Steven Spielberg has had a lifelong fascination with alien beings from beyond the stars. When the legendary director was just 17, he made a nearly two-and-a-half-hour epic on his 8mm camera called Firelight, a film that he more or less remade 14 years later as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That 1977 classic would be the first of three professional movies Spielberg would make about aliens arriving on our planet, the other two being E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and War of the Worlds (2005). And each trip into the extraterrestrial has led to one of the director’s most successful and acclaimed films (we’re not counting 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull since Spielberg didn’t actually want aliens in the movie).
It’s also a subject that continues to fascinate the filmmaker, with Variety recently reporting that Spielberg’s next film is going to be another...
It’s also a subject that continues to fascinate the filmmaker, with Variety recently reporting that Spielberg’s next film is going to be another...
- 4/24/2024
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
With TV and films stalled due to the ongoing writers and actors strike, director Judd Apatow and filmmaker J.J. Abrams sat down for a virtual conversation with Ed Solomon on Tuesday evening to talk in-depth about their writing process and working alongside filmmaker Matt Reeves as teenagers. During the 11th episode of The Black List’s Word by Word, the trio steered clear of conversations about the double strike.
At the start of the conversation, Solomon shared that Abrams and Apatow were eager to jump on the episode when learning...
At the start of the conversation, Solomon shared that Abrams and Apatow were eager to jump on the episode when learning...
- 9/6/2023
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
History Channel has set the premiere date and launch plan for its original documentary “After Jackie,” a look at the second wave of Black professional baseball players who followed the trailblazing Jackie Robinson.
History Channel will premiere the two-hour documentary from LeBron James’ Uninterrupted production imprint, director Andre Gaines (“The One and Only Dick Gregory”) and producer Stanley Nelson on Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. Nelson’s Firelight Films also produced in association with Major League Baseball and in consultatin with the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
History Channel disclosed the launch plan on Friday to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s history-making move to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, Robinson started at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the first time a Black man played in the modern Major Leagues and breaking the color barrier in the sport.
“When the Hall of Famer...
History Channel will premiere the two-hour documentary from LeBron James’ Uninterrupted production imprint, director Andre Gaines (“The One and Only Dick Gregory”) and producer Stanley Nelson on Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. Nelson’s Firelight Films also produced in association with Major League Baseball and in consultatin with the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
History Channel disclosed the launch plan on Friday to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s history-making move to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, Robinson started at first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the first time a Black man played in the modern Major Leagues and breaking the color barrier in the sport.
“When the Hall of Famer...
- 4/15/2022
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
DeWanda Wise has been cast in the upcoming Showtime series adaptation of the Lisa Taddeo novel “Three Women.”
Wise joins previously announced cast member Shailene Woodley. In the series, three women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives.
Wise will play Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in a committed open marriage until two sexy new strangers threaten their aspirational love story.
In addition to Sloane, there is Lina, a homemaker in suburban Indiana who is a decade into a passionless marriage when she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming and transforms her life, and Maggie, a student in North Dakota who weathers an intense storm after accusing her married English teacher of an inappropriate relationship. Gia (Woodley), a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades each of these three spectacular “ordinary” women to tell her their stories, and her relationships with them change the course of her life forever.
Wise joins previously announced cast member Shailene Woodley. In the series, three women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives.
Wise will play Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in a committed open marriage until two sexy new strangers threaten their aspirational love story.
In addition to Sloane, there is Lina, a homemaker in suburban Indiana who is a decade into a passionless marriage when she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming and transforms her life, and Maggie, a student in North Dakota who weathers an intense storm after accusing her married English teacher of an inappropriate relationship. Gia (Woodley), a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades each of these three spectacular “ordinary” women to tell her their stories, and her relationships with them change the course of her life forever.
- 7/28/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Newcomer Gabriel Labelle is in talks to play a young Steven Spielberg in an untitled film based on the famed filmmaker’s childhood that Spielberg will direct and co-write himself.
Labelle was last seen on the big screen in the 2018 horror reboot “The Predator” and is also attached to appear in Showtime’s series adaptation of “American Gigolo.” Here, Labelle will play Spielberg as a teenager in a film that will visit different periods of the director’s childhood in Arizona, where he made his first feature film, “Firelight,” at age 17 and screened it at his local cinema in Phoenix with the help of his family.
Michelle Williams and Paul Dano will play characters based on Spielberg’s parents, while Seth Rogen will play a character based on Spielberg’s uncle.
The project will be the first one Spielberg holds writing credit on since “A.I.” 20 years ago. He will...
Labelle was last seen on the big screen in the 2018 horror reboot “The Predator” and is also attached to appear in Showtime’s series adaptation of “American Gigolo.” Here, Labelle will play Spielberg as a teenager in a film that will visit different periods of the director’s childhood in Arizona, where he made his first feature film, “Firelight,” at age 17 and screened it at his local cinema in Phoenix with the help of his family.
Michelle Williams and Paul Dano will play characters based on Spielberg’s parents, while Seth Rogen will play a character based on Spielberg’s uncle.
The project will be the first one Spielberg holds writing credit on since “A.I.” 20 years ago. He will...
- 5/26/2021
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Arnold Spielberg, a pioneering computer designer who encouraged his only son, Steven Spielberg, to become a filmmaker, has died. He was 103.
Spielberg died Tuesday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his family announced.
In 1960, Arnold Spielberg helped design the Ge-225 mainframe computer that enabled researchers at Dartmouth College to develop the coding tool known as Basic, which ushered in the era of personal computers.
“I remember visiting the plant when dad was working on the Ge-225,” Steven said in 2015. “I walked through rooms that were so bright, I recall it hurting my eyes. Dad explained how his computer was expected to perform, but the language of computer science in those days was like Greek to me.
“It all seemed very exciting, but it was very much out of my reach until the 1980s, when I realized what pioneers like my dad had created were now the things I could not live without.
Spielberg died Tuesday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his family announced.
In 1960, Arnold Spielberg helped design the Ge-225 mainframe computer that enabled researchers at Dartmouth College to develop the coding tool known as Basic, which ushered in the era of personal computers.
“I remember visiting the plant when dad was working on the Ge-225,” Steven said in 2015. “I walked through rooms that were so bright, I recall it hurting my eyes. Dad explained how his computer was expected to perform, but the language of computer science in those days was like Greek to me.
“It all seemed very exciting, but it was very much out of my reach until the 1980s, when I realized what pioneers like my dad had created were now the things I could not live without.
- 8/26/2020
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ABC Signature has hired Starz programming exec Susan Lewis as SVP and head of drama development, replacing Patrick Maguire at the recently restructured studio.
In her new role, Lewis will head the label’s drama team and report to Tracy Underwood, EVP of creative affairs for ABC Signature, beginning Aug. 31. The studio, led by president Jonnie Davis, is the result of a merger between ABC Studios and ABC Signature, as part of an overall restructuring and re-naming at Disney Television Studios earlier this month.
Former drama head Maguire, who has been with the company for almost two decades, is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
“I feel very lucky to be joining the incredibly talented team at ABC Signature,” Lewis said. “The breadth of projects that they have brought to audiences is unparalleled, and I am excited to be at a company that is doing everything possible to tell stories about...
In her new role, Lewis will head the label’s drama team and report to Tracy Underwood, EVP of creative affairs for ABC Signature, beginning Aug. 31. The studio, led by president Jonnie Davis, is the result of a merger between ABC Studios and ABC Signature, as part of an overall restructuring and re-naming at Disney Television Studios earlier this month.
Former drama head Maguire, who has been with the company for almost two decades, is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
“I feel very lucky to be joining the incredibly talented team at ABC Signature,” Lewis said. “The breadth of projects that they have brought to audiences is unparalleled, and I am excited to be at a company that is doing everything possible to tell stories about...
- 8/20/2020
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Susan Lewis is joining ABC Signature as senior vice president and head of drama development.
Lewis will officially join the studio on Aug. 31 and will report to Tracy Underwood. She takes over the role from Patrick Maguire, who exited the studio amid the recent restructuring that saw ABC Studios and ABC Signature combine under the ABC Signature banner as part of Disney Television Studios.
“I feel very lucky to be joining the incredibly talented team at ABC Signature,” Lewis said. “The breadth of projects that they have brought to audiences is unparalleled, and I am excited to be at a company that is doing everything possible to tell stories about people that have not been told before.”
Lewis most recently worked at Starz Entertainment, where she has been senior vice president of original programming since 2017. During her tenure, she oversaw multiple series including “Dublin Murders,” “Hightown,” and the new critically-acclaimed series “P-Valley.
Lewis will officially join the studio on Aug. 31 and will report to Tracy Underwood. She takes over the role from Patrick Maguire, who exited the studio amid the recent restructuring that saw ABC Studios and ABC Signature combine under the ABC Signature banner as part of Disney Television Studios.
“I feel very lucky to be joining the incredibly talented team at ABC Signature,” Lewis said. “The breadth of projects that they have brought to audiences is unparalleled, and I am excited to be at a company that is doing everything possible to tell stories about people that have not been told before.”
Lewis most recently worked at Starz Entertainment, where she has been senior vice president of original programming since 2017. During her tenure, she oversaw multiple series including “Dublin Murders,” “Hightown,” and the new critically-acclaimed series “P-Valley.
- 8/20/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the recipients of its 2020 FilmCraft and FilmWatch grants.
A total of $2.5 million has been allocated to 96 organization, including recipients of the emergency grant funds announced last month in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Academy’s first priority remains to help those in our film community most impacted by the current global crisis. Our contribution of $2 million in emergency funds to the Academy Foundation, along with the grants we bestow on an annual basis, will surely benefit struggling organizations so they may continue to encourage diverse storytelling and enrich cinema and its artists,” Searchlight Pictures’ Nancy Utley, an Academy governor and the Education and Outreach Committee chair, said in a statement.
“The Academy’s Grants committee is honored to continue to provide much-needed support to these 96 worthy organizations — their impact on the world of film is truly immeasurable,” grants committee chair Marcus Hu added.
A total of $2.5 million has been allocated to 96 organization, including recipients of the emergency grant funds announced last month in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Academy’s first priority remains to help those in our film community most impacted by the current global crisis. Our contribution of $2 million in emergency funds to the Academy Foundation, along with the grants we bestow on an annual basis, will surely benefit struggling organizations so they may continue to encourage diverse storytelling and enrich cinema and its artists,” Searchlight Pictures’ Nancy Utley, an Academy governor and the Education and Outreach Committee chair, said in a statement.
“The Academy’s Grants committee is honored to continue to provide much-needed support to these 96 worthy organizations — their impact on the world of film is truly immeasurable,” grants committee chair Marcus Hu added.
- 5/12/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Mind the Gap: Nicholson’s Intimate Divorce Story Drama
The emotional devastation of a divorce girds the intimate dramatic underpinnings of Hope Gap, a quiet and unassuming new drama from writer William Nicholson, who returns to the director’s chair over two decades since his 1997 debut Firelight. Better known as a celebrated scribe, who penned Ridley Scott’s award-winning Gladiator and a slew of other notable motion pictures, including the underrated C.S. Lewis drama Shadowlands, he returns to a significantly personal arena with his latest, based on his own play The Return from Moscow.
Considering the pedigree of his leads, including the continually underrated Annette Bening and Bill Nighy, his latest is both a painfully blunt and significantly poignant of unconscious uncoupling usually reserved for overblown melodrama.…...
The emotional devastation of a divorce girds the intimate dramatic underpinnings of Hope Gap, a quiet and unassuming new drama from writer William Nicholson, who returns to the director’s chair over two decades since his 1997 debut Firelight. Better known as a celebrated scribe, who penned Ridley Scott’s award-winning Gladiator and a slew of other notable motion pictures, including the underrated C.S. Lewis drama Shadowlands, he returns to a significantly personal arena with his latest, based on his own play The Return from Moscow.
Considering the pedigree of his leads, including the continually underrated Annette Bening and Bill Nighy, his latest is both a painfully blunt and significantly poignant of unconscious uncoupling usually reserved for overblown melodrama.…...
- 3/10/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Ellenor Cox.
Emmy and Aacta Award winning producer turned screen sector executive coach Ellenor Cox explains why she feels curiosity is the single most defining feature of a successful creative career.
I clearly remember the moment as a 21 year old, freshly inducted into the hallowed halls of Qantas’s marketing department, when I came across an article stating that the average Australian will change their careers three times in their lives.
“Well, that will never be me!” I proclaimed, still chuffed at being accepted into this insanely competitive graduate management trainee program, envisaging myself grey-haired but with the corner office.
Yet six years later I experienced what’s now known as a ‘quarter life crisis’ and I took myself off backpacking indefinitely through Europe to ‘find myself’.
Fast forward and after an almost 25 year career as a film producer, I’m reaching that statistical average; I’m revelling in my...
Emmy and Aacta Award winning producer turned screen sector executive coach Ellenor Cox explains why she feels curiosity is the single most defining feature of a successful creative career.
I clearly remember the moment as a 21 year old, freshly inducted into the hallowed halls of Qantas’s marketing department, when I came across an article stating that the average Australian will change their careers three times in their lives.
“Well, that will never be me!” I proclaimed, still chuffed at being accepted into this insanely competitive graduate management trainee program, envisaging myself grey-haired but with the corner office.
Yet six years later I experienced what’s now known as a ‘quarter life crisis’ and I took myself off backpacking indefinitely through Europe to ‘find myself’.
Fast forward and after an almost 25 year career as a film producer, I’m reaching that statistical average; I’m revelling in my...
- 9/19/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: A24 and Oscar-nominated producer Jennifer Fox are teaming to develop Ursula Le Guin’s acclaimed Earthsea fantasy books for television. A24 is the studio and will finance the series project, which will be shopped to networks soon. Fox is producing.
Fox originally optioned the book series last year. Before she died in January 2018, Le Guin had given the producer her blessing to turn her work into a series of films. The adaptation since has been re-envisioned as a television series. An Earthsea miniseries based on the book series, with the teleplay co-written by Le Guin, aired on Sci Fi Channel in 2004.
The Earthsea books are an introspective fantasy series that Le Guin began in 1968 with the publication of Book 1, A Wizard of Earthsea, and finished in 2017, with the final short story “Firelight” published in 2018 in The Paris Review.
The book series, which has drawn comparisons to...
Fox originally optioned the book series last year. Before she died in January 2018, Le Guin had given the producer her blessing to turn her work into a series of films. The adaptation since has been re-envisioned as a television series. An Earthsea miniseries based on the book series, with the teleplay co-written by Le Guin, aired on Sci Fi Channel in 2004.
The Earthsea books are an introspective fantasy series that Le Guin began in 1968 with the publication of Book 1, A Wizard of Earthsea, and finished in 2017, with the final short story “Firelight” published in 2018 in The Paris Review.
The book series, which has drawn comparisons to...
- 9/3/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Roadside Attractions and Screen Media have acquired North American rights to “Hope Gap,” a family drama from Oscar nominee William Nicholson starring Annette Bening, Roadside co-founders Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff and Screen Media’s Seth Needle jointly announced Thursday.
Roadside and Screen Media acquired the rights from Protagonist and CAA Media Finance. The distributors will release “Hope Gap” in 2020, and levelFILM will distribute in Canada.
Bening stars in “Hope Gap” alongside Bill Nighy and Josh O’Connor in an adaptation of Nicholson’s play “The Retreat From Moscow.” “Hope Gap” is the story of a woman who learns her husband is leaving her for another woman after 29 years of marriage. It charts the emotional fallout experienced by their grown son and how the woman regains her footing and discovers a new voice.
Also Read: 'All My Sons' Broadway Review: Annette Bening and Tracy Letts Face the...
Roadside and Screen Media acquired the rights from Protagonist and CAA Media Finance. The distributors will release “Hope Gap” in 2020, and levelFILM will distribute in Canada.
Bening stars in “Hope Gap” alongside Bill Nighy and Josh O’Connor in an adaptation of Nicholson’s play “The Retreat From Moscow.” “Hope Gap” is the story of a woman who learns her husband is leaving her for another woman after 29 years of marriage. It charts the emotional fallout experienced by their grown son and how the woman regains her footing and discovers a new voice.
Also Read: 'All My Sons' Broadway Review: Annette Bening and Tracy Letts Face the...
- 5/9/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Firelight Media has its 12 filmmakers for the 2018-20 Firelight Documentary Lab, an 18-month fellowship supporting filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities. See their names and project below.
The filmmakers are culturally diverse, with impressive backgrounds ranging from public and commercial media to investigative journalism and digital production. The projects they bring to the fellowship tell stories of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico, domestic violence, federalization of the war on drugs, Indigenous identity, Kkk hostilities against Vietnamese refugees, and the mothers left in the wake of police brutality.
“We are honored to support the work of this new Doc Lab cohort because we believe they collectively embody the future of nonfiction — which is inclusive, centers those who have traditionally been on the margins, and pushes the boundaries of the documentary form,” said Loira Limbal, VP and Documentary Lab Director at Firelight.
Firelight Documentary Lab has...
The filmmakers are culturally diverse, with impressive backgrounds ranging from public and commercial media to investigative journalism and digital production. The projects they bring to the fellowship tell stories of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico, domestic violence, federalization of the war on drugs, Indigenous identity, Kkk hostilities against Vietnamese refugees, and the mothers left in the wake of police brutality.
“We are honored to support the work of this new Doc Lab cohort because we believe they collectively embody the future of nonfiction — which is inclusive, centers those who have traditionally been on the margins, and pushes the boundaries of the documentary form,” said Loira Limbal, VP and Documentary Lab Director at Firelight.
Firelight Documentary Lab has...
- 12/7/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: William Nicholson’s (Gladiator) drama Hope Gap, starring Annette Bening (American Beauty), Bill Nighy (Love Actually) and Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country), has sold into key markets for UK sales firm Protagonist Pictures.
Deals have closed in Germany/Austria (Tobis), Spain (A Contracorriente), Italy (Cloud 9), Australia and New Zealand (Transmission), Scandinavia and Iceland (Sf Studios), China (Dd Dream), Japan (Kino Films), Latin America (California Filmes), Poland (M2), Former Yugoslavia (McF), Middle East (Front Row), Israel (Forum Films), Hungary (Cinetel) and Airlines/Ships (Eim). CAA co-reps North America.
Hope Gap, currently in final post-production, is Nicholson’s second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane. The acclaimed writer was Oscar-nominated for his screenplays for Gladiator and Shadowlands and further writing credits include Les Miserables, Breathe and Everest.
Hope Gap charts the unraveling of a marriage after 29 years and the impact on a family unit.
Deals have closed in Germany/Austria (Tobis), Spain (A Contracorriente), Italy (Cloud 9), Australia and New Zealand (Transmission), Scandinavia and Iceland (Sf Studios), China (Dd Dream), Japan (Kino Films), Latin America (California Filmes), Poland (M2), Former Yugoslavia (McF), Middle East (Front Row), Israel (Forum Films), Hungary (Cinetel) and Airlines/Ships (Eim). CAA co-reps North America.
Hope Gap, currently in final post-production, is Nicholson’s second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane. The acclaimed writer was Oscar-nominated for his screenplays for Gladiator and Shadowlands and further writing credits include Les Miserables, Breathe and Everest.
Hope Gap charts the unraveling of a marriage after 29 years and the impact on a family unit.
- 11/15/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Project wrapped UK shoot earlier this month.
Screen can reveal the first look at Josh O’Connor, Annette Bening and Bill Nighy in William Nicholson’s family drama Hope Gap for Origin Pictures.
Principal photography wrapped on the project earlier this month after shooting for five weeks in the eponymous Hope Gap in Seaford, Sussex as well as in Leeds and Doncaster.
Hope Gap is Nicholson’s second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight with Sophie Marceau. He was Oscar-nominated for his screenplays for Gladiator and Shadowlands and his further writing credits include Breathe and Everest.
O’Connor, whose...
Screen can reveal the first look at Josh O’Connor, Annette Bening and Bill Nighy in William Nicholson’s family drama Hope Gap for Origin Pictures.
Principal photography wrapped on the project earlier this month after shooting for five weeks in the eponymous Hope Gap in Seaford, Sussex as well as in Leeds and Doncaster.
Hope Gap is Nicholson’s second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight with Sophie Marceau. He was Oscar-nominated for his screenplays for Gladiator and Shadowlands and his further writing credits include Breathe and Everest.
O’Connor, whose...
- 8/17/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
In mid-April, Starbucks faced a publicity nightmare when two black men were arrested in a downtown Philadelphia store after an employee called the police when they declined to leave. The video of their arrest went viral, receiving millions of views on Twitter and leading to a firestorm of criticism and calls for boycotts. Two days later, Starbucks announced it would close its stories nationwide for a day of “racial-bias education.”
A few weeks later, Starbucks contacted filmmaker Stanley Nelson; it wanted to hire him to make a short film. “They came directly to us,” said Nelson, the founder of Firelight Media and the director of several documentaries about the African-American experience, including “Freedom Riders” and “The Black Panthers: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities.”
Nelson, who was referred to the company by NAACP director Sherrilyn Ifill, said he was keen to contribute to the bias training workshops. “I felt...
A few weeks later, Starbucks contacted filmmaker Stanley Nelson; it wanted to hire him to make a short film. “They came directly to us,” said Nelson, the founder of Firelight Media and the director of several documentaries about the African-American experience, including “Freedom Riders” and “The Black Panthers: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities.”
Nelson, who was referred to the company by NAACP director Sherrilyn Ifill, said he was keen to contribute to the bias training workshops. “I felt...
- 5/30/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Annette Bening, Bill Nighy co-star in William Nicholson’s family drama.
God’s Own Country star Josh O’Connor has joined Annette Bening and Bill Nighy in the cast of Hope Gap.
William Nicholson, the Oscar-nominated writer of Breathe, Everest, Gladiator, Shadowlands, writes and directs the family drama, which is currently in pre-production and will shoot in summer 2018. It is his second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight with Sophie Marceau.
O’Connor, nominated for a Bafta and winner of a Bifa for his breakout role in God’s Own Country, will play Jamie, the son of married couple Grace (Annette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy). When Jamie comes to visit for the weekend at their seaside home, Edward informs him that he plans to leave Grace. Hope Gap tracks the unravelling of three lives, through stages of shock, disbelief, anger and resolution.
David M Thompson (Woman In Gold) of Origin Pictures produces. Protagonist is handling...
God’s Own Country star Josh O’Connor has joined Annette Bening and Bill Nighy in the cast of Hope Gap.
William Nicholson, the Oscar-nominated writer of Breathe, Everest, Gladiator, Shadowlands, writes and directs the family drama, which is currently in pre-production and will shoot in summer 2018. It is his second feature as a director after 1997’s Firelight with Sophie Marceau.
O’Connor, nominated for a Bafta and winner of a Bifa for his breakout role in God’s Own Country, will play Jamie, the son of married couple Grace (Annette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy). When Jamie comes to visit for the weekend at their seaside home, Edward informs him that he plans to leave Grace. Hope Gap tracks the unravelling of three lives, through stages of shock, disbelief, anger and resolution.
David M Thompson (Woman In Gold) of Origin Pictures produces. Protagonist is handling...
- 2/17/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Ryan Lambie Jun 12, 2019
Intended as a sequel to Close Encounters, Night Skies began in the 1970s and eventually became E.T.
Having scored a phenomenal hit with Jaws in 1975, director Steven Spielberg used his considerable industry clout to make Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - a science fiction fairytale for the UFO age. It was a personal project for Spielberg, conceived and partly written by the director himself (several other writers made uncredited passes on the script), and based on Firelight, the UFO film he'd shot for $500 while he was a teenager.
“I had a real, deep-rooted belief that we had been visited in this century,” the director once said of his fascination with the UFO phenomenon. “I was a real UFO devotee in the 1970s, and really into the UFO phenomenon from reading. For me, it was science.”
Like Jaws, the production on Close Encounters was difficult; as...
Intended as a sequel to Close Encounters, Night Skies began in the 1970s and eventually became E.T.
Having scored a phenomenal hit with Jaws in 1975, director Steven Spielberg used his considerable industry clout to make Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - a science fiction fairytale for the UFO age. It was a personal project for Spielberg, conceived and partly written by the director himself (several other writers made uncredited passes on the script), and based on Firelight, the UFO film he'd shot for $500 while he was a teenager.
“I had a real, deep-rooted belief that we had been visited in this century,” the director once said of his fascination with the UFO phenomenon. “I was a real UFO devotee in the 1970s, and really into the UFO phenomenon from reading. For me, it was science.”
Like Jaws, the production on Close Encounters was difficult; as...
- 5/29/2014
- Den of Geek
The author and screenwriter talks to Nicholas Wroe about emotional openness, storytelling and how Hollywood critiques help you focus as a novelist
'If you are a screenwriter and you write a novel, then you are still a screenwriter," explains William Nicholson. "With two novels you become a screenwriter who writes novels, and with three you are a novelist and screenwriter. But write seven or eight novels …? At the moment the people in my different worlds don't have much idea of the other things I do. The film world especially has no clue that I've written children's books, adult novels and plays. What I'd really like is to be up for a film award and literary award in the same year. That would confuse them."
A bold ambition, and looking at Nicholson's track record, not an entirely fanciful one. As a screenwriter he has been Oscar-nominated for adapting his own play about Cs Lewis,...
'If you are a screenwriter and you write a novel, then you are still a screenwriter," explains William Nicholson. "With two novels you become a screenwriter who writes novels, and with three you are a novelist and screenwriter. But write seven or eight novels …? At the moment the people in my different worlds don't have much idea of the other things I do. The film world especially has no clue that I've written children's books, adult novels and plays. What I'd really like is to be up for a film award and literary award in the same year. That would confuse them."
A bold ambition, and looking at Nicholson's track record, not an entirely fanciful one. As a screenwriter he has been Oscar-nominated for adapting his own play about Cs Lewis,...
- 1/10/2014
- by Nicholas Wroe
- The Guardian - Film News
On TV this Sunday: Fox celebrates 25 years of couch potatoes, Game of Thrones‘ Joffrey exacts punishment, Veep Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ White House party begins and more. In addition to TVLine’s original features (linked within), here are 10 programs to keep on your radar.
7 pm Married… With Children and The Simpsons (Fox) | Leading into Fox’s 25th anniversary special, here are the pilot episodes of two of its biggest hits.
More from TVLineDead Boy Detectives Showrunners Talk Potential Sandman Crossovers and Supernatural Easter EggsMasked Singer's Cleocatra Revealed? Here's Our Best-ish Guess2024 Geico 500: How to Watch the NASCAR Race Online
Once Upon...
7 pm Married… With Children and The Simpsons (Fox) | Leading into Fox’s 25th anniversary special, here are the pilot episodes of two of its biggest hits.
More from TVLineDead Boy Detectives Showrunners Talk Potential Sandman Crossovers and Supernatural Easter EggsMasked Singer's Cleocatra Revealed? Here's Our Best-ish Guess2024 Geico 500: How to Watch the NASCAR Race Online
Once Upon...
- 4/22/2012
- by Alyse Whitney
- TVLine.com
William Nicholson is set to write Shine Pictures' "1066," about the confrontation between King Harold and William the Conqueror that eventually led to the battle of Hastings.
Variety says "Nicholson's script will focus on the comradeship-turned-deadly rivalry between England's King Harold and William."
William's triumph in the battle and the following Norman takeover of England brought an end to the Dark Ages in Blighty.
A director and lead actors have not been announced yet, but the trade says Shine may already be talking to some big stars. New Regency and Fox are backing the project.
Nicholson most recently co-wrote "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." In 1997, he made his directorial debut with "Firelight," starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane.
The screenwriter also got nominated for two Oscars: in 2001 for "Gladiator" and in 1994 for "Shadowlands."...
Variety says "Nicholson's script will focus on the comradeship-turned-deadly rivalry between England's King Harold and William."
William's triumph in the battle and the following Norman takeover of England brought an end to the Dark Ages in Blighty.
A director and lead actors have not been announced yet, but the trade says Shine may already be talking to some big stars. New Regency and Fox are backing the project.
Nicholson most recently co-wrote "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." In 1997, he made his directorial debut with "Firelight," starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane.
The screenwriter also got nominated for two Oscars: in 2001 for "Gladiator" and in 1994 for "Shadowlands."...
- 1/28/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Wind Dancer Films said Thursday that partner David McFadzean will oversee the development of family films at the company.
McFadzean, a veteran writer-producer, is involved with three projects for Wind Dancer, including Hello, I Love You, The Fulton Street Gang and The Motel Galileo. He plans to develop four to five additional projects over the next year.
"I'm thrilled to put my energies into family comedies. After eight years of Home Improvement, I know there is a substantial audience out there," McFadzean said. "My goal is to keep production costs down while delivering the highest quality entertainment."
McFadzean's previous film producer credits include What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt; Where The Heart Is, starring Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd; Firelight, starring Sophie Marceau; and Walker Payne, with Jason Patric and Sam Shepherd.
He has been a partner in Wind Dancer since its inception.
McFadzean, a veteran writer-producer, is involved with three projects for Wind Dancer, including Hello, I Love You, The Fulton Street Gang and The Motel Galileo. He plans to develop four to five additional projects over the next year.
"I'm thrilled to put my energies into family comedies. After eight years of Home Improvement, I know there is a substantial audience out there," McFadzean said. "My goal is to keep production costs down while delivering the highest quality entertainment."
McFadzean's previous film producer credits include What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt; Where The Heart Is, starring Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd; Firelight, starring Sophie Marceau; and Walker Payne, with Jason Patric and Sam Shepherd.
He has been a partner in Wind Dancer since its inception.
- 11/3/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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