing in 597 sites, it took a £5,951 site average. Its takings were down on those from Illumination’s Minions series; but...
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.26
Migration trumped Universal stablemate Argylle to top the UK-Ireland box office this weekend; as Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest made an excellent start in just 106 cinemas.
It was lovely weather for ducks as animation Migration opened to £3.6m. Playing in 597 sites, it took a £5,951 site average. Its takings were down on those from Illumination’s Minions series; but...
- 2/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Jan 26-28)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Mean Girls (Paramount) £1.5m £5.5m 2 2. Wonka (Warner Bros) £1m £59.8m 8 3. All Of Us Strangers (Disney) £1m £1.2m 1 4. Anyone But You (Sony) £817,810 £8.4m 5 5. Poor Things (Disney) £690,000 £5.1m 3
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.27
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers scored an excellent £1m opening at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend as Mean Girls held top spot.
Paramount’s Mean Girls added £1.5m – a 40% drop that was soft enough for a second weekend atop the charts. The musical comedy is now up to £5.5m, and will overtake the £5.7m total of...
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.27
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers scored an excellent £1m opening at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend as Mean Girls held top spot.
Paramount’s Mean Girls added £1.5m – a 40% drop that was soft enough for a second weekend atop the charts. The musical comedy is now up to £5.5m, and will overtake the £5.7m total of...
- 1/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
Event cinema title Dear England is the widest new release at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, playing in around 800 UK cinemas through National Theatre Live.
The play first screened in 694 cinemas yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. The exact weekend location number is to be confirmed; should it be above the 777 sites of James Bond film No Time To Die from 2021, it would be the widest opening ever in UK-Ireland cinemas.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup,...
The play first screened in 694 cinemas yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. The exact weekend location number is to be confirmed; should it be above the 777 sites of James Bond film No Time To Die from 2021, it would be the widest opening ever in UK-Ireland cinemas.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup,...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Elton John’s successful musical about Tammy Faye Bakker is heading to Broadway. Producers announced Friday that Tammy Faye will make its way to New York City after a successful run in London for the 2024-2025 season.
During the England run, Katie Brayben played Bakker while Andrew Rannells played her first husband Jim Bakkar. Casting, venue, and production dates for the Broadway edition have not been announced yet.
The musical features music by John, lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, and a book by playwright James Graham. Ruper Goold will...
During the England run, Katie Brayben played Bakker while Andrew Rannells played her first husband Jim Bakkar. Casting, venue, and production dates for the Broadway edition have not been announced yet.
The musical features music by John, lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, and a book by playwright James Graham. Ruper Goold will...
- 11/17/2023
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
A musical about televangelist Tammy Faye, featuring music by Elton John, is slated to come to Broadway in the 2024-2025 season.
In addition to music by John, the musical, Tammy Faye, features lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, and a book by James Graham, the playwright of Ink, which followed Rupert Murdoch’s rise to power in the U.K. Rupert Goold, who helmed Ink and King Charles III, directs.
The musical comes to Broadway after making its world premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre in fall 2022, with Katie Brayben starring as Faye and Andrew Rannells starring as her husband and television co-host, Jim Bakker.
Casting, exact dates for the Broadway run and a theater have not yet been announced, but the production says it will appear in a Nederlander theater.
This production adds to John’s several other compositions for the stage, which have included The Lion King, Aida,...
In addition to music by John, the musical, Tammy Faye, features lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, and a book by James Graham, the playwright of Ink, which followed Rupert Murdoch’s rise to power in the U.K. Rupert Goold, who helmed Ink and King Charles III, directs.
The musical comes to Broadway after making its world premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre in fall 2022, with Katie Brayben starring as Faye and Andrew Rannells starring as her husband and television co-host, Jim Bakker.
Casting, exact dates for the Broadway run and a theater have not yet been announced, but the production says it will appear in a Nederlander theater.
This production adds to John’s several other compositions for the stage, which have included The Lion King, Aida,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Heather Joan Graham, an American actress, has captivated audiences with her talent and beauty for decades. From her early beginnings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to her rise as a Hollywood star, Graham’s journey in acting has been nothing short of remarkable. In this article, we will explore the life and career of Heather Graham, highlighting her notable roles, achievements, and impact on the entertainment industry.
Heather Graham was born on January 29, 1970, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Joan and James Graham. Her mother, Joan, was a schoolteacher and children’s book author, while her father, James, worked as an FBI agent. Growing up in a strictly Catholic household, Heather and her sister, Aimee Graham, were raised with strong values and a sense of discipline. Despite her shyness, Heather developed a passion for acting at a young age, which would ultimately shape her future.
While attending high school, Heather’s love for acting...
Heather Graham was born on January 29, 1970, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Joan and James Graham. Her mother, Joan, was a schoolteacher and children’s book author, while her father, James, worked as an FBI agent. Growing up in a strictly Catholic household, Heather and her sister, Aimee Graham, were raised with strong values and a sense of discipline. Despite her shyness, Heather developed a passion for acting at a young age, which would ultimately shape her future.
While attending high school, Heather’s love for acting...
- 10/19/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Exclusive: Joseph Fiennes has scored a winner with playwright James Graham’s knockout stage play Dear England, which will transfer from London’s National Theatre to the West End in the fall.
The play is an uplifting dramatization of Gareth Southgate’s inspirational leadership of the England’s men’s soccer team and has garnered strong reviews.
Dear England will run at the Cameron Mackintosh-owned Prince Edward Theatre in Soho, London for a 14-week season from October 9. National Theatre Productions is producing.
Fiennes will transfer with the drama. He has been praised for capturing Southgate’s determination to reignite the England team’s pride, plus the sense that the bloke’s a darn good egg. England stars such as captain Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling are also played in the show by actors.
Joseph Fiennes portrays Gareth Southgate in Dear England at National Theatre.
The play is an uplifting dramatization of Gareth Southgate’s inspirational leadership of the England’s men’s soccer team and has garnered strong reviews.
Dear England will run at the Cameron Mackintosh-owned Prince Edward Theatre in Soho, London for a 14-week season from October 9. National Theatre Productions is producing.
Fiennes will transfer with the drama. He has been praised for capturing Southgate’s determination to reignite the England team’s pride, plus the sense that the bloke’s a darn good egg. England stars such as captain Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling are also played in the show by actors.
Joseph Fiennes portrays Gareth Southgate in Dear England at National Theatre.
- 8/7/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Casting
A stellar cast has been revealed by the BBC and House Productions for Season 2 of James Graham’s BAFTA-winning hit crime drama “Sherwood.”
Directed by Clio Barnard (“Ali & Ava”) the news cast included David Harewood (“The Night Manager”), Robert Lindsay (“My Family”), Monica Dolan (“Black Mirror”), Sharlene Whyte (“Small Axe”), Stephen Dillane (“Vigil”), Ria Zmitrowicz (“The Power”), Aisling Loftus (“The Midwich Cuckoos”), Robert Emms (“Andor”), Michael Balogun (“Top Boy”), Christine Bottomley (“Domina”), Oliver Huntingdon (“Happy Valley”) Jorden Myrie (“Mood”), Conor Deane (“All Creatures Great & Small”) and Bethany Asher (“Wild Bill”).
The returning cast includes David Morrissey (“Red Riding”), Lesley Manville (“Mrs Harris Goes to Paris”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Alma’s Not Normal”), Philip Jackson (“Raised by Wolves”), Perry Fitzpatrick (“Line of Duty”), Bill Jones (“The Village”) and Adam Hugill (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”).
Season 2 introduces two new families entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries,...
A stellar cast has been revealed by the BBC and House Productions for Season 2 of James Graham’s BAFTA-winning hit crime drama “Sherwood.”
Directed by Clio Barnard (“Ali & Ava”) the news cast included David Harewood (“The Night Manager”), Robert Lindsay (“My Family”), Monica Dolan (“Black Mirror”), Sharlene Whyte (“Small Axe”), Stephen Dillane (“Vigil”), Ria Zmitrowicz (“The Power”), Aisling Loftus (“The Midwich Cuckoos”), Robert Emms (“Andor”), Michael Balogun (“Top Boy”), Christine Bottomley (“Domina”), Oliver Huntingdon (“Happy Valley”) Jorden Myrie (“Mood”), Conor Deane (“All Creatures Great & Small”) and Bethany Asher (“Wild Bill”).
The returning cast includes David Morrissey (“Red Riding”), Lesley Manville (“Mrs Harris Goes to Paris”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Alma’s Not Normal”), Philip Jackson (“Raised by Wolves”), Perry Fitzpatrick (“Line of Duty”), Bill Jones (“The Village”) and Adam Hugill (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”).
Season 2 introduces two new families entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries,...
- 7/25/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The BBC is making a film about a young British aid worker killed in the line of fire in Ukraine.
Hell Jumper sits on a six-strong Sheffield Doc Fest slate that also features shows commemorating anniversaries of the Hiroshima bomb and the miners’ strike.
Hell Jumper tells the story of Chris Parry and friends, a group of twenty-somethings who headed to Ukraine in a white van and hooked up with a rag-tag bunch of civilian ‘evacuators’ to help people escape their homes. Once there, the group’s missions grew riskier and riskier while they took to TikTok and Instagram to show footage of their daring rescues, with Parry killed trying to save an elderly woman trapped in her home.
The doc from Clarkson’s Farm producer Expectation and BAFTA-winning Prison helmer Paddy Wivell makes use of self-shot material, social media and video diaries. BBC Head of Documentary Commissioning Clare Sillery...
Hell Jumper sits on a six-strong Sheffield Doc Fest slate that also features shows commemorating anniversaries of the Hiroshima bomb and the miners’ strike.
Hell Jumper tells the story of Chris Parry and friends, a group of twenty-somethings who headed to Ukraine in a white van and hooked up with a rag-tag bunch of civilian ‘evacuators’ to help people escape their homes. Once there, the group’s missions grew riskier and riskier while they took to TikTok and Instagram to show footage of their daring rescues, with Parry killed trying to save an elderly woman trapped in her home.
The doc from Clarkson’s Farm producer Expectation and BAFTA-winning Prison helmer Paddy Wivell makes use of self-shot material, social media and video diaries. BBC Head of Documentary Commissioning Clare Sillery...
- 6/15/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Luke Evans and Callum Scott Howells are among the stars of upcoming BBC drama The Way from Michael Sheen, James Graham and Adam Curtis.
Sheen, who is also directing, will star in The Way with Steffan Rhodri and Mali Harries. The drama, announced in February, comes from Welsh indie Red Seam.
The Way is billed “an emotional and darkly humorous story about what it means to be faced with impossible choices” and follows the Driscoll family, who are forced to escape their small home town, which becomes ground zero of a spiraling civil uprising.
Rhodri (Steeltown Murders, Gavin and Stacey), Harries (Keeping Faith, Hinterland), Sophie Melville (The Pact, Iphigenia In Splott), Scott Howells (It’s A Sin, Cabaret) and Sheen (Staged, Good Omens) lead the cast as the Driscoll family with Maja Laskowska (Trigonometry, Baptise) as a young woman caught up in the family’s escape.
Evans (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Pembrokeshire Murders...
Sheen, who is also directing, will star in The Way with Steffan Rhodri and Mali Harries. The drama, announced in February, comes from Welsh indie Red Seam.
The Way is billed “an emotional and darkly humorous story about what it means to be faced with impossible choices” and follows the Driscoll family, who are forced to escape their small home town, which becomes ground zero of a spiraling civil uprising.
Rhodri (Steeltown Murders, Gavin and Stacey), Harries (Keeping Faith, Hinterland), Sophie Melville (The Pact, Iphigenia In Splott), Scott Howells (It’s A Sin, Cabaret) and Sheen (Staged, Good Omens) lead the cast as the Driscoll family with Maja Laskowska (Trigonometry, Baptise) as a young woman caught up in the family’s escape.
Evans (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Pembrokeshire Murders...
- 5/15/2023
- by Max Goldbart and Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: James Graham’s BBC drama Sherwood has set three-time BAFTA nominee Clio Barnard as its Season 2 director, as Lesley Manville and David Morrissey confirm they will reprise their roles in a story that will move forward to the present day.
Barnard, who has been BAFTA nominated for Ali & Ava, The Selfish Giant and The Arbor, is lead director and EP on Season 2, which begins filming this summer. The director, who replaces Lewis Arnold and Ben A. Williams, will oversee a season “navigating the devastating effect of two crimes on the community” in Nottinghamshire, told through a modern-day lens. She most recently directed Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes in Apple TV+ drama The Essex Serpent.
Deadline can reveal that the new story being penned by Graham will be brought forward to the present day. Season 1, which is nominated for three BAFTA TV Awards at this Sunday’s ceremony, was...
Barnard, who has been BAFTA nominated for Ali & Ava, The Selfish Giant and The Arbor, is lead director and EP on Season 2, which begins filming this summer. The director, who replaces Lewis Arnold and Ben A. Williams, will oversee a season “navigating the devastating effect of two crimes on the community” in Nottinghamshire, told through a modern-day lens. She most recently directed Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes in Apple TV+ drama The Essex Serpent.
Deadline can reveal that the new story being penned by Graham will be brought forward to the present day. Season 1, which is nominated for three BAFTA TV Awards at this Sunday’s ceremony, was...
- 5/11/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Following closely behind, Bad Sisters, The Crown, The English and Slow Horses also received five nominations apiece.
BBC dramas This is Going To Hurt and The Responder lead the nominations for this year’s Bafta Television and Bafta Craft awards with six nominations each.
Both dramas have received nods in the leading actor category for Ben Wishaw and Martin Freeman’s performances.
Sister’s This is Going To Hurt is up for best drama mini series, while Dancing Ledge’s The Responder, which has been recomissioned for a second series, makes the list for best drama series.
The two dramas...
BBC dramas This is Going To Hurt and The Responder lead the nominations for this year’s Bafta Television and Bafta Craft awards with six nominations each.
Both dramas have received nods in the leading actor category for Ben Wishaw and Martin Freeman’s performances.
Sister’s This is Going To Hurt is up for best drama mini series, while Dancing Ledge’s The Responder, which has been recomissioned for a second series, makes the list for best drama series.
The two dramas...
- 3/22/2023
- by Heather Fallon Broadcast
- ScreenDaily
BAFTA has pulled the curtain back on its Television Awards nominations, and This Is Going To Hurt and The Responder are leading the chase for a famous bronze mask.
The BBC dramas each have six nominations across the BAFTA Television Awards and BAFTA Television Craft Awards, including Leading Actor for Ben Whishaw and Martin Freeman.
Whishaw plays junior doctor Adam Kay in This Is Going To Hurt, which was co-produced by AMC. Freeman features as an urgent response police officer in The Responder.
This Is Going To Hurt is nominated for Mini Series, while The Responder will compete in the Drama Series race. Adam Kay and Tony Schumacher will both do battle in the Writer: Drama category at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards.
The BBC has a total of 81 nominations, putting it comfortably ahead of its nearest rival Channel 4, which has 33 nominations. Netflix scooped 24 nominations, while Apple TV+ was...
The BBC dramas each have six nominations across the BAFTA Television Awards and BAFTA Television Craft Awards, including Leading Actor for Ben Whishaw and Martin Freeman.
Whishaw plays junior doctor Adam Kay in This Is Going To Hurt, which was co-produced by AMC. Freeman features as an urgent response police officer in The Responder.
This Is Going To Hurt is nominated for Mini Series, while The Responder will compete in the Drama Series race. Adam Kay and Tony Schumacher will both do battle in the Writer: Drama category at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards.
The BBC has a total of 81 nominations, putting it comfortably ahead of its nearest rival Channel 4, which has 33 nominations. Netflix scooped 24 nominations, while Apple TV+ was...
- 3/22/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Heroes star Zachary Quinto is returning to NBC as the titular character in Wolf, a one-hour medical drama pilot from writer-producer Michael Grassi, producer-director Lee Toland Krieger and executive producer Greg Berlanti. The project comes from Warner Bros Television, where all three are under overall deals.
Related: 2023 NBC Pilots & Series Orders
Wolf is inspired by the books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks. It follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist, Dr. Oliver Wolf (Quinto), and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier, the human mind, while also grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
Dr. Wolf, head of neurology at Bronx General, is an obsessive genius. He’s drawn to people society has deemed as “other” and helps them find hope and purpose. He embraces differences rather than suppressing them.
Berlanti executive produces alongside Sarah Schechter...
Related: 2023 NBC Pilots & Series Orders
Wolf is inspired by the books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks. It follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist, Dr. Oliver Wolf (Quinto), and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier, the human mind, while also grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
Dr. Wolf, head of neurology at Bronx General, is an obsessive genius. He’s drawn to people society has deemed as “other” and helps them find hope and purpose. He embraces differences rather than suppressing them.
Berlanti executive produces alongside Sarah Schechter...
- 3/1/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) is set to portray England men’s soccer coach Gareth Southgate in a new play at the National Theatre in London.
Playwright James Graham (Sherwood) has penned the play, titled Dear England, and he told the BBC in a new interview that the production will chronicle the “gentle revolution” in the England soccer team since Southgate took charge.
“I think what has happened to the men’s England football team over the past six years has been quietly extraordinary,” Graham told BBC News.
“It’s been humming along in the background, but we’re only starting to really understand now Gareth’s gentle revolution.”
British theatre director Rupert Goold will helm the play, which National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris described as “a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much loved beautiful game.”
Southgate, a former England international, was named England national team...
Playwright James Graham (Sherwood) has penned the play, titled Dear England, and he told the BBC in a new interview that the production will chronicle the “gentle revolution” in the England soccer team since Southgate took charge.
“I think what has happened to the men’s England football team over the past six years has been quietly extraordinary,” Graham told BBC News.
“It’s been humming along in the background, but we’re only starting to really understand now Gareth’s gentle revolution.”
British theatre director Rupert Goold will helm the play, which National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris described as “a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much loved beautiful game.”
Southgate, a former England international, was named England national team...
- 2/21/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Three of the UK’s most sought-after creatives — James Graham, Michael Sheen and Adam Curtis — are combining on a BBC drama that imagines a civil uprising beginning in a small industrial town.
The Way is being penned by Sherwood creator Graham, directed by Good Omens star Sheen in his TV helming debut, and co-created by the pair with documentary auteur Curtis whose past credits include The Power off Nightmares and HyperNormalisation.
The trio’s three-parter will “tap into the social and political chaos of today’s world” via a civil uprising, the BBC said. It follows the Driscolls, an ordinary family caught in a chain of events and power struggles that forces them to escape the country they’ve always called home and the certainties of their old lives.
The Way brings together three juggernauts of the UK TV world. It is the first greenlight for Sheen’s production arm Red Seam,...
The Way is being penned by Sherwood creator Graham, directed by Good Omens star Sheen in his TV helming debut, and co-created by the pair with documentary auteur Curtis whose past credits include The Power off Nightmares and HyperNormalisation.
The trio’s three-parter will “tap into the social and political chaos of today’s world” via a civil uprising, the BBC said. It follows the Driscolls, an ordinary family caught in a chain of events and power struggles that forces them to escape the country they’ve always called home and the certainties of their old lives.
The Way brings together three juggernauts of the UK TV world. It is the first greenlight for Sheen’s production arm Red Seam,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Digital U.K., the platform operator of Freeview and of its satellite twin Freesat, which provide free British television, has been renamed as Everyone TV, it was revealed at the 2023 Outside the Box conference in London on Thursday.
Everyone TV is backed by U.K. public service broadcasters (PSBs) BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The name change comes with a revised mandate for the org – “to lead the evolution of free, universal, high-quality television, in a way that protects and strengthens the social glue provided by Britain’s broadcasting heritage.”
The conference reignited the ongoing debate in the U.K. that often pits the PSBs against the global streamers. Some of the opening salvos were fired by Everyone TV CEO Jonathan Thompson in his keynote. Thompson spoke about the concept of universality where shared experiences on PSBs – like the England women’s soccer team winning the UEFA Women...
Everyone TV is backed by U.K. public service broadcasters (PSBs) BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The name change comes with a revised mandate for the org – “to lead the evolution of free, universal, high-quality television, in a way that protects and strengthens the social glue provided by Britain’s broadcasting heritage.”
The conference reignited the ongoing debate in the U.K. that often pits the PSBs against the global streamers. Some of the opening salvos were fired by Everyone TV CEO Jonathan Thompson in his keynote. Thompson spoke about the concept of universality where shared experiences on PSBs – like the England women’s soccer team winning the UEFA Women...
- 1/26/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
‘Sherwood’ Writer James Graham: Streamers Are “Perplexed” By UK Government Threat To BBC & Channel 4
Streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video and Paramount+ are “perplexed” by government threats to the UK’s Public Service Broadcasters (Psb), according to Sherwood scribe James Graham.
Graham, one of Britain’s foremost TV and theater writers, flagged the example of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who broke through the theater system to create the BBC’s Fleabag before being snapped up by Amazon in a ‘Golden Handcuffs’ deal.
He was reflecting on the BBC’s funding struggles due to the government’s freezing of the license fee for two years, along with threats to Channel 4’s position as a public broadcaster, although this was recently reversed.
“We’ve got the best of both worlds [in the UK],” said Graham, in conversation with Banijay UK Chair Patrick Holland at today’s Freeview Outside the Box 2023 event. “Streamers benefit from Psb development. The likes of Amazon would be utterly perplexed by the threat to that pipeline.
Graham, one of Britain’s foremost TV and theater writers, flagged the example of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who broke through the theater system to create the BBC’s Fleabag before being snapped up by Amazon in a ‘Golden Handcuffs’ deal.
He was reflecting on the BBC’s funding struggles due to the government’s freezing of the license fee for two years, along with threats to Channel 4’s position as a public broadcaster, although this was recently reversed.
“We’ve got the best of both worlds [in the UK],” said Graham, in conversation with Banijay UK Chair Patrick Holland at today’s Freeview Outside the Box 2023 event. “Streamers benefit from Psb development. The likes of Amazon would be utterly perplexed by the threat to that pipeline.
- 1/26/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Jon S Baird’s miniseries opens in 1960s Westminster, where John Stonehouse (Matthew Macfadyen) is an up-and-comer in the Labour Party. “What do we know about him?” asks prime minister Harold Wilson. “Working-class boy. Parents both trade unionists. Served in the Raf during the war.” Naturally, he’s made aviation minister – a role that takes him to Prague and into the arms of an obvious honey trap. “We would like you to become an unofficial representative of our country in Great Britain,” he’s told, in a smoke-filled Soviet interrogation room, as the film of his tryst is slid across the table. And so begins the decade-long unravelling of his life, a process that will end with him leaving his folded clothes and passport on a Florida beach and swimming out to sea.
Macfadyen is one of Britain’s finest actors, and his performance as Stonehouse rounds out a trilogy...
Macfadyen is one of Britain’s finest actors, and his performance as Stonehouse rounds out a trilogy...
- 1/2/2023
- by Nick Hilton
- The Independent - TV
When the term Wag (standing for the Wives And Girlfriends of England’s top footballers) first appeared in British newspapers, it beckoned in a new era of scurrilous journalism. These women – who were unfairly blamed for England’s miserable exit from the World Cup in 2006 – became a perpetual motion machine for tabloid column inches. But when The Book of the Wag is finally written, the story that began with Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole will climax with the wives of two former England strikers going head-to-head in the High Court. This is the story of Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Channel 4’s verbatim retelling of the infamous “Wagatha Christie” saga.
But that name was always a misnomer. This story was never a whodunnit. Instead, it was a she said, she said popularity contest played out on a public stage. In the red corner: Coleen Rooney (Trollied’s Chanel Cresswell...
But that name was always a misnomer. This story was never a whodunnit. Instead, it was a she said, she said popularity contest played out on a public stage. In the red corner: Coleen Rooney (Trollied’s Chanel Cresswell...
- 12/21/2022
- by Nick Hilton
- The Independent - TV
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) won the best actress prize at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her West End debut performance playing a criminal barrister specialising in defending rapists — who is then sexually assaulted herself.
Comer won critical and public acclaim for the solo role in Prima Facie, which is written by Suzie Miller and directed by Justin Martin. James Bierman’s Empire Street Productions will launch the courtroom drama at Broadway’s Golden Theatre from April 11, 2023.
Stephen Graham (The Irishman), like Comer a Liverpudlian, presented Comer with the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress, named in honor of the star who died in 2009.
Comer told guests, who included Richardson’s mother Dame Vanessa Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson, that her experience in Prima Facie had been “utterly terrifying, having never trained,” added: “I didn’t know if I could execute this.”
However, she praised the production’s creative team for supporting her,...
Comer won critical and public acclaim for the solo role in Prima Facie, which is written by Suzie Miller and directed by Justin Martin. James Bierman’s Empire Street Productions will launch the courtroom drama at Broadway’s Golden Theatre from April 11, 2023.
Stephen Graham (The Irishman), like Comer a Liverpudlian, presented Comer with the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress, named in honor of the star who died in 2009.
Comer told guests, who included Richardson’s mother Dame Vanessa Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson, that her experience in Prima Facie had been “utterly terrifying, having never trained,” added: “I didn’t know if I could execute this.”
However, she praised the production’s creative team for supporting her,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
The Star Trek actor is making his West End debut in a play about the 1968 US TV political debates between Gore Vidal and William F Buckley. But he fears the pair’s fiery exchanges may be partly to blame for today’s polarised politics
When the uncompromising American writer Gore Vidal had people over for dinner, he would often put on old tapes of his televised debates with conservative William F Buckley. Deep into his old age, he would sit his guests down with a drink and watch, obsessively, the recordings of his own, younger face. Recently, Zachary Quinto has taken to watching them obsessively, too.
The 45-year-old actor and staunch Democrat is best known for playing Spock in the most recent Star Trek films. Now, he’s stepped into the role of the “authentic, immovable, complex” Vidal in the West End transfer of James Graham’s Best of Enemies,...
When the uncompromising American writer Gore Vidal had people over for dinner, he would often put on old tapes of his televised debates with conservative William F Buckley. Deep into his old age, he would sit his guests down with a drink and watch, obsessively, the recordings of his own, younger face. Recently, Zachary Quinto has taken to watching them obsessively, too.
The 45-year-old actor and staunch Democrat is best known for playing Spock in the most recent Star Trek films. Now, he’s stepped into the role of the “authentic, immovable, complex” Vidal in the West End transfer of James Graham’s Best of Enemies,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Kate Wyver
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
There’s a certain rite of passage that every British male actor of a certain age who has recently displayed a certain set of skills onscreen must go through — at some point they’ll be talked up as a possible James Bond.
For Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, this happened shortly after the first season of Gangs of London, the Gareth Evans-created brutal and blood-soaked crime thriller series, which aired on Sky in the U.K. in 2020 and the next year on AMC+ in the U.S.
The first episode alone — in which Dìrísù’s undercover cop character, Elliot Finch, takes out an entire pub’s worth of Eastern European bruisers (with fists, feet, pint glasses, ashtrays and a solitary playing dart) and, in a later more Saw-like scene, battles a man wearing only boxer shorts and rubber boots and brandishing a meat cleaver...
There’s a certain rite of passage that every British male actor of a certain age who has recently displayed a certain set of skills onscreen must go through — at some point they’ll be talked up as a possible James Bond.
For Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, this happened shortly after the first season of Gangs of London, the Gareth Evans-created brutal and blood-soaked crime thriller series, which aired on Sky in the U.K. in 2020 and the next year on AMC+ in the U.S.
The first episode alone — in which Dìrísù’s undercover cop character, Elliot Finch, takes out an entire pub’s worth of Eastern European bruisers (with fists, feet, pint glasses, ashtrays and a solitary playing dart) and, in a later more Saw-like scene, battles a man wearing only boxer shorts and rubber boots and brandishing a meat cleaver...
- 11/10/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: David Harewood, star of stage and screen, was intrigued when an unsolicited short-film screenplay entitled Man to Man arrived in his inbox. “I literally read it in 20 minutes. I was moved by it,” he enthused of the script by youthful writers Selorm Adonu and Ignatius Kalule.
Harewood read Man to Man a second time and soon was off to a meeting with its director Shehroze Khan and members of Million Youth Media, one of the fastest-growing platforms for young filmmakers in the UK. It’s run under the auspices of Fully Focused Productions, a community network of young creatives who hail from across the UK, and further. Watch a clip from the film below.
”I was moved by their stories, of where they came from, how they approach the business, and I agreed to meet with them,” Harewood told Deadline.
“They’re all kids!” he marveled. “I was blown...
Harewood read Man to Man a second time and soon was off to a meeting with its director Shehroze Khan and members of Million Youth Media, one of the fastest-growing platforms for young filmmakers in the UK. It’s run under the auspices of Fully Focused Productions, a community network of young creatives who hail from across the UK, and further. Watch a clip from the film below.
”I was moved by their stories, of where they came from, how they approach the business, and I agreed to meet with them,” Harewood told Deadline.
“They’re all kids!” he marveled. “I was blown...
- 7/17/2022
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Warning: Major spoilers for Sherwood episodes 1 to 6.
Like The Responder before it, Sherwood is a gripping BBC crime drama about much more than manhunts and police barrier tape. Loosely inspired by real events, it’s the story of two murders in a Nottinghamshire ex-mining town that reopen old wounds in a fractured community where conflict was manipulated by political policing during the 1984-1985 miners’ strike.
With an unimprovable cast including Lesley Manville, Alun Armstrong, David Morrissey and countless other talents, Sherwood hits all the marks of a whodunit thriller with characters that examine the nature of division and decades-old rifts. Its first series begins in grief and ends with an exhortation for communities not to allow their differences to be exploited by others for political gain.
A clear contender for British TV drama of the year, let’s dive into how Sherwood’s moving, revelatory ending unfurled. Spoilers ahead.
The...
Like The Responder before it, Sherwood is a gripping BBC crime drama about much more than manhunts and police barrier tape. Loosely inspired by real events, it’s the story of two murders in a Nottinghamshire ex-mining town that reopen old wounds in a fractured community where conflict was manipulated by political policing during the 1984-1985 miners’ strike.
With an unimprovable cast including Lesley Manville, Alun Armstrong, David Morrissey and countless other talents, Sherwood hits all the marks of a whodunit thriller with characters that examine the nature of division and decades-old rifts. Its first series begins in grief and ends with an exhortation for communities not to allow their differences to be exploited by others for political gain.
A clear contender for British TV drama of the year, let’s dive into how Sherwood’s moving, revelatory ending unfurled. Spoilers ahead.
The...
- 6/29/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
The BBC has greenlit a second season of Sherwood from Brexit: The Uncivil War and Quiz creator James Graham, immediately after the conclusion of the first.
The first run of the whodunnit thriller ended on BBC One in the past few minutes and the network has committed, after millions of viewers tuned in each week to the show from Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross’ BBC Studios-backed drama indie House Productions.
Starring David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Sherwood is a murder mystery six-parter inspired by events that took place in the Nottinghamshire mining village where Graham grew up. The second series will once again take inspiration from the pit villages and surrounding towns, continuing the theme of examining the lives and legacy of those governed by Britain’s industrial past and especially the mid-1980s miner’s strikes that rocked the nation.
Graham said he...
The first run of the whodunnit thriller ended on BBC One in the past few minutes and the network has committed, after millions of viewers tuned in each week to the show from Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross’ BBC Studios-backed drama indie House Productions.
Starring David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Sherwood is a murder mystery six-parter inspired by events that took place in the Nottinghamshire mining village where Graham grew up. The second series will once again take inspiration from the pit villages and surrounding towns, continuing the theme of examining the lives and legacy of those governed by Britain’s industrial past and especially the mid-1980s miner’s strikes that rocked the nation.
Graham said he...
- 6/28/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC dramas “Normal People,” “I May Destroy You,” and “Small Axe” and ITV dramas “Quiz” and “Des” lead the nominations at the 47th edition of the U.K.’s Broadcasting Press Guild (Bpg) TV and streaming Awards.
“Normal People” is nominated for best drama series (5+ episodes), and stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as best actor and actress and for the ‘Bpg breakthrough award.’ “Small Axe” receives nominations for best drama series (5+ episodes), best writer, best actor (Shaun Parkes), best actress (Letitia Wright) and the breakthrough award (Amarah-Jae St. Aubin). Michaela Coel is nominated as best actress and best writer for “I May Destroy You,” which also scores a best drama series nomination in the 5+ episodes category.
“Quiz” is shortlisted for best drama series (1-4 episodes), best actor (Matthew Macfadyen) and best writer (James Graham), while “Des” is nominated as best drama (1-4 episodes) and for best actor.
“Roald and...
“Normal People” is nominated for best drama series (5+ episodes), and stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as best actor and actress and for the ‘Bpg breakthrough award.’ “Small Axe” receives nominations for best drama series (5+ episodes), best writer, best actor (Shaun Parkes), best actress (Letitia Wright) and the breakthrough award (Amarah-Jae St. Aubin). Michaela Coel is nominated as best actress and best writer for “I May Destroy You,” which also scores a best drama series nomination in the 5+ episodes category.
“Quiz” is shortlisted for best drama series (1-4 episodes), best actor (Matthew Macfadyen) and best writer (James Graham), while “Des” is nominated as best drama (1-4 episodes) and for best actor.
“Roald and...
- 2/18/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
After shockingly being snubbed by the Golden Globes, Michaela Coel’s searing BBC/HBO series I May Destroy You has garnered a bunch of nominations for the UK’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, has been nominated for Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes), while Coel herself has been nommed for Best Writer and Best Actress.
Another BBC series, Normal People, has also been recognized by journalists of the Bpg. The Sally Rooney adaptation figures in the Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes) category, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones feature in the acting shortlists, as well as both being nominated for the Bpg Breakthrough Award.
The Crown’s Princess Diana, Emma Corrin, is also up for the Breakthrough gong after she shot to fame in the Netflix royal drama. Small Axe’s Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn is vying for the same prize.
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, has been nominated for Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes), while Coel herself has been nommed for Best Writer and Best Actress.
Another BBC series, Normal People, has also been recognized by journalists of the Bpg. The Sally Rooney adaptation figures in the Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes) category, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones feature in the acting shortlists, as well as both being nominated for the Bpg Breakthrough Award.
The Crown’s Princess Diana, Emma Corrin, is also up for the Breakthrough gong after she shot to fame in the Netflix royal drama. Small Axe’s Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn is vying for the same prize.
- 2/18/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Disney+’s new international streaming service Star has commissioned a mafia series, penned by The Last Kingdom and Baghdad Central scribe Stephen Butchard and co-produced by two high-profile outfits in the UK and Italy.
Exclusively revealed by Deadline today, The Good Mothers forms part Disney+ and Star’s first European originals slate, and promises to tell the story of how Italian mob bosses were targeted by prosecutors through their wives and daughters.
The six-part series is made by Brexit: The Uncivil War producer House Productions and Wildside, the Fremantle-backed Italian producer behind HBO’s We Are Who We Are. It is based on a book of the same name by award-winning journalist Alex Perry.
The Good Mothers tells the true story of how three courageous women inside the notorious Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mafia worked with newly-minted female prosecutor, Alessandra Cerreti, to bring down down the criminal empire.
Deadline hears that...
Exclusively revealed by Deadline today, The Good Mothers forms part Disney+ and Star’s first European originals slate, and promises to tell the story of how Italian mob bosses were targeted by prosecutors through their wives and daughters.
The six-part series is made by Brexit: The Uncivil War producer House Productions and Wildside, the Fremantle-backed Italian producer behind HBO’s We Are Who We Are. It is based on a book of the same name by award-winning journalist Alex Perry.
The Good Mothers tells the true story of how three courageous women inside the notorious Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mafia worked with newly-minted female prosecutor, Alessandra Cerreti, to bring down down the criminal empire.
Deadline hears that...
- 2/16/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
“This is very welcome news for our independent cinemas.”
Figures from the UK creative sector have reacted with cautious optimism to the £1.57bn rescue package for the arts announced by culture secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday (July 7).
Independent cinemas, alongside theatres, galleries, museums and music venues, will be able to access emergency grants and loans.
The package includes £1.15bn (£270m in loans and £880m in grants) for cultural organisations in England, plus £97m for Scotland, £59m for Wales and £33m for Northern Ireland.
The British Film Institute (BFI) will be among the bodies working with the government to make decisions on the awards,...
Figures from the UK creative sector have reacted with cautious optimism to the £1.57bn rescue package for the arts announced by culture secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday (July 7).
Independent cinemas, alongside theatres, galleries, museums and music venues, will be able to access emergency grants and loans.
The package includes £1.15bn (£270m in loans and £880m in grants) for cultural organisations in England, plus £97m for Scotland, £59m for Wales and £33m for Northern Ireland.
The British Film Institute (BFI) will be among the bodies working with the government to make decisions on the awards,...
- 7/6/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
The British government has announced an unprecedented £1.57Bn ($2Bn) rescue package for the country’s arts and culture venues, including independent cinemas and theatres.
The lifeline comes amid growing panic that iconic British venues — such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Dalston’s independent Rio Cinema — could go bust after their finances have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The government said thousands of organizations will be able to access emergency grants and loans in what ministers are describing as the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture.
Decisions on grants will be made with the support of bodies including the British Film Institute and Arts Council England. Some of the money will also be put towards capital investment projects paused by the pandemic.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson said: “From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK...
The lifeline comes amid growing panic that iconic British venues — such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Dalston’s independent Rio Cinema — could go bust after their finances have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The government said thousands of organizations will be able to access emergency grants and loans in what ministers are describing as the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture.
Decisions on grants will be made with the support of bodies including the British Film Institute and Arts Council England. Some of the money will also be put towards capital investment projects paused by the pandemic.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson said: “From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK...
- 7/5/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
“There aren’t any villains in this story, really,” Sian Clifford told Den of Geek about Quiz, a three-part dramatisation of the real-life British Who Wants to be a Millionaire? cheating scandal, currently airing on AMC.
Adapted from James Graham’s play of the same name and inspired by the book ‘Bad Show: The Quiz, The cough, The Millionaire Major’, Quiz aims to shake public certainty about the 2001 scandal and its courtroom verdict.
Though not entirely apologist for Charles and Diana Ingram – the couple accused of using a system of coughing to cheat their way to the show’s top prize in 2001 – Quiz certainly conjures doubt over their guilt. And as Clifford (who plays Diana) says, it also doesn’t follow the British tabloid press of the time by painting them as villains.
It’s perhaps little wonder then, that Charles Ingram (played by Matthew Macfadyen in the miniseries), who...
Adapted from James Graham’s play of the same name and inspired by the book ‘Bad Show: The Quiz, The cough, The Millionaire Major’, Quiz aims to shake public certainty about the 2001 scandal and its courtroom verdict.
Though not entirely apologist for Charles and Diana Ingram – the couple accused of using a system of coughing to cheat their way to the show’s top prize in 2001 – Quiz certainly conjures doubt over their guilt. And as Clifford (who plays Diana) says, it also doesn’t follow the British tabloid press of the time by painting them as villains.
It’s perhaps little wonder then, that Charles Ingram (played by Matthew Macfadyen in the miniseries), who...
- 6/2/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Beginning Sunday, May 31, AMC will air Quiz, a three-part drama from writer James Graham and director Stephen Frears detailing the meteoric rise of Britain's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and the stunning cheating scandal that threatened to tear it down.
With clever writing, an excellent cast, and inspired direction, Quiz propels you through the episodes with breakneck speed.
By the time Who Wants to Be a Millionaire landed in the Us, it was already a phenomenon in the UK. Historic ratings made it an easy sell to foreign entities, and by starting Quiz early in the development at ITV, viewers get the full picture of went into the modern marvel.
From the earliest stages, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire capitalized on the audience's perception of what they're watching and how it drives them into a bit of a frenzy.
Graham and Frears deftly introduce all of the major players in the scandal concurrently.
With clever writing, an excellent cast, and inspired direction, Quiz propels you through the episodes with breakneck speed.
By the time Who Wants to Be a Millionaire landed in the Us, it was already a phenomenon in the UK. Historic ratings made it an easy sell to foreign entities, and by starting Quiz early in the development at ITV, viewers get the full picture of went into the modern marvel.
From the earliest stages, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire capitalized on the audience's perception of what they're watching and how it drives them into a bit of a frenzy.
Graham and Frears deftly introduce all of the major players in the scandal concurrently.
- 5/29/2020
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
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