News

The first of 32 scheduled witnesses for Guardian News and Media (Gnm) have begun giving evidence in Noel Clarke’s libel claim against the publisher, with multiple women claiming they did not speak out about his alleged behaviour over fears of ramifications for their careers.

Gnm witnesses took the stand at London’s High Court for the first time on Tuesday, March 18, the eighth day of the trial.

One actress known as Imogen (name changed for legal reasons) told the court that Clarke invited her to dinner in 2014, when she was 20.She said Clarke propositioned her for sex and offered to take photos,...

FX has announced their 2023 summer schedule and premiere dates, and released details on the upcoming seasons of returning shows What We Do in the Shadows, The Bear, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Reservations Dogs. The network’s premiere date announcement also revealed the disappointing news that the award-winning adult animated comedy Archer will wrap up with its upcoming 14th season.

FX’s summer slate will include the premieres of The Full Monty and the Justified sequel, Justified: City Primeval, starring Timothy Olyphant. And new teaser trailers and posters dropped along with the announcement of FX’s summer premiere dates.

The Dates:

June 7 – FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 16: First two episodes beginning at 10 p.m. Et/Pt on Fxx and streaming the next day on Hulu. June 14 – FX’s The Full Monty, new series: All eight episodes available at premiere exclusively on Hulu. June 22 – FX’s The Bear,...

The Full Monty sequel is headed to Hulu this summer, and the streaming service has released a preview and key art for the comedy-drama sequel series.

Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Wim Snape, and Tom Wilkinson are returning to appear in the follow-up series 25 years after the original British film’s release. This story revolves around what became of the group of six unemployed men who bared it all to change their lives.

Paul Clayton, Miles Jupp, Sophie Stanton, Phillip Rhys Chaudhary, Dominic Sharkey, Natalie Davies, Arnold Oceng, Aiden Cook, and Tupele Dorgu also star in the new series.

Read More…...

Remember "The Full Monty," friends? The British comedy from director Peter Cattaneo and "Slumdog Millionaire" writer Simon Beaufoy earned critical acclaim across the board for its funny and charming story about six unemployed men, including four former steel workers, who decide to form a male striptease act in order to get through some tough times. The film went on to land Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score, even though it only won the latter. 

Now, "The Full Monty" will have a chance at winning a whole new slate of awards because it's getting a sequel TV series at FX (on Hulu) with original cast members Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Wim Snape, and Tom Wilkinson all reprising their roles from the movie. It's been 25 years since they bared it all, so...

We’re getting a first look at FX’s The Full Monty, the eight-part follow-up to the BAFTA-winning movie. FX has released some of the first images from the series that will premiere in June (date Tba) and stream exclusively in the U.S. on Hulu.

Set 25 years after the film, the eight-episode series will follow the same band of brothers as they navigate the post-industrial city of Sheffield and society’s crumbling healthcare, education, and employment sectors. The comedy-drama will uncover what happened to the gang after they put their kit back on, exploring their brighter, sillier and more desperate moments. It will also highlight how the fiercely funny world of these working-class heroes – still residing in Sheffield – has changed in the intervening decades.

The original movie’s screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) returns, along with co-writer Alice Nutter (Accused), and Uberto Pasolini (Nowhere Special) also coming back as executive producer.

“The Blind Side” is a true story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized youngster who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick after being adopted by a loving family of Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy.

Leigh Anne Tuohy takes him in, and with the help of her husband Sean, transformative changes begin to take place in Michael’s life. He learns the value of hard work and education, and he slowly starts to believe in himself.

The Tuohys eventually adopt Michael, and he goes on to attend Ole Miss on a full football scholarship. In the NFL, he becomes one of the league’s top offensive linemen, playing a pivotal role in helping the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl.

“The Blind Side” is a heartwarming tale of hope and redemption that demonstrates the power of family, faith, and love.

For the fans of movies like “The Blind Side,...

Exclusive: Cast has been set on Finding Forever, a UK romantic-comedy from writer-director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe.

Arnold Oceng (The Good Lie), Vanessa Donovan (The Truth) Tim Reid (Swagger) Brandi Harvey and Femi Oyeniran (The Intent 2: The Come Up) will lead the pic, which is set in a gospel church in London.

The story follows three best friends at different stages in their respective relationships: one is a serial dater (Oyeniran); another is in a fledgling marriage (Philips Nortey); and another is a bachelor (Oceng) newly engaged to Destiny (Donovan). Things take a turn as pressures from work and a nagging fiancée tip the groom over the edge.

Also joining cast are Georgia Curtis (Black Widow), Winston Ellis (No Time To Die), Ellen Thomas (Johnny English Reborn), Verona Rose, Vincent Jerome (Wonder Woman), Evelyn Duah (It’s A Sin), Kane L Pearson (Small Axe), Adi Alfa (The Intent), Wil Johnson (Fedz), Judith Jacob (No Shade), Frankie Clarence,...

Author: Competitions

The irresistible love story of the year – Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom – arrives in the UK on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD through Twentieth Century Fox and Pathé on 20 March 2017. To celebrate, we’re giving away 3 DVDs!

The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments.

A United Kingdom is directed by Asante (Belle) from a screenplay by Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama, with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden...

In the midst of the mayhem that was the Toronto International Film Festival, I had an interview scheduled with British actor Arnold Oceng, in town to promote two films on the programme; Brotherhood and A United Kingdom. Time was precious, the reviews were building up, and Spurs had a vital Champions League tie against Monaco […]

The post Exclusive: “I was always the underdog” – Arnold Oceng on A United Kingdom and stepping out of his comfort zone appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Screen International and British Council present Screen’s Stars Of Tomorrow tonight at an intimate industry dinner.

Following the unveiling last week of Screen International’s 2016 Stars of Tomorrow, presented for the second year running as part of the BFI London Film Festival’s programme of events, Screen is joining with the British Council to celebrate the Stars tonight at an invitation-only international industry dinner at 34 Mayfair in London. The evening is supported by the British Council and the Casting Society of America (Csa).

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International reviews editor and curator of Stars of Tomorrow, said: “Many of the actors featured in 2016 will inevitably become internationally recognised, and that is also the goal for the producers, writers and directors in today’s global marketplace. It is so wonderful of British Council to support them at this early stage and their consistent encouragement over the last three years has been much appreciated and incredibly helpful.”

Briony Hanson...

Screen International has revealed its Stars of Tomorrow 2016, spotlighting the hottest up-and-coming actors and filmmakers.

Click here to access the Screen Stars of Tomorrow hub, including full profiles and digital edition

Now in its 13th edition, the annual showcase highlights up-and-coming actors, writers, directors and producers who will be making waves in the years to come.

Scroll down for the full list

The list of past Stars of Tomorrow includes Oscar-winning The Theory Of Everything actor Eddie Redmayne (2005), Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch (2004), Twilight actor Robert Pattinson (2005), Selma actor David Oyelowo (2005), Hacksaw Ridge star Andrew Garfield (2007), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor Felicity Jones (2007), Slow West director John Maclean (2011) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega (2011).

Stars of Tomorrow editor Fionnuala Halligan curates the line-up after considering hundreds of candidates and consulting with industry experts including casting agents, talent agents, managers, producers and directors. This year for the first time, the initiative...

Mark Harrison Published Date Friday, September 9, 2016 - 20:47

There's a scene early on in Brotherhood, the concluding chapter in Noel Clarke's British Hood trilogy, in which his Sam Peel checks himself out in a changing room mirror after a rigorous gym session. He ends up sadly patting his emerging belly and you realise that whatever his original intentions for this series, Sam has become his Rocky Balboa.

Having played the antagonist in 2006's Kidulthood and then switched gears in the hit 2008 sequel Adulthood to show the difficulties of that character's life after being released from prison, Brotherhood ties up a lot of loose ends but also rediscovers Sam a little further down the line, much like Sylvester Stallone brought back his most iconic character in Rocky Balboa or Creed. Sam the character has nothing like the innate sympathy that the Italian Stallion evokes, but the connecting tissue in all...

With the release of Brotherhood Noel Clarke has achieved a rare distinction. He has given the world an original British film trilogy. The Bridget Jones franchise will also tick the trilogy box next month. But, while good old Bridge has passed through many pairs of hands since her realisation from page to screen, Noel has […]

The post The HeyUGuys Interview: Noel Clarke, Arnold Oceng and Jason Maza for BrOTHERHOOD appeared first on HeyUGuys.

With news about Toronto International Film Festival’s rather exciting 2016 line-up breaking today, a collection of trailers have also been released for a handful of the selections. The first is Feng Ziaogang‘s I Am Not Madame Bovary, which largely features beautiful paintings before moving into even more gorgeous imagery in a peculiar circular aspect ratio.

There’s also the striking (and lengthy, potentially spoiler-filled) trailer for A Death in the Gunj, the directorial debut of Indian actress Konkona Sen Sharma. She looks to have a very strong grasp of a visual vocabulary, probably due to the 40-plus films she’s worked on in an acting capacity.

Lastly, there’s the first trailer, and new images, for Noel Clarke‘s British crime drama BrOTHERHOOD, which caps the trilogy that also includes KiDULTHOOD and AdULTHOOD. See all the trailers below, along with our coverage of Tiff here as it comes in.

Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom,” a historical romance starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, is set to open the 60th BFI London Film Festival. The two leads play King Seretse Khama of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and London office-worker Ruth Williams, respectively, a black man and white woman who wed in 1947 in the face of their families’ (and governments’) protestations.

Read More: Watch: ‘Belle’ Writer/Director Amma Asante Talks Defining and Empowering Yourself

Asante, whose “Belle” tackled similar material, said in a statement that “It’s a great privilege that ‘A United Kingdom’ has been selected as the Opening Night Film of the BFI London Film Festival. The Festival means a lot to me personally, having showcased my very first film, ‘A Way of Life,’ here and been honoured with the UK Film Talent Award. I’m a proud Londoner and in ‘A United Kingdom’ we’ve been able to...

Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.

The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).

The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.

Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.

Set in the late 1940s, the true story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who caused an international stir when he married white British office worker Ruth Williams (Pike).

Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton ([link...

Drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to receive European premiere at Lff.

The 60th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) will open with director Amma Asante’s (Belle) drama A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl).

The film will receive its European premiere at the festival on Wednesday Oct 5, marking the second consecutive year that London has opened with a film from a female director following last year’s opener Suffragette.

Cast and filmmakers are expected to attend the screening, which will be cinecast across the UK.

The story centres on Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (Oyelowo), who causes an international stir when he marries a white woman (Pike) from London in the late 1940s.

Screenplay comes from Guy Hibbert (Eye In The Sky), based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng ([link...

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Noel Clarke writes, directs and stars in Brotherhood. Here's the trailer for the Kidulthood and Adulthood follow-up...

This August, Noel Clarke completes the trilogy that he started with Kidulthood and continued with Adulthood.

The new film is Brotherhood, that Clarke is directing from his own screenplay. And we have both a 12A rated trailer, and a more explicit promo for the movie. Do not go watching the latter if you’re young and impressionable.

Finally, here’s the synopsis…

BrOTHERHOOD follows Sam as he faces up to the new world after Adulthood and realises it also comes with new problems and new challenges. Sam knows that to survive he must face his issues head on, and knows he will require old friends to help him survive new dangers. Noel Clarke (Star Trek Into darkness, Doctor Who, Adulthood) reprises the role of Sam Peel with breakthrough Grime artist...

Noel Clarke, the British multihyphenate, is returning to the film franchise that I'd say most (especially on this side of the pond) know him for, to complete what is in essence a trilogy of films that begun with "Kidulthood" in 2006, followed by "Adulthood" in 2008, and will apparently now end with Brotherhood, which Clarke has begun production on. Details on plot and cast are being kept underwraps for now, but Clarke will direct from a script he wrote, and will also star in the film which is being produced via his Unstoppable Entertainment and Maggie Monteith’s Carpalla Films. Announced today, joining Clarke in front of the camera are Arnold Oceng,...

Noel Clarke, Arnold Oceng, Ashley Thomas, grime Mc Stormzy among cast.

Shoot is underway in London on writer-director Noel Clarke drama Brotherhood, the third film in the urban trilogy that includes Kidulthood (2006) and Adulthood (2008).

Clarke (Star Trek Into Darkness) will star alongside Adulthood collaborators Arnold Oceng (The Good Lie), Ashley Thomas (Cockneys Vs Zombies) and Red Madrell (We Still Kill The Old Way).

Jason Maza (The Hooligan Factory), Olivia Chenery (Legacy) and grime artist Stormzy – making his feature debut – also star.

The five-week shoot began Nov 23 in west London.

Unstoppable Entertainment and Maggie Monteith’s Carpalla Films produce the drama from BAFTA-winner Clarke, who has written the screenplay and will also direct.

Clarke will reprise his role as protagonist Sam in the continuation of the trilogy while Stormzy will portray new character Yardz. Further plot details are being kept under wraps.

Lionsgate is set to release in the UK in 2016.

Period drama stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.

Principal photography has begun on A United Kingdom, directed by Amma Asante (Belle), and will shoot for seven weeks in Botswana and the UK.

Pathé will distribute the film in the UK and France and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.

The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams.

Other cast include Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden (‘71) and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey).

Scripted by Guy Hibbert (Five Minutes of Heaven, Omagh), the film is based on the book Colour Bar by Susan Williams.

Described as an “epic love story”, A United Kingdom is based on true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, fell in love with London office worker Ruth Williams.

Their marriage...

With David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike already in place to lead (and in Oyelowo’s case, produce) marriage drama A United Kingdom, Amma Asante has been building up the ensemble around them. Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Laura Carmichael and Arnold Oceng are all now aboard. Guy Hibbert wrote the script for the film, which finds Oyelowo as Seretse Khama, heir to the African throne of Botswana, who created a sensation in 1948 by engaging in a whirlwind romance in London with a woman named Ruth Williams (Pike). Romancing a white English office worker was considered controversial enough, but then he married her. The interracial union was opposed by both their families, as well as the British government, the tribal elders of Botswana and the apartheid government of South Africa. Variety’s report offers no details on what the new recruits will be doing in the film, though we do...

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To celebrate release of The Good Lie on DVD, available now, we are giving 3 lucky WhatCulture readers the chance to win 1 of 3 copies courtesy of Entertainment One.

The Good Lie features heart-rendering and powerful performances led by; Oscar® winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line, Wild) as strong and independent employment counsellor, Carrie; Corey Stoll (House Of Cards, Non-Stop) as Carrie’s boss and ex-husband, Jack; Arnold Oceng (My Brother The Devil, Adulthood) as ‘The Chief’ orphan, Mamere; Ger Duany (I Heart Huckabees, Isn’t It Delicious) as his orphan brother, Jeremiah; Emmanuel Jal (Africa United, War Child) as his other orphan brother, Paul; Sarah Baker (Tammy, The Campaign) as Carrie’s acquaintance and volunteer, Pamela; and introducing Kuoth Wiel as Abital, the orphan sister of “The Lost Boys”.

They were known simply as “The Lost Boys”. Orphaned during the Sudanese Civil War, a group of young refugees are given...

Director: Philippe Falardeau; Screenwriter: Margaret Nagle; Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll, Sarah Baker, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal; Running time: 110 mins; Certificate: 12A

You cannot fail to be moved by this story of young Sudanese refugees - and not just to tears either. Director Philippe Falardeau (working in similar territory to his Oscar-nominated Monsieur Lazhar) deftly treads the boundaries between tragedy and comedy to depict major upheaval for three brothers who eventually look to Reese Witherspoon's brassy employment agent to settle them into the American way of life.

The changing tone is marked by bends in a very long road, first leading from a small Sudanese village to a refugee camp in Kenya. Mamere (Brixton-based actor Arnold Oceng), Jeremiah (Ger Duany) and Paul (Emmanuel Jal), along with their sister Abital (Kuoth Wiel) and the eldest, Theo (Femi Ogun), survive a massacre by soldiers in the country's second civil...

David Oyelowo wins for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr; Amma Asante collects award for Belle.

Us civil rights drama Selma and its director Ava Duvernay scored a hat-trick at the Screen Nation Film & Television Award in London on Sunday (Feb 15).

David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King Jr in the drama, won best male performance in film, while a public vote named Selma the favourite international movie.

A further public vote named Selma director Duvernay favourite female screen personality.

Period drama Belle won Gugu Mbatha-Raw best female performance in film while director Amma Asante collected the award for achievement in film production.

The event, known as the ‘black Baftas’, was also attended by stars including Idris Elba.

Charles Thompson, founder and CEO of Screen Nation, said: “We’re not a diversity quota anymore and never have been. We’re mainstream.”

Winnersuk Screen Awards

Rising Talent

Aaron Fontaine – Actor in HollyoaksAntonia Thomas – Scrotal RecallGeorgina Bobb – Producer...

At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"The Good Lie"

Although Reese Witherspoon's face is on all the posters, the real stars of "The Good Lie" are the actors who portray young survivors of the brutal civil war in Sudan. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and Emmanuel Jal star as the Sudanese "Lost Boys" who start a new life in Kansas City, Mo. Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") directed the movie, based on a script by Margaret Nagle ("Boardwalk Empire").

"Pride"

Critics loved this crowd-pleasing film based on a true story about two disparate groups who come together in solidarity during Margaret Thatcher's term as Pm. Lgbt activists are trying to raise money to support the families of striking miners, but they're not having any success. Eventually, the group,...

The Good Lie

Written by Margaret Nagle

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

Kenya/India/USA, 2014

The Good Lie is an earnest, well-meaning film that overcomes its many flaws to tell a life-affirming story about survival and second chances. No work of fiction could ever convey the atrocities of the Second Sudanese Civil War, but this is an effective glimpse into the lives of a lucky few who escaped. It’s not looking to raise awareness or rabble-rouse. It only wants to show us that as long as there is life, there is hope. On that count, it most certainly succeeds.

Mamere (Arnold Oceng) and his older brother, Theo (Femi Oguns), are like any other young boys; they fight, they test each other’s limits, they play games reciting their familial names down through the generations. To the cattlemen of the Sudan, tribal connections are a source of both history and renewal.

Chicago – “The Good Lie” is a honorable film overview of the Sudanese “Lost Boys,” who were refugees from a horrific civil war in that African country. Many of those boys came to America, and producer Molly Smith (“The Blind Side”), with actors Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal, were part of the team that brought the film to life.

Ger Duany, Arnold Oceng and Emmanuel Jal in ‘The Good Lie’

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The feature film is inspired by many stories of survival, both in Sudan and America. Jal and Duany portray the adult refugees, trying to make it in America, where everything is different. Reese Witherspoon also stars as a facilitator for these newborns to the U.S., and gives a passionate performance without overshadowing the main story of the boy’s plight. Producer Molly Smith is used to interpreting these stories of inspiration, as she previously was Executive...

The Good Lie gets its title from a classroom discussion of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that takes place halfway through the narrative. Mamere (Arnold Oceng), a twenty-something Sudanese refugee at a Kansas City night school, raises his hand enthusiastically to explain the concept. A “good lie” is told with good intentions, such as when Huck fibs to protect Jim, so that the latter will not be sold back into slavery. Mamere knows all about good lies: many years earlier, during an 800-mile walk from war-ravaged South Sudan to a refugee camp in Kenya, his older brother, Theo, told a good lie. Theo stood up to a pair of soldiers approaching Mamere and his pals, and gave himself up, explaining that there was nobody else with him.

As a result of that “good lie,” the South Sudan orphans could evade capture and continue their walk. It is powerful, poignant moments...

The Good Lie Warner Bros Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B+ Director: Philippe Falardeau Screenplay: Margaret Nagle Cast: Corey Stoll, Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, Femi Oguns, Lindsay Garrett Screened at: Lincoln Square, NYC, 10/1/14 Opens: October 3, 2014 You jumped the turnstile at the #4 train at Grand Central Station and the police are on your trail. You read about Riker’s Detention Center in a recent issue of New York magazine, and you’re not going to Rikers. You toss a dart at a map of the world. It lands on London. No good. Toss another and [ Read More ]

The post The Good Lie Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Now playing in theaters is the inspiring film The Good Lie. Directed by Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), the film tells the story of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who were uprooted by the brutal Sudanese Civil War that started in 1983. Young orphans of war, both boys and girls, trekked thousands of miles on foot through hostile, treacherous terrain to escape the violence and find safety. Before 9/11, the United States had a program to bring survivors to America and help them get acclimated to their new lives. Thousands were brought over. The Good Lie tells the story of a few of these survivors. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, and Sarah Baker, The Good Lie will remind you about what’s really important. For more on the film, watch this featurette or the trailer. At the Nashville press day, I spoke to Corey Stoll,...

"The Good Lie" opened on October 3 in limited release following a September bow at the Toronto Film Festival. It features Reese Witherspoon as an American woman who helps four Sudanese refugees – among more than 20,000 children known as the Lost Boys of Sudan – adjust to life in the United States, but the real stars of the film are the Lost Boys themselves. Actors Emmanuel Jal, Ger Duany, and Kuoth Wiel were among the real Lost Boys, and Arnold Oceng, in a noteworthy breakthrough performance, is a British-raised son of a Sudanese man. -Break- Oscars: Black Performers--Filmmakers After a screening on September 30, the Us ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, made sure to remind the audience that the violence and displacement that plagued the nation aren't finished. South Sudan broke off from Sudan in 2011 after a long fight for independence, but it erupted into another civil war in 2013. Of the film,...

Don’t be fooled by The Good Lie’s poster, in which Reese Witherspoon appears to be at the center of the film. Director Philippe Falardeau and writer Margaret Nagle have managed to pull off something rather remarkable here, and that is that they’ve managed to tell the story of a group of South Sudanese refugees in the U.S. from their perspective rather than from a western one.

After making it out of their war-torn homeland, the four refugees (played by Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Kuoth Wiel) are given the chance to live in Kansas City and find work – with the help of Carrie (Witherspoon), an employment officer. Among those aiding there adjustment to their new lives are Carrie’s compassionate boss (Corey Stoll) and a spunky charity worker (Sarah Baker). In the end, two vastly different worlds come together to tell a single heartbreaking...

Now playing in theaters is the inspiring film The Good Lie. Directed by Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), the film tells the story of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who were uprooted by the brutal Sudanese Civil War that started in 1983. Young orphans of war, both boys and girls, trekked thousands of miles on foot through hostile, treacherous terrain to escape the violence and find safety. Before 9/11, the United States had a program to bring survivors to America and help them get acclimated to their new lives. Thousands were brought over. The Good Lie tells the story of a few of these survivors. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, and Sarah Baker, The Good Lie will remind you about what’s really important. For more on the film, watch this featurette or the trailer. At the Nashville press day, I spoke to Arnold Oceng,...

Reese Witherspoon may be the most famous face in The Good Lie, but the film's real stars are the actors who play the four Sudanese immigrants at the heart of the story: Arnold Oceng, Ger ­Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Kuoth Wiel. Set during the Second Sudanese Civil War, which raged from 1983 to 2005, the film follows four children who survive the slaughter and then walk 800 miles to a refugee camp in Kenya. Though only two are biologically related, they ­become the only family any of them know, and 13 years later, they immigrate to the U.S. as part of the group...

The cast of "The Good Lie" came by the HitFix studios this week so we could sit down to discuss the work they did in the film, and the way the movie manages to avoid some of Hollywood's most irritating bad habits. First up, I spoke with Arnold Oceng and Kuoth Wiel. Oceng is the film's ostensible lead, although I think it's a fairly balanced movie overall in terms of the way it treats its ensemble cast. He's also the one cast member of the four main refugees with the most acting experience, and unsurprisingly, he was fairly poised in our interview. Both Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal have made documentaries about their experiences as Sudanese refugees, and they've built careers for themselves as artists as well. Jal is a rapper and musician, and Duany's been in other films, including "I Heart Huckabees." Anyone who can survive being a child...

The Good Lie is titled after the lies in Huckleberry Finn, the type of lie that is a lie for the greater good, even if lying is wrong. The Good Lie, the movie, has a small opening this weekend in under 500 theaters and will hopefully begin to slowly expand to more theaters with it’s poster of smiling Reese Witherspoon’s head miraculously floating over an African desert. The poster for The Good Lie and the trailer for The Good Lie are, themselves, actual good lies because what looks like The Blind Side but with Reese Witherspoon is not, instead it’s one of those movies that will be shown to our children in school.

You remember the type of movie I’m talking about: you have a substitute or your teacher got a little ahead in the lesson plan or you have a half-holiday day so the class gets...

Reese Witherspoon is the most famous star in the movie The Good Lie - but the real scene-stealers are her castmates. The drama, inspired by true events, recounts Sudan's second civil war and the stories of a few of the thousands of children it orphaned and displaced, who became known as the "Lost Boys." The Good Lie follows four refugees (played by Arnold Oceng, 28, Ger Duany, 35, Emmanuel Jal, 34, and Kuoth Wiel, 25) as they flee soldiers, walk hundreds of miles to a refugee camp and eventually relocate to the United States, where they struggle to reconcile their tragic pasts with a...

Reese Witherspoon is the most famous star in the movie The Good Lie - but the real scene-stealers are her castmates. The drama, inspired by true events, recounts Sudan's second civil war and the stories of a few of the thousands of children it orphaned and displaced, who became known as the "Lost Boys." The Good Lie follows four refugees (played by Arnold Oceng, 28, Ger Duany, 35, Emmanuel Jal, 34, and Kuoth Wiel, 25) as they flee soldiers, walk hundreds of miles to a refugee camp and eventually relocate to the United States, where they struggle to reconcile their tragic pasts with a...

The Good Lie discussion moderated by Pen American Center president Peter Godwin Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Joanna Coles, Peter Godwin, Dr. Amanda Foreman, Gayle King, Diane Sawyer, Mike Nichols, George Stephanopoulos, Fareed Zakaria, Tina Brown and Sir Harold Evans with the Us Fund for Unicef, and Samantha Power, Us Ambassador to the United Nations, hosted a special screening of Philippe Falardeau's The Good Lie starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Kuoth Wiel with a screenplay by Margaret Nagle.

Soon-Yi Previn, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Karen Sherwood, Nile Rodgers, Lynn Stratford, John Prendergast, Chuck Scarborough, Ed Lloyd, Angelina Jacob, Jennifer Duneier, Felicia Taylor, Jill Martin, Bill Blakemore and Phyllis Lee were among those joining in with our hosts for the Warner Bros. screening at Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle near Central Park.

Screenwriter Margaret Nagle with The Good Lie star Kuoth Wiel: "And suddenly I hear,...

As the temps continue to fall, the studios inch closer to serious film time (and Oscar season) by releasing another movie with the nebulous ad line “inspired by true events”. That phrase has been attached to everything from the Nicholas Sparks adapted weeper The Vow to sports flicks such as Million Dollar Arm, often basing the story on just part of an incident. But for this new release the phrase could be amended to “inspired by ongoing true events”. Like 2011′s Machine Gun Preacher, this new film concerns the ongoing conflicts in the Sudan in North Africa. Now the title of this new film is somewhat ironic. It refers to a literary work read by one of the characters, but the title could also be a comment on the film’s marketing, which we’ll discuss a bit later. First let’s explore The Good Lie.

This begins a couple...

"The Good Lie" is one of those cases where the poster really does say it all: Reese Witherspoon’s large head, looking down benevolently on three faceless Sudanese boys, comparatively scaled to the size of ants. It’s like a kind of parody of the controversial Italian “12 Years A Slave” posters from last year, a misleading if unsurprising marketing tactic - Witherspoon is certainly the biggest name is this film, but she has one the smallest parts, first appearing forty minutes into the story. The real stars of the film, written by “Boardwalk Empire” scribe Margaret Nagle and helmed by Canadian director Philippe Falardeau, are first-time Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng,...

Halloween, pumpkin spice everything, and fall foliage (on the east coast) have descended upon us. But aside from those delights, other things to look forward to this fall season are great films! Here are 10 you might want to check out! “Annabelle,” Oct. 3“Before the conjuring, there was Annabelle.” As the prequel/spin-off to last year’s wildly successful horror film “The Conjuring,” director John R. Leonetti has taken the bone-chilling demonic doll in the movie and given her the spotlight. “Annabelle” hits theaters Oct. 3. “Gone Girl,” Oct. 3Directed by David Fincher, “Gone Girl”—based on the novel by Gillian Flynn—stars Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike, and Tyler Perry in a film about a man accused of having a hand in his wife’s disappearance and hits theaters Oct. 3. “The Good Lie,” Oct. 3“The Good Lie” tells the story of three Sudanese refugees (Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, and...

Opening this weekend is the inspiring film The Good Lie. Director Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), the film tells the story of “Lost Boys of Sudan" who were uprooted by the brutal Sudanese Civil War that started in 1983. Young orphans of war, both boys and girls, trekked thousands of miles on foot through hostile, treacherous terrain to escape the violence and find safety. Before 9/11, the United States had a program to bring survivors to America and help them get acclimated to their new lives. Thousands were brought over. The Good Lie tells the story of a few of these survivors. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, and Sarah Baker, The Good Lie will remind you about what's really important. For more on the film, watch this featurette or the trailer. Last week at the Nashville press day, I spoke to producers Thad Luckinbill, Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill.

Arnold Oceng (Mamere), scriptwriter Margaret Nagle, and Kuoth Wiel (Abital) were in high spirits for the press junket of .The Good Lie. in Nashville. They are all proud of the film starring Reese Witherspoon. In this interview, we talked about the inspiration in writing .The Good Lie,. how Oceng got the part, and Kuoth.s passion to helping refugees. .The Good Lie. opens nationwide on Friday, October 3rd.

Official Synopis:

.The Good Lie.

They were known simply as "The Lost Boys." Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America. In "The Good Lie," Philippe Falardeau, (writer and director of the Oscar(R)- nominated Foreign Language film "Monsieur Lazhar") brings the story of their survival and triumph to life.

The Good Lie is an inspiring film about love, survival and triumph over adversity and a powerful reminder of what’s really important in life. Philippe Falardeau directs the moving story of “The Lost Boys” who were uprooted by the brutal Sudanese Civil War that lasted from 1983 to 2005. Young orphans of war, both boys and girls, trekked thousands of miles on foot through hostile, treacherous terrain to escape the violence and find safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 of them from Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp to America. The entertaining drama stars Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, and Sarah Baker. At a recent press conference in Nashville, Witherspoon, Oceng, Duany, Wiel, Stoll, Baker, screenwriter Margaret Nagle, producers Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill, and Unicef’s Kent Page talked about the importance of telling the story with integrity, Nagle’s exhaustive research,...

Even movie stars have regrets.

Et spent the weekend with Reese Witherspoon in her hometown of Nashville talking about her new movie The Good Lie, and she kept it real about some of her past red carpet moments.

Pic: Was Lea Michele's Dress a Bold Choice or Big Mistake?

"I was super into my shoes," Witherspoon said when confronted with a photo of herself at the Fear premiere in 1996. "Combat boots was like my thing."

Witherspoon has come a long way since then, as she went with a classic Dior number for The Good Lie premiere.

Witherspoon stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Nyakuoth Weil in The Good Lie, which tells the story of "The Lost Boys" -- children that were orphaned by the civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, forcing these young victims to travel as many as one thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later...

Warner Bros. has released a new featurette for The Good Lie that focusses on the real-life Sudanese backdrop that inspired the film. Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar) directed the picture, which stars Reese Witherspoon (who is already generating Oscar buzz with one of her other films this year, Wild). If you've seen the trailer for the movie you know that its overall aim is one of uplift, and it looks well done for one of these types of stories. Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Nyakuoth Weil, and Corey Stoll star in the October 3 release. Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Molly Smith (The Blind Side) are producing. Check out The Good Lie featurette after the jump. Clip courtesy of Warner Bros: Official synopsis: They were known simply as “The Lost Boys.” Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand...

"The Good Lie" is one of those cases where the poster really does say it all: Reese Witherspoon’s large head, looking down benevolently on three faceless Sudanese boys, comparatively scaled to the size of ants. It’s like a kind of parody of the controversial Italian “12 Years A Slave” posters from last year, a misleading if unsurprising marketing tactic - Witherspoon is certainly the biggest name is this film, but she has one the smallest parts, first appearing forty minutes into the story. The real stars of the film, written by “Boardwalk Empire” scribe Margaret Nagle and helmed by Canadian director Philippe Falardeau, are first-time Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng,...

With two big films at the Toronto International Film Festival, it would be easy for that to get to your head, butReese Witherspoon was conscious that her film, The Good Lie, was bigger than herself: "This has nothing to do with you, Reese."

 

At the press conference for the film, French-Canadian director Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar) agreed, and Witherspoon recalled a conversation where the director said, "I really like you and respect you, Reese, but this movie has nothing to do with that."

It's about the Lost Boys and Girls of South Sudan.

In The Good Lie, Witherspoon plays an American who is assigned to help four young Sudanese refugees (Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Kuoth Wiel, and Emmanuel Jal) who are relocating to the United States. The film also stars Corey Stoll (Midnight In Paris, "House of Cards"), and is produced by Ron Howard and Brian Glazer -- both of...