News

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are heading on the road once again.

Sky announced this morning that it has renewed the Coogan and Brydon comedy series The Trip for a fifth season.

Titled The Trip to the Northern Lights, the series will be directed by Michael Winterbottom (This England). Sky said the six-part series will see the pair travel through Scandinavia in search of fine food, wry conversation, and a glimpse of the elusive Northern Lights.

The six-part series will start shooting later this year on location in Scandinavia. It will be produced by Revolution Films, Baby Cow Productions, and Small Man in association with Sky Studios. Executive producers are Michael Winterbottom, Melissa Parmenter, Steve Coogan, and Rob Brydon. The series producer is Josh Hyams.

“I’m delighted that Michael Winterbottom has managed to persuade me at the age of 59 to join Rob, aged 60, to squeeze the last few drops...

Toby Jones plays the spaniel-eyed schoolmaster setting Harry Lawtey’s needy young pupil on course for haughty international stardom

The career of Richard Burton seemed mythic at the time, and more so in retrospect. In Pedro Almodóvar’s latest movie The Room Next Door, Julianne Moore’s character is even shown reading Erotic Vagrancy, Roger Lewis’s account of Burton’s then-adulterous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor in the early 60s, the title taken from Pope John Xxiii’s extraordinary denunciation: “You will finish in an erotic vagrancy, without end or without a safe port.” In fact, the nearest thing Burton ever had to a safe port was his inspirational English teacher Philip Burton in Port Talbot, south Wales, whose own frustrated dreams of the theatre were poured into the bright young miner’s son Richard Jenkins, coaching him in acting and even making him his legal ward and getting him...

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong will be among the headline speakers at this year’s inaugural cinema programme at the Hay Literary Festival.

Running from May 22nd to June 1st, the longtime literary festival announced its plans earlier this month to expand with a new sidebar dedicated to cinema in collaboration with Mubi.

The full festival programme was announced this morning and Armstrong will feature in the cinema talks programme alongside Normal People and I May Destroy You intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, director Marc Evans, producer Ed Talfan and screenwriters Tom Bullough and Josh Hyams (Mr Burton).

Rebecca Lenkiewicz will also pass through Hay to discuss her adaptation of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk while novelist Robert Harris discusses the adaptation of his novel Conclave.

The festival’s screening programme, taking place at the newly erected Mubi Cinema, will screen titles from the Mubi catalog including Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island,...

Exclusive: Filming has wrapped in Wales on Mr. Burton, the upcoming biopic about the man who inspired screen legend Richard Burton.

Independent Entertainment has sold UK and Ireland rights to Icon Film Distribution, which will release the film theatrically in 2025 to coincide with the centenary of Burton’s birth.

As we first revealed, the film will tell the true story of the relationship between Welsh schoolmaster Philip Burton and a wild young schoolboy called Richard Jenkins. The latter dreamed of becoming an actor, but his ambitions were in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline. Mr. Burton recognized the raw talent in his pupil, and made it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father. Actor Burton would go on to be nominated for seven Oscars and was well...

Today, Prime Video released the trailer and key art for A Very Royal Scandal, which will premiere on September 19 exclusively on Prime Video in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Additional cast members were also revealed.

The captivating retelling, featuring Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew and Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis, demonstrates the power of journalism through a pivotal moment in British history. A Very Royal Scandal is the third installment of the A Very…. Scandal anthology series.

One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe. It is based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations he faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre.

A Very Royal Scandal follows Maitlis and Prince Andrew’s actions in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself, and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever.

The latest Prince Andrew project has dropped trailer.

A Very Royal Scandal, which launches in a fortnight, stars Michael Sheen as the disgraced Prince with Ruth Wilson playing the role of his interviewer Emily Maitlis.

A Very Royal Scandal is a three-part TV series as opposed to Scoop, the Netflix feature that starred Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson in the lead roles. It is the third in the A Very… series that Amazon has previously co-produced with the BBC, although this one will only air on Prime Video. Unlike Scoop, Maitlis is involved with this one as an EP.

In the trailer, Wilson’s Maitlis can be seen pursuing the story that would make her a global household name and destroy the Prince’s reputation in a pivotal moment in British history, which saw him buckle under questions around his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and make a sea of humiliating utterances.

Prime Video released first-look images for ‘A Very Royal Scandal,’ which will premiere on 19 September exclusively on Prime Video in the UK.

The captivating retelling, featuring Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew and Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis, demonstrates the power of journalism through a pivotal moment in British history.

One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe. Based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations he faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre. A Very Royal Scandal follows the action of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever.

Also in news – First look images & October premiere date drops for season 2 of ‘The Diplomat’

Along with Sheen and Wilson, the series will star Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk,...

Amazon Prime Video has released first-look images of Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson in A Very Royal Scandal, a series following the BBC’s infamous interview with Prince Andrew about Jeffrey Epstein.

The newly-released photos show Sheen (Good Omens, Prodigal Son Masters of Sex) as the British royal family member and Wilson (Luther, The Affair, Jane Eyre) as top reporter Emily Maitlis, demonstrating the power of journalism through what was, most consider, a huge stain on the monarchy’s already-blotted reputation.

A Very Royal Scandal

“One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe,” a plot synopsis reads. The three-episode series is based on the real-life 2019 interview between Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations he faced regarding his involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, who claimed to have had sex with the royal while she was underage.

Michael Sheen as Prince...

Today, Prime Video released the first photos from A Very Royal Scandal, which will premiere on September 19 exclusively on Prime Video in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The captivating retelling, featuring Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew and Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis, demonstrates the power of journalism through a pivotal moment in British history.

One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe. Based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations he faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre.

A Very Royal Scandal follows Maitlis and Prince Andrew’s actions in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself, and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever.

Along with Sheen and Wilson, the series will star Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings (Your Christmas or Mine?) as Sir Edward Young,...

It only feels a minute ago that Netflix’s Scoop movie was bedecking advertising hoardings in Times Square but the Prince Andrew interview projects are coming thick and fast and here are first looks at Michael Sheen as the prince and Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis in Amazon’s A Very Royal Scandal.

The Prime Video retelling, which launches September 19, is across three episodes and will revisit the 2019 interview that effectively brought down the prince and ended his role in public life.

Sheen is the prince and Wilson plays Maitlis, whose BBC Newsnight interview about the scandalous accusations Andrew faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre sent shockwaves around the world. A Very Royal Scandal follows the action of Maitlis and Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever. It...

It’s an episode Prince Andrew would no doubt wish to be forgotten, but his car-crash “Newsnight” interview is set to enthral viewers yet again in Prime Video’s upcoming dramatization.

“A Very Royal Scandal,” which stars Michael Sheen as the disgraced prince and Ruth Wilson as arch interviewer Emily Maitlis, has been set for release on the streaming platform on Sept. 19, Variety can confirm.

Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis in ‘A Very Royal Scandal’ (Courtesy of Prime Video)

The streamer has also debuted a series of first-look images from the series, showing “Good Omens” star Sheen’s transformation into the British royal, who was widely criticized for his defense of his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his failure to mention Epstein’s victims during the 2019 interview.

Wilson suits up as BBC anchor Maitlis, whose cool performance and professionalism during the interview was highly praised.

“One night. One hour.

Exclusive: Rising Brit actor Harry Lawtey (Industry), who will have a key role in upcoming sequel Joker: Folie A Deux, has been set to star as a young Richard Burton in UK feature Mr. Burton, which will also star BAFTA winner Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office) and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown).

The film will tell the true story of the relationship between Welsh schoolmaster Philip Burton (Jones) and a wild young schoolboy called Richard Jenkins (Lawtey). Richard dreamed of becoming an actor, but his ambitions were in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline. Mr. Burton recognised the raw talent in his pupil, and made it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father. Richard Jenkins would go on to become Richard Burton, the...

Exclusive: Filming is due to get underway in late spring on Mr Burton, an upcoming biopic about the man who inspired screen legend, Richard Burton.

The film will tell the true story of the relationship between Welsh schoolmaster Philip Burton and a wild young schoolboy called Richard Jenkins. Richard dreamed of becoming an actor, but his ambitions were in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline. Mr Burton recognised the raw talent in his pupil, and made it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father.

BAFTA winner Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), fresh off his acclaimed performance in momentous UK TV series Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, will star in the title role, with Oscar nominee Lesley Manville playing ‘Ma Smith’, Philip...

Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment picked up U.S. distribution rights to the Tel Aviv-set political thriller Shoshana from BAFTA-winning filmmaker Michael Winterbottom.

The pic, which debuted at TIFF before playing the London Film Festival, was written by Laurence Coriat, Paul Viragh, and Winterbottom. Cast includes Irina Starshenbaum (Leto), Douglas Booth (That Dirty Black Bag), and Harry Melling (The Pale Blue Eye). Greenwich will release the film next year.

Inspired by real events, Shoshana is a political thriller set in 1930s Tel Aviv. Thomas Wilkin, who works in the anti-terrorist squad of the British Palestine Police Force, is in love with Shoshana Borochov. Through their relationship the film explores the way extremism and violence drive a wedge between people, forcing them to choose sides.

Shoshana is an Italian-uk coproduction between Vision Distribution, Revolution Films, and Bartlebyfilm. Producers on the film include Melissa Parmenter, Massimo Di Rocco, Josh Hyams,...

Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson have joined the cast of the 3-part Amazon series ‘A Very Royal Scandal.’

Based on the infamous interview with Prince Andrew, the series will follow Emily Maitlis’ professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”

Michael Sheen will star as Prince Andrew, while Ruth Wilson will play Maitlis. the series will also star Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings (“Your Christmas or Mine?”) as Sir Edward Young, and Éanna Hardwicke (“The Sixth Commandment”) as Stewart Maclean.

Also in news – Denzel Washington to reunite with Antoine Fuqua in untitled Netflix movie

Jeremy Brock and Julian Jarrold are collaborating on a the new series with Brock as the scribe and Jarrold as director. The show is produced by Blueprint Television for Amazon MGM Studios and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television. The executive producers of the series are Karen Thrussell,...

Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson are leading the cast of A Very Royal Scandal, Prime Video’s upcoming limited series about Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis, in which he explained his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The series is currently in production in the UK.

According to the description, the three-part limited series, written by Jeremy Brock, will follow Emily Maitlis’ (Wilson) professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew (Sheen).

Cast also includes Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young and Éanna Hardwicke as Stewart Maclean.

Julian Jarrold directs the series, which is produced by Blueprint Television for Amazon MGM Studios, and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television. Karen Thrussell, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown, Jeremy Brock, Jarrold, and Maitlis herself serve as executive producers. Josh Hyams serves as a producer on the series.

Amazon is making a limited series about Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis, Variety has learned.

Production is underway in the U.K. on the three-part series, titled “A Very Royal Scandal.” Michael Sheen will star as Prince Andrew, while Ruth Wilson will play Maitlis.

According to the official description, the series will follow “Emily Maitlis’ professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”

Along with Sheen and Wilson, the series will star Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings (“Your Christmas or Mine?”) as Sir Edward Young, and Éanna Hardwicke (“The Sixth Commandment”) as Stewart Maclean.

The series follows on Amazon’s past successes with “A Very English Scandal” starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw and “A Very British Scandal” starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany.

Jeremy Brock is writing “A Very Royal Scandal” with Julian Jarrold directing.

’Shoshana’ world premiered at Toronto, ahead of screenings at Dinard film festival and BFI London Film Festival.

Michael Winterbottom is one of the UK’s more prolific independent filmmakers, with over 30 features to his name across a 35-year career – but his latest, Shoshana, has been rather a slow burn.

The drama, based on real people and events, premiered in Toronto, before playing in French festival of UK and Irish film Dinard, and will have its UK premiere at BFI London Film Festival on October 7.

It is set in 1930s Tel Aviv, as violence erupt in the British Mandate for Palestine,...

Following closely behind, Bad Sisters, The Crown, The English and Slow Horses also received five nominations apiece.

BBC dramas This is Going To Hurt and The Responder lead the nominations for this year’s Bafta Television and Bafta Craft awards with six nominations each.

Both dramas have received nods in the leading actor category for Ben Wishaw and Martin Freeman’s performances.

Sister’s This is Going To Hurt is up for best drama mini series, while Dancing Ledge’s The Responder, which has been recomissioned for a second series, makes the list for best drama series.

The two dramas...

Today in news you surely didn't see coming, "Paddington" film series director Paul King will be taking the helm on Sony Pictures' untitled Fred Astaire drama — the one starring our very own friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Tom Holland.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, King has signed on to direct the project, which Holland revealed he was working on in 2021. Amy Pascal, Rachael O'Conner, Ben Holden, and Josh Hyams will be producing. The outlet also reports that the exact plot of the upcoming film is being kept under wraps.

One thing we do know, however, is that the movie will center on the relationship between Astaire and his sister, Adele. For more than 20 years, the siblings were thick as thieves and worked the vaudeville scene from the Midwest to Broadway and London's West End by the end of the roaring '20s. They split as a performing duo in 1932 after Adele got married.

The untitled Fred Astaire biopic starring Tom Holland is moving forward with “Paddington” director Paul King behind the camera, TheWrap has confirmed.

The feature film, which was announced in winter 2021 and with Holland confirming on the carpet at his “Spider-Man No Way Home” premiere that he “will be playing Fred Astaire,” will chart the life and career of Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. Holland, fittingly, began his career as a dancer and first broke out as an international performer starring in “Billy Elliott The Musical” on the West End. No news yet on who will be co-starring with Holland as Adele.

Also Read:

How to Watch the Spider-Man Movies in Order

The Sony Pictures release has Academy Award nominee Lee Hall rewriting a script from Noah Pink (National Geographic’s “Genius”). Coincidentally, Hall also wrote the book to “Billy Elliott” alongside composer Elton John. Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Conner,...

Paul King, the director of the Paddington movies, is putting on his dancing shoes.

King has come aboard to direct Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire drama that has Tom Holland attached to star as the golden age film and dance star.

Amy Pascal, Rachael O’Conner, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams are producing.

Sony is keeping the logline details under the top hat, but it is known that the project centers on the relationship between Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. The two were inseparable for more than 20 years, moving out of a simple Midwestern vaudeville act in the early part of the 20th Century to Broadway and London’s West End in the 1920s. Adele Astaire was initially the face of the act, but eventually, Fred’s consummate stage skills eclipsed hers. The duo parted in 1932 when the sister married, which was a blow to Fred, but it also turned...

The first trailer for “I Am Ruth” – the feature-length drama featuring Kat Winslet acting opposite her real-life daughter Threapleton – has dropped.

In the drama, which was conceived and developed by Winslet and filmmaker Dominic Savage, the “Titanic” actor plays Ruth, a concerned mother who struggles to help her teenage daughter Freya (Threapleton) as she becomes increasingly consumed by social media.

In the trailer, the duo are seen growing apart, with Freya withdrawing further into herself despite Ruth’s attempts to connect with her. Winslet and Threapleton embody a typical mother-daughter relationship in the trailer with shouting, door-slamming and hugging. But eventually Ruth takes the dramatic step of forcing Freya to see a counsellor and confiscating her phone. “It’s what’s making you ill,” Ruth tells her distraught daughter. The impact on the rest of the family, including what appears to be Freya’s brother, is also depicted.

“I Am...

Kate Winslet gives daughter Mia Threapleton a hug in the first image released from their upcoming drama “I Am Ruth.”

The real-life mother-daughter duo star as a fictional family in the feature-length special, which is set to air in the U.K. on broadcaster Channel 4 this winter.

Winslet plays concerned mother Ruth who grows alarmed as her teenage daughter Freya (Threapleton) becomes consumed by social media and the pressures that come with it. As Freya retreats further into herself, her relationship with Ruth becomes increasingly strained.

Winslet conceived the project with filmmaker Dominic Savage as “a story for our times about the endemic mental health crisis affecting young people.” Winslet and Savage developed and co-authored the drama together. It will be broadcast as part of female-led anthology series ‘I Am,’ which Savage created.

“The collaborative and sensitive way in which Dominic Savage goes about creating and filming each episode of ‘I Am’ is challenging,...

The sun is shining, the stars have made their way down the red carpet and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) Television Awards is underway at the Royal Festival Hall in London, U.K.

The event – the first time it has taken place in person in three years due to the Covid pandemic – is being hosted by comedian and director Richard Ayoade (“The It Crowd”).

Among those nominated for a gong tonight are songstress “An Audience With Adele,” for best entertainment program, Rose Matafeo is nominated for best female performance in a comedy for “Starstruck” while Olly Alexander is nominated for leading actor for “It’s A Sin.”

Meanwhile the contenders for best international series will be one of the most fraught with some of the past year’s most talked-about series – including “Call My Agent,” “Mare of Easttown,” “Squid Games” and “Succession – up for an award.

Ncuti Gatwa...

Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winner Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton (“Shadows”) will star in a feature-length episode of the third season of Dominic Savage’s acclaimed Channel 4 series “I Am.”

All episodes in the series are named after their lead characters and Winslet’s episode is titled “I Am Ruth.”

Created, written and directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Savage, the stories for each episode have been developed in a creative partnership with the leading actors, with semi-improvised dialogue. The series debuted in 2019, with Vicky McClure starring in “I Am Nicola,” Samantha Morton in “I Am Kirsty” and Gemma Chan in “I Am Hannah.” The second season, which bowed in 2021, had Suranne Jones in “I Am Victoria,” Letitia Wright in “I Am Danielle” and Lesley Manville in “I Am Maria.”

Filming on “I Am Ruth” will start at the end of April for three weeks. Other cast will be announced in due course,...

Kate Winslet will star in the first feature-length episode of I Am, Channel 4’s award-winning female-led drama anthology series.

The Oscar winner will appear with her daughter Mia Threapleton in I Am Ruth, with filming set to start at the end of April. As with both previous series, three each new episodes will be named after its lead character, with further cast and narrative details to follow.

Created, written and directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Dominic Savage (The Escape), the stories for each film have been developed in a creative partnership with the leading actors, with semi-improvised dialogue. The series of distinctive single films explores the experience of women in moments that are emotionally raw, thought-provoking and personal.

The series has built on its strong debut in 2019 when it debuted as Channel 4’s most successful new 10pm drama in six years. The cast for the first series included Vicky McClure...

‘Landscapers’ earned seven nominations, whilst Help and ’Time’ received six.

Russel T Davies’ It’s A Sin leads the nominations for this year’s Bafta Television and Bafta Craft awards.

The drama, produced by Red Production Company for UK broadcaster Channel 4, earned 11 nominations, including mini-series, leading actor for Olly Alexander, actress for Lydia West, director: fiction for Peter Hoar, writer: drama for Davies and three supporting actor nods for Callum Scott Howells, David Carlyle and Omari Douglas.

Drama Landscapers, produced by Sister for Sky Atlantic, earned seven nominations including mini-series and leading actor for David Thewlis.

Jack Thorne’s...

‘Landscapers’ earned seven nominations, whilst Help and ’Time’ received six.

Russel T Davies’ It’s A Sin leads the nominations for this year’s Bafta Television and Bafta Craft awards.

The drama, produced by Red Production Company for UK broadcaster Channel 4, earned 11 nominations, including mini-series, leading actor for Olly Alexander, actress for Lydia West, director: fiction for Peter Hoar, writer: drama for Davies and three supporting actor nods for Callum Scott Howells, David Carlyle and Omari Douglas.

Drama Landscapers, produced by Sister for Sky Atlantic, earned seven nominations including mini-series and leading actor for David Thewlis.

Jack Thorne’s...

Exclusive: Sky’s buzzy series on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found its latest protagonists in the shape of Elementary actress Ophelia Lovibond and Brexit: The Uncivil War star Simon Paisley Day.

Deadline can reveal that Lovibond will star next to Kenneth Branagh as Johnson’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds, in This Sceptred Isle. Paisley Day will play Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s most senior adviser at the height of the coronavirus crisis, which provides the backdrop to the five-part series.

Co-written and directed by The Trip helmer Michael Winterbottom, This Sceptred Isle is based on first-hand testimony from those close to Johnson. It will chart the events surrounding the Pm, the government, and the country in the face of the first wave of the global coronavirus pandemic.

There is little doubt it was an extraordinary period for the British leader, who fell critically ill with Covid-19 and weeks after his discharge from hospital,...

Filming is underway on the Sky Original TV drama.

Filming is underway on Sky Original TV drama This Sceptred Isle, which has revealed a first-look image of Kenneth Branagh as UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

The five-episode drama is directed by Michael Winterbottom and produced by his Revolution Films with Richard Brown’s Passenger and Fremantle.

It will air in autumn 2022 on Sky Atlantic and streaming service Now TV.

Winterbottom has co-written the series with Kieron Quirke and will executive produce with Brown. Revolution’s Melissa Parmenter will produce with Josh Hyams and Anthony Wilcox.

The drama will focus on...

Sky has released a first-look image of Kenneth Branagh as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in its upcoming Michael Winterbottom series This Sceptred Isle.

Filming has commenced on the five-part series, which will premiere in fall 2022. The project first emerged last year as part of a deal between The Trip director Winterbottom and Fremantle’s Passenger, run by True Detective producer Richard Brown.

Produced by Fremantle, Passenger, and Winterbottom’s Revolution Films, the series will chart the events surrounding the U.K. Prime Minister, the government, and the country in the face of the first wave of the global coronavirus pandemic.

It will trace the impact on Britain, and the response of scientists, nurses, and doctors as they worked to contain and overcome the virus. It is based on the first-hand testimony of people including those from Number 10 Downing Street, the Department of Health, The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies...

Kenneth Branagh has been tapped to play U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Michael Winterbottom’s “This Sceptred Isle.”

The five-part limited series will depict the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.K., Johnson’s handling of the crisis and the response of health care workers and scientists, as they battle the deadly virus.

The series, co-written by Winterbottom and Kieron Quirke, is based on first-hand testimony from hospitals and care homes in the U.K., Number 10 Downing Street, the Department of Health and The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Winterbottom will direct all five episodes and executive produce with Richard Brown. Melissa Parmenter will produce with Josh Hyams and Anthony Wilcox.

“The first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered forever. A time when the country came together to battle an invisible enemy. A time when people were more aware than ever of the importance of community,...

Kenneth Branagh will play U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a new Sky TV series detailing Britain’s muddled response to the Covid-19 crisis. The five-part drama will be directed and written by “The Trip” helmer Michael Winterbottom.

Entitled “This Sceptred Isle,” the show will be produced by Fremantle, Richard Brown’s Passenger and Winterbottom’s Revolution Films. The project — which was announced in June but had yet to secure a broadcast partner and announce casting — will chart the events surrounding Johnson and his government in the face of the first wave of the global pandemic. The U.K. leader in late March was hospitalized with Covid-19 for over a week, with a number of days spent in intensive care.

The series will launch on Sky in fall 2022.

“The first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered forever,” said Winterbottom. “A time when the country came together to battle an invisible enemy.

Henry V star Kenneth Branagh is to play British Prime Minister in Sky drama This Sceptred Isle.

The project first emerged as part of a deal between The Trip director Michael Winterbottom and Fremantle’s Passenger, run by True Detective producer Richard Brown.

Sky Atlantic has now boarded the series with Branagh, who recently starred in Tenet, in the lead. It is produced by Passenger and Michael Winterbottom’s Revolution Films.

The five-part drama will chart the events surrounding the U.K. Prime Minister, the government, and the country in the face of the first wave of the global pandemic.

It will trace the impact on Britain from the pandemic, and the response of scientists, nurses, and doctors as they worked to contain and overcome the virus. It is based on the first-hand testimony of people including those from Number 10 Downing Street, the Department of Health, The Scientific Advisory Group...

Black Panther and Small Axe star Letitia Wright is to headline an episode in Season 2 of Channel 4’s female-led anthology drama series I Am from BAFTA-winning director Dominic Savage.

Wright leads the cast of I Am Danielle and is joined by co-stars Cj Beckford and Sophia Brown. It follows Channel 4 previously announcing that Suranne Jones would feature in Season 2.

Produced by Me+You Productions, Savage writes each episode of I Am in collaboration with the leading actor, for whom the story has a personal resonance.

Channel 4 offered little insight on the I Am Danielle storyline, but Wright said: “Collaborating with Dominic Savage has been an amazing experience. His unique and sensitive style of directing has stretched me as an artist. I’m so proud that we came together on a story that we both felt was important to explore.”

The BAFTA-nominated first season featured Vicky McClure in I Am...

Letitia Wright, who starred alongside the late Chadwick Boseman in “Black Panther,” has completed shooting on Dominic Savage’s BAFTA-nominated female-led anthology series “I Am.”

“I Am Danielle,” starring Wright, C.J. Beckford (“Victoria”) and Sophia Brown (“Giri/Haji”), wrapped earlier this month.

Wright was a BAFTA Rising Star in 2019 and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2018 for U.K. broadcaster Channel 4’s “Black Mirror.” She is also one of the leads in “Mangrove,” part of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology, that opened the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday.

Wright said: “Collaborating with Dominic Savage has been an amazing experience. His unique and sensitive style of directing has stretched me as an artist. I’m so proud that we came together on a story that we both felt was important to explore and share with the world.”

Savage said: “Making this film with Letitia was so exciting, invigorating,...

Suranne Jones, the star of BBC/HBO drama Gentleman Jack and Doctor Foster, is to feature in the second season of Channel 4’s female-led anthology drama series I Am.

Jones will star in I Am Victoria alongside Top Boy actor Ashley Walters, as Channel 4 confirmed that it has commissioned another three episodes of the show created by Dominic Savage, the writer of Gemma Arterton-fronted feature The Escape.

Produced by Me+You Productions, Savage writes each episode in collaboration with the leading actor, for whom each story has a personal resonance. The BAFTA-nominated first season featured Vicky McClure in I Am Nicola; Samantha Morton in I Am Kirsty; and Gemma Chan in I Am Hannah.

The two other leads for Season 2 are yet to be announced. Executive producers are Richard Yee and Savage, with Channel 4 head of drama, Caroline Hollick, and head of development Gemma Boswell overseeing the project.

Greece, where the death rate due to the coronavirus outbreak has been among among the lowest in Europe, is looking to lure more international productions by raising its cash rebates from 35% to 40% just as cameras are already rolling there on what is being touted as the first post-pandemic European co-production to start up.

“Greece is quite a success story in these particularly difficult times because of (anti-coronavirus) measures that were taken early on,” said Venia Vergou, director of the Hellenic Film Commission during a virtual Cannes Market panel.

The country was on lockdown between March 3 and May 4, and just one week later shooting had already resumed on hit Greek TV series “Wild Bees,” a period piece about three farmer sisters who live in a small, fictional village in the Thessalian flatland in the late 1950s, which was the first Greek production that started filming after the pandemic.

The scheduled production output of “Wild Bees,...

The fourth film in “The Trip” franchise, “The Trip to Greece,” starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon and directed by Michael Winterbottom, has been acquired for U.S. distribution by IFC Films, IFC announced Friday. The distributor is planning a summer 2020 release.

This comes as no surprise, as IFC Films has released all three of the previous movies in “The Trip” franchise, including the original from 2010, “The Trip to Italy” in 2014 and “The Trip to Spain” in 2017.

Coogan and Brydon — who play themselves in the scripted travel-themed film series — reunite yet again for more meals with expensive, gourmet dishes along with more conversation and more impressions of British luminaries.

Here’s the official synopsis:

When Odysseus left Troy it took him 10 years to get back to his home in Ithaca. Steve and...

Goalpost Film sells fourth episode to Australia, Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, others.

IFC Films has acquired Us rights to Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip To Greece, the fourth entry in the acclaimed culinary anthology series starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Goalpost Film has concluded a raft of pre-sales on the film, licensing rights in Australia (Madman Entertainment), Canada (Elevation Pictures), Scandinavia (Non Stop), Latin America (California Filmes), South Korea (Challan), Middle East (Front Row), and Greece (Filmtrade). Cinesky acquired rights for global airlines.

IFC Films has earmarked a summer 2020 theatrical release for The Trip To Greece, its 11th collaboration...

Exclusive: Multi-faceted UK outfit Altitude, which is on the Croisette this year with Asif Kapadia’s anticipated documentary Diego Maradona, is in development on a movie about the lives and careers of dance siblings Fred and Adele Astaire, and World War II thriller The Zero Hour about one man’s personal quest to track down Nazi Rudolf Hoss.

Altitude spans international sales, UK distribution and production. The latest prospect in development for the company is a portrait of iconic American dancer Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. Partnering with producers Ben Holden (The Woman In Black 2) of Lightbulb Pictures and Josh Hyams (The Trip To Spain), Altitude have set writers Glenn Patterson and Colin Carberry (Good Vibrations) to write The Astaires, the true story of how the twenty-something siblings overcame huge challenges to become the world’s most famous dancers during their time in London and New York.

Based on...

Me+You Productions, the producer of Sky comedy Sick of It, has teamed with director Justin Chadwick, who helmed the Idris Elba-fronted Nelson Mandela biopic Long Walk To Freedom, on the story of a young British boy diagnosed with a severe brain tumor.

The indie, which recently struck a U.S. representation deal with Wme, has secured exclusive access to the family of Ashya King and is now developing a three-part, fact-based drama that explores their story,

Saving Ashya is the story of a young British boy who was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor in 2014. Against medical advice, his parents ‘abducted’ him from his NHS hospital bed and fled to Europe for alternative proton therapy. The resulting international manhunt sparked a huge media frenzy. Ashya’s parents were publicly criticized and incarcerated, causing the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, to personally intervene. Now free of cancer, Ashya...

The Trip returns to BBC Two in April for its second series The Trip to Italy.

Michael Winterbottom agains directs Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in the six-part follow-up to 2010's BAFTA Award-winning series.

Following the UK-set series, the pair will this time visit restaurants in Piemonte, Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and Capri.

"Rob, tired from the responsibilities of being the father of a young child, is looking for some adventure," explained the press release.

"Steve has been living a life of abstinence and hard work in Los Angeles but, now on a hiatus from his job, has the time to come back to Europe and wants to see his children."

Produced by Melissa Parmenter and co-produced by Josh Hyams, The Trip to Italy is a Revolution Films, Baby Cow Films and Small Man production.

Watch the trailer for The Trip to Italy below:...