SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME
by FRANK McGUINNESS
Minerva Theatre10 Sep - 10 Oct 2015
‘We are in a decidedly perilous position, to put it mildly.’
Adam, an American doctor, Edward, an Irish journalist, and Michael, an English academic, have little to unite them beyond being human in the same small space. Yet somehow, together, they determine to ward off madness and forestall despair.
Somewhere lurk their unseen captors yet, in the cell, there are stories of adventure and love, there is song and laughter, and even a surge of writing, cocktail-drinking and movie-making.
Based on the experiences of those taken hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me is playwright Frank McGuinness’s hymn to the defiant power of the human spirit and the creative imagination. First staged at Hampstead Theatre in 1992, it transferred to the West End before going on to win the 1993 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.
Director Michael Attenborough makes his Chichester debut. Whilst Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre between 2002 and 2013, his award-winning productions included Measure for Measure and David Eldridge’s The Knot of the Heart. From 1996 to 2002 he was Principal Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
David Haig returns to Chichester to play Michael, following his appearance in Festival 2014’s highly acclaimed Pressure, which he also wrote.
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Mickey Liddell’s LD Entertainment has boarded as a financier and producer on Sean Ellis’ Anthropoid, starring Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders). Also joining the previously announced cast is Charlotte Le Bon (Yves Saint Laurent).
Ellis (Metro Manila) also co-wrote the script Anthony Frewin (Colour Me Kubrick: A True…ish Story). Principal photography will commence on 13 July 2015 in Prague. The film tells the story of how the Allied forces carried out missions during World War II to assassinate Nazi SS-General Reinhard Heydrich. Nicknamed “The Butcher of Prague”, Heydrich had enjoyed a meteoric rise through the SS ranks and was at the time second only to Himmler and Hitler in the Third Reich’s hierarchy. Trained by British forces, two soldiers from Czechoslovakia’s army-in-exile were to be parachuted into their homeland with a daring assignment: to assassinate the man many saw as Hitler’s natural successor.
Anthropoid is produced by Mickey Liddell (The Grey) and Pete Shilaimon (In Secret) for LD Entertainment, Leonard Glowinski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) for 22H22, Anita Overland (Rush) and Chris Curling (Hannibal Rising), and executive produced by Jennifer Monroe (Disconnect). Krystof Mucha and David Ondricek of Lucky Man Films are co-producers for the Czech Republic. ICM Partners packaged the film and will be handling the North American sale with UTA. Altitude Film Sales is managing international sales.
Charlotte Le Bon has joined Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy on the WWII story that Altitude is selling in Cannes.
Sean Ellis directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Anthony Frewin about the true events surrounding the crack team sent to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich.
Principal photography is scheduled to commence on July 13 in Prague.
“We are delighted that LD Entertainment has come on board Anthropoid as we move towards principal photography in under nine weeks’ time,” said Mike Runagall, managing director of Altitude Film Sales.
“With the film fully financed and pre-production well advanced we will be shortly announcing the final casting for the film.”
“Sean Ellis is an outstanding talent who will bring an exciting and original approach to this incredible story,” said LD Entertainment owner Mickey Liddell, who joins the producer roster.
“We are so thrilled to be working with him and are very excited to see him recreate the terrifying world of occupied Prague with his dynamic and detailed approach.”
Pete Shilaimon also produces for LD Entertainment with Leonard Glowinski for 22H22, Anita Overland and Chris Curling. Jennifer Monroe is the executive producer.
ICM Partners packaged the film and represents North American rights with UTA.
Harvey Weinstein delivered a strong slate at this year's Cannes presentation at the Majestic.
He commandeered two jury members to greet the crowd. Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Antoine Fuqua's July release "Southpaw," a fighter picture, which Harvey surprised his staff by announcing they would show (to buyers? to press? no screening is yet slated) at Cannes. He said the film was invited to show in Cannes and because Gyllenhaal is a jury member, they opted not to participate. Todd Haynes' lesbian romance "Carol" (will it be "Brokeback Mountain" for gay women?) and Shakespeare's "Macbeth" starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are both in competition.
Also on hand was jury member Sienna Miller, who stars in what she admits is a Bradley Cooper vehicle, "Adam Jones," about a rising hard-driving chef who has to learn how to work with his staff, including romantic interest Miller. (The film also stars Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, and Alicia Vikander.) It looks strong.
Adam Jones
Bradley Cooper played a chef once before (on TV’s short-lived “Kitchen Confidential”), so he looks familiar in an apron as a reformed addict who wants to open a restaurant. If the Oscars gave awards for most eclectic cast, “Adam Jones” would be a frontrunner. The movie re-teams Cooper with his “American Sniper” costar Sienna Miller, who is continuing to make an admirable comeback, alongside Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson and Jamie Dornan (only seen for a second).
Grade: B
But there was some good stuff too. First up was an extended trailer for "Adam Jones," a new culinary-themed comedy starring and produced by Bradley Cooper, hoping to extend his recent stellar run. A one-time David Fincher project penned by "Locke" writer Steven Knight, it stars Cooper as a hot American chef in London, who having quit the "drinking, smoking and sniffing," sets out to mount a comeback with a new restaurant. Directed by "August: Osage County" helmer John Wells, it's a glossy-looking film that foregrounded some glitzy London locations and the romance between Cooper and his sous chef, Sienna Miller, and it's nice to see the latter getting some proper screen time after being mostly absent in "Foxcatcher" and "American Sniper."
It's not clear if it's going to be the next "Silver Linings Playbook," but it looks like a definite crowdpleaser in the making, and not just because we're fond of cooking-themed movies. Daniel Bruhl, Omar Sy, Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Jamie Dornan, Lily James, Uma Thurman, Sam Keeley and Matthew Rhys also star, and it's opening on October 2nd.
But Don’t Forget About Bradley Cooper
Though Bradley Cooper wasn’t in attendance, it’s clear that the Weinstein Company is also going to go hard on Adam Jones, a London-set chef drama starring Cooper and Gyllenhaal’s fellow jury member, Sienna Miller. From the trailer we saw, the John Wells–directed film seems like one of those Important, Difficult Man movies that Hollywood likes to make. It looks glossy and entertaining—and features an incredible supporting cast, including Jamie Dornan, Uma Thurman, and Emma Thompson—but maybe not quite serious enough to really have a stake in the awards race. Still, we’re plenty intrigued. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see Cooper play a chef again, 10 years after his series Kitchen Confidential ran for one brief season.
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