The Actors’ Society

Film & Theatre News

There is plenty coming up in theatre around the UK. David Suchet returns to the West End alongside Zoe Wanamaker in “All My Sons”. The Edinburgh International and Fringe festivals are back throughout August and are two of the most comprehensive events for aficionados of professional or fringe theatre, seeing both veteran and future stars earning their stripes. English comedian John Bishop and Jim Jeffries are among those performing at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.


 
The musicals “Les Miserables” and “Hairspray” are on tour throughout the UK from now until April 2011. Other upcoming runs in regional theatres include; “That Face” in Sheffield, starring Frances Barber and at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, “I`m Sorry I Haven`t A Clue” starring Jack Dee and David Mitchell. In November look forward to, “The Naked Truth”, starring Maureen Nolan and Claire King. This is a comedy set in a pole dancing class, which returns for a fifth tour, covering the length and breadth of England.

In film news, Working Title Films has a number of exciting projects in production. Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Chris O`Dowd are starring in a film called “Hippie Hippie Shake”, based upon the memoirs of 1960`s icon Richard Neville. The Sebastian Faulks novel, “Birdsong” is in production and will star Paddy Considine, Brian Cox and Michael Fassbender. It`s unclear as to whether it will be released as a feature film, or be distributed through the relatively new Working Title TV. One of the biggest names in UK film and one of the greatest success stories in bridging the gap between the UK and Hollywood is Simon Pegg. Pegg`s popularity shows no signs of waning. Neither does his workload as he is currently working on a number of projects in both countries. Upcoming film, “Burke and Hare” also stars Andy Serkis. This is a black comedy about thieves who make money providing cadavers for a medical school, set in the 19th century.



Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return as writing and acting partners in the Working Title film “Paul”, about two English comic book nerds who travel to the US for a comic convention, subsequently taking part in a road trip only to discover a real alien in the back of their car. Continuing his domination of cinema screens, Simon Pegg will also appear alongside Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell in, “The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn”, based upon the much loved children’s books, the film being produced by Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. In other news, Daniel Craig is still on board for the 23rd Bond film, but production is currently halted as a result of issues with the studio.

Ralph Fiennes is venturing into directing as well as reprising his role as `Lord Voldermort` in the much anticipated, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Part 1”. Fiennes directs and stars in `Coriolanus` based upon the Shakespeare play, with Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox.



Gemma Arterton, whose career appears to be moving at lightning speed, is stepping away from recent high budget action blockbusters with her next project, “Tamara Drewe”. A film about a young journalist returning to her childhood home to discover it is up for sale, it also stars Dominic Cooper.



After declaring that he will have a haircut in order to read for a wider variety of roles, Russell Brand gives a farewell tour with his locks intact in a new Judd Apatow produced film “Get Him To The Greek”. In it he plays Aldous Snow, a rock star character he also played in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Also in the pipeline for Russell Brand is a film called, “Arthur” also rumoured to star Helen Mirren.



Cate Blanchett is working with Eric Bana in, “Hanna”. Another much anticipated release is action-thriller, “Contagion”, directed by Stephen Soderbergh. Set to star are several big name English actors; Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon. As with many of the upcoming releases, “Contagion” should provide ample opportunities for collectors of movie photos.