Mike Leigh Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThese days, it’s refreshing to speak with someone like Mike Leigh whose vocabulary hasn’t been corrupted by the latest Hollywood trends. For example, when Leigh uses the word “content,” it’s doesn’t mean the same thing as 98% of his peers, for whom the term has come to describe the swill that fills the various streamers’ pipelines.For Leigh, “content” refers to the substance of a film or play, as I found when asking Leigh, who is the subject of a 14-film, career-spanning retrospective by New York’s Film at Lincoln Center — from “Bleak Moments” to “Peterloo,” with two shorts  thrown in for good measure — where he thinks audiences unfamiliar with his work ought to begin.

David Neilson, who plays the beloved character Roy Cropper in Coronation Street, has a life that's almost as eventful as his on-screen persona.

EXCLUSIVE: In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Bleecker Street has unveiled a reel showcasing both where the company has been and where it’s headed, unveiling never-before-seen footage from numerous upcoming titles.

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.

Alex Ritman A number of major names from the U.K. film and TV world and beyond have donated items — and their own time — to an auction raising money for Gaza.

EXCLUSIVE: Celebrating his 50th year as an indie filmmaker and distributor, Jeff Lipsky is prepping the release of his eighth feature as director. Goldilocks and the Two Bears is due to open domestically via Glass Half Full Media in July for a limited theatrical run, followed by a general release in late summer/early fall. Check out an exclusive clip above.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here taking you through what has been a whirlwind of a week in international TV and film. Do not stop here — please do read on. And sign up here.

Alex Ritman Wednesday’s announcement that the British government would be introducing the new Independent Film Tax Credit sparked a response that was nothing short of jubilant across the entire sector. The incentive — a 53% expenditure credit that equates to a tax relief of approximately 40% for U.K.

BBC Radio 2 host Steve Wright was 'hit hard' following the breakdown of his marriage to his famous US wife Cyndi Robinson and the late broadcaster never found love in the years that followed.

Alex Ritman The cast of “Hard Truths,” the 23rd film from legendary British director Mike Leigh, has been unveiled, along with a first look image. The feature, which like most Leigh projects has remained under a veil of secrecy, has reunited the filmmaker with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who received an Oscar nomination for his 1996 drama “Secrets & Lies.” Michele Austin, another frequent Leigh collaborator, also stars. “Hard Truths” was shot in London in 2023 and, following his historical epics “Mr.

Seven-time Oscar nominee Mike Leigh has reteamed with British actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who led his 1996 Oscar-nominated Secrets & Lies, on his latest feature, Hard Truths. We can share a first look at the feature above. 

Cornerstone has closed sales on multiple territories including North America and the UK for writer and director Daniel Kokotajlo’s folk horror Starve Acre.

More than 2,000 figures from the UK’s arts and culture world have signed an open letter calling for the immediate cessation of Israel’s blockade and bombing of Gaza.

The MediaPro Studio will look to invest in literary and library program rights in the U.S., the Spanish company’s boss told delegate here at Mipcom Cannes today, as it unveiled several new projects during a Mipcom Cannes keynote.

Marta Balaga 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 Studio Hamburg are on board, while James Nesbitt co-stars. “It’s about a troubled 12-year-old kid who is pretty obnoxious, really.

EXCLUSIVE: Sally Hawkins, the Golden Globe-winning British actress best known for roles in Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water and the Paddington franchise, has returned to Creative Artists Agency for representation.

As the master of the gritty sonnet, the man himself would have appreciated where the idea to honour him was hatched - in a backstreet pub off Chapel Street in Salford.

Thirty minutes into a two and a half hour interview in 2019 with Ben Wallsworth, he bellowed "It's Neal Keeling!" His hearing was shot and his facial recognition was shaky. But his wit, wisdom, deep recall, and humour were all intact.

EXCLUSIVE: Leo Leigh’s directorial debut Sweet Sue and Vincent Perez’s fencing film The Edge Of The Blade are among six international films set to get their world premiere at the upcoming Filmfest München (June 23 – July 1), which this year celebrates its 40th edition. Scroll down for full list and details.

Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) has unveiled the major competition selections for its 25th edition (June 9-18), which will be the first to be held in a fully physical format with international guests since before the pandemic. 

French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak has said her ministry is looking at ways to resolve a funding crisis for France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival after its regional support was cut out of the blue earlier this month.

To this Turkish critic, Nuri Bilge Ceylan is our Mike Leigh and Anton Chekhov in one, with multilayered characters of social and political complexities engaging through dialogue lines that feel both off-the-cuff and studiously planned in their lavish rhythms. Ceylan is also a master of luxuriously slow cinema with a recognizable visual style, haunting, minimalistic and sneakily riveting across textured, widescreen pastoral scenes and dimly-lit interiors that evolve with peerless patience.Written by Ceylan, Akin Aksu and Ebru Ceylan, his latest stunner “About Dry Grasses”—Ceylan’s best feature since “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”—flutters with all these pictorial qualities and emotional dispositions.

Eddie Marsan and Morfydd Clark (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Saint Maud) have signed on to join Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (His House) in Uncle, a revenge thriller directed by Joe Marcantonio (Kindred).

EXCLUSIVE: Seven-time Oscar nominee Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies) is underway on his secretive new film in London, we can reveal.

France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the world’s biggest festival devoted to short films, is protesting an unexpected funding cut, amid claims by politicians that the move is politically motivated.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Director Stanley Tong (“Rumble in the Bronx”) is to team up with Jackie Chan for the tenth time on “The Legend.” State media in China report that Chan, who recently reached the top spot in the mainland Chinese box office with aged stuntman comedy “Ride On,” will play an archaeologist on a quest through time and space. With production by Bona Film Group, “The Legend” is pitched as being in the same vein as Tong and Chan’s 2005 effort “The Myth,” which was a fantasy love story. Tong and Chan have worked together on other titles including “Police Story 3,” “Supercop” and “Vanguard.” India’s Jio Studios is backing “Khashaba,” a Marathi-language film on the life of India’s first Olympic medalist Khasaba Dadasaheb. After delivering the sleeper hit Sairat and Fandry, the new film will be directed by Nagraj Manjule. The title is considered as part of Jio Studio’s ambition to deliver more than 100 stories this year. With production to begin shortly, the film will be mounted on a large scale. “Along with entertaining the audience, this film will also introduce the audience to a brave and exceptional athlete who made India proud all over the world,” said Manjule. “Khashaba” will be presented by JioStudios and produced by Aatpat Production, Jyoti Deshpande and Manjule.

Bob Goody, veteran British stage and screen actor and co-writer of 1985 BBC1 comedy Wilderness Road, has died aged 71.

British actor Phil Davis says he has resigned his membership from BAFTA in the wake of Sunday’s BAFTA Film Awards which he called “an embarrassing travesty.” 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro initiative dedicated to pics in post is set to look at films from the U.K. that are in their final stage of production for its upcoming 76th edition. Locarno’s First Look focus on indie U.K. film segues from the fest having developed a close rapport with the British industry over the decades, spanning from Mike Leigh’s 1972 Golden Leopard winner “Bleak Moments” to Terence Davies’s “Distant Voices, Still Lives,” which scooped the pard in 1998, and the more recent launches last year of Andrew Legge’s “LOLA” and Charlotte Colbert’s “She Will.” Locarno’s First Look initiative, in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI), will run August 4-6. Six selected U.K. films that are currently in post-production will be unveiled, providing their producers an opportunity to pitch them to international industry professionals attending the festival. The U.K. pics in post will be presented to sales agents, buyers, programmers and representatives from post-production funds.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMirsad Purivatra has stepped down as Sarajevo Film Festival director after a 27-year run, and has been replaced by Jovan Marjanović, who was previously in charge of the festival’s industry department and the festival co-director.Purivatra, the founder of the festival, will assume the role of president of the Obala Art Centar Association, the umbrella organization behind the festival.“I am proud of everything we have accomplished over the last 27 years. We started from nothing, when our city was under siege, and today we are a globally renowned institution attended by filmmakers and film industry professionals from the region and the whole world,” Purivatra said.“We have faced many challenges on this journey.

Naman Ramachandran BritBox has picked up “Reel Britannia,” a documentary series on the history of modern British cinema, for the U.S., U.K., Canada and South Africa. The deal was closed by Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, who acquired worldwide distribution rights to the series from director Jon Spira and producer Hank Starrs of Canal Cat Films.

BritBox Tells Story Of Modern British Cinema

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

Tim Roth is a director’s actor. The London native began his on-screen career under the helm of Alan Clarke with a volatile role in his 1982 television play “Made In Britain,” exploding in front of the camera and immediately putting himself on the map.

A suburban housewife falls in with a group of activists in Call Jane, a Sundance Film Festival premiere directed by Phyllis Nagy, the writer of Carol. Elizabeth Banks is a likeable lead in this story inspired by the network of women who arranged safer illegal abortions in 1960s and ’70s Chicago. Written by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, it strikes an upbeat, non-judgmental note while exploring the gender and body politics of the time.

HanWay Boards UK Debut