Celyn Jones, co-writer of the upcoming Grange Hill movie, gives us an update on the state of the planned movie.
It’s been about a year now since we’ve had some solid information on the planned Grange Hill movie, that’s been in development for the last couple of years. Based on the iconic BBC children’s drama series, the film is being co-written by Sir Phil Redmond – who created the show – and Celyn Jones.
We learned a year or so ago that former cast member Sara Sugarman will be directing the movie, and Jones too also appeared on screen as Mr Green in the programme.
Jones has recently released his directorial debut, The Almond & The Seahorse, an absorbing drama that’s currently in cinemas. You can find out more about that, and book tickets, here.
He chatted to us for the latest issue of Film Stories magazine about that film,...
It’s been about a year now since we’ve had some solid information on the planned Grange Hill movie, that’s been in development for the last couple of years. Based on the iconic BBC children’s drama series, the film is being co-written by Sir Phil Redmond – who created the show – and Celyn Jones.
We learned a year or so ago that former cast member Sara Sugarman will be directing the movie, and Jones too also appeared on screen as Mr Green in the programme.
Jones has recently released his directorial debut, The Almond & The Seahorse, an absorbing drama that’s currently in cinemas. You can find out more about that, and book tickets, here.
He chatted to us for the latest issue of Film Stories magazine about that film,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Stuart Organ, the longest-serving actor in iconic BBC children’s show Grange Hill, has died. He was 72.
Organ died earlier this week, his reps confirmed to the BBC. They said he “died peacefully at home after a short illness.”
Organ was the longest-serving cast member in Phil Redmond’s Grange Hill. He joined in 1988 and played Mr Robson, a Pe teacher. In 1998, he landed the headmaster’s job, but he left the series in 2003 soon after production of the show transferred to Liverpool.
Grange Hill has made the careers of many a British star. It ran for 40 years virtually uninterrupted on the BBC and ended in 2008. Redmond is now forging a film version helmed by Sara Sugarman.
Organ’s other credits included Brookside, Doctor Who, The Bill and London’s Burning. He moved into theater in later life, landing roles in An Englishman Abroad and The Comedy of Errors.
According to the BBC,...
Organ died earlier this week, his reps confirmed to the BBC. They said he “died peacefully at home after a short illness.”
Organ was the longest-serving cast member in Phil Redmond’s Grange Hill. He joined in 1988 and played Mr Robson, a Pe teacher. In 1998, he landed the headmaster’s job, but he left the series in 2003 soon after production of the show transferred to Liverpool.
Grange Hill has made the careers of many a British star. It ran for 40 years virtually uninterrupted on the BBC and ended in 2008. Redmond is now forging a film version helmed by Sara Sugarman.
Organ’s other credits included Brookside, Doctor Who, The Bill and London’s Burning. He moved into theater in later life, landing roles in An Englishman Abroad and The Comedy of Errors.
According to the BBC,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Suzy Eddie Izzard (“Stay Close”) and Ed Speelers (“Outlander”) are the new additions to the cast of “Midas Man,” the delayed film on The Beatles manager Brian Epstein that has now wrapped filming.
The film began production with Jonas Akerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) as director, who departed the project for unknown reasons. Sara Sugarman (“Vinyl”) was attached to the project for a year before Joe Stephenson (“Doctor Jekyll”) stepped in. Stephenson has just wrapped the shoot, canning what will be 95% of the completed film, Variety understands.
Written by Brigit Grant, the film follows Epstein, manager of The Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death at the age of 32 in 1967. Epstein’s impact extended beyond the Fab Four, encompassing British Invasion acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queens Gambit”) plays Epstein. The ensemble cast includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
The film began production with Jonas Akerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) as director, who departed the project for unknown reasons. Sara Sugarman (“Vinyl”) was attached to the project for a year before Joe Stephenson (“Doctor Jekyll”) stepped in. Stephenson has just wrapped the shoot, canning what will be 95% of the completed film, Variety understands.
Written by Brigit Grant, the film follows Epstein, manager of The Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death at the age of 32 in 1967. Epstein’s impact extended beyond the Fab Four, encompassing British Invasion acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queens Gambit”) plays Epstein. The ensemble cast includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
- 6/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Suzy Eddie Izzard and Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey) are among the actors who have joined the supporting cast of Midas Man, the feature biopic of Beatles Manager Brian Epstein.
In the pic, Izzard portrays British music promoter Allan Williams, famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles,” while Ed Speleers is Tex Ellington, Epstein’s love interest. Other additions include Darci Shaw (The Colour Room), who plays singer Cilla Black, and Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes) is Epstein’s longtime assistant, Alastair Taylor.
Previous cast attached to the project included actors Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, and Rosie Day. We understand the changes were due to scheduling issues because of delays to production following multiple creative changes to the pic. Last week, we reported that UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl), who left after what sources described...
In the pic, Izzard portrays British music promoter Allan Williams, famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles,” while Ed Speleers is Tex Ellington, Epstein’s love interest. Other additions include Darci Shaw (The Colour Room), who plays singer Cilla Black, and Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes) is Epstein’s longtime assistant, Alastair Taylor.
Previous cast attached to the project included actors Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, and Rosie Day. We understand the changes were due to scheduling issues because of delays to production following multiple creative changes to the pic. Last week, we reported that UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl), who left after what sources described...
- 6/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: It’s been a long and winding road but Beatles manager movie Midas Man has finally reached post-production having recently taken on a third director to get it over the line.
UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) who left after what sources described to us as creative differences and scheduling issues.
Sugarman herself took over in late 2021 from filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (Polar) who also left during shoot after not seeing eye to eye with producers.
The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars in the biopic as The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, Rosie Day as Cilla Black and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
Portraying the Fab Four are newcomers Jonah Lees as John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison,...
UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) who left after what sources described to us as creative differences and scheduling issues.
Sugarman herself took over in late 2021 from filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (Polar) who also left during shoot after not seeing eye to eye with producers.
The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars in the biopic as The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, Rosie Day as Cilla Black and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
Portraying the Fab Four are newcomers Jonah Lees as John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: UK production company Mad As Birds (Mab) — best known for pics such as Six Minutes to Midnight, Poms, The Vanishing, and The Almond And The Seahorse — has landed a major cash injection from a private investor as it sets out a diverse slate of projects for the Cannes market.
We understand the investment is around the seven-figure mark. The investor, whose identity has been kept private, approached the UK-based indie headed by Celyn Jones, Andy Evans, and Sean Marley with the unique deal, which is set to supercharge the company’s work across film and TV, with several Mab projects heading to the Cannes market this week.
New Mab film projects hitting the market include:
Call Girls
Directed by veteran British filmmaker Catherine Morshead, the film comes from a screenplay by writers Paul Coleman and Brennan Reece. Coleman is the BAFTA-winning writer behind the BBC comedy Car Share,...
We understand the investment is around the seven-figure mark. The investor, whose identity has been kept private, approached the UK-based indie headed by Celyn Jones, Andy Evans, and Sean Marley with the unique deal, which is set to supercharge the company’s work across film and TV, with several Mab projects heading to the Cannes market this week.
New Mab film projects hitting the market include:
Call Girls
Directed by veteran British filmmaker Catherine Morshead, the film comes from a screenplay by writers Paul Coleman and Brennan Reece. Coleman is the BAFTA-winning writer behind the BBC comedy Car Share,...
- 5/15/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Series creator Phil Redmond has teamed up with Sara Sugarman to make a big screen version of the hit BBC drama and they promise that TV favourites will return
Nearly half a century after it first aired on BBC One, a film adaptation of the classic children’s drama series Grange Hill has been confirmed – with the original cast making a surprise return.
The series, which ran from 1978 until 2008, portrayed life in a typical British comprehensive school in the fictional London borough of Northam, and broke new ground over the years with storylines that covered racism, drug addiction and mental health.
Nearly half a century after it first aired on BBC One, a film adaptation of the classic children’s drama series Grange Hill has been confirmed – with the original cast making a surprise return.
The series, which ran from 1978 until 2008, portrayed life in a typical British comprehensive school in the fictional London borough of Northam, and broke new ground over the years with storylines that covered racism, drug addiction and mental health.
- 4/27/2023
- by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Sir Phil Redmond is moving forward with his Grange Hill film adaption and filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Save the Cinema) has signed on to direct a story in part based on the character she played in the hit BBC kids show.
The film will be written by original series creator Redmond, with Sean Marley (The Almond and the Seahorse) and Celyn Jones (Six Minutes to Midnight) producing for Mad As Birds alongside Redmond’s production company Mersey Film. Phil and Alexis Redmond will EP. Redmond originally planned for the movie to launch this year and he said scripts are “pretty close.”
Plot is being largely kept under wraps, but Redmond told Deadline that the story will, in part, be based on the character Jessica Samuels, who was the rebellious head of the Grange Hill student action group in the TV series. The idea was inspired by Sugarman, who played Samuels...
The film will be written by original series creator Redmond, with Sean Marley (The Almond and the Seahorse) and Celyn Jones (Six Minutes to Midnight) producing for Mad As Birds alongside Redmond’s production company Mersey Film. Phil and Alexis Redmond will EP. Redmond originally planned for the movie to launch this year and he said scripts are “pretty close.”
Plot is being largely kept under wraps, but Redmond told Deadline that the story will, in part, be based on the character Jessica Samuels, who was the rebellious head of the Grange Hill student action group in the TV series. The idea was inspired by Sugarman, who played Samuels...
- 4/27/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
‘All My Friends Hate Me’ and ‘The Almond And The Seahorse’ also won prizes.
Frances O’Connor’s Emily proved the big hit of the 33rd edition of Dinard Film Festival, the French seaside festival that spotlights UK and Irish cinema, for French audiences that closed on October 2.
Emily won the Golden Hitchcock for best film, with Emma Mackey receiving the award for best performance. The period drama also scooped the audience prize for best feature film. The film premiered at Toronto, and marks the directorial debut of actor O’Connor.
Sex Education star Mackey plays a rebellious version of Wuthering...
Frances O’Connor’s Emily proved the big hit of the 33rd edition of Dinard Film Festival, the French seaside festival that spotlights UK and Irish cinema, for French audiences that closed on October 2.
Emily won the Golden Hitchcock for best film, with Emma Mackey receiving the award for best performance. The period drama also scooped the audience prize for best feature film. The film premiered at Toronto, and marks the directorial debut of actor O’Connor.
Sex Education star Mackey plays a rebellious version of Wuthering...
- 10/3/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Grab your fishing tackle and make sure you have a good alibi because A24‘s God’s Creatures trailer is here. Saela Davis and Anna Rose Homer direct this chilling tale based on a story by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly and a screenplay by Shane Crowley. The story takes place in a windswept fishing village, where a mother becomes torn between protecting her beloved son and her sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips her family apart, and the close-knit community they live in starts to crumble.
In A24’s God’s Creatures trailer, we see the makings of powerhouse performances by Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, and Aisling Franciosi. The film debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Audiences were reportedly captivated by the film’s dark events and swept into a character-driven mystery that left them disturbed.
God’s Creatures begs audiences to...
In A24’s God’s Creatures trailer, we see the makings of powerhouse performances by Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, and Aisling Franciosi. The film debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Audiences were reportedly captivated by the film’s dark events and swept into a character-driven mystery that left them disturbed.
God’s Creatures begs audiences to...
- 8/17/2022
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Principal photography has wrapped on “He Went That Way,” the true crime thriller starring Jacob Elordi (“Euphoria”) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek franchise).
Mister Smith Entertainment have revealed a first look image and will be showing the first footage to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Set in 1964, “He Went That Way” is based on the true crime story of celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts and his famous TV chimp, Spanky, centerpiece of the traveling entertainment show The Ice Capades in the 1960s, and his fateful three-day encounter with the serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. The film is inspired by Conrad Hilberry’s book “Luke Karamazov” and the real life account from Dave Pitts, the sole survivor of Ranes killing spree, and follows the trio as they set off on a crazy three-day road trip down Route 66 together.
Elordi portrays serial killer Bobby Falls, based on Ranes and Quinto portrays Jim Goodwin,...
Mister Smith Entertainment have revealed a first look image and will be showing the first footage to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Set in 1964, “He Went That Way” is based on the true crime story of celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts and his famous TV chimp, Spanky, centerpiece of the traveling entertainment show The Ice Capades in the 1960s, and his fateful three-day encounter with the serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. The film is inspired by Conrad Hilberry’s book “Luke Karamazov” and the real life account from Dave Pitts, the sole survivor of Ranes killing spree, and follows the trio as they set off on a crazy three-day road trip down Route 66 together.
Elordi portrays serial killer Bobby Falls, based on Ranes and Quinto portrays Jim Goodwin,...
- 2/3/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Filming on Beatles manager movie Midas Man did not restart last month as planned.
The plan was for filming to recommence in late November but the restart has been pushed to late January as new director Sara Sugarman gets acclimatized and the production has a planned pause over Christmas. The film’s original director Jonas Akerlund left the project in mid-November. Some of the original crew also left.
The independent movie will have had a three-month break from filming by the time cameras roll again and multiple people working on the film have now expressed concern to us about the project’s funding. We understand the feature has not been bonded.
However, the production tells us there are no funding or scheduling issues: “There is no delay. Midas Man filming remains very much on schedule to complete the movie. The new production team is now on board. U.S.
The plan was for filming to recommence in late November but the restart has been pushed to late January as new director Sara Sugarman gets acclimatized and the production has a planned pause over Christmas. The film’s original director Jonas Akerlund left the project in mid-November. Some of the original crew also left.
The independent movie will have had a three-month break from filming by the time cameras roll again and multiple people working on the film have now expressed concern to us about the project’s funding. We understand the feature has not been bonded.
However, the production tells us there are no funding or scheduling issues: “There is no delay. Midas Man filming remains very much on schedule to complete the movie. The new production team is now on board. U.S.
- 12/13/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Despite recently losing its director just three weeks into shooting, “Midas Man,” the music biopic about The Beatles’ wunderkind manager Brian Epstein, has now cast its fab four.
John Lennon will be played by Jonah Lees (“The Letter for the King”), Paul McCartney by Blake Richardson (“Eleven Days”), George Harrison by Leo Harvey Elledge (“Creation Stories”) and Ringo Starr by newcomer Campbell Wallace. (See first look images above and below).
Joining them will be Adam Lawrence (“Peaky Blinders”) as Pete Best and former late night host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan, who hosted the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964.
Already cast is Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the lead role as Epstein, the music mogul who was credited with turning the Beatles into superstars.
Emily Watson (“Gosford Park”) will play Epstein’s mother Malka, Eddie Marsan (“Ridley Road”) his father Harry and Omari Douglas (“It’s a Sin”) as Epstein’s friend Lonnie Trimble.
John Lennon will be played by Jonah Lees (“The Letter for the King”), Paul McCartney by Blake Richardson (“Eleven Days”), George Harrison by Leo Harvey Elledge (“Creation Stories”) and Ringo Starr by newcomer Campbell Wallace. (See first look images above and below).
Joining them will be Adam Lawrence (“Peaky Blinders”) as Pete Best and former late night host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan, who hosted the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964.
Already cast is Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the lead role as Epstein, the music mogul who was credited with turning the Beatles into superstars.
Emily Watson (“Gosford Park”) will play Epstein’s mother Malka, Eddie Marsan (“Ridley Road”) his father Harry and Omari Douglas (“It’s a Sin”) as Epstein’s friend Lonnie Trimble.
- 11/25/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
The actors portraying the Fab Four have been revealed for Beatles manager movie Midas Man.
Jonah Lees (The Letter For The King) will play John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson (of band New Hope Club) will be Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge (Creation Stories) is George Harrison, and Campbell Wallace will play Ringo Starr. Here are some first-look images of the newcomer actors as the iconic quartet at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
Adam Lawrence (Peaky Blinders) has joined cast as Pete Best and, as we revealed earlier this week, Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) has joined as Ed Sullivan.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) plays the lead role of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Emily Watson is Epstein’s mother Malka “Queenie” Epstein, Eddie Marsan portrays Brian’s father and successful businessman Harry, Omari Douglas is Lonnie Trimble, Epstein’s ever-trusted confidant, and Rosie Day plays Merseybeat star Cilla Black.
Jonah Lees (The Letter For The King) will play John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson (of band New Hope Club) will be Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge (Creation Stories) is George Harrison, and Campbell Wallace will play Ringo Starr. Here are some first-look images of the newcomer actors as the iconic quartet at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
Adam Lawrence (Peaky Blinders) has joined cast as Pete Best and, as we revealed earlier this week, Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) has joined as Ed Sullivan.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) plays the lead role of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Emily Watson is Epstein’s mother Malka “Queenie” Epstein, Eddie Marsan portrays Brian’s father and successful businessman Harry, Omari Douglas is Lonnie Trimble, Epstein’s ever-trusted confidant, and Rosie Day plays Merseybeat star Cilla Black.
- 11/25/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jay Leno is set to make a rare feature appearance in Midas Man — the film about Beatles manager Brian Epstein — playing another celebrated TV personality: Ed Sullivan.
The former Tonight Show host last appeared in a live-action movie as a character other than himself way back in the ’90s. He has voiced a number of animations, however, and small-screen roles include ABC’s Last Man Standing.
Midas Man, currently in production, stars The Queen’s Gambit‘s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the late Beatles manager. The project charts Epstein’s role in the creative explosion of the 1960s and his sizable influence on pop music.
The Fab Four made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including three in February 1964 that were among their first appearances in front of an American audience. Their first appearance, on February 9, was seen by a then-record 73 million viewers and came to be regarded as a...
The former Tonight Show host last appeared in a live-action movie as a character other than himself way back in the ’90s. He has voiced a number of animations, however, and small-screen roles include ABC’s Last Man Standing.
Midas Man, currently in production, stars The Queen’s Gambit‘s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the late Beatles manager. The project charts Epstein’s role in the creative explosion of the 1960s and his sizable influence on pop music.
The Fab Four made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including three in February 1964 that were among their first appearances in front of an American audience. Their first appearance, on February 9, was seen by a then-record 73 million viewers and came to be regarded as a...
- 11/22/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Sara Sugarman is set to replace Jonas Åkerlund on “Midas Man,” the biopic of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, Variety understands.
“Midas Man” tells the story of Brian Epstein, the man who is considered responsible for launching The Beatles into the stratosphere. He also managed other hit musical acts from the 1960s including Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black before tragically succumbing to an overdose at the age of 32.
During his lifetime Epstein was also forced to hide the fact that he was gay due to societal attitudes towards at the time.
“The Queen’s Gambit” star Jacob Fortune Lloyd (above right) has been cast as wunderkind Epstein in the film, with “Outlander’s” Rosie Day set to play Cilla Black.
Sugarman has previously directed “Vinyl,” “House of Versace” and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” with Lindsay Lohan. She recently wrapped on feature film “Save the Cinema” with...
“Midas Man” tells the story of Brian Epstein, the man who is considered responsible for launching The Beatles into the stratosphere. He also managed other hit musical acts from the 1960s including Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black before tragically succumbing to an overdose at the age of 32.
During his lifetime Epstein was also forced to hide the fact that he was gay due to societal attitudes towards at the time.
“The Queen’s Gambit” star Jacob Fortune Lloyd (above right) has been cast as wunderkind Epstein in the film, with “Outlander’s” Rosie Day set to play Cilla Black.
Sugarman has previously directed “Vinyl,” “House of Versace” and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” with Lindsay Lohan. She recently wrapped on feature film “Save the Cinema” with...
- 11/18/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Midas Man, the biopic of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, has hired a new director as it looks to get back into production as soon as possible.
Sara Sugarman, known for directing movies including music comedy Vinyl, Lifetime’s House Of Versace and Disney’s Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen, is newly aboard.
As we revealed earlier this month, the movie entered hiatus as producers sought to replace director Jonas Akerlund.
Akerlund told us today: “I regret that things haven’t turned out as we had planned on Midas Man. I wish Jacob [Fortune-Lloyd] and the team the best with the film.”
The Queen’s Gambit co-star Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars as Epstein in the biopic, alongside Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Rosie Day and Bill Milner. The project charts Epstein’s role in the creative explosion of the 1960s and his sizable influence on pop music.
We understand exit terms...
Sara Sugarman, known for directing movies including music comedy Vinyl, Lifetime’s House Of Versace and Disney’s Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen, is newly aboard.
As we revealed earlier this month, the movie entered hiatus as producers sought to replace director Jonas Akerlund.
Akerlund told us today: “I regret that things haven’t turned out as we had planned on Midas Man. I wish Jacob [Fortune-Lloyd] and the team the best with the film.”
The Queen’s Gambit co-star Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars as Epstein in the biopic, alongside Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Rosie Day and Bill Milner. The project charts Epstein’s role in the creative explosion of the 1960s and his sizable influence on pop music.
We understand exit terms...
- 11/18/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Harberd to step down after more than seven years at film financier.
Daniel Negret has been named chief operating officer at UK film, TV and video games financier Head Gear Films, replacing the outgoing Tom Harberd.
Negret joins from Ingenious Media, where he spent three years as an investment manager, working on features including Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Simon Barrett’s Séance and Marco Perego Saldana’s upcoming drama Keyhole Garden. He will report to Head Gear managing director Phil Hunt.
Negret will take up the role on June 1, a month ahead of the departure of Harberd, who will...
Daniel Negret has been named chief operating officer at UK film, TV and video games financier Head Gear Films, replacing the outgoing Tom Harberd.
Negret joins from Ingenious Media, where he spent three years as an investment manager, working on features including Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Simon Barrett’s Séance and Marco Perego Saldana’s upcoming drama Keyhole Garden. He will report to Head Gear managing director Phil Hunt.
Negret will take up the role on June 1, a month ahead of the departure of Harberd, who will...
- 5/17/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The ceremony will be broadcast live on Facebook.
The British Independent Film Awards will take place as an online ceremony on Thursday February 18, hosted by actor Tom Felton.
Felton will lead the event live from Wales, where he is currently filming Sara Sugarman’s Save The Cinema alongside Jonathan Pryce and Samantha Morton, as revealed by Screen.
He will be joined online by UK and international film talent to reveal the 2020 winners. The show will also feature conversations with jurors and famous film fans about this year’s nominees.
The live show will be broadcast via BIFA’s Facebook page,...
The British Independent Film Awards will take place as an online ceremony on Thursday February 18, hosted by actor Tom Felton.
Felton will lead the event live from Wales, where he is currently filming Sara Sugarman’s Save The Cinema alongside Jonathan Pryce and Samantha Morton, as revealed by Screen.
He will be joined online by UK and international film talent to reveal the 2020 winners. The show will also feature conversations with jurors and famous film fans about this year’s nominees.
The live show will be broadcast via BIFA’s Facebook page,...
- 2/1/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Sky plans to broadcast one new film a week from 2022.
UK pay-tv broadcaster Sky is to launch 30 new Sky Original films this year and will increase this to one a week from 2022 in a bid to become “the best home cinema service in the world”.
It represents a major push into film for the UK pay-tv operator, taking on streaming giants Netflix and Amazon as well as Disney, whose channels were removed from Sky last October following the launch of Disney+.
The plan to launch one original film per week from next year echoes a similar commitment made by Netflix earlier this month.
UK pay-tv broadcaster Sky is to launch 30 new Sky Original films this year and will increase this to one a week from 2022 in a bid to become “the best home cinema service in the world”.
It represents a major push into film for the UK pay-tv operator, taking on streaming giants Netflix and Amazon as well as Disney, whose channels were removed from Sky last October following the launch of Disney+.
The plan to launch one original film per week from next year echoes a similar commitment made by Netflix earlier this month.
- 1/25/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The drama is an Fae production for Sky Cinema.
Jonathan Pryce, Samantha Morton and Tom Felton will star in Save The Cinema, a feature drama about the campaign to save a local cinema in Carmarthen, Wales in the 1990s, which is now shooting in Wales.
The film is directed by Sara Sugarman, whose previous features includes Mad Cows (1999), Very Annie Mary (2001), Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Vinyl (2012).
The film is co-produced by Sky and Fae Film & Television. Sky has majority-financed the title as a Sky Original film, with additional backing from Phil Hunt’s Head Gear Films, Film Cymru and Lipsync.
Jonathan Pryce, Samantha Morton and Tom Felton will star in Save The Cinema, a feature drama about the campaign to save a local cinema in Carmarthen, Wales in the 1990s, which is now shooting in Wales.
The film is directed by Sara Sugarman, whose previous features includes Mad Cows (1999), Very Annie Mary (2001), Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Vinyl (2012).
The film is co-produced by Sky and Fae Film & Television. Sky has majority-financed the title as a Sky Original film, with additional backing from Phil Hunt’s Head Gear Films, Film Cymru and Lipsync.
- 1/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Welsh actress Alexa Davies, who stars in the upcoming UK series Dead Pixels on the CW, and White House Farm on HBO Max, has signed with Atlas Artists for management.
Davies portrays Meg in Dead Pixels, which was acquired by the CW from BBC Studios earlier this year. Based on his 2016 Channel 4 short, Avatards, Dead Pixels was written by BAFTA-winning writer, Jon Brown and produced by Peep Show’s Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. It centers on friends Meg (Davies), Nicky and Usman, whose world revolves around their obsession with a fantasy computer game.
Davies also stars in upcoming HBO Max true-crime drama White House Farm, based on the real-life events that took place in August 1985, when five members of the Bamber-Caffell family were shot to death at White House Farm, Essex. Davies plays Julie Mugford in the series alongside Freddie Fox, Gemma Whelan, Alfie Allen,...
Davies portrays Meg in Dead Pixels, which was acquired by the CW from BBC Studios earlier this year. Based on his 2016 Channel 4 short, Avatards, Dead Pixels was written by BAFTA-winning writer, Jon Brown and produced by Peep Show’s Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. It centers on friends Meg (Davies), Nicky and Usman, whose world revolves around their obsession with a fantasy computer game.
Davies also stars in upcoming HBO Max true-crime drama White House Farm, based on the real-life events that took place in August 1985, when five members of the Bamber-Caffell family were shot to death at White House Farm, Essex. Davies plays Julie Mugford in the series alongside Freddie Fox, Gemma Whelan, Alfie Allen,...
- 8/17/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Look out for young Welsh actress Alexa Davies in 2014.
18 year old Alexa (represented by Bwh), made her film debut last year after a local casting in her native North Wales in 2010, landed her a role in Sara Sugarman's Vinyl.
She will next be seen in Raised By Wolves, a semi-autobiographical series written by Caitlin Moran, set on a Wolverhampton council estate. Alexa plays the younger sister Aretha, opposite Helen Monks as the young Caitlin-character Germaine. The first episode of Raised by Wolves will be shown on 23rd December at 10.50pm on Channel 4.
Alexa will also be seen next year starring alongside Asa Butterfield in feature film X Plus Y, directed by BAFTA winning documentary maker Morgan Matthews, the tale of a maths prodigy team who travel to Taiwan to represent Gb at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
She also made her stage debut earlier this year in No Quarter at the Royal Court.
18 year old Alexa (represented by Bwh), made her film debut last year after a local casting in her native North Wales in 2010, landed her a role in Sara Sugarman's Vinyl.
She will next be seen in Raised By Wolves, a semi-autobiographical series written by Caitlin Moran, set on a Wolverhampton council estate. Alexa plays the younger sister Aretha, opposite Helen Monks as the young Caitlin-character Germaine. The first episode of Raised by Wolves will be shown on 23rd December at 10.50pm on Channel 4.
Alexa will also be seen next year starring alongside Asa Butterfield in feature film X Plus Y, directed by BAFTA winning documentary maker Morgan Matthews, the tale of a maths prodigy team who travel to Taiwan to represent Gb at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
She also made her stage debut earlier this year in No Quarter at the Royal Court.
- 12/20/2013
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Gina Gershon is set to star in a new original TV movie for the Lifetime network based on the life of Donatella Versace, the very blonde, very tan vice president and chief designed of the Versace Group. "House of Versace" will focus on the luxury designer's rise in the fashion world after her brother's tragic slaying in 1997. Sara Sugarman ("Vinyl," "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen") will direct from a script by Rama Stagner ("Blue Sky," "American Dreams"). Accompanying Gershon in the cast are Raquel Welch (as Lucia), Enrico Colantoni (as Gianni Versace) and Colm Feore (as Santo). The film is based on Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Deborah Balls book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival," which explored Gianni Versace's murder, Donatella Versace's drug addiction and the reemergence of the Versace brand. "House of Versace" premieres October 5 on Lifetime, the latest...
- 8/16/2013
- by Casey Cipriani
- Indiewire
Check this out – Gina Gershon is set to play an Italian fashion designer and current Vice-President of the Versace Group Donatella Versace in Lifetime’s original movie titled House of Versace. But that’s not all, we’ve just learned that Raquel Welch and Enrico Colantoni are also on board for the upcoming biopic. Sounds promising? Sure, why not… At this moment we know that Sara Sugarman is set to direct the movie from a script written by Rama Stagner, which is based on Deborah Ball‘s book House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder. According to the latest reports, the movie will track Donatella’s struggle...
Click to read original and full article: Gina Gershon To Play Donatella Versace In LifeTime’s Biopic House Of Versace on http://www.filmofilia.com...
Click to read original and full article: Gina Gershon To Play Donatella Versace In LifeTime’s Biopic House Of Versace on http://www.filmofilia.com...
- 8/16/2013
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
Gina Gershon will play iconic fashion designer Donatella Versace in new Lifetime TV movie "House of Versace," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The telepic also stars Enrico Colantoni as Donatella's late brother Gianni Versace, Colm Feore as their older brother Santo, and Raquel Welch as their Aunt Lucia.
The original TV movie is scripted by Rama Stagner and directed by Sara Sugarman, and is based on the book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival" by Deborah Ball. It focuses on Donatella Versace as she struggles under the scrutiny of being head designer at her brother's company following his death. The film will tackle her battle with drug addiction and the fashion house's failing fortunes, her stint in rehab and subsequent renewed sense of purpose, which built the brand into the lucrative and respected empire it is today.
"House of Versace" premieres Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.
The original TV movie is scripted by Rama Stagner and directed by Sara Sugarman, and is based on the book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival" by Deborah Ball. It focuses on Donatella Versace as she struggles under the scrutiny of being head designer at her brother's company following his death. The film will tackle her battle with drug addiction and the fashion house's failing fortunes, her stint in rehab and subsequent renewed sense of purpose, which built the brand into the lucrative and respected empire it is today.
"House of Versace" premieres Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.
- 8/15/2013
- by Laura Prudom
- Huffington Post
Beyond The Hills | The Incredible Burt Wonderstone | The Paperboy | Welcome To The Punch | Shell | The Spirit Of '45 | Red Dawn | Vinyl | Maniac | Michael H. Profession: Director
Beyond The Hills (12A)
(Cristian Mungiu, 2012, Rom) Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur. 152 mins
Romanian patriarchy had a lot to answer for in Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, and it's even more to blame in this powerful convent drama. It starts with a young woman coming to visit her former girlfriend, who's now a nun, but events increasingly spiral out of control, to the extent that romantic frustration is diagnosed as demonic possession… and duly treated.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (15)
(Don Scardino, 2013, Us) Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey. 100 mins
Doing for Vegas-style magic what Blades Of Glory did for figure skating, Carell and co conjure just enough comedy out of a sitting-duck premise, as their cheesy stage act is threatened by Carrey's Blaine-style endurance stunts.
The Paperboy (15)
(Lee Daniels,...
Beyond The Hills (12A)
(Cristian Mungiu, 2012, Rom) Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur. 152 mins
Romanian patriarchy had a lot to answer for in Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, and it's even more to blame in this powerful convent drama. It starts with a young woman coming to visit her former girlfriend, who's now a nun, but events increasingly spiral out of control, to the extent that romantic frustration is diagnosed as demonic possession… and duly treated.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (15)
(Don Scardino, 2013, Us) Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey. 100 mins
Doing for Vegas-style magic what Blades Of Glory did for figure skating, Carell and co conjure just enough comedy out of a sitting-duck premise, as their cheesy stage act is threatened by Carrey's Blaine-style endurance stunts.
The Paperboy (15)
(Lee Daniels,...
- 3/16/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
For director Sara Sugarman, her latest project Vinyl was very much a going back to her roots job, as her first film since Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen not only takes her back to her hometown of Rhyl, Wales, but also to a story somewhat familiar to her. We were fortunate enough to sit down and discuss Vinyl with the filmmaker and one of her leading stars Jamie Blackley.
The pair discuss the intimate set and community feel, as well as working alongside the likes of Phil Daniels and Keith Allen. Blackley, who also starred in Snow White and the Huntsman, talks of his own experience on this feature, in a feel-good feature that certainly seems to have had as much of a jovial impact on the cast and crew as it will no doubt have on its audiences following its theatrical release this coming Friday March 15.
Our review...
The pair discuss the intimate set and community feel, as well as working alongside the likes of Phil Daniels and Keith Allen. Blackley, who also starred in Snow White and the Huntsman, talks of his own experience on this feature, in a feel-good feature that certainly seems to have had as much of a jovial impact on the cast and crew as it will no doubt have on its audiences following its theatrical release this coming Friday March 15.
Our review...
- 3/14/2013
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Following on from director Sara Sugarman’s unsatisfying teen flick Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, the filmmaker has returned to her roots somewhat, this time staying closer to home –as she presents Vinyl, not only shot in her hometown of Rhyl, Wales, but also telling the true story of a punk band’s great rock and roll swindle; a band she knows all too well (she dated the bassist, innit).
Based on the real life occurrences surrounding Mike Peters’ band The Alarm, we focus on Weapons of Happiness, a punk four piece who had enjoyed relative success in their prime, yet split up due to the greed and careless irresponsibility of frontman Johnny Jones (Phil Daniels). However when they are reunited for the first time in years at a funeral, Johnny and the other band members (Keith Allen, Perry Benson, Christopher Roy Turner) take a trip down memory lane and,...
Based on the real life occurrences surrounding Mike Peters’ band The Alarm, we focus on Weapons of Happiness, a punk four piece who had enjoyed relative success in their prime, yet split up due to the greed and careless irresponsibility of frontman Johnny Jones (Phil Daniels). However when they are reunited for the first time in years at a funeral, Johnny and the other band members (Keith Allen, Perry Benson, Christopher Roy Turner) take a trip down memory lane and,...
- 3/14/2013
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★☆☆☆☆ It's certainly still early days, but the poorest British film of the year may just be about to rear its repugnant head (and we're not referring back to Danny Dyer farce Run for Your Wife). Sara Sugarman's Vinyl (2012) wants to be a breezy tale of old rockers sticking it to the 'man'. Sadly, it turns out to be a cliché-ridden bore, with a grasp on reality which makes Hollyoaks look like a restrained, Ramin Bahrani-like character study by comparison. The film is based on the true-life tale of Mike Peters (from 1980s outfit The Alarm) who assembled an imaginary Milli Vanilli-type band to get one over on the major record labels.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 3/13/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
We’ve been sent the first look poster for new movie Vinyl which stars Phil Daniels, Keith Allen, Jamie Blackley and is directed by Sara Sugarman with a script from both Sugarman and Jim Cooper.
Based on the story of Mike Peters’ true rock and roll hoax of 2004, Vinyl tells how a group of washed-up rockers hoodwinked top record labels, radio DJs, and the entire rock music world by releasing a pop punk single under a fictitious teenage band’s name….…now they just need to teach this rowdy bunch of kids what true punk spirit is all about!
In Sara Sugarman’s Vinyl, much-loved British icons Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia) and Keith Allen (Trainspotting) return to the big screen, supported by a sensational young cast, with charismatic newcomer Jamie Blackley (Snow White and the Huntsman, London Boulevard) delivering a standout performance that’s sure to mark him out as one...
Based on the story of Mike Peters’ true rock and roll hoax of 2004, Vinyl tells how a group of washed-up rockers hoodwinked top record labels, radio DJs, and the entire rock music world by releasing a pop punk single under a fictitious teenage band’s name….…now they just need to teach this rowdy bunch of kids what true punk spirit is all about!
In Sara Sugarman’s Vinyl, much-loved British icons Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia) and Keith Allen (Trainspotting) return to the big screen, supported by a sensational young cast, with charismatic newcomer Jamie Blackley (Snow White and the Huntsman, London Boulevard) delivering a standout performance that’s sure to mark him out as one...
- 1/25/2013
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Welsh comedy Vinyl based on a 2004 rock 'n' roll swindle teams Vinyl, H20 H2O Motion Pictures and Traction Media are joining for the story about washed-up punk rockers who release a single under a fictitious moniker. Sara Sugarman directs from her own script, as well as producing alongside John H. Williams (Shrek). Phil Daniels and Perry Benson, Keith Allen and Jamie Blackley star in Vinyl. H2O and Traction H2O also banded together for David Weaver's thriller The Samaritan, which stars starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Wilkinson. Variety reports that there's select footage...
- 9/11/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Welsh comedy Vinyl based on a 2004 rock 'n' roll swindle teams Vinyl, H20 H2O Motion Pictures and Traction Media are joining for the story about washed-up punk rockers who release a single under a fictitious moniker. Sara Sugarman directs from her own script, as well as producing alongside John H. Williams (Shrek). Phil Daniels and Perry Benson, Keith Allen and Jamie Blackley star in Vinyl. H2O and Traction H2O also banded together for David Weaver's thriller The Samaritan, which stars starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Wilkinson. Variety reports that there's select footage...
- 9/11/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
- 4/20/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
John Williams, President and CEO of Vanguard Films has announced that Mike Johnson (Corpse Bride) will direct its new CG/stop-motion hybrid feature film, Oz Wars. The film was written by Rob Moreland (Space Chimps, City of Dragons) and Athena Gam (Alien Rock Band). Oz Wars transforms the Oz narrative into a contemporary, freaky action-packed PG-13 audience pleaser, with Dorothy caught up in a whirlwind of warrior witches, black magic, martial arts and monsters.
Check out the press release below for all the details.
Official Press Release:
Corpse Bride Co-director Mike Johnson At Helm Of Vanguard’S
Animated Film Oz Wars
(Los Angeles, CA; December 15, 2010) – John Williams, President and CEO of Vanguard Films, announced today the company has signed Oscar™ and Annie Award-nominee Mike Johnson, co-director of Corpse Bride, to direct its CG/stop-motion hybrid feature film, Oz Wars.
“Mike Johnson is a spectacular director and one of the masters of stop-motion,...
Check out the press release below for all the details.
Official Press Release:
Corpse Bride Co-director Mike Johnson At Helm Of Vanguard’S
Animated Film Oz Wars
(Los Angeles, CA; December 15, 2010) – John Williams, President and CEO of Vanguard Films, announced today the company has signed Oscar™ and Annie Award-nominee Mike Johnson, co-director of Corpse Bride, to direct its CG/stop-motion hybrid feature film, Oz Wars.
“Mike Johnson is a spectacular director and one of the masters of stop-motion,...
- 12/17/2010
- by Jason Moore
- ScifiMafia
Mike Johnson has signed on to direct the CG/Stop-Motion hybrid feature film Oz Wars. The Academy Award and Annie Award-nominee got his start as the Assistant Animation Rigger and Assistant Animator on The Nightmare Before Christmas. He was an animator on James and The Giant Peach, directed three episodes of the lat 1990's Fox clay animated television series The PJs, and was co-director of the 2005 film Corpse Bride. So basically, he has a long history with stop motion animation. Written by Rob Moreland (Space Chimps 1 & 2) and Athena Gam (Alien Rock Band), Oz Wars attempts to transform the Wizard of Oz narrative into "a contemporary, freaky action-packed PG-13 audience pleaser, with Dorothy caught up in a whirlwind of warrior witches, black magic, martial arts and monsters." It's being described as an animated film thats "not just for kids," as the world will be "dark, slick, sexy, and dangerous." Read the press release after the jump.
- 12/15/2010
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Opens
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
There are moments of real pleasure to be found in Sara Sugarman's whimsical comedy "Very Annie-Mary" but not enough to sustain the film. The film will undoubtedly have a life on the festival circuit and will make a fine video release. But its theatrical life will be short.
"Annie-Mary" was shot in and around Pontycymer in the Garw valley in South Wales (where Sugarman shot two earlier short films), and the writer-director does a splendid job capturing the joys and eccentricities of this fanciful world.
The opening sequences set the tone of the film, showing -- as credits roll -- Annie-Mary's father (the excellent Jonathan Pryce) driving his baker's van through the valleys wearing a Pavarotti mask and belting out Puccini over the van's speakers.
He is known to all as "the Voice of the Valleys" and keeps Annie-Mary (Rachel Griffiths), a gawky but endearing oddball, very much in his shadow. When she was 16, she was offered the chance to study singing in Milan, Italy, but turned it down because her mother was dying. When her father suffers a stroke, Annie-Mary finally seizes the chance to rebel, dreaming of how she might sell the bakery and buy her dream house.
But when her father returns home in a wheelchair as demanding as ever, she realizes how dependent he is on her. She sets about repainting the house, ineptly running the bakery and even joining a motley all-girl pop group named Hinge, Minge, Twinge and Bracket. To the amazement of all, the group wins a top prize of...
"Annie-Mary" was shot in and around Pontycymer in the Garw valley in South Wales (where Sugarman shot two earlier short films), and the writer-director does a splendid job capturing the joys and eccentricities of this fanciful world.
The opening sequences set the tone of the film, showing -- as credits roll -- Annie-Mary's father (the excellent Jonathan Pryce) driving his baker's van through the valleys wearing a Pavarotti mask and belting out Puccini over the van's speakers.
He is known to all as "the Voice of the Valleys" and keeps Annie-Mary (Rachel Griffiths), a gawky but endearing oddball, very much in his shadow. When she was 16, she was offered the chance to study singing in Milan, Italy, but turned it down because her mother was dying. When her father suffers a stroke, Annie-Mary finally seizes the chance to rebel, dreaming of how she might sell the bakery and buy her dream house.
But when her father returns home in a wheelchair as demanding as ever, she realizes how dependent he is on her. She sets about repainting the house, ineptly running the bakery and even joining a motley all-girl pop group named Hinge, Minge, Twinge and Bracket. To the amazement of all, the group wins a top prize of...
The boxoffice in North America was rather dismal this weekend with Sony's 50 First Dates providing one of the few respites as the romantic comedy held onto the top spot for the second consecutive session with an estimated $21 million. The Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore starrer was down a relatively mild 47% compared with the first three days of the four-day Presidents Day holiday frame and has accumulated an impressive $72.3 million in just 10 days. But collectively, audiences met this weekend's four new wide releases with a big yawn -- not one cracked the $10 million mark. Buena Vista's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen was the strongest performer of the weekend's new arrivals. The comedy, aimed at a young female audience, finished in the No. 2 spot with an estimated $9.2 million. Lindsay Lohan stars in the PG-rated film helmed by Sara Sugarman.
- 2/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 2/19/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Aussie hunk Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly) has joined the cast of Disney's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen alongside Lindsay Lohan and Alison Pill, according to Variety. Directed by Sara Sugarman from a script by Gail Parent, the comedy revolves around a popular teen girl who moves to the suburbs, only to discover her new high school worships another popular girl. Shooting is slated to begin this summer.
- 4/30/2003
- IMDbPro News
Lindsay Lohan and Alison Pill have been cast in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen for the Walt Disney Co. and director Sara Sugarman. Based on the Dyan Sheldon novel, Drama Queen will star Lohan as a New York teenager who reinvents herself when she is forced to move to a New Jersey suburb. Pill will play Lohan's best friend in the film. Drama Queen, which is slated for an early-summer production start, was adapted for the big screen by Gail Parent and is being produced by Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro. Disney production exec Brad Epstein is overseeing for the studio.
- 3/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indie director Sara Sugarman is in early negotiations to make her studio feature debut at the helm of New Line Cinema's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Based on the Dyan Sheldon novel, Drama Queen will star Hilary Duff as a New York teenager who reinvents herself when she is forced to move to a New Jersey suburb. The film was adapted for the big screen by Gail Parent and is being produced by Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro. Although Drama Queen will mark Sugarman's studio feature debut, she has directed several indie features, including Very Annie Mary and Mad Cows. She also has appeared as an actress in Sid and Nancy and the British television series Grange Hill.
- 10/18/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There are moments of real pleasure to be found in Sara Sugarman's whimsical comedy "Very Annie-Mary" but not enough to sustain the film. The film will undoubtedly have a life on the festival circuit and will make a fine video release. But its theatrical life will be short.
"Annie-Mary" was shot in and around Pontycymer in the Garw valley in South Wales (where Sugarman shot two earlier short films), and the writer-director does a splendid job capturing the joys and eccentricities of this fanciful world.
The opening sequences set the tone of the film, showing -- as credits roll -- Annie-Mary's father (the excellent Jonathan Pryce) driving his baker's van through the valleys wearing a Pavarotti mask and belting out Puccini over the van's speakers.
He is known to all as "the Voice of the Valleys" and keeps Annie-Mary (Rachel Griffiths), a gawky but endearing oddball, very much in his shadow. When she was 16, she was offered the chance to study singing in Milan, Italy, but turned it down because her mother was dying. When her father suffers a stroke, Annie-Mary finally seizes the chance to rebel, dreaming of how she might sell the bakery and buy her dream house.
But when her father returns home in a wheelchair as demanding as ever, she realizes how dependent he is on her. She sets about repainting the house, ineptly running the bakery and even joining a motley all-girl pop group named Hinge, Minge, Twinge and Bracket. To the amazement of all, the group wins a top prize of...
"Annie-Mary" was shot in and around Pontycymer in the Garw valley in South Wales (where Sugarman shot two earlier short films), and the writer-director does a splendid job capturing the joys and eccentricities of this fanciful world.
The opening sequences set the tone of the film, showing -- as credits roll -- Annie-Mary's father (the excellent Jonathan Pryce) driving his baker's van through the valleys wearing a Pavarotti mask and belting out Puccini over the van's speakers.
He is known to all as "the Voice of the Valleys" and keeps Annie-Mary (Rachel Griffiths), a gawky but endearing oddball, very much in his shadow. When she was 16, she was offered the chance to study singing in Milan, Italy, but turned it down because her mother was dying. When her father suffers a stroke, Annie-Mary finally seizes the chance to rebel, dreaming of how she might sell the bakery and buy her dream house.
But when her father returns home in a wheelchair as demanding as ever, she realizes how dependent he is on her. She sets about repainting the house, ineptly running the bakery and even joining a motley all-girl pop group named Hinge, Minge, Twinge and Bracket. To the amazement of all, the group wins a top prize of...
"Mad Cows" harks back to a style of British comedy long thought extinct. With its broad humor, occasional overacting and love of guest appearances by different sorts of "celebrities," it is more in tune with the "Carry On ..". films than with the more sophisticated humor of "Notting Hill" or the funnier insights of social-based films like "The Full Monty".
Often the film's comedy hits its targets, though there are just as many times it is wide of the mark.
The astute casting of hot, young actress Anna Friel ("William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream") in the lead role is well balanced by having the much-loved Joanna Lumley from TV's "Absolutely Fabulous" play her best friend Gillian. The strong U.K. promotional campaign linked to the accessibility of the stars points to local success, while there is much to interest an American audience looking for a fresh dose of British humor. The U.S. distribution rights have not been sold.
Although very much a British film, it's based on a popular book by Australian author Kathy Lette and much of the humor comes from having a good go at the dubious morals and attitudes of the Brits. Friel plays Maddy, an unwed and forthright Australian, who comes to London to reconcile with Alex (Greg Wise, in a nice contrast to his role in "Sense and Sensibility"), her ex-lover and father of her 6-week-old son Jack.
While shopping at Harrods department store, she decides to relieve the ache of her lactating breasts by borrowing a pack of frozen peas from the food department and inserting them into her bra. After leaving the store, she is promptly arrested for shoplifting and sent to prison.
After some dubious counseling by Dwina Phelps (Anna Massey), a distraught Maddy signs Jack away for adoption. But after realizing she has been conned, she convinces her Gillian to smuggle the baby out of prison.
Much of the best humor comes from the scenes where Gillian checks into a posh hotel and tries her best to deal with the needy infant. Her skill lies with use of rich men's credit cards rather than maternal abilities.
Meanwhile, Maddy escapes from prison and, unable to find Gillian, hooks up again with Alex. Despite a night of passion, he still refuses to help. Maddy and Gillian finally hook up and make their way to a party hosted by Alex's mother Lady Drake (Phyllida Law).
"Mad Cows" is directed by Sara Sugarman with a plethora of unusual camera angles and sharp editing. The film boasts an eclectic cast, which includes expert character actors Law, Prunella Scales, Massey and John Standing. There are also cameo roles (who will often mean more to Brits than overseas audiences) by Harrods' owner Mohamed Al Fayed (who plays a Harrods doorman), much-photographed society girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and models Jodie Kidd, Sophie Dahl and Susie Bick (all of whom play prisoners).
Friel does a fine job of her Australian accent and plays her character with gusto. Lumley, though, is the real star of the film, further developing her Patsy character from "Absolutely Fabulous" and achieving a wonderful balance between humor and tenderness.
"Mad Cows" is easy viewing humor that takes nothing seriously and succeeds in showing there is much more variety of product coming from the British film industry than there was a few years ago.
MAD COWS
Newmarket Capital Group, Capitol Films
and Entertainment Film Distributors
A Flashlight production
Producers: Frank Mannion, Aaron Simpson
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriters: Sara Sugarman, Sasha Halis
Director of photography: Pierre Aim
Production designer: Jospeh Nemec III
Music: Mark Thomas
Co-producer: Liz Bunton
Costume designer: Trisha Biggar
Editor: John Jympson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Maddy: Anna Friel
Gillian: Joanna Lumley
Alex: Greg Wise
Dwina Phelps: Anna Massey
Lady Drake: Phyllida Law
Johnny Vaguelawn: John Standing
Petronella: Hermione Norris
Dr. Minny Stinkler: Prunella Scales
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Often the film's comedy hits its targets, though there are just as many times it is wide of the mark.
The astute casting of hot, young actress Anna Friel ("William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream") in the lead role is well balanced by having the much-loved Joanna Lumley from TV's "Absolutely Fabulous" play her best friend Gillian. The strong U.K. promotional campaign linked to the accessibility of the stars points to local success, while there is much to interest an American audience looking for a fresh dose of British humor. The U.S. distribution rights have not been sold.
Although very much a British film, it's based on a popular book by Australian author Kathy Lette and much of the humor comes from having a good go at the dubious morals and attitudes of the Brits. Friel plays Maddy, an unwed and forthright Australian, who comes to London to reconcile with Alex (Greg Wise, in a nice contrast to his role in "Sense and Sensibility"), her ex-lover and father of her 6-week-old son Jack.
While shopping at Harrods department store, she decides to relieve the ache of her lactating breasts by borrowing a pack of frozen peas from the food department and inserting them into her bra. After leaving the store, she is promptly arrested for shoplifting and sent to prison.
After some dubious counseling by Dwina Phelps (Anna Massey), a distraught Maddy signs Jack away for adoption. But after realizing she has been conned, she convinces her Gillian to smuggle the baby out of prison.
Much of the best humor comes from the scenes where Gillian checks into a posh hotel and tries her best to deal with the needy infant. Her skill lies with use of rich men's credit cards rather than maternal abilities.
Meanwhile, Maddy escapes from prison and, unable to find Gillian, hooks up again with Alex. Despite a night of passion, he still refuses to help. Maddy and Gillian finally hook up and make their way to a party hosted by Alex's mother Lady Drake (Phyllida Law).
"Mad Cows" is directed by Sara Sugarman with a plethora of unusual camera angles and sharp editing. The film boasts an eclectic cast, which includes expert character actors Law, Prunella Scales, Massey and John Standing. There are also cameo roles (who will often mean more to Brits than overseas audiences) by Harrods' owner Mohamed Al Fayed (who plays a Harrods doorman), much-photographed society girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and models Jodie Kidd, Sophie Dahl and Susie Bick (all of whom play prisoners).
Friel does a fine job of her Australian accent and plays her character with gusto. Lumley, though, is the real star of the film, further developing her Patsy character from "Absolutely Fabulous" and achieving a wonderful balance between humor and tenderness.
"Mad Cows" is easy viewing humor that takes nothing seriously and succeeds in showing there is much more variety of product coming from the British film industry than there was a few years ago.
MAD COWS
Newmarket Capital Group, Capitol Films
and Entertainment Film Distributors
A Flashlight production
Producers: Frank Mannion, Aaron Simpson
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriters: Sara Sugarman, Sasha Halis
Director of photography: Pierre Aim
Production designer: Jospeh Nemec III
Music: Mark Thomas
Co-producer: Liz Bunton
Costume designer: Trisha Biggar
Editor: John Jympson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Maddy: Anna Friel
Gillian: Joanna Lumley
Alex: Greg Wise
Dwina Phelps: Anna Massey
Lady Drake: Phyllida Law
Johnny Vaguelawn: John Standing
Petronella: Hermione Norris
Dr. Minny Stinkler: Prunella Scales
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/5/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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