Sam Mendes Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor With “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson, best known for penning television episodes of “Succession” and “Watchmen,” helms one of the finest directorial debuts seen since Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty.” In the style that feels like an audacious blend of the screenplays of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” and Nicole Holofcener’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” he shepherds an audacious dramedy anchored by a career-best and Oscar-worthy performance from star Jeffrey Wright. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s a movie that could be a contender for the coveted TIFF Audience Award, and it would be deserved.

Skyfall has been name the best James Bond film ever in a new survey.Conducted in the UK by William Hill Vegas, the survey polled 3,500 fans of the franchise, asking them to name their favourite 007 movies from best to worst.Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, topped the list with 17.5 percent of the vote, far ahead of the second-placed Goldfinger (8.5 percent), starring the late Sean Connery. Craig’s final entry, No Time To Die, came in at third with 7 percent.Meanwhile, Connery’s last outing as 007, Never Say Never Again, was voted the worst Bond film of all time, with just 0.6 percent of the vote.Skyfall was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $1.1 billion at the global box office and earning a critical rating of 92 percent on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.The film won two Oscars for Best Original Song and best Sound Editing, while also receiving multiple Grammys, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall saw MI6 attacked, with Bond tracing the events back to a cyberterrorist named Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem).The full synopsis reads: “When James Bond’s ;atest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency.“With MI6 now compromised inside and out, M turns to the one man she can trust: Bond.

EXCLUSIVE: Sex Education and Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa is set to star as David Copperfield in a new all-star audible series executive-produced by Oscar winner Sam Mendes.

We’ve already reached a point in the evolution of superhero filmmaking where the tropes of the genre have been deconstructed with projects like “The Boys” and “Watchmen.” Now, the very process of making superhero films is being dissected in the upcoming series, “The Franchise.” READ MORE: ‘The Franchise’: Sam Mendes’ Superhero Satire HBO Pilot Adds Billy Magnussen, Daniel Brühl, Jessica Hynes, Richard E.

We’ve already reached a point in the evolution of superhero filmmaking where the tropes of the genre have been deconstructed with projects like “The Boys” and “Watchmen.” Now, the very process of making superhero films is being dissected in the upcoming series, “The Franchise.” READ MORE: ‘The Franchise’: Sam Mendes’ Superhero Satire HBO Pilot Adds Billy Magnussen, Daniel Brühl, Jessica Hynes, Richard E.

Ethan Shanfeld HBO has ordered Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci’s superhero movie-making comedy “The Franchise” to series. Himesh Patel and Aya Cash star alongside previously announced cast Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl.

HBO has picked up to series The Franchise pilot, a half-hour comedy that takes a wry look at superhero movie-making, from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, Veep and Avenue 5 creator Armando Iannucci and writer Jon Brown.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK box office is booming thanks to Barbenheimer.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from “Swagger” Season 2, now streaming on AppleTV+. As Reggie Rock Bythewood was gearing up for AppleTV+’s second season of “Swagger,” the filmmaker was thinking about how to elevate the series and take it to another level. One film that came to mind was Sam Mendes’ “1917” and how cinematographer Roger Deakins had shot the film and presented it as if it were one continuous long shot. The series follows a team of basketball players inspired by NBA star Kevin Durant and in the latest “maze,” as Bythewood calls it, the team down to six players, Jace (Isaiah R. Hill), Phil (Solomon Irama), Musa (Caleel Harris), Drew, Royale (Ozie Nzeribe), and Nick (Jason Rivera) head to Maryland’s Youth Facility, a detention center for young offenders for a game. “I thought about ‘1917’ and the entire film is shot as if it were one shot. So, Cliff Charles, the D.P., and I talked about doing one that way,” says Bythewood.

British Cinematographer Peter Biziou, known for his work on pics like The Truman Show and Mississippi Burning, is the recipient of the lifetime achievement award this year at Poland’s Camerimage film festival.

Naman Ramachandran A month after it said it was exploring the possible acquisition of “Fleabag” and “The Traitors” producer All3Media, U.K. broadcaster ITV is no longer actively exploring it. In a filing with the London stock exchange on Friday, the “Love Island” broadcaster said: “Further to its announcement on 16 June 2023, ITV plc confirms it continues to monitor but is no longer actively exploring the possible acquisition of All3Media. ITV plc assesses all potential value-creating M&A opportunities against its strict financial criteria and disciplined capital allocation framework.” ITV’s statement of interest in June, where it said that it is “actively exploring the possible acquisition of All3Media,” came with the caveat, “there can be no certainty as to whether any transaction will take place, nor as to the terms of any such transaction. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”

The Lehman Trilogy” plans to return to Broadway this fall, a source told The Post.Playwright Stefano Massini’s drama (adapted by Ben Power), which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2022, would begin performances at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater in September.The three-hander — a sprawling history of Lehman Brothers leading up to the 2008 financial crash — would slide in to fill the void left by the revival of Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot,” which opened in the spring and is closing early on July 23 due to poor ticket sales. That 1960 musical, directed by Bartlett Sher, had been extended through at least Sept. 3, but it did not garner the same level of acclaim or demand that his revivals of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” and “The King and I” did.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International BBC drama “Informer,” which originally starred Paddy Considine, Bel Powley and Nabhaan Rizwan, is getting a German adaptation. Production has begun in Hamburg, Germany, on “Informant,” an adaptation of the All3Media International scripted format, which was BAFTA-nominated. The BBC One show was executive produced by Sam Mendes, who produced via his production outfit Neal Street Productions. The six-part German thriller is being produced by filmpool fiction (part of All3Media Deutschland) for NDR, ARD Degeto, ARTE and NRK (Norway). The show is expected to debut in fall 2024.

K.J. Yossman Super-indie All3Media is for sale, according to reports. The London-headquartered independent television producer, which is responsible for shows including “Fleabag,” “The Traitors” and Jamie Dornan starrer “The Tourist,” is being put up for sale by owners Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery, The Telegraph reports. The newspaper said JP Morgan have been “called in to run an auction” but plans could still change given the tough market conditions. If it goes ahead, the sale could generate more than £1 billion ($1.2 billion). Parties posited as potential buyers include ITV and Banijay as well as private equity firms.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin celebrates its 110th anniversary this year, but its eyes are firmly on the road ahead, not the rear-view mirror. On May 24, at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Antibes, France, near Cannes, the company unveils the first of its next generation of sports cars (see teaser image, here) and the following evening the new model will go to the highest bidder at the AmfAR Charity Gala at the hotel. Then, on May 28, a short dash along the Riviera, the brand’s Formula 1 team races at the Monaco Grand Prix. Commenting on the choice of the Cannes Film Festival as the venue to launch the new model, Aston Martin’s global chief brand and commercial officer, Marco Mattiacci, says: “The movie business is where we belong.”

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes has a mammoth hit on his hands with The Motive and the Cue, which has been playing to packed houses on the National Theatre’s 890-seater Lyttelton proscenium stage.

EXCLUSIVE: Naomie Harris has signed with WME for representation in all areas. She is returning to the agency after 3 months with CAA.

EXCLUSIVE: His Dark Materials and Enola Holmes scribe Jack Thorne, a “proud” member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, has paused work on two projects in solidarity with the WGA strikers.

EXCLUSIVE: Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are in talks to star in an adaptation of Hamnet for Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows. Chloé Zhao will direct the film is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, who will adapt the script with Zhao.

Melanie Lynskey admitted losing touch with Kate Winslet was “heartbreaking.”

EXCLUSIVE: After dominating the Oscars in 2021, Nomadland writer-director Chloé Zhao looks to be building out her future slate. Sources tell Deadline that she is set to direct an adaptation of Hamnet for Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows. The film is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, who will adapt the script with Zhao.

Two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland,” “Eternals,” “The Rider”) will direct “Hamnet,” an adaptation of the critically acclaimed, award winning novel by Maggie O’Farrell, Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows announced on Tuesday.Zhao and O’Farrell will write the script together.The New York Times Bestselling historical fiction novel imagines the story of Agnes – the wife of the world’s most famous writer, William Shakespeare – as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. The novel charts the emotional, familial and artistic consequences of that loss, bringing to life a human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare’s most famous play, Hamlet.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) will direct an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed Shakespeare-era novel “Hamnet” for Amblin Partners. Zhao is writing the screenplay with O’Farrell. Amblin Partners, Hera Pictures, Neal Street Productions and Book of Shadows are all backing the project. O’Farrell’s New York Times bestseller reframes the creation of William Shakespeare’s most famous play, “Hamlet,” through the lens of the playwright’s wife Agnes (a variation on Anne Hathaway, the name of Shakespeare’s real wife), as she grieves the death of her only son, 11-year-old Hamnet, to the bubonic plauge. The novel also traces the beginnings of Agnes’ relationship with young Shakespeare — who is never named, known only as the world’s most famous playwright. In 2020, “Hamnet” won the Women’s Prize for fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

EXCLUSIVE: British visual effects outfit Union is launching its first international studio in Montreal, Canada, as it looks to expand the services it offers its clients in feature film and high-end television. 

EXCLUSIVE: Michael C. Hall has signed with CAA for representation. 

EXCLUSIVE: CAA on Tuesday announced its signing of Allison Janney — the Academy Award-winning actress who has also been recognized over the course of her career with six Emmys, a Golden Globe, 7 SAG Awards, 2 Critics’ Choice Awards, a BAFTA, an Independent Spirit Award and other accolades.

win Best Picture still seemed crazy. After all, nobody had seen any of the fall festival movies that often dominate the awards lineup.

Roger Deakins, legendary cinematographer and knight of the British realm, cut to the chase: In his view several of the best examples of cinematography are missing from this year’s Oscars list.

On the night that the Spirit Awards took place in their first ceremony with gender-neutral categories, Saturday Night Live took on the topic on its”Weekend Update” segment.