EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway in the UK on feature Wicked Little Letters, which reunites Oscar winner Olivia Colman with her Oscar-nominated Lost Daughter co-star Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl).
10.09.2022 - 00:03 / variety.com
Roy Trakin Luis Felber’s life changed in January 2021 when a mutual friend set him up on a blind date with Lena Dunham. The Winchester, U.K.-born son of a North London Jewish businessman father and Peruvian painter mom, Felber was at first hesitant, having been in lockdown for most of the year, writing love songs on his iPhone for his group Atttawalpa. “I wasn’t in a place where I was looking for love,” the 36-year-old musician explains, revealing he’d never seen an episode of “Girls,” though his mom and sister were big fans. “Covid wasn’t exactly the sexiest time to meet someone. We texted for two days before we hung out. We’re not one-word types… we throw our emotions at the phone and our fingertips
“Literally, the moment I met Lena I was infatuated with her. I just wanted to talk to her forever. I feel like she really saw me as an artist, who I was. I could be very much myself with her. Within the first 20 minutes, I spoke about my traumas, my fears, my demons. If someone loves you for who you are, even if you’re a bit eccentric and weird, that’s a rare thing.” Within months, Felber was at work on the score for “Sharp Stick,” Dunham’s first major project since “Girls,” with longtime collaborator Matt Allchin. Fifteen separate, jagged, minor-key instrumentals reflect the inner life of lead character Kristine Froseth’s virginal Sarah Jo as she goes through a fable-like sexual awakening and self-acceptance. The film co-stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as her promiscuous mother, along with “Zola” breakout Taylour Paige as her influencer sister and Jon Bernthal as her married lover, the latter two doubling as executive producers. Dunham appears as the pregnant wife of Bernthal’s philandering husband. “When Lena told [executive
EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway in the UK on feature Wicked Little Letters, which reunites Oscar winner Olivia Colman with her Oscar-nominated Lost Daughter co-star Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl).
K.J. Yossman MetFilm is expanding into distribution with the acquisition of U.K. distribution company Republic Film Distribution (“Brittany Runs a Marathon”). Republic, which is run by former Icon Films exec Zak Brilliant, will be re-branded as MetFilm Distribution. Brilliant will take on the role of head of MetFilm distribution and MetFilm sales, working with the existing sales team, comprised of Mitch Clare, Jenny Bohnhoff and Ella Pham. The company is already planning to increase its headcount. MetFilm Distribution will aim to release six to eight titles annually. The films they take on will have a strong theatrical focus, starting with November’s “A Bunch of Amateurs” by Kim Hopkins, which won the Sheffield DocFest audience award.
MetFilm has acquired Republic Film Distribution, the UK distribution company run by former Icon Films executive Zak Brilliant.
There is a movie that opened in theaters on Friday from a well-known female director that should be on your radar but probably isn’t. No, it’s not Olivia Wilde‘s oversaturated “Don’t Worry Darling.” It’s the second feature film from Lena Dunham in the past 12 months, “Catherine Called Birdy.” And, frankly, it’s a joy.
Lena Dunham "struggled" with putting her health above having children. The 'Girls' creator - who is married to Luis Felber - has been open about her struggles with endometriosis and ultimately underwent a hysterectomy and though she was worried she'd closed the door on starting a family, she eventually realised she couldn't carrying on living in constant pain. She told Observer magazine: “It was one of those decisions where… it’s not really a decision? I struggled with this idea, that I had chosen my own health over being able to bear children.
Lena Dunham has explained why she took a break following the final season of Girls, describing it as “necessary to survive”.After the sixth season premiered in 2017, the actor and writer faced criticism for defending Girls executive producer Murray Miller over rape allegations by actor Aurora Perrineau. Dunham later retracted her statement and apologised.In 2018, Dunham entered rehab for an addiction to benzodiazepines, specifically Klonopin.
Lena Dunham thinks the themes of her new movie remain as "relevant today" as they were in medieval times. The 36-year-old star has directed 'Catherine Called Birdy' - which focuses on issues faced by young women in medieval England - and Lena thinks it's sad that the pace of progression remains so slow. She shared: "We like to think that we've improved upon history and this is almost 1,000 years ago and yet so many of the themes of the film continue to be relevant today, with the recent sort of political changes in the US, it's something that feels maddeningly close.
Lena Dunham has always enjoyed "being entrusted with freedom and confidence". The 36-year-old star has directed the new comedy film 'Catherine Called Birdy', and Lena has been determined to give the cast "a lot of freedom". Lena - whose movie features the likes of Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper, Russell Brand and Joe Alwyn - explained: "My goal with directing is always to have a really clear sense of what I want to do visually and then be able to also, within that, give the actors a lot of freedom.
Joe Alwyn grabs a quick picture with a fan while arriving at the premiere of Catherine, Called Birdy held at the Curzon Mayfair on Tuesday (September 20) in London, England.
When it comes to biopics, they don’t get much more intensely intimate than Andrew Dominik‘s “Blonde.” And the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month confirmed that Ana de Armas expertly channels Marilyn Monroe in her performance. In fact, de Armas got so close to Monroe during the film’s production the actress attempted to contact the deceased starlet, in a way.
Jon Burlingame editor It took the combined talents of four Grammy winners, a symphony orchestra and a choir of African-American opera singers to make “The Woman King” resonate with the sounds of 19th-century West Africa. “This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime films,” says composer Terence Blanchard of director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s project, for which he wrote a powerful score – the likes of which haven’t been heard in a period African film since Quincy Jones’ “Roots” 45 years ago. “All of your experiences lead you to this moment, to work on something like this,” says the two-time Oscar nominee and five-time Grammy winner. “As soon as I saw it, I was floored. I looked at these characters as the founding DNA of all the strong African-American women I experienced growing up.”
HBO series “Girls” was infamously nudity-and-sex-filled has segued to the coming-of-age genre with her charming comedy “Catherine Called Birdy,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.Running time: 108 minutes. Rated PG-13 (some suggestive material and thematic elements). In theaters Sept.
Lena Dunham is premiering her new movie at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival!
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic God’s thumbs! Leave it to “Girls” creator Lena Dunham to deliver what’s been missing from the field of princess movies all these years: namely, permission for young women to be themselves, regardless of what their parents or the patriarchy might think. In many ways, movies — and YA movies in particular — double as a kind of socializing tool, encouraging audiences to be independent thinkers (on their surface) while in fact giving them the keys for conformity: Follow the rules, respect your elders, marry the right guy, and you’ll be rewarded with your happily ever after, they say. But that’s not independence; that’s indoctrination. Adapted from Katherine Cushman’s 1994 novel, “Catherine Called Birdy” is a genially impertinent feature-length celebration of not always doing what you’re told. Set in 1290, at a time of infrequent baths and early-40s life expectancy, Dunham’s comedic take follows the creative schemes 14-year-Lady Catherine (Bella Ramsey) devises to avoid being married off by her father, Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott), to the first scraggly beard that comes along. “Your villagers are allowed to marry where they will, but your daughter is sold like a cheese for your profit!” she scoffs in the book. Here, she’s got even more attitude, a 21st-century spirit trapped in a girl’s body.
“Catherine Called Birdy” is Lena Dunham’s second feature film of 2022, and they present a striking study in contrasts. “Sharp Stick” is a provocative and occasionally cringe-y examination of contemporary mores, particularly regarding sexuality—in other words, exactly what you’d expect from a Lena Dunham movie.
Lena Dunham directs the Medieval comedic drama Catherine Called Birdy. The film is an adaptation of the book by the same name by Karen Kushman and stars Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper.