BritBox Acquires ‘Cold Courage’
BritBox UK has acquired Viaplay and Lionsgate’s John Simm-fronted political drama Cold Courage. The BBC and ITV-owned streamer will premiere the eight-part series on September 3, telling the story of how two Finnish women get drawn into a clandestine group dedicated to righting the wrongs of the powerful, influential and corrupt. Based on the award-winning and best-selling books by Pekka Hiltunen, Cold Courage was written by BAFTA-nominated David Joss Buckley (Hinterland) and Brendan Foley (The Riddle). The series is produced by Markku Flink and Pauli Pentti, and directed by Agenta Fagerstrom-Olsson and Kadir Ferati Balci. Fredrik Ljungberg, Jon Petersson, Kjartan Por Pordarson, Cormac Fox, Tom Hameeuw, Peter De Maegd and Marc B. Lorber are executive Pproducers.
Banijay Recruits Owain Walbyoff As Commercial Chief
Banijay has hired former Endemol Shine Group executive Owain Walbyoff to the newly-created role of chief commercial officer. Walbyoff will be...
BritBox UK has acquired Viaplay and Lionsgate’s John Simm-fronted political drama Cold Courage. The BBC and ITV-owned streamer will premiere the eight-part series on September 3, telling the story of how two Finnish women get drawn into a clandestine group dedicated to righting the wrongs of the powerful, influential and corrupt. Based on the award-winning and best-selling books by Pekka Hiltunen, Cold Courage was written by BAFTA-nominated David Joss Buckley (Hinterland) and Brendan Foley (The Riddle). The series is produced by Markku Flink and Pauli Pentti, and directed by Agenta Fagerstrom-Olsson and Kadir Ferati Balci. Fredrik Ljungberg, Jon Petersson, Kjartan Por Pordarson, Cormac Fox, Tom Hameeuw, Peter De Maegd and Marc B. Lorber are executive Pproducers.
Banijay Recruits Owain Walbyoff As Commercial Chief
Banijay has hired former Endemol Shine Group executive Owain Walbyoff to the newly-created role of chief commercial officer. Walbyoff will be...
- 8/25/2020
- by Jake Kanter and Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Plus: Open Road dates Before I Fall; Eben Davidson joins Paramount TV; and more…
Top brass at the Atlantic Film Festival have selected more than 100 projects from 60 producers hailing from 19 countries to take part in Strategic Partners 2016, set to run in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from September 15-17.
This year’s event will highlight Nordic and Us producers.
Participants include Denmark’s M&M Productions and Finland’s Luminoir Oy and Pauli Pentti, and Dodgeville Films and Infinitum Productions from the Us.
Open Road Films will distribute Awesomeness Films’ Before I Fall directed by Ry Russo-Young on April 7, 2017.Eben Davidson will join the growing team at Paramount TV as senior vice-president of development and will lead the company’s first foray into unscripted television and oversee the development of cross-format content including scripted and live programming. Davidson most recently served as senior vice-president of acquisitions and production.Lennie James is the latest addition to Alcon Entertainment’s [link...
Top brass at the Atlantic Film Festival have selected more than 100 projects from 60 producers hailing from 19 countries to take part in Strategic Partners 2016, set to run in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from September 15-17.
This year’s event will highlight Nordic and Us producers.
Participants include Denmark’s M&M Productions and Finland’s Luminoir Oy and Pauli Pentti, and Dodgeville Films and Infinitum Productions from the Us.
Open Road Films will distribute Awesomeness Films’ Before I Fall directed by Ry Russo-Young on April 7, 2017.Eben Davidson will join the growing team at Paramount TV as senior vice-president of development and will lead the company’s first foray into unscripted television and oversee the development of cross-format content including scripted and live programming. Davidson most recently served as senior vice-president of acquisitions and production.Lennie James is the latest addition to Alcon Entertainment’s [link...
- 7/26/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
'Zombie and the Ghost Train'
NEW YORK -- It is hard to discern whether ''Zombie and the Ghost Train'' is a depressing film or if it's merely a depressing experience sitting through it.
Mika Kaurismaki, Aki's obviously more morose brother, conceived, directed, produced and edited this painful slice of life, currently on display at the New York Film Festival. Certain to appeal to the segment of the art-house crowd that thrives on ''dark'' pieces, ''Zombie, '' screening this weekend at Alice Tully Hall as part of the New York Film Festival, still won't have much life elsewhere.
It is difficult not comparing the brothers Kaurismaki, especially since one is so upbeat and funny, while the other seems to be obsessed with Dostoyevski. Both make films that comment on society and its abstract relationship with us inhabitants. But Mika seems intent on looking only at the bleak side of life, without delving into its causes.
Technically, Mika Kaurismaki provides some impressive shots, and successfully creates his desired mood throught the use of appropriate camera angles and stark location shooting. But the pessimistic outlook and atmosphere are taken to such an extreme, that it ultimately undermines its effectiveness.
Part of the problem lies with the main character, Zombie (Silu Seppala). Here is a wholly unattractive, unsympathetic man, a man who never wins the compassion of the viewer. It's his sad story, but we don't care enough about him to share in his sadness.
Burdened with the same physique as Wile E. Coyote, Zombie trudges lifelessly from one non-destination to another. He seems fated, even if it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, to fail at everything. His fear of heights causes him to quit a job repairing roofs. An experience with a dead body terminates his job at the morgue. Even the army ''fires'' him for being such a nuisance.
The only people who want Zombie around are his tolerant girlfriend, Marjo (Marjo Leinonen) and his sole friend, Harri (Matti Pellonpaa, an Aki regular). In spite of their efforts, or maybe because of them, Zombie sinks even further into the bottomless well of his own despair.
His one ambition, it seems, is to be a failure, and at that he is successful. Even after landing a bass player spot with Harri's band, the Mulefukkers (an acknowledgement to brother Aki's ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America''), Zombie screws things up by showing up late and drunk for their first gig.
Highlighting his, and apparently all bass players', predisposition towards tragedy, is the mysterious Ghost Train, a strange band who ''gets lots of gigs, but no one has heard them play.'' They periodically and silently show up in Zombie's life, but their symbolic purpose in the film is even more mysterious than they are.
The rare injection of humor only makes us long for more. Yet the humor that is used feels completely out of place in conjunction with the depressing story line.
''Zombie and the Ghost Train'' is a downer that gets off on the wrong track right from the beginning. It's one train you won't mind missing.
ZOMBIE AND THE GHOST TRAIN
A Villealfa Filmproductions Oy Presentation
Director-producer-editor Mika Kaurismaki
Writers Pauli Pentti, Sakke Jarvenpaa
Story Mika Kaurismaki
Cinematographer Olli Varja
Music Mauri Sumen
Color
In Finnish, with subtitles
Cast:
Zombie Silu Seppala
Marjo Marjo Leinonen
Harri Matti Pellonpaa
Mother Vieno Saaristo
Father Juhani Niemela
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Mika Kaurismaki, Aki's obviously more morose brother, conceived, directed, produced and edited this painful slice of life, currently on display at the New York Film Festival. Certain to appeal to the segment of the art-house crowd that thrives on ''dark'' pieces, ''Zombie, '' screening this weekend at Alice Tully Hall as part of the New York Film Festival, still won't have much life elsewhere.
It is difficult not comparing the brothers Kaurismaki, especially since one is so upbeat and funny, while the other seems to be obsessed with Dostoyevski. Both make films that comment on society and its abstract relationship with us inhabitants. But Mika seems intent on looking only at the bleak side of life, without delving into its causes.
Technically, Mika Kaurismaki provides some impressive shots, and successfully creates his desired mood throught the use of appropriate camera angles and stark location shooting. But the pessimistic outlook and atmosphere are taken to such an extreme, that it ultimately undermines its effectiveness.
Part of the problem lies with the main character, Zombie (Silu Seppala). Here is a wholly unattractive, unsympathetic man, a man who never wins the compassion of the viewer. It's his sad story, but we don't care enough about him to share in his sadness.
Burdened with the same physique as Wile E. Coyote, Zombie trudges lifelessly from one non-destination to another. He seems fated, even if it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, to fail at everything. His fear of heights causes him to quit a job repairing roofs. An experience with a dead body terminates his job at the morgue. Even the army ''fires'' him for being such a nuisance.
The only people who want Zombie around are his tolerant girlfriend, Marjo (Marjo Leinonen) and his sole friend, Harri (Matti Pellonpaa, an Aki regular). In spite of their efforts, or maybe because of them, Zombie sinks even further into the bottomless well of his own despair.
His one ambition, it seems, is to be a failure, and at that he is successful. Even after landing a bass player spot with Harri's band, the Mulefukkers (an acknowledgement to brother Aki's ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America''), Zombie screws things up by showing up late and drunk for their first gig.
Highlighting his, and apparently all bass players', predisposition towards tragedy, is the mysterious Ghost Train, a strange band who ''gets lots of gigs, but no one has heard them play.'' They periodically and silently show up in Zombie's life, but their symbolic purpose in the film is even more mysterious than they are.
The rare injection of humor only makes us long for more. Yet the humor that is used feels completely out of place in conjunction with the depressing story line.
''Zombie and the Ghost Train'' is a downer that gets off on the wrong track right from the beginning. It's one train you won't mind missing.
ZOMBIE AND THE GHOST TRAIN
A Villealfa Filmproductions Oy Presentation
Director-producer-editor Mika Kaurismaki
Writers Pauli Pentti, Sakke Jarvenpaa
Story Mika Kaurismaki
Cinematographer Olli Varja
Music Mauri Sumen
Color
In Finnish, with subtitles
Cast:
Zombie Silu Seppala
Marjo Marjo Leinonen
Harri Matti Pellonpaa
Mother Vieno Saaristo
Father Juhani Niemela
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/3/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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