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Michael Winterbottom’s drama centres on the romance between a British police officer and a socialist Zionist writer but puts history-telling over emotion

Working with co-writers Laurence Coriat and Paul Viragh, Michael Winterbottom hits a clear, confident stride with a robustly well made, if emotionally flavourless historical drama set during the British mandate in what was then Palestine. It is a film that speaks in a complex way to the current Gaza debate, contending that Zionism has anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism in its 20th-century manifestation: a rage against the British masters. But the implication is that it learned habits of ruthlessness from these very people.

The film is based on the true story of Shoshana Borochov, a socialist Zionist writer who came with her Ukrainian family to Tel Aviv as a child in the 1920s and grew up to have a long-term romantic relationship with a British police officer called Thomas Wilkin,...

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,...

Britain’s official post-wwi administration of Palestine lasted from 1920-48 and is probably the UK colonial enterprise least addressed by its fiction filmmakers. But now prolific writer-director Michael Winterbottom uses that complicated era as a backdrop to the compelling historical romance “Shoshana.” A passion project 15 years in the making and based on real people and events, the film employs the ill-fated, cross-cultural relationship between a ranking member of the British Palestine Police Force and a young Jewish woman to explore the way extremism and violence push people apart, forcing them to choose sides.

It’s worth noting upfront that while the British rulers had to deal with both Palestine’s Arab and Jewish citizens, each of whom want an independent country, the narrative here hews firmly to a British and Jewish p.o.v., with Arabs barely characterized except as victims and troublemakers. By the 1930s, Palestine is a cauldron...

35 international documentary projects include 11 first-time feature directors.

New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.

The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.

35 international documentary projects include 11 first-time feature directors.

New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.

The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

Northern Irish filmmaker Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.

Rising UK talent awarded £60,000 to support their careers.

Two UK directors with a disability are among the second round of the Film and TV Charity’s John Brabourne recipients for 2020.

The talent development grant, totalling £60,000, is presented to a 12-strong cohort of UK writers, directors, and producers.

See below for full list

The award, which runs twice a year, provides up to £5,000 to cover expenses ranging from development to training, production and living costs, and is aimed at helping upcoming talent overcome barriers, realise career-changing projects and take vital next steps in the industry.

Among the latest recipients is Bim Ajadi,...

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...

Exclusive: List of best unproduced movie scripts topped by two projects from emerging writers; biopics of Priscilla Presley, Alexander McQueen also feature.

The 2016 Brit List – a line-up of the best yet-to-shoot movie screenplays as voted on by the UK industry – has been topped by a sci-fi and an apocalyptic western, both from emerging writers.

Scroll down for the full list

The UK version of America’s Black List list is topped by joint-winners The Competitors, an apocalyptic western written by Ruth Greenburg, and sci-fi The Far Edge Of The World, written by Felix Harrison. Both projects received nine votes.

In second with seven votes was rom-com Bride Or Groom written by The Thick Of It and In The Loop actress Olivia Poulet and Lucy Brown.

Also making the list are Ecosse Films’ Lonesome Tonight, a biopic of Priscilla Presley written by Paul Viragh (The Face Of An Angel), Matthew Orton-scripted Eichmann and Chris Urch’s [link...

Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures is set to collaborate with Studiocanal-owned Tandem Productions and Havas Media's Save Ferris Entertainment for new drama series Brazza. Set in the capital city of the Congo, where one family's bloody feud threatens the country's uneasy truce, Brazza is a gritty drama that explores the culture and dark underworld of Brazzaville, a place where not everyone makes the right choice between good and evil. Paul Viragh, who wrote Andy Serkis…...

Idris Elba is heading to Africa for his next TV series, teaming with Germany's Tandem Productions (a StudioCanal company) and Havas Media's Save Ferris in France on Brazza, a Narcos-like drama set in the criminal underworld of Brazzaville, the capital of Republic of the Congo. Paul Viragh (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) is attached to write the series, in which a Congolese man living in Paris is forced to return home after his father dies under suspicious circumstances. Back home he gets drawn into a bloody family feud that threatens the country's uneasy truce. “I am so

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Michael Winterbottom disappoints with an unconvincing thriller inspired by the murder of Meredith Kercher

“You were commissioned to make a true crime thriller. Are you really saying you’re trying to write a medieval morality tale?” In the past Michael Winterbottom has dealt brilliantly with the horrors of real-life murder (A Mighty Heart), the unpicking of a media myth (24 Hour Party People) and deconstructed the process of storytelling itself (A Cock and Bull Story). All these themes come together in his latest, a fictional work inspired by the murder of Meredith Kercher, to whom the film is dedicated. While the central thesis, that truth can only be told through fiction, is sound (“real truth and justice” having become “just a popularity contest”), this remains too clumsily schematic to get beneath the surface of its subject. Daniel Brühl is unconvincing as the self-obsessed film-maker with personal issues, struggling to tell a...

Director: Michael Winterbottom; Screenwriter: Paul Viragh; Starring: Daniel Brühl, Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne; Running time: 101 mins; Certificate: 15

Closely inspired by the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and the media circus that ensued, The Face of an Angel embarks on a noble quest to remind us that at the core of this garish spectacle is a victim who lost her life. Unfortunately, given the fascinating subject matter, the aims of Michael Winterbottom's film are one of its few commendable aspects.

The key themes are well introduced early on, particularly amid the discussions between journalists covering the trial of a 'Foxy Knoxy' type murder suspect. Parts of the media are increasingly obsessed with reporting on the details of her hair and clothing choices rather than events pertaining to the murder, thus creating a sad parallel with the real events that transpired. As Daniel Brühl's filmmaker Thomas points out,...

The Vatican Connection

Director: Michael Winterbottom // Writer: Paul Viragh

The incredibly prolific Michael Winterbottom had two 2014 titles, so we’re sure to see this latest project materialize before the end of the year, though major cast has not yet been announced since the news broke during the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. While The Trip to Italy was a light piece of entertainment, Winterbottom’s other 2014 title, The Face of an Angel, which played Venice and Toronto wasn’t as well received, even though it was a compelling take on how we adapt true crime stories to film. This latest, The Vatican Connection, seems to be in that vein, based on the real-life story of the NYPD detective who first uncovered the Vatican Bank’s links to the Mafia in the 1970s.

Cast: Tba.

Producers: Ivanhoe Pictures’ John Penotti (Violet & Daisy), Muse Productions’ Chris Hanley (London Fields), Most Films’ Jeff Most (The Crow...

Screen Media Films has acquired U.S. rights to The Face Of An Angel, director Michael Winterbottom’s psychological thriller inspired by the killing of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy and the resulting trial of her flatmate, American student Amanda Knox. Daniel Brühl, Kate Beckinsale, Valerio Mastandrea and Cara Delevingne star in the tale of a film director (Brühl) researching a movie based on a violent Kercher-esque murder case who becomes tormented by the motivations of everyone involved, including himself. The WestEnd Films production premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last month and next hits the London Film Festival this week. Screen Media is planning a day and date release in Q2 of 2015.

The Face Of An Angel is scripted by Paul Viragh and produced by Melissa Parmenter. It’s based on the book Angel Face: The True Story Of Student Killer Amanda Knox by Barbie Latza Nadeau, an...

Screen Media Films has taken Us rights to Michael Winterbottom’s The Face Of An Angel starring Daniel Brühl, Kate Beckinsale, Valerio Mastandrea and Cara Delevingne. In other news, Breaking Glass has picked up Larry Clark’s Marfa Girl.

The film premiered in Toronto and will screen at the London Film Festival on October 18. BBC Films financed alongside Multitrade, Ypsilon Films, Lipsync, Revolution Films and the Tuscan region.

The story centres on a filmmaker who endures torment and a change of focus when he sets out to adapt a book about the trial of an American woman charged with murdering her flatmate. Paul Viragh wrote the screenplay.

Melissa Parmenter produced The Face Of An Angel and the executive producers are Christine Langan, Eric Anidjar, Leon Benarroch, Roberto Mitrani, Norman Merry, Ed Wethered, Anthony Jabre, Reza Safinia and Susana Hornil.

Screen Media negotiated the deal with WestEnd Films and plans a second quarter 2015 release.

Philadelphia-based [link=co...

BAFTA members, award-winners and nominees to hold talks in UK schools.

As part of their Give Something Back campaign, BAFTA has announced it will partner with education charities Into Film, Speakers for Schools and Stemnet to bring BAFTA members, award-winners and nominees into UK schools and youth programmes.

The new programme is designed for speakers to share their skills and experiences with young people and inspire them to enter the film, television and games industries.

Speakers already confirmed for the programme include game mechanics programmer Chris Payne, screenwriter Paul Viragh, presenter Tazeen Ahmad and actor Jimmy Akingbola. They will visit primary schools in Greater Manchester, Essex, Kent and London.

“Through the BAFTA speaker programme, young people across the UK will get a chance to learn first-hand from some of the best in our industries,” commented BAFTA chairman John Willis.

“We hope that as many schools and youth groups as possible take up this free opportunity to introduce...

Exclusive: Film is based on the real-life story of the NYPD detetcive who first uncovered the Vatican Bank’s links to the Mafia.

Michael Winterbottom is to direct The Vatican Connection about the real-life story of the NYPD detective who first uncovered the Vatican Bank’s links to the Mafia in the 1970s.

Detective Joe Coffey was working undercover in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, tailing a vicious local mobster, when he stumbled upon information linking the Vatican Bank and the Mafia.

His global investigation – taking him from New York to Munich, London and Rome - revealed that Vatican Bank president Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, was working with the Mafia to hide losses incurred by the institution as it financed anti-Communist missions in central America.

Through intermediaries Archbishop Marcinkus had the Genovese Crime Family of New York manufacture and supply the Vatican Bank with $6 billion dollars of counterfeit blue chip bonds from major Us corporations.

Winterbottom will work...

The Face of an Angel

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Writer: Paul Viragh

Producers: Melissa Parmenter and Riccardo Tozzi

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Daniel Bruhl, Cara Delevingne

Further down on our list you’ll see Winterbottom’s The Trip To Italy. We should see a double dose of him this year, and a dramatic effort to boot. While 2012’s The Look of Love was a serious endeavor, this latest sees the director return to thriller mode. A screenplay adaptation from actor turned writer Paul Viragh should be an interesting element.

Gist: Both a journalist and a documentary filmmaker chase the story of a murder and its prime suspect.

Release Date: While we’ll see Winterbottom’s other 2014 title unveil at Sundance, we’re hoping to see this pop up in Venice and Toronto.

More Top 200 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #115. Quentin Dupieux’s...

Much like the media sensationalism around the Amanda Knox trial itself, there have been misleading reports that Michael Winterbottom’s new film The Face Of An Angel is an Amanda Knox exposé.

“It’s not a film about Amanda Knox,” Michael Winterbottom says emphatically about his new film, being sold at Efm by WestEnd Films. “The case in our film is a fictional case.”

“Once people see the film the talk about [Amanda Knox] will stop,” he adds.

It’s easy to see why there is some confusion, as Winterbottom acquired the rights to Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox by the American journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau. But he uses that book just as a jumping off point for his original script (written by Paul Viragh).

Winterbottom’s story is about a British filmmaker (Daniel Bruhl) who goes to Italy to study the aftermath of a high-profile murder case. He meets the...

Over the course of his directing career, Michael Winterbottom has been known for not limiting himself, moving between film and television, and having a filmography that includes 24 Hour Party People and The Trip as well as The Shock Doctrine and The Killer Inside Me. Fans of the director were thus intrigued to learn of his next project, an adaptation of the story of Amanda Knox. Titled The Face of an Angel, Winterbottom directs from a script by Paul Viragh, adapting from the book by Barbie Latza Nadeau. The film stars Daniel Bruhl and Kate Beckinsale, and the first trailer for the film has now been released, and can be seen below.

(Source: The Playlist)

The post ‘The Face of an Angel’, by Michael Winterbottom, releases its first trailer appeared first on Sound On Sight.

Drama is a fictionalised adaptation of Angel Face, the bestselling book about Amanda Knox, the Us student accused on the murder of her UK flatmate Meredith Kercher.

Shooting starts next week in Italy on The Face of an Angel, directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Kate Beckinsale (The Aviator), Daniel Bruhl (Rush) and Cara Delevingne (Kids in Love). The cast also includes Valerio Mastandrea.

A fictionalised adaptation of Angel Face, the bestselling book by Barbie Latza Nadeau, the film is produced by Melissa Parmenter and Riccardo Tozzi. The script is written by Paul Viragh.

WestEnd Films is handling worldwide sales, with BBC Films producing alongside Revolution Films.

The fictionalised story centres on the murder of a British student in Tuscany that leads to the trial and conviction of her American flat mate and Italian boyfriend in controversial circumstances.

The public interest around the case attracts once successful, but now struggling filmmaker Thomas (Brul), to be commissioned to write...

Kate Beckinsale will join Daniel Bruhl and Cara Delevingne in Michael Winterbottom's new drama "The Face Of An Angel" for BBC Films.

Paul Viragh penned the script, based on the book by Barbie Latza Nadeau. Delevingne will play the suspect in a high-profile murder in Italy.

Beckinsale plays a journalist pursuing the case, while Bruhl plays a documentary filmmaker who’s also trying to get to the bottom of things.

The story is similar to the Amanda Knox case, but the focus of the film will be more on the media circus surrounding the trial than the crime itself.

Melissa Parmenter is producing, and filming begins shortly in Tuscany, Italy.

Source: Deadline...

Catwalk stalker Cara Delevingne will be starring in Michael Winterbottom's "The Face of an Angel" as a beautiful murder suspect. Deadline reports that "the plot bears some resemblance to the travails of Amanda Knox," the American student accused and convicted of the murder of her housemate in Italy. (Knox's conviction was overturned in 2011, but she's currently being retried.)

"The Face of an Angel" is reportedly based on the book "Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox" by Barbie Latza Nadeau of The Daily Beast, but it sounds like Nadeau's book is more a jumping-off point for Paul Viragh's screenplay. "Angel" will also star Kate Beckinsale as a journalist investigating the case, and upcoming hotshot actor Daniel Bruhl as a filmmaker who's also digging into the investigation.

This project has been in the works since about 2010, when it was reported that Colin Firth was attached to star as a journalist.

Exclusive: Kate Beckinsale is set to join Daniel Bruhl and Cara Delevingne in The Face Of An Angel, a drama that Michael Winterbottom will direct from a script by Paul Viragh. The film is based on the book Angel Face by Barbie Latza Nadeau, and the plot bears some resemblance to the travails of Amanda Knox. Knox is the American woman who, with a boyfriend, was convicted of killing her housemate in Italy, serving four years before her conviction was overturned. Here, Delevingne will play the suspect in a murder, and Beckinsale plays a journalist pursuing the case. Bruhl plays a documentary filmmaker who’s also trying to get to the bottom of things. The film begins production in Tuscany, Italy. BBC Films is backing the production and Melissa Parmenter is producing. Beckinsale, who’s repped by UTA and Media Talent Group’s Geyer Kosinski, most recently completed the Brad Anderson...

Rising actor Daniel Brühl ("Rush," "The Fifth Estate") has scored the lead role in Michael Winterbottom's psychological thriller "The Face of an Angel".

Paul Viragh penned the script which is loosely adapted from Barbie Latza Nadeau's novel "Angel Face". That book deals with the Amanda Knox trial and the media manipulation around it - especially by Knox's family.

Winterbottom says his film version takes a different path, following a troubled filmmaker researching a sensational murder trial in Italy. When the victim becomes forgotten in the media frenzy, the filmmaker is inspired to reconnect with his own daughter.

Cara Delevingne ("Anna Karenina") and Valerio Mastandrea ("The First Beautiful Thing") also star in the project which begins shooting in November in Siena and Rome.

Source: Screen Daily...

Exclusive: WestEnd launches sales in Toronto on the Italy-set thriller, which uses the Amanda Knox trial as a jumping off point.

Daniel Bruhl, here with The Fifth Estate and Rush, has joined the cast of Michael Winterbottom’s Italy-set psychological thriller Face of An Angel.

The cast also features model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne (Anna Karenina) and Valerio Mastandrea (The First Beautiful Thing).

WestEnd has boarded international sales and is introducing the project to buyers here.

The film starts shooting in November in Siena and Rome. Revolution’s Melissa Parmenter produces and partners and backers are Italian production company Cattleya, BBC Films, Hero Films, Lipsync Productions and the Tuscany Regional Film Fund.

The film is adapted form Barbie Latza Nadeua’s book of the same name about the Amanda Knox trial – but Winterbottom told Screen that the film isn’t really about the Knox trial and is more inspired by Dante. (More of Winterbottom talking about the project earlier...

Odessa, Ukraine – British director Michael Winterbottom is currently prepping his next film based on the Amanda Knox murder trial. But he told The Hollywood Reporter that the film will be about much more than just the high-profile murder case. The Face of an Angel, based on the book, Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox, by Rome-based American journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau, with a script by Paul Viragh, uses the tragic story of the 2009 murder in Umbria, Italy of British student Meredith Kercher and Knox’s initial conviction as a springboard for a wider investigation of

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Ilan Eshkeri is scoring the upcoming thriller Ashes. The movie stars Jim Sturgess, Ray Winstone, Lesley Manville (Another Year), Luke Evans (Robin Hood) and Jodie Whittaker (Attack the Block). The film is directed by Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo) who also co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Viragh (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll). Esther Douglas and Fiona Neilson are producing. Coldplay’s Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin are executive producers on the project. No plot details have been revealed yet, but the movie has been described as a contemporary film noir. The British thriller is currently in post-production and no release date has been set yet.

As previously reported, Eshkeri also has the Ralph Fiennes-directed drama Coriolanus coming up, which will be released on December 2, 2011 by the Weinstein Company. The composer also recently finished work on the action spoof sequel Johnny English Reborn directed by Oliver Parker and starring Rowan Atkinson,...

Variety are reporting that Coldplay are venturing into the world of film financing in the production of contemporary film noir Ashes.

The film has a budget of under £5 million, which will in part be provided by the band, CinemaNX (supported by the Isle of Man Government), private investor Merzbau, and Fiesta Productions.

Little is known in terms of plot details yet, but the script has been co-written by Mat Whitecross and Paul Viragh (who wrote Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll), and will be directed by Whitecross (who directed the same Viragh-written film).

Ashes has already landed a very strong leading British trio, with the ever popular Ray Winstone, the BAFTA-nominated Lesley Manville, and the rising star Jim Sturgess all attached to the project.

Filming is set to begin next week on the Isle of Man. The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, another film produced by CinemaNX and filmed on the Isle of Man,...

Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess, Lesley Manville, Jodie Whittaker and Luke Evans have joined for Mat Whitecross’s Ashes, a present day film noir produced by pop group Coldplay.

With Gwyneth Paltrow making steps into the music business, Chris Martin and his bandfellows are now dipping their toes into the deep water of film financing.

Set to star a pretty great cast including Jodie Whittaker (Attack the Block) and Luke Evans (Robin Hood), and is directed by Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll helmer Mat Whitecross. Must say the cast sounds too good not to take into account.

Fiesta Prods.’ Esther Douglas and Fiona Neilson will produce, while exec producer credits will go to CinemaNX’s Steve Christian and Marc Samuelson, Merzbau’s Phillip Kier and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion.

Whitecross is rejoining with Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll scribe Paul Viragh to co-write Ashes,...

In London, a new film called Ashes has pulled together an impressive core trio: Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess and Lesley Manville. The film also features Jodie Whittaker (who'll be a lot more known once people have a chance to see Attack the Block) and Luke Evans, and will be directed by Mat Whitecross. We don't have many plot details, but the script, by the director and Paul Viragh (the two also did the Ian Dury biopic Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, starring Andy Serkis) is described as a 'contemporary noir thriller.' Good enough for me, especially with that cast. It's a relatively low-budget affair ($8m), with part of the money coming from Coldplay. Yeah, that Coldplay. The film will begin shooting next week on the Isle of Man.[Variety [1]] Speaking of Attack the Block, one of the companies behind that movie is assembling another UK genre picture, called Cockneys Vs.

Without a synopsis beyond being called a contemporary noir movie, Ashes nonetheless earns some respect for the cast it just hired. Ray Winstone and Leslie Manville are veterans, and Jim Sturgess is a rising actor who has the talent to back up his growing fame. According the The Hollywood Reporter, those actors will be joined by Jodie Whittaker (Attack the Block) and the consistently strong Luke Evans (Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans) for the project written by Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll team Mat Whitecross (who will direct) and Paul Viragh. Any noir news is good news, and this cast is something to look forward to. Oddly enough, the film is being financed partially by the band Coldplay which creates the interesting possibility of the pop band also scoring a dark drama. That’s speculation, but it would either be a fascinating success or an unmitigated disaster, and that’s the kind of scenario to get out...

Musicians Coldplay and private investor Merzbau are teaming to finance the sub-£5 million film noir feature “Ashes” for CinemaNX reports Variety.

Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess, Luke Evans, Lesley Manville and Jodie Whittaker all star in the project, though story details are being kept under wraps.

Director Mat Whitecross and writer Paul Viragh, who previously paired on the Ian Dury biopic “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll," will serve in the same capacities here.

Esther Douglas and Fiona Neilson will produce. Shooting kicks off around the Isle Of Man next week.

Call It 'Titans Of The Clash.' We Dare You It's only a couple of weeks since we were last extolling our love of seminal punk band The Clash, so we'll spare you the full shtick: in short, they're certainly the greatest of the punk bands, and possibly the single greatest band in the history of rock and roll. It seems that filmmakers have just cottoned on to that fact--a few weeks back it was announced that Paul Viragh, writer of the terrible Ian Dury biopic "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll," was penning "Joe Public," about the band's frontman…...

The life of late The Clash frontman Joe Strummer is to be immortalized in a new movie. Bosses at British production company Film4 have announced plans to turn the punk legend's story into a big screen biopic called Joe Publich.

The film will be written by Paul Viragh, the brains behind recent Ian Dury movie "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", according to International Screen Daily. Strummer's life has previously been recounted in two movie documentaries - Julien Temple's 2007 film "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten" and Don Letts' "Strummerville.

Strummer died suddenly on December 22, 2002 in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. He and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2003.

Film4 is backing a biopic about The Clash frontman Joe Strummer from the team behind Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. The project - titled Joe Public - will be steered by Simon Halfon (Sleuth) alongside Sex producer Damian Jones and screenwriter Paul Viragh, reports The Playlist. Their Ian Dury biopic earned a BAFTA nomination for star Andy Serkis earlier this year. Strummer founded punk group The Clash in 1976, notching up six studio albums and several top 20 singles including 'Tommy (more)...

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (currently screening at the Tribeca Film Festival) is a kaleidoscopic view of the life of British punk star Ian Dury. Lead actor Andy Serkis, who also produced and helped write the script (along with his friend, actor Paul Viragh), recalled his first experience listening to Dury's band, the Blockheads: "I first discovered Ian when I was about 14," he says. "I remember quite vividly being on a coach going to a camping trip to school and everybody crowding around a transistor radio to listen to ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' and it was just-you know, I grew up with three sisters who were listening to Cat Stevens–just hearing this extraordinary growling, rasping. You know, a kind of ranting force on the radio."...

Earlier today, ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk to long-time Michael Winterbottom protegé Mat Whitecross, whose solo directorial debut sex & drugs & rock & roll , a biopic of British rocker Ian Dury starring Andy Serkis, had its U.S. Premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend. As we wrapped up, Whitecross told ComingSoon.net about three projects he's developing with "sex & drugs" screenwriter Paul Viragh: The first of them is an adaptation of the next book by David Pease, author of the serial killer bestsellers "The Red Riding Quartet," which was adapted by three filmmakers and released as The Red Riding Trilogy earlier this year. Unfortunately, we didn't push for more details, since Pease is currently in the middle...

sex and drugs and rock and roll director Mat Whitecross As part of their free Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper series, Barnes and Noble hosted a panel on the biopic. The very un-Hollywood panel proved thoroughly refreshing as three phenomenal artists who break the mold spoke about adapting stories about real people for narrative and documentary films. Cultural critic Caryn James (Marie Claire, The Daily Beast) spoke with writer Paul Viragh, director Mat Whitecross, and director/writer Dorothee Van Den Berghe, who all shared how they gave first-person narratives story arcs, plot points and a through line where ones might not organically exist. The congenial panelists stressed the writer and director's duty to know, most importantly, why they are telling the story. The audience, most of whom were budding writers and directors and students of film, took note as sex and drugs and rock and roll writer Viragh cheered them on,...

Andy Serkis as the singer Ian Dury, with Bill Milner, who plays Dury’s son Baxter. Andy Serkis is best known for playing unaccountably lovable monsters, so it’s only logical for him to star in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, which seeks to tell the story of the incorrigible New Wave singer Ian Dury without resorting to the same old biopic formula. In a Q&A after yesterday’s Tribeca Film Festival screening, Serkis told a story that illustrated the extent of Dury’s fiendishness. Before shooting began, he and screenwriter Paul Viragh asked the Dury family to review the script, which takes a warts-and-all approach to portraying the singer (who died of cancer in 2000). It came back covered with notes, but not for the reason you might think. “They said, ‘No, he was much more of a cunt than that,’” Serkis recalled. “‘You’re going to have to be...

The North American premiere of sex and drugs and rock and roll hit Manhattan on Saturday, while also hitting your cable box as one of the Festival titles that's available On Demand through Tribeca Film. Attending the Q and A were the film's star Andy Serkis (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings trilogy), director Mat Whitecross, screenwriter Paul Viragh, and producer Damian Jones. Whitecross was thrilled to bring the film to America so close to the tenth anniversary of Dury's death (March 27). sex and drugs and rock and roll tells the life story of Ian Dury and his band The Blockheads, who rose to fame in London in the 1970s with hits like Reasons to be Cheerful and 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.' The film details Ian's childhood suffering from polio, his long road to late-blooming fame as a rock star, and the toll his force of...

While most of the eyes in film are on either SXSW or ShoWest out on the West Coast, folks out on the East Coast are gearing up for Tribeca Film Festival coming up next month. Last week, the fest announced the first group of films, which included the World Narrative films, the Documentaries, as well as Showcases and Special Events.

Now, the festival is getting a bit more star-heavy, as films starring such actors as Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Casey Affleck, and even Jessica Alba have joined the list of those titles appearing at the fest. All of these films are now coming to the festival this year, as well as the world premiere of Shrek Forever After.

The fest runs from April 21st to May 2nd. Check out the full list of new films after the jump, and be sure to keep it here, as the full list of...

The Tribeca Film Festival opens on April 21, 2010 and a variety of films will be on display, from documentaries and international films, to big budget films like "Shrek Forever After" (which will make its world premiere at Tribeca).

Today the festival has announced its entire feature film lineup, and you can check out below what films will be on display.

2010 Tribeca Film Festival:

Encounters

"The Chameleon ("Le Cameleon")," directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, written by Jean-Paul Salomé and Natalie Carter. (France, USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. "Climate of Change," directed by Brian Hill. (USA/UK) – North American Premiere, Documentary. "Every Day," directed and written by Richard Levine. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. "Last Play at Shea," directed by Paul Crowder and Jon Small (concert footage). (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. "Meet Monica Velour," directed and written by Keith Bearden. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. "Monogamy," directed by Dana Adam Shapiro, written by Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan Weiner.

Edward Burns, Chuck Workman and Alex Gibney will all unveil the world premieres of their newest films at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, running from Apr. 21-May 2 in lower Manhattan.

The three filmmakers will present their latest work as part of the fest's Encounters section, announced today, which encompasses 14 films from established talent. Filling out its program, the fest also revealed another 17 films in its Discovery section, which focuses on emerging talent, and another eight films in its Spotlight section, featuring movies built around performances from such artists as Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall.

"Our Discovery and Encounters sections complement one another -- one highlights fresh talent that is breaking onto the scene, while the latter continues to offer original films that reflect pop culture and contemporary issues," senior programmer Genna Terranova said. New York native Burns will bring "Nice Guy Johnny,...

Some people seem to think that Ian Dury was a genius and others say he was evil. He wasn't evil – he was a normal dad who made me soup

I was first approached about the film, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, in quite a roundabout way. Someone who knew someone who was working with someone else got in touch and wanted to talk about a few ideas for a biopic about my dad, Ian Dury. I didn't really take it seriously until Paul Viragh, who wrote the screenplay, got in touch. My sister, Jemima, and I could have decided not to be involved, but they would have made the film anyway so at least our involvement helped guide things.

It takes you a while to see whether a person's good intentions are real, especially with something as personal as this, but I'm pleased to say Paul and I became very good friends.

Andy Serkis is mesmerising as Ian Dury, the punk hero who defied the crippling effect of polio to pen some of pop's most potent lyrics

A great deal has happened in the 70 years since the inspirational Warner Brothers biopics of the 1930s were challenged by Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. Richard Attenborough is probably the last living director honourably bearing aloft a banner embroidered with Longfellow's words: "Lives of great men all remind us/ We can make our lives sublime". Film-makers now like to present us with portraits of deeply flawed heroes, whether they be rock stars, politicians or military leaders, to discover not just the secret of what motivated them but to reveal the worm in the rosebud. We no longer expect lives to be coherent, and we believe the real man is closer to the picture in the attic than to Dorian Gray.

The production team behind...

Andy Serkis's recreation of Dury gives Peter Bradshaw goosepimples, and his vocals are eerily good

A barnstorming, passionate performance from Andy Serkis brings 1970s ­music legend Ian Dury stunningly back to life in this gutsy biopic, written by Paul Viragh, directed by Mat Whitecross and produced by Serkis himself. It's obviously a labour of love, but it never looks laborious. Dury was the singer-songwriter and pugnacious polio ­survivor who in the glorious anyone-can-have-a-go era of punk became a mega-star. Andy Serkis's recreation of Dury gave me goosepimples, and his vocals – Serkis himself sings all the classic tracks with the real band, the Blockheads – are eerily good.

As portrayed by Serkis, Dury is not just a wild man; he's an aesthete and provocateur: the missing link between Oscar Wilde and Morrissey, with a soupçon of Boomtown Rat vintage Bob Geldof. He's also, interestingly, a touch more aspirational socially than you'd think.

A Prophet

Opens: February 12th 2010

Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb

Director: Jacques Audiard

Summary: Sent to prison, Malik El Djebena falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins their confidence but uses his intelligence to discreetly develop his own network.

Analysis: Finally scoring a limited release in the Us in February, Jacques Audiard's violent and hard-edged prison drama won the Grand Prix at Cannes, scored Best Film at the London Film Festival, and is already the hotly tipped favourite to take the Oscar for Best Foreign Film late next month.

Reviews have been stellar around the world for the film which quickly became the most universally admired entry in the often hotly contentious first week of Cannes back in May. From a breakout performance by Tahar Rahim,...

According to reports from the UK's Pinewood Studios, part of the new Ian Dury biopic, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll was staged at the facility, with upcoming scenes scheduled to be lensed @ Pinewood's 'U-Stage'. Actor Andy "Lord Of The Rings" Serkis plays the lead role of pop singer Dury whose determination, perseverance and wit led to him becoming one of the founders of the British punk/new wave music movement in the 1970's. Dury, who died in 2000, was noted as a singer, songwriter, bandleader and actor who wrote the generational-anthem single Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. The feature Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is being produced by Damian "Welcome To Sarajevo" Jones and directed by BAFTA-nominee, Silver Bear recipient Mat "Shock Doctrine" Whitecross, from an original screenplay by Paul Viragh. Financed by Prescience, Aegis, the UK Film Council and Lip Sync, worldwide sales are being handled by Odyssey Entertainment. Joining Serkis in the...

Director Mat Whitecross has lined up one hell of a fantastic British cast for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, his in-development biopic about punk legend Ian Dury. Naomie Harris, Ray Winstone, Olivia Williams, Noel Clarke, Toby Jones, MacKenzie Crook and Bill Milner have all signed on to star in the film opposite Andy Serkis, who plays the polio-afflicted frontman. Whitecross is gearing up to start shooting in London on May 3rd. The script was written by actor Paul Viragh and the project is being produced by Damian Jones. While I don't know much about Ian Dury, this sounds like a great project to keep our eye on as it develops. Dury was the lead singer of the British band Ian Dury and the Blockheads, who, with other bands like the Talking Heads, ushered in the New Wave era in the late 1970s. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 ...