Neuigkeiten

Science fiction is a genre rooted in the complexity of not only technology but of the seen and unforeseen consequences associated with it, and few films in recent years have captured that idea so succinctly as Andrew Legge's Lola (not to be confused with Nicola Peltz's directorial debut from last year or the French New Wave classic directed by Jacuqes Demy from 1961). Lola, written and directed by Legge in his directorial debut, stars Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini, as two sisters who are equal parts brilliant and vivacious. The film asks a common question found in sci-fi and beyond: if we could know the future, should we change it?...

Paramount+ has released the official full trailer for the upcoming original series ‘The Road Trip,’ based on the best-selling book by Beth O’Leary.

Addie (Emma Appleton) and her sister Deb (Isabella Laughland) are on a road trip to a friend’s wedding in Spain when they are forced to offer a ride to Addie’s ex Dylan (Laurie Davidson), his irrepressible best friend Marcus (David Jonsson), and complete stranger Rodney (Angus Imrie). With nowhere to hide but a creaky campervan, the group must confront their buried history as secrets and revelations cause many a bump in the road.

Intercutting between the past and present, as the gang embark on their road trip across Spain to the wedding we flash back to Addie and Dylan’s intoxicating love affair two years earlier, which started as a heady holiday romance. Peppered with spiky conflict, alongside surreal escapades, the journey to the wedding...

This week, there have been big changes in the global entertainment business across streaming platforms and production companies, with big announcements coming from several countries.

“The Road Trip,” a new love comedy show from Paramount+, will start on December 26 in the UK, Canada, and Australia. People say the show will be funny and romantic, like old movies like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” and “One Day.” The show is about a holiday romance that gets renewed and stars Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson, and other great players.

Prime Video’s drama “Reina Roja” (Red Queen) is going forward with its second season in Spain. The new season is based on Juan Gómez-Jurado’s series of books. It follows detectives Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez as they investigate a crime on Spain’s Costa del Sol with ties to the Russian mafia. Victoria Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian will be back in the lead parts,...

‘The Road Trip’ Teaser On The Road At Paramount+

First-look images (above) and a teaser trailer have been released for The Road Trip, the Paramount+ rom-com launching on the streamer in the UK, Canada and Australia. December 26 has been pencilled in for a debut in those countries. The rom-com series about a camper van ride in Spain stars Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson, David Jonsson, Isabella Laughland and Angus Imrie, and explores whether someone can be the right person but at the wrong time. The trailer reveals the love affair between Addie (Appleton) and Dylan (Davidson), which began two years before as a holiday romance before ending. Paramount claims the show has “all the fun of Planes, Trains and Automobiles and the romantic yearning of One Day.” Ryan O’Sullivan and Matilda Wnek wrote and created the show, with Miriam Brent, Eleanor Moran and Rory Aitken the executive producers. 42 is making The Road Trip...

As summer wanes and autumn sets upon us, it seems the perfect time to get in some folk horror before we feast our eyes upon the darker, supernatural fare that we tend to embrace during the Halloween season. And I found just the film at Fantastic Fest this year. Dean Puckett’s The Severed Sun is a modern folk horror tale that is full of metaphor and meaning, as well as unsettling imagery and a measure of brutality. It incorporates religion, toxic masculinity, female power, and a strange creature lurking in the woods.

The film wastes no time and opens strong with a woman killing her abusive husband. This woman is Magpie (Emma Appleton). When we join her story, she has had enough. She isn’t coming to a realization, or making a plan. She is Done. She refuses to live with his abuse toward her and her children any longer,...

Evil comes in many forms. In horror films, it’s often in the form of an inhuman creature or supernatural entity. With folk horror films, however, evil is often personified in people and their actions, seeing the sub-genre interrogate the dark nature of mankind. In The Severed Sun, writer/director Dean Puckett‘s feature debut, a creature may go on a killing spree, but it’s far from the film’s true evil.

In an isolated British community led by a strict pastor, religion rules the land. When his daughter Magpie (Emma Appleton) gruesomely murders her abusive husband, she inadvertently (or deliberately?) conjures a woodland creature that begins targeting the evil men in the village. As the bodies start to fall, suspicions start to rise, with particular attention being paid to Magpie. The rebellious woman, along with her sons Daniel and Sam (Zachary Tanner), must battle the village’s conservative...

Sony Pictures Television (Spt) has taken majority control of Eleventh Hour Films, the U.K.-based TV production company it first invested in back in 2018.

The deal, announced Monday, sees Eleventh Hour join Spt’s stable of majority-owned British drama outfits, alongside Left Bank Pictures (The Crown), Bad Wolf (His Dark Materials) and Eleven (Sex Education). Helion Partners advised Eleventh Hour on the transaction. Financial details were not disclosed.

Sony said the capital investment with “supercharge the next phase of growth” for the company, known for such Brit procedurals as Magpie Murders and Foyle’s War and teen spy thriller Alex Rider.

More recently, Eleventh Hour produced the legal thriller The Killing Kind starring Emma Appleton and Colin Morgan for Paramount+ and rebooted the Scottish crime drama Rebus for the BBC, featuring Richard Rankin. The company has also announced Moonflower Murders, a sequel to Magpie Murders starring Lesley Manville, which...

Exclusive: After a 12-year run, Rory Aitken, co-founder of London- and Los Angeles-based management and production company 42, is exiting the firm, which will undergo a restructure.

Aitken will be leaving in the coming weeks to form a new company with 42’s Head of Television Eleanor Moran and exec producer Miriam Brent, as well as multiple junior staff.

In turn, 42 partner Ben Pugh will assume a global production role becoming President of Production, unifying film and TV production under his leadership.

Ben Cavey, the company’s current Head of Comedy and Entertainment, will be stepping up into an expanded role as MD of International TV, reporting to Pugh. Cavey is the former Managing Director of UK indie Tiger Aspect (Peaky Blinders) and a former Netflix exec. He will relocate from L.A. to the firm’s London office, and headcount may be added down the line.

Aitken will co-produce a...

Hulu will exclusively premiere The Killing Kind on Tuesday, May 14. The series is a six-episode adaptation of the thriller novel by acclaimed author Jane Casey.

Nobody understands the dark gap between justice and the law better than Ingrid Lewis. As a successful lawyer, Ingrid is used to dealing with tricky clients, but no one rivals John Webster.

Charming, good-looking, successful, and clever. Webster was accused of coercive control by an ex-girlfriend, and in court, Ingrid successfully defended him, winning the case.

Following the trial, Ingrid got close to Webster, too close, and when she tried to exit the relationship, he turned on her, and her world imploded. Now, just when she is rebuilding her life, he suddenly reappears and tells her that someone is out to kill her and only he can protect her.

Fueled by a need to find out the truth and locked in a game of ‘cat and mouse,...

Network: Netflix

Episodes: Ongoing (hour)

Seasons: Five

TV show dates: December 20, 2019 -- Tbd

Series status: Ending

Performers include: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer.

TV show description:

Based on the fantasy book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a story of fantasy, fate, and family. Geralt of Rivia (Cavill) is a solitary monster hunter who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Read More…...

In a move to consolidate its bullishly expanding audiovisual industry, Spain’s Canary Islands have just scrapped a prior €50 million ($53.5 million) cap on total annual tax incentives tapped by movies and series shooting in the archipelago.

Announced April 30, the ground-breaking measure was applauded by local industry heavyweights who have been lobbying national and regional authorities, “This couldn’t be better news for the Canarian audiovisual sector, and by extension, for the Spanish audiovisual sector,” said Rubén Zarauza, president of the Audiovisual Cluster of the Canary Islands, and co-head of Amuse Studios, the Spanish branch of France’s Amuse Animation group.

“What we have achieved with this [tax break] cap removal is greater peace of mind for producers and other players in the sector,” Zarauza added.

Pablo Hernández, president of Zec, the Canary Islands’ tax Special Zone, offered to regions on the periphery of the European Union, echoed Zarauza: “The tax credit in...

Production has begun on the fourth season of The Witcher and Netflix has officially confirmed the show's fifth season renewal. It's also been revealed that the fantasy series will end with year five, Liam Hemsworth's second season as the lead. Casting director Sophie Holland had previously stated that a fifth season was planned back in May 2023.

Starring Hemsworth, Lauren Fishburne, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer, the series follows Geralt of Rivia on his adventures.

Read More…...

Emma Appleton (The Witcher) and Colin Morgan (Humans) star in the thriller series The Killing Kind, which has just been acquired by the Hulu streaming service… and if the show sounds familiar to you, like it’s something you might have seen while browsing the Paramount+ service, there’s good reason for that. As Deadline explains, “The Killing Kind was originally a Paramount+ Original and commissioned out of the UK. It was one of several local Paramount+ dramas that launched only to be yanked from the streamer overnight earlier this year, much to the ire of viewers.” The shows were removed from Paramount+ as the streamer sought to cut costs and shift to “favoring its Hollywood-style content.”

Now the show has a new home, and it will be available to watch on Hulu as of May 14th.

Based on the novel of the same name by Jane Casey (pick up...

Exclusive: Hulu has picked up The Killing Kind, the thriller series adapted from the Jane Casey bestseller.

Sony-backed prodco Eleventh Hour Films made the show and Sony Pictures Television is across international sales and inked the Hulu deal. The six-hour series will bow in the U.S. on May 14.

The Killing Kind was originally a Paramount+ Original and commissioned out of the UK. It was one of several local Paramount+ dramas that launched only to be yanked from the streamer overnight earlier this year, much to the ire of viewers, as Deadline reported in Feb.

The series follows Ingrid Lewis, a successful defense attorney who successfully defends a client, John Webster, against stalking charges. They subsequently have a brief relationship, which ends badly, only for him to come back into her life a year later. When a colleague is run down, Webster claims he is the only one who...

The year’s shortest month gets the biggest bang as Severin Films today announced their February 27th releases featuring uncensored 4K restorations of the infamous 1960’s western ‘roughies’ from the depraved minds of exploitation legends Bob Cresse and Lee Frost, Hot Spur and Scavengers.

‘“The Kings of esoteric boutique companies” (Video WatchBlog) are also proud to release – because Severin co-founder/president David Gregory considers it one of the best films he saw as a jury member at the FrightFest and Sitges Film Festivals – the North American disc premiere of director/co-writer Andrew Legge’s time-travel mind-bender, Lola.

Previous limited edition title Spider Labyrinth also enters wide release.

Here’s everything you need to know about Severin’s February 2024 lineup…

Hot Spur

Having struck gold with shockumentaries like Ecco and Mondo Bizarro, producer Bob Cresse and writer/director Lee Frost applied their distinctive sleaze aesthetic to a revenge western they advertised as “91 minutes of Freudian fury!

U.K. producers Evan Leighton-Davis and Ben Bond have launched a new financing fund, Heatseeker Media, a rolling finance facility to provide funding for independent film and TV producers.

Rare for these sorts of indie financing facilities, the London-based fund will provide development funding for producers, initially in the $100,000 to $1 million range for individual projects. Backing for the fund will come from a suite of private investors, mainly high-net-worth individuals, in the U.K., Europe and the U.S..

The first group of films to benefit from the fund include Romola Garai’s Monstrous Beauty, a period drama featuring The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey, which was a hot pre-sale title at the Cannes and AFM markets last year; the horror film The Severed Sun from director Dean Puckett starring Emma Appleton of The Witcher; and Ita Fitzgerald’s Irish drama West the Road featuring Imelda Staunton. The Severed Sun,...

Paramount+ Greenlights ‘The Road Trip’ Based On ‘The Flatshare’ Scribe’s Novel

Paramount+ has greenlit another UK series from 42 and Ptis based on a novel by The Flatshare scribe Beth O’Leary. The Road Trip is being helmed by Everything I Know About Love lead Emma Appleton, who plays Addie, heading out on a road trip to a friend’s wedding in Spain when she and her sister are forced to share the ride with her ex Dylan, his irrepressible best friend Marcus, and complete stranger Rodney. With nowhere to hide but a creaky campervan, the group must confront their buried history as secrets and revelations cause many a bump in the road. Starring alongside Appleton are Laurie Davidson (Mary & George, Guilty Party), David Jonsson, Isabella Laughland and Angus Imrie (The Crown, Fleabag). “42 and Paramount+ were the dream team behind The Flatshare series, so...

The Killing Kind is a psychological thriller that takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the mind of a brilliant but twisted criminal mastermind. This six-episode series is a gripping exploration of obsession, manipulation, and the lengths to which one person will go to possess another. The story revolves around Barrister Ingrid Lewis, a successful and accomplished lawyer whose life takes a dark turn when her colleague and close friend, Belinda, dies in a tragic accident. Ingrid’s seemingly perfect life begins to unravel as she becomes the target of a relentless stalker, John Webster, who is fixated on her to a disturbing degree. What starts as seemingly harmless harassment soon escalates into a web of deceit and danger that threatens to consume Ingrid.

One of the strong points of The Killing Kind is its ability to engage the viewers and keep them on the edge of their seats. From the very beginning,...

Emma Appleton joins us on this week's show to talk all about Paramount+'s The Killing Kind, and James gets a potted football primer from Boydy as we dive into the second season of Welcome To Wrexham (though the revelation that it's fine to be offside as long as you're not actually doing anything might have broken him).

We also join Jenna Coleman on a homicidal/romantic road trip in Prime Video's Wilderness, and catch up with Domina on Sky. All in an episode that proves to be rather more boob-oriented than you might expect…

Listen to the episode on your podcast app of choice or the player above. And if you want to subscribe to Pilot TV+, find all the details here.

Don’t despair about the end of another non-existent British summer – UK TV always gets good when the weather turns, as the nights draw in and we all retreat indoors, finally getting sick of rainy barbecues and being chased by wasps in pub gardens.

This year is no different, so you can expect your 2023 autumn TV watchlist to include some compelling original dramas, from true crime shows covering some of the UK’s most shocking cases to enthralling depictions of real-life events, from the arrival of the Windrush generation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throw in some time-travelling crime-solving, mediaeval sword fights and a criminal gang on the run from a ruthless assassin, and we’ll be enjoying our self-enforced hibernation in front of the telly all the way until Christmas. Here’s what’s coming up, in order of release date.

The Killing Kind

Jane Casey’s novel The Killing Kind...

The constant conundrum of time travel films can be summarized succinctly — if someone changes the past in any way, then that action will have ripple effects which completely change the future; what happens to the future when you change it out of existence? That's the essential paradox of time travel, and it's just as complicated in a multiverse with free will as it is in one deterministic linear universe. Time travel is thus more complicated than most people think.

Some films actually treat time travel with the respect it deserves, such as Primer, which meticulously grapples with the ramifications of even the smallest jumps in time. The new film Lola, directed by Andrew Legge and written by Legge and Angeli Macfarlane, is another great example. Lola takes the concept of time travel very seriously, even if it is injected with a kind of whimsy and fantasy. It's a confounding film...

Netflix's "The Witcher" may stray from both Andrzej Sapkowski's books and the popular video game series, but the controversial show does not skimp on the brutality. Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) slashes his enemies every which way, lopping limbs and halving torsos with fell swoops of his steel and silver swords. Geralt must be ruthless to survive, because in the Continent, he's one of the good guys. Elves, monsters, mages, and outlaws are all out there, scheming to get a piece of each other by spells, archery, or simple, old fashioned, bone crushing savagery.

"The Witcher" doesn't have the cold brutality found in "Game of Thrones," even in its most vicious moments. But in terms of sheer quantity and variety — men, monsters, magic, swordplay, hand-to-hand, entire pitched battles — "The Witcher" is among the most quantifiably brutal fantasy shows going. So, after tallying up three seasons of death and destruction,...

Warning: spoilers for The Witcher season 3 Part 2

Geralt's decision to give away Renfri's brooch symbolizes the end of Henry Cavill's time as Geralt in The Witcher series. The brooch holds a significant emotional weight for Geralt, representing his connection to Renfri and the burden of her death. Giving away the brooch signifies Geralt's transformation and his willingness to become fully involved in human conflicts, particularly in his quest to rescue Ciri and seek revenge against Vilgefortz.

The Witcher season 3 ended with a brutal fight between Geralt and a group of Nilfgaardian guards, but before the fight began, he gave away something very precious to him: Renfri’s brooch. After expanding with a prequel animated movie and a prequel miniseries, the universe of Netflix’s The Witcher returned to the main series for its third season. The Witcher season 3 was split into two parts and treated as an event,...

The Witcher returns soon with the second half of its third season, and the episodes will serve as the end of Henry Cavill’s run as Geralt of Rivia. Liam Hemsworth is taking on the role for future seasons. Netflix has already renewed the series through its fifth season.

Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer also star in the fantasy series based on the video game and novel series. The fantasy action series follows the witcher Geralt as he fights to save a young girl.

Read More…...

Horror Icon Jamie Bernadette Stars in Serial Killer Film Sebastian, Now Streaming on Tubi: "Sebastian is now streaming on Tubi and we have the trailer, poster, and synopsis. The crime-driven horror film in which a serial killer ravages a city stars horror icon Jamie Bernadette (I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu), Darius McCrary (Family Matters), Torrei Hart (Hollywould), and Luca Della Valle (Distant Vision). The supporting cast includes Clifton Powell (Ray), Cocoa Brown (9-1-1), Jermaine Hopkins (Lean on Me), Jayson Warner Smith (The Walking Dead), Tracey Graves (Super Turnt), Michael Emery (Station 19), and Jermel Howard (Luke Cage). The film is written and directed by Mann Robinson (Super Turnt).

Sebastian is already climbing Tubi’s most-watched lists, having gone viral on social media the day of its release with opinion leaders in film openly praising the movie. Noted film producer Jan O’Connell (I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu...

"Lola was never meant to be an instrument of violence..." Dark Sky Films has revealed an official trailer for Lola, a strange B&w indie film creation from young filmmaker Andrew Legge. This premiered at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival last year and also played at FrightFest, and the Melbourne & Edinburgh Film Fests. Set in 1941 in England, two sisters invent a machine that intercepts broadcasts from the future. With World War II dawning, they use it to change history. The story follows Thom and Mars, who build the machine they call Lola, that can intercept radio & TV broadcasts from the future. "While Thom becomes intoxicated by Lola, Mars begins to realize the terrible consequences of its power." Uh oh. The indie film stars Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini as the two sisters, Thom and Mars (Thomasina and Martha), with Hugh O'Conor, Rory Fleck Byrne, Ayvianna Snow, and Aaron Monaghan. This looks like a very intriguing experimental creation,...

One of the more compelling discoveries we came across on the festival circuit last year was Andrew Legge’s directorial debut Lola, a faux found footage film that plays with historical and science fiction. Starring Stefanie Martini, Emma Appleton, Rory Fleck Byrne, and Aaron Monaghan, the film follows two sisters in 1941 Englad who invent a machine that intercepts broadcasts from the future. With World War II dawning, they use it to change history. Picked up by Dark Star Films for a U.S. release in theaters and on VOD on August 9, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the official synopsis: “1941, sisters Thom and Mars have built a machine, Lola, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. This allows them to listen to iconic music before it has been made, place bets knowing what the outcome will be and embrace their inner punk well before the movement came into existence.

Season 3, part 1, of Netflix’s The Witcher came to an end on June 29, 2023. The second half won’t premiere until July 27, and we have already seen some significant changes. For those who may not know, The Witcher is an adaptation of The Witcher novel series written by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. His novels were also adapted into a video game series of the same name. In this case, we’ll be talking about a few of the major changes in the Netflix show compared to the books.

Now, it’s not the first time changes have to be made when adapting a book into a film or television series. In most cases, it’s due to differences in creative direction. That can especially be said for The Witcher series. Some differences are minor and can be hard to spot for first-time watchers who read the books. But here are some...

Emma Appleton is all set to bewitch the audience once more in her new project. The actress is known for her spellbinding performance in The Witcher. The upcoming indie film has caught the attention of horror enthusiasts. The untitled feature will mark the debut of the promising filmmaker Dean Puckett as reported by Collider.

The film narrates a haunting portrayal of a terrified town, and it features Appleton at the heart of what seems to be a nightmarish scenario. Appleton's look hints at something sinister unfolding​​, while dressed in old English attire and smeared with blood.

Not many details are known about the film. We do know that the film has already wrapped up production in the southwest coast of England. Aside from that, the narrative revolves around a brutal witch hunt that wreaks havoc in a small religious community. The story takes a dark turn following the enigmatic death of a town member.

Horror fans have a new exciting film to look out for as The Witcher star Emma Appleton is set to star in an upcoming folk horror film. Now audiences can see their first look at the film, which recently wrapped production in England, as an exclusive via Deadline has revealed the first image from the movie, which features the actor in the midst of a terrifying town panic.

The debut feature from filmmaker Dean Puckett, production has wrapped in England on an untitled folk horror movie, and Deadline shares a first-look image with us today.

Emma Appleton (“The Witcher”) stars.

In the upcoming horror movie, “When Magpie’s husband dies in mysterious circumstances, a brutal witch-hunt threatens to tear apart an isolated religious community.”

Jodhi May, Lewis Gribben, Barney Harris, Oliver Maltman, James Swanton, and Toby Stephens also star.

The film is produced by Rebecca Wolff of Grasp the Nettle Films and Jude Goldrei of Lunar Lander Films. Executive Producers are Piers Holdsworth Hunt, Kate Byers, Linn Waite, Malik Ali, Badie Ali, Hamza Ali, Evan Leighton-Davis, and Rupert Hanbury-Tenison. Co-Producers are Daria Nitsche and James Brant, with Ella Turner as Associate Producer.

Deadline notes, “The project was developed as part of the BFI, BBC Films, and Creative UK’s iFeatures program, which has developed successful indie pics.”

The...

Exclusive: Emma Appleton is among the cast leading a currently untitled indie British folk horror from debut feature filmmaker Dean Puckett, which has just wrapped production on the southwest coast of England.

Appleton leads the cast, which is rounded out by Jodhi May, Lewis Gribben, Barney Harris, Oliver Maltman, James Swanton, and Toby Stephens. The film is produced by Rebecca Wolff of Grasp the Nettle Films and Jude Goldrei of Lunar Lander Films. Logline reads: When Magpie’s husband dies in mysterious circumstances, a brutal witch-hunt threatens to tear apart an isolated religious community.

Production took place on Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor, an expansive rocky moorland. The Cornish region has a long and rich history of horror filmmaking. Alfred Hitchcock’s second du Maurier adaptation Rebecca is set in Cornwall, and more recently, the region’s distinct landscape feature heavily in the work...

The Witcher is not going anywhere anytime soon. Season three of the fantasy series, based on the novel and video game series of the same name, arrives this summer. Beyond that, season four is heading into production, and Netflix has quietly renewed the series for a fifth season.

The Witcher season three will see the exit of Henry Cavill, with Liam Hemsworth taking on the role of Geralt of Rivia in season four. Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer currently star in the fantasy series.

Read More…...

Dark Sky Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Lola, the science fiction drama from writer-director Andrew Legge and starring Stefanie Martini (Prime Suspect 73, The Last Kingdom) and Emma Appleton (The Witcher, Pistol). The film will be released in early August.

Giles Edwards, head of development and acquisitions at Dark Sky Films, is currently on the ground in Cannes and negotiated the distribution agreement with Yana Georgieva, head of sales for Bankside Films.

Lola is set in 1940 in England, where enterprising sisters Thomasina “Thom” Hanbury (Appleton) and Martha “Mars” Hanbury (Martini) have built a machine, Lola, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. The device gives them an exciting preview of the world to come, including music by the likes of David Bowie and the Kinks. But with World War II escalating, the sisters decide to use the machine as a weapon of intelligence, with world-altering consequences.

The Witcher is returning for its third season in June. The upcoming eight-episode season will be released in two parts and mark the end of star Henry Cavill’s time as Geralt of Rivia. Cavill announced that he would be departing the role in October of last year. Liam Hemsworth is taking over the role of Geralt for season four.

Also starring Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer, The Witcher fantasy series is based on the video game and novel series of the same name.

Read More…...

Andrew Legg’s film, shot on 16mm, tells the story of two women who have invented a machine that intercepts future television broadcasts

A clever riff on the time-travel genre, Andrew Legge’s small but mighty feature debut begins with a title card announcing the discovery of a mysterious cache of film reels in the 1940s. The grainy and jagged black-and-white footage, shot on a 16mm Bolex, turns out to be home movies made by Martha (Stefanie Martini) and Thomasina (Emma Appleton), two orphaned sisters who have devised a machine that can intercept broadcast signals from the future, and which they have named after their deceased mother.

The film impresses with its imaginative design: a circular monitor is affixed to a towering metal rig, suggesting a television screen as well as a fortune teller’s crystal globe. Glowing with prescient images – such as a video of David Bowie singing Space Oddity...

If police drama remains the bedrock of British TV commissions, with 2022 having welcomed crime series Karen Pirie, Marlow, Magpie Murders, The Responder, Sherwood and many more, broadcasters also gave us a glittering seam of new fantasy and horror. Last year saw a host of new British supernatural and sci-fi series, from Joe Barton’s sci-fi action-thriller The Lazarus Project and the criminally since-cancelled YA Netflix fantasy The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, BBC Three teen horror Red Rose, Sky dark comedy The Baby, as well as a new telling of John Wyndham’s spooky children classic The Midwich Cuckoos.

Then there were shows that combined both threads, such as Amazon Prime’s mind-twisting The Devil’s Hour starring Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine, and Pete Jackson’s excellent debut Somewhere Boy. And some new British TV shows didn’t even feature a single murder, like Netflix’s adored Heartstopper graphic novel adaptation.

Andrew Legge’s Lola, a faux found footage film that plays with historical and science fiction, gives weight to an emerging idea: could this be the best year for Irish cinema? If you believe the metrics of Rotten Tomatoes, the best-reviewed film of 2022 was once The Banshees of Inisherin. At the time of writing, it’s An Cailín Ciúin (aka The Quiet Girl), a film in the Irish language. Aftersun, the most beloved of any this year, stars Kildare’s Paul Mescal. With Jessie Buckley’s turn in Women Talking leading from the front, there is the wild possibility that five of next year’s acting nominations at the Oscars could go to people from that damp Atlantic rock—one or two might even win.

A little further afield, some independent works have helped buffer the moment: God’s Creatures (another Mescal joint), Donal Foreman’s The Cry of Granuaile, Frank Berry’s Aisha,...

Launched by the UK’s Modern Films, in partnership with UK Says No More.

16 Days 16 Films – the competition aimed at creating content that discusses violence against women and campaigns against gender-based violence – is returning for its 2022 edition, with submissions from UK, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and the US.

All of the short films are directed by a female-identifying filmmaker, with the initiative running online from November 25 to December 10.

The winner will be selected by a jury and announced on December 15, with first place getting the opportunity to create a new public service announcement for UK Says No More, a national...

Launched by Eve Gabereau’s UK distribution and production banner Modern Films, in partnership with UK Says No More.

16 Days 16 Films – the competition aimed at creating content that discusses violence against women and campaigns against gender-based violence – is returning for its 2022 edition, with submissions from UK, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and the United States.

All of the short films are directed by a female-identifying filmmaker, with the initiative running online from November 25 to December 10.

Stefanie Martini, Emma Appleton star in Andrew Legge’s debut feature.

Signature Entertainment has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Lola, a Second World War sci-fi feature from writer-director Andrew Legge and writer Angeli Macfarlane.

Having acquired the film from sales agent Bankside Films, Signature is planning a theatrical release for 2023. It will work with Robert McCann Finn and Nell Roddy of distributor Break Out Pictures on the Irish release.

Lola debuted out of competition at Locarno Film Festival in August. Set in the UK during the Second World War, the film follows two sisters, played by Stefanie Martini and Emma Appleton,...

Fans of The Witcher had shocking news over the weekend. Not only was the series renewed for a fourth season, ahead of its third season premiere, but moving forward, Geralt of Rivia will be played by a new actor. Liam Hemsworth is replacing Henry Cavill on the fantasy series.

Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Emma Appleton, Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musial, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer also star in the television series which is based on the fantasy book series of the same name.

Cavill said the following about his departure from the series:

My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season...

Everything I Know About Love isn't just a love letter to friendship—it's also an ode to the very specific time period it's set in: 2012. The Peacock series based on Dolly Alderton's bestselling memoir of the same name follows childhood BFFs Maggie (Emma Appleton) and Birdy (Bel Powley) as they move into their first London flat with their two college pals, Nell (Marli Siu) and Amara (Aliyah Odoffin). Together, they navigate bad dates, career woes, heartaches and humiliations—all while rocking the very best (and worst!) fashions the 2010s gave us. One of the biggest aesthetics of the time was "indie sleaze," a fashion era defined by skinny jeans, smudged eyeliner, cropped leather...

The success of “Fleabag” loosed a glut of shows about young women tottering – heels broken, mascara smeared – in the vague direction of adult responsibility. Few have been as purely enjoyable as “Everything I Know About Love,” Dolly Alderton’s adaptation of her own memoir, which debuts on Peacock this week after winning plaudits on the BBC in midsummer.

With its photogenic cast, pyjama-party vibe and commitment to steering its characters towards better things, this Working Title-produced, London-set miniseries should provide superior comfort TV for anyone constitutionally unable to face Nathan Fielder’s postmodern provocations or the carnage of a “Game of Thrones” prequel. It’ll be only more comforting the more years you have on the show’s fresh-faced principals.

Alderton’s onscreen surrogate is Maggie Marshall (Emma Appleton), encountered just before the 2012 Olympics as a flighty 24-year-old blogger with a thrusting new beau in porkpie hat-sporting, multiple red flag-raising...

Stars: Emma Appleton, Stefanie Martini, Rory Fleck Byrne, Aaron Monaghan, Hugh O’Conor | Written by Andrew Legge, Angeli Macfarlane | Directed by Andrew Legge

Directed by Andrew Legge, Lola is an inventive and original British time travel thriller that makes inspired use of archive footage and features a superb soundtrack, including an original song by The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon. However, it’s slightly let down by the performances and a lack of attention to the general aesthetic.

The film purports to be a found footage movie, set in the early 1940s. Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini play Tom and Martha, a pair of eccentric orphan sisters who live in a large mansion house. When their scientific tinkering results in a time machine called Lola, they discover they can receive TV signals from the future, allowing them to accurately predict events in the present.

With the country ravaged by WWII, Tom...

Four female friends share the experience of navigating post-college life in London in Peacock’s new series “Everything I Know About Love.”

Set in 2012, the show, which is based on the book of the same name by Dolly Alderton, combines humor and drama as it follows 20 somethings Maggie (Emma Appleton), Birdy (Bel Powley), Nell (Marli Siu) and Amara (Aliyah Odoffin) as they work on adulting, seek out romance, and even learn a choreographed dance or two in their shared living room.

“I think it’s just so nice to see female friendships not taking a backseat in the storyline,” Appleton told TheWrap. “It’s very much front and center. And that is the romance. And that is most important in this story.”

As things begin in the new series, Maggie is just arrived in London and still trying to figure her life out. As her housemates and friends do the same,...

One of the delights of covering film festivals is that there are always hidden gems to be discovered. Screening as part of Frightfest and also included in the Edinburgh International Film Festival line-up for 2022, this début feature by Andrew Legge was made on a microbudget with a cast who work primarily on the small screen, but it very much deserves a place on the big one. Building cleverly on a simple science fiction premise, it delivers a story full of moral and emotional difficulty with an acute awareness of possibility and rare moments of joie de vivre.

Presented as a recovered film from 1941, a composite piece created by a woman called Martha (Stephanie Martini) for her sister Thomasina (Emma Appleton), it opens in 1938 with the invention of a machine – named Lola in honour of the sisters’ deceased mother – which can pick up radio and...

The first (and hopefully not last) season of “Everything I Know About Love” runs for seven episodes. It’s an odd length for a TV season, but this is a show where that lack of a round number makes perfect sense. It’s such an effective form of TV-as-memoir that every episode feels like it could be its last. A snapshot in time of four friends living in London in the summer of 2012, the Peacock original captures the feeling of a group of people who recognize their whole lives are ahead of them, made from chapters that could start or end at any minute. Packed with mid-20s energy and angst, occasional flippancy and real heart, “Everything I Know About Love” justifies giving a date barely a decade past a full and thoughtful revisit.

Based on the book of the same name by Dolly Alderton, who leads the adaptation efforts,...

Everything I Know About Love premiered on Peacock Thursday, August 25.

Based on Dolly Alderton's memoir of the same, we follow the story of four best friends in 2012 as they navigate life and love.

TV Fanatic got the chance to speak with Emma Appleton (Maggie), Marli Siu (Nell), and Aliyah Odoffin (Amara) about working on the series.

Emma was instantly attracted to the series because she fell in love with the writing and the characters.

"I never really read characters so complex and nuanced and real. I was like, 'I've got a friend," the star shared.

"As an actor, you want to tell the truth, and it had all of those components."

Aliyah recalls reading the script fondly.

"I remember I printed out in the first episode, and I was lying on my carpet, and I was like lying on my belly, feet in the air, like I was texting a crush,...

It's hard to imagine a TV show about four female friends navigating life in the big city not inviting comparisons to Girls or Sex in the City. The description does indeed apply to Peacock's new series, Everything I Know About Love—just swap out New York City with London—and while cast members Emma Appleton, Marli Siu and Aliyah Odoffin told E! News they find said comparisons incredibly flattering, they're not exactly accurate. "I think it's the compliment of inspiration," Aliyah said. "I think that's where those comparisons come from...but ultimately, there's so [many] differences that we're finding in...