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"Everything comes from you. And everything is you. The one & only not to forget - you are one." It's time! Happy Holidays movie geeks! It's time for a look back at the year in movies. Our good friend the "Sleepy Skunk" has released his annual end-of-the-year recap video - the 2024 Movie Trailer Mashup - editing together footage from every major movie trailer released throughout 2024 to make you smile and laugh and cry and feel good about how amazing movies are. Louis, who makes this mashup every year, puts so much focus into making sure this mashup plays perfectly. I'm happy to see him include clips from little films like Hundreds of Beavers, Widow Clicquot, Memoir of a Snail, Omni Loop, The Brutalist, Didi, and many more. Still no one can ever make a better mashup than Sleepy Skunk - still the greatest. Click play below & enjoy. // Continue Reading ›...

Directed by Thomas Napper, Widow Clicquot (2024) features Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, and Sam Riley in a compelling retelling of the extraordinary life of Madame Clicquot Ponsardin. Defying the oppressive norms of patriarchy, Madame Clicquot became one of the first women to break through in the male-dominated champagne industry, carving out a legacy that remains iconic.

The film captures her relentless struggle to establish herself in a world determined to see her fail, battling against the odds to build her empire. However, while the story is inspiring, the narrative falls short of fully immersing the audience in the depth of her challenges and victories. By its conclusion, the film feels less like a cohesive portrait of her legacy and more like a series of loosely connected snapshots of her remarkable journey.

Spoilers Ahead

Widow Clicquot (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis: Why does Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Refuse to Sell the Winery?

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot refuses...

Following its streaming release on Netflix, viewers wonder how much of the Widow Clicquot movie is true and what is fake.

Widow Clicquot is a historical drama that follows Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot's journey to defy societal norms and build a legacy in the male-dominated champagne industry of 18th-century France. The film explores resilience, innovation, and the pursuit of excellence.

The film had its wide theatrical release on July 19 before arriving on Netflix on November 16.

Read full article on The Direct.

In Widow Clicquot, Thomas Napper wonderfully captures the soulful vibrancy of the Grande Dame of Champagne, Barbe Nicole Clicquot. For the most part, you alternate between the timelines of the formation of an idea and its launch–the idea being the very inspiring Barbe Nicole herself. It’s often even a strangely trippy coming-of-age of sorts, one that plays out like the inner monologue of a person trying to achieve an emotional breakthrough. Barbe Nicole took the good and rejected the bad or the unreliable every step of the way as she gradually achieved her ideal self–a creator guided by tenderness and determination.

Spoiler Alert

What happens in the film?

Barbe Nicole’s voice pulls us into the movie with her understanding of what makes a person want to create something. She says that it’s the only way a person fully becomes themself and makes their existence worth remembering.

What’s New on Netflix in November 2024: Must-Watch Shows and Movies! ( Photo Credit – Netflix )

Here is a list of all the shows and films released on Netflix in November 2024, which will help you organize your binge-watch plans.

Netflix will add several movies and television shows to its catalog in November 2024. The platform always amazes us with its massive collection of original content and licensed programming.

The streaming giant has much to offer in the upcoming month as several original series, reality shows, movies, documentaries, and animated shows are being released on the platform. Here is a comprehensive list of all the programs that will be dropped on Netflix in November 2024.

Trending Moana 2 Box Office: Sets New Record Ahead Of Its Release, Surpasses Inside Out 2 In Ticket Sales Smile 2: Unmasking the Real-Life Singer Who Inspired Skye Riley’s Character! All Shows and Films Being Released on Netflix in November...

Look, obviously the big news this November is the U.S. presidential election.

But for the moments when you want to look away from wall-to-wall coverage (or just stop doomscrolling), Netflix has plenty to keep you occupied. There’s new original Christmas movies like “Hot Frosty” and “The Merry Gentlemen,” as well as more “Outer Banks” for fans of that show created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke. Plus Oscar contenders like “Emilia Perez” are now streaming on the service. But all of that is just preamble to our No. 1 pick this month, because when Mike Schur has a new television show, it’s time to pay attention.

Top Pick: “A Man on the Inside”

Created by Schur and loosely based on the 2020 documentary “The Mole Agent,” the eight-episode comedy series will star Ted Danson, who volunteers to help a private detective by going undercover at a nursing...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Netflix is ready with an entertainment-packed November this year. The upcoming month will see the premiere of many of Netflix’s Christmas romantic comedy films including Hot Frosty and also new brilliant movies like Spellbound and The Piano Lesson. Just like every month, Netflix is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 10 movies coming to Netflix in November 2024.

Rob Peace (November 11)

Rob Peace is a biographical drama film written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Based on the 2014 biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, the 2024 film follows Rob Peace, a Yale University graduate who begins to deal drugs while maintaining his lifestyle after his father was arrested for crimes he may not have committed. Rob Peace stars Jay Will, Ejiofor, Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello,...

Argentinian filmmaker Luis Ortega’s Venice title Kill The Jockey, German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan and a series of special spotlight screenings including Stephen Frears’ The Grifters and Damon Gameau’s climate-change documentary 2040 are among the titles that will screen at the 13th edition of the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (Emiff).

Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina will open the festival on October 30, while Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot, the biopic of the grand dame of champagne, Veuve Clicquot, starring Haley Bennett and Tom Sturridge, will close it on November 5.

Annette Bening will collect the...

Rich Peppiatt’s comedy-drama Kneecap opens in 237 cinemas across England, Wales and Scotland through Curzon this weekend, following a strong two weeks in its native Ireland.

The film opened in Ireland and Northern Ireland on August 8 through Wildcard Distribution and held a top five spot for its first two weekends amid summer box office competition, reaching £557,610 as of Sunday, August 18.

Kneecap is a semi-fictionalised story of the eponymous Belfast-based hip-hop trio, and charts their rise from the Gaeltacht Quarter of West Belfast to becoming popular music artists.

Group members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh all star as themselves.

Disney’s “Alien: Romulus” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office in its opening weekend, earning £3.7 million ($4.8 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

The sci-fi horror film unseated Sony’s “It Ends With Us,” which moved down to second place with £2.8 million in its sophomore frame, bringing its total to £11.3 million. Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” held strong in third place, adding £2.3 million in its fourth week for a cumulative gross of £48.4 million.

Trafalgar Releasing’s 15th anniversary re-release of “Coraline” opened at No. 4 with £1.2 million. Rounding out the top five, Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” continued to perform well in its sixth week, taking in £1.1 million for a total of £38.7 million.

Other films in the top 10 include Warner Bros.’ “Trap” at No. 6, Disney’s “Inside Out 2” holding at No. 7, Warner Bros. “Twisters” at No. 8 and Bakrania Media’s Bollywood horror-comedy “Stree 2” debuting at No. 9 with £291,804. “Borderlands” from Lionsgate U.

Let me put it this way: I have zero expertise when it comes to champagne. I have had the fortune of experiencing one or two decent wines (not champagne though) in this life, but my drinking mostly consists of what working-class people usually drink—whiskey, vodka, and so on. The only reason I’m bringing it up here is because I’m about to extensively talk about Widow Clicquot, a film that’s so passionate about wine and the making of it. However, it is not just about that. Sure, the nitty-gritties of winemaking are an integral part of it, but at its core, this is a story about a woman’s resilience and willpower after all. Based on the book by Tillar. J. Mazzeo, Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, tells us the amazing story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who’s known as the Grand Dame of champagne wine. Haley Bennett,...

The 68th BFI London Film Festival has announced that this year’s Closing Night Gala will be the UK Premiere of ‘Piece By Piece,’ with director Morgan Neville and Pharrell Williams confirmed to attend.

The feature is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams, all told through the lens of Lego® animation.

Directed by Academy Award® winning documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom), The documentary is like no other. A hugely inventive film, this animated biopic explores the life and work of Pharrell Williams in a medium that Williams himself suggested in early conversations with the director, who describes the choice of Lego® animation as a metaphor for how Williams see the world – in groundbreaking and deeply creative ways.

Also in news – Excusive: New Poster released for ‘Widow Clicquot’

Featuring a star-studded cast rendered in Lego® alongside Williams,...

Vertigo Releasing has unveiled a brand new poster for ‘Widow Clicquot,’ the story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, became a legend in her tumultuous times and showed the world how to live with style.

After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great businesswomen.

Directed by Thomas Napper, the cast includes Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley and Ben Miles.

Also in news – Jack Whitehall & David Duchovny star in first look at Prime Video series ‘Malice’

The movie will be released in cinemas on Friday 23rd August.

The post Excusive: New Poster released for ‘Widow Clicquot’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Haley Bennett as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, the widow Clicquot, in Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot. Photo Credit: Ash Stephens. Courtesy of Vertical

If you celebrate by drinking champagne, you have a French widow in the Napoleonic age to thank. And if you want the best, one of France’s top champagnes is Veuve Clicquot, a name that translates as “Widow Clicquot.” honoring the young widow who took over the family vineyard and winery she had run with her husband, and not only made it into one of the leading makers of the bubbly but also transforming the whole champagne industry.

Widow Clicquot is an English-language historical drama recounting the true story of that brilliant, innovative woman, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, known as “Grande Dame of Champagne,” who lived from 1777 to 1866. Haley Bennett plays Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, the widow Clicquot, who not only made the Clicquot family’s champagne famous (with its...

In “Widow Clicquot,” Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who was only 27 years old when she took over her husband’s (Tom Sturridge) vineyard after his untimely death in the late 1700s. She went on to become known as the Grande Dame of Champagne for her bubbly innovations, including creating the first vintage champagne in 1810.

All the while, Barbe-Nicole faced pushback as her father-in-law (Ben Miles) tried to take over the business.

The Thoms Napper-directed film — based on Tilar J. Mazzeo’s New York Times bestseller “The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It” — has been in development in various stages over many years. Bennett, who also serves as a producer, was set to start shooting when their budget was suddenly cut in half after an investor expectedly pulled out. They quickly tweaked the script to keep the entire film based at...

Widow Clicquot tells the empowering true story of an indomitable woman who overcame grief, war, and an oppressive patriarchy to leave a legacy that continues today. She was underestimated and misjudged on a purely sexual basis despite being thoughtful and clever. Haley Bennett gives a nuanced performance over a layered narrative that unfolds too quickly in a relatively short, 90-minute runtime. Events from the first act are seen in a different light as harrowing truths are revealed. The film engrosses despite an excessive flashback structure.

The Widow Clicquot Saves Her Vineyard from Mot & Droit

Widow Clicquot R 3.5/5

The story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century.

Release Date July 19, 2024Director Thomas NapperCast Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Leo Suter, Ben Miles, Anson Boon, Natasha O'Keeffe, Chris LarkinRuntime 1h 29mMain Genre DramaWriters Erin Dignam, Thomas Napper, Christopher Monger ProsHaley Bennett gives a...

For once, disaster is a box-office positive. “Twisters” (Universal) beat all projections to score an $80.5 million #1 weekend. Timed for needed escapism, and with the cataclysmic genre that excels on premium screens, it proved a worthy successor to its original.

The 1996 “Twister” opened to $41 million in early May. (That was back when pre-Memorial Day didn’t mean the start of summer.) At today’s prices, that would represent around $100 million today. It ended up with a six-time multiple of $495 (about $600 million at today’s prices).

Because “Twisters” competed for attention in the research, tracking far underestimated the interest in the film. Projections of $40 million-$50 million seemed wrong on multiple levels, but even our prediction of at least $60 million fell far short of the mark.

Even more impressive is its weekend trajectory. After $8 million in previews, $70 million seemed plausible for the weekend. The guess rose to $75 million by Saturday. But when the...

Independents look solid this weekend with Vertical’s Widow Clicquot nice alternative programming amid summer blockbuster season, IFC Film horror Oddity off to a fine start, and Thelma, one of the year’s biggest specialty hits, passing $8 million. New films and holdovers in limited release did business.

Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is looking at an estimated 3-day box-office gross of $190k on about 100 screens. Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot in the true story of a 20-year-old woman who flouts convention by — after her husband dies — taking the reins of their wine business. Clicquot (1777–1866) defied her critics and ultimately revolutionized the champagne industry one of the world’s early, great businesswomen. (‘Veuve’ is French for widow.)

The R-rated drama, screenplay by Erin Dignam, is 88% with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, a good sign for an extended run. Top five opening markets include LA, NY, San Francisco, Washington D.

Amid the glut of corporate biopics we’ve had on our screens of late — “Air,” “BlackBerry,” “Flamin’ Hot” and so on — one for leading French champagne house Veuve Clicquot is more appealing than most. Champagne itself is sexier than a running shoe or a smartphone, for one thing, while the sinuous vineyards of 19th-century Reims are a more seductive setting for a brand-building story than a squat office block in Beaverton. “Widow Clicquot” certainly makes a virtue of its milieu and rolling landscape, richly shot throughout in dusky earth tones, and more substantively, of the rather romantic lore surrounding the widow in question.

Aged just 27 when her husband died, leaving her his ailing winery, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot resisted buyout offers from male competitors, instead transforming it into a thriving international champagne business — the first of its kind to be run by a woman. All that, and she allegedly invented rosé champagne,...

The year was 2023 when director Thomas Napper unveiled his latest film, Widow Clicquot, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based on a true story, the film took audiences back over two centuries to the 1800s French countryside and introduced them to an extraordinary woman named Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot.

Played vibrantly by Haley Bennett, Barbe-Nicole found herself widowed at a young age when her husband, François, passed away. But instead of fading into the background like many women in her time, she fought to keep control of the vineyard and wine business they had built together. Facing doubts from male rivals and restrictions imposed on women, Barbe-Nicole displayed fierce determination and business acumen in growing the enterprise into an international success.

Through flashbacks showing Barbe-Nicole and François’ loving relationship, Napper also portrayed the deep personal journey she underwent. Memories of Francois’ dreams and ideals inspired her to take the business in new,...

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Cobra Kai, UnPrisoned and Gucci.

Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project Block Party

Charlize Theron hosted her annual Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project Block Party on the Universal Studios backlot on Saturday, which both supported her organization and celebrated the upcoming release of Twisters with stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Lainey Wilson and Charlize Theron Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell

Cobra Kai season 6 premiere

Netflix celebrated part 1 of the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with cast members Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton List and Gianni Decenzo.

Executive producers Josh Heald, William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg Gianni DeCenzo, Xolo Maridueña, Jacob Bertrand, Peyton List and Mary Mouser

Jawbreaker 25th anniversary celebration

F.L.U.I.D.,...

It’s busy and Twister-y at the box office this weekend, but a few indies are hoping to catch a breeze with very well-reviewed Oddity looking to expand the market for high-end horror and Widow Clicquot to attract fans of good period films and bubbly.

Oddity from IFC Films, is a supernatural home-invasion horror from writer-director Damian McCarthy (Caveat). It opens on 790 screens, the widest new indie release this week. Carolyn Bracken stars as Dani, who is restoring an old castle in rural Cork County, Ireland, with her husband Ted (Gwilym Lee), a doctor at a facility for the criminally insane. When Dani is brutally murdered, her blind occultist twin sister Darcy (also Bracken) goes after those responsible using inherited haunted items as her tools of revenge. Premiered in SXSW’s Midnighter section, taking the Audience Award. At 98% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Vertical’s Indie drama Widow Cliquot is...

by Chad Kennerk

Cecily Cleeve and Haley Bennett as La Grande Dame Clicquot.

All images courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.

Based on the life of French icon Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin and Tilar J. Mazzeo’s best-selling book, director Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot serves a sparkling look at the trials and triumphs of one of France’s greatest winemakers.

Shot entirely on location in France, mainly in the Chablis region, the film focuses on Madame Clicquot’s (Haley Bennett) life on the vineyard following the sudden death of her husband François (Tom Sturridge). Faced with embargoes brought on by the Napoleonic war, she formulates a bold plan with the vineyard’s wine merchant, Louis Bohne (Sam Riley), to steer the vineyard toward success and continue the legacy that she and her husband began. Napper explained, ”Like Sunset Boulevard, the story begins with an unexplained corpse, a young husband, François Clicquot and a newly created widow,...

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival featured some of the most celebrated films to come out over the past year. Beyond the event, a few films stood out, as Alexander Payne's throwback darling The Holdovers earned widespread praise and Oscars consideration, Richard Linklater's Hit Man became a crowdpleaser on Netflix for its silly and sexy premise starring Glen Powell, and The Zone of Interest deeply haunted viewers. Among the many masterful titles that debuted, Thomas Napper's period drama Widow Clicquot stands as an underrated gem, earning rave reviews at the time from critics in attendance. It's now set to come to theaters this Friday and Collider is thrilled to share an exclusive sneak peek at the film starring Haley Bennett.

"Human beings are compelled to create..." Vertical has unveiled an official trailer for the film titled Widow Clicquot, a US project even though it's about a French woman and the art of making champagne in France. This initially premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival last year, and it also played at the 2024 Sonoma Film Festival earlier this year, because of course a wine movie played there. The film tells the story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century, focusing on Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, known as the "Grande Dame of Champagne." Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole, who married into a winemaking family and became Madame Clicquot and took over the fledgling business when she became a widow at age 27. Under her (controversial) ownership, and her skill with wine, the company developed early champagne using a novel technique called riddling. The film focuses on her...

The Sudanese drama Goodbye Julia is continuing its impressive awards run, earning the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature over the weekend at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California.

Mohamed Kordofani directed the story set in the context of the secessionist movement that led to the establishment of the independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.

“We commend the festival for its impressive selection of narrative features and unanimously select Goodbye Julia as the best film,” jurors wrote. “An outstanding first feature from Mohamed Kordofani, anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, Goodbye Julia provides a glimpse into a culture and region that’s underrepresented and underexplored in contemporary cinema.”

The jury, comprised of Rosa Bosch (Begin Again Films), Tyler Coates (The Hollywood Reporter), Rebecca Fisher (Magnolia Pictures), Jason Hellerstein (Sideshow), and Julie Huntsinger (Telluride Film Festival), awarded a Special Mention to Hesitation Wound, describing...

The 27th Sonoma International Film Festival (March 20-24), as always, leaned into wine and food with the sold-out opening night U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot” (Vertical Entertainment), starring Haley Bennett as the woman who saves the legendary winemaker’s legacy. The wine country film festival drew its highest audience attendance to date with a robust film slate programmed by artistic director Carl Spence (working with Executive Director Ginny Krieger), in his second year, including upcoming specialty fare like Luc Besson’s “DogMan” (Briarcliff Entertainment) starring Caleb Landry Jones in an incendiary performance, and Sony Pictures Classics’ raucous comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” starring Olivia Colman, along with a smattering of yummy wine and food events.

The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...

The champagne may be flowing at the kickoff for the 27th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival – for more reasons than one.

This year’s event in California’s wine country will open with the U.S. premiere of Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, a narrative feature about the Grande Dame of Champagne. Actress Haley Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, “who against all odds advanced her late husband’s techniques to create the recipe for modern-day champagne.”

Siff, running from March 20-24, will showcase 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 48 short films representing more than 25 countries, according to a release.

Maya Hawke in ‘Wildcat’

The festival’s Centerpiece Film is Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke as renowned Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor. The Closing Night Film is Luc Besson’s crime drama Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones. A Closing Night...

Haley Bennett and Dominic Cooper have joined the cast of the upcoming Apple TV+ series “The Last Frontier,” Variety has learned.

Bennett and Cooper join previously announced series lead Jason Clarke in the show, which received a 10-episode order back in February 2023.

Per the official description, the series follows US Marshall Frank Remnick (Clarke), “the lone Marshal in charge of the quiet, rugged barrens of Alaska, whose jurisdiction is turned upside-down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident, but the first step of a well-crafted plan with international political implications.”

Bennett will star as Sidney, descrbed as “a CIA Agent who is tasked with working with Frank.” Cooper will star as Havlock, said to be “a former Navy Seal and...

Exclusive: On the heels of its fall world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the indie drama Widow Clicquot starring Haley Bennett (Cyrano) has been acquired by Vertical for 2024 theatrical distribution in North America.

Based on Tilar J Mazzeo’s New York Times bestseller The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, the film tells the true story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century. After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Bennett) flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs.

Also starring Tom Sturridge (The Sandman), Sam Riley (Maleficent), Anson Boon (1917), Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla), Ben Miles...

Pop the cork and celebrate Haley Bennett in Widow Clicquot, a fast-paced and sexy biopic of the woman known as Madame “Veuve” Clicquot, or by her actual full name, Barbe Nicole Ponsardin-Clicquot, who triumphed over all odds to become the force that created and brought to the world the leading brand of champagne. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Serving as a producer with her Cyrano director Joe Wright (along with Christina Weiss Lurie), and taking on the title role, Bennett anchors a plush and gorgeous period film set against the vineyards in France circa 1800, with a story that begins with Barbe Nicole at age 26, widowed by the sudden tragic death of her husband Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge) who, though manic and excitable, managed to build a dream of a vineyard and the creation of a new champagne and was joined by his wife and mother of their daughter in the quest.

The first thing we learn at the start of Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is that Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) loved her husband François (Tom Sturridge). The second thing we learn is that the vineyard that held his name was synonymous with himself. Not just in death––as the film begins with Barbe dressing for his funeral––but in life too. It is where he spent all his time. Where he welcomed his new wife into every breath he took. And where he will live on in her memory as she preserves the vines to ensure he’s never forgotten.

To say all this would suggest the film is about François. That he permeates every single moment, however, is less about his impact on the world than his impact on her. It’s Barbe who left a mark: she’s the one who revolutionized the champagne industry during Napoleon’s trade embargoes,...

The last time Haley Bennett starred in a gloriously romantic period piece, it was Joe Wright’s daring musical re-imagining of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” 2021’s “Cyrano.” She’s back in lavish gowns and rapturously beautiful settings in “Widow Clicquot,” Thomas Napper’s ode to (in no particular order) champagne, doomed romance and girl power. If it’s neither as bold nor as swooning as “Cyrano,” it does provide additional evidence that Bennett slips easily into the 19th century as both an object of beauty and a force of nature.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it is one of a number of wildly varied films in which women claim power that had been denied to them in patriarchal societies. But the gender-driven power struggles in “Widow Clicquot” are in some ways the most conventional part of the film, which can soar in one...

Like the elixirs that Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) so carefully tends to at her vineyard, Widow Clicquot takes time to come into its fullest potential. Initially, it appears a sticky-sweet tale of love, as manifested by its heroine’s determination to carry on the vision of her late husband François (Tom Sturridge). But it takes on added layers as Barbe-Nicole reveals the breadth of her ambition, and as her rosy recollections of her marriage give way to thornier ones — ultimately yielding a drama that feels more substantive than its 89-minute run time might suggest, if not quite rich enough to leave its own lasting legacy.

Rooted in the history behind the still-renowned champagne Veuve Clicquot, Widow Clicquot arrives amid a bumper crop of biopics about brands. Like most of the others, it’s not exactly a commercial, but does have the PR-friendly side effect of bolstering the company’s image.

Through...

Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF

A transformation suddenly bubbles to the surface right around the crucial first-act closing mark of the period drama, “Widow Clicquot.” And it’s not a second too late. About the widow who nearly single-handedly transformed Veuve Clicquot into the world-renowned champagne brand it is today, just as the film threatens to suffocate the viewer with the dreary, stately, oh-so-proper and drab sheen of tragedy and frumpy dourness that overwhelms so many dowdy period dramas of this ilk, it froths to life, its cup running over.

Continue reading ‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: An Always-Compelling Haley Bennett Raises The Glass Of Champagne Problems Period Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Editor’s Note: This review was published during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release “Widow Clicquot” in theaters on Friday, July 19.

Despite being remembered as some of the most prominent voices of 19th century British literature, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë lived lives beset by misfortune. All three siblings were under the age of eight when their mother died of cancer, and they lost two other sisters to a typhoid epidemic in elementary school. And despite her brilliance, Emily died of tuberculosis at the age of 30, never getting a chance to witness the mainstream popularity of “Wuthering Heights.” But those inconveniences pale in comparison to the tragedy that still casts a leaden shadow over their bleak lives: all three sisters lived and died without seeing Ben Affleck’s 2023 film “Air.”

The sludgy river of news flowing across our phones at all hours of the day makes it...

Domestic distributor Bleecker Street is in negotiations to acquire rights to “Fackham Hall,” a British spoof of “Downton Abbey” and other costume dramas. Sales outfit The Veterans is pre-selling international territories. And as international buyers face a potential drought of Hollywood product due to strikes, the market is offering other promising presale titles.

WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...

“It’s clearly not just a post-Covid catch-up trend.”

Fuelled by a competitive tax rebate and infrastructure investment, international production in France has tripled from a €305m spend in the country in pre-pandemic 2019 to a total spend of nearly €1bn ($1.09bn) in 2022, up from €398m in 2021.

“It’s clearly not just a post-Covid catch-up trend,” the Cnc’s director of digital Vincent Florant told Screen of the surge in international production in the territory.

In 2022, 101 projects benefitted from the Trip (Tax Rebate for International Production), a rebate of up to 30% of the eligible production spend to a cap of €30m...

Exclusive: WME Independent has unveiled the first image of Haley Bennett in the upcoming 19th Century champagne drama Clicquot ahead of launching sales on the title at the European Film Market.

Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who is popularly known in France as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”.

This real-life historic figure defied convention to take over her late husband’s fledgling wine business in Reims in 1805 after being widowed at the age of 27.

The production, announced on Deadline last year, is based on the 2008 novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo.

Filming took place the French regions of Chablis and Reims last fall.

Thomas Napper () directs from a screenplay by Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).

Other previously announced cast members include Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman,...

(L-r) Elijah Bynum, Haley Bennett, Jonathan Majors, and Taylour Paige visit the IMDb Portrait Studio at Acura Festival Village at Sundance 2023. Image Source: Getty Images for IMDb /Corey Nickols

Imagine a dimly lit room in a small house that is covered with photos of muscly, oiled-up male bodybuilders. This room exists in "Magazine Dreams" - a feature from writer-director Elijah Bynum that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival - and it belongs to Killian Maddox (played by Jonathan Majors), an amateur bodybuilder who is caring for his ailing grandfather. Killian spends his days training excessively in his garage and at the gym, all in an attempt to win the world championships and appear on the cover of esteemed magazines like his idol, Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O'Hearn).

Killian's obsessive tendency to "fix" his body initially borders on vanity, but a deeper examination of "Magazine Dreams" reveals a larger truth at the...

Exclusive: Haley Bennett is set to star as the titular role in Clicquot from writers Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).

Directed by Thomas Napper (Jawbone), the pic chronicles the gritty journey in the early years of the Veuve Clicquot vineyard in 19th century France and brings to life the fascinating young woman behind the iconic orange label. The feature is based on the novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Production began in the French regions of Chablis and Reims on October 24.

As Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, Bennett will be joined by cast members Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman, Irma Vep), Sam Riley (upcoming Firebrand, Maleficent), Leo Suter (Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla), and Anson Boon (Pistol, 1917).

Christina Weiss Lurie (Persuasion) will produce alongside Bennett, with Joe Wright and John Bernard as EPs.