JARED HARRIS, GUY PEARCE, MERAB NINIDZE TO PLAY TRUMAN, CHURCHIL, STALIN IN THE PRICE OF PEACE HISTORICAL MOVIE THRILLER

   THE PRICE OF PEACE  

JARED HARRIS, GUY PEARCE TO STAR

Historical political thriller from director Anthony McCarten titled THE PRICE OF PEACE has set Jared Harris, Guy Pearce and Merab Ninidze as leads in the story set during the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, in the aftermath of Nazi Germany’s defeat. President Harry S. Truman (Pearce), Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Harris) and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (Ninidze) converge on the meeting which will shape the future of Europe and the world. Each man has a personal and political agenda. Newly appointed Truman needs to end the War with Japan. Churchill is facing a pivotal election back home. Stalin has territorial ambitions over occupied territories. As political tensions rise and personal crises unfold, a high-stakes diplomatic chess game emerges. The three leaders’ decisions and balance of power will impact millions and shape global politics for decades to come.

CASTING NEWS: GUY PEARCE TO STAR WITH ALEX PETTYFER IN BLURRED EROTIC THRILLER AND IN MR. SUNNY SKY WITH HANNAH WADDINGHAM, RUFUS SEWELL

   MOVIE NEWS BULLETIN  

GUY PEARCE, ALEX PETTYFER IN BLURRED

In latest movie news bulletin today, we have Guy Pearce and Alex Pettyfer announced as leads in new erotic film thriller BLURRED in which they will also be joined by Maria Pedraza and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. The film set in New York fashion world was already shot last summer. It is described as  a smart and sexy thriller with a brilliant cast set against the hustle and flow of New York’s fashion world, a beautiful, raw and intense thrill ride! Pettyfer is also producing.

 

MR. SUNNY SKY MOVIE REVEALS LEAD CAST

Speaking of Guy Pearce he will also star next to Hannah Waddingham in MR. SUNNY SKY  crime-thriller which follows Leonard Moore, a once chart-topping pop star now lounge singer at a mid-budget Canary Island hotel. One night he meets Shirley, another lost soul with whom he shares an instant connection. But Shirley’s husband is a dangerous man and soon the new couple’s burgeoning romance is thrust into a spiral of paranoia, suspense and violence. The cast will also include Rufus Sewell, Eduard Fernandez and Tom Davis with Daniel Ings in the lead.

HANNAH WADDINGHAM, GUY PEARCE, DANIEL INGS TO LEAD CRIME THRILLER MR. SUNNY SKY

  MR. SUNNY SKY MOVIE  

ADS GUY PEARCE, HANNAH WADDINGHAM

New crime thriller movie has just added Guy Peace, Hannah Waddingham and Daniel Ings to its cast. MR. SUNNY SKY will follow Leonard Moore, a once chart-topping pop star now lounge singer at a mid-budget Canary Island hotel. One night he meets Shirley, another lost soul with whom he shares an instant connection. But Shirley’s husband is a dangerous man and soon the new couple’s burgeoning romance is thrust into a spiral of paranoia, suspense and violence.

SPOTLIGHT ON TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL 2024 PERIOD SET MOVIES: WILLIAM TELL, ON SWIFT HORSES, QUEER, RETURN, PENGUIN LESSONS, BRUTALIST, VERMIGLIO

  TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL 

WILLIAM TELL

Tiff is ready to start next month so I thought I could spotlight for you some of the period set films that will air there. WILLIAM TELL will have world premiere there September 5th. Ben Kingsley, Claes Bang, Jonathan Pryce, Solly McLeod, Jonah Hauer King, Emily Beecham, Connor Swindells, Ellie Bamber Eanna Hardwicke and Rafe Spall lead the monumental tale about the legendary 14th century warrior marksman who liberated Switzerland, becoming a folk hero for the ages. In 1307, a cruel Austrian Hapsburg king (Ben Kingsley) occupies the bordering Swiss cantons. His tax collectors oppress and violate the citizens, driving one farmer to thoughts of murderous revenge. Fleeing across a vast landscape, this farmer finds only one man who will come to his aid: William Tell (Claes Bang). Tell has returned home weary after fighting with the Knights Templar in the Holy Land. Now seeking only a quiet life with the wife he met there (Golshifteh Farahani), he’s nevertheless bound by his principles. When pushed beyond his limits by the villainy of the Hapsburg court, Tell picks up his weapons and rides into battle 

  ON SWIFT HORSES

Opening September 8th is new period set drama from director Daniel Minahan ON SWIFT HORSES set in the 1950s. Newlyweds Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) leave their Kansas home for a new life in San Diego, with steady jobs and a house they can start a family in. Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi), meanwhile, returns from the Korean War without any long-term plans. A deft hand at poker, he winds up in Las Vegas, where he does pit surveillance at a casino and befriends Henry (Diego Calva), a handsome Chicano who, like Julius, loves a good gamble. All this time, Muriel and Julius correspond, though neither realize how much they have in common. Bored with waiting tables, Muriel secretly begins playing the horses and winning. What’s more, Muriel and Julius find themselves on parallel journeys involving clandestine transgressions that could place them in greater danger than either bargained for.

 

QUEER

September 10th will mark American premiere of Luca Guadagnino's drama QUEER in which Daniel Craig is Lee who mingles with the expatriate set in postwar Mexico City, wandering its streets, frequenting its gay bars, and ingesting whatever illicit substances are available. He is a consummate raconteur who has no trouble finding an audience, but he is also a desperately lonely, middle-aged addict with an alarming fondness for guns.  Lee sets his sights on a journey to the Amazon in search of the potentially telepathic ayahuasca — and he wants handsome young bi-curious Oklahoman Allerton (Drew Starkey) to accompany him. Their travels will yield a string of unexpected encounters and provide Lee with sobering lessons in what Burroughs dubbed “the algebra of need.”

THE RETURN

September 8th will also bring world premiere of Uberto Pasolini's THE RETURN which picks up as Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes onto the shores of Ithaca. It has been more than 20 years since he left his kingdom to fight in the Trojan War and, in all that time, his wife and queen Penelope (Juliette Binoche) has waited. Their son, Telemachus (Charlie Plummer), has lost faith that his father will return and worries for his mother’s safety as a group of increasingly unruly suitors pressure her to take one of them as the new king.

 

THE PENGUIN LESSONS

September 6th will see the world premiere of Peter Cattaneo's THE PENGUIN LESSONS set in 1976. Tom (Steve Coogan) lands in Buenos Aires to take up a teaching position at a prestigious English boarding school. The city is in the midst of political violence, but the headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) insists his school simply keep calm and carry on. That suits Tom just fine. When a coup d’état shuts down the school, he hops next door to Uruguay to party. A romantic foray leads to a walk along the beach, which leads to the sight of a penguin drenched in oil from a spill. Against his better judgment, Tom rescues the bird, which unlocks its undying loyalty. He's forced to sneak the flightless beast back to Argentina, and thus begins a strange and beautiful friendship.

THE BRUTALIST

September 6th will also see the American premiere of Brady Corbet's THE BRUTALIST in which Adrien Brody plays Jewish architect László Toth who arrives in America with barely anything to his name, eagerly hoping to soon be joined by his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones). Settling in Philadelphia, he has a not-so-gracious run-in with Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), a wealthy businessman, after he becomes an unwitting client for a home renovation scheme. This serendipitous encounter leads to a more complex undertaking, as Van Buren and his son (Joe Alwyn) enlist László’s brilliance for a monumental new project. It’s a dream that he never thought he could relive, but it comes with a dark cost, as László sacrifices more and more of himself to complete his exacting vision.

 

VERMIGLIO

Coming to TIFF from Italy on September 9th is Maura Delpero's VERMIGLIO. A young Sicilian soldier Pietro has carried his injured comrade Attilio all the way back to his mountain home, much of the journey with his passenger on his back. Hailed as a hero, Pietro is furnished with the best the village can provide. As a rare newcomer, Pietro is much gossiped about but keeps to himself. He catches the eye of Lucia, the eldest daughter of the stern village schoolteacher and soon the two are gently flirting and falling in love. This seemingly simple pairing of two young hearts sets off a sweeping series of events that shakes the village and a small town in Sicily, uncapping age-old misogyny, intolerance, and narrowness with tragic results.

SEE SPECTACULAR TRAILER FOR LEE TAMAHORI'S 1830'S NEW ZEALAND SET EPIC MOVIE THE CONVERT WITH GUY PEARCE

     THE CONVERT MOVIE    

TRAILER WITH GUY PEARCE

The Convert is out next April in cinemas

Coming from celebrated director Lee Tamahori with Guy Pearce as the lead star we have a spectacular trailer for their new historical epic movie THE CONVERT which has the story set in early 19th century New Zealand.

 

  IN THE FILM 

Australian star Guy Pearce plays Thomas Munro, a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes. It speaks of the early contact between Europeans and Maori, when European settlers were outnumbered by several hundred to one and Māori had just acquired muskets. Tamahori and Pearce have been planning to work together for nearly twenty years now. Jacqueline McKenzie, Antonio Te Maioha, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Dean O'Gorman also star in the film out next April in Australia.

 

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL PERIOD SET FILMS: CLICQUOT WITH HALEY BENNETT, LEO SUTER, TOM STURRIDGE, CRITIC WITH IAN MCKELLEN, GEMMA ARTERTON, MARK STRONG, DOUGLAS BOOTH'S SHOSHANA, VIGGO MORTENSEN'S DEAD DON'T HURT

  TIFF PERIOD SET MOVIES  

WIDOW CLICQUOT

Toronto Film Festival has started and today we are spotlighting period set films that will premiere there, starting with WIDOW CLICQUOT which, set in France during the Napoleonic Wars, tells the true story of the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” also known as Madame Clicquot after marrying the scion of a winemaking family. Though their marriage was arranged, a timeless love blossomed between Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) and her poetic, unconventional husband, François (Tom Sturridge). After becoming a widow at age 27, she is determined to protect her family’s legacy. Determined to advance her husband's theories about soil chemistry, the configuring of vines, and revolutionary techniques in bottling, Barbe-Nicole wagers on the next harvest and her own blend of sparkling wine. Ben Miles, Sam Riley and our dearest Leo Suter also star.

IAN MCKELLEN'S THE CRITIC

Gemma Arterton and Ian McKellen star as adversaries forced to take desperate measures to save their careers, in THE CRITIC set in 1936. As the new steward of London’s Chronicle, David Brooke (Mark Strong) seeks to revive the financially troubled daily as the country’s most-read family paper. In the firing line is long time theatre critic Jimmy Erksine (Ian McKellen), whose extravagant prose and personal “proclivities” are distasteful to David. Jimmy has a lot to lose as an elderly gay man in a culture and legal system deeply hostile to homosexuality. Yet he cannot resist writing the flamboyantly merciless critiques that are his trademark. Actor Nina Land (Arterton), for whom the married David secretly carries a torch, is a regular target for Jimmy’s most withering remarks. As pressure to appease his employer mounts, Jimmy concocts a plot to entrap both David and Nina, herself secretly in love with a married painter (Ben Barnes). But with the Blackshirts taking to the streets amid anti-queer police raids, Jimmy may be grossly overestimating his ability to emerge from his elaborate scheme unscathed.

DOUGLAS BOOTH'S SHOSHANA

Set in British Mandatory Palestine, this tense historical thriller from Michael Winterbottom traces the origins of one of the world’s most complex conflicts. The year is 1938, and tensions run high in Tel Aviv, wherethe British struggle to maintain order among a mixed Palestinian and Jewish population. Yet English police officer Thomas Wilkin (Douglas Booth) has made his home here and is madly in love with Shoshana (Irina Starshenbaum), daughter of Zionist Labour movement co-founder Dov Ber Borochov. As the paramilitary organization Irgun, led by poet Avraham Stern (Aury Alby), undertakes a violent campaign to evict the British authorities, Thomas and his superior officer Geoffrey Morton (Harry Melling) adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward the resistance, intensifying their tactics to include torture. Meanwhile, Shoshana receives death threats for daring to fraternize with a member of the occupying forces. She loves Thomas, but she also believes in the pursuit of her people’s independence. She will be forced to choose between the two. Our boy Daniel Donskoy also stars!

  GUY PEARCE'S THE CONVERT

Lee Tamahori’s action-filled historical epic stars Guy Pearce as Thomas Munro, a newly arrived preacher in a colonial town in early 19th-century New Zealand whose violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, when he finds himself at the centre of a long-standing battle between two Māori tribes. The film does not have a release date yet in cinemas.

 

THE DEAD DON'T HURT

Set in the 1860s, Viggo Mortensen directed western THE DEAD DON'T HURT follows French-Canadian flower seller Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps)

The movie premiered this week at TIFF

and Danish carpenter Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) who meet in San Francisco. Vivienne is irreverent, fiercely independent, and refuses to wed, but agrees to travel with Holger to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada. There, they begin a life together, Vivienne grows roses and waits tables at a tavern and Holger builds barns, until the couple are separated by Holger’s decision to fight for the Union in the burgeoning Civil War. Left on her own, Vivienne must fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston) and his business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt). Alfred's violent, wayward son Weston (Solly McLeod) aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances.

1ST LOOK AT WINTER KING ARTHURIAN EPIC TV SERIES! 1ST IMAGES FROM PERIOD SET MOVIES THE CONVERT WITH GUY PEARCE, FRANZ KAFKA BIOPIC THE GLORY OF LIFE, WW2 ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES WITH LIEV SCHREIBER, JOSH HUTCHERSON

 FIRST THE WINTER KING  

IMAGES FROM NEW SERIES  

ITVX has released first images from their upcoming TV series adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles and I must admit they look cheap as hell and not very promising. THE WINTER KING will air later this year following Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from outcast to legendary warrior and leader. It is set in the 5th century long before Britain was united. In a land ofwarring factions and tribes when the world was brutal and lives were often fleeting. Iain De Caestecker stars as a young Arthur, who begins as an exiled bastard before becoming the greatest hope for Britain. Stuart Campbell is Derfel who transforms from left-for-dead orphan to the truest of all warlords. Ellie James is Nimue a priestess saved by Merlin because she can see the gods - he gives her power, wisdom and learning. Eddie Marsan is Uther, High King of all Dumnonia, old and battle tested. He commands incredible authority, over almost all, bar Merlin. Nathaniel Martello-White is Merlin, a politician, powerful, enlightened, and absolute. Fearless in the face of a King’s wrath he follows his connectionto his Gods in all things. Daniel Ings is Owain one of Arthur’s closest childhood friends and like a son to High King Uther. Valene Kane is Morgan, Arthur’s half-sister and another bastard child of King Uther. She is asharp-tongued and independent minded pagan and student of Merlin. Simon Merrells is Gundleus, King of rival kingdom Siluria. Imposing and savage, Gundleus is prepared to slaughter whoever he needs to secure power. The series will air on MGM+ in USA.

 

  FIRST IMAGES FROM  

GUY PEARCE'S THE CONVERT

A bunch of first images from different period set movies for you today, starting with THE CONVERT, a historical drama from Oscar winner Lee Tamahori in which Guy Pearce plays  a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement at New Zealand in 1830s. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Maori tribes.

THE GLORY OF LIFE

There is also Franz Kafka biopic, a story of the famous Czech writer which is being offered to buyers at Cannes. The love story between Kafka (Sabin Tambrea) and Dora Diamant (Henriette Confurius) is set in 1923 on the Baltic Sea coast, a year before the author died from tuberculosis. The worldly wise Diamant, who was working in a Jewish community, took him to Berlin, and as Kafka’s health deteriorates rapidly, they traveled together to a sanatorium in Austria. The memory of their time together will shape Diamant for the rest of her life!

ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES MOVIE ADAPTATION

There are also first images from the movie adaptation of Hemingway's ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES with Liev Schreiber, Josh Hutcherson and Matilda de Angelis scheduled for Fall. Set in post WW2 Venice Italy, American Army Col. Richard Cantwell, haunted by the war, is a bona fide hero who faces news of his illness with stoic disregard. Determined to spend a weekend in quiet solitude, he commandeers a military driver to facilitate a visit to his old haunts in Venice. As Cantwell's plans begin to unravel, a chance encounter with a remarkable young woman begins to re kindle in him the hope of renewal.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE CLEARING MYSTERY MINI SERIES WITH GUY PEARCE, MIRANDA OTTO AND TERESA PALMER

  THE CLEARING SERIES  

FROM DISNEY + AND HULU

Looking at the May and June TV schedule I really cannot promise you anything exciting, sadly, and I am guessing it will be even worse in July and August, not to mention Autumn, which will probably be a

The Clearing starts May 24th on Disney and Hulu

terribly dry season not just because of the current writers' strike but also because we will not have Rings of Power or any of the historical series on kings and queens that we had last year. This means we will not be able to be picky and choosy. The spy will try to focus on the international markets as much as possible, and after France, Holland and UK earlier this week, today we are going Down Under where new eight part mini series THE CLEARING awaits us: it will arrive to Hulu and Disney Plus May 24th with an Australian cast that includes Guy Pearce, Miranda

The series will have eight episodes

Otto and Teresa Palmer. The series is inspired by the darkness of real-life cults in Australia and around the world. 

 

THE STORY

When a local girl goes missing, it triggers a woman’s memories from her childhood as a member of The Kindred – one of the female-led cults in history. Based on the crime thriller by J.P. Pomare, this exclusive original series follows the nightmares of a cult and a woman who’s forced to face the demons from her past in order to stop the kidnapping and coercion of innocent children in the future. THE CLEARING is an emotional and psychological thriller that burrows under the skin and inside the mind, blurring the lines between past and present, reality and nightmare.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT DOCUDRAMA AT WORKS AT NETFLIX! ADRIEN BRODY, GUY PEARCE, JOE ALWYN, ALESSANDRO NIVOLA, FELICITY JONES TO LEAD BRUTALIST PERIOD SET BIOPIC! 1ST FREUD'S LAST SESSION PIC WITH ANTHONY HOPKINS, MATTHEW GOODE

 ALEXANDER THE GREAT  

DOCUDRAMA AT NETFLIX

It has not been confirmed yet officially by Netflix itself, but rumour has it that they have a 100 men strong team currently over in Morocco, actually since last summer, shooting a new hybrid docudrama on ALEXANDER THE GREAT which will feature both scripted and unscripted elements. Tony Mitchell is the show runner for Tailfeather Productions and Lion TV.

  BRUTALIST MOVIE DRAMA  

ADS ADRIEN BRODY, JOE ALWYN, GUY PEARCE, ALESSANDRO NIVOLA, FELICITY JONES

It will be a stellar cast: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola, Felicity Jones will lead Brad Corbet's period set movie THE BRUTALIST which chronicles thirty years of an artist’s life. When visionary architect László Toth (Brody) and his wife Erzsébet (Jones) flee post-war Europe to rebuild their legacy in America, a mysterious and wealthy client (Pearce) ends up changing their lives forever. The biopic is already shooting in Hungary!

  FREUD'S LAST SESSION  

FIRST IMAGE WITH ANTHONY HOPKINS AND MATTHEW GOODE

Speaking of a thespian cast, check out Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode in the first image from FREUD'S LAST SESSION movie! Set on the eve of the Second World War, it depicts a meeting between Freud and Narnia writer C.S. Lewis, at the psychoanalyst’s London home, during which they debate the existence of God. The film also explores Freud’s unique relationship with his daughter Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) and Lewis’ unconventional relationship with his best friend’s mother. The stellar cast also has Orla Brady, Jeremy Northam and Stephen Campbell Moore.

SLATE OF UPCOMING NEW PROJECTS WITH ALEX PETTYFER, GUY PEARCE, SAMARA WEAVING, KATE BOSWORTH, DENNIS QUAID, THOMAS KRETSCHMANN, SARAH GADON, HENRY GOLDING, BILLY MAGNUSSEN!

 UPCOMING MOVIE PROJECTS 

SAMARA WEAVING'S AZRAEL

We are in that part of the year when movie markets are looming ahead of us, so I have a slate of new projects that will be offered to buyers in Berlin, Cannes

Samara Weaving will lead Azrael movie

and other markets this year. Director E.L.Katz has Samara Weaving in his movie AZRAEL, set in a world in which no one speaks, where a devout female-led community hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. 

LAST SENTINEL

Vertical has already bought rights to this sf movie set in the near future, where unchecked and rampant climate change has caused temperatures and sea levels to rise catastrophically. Only two large continents remain, and billions die during the mass migration to these higher lands.

Thomas Kretschmann is the last sentinel

Surrounded by an endless ocean thousands of miles from home, a skeleton crew of soldiers (Kate Bosworth, Lucien Laviscount, Martin McCann and Thomas Kretschmann) stand as the last bastion, defending their homeland from an invasion by an enemy they have never seen, monitoring for signs of attack and prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause. Their tour of duty ended 3 months ago with no relief in sight. Alone and uncertain as to what fate awaits them, the simmering tension amongst the crew escalates when a mysterious boat drifts into range – is it the help they have been waiting for, or something far more sinister? Oscar nominee Tanel Toom helms. 

SUNRISE NEO NOIR MOVIE

Alex Pettyfer will see the Sunrise

Andrew Baird is directing Alex Pettyfer as Fallon, a man who roams the land as a creature of the night while he comes to terms with the loss of his family at the hands of the brutal demagogue Reynolds, played by Guy Pearce.

PERIOD SET COUP!

Peter Saarsgard, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon lead this period set drama set on a seaside estate during the 1918 Spanish Flu, where a rebellious servant spearheads an uprising against his wealthy employer.  

DANIELA FOREVER FILM

Henry Golding will lead the new sf movie

Henry Golding is, meanwhile, leading this sf movie playing a man who signs up for a sleep trial that allows him to reconstruct his life with a dead partner through the use of dreams. Nacho Vigalondo is directing.

 

LITTLE MOUTH

Cast including Isabelle Fuhrman, Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Josh Hutcherson leads this movie about a brilliant computer scientist who is recruited by a charismatic tech billionaire to work on a secret project that could change humanity’s place in the universe forever, but it comes at a great risk.

SEE DAMIAN LEWIS, GUY PEARCE IN A SPY AMONG FRIENDS PERIOD SET SERIES TRAILER LAUNCHING ITVX THIS DECEMBER

  A SPY AMONG FRIENDS 

1ST TRAILER FOR ITVX SERIES

It will also air on MGM Plus this March

Launching ITV's new streamer ITVX December 8th is brand new period set series A SPY AMONG FRIENDS and we have a trailer for it today! Based on the best-selling book by Ben Macintyre, the six-episode series dramatises the true story of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby (Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis), two British spies and lifelong friends. Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history. This is a story of intimate duplicity; loyalty, trust and treachery. Philby’s deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, resulted in the gutting of British and American Intelligence. The series will also air on MGM+ in USA (formerly known as Epix) as of March 12th, and possibly on Britbox! Check out the trailer below: