News

Pattinson Premiere

Bong Joon Ho‘s upcoming science fiction film, “Mickey 17,” is scheduled to debut in South Korean theaters on Feb. 28, preceding its global release by a week, Warner Bros. Korea said on Friday. The $118 million production is Bong’s first directorial effort since the Oscar-winning “Parasite.”

Pattinson is set to join Bong in Seoul on Jan. 20 to kick off the movie’s promotional tour. The duo will participate in a press conference and showcase exclusive footage at Cgv Yongsan.

Based on the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton, the sci-fi thriller stars Pattinson an “expendable” employee named Mickey Barnes. In the novel, Mickey is sent on dangerous missions to colonize an ice planet. When one version of Mickey dies, a duplicate is created to replace him that retains most of his memories. The cast also includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.

Irish TV Appointment

Screen...

Screen Ireland has hired Kate McColgan as its Head of Television.

McColgan previously worked for the Irish company Parallel Films as Development and Production Manager, overseeing their TV & Film slate. She also had stints at MTV where she managed the launch of MTV Arabia Television across the UAE and Arab Regions and at Element Pictures where she managed the company’s television co-production slate from 2011-2013 including TV series Ripper Street and Blood. She was also Head of European Production for US distributor MPI Media across film and television. As a producer, her credits include From The Dark, The Drummer and the Keeper, the TV series Darklands, and The Heist Before Christmas.

The organization has said McColgan will be responsible for the management of the Screen Ireland slate across television and animation series, from development to production. She will work closely with Irish and international broadcasters and streamers. Her remit...

Chris McCausland & Lee Mack Set For Sky Festive Special

British comedians Chris McCausland and Lee Mack will front Sky festive special Bad Tidings, about two perpetually feuding neighbors in Northern England who become unlikely heroes after saving their street from notorious burglars with wacky booby traps and British banter. Laurence Rickard & Martha Howe-Douglas are writing, with production commencing this month at Sky Studios Elstree. Also cast are Rebekah Staton, Sarah Alexander, Ben Crompton, Emily Coates, Josiah Eloi, Millie Kiss, Tupele Dorgu, Sunil Patel, Susan Kyd and Donna Preston. Sky Studios is producing, with Tim Kirkby directing. Adnan Ahmed from Sky Studios is the producer and Ail Gupta exec produces. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle international sales. Bad Tidings is the latest Sky original festive special, following last year’s The Heist Before Christmas, 2022’s Christmas Carole and 2021’s The Amazing Mr Blunden.

Spend on UK film and high-end TV slid sharply to £4.23B ($5.3B) in the strike-hit 2023, according to the BFI’s latest annual stats.

The figure was 35% down on a record 2022, the BFI said, while floating the silver lining of £4.3B being nearly level with 2019’s pre-Covid spend. There were other green shoots such as a small rise in cinema admissions.

It will come as little surprise that the figures fell so starkly given that the latter half of the year saw film and high-end TV production severely dented due to the writers and actors strikes across the pond.

Film production in the UK fell to £1.36B in 2023 spend, a 31% drop on 2022’s figure, while high-end TV was down by the larger 38% to £2.9B. As with the past few years, high-end TV made up the brunt of overall production spend at around two-thirds.

Of the total £1.36B spent on 207 film productions,...

It’s beginning to look a lot like… well, November.

But while it’s certainly pretty Novembery at the time of writing this, there’s already a sleighful of excellent UK Christmas TV to look forward to – from festive funnies like Not Going Out and the last ever episode of Ghosts to Christmassy crime dramas like Beyond Paradise and brand-new Agatha Christie adaptation Murder Is Easy.

And of course, every Whovian’s Christmas wish has been answered with the return of the Doctor Who Christmas special!

There’s a festive feline theme to family viewing, with Julia Donaldson’s annual animated gift to parents being Tabby McTat, and Channel 4 giving us an all-star adaptation of Mog’s Christmas. And, as dependable as cranberry sauce and family arguments, there are all your favourite Christmas special episodes, from Taskmaster to Qi and beyond.

So stock up on the Quality Street, test...

James Nesbitt and Timothy Spall headline seasonal special The Heist Before Christmas, here’s the trailer.

As seemingly happens to many an English actor of a certain age, it’s now Timothy Spall’s turn to play Father Christmas. Happens to the best of them, and in this case, it’s for a British movie that’s heading to Sky next month. Let’s get down to the basics.

The synopsis for the film in question, The Heist Before Christmas, reads as follows:

Twelve-year-old Mikey Collins, who’s dirt-poor and hates Christmas, finds two Santa Clauses in the woods. One has just robbed a bank and is on the run with the cash, the other Santa claims to have fallen out of his sleigh. Mikey has no time for this second guy – he’s well past believing any of the Jingle Bells, spirit-of-the-season rubbish, even if his little brother Sean...

Timothy Spall has likened 'Harry Potter' to a "religion".The 66-year-old actor played the role of Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail in five movies in the franchise based on J.K. Rowling's novels and is amazed by the appeal that the films still hold for viewers.Speaking to Variety, Timothy said: "'Harry Potter' is such a big deal. It's edging towards becoming a bit of a religion. It's bizarre."It's great storytelling, but it was also beautifully made. One day, I wandered into a studio and there was someone (manually) putting leaves on a tree, one by one. That's dedication. They were doing that for the audience."Timothy's latest role is as Father Christmas in the Yuletide flick 'Joy to the World' and he described it as an "unusual" festive picture.The 'Sixth Commandment' star said: "It's a Christmas story, but an unusual Christmas story."It's about a troubled 12-year-old kid who is pretty obnoxious,...

Timothy Spall is ready to bring “Joy to the World.”

“It’s a Christmas story, but an unusual Christmas story,” he tells Variety about his upcoming film, directed by Edward Hall. Calico Pictures and Shuk (Studio Hamburg UK) produce for Sky, while James Nesbitt co-stars.

“It’s about a troubled 12-year-old kid who is pretty obnoxious, really. He is clever but doesn’t like his life. His mom is struggling and his brother is desperate for a present he is not going to get. He is full of hate. Then he witnesses a robbery.”

It’s an unusual robbery, however, taking place during a “Santa Dash.”

“He sees one of them rob a bank, tries to pursue him and then encounters this old man in the woods, under the tree, claiming he is Father Christmas. Obviously, the kid thinks he’s mad. It’s a sweet movie, but it has this hard edge to it,...

When it comes to Netflix’s star-studded production of The Prom, one thing’s universal: this movie is a lot of fun. And mostly for the right reasons!

Based on the short-lived Broadway musical, The Prom tells the story of Emma (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman), an Indiana high schooler who isn’t allowed to attend the dance with her girlfriend Alyssa (Hamilton‘s Ariana DeBose). Well, that’s part of the story, at least. The movie is mostly about a quartet of washed-up actors — Dee Dee (Meryl Streep), Barry (James Corden), Trent (Andrew Rannells) and Angie (Nicole Kidman) — who decide...