Projects in genres: Literary Adaptation

Synopsis

Daniel Dillon sold his wife and child - and then tried to buy forgiveness. California 1849. The snowbound goldfields are littered with countless hopefuls rushing to make their fortune. Among them are the poor Irish immigrant Daniel Dillon, his wife Elena and baby daughter, Hope. Lost in a blizzard, exhausted and starving, they stumble upon a lonely hut with a sign above which reads 'Thy Kingdom Come'. Fuelled by drink and a lust for gold, Dillon sells his wife and child to the prospector who lives there, in exchange for a gold claim. Twenty years later Elena and Hope return to the pioneer settlement of Kingdom Come. Although rough and tough, the town is prosperous and Dillon is now a wealthy man of considerable authority, having as his mistress the local madam, Lucia. The Claim is an epic story against the backdrop of American history in the making. This is a world of sweeping snowbound landscapes, goldmines, rowdy saloon bars and the racket and bustle of a pioneer town. Hard times where jealousy and rejection take their toll and where one momentary lapse of weakness, twenty years earlier brings, a final and terrible retribution.   Based on Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

Synopsis

Local newspaper journalist, Cameron Colley, is setting the world to rights; his articles are idealistic, written from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have the same motives; his murders are committed on behalf of the underdog. The two stories begin to merge and Cameron finds himself inextricably and inexplicably implicated by the brutal killer. The arms dealer Cameron plans to expose is found literally 'disarmed' before he can put pen to paper. The brewery chief, loathed by Cameron, who sold up at the expense of his workers, finds himself permanently unemployable. And the malpractising doctor and corrupt newspaper proprietor meet with similarly sinister ends. The police are convinced of Cameron's guilt and so are half his friends and colleagues. Cameron is forced to employ all his investigative skills to find the real killer and his motive.   Based on Iain Banks novel "Complicity".

Synopsis

Although Atom Egoyan's first adaptation The Sweet Hereafter won the Cannes jury prize and scored two Academy Award nominations, the writer-director was initially uncertain about tackling another novel as the basis of his next film. But when Icon head of development Karen Glasser sent him William Trevor's Felicia's Journey he was won over. "I was struck by the brilliance of the writing, the characters' depth and how many of the themes resonated with me," says Egoyan. The story follows naive Irish teenager Felicia as she treks to Birmingham to find her lover Johnny, but instead encounters the sinister and faintly comic Mr Hilditch. Egoyan, who was born in Cairo and grew up in Canada, brought an outsider's viewpoint to the film's locations, small-town Ireland and the industrial sprawl of the English Midlands. "I felt a responsibility," he says, "that both locations be presented with honesty and accuracy." Egoyan also found working with British and Irish actors a fresh experience. He praised the calibre of the actors who include newcomer Elaine Cassidy as Felicia and Bob Hoskins as Hilditch. Felicia's Journey is firmly stamped with Egoyan's style and preoccupations. The film includes regular Egoyan collaborators such as DoP Paul Sarossy, editor Susan Shipson and composer Mychael Danna, while the director's muse Arsinee Khanjian plays Hilditch's extraordinary mother Gala. The film's structure jumps back and forward in time, incorporating video and film footage, in a way that will be familiar to Egoyan fans. Felicia's Journey was released in the UK in October last year to critical acclaim.

Synopsis

I Could Read the Sky a film about music, madness memory, love and loss, a haunting story of immigration. I Could Read the Sky is adapted from the photographic novel of the same name which has been recently published to rave reviews and explores the sense of identity, loss and exile. It is the moving story of an old man living in a bedsit in London, remembering his life, growing up on the West coast of Ireland and his journey to London. The film unravels the strange twisting drama of a working man's life. It moves from a decaying rural past to a vividly modern present, driven by a dynamic music soundtrack that draws from both, and a simple flowing lyrical story telling. It is the state of memory that the film evokes, not memory as re-enactment but as texture. The film gets to the essence of how we remember. Memory as fragments, as details and layers, memory that comes at you out of the dark. From behind closed eyes, with its abstractions of light and form and sudden moments of precise clarity, taking us on an inward, visually extraordinary labyrinthine journey to the film's end. The film stars the acclaimed Irish writer Dermot Healy and includes cameos from actors Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Coyle and Stephen Rea, writer Pat McCabe (Butcher Boy) and the author Timothy O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke.

Synopsis

A sexy, glamorous, romantic comedy, in the style of classic 1930's Hollywood, with world famous songs by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. In 1939 the King of Navarre and his three best friends swear an oath to give up women for three years whilst devoting themselves to the study of philosophy. One of the terms of their pledge specifically prohibits women from their presence, but the arrival of the Princess of France and her three beautiful attendants on a diplomatic visit, throws the plan into disarray. In secret the King and each of his friends pursue the girls and the entire court become intoxicated by love. The mood is broken by the news of the death of the Princess's father and the girls return to France. France has fallen to the Nazis. Before they leave, the heartbroken men must prove that their love is not just an infatuation and remain faithful to them. And as proof of their devotion the loving couples are happily reunited at the end of the war.

Synopsis

With it's compelling tale of romantic tragedy in nineteenth century Russia, Alexander Pushkin's epic novel 'Eugene Onegin', has moved and intrigued audiences for 150 years. Captivated by its powerful narrative about love and loss, award winning actor Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Schindler's List) and his sister, director Martha Fiennes, have assembled a talented and exciting team to bring Pushkin's story to the screen. Evgeny Onegin is a jaded and disaffected young man who leaves St Petersburg unexpectedly when he inherits an estate from a wealthy uncle. In the country, he is a city sophisticate out of place, with little affinity for the countryside or its people. Nevertheless he strikes up a warm friendship with a neighbour, Vladimir Lensky and, despite his natural cynicism, he is charmed by Lensky's love for his fiancée Olga. He is also intrigued by Olga's sister, Tatyana, a spirited beauty who surprises him with a passionate declaration of love. Onegin is disturbed by her directness but unable to respond and, coolly and politely, rejects her love. As if needing to demonstrate the cruelty of his nature, Onegin later insults Olga and is challenged to a duel by Lensky who's code of honour prevails when Onegin attempts to extricate both of them from the confrontation. Onegin's shot is fatal and, grief-stricken, he cradles his best friend's body in his arms. Afterwards he leaves and goes into self-imposed exile. Six years later, Onegin returns to St Petersburg where he again encounters Tatyana, now married to his cousin Prince Nikitin. In realisation of the bitter mistake he made years ago, Onegin determines to claim her and Tatyana is faced with the most difficult decision of her life.

Synopsis

Nick Grosso's award-winning play Peaches, produced by the Royal Court in association with the National Theatre Studio in 1994, launched the career of one of Britain's most promising new playwrights. Grosso now dons the director's hat with this adaptation of the play for the big screen, an ordeal that took some six years to realise. Exploring the identity crisis afflicting so many young 1990s men, the story revolves around sex-obsessed Frank and his student friends. From a Leeds college bar to the pubs of North London, their emotional adventures are charted in the seemingly nonchalant and comically-hip language of confused and hapless twentysomethings. Frank's summer as a carefree slacker looks rosy until his best friend starts a job scheme. Then, when his other mate moves in with a girl and a college sweetheart tells him a big secret, Frank's world starts to spin out of control. The film was inspired by Grosso's own personal philosophy when, as a student, life "wasn't about work, but about getting up in the morning -- about chicks and babes. Work was just a distraction". Besides Grosso's status as a voice of his generation, the film's saleability rests on its two stars, Matthew Rhys and Kelly Reilly. The former is an up-and-comer whose credits include the soon-to-be-released Sorted and Titus, the latter was recently seen in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby, and both have starred alongside Kathleen Turner in the West End stage version of The Graduate. Shot with backing from a mix of private equity finance and the Irish Film Board, the film will be offered to agents and distributors in the autumn.

Synopsis

Following Brassed Off and Little Voice, Purely Belter is director Mark Herman's third film to be rooted firmly in the North of England - in this case Newcastle. And like his two critically-lauded hits, it uses a comic energy to tackle serious, gritty reality. "That is his talent as a director - taking ordinary people and successfully combining the comedy and tragedy that make up their lives," says producer Elizabeth Karlsen, who also worked with Herman on Little Voice. The film, based on Gateshead teacher Jonathan Tulloch's debut novel The Season Ticket, follows two Geordie lads whose wild ambition is to get season tickets for their football team, Newcastle United. Gerry (Chris Beattie) and Sewell (Greg McLane) are broke but they are also resourceful, devising schemes and scams in their attempts to raise the £1,000 they need. However, real life - Gerry's violent dad, Sewell's pregnant girlfriend - keeps getting in the way. "Football does form the backbone of the story, but it is less a film about football than a film about the boys' dream," says Herman. "It captures the spirit of being a working-class teenager on Tyneside," adds Kevin Whately, who plays the boys' teacher. DoP Andy Collins helped catch the energy of the story - and of the two young unknowns playing the leads - by using a lot of natural light and shooting with a hand-held camera on a dolly. Purely Belter, the first film from Mumbo Jumbo, was selected to screen in Directors' Fortnight at Cannes this year.

Synopsis

Pete's (Rhys Ifans) business is going bust, his sperm count is dodgy, and his relationship with Sarah (Sadie Frost) is on the rocks. He's infatuated with his secretary Charlie (Dani Behr), despite her being hitched to his bike-messenger Trevor (Andrew Howard) and he's spending too much time in Harry's (Nick Moran) coke den. In short, Pete's in trouble. Then his charming Irish accountant and boyhood pal Deeny (Joseph Fiennes) fixes up a meeting with the mysterious Russian Mr Kant (Steven Berkoff) and his 'assistant' (actually his daughter) Masha (Tara Fitzgerald). Masha and Pete get it together and Mr Kant comes over with the emergency loan. Pete is saved. But then comes the payback: Pete is summoned off the M25 by Masha, and ordered to Russia. There, he is taken in hand by Dr Jones (Keith Allen), Mr Kant's guru, made love to again by Masha - and then appears to be killed by Mr Kant's terrifying bodyguard (Olegario Fedoro) as a warning to other Western 'partners'. Meanwhile it's clear that Deeny set the whole thing up and is plotting to take over Pete's firm - indeed his whole life. However, Pete's not dead. Returning to London, he finds Sarah's pregnant and he's got to kill Deeny. The only people Pete can turn to are Charlie and Trevor. Masha is pregnant too and Mr Kant won't intervene. Pete's got a great plan, and Masha agrees to help with the greatest - and most bizarrely convincing alibi ever, but just as its all coming together Pete learns that Deeny has Sarah and Charlie at his mercy. Now Masha and Mr Kant must help and race to his aid, but Pete has to face Deeny alone, head-to-head, and right up to the final frames.

Synopsis

Award-winning playwright Conor McPherson steps behind the camera for the first time with Saltwater, a tale of ordinary folk in extraordinary circumstances. In an out-of-season coastal town in Ireland, the local chippie is on the verge of going under. Ever since his mother's death, Frank (Peter McDonald) has been helping his father (Brian Cox) hold the fort. But dad is in hock to the local bookie and loan shark (Brendan Gleeson) so Frank takes matters into his own hands and robs the bookie. Needless to say, things don't quite go as planned. Inspired by a dream McPherson had several years ago, the film began as a stage play called This Lime Tree Bower, which took the form of a series of monologues from the three main characters: Frank, his younger brother Joe, who feels his mother's absence the most, and Ray, a university tutor who is in love with the brothers' older sister. McPherson then teamed up with producer Robert Walpole, who, along with his directing partner Paddy Breathnach, had turned his first screenplay, I Went Down, into an award-winning hit film. Saltwater went into production just as McPherson's acclaimed play The Weir was earning raves on Broadway in New York. The film world-premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival in February where audience reaction was favourable. It had its Irish premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh in July and will open in Ireland through Buena Vista in September.

Synopsis

After the phenomenal international success of their trio of films, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary, the directing, producing and scriptwriting team of Danny Boyle, Andrew Macdonald and John Hodge, decided to turn their attention to somewhere further afield - to paradise. Or rather, paradise lost. Alex Garland's novel, about a young man travelling in Thailand who finds his way to a beach-side utopia only to become the catalyst for its destruction, was the publishing phenomenon of 1996. "We were looking for a project that had a truly international feel to it and Garland's book fit this criteria perfectly," says Macdonald. The combination of the hip film-makers' du jour with the must-read of the late 1990s proved irresistible to both 20th Century Fox, which agreed to back the film, and one of the world's biggest film stars, Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio signed to play the lead in what would be his first film since Titanic. "I wanted my next film to be something I felt strongly about and The Beach and the character of Richard were the first things I felt some kind of connection with," says DiCaprio. "Because Richard has been saturated with digital information he's never had any need to feel real emotion. So he sets off on a journey to Thailand to find something real in life. Richard is constantly looking for a much deeper sensation." The Beach was shot in Thailand at the beginning of 1999 and premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year. It has taken approximately $140m worldwide to date.

Synopsis

Sir Robert Chiltern is a man who has everything. A brilliant politician and a perfect gentleman, he is the ideal husband for the captivating Lady Chiltern. Admired by all, they present an exquisite picture of wedded harmony. But when the scheming and seductive Mrs Cheveley threatens to reveal a dark secret from Chiltern's past, the very foundations of his prized career and marriage look set to crumble. Cornered, he turns to his life long friend, Lord Arthur Goring. Famed all over town for his dazzling wit and cultivated misbehaviour, Goring soon finds himself caught up in a tangled web of lies, temptations and secret liaisons. Yet while he excels at the affairs of others, his own are to prove more challenging. The persistent charms of Mabel Chiltern, Sir Robert's sister are becoming an increasing threat to his cherished bachelorhood. She's a match for him if ever there was one . . . Romantic, funny and moving, An Ideal Husband delivers political intrigue and sparkling wit, and summons a picture of a society grappling with issues which are as pertinent in our own society as they were 100 years ago . . .