Lenny Abrahamson Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Alex Ritman Donations from the likes of Spike Lee, Paul Mescal and Olivia Colman have been added to a growing list of items being sold off as part the Cinema for Gaza auction, which has so far raised over £90,000 ($113,000). A framed “Malcolm X” poster signed by Lee, an “Aftersun” poster signed by Mescal and a personalized video message from Colman are among the auction lots launching on Monday, alongside additional items including a “beer on Zoom” with Tessa Thompson with memorabilia from “The Marvels,” a “Worst Person in the World” poster signed by Joachim Trier and the cast and the chance to talk to Susan Sarandon over Zoom about your favorite of her films (plus a signed “Rocky Horror Picture Show” t-shirt).

Ellise Shafer Joaquin Phoenix, Elliott Gould, Chloe Fineman and more than 150 other Jewish creatives have signed an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech. The list of 151 signees obtained by Variety also includes Phoenix’s sister Rain, three-time Oscar nominee Debra Winger, “May December” director Todd Haynes, “Sorry to Bother You” helmer Boots Riley, acclaimed filmmaker Joel Coen, “Room” director Lenny Abrahamson, “Arrested Development” star David Cross, documentarian Amy Berg, “Barbie” actor Hari Nef, legendary playwright Tom Stoppard, former Focus Pictures CEO James Schamus, comedian Kate Berlant, “You Hurt My Feelings” director Nicole Holofcener, “Secrets & Lies” auteur Mike Leigh, “Passages” filmmaker Ira Sachs, “Gossip Girl” actor and writer Tavi Gevinson, “The Princess Bride” actor Wallace Shawn, “Bottoms” director Emma Seligman, “Mistress America” star Lola Kirke, “Zola” helmer Janicza Bravo, “Broad City” stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson and IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich.

Esteemed British writer David Nicholls is not precious when it comes to adaptations of his novels and cites Netflix’s recent adaptation of his 2009 novel One Day as being a perfect example of how being open-minded to fresh ideas on established material can result in good work. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal, the European powerhouse behind “Paddington,” has created a genre label dedicated to the development, production and distribution of horror, thriller, sci fi and action films and TV series. The company has hired Jed Benedict, a well-known executive who previously worked for the U.K. distribution banner Elysian Film Group, to run the new label.

EXCLUSIVE: TV and film writers will want to circle this one in their calendars: Poor Things and The Favourite producer Element Pictures is launching Storyhouse, a new Dublin-based screenwriting festival that will celebrate storytellers and storytelling.

UK agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates has named former Meta and Film4 exec Anna Higgs as Managing Director.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Former Meta executive and BAFTA Film Committee chair Anna Higgs has joined U.K. theater, film and television agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates as managing director. Higgs, who will begin her role in August, will be entrusted by the Casarotto board to oversee the business and drive the strategic development and direction of the org. Founded in 1989 and based in London, the independent global agency represents many top writers, directors, playwrights, theater creatives, literary properties and heads of departments in film, theater, TV and new media.

New BBC series Conversations With Friends has been a hot topic of conversation since landing on screens in the past week.The new series – based on the novel of the same name – was also written by Normal People's author Sally Rooney and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, and follows the story of students Frances and Bobbi, ex-girlfriends who become entangled in the relationship of an older couple.The series was shot in a range of places, including in Ireland and abroad in Croatia, and in a recent behind-the-scenes look, the cast joined together at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival to share an insight into the makings of the beguiling adaptation. And it turns out a great deal of run-ins with animals took place during filming, one of which the cast wasn't aware of.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticOn the most basic level, it makes sense that Hulu’s “Conversations With Friends” would try to echo what made its “Normal People” adaptation so successful. Once again enlisting director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Alice Birch, and once again starring a female actor (Alison Oliver) who resembles author Sally Rooney and a male one specifically poised to become a breakout thirst object (Joe Alwyn), “Conversations With Friends” follows the “Normal People” pattern so closely that it often feels more like a faded impression rather than its own series.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIn another major M&A coup, Fremantle has taken a majority stake in Irish production company Element Pictures, the producers of “Normal People,” “Conversations With Friends” and “The Favourite.”Element Pictures has grown to become one of Europe’s top drama producers, and is managed by co-founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, with offices in Dublin, London and Belfast.The deal was spearheaded by Fremantle group COO and continental Europe CEO Andrea Scrosati and Lorenzo De Maio, of De Maio Entertainment. The deal represents continued investment in European drama from Fremantle, which is owned by Germany’s RTL Group.

In another mega M&A deal, Fremantle has taken a majority stake in Irish The Favourite, Room and Conversations with Friends producer Element Pictures.

Conversations With Friends and Normal People would have attracted a “tiny audience” if they had been made as features instead of TV shows, according to director Lenny Abrahamson, who said program-makers should trust audiences to enjoy “arthouse TV.”

Conversations With Friends,” the upcoming series adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, will premiere on May 15 on Hulu, BBC announced today, in addition to dropping a new trailer for the show.The series follows 21-year-old Frances (Alison Oliver), who, after three years, is still best friends with her ex-girlfriend, Bobbi (Sasha Lane). The two are inseparable, but at one of their poetry performances in Dublin, they meet Melissa (Jemima Kirke), an older writer who is taken by them.

We finally have another glimpse at the next Sally Rooney adaptation. Hulu released a full-length trailer Tuesday for the upcoming miniseries “Conversations with Friends.”The series follows Frances (played by Alison Oliver), a 21-year-old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. At the beginning of the trailer, Oliver’s Frances admits she thought she “maybe wasn’t capable of love.” “I thought there was something wrong with me,” she says. That is, until she lays eyes on Nick Conway (played by Joe Alwyn).

Heartbreak, romance and complicated relationships — Normal People is about to get a run for its money when Conversations With Friends finally hits the small screen.

EXCLUSIVE: Irish Film London, the London-based organization championing Irish film, TV and animation across the UK, has named Carey Fitzgerald as Chair Person of its Board of Directors.

Wilson Chapman editorFans of Sally Rooney’s debut novel “Conversations With Friends” won’t be disappointed with the steamy trailer for the BBC/Hulu series adaptation.The series, which premieres on BBC Three and Hulu in May, follows Frances (Alison Oliver), a vulnerable college student living in Dublin who is best friends with her ex-girlfriend Bobbi (Sasha Lane). At a spoken word poetry event, the two meet Melissa (Jemima Kirke), a writer, and her husband Nick (Joe Alwyn), an actor.

EXCLUSIVE:  Sebastian de Souza, Eddie Marsan and Rich Sommer have boarded the Chloe Domont-directed finance world thriller opposite Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich.

Hulu and BBC Three today offered a first look at Conversations with Friends, their upcoming limited series starring Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane (American Honey, Hearts Beat Loud), Joe Alwyn (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, The Favourite) and Jemima Kirke (Sylvie’s Love, Girls), which is set to premiere this spring.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorIrish writer/director Colm Bairéad’s narrative feature debut “The Quiet Girl,” which world premieres at the Berlin Film Festival in the Generation Kplus section, has debuted a clip from the film with Variety. Rosa Bosch Films is handling world sales.The film is a complex and delicate coming-of-age drama that explores questions of family, neglect and grief through the eyes of its young protagonist. Commenting on the film, director Mark Cousins said: “What a tender jewel of a film.

Winners have been announced for the 2021 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, which took place virtually this year. Scroll down for the full list.

There was good news for the Irish as the BAFTA TV awards were announced as Normal People picked up a total of seven nominations.

This time last year, we were gearing up for the release of the highly anticipated Normal People and now our focus has shifted to another Sally Rooney project.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a hot one out of Blighty. Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent is set to star in the movie adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s genuinely best-selling novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.