Moviefone Editorial

Tag: hugh grant

  • Comic-Con 2022: ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Panel

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    If there was one major take-away from the ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, it was that Hugh Grant should be on as many panels as he wants to be. Whether he’s in the show, movie, comic or game being pimped or not.

    If there was another major take-away from the panel, it was that ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ looks like a whole lot of fun.

    While ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ as a concept doesn’t have the greatest cinematic history (the 2000 version, which starred Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans is infamously divisive among movie fans, and scored terrible reviews), ‘Honor Among Thieves’ – or at least the footage shown at Comic-Con – is certainly on a better footing so far.

    The con crowd were excited to see the likes of Grant, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page and Sophia Lillis alongside co-writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, plus producer Jeremy Latcham enthuse about their experiences working on the movie.

    Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant from Paramount's 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
    (L to R) Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant from Paramount’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

    Daley and Goldstein, who previously made the likes of ‘Game Night’, both had history as D&D players, and the cast also made mention of the board games’ impact of their lives – even if it was limited to knowing it exists.

    In a funny, relaxed panel dominated by Grant’s humorous reactions to every question – he ran the gamut from S&M jokes to dropping a ‘Notting Hill’ referencing while quipping that this was his first time at the Con “but we tried to come for ‘Sense & Sensibility’ – the cast and creators offered some insight into making the movie but also showed off their easy chemistry.

    ‘Honor Among Thieves’ promises the story of a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers, who undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

    Pine plays a Danny Ocean-in-fantasy world style character, who makes plans but also plays the lute. Rodriguez is a powerful barbarian who provides the muscle, while Page is a heroic paladin. Smith is a sorcerer, Lillis a druid and Grant appears as Forge Fletcher, a rogue and the movie’s main antagonist.

    Paramount's 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
    Paramount’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

    There are magical items to find (naturally) and one in particular that has unleashed a terrible evil. But basic fantasy plot aside, the movie has a very Taika Waititi feel to it, blending comedy with action and subverting our expectations.

    As the panel ended, the first full trailer for the movie played (find it above) and showed off just some of what the movie will have to offer. Dragons? Check. Dungeons? Yep. Magical mayhem? Sure. Creatures galore? You betcha.

    Effects teams are still hard at work on this one (Daley shouted out ILM and Legacy Effects “who brought you Baby Yoda” as the main providers) and we can expect to see ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ in theaters on March 3 next year.

    Justice Smith plays Simon, Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'
    (L to R) Justice Smith plays Simon, Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Chris Pine plays Edgin and Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk in 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'
    (L to R) Chris Pine plays Edgin and Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures.
    'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Poster
    Paramount Pictures’ ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ opens in theaters on March 3rd 2023.
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  • Third ‘Paddington’ Movie finds Director

    StudioCanal's 'Paddington 2.'
    StudioCanal’s ‘Paddington 2.’

    The two ‘Paddington’ movies are, it’s fair to say, a cultural sensation. Offering gentle charm, family-friendly slapstick, and scenery-chewing villainy from the likes of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, they’ve been critically adored, commercially successful (to the tune of more than $500 million at the worldwide box office) and, more recently, referenced in Nic Cage meta-action-comedy. ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’.

    All eyes are naturally on what the bear from Peru does next, and who will be guiding his adventures, since Paul King, who made the first two movies, is busy with the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ prequel ‘Wonka’, which stars Timothee Chalamet.

    King and producer David Heyman have now anointed Dougal Wilson as the chosen successor in the director’s chair, though King will remain attached as an executive producer, having written the movie’s story with previous ‘Paddington’ collaborators Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton. Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont wrote the script.

    Wilson is something of an unknown quantity on the movie front, as he’s never directed a feature before. But he’s had a busy career in commercials for the likes of AT&T, Apple, and IKEA, plus a wealth of music video experience. Perhaps most tellingly, he’s also created several Christmas commercials for British department store John Lewis, which are known for their sweet stories.

    The new movie will start shooting next year in London and Peru, and presumably sees Paddington heading home to his native land. Exact plot details and casting have yet to be revealed, though we’d expect Ben Whishaw back to voice the title character (he mostly recently did the job for a Queen’s Jubilee celebration short), while the previous two films have both featured the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, and Julie Walters.

    “After ten years of working on the ‘Paddington’ movies, I feel absurdly protective of the little bear, and I’m delighted that Dougal will be there to hold his paw as he embarks on his third big-screen adventure,” said King in a statement. “Dougal’s work is never less than astounding: funny, beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and totally original. Aunt Lucy once asked us to ‘Please Look After This Bear.’ I know Dougal will do so admirably.”

    Wilson comments: “As a huge fan of the first two films, I am very excited (if not a little intimidated) to be continuing the story of Paddington. It’s a massive responsibility, but all my efforts will be focused on making a third film that honors the love so many people have for this very special bear.”

    Producer David Heyman also appears happy with the choice: “After an exacting search, we’re delighted that the brilliant Dougal Wilson will be directing the third ‘Paddington’ film. A much-garlanded legend within the commercials world, we have long admired Dougal’s virtuoso work, and his gift for directing with heart, humor, surprise, and vivid imaginative flair. He’s a wonderfully inventive kindred spirit for Paddington’s latest adventure with the Browns, and we’re thrilled to be working with him.”

    Given the 2023 shoot, we wouldn’t expect the movie much before the end of that year or some point in 2024.

    Hugh Grant in StudioCanal's 'Paddington 2.'
    Hugh Grant in StudioCanal’s ‘Paddington 2.’
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  • New ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Movie Title Announced

    ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Logo
    ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ will open in theaters on March 3rd, 2023.

    Things have been very quiet on the ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ front despite a new movie having been in the works for a while.

    Now, though, we finally know what the new movie will be called: ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’.

    ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, of course, is the game designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and first brought to shelves in 1974. It works by gathering a group of players who create characters – warriors, elves, dwarves, wizards etc. – and sending them on a fantasy quest run by a Dungeon Master.

    They explore dangerous locales and battle monsters, all using dice to determine the outcome of clashes or other situations. Players earn experience points (or XP) to level up.

    The game has a patchy history of screen adaptations. Many will warmly remember the 1980s cartoon series, which saw a group of kids swept to a fantasy land filled with wizards, dragons and warriors.

    Audiences were less happy with the 2000 movie, directed by Courtney Solomon, with Jeremy Irons as a tyrant named Profion looking to overthrow an otherwise peaceful kingdom ruled by Thora Birch’s Empress Savina. It was a notorious flop, though it did generate a couple of sequels, 2005 TV Movie ‘Wrath of the Dragon God’ and 2012’s ‘The Book of Vile Darkness’, which went straight to home entertainment.

    Thanks to the rise in popularity of all things geeky (not to mention a big use of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ by the kids of ‘Stranger Things’), Hasbro – which has been working with Paramount and other studios to mine the games company’s various properties – pushed more than the ‘Dungeons’ project back into development, including a planned, expansive TV universe under the purview of Rawson Marshall Thurber.

    Photo of Rawson Marshall Thurber Courtesy of Twitter
    Photo of Rawson Marshall Thurber Courtesy of Twitter

    Though Hasbro’s key deal is with Paramount these days, Warner Bros. had the ‘Dungeons’ rights for a while and, upon learning that Hasbro had partnered with Universal for a movie from ‘Fast & Furious’ scripting stalwart Chris Morgan, threw its weight behind a more obscure game created by Gary Gygax called ‘Chainmail’, hiring ‘Wrath of the Titans’/’Red Riding Hood’ writer David Leslie to adapt it. That got bogged down in a rights battle until Warners was able to work it out.

    Nothing came of that effort, though, and Hasbro, under its Paramount deal, flashed the greenlight for a movie from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the directors of ‘Game Night’.

    The directors co-wrote the latest movie with and been busy making the new movie, working alongside co-writer Michael Gilio. The latter had been in talks to direct the movie at one point, as had ‘The Lego Batman’s Chris McKay, and the pair are credited with the movie’s story.

    Quite what that plot is remains locked in a treasure chest for now, though a filing for the movie with the US Copyright office last year listed the following basic synopsis: “An ex-Harper turned thief escapes from prison with his partner, a female barbarian, and reunites with a no-talent wizard and a druid new to their team in an effort to rob the cheating conman who stole all their loot from the heist that landed them behind bars, and used it to install himself as the Lord of Neverwinter. Only the traitor is allied with a powerful Red Wizard who has something far more sinister in store.”

    Whether that is the actual storyline remains to be seen, though we do at least know who is starring in the new movie – Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant are all part of the cast.

    ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ will roll into theaters on March 3rd, 2023.

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  • 12 Things You Never Knew About ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ on its 25th Anniversary

    12 Things You Never Knew About ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ on its 25th Anniversary

    “Four Weddings and a Funeral” is one of the most important comedies of the ’90s, helping to spark a rom-com craze in Hollywood and turning star Hugh Grant into an international sex symbol. As the film celebrates its 25th anniversary, here are some fun behind-the-scenes facts you might not know.

    1. Writer Richard Curtis conceived the film after attending over 60 weddings in the span of a decade. He based it on his own experience being propositioned by a fellow wedding guest.

    2. Curtis was initially against the idea of casting Hugh Grant as Charles, fearing he was too handsome for the part.

    Warner Bros.

    3. Curtis campaigned for Alan Rickman to star as Charles, but eventually it was decided Rickman was too old for the part.

    4. Grant earned a fee of about $100,000, well above the rest of the cast. However, Andie MacDowell wound up with a much larger payday, taking home about $2 million thanks to her decision to take percentage points rather than an upfront fee.

    HBO

    5. Marisa Tomei, Brooke Shields and Sarah Jessica Parker were all considered for the role of Carrie. Parker, naturally, went on to play a very different Carrie on “Sex and the City“.

    6. The Chinese version of the film lists Rowan Atkinson‘s character as “Mr. Bean,” even though he’s obviously not playing that comedy icon here.

    BBC

    7. The film’s budget was so tight that most of the extras were required to bring their own wedding attire.

    8. Kristin Scott Thomas dubbed over her own lines for the French language version.

    Rank Film Distributors

    9. Despite its penny-pinching budget, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” went on to become the highest-grossing British film in history (at the time).

    10. “Four Weddings and a Funeral” became the first of five romantic comedies to pair Hugh Grant with writer Richard Curtis. It was followed by “Notting Hill,” “Love Actually” and the first two “Bridget Jones” movies.

    11. Hulu is currently developing an anthology series based on the film, with Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton writing and producing. Curtis is serving  as executive producer.

    NBC

    12. There’s a sequel… sort of. A short film called “One Red Nose Day and a Wedding” will be released on Red Nose Day 2019 (March 15 in the UK and May 23 in the US) and reunites director Mike Newell with most of the film’s surviving cast.

  • Hugh Grant Tries to Recover Stolen Script via Twitter

    Hugh Grant Tries to Recover Stolen Script via Twitter

    Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal
    Sony Pictures Television; Blueprint Pictures

    Desperate times call for desperate measures.

    After a bag containing a script was stolen from Hugh Grant‘s car, the actor turned to Twitter to try to get it back. He decided to tweet about the theft in hopes that someone might know the perpetrator and be able to convince them to give it back. Apparently, he had written “many weeks[‘] worth of notes and ideas.”

    The actor acknowledged that it was “unlikely” that the script would be recovered thanks to his tweet. Still, he decided it was worth a shot. We never underestimate the powers of the internet — stranger things have happened.

    Grant didn’t offer any details about what the script is for, but as Deadline noted, some of his upcoming projects include the David E. Kelley TV series “The Undoing” and the upcoming Guy Ritchie film “Toff Guys.” He most recently starred in the limited series “A Very English Scandal.”

    [via: Hugh Grant/Twitter; Deadline]

  • ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ Cast Reuniting for Special Film

    ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ Cast Reuniting for Special Film

    Working Title

    The “Four Weddings and a Funeral” gang is reuniting!

    The cast and creators of the 1994 British romantic comedy are coming together to make a charity short film for Red Nose Day.

    Screenwriter Richard Curtis, who is the co-founder of the charity telethon, has penned “One Red Nose Day And A Wedding.” Original director Mike Newell is also on board to helm the short, which will premiere March 15 on BBC One and then air on NBC in May for Red Nose USA.

    Returning cast members include Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, Rowan Atkinson, and Anna Chancellor, among others. They will be joined by special guests.

    Curtis said, “We’re all definitely older — I suspect no wiser. It’s been really enjoyable working out what’s happened to all the characters – and now they get back together for the 5th wedding. Where, as usual, not everything will go as planned.”

  • Hugh Grant to Star Opposite Nicole Kidman in HBO’s ‘The Undoing’

    Hugh Grant to Star Opposite Nicole Kidman in HBO’s ‘The Undoing’

    Sony Pictures Television

    Nicole Kidman is trading one high-profile HBO limited series for another with her latest venture, “The Undoing.” And just like “Big Little Lies” before it, this series is drawing some major talent.

    Hugh Grant has just signed on to co-star opposite Kidman in “The Undoing,” playing her husband who suddenly goes missing, leaving a trail of mysteries and shocking revelations in his wake. Kidman is Grace Sachs, a successful therapist, and Grant is Jonathan Sachs, a renowned pediatric oncologist; the pair share a young son and a privileged life, but apparently there are still plenty of secrets between them.

    Based on author Jean Hanff Korelitz’s book “You Should Have Known,” the story follows Grace as she deals with a private disaster in the public eye, and how she must rebuild her life for the sake of her son. There’s also a violent death involved, for those looking for more “BLL” similarities.

    “The Undoing” will mark Grant’s first major foray into American television, having previously appeared in the BBC/Amazon miniseries “A Very English Scandal.” Though he starred with Kidman on the first “Paddington” movie, that was only in a voiceover capacity; we can’t wait to see these two A-listers finally share the screen.

    [via: Deadline]

  • 7 Rom-Coms That Will Make You Cry

    7 Rom-Coms That Will Make You Cry