Chico & Rita, a beautiful animated feature co-financed and produced by CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film, is to be released in cinemas across the UK on November 19th 2010. Please visit the official website: www.chicoandrita.co.uk
Were you one of the 600 extras who spent an enjoyable but very long hot Sunday in the Gaiety Theatre back in 2008 during the making of Me & Orson Welles? If so, you may be interested to hear that there will be a handful of matinee screenings for the very last time at The Broadway Cinema this month.
For drama students or for those with an interest in Shakespeare, Orson Welles or drama in general, the film is backed up by the UK Film Education Council and there is a wealth of support material to open up the film to a much broader audience. Visit the resources available at http://filmeducation.org/meandorsonwelles/. Further information available from Isle of Man Film on tel: 687173
The film will be screening at The Broadway Cinema, Monday 11th to Friday 15th October at 2.30pm each afternoon with the exception of Wednesday 13th October when the movie will commence at 11.00am. Tickets available from the Villa Marina Box Office on tel: 600555
The tense thriller starring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston is available to buy from 4th October. Grab some popcorn and prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride! Available from play.com, amazon.com, hmv.comand major retail stores. Check out the official website: www.alicecreed.com
Following on from wide critical praise at the Toronto International Film Festival 2010, the feature-length animation will be in UK Cinemas from 19th November 2010. Chico & Rita is a love story set across Havana, Paris and New York and features music by pianist Bebo Valdes. The Hollywood Repoter describes Chico & Rita as “visually hypnotic” and “musically electric”. See the full article here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/chico-and-rita-film-review-1004114524.story
Philip Ridley’s Heartless, starring Jim Sturgess, Clemence Posey and Noel Clarke recently beating Eli Roth’s The Last Exorcism to win the 2010 Toronto After Dark Film Festival. This is the third Best Film Award for Heartless (previous were the Leeds Film Festival and the Porto Int Film Festival). The film has now won three of the seven festivals needed to become automatically nominated for the Best European Fantasy Film at Sitges in October 2010. Heartless has also received some 100% rave 5 star advance reviews across Canada and parts of the US.
Heartless is currently available on DVD and VOD networks.
The latest CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film production has started shooting on the Island this week, hot on the heels of The Decoy Bride which will shortly be departing our shores to continue filming in Scotland. Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster, Endgame, Talk To Me), Christopher Eccleston (Lennon Naked, Doctor Who), Sir Anthony Sher (The Wolfman, God on Trial) and Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, Breakfast on Pluto) are announced to star in The Shadow Line, BBC Two’s landmark noir thriller written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick (Sensitive Skin, Marion and Geoff). They are joined by Rafe Spall (Desperate Romantics, He Kills Coppers), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank, Five Daughters), Lesley Sharp (Playing the Field, Clocking Off), Sean Gilder (Shameless), Freddie Fox (Worried About the Boy), Malcolm Storry (The Knock), Richard Lintern (The Bank Job) and David Schofield (The Bill).
The esteemed cast play Jonah Gabriel (Ejiofor), Joseph Bede (Eccleston), Peter Glickman (Sher), Gatehouse (Rea), Jay Wratten (Spall), Lia Honey (Wareing), Julie Bede (Sharp), Robert Beatty (Gilder), Rattalack (Fox), Maurice Crace (Storry), Chief Superintendent Patterson (Lintern) and Sergeant Foley (Schofield) – diverse individuals whose worlds become interwoven after the murder of drug baron Harvey Wratten. From the cop with a bullet in his brain, whose amnesia leaves him doubtful of his own moral compass; to the drug-lord driven by a profound personal tragedy, risking it all on one last deal; to the brilliantly lethal puppet-master who gradually emerges from the shadows to bring the story to its shocking climax – The Shadow Line explores the morality of these characters as they negotiate the repercussions of Wratten’s death, and attempt to navigate the fine line between right and wrong. As the thread around Wratten’s operation begins to unravel, the web of intrigue becomes more complex – and the question of which side of the line they stand on becomes increasingly blurred.
An intelligent and gripping conspiracy thriller that delves to the heart of human morality, The Shadow Line will have audiences enthralled over six taut and thrilling episodes. Faced with similar dilemmas, on which side of the line would you stand? Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, says: “As we continue our drive to build a bold and exciting drama story on BBC Two with commissions like Crimson Petal and The Hour, I am thrilled that we have attracted such world class talent to Hugo Blick’s thrilling scripts. Chiwetel and Chris are two of our finest actors and we couldn’t be more excited to have them, and the rest of the amazing cast, on board for this original and epic six hour series.” The Shadow Line is a Company Pictures/Eight Rooks/Baby Cow production in association with CinemaNX. It begins filming in the Isle of Man at the beginning of July, with location shoots also taking place in London. Mrs Clare Christian MLC, Department member with responsibility for film and media said, “We are thrilled to welcome the wonderfully talented cast and crew of The Shadow Line to the Island. This week sees the culmination of many months of hard work and collaboration between Cinemanx, Isle of Man Film, Company Pictures and the BBC. The production will be filming at various locations around the Island over the next ten weeks and we’re very much looking forward to working with the production throughout their stay on the Island.”
The series is written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick, with Johann Knobel (Shameless, Inspector George Gently) co-producing. Executive producers are George Faber and Charlie Pattinson for Company Pictures (Shameless, Skins, The Devil’s Whore, Generation X), Henry Normal and Lindsay Hughes for Baby Cow, (Sensitive Skin, Marion & Geoff, Gavin & Stacey), Marc Samuelson and Steve Christian for CinemaNX (The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Me and Orson Welles) and Polly Hill for the BBC. The Shadow Line was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two. The series will TX in 2011.
CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film in association with Scottish Screen and HanWay Films present an Ecosse Films production The Decoy Bride which starts filming at various locations around the Island on Sunday 27th June, for two and a half weeks.
A contemporary romantic comedy, The Decoy Bride stars David Tennant (Dr Who), Kelly MacDonald (No Country For Old Men, Gosford Park) and Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2). Written by Neil Jaworski and comedienne Sally Phillips (Smack The Pony), who also takes a supporting role, The Decoy Bride is directed by Sheree Folkson, whose credits include Casanova, one of Tennant’s earliest hits, and Ugly Betty. Michael Urie, who plays Marc the acerbic assistant inUgly Betty joins the supporting cast of The Decoy Bride, along with Federico Castelluccio (Furio Giunta in The Sopranos) and stage and television actress Maureen Beattie.
Allan Bell MHK, Minister for the Department for Economic Development said, “I am extremely pleased to welcome the cast and crew of The Decoy Bride to the Island. CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film have worked hard to get this next production up and running, hot on the heels of documentary feature film TT3D. It’s shaping up to be a very good year for the Island in terms of film production days and positive media exposure.”
A brief synopsis of the film follows: ‘When the wedding of internationally famous film star Lara (Alice Eve) to tweedy British author James (David Tennant) is sabotaged by a paparazzo, they decide to relocate the event to the one place where the world’s press won’t find them: the sleepy Island of Hegg, as featured in James’ best selling novel. But the reality of the island is different from the romanticised picture James has created (without ever visiting) and to the shock of Lara’s manager Steve (Urie) who has less than 24 hours to transform this fantasy world before the superstar arrives. However, dilapidated buildings and greedy islanders are the least of the problems that the wedding party and their Hollywood entourage have to deal with, when the ingenious paparazzo tracks them down in his mission to photograph the celebrity wedding of the year. Lara must find a decoy bride and thinks local girl Katie (Kelly MacDonald) will be an ideal replacement. But when Katie meets James, sparks fly, dresses get ruined and love gets complicated. Will Katie be able to fool the awaiting media and live up to being a stand-in for the world’s most famous movie star?’
The comedy, starring Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt and Rupert Grint, is showing nationwide from Friday. Nighy plays a middle-aged, solitary assassin, who prides himself on his own peerless reputation for lethal efficiency but finds his professional routine is interrupted by being drawn to one of his intended victims (played by Emily Blunt). The film has also been acquired in the US by Freestyle Releasing, who have set a Oct 8th release for US theatres.
Producers Company Pictures and Stormdog Films, feature film financiers and distributors CinemaNX, and Film4, have today announced that they are jointly developing a feature film version of the E4 hit television series, SKINS. Scripted by SKINS writer Jack Thorne, working closely with SKINS creator Bryan Elsley, the film is scheduled to go into production later this year, and follows four hugely successful seasons on E4. The latest of these has just finished its run, with the highest ratings of any series so far.
Director of Company, Charlie Pattinson, believes that bringing a film version to the big screen is the obvious next step for SKINS – “given the huge amount of support from the ever expanding fan base of the series, we feel that we can go much further and produce yet another unique SKINS experience”, remarked Pattinson.
A number of familiar characters from the four series are expected to feature in the film, which will be directed by long time SKINS director Charles Martin. Shooting in Bristol and the Isle of Man later this year, the film is scheduled for a summer 2011 release. Company Pictures have a long history of working with both Film4 and CinemaNX individually but this project will be the first collaboration between all three parties.
“The sheer depth in quality that SKINS has delivered over the years makes it perfect for the big screen and we are delighted to be back in business with Company,” said chairman of CinemaNX, Steve Christian. Tessa Ross, Controller of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, said: “It is very exciting to be migrating across from E4 to Film4 this extraordinarily talented team from SKINS, who have successfully grown such a wonderfully loyal audience over the course of the last four series.”
CinemaNX, the film financing and production company backed by the Isle of Man Government, has announced that principal photography has started on its eighth feature film, TT3D. TT3D will follow the riders and rivals as they battle to conquer the infamous Isle of Man TT circuit. With unique behind the scenes access, TT3D promises to be a unique insight into the lives and minds of modern day road racers.
To be filmed in the Isle of Man, Ireland, England and Los Angeles, TT3D will examine what it takes, from both man and machine, to tame the TT. Department of Economic Development Minister Allan Bell MHK is delighted that his arrival at the Department responsible for physical production on the Island will co-incide with the making of this most-appropriate Manx film-documentary. “I am thrilled to see this project coming to fruition,” said Mr Bell. “I know it’s something that both Isle of Man Film and CinemaNX have been determined to get up and running for some time. TT3D heralds what looks like being a busy year for the Island’s film industry.”
Directed by acclaimed Motor Sports and Commercials Director Richard De Aragues, the film utilises a range of archive footage along with the latest 3D technology and high definition equipment to capture this unique and visually stunning festival of motorcycle road racing.
“The TT has been filmed before, however, not until now have the tools existed that could do justice to those that have competed over the 37¾ miles that make up the legendary Mountain Circuit”, said Director, Richard De Aragues.
Scheduled for release in 2011, NX have already secured 3D screens from their theatric partners at Vue Cinemas. Vue CEO, Tim Richards commented, “I saw the NX mood reel for TT3D and thought the spectacle was truly awesome – this just has to be seen on a 3D screen”.
The film is being produced by NX Directors Steve Christian and Marc Samuelson.