Exclusive: Trio join recently launched House Productions to work across film and TV slate.
Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell’s recently launched film and TV indie House Productions has hired three executives to its development team.
Tom Leggett and writer-producer Polly Buckle have joined as development producers and Ann Phillips as development executive, all based in London.
Leggett joins from Playground Television where he was director of development and where he developed high end drama series for the BBC, Channel 4, Sky & Starz. Prior to Playground, Leggett was senior development editor at Film4 working on films such as 71’, The Riot Club, Macbeth, 12 Years a Slave, High-Rise, Room and Black Sea.
Buckle most recently produced You, Me and the Apocalypse for Sky One/Working Title. She has also produced on Rev for BBC2/Big Talk, Being Human for BBC3/Touchpaper and worked extensively in script development for Working Title Television and Shine Drama, including developing...
Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell’s recently launched film and TV indie House Productions has hired three executives to its development team.
Tom Leggett and writer-producer Polly Buckle have joined as development producers and Ann Phillips as development executive, all based in London.
Leggett joins from Playground Television where he was director of development and where he developed high end drama series for the BBC, Channel 4, Sky & Starz. Prior to Playground, Leggett was senior development editor at Film4 working on films such as 71’, The Riot Club, Macbeth, 12 Years a Slave, High-Rise, Room and Black Sea.
Buckle most recently produced You, Me and the Apocalypse for Sky One/Working Title. She has also produced on Rev for BBC2/Big Talk, Being Human for BBC3/Touchpaper and worked extensively in script development for Working Title Television and Shine Drama, including developing...
- 9/14/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Berenice Fugard to join UK sales outfit from January.
UK sales outfit WestEnd Films has hired Berenice Fugard to spearhead acquisitions and development, starting in January 2016.
Most recently svp of Fortissimo Films, Fugard spent nine years at Pathé Distribution in London, rising to head of acquisitions in 2006.
During her tenure at Pathé, she handled films including The Blair Witch Project, Crash and Memento.
Fugard then became vp, acquisitions and co-productions for Paramount Vantage before joining Studiocanal where she worked on titles including Searching For Sugarman, The Place Beyond The Pines and Potiche.
“We are very excited to have Berenice joining an ever-changing WestEnd. We need to reinvent ourselves in a challenging marketplace, and Berenice will be the driving force behind that change: her great taste, expertise and relationships will make WestEnd the ambitious player that finances and sells but also develops and produces quality commercial projects,” said managing directors Eve Schoukroun and Maya Amsellem.
“WestEnd has inspiring...
UK sales outfit WestEnd Films has hired Berenice Fugard to spearhead acquisitions and development, starting in January 2016.
Most recently svp of Fortissimo Films, Fugard spent nine years at Pathé Distribution in London, rising to head of acquisitions in 2006.
During her tenure at Pathé, she handled films including The Blair Witch Project, Crash and Memento.
Fugard then became vp, acquisitions and co-productions for Paramount Vantage before joining Studiocanal where she worked on titles including Searching For Sugarman, The Place Beyond The Pines and Potiche.
“We are very excited to have Berenice joining an ever-changing WestEnd. We need to reinvent ourselves in a challenging marketplace, and Berenice will be the driving force behind that change: her great taste, expertise and relationships will make WestEnd the ambitious player that finances and sells but also develops and produces quality commercial projects,” said managing directors Eve Schoukroun and Maya Amsellem.
“WestEnd has inspiring...
- 12/16/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The X Factor is well and truly under way, and we've been keeping an eye on everything that's been going on...
When is The X Factor on TV?
The show kicked off on August 29 - and in fact, in an attempt to avoid any clashes with Strictly Come Dancing, ITV bosses have unveiled the full schedule right from the off, so we know everything that's coming. You can get a proper look at it here, but auditions continued until Saturday, September 19 with Boot Camp kicking off on September 20. That was the first of five boot camp shows - two set in a country house, and then three episodes of the dreaded Six Chair Challenge. They were all on Sundays, to avoid the Rugby World Cup, but then Judges' Houses aired on October 24 and October 25... and the first big live show will kick off on October 31. And the grand final? It's set for Sunday,...
When is The X Factor on TV?
The show kicked off on August 29 - and in fact, in an attempt to avoid any clashes with Strictly Come Dancing, ITV bosses have unveiled the full schedule right from the off, so we know everything that's coming. You can get a proper look at it here, but auditions continued until Saturday, September 19 with Boot Camp kicking off on September 20. That was the first of five boot camp shows - two set in a country house, and then three episodes of the dreaded Six Chair Challenge. They were all on Sundays, to avoid the Rugby World Cup, but then Judges' Houses aired on October 24 and October 25... and the first big live show will kick off on October 31. And the grand final? It's set for Sunday,...
- 10/26/2015
- Digital Spy
Bupsi Brown, Anton Stephans and Max Stone have been chosen by judge Simon Cowell as the Overs to go through to the Live Shows of The X Factor.
The judge admitted to having changed his mind from his initial third pick, choosing Stone instead, with Jennifer Phillips, Ebru and Kerrie-Anne Phillips eliminated.
Fellow judges Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Rita Ora told Cowell to go with his gut instinct for his final choice, while Nick Grimshaw encouraged him to opt for Stone.
Cowell admitted that Stone was the "underdog" in his category.
After the judge made his choices, Stephans said he was "over the moon", clearly ecstatic from getting through.
Stone said that it was "absolutely amazing" and thanked Cowell for putting him through.
Cowell and Fernandez-Versini's Groups are the two categories that have been selected for the Live Shows.
The X Factor airs on ITV.
The judge admitted to having changed his mind from his initial third pick, choosing Stone instead, with Jennifer Phillips, Ebru and Kerrie-Anne Phillips eliminated.
Fellow judges Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Rita Ora told Cowell to go with his gut instinct for his final choice, while Nick Grimshaw encouraged him to opt for Stone.
Cowell admitted that Stone was the "underdog" in his category.
After the judge made his choices, Stephans said he was "over the moon", clearly ecstatic from getting through.
Stone said that it was "absolutely amazing" and thanked Cowell for putting him through.
Cowell and Fernandez-Versini's Groups are the two categories that have been selected for the Live Shows.
The X Factor airs on ITV.
- 10/24/2015
- Digital Spy
The X Factor brings us Judges' Houses this weekend, but if these pictures are anything to go by, the Overs spent a lot of their time in France making wine.
Perhaps they needed a little bit of Dutch courage before facing Simon Cowell and special guest Louis Tomlinson to perform for one last time before they find out whether they've made the live shows.
The Top 6 won't actually know if they're going through until this weekend, when Cowell makes the decisions live...
1. Anton Stephans - 45, London
Who? Backing singer Anton brought his dog along to his first audition, just to make us love him even more. But his stunning vocal at the Six Chair Challenge - combined with his fun sense of humour ("Botox!") and his impassioned speech to persuade Simon to give him a seat - was his real turning point.
He says: "I'm not sure whether I stand...
Perhaps they needed a little bit of Dutch courage before facing Simon Cowell and special guest Louis Tomlinson to perform for one last time before they find out whether they've made the live shows.
The Top 6 won't actually know if they're going through until this weekend, when Cowell makes the decisions live...
1. Anton Stephans - 45, London
Who? Backing singer Anton brought his dog along to his first audition, just to make us love him even more. But his stunning vocal at the Six Chair Challenge - combined with his fun sense of humour ("Botox!") and his impassioned speech to persuade Simon to give him a seat - was his real turning point.
He says: "I'm not sure whether I stand...
- 10/20/2015
- Digital Spy
The Hunger Games' President Snow has got nothing on Simon Cowell.
Kerrie-Anne Phillips has said that the Six Chair Challenge made The X Factor look like Panem.
"It reminded me of The Hunger Games. It was a fight to the death," she outlined.
"It was brutal and unexpected. I knew the format of it but I had no idea how intense it was going to be.
"I felt blessed in my situation because when I got out on stage, the audience were fine. But the other contestants had a really rough time and that was not nice to see."
And Kerrie-Anne is not the only one of Simon Cowell's Overs category to describe the challenge as "brutal".
"It was like a slaughterhouse," described Bupsi Brown.
"The crowd were insane. I was there thinking, 'What the hell have you lot been drinking?'"
Ebru added: "I went on last,...
Kerrie-Anne Phillips has said that the Six Chair Challenge made The X Factor look like Panem.
"It reminded me of The Hunger Games. It was a fight to the death," she outlined.
"It was brutal and unexpected. I knew the format of it but I had no idea how intense it was going to be.
"I felt blessed in my situation because when I got out on stage, the audience were fine. But the other contestants had a really rough time and that was not nice to see."
And Kerrie-Anne is not the only one of Simon Cowell's Overs category to describe the challenge as "brutal".
"It was like a slaughterhouse," described Bupsi Brown.
"The crowd were insane. I was there thinking, 'What the hell have you lot been drinking?'"
Ebru added: "I went on last,...
- 10/19/2015
- Digital Spy
X Factor's Bupsi made it through the Six Chair Challenge on last night's (October 18) nerve-shredding show, but with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini suggesting she's more of a performer than a vocalist.
The 37-year-old hopeful from Leeds in Cowell's Overs Category will now compete for a place in the Live Shows during the Judges' House stage.
Speaking to Digital Spy about Cheryl's comments, Bupsi said: "Everyone's allowed their opinion. Am I upset with Cheryl for saying that? It's her opinion. If that's what she felt, that's what she felt. But people who've known me for all these years - they know that I've got some lungs on me.
"With me not being 100% well still.... Look, it's not time to be talking about a pity party again. I don't want pity - I'm upset I'm ill, but this is how it is.
"I know that the 100% hasn't come out of me yet,...
The 37-year-old hopeful from Leeds in Cowell's Overs Category will now compete for a place in the Live Shows during the Judges' House stage.
Speaking to Digital Spy about Cheryl's comments, Bupsi said: "Everyone's allowed their opinion. Am I upset with Cheryl for saying that? It's her opinion. If that's what she felt, that's what she felt. But people who've known me for all these years - they know that I've got some lungs on me.
"With me not being 100% well still.... Look, it's not time to be talking about a pity party again. I don't want pity - I'm upset I'm ill, but this is how it is.
"I know that the 100% hasn't come out of me yet,...
- 10/19/2015
- Digital Spy
X Factor's Bupsi won Simon Cowell over and secured herself a seat with her energetic performance and impressive dance moves on last night's (October 18) Six Chair Challenge.
The 37-year-old hopeful from Leeds got the audience on their feet with her rendition of Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' and will now head to Judges' Houses with Cowell and guests judge Louis Tomlinson.
Despite being in the Overs category, she still shared her views on Nick Grimshaw controversially bringing back Mason Noise to his Boys' section to replace Tom Bleasby - despite Mason being booted off the show last weekend after complaining of not having enough airtime.
The X Factor 2015 review: Simon's mean... but the acts make up for it
Speaking to Digital Spy about Grimshaw's decision, Bupsi said: "Mason, first of all, I think he is talented. I think he's going to bring something different to the table.
"I want people...
The 37-year-old hopeful from Leeds got the audience on their feet with her rendition of Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' and will now head to Judges' Houses with Cowell and guests judge Louis Tomlinson.
Despite being in the Overs category, she still shared her views on Nick Grimshaw controversially bringing back Mason Noise to his Boys' section to replace Tom Bleasby - despite Mason being booted off the show last weekend after complaining of not having enough airtime.
The X Factor 2015 review: Simon's mean... but the acts make up for it
Speaking to Digital Spy about Grimshaw's decision, Bupsi said: "Mason, first of all, I think he is talented. I think he's going to bring something different to the table.
"I want people...
- 10/19/2015
- Digital Spy
Never say The X Factor is always the same. Just last week, Nick Grimshaw was smugly grinning about how strong his category was - only to discover to his horror that the opposite was true. And last night, Simon Cowell was disgusted to be mentoring the Overs... only to find out that actually, they were full of talent.
The problem with Grimshaw's Six Chair Challenge was that with little talent on offer, at least at first, the stakes didn't feel too high - it was only when the (now reinstated) pantomime villain Mason Noise appeared that the drama level got ratcheted up.
It was a similar story with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, whose Groups were squeezed into the end of last week's episode and the beginning of Sunday's, with no real events to speak of (the closest we came was with Silver Tone and Bekln, connected by a brother and sister in...
The problem with Grimshaw's Six Chair Challenge was that with little talent on offer, at least at first, the stakes didn't feel too high - it was only when the (now reinstated) pantomime villain Mason Noise appeared that the drama level got ratcheted up.
It was a similar story with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, whose Groups were squeezed into the end of last week's episode and the beginning of Sunday's, with no real events to speak of (the closest we came was with Silver Tone and Bekln, connected by a brother and sister in...
- 10/19/2015
- Digital Spy
The final Six Chair Challenge on The X Factor was suitably brutal and we're not sure we've quite recovered. Still, in amongst the in-out-in-out swapping chaos of it all were some seriously great performances, so read on for tonight's video round-up - ranked, as always, from worst to best:
The Groups
2. Bekln
'See You Again' - yes, we do hope so.
1. Silver Tone
A change definitely has come for Silver Tone.
The Overs
14. Holly Johnson
Not so Happy after Simon's rudeness, we're guessing.
13. Stephanie McCourt
We feel sorry for Stephanie - where was the audience's heart?
12. Tonatha Raihan
She might have been a safe bet, but Simon didn't want to take it.
11. Neneth Lyons
This just wasn't her moment in time.
10. Joseph McCaul
A shame Simon didn't show him more 'Mercy', really.
9. Zen Blythe
We're not going to pretend we didn't lose our zen when Zen got sent home.
8. Hannah Marie Kilminster...
The Groups
2. Bekln
'See You Again' - yes, we do hope so.
1. Silver Tone
A change definitely has come for Silver Tone.
The Overs
14. Holly Johnson
Not so Happy after Simon's rudeness, we're guessing.
13. Stephanie McCourt
We feel sorry for Stephanie - where was the audience's heart?
12. Tonatha Raihan
She might have been a safe bet, but Simon didn't want to take it.
11. Neneth Lyons
This just wasn't her moment in time.
10. Joseph McCaul
A shame Simon didn't show him more 'Mercy', really.
9. Zen Blythe
We're not going to pretend we didn't lose our zen when Zen got sent home.
8. Hannah Marie Kilminster...
- 10/18/2015
- Digital Spy
It's going to take us a long time to recover from Simon Cowell's brutal Six Chair Challenge, but he did at least (eventually) manage to choose the Overs he's taking to Judges' Houses - even if he did admit he thinks he's made two "big mistakes". Cripes.
But it's too late to change his mind - and he does have a very strong category. But who are the six Overs now fighting it out for a place in the live shows?
1. Anton Stephans
Age: 44
From: London
Job: Performer and backing singer
Remind me: Anton - or Lovely Anton, as we've christened him - made a big impression on Simon right from the first audition, when he brought his dog Honey with him. But his voice also left a lasting impact, with his solo performance of 'A Song For You' at Boot Camp cementing his place in the competition (and making Olly Murs cry!
But it's too late to change his mind - and he does have a very strong category. But who are the six Overs now fighting it out for a place in the live shows?
1. Anton Stephans
Age: 44
From: London
Job: Performer and backing singer
Remind me: Anton - or Lovely Anton, as we've christened him - made a big impression on Simon right from the first audition, when he brought his dog Honey with him. But his voice also left a lasting impact, with his solo performance of 'A Song For You' at Boot Camp cementing his place in the competition (and making Olly Murs cry!
- 10/18/2015
- Digital Spy
After three weeks of chair-swapping drama, the Six Chair Challenge finally concludes this evening. All that's left is for Cheryl to finish choosing her groups and then for Simon to tackle the Overs category.
Throughout the competition Simon has been less than enthusiastic about mentoring the Overs, and according to what we've heard, he's still pretty grumpy this evening. So we're sure that all the chair-swapping's going to be as brutal as ever.
Join us from 7pm and we'll bring you all the action live as it happens, including performances from some of our favourites such as lovely Anton and Bupsi. Enjoy!
20:59Exciting Trailer Time! Both you and us thought Six Chair Challenge may never end, but the day has finally come. Next week Judges' Houses is back, and for the first time ever, the final decisions are made Live! Thanks for joining us this week - as always,...
Throughout the competition Simon has been less than enthusiastic about mentoring the Overs, and according to what we've heard, he's still pretty grumpy this evening. So we're sure that all the chair-swapping's going to be as brutal as ever.
Join us from 7pm and we'll bring you all the action live as it happens, including performances from some of our favourites such as lovely Anton and Bupsi. Enjoy!
20:59Exciting Trailer Time! Both you and us thought Six Chair Challenge may never end, but the day has finally come. Next week Judges' Houses is back, and for the first time ever, the final decisions are made Live! Thanks for joining us this week - as always,...
- 10/18/2015
- Digital Spy
It's the final Six Chair Challenge on The X Factor tonight - and for the sake of our nerves, that's probably for the best. We're getting to see the last two groups perform, and then it's all about Simon Cowell's Overs. But what songs have they picked in the hopes of securing a seat?
The Groups
1. Silver Tone - 22-32
Song: 'A Change Is Gonna Come' - Sam Cooke
2. Bekln - 22-31
Song: 'See You Again' - Charlie Puth
The Overs
1. Holly Johnson - 27, London (originally Sheffield)
Song: 'Happy' - Pharrell Williams
2. Max Stone - 27, London
Song: 'Turn Your Lights Down' - Bob Marley
3. Vicky Ann Nash - 35, Birmingham
Song: 'Stay' - Lisa Loeb
4. Joseph McCaul - 27, Ireland
Song: 'Mercy' - Duffy
5. Stephanie McCourt - 27, London
Song: 'Never Loved A Man' - Aretha Franklin
6. Kerrie-Anne Phillips - 28, London
Song: 'Help' - John Fartham
7. Anton Stephans - 44, London
Song:...
The Groups
1. Silver Tone - 22-32
Song: 'A Change Is Gonna Come' - Sam Cooke
2. Bekln - 22-31
Song: 'See You Again' - Charlie Puth
The Overs
1. Holly Johnson - 27, London (originally Sheffield)
Song: 'Happy' - Pharrell Williams
2. Max Stone - 27, London
Song: 'Turn Your Lights Down' - Bob Marley
3. Vicky Ann Nash - 35, Birmingham
Song: 'Stay' - Lisa Loeb
4. Joseph McCaul - 27, Ireland
Song: 'Mercy' - Duffy
5. Stephanie McCourt - 27, London
Song: 'Never Loved A Man' - Aretha Franklin
6. Kerrie-Anne Phillips - 28, London
Song: 'Help' - John Fartham
7. Anton Stephans - 44, London
Song:...
- 10/17/2015
- Digital Spy
The X Factor has finished its little trip to the country for Boot Camp - and next up is the dreaded Six Chair Challenge. But which lucky acts made it through?
The Girls
1. Caitlyn Vanbeck
2. Charli Beard
3. Chloe Baker
4. Chloe Paige
5. Havva Rebke
6. Jasmine Leigh Morris
7. Karen Mav
8. Katie Coleman
9. Kelly Mai Webb
10. Kiera Weathers
11. Lauren Murray
12. Louisa Johnson
13. Lucy Duffield
14. Monica Michaels
15. Sharon Rose
16. Sophie Plumb
The Boys
1. Ben Clark
2. Brodie Kelly
3. Ché Chesterman
4. Danny Sharples
5. Jamie Eldridge
6. Jordan Luke Gage
7. Josh Daniel
8. Martin Harich
9. Mason Noise
10. Nathaneal Landskroner
11. Ollie Marland
12. Papasidero
13. Seann Miley Moore
14. Simon Lynch
15. Tom Bleasby
16. Tom Davies
The Overs
1. Alex Boye
2. Anton Stephans
3. Bupsi
4. Ebru
5. Hannah Marie
6. Holly Johnson
7. Jennifer Phillips
8. Joseph McCaul
9. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
10. Lochei Kusi Ghent
11. Max Stone
12. Neneth Lyons
13. Sherilyn Hamilton Shaw
14. Stephanie McCourt
15. Tonatha Raihan
16. Vicki Ann Nash
17. Zen Blythe
The Groups
1. Alien
2. Bekln
3. Cam And Brett
4. Decibellas
5. 4th Power...
The Girls
1. Caitlyn Vanbeck
2. Charli Beard
3. Chloe Baker
4. Chloe Paige
5. Havva Rebke
6. Jasmine Leigh Morris
7. Karen Mav
8. Katie Coleman
9. Kelly Mai Webb
10. Kiera Weathers
11. Lauren Murray
12. Louisa Johnson
13. Lucy Duffield
14. Monica Michaels
15. Sharon Rose
16. Sophie Plumb
The Boys
1. Ben Clark
2. Brodie Kelly
3. Ché Chesterman
4. Danny Sharples
5. Jamie Eldridge
6. Jordan Luke Gage
7. Josh Daniel
8. Martin Harich
9. Mason Noise
10. Nathaneal Landskroner
11. Ollie Marland
12. Papasidero
13. Seann Miley Moore
14. Simon Lynch
15. Tom Bleasby
16. Tom Davies
The Overs
1. Alex Boye
2. Anton Stephans
3. Bupsi
4. Ebru
5. Hannah Marie
6. Holly Johnson
7. Jennifer Phillips
8. Joseph McCaul
9. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
10. Lochei Kusi Ghent
11. Max Stone
12. Neneth Lyons
13. Sherilyn Hamilton Shaw
14. Stephanie McCourt
15. Tonatha Raihan
16. Vicki Ann Nash
17. Zen Blythe
The Groups
1. Alien
2. Bekln
3. Cam And Brett
4. Decibellas
5. 4th Power...
- 9/27/2015
- Digital Spy
We got there. The final episode of X Factor auditions has aired, and it's on to Boot Camp. And it's probably just about time that the competition changes things up - especially with the Strictly spectre looming.
If there's been one complaint people have had about this series of The X Factor, it seems to be that not enough has changed. And certainly, we got yet more Whitney Houston covers in Saturday's final auditions episode.
We even got a repeat of the Silver Tone drama, when hopeful Joseph McCaul got through after being asked to return with a different song. It was a similar story with husky, Joss Stone-esque Lucy Duffield, who was asked to sing a second song a capella to prove she could actually hold a tune (she really could).
Even Simon Cowell seemed to be acknowledging the clichés; when Sherilyn Hamilton Shaw made Cheryl Fernandez-Versini cry...
If there's been one complaint people have had about this series of The X Factor, it seems to be that not enough has changed. And certainly, we got yet more Whitney Houston covers in Saturday's final auditions episode.
We even got a repeat of the Silver Tone drama, when hopeful Joseph McCaul got through after being asked to return with a different song. It was a similar story with husky, Joss Stone-esque Lucy Duffield, who was asked to sing a second song a capella to prove she could actually hold a tune (she really could).
Even Simon Cowell seemed to be acknowledging the clichés; when Sherilyn Hamilton Shaw made Cheryl Fernandez-Versini cry...
- 9/20/2015
- Digital Spy
That's it! We had our final episode of X Factor auditions tonight, but there was enough time to fit in 16 acts who all wanted to impress the judges. As always, though, some were better than others, so here they all are, ranked from worst to best:
16. Tori V Musekiwa
"That didn't go well, if I'm being honest with you."
15. Unit X
'Pretty Hurts'. So did this.
14. D-Tour
Get points for the most bizarre stage invasion ever, but in general a shame they didn't take a D-Tour round Wembley.
13. Chase Mystery
Is that a name or an instruction? Either way, we'd rather not, thanks.
12. Ollie Marland
The thing is we're not entirely sure we wouldn't rather listen to Shane Richie's 'I'm Your Man' and that can't be a good sign.
11. Andy Taylor
Proof that ice cream makes everything better.
10. Louel
"Have you kissed?" "... Yeah." We need to know more.
16. Tori V Musekiwa
"That didn't go well, if I'm being honest with you."
15. Unit X
'Pretty Hurts'. So did this.
14. D-Tour
Get points for the most bizarre stage invasion ever, but in general a shame they didn't take a D-Tour round Wembley.
13. Chase Mystery
Is that a name or an instruction? Either way, we'd rather not, thanks.
12. Ollie Marland
The thing is we're not entirely sure we wouldn't rather listen to Shane Richie's 'I'm Your Man' and that can't be a good sign.
11. Andy Taylor
Proof that ice cream makes everything better.
10. Louel
"Have you kissed?" "... Yeah." We need to know more.
- 9/19/2015
- Digital Spy
It's already time for the last instalment of auditions! The start of The X Factor has flown by but we do still have a few more acts to meet before Boot Camp kicks off.
But who are they and are they any good? We're about to find out, so join us from 8pm when the show begins as we bring you all the action...
21:27But for now, we'll say goodnight - and make sure you stick with DS for all the X Factor coverage you need!
21:27Hooray! Boot Camp is next and Olly Murs is yelling "welcome to hell" and Simon is telling off an act and someone's jumping in the pool and there are tears and Oh God We're Excited. Make sure you join us right back here tomorrow as we bring you all the action...
21:25That's it! The auditions are over now, so we're getting...
But who are they and are they any good? We're about to find out, so join us from 8pm when the show begins as we bring you all the action...
21:27But for now, we'll say goodnight - and make sure you stick with DS for all the X Factor coverage you need!
21:27Hooray! Boot Camp is next and Olly Murs is yelling "welcome to hell" and Simon is telling off an act and someone's jumping in the pool and there are tears and Oh God We're Excited. Make sure you join us right back here tomorrow as we bring you all the action...
21:25That's it! The auditions are over now, so we're getting...
- 9/19/2015
- Digital Spy
The X Factor has already reached its final episode of auditions! Boot Camp begins on Sunday, but before then we still have some hopeful singers to meet - 17 acts, in fact. But who are they and what will they be singing?
1. Megan Dallas
Age: 24
From: Basildon
Job: Accountant and part-time singer
Song: 'Waterfalls' - TLC
2. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
Age: 28
From: London
Job: Teacher and part time singer in Dubai, but moved for X Factor
Song: 'Diamonds' - Rihanna
3. Lucy Duffield
Age: 26
From: Essex
Job: Sales assistant and part time singer
Song: 'If I Ain't Got You' - Alicia Keys and 'I Have Nothing' - Whitney Houston
4. Nige and Kay
Age: Nige is 44 and Kay is 26
From: Northamptonshire
Song: 'Up' - Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato
5. Louel
Age: Louis (19) and Ellen (19)
From: Newcastle
Job: Students
Song: 'One Last Time' - Ariana Grande
6. The Shures
Age: Chris (28) and Gabriel (32)
From: Milton Keynes...
1. Megan Dallas
Age: 24
From: Basildon
Job: Accountant and part-time singer
Song: 'Waterfalls' - TLC
2. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
Age: 28
From: London
Job: Teacher and part time singer in Dubai, but moved for X Factor
Song: 'Diamonds' - Rihanna
3. Lucy Duffield
Age: 26
From: Essex
Job: Sales assistant and part time singer
Song: 'If I Ain't Got You' - Alicia Keys and 'I Have Nothing' - Whitney Houston
4. Nige and Kay
Age: Nige is 44 and Kay is 26
From: Northamptonshire
Song: 'Up' - Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato
5. Louel
Age: Louis (19) and Ellen (19)
From: Newcastle
Job: Students
Song: 'One Last Time' - Ariana Grande
6. The Shures
Age: Chris (28) and Gabriel (32)
From: Milton Keynes...
- 9/18/2015
- Digital Spy
The X Factor has already reached its final episode of auditions! Boot Camp begins on Sunday, but before then we still have some hopeful singers to meet - 17 acts, in fact. But who are they and what will they be singing?
1. Megan Dallas
Age: 24
From: Basildon
Job: Accountant and part-time singer
Song: 'Waterfalls' - TLC
2. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
Age: 28
From: London
Job: Teacher and part time singer in Dubai, but moved for X Factor
Song: 'Diamonds' - Rihanna
3. Lucy Duffield
Age: 26
From: Essex
Job: Sales assistant and part time singer
Song: 'If I Ain't Got You' - Alicia Keys and 'I Have Nothing' - Whitney Houston
4. Nige and Kay
Age: Nige is 44 and Kay is 26
From: Northamptonshire
Song: 'Up' - Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato
5. Louel
Age: Louis (19) and Ellen (19)
From: Newcastle
Job: Students
Song: 'One Last Time' - Ariana Grande
6. The Shures
Age: Chris (28) and Gabriel (32)
From: Milton Keynes...
1. Megan Dallas
Age: 24
From: Basildon
Job: Accountant and part-time singer
Song: 'Waterfalls' - TLC
2. Kerrie-Anne Phillips
Age: 28
From: London
Job: Teacher and part time singer in Dubai, but moved for X Factor
Song: 'Diamonds' - Rihanna
3. Lucy Duffield
Age: 26
From: Essex
Job: Sales assistant and part time singer
Song: 'If I Ain't Got You' - Alicia Keys and 'I Have Nothing' - Whitney Houston
4. Nige and Kay
Age: Nige is 44 and Kay is 26
From: Northamptonshire
Song: 'Up' - Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato
5. Louel
Age: Louis (19) and Ellen (19)
From: Newcastle
Job: Students
Song: 'One Last Time' - Ariana Grande
6. The Shures
Age: Chris (28) and Gabriel (32)
From: Milton Keynes...
- 9/18/2015
- Digital Spy
A collection of authors and actors including Stephen Colbert, young adult novelist Libba Bray (winner of the 2010 Printz Award for Going Bovine), Artistic Director of the Public Theater Oskar Eustis, novelist Jayne Anne Phillips (National Book Award finalist Lark & Termite) and novelist and Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen read from and discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird at Symphony Space's Thalia Book Club on April 28 at 8:00 p.m. The event, which takes place on the 84th birthday of author Harper Lee, marks the 50th anniversary of the watershed work. The evening will include readings, discussion and an audience Q&A. Tickets are $24, $20 for members.
- 4/15/2010
- BroadwayWorld.com
This review was written for the festival screening of "Grace Is Gone".Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- "Grace Is Gone" is not a dishonest film for you sense the fledgling filmmaker's sincere desire to deal with grief, the natural outcome of war. But the grief in writer-director James C. Strouse's "Grace" is so heavily manufactured that everything rings hollow. In John Cusack, Strouse has one of the screen's more versatile leading men. Yet Cusack seems strangely remote in a surprisingly one-note performance that requires the audience to supply the emotions.
From the sounds of sniffles in the Eccles Theater here, many will do just that. Much of these feelings owes to the highly manipulative use of two very young actors who play Cusack's adolescent daughters. The eldest, Shelan O'Keefe, is the best thing about the movie. But the younger one, Grace Bednarczyk, is Strouse's go-to person when he needs a quick emotional jolt.
Sensing a hot property, the Weinstein Co. snapped up this picture over the weekend. As an antidote to the Bush administration's determination to keep images of grief over Iraq out of the media, the film may work at the boxoffice as a political statement. In theory though, shouldn't this movie be about any war and any family's loss? The marketing campaign may have to be as manipulative as the movie itself if the distributor is going to convince adult audiences they need a good weep.
Instead of creating an air of normalcy before news of the tragedy breaks, Strouse allows the film to open with a sense of melancholy, loss and anger. One can rationalize this approach, but the film never undergoes a dramatic tonal shift to reflect the impact of unbearable news.
Stanley Phillips' (Cusack) sullenness while his wife is deployed to Iraq, you later learn, is due to the fact the spouses are U.S. Army through and through but Stanley was forced out of the service due to bad eyesight. He fakes good cheer as manager of a large Midwestern housing supply store, but at home he is often silent and overly stern with his kids, Heidi (O'Keefe), 12, and Dawn (Bednarczyk), 8.
Then an Army officer and chaplain knock on the door one morning to inform him that Sgt. Grace Anne Phillips has been killed in Iraq. Stanley goes into shock, which doesn't look all that different from his demeanor the night before. That afternoon, he gathers the family in the living room to break the news -- only he can't. He seeks a delaying tactic by suggesting a dinner out. Heidi points out it is only 4 o'clock.
The remainder of the movie is one delaying tactic after another. Dad suggests an impromptu driving trip to a theme park in Florida. En route, he makes an impromptu visit to his mom's home for an encounter with his unemployed anti-war brother (Alessandro Nivola). A stop at a motel is interrupted by an impromptu middle-of-the-night departure.
All of these "impromptu" incidents are meant to resonate with the sense of loss that such a death brings. Most have a symbolic purpose as well, such as getting the girls' ears pieced at such an early age -- i.e., the premature loss of childhood. Yet these incidents are as blatant as they are bland. The filmmaker's scheme is writ so large on the screen as to provoke embarrassment rather than grief.
The mind starts to wander to little irritating details. When the girls climb back and forth between the front and back seats of the family SUV, you wonder what kind of responsible father would allow his children not to wear seatbelts. The most egregious devise has Stanley constantly calling the home answering machine to hear his wife's voice.
When the movie finally must resolve the dad's prolonged dilemma, half way through the pivotal scene Strouse allows Max Richter's sappy music to drown out the dialogue. The button-pushing music is accompanied by a washed-out look in Jean-Louis Bompoint's cinematography that is apparently meant to give the film true grit. Like all of these strategies, these only underscore the film's lack of true depth.
GRACE IS GONE
The Weinstein Co.
Plum Pictures and New Crime Productions in association with Hart/Lunsford Pictures
Credits:
Writer/director: James C. Strouse
Producers: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Celine Rattray
Executive producers: Paul Bernstein, Reagan Silber, Jai Stefan, Todd Traina
Director of photography: Jean-Louis Bompoint
Production designer: Susan Block
Music: Max Richter
Costume designer: Ha Nguyen
Editor: Joe Klotz
Cast:
Stanley Phillips: John Cusack
Heidi: Shelan O'Keefe
Dawn: Gracie Bednarczyk
John: Alessandro Nivola
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- "Grace Is Gone" is not a dishonest film for you sense the fledgling filmmaker's sincere desire to deal with grief, the natural outcome of war. But the grief in writer-director James C. Strouse's "Grace" is so heavily manufactured that everything rings hollow. In John Cusack, Strouse has one of the screen's more versatile leading men. Yet Cusack seems strangely remote in a surprisingly one-note performance that requires the audience to supply the emotions.
From the sounds of sniffles in the Eccles Theater here, many will do just that. Much of these feelings owes to the highly manipulative use of two very young actors who play Cusack's adolescent daughters. The eldest, Shelan O'Keefe, is the best thing about the movie. But the younger one, Grace Bednarczyk, is Strouse's go-to person when he needs a quick emotional jolt.
Sensing a hot property, the Weinstein Co. snapped up this picture over the weekend. As an antidote to the Bush administration's determination to keep images of grief over Iraq out of the media, the film may work at the boxoffice as a political statement. In theory though, shouldn't this movie be about any war and any family's loss? The marketing campaign may have to be as manipulative as the movie itself if the distributor is going to convince adult audiences they need a good weep.
Instead of creating an air of normalcy before news of the tragedy breaks, Strouse allows the film to open with a sense of melancholy, loss and anger. One can rationalize this approach, but the film never undergoes a dramatic tonal shift to reflect the impact of unbearable news.
Stanley Phillips' (Cusack) sullenness while his wife is deployed to Iraq, you later learn, is due to the fact the spouses are U.S. Army through and through but Stanley was forced out of the service due to bad eyesight. He fakes good cheer as manager of a large Midwestern housing supply store, but at home he is often silent and overly stern with his kids, Heidi (O'Keefe), 12, and Dawn (Bednarczyk), 8.
Then an Army officer and chaplain knock on the door one morning to inform him that Sgt. Grace Anne Phillips has been killed in Iraq. Stanley goes into shock, which doesn't look all that different from his demeanor the night before. That afternoon, he gathers the family in the living room to break the news -- only he can't. He seeks a delaying tactic by suggesting a dinner out. Heidi points out it is only 4 o'clock.
The remainder of the movie is one delaying tactic after another. Dad suggests an impromptu driving trip to a theme park in Florida. En route, he makes an impromptu visit to his mom's home for an encounter with his unemployed anti-war brother (Alessandro Nivola). A stop at a motel is interrupted by an impromptu middle-of-the-night departure.
All of these "impromptu" incidents are meant to resonate with the sense of loss that such a death brings. Most have a symbolic purpose as well, such as getting the girls' ears pieced at such an early age -- i.e., the premature loss of childhood. Yet these incidents are as blatant as they are bland. The filmmaker's scheme is writ so large on the screen as to provoke embarrassment rather than grief.
The mind starts to wander to little irritating details. When the girls climb back and forth between the front and back seats of the family SUV, you wonder what kind of responsible father would allow his children not to wear seatbelts. The most egregious devise has Stanley constantly calling the home answering machine to hear his wife's voice.
When the movie finally must resolve the dad's prolonged dilemma, half way through the pivotal scene Strouse allows Max Richter's sappy music to drown out the dialogue. The button-pushing music is accompanied by a washed-out look in Jean-Louis Bompoint's cinematography that is apparently meant to give the film true grit. Like all of these strategies, these only underscore the film's lack of true depth.
GRACE IS GONE
The Weinstein Co.
Plum Pictures and New Crime Productions in association with Hart/Lunsford Pictures
Credits:
Writer/director: James C. Strouse
Producers: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Celine Rattray
Executive producers: Paul Bernstein, Reagan Silber, Jai Stefan, Todd Traina
Director of photography: Jean-Louis Bompoint
Production designer: Susan Block
Music: Max Richter
Costume designer: Ha Nguyen
Editor: Joe Klotz
Cast:
Stanley Phillips: John Cusack
Heidi: Shelan O'Keefe
Dawn: Gracie Bednarczyk
John: Alessandro Nivola
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/23/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- "Grace Is Gone" is not a dishonest film for you sense the fledgling filmmaker's sincere desire to deal with grief, the natural outcome of war. But the grief in writer-director James C. Strouse's "Grace" is so heavily manufactured that everything rings hollow. In John Cusack, Strouse has one of the screen's more versatile leading men. Yet Cusack seems strangely remote in a surprisingly one-note performance that requires the audience to supply the emotions.
From the sounds of sniffles in the Eccles Theater here, many will do just that. Much of these feelings owes to the highly manipulative use of two very young actors who play Cusack's adolescent daughters. The eldest, Shelan O'Keefe, is the best thing about the movie. But the younger one, Grace Bednarczyk, is Strouse's go-to person when he needs a quick emotional jolt.
Sensing a hot property, the Weinstein Co. snapped up this picture over the weekend. As an antidote to the Bush administration's determination to keep images of grief over Iraq out of the media, the film may work at the boxoffice as a political statement. In theory though, shouldn't this movie be about any war and any family's loss? The marketing campaign may have to be as manipulative as the movie itself if the distributor is going to convince adult audiences they need a good weep.
Instead of creating an air of normalcy before news of the tragedy breaks, Strouse allows the film to open with a sense of melancholy, loss and anger. One can rationalize this approach, but the film never undergoes a dramatic tonal shift to reflect the impact of unbearable news.
Stanley Phillips' (Cusack) sullenness while his wife is deployed to Iraq, you later learn, is due to the fact the spouses are U.S. Army through and through but Stanley was forced out of the service due to bad eyesight. He fakes good cheer as manager of a large Midwestern housing supply store, but at home he is often silent and overly stern with his kids, Heidi (O'Keefe), 12, and Dawn (Bednarczyk), 8.
Then an Army officer and chaplain knock on the door one morning to inform him that Sgt. Grace Anne Phillips has been killed in Iraq. Stanley goes into shock, which doesn't look all that different from his demeanor the night before. That afternoon, he gathers the family in the living room to break the news -- only he can't. He seeks a delaying tactic by suggesting a dinner out. Heidi points out it is only 4 o'clock.
The remainder of the movie is one delaying tactic after another. Dad suggests an impromptu driving trip to a theme park in Florida. En route, he makes an impromptu visit to his mom's home for an encounter with his unemployed anti-war brother (Alessandro Nivola). A stop at a motel is interrupted by an impromptu middle-of-the-night departure.
All of these "impromptu" incidents are meant to resonate with the sense of loss that such a death brings. Most have a symbolic purpose as well, such as getting the girls' ears pieced at such an early age -- i.e., the premature loss of childhood. Yet these incidents are as blatant as they are bland. The filmmaker's scheme is writ so large on the screen as to provoke embarrassment rather than grief.
The mind starts to wander to little irritating details. When the girls climb back and forth between the front and back seats of the family SUV, you wonder what kind of responsible father would allow his children not to wear seatbelts. The most egregious devise has Stanley constantly calling the home answering machine to hear his wife's voice.
When the movie finally must resolve the dad's prolonged dilemma, half way through the pivotal scene Strouse allows Max Richter's sappy music to drown out the dialogue. The button-pushing music is accompanied by a washed-out look in Jean-Louis Bompoint's cinematography that is apparently meant to give the film true grit. Like all of these strategies, these only underscore the film's lack of true depth.
GRACE IS GONE
The Weinstein Co.
Plum Pictures and New Crime Productions in association with Hart/Lunsford Pictures
Credits:
Writer/director: James C. Strouse
Producers: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Celine Rattray
Executive producers: Paul Bernstein, Reagan Silber, Jai Stefan, Todd Traina
Director of photography: Jean-Louis Bompoint
Production designer: Susan Block
Music: Max Richter
Costume designer: Ha Nguyen
Editor: Joe Klotz
Cast:
Stanley Phillips: John Cusack
Heidi: Shelan O'Keefe
Dawn: Gracie Bednarczyk
John: Alessandro Nivola
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
From the sounds of sniffles in the Eccles Theater here, many will do just that. Much of these feelings owes to the highly manipulative use of two very young actors who play Cusack's adolescent daughters. The eldest, Shelan O'Keefe, is the best thing about the movie. But the younger one, Grace Bednarczyk, is Strouse's go-to person when he needs a quick emotional jolt.
Sensing a hot property, the Weinstein Co. snapped up this picture over the weekend. As an antidote to the Bush administration's determination to keep images of grief over Iraq out of the media, the film may work at the boxoffice as a political statement. In theory though, shouldn't this movie be about any war and any family's loss? The marketing campaign may have to be as manipulative as the movie itself if the distributor is going to convince adult audiences they need a good weep.
Instead of creating an air of normalcy before news of the tragedy breaks, Strouse allows the film to open with a sense of melancholy, loss and anger. One can rationalize this approach, but the film never undergoes a dramatic tonal shift to reflect the impact of unbearable news.
Stanley Phillips' (Cusack) sullenness while his wife is deployed to Iraq, you later learn, is due to the fact the spouses are U.S. Army through and through but Stanley was forced out of the service due to bad eyesight. He fakes good cheer as manager of a large Midwestern housing supply store, but at home he is often silent and overly stern with his kids, Heidi (O'Keefe), 12, and Dawn (Bednarczyk), 8.
Then an Army officer and chaplain knock on the door one morning to inform him that Sgt. Grace Anne Phillips has been killed in Iraq. Stanley goes into shock, which doesn't look all that different from his demeanor the night before. That afternoon, he gathers the family in the living room to break the news -- only he can't. He seeks a delaying tactic by suggesting a dinner out. Heidi points out it is only 4 o'clock.
The remainder of the movie is one delaying tactic after another. Dad suggests an impromptu driving trip to a theme park in Florida. En route, he makes an impromptu visit to his mom's home for an encounter with his unemployed anti-war brother (Alessandro Nivola). A stop at a motel is interrupted by an impromptu middle-of-the-night departure.
All of these "impromptu" incidents are meant to resonate with the sense of loss that such a death brings. Most have a symbolic purpose as well, such as getting the girls' ears pieced at such an early age -- i.e., the premature loss of childhood. Yet these incidents are as blatant as they are bland. The filmmaker's scheme is writ so large on the screen as to provoke embarrassment rather than grief.
The mind starts to wander to little irritating details. When the girls climb back and forth between the front and back seats of the family SUV, you wonder what kind of responsible father would allow his children not to wear seatbelts. The most egregious devise has Stanley constantly calling the home answering machine to hear his wife's voice.
When the movie finally must resolve the dad's prolonged dilemma, half way through the pivotal scene Strouse allows Max Richter's sappy music to drown out the dialogue. The button-pushing music is accompanied by a washed-out look in Jean-Louis Bompoint's cinematography that is apparently meant to give the film true grit. Like all of these strategies, these only underscore the film's lack of true depth.
GRACE IS GONE
The Weinstein Co.
Plum Pictures and New Crime Productions in association with Hart/Lunsford Pictures
Credits:
Writer/director: James C. Strouse
Producers: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Galt Niederhoffer, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Celine Rattray
Executive producers: Paul Bernstein, Reagan Silber, Jai Stefan, Todd Traina
Director of photography: Jean-Louis Bompoint
Production designer: Susan Block
Music: Max Richter
Costume designer: Ha Nguyen
Editor: Joe Klotz
Cast:
Stanley Phillips: John Cusack
Heidi: Shelan O'Keefe
Dawn: Gracie Bednarczyk
John: Alessandro Nivola
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/23/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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