How do you capture Jenne Casarotto? She was at the intersection of theatre, film and television. It all, seemingly, swirled around her.
Not just around her.
It was the brilliant team that she assembled at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, the agency that’s been at the epicenter of UK arts culture for over three decades. Correction: The company’s reach extended far beyond the environs of London’s Soho.
One would see her in Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Sydney. One would not be at all surprised to be at a screening at, let’s say, Sundance, and there’d be a tap on the shoulder when the lights came up. “That was great stuff, wasn’t it?” She’d say gleefully.
It was a bit of a test because she’d expect you to be honest with her. Well, it was godawful, actually, and she’d nod sagely, her eyes twinkling behind her specs.
Not just around her.
It was the brilliant team that she assembled at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, the agency that’s been at the epicenter of UK arts culture for over three decades. Correction: The company’s reach extended far beyond the environs of London’s Soho.
One would see her in Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Sydney. One would not be at all surprised to be at a screening at, let’s say, Sundance, and there’d be a tap on the shoulder when the lights came up. “That was great stuff, wasn’t it?” She’d say gleefully.
It was a bit of a test because she’d expect you to be honest with her. Well, it was godawful, actually, and she’d nod sagely, her eyes twinkling behind her specs.
- 3/7/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Jenne Casarotto, who co-founded the London-based global talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and represented the likes of Tennessee Williams, Stephen Frears, David Hare, Terry Gilliam, Steve McQueen, Neil Jordan and John Madden during her long career, has died. She was 77.
Casarotto died Thursday in the U.K. of complications from a short illness, her firm announced.
With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto was “an award-winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients and for her calm and creative leadership,” Casarotto Ramsay & Associates said in a statement.
She and her husband, Giorgio Romeo Casarotto, launched the company in 1989.
Her illustrious list of clients — several of whom worked alongside her since their feature film debuts — also included J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Hilary Bevan Jones,...
Casarotto died Thursday in the U.K. of complications from a short illness, her firm announced.
With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto was “an award-winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients and for her calm and creative leadership,” Casarotto Ramsay & Associates said in a statement.
She and her husband, Giorgio Romeo Casarotto, launched the company in 1989.
Her illustrious list of clients — several of whom worked alongside her since their feature film debuts — also included J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Hilary Bevan Jones,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of the London agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates which represents some of the leading names working behind the camera, died on Feb. 29. She was 77.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of Casarotto Ramsay & Associates,” said the company in a statement.
With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto co-founded Casarotto Ramsay & Associates alongside her husband Giorgio in 1989, helping re-shape the agency landscape. The company’s roster would grow to include many of the world’s best-known writers, directors, creatives, literary properties and heads of departments across film, theatre and television.
Among her list of clients over the years were J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, the Dahl Estate, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Stephen Frears, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Terry Gilliam, Hilary Bevan Jones, Neil Jordan, David Leland, John Madden, Steve McQueen, Cynthia Payne, Neal Purvis,...
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of Casarotto Ramsay & Associates,” said the company in a statement.
With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto co-founded Casarotto Ramsay & Associates alongside her husband Giorgio in 1989, helping re-shape the agency landscape. The company’s roster would grow to include many of the world’s best-known writers, directors, creatives, literary properties and heads of departments across film, theatre and television.
Among her list of clients over the years were J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, the Dahl Estate, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Stephen Frears, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Terry Gilliam, Hilary Bevan Jones, Neil Jordan, David Leland, John Madden, Steve McQueen, Cynthia Payne, Neal Purvis,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Jenne Casarotto, who co-founded leading British talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates in 1989 and repped some of the nation’s greatest talents, died Thursday following complications from a short illness. She was 77.
Casarotto died “peacefully, according to a statement from the agency.
Th 35-year-old outfit described its founder as a “visionary leader and a giant within the global entertainment industry,” saying, “With a career spanning over 50 years, Jenne was an award winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients, and for her calm and creative leadership.”
Casarotto co-founded the London shop in 1989 with husband Giorgio and went on to represent some of the best-known and most successful writers, directors, playwrights, creatives and HODs in the business at an agency that has been at the forefront of the UK sector for years.
Casarotto’s enviable client list included J.G. Ballard,...
Casarotto died “peacefully, according to a statement from the agency.
Th 35-year-old outfit described its founder as a “visionary leader and a giant within the global entertainment industry,” saying, “With a career spanning over 50 years, Jenne was an award winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients, and for her calm and creative leadership.”
Casarotto co-founded the London shop in 1989 with husband Giorgio and went on to represent some of the best-known and most successful writers, directors, playwrights, creatives and HODs in the business at an agency that has been at the forefront of the UK sector for years.
Casarotto’s enviable client list included J.G. Ballard,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of UK talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, has died aged 77, the agency has confirmed.
Casarotto passed away “peacefully on Thursday, February 29 surrounded by her loving family, following complications as part of a short illness,” read a statement from the agency.
A major player in the UK agency landscape for several decades, Casarotto founded Casarotto Ramsay & Associates with her husband Giorgio in 1989. Her client list with the company included J.G. Ballard, the Dahl estate, Christopher Hampton, Tennessee Williams, David Yates, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Steve McQueen, Shawn Slovo, Neil Jordan, David Hare, Matteo Garrone and Cynthia Payne.
“I have...
Casarotto passed away “peacefully on Thursday, February 29 surrounded by her loving family, following complications as part of a short illness,” read a statement from the agency.
A major player in the UK agency landscape for several decades, Casarotto founded Casarotto Ramsay & Associates with her husband Giorgio in 1989. Her client list with the company included J.G. Ballard, the Dahl estate, Christopher Hampton, Tennessee Williams, David Yates, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Steve McQueen, Shawn Slovo, Neil Jordan, David Hare, Matteo Garrone and Cynthia Payne.
“I have...
- 3/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Shawn Slovo is adapting the screenplay.
South African-born, UK-based director Roger Michell is attached to direct the feature adaptation of Zelda la Grange’s bestselling book Good Morning, Mr. Mandela, which Working Title Films is understood to have come on board to produce alongside the US’ Maven Screen Media.
Good Morning, Mr. Mandela is a personal tribute by white Afrikaner La Grange to the late South African leader and freedom fighter, one of the dominant figures in global politics in the second half of the 20th century. After his presidency, Mandela picked La Grange to serve as his private secretary...
South African-born, UK-based director Roger Michell is attached to direct the feature adaptation of Zelda la Grange’s bestselling book Good Morning, Mr. Mandela, which Working Title Films is understood to have come on board to produce alongside the US’ Maven Screen Media.
Good Morning, Mr. Mandela is a personal tribute by white Afrikaner La Grange to the late South African leader and freedom fighter, one of the dominant figures in global politics in the second half of the 20th century. After his presidency, Mandela picked La Grange to serve as his private secretary...
- 8/4/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
After her Writers Guild Awards loss, Greta Gerwig can rebound with a win at Sunday’s BAFTA Awards for her “Lady Bird” script. Should she pull through, she’d only be the fourth woman to win Best Original Screenplay in BAFTA history.
BAFTA split its Best Screenplay category into original and adapted in 1983 and since then, Shawn Slovo (“A World Apart” [1988]), Nora Ephron (“When Harry Met Sally…” [1989]) and Diablo Cody (“Juno” [2007]) are the only female writers who’ve won Best Original Screenplay. No women won BAFTA’s single screenplay category when it existed from 1968 through ’82.
See Oscars 2018: Will Greta Gerwig, Emily V. Gordon or Vanessa Taylor be the first woman in 10 years to win Best Original Screenplay?
Of those three winners, only Cody went on to win the corresponding Oscar, which is also the last time a woman has won either writing category at the Oscars. Slovo was not...
BAFTA split its Best Screenplay category into original and adapted in 1983 and since then, Shawn Slovo (“A World Apart” [1988]), Nora Ephron (“When Harry Met Sally…” [1989]) and Diablo Cody (“Juno” [2007]) are the only female writers who’ve won Best Original Screenplay. No women won BAFTA’s single screenplay category when it existed from 1968 through ’82.
See Oscars 2018: Will Greta Gerwig, Emily V. Gordon or Vanessa Taylor be the first woman in 10 years to win Best Original Screenplay?
Of those three winners, only Cody went on to win the corresponding Oscar, which is also the last time a woman has won either writing category at the Oscars. Slovo was not...
- 2/18/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Alison Owen and Debra Hayward's Monumental Pictures is set to make a big screen biopic about Victorian mathematician and computer science visionary Ada Lovelace. Development is being supported by Google and the National Academy of Sciences' program, The Science and Entertainment Exchange. Shawn Slovo, who wrote Stephen Frears' Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight and Phillip Noyce’s Catch a Fire, is set to write the screenplay. Lovelace was the daughter of notorious Romantic…...
- 10/14/2016
- Deadline
He’s faced off against many movie characters over the years, including an army of Orcs and James Bond, and soon prolific actor Sean Bean will face another formidable foe in The Frankenstein Chronicles, a six-part miniseries set to air on ITV Encore. Bean will play Inspector John Marlott in the 1800’s-set show, a man assigned to capture a killer who melds body parts together in a manner reminiscent of Victor Frankenstein.
Press Release - “ITV today confirmed commission of The Frankenstein Chronicles, a thrilling and terrifying re-imagining of the Frankenstein myth as a six-part period crime drama to be produced by Rainmark Films.
Incorporating elements from the investigative and horror genres with an extraordinary hero at its centre, Inspector John Marlott, played by multi-awarding winning leading actor Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Accused) will be taken on a terrifying journey in pursuit of a chilling and diabolical foe.
Press Release - “ITV today confirmed commission of The Frankenstein Chronicles, a thrilling and terrifying re-imagining of the Frankenstein myth as a six-part period crime drama to be produced by Rainmark Films.
Incorporating elements from the investigative and horror genres with an extraordinary hero at its centre, Inspector John Marlott, played by multi-awarding winning leading actor Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Accused) will be taken on a terrifying journey in pursuit of a chilling and diabolical foe.
- 11/17/2014
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
First stop, the Annie Awards which honor excellence in the animated world. And the winners are:
Best Animated Feature:
Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production:
Chipotle Scarecrow, Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios
Best Animated Short Subject:
Get A Horse!,Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial:
Despicable Me 2, Cinemark - Universal Pictures
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children:
Disney Sofia the First - Disney Television Animation
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children.s Audience:
Adventure Time, Cartoon Network Studios
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production:
Futurama,20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Video Game:
The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
Best Student Film
Wedding Cake, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Viola Baier, Iris Frisch
Animated Effects in an Animated Production:
Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer, The Croods, DreamWorks Animation
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production:
Michael Balog,...
Best Animated Feature:
Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production:
Chipotle Scarecrow, Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios
Best Animated Short Subject:
Get A Horse!,Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial:
Despicable Me 2, Cinemark - Universal Pictures
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children:
Disney Sofia the First - Disney Television Animation
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children.s Audience:
Adventure Time, Cartoon Network Studios
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production:
Futurama,20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Video Game:
The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
Best Student Film
Wedding Cake, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Viola Baier, Iris Frisch
Animated Effects in an Animated Production:
Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer, The Croods, DreamWorks Animation
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production:
Michael Balog,...
- 2/13/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Her, Stories We Tell and Captain Phillips took home top honors on Saturday night as the big winners of the 2014 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen. Television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing were also recognized at simultaneous ceremonies at the Jw Marriott L.A. Live in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City. It’s the final precursor guild award leading up to the Oscars.
Below is a complete list of the winners.
Screen Winners
Original Screenplay (matched up with the Academy Awards nominations)
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nominees included American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and Nebraska.
Adapted Screenplay (3 for 5 Oscar nominations)
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
In addition to Captain Phillips,...
Below is a complete list of the winners.
Screen Winners
Original Screenplay (matched up with the Academy Awards nominations)
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nominees included American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and Nebraska.
Adapted Screenplay (3 for 5 Oscar nominations)
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
In addition to Captain Phillips,...
- 2/2/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Spike Jonze’s philosophical sci-fi love story Her, and Billy Ray’s harrowing true-life hostage saga Captain Phillips earned best original and adapted screenplays, respectively, from the Writers Guild Awards on Saturday.
In the original category, Her was facing its four rivals for the Oscar: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, and Nebraska, so its victory can be seen as a strong harbinger of where the Academy Award could go on March 2. In anecdotal sampling of Academy members, EW’s Prize Fighter has also determined that Her is far and away the front-runner for this category.
The WGA’s...
In the original category, Her was facing its four rivals for the Oscar: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, and Nebraska, so its victory can be seen as a strong harbinger of where the Academy Award could go on March 2. In anecdotal sampling of Academy members, EW’s Prize Fighter has also determined that Her is far and away the front-runner for this category.
The WGA’s...
- 2/2/2014
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
Tonight, the Writers Guild of America presented their awards for excellence in film and television for 2013. All eyes were on their top two categories, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay, and while the former went to Spike Jonze’s incredible Her as expected, the latter went to Billy Ray’s Captain Phillips, which was completely out of the blue.
Her was widely expected to win due to its immense popularity throughout awards season, taking 20 screenplay wins from groups such as the HFPA and Bfca. However, Captain Phillips was a complete surprise given that it had not managed to win a single screenplay award prior to tonight, but as I’ve said before, it was going to be hard to tell which nominee was the favorite given the fact that the disqualified 12 Years a Slave has been the clear frontrunner throughout the season. However, it’s still quite shocking that Before Midnight...
Her was widely expected to win due to its immense popularity throughout awards season, taking 20 screenplay wins from groups such as the HFPA and Bfca. However, Captain Phillips was a complete surprise given that it had not managed to win a single screenplay award prior to tonight, but as I’ve said before, it was going to be hard to tell which nominee was the favorite given the fact that the disqualified 12 Years a Slave has been the clear frontrunner throughout the season. However, it’s still quite shocking that Before Midnight...
- 2/2/2014
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season,’ James Earl Jones in ‘Cry the Beloved Country’: Apartheid movies (photo: Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season’) (See previous post: “Nelson Mandela: Sidney Poitier and ‘Malcolm X’ Cameo Apperance.”) Besides the Nelson Mandela movies discussed in the previous two posts, South Africa’s apartheid has been portrayed in a number of films in the last few decades. Among the most notable ones are the following: Zoltan Korda’s Cry the Beloved Country (1951). Based on Alan Paton’s novel, this British-made film features Canada Lee and Charles Carson as two men struggling to deal with the disastrous consequences of apartheid. Ralph Nelson’s The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine star as, respectively, an anti-apartheid South African activist and a British engineer on the run from South Africa’s secret police, headed by racist Nicol Williamson. Chris Menges’ A World Apart...
- 12/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Netflix's critical hit "Orange Is the New Black" picked up four nominations for the 2014 Writers Guild Awards -- where it's entered as a comedy series.
The show (and its cast) is entered in the drama field for some other upcoming awards shows, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's a bit of a tweener show, mixing both comedy and drama, but as there are no "dramedy" awards anywhere, it's a comedy for writing purposes.
Other multiple nominees for the WGA Awards include "Breaking Bad," "Modern Family," "30 Rock," "Masters of Sex," "The Simpsons" and another Netflix series, "House of Cards."
The full list of series nominees is below. You can go here to see all the WGA TV and radio nominees, including those for news and children's programming. The awards are scheduled for Feb. 1.
Drama series
"Breaking Bad"
"The Good Wife"
"Homeland"
"House of Cards"
"Mad Men...
The show (and its cast) is entered in the drama field for some other upcoming awards shows, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's a bit of a tweener show, mixing both comedy and drama, but as there are no "dramedy" awards anywhere, it's a comedy for writing purposes.
Other multiple nominees for the WGA Awards include "Breaking Bad," "Modern Family," "30 Rock," "Masters of Sex," "The Simpsons" and another Netflix series, "House of Cards."
The full list of series nominees is below. You can go here to see all the WGA TV and radio nominees, including those for news and children's programming. The awards are scheduled for Feb. 1.
Drama series
"Breaking Bad"
"The Good Wife"
"Homeland"
"House of Cards"
"Mad Men...
- 12/5/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Capturing the magnetic, larger than life personality of Muhammad Ali has been something only a few actors have tried over the years, including Will Smith, Darius McCrary and Terrence Howard. And while the boxing legend and sports world superstar can be imitated, he simply can't be duplicated. So call it a savvy move on the part of screenwriter Shawn Slovo and director Stephen Frears to avoid that issue altogether in "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," which defers to archival footage to present the titular subject in the dramatized story of his fight against his conviction of avoiding the Vietnam War draft, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Unfortunately, that archival material is also the most dramatically potent in a film that presents the story respectfully, if not particularly compellingly. Benjamin Walker leads the film as Kevin Connolly, a new clerk in the office of Supreme Court veteran...
- 10/6/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Christopher Plummer certainly doesn't have the title role in "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," but he has as much of the spotlight.
The "Beginners" Oscar winner is a pivotal player in the true HBO drama premiering Saturday, Oct. 5. Directed by Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), the film recalls the early 1970s deliberations by Supreme Court justices when iconic boxer Ali wanted his case heard after he was banned from the sport for being a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.
Plummer plays Justice John Harlan II, whose mind met those of such legends as Warren E. Burger (Frank Langella) and Thurgood Marshall (Danny Glover) in debating how to proceed. Offered the Burger role first, Plummer considers himself "so lucky" things evolved as they did.
"When the fellow who was playing Harlan fell out, I grabbed it as quickly as I could. He was the one character, of the justices, who got to...
The "Beginners" Oscar winner is a pivotal player in the true HBO drama premiering Saturday, Oct. 5. Directed by Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), the film recalls the early 1970s deliberations by Supreme Court justices when iconic boxer Ali wanted his case heard after he was banned from the sport for being a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.
Plummer plays Justice John Harlan II, whose mind met those of such legends as Warren E. Burger (Frank Langella) and Thurgood Marshall (Danny Glover) in debating how to proceed. Offered the Burger role first, Plummer considers himself "so lucky" things evolved as they did.
"When the fellow who was playing Harlan fell out, I grabbed it as quickly as I could. He was the one character, of the justices, who got to...
- 10/5/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
A compelling new film documenting Muhammad Ali's battle against the Vietnam war draft shows the fighter's ongoing relevance, in and out of the ring
"Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan" was how the record company's slogan put it back in the 1960s. Equally, nobody plays Ali like Ali, then or now. So it was sensible of the director Stephen Frears and the screenwriter Shawn Slovo to mix original newsreel footage with newly shot material when putting together their film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, which they presented to an audience at the British Film Institute on Tuesday night.
Its Us premiere took place 24 hours later in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali's home town, kicking off Three Days of Greatness, a gala at which humanitarian awards were presented in the boxer's name to recipients including Jimmy Carter and Christina Aguilera. No one who saw it on either side of the Atlantic this week could doubt that if any sceptic,...
"Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan" was how the record company's slogan put it back in the 1960s. Equally, nobody plays Ali like Ali, then or now. So it was sensible of the director Stephen Frears and the screenwriter Shawn Slovo to mix original newsreel footage with newly shot material when putting together their film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, which they presented to an audience at the British Film Institute on Tuesday night.
Its Us premiere took place 24 hours later in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali's home town, kicking off Three Days of Greatness, a gala at which humanitarian awards were presented in the boxer's name to recipients including Jimmy Carter and Christina Aguilera. No one who saw it on either side of the Atlantic this week could doubt that if any sceptic,...
- 10/4/2013
- by Richard Williams
- The Guardian - Film News
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, starring Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella and Benjamin Walker, will debut on Saturday, October 5 at 8 Pm on HBO. Directed by Stephen Frears from a script by Shawn Slovo, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, dramatizes the machinations of the Supreme Court as Ali pursued Conscientious Objector status. HBO Films is producing in association with Saf Films West. Frank Doelger, Tracey Scoffield, Jonathan Cameron and Frears are executive producers.
- 9/12/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Bill Siegel's documentary "The Trials of Muhammad Ali," currently in theaters, covers the legendary boxer's Supreme Court battle over his refusal to be conscripted to fight in the Vietnam War. HBO will be offering a scripted take on the same subject when it premieres "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" on Saturday, October 5th at 8pm. Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Shawn Slovo, the film stars Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella, Danny Glover, Ed Begley Jr. and others as the legal figures involved in the case, though Ali appears only on archival footage. The film premiered as a special screening at Cannes earlier this year.
- 8/27/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
How do you make a Muhammad Ali movie without Muhammad Ali? That's one of the challenges for HBO's "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), which revisits a famous Supreme Court battle from 1971 involving the appeal of Ali's criminal conviction after refusing to fight in the Vietnam War.
All of the film's footage of Ali was pulled from archives (similar to what Frears has done in past films, like with Princess Diana in "The Queen") and the story focuses primarily on Supreme Court judges and clerks working on the case.
"The idea of casting anybody to play Muhammad Ali seemed so difficult and so distracting in a way," Frears said during a discussion at the TCA summer press tour.
Instead the film stars Christopher Plummer as John Harlan II, Frank Langella as Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Benjamin Walker as Harlan's new clerk, Kevin Connolly.
All of the film's footage of Ali was pulled from archives (similar to what Frears has done in past films, like with Princess Diana in "The Queen") and the story focuses primarily on Supreme Court judges and clerks working on the case.
"The idea of casting anybody to play Muhammad Ali seemed so difficult and so distracting in a way," Frears said during a discussion at the TCA summer press tour.
Instead the film stars Christopher Plummer as John Harlan II, Frank Langella as Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Benjamin Walker as Harlan's new clerk, Kevin Connolly.
- 7/26/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
HBO’s movie Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight has a lily-white cast because it’s a Supreme Court drama set in 1971, the show’s creators explained today at TCA Summer TV Press Tour. This was in response to a TV critic who asked them why the movie had so many white characters and didn’t “go into what black people were thinking” when the heavyweight champ refused to be conscripted into the U.S. military to fight in Vietnam on religious grounds. The movie spans just a few weeks — about six months before Roe v Wade. Ali does appear in the movie, but it’s Actual Ali, 100 percent archival footage. “We were making a Supreme Court drama,” explained screenwriter Shawn Slovo, noting that all but one of the justices and all of the clerks were white men. “There were no black clerks and woman clerks,” Slovo explained patiently, adding, “That...
- 7/25/2013
- by LISA DE MORAES, TV Columnist
- Deadline TV
Time for another historical drama, but I’m sure you’re going to enjoy in Stephen Frears‘ latest movie titled Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight. The film, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is not exactly a boxing movie, but it’s definitely worth your full attention because it gives us a much better look at Ali’s biggest match – his fight with the Us government! Stephen Frears directed the movie from a script written by Shawn Slovo, which revolves around the politics and hubris surrounding the Vietnam War and the revenge exacted on America’s greatest sportsman of the 20th century because he refused to fight in...
- 5/27/2013
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
If further evidence were needed that the lines between TV and film are becoming less and less visible, Cannes has provided a decent opportunity. Last year saw "Hemingway & Gellhorn" get an out-of-competition screening, whereas this year went one better, and has seen Steven Soderbergh's "Behind The Candelabra" pick up some of the best reviews of the festival. But the trouble with the Liberace biopic getting so much attention is that it's overshadowed the other HBO movie, "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," which screened this morning to virtually no buzz, and which has just debuted its first three pieces of footage. Written by Shawn Slovo ("Catch A Fire"), and directed by Stephen Frears, it tells the story of the Supreme Court debate over the great boxer's conscientious objection to fighting in Vietnam, focusing in particular on the relationship between the torn Justice Harlan (Christopher Plummer) and his clerk (Benjamin Walker: Vampire Hunter). Frank Langella,...
- 5/22/2013
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Don’t let the title fool you — this film is not about Ali taking down Frazier. As it turns out, Muhammad Ali’s greatest fight was not in the ring.
Written by Shawn Slovo and directed by Stephen Frears, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight tells the story of Ali’s famous courtroom battle. After being drafted to the Vietnam War, Ali claimed conscientious objector status on religious grounds, which therefore lead to years of dodging punches from the U.S. judicial system before finally facing the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971.But Frears’ latest film takes the focus away from...
Written by Shawn Slovo and directed by Stephen Frears, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight tells the story of Ali’s famous courtroom battle. After being drafted to the Vietnam War, Ali claimed conscientious objector status on religious grounds, which therefore lead to years of dodging punches from the U.S. judicial system before finally facing the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971.But Frears’ latest film takes the focus away from...
- 5/20/2013
- by Samantha Highfill
- EW - Inside TV
Danny Glover, Barry Levinson, Pablo Schreiber, Ed Begley Jr., Bob Balaban and Kathleen Chalfant have boarded Stephen Frears’ HBO movie Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, which dramatizes the machinations of the Supreme Court as Ali pursued Conscientious Objector status. They join previously cast Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella and Benjamin Walker. Glover will play Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Justice to serve on the Supreme Court; Levinson will play Justice Potter Stewart, who was an unpredictable voter on the Court; Begley Jr. will play Justice Harry Blackmun, President Richard Nixon appointee to the Supreme Court; Balaban will play an Advocate for Vietnam Veterans who argues a case before the Court; Schreiber will play Covert Becker, a Supreme Court clerk who doesn’t hide his contempt for liberals; and Kathleen Chalfant will play Ethel Harlan, Justice Harlan’s wife. Written by Shawn Slovo, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight is executive produced by Frank Doelger,...
- 4/11/2012
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" star Benjamin Walker has joined the Stephen Frears-helmed Muhammad Ali biopic "Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight" for HBO Films says Variety.
The story chronicles Ali’s trial following his arrest for anti-Vietnam sentiments and behavior after bring drafted. Walker will play Supreme Court clerk Kevin Kennedy who supported Ali and even wrote briefs which ultimately lead to approval of Ali's status as a conscientious objector.
Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella also star as Supreme Court judge John Marshall Harlan and Chief Justice Warren Burger respectively. Walker's involvement was made possible after the collapse of Alex Proyas' "Paradise Lost" freed up his schedule.
Frears will apparently use archival footage of Ali rather than hiring an actor to play him. Shawn Slovo wrote the script while Scott Ferguson is producing.
The story chronicles Ali’s trial following his arrest for anti-Vietnam sentiments and behavior after bring drafted. Walker will play Supreme Court clerk Kevin Kennedy who supported Ali and even wrote briefs which ultimately lead to approval of Ali's status as a conscientious objector.
Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella also star as Supreme Court judge John Marshall Harlan and Chief Justice Warren Burger respectively. Walker's involvement was made possible after the collapse of Alex Proyas' "Paradise Lost" freed up his schedule.
Frears will apparently use archival footage of Ali rather than hiring an actor to play him. Shawn Slovo wrote the script while Scott Ferguson is producing.
- 2/16/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Can a Song Save Your Life?
"True Grit" star Hailee Steinfeld has joined the cast of "Once" director John Carney's "Can a Song Save Your Life?" at Exclusive Media Group. Shooting on the film kicks off in June.
Scarlett Johansson plays a talented young singer who crosses paths with a depressed record producer (Mark Ruffalo) and they strike up a relationship. Steinfeld will portray Mark Ruffalo's daughter. [Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
Muhammed Ali's Greatest Fight
Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have signed on for Stephen Frears’ upcoming HBO TV movie M"uhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight" about Ali’s 1967 arrest for draft evasion and the legal battle that took him all the way to the Supreme Court.
Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II, Langella will take on the role of Chief Justice Warren Berger. Shawn Slovo ("Captain Corelli’s Mandolin") penned the script. [Source: EW]
Beauty and the Beast...
"True Grit" star Hailee Steinfeld has joined the cast of "Once" director John Carney's "Can a Song Save Your Life?" at Exclusive Media Group. Shooting on the film kicks off in June.
Scarlett Johansson plays a talented young singer who crosses paths with a depressed record producer (Mark Ruffalo) and they strike up a relationship. Steinfeld will portray Mark Ruffalo's daughter. [Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
Muhammed Ali's Greatest Fight
Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have signed on for Stephen Frears’ upcoming HBO TV movie M"uhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight" about Ali’s 1967 arrest for draft evasion and the legal battle that took him all the way to the Supreme Court.
Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II, Langella will take on the role of Chief Justice Warren Berger. Shawn Slovo ("Captain Corelli’s Mandolin") penned the script. [Source: EW]
Beauty and the Beast...
- 2/11/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
EW has confirmed that Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have signed on for Stephen Frears’ upcoming HBO project Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight. Current Oscar favorite Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II, and recent Sundance 2012 sensation Langella will take on the role of Chief Justice Warren Berger.
Shawn Slovo (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) penned the script about Ali’s 1967 arrest for draft evasion, how he was he was stripped of his heavyweight championship title, and the legal battle that took him all the way to the Supreme Court.
Frears and his team are still looking...
Shawn Slovo (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) penned the script about Ali’s 1967 arrest for draft evasion, how he was he was stripped of his heavyweight championship title, and the legal battle that took him all the way to the Supreme Court.
Frears and his team are still looking...
- 2/10/2012
- by Lanford Beard
- EW - Inside TV
Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have joined Stephen Frears' HBO film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" about the heavyweight champion's conscientious objection to fighting in Vietnam. Plummer, nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in "Beginners," will Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II. (He has already won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for his "Beginners" role.) Langella will play Chief Justice Warren Berger. Shawn Slovo wrote the script, which recounts Ali's legal case going to the Supreme Court. The champ was arrested, found guilty on...
- 2/10/2012
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
If there is one thing about Stephen Frears, he doesn't usually let too much time pass before he's on to the next project. And barely a week after his latest film "Lay The Favorite" premiered at Sundance, it looks like he may be on to something new. And now, it's not the developing remake of "The Hit" or "The Bengali Detective." Instead, it's "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" and it's gearing up at HBO. The folks over at Shadow & Act first got wind of the project, and have learned that casting is underway. The film seems to be moving under the radar, but when is known thus far is that it has a script from Shawn Slovo ("Catch A Fire," "Captain Corelli's Mandolin") and Scott Ferguson ( past HBO successes "You Don't Know Jack," "Temple Grandin," "Recount") is one of the producers according to Montana Artists Agency. So what's it all about?...
- 2/1/2012
- The Playlist
BBC Films has acquired the bestselling Chris Cleave novel "Little Bee," and Nicole Kidman has attached herself as star and producer.According to Variety, Gail Mutrux will produce through her Pretty Pictures banner with Kidman and her Blossom Films partner Per Saari.Shawn Slovo is writing the script. BBC Films creative director Christine Langan will be executive producing. Slovo, who was born and raised in South Africa and relocated with her family as a teen to the U.K. as political refugees, previously wrote "Catch a Fire" and the autobiographical "A World Apart."Story follows a fateful encounter on an African beach in which a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets a vacationing upper-middle-class British couple who've wandered into an area outside the...
- 7/10/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Nicole Kidman has agreed to star and produce the drama Little Bee for BBC Films. Based on the Chris Cleave hit novel, the story centers on a sixteen year old Nigerian orphan who helps an upper-middle-class British couple find their way after they stray just a little too far from their resort. The orphan's name is Little Bee. Shawn Slovo, who wrote the under-appreciated Catch A Fire, has been tasked with writing the script. Kidman, as always, has a ton of projects coming up. She can next be...
- 7/10/2009
- by Omar Aviles
- JoBlo.com
BBC Films has acquired the bestselling novel Little Bee and they've got Nicole Kidman onboard to star and produce.
Nicole Kidman for Little Bee
From author Chris Cleave, Little Bee follows a fateful encounter on an African beach in which a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets a vacationing upper-middle-class British couple who've wandered into an area outside the safety of their resort.
Shawn Slovo, who was born and raised in South Africa only to relocate to the UK as a political refugee as a teen, is writing the script.
Nicole Kidman for Little Bee
From author Chris Cleave, Little Bee follows a fateful encounter on an African beach in which a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets a vacationing upper-middle-class British couple who've wandered into an area outside the safety of their resort.
Shawn Slovo, who was born and raised in South Africa only to relocate to the UK as a political refugee as a teen, is writing the script.
- 7/10/2009
- www.canmag.com
Recently, Nicole Kidman has attracted a lot of criticism for her performances and several box office failures. Even her detractors can’t deny however that she’s willing to take risks, and that she has an eye for intriguing projects.
Kidman’s latest is no exception. Variety reports that she will team up with the BBC to adapt Chris Cleave’s novel, “Little Bee.” Kidman will star and produce the film under her Blossom Films shingle, and Shawn Slovo (”A World Apart”) will pen the screenplay.
The story focuses on a Nigerian orphan named Little Bee who encounters an affluent British couple after they wander outside the protected borders of their vacation resort. Cleave’s novel received stellar reviews, but publishers and reviewers have attempted to keep the plot under a veil of secrecy.
The entire story seems to hinge on some terrifying event which “happens on the beach.” The...
Kidman’s latest is no exception. Variety reports that she will team up with the BBC to adapt Chris Cleave’s novel, “Little Bee.” Kidman will star and produce the film under her Blossom Films shingle, and Shawn Slovo (”A World Apart”) will pen the screenplay.
The story focuses on a Nigerian orphan named Little Bee who encounters an affluent British couple after they wander outside the protected borders of their vacation resort. Cleave’s novel received stellar reviews, but publishers and reviewers have attempted to keep the plot under a veil of secrecy.
The entire story seems to hinge on some terrifying event which “happens on the beach.” The...
- 7/10/2009
- by Elisabeth Rappe
- MTV Movies Blog
BBC Films has acquired the bestselling Chris Cleave novel "Little Bee," and Nicole Kidman has attached herself as star and producer, reports Variety . The story follows a fateful encounter on an African beach in which a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets a vacationing upper-middle-class British couple who've wandered into an area outside the safety of their resort. Shawn Slovo is writing the script.
- 7/10/2009
- Comingsoon.net
Nicole Kidman has been attached to star and produce the BBC Films-acquired project "Little Bee," based on the bestselling Chris Cleave novel.
The film will follow a fateful encounter on an African beach wherein a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets an upper middle class British couple who have wandered outside the safety of their vacation resort.
Shawn Slovo, who wrote the autobiographical "A World Apart," is writing the script, Variety Reports.
Kidman will next be seen in "Rabbit Hole" alongside Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest. She was supposed to appear in an as-yet untitled Woody Allen film, but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.
The film will follow a fateful encounter on an African beach wherein a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan named Little Bee meets an upper middle class British couple who have wandered outside the safety of their vacation resort.
Shawn Slovo, who wrote the autobiographical "A World Apart," is writing the script, Variety Reports.
Kidman will next be seen in "Rabbit Hole" alongside Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest. She was supposed to appear in an as-yet untitled Woody Allen film, but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.
- 7/10/2009
- icelebz.com
BBC Films has picked up the Chris Cleave best seller "Little Bee." Nicole Kidman is attached to star as well as produce the film with Per Saari via her Blossom Films company alongside Pretty Pictures' Gail Mutrux. Shawn Slovo is writing the script which follows a fateful encounter on an African beach where a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan called Little Bee meets a couple on vacation who have strayed off into an unsafe area outside of their resort. Slovo, daughter of leading South African anti-apartheid activists Joe Slovo and Ruth First, wrote "Catch a Fire" starring...
- 7/10/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
NEW YORK -- Sundance Institute and the Royal Film Commission of Jordan have selected seven projects for the third annual Middle East Screenwriters Lab.
Chadi Zeneddine's filmmaker saga "Brahim" from Lebanon, Suhad Khatib's bombing tale "The Building" from Jordan and Ismael El Habbash's "Dancing at the Checkpoint" from the Palestinian territories were chosen.
The other participants and projects are Rola Nashef's gas station study "Detroit Unleaded" from USA/Lebanon, Sali Ma Ben Moumen's family saga "A Place for Atlas' Feet" and Hicham Ayouch's small-town drama "Samba Doo Maazooz" (both from Morocco) and Eyad Zahra's musician profile "Sammy Paradise" from USA/Syria.
This year's advisors include filmmaking vets Mary Harron, Nabil Ayouch, Reza Bagher, Craig Bolotin, Michael Goldenberg, Yousry Nasrallah and Shawn Slovo.
The event will take place in Jordan from Oct. 28 – Nov. 1.
Chadi Zeneddine's filmmaker saga "Brahim" from Lebanon, Suhad Khatib's bombing tale "The Building" from Jordan and Ismael El Habbash's "Dancing at the Checkpoint" from the Palestinian territories were chosen.
The other participants and projects are Rola Nashef's gas station study "Detroit Unleaded" from USA/Lebanon, Sali Ma Ben Moumen's family saga "A Place for Atlas' Feet" and Hicham Ayouch's small-town drama "Samba Doo Maazooz" (both from Morocco) and Eyad Zahra's musician profile "Sammy Paradise" from USA/Syria.
This year's advisors include filmmaking vets Mary Harron, Nabil Ayouch, Reza Bagher, Craig Bolotin, Michael Goldenberg, Yousry Nasrallah and Shawn Slovo.
The event will take place in Jordan from Oct. 28 – Nov. 1.
- 10/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the Toronto International Film Festival screening of "Catch a Fire". TORONTO -- Continuing to tell stories of conflict between indigenous people and white intruders, Phillip Noyce goes to 1980s South Africa for a feature that is less ruminative than "The Quiet American" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and more likely to connect, if on a modest scale, with American audiences.
The story is initially one of how an apolitical man can be transformed into a militant insurrectionist by witnessing the misuse of power. Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) is as straight an arrow as they come when we meet him: Foreman at a petroleum plant, he wants no part of the covert rebellion happening around him. When stopped at a police roadblock, he'll obediently end every sentence with "boss."
But when he's arbitrarily arrested after an explosion at the plant - and sees what inhumane treatment can be visited not only on innocent suspects but on their relatives - Chamusso is convinced to enlist with the African National Congress.
His interrogator, Nic Vos, will be described later as a monster. But as played by Tim Robbins, the anti-terrorism officer has a tragic element as well. We see the decisive point at which Vos violates his principles in an honest attempt to prevent violence - and while he bizarrely asserts at one point that white South Africans are the ones being oppressed, every now and then Vos' eyes betray some doubt in his cause.
Comparisons to "Hotel Rwanda" make sense up to a point - both feature heroes who have the scales removed from their eyes - but "Fire" is no tearjerker, and here the story of Chamusso's conversion serves mainly as prologue to the main plot, a history-tinted cat-and-mouse policier in which he will attempt to finish the job he was wrongly accused of starting.
It's only at this point that "Fire" engages fully, drawing strength from music as "Rabbit-Proof Fence" made a character of Australia's vast terrain. South Africa's "freedom songs," which cloaked revolutionary messages in what sounded to outsiders' ears like happy folk music, are brought to life here, fueling ANC military drills and bolstering the spirits of prisoners. As the title suggests, this story also reclaims Bob Marley's music, reasserting its revolutionary anger after decades of appropriation by American kids more interested in pot than politics.
A family drama runs through "Fire", but its role here is less sentimental than dramatic. Screenwriter Shawn Slovo, daughter of ANC figure Joe Slovo, is especially sensitive to the effects of revolutionary movements on families and vice versa. (Chamusso has issues with fidelity that complicate things further.) This thread plays out surprisingly, and keeps anyone involved from looking impossibly noble. Noyce and Slovo may never overtly question whether blowing up an oil plant was an absolutely essential step in the march to end Apartheid, but they're not about to make saints out of anyone either, no matter how repugnant the other side was.
The story is initially one of how an apolitical man can be transformed into a militant insurrectionist by witnessing the misuse of power. Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) is as straight an arrow as they come when we meet him: Foreman at a petroleum plant, he wants no part of the covert rebellion happening around him. When stopped at a police roadblock, he'll obediently end every sentence with "boss."
But when he's arbitrarily arrested after an explosion at the plant - and sees what inhumane treatment can be visited not only on innocent suspects but on their relatives - Chamusso is convinced to enlist with the African National Congress.
His interrogator, Nic Vos, will be described later as a monster. But as played by Tim Robbins, the anti-terrorism officer has a tragic element as well. We see the decisive point at which Vos violates his principles in an honest attempt to prevent violence - and while he bizarrely asserts at one point that white South Africans are the ones being oppressed, every now and then Vos' eyes betray some doubt in his cause.
Comparisons to "Hotel Rwanda" make sense up to a point - both feature heroes who have the scales removed from their eyes - but "Fire" is no tearjerker, and here the story of Chamusso's conversion serves mainly as prologue to the main plot, a history-tinted cat-and-mouse policier in which he will attempt to finish the job he was wrongly accused of starting.
It's only at this point that "Fire" engages fully, drawing strength from music as "Rabbit-Proof Fence" made a character of Australia's vast terrain. South Africa's "freedom songs," which cloaked revolutionary messages in what sounded to outsiders' ears like happy folk music, are brought to life here, fueling ANC military drills and bolstering the spirits of prisoners. As the title suggests, this story also reclaims Bob Marley's music, reasserting its revolutionary anger after decades of appropriation by American kids more interested in pot than politics.
A family drama runs through "Fire", but its role here is less sentimental than dramatic. Screenwriter Shawn Slovo, daughter of ANC figure Joe Slovo, is especially sensitive to the effects of revolutionary movements on families and vice versa. (Chamusso has issues with fidelity that complicate things further.) This thread plays out surprisingly, and keeps anyone involved from looking impossibly noble. Noyce and Slovo may never overtly question whether blowing up an oil plant was an absolutely essential step in the march to end Apartheid, but they're not about to make saints out of anyone either, no matter how repugnant the other side was.
- 10/25/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The second annual Filmmaker Forum, organized by Film Independent, is expanding into a two-day seminar to be held in late October at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The forum will kick off Oct. 26 with a preview screening of Phillip Noyce's political thriller Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke, at the Mann Festival Theatre in Westwood. A Q&A with Noyce, screenwriter Shawn Slovo and producer Robyn Slovo and an opening reception at the Hammer Museum will follow the screening. Participants in the two days of panel discussions on Oct. 27 and 28 will include Peter Broderick (Paradigm Consulting), Micah Green (CAA), Rena Ronson (William Morris Independent), Anne Thompson (The Hollywood Reporter) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight) as well as filmmakers Stephanie Allain, Anna Boden, Neill Dela Llana, Kirby Dick, Ryan Fleck, Sean Furst, Ian Gamazon, Sam Kitt, Peggy Rajski and Wash Westmoreland.
- 9/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The second annual Filmmaker Forum, organized by Film Independent, is expanding into a two-day seminar to be held in late October at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The forum will kick off Oct. 26 with a preview screening of Phillip Noyce's political thriller Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke, at the Mann Festival Theatre in Westwood. A Q&A with Noyce, screenwriter Shawn Slovo and producer Robyn Slovo and an opening reception at the Hammer Museum will follow the screening. Participants in the two days of panel discussions on Oct. 27 and 28 will include Peter Broderick (Paradigm Consulting), Micah Green (CAA), Rena Ronson (William Morris Independent), Anne Thompson (The Hollywood Reporter) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight) as well as filmmakers Stephanie Allain, Anna Boden, Neill Dela Llana, Kirby Dick, Ryan Fleck, Sean Furst, Ian Gamazon, Sam Kitt, Peggy Rajski and Wash Westmoreland.
- 9/27/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- In the wake of such recent Oscar contenders as The Constant Gardener and Hotel Rwanda, a new subgenre has emerged at this year's Toronto International Film Festival: the dramatic thriller based on the real-life horrors of Africa. While Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland centers on Uganda dictator Idi Amin, Phillip Noyce's Catch a Fire chronicles the true story of Patrick Chamusso's transformation from oil refinery worker to African National Congress radical. Fire -- an Oscar hopeful from Focus Features that will have its second Toronto screening tonight -- isn't just trying to catch a trend, though. Its screenwriter, Shawn Slovo, has been interested in the subject ever since her late father, ANC leader Joe Slovo, told her about Chamusso in the mid-1980s. After Chamusso's successful ANC assault on the oil refinery in Secunda, Slovo's father told the writer, "If you ever want to write a story about this period in South African history, tell the story of the unsung hero Patrick Chamusso."...
- 9/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- Continuing to tell stories of conflict between indigenous people and white intruders, Phillip Noyce goes to 1980s South Africa for a feature that is less ruminative than "The Quiet American" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and more likely to connect, if on a modest scale, with American audiences.
The story is initially one of how an apolitical man can be transformed into a militant insurrectionist by witnessing the misuse of power. Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) is as straight an arrow as they come when we meet him: Foreman at a petroleum plant, he wants no part of the covert rebellion happening around him. When stopped at a police roadblock, he'll obediently end every sentence with "boss."
But when he's arbitrarily arrested after an explosion at the plant -- and sees what inhumane treatment can be visited not only on innocent suspects but on their relatives -- Chamusso is convinced to enlist with the African National Congress.
His interrogator, Nic Vos, will be described later as a monster. But as played by Tim Robbins, the anti-terrorism officer has a tragic element as well. We see the decisive point at which Vos violates his principles in an honest attempt to prevent violence -- and while he bizarrely asserts at one point that white South Africans are the ones being oppressed, every now and then Vos' eyes betray some doubt in his cause.
Comparisons to "Hotel Rwanda" make sense up to a point -- both feature heroes who have the scales removed from their eyes -- but "Fire" is no tearjerker, and here the story of Chamusso's conversion serves mainly as prologue to the main plot, a history-tinted cat-and-mouse policier in which he will attempt to finish the job he was wrongly accused of starting.
It's only at this point that "Fire" engages fully, drawing strength from music as "Rabbit-Proof Fence" made a character of Australia's vast terrain. South Africa's "freedom songs," which cloaked revolutionary messages in what sounded to outsiders' ears like happy folk music, are brought to life here, fueling ANC military drills and bolstering the spirits of prisoners. As the title suggests, this story also reclaims Bob Marley's music, reasserting its revolutionary anger after decades of appropriation by American kids more interested in pot than politics.
A family drama runs through "Fire", but its role here is less sentimental than dramatic. Screenwriter Shawn Slovo, daughter of ANC figure Joe Slovo, is especially sensitive to the effects of revolutionary movements on families and vice versa. (Chamusso has issues with fidelity that complicate things further.) This thread plays out surprisingly, and keeps anyone involved from looking impossibly noble. Noyce and Slovo may never overtly question whether blowing up an oil plant was an absolutely essential step in the march to end Apartheid, but they're not about to make saints out of anyone either, no matter how repugnant the other side was.
CATCH A FIRE
Focus Features
Working Title Films
Credits:
Director: Phillip Noyce
Screenwriter: Shawn Slovo
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo
Executive producers: Sydney Pollack, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin
Directors of photography: Ron Fortunato, Garry Phillips
Production designer: Johnny Breedt
Costume designer: Reza Levy
Music: Philip Miller
Editor: Jill Bilcock. Cast: Nic Vos: Tim Robbins
Patrick Chamusso: Derek Luke
Precious: Bonnie Henna
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 101 minutes...
The story is initially one of how an apolitical man can be transformed into a militant insurrectionist by witnessing the misuse of power. Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) is as straight an arrow as they come when we meet him: Foreman at a petroleum plant, he wants no part of the covert rebellion happening around him. When stopped at a police roadblock, he'll obediently end every sentence with "boss."
But when he's arbitrarily arrested after an explosion at the plant -- and sees what inhumane treatment can be visited not only on innocent suspects but on their relatives -- Chamusso is convinced to enlist with the African National Congress.
His interrogator, Nic Vos, will be described later as a monster. But as played by Tim Robbins, the anti-terrorism officer has a tragic element as well. We see the decisive point at which Vos violates his principles in an honest attempt to prevent violence -- and while he bizarrely asserts at one point that white South Africans are the ones being oppressed, every now and then Vos' eyes betray some doubt in his cause.
Comparisons to "Hotel Rwanda" make sense up to a point -- both feature heroes who have the scales removed from their eyes -- but "Fire" is no tearjerker, and here the story of Chamusso's conversion serves mainly as prologue to the main plot, a history-tinted cat-and-mouse policier in which he will attempt to finish the job he was wrongly accused of starting.
It's only at this point that "Fire" engages fully, drawing strength from music as "Rabbit-Proof Fence" made a character of Australia's vast terrain. South Africa's "freedom songs," which cloaked revolutionary messages in what sounded to outsiders' ears like happy folk music, are brought to life here, fueling ANC military drills and bolstering the spirits of prisoners. As the title suggests, this story also reclaims Bob Marley's music, reasserting its revolutionary anger after decades of appropriation by American kids more interested in pot than politics.
A family drama runs through "Fire", but its role here is less sentimental than dramatic. Screenwriter Shawn Slovo, daughter of ANC figure Joe Slovo, is especially sensitive to the effects of revolutionary movements on families and vice versa. (Chamusso has issues with fidelity that complicate things further.) This thread plays out surprisingly, and keeps anyone involved from looking impossibly noble. Noyce and Slovo may never overtly question whether blowing up an oil plant was an absolutely essential step in the march to end Apartheid, but they're not about to make saints out of anyone either, no matter how repugnant the other side was.
CATCH A FIRE
Focus Features
Working Title Films
Credits:
Director: Phillip Noyce
Screenwriter: Shawn Slovo
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo
Executive producers: Sydney Pollack, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin
Directors of photography: Ron Fortunato, Garry Phillips
Production designer: Johnny Breedt
Costume designer: Reza Levy
Music: Philip Miller
Editor: Jill Bilcock. Cast: Nic Vos: Tim Robbins
Patrick Chamusso: Derek Luke
Precious: Bonnie Henna
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 101 minutes...
- 9/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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