Ralph Fiennes and David Cronenberg are to receive lifetime achievement awards at the London Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.
Fiennes will receive a British Film Institute Fellowship in recognition of “a singular career” that has blended arthouse dramas and mainstream hits.
Fiennes — who plays evil Lord Voldemort in “Harry Potter” series — said he was “extremely honored and delighted” by the award.
Fiennes’ directorial debut, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus,” will screen during the Oct. 12-27 festival.
Cronenberg, the director of “Videodrome,” ”The Fly” and “Crash,” will receive the same honor in recognition of films “exploring the darker impulses and inner lives of his characters.”
Cronenberg said he was thrilled to be the first Canadian to receive the award.
“British cinema has been a potent inspiration for me, and to be associated with this particular group of filmmakers is tremendously exhilarating,” he said.
The pair are due to receive the prizes at the London Film Festival awards on Oct. 26.
Previous BFI fellows include “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle and actor John Hurt.
Organizers also announced a shortlist for the festival’s best film prize. The nine finalists, selected by artistic director Sandra Hebron, include French silent movie “The Artist”; Aleksandr Sokurov’s Venice Film festival winner “Faust”; British director Steve McQueen’s body- and soul-baring “Shame”; and Lynne Ramsay’s high school massacre drama “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants,” which stars George Clooney as a neglectful father of two daughters whose wife falls into a coma, is the only American film among the finalists.
The winner will be chosen by a panel that includes “Shakespeare in Love” director John Madden, actress Gillian Anderson and artist/director Sam Taylor Wood.
HBO Inks Two-Year First-Look Deal With Sharon Horgan and Her Production Company Merman
HBO has signed a two-year first-look television deal with BAFTA-winning and Emmy®-nominated actor, writer, and producer Sharon Horgan (“Bad Sisters,” “Catastrophe”) and her multi award-winning production company Merman. HBO has also given a straight-to-series order for a new original comedy series, the first project under this deal, from Horgan and produced by Merman, with Horgan serving as writer, star, and executive producer.
This comedy series follows a 50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love while juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son.
Amy Gravitt, executive VP, HBO & Max Comedy Programming, said, “We’re thrilled to be reunited with Sharon. Her willingness to offer up her own experiences through the characters she creates makes us all feel a little less lonely, that is what sets her comedy apart so brilliantly. She also has such a sharp eye for material and a strong desire to shepherd other people’s stories, we’re looking forward to the new talent she will bring into the fold.”
Horgan said, “I’m so happy to once again be working with Casey [Bloys], Amy, Francesca [Orsi] and the team at HBO, and really excited that Merman get to continue to tell stories for a company that’s been home to some of the most iconic television shows ever created.”
Horgan has created and starred in such series as “Pulling,” “Catastrophe,” “Motherland,” “Amandaland” and BAFTA and Peabody winning series “Bad Sisters,” which recently released its second season. She received Emmy® nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (“Catastrophe”), Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (“Bad... Read More