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English actor John Hurt had an illustrious acting career. In addition to four BAFTA wins, including a lifetime achievement award, he was nominated for two Academy Awards for his contributions to the films "Midnight Express" and "The Elephant Man." Although Hurt was introduced to a younger audience with his role as the elderly wand-maker Mr. Ollivander in the "Harry Potter" franchise, the actor is one of Britain's finest talents. In a career spanning half a century, Hurt witnessed the transformation of cinema — and particularly the evolution of British cinema, which was close to his heart.

The late actor, who starred in three "Harry Potter" films, sat down with Rotten Tomatoes before filming the fantasy adventure franchise's concluding movie. The performer explained how "Harry Potter" had highlighted his biggest concern over British Cinema and the industry's consistent ignorance toward middle-budget films.

'Our Film Business Is In The Independent World'

In a...

"Are you hiding something?" Trinity Creative has released an official trailer for an indie drama titled That Good Night, which originally premiered in 2017 at the Edinburgh and Shanghai Film Festivals. The film stars John Hurt (who passed away in early 2017 before this premiered at the festivals) as Ralph, a once-famous screenwriter, who is now in his seventies and terminally ill. But he still has two final missions: to be reconciled to his son, Michael, and, secretly, to ensure he is not a burden to his wife, Anna, as he goes "into that good night". The film's cast includes Sofia Helin, Max Brown, Erin Richards, Charles Dance, and Noah Jupe. I'm not so confident about this considering it has taken three years to finally get a release, but it does look quite interesting. I enjoy Hurt's hat the most. As for the rest, it might be a heartfelt watch. Here's the...

The animated Hellboy films are coming to 4K Ultra HD! Here are the details!

One of the all-time greatest comics characters comes home when the Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms and Blood & Iron double feature arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) April 2 from Lionsgate.

Voiced by the very same actors from the popular live-action films, including Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and John Hurt, Sword of Storms and Blood & Iron arrive on 4K Ultra HD™ just in time for fans to catch up on the iconic franchise before the new reboot of the live-action film hits theaters on April 12. Experience four times the resolution of full HD with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes Dolby Vision® Hdr, bringing entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen,...

This evening the 2019 Critics Circle Award were held at the May Fair Hotel in London. Each year the ceremony brings together the finest in modern film and 2019 continues to focus a wider spotlight than the glitzier events.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ cruelty-saoked period drama The Favourite is rightly, well – the favourite for many of the awards. Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War joins Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and Rupert Everett’s The Happy Prince with five nominations apiece.

As well as the winners (indicated in Bold) below we were on the red carpet to speak with the nominees and guests at the event.

We spoke to Richard E. Grant (Star Wars Episode IX), Anya Taylor-Joy, Fionn Whitehead (Back Mirror Bandersnatch, Dunkirk & many more this evening the 2019 Critics Circle Award, which were held at the May Fair Hotel in London. Each year the ceremony brings together...

Exclusive: Max Brown of The Royals and The Tudors is joining Focus Features’ Downton Abbey theatrical feature in an undisclosed role. The pic, which opens on Sept. 20 next year, is currently in production.

Brown most recently starred as John Hurt’s estranged son in the dramatic feature That Good Night and played King Robert on E!’s The Royals. He is repped by Silver Linings Entertainment, UTA, and Independent Talent Group.

Brown joins the original cast of Downton Abbey opposite Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Penelope Wilton, and Maggie Smith, as well as new cast members Imelda Staunton, Geraldine James, Simon Jones, David Haig, Tuppence Middleton, Kate Phillips and Stephen Campbell Moore. Michael Engler is directing the film with a script by Julian Fellowes. He...

In Hurt’s last film, That Good Night, he played a screenwriter with a terminal illness. Here, director Eric Styles recalls the actor’s good humour despite his own diagnosis

John Hurt had a constant companion on the set of That Good Night: a container of revolting-looking bright green vegetable juice which, he testified, tasted “bloody awful”. He chugged dutifully away on this throughout the shoot, forgoing his beloved fine wines in favour of something that might help the prognosis – for he had pancreatic cancer.

In our film, John plays an ageing writer who is facing his own mortality following a similar diagnosis. He must have chosen the project with the parallels in mind, though he was not a man especially solemn about his remaining time on the planet – or, indeed, about anything.

Eric Styles writes about directing John Hurt in his last leading role

When I received a call out of the blue about working with John Hurt on ‘That Good Night’ it was hard to contain my excitement. Whenever I mentioned the project and my good luck in acquiring it, the response was pretty unanimous – “Oh my God, John Hurt, he’s a bloody legend…” and we’d spend the next few minutes discussing which of John’s myriad performances had captivated us the most.

But as I look back now, over making the film and the subsequent sad news of John’s passing in January 2017, I think about that consistent response and wonder what made John a ‘legend’.

It was wonderful to witness how his presence rippled out and touched everyone involved in the production.

I’ve been fortunate to work with a few ‘starry’ actors, including Oscar winner Julie Andrews,...

Move aimed at planning for post-Brexit.

London-based film financier and exec producer Red Rock Entertainment has opened an office in Spain, which it hopes will aid UK producers with developing co-productions with European counterparts after Brexit.

The office is based in Malaga and has recently opened with staff in place. The company is aiming to have ten staff in the office in time for Brexit, and also plans to move some UK staff to Spain.

In a statement, Red Rock said: “With the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on the horizon, the company hopes to bridge the cultural gap,...

Move aimed at planning for post-Brexit.

London-based film financier and exec producer Red Rock Entertainment has opened an office in Spain, which it hopes will aid UK producers with developing co-productions with European counterparts after Brexit.

The office is based in Malaga and has recently opened with staff in place. The company is aiming to have ten staff in the office in time for Brexit, and also plans to move some UK staff to Spain.

In a statement, Red Rock said: “With the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on the horizon, the company hopes to bridge the cultural gap,...

Movie adaptations of classic texts can be disappointing. Transitioning from one form to the next is dangerous, particularly when nothing original arises from the outgoing medium. Sometimes it’s as if the filmmakers have left the camera pointed at a stage-play or between the pages of a book. But the 1958 film adaptation of Look Back in Anger is a masterful translation of John Osborne’s (now-)classic play – incorporating the essence of the newly-emerging British New Wave and continuing the legacy of the “angry young men” literary movement.

Set in the grey and wet city of Derby, sweet-seller Jimmy Porter (Richard Burton) lives with his wife Alison (Mary Ure) and best friend Cliff (Gary Raymond). He is a stern, explosive individual – consistently aggressive and searingly misogynistic, even by the standards of 1958. Alison feels tired and trapped by him, never finding the right opportunity to say she’s carrying his child.

Few plays work well in a cinematic environment. Singular locations grow restrictive, waves of dialogue sound superfluous, and sometimes the acting (suited for the stage) is too over-the-top to take seriously. Based on the 1996 stage-play by N.J. Crisp, That Good Night ticks these off like a to-do list.

In his last performance before his death in January last year, John Hurt plays Ralph – an agèd screenwriter living opulently in Portugal with his younger wife Anna (Sofia Helin). After receiving news of a terminal illness, Ralph tries to secretly make amends with his son Michael (Max Brown) by inviting him over. But this becomes difficult, as Ralph can never find the right opportunity to tell him.

Following the curse of most theatre-to-film adaptations, That Good Night doesn’t seem to desire a filmic presence. It mostly consists of monotonously stunted shots of actors acting, as if director Eric Styles and cinematographer...

While somewhat trifling as a work of cinema, Eric Styles' Anglo-Portuguese drama That Good Night will for many rank as a must-see simply because it features the very last lead performance by the truly great Sir John Hurt. And the widely beloved veteran — who died aged 77 in January — is in fine crusty-grouchy form as Ralph Maitland, a terminally ill British writer facing what he wryly dubs "the ultimate deadline."

Very much made with mature audiences in mind, this gentle-paced adaptation of N.J. Crisp's 1996 play builds steadily toward an irresistibly moving finale which...

Highlights include the UK premiere of Cars 3 and 17 world premieres.Scroll Down For Competition Titles

The line-up for the 71st Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been unveiled this morning by artistic director Mark Adams.

This year’s Eiff (June 21-2 July) will comprise a total 151 features from 46 countries including 17 world premieres, 12 international premieres, 9 European premieres and 69 UK premieres.

Highlights include the UK Premiere of Disney-Pixar’s animation Cars 3, appearances from Stanley Tucci, Oliver Stone and Kevin Bacon and the Opening and Closing Gala premieres of the previously announced God’s Own Country and England Is Mine.

There will also be a special screening of Raiders Of The Lost Ark accompanied by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing the score live.

Best of British

The Best of British strand includes Bryn Higgins’ Access All Areas featuring Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens; Simon Hunter’s Edie starring Sheila Hancock; the Donmar Warehouse’s all-female adaptation of [link...

Chaplin writer to adapt novel for Wild Tales and Mad To Be Normal producers.

Bad Penny Productions has picked up rights to Graham Greene’s last published novel The Captain And The Enemy, which is being adapted for the big screen by screenwriter and novelist William Boyd (Chaplin).

The novel tells the story of a young boy named Victor Baxter taken away from his boarding school by a stranger to live in London. The mysterious stranger is simply known as “the Captain”.

In London Victor companions a sweet but withdrawn woman named Liza, serving as her conduit to the outside world. When Victor reaches manhood, he finally learns the secrets of the Captain.

The thriller includes smuggling, jewel theft and international espionage and culminates in a dramatic showdown in Panama.

In addition to Bad Penny’s Phin Glynn (Mad To Be Normal), other producers are Victor Glynn (That Good Night) and Axel Kuschevatzky (Wild Tales).

The film will...

Exclusive: Highlander creator to direct first film since The Prophecy; team also includes UK outfit Bad Penny Productions.

An eclectic array of international producers are assembling on intriguing European Film Market (Efm) script See How We Are, the new project from Gregory Widen, the creator of the Highlander and The Prophecy franchises.

Producers on the fantasy project include Stephen L’Heureux (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) of Solipsist Films, Phin Glynn (Mad to be Normal) of Bad Penny Productions and Wild Tales [pictured], The Secret In Their Eyes and Neruda producer Axel Kuschevatzky.

Widen, who also wrote 90’s thriller Backdraft, has written the script and will direct, marking only his second feature as director after the first instalment in The Prophecy (1995) franchise, starring Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen.

Bad Penny Productions, the fledgling UK outfit whose slate includes David Tennant projects Mad To Be Normal and You, Me And Him, will also finance...

For a man whose first claim to screen immortality came when an extraterrestrial freak of nature ripped a hole in his chest and screeched bloody murder in Alien, John Hurt was a hell of an actor. "The alien won the Oscar," a laughing Hurt told me nearly three decades later, referring to the Academy Award that Ridley Scott's 1979 film took home for H.R. Giger's visual effects. It might be the only time in his 55-year career that anyone, let alone a creature that looked like a penis with teeth,...

British actor Sir John Hurt, whose illustrious career spans six decades, has sadly passed away at the age of 77. The gravelly voiced man of many roles was perhaps best known for his classic movies such as Alien, Harry Potter and The Elephant Man. Publicist Charles McDonald confirmed the death late Friday. According to CNN, no cause of death is given.

John Hurt made a name for himself playing tormented characters. And he was actually known as an actor who most often times died on screen. Throughout his many projects, he had 47 death scenes. Perhaps no more memorable than when he introduced the world to the iconic Chestburster in Ridley Scott's 1979 classic Alien, where a baby xenomorph came ripping through his chest during a dinner scene inside a spaceship mess hall.

John Hurt's first role was in the 1962 TV show Z cars, and he has worked steadily ever since.

Update: The two-time Oscar-nominated British star of The Elephant Man and Midnight Express has died, his publicist confirmed to Screen on Friday night. He was 77.

Hurt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015 and continued to work after it appeared he had overcome the disease. However last summer he withdrew from the stage revival of The Entertainer upon the advice of his doctors. According to his publicist Hurt had intestinal issues when he died.

He recently played a priest in the Natalie Portman starrer Jackie and was in the cast of Joe Wright’s upcoming Second World War drama Darkest Hour for Working Title and Focus Features.

His wife Anwen Rees-Myers issued the following statement: “It is with deep sadness that I have to confirm that my husband, John Vincent Hurt, died on Wednesday 25th January 2017 at home in Norfolk.

“John was the most sublime of actors and the most gentlemanly of gentlemen with the greatest of hearts...

Alien star John Hurt has passed away today at the age of 77. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in 2015, but at this time we’re unsure if that was the cause of death. The actor is survived by Anwen Rees-Myers, his wife of 12 years, and his two sons, Alexander and Nicholas.

The British film legend was a beloved, Academy Award-nominated talent with an incredibly accomplished career spanning six decades. Notable credits include V For Vendetta, Midnight Express, The Elephant Man, Harry Potter, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (a personal favorite of mine) and many, many more. So well recognized was Hurt that he even received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2014 for his tremendous work.

Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1940, he was the youngest of three children. Though he wasn’t allowed to see movies when he was younger, at the age of eight he was sent to...

The sci-fi thriller is the debut feature of writer-director Carl Strathie.

Production is underway on writer-director Carl Strathie’s debut sci-fi thriller Solis, which will shoot at Gsp Studios in Yorkshire for four weeks.

Solis stars Steven Ogg, best known for roles in The Walking Dead and Westworld, as Troy Holloway, a man who finds himself trapped aboard an escape pod hurtling toward the sun.

With rapid oxygen depletion and a fast-approaching burn-up rate, a rescue party led by Commander Roberts is sent to save Holloway before time runs out. Having recently lost his son, Holloway questions his survival, but Roberts is determined to save his life. Through this journey, the pair discover their lives are intertwined in unexpected ways.

Writer-director Strathie said: “We’re going down the rustic, rudimentary low-fi sci-fi route, similar to classics such as 2001 A Space Odyssey and Alien, utilising old-school techniques such as miniatures, wire work and pretty much making everything as practical...

Gerard Depardieu has joined the cast of Bach, an upcoming biopic on the 17th century classic composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Max Von Sydow (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Axel Milberg (Hannah Arendt) and Marianne Sagebrecht (Bagdad Cafe) will co-star in the feature from That Good Night director Eric Styles. The role of Bach in the film, which will chart the beer-fueled rebellion of one of the world's greatest composers, has not yet been cast. Styles is directing from a script by Jeffrey Freedman, who will also produce alongside S.J. Evans of Dark Art Films. “I believe in

read more...

Exclusive: Cast, sales outfit The Yellow Affair join composer biopic.

Gérard Depardieu is set to join the cast of Bach, a biopic about iconic composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Depardieu’s role has not yet been set in the film, which is also due to star Axel Milberg (Hannah Arendt) and Marianne Sagebrecht (Bagdad Café).

The Yellow Affair has boarded sales on the project, currently in development, which will chart the life and passionate battles of the German Baroque composer.

Director is Eric Styles (That Good Night). Writer is Jeffrey Freedman who also produces alongside S J Evans.

Crew attached to the production includes Oscar winner Gabriel Yared, American Beauty editor Tariq Anwar and three-time Oscar winning DoP Vittorio Storaro.

Depardieu said: “I believe in this production which will please millions of fans. Jeffrey Freedman’s film is an important one and I have long been an admirer of Bach.”

The Yellow Affair is at the Afm with...

Exclusive: Gsp to launch Diamond Geezers written by The Sting writer David S. Ward.

Tom Courtenay (45 Years) and Brian Cox (Troy) will play two of the culprits behind one of the biggest robberies in UK history in Hatton Garden heist movie Diamond Geezers.

The film will be directed by Ben Cookson (Almost Married) who is also adapting the screenplay alongside Tony O’Leary and Oscar winning writer of The Sting, David S. Ward.

The Hatton Garden heist took place in London in April 2015, when a gang of old-school crooks looted the vaults in London’s Diamond Quarter making off with a stash worth an estimated $200M.

The film is scheduled to get underway in London in January 2017. Producers are Alan Latham (That Good Night), Lionel Hicks (I Am Not A Serial Killer) and Charles Savage (That Good Night).

Gsp Studios International will commence sales at the American Film Market.

Cookson commented: “For me, the most important...

11 year old Noah Jupe is set to co-star opposite Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in Suburbicon, a black comedy being directed by George Clooney.

He will play the son of a man (Damon) who hatches a plan to kill his wife in order to be with the woman’s sister (Moore), with whom he’s having an affair. Unfortunately, his 8-year-old son catches on and turns the whole plan upside down.

Noah (represented by Shepherd Management) from Cheshire, is the son of Coronation Street star Katy Cavanagh. He was recently seen on BBC’s The Night Manager opposite Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, and in ITV's Houdini and Doyle.

He already has a number of films completed this year including sci-fi film The Titan., Third Reich thriller HHhH, and That Good Night.

Noah is currently shooting Wonder, Lionsgate’s adaptation of the R.J. Palacio Ya novel with Julia Roberts and the young star of Room,...

Initiative gives young unemployed people the opportunity to gain experience in the film industry.

UK production company Signature Pictures has partnered with film financier Red Rock Entertainment and digital cinematography and broadcast hire facility Procam to launch Signature Shorts 2016.

The programme will see at least 30 young unemployed people recruited through Jobcentre Plus’ client base in the north and south of the UK. With their help, three short films will be developed and produced.

Continuing its partnership with the UK’s Jobcentre Plus, the scheme aims to expand the opportunities open to young people who wish to gain training and work experience in all aspects of film production.

Each of the three short films, which will be filmed in different locations around the UK, will feature new directing and writing talent.

As well as providing opportunities for new entrants into the industry, the slate has been designed and developed to provide emerging British talent, including producers...

Initiative gives young unemployed people the opportunity to gain experience in the film industry.

UK production company Signature Pictures has partnered with film financier Red Rock Entertainment and agency Film London to launch Signature Shorts 2016.

The programme will see at least 30 young unemployed people recruited through Jobcentre Plus’ client base in the north and south of the UK. With their help, three short films will be developed and produced.

Continuing its partnership with the UK’s Jobcentre Plus, the scheme aims to expand the opportunities open to young people who wish to gain training and work experience in all aspects of film production.

Each of the three short films, which will be filmed in different locations around the UK, will feature new directing and writing talent.

As well as providing opportunities for new entrants into the industry, the slate has been designed and developed to provide emerging British talent, including producers, writers, directors...

Charles Dance ("Game of Thrones") is set to play the role of 'The Visitor' alongside John Hurt in "That Good Night" at Gsp Studios, Red Rock Entertainment and Goldfinch Entertainment.

Based on N.J. Crisp's 1996 stage-play of the same name, Hurt plays a famed screenwriter coming to terms with his impending death.

As he does so, he resolves to attempt two final missions in life: to be reconciled to his long-lost son (Brown), and to ensure he doesn't become a burden on his wife Anna (Helin) with his slow decline by enlisting a mysterious 'Visitor' to help him pass painlessly into 'that good night'.

Sofia Helin, Max Brown and Erin Richards also star. Eric Styles ("Dreaming of Joseph Lees") helms from a screenplay by Charles Savage.

Filming will take place over five weeks on the Algarve coast of Portugal.

Source: Variety...

Principal photography on stage play adaptation starring John Hurt has begun.

Erin Richards (Gotham), Sofia Helin (The Bridge) and Max Brown (Agent Carter) have joined John Hurt in the cast of That Good Night, which has begun principal photography on the Algarve coastline of Portugal and will shoot for five weeks.

Gsp Studios is behind the film adaptation of the late N.J. Crisp’s 1996 stage play of the same name. Gsp Studios International is also handling worldwide sales.

That Good Night, which derives its name from the Dylan Thomas poem, follows Ralph (Hurt), a famed screenwriter coming to terms with his impending death. As he does so, he resolves to attempt two final missions in life; to be reconciled to his long-lost son (Brown), and to ensure he doesn’t become a burden to his wife Anna (Helin) with his slow decline, by hiring a mysterious “visitor” to help him pass painlessly.

Directed by [link...

Exclusive: As principal photography gets under way on the big screen adaptation of NJ Crisp's 1996 stage play, That Good Night, the cast has been rounded out by British actress Erin Richards (Gotham) and Sweden’s Sofia Helin (The Snowman, The Bridge). John Hurt and Max Brown (Agent Carter) were previously set in the Eric Styles-helmed drama. The film, which takes its name from the Dylan Thomas poem, follows Ralph (Hurt), a famed screenwriter coming to terms with his…...

Gilmore Girls

Vanessa Marano ("Switched at Birth") has joined the cast of Netflix's "Gilmore Girls" revival, the latest original cast member to join the revival. Marano will reprise her role as April Nardini, daughter of Luke (Scott Patterson).

The polarizing character appeared in the final two seasons and is often blamed for Lorelai's (Lauren Graham) breakup with Luke. It’s not been made clear in which or how many of the four episodes Marano will appear. [Source: Variety]

Untitled Death Row Drama

HBO is developing a drama series penned and directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney who makes his narrative debut on the project.

Laura Dern is attached to star and executive produce the untitled drama which centers on a court-appointed psychiatrist (Dern) who must determine from her twisted yet humanizing diagnostic exchanges with death row inmates if they are sane enough to be killed by the state. [Source: Deadline]

Miss Sloane

Douglas Smith...