Deadline Hollywood - Contenders Film: London - 10/05/19

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M orn i ng Pres entatio ns Seberg

Benedict Andrews (Director) Kristen Stewart (Actor)

The Report

Scott Z. Burns (Director/Producer/Writer) Daniel J. Jones (Chief Investigator of The Report) Jennifer Fox (Producer)

The Aeronauts

Tom Harper (Director/Producer) Todd Lieberman (Producer) George Steel (Director of Photography) Alexandra Byrne (Costume Designer)

Honey Boy

Alma Har’el (Director/Producer) Shia LaBeouf (Writer/Actor) Noah Jupe (Actor) Lucas Hedges (Actor)

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION 11:07am – 11:17am

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Dean DeBlois (Director/Writer)

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS 11:19am – 11:29am

Avengers: Endgame

Sarah Halley Finn (Casting Director)

A24 11:31am – 11:41am

The Lighthouse

Robert Eggers (Director/Producer/Writer)

FOCUS FEATURES 11:43am – 11:53am

Downton Abbey

Liz Trubridge (Producer) Michael Fox (Actor) Anna Robbins (Costume Designer)

WARNER BROS. 11:55am – 12:15pm

Joker

Hildur Guðnadóttir (Composer)

Motherless Brooklyn

Daniel Pemberton (Composer) Dick Pope (Cinematographer)

1917

Pippa Harris (Producer) George MacKay (Actor) Dean-Charles Chapman (Actor) Roger Deakins (Director of Photography) Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Co-Writer)

UNIVERSAL PICTURES 12:17pm – 12:27pm

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PA R T N E R

SCHEDULE AND PRESENTERS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

AMAZON STUDIOS 10:25am – 11:05am

10/3/19 3:16 PM

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Af terno on Pres entatio ns NEON 2:40pm – 2:50pm

Apollo 11

Todd Douglas Miller (Director/Producer/Editor)

PARAMOUNT PICTURES 2:52pm – 3:02pm

Rocketman

Dexter Fletcher (Director) Taron Egerton (Actor) Jamie Bell (Actor)

WARNER BROS. 3:04pm – 3:14pm

Just Mercy

Michael B. Jordan (Producer/Actor)

SONY PICTURES 3:16pm – 3:46pm

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Marielle Heller (Director)

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

David Heyman (Producer) Robert Richardson (Cinematographer)

Little Women

Greta Gerwig (Director/Writer) Saoirse Ronan (Actor) Jacqueline Durran (Costume Designer)

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES 3:48pm – 3:58pm

Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi (Director/Producer/Writer/Actor) Carthew Neal (Producer) Roman Griffin Davis (Actor) Thomasin McKenzie (Actor) Alfie Allen (Actor)

NETFLIX 4:00pm – 4:30pm

The King

David Michôd (Director/Producer/Writer) Timothée Chalamet (Actor) Nicholas Britell (Composer)

The Two Popes

Fernando Meirelles (Director) Anthony McCarten (Writer)

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach (Director/Producer/Writer) David Heyman (Producer) Laura Dern (Actor) Ray Liotta (Actor)

9:00am – 10:15am

12:45pm – 2:25pm

4:40pm – 6:00pm

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LU NC H S P O N S O R E D BY

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The Young Ones This year’s Contenders London line-up spotlights the youthful talent lighting up screens BY JOE UTICHI AS I CAST MY GAZE OVER THE SCHEDULE FOR THIS, Deadline’s third annual The Contenders London event, the arts journalist in me can’t help but try to spot themes that might provide some kind of indication of how the industry—and this year’s awards season—is shaping up. It’s a dangerous game, of course, because when exactly does

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a coincidence become a theme?

But as the world of film and television is rocked by the shifting sands of change, it’s difficult not to want to look for rhyme and reason.

So, consider me buoyed by a line-up that seems to emphasise the next generation of cinema. That their work is strong enough to enter the awards conversation suggests

that no matter how the industry changes, great artists will endure.

Bright young things like Lucas Hedges, Thomasin McKenzie, Jamie Bell and Timothée Chalamet will all return to the Contenders London stage this year, firmly establishing their bona-fides. Indeed, Hedges and Chalamet are already Oscarnominated for their work in the past, Bell is a firmly established BAFTA winner, and McKenzie picked up a string of plaudits for her turn in last year’s Leave No Trace, divining serious gold in her future.

She won’t even be the youngest on the panel for Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. That honour goes to 12-year-old Roman Griffin Davis, whose performance in the film will break your heart. Then there’s 14-year-old Noah Jupe, who has already racked up more screen credits than many veterans, and who plays the younger version of Hedges’ character in Honey Boy. While it’s safe to say that the approaches are radically different, there’s some thematic crossover between Honey Boy, which autobiographically details Shia LaBeouf’s struggles with family and work life, and Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman, which looks at the pressures faced

by Elton John as his career kicked off.

He’s played with real gusto by another young talent, Taron Egerton, who will take our stage today. Meanwhile, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman will come to discuss Sam Mendes’ First World War movie 1917,

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SUCCESS STORY Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali at Contenders London before Green Book’s Oscar glory.

two more exciting young talents destined for big things.

And I haven’t even got around to mentioning Saoirse Ronan, already a three-time Oscar nominee, who will return to the Contenders stage today to present Little Women. What an incredible career she has had at just 25, and as she reteams with her Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig, it’s hard not to imagine another exhilarating season ahead for her.

But what would young talent be without the dab hand of experience for context? The old cliché goes that it’s folly to work with

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children or animals. Producer David Heyman made light work of the former on the blockbusting Harry Potter series, and he’s at Contenders today with Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s epic 60s-set odyssey, which features one of the best dog performances you’ve ever seen. Time for a new Oscar category perhaps?

He’ll be joined by veteran DP Bob Richardson, who has worked extensively with Tarantino. Meanwhile, the 1917 gang will be accompanied by the legendary Roger Deakins. And our day will finish up with three firmly established tal-

ents in the shape of Noah Baumbach, Laura Dern and Ray Liotta.

Of course, I’m only really scratching the surface of a line-up that seems certain to outdo our previous Contenders London events— read on for more on today’s panels.

For the first time this year, your gaggle of moderators for The Contenders London will by drawn almost exclusively from the ranks of Deadline’s British staff (we tried our best to kick our illustrious coeditor-in-chief Mike Fleming Jr. out, but he threatened to fire us all).

So sit back, relax, and enjoy a truly special day. ★ @joeutichi

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The Films S2 - 0 - 1005 - Contenders London - Full Book.indd 12

The Aeronauts

Seberg

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AMAZON STUDIOS The Report Adam Driver stars as real-life Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones in Scott Z. Burns’ political thriller. Celebrating truth tellers, it’s a timely exposé of U.S. government abuses, in which Jones investigates the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”—otherwise known as torture—after 9/11. Supervised by Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), he uncovers shocking secrets regarding the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which result in the titular 6,700-page report.

Also starring Jon Hamm, the Sundance title serves as a clear call for government accountability.

The Report

The Aeronauts The Theory of Everything co-stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones return to the world of science in this 19thcentury adventure film, directed by Tom Harper from a script by Jack Thorne. Based loosely on the story of pioneering English meteorologist James Glaisher (Redmayne), the drama centres on a pilot and a scientist who make history by ascending to unprecedented heights in a hot-air balloon, after getting caught up in a fight for their lives in the skies.

Honey Boy With his first feature script, Shia LaBeouf opens a window into his turbulent childhood and early adult years.

Helmed by Alma Har’el, the story explores a young actor’s complicated relationship with his father (played

by LaBeouf himself). A war veteran, ex-rodeo clown and recovering alcoholic, he emotionally and physically abuses his son, while at the same time giving him the title’s sentimental nickname. Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges also star in the drama, both playing Otis, the fictional version of LaBeouf, at ages 12 and 22.

Honey Boy

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Seberg French New Wave icon and Breathless actress Jean Seberg gets the feature treatment in Benedict Andrews’ drama, with Kristen Stewart starring in one of her richest and most poignant roles to date. Inspired by true events, the ’60s-set biopic examines a turning point in Seberg’s life, when she became a target of the FBI due to her political and romantic affiliations with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie). Soaked in the paranoia of a person under a microscope, the film also stars Jack O’Connell and Zazie Beetz.

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Avengers: Endgame

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Released in the U.K. on February 1st, this animated adventure wraps up writer/director Dean DeBlois’ How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, based on a book series by Cressida Cowell. The franchise’s third installment follows young Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), as he learns that his dragon Toothless is not the only one of his kind, which leads them on a quest to find dragon utopia ‘The Hidden World’ before a hunter named Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) can do the same. Kit Harington and Cate Blanchett also lend their voices to this family film.

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WALT DISNEY STUDIOS Avengers: Endgame This fourth Marvel film from directors Joe and Anthony Russo serves as the culmination of a 22-film story arc and has grossed almost $2.8 billion worldwide, thus surpassing Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time. Boasting one of the most star-studded ensembles ever assembled, and featuring Stan Lee’s final cameo for the MCU, this superhero smash picks up after the catastrophic events of Avengers: Infinity War. With several Avengers down at the hands of Thanos, the remaining superheroes come together to try and restore order to the universe.

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THE

PODCAST

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Motherless Brooklyn

Downton Abbey

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A24 The Lighthouse Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe lead this two-hander—a head-spinning, atmospheric tale of two lighthouse keepers, stranded together on a remote Atlantic rock. Set at the turn of the 19th century and shot on 35mm black-and-white film, the psychological thriller bears witness to a descent into madness, as the marooned men become increasingly unhinged by seafaring stories and the ghosts of the past. Harking back to the literature of Herman Melville and his contemporaries, Robert Eggers’ follow-up to The Witch won him Cannes’ FIPRESCI award in May. FOCUS FEATURES Downton Abbey A continuation of Julian Fellowes’ acclaimed PBS series of the same name, which amassed 15 Emmy wins and a total 69 nominations in its 2010-2015 run, Michael Engler’s film hit theatres in September.

The film finds the Crawleys—a family of wealthy, English landowners—in the year 1927, as King George V and Queen Mary pay a visit to their Yorkshire country estate. Scripted by Fellowes, the period drama features much of the show’s original cast, including Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and Michael Fox.

Joker

The Lighthouse

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WARNER BROS. Joker Director Todd Phillips and Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix make their entrées into superhero storytelling with this gritty, standalone origin story of the iconic Batman villain. Scripted by Phillips and Scott Silver, who drew inspiration from ’70s character studies and the films of Martin Scorsese, the thriller centers on Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian who turns toward crime and chaos, out of contempt for the society that he feels has disregarded him. Featuring a memorable turn from Robert De Niro, the film earned Phillips the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion award for Best Film.

Motherless Brooklyn Three-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton gets behind the camera for the first time since Keeping the Faith (2000) with this colourful crime drama, based on a novel by Jonathan Lethem.

Writing, directing and producing the pic, Norton stars as Lionel Essrog, a lonesome private detective in 1950s New York who sets out to solve the murder of his mentor (Bruce Willis). Afflicted with Tourette’s Syndrome, the detective seeks justice for his friend in the NYC underworld. Premiering at Telluride, Norton’s longtime passion project includes Willem Dafoe, Gugu MbathaRaw and Alec Baldwin.

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Apollo 11

1917

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Rocketman

UNIVERSAL PICTURES 1917 In Sam Mendes’ latest feature, George MacKay and Richard Madden star as Schofield and Blake, two British soldiers enduring the chaos of World War I. Given an impossible mission—to deliver a message deep within enemy territory that will stop their men, and Blake’s own brother, from being killed— the recruits race against time to save the British battalion of 1,600 from walking into a deadly trap.

Inspired by a story imparted to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, the war film also stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, DeanCharles Chapman and Colin Firth.

NEON Apollo 11 Premiering at Sundance, this critically-acclaimed documentary examines the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon. Directed, produced and edited by Todd Douglas Miller, the doc was made with the cooperation of NASA and the National Archives and Records Administration, which pre-

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sented Miller with unreleased 70mm footage from the launch and recovery of Apollo 11. Juxtaposing this footage alongside 35 and 16mm film, still photography and CCTV footage, the film eschews narration, interviews and modern recreations as one of the most immersive portraits of the moon landing ever made.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES Rocketman Dexter Fletcher—who stepped in to complete the Oscar-nominated Bohemian Rhapsody in the face of Bryan Singer’s contentious exit—revisits the musical biopic this season with the fantastical story of the iconic singer-songwriter Elton John.

Taron Egerton portrays John as he navigates his breakthrough years, from his early days at the Royal Academy of Music through to his long-lasting creative partnership with songwriter Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). Deriving its title from the 1972 song of the same name, the film tells the inside story of how John’s outward success was at times soured by childhood pain and a battle with addiction.

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

SONY PICTURES A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Following up on last year’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Marielle Heller casts two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks as a singular American treasure, in this portrait of children’s television host Fred Rogers. Based on a true story, the film pits Rogers against an Esquire journalist (Matthew Rhys), who reluctantly sets out to profile him. Wary at first of Rogers’ intentions and his innate goodheartedness, the writer’s life is forever changed through his exposure to an icon and a worldview counter to his own.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt share the screen for the first time in Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film.

A love letter to ’60s LA and the cinema culture that birthed the auteur, the feature centres on the friendship between a faded television actor and his

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stunt double, as they navigate an industry they no longer recognize. Featuring Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, narration from Kurt Russell and a stacked cast that includes Al Pacino and Bruce Dern, the film drew a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere.

Little Women The eighth film adaptation of a classic 1868 novel

by Louisa May Alcott marks Greta Gerwig’s highlyanticipated follow-up to her 2017 directorial debut, Lady Bird, which earned her Oscar nominations for both the screenplay and directing. Prominently featuring several members of the Lady Bird cast, including Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Tracy Letts, the drama follows the March sisters, four women coming of age in the wake of the Civil War. Set for release this December, the film’s cast includes Meryl Streep, Florence Pugh, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Emma Watson and Bob Odenkirk.

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Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Little Women

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FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES Jojo Rabbit Based on a novel by Christine Leunens, Taika Waititi’s followup to the riotous Thor: Ragnarok is a daring, boundary-pushing comedy. Starring newcomer Roman Griffin Davis and Scarlett Johansson, the emotionally stirring satire centres on a proud member of the Hitler Youth and his imaginary best friend, Adolf Hitler (Waititi). Discovering that his mother has been hiding a Jewish girl in the family’s attic, young Jojo is furious, and will ultimately have to make a choice between love and hate. Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen and Thomasin McKenzie also star.

Jojo Rabbit

NETFLIX The King In David Michôd’s historical drama, Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Hal, a wayward prince and heir to the English throne, who is crowned King Henry V, following the death of his tyrannical father. Reluctant to navigate palace politics, the young King is forced to confront the war his father left behind, and the emotional crux of his past life—centred on his relationship with his closest friend and advisor, the aging alcoholic knight, John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). Written by Michôd and Edgerton, the period piece also stars Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn and Lily-Rose Depp.

The King

The Two Popes Two men of God with two radically different worldviews collide in Fernando Meirelles’ feature, scripted by Anthony McCarten. Set in 2013, the drama imagines an encounter behind Vatican walls between the progressive, soon-to-be Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) and the conservative, incumbent Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins), men with vastly different approaches to the papacy, and contrasting visions for the future of the Catholic Church. The men debate tradition and innovation in settings that include a recreated Sistine Chapel, and Hopkins himself expertly playing the piano.

The Two Popes

Marriage Story Dissecting a child’s experience of divorce in his 2005 film The Squid and the Whale, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, Noah Baumbach crafts a more expansive portrait of the same subject in Marriage Story. Starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a playwright and an actor going through a messy, bicoastal divorce, the drama also takes a close look at the legal system surrounding the couple.

Delving into dark comedy, with musical moments in the mix, the cast includes Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda.

Marriage Story

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