Exclusive: The Night Manager star David Avery has joined the indie run by the director of buzzy BBC hit Dreaming Whilst Black to aid with a film and TV push.
David Avery joined Bluebird Pictures last year in an official capacity, having produced the company’s 2020 short Greasy Spoon.
Avery, who played Freddie Hamid in The Night Manager and has also starred in Starred Up, Gangs of London and Hanna, is helping with a fresh development slate as the company pivots focus to film and TV.
Bluebird was launched in 2017 by Dreaming director Joelle David but has in the main focused on running the World Cinema Festival. This festival has been placed on hiatus this year as David and Avery focus on their slate.
The slate, Bluebird’s first, features a dark comedy about motherhood and a comedy-thriller about how different cultures deal with death. Bluebird is also working with...
David Avery joined Bluebird Pictures last year in an official capacity, having produced the company’s 2020 short Greasy Spoon.
Avery, who played Freddie Hamid in The Night Manager and has also starred in Starred Up, Gangs of London and Hanna, is helping with a fresh development slate as the company pivots focus to film and TV.
Bluebird was launched in 2017 by Dreaming director Joelle David but has in the main focused on running the World Cinema Festival. This festival has been placed on hiatus this year as David and Avery focus on their slate.
The slate, Bluebird’s first, features a dark comedy about motherhood and a comedy-thriller about how different cultures deal with death. Bluebird is also working with...
- 1/24/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
“What if I don’t like the guy I am now, bro” says Bosco (Malcolm Kamulete). “You have to learn to like him ‘cause you’re stuck with him” says Rusty (Keiren Hamilton-Amos). Watching family dynamics play out on screen never goes out of fashion and BBC’s latest drama Champion is proof of that.
A love letter to South London, Champion is the first TV project written by Candice Carty-Williams, author of the 2019 novel Queenie, which will also be released as a TV drama on Channel 4 later this year. Champion tells the story of the titular family, focusing mostly on the Champion siblings, rapper Bosco and his sister Vita (Déja J Bowens) as they battle with their sense of duty to their family and their own musical success.
When the series starts, Bosco is fresh out of prison and trying to make his comeback. But it’s not...
A love letter to South London, Champion is the first TV project written by Candice Carty-Williams, author of the 2019 novel Queenie, which will also be released as a TV drama on Channel 4 later this year. Champion tells the story of the titular family, focusing mostly on the Champion siblings, rapper Bosco and his sister Vita (Déja J Bowens) as they battle with their sense of duty to their family and their own musical success.
When the series starts, Bosco is fresh out of prison and trying to make his comeback. But it’s not...
- 1/19/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Candice Carty-Williams was catapulted to fame by her hit novel Queenie, which made her the first Black author to win a top prize at the British Book Awards, but she tells Deadline adapting for TV has proved a seriously tough task.
The Channel 4-Hulu adaptation will air this year and Carty-Williams said she has been grappling to hold on to the true self of the character she created nearly a decade ago in the face of editorial wrangling.
She said she “can’t even explain how much harder it was” to adapt Queenie compared with writing her original BBC/Netflix series Champion, which drops on Netflix today.
“People buy something because they have an idea of what they want,” said the London-born auteur. “There was an idea of what they wanted to do with Queenie and for me it was like, ‘What?’. Of course it’s really...
The Channel 4-Hulu adaptation will air this year and Carty-Williams said she has been grappling to hold on to the true self of the character she created nearly a decade ago in the face of editorial wrangling.
She said she “can’t even explain how much harder it was” to adapt Queenie compared with writing her original BBC/Netflix series Champion, which drops on Netflix today.
“People buy something because they have an idea of what they want,” said the London-born auteur. “There was an idea of what they wanted to do with Queenie and for me it was like, ‘What?’. Of course it’s really...
- 1/11/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Nick Angel, Sarah Bridge, Iain Cooke and Catherine Grieves, four of the UK’s most esteemed film and TV music supervisors, have banded together to launch 45 Rpm, a music supervision collective that will be a “one-stop shop” for creatives.
The company, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will specialize in all aspects of music supervision for film and TV, from collaborating on the creative vision for a soundtrack, choosing a perfect song, helping to engage the best score composers, negotiate music rights and manage music budgets as well as on-camera music supervision.
The four professionals bring more than 50 years of experience across a range of eclectic projects: Angel is one of the most well-known music supervisors in Britain, having worked across projects ranging from the Bridget Jones trilogy to Paddington 2 and Hot Fuzz; Bridge has worked on The Crown and Oscar-nominated picture Theory of...
The company, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will specialize in all aspects of music supervision for film and TV, from collaborating on the creative vision for a soundtrack, choosing a perfect song, helping to engage the best score composers, negotiate music rights and manage music budgets as well as on-camera music supervision.
The four professionals bring more than 50 years of experience across a range of eclectic projects: Angel is one of the most well-known music supervisors in Britain, having worked across projects ranging from the Bridget Jones trilogy to Paddington 2 and Hot Fuzz; Bridge has worked on The Crown and Oscar-nominated picture Theory of...
- 9/11/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Paul McCartney based much of his music on his personal experiences, especially his fond memories of Liverpool. For instance, “Penny Lane” was written about an actual street near his childhood home. One song from his solo career references a street game he often played when he was a kid.
Paul McCartney based the song ‘Queenie Eye’ on a game he played in Liverpool
Before the internet, video games, and streaming services, kids had to find creative ways to keep themselves entertained. Growing up in a working-class family, McCartney didn’t have a ton to play with, but he found ways to have fun with the other kids in his neighborhood.
One way they passed the time was by playing “Queenie, Queenie, who’s got the ball?” This is a popular children’s game where one person is designated “Queenie” and throws a ball backwards in the air to the other players.
Paul McCartney based the song ‘Queenie Eye’ on a game he played in Liverpool
Before the internet, video games, and streaming services, kids had to find creative ways to keep themselves entertained. Growing up in a working-class family, McCartney didn’t have a ton to play with, but he found ways to have fun with the other kids in his neighborhood.
One way they passed the time was by playing “Queenie, Queenie, who’s got the ball?” This is a popular children’s game where one person is designated “Queenie” and throws a ball backwards in the air to the other players.
- 6/18/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Updated with more quotes: UK broadcasters have a responsibility to combat the worst effects of pornography and AI, according to the boss of Channel 4.
While these issues might be considered “a bit outside the remit of a TV company,” Alex Mahon told the Deloitte & Enders Media and Telecoms 2023 & Beyond Conference that the industry “will always have a power to influence and to help, pointing out where trends and technologies make life better and where they make it worse.” “If we have that power as Public Service Broadcasters, then we also have a duty to do it,” she said.
Unveiling Channel 4 data on the viewing habits of Gen-Zs, Mahon said “thinking about content that gets to Gen-z also extends to pornography.”
Alex Mahon. “Algorithms are not written for the benefit of young British people.”
“We cannot ignore the reality that one in 10 of the UK’s young has seen porn...
While these issues might be considered “a bit outside the remit of a TV company,” Alex Mahon told the Deloitte & Enders Media and Telecoms 2023 & Beyond Conference that the industry “will always have a power to influence and to help, pointing out where trends and technologies make life better and where they make it worse.” “If we have that power as Public Service Broadcasters, then we also have a duty to do it,” she said.
Unveiling Channel 4 data on the viewing habits of Gen-Zs, Mahon said “thinking about content that gets to Gen-z also extends to pornography.”
Alex Mahon. “Algorithms are not written for the benefit of young British people.”
“We cannot ignore the reality that one in 10 of the UK’s young has seen porn...
- 5/18/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Game, set, match!
Tennis champion Serena Williams will be the subject of ESPN’s next In the Arena docuseries, it was announced on Tuesday at the Walt Disney Company Upfront presentation.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: NFL Game on Peacock, S.W.A.T. Seasons Hit Netflix and MoreWill Fire's Brett Adopt? Is 9-1-1's Lucy a Keeper? Does 2nd Bear Binge Surprise? Bridgerton Death Ahead? And More Qs!TVLine Items: iCarly Season 3 Premiere, The Full Monty Series Trailer and More
In the Arena: Serena Williams will provide “the most complete, intimate, and compelling account of her legendary career, featuring...
Tennis champion Serena Williams will be the subject of ESPN’s next In the Arena docuseries, it was announced on Tuesday at the Walt Disney Company Upfront presentation.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: NFL Game on Peacock, S.W.A.T. Seasons Hit Netflix and MoreWill Fire's Brett Adopt? Is 9-1-1's Lucy a Keeper? Does 2nd Bear Binge Surprise? Bridgerton Death Ahead? And More Qs!TVLine Items: iCarly Season 3 Premiere, The Full Monty Series Trailer and More
In the Arena: Serena Williams will provide “the most complete, intimate, and compelling account of her legendary career, featuring...
- 5/16/2023
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Onyx Collective has boarded Candice Carty-Williams’ buzzy British drama series Queenie.
Disney Entertainment’s brand has joined Channel 4 in the UK on the show, which the British network ordered back in August 2021. Onyx Collective curates global stories from artists of color with a culturally specific point of view, which aligns with Carty-Williams’ story.
Queenie will air in the UK and Ireland on Channel 4 and stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. Steve November’s Further South Productions is attached to produce in association with Lionsgate TV, which has international sales rights, and cast has also been set. Shooting began in late April.
Writer Carty-Williams is emerging as one of the UK’s most sought after new scribes. Netflix last year boarded her BBC series Champion, which is billed as “a love letter to Black British music.”
Newcomer Dionne Brown...
Disney Entertainment’s brand has joined Channel 4 in the UK on the show, which the British network ordered back in August 2021. Onyx Collective curates global stories from artists of color with a culturally specific point of view, which aligns with Carty-Williams’ story.
Queenie will air in the UK and Ireland on Channel 4 and stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. Steve November’s Further South Productions is attached to produce in association with Lionsgate TV, which has international sales rights, and cast has also been set. Shooting began in late April.
Writer Carty-Williams is emerging as one of the UK’s most sought after new scribes. Netflix last year boarded her BBC series Champion, which is billed as “a love letter to Black British music.”
Newcomer Dionne Brown...
- 5/16/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Fiddler on the Roof star Chaim Topol, who became professionally known solely by his last name, died Thursday, March 9, in Tel Aviv. He was 87. The Israeli actor had been battling Alzheimer’s. For generations of movie fans and theatergoers he will forever be remembered as Tevye, the hugely charming, but long-suffering milkman in the classic film Fiddler on the Roof in which he performed the song “If I Were a Rich Man.” He also appeared as a Greek smuggler in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only, and in the sci-fi film Flash Gordon. On television he starred in the 1983 ABC miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance (1988). He starred in another ABC miniseries Queenie (1987), the 1973 NBC TV movie The Going Up of David Lev and the 1979 ABC TV movie The House on Garibaldi Street. Israel’s president Isaac Herzog said Topol “filled the cinema screens with...
- 3/9/2023
- TV Insider
Chaim Topol, who became professionally known solely by his last name in a career that included starring in “Fiddler on the Roof” on stage and screen and co-starring in the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only” and the sci-fi film “Flash Gordon,” died Thursday in Tel Aviv after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87 years old.
Topol’s death was confirmed by Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, who described him as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”
Topol began his long association with the starring role of Tevye the milkman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1967, appearing in the West End production, which ran for 2,030 performances. He starred in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film version, which carried a budget estimated at $9 million and garnered a domestic gross of $80 million.
Topol’s death was confirmed by Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, who described him as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”
Topol began his long association with the starring role of Tevye the milkman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1967, appearing in the West End production, which ran for 2,030 performances. He starred in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film version, which carried a budget estimated at $9 million and garnered a domestic gross of $80 million.
- 3/9/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Helen Mirren is already a staple of one Hollywood mega-franchise thanks to her role as Magdalene “Queenie” Ellmanson-Shaw in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, and she’s about to get another studio tentpole with the upcoming release of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Mirren stars as the villainous Hespera, one of the daughters of Atlas who joins forces with her sister (Lucy Liu’s Kalypso) to locate a world-ending weapon. Mirren loved making the film, but don’t ask her about the story.
“Don’t ask me about the plot, it’s too complicated,” Mirren said during an interview on “The Graham Norton Show” (via Insider). “[Lucy Liu and I] are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes. It was very hot and uncomfortable and, in fact, Lucy said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ‘They are trying to kill us,’ in all seriousness.”
Even if the plot was confusing, Mirren added,...
“Don’t ask me about the plot, it’s too complicated,” Mirren said during an interview on “The Graham Norton Show” (via Insider). “[Lucy Liu and I] are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes. It was very hot and uncomfortable and, in fact, Lucy said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ‘They are trying to kill us,’ in all seriousness.”
Even if the plot was confusing, Mirren added,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
There are a few actors who stand the test of time. These actors have lengthy and successful acting careers and stay relevant no matter what decade it is. Helen Mirren is one of those elite actors. Part of keeping a lucrative acting career is goal setting each year, but Mirren says there are two resolutions she fails to keep every year.
Helen Mirren has been acting since the 1960s Helen Mirren at the ‘1923’ Las Vegas premiere | Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Paramount+
Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in West London in July 1945, according to IMDb. Mirren’s mother was from a working-class English family, and her father was a Russian-born civil servant. Mirren’s paternal grandfather was a Russian diplomat.
Mirren started acting when she attended St. Bernards High School for girls. She enjoyed participating in the school productions. After high school, Mirren started her career by working in theater productions.
Helen Mirren has been acting since the 1960s Helen Mirren at the ‘1923’ Las Vegas premiere | Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Paramount+
Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in West London in July 1945, according to IMDb. Mirren’s mother was from a working-class English family, and her father was a Russian-born civil servant. Mirren’s paternal grandfather was a Russian diplomat.
Mirren started acting when she attended St. Bernards High School for girls. She enjoyed participating in the school productions. After high school, Mirren started her career by working in theater productions.
- 2/12/2023
- by Produced by Digital Editors
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
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