Exclusive: Mike Goodridge’s growing UK production company Good Chaos, which is in Cannes with Un Certain Regard title Santosh, has had a minority equity investment from Cameron Lamb’s Paris-based audio platform Alexander.
The investment will give Alexander an opportunity to develop its growing non-fiction IP library, across film and TV formats, while Good Chaos has been able to grow its headcount, operations and production reach.
The companies’ first joint film project is Wife, Witch, Poisoner, Whore, a period thriller based on the Alexander audiobook by Katherine Rundell, and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.
The official synopsis reads: “Beautiful, rich, clever, and determined English noblewoman Frances Howard was a dazzling celebrity at the court of James I. But when the unhappy teenage bride rebelled against the patriarchy of her day, she was put on trial for witchcraft, infidelity and murder – very nearly at the expense of her life.”
Good Chaos is on a roll.
The investment will give Alexander an opportunity to develop its growing non-fiction IP library, across film and TV formats, while Good Chaos has been able to grow its headcount, operations and production reach.
The companies’ first joint film project is Wife, Witch, Poisoner, Whore, a period thriller based on the Alexander audiobook by Katherine Rundell, and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.
The official synopsis reads: “Beautiful, rich, clever, and determined English noblewoman Frances Howard was a dazzling celebrity at the court of James I. But when the unhappy teenage bride rebelled against the patriarchy of her day, she was put on trial for witchcraft, infidelity and murder – very nearly at the expense of her life.”
Good Chaos is on a roll.
- 5/14/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners has tapped Luke Davies to write the script for Apeirogon, a movie adaptation of Colum McCann's epic novel set amid the Middle East conflict.
Apeirogon, which was published Feb. 25 by Random House, chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions in the heart of the Holy Land.
Davies earned an Oscar nomination for turning the book A Long Way Home into the 2016 ...
Apeirogon, which was published Feb. 25 by Random House, chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions in the heart of the Holy Land.
Davies earned an Oscar nomination for turning the book A Long Way Home into the 2016 ...
- 5/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners has tapped Luke Davies to write the script for Apeirogon, a movie adaptation of Colum McCann's epic novel set amid the Middle East conflict.
Apeirogon, which was published Feb. 25 by Random House, chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions in the heart of the Holy Land.
Davies earned an Oscar nomination for turning the book A Long Way Home into the 2016 ...
Apeirogon, which was published Feb. 25 by Random House, chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions in the heart of the Holy Land.
Davies earned an Oscar nomination for turning the book A Long Way Home into the 2016 ...
- 5/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Stephen Colbert will host a virtual marathon reading of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses, hosted by the New York venue Symphony Space. The event will take place June 16th, which is known as “Bloomsday,” as Ulysses takes place over the course of one day, June 16th, 1904, and the book’s protagonist is named Leopold Bloom.
Bloomsday on Broadway is an annual Symphony Space tradition and this year marks its 39th edition. But since the event can’t be held in person because of the Covid-19 crisis, this year’s lineup...
Bloomsday on Broadway is an annual Symphony Space tradition and this year marks its 39th edition. But since the event can’t be held in person because of the Covid-19 crisis, this year’s lineup...
- 5/26/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre has announced an upcoming online run of four plays, becoming what could be Off Broadway’s first summer season created specifically for virtual viewing. Included in the line-up is the world premiere of Darren Murphy’s short play The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, with characters affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Like all Broadway and most Off Broadway theaters, Irish Rep is under shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly all New York venues have been dark since mid-March.
Announced today by artistic director Charlotte Moore and producing director Ciarán O’Reilly, Irish Rep’s first online summer season will feature three of the company’s more popular recent productions reimagined for the screen and filmed remotely – Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom, The Weir and Love, Noël: The Songs and Letters of Noël Coward – as well as the world premiere of Darren Murphy...
Like all Broadway and most Off Broadway theaters, Irish Rep is under shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly all New York venues have been dark since mid-March.
Announced today by artistic director Charlotte Moore and producing director Ciarán O’Reilly, Irish Rep’s first online summer season will feature three of the company’s more popular recent productions reimagined for the screen and filmed remotely – Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom, The Weir and Love, Noël: The Songs and Letters of Noël Coward – as well as the world premiere of Darren Murphy...
- 5/21/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, “Postscript,” “Apeirogon” and “Porgy and Bess” are all being developed as feature films, AMC’s Adam Aron will be honored at CinemaCon and SXSW drama “South Mountain” has found distribution.
Page To Screen
“P.S. I Love You” is finally getting a sequel.
Alcon Entertainment has acquired film rights to “Postscript,” the follow-up novel from Cecelia Ahern. Alcon will co-finance and co-produce the movie with Black Label Media.
Alcon produced the 2007 movie based on Ahern’s book “P.S. I Love You,” which starred Hilary Swank as the widow Holly Kennedy. The film earned $156 million at the worldwide box office. “Postscript” picks up Holly’s story seven years after her husband’s death, when Holly’s sister asks her to tell the story of the “P.S. I Love You” letters on her podcast.
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Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has acquired the movie rights to “Apeirogon,” the...
Page To Screen
“P.S. I Love You” is finally getting a sequel.
Alcon Entertainment has acquired film rights to “Postscript,” the follow-up novel from Cecelia Ahern. Alcon will co-finance and co-produce the movie with Black Label Media.
Alcon produced the 2007 movie based on Ahern’s book “P.S. I Love You,” which starred Hilary Swank as the widow Holly Kennedy. The film earned $156 million at the worldwide box office. “Postscript” picks up Holly’s story seven years after her husband’s death, when Holly’s sister asks her to tell the story of the “P.S. I Love You” letters on her podcast.
****
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has acquired the movie rights to “Apeirogon,” the...
- 2/12/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Coming off the success of World War I epic 1917, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners is set to delve into the Middle East conflict.
The company has acquired film rights to Apeirogon, the upcoming novel written by National Book Award winner Colum McCann. Named a most anticipated book of 2020 by the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine and Library Journal, among others, Apeirogon is chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions ...
The company has acquired film rights to Apeirogon, the upcoming novel written by National Book Award winner Colum McCann. Named a most anticipated book of 2020 by the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine and Library Journal, among others, Apeirogon is chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions ...
- 2/11/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Coming off the success of World War I epic 1917, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners is set to delve into the Middle East conflict.
The company has acquired film rights to Apeirogon, the upcoming novel written by National Book Award winner Colum McCann. Named a most anticipated book of 2020 by the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine and Library Journal, among others, Apeirogon is chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions ...
The company has acquired film rights to Apeirogon, the upcoming novel written by National Book Award winner Colum McCann. Named a most anticipated book of 2020 by the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine and Library Journal, among others, Apeirogon is chronicles the unlikely friendship between two fathers — an Israeli and a Palestinian — who each lost a daughter to violence and turned their grief into action and activism. The epic story is told against the backdrop of unresolved tensions ...
- 2/11/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Each month, Boris Kachka offers nonfiction and fiction book recommendations. You should read as many of them as possible. Thirteen Ways of Looking, by Colum McCann (Random House, October 13) The author of Let the Great World Spin has spent so long illuminating history through fiction that readers might miss the real source of his power: not his heightened ventriloquism but his perfection of sentence, idea, and voice. The title novella in this quartet of contemporary stories riffs on Wallace Stevens's famous blackbirds, the detective genre, and the surveillance state all in the fractured narrative of one heart-torn New Yorker's dying day. Along with the other pieces, all thematically related to a random assault McCann suffered last year, it displays a rare confluence of skill, style, and moral vision.M Train, by Patti Smith (Knopf, October 6); Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir, by Carrie Brownstein (Riverhead, October 11)In...
- 10/5/2015
- by Boris Kachka
- Vulture
Let the Great World Spin author Colum McCann was attacked at a New Haven, Connecticut hotel this weekend and hospitalized with serious facial injuries while in town to speak at an event promoting empathy through storytelling. According to eyewitness assaults, McCann was attempting to help a woman in the midst of a domestic dispute, and police believe that her companion may have attacked him. "He was trying to be a Good Samaritan," Assistant Police Chief Archie Generoso told the New Haven Independent. McCann has since been released from hospital, while police are reportedly close to nabbing his assailant. Get well soon, Colum.
- 7/3/2014
- by Anna Silman
- Vulture
From an Austen anniversary to a Sundance full of female talent, the new year is already packed with highlights. What are you looking forward to this year?
No one expects 2013 to be easy, but we'll take our kicks where we can, and only a week in, there are already cultural triumphs for women to celebrate. The band Haim, three sisters from California, stormed to the top of the BBC's Sound of 2013 list, and for the first time all five categories of the Costa prize were won by women. The frontrunner to take the overall prize on 29 January is Hilary Mantel, with her novel Bring Up the Bodies, but Mary and Bryan Talbot's graphic memoir, Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, has also been highly lauded.
There are plenty of other books to look forward to, including Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn (Virago, February), Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld, (Doubleday, June), a...
No one expects 2013 to be easy, but we'll take our kicks where we can, and only a week in, there are already cultural triumphs for women to celebrate. The band Haim, three sisters from California, stormed to the top of the BBC's Sound of 2013 list, and for the first time all five categories of the Costa prize were won by women. The frontrunner to take the overall prize on 29 January is Hilary Mantel, with her novel Bring Up the Bodies, but Mary and Bryan Talbot's graphic memoir, Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, has also been highly lauded.
There are plenty of other books to look forward to, including Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn (Virago, February), Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld, (Doubleday, June), a...
- 1/8/2013
- by Kira Cochrane
- The Guardian - Film News
While "Fight Club" will probably always be the high bar never to be reached again for adaptations of Chuck Palahniuk's work on the big screen, filmmakers will keep trying. "Choke" came and went and was mostly a disappointment, but "Snuff" should be an interesting gamble. The author's book about an aging porn star who decides to cap off her career by having sex with 600 men in one day, with the story told through the eyes of three men who are lining up to do the deed with her, should be challenging to say the least. And while we never thought financing would come through for a project that presumably has a very niche appeal, money is coming.
Immortal Transmedia, and producers Jean Pierre Magro and Dean O'Toole ("Kick-Ass," "Mister Lonely") are fronting the cash for the movie that will be written and directed by French filmmaker Fabien Martorell whose...
Immortal Transmedia, and producers Jean Pierre Magro and Dean O'Toole ("Kick-Ass," "Mister Lonely") are fronting the cash for the movie that will be written and directed by French filmmaker Fabien Martorell whose...
- 7/3/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Trudie Styler, Celine Rattray and Davide Azzolini are set to produce a film adaptation of Colum McCann's ballet story "Dancer" for Maven Pictures says Variety.
The book is essentially a biography of Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev. Born during WWII, he defected at the age of 23 and became one of the best known dancers in the world before dying of AIDS in 1992.
McCann's book however tells Nureyev's story from the perspectives of those who knew him.
The book is essentially a biography of Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev. Born during WWII, he defected at the age of 23 and became one of the best known dancers in the world before dying of AIDS in 1992.
McCann's book however tells Nureyev's story from the perspectives of those who knew him.
- 7/2/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
We're not entirely sure what Esquire has in mind for its new ebook series "Fiction for Men", but as part of the launch they will be publishing a new story collaboration by father and son team Stephen King and Joe Hill entitled "In the Tall Grass". Hopefully women will be allowed to read it, too!
Per King's official site the story will be published in two parts, the first appearing in the magazine's June/July issue with the conclusion coming in the August issue. Joining King and Hill in the June/July issue will be thriller writer Lee Child (the Jack Reacher series) and Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin). The works will be available only in the print and iPad editions of the magazine.
Nothing else is known about the King/Hill story, but let's get back to this "Fiction for Men" thing for a moment. According to The New York Times,...
Per King's official site the story will be published in two parts, the first appearing in the magazine's June/July issue with the conclusion coming in the August issue. Joining King and Hill in the June/July issue will be thriller writer Lee Child (the Jack Reacher series) and Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin). The works will be available only in the print and iPad editions of the magazine.
Nothing else is known about the King/Hill story, but let's get back to this "Fiction for Men" thing for a moment. According to The New York Times,...
- 5/23/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Getty
From an Irish Breakfast to Irish music, there are plenty of ways to spend St. Patrick’s Day. Speakeasy has put together an exhaustive, absolutely-definitive list of the Top Five. Here they are:
1. Eat an Irish Breakfast.
There’s “starch before you march” at Ulysses Folk House , 95 Pearl Street, or you can get Irish breakfast at Tir Na Nog on 5 Penn Plaza, bet. 33rd and 34th, or the Half King, 505 W. 23rd St. Fitzpatrick’s Hotel on 687 Lexington (where...
From an Irish Breakfast to Irish music, there are plenty of ways to spend St. Patrick’s Day. Speakeasy has put together an exhaustive, absolutely-definitive list of the Top Five. Here they are:
1. Eat an Irish Breakfast.
There’s “starch before you march” at Ulysses Folk House , 95 Pearl Street, or you can get Irish breakfast at Tir Na Nog on 5 Penn Plaza, bet. 33rd and 34th, or the Half King, 505 W. 23rd St. Fitzpatrick’s Hotel on 687 Lexington (where...
- 3/17/2012
- by Gwen Orel
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection James Joyce in 1904
At 8 am, there will be top hats in Bryant park, as people in Edwardian dress gather to hear some of James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses.” Downtown at Ulysses’ pub, there will be readings, complimentary drinks, and music. And from noon to 1 am, 85 performers will read from in 135 slots from Joyce’s novel at Symphony Space for Bloomsday on Broadway’s 30th anniversary.
And that’s just New York. People will be...
At 8 am, there will be top hats in Bryant park, as people in Edwardian dress gather to hear some of James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses.” Downtown at Ulysses’ pub, there will be readings, complimentary drinks, and music. And from noon to 1 am, 85 performers will read from in 135 slots from Joyce’s novel at Symphony Space for Bloomsday on Broadway’s 30th anniversary.
And that’s just New York. People will be...
- 6/16/2011
- by Gwen Orel
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Back Bay Books Edna O’Brien’s new short story collection “Saints and Sinners”
Irish novelist and short story writer Edna O’Brien is on a quest. Perched on a stool on stage at Symphony Space last night, she told an audience that she’s forever “searching to find the exact sequence of words that will be perfect.” Despite her best efforts, she’ll “never find them,” she said.
But she didn’t seem too upset about it. O’Brien...
Irish novelist and short story writer Edna O’Brien is on a quest. Perched on a stool on stage at Symphony Space last night, she told an audience that she’s forever “searching to find the exact sequence of words that will be perfect.” Despite her best efforts, she’ll “never find them,” she said.
But she didn’t seem too upset about it. O’Brien...
- 5/27/2011
- by Julie Steinberg
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
A year-long celebration of Irish arts events in the United States has been launched in New York. The celebration, called Imagine Ireland, will include 400 Irish arts events taking place across the United States. The initiative, set up by Culture Ireland, will showcase the creative talent from Ireland in partnership with leading festivals, venues and institutions across the United States. The events will take place across 40 states in the U.S. and will be supported by a $5.3 million investment from Ireland. Included in the years event will be an operatic version of “The Importance of Being Earnest”, national tours by the Abbey Theater and the Druid Theater Company and an Irish film series curated by Gabriel Byrne at the Museum of Modern Art. The series will also include a literature program featuring Irish writers such Colum McCann, Colm Toíbín and Paul Muldoon, dance groups Rex Levitates and the Irish Modern Dance Theater,...
- 1/7/2011
- IrishCentral
J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot have acquired the rights to Let the Great World Spin, which won author Colum McCann the National Book Award last month. The judges for that award said McCann's work is "an ecstatic vision of the human courage required to stay aloft above the ever-yawning abyss," and USA Today summarized the novel as "a portrait of a decaying 1974 New York."
It's a book with many individual stories, and the connecting thread is more of a wire. In fact, that's exactly what it is: The unifying event in Great World is Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in August of that year. That should sound familiar. Petit's story was chronicled in last year's Oscar-winning documentary, Man on Wire.
The strength of the story, apparently, is an allegorical connection to a New York City in the wake of September 11th.
It's a book with many individual stories, and the connecting thread is more of a wire. In fact, that's exactly what it is: The unifying event in Great World is Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in August of that year. That should sound familiar. Petit's story was chronicled in last year's Oscar-winning documentary, Man on Wire.
The strength of the story, apparently, is an allegorical connection to a New York City in the wake of September 11th.
- 12/13/2009
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
According to The New York Times, J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) is in negotiations with Irish author Colum McCann to turn his novel Let the Great World Spin into a major motion picture. It was not made clear whether Abrams is solely interested in producing the adaptation or if he also intends to direct.
McCann's novel is described as a "sprawling epic" about how the lives of New Yorkers were touched by a death-defying tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in the 1970s. McCann, who won a National Book Award for fiction for the novel, said that he is interested in developing the screenplay for the adaptation.
Hopefully, we’re going to get a little cottage in the west of Ireland and go hang out for a while and work out a structure for the film. And then I’ll go away and write it.
Next Showing:
Link | Posted 12/12/2009 by BrentJS...
McCann's novel is described as a "sprawling epic" about how the lives of New Yorkers were touched by a death-defying tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in the 1970s. McCann, who won a National Book Award for fiction for the novel, said that he is interested in developing the screenplay for the adaptation.
Hopefully, we’re going to get a little cottage in the west of Ireland and go hang out for a while and work out a structure for the film. And then I’ll go away and write it.
Next Showing:
Link | Posted 12/12/2009 by BrentJS...
- 12/12/2009
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
J.J. Abrams is negotiating to produce an adaptation of Colum McCann’s period novel Let the Great World Spin.Built around Philippe Petit’s real-life “artistic crime of the century” where the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974. The film and story Let the Great World Spin follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York amidst that historic event.
McCann’s fifth novel was published in June by Random House.
The book’s characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter. With comparisons to Don DeLillo’s work, McCann’s novel serves as an allegory of 9/11 and its aftermath.
Anything Abrams is doing I am on board with and its...
McCann’s fifth novel was published in June by Random House.
The book’s characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter. With comparisons to Don DeLillo’s work, McCann’s novel serves as an allegory of 9/11 and its aftermath.
Anything Abrams is doing I am on board with and its...
- 12/11/2009
- by Kevin Coll
- FusedFilm
It looks like the boy genius J.J. Abrams may be taking a break from fanboy fare to produce more drama-based projects, including a novel-to-film adaptation of the period piece Let The Great World Spin. Colum McCann, who wrote the novel, is to adapt the screenplay for Abrams, who would release the film under Paramount and his Bad Robot hood.
Read more on J.J. Abrams looking to produce Let The Great World Spin…...
Read more on J.J. Abrams looking to produce Let The Great World Spin…...
- 12/11/2009
- by James Wallace
- GordonandtheWhale
Author Colum McCann is having a great year. His novel, Let the Great World Spin was released to rave reviews. Earlier this year, it was awarded the National Book Award, one of the most prized book awards in literature. And now, one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood wants to adapt it. Who says an English degree is worthless? According to THR, J.J. Abrams is currently working on securing the rights to McCann.s Let the Great World Spin for his production company Bad Robot. The book, centered around a group of New Yorkers and Philippe Petit's illegal tight-rope walk between the World Trade Center towers (also the focus of Man On Wire), will be adapted by McCann and produced by Abrams. As well all know, Abrams did a great job of producing a movie about a group of New Yorkers once before, but this one obviously has...
- 12/11/2009
- cinemablend.com
By the Hollywood Reporter
Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin" looks to be coming to rest at Bad Robot.
J.J. Abrams is working out a rights deal to spin a feature from McCann's sprawling period piece. Abrams would produce -- with McCann adapting the screenplay -- at Paramount, where Bad Robot resides. The Gotham Group, which reps McCann, also is producing.
"Spin," McCann's fifth novel, was published in June by Random House. Built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked ...
Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin" looks to be coming to rest at Bad Robot.
J.J. Abrams is working out a rights deal to spin a feature from McCann's sprawling period piece. Abrams would produce -- with McCann adapting the screenplay -- at Paramount, where Bad Robot resides. The Gotham Group, which reps McCann, also is producing.
"Spin," McCann's fifth novel, was published in June by Random House. Built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked ...
- 12/11/2009
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
It wouldn't be true to say JJ Abrams is adapting Man on Wire into a feature film, but that would certainly crossover with the truth and that's probably the legend you'll be overhearing in the line at the cinema. What Abrams is actually doing, specifically, is having his Bad Robot production company adapt Colum McCann's novel Let The Great World Spin. McCann himself is writing the screenplay, telling a series of separate stories about a number of characters around New York at the time Phillippe Petit performed his high-wire stunt in the early 70s. If you don't know about Petit, I've got the trailer for the documentary profile Man on Wire after the break. This was definitely one of the most loved documentaries in recent years, thanks in no small part to the astonishing charisma of the eccentric wirewalker at its heart. There's also a video interview tucked away...
- 12/11/2009
- by Brendon Connelly
- Slash Film
Jj Abrams is a hot commodity at the moment, having launched the ever popular Lost and pulled Star Trek out of the quicksand. He has proven himself to be a very capable director, but I feel that he hasn’t truly worked with many great writers. Star Trek, for instance, was still hindered by a few moments of inorganic plotting. Now THR is reporting that Abrams is attempting to adapt Let the Great World Spin, a 2009 novel by Colum McCann that won the National Book Award. McCann is also penning the screenplay, so the quality of the writer is not in doubt; only whether he can spin together a capable script out of award winning gold. They are two different mediums, of course, that some novelists can occasionally transcend. John Irving did so for The Cider House Rules in 1999. Play writers like Tennessee Williams and Peter Morgan have also had success,...
- 12/11/2009
- by Jacob
- Beyond Hollywood
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that J.J. Abrams is working on a deal to produce a feature film version of Colum McCann's award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin."
The pic is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974.
The film also follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York.
The book's characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter. With comparisons to Don DeLillo's work, McCann's novel serves as an allegory of 9/11 and its aftermath.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter...
The pic is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974.
The film also follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York.
The book's characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter. With comparisons to Don DeLillo's work, McCann's novel serves as an allegory of 9/11 and its aftermath.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter...
- 12/11/2009
- by Kellvin Chavez
- AMC - Script to Screen
This might make your world spin a little -- The Risky Biz Blog over at THR reports that J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot are working on getting the rights to Colum McCann's award-winning novel Let the Great World Spin. Should the deal work out, he will produce with McCann getting the opportunity to adapt the screenplay himself. Why would your world spin? It sounds SciFi-ish, right? Not quite.
The book, which was published in June, focuses on a collection of characters in New York City during the time when Philippe Petit tightrope walked between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 -- you know -- the Man on Wire dude. The people that will be under the camera's scrutiny include: "A young Irish monk living among the prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother...
The book, which was published in June, focuses on a collection of characters in New York City during the time when Philippe Petit tightrope walked between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 -- you know -- the Man on Wire dude. The people that will be under the camera's scrutiny include: "A young Irish monk living among the prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother...
- 12/11/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
The exploits of Frenchman Philippe Petit, who walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers in 1974, were chronicled in last year's Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, the universally praised James Marsh film Man on Wire. But it looks like the daring stunt of the past will be at the center of a new movie that has garnered interest from J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production banner as THR reports they are working out a rights deal to adapt Colum McCann's novel Let the Great World Spin a story that uses the event as the backdrop to an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York. This could turn out great. The ensemble cast of characters includes a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx, a group of mothers mourning their sons who were killed in Vietnam, and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
- 12/11/2009
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
J.J. Abrams is close to securing the movie rights to Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning novel Let The Great World Spin. McCann will adapt the screenplay, with Abrams producing through his Bad Robot production firm at Paramount, says The Hollywood Reporter. Let The Great World Spin follows a group of characters and their struggles living in New York in the early '70s. The story (more)...
- 12/11/2009
- by By Simon Reynolds
- Digital Spy
You might think Jj Abrams had enough to do with the various producing projects he's taken on, not to mention overseeing development of the Star Trek sequel. But apparently sleep is something that happens to other people, since he's also busy buying the rights to adapt Colum McCann's novel Let The Great World Spin.The book - which nabbed the National Book Award in the Us - is a sprawling period piece about various characters struggling through '70s New York.And it's built around Philippe Petit's real-life 1974 high wire act that saw him tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, as seen in ace documentary Man On Wire.Abrams will produce any eventual film, with McCann drafted in to write the screenplay. He'll need to condense a load of storylines, including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes, a group of mothers mourning...
- 12/11/2009
- EmpireOnline
J.J. Abrams is working on a deal to produce a feature film version of Colum McCann's award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin" at Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot says The Hollywood Reporter.
The story is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974. The event was covered in the award-winning doco "Man on Wire" in 2008.
"Spin" however follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
The story is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974. The event was covered in the award-winning doco "Man on Wire" in 2008.
"Spin" however follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
- 12/11/2009
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
J.J. Abrams is working on a deal to produce a feature film version of Colum McCann's award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin" at Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot says The Hollywood Reporter.
The story is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974. The event was covered in the award-winning doco "Man on Wire" in 2008.
"Spin" however follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
The story is built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974. The event was covered in the award-winning doco "Man on Wire" in 2008.
"Spin" however follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
McCann, whose novels include "Zoli," "Dancer" and "This Side of Brightness," will adapt the screenplay himself.
- 12/11/2009
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting this evening that producer extraordinaire J.J. Abrams is working on a deal to produce a feature film version of Colum McCann's award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin." It tells the story of Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century," when the notorious French tightrope walker illegally walked on a rope that strung between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. This may sound familiar, as it was the subject of the fantastic 2008 documentary Man on Wire, a film that I ranked #1 on my top ten list that year. "Spin" however follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York including a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter. How these folks are linked to Petit's feat is unclear...
- 12/11/2009
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
J.J. Abrams will produce an adaptation of Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin," says The Hollywood Reporter . McCann will write the script. Abrams would produce at Paramount, where Bad Robot resides. The Gotham Group is also producing. Random House describes the book as follows: In the dawning light of a late-summer morning, the people of lower Manhattan stand hushed, staring up in disbelief at the Twin Towers. It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping between the towers, suspended a quarter mile above the ground. In the streets below, a slew of ordinary lives become extraordinary in bestselling novelist Colum McCann.s stunningly intricate portrait of a city and its people. "Let...
- 12/10/2009
- Comingsoon.net
Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning novel "Let the Great World Spin" looks to be coming to rest at Bad Robot.
J.J. Abrams is working out a rights deal to spin a feature from McCann's sprawling period piece. Abrams would produce -- with McCann adapting the screenplay -- at Paramount, where Bad Robot resides. The Gotham Group, which reps McCann, also is producing.
"Spin," McCann's fifth novel, was published in June by Random House. Built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974 -- "Spin" follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York.
The book's characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
J.J. Abrams is working out a rights deal to spin a feature from McCann's sprawling period piece. Abrams would produce -- with McCann adapting the screenplay -- at Paramount, where Bad Robot resides. The Gotham Group, which reps McCann, also is producing.
"Spin," McCann's fifth novel, was published in June by Random House. Built around Philippe Petit's real-life "artistic crime of the century" -- when the Frenchman illegally walked a tightrope strung between the World Trade Center towers in August 1974 -- "Spin" follows an ensemble cast of characters struggling throughout New York.
The book's characters include a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment; and a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
- 12/10/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paris -- War was the talk of peaceful Normandy seaside town Deauville Sunday night as Oren Moverman's Iraq war drama "The Messenger" took home the grand prize at the 35th annual Deauville American Film Festival's closing ceremonies. A jury presided by Gallic helmer Jean-Pierre Jeunet chose the film among a selection of 11 features in competition at the 10-day fest. The film also took the International Critics prize.
"The Messenger" stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as soldiers re-adjusting to postwar life. The jury prize was shared by Lee Daniels' "Precious" and Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre." Cartier's Revelation Jury, led by French actress-director Maiwenn, picked Lynn Shelton's "Humpday" for the best first film prize. The Michel d'Ornano prize, awarded by France's Anglo-Saxon press, went to French film Lea Fehner's "Qu'un Seule Tienne et Les Autres Suivront" and the Literary Prize to Colum McCann for "Let the Great World Spin.
"The Messenger" stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as soldiers re-adjusting to postwar life. The jury prize was shared by Lee Daniels' "Precious" and Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre." Cartier's Revelation Jury, led by French actress-director Maiwenn, picked Lynn Shelton's "Humpday" for the best first film prize. The Michel d'Ornano prize, awarded by France's Anglo-Saxon press, went to French film Lea Fehner's "Qu'un Seule Tienne et Les Autres Suivront" and the Literary Prize to Colum McCann for "Let the Great World Spin.
- 9/13/2009
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paris -- Harrison Ford, Robin Wright Penn and Andy Garcia are among the famous faces set for career tributes during the star-spangled 35th edition of the Deauville Festival of American Cinema.
Ford will be the guest of honor at Deauville, which kicks off on Sept. 4 in the Normandy seaside town. The fest also plans homages to Garcia, whose film "City Island" from Raymond de Felitta will screen at the fest, and Wright Penn, whose "Private Lives of Pippa Lee" will unspool out of competition.
Deauville also will pay homage to the late director-producer Robert Aldrich and will honor the careers of directors-screenwriters-producers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker.
Nine films will compete for the event's top prizes, four of which are first features, namely Oren Moverman's "The Messenger," Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre," Daniel Davila's "Harrison, Montgomery" and Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls" starring Paul Giamatti and Emily Watson.
Ford will be the guest of honor at Deauville, which kicks off on Sept. 4 in the Normandy seaside town. The fest also plans homages to Garcia, whose film "City Island" from Raymond de Felitta will screen at the fest, and Wright Penn, whose "Private Lives of Pippa Lee" will unspool out of competition.
Deauville also will pay homage to the late director-producer Robert Aldrich and will honor the careers of directors-screenwriters-producers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker.
Nine films will compete for the event's top prizes, four of which are first features, namely Oren Moverman's "The Messenger," Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre," Daniel Davila's "Harrison, Montgomery" and Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls" starring Paul Giamatti and Emily Watson.
- 7/21/2009
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With two major Us productions set to film in Ni this year, Northern Ireland Screen are focusing on bringing local talent and productions to this year's Cannes Film Festival revealing five new home-grown productions in the works. The screen agency's profile is currently at an all-time high amongst the global film-making community. New titles include; 'Paddy Mayne', an action drama penned by Richard Crawford (The Abduction Club) and produced by Alistair Maclean-Clark (The War Bride, Octane, Heartbreak Hotel, Arn), 'Teenage Kicks', produced by Michael Kelly, Pete Foott is directing with Spence Wright (Red Mist) and John Cairns screenwriting; 'Jump', the creation of 'Raw' writer Lisa McGee with Brendan Byrne on board to produce and director Kieron J. Walsh (When Brendan Met Trudy); director Tom Collins (Kings) is planning the adaptation of 'Reading in the Dark' - based on Seamus Deane's award winning novel; and 'Parabellum', produced by Colin...
- 5/14/2009
- IFTN
LONDON -- "When the Sky Falls" is based on the events leading up to the 1996 murder of crime journalist Veronica Guerin in Dublin, Ireland. As directed by John MacKenzie (who made the excellent British crime film "The Long Good Friday"), the film is stylish and gritty and features fine central performances. While it should win critical plaudits, "Sky", which at times feels a bit like a movie of the week, isn't likely to attract big audiences.
Screenwriters Michael Sheridan, Ronan Gallagher and Colum McCann have put together an intelligent, well-constructed and moving script. Before her death, Guerin collaborated with Sheridan on an early draft of a screenplay that focused on her crusade against Dublin gangsters and the various attacks against her.
The film tells the story of fictional Sunday Globe journalist Sinead Hamilton (wonderfully played by Joan Allen), whose writings about the Dublin gangs cause an increase in her newspaper's circulation along with the violent attention of the gangsters. Her investigations also bring her into close contact with the Irish Republican Army -- which denounces the gangs' drug dealing -- and the police, who struggle to stop the mobsters.
But her efforts push gang boss Dave Hackett (Gerard Flynn) to take the ultimate step. On her way home from a court appearance, she is shot dead. Ironically, her death finally forces attention to Ireland's criminal laws, so drug dealers can be identified and apprehended and their assets seized.
In this role, Allen is the personification of steely dignity, and she does a good job with a Dublin accent. She achieves a fine balance between crusading journalist and attentive mother.
Her performance is aided by Patrick Bergin's turn as grumpy maverick cop Sgt. Mackey, though he is lumbered with the cliched dim assistant in the form of Jason Barry's Dempsey. Bergin and Allen's scenes together work particularly well. And the ever-excellent Pete Postlethwaite makes a brief but fine appearance as crime boss Martin Shaughnessy, who is knocked off early in the film.
MacKenzie handles action sequences extremely well -- particularly a car chase through the city estates -- and pushes the story with skill and ease. Technical credits are all fine, especially Mark Geraghty's production design, and DP Seamus Deasy gives the film an atmospheric hue.
WHEN THE SKY FALLS
Sky Pictures
In association with Irish Screen, the Irish Film Board and Redeemable Features
Producers: Nigel Warren-Green,
Michael Wearing
Director: John MacKenzie
Executive producers: Kevin Menton,
Peter Newman, Marie Louise Queally
Screenwriters: Michael Sheridan,
Ronan Gallagher, Colum McCann
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Mark Geraghty
Music: Pol Brennan
Costume designer: Lorna Marie Mugan
Editor: Graham Walker
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sinead Hamilton: Joan Allen
Mackey: Patrick Bergin
Mickey O'Fagan: Jimmy Smallhorne
John "The Runner" Cosgrove: Liam Cunningham
Tom Hamilton: Kevin McNally
Martin Shaughnessy: Pete Postlethwaite
Dempsey: Jason Barry
Jimmy Keaveney: Des McAleer
Dave Hackett: Gerard Flynn
Running time - 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screenwriters Michael Sheridan, Ronan Gallagher and Colum McCann have put together an intelligent, well-constructed and moving script. Before her death, Guerin collaborated with Sheridan on an early draft of a screenplay that focused on her crusade against Dublin gangsters and the various attacks against her.
The film tells the story of fictional Sunday Globe journalist Sinead Hamilton (wonderfully played by Joan Allen), whose writings about the Dublin gangs cause an increase in her newspaper's circulation along with the violent attention of the gangsters. Her investigations also bring her into close contact with the Irish Republican Army -- which denounces the gangs' drug dealing -- and the police, who struggle to stop the mobsters.
But her efforts push gang boss Dave Hackett (Gerard Flynn) to take the ultimate step. On her way home from a court appearance, she is shot dead. Ironically, her death finally forces attention to Ireland's criminal laws, so drug dealers can be identified and apprehended and their assets seized.
In this role, Allen is the personification of steely dignity, and she does a good job with a Dublin accent. She achieves a fine balance between crusading journalist and attentive mother.
Her performance is aided by Patrick Bergin's turn as grumpy maverick cop Sgt. Mackey, though he is lumbered with the cliched dim assistant in the form of Jason Barry's Dempsey. Bergin and Allen's scenes together work particularly well. And the ever-excellent Pete Postlethwaite makes a brief but fine appearance as crime boss Martin Shaughnessy, who is knocked off early in the film.
MacKenzie handles action sequences extremely well -- particularly a car chase through the city estates -- and pushes the story with skill and ease. Technical credits are all fine, especially Mark Geraghty's production design, and DP Seamus Deasy gives the film an atmospheric hue.
WHEN THE SKY FALLS
Sky Pictures
In association with Irish Screen, the Irish Film Board and Redeemable Features
Producers: Nigel Warren-Green,
Michael Wearing
Director: John MacKenzie
Executive producers: Kevin Menton,
Peter Newman, Marie Louise Queally
Screenwriters: Michael Sheridan,
Ronan Gallagher, Colum McCann
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Mark Geraghty
Music: Pol Brennan
Costume designer: Lorna Marie Mugan
Editor: Graham Walker
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sinead Hamilton: Joan Allen
Mackey: Patrick Bergin
Mickey O'Fagan: Jimmy Smallhorne
John "The Runner" Cosgrove: Liam Cunningham
Tom Hamilton: Kevin McNally
Martin Shaughnessy: Pete Postlethwaite
Dempsey: Jason Barry
Jimmy Keaveney: Des McAleer
Dave Hackett: Gerard Flynn
Running time - 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/20/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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