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Seven senior figures of the Ukrainian film industry, including 84-year-old doyenne Ada Rogovtseva, have spoken out against the Russian invasion of their country and have joined the numerous calls for a boycott of Russian culture.

Ada Rogovtseva, actor (“Taras Bulba”), professor at the National University of Culture. Remains in Ukraine.

I volunteer at home. The guys come to take shower, wash their clothes. I give them clean linen. They bring wet socks in a bag, so I give them these clean socks with such joy. I feed them. While I had something, I cooked my own. And now they bring me products: the soup is served, porridge, potatoes, everything is ready. Dumplings were handed over today. I make sure that when they enter the house, it was both clean and full of food.

It’s scary when you do nothing. When you sit in the basement at night, it’s unpleasant.

For more than two decades, Gareth Jones had spent late January and early February in snowy Park City, Utah at the Sundance Film Festival. But on Thursday night, Jones didn’t have to get on a plane to attend the annual film festival. Instead, he drove to the Sidewalk Film Fest and Cinema in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, as the local theater began its run as a Sundance Satellite Screen location, one of the outdoor, drive-in and arthouse theaters used as the fest has shifted to a virtual model amid the ongoing pandemic.

“The film community here is very supportive. It’s a small town and a big city,” Jones tells Variety. “And I decided, ‘Hey, I’m going to attend the in-person screenings are here at Sidewalk,’ because they do an amazing job with keeping things safe. I’ve attended some other screenings there [after theaters in Alabama reopened], so I’ve seen firsthand how...

A version of this story about “Charlatan” first appeared in the International Film Issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Agnieszka Holland is one of Europe’s busiest directors, and a constant presence in the Oscar race. Her film “Angry Harvest” was nominated as West Germany’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 1985; her 1990 drama “Europa Europa” landed her a screenwriting nomination; and her films “In Darkness” and “Spoor” represented Poland at the Oscars, with the former receiving a nomination in 2011.

In 2020, Holland released two features, both of them dealing with real-life figures in Eastern Europe in the first half of the 20th century. “Mr. Jones” tells the story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who broke the news of a Soviet-engineered famine in the 1930s, and “Charlatan” deals with Czech healer Jan Mikolásek, who used plant-based remedies successfully for years but was accused of being a fraud and eventually jailed.

London-basted genre outfit Shogun Films has commenced a creative partnership with prolific U.S. director/producer Daniel Zirilli.

The first film to secure funding under the partnership is “Renegades.” Financing has been secured from Insight Media Fund, negotiated by Samahoma Media Advisors, with Bob Clarke and Gareth Jones executive producing, as well as from private equity.

“Renegades” is a London-set revenge movie described by Shogun as “ ‘Harry Brown’ meets ‘The Wild Geese’ ” which sees a quartet of ex-Special Forces vets taking on the Eastern European gang that killed their comrade. The cast includes Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”), Danny Trejo (“Machete”), Michael Paré (“Gone”), Ian Ogilvy (“We Still Kill the Old Way”) and Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister (“The Fifth Element”). The lead actor is yet to be announced.

Initial U.S. sequences have already been shot and production now moves to London this winter.

“I feel blessed to be...

From director Agnieszka Holland and screenwriter Andrea Chalupa, the dramatic thriller Mr. Jones follows ambitious young Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton), as he travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the propaganda that Hitler and Stalin are pushing on the eve of World War II. Willing to go to any lengths on his life-or-death journey, Jones sets out to uncover an international conspiracy that ultimately inspired George Orwell’s Animal Farm. During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Peter Sarsgaard talked about …...

Vertical Entertainment handles North American distribution.

Los Angeles-based Myriad Pictures’ genre label Scoundrel Media has acquired international rights excluding the UK and South Africa to horror thriller The Unfamiliar and will kick off sales at the Cannes virtual market next month.

Vertical Entertainment will handle the North American release on the story starring Jemima West from The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones as a British Army doctor who returns from battle with what she thinks is Ptsd only to discover that she is being attacked by malevolent spirits.

Henk Pretorius directed from a screenplay by Jennifer Nicole Stang, and the cast includes Christopher Dane.

Nothing is as refreshing as a movie that not only tells a story worth telling but also finds a way to tell it in a meaningful way. Polish maestro Agnieszka Holland‘s new biopic of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones does an excellent job of focusing on the beautifully human details of an epic true story. The […]

The post ‘Mr. Jones’ Movie Review: Historical Drama Tells Important Story With Poise appeared first on uInterview.

There’s a lot going on in the historical drama Mr. Jones, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, too little of what happens is of limited interest, at least in the manner being depicted. What should be a troubling, urgent, and deeply upsetting tale instead comes off fairly rote and uninspiring. The material is there, it just never comes across in a particularly cinematic way. Additionally, the film does an incredibly frustrating thing in detailing some of its most interesting information during a title card at the end. That sealed the deal and prevented me from giving it even a mild recommendation. Now available On Demand, it seems like it’s destined to be quickly forgotten about. The movie is a biographical/historical drama, taking place in the days before the second World War would begin. Ambitious journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton) has traveled from the United Kingdom to Moscow, chasing a story.

"You will retract the statements to the press immediately." "Or they will shoot our engineers?" Goldwyn Films has debuted an official Us trailer for Mr. Jones, a film by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. This first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year, and stopped by numerous other international film festivals - a true story about a great writer. Mr. Jones brings to the screen the extraordinary and powerful story of the real-life Welsh journalist who uncovered Stalin's genocidal famine in Ukraine in the 1930s, which killed almost 10 million. Before WWII begins, he travels first into Russia, then down to Ukraine, becoming the first to break the news in the western media of the government-created famine in the Soviet Union. Starring James Norton as Gareth Jones; and he's joined by Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaard, Joseph Mawle, Kenneth Cranham, Celyn Jones, Krzysztof Pieczynski, Fenella Woolgar, and Martin Bishop. An important film...

If 1917 has you hungry for more period piece war drama, set your sights on Mr. Jones the new pre-World War II thriller inspired by the remarkable real-life story of the young journalist who uncovered a crime against humanity. James Norton (Little Women) stars as Gareth Jones, an ambitious reporter who travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind Stalin's propaganda machine and receives a tip that could expose an international conspiracy -- but could also cost him and his informant their lives. Today, we're happy to debut an exclusive new trailer for Mr. Jones ahead of …...

Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones to premiere in Berlin’s Competition.

The 69th Berlin International Film Festival has bolstered its Competition and Berlinale Special line-ups with the addition of further titles.

A total of 11 films have been added to the Competition programme, including Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones (previously Gareth Jones), starring James Norton, and a documentary by Agnès Varda titled Varda By Agnès, which will play Out of Competition.

Further titles added include a new Netflix film by Isabel Coixet, titled Elisa & Marcela, and Yuval Adler’s The Operative, starring Diane Kruger and Martin Freeman; the latter will premiere out of competition.

New films by Agnieszka Holland, Agnes Varda and Isabel Coixet have been added to the official lineup of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, along with special screenings of directorial debuts by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and “Narcos” star Wagner Moura of Brazil.

The Berlinale added 11 titles to its competition slate Thursday, representing countries such as China, Norway, Mongolia and Israel. Of the 18 competition titles selected so far, eight are directed by women, including festival opener “The Kindness of Strangers,” by Danish director Lone Scherfig.

Holland’s eagerly anticipated “Mr. Jones,” starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, will have its world premiere in Potsdamer Platz. The politically charged film centers on the real-life Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (Norton), whose reporting uncovered a deadly famine in Ukraine in the 1930s.

Another famine-themed film heading to Berlin is Ejiofor’s “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which was recently acquired by Netflix and...

Gareth Jones

Director Agnieszka Holland returns to English language filmmaking with her latest, Gareth Jones, a British-Polish-Ukrainian co-production. The ever busy Holland, who has worked on multiple television projects over the past decade, hasn’t presented an English language feature since 2006’s Copying Beethoven. Her latest is produced by the film’s scribe Andrea Serdaru-Barbul along with Klaudia Smieja and Stanislaw Dziedzic of Film Produkcja, Angus Lamont of Crab Apple Films, and Egor Olesov of Kinorob. James Norton stars as Jones, with a supporting cast including Peter Sarsgaard, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Mawle. Polish Dp Tomasz Naumiuk (recently of Claire Denis’ High Life) lensed the film.…...

Now Vanessa Kirby has relinquished her tiara as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown to make room for an older version; the British actress could soon be joining Hollywood royalty, Dwayne Johnson, in The Fast and Furious spin-off.

Kirby is now in final negotiations to join the all-action, all-lovable actor in Hobbs and Shaw, in which Deadpool 2 directed David Leitch takes the helm. Kirby would be playing the role of an Mi-5 agent and Shaw’s sister.

Johnson will reprise his role as special agent Luke Hobbs alongside Jason Statham’s criminal menace Deckard Shaw.

Also in the news – Jim Carrey in final talks to take on Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog feature

Fast and Furious’s Chris Morgan has penned the script in which Neal Moritz will produce. Johnson will also serve as a producer alongside his Seven Bucks Productions partners, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, Jason Statham,...

With her reign as Princess Margaret on Netflix’s acclaimed series “The Crown” officially over, Vanessa Kirby is taking her talents to the big screen. The British actress is in final negotiations to star opposite Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in “Fast and Furious” spinoff, “Hobbs and Shaw.”

“Deadpool 2” director David Leitch is on board to helm with Johnson and Statham reprising their roles of special agent Luke Hobbs and criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw, respectively. Kirby will play an Mi-5 agent and Shaw’s sister.

“Fast and Furious” architect Chris Morgan penned the script with production set to commence this fall. Plot details are vague, but the central idea is that the film would see the often-at-odds duo team up. Johnson, Statham, and “Fast and Furious” producer Neal Moritz will produce.

Since his arrival in the franchise’s fifth installment, Universal has tried to find a way for Johnson...

Filming is just about to wrap on “Gareth Jones,” Agnieszka Holland’s latest film, about the intrepid Welsh journalist of the title and his efforts to report on the Holodomor, a manmade famine in 1930s Soviet Ukraine. “War & Peace,” and “McMafia” star James Norton plays Jones, and the cast includes Vanessa Kirby (“The Crown”) and Joseph Mawles (“Game of Thrones”). Norton spoke to Variety about working with Holland, the modern resonance of the story, and the recurring Russian themes in his work.

What was your gut feeling when you heard about “Gareth Jones”?

My initial reaction was intrigue and surprise that I hadn’t heard of this guy before. What I love about these kind of jobs, and acting in general, I guess, is that they always give you an opportunity and a reason to embark on a mini-research trip. In my history classes we definitely did the Holocaust,...

Whatever happened to the children's TV presenters of our youth? Where did they go when the Broom Cupboard was shut down and when Edd the Duck went back to his pond? Digital Spy has hunted down 9 classic faces of '90s children's television on Twitter to answer those questions.

1. Dave Benson Phillips @DaveBensonPhill

Famous For: Playdays, Get Your Own Back, Wake Up in the Wild Room

Sample Tweet:

So, it begins... pic.twitter.com/bxWkD2tSsI

— Dave Benson Phillips (@DaveBensonPhill) November 18, 2013

And lots of chat about his appearance in Cinderella at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield.

2. Andy Crane @andycrane64

Famous For: Cbbc's Broom Cupboard (1987-1990), Motormouth, Bad Influence! and What's Up Doc?

Sample Tweet:

Heard of the Golden Flannel awards? They celebrate dreadful management speak - examples to use on the radio today would be very welcome!

— Andy Crane (@andycrane64) January 6, 2014

He's now a radio presenter for the BBC. And only occasionally veers into Partridge-isms.