‘Blitz’: Saorise Ronan & Steve McQueen Team Up With Apple Original Films & New Regency For WWII Drama

EXCLUSIVE: In what is turning into one of the more hotter projects in town, Skydance’s The Gorge starring Miles Teller, looks to have found its distributor and Teller’s co-star. Sources tell Deadline, Apple Original Films have come on to the pic with SAG Award-winner Anya Taylor-Joy set to star alongside Miles Teller in the genre-bending love story. Scott Derrickson is on board to direct with Zach Dean penning the script, which he sold on spec to Skydance last year. In addition to starring, Teller will serve as executive producer on the film.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Persol aviators are practically synonymous with Steve McQueen, who made the specs one of the most coveted luxury products in the world after wearing them in 1968’s “The Thomas Crown Affair.”Even if you aren’t behind the wheel of sports cars or riding first-class on high-flying planes, you can still achieve that Old Hollywood flare yourself, for only a fraction of the price, thanks to Amazon’s unbeatable Persol deals for Prime’s Early Access Sale. The Po0714 Aviator Sunglasses are currently 49% off on Amazon, bringing down the price of the designer sunnies to only $199 — cheaper than we’ve ever seen them (including June’s Prime Day event). 

Clayton Davis A24 and Apple Original Films have released the first trailer for “Causeway,” their new drama starring Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence.  Lawrence stars as Lynsey, a military engineer who returns to the United States from Afghanistan after suffering a debilitating brain injury after an IED explosion.   After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Lawrence, who also serves as one of the film’s producers, garnered rave reviews for her performance. The film hopes to find a pathway into a crowded lead actress field.  

Hans Zimmer is set to be explored in BBC documentary Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel.The hour-long film will chart the composer’s 40-year career from post-war Germany to Hollywood royalty. Over his career, he’s composed scores for blockbuster films like The Lion King, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Dune and many others.Along with his work in Hollywood, the documentary will cover his work on BBC projects like Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II and Frozen Planet II.Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel also features interviews with directors Ron Howard, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Barry Levinson, James L Brooks, Gore Verbinski, Steve McQueen, Stephen Frears and Tim Bevan.Speaking about the documentary, Zimmer said: “I’m honoured to be sharing this insight into my career and life with the BBC audience.

Naman Ramachandran The life and work of Hans Zimmer, the Oscar-winning composer of “The Lion King” and “Dune: Part One,” will be celebrated in BBC Two documentary “Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel.” The 60-minute film looks back at Zimmer’s 40-year journey from post-war Germany to Hollywood royalty. It will seek to reveal the musical secrets of Zimmer over a career that includes scores for films “Rain Man,” “Pirates of The Caribbean,” “Gladiator,” “No Time To Die,” “The Dark Knight,” “Batman Begins” and “The Thin Red Line” plus the music he created for BBC Studios Natural History films, including “Planet Earth II,” “Blue Planet II” and “Frozen Planet II.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor BFI festivals director Tricia Tuttle is stepping down from the role after 10 years. This month’s edition of the London Film Festival will be her last in the post. Tuttle has, for the last five years, led as director the BFI London Film Festival as well as BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. She was previously deputy head of festivals from 2013 to 2017. She will remain in the role through to early 2023, while the BFI recruits for a new festivals leader. Tuttle leaves the festival during what’s shaping up to be one of its strongest editions yet: the festival has more world premieres than ever this year, with headline films including Matthew Warchus’ “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” and Asif Kapadia’s “Creature.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor With a week to go before kicking off the London Film Festival, the British Film Institute gathered the U.K.’s titans of cinema to toast the return of moviegoing and celebrate the next generation of filmmakers. The BFI’s Luminous gala took place at the swanky Londoner hotel in Leicester Square on Thursday evening (Sept. 29), where Variety had exclusive access. The event, which also featured the BFI and Chanel’s inaugural Filmmaker Awards, used to be a biannual bash, but was the first of its kind since the pandemic. The starry dinner convened around 400 guests, including actors Daisy Ridley, Ncuti Gatwa, Morfydd Clark, Rebel Wilson, Lily James, Malachi Kirby, Dame Joan Collins and Eddie Redmayne; directors Edgar Wright, Gurinder Chadha, Steve McQueen and Terry Gilliam; and producers including Working Title co-founder Eric Fellner, screenwriter Jemima Khan, and former BBC drama commissioner-turned-A24 international boss Piers Wenger.

won the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service in 2018 for breaking the story of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual abuse allegations in their explosive reporting with the New York Times.Mulligan will play the role of Twohey in the upcoming “She Said” alongside Zoe Kazan, who will play Kantor. First breaking out in “An Education,” the twice Oscar-nominated Mulligan has starred in “Promising Young Woman” and “Spaceman,” and has been involved in initiatives like the Alzheimer’s Society, the Society’s Dementia Awareness Week and serves as an ambassador for War Child, an organization that aids children affected by conflict.

Deadline has confirmed that Ryan Reynolds’ shingle Maximum Effort Productions has added Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau as Co-Presidents of Production. The label has a first look at Paramount.

Business Manchester reports. “I’m delighted to be part of Factory International as a starting point for a kind of identity that this extraordinary new building is going to have.

EXCLUSIVE: Following a competitive auction, Paramount Pictures has landed an original sci-fi comedy pitch Rachel Nevada from Hannah Hafey and Kaitlin Smith. The pair will also pen the script, with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort producing. George Dewey, Patrick Gooing and Molly Milstein are shepherding the project for Maximum Effort.

Don’t worry, darling! It looks like Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde’s relationship is still going strong!

Sheyi Cole (Small Axe) is the latest actor to sign on for a key role in the HBO Max limited series Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon. He joins previously announced cast members Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid and Jharrel Jerome.

Saoirse Ronan will be starring in Steve McQueen‘s new movie!

EXCLUSIVE: Steve Toussaint, best known for his role as Lord Corlys Velaryon on HBO’s House of the Dragon, has signed with Paradigm.

Apple beat the competition for rights to the film in June. The shoot is expected to begin later this year.McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, and Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan, and Michael Schaefer from New Regency, with independent producer, Anita Overland.  “Blitz” was developed and packaged by New Regency under McQueen’s first look deal with the company; they previously collaborated on “12 Years a Slave” and 2018’s “Widows.”“Lady Bird,” “Little Women” and “Brooklyn” actress Ronan most recently starred in “See How They Run” opposite Sam Rockwell.

Four-time Oscar nominee Saorise Ronan is set join the ensemble of Steve McQueen’s next film Blitz from Apple Original Films. McQueen will write, direct and produce the film, which tells the stories of Londoners during the Blitz of World War II. It is set to begin filming later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Allen White is continuing to find projects to fill his schedule while his hit FX show The Bear is on hiatus. Sources tell Deadline he is set to join Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed in Apple Original Films Fingernails, the new English-language feature film from award-winning director Christos Nikou.