(L to R) Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson is John Lennon, Joseph Quinn is George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan is Ringo Starr in ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
Preview:
The first official pictures of leads Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn and Harris Dickinson as the Beatles are online.
Sam Mendes is busy making linked movies under the banner The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
The movies will be released in 2028.
The cameras have already been rolling on Sam Mendes’ ambitious aim to chronicle a particular period in the life of musical sensations The Beatles, known as ‘The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.’
Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney in ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
With the backing of Sony Pictures Classics –– not to mention being granted full life story and music rights by Beatles holding company Apple Corps Ltd. (not the iPhone gang), surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of deceased colleagues Lennon and Harrison –– Mendes will make four different biopics, covering each Beatles’ experiences during the band’s rise to massive popularity.
Though a strict time period for what the movies will cover has yet to be announced, the idea is for the stories to (naturally intersect), looking to get a fuller, clearer picture of their time than any one movie could hope to accomplish.
Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
Here’s what Mendes had to say about the project:
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
When will ‘The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event’ be in theaters?
Barry Keoghan is Ringo Starr in ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
The current plan is for all four movies to land in April 2028.
Joseph Quinn is George Harrison in ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’. Photo: Sony Pictures.‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’, directed by Sam Mendes. (L to R) Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison). In theaters April 2028. Photo by: John Russo.
(Left) Saoirse Ronan as Rona in ‘The Outrun’. Photo: Martin Scott Powell. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. (Center) Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ coming soon to Apple TV+. (Right) Aimee Lou Wood in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Preview:
Saoirse Ronan will play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ Beatles project.
Anna Sawai and Aimee Lou Wood are among those circling roles.
(L to R) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
With the backing of Sony Pictures Classics –– not to mention being granted full life story and music rights by Beatles holding company Apple Corps Ltd. (not the iPhone gang), surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of deceased colleagues Lennon and Harrison –– Mendes will make four different biopics, covering each Beatles’ experiences during the band’s rise to massive popularity.
Though a strict time period for what the movies will cover has yet to be announced, the idea is for the stories to (naturally intersect), looking to get a fuller, clearer picture of their time than any one movie could hope to accomplish.
Here’s what Mendes had to say about the project:
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
When will ‘The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event’ be in theaters?
Mendes is currently aiming for the movies to release close together in April 2028, so he has his work cut out for him and a lot of hard day’s nights ahead.
Jacob Elordi stars in director Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla.’
Preview:
Jacob Elordi’s in talks for ‘The Dog Stars’
If he signs on, he’d replace Paul Mescal in the lead.
Ridley Scott is on board to direct.
What Ridley Scott utters, so it shall come to pass. Okay, so the last time he was asked about the subject, the venerable director didn’t exactly confirm that Paul Mescal, the star of his most recent film, ‘Gladiator II’ might be about to drop out of one of his next planned projects, but he didn’t not confirm it either.
The issue here appears to be Mescal’s schedule. While he’s previously said he’d happily reunite with Ridley for any movie, it would seem that the Irish actor has instead signed on for Sam Mendes’ ambitious plan to make a biopic of the Beatles.
More specifically, four biopics, one for each band member, and crossing the stories between the films. Though no official casting information has emerged, Mescal is hotly tipped to be playing Paul McCartney.
Here’s what Scott said about Mescal acting in his next project when asked by Christopher Nolan in a conversational Q&A held before the holidays at the Director’s Guild of America:
“Yes. Maybe. Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go.”
Looks like he’s letting him go and moving on to another young actor whose career is skyrocketing. Mescal need not worry too much, though –– Denzel Washington worked with Scott in 2007’s ‘American Gangster’ and it only took 16 years for them to reunite on ‘Gladiator II…’
What’s the story of The Dog Stars’?
(L to R) Director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal on the set of ‘Gladiator II’ from Paramount Pictures.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a virus has wiped out most of humanity, the protagonist is Hig (Elordi, assuming his deal closes), a pilot who survived the flu that killed everyone he knew, his wife included.
He lives in the hangar of a small, abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting ex-Marine. Hig sometimes heads off in his 1956 Cessna, where he can fish, and pretend things are how they used to be.
When a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life might exist if he flies a bit further. He risks it all to chase a possible haven in Grand Junction.
Where else have I seen Jacob Elordi?
Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Elordi got his big break in Netflix rom-com ‘The Kissing Booth,’ and went on to appear in three films in the franchise.
On the big screen, he’s been seen in the likes of ‘2 Hearts,’ ‘Deep Water,’ ‘The Sweet East’ and ‘Priscilla,’ in which he played Elvis Presley. And in ‘Saltburn,’ he was the privileged scion of a wealthy British family whose decision to bring home a less fortunate student from his university proved to be a very bad idea.
Elordi also scored attention playing Nate Jacobs in TV sensation ‘Euphoria,’ though his packed film schedule likely means he may not return for Season 3 (though he could well find time, given how delayed the shooting schedule for the third season of the show has been).
Next up for the actor most likely is a reunion with ‘Saltburn’ director Emerald Fennell, who has been busy working on an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s ‘Wuthering Heights.’ Elordi would play Heathcliff alongside Margot Robbie as doomed love Catherine Earnshaw.
Then there’s another sci-fi project, ‘Parallel,’ which posits a world where parallel dimensions are accessible, but only known to a select group of people –– and travelling between worlds is highly illegal.
What else is Ridley Scott working on?
(L to R) Pedro Pascal, Director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal on the set of ‘Gladiator II’ from Paramount Pictures.
With Elordi in the midst of a deal, that points to ‘The Dog Stars’ ramping up as the next movie that Scott will shoot (and it’s also listed as in pre-production on the IMDb.).
Yet Variety’s story also mentions the director’s plan to make a Bee Gees biopic, something he has had sitting on his To Do list for a while now. And there’s every chance the biopic could leapfrog ‘The Dog Stars.’
The Bee Gees film would re-team Scott with one of his collaborators on the original ‘Gladiator,’ writer John Logan.
And it’s far from the only movie the busy director has on his potential projects list –– there is a wealth of others, before we even mention the long batch of TV series on which he’s listed as producer. It’s a wonder the man ever sleeps.
That’s a big question at this point. Since Scott has yet to fully start on either ‘The Dog Stars’ or his Bee Gees project, there is no telling when either might be released.
Still, given the prolific nature of the (checks notes) 87-year-old director, we wouldn’t be too shocked if at least one was ready for some point in 2026. Let’s not forget: this is the same filmmaker who has brought us three movies across the last four years.
Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
(Left) Paul Mescal plays Lucius in ‘Gladiator II’ from Paramount Pictures. (Right) Joseph Quinn plays Emperor Geta in ‘Gladiator II’ from Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
‘Gladiator II’s Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn are reportedly playing Paul McCartney and George Harrison in new Beatles biopics.
Sam Mendes is putting the films together.
Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson are also linked to the movies.
Ever since we first learned months ago that ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Empire of Light’ director Sam Mendes had come up with an ambitious plan to craft not one, but four interlinked music biopics about possibly the most famous group in the world –– that would be The Beatles –– everyone has been wondering who would land the coveted, challenging roles of main members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
That is now really coming into focus as, while nothing has been confirmed by either Mendes or the studio, the latest word from Deadline is that ‘Gladiator II’s Joseph Quinn is aboard to play George Harrison.
(Left) Barry Keoghan in ‘Masters of the Air,’ premiering January 26, 2024 on Apple TV+. (Right) Ringo Starr in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Photo: United Artists.
And talking of other people letting slip about potential casting, we also recently had Ridley Scott jokingly complaining that his ‘Gladiator II’ star Paul Mescal may not be able to reunite with him for the director’s next movie ‘The Dog Stars’ because of a clash with the Beatles movies.
Here’s what Scott said about Mescal acting in his next project when asked by Christopher Nolan in a conversational Q&A held this week at the Director’s Guild of America:
“Yes. Maybe. Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go.”
It’s an odd coincidence that two ‘Gladiator II’ stars are both now linked to the Beatles movies, but we shouldn’t really be surprised –– both are in-demand talents, with Quinn also having just worked on Marvel’s new ‘Fantastic Four’ movie (and according to Deadline’s sources toting a guitar around set as he practices guitar for the McCartney role.)
Read on for more details on the Beatles film and the other current rumored casting…
What’s the plan for Sam Mendes’ Beatles films?
(L to R) George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
With the backing of Sony Pictures Classics –– not to mention being granted full life story and music rights by Beatles holding company Apple Corps Ltd. (no, not the company behind the iPhone), surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of deceased colleagues Lennon and Harrison –– Mendes will make four different biopics, covering each Beatles’ experiences during the band’s rise to massive popularity.
A strict time period for what the movies will cover has yet to be announced.
Here’s what Mendes had to say about the project:
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
And this is the statement from Mendes’ Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris:
“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time. To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege. From our first meeting with [Sony execs] Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler, it was clear that they shared both our passion and ambition for this project, and we can’t think of a more perfect home than Sony Pictures.”
Who else has been rumored for Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopics?
(Left) Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich in ‘The Iron Claw.’ Photo: A24.
Alongside Mescal, Quinn and Keoghan (who we’ve heard was originally hired to play Emperor Geta in ‘Gladiator II,’ only to be replaced by Quinn when scheduling issues reared their heads), the buzz for John Lennon has been around Harris Dickinson.
Is it wrong that there’s a tiny part of us hoping for Mendes to shock the world by announcing that he’s instead chosen the actors who played the Fab Four in 2007’s ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’? Yes, the world demands that Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman return as John, Paul George and Ringo!
Given the scope of the movies, the current aim is to have the movies in theaters by 2027, with the plan for their release dates still to be announced. Will we see them release a month apart? Spread out across the years? It’s too early to tell.
“You have to match the boldness of the idea with a bold release strategy. There hasn’t been an enterprise like this before, and you can’t think about it in traditional releasing terms
(L to R) Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert.’
(Left) Director Sam Mendes from ‘Empire of the Light.’ (Right) George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
Preview:
Sam Mendes has a biopic plan for The Beatles.
He’ll make one film about each member’s time in the iconic band.
Apple Corps and the band have granted full life rights.
Everything about The Beatles these days seems to be outsized. You have their legendary status, their record-breaking chart accomplishments and, more recently, Peter Jackson’s epic documentary limited series ‘The Beatles: Get Back’, released on Disney+ in 2021 and running for an astonishing 468 minutes.
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Do you want to know a secret? Now ‘1917’ and ‘American Beauty’ director Sam Mendes has a plan for something that challenges that in terms of scope and ambition.
While music biopics are all the rage at the moment (the most recent release, ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ has done decent business at the box office, and there’s a film about British singer Amy Winehouse due in May), Mendes is developing something that goes beyond the norm.
(L to R) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
With the backing of Sony Pictures Classics –– not to mention being granted full life story and music rights by Beatles holding company Apple Corps Ltd. (not the iPhone gang), surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of deceased colleagues Lennon and Harrison –– Mendes will make four different biopics, covering each Beatles’ experiences during the band’s rise to massive popularity.
Though a strict time period for what the movies will cover has yet to be announced, the idea is for the stories to (naturally intersect), looking to get a fuller, clearer picture of their time than any one movie could hope to accomplish.
Here’s what Mendes had to say about the project:
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
And this is the statement from Mendes’ Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris:
“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time. To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege. From our first meeting with [Sony execs] Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler, it was clear that they shared both our passion and ambition for this project, and we can’t think of a more perfect home than Sony Pictures.”
Given the scope of the movies, the current aim is to have the movies in theaters by 2027, with the plan for their release dates still to be announced. Will we see them release a month apart? Spread out across the years? Will they come together? Any way it happens, we’ll dig it.
(L to R) Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert.’
(Left) Himesh Patel in Max’s ‘Station Eleven.’ Photograph by Ian Watson/HBO Max. (Right) Aya Cash as Stormfront in season 2 of Prime Video’s ‘The Boys.’ Credit: Jasper Savage. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Though they certainly seem to be going through more of a rough patch right now, giant movies featuring caped crusaders, men of steel and other costumed characters continue to be a force at the box office.
And while satirizing the idea of superheroes is nothing new –– Prime Video alone has ‘The Boys’ and the animated series ‘Invincible’ –– poking fun at the machinations of companies and people who make movies based on comic book properties is still an idea ripe with promise.
Who better, then to oversee such a project as Armando Iannucci, the British comedian and writer/producer who has brought us the likes of ‘Veep’ and ‘Avenue 5’ and spent years before either show working on politically-skewed series in the UK?
Yet while he will be an executive producer on the new series, ‘The Franchise’, the actual showrunner is Jon Brown, who worked with Iannucci on ‘Veep’ and ‘Avenue 5’ but has also spent years on ‘Succession’.
With HBO ordering the show to series after a successful pilot, the creative team is rounded out by ‘American Beauty’ and ‘Skyfall’ director Sam Mendes, a man more known for producing TV than calling the shots on it, but who did so for ‘The Franchise’.
What is the story of ‘The Franchise’?
Aya Cash as Stormfront in season 2 of Prime Video’s ‘The Boys.’ Credit: Jasper Savage. Copyright: Amazon Studios
According to HBO’s official description, the show follows “the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe,” while it also “shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every fuck-up has an origin story.”
It’ll definitely be taking pot shots at the big comic book-based studios, then, and potentially mega-budget filmmaking in general. Possibly along the lines of Judd Apatow’s satire ‘The Bubble’ last year (though hopefully more successfully).
Himesh Patel in Max’s ‘Station Eleven.’ Photograph by Ian Watson/HBO Max.
That is a much bigger question to answer; while the pilot was shot before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes took effect, the series itself will have to wait for them to be resolved before it can get moving in any creative capacity.
Still, given the talent involved, you know HBO will want to get moving on this as soon as possible, especially since it’ll want the series out before the superhero movie genre goes completely off the bubble.
Aya Cash as Stormfront in season 2 of Prime Video’s ‘The Boys.’ Credit: Jasper Savage. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
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Though they were both swirling around their writer/directors’ minds before the pandemic struck, it’s hard not to see Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ and Sam Mendes’ ‘Empire of Light’ partly as reactions to cinemas being closed during the long months that everyone was locked down.
And while Spielberg took a semi-autobiographical approach to channel his love of watching (and making) movies, Mendes seems motivated more by the impact it can have on those who might need a boost. And about troubled people finding each other.
The setting for the ‘1917’ director’s latest is the chilly, windswept English coastal town of Margate, where stands one of the Empire chain of cinemas. There, a small staff screens the latest releases to local folk.
This old-school movie palace is falling into disrepair, entire sections locked off and some exposed to the elements, its glory days behind it. The same might be said for some of the staff, though in the case of the careworn manager Hilary (Olivia Colman), the question is whether she ever saw glory days to begin with.
Back at work after a stay in a local mental health facility and facing little sympathy or understanding from her doctor, she’s just trying to hold it together while picking back up an ill-advised affair with the dull-but-authoritative Donald Ellis (Colin Firth, in particularly smug mode).
Around her are a rag-tag group of employees, including veteran projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), ambitious assistant manager Neil (Tom Brooke) and disaffected candy-slinger Janine. After a dismissal, their ranks are swelled by Stephen (Micheal Ward), an enthusiastic young Black worker with a love for music, who immediately attracts the attention of Janine and, on a deeper level, Hilary.
Soon, Hilary and Stephen are sharing snacks and sexual encounters in the disused upper echelons of the cinema, where a formerly fancy bar area is now home to roosting pigeons (Stephen rescues one in a slightly stretched simile for his relationship with Hilary).
Despite hailing from very different backgrounds and with starkly contrasting life experiences They’re drawn together by a shared love of music, cinema and figuring out their issues––her struggles with manic depression, he facing everyday racism in 1980s England, where the fascistic National Front is beginning to assert its power.
Mendes and legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins let their camera linger and rest, eschewing overly showy visuals in favor of beautifully lit moments that help the cast tell the story. And the watery sunlight of the coastal town also help paint the film in tonally appropriate grays, cut by fireworks and the neon lights of the cinema when it is gussied up for a “big” premiere.
It goes without saying that Colman is as excellent as ever. Brittle and withdrawn at first, though hiding that side with a forced cheery facade, she slowly unravels as the pressure of swirling emotions and years of trauma take their toll.
Yet she’s matched beat for beat by Ward, who offers a sensitive, charismatic portrayal of a young man still looking for his place in a world where he isn’t always welcome. Despite an early dalliance with Janine, Stephen lights up around Hillary, and Ward plays that to the hilt.
Firth sheds the charm that usually undercuts the stuffier characters he plays––while you can see why Hillary might be swayed by him, he’s basically a power-happy scumbag who bristles when he spots her while he’s out for dinner with his oblivious wife.
Around them, the rest of the employees are an appealing, if slightly archetypal ensemble: Janine as a punky rebel, Neil the lanky, agreeable type, Norman gruff but kindhearted. And then there are the customers, a quirky assortment of cinemagoers, some who need a little nudge in the direction of the rules (such as finishing your meal before stepping into the theater) and others who prove to be more hateful than the staff had suspected.
‘Empire of Light’ is largely a quiet drama punctuated by moments that pop, including Hillary’s stage-storming moment at the premiere to drop some truths and make a scene, and her ultimate dissolution.
Yet if Mendes true aim was to celebrate the power of cinema to lift you up, he falters slightly here. A lot of that heavy lifting is given over to Jones’ projectionist character, who has monologues explaining how his beloved machines work and the ability of what they project to lift hearts. It can be a little on the nose at times, and the actual act of watching movies is a sidenote until late in the film.
The director also seems unaware exactly where he wants to end his film, a couple of natural conclusions showing up and sliding by before the emotional punch of the real finale.
A late act of racist violence, though keyed up earlier in the story, also feels vaguely out of place, the plot’s focus split for a subplot that has little fresh to say about race relations in the UK at the time and buttoned by an awkward scene between Hillary and Stephen’s mother Delia, played by Tanya Moodie. It does at least give us more of a glimpse into Stephen’s private life.
And none of its issues are enough to drag ‘Empire of Light’ into the murk. This is a thoughtful, reflective and often lovely film bolstered by its superb central performance and an evocative trip back to the 1980s (both their good and bad sides) likely to evoke nostalgic feelings even if you didn’t grow up in smalltown England.
With less of the self-conscious drawing on its director’s past than ‘The Fabelmans’, ‘Empire of Light’ offers its own dark charms and emotional fortitude.
English filmmaker Sam Mendes won an Oscar for Best Director for his directorial debut, ‘American Beauty’ in 1999 and since then has gone on to direct a gangster movie, a World War I film, 2 James Bond Movies, and some of the most acclaimed films of the last 20 years.
His new movie, ‘Empire of Light’ is one of his most personal films, with elements drawn from his own childhood growing up in England in the early 1980’s.
In honor of its release, Moviefone has ranked every movie filmmaker Sam Mendes has ever directed, including his latest.
A cryptic message from Bond’s (Daniel Craig) past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M (Ralph Fiennes) battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action.
Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.
(L to R) Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski in ‘Away We Go.’
Verona (John Krasinski) and Burt (Maya Rudolph) have moved to Colorado to be close to Burt’s parents but, with Veronica expecting their first child, Burt’s parents decide to move to Belgium, now leaving them in a place they hate and without a support structure in place.
They set off on a whirlwind tour of of disparate locations where they have friends or relatives, sampling not only different cities and climates but also different families. Along the way they realize that the journey is less about discovering where they want to live and more about figuring out what type of parents they want to be.
A young couple (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter’s (Thora Birch) attractive friend (Mena Suvari).
Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son (Tyler Hoechlin) is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.
When Bond’s (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M (Judi Dench) faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it’s up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve (Naomie Harris), to locate the mastermind behind the attack.
Set in an English coastal cinema in the early 1980’s called the Empire, Hilary Small (Olivia Colman) is a theater manager dealing with unwanted sexual advances from her boss Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth), and her own mental health issues.
When a younger man named Stephen (Micheal Ward) begins working at the theater, Hilary and he start a relationship that will eventually change both of their lives forever.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Olivia Colman and director Sam Mendes about their work on ‘Empire of Light,’ how Mendes drew from his own childhood for the screenplay, Coleman’s approach to her character, Hilary’s relationship with Stephen, and creating the set on location.
Director Sam Mendes and Olivia Colman from ‘Empire of the Light.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Coleman, Mendes, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Michael Ward, and Tanya Moodie.
Moviefone: To begin with, Sam, can you talk about writing the screenplay, setting it in the 1980’s, and the themes you wanted to explore with this project?
Sam Mendes: Well, I wanted to explore primarily mental illness with this character of Hillary, that’s based loosely on my own mother. Growing up in that time in the early 80’s with somebody who was struggling with her mental health and fighting not to be pulled down into the darkness the whole time.
At the same time, my teenage years in the early 80’s, were a time of great excitement musically and in movies. On the other hand, it was a time of great social upheaval, very high unemployment in the UK, racial tension riots and what have you. So for me it’s trying to find those two. There’s an internal struggle going on in her and there’s an external struggle in the world, and eventually they collide.
MF: Olivia, can you talk about your approach to playing Hillary and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?
Olivia Colman: I was excited about all of it apart from the sex scenes, which I was terrified of but they turned out well and everyone made them comfortable. But I didn’t want to let Sam down. He put a lot of trust in me to play someone that was very personal to him.
I had Sam every step of the way to help me, so I knew I could ask him anything. I knew he would always be honest and I could say, “So when someone’s coming off Lithium, what’s that like?” I had Sam to describe every moment of it to me. It made my job very easy and I was excited to give it a crack really.
MF: Can you also talk about the relationship between Hillary and Stephen, why they connect with each other and how that friendship changes both of their lives?
OC: I think they see each other in a way that, well, he sees her, which no one does. He sees beyond the fact that she’s much older than him and he’s quite impressed with her academic background. I think because he’s clearly an academic young man, it’s quite obvious that she sees a dazzling, beautiful, vibrant young creature come into her world.
Everyone’s looking at him because he’s so beautiful and she’s thrilled that they react to each other. It’s genuine love. It’s something that is never going to last obviously, but there is something beautiful between them and it sort of transcends age and color. It doesn’t matter to them. I think that’s what was lovely about it.
MF: Finally, Sam, can you talk about the challenges of finding the right location for this film and transforming the Dreamland Margate Cinema in Kent into the Empire theater?
SM: I mean there’s something about the English countryside, particularly the English coastline, especially in winter, that has a grandness to it. Bleak slate, gray skies, and I grew up in and around that coastline. For me, I wanted to find somewhere that had that sense of emptiness and beauty, but at the same time, it needed to have a cinema that just looked straight out to sea. It was based on a cinema I remember from my childhood that was in Brighton, but that’s long since gone.
Then we found this amazing giant art deco palace sitting on the coastline in Margate, which is on the North coast of Kent actually. So, it’s where J. M. W. Turner painted his great paintings, and where T.S. Eliot wrote “The Waste Land.“ It’s a place of real melancholy and strangeness, but beautiful as well.
There was the cinema and that gave us everything. I sort of moved in for a week and rewrote the script so that it fitted the environment, and it fit the location because I’d imagined a different kind of town, but I felt this was better. So, really we made it for and around this one seaside town and it gave us a lot.
Sam Mendes’ latest film, ‘1917’ is an epic war drama set during World War I, telling the story of two men on a desparate mission to save the lives of thousands of their fellow soldiers. The battlefield stories from WWI are rife with drama, but this film ratchets up the tension by telling the story in real time and in one continuous shot.
That kind of filmmaking brings up quite a few challenges, as Ms. Moviefone (Grae Drake) found out when she sat down for an extended interview with Mendes, co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, and stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman.
