Deadline: Ridley Scott wants to direct a biopic (set during the Edwardian era) about Gertrude Bell with script to be written by Jeffrey Caine (The Constant Gardener).
"Born to privilege in England, the Oxford-educated Bell found her calling in the desert while visiting her diplomat uncle in Persia. She became a seminal figure in Middle East politics during the run-up to WWI, acting in roles that ranged from archaeologist to diplomat, photographer and spy. While she helped sort out the borders of Iraq after the fall of the Turkish Empire, she lost favor with her government for strongly advocating Arab self-rule. The Brits preferred direct access to the oil fields."
Another biopic, "Queen of the Desert" (possibly starring Naomi Watts) has been planned for Gertrude Bell by Werner Herzog, with a completed screenplay so it remains to be seen if there will be two films? Why do these things always happen in duplicate?!
Gertrude Bell biopic planned
Video: Behind the scenes of 'The Kennedys'
The Kennedys are a family not without controversy but this series has been surrounded by it, with outcrys of lack of historical accuracy. The producer and writer of The Kennedys discuss the controversy in an interview in The New York Times.
Beginning dates of seriesUSA: ReelzChannel - April 3
UK: UK History Channel - April 7
Soul Surfer (2011)
Release date: April 8, 2011In the wake of this life-changing event that took her arm and nearly her life, Bethany's feisty determination and steadfast beliefs spur her toward an adventurous comeback that gives her the grit to turn her loss into a gift for others.
Bethany (Anna Sophia Robb) was born to surf. A natural talent who took to the waves at a young age, she was leading an idyllic, sun-drenched, surfer girl’s life on the Kauai Coast, competing in national competitions with her best friend Alana (Lorraine Nicholson), when everything changed in a heartbeat. On Halloween morning, Bethany was on a typical ocean outing when a 14-foot tiger shark came out of nowhere and seemed to shatter all her dreams.
"Soul Surfer" reveals the moving aftermath of this headline-making story, as Bethany fights to recover and grapples with the future. Strengthened by the love of her parents, Tom (Dennis Quaid) and Cheri (Helen Hunt), she refuses to give in or give up, and begins a bold return to the water. Still, the questions keep hammering her: Why did this happen? Why did she have to lose everything? Will she ever feel the joy and power of riding the waves again? And if she can't be a surfer, then who is she?
The devastating 2004 tsunami in the Pacific Ocean unexpectedly gives Bethany a new perspective. Traveling to Phuket, Thailand with her youth-group leader Sara Hill (Carrie Underwood), she witnesses life beyond her own shoreline and discovers her greater purpose—she can make a difference in the lives of others. Filled with a new sense of hope and direction, she returns home with a renewed resolve to conquer her own limitations and set an encouraging example for people facing adversity.
At the National Championships, Bethany bravely faces off with her fiercest rival, Malia Birch (Sonya Balmores), and takes her astonishing one-armed surfing technique to the limit. But as the horn blows, and the suspenseful competition kicks off, Bethany is no longer thinking about the challenges of her body. Now, her surfing, her biggest dreams and her life have become about pushing her own physical limits to touch the souls of others.
Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt
Robb and Carrie UnderwoodHemingway & Gellhorn (2012)
From Wikipedia:
HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN is an HBO film about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn, played by Nicole Kidman and her husband, the writer Ernest Hemingway, played by Clive Owen. It will be directed by Philip Kaufman and televised in 2011. Filming began March 10, 2011 and will be set in San Francisco and Orinda, CA
Retelling the story of one of America’s most famous literary couples, it begins in 1936 when the pair first met in a bar in Florida. He was already a famous writer and she was one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th Century. Their five-year marriage first saw them travel to Spain to record some of the most famous reports on the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. Gellhorn was the only woman ever to ask Hemingway for a divorce and she inspired him to write his most famous novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Other cast members include:
David Strathairn as John Dos Passos
Molly Parker as Pauline Pfeiffer
Parker Posey as Mary Welsh Hemingway
Peter Coyote as Maxwell Perkins
Lars Ulrich as Documentary Maker
IMDb
Playlist
Of Gods and Men (2010)
a group of monks face the decision of their lives.
Inspired by a true story.
Official site: "Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may. This film is loosely based on the life
of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996."Winner of Grand Prix award at Cannes
There Be Dragons - Official trailer
There Be Dragons is an epic portrayal of tragedy and redemption, set during the tumultuous times of the Spanish Civil War in the early 1900s.
Synopsis: "While researching the life of Josemaria Escriva, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, journalist Robert Torres uncovers hidden stories of his estranged father Manolo, and is taken on a journey through the dark, terrible secrets of his family’s past... Going back in time, we see that Manolo and Escriva are childhood friends, and both face the hardships and injustices that are tearing Spain apart. But as young men, their paths diverge – Escriva pursues a life of faith, while Manolo is swept into the brutal Civil War. As personal and national battles rage, the characters’ lives collide and their deepest struggles (“dragons”) come to life, leading to both tragedy and triumph. Only on a deathbed will the final secrets come to life, and a family’s true destiny be revealed."
A note from director Roland Joffé: 
"Does 'There Be Dragons' mark a return to my roots? I’m not sure; but life is a series of loops, and there is a theme that has come back into my life through thinking about the character of Josemaría.
Cosmologists and physicists, people who deal with the structure of things, begin to see that there are patterns and shapes in the universe which we’re part of. The greatest pattern of all is the one formed by love, just as the most frightening one is formed by the absence of love. When love goes, it leaves a vacuum that fills with fear, hatred, despair. I’ve lived long enough to watch that happening, and to realize that love is an enabler. I wanted to make a story which centers on bringing love to the world, and what the absence of love does to the world. What the film shows is that forgiveness is possible and seemingly meaningless acts are capable of generating responses that lead to healing. The inexhaustible possibility of forgiveness is what offers room for hope. But the price is high: it takes effort, discipline, will – and a resolve not to be caught up in the prevailing mood of the crowds.
Civil wars are appalling because they are family feuds. As in civil wars, family members take sides and split up; old resentments become sources of hatred. Those are the civil wars of our everyday lives. There Be Dragons is about both kinds of civil war. When people see it I think they will realize that essentially we’ve all got a choice about whether to hang on to our resentment or find a way of conquering it. You can see your life as a series of injustices, of rejections and hurts, and remain shut up in those, or you can see all those events as opportunities, as chances to conquer those dragons and bring love."
William and Kate (2011) - royal biopic
The royal wedding is set for April 29th but Lifetime plans on airing a television movie about Prince William and Kate Middleton prior to their wedding.
"The film chronicles the history of William and Kate - from the moment the two students met at Scotland's prestigious University of St Andrews, through the ups and downs of their nine-year courtship complicated by social and Royal Family pressures, and intense global media attention surrounding their storybook nuptials."
To be directed by Mark Rosman with screenplay by Nancey Silvers.
Nico Evers-Swindell, Camilla Luddington(Prince William and Kate Middleton)
Mary Elise Hayden, Justin Hanlon(Pippa Middleton, Prince Harry)
Ben Cross, Serena Scott Thomas(Prince Charles, Carol Middleton)
Jonathan Patrick Moore, Louise Linton, Theo Cross, Samantha Whittaker, Richard Reid(presumably friends of William and Kate)
> The Hollywood Reporter (Read about other television specials based on the impending royal nuptials)
>Hallmark: has own tv movie planned for Aug. 13 "William & Kate: A Royal Love Story"
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
Biopic of St. Francis of Assisi directed by Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo & Juliet, Jesus of Nazareth, Jane Eyre, Tea with Mussolini).
Synopsis:
"St. Francis of Assisi was an extraordinarily complex and difficult figure whose effect on his contemporary society was electrifying. Even today, many people are moved by his visionary message of universal toleration. Twelfth-century Italy had an exceptionally grim and regimented society, but the barefoot monk from Assisi undoubtedly had the courage that comes from deep faith and was able to transcend the oppressiveness of the time. In this Italian/British-produced film, director Franco Zeffirelli attempts to bring his vision of this great man to the screen. The contemporary (1970s) example of the hippie movement contributed a great deal to the style in which the story is told. The musical score, using ancient Italian melodies, was arranged by Donovan. The film is visually beautiful in a way which tends to minimize the squalor of the times. As the movie begins, Francis (Graham Faulkner) is the son of wealthy merchants, and enjoys his share of wine, women and song without serious thought. When war and disease devastate his neighborhood, Francis undergoes an anguished transformation which culminates in his appearing before the local bishop and removing his clothes to renounce his previous life and family before dedicating himself to God. The culminating dramatic moment is Francis' appearance before Pope Innocent III (Sir Alec Guinness), to make his case for an independent religious order under new rules."
From NY Times
Graham Faulkner as St. Francis
Judi Bowker as St. Clare
Alec Guinness as Pope Innocent III
Einstein (2012?)
Deadline: 
A new Albert Einstein biopic to be directed by Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) with script written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass (Rain Man, Entrapment, My Best Friend’s Wedding). Producers are considering shooting the film in Germany and various locations throughout Europe. The search for the lead actor to play Albert Einstein will commence in the coming weeks.
The film, tentatively titled “Einstein”, chronicles the true inspirational story of the trials, tragedies and vindication of the single-most celebrated scientist of the 20th century. Torn between the burdens of a family and his restless pursuit of unlocking the mysteries of the universe, he not only achieved unparalleled stature as a genius but he also changed the world forever - at no small cost to himself and those around him.
Exec producer Koldo Eguren: “People don't know about his struggles with poverty, his dyslexia, his love for music, his relationships with the women in his life, his persecution by the Nazis and his battle to deal with living in the public eye and being under constant scrutiny. Ron's screenplay peels back the layers and allows us to see past Einstein the scientist and Einstein the celebrity, showing us Einstein the man.”
Ripley's Believe It Or Not - with Jim Carrey?
From Empire Online:
"Like a committed doctor working on a patient who keeps flat lining, Paramount just won’t give up on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and has now hired Eric Roth (The Insider/The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) to write a brand new draft of the script.
Part of the reason that the studio is so intent on making it is the fact that Jim Carrey remains committed to star as Robert Ripley (1890-1949), the newspaper columnist who became internationally famous after chronicling the world’s strangest places, people and events. But while his work eventually led to attractions springing up around the world, Ripley struggled with the concept of appreciating the people he wrote about as more than just the latest fodder for his newspaper column.
There’s also the small matter of the money that has been poured into the film, which was achingly close to production back in 2007 with Tim Burton directing and Carrey in the lead, only for things to shut down when the actor came up with some fresh ideas for the script that Burton liked. Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski did their best to crank out the changes without too much delay, but by then Burton begun work on Sweeney Todd and the momentum was never quite regained.
Next up to try to revi
ve the project were Chris Columbus and Master and Commander writer John Collee, but that didn’t even make it out of development.
So now Roth, who scooped an Oscar for Forrest Gump and has worked on several high-profile biopic-flavoured projects, is the man that studio executives are hoping will get the script to a place where a new director can come in and finally shoot the thing. You’ll pardon us if, given the history of the movie, we don’t hold our breath on that front just yet…"
There Be Dragons (2011)
Roland Joffe, the director who brought us the highly acclaimed and deeply spiritual film The Mission has returned to his roots with the epic movie There Be Dragons, a powerful story of war, tragedy, love and redemption. Set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War (1930s), it tells the story of two childhood friends who become separated during the political conflict to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. One chooses the path of peace and becomes a priest while the other chooses the life of a soldier driven by jealousy and revenge. Each will struggle to find the power of forgiveness over the forces that tore their lives and friendship apart. [official synopsis]
Trailer and behind-the-scenes video below
Starring:Charlie Cox (Stardust) - Josemaría Escrivá
Wes Bentley (The Claim) - Manolo
Olga Kurylenko (Centurion) - Ildiko
Rodrigo Santoro (Love Actually) - Oriol
Dougray Scott (Ever After) - Robert, son of Manolo
Geraldine Chaplin, Derek Jacobi , Charles Dance, Michael Feast, Lily Cole, Golshifteh Farahani, Robert Blythe
The film is both written and directed by Oscar-nominated British filmmaker Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission, City of Joy, The Scarlet Letter). Joffe said that it's a " story about people trying to find meaning about their lives." The epic film tells the story of a present-day Spanish journalist, Robert, who is mending relations with his dying father, Manolo, who took part in the Spanish Civil War. The journalist discovers through his investigations that his father was a close 
childhood friend of Josemaría Escrivá , a candidate for sainthood, with whom he had a complicated relationship. Manolo became a soldier during the Spanish Civil War and became obsessed with a beautiful Hungarian revolutionary, Ildiko. She rejects him and gives herself to a brave militia leader Oriol. Manolo becomes jealous and takes a path of betrayal.
The film includes the early life of Josemaría Escrivá, a modern-day saint and the founder of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church which teaches that ordinary human life is a path to sanctity. Escrivá, who died in 1975, was canonized by John Paul II in 2002. Joffé, who initially shied away from the project, was "ultimately intrigued by the chance to dramatize the life of a modern-day saint, particularly considering Escrivá's 'liberating' view that a path to God could be found in an ordinary life."
According to Joffé, they are "making a film about love, human love and divine love, about hate, about betrayal, about war, about mistakes, about everything it is to be a human being." "Reconciliation matters" is the main take away message that Joffe expects from the viewers and that this is “a film about what it means to be a saint in this day and age."
Why the title? It refers to its theme exploring the unknown territories of hatred, guilt, and forgiveness explained producer Ignacio G. Sancha. "There be dragons" is an abbreviation of "here there be dragons" from the Latin hic sunt dracones, an ancient way of denoting in maps a place where there is danger, or an unknown place, a place to be explored.
My Boy Jack
Adapted for a play by David Haig in 1997, My Boy Jack is the name of a famous poem by author Rudyard Kipling written for his son John who was lost in World War I.
Daniel Radcliffe, David Haig, Kim Cattrall, Carey Mulligan
(Radcliffe), the only son of the famous English writer and poet Rudyard Kipling, declares his intention to join the Royal Navy to fight against the Germans. His father (Haig), who encourages him in his ambition, arranges several appointments for him to enlist in both the army and navy. However, Jack's poor eyesight prevents him from passing the medical examinations, and both he and his father are devastated. However, Rudyard uses his influence with the military 
establishment to eventually secure Jack an officer's commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Irish Guards regiment. Both Jack's mother Carrie (Cattrall), and sister Elsie (Mulligan), disapprove of this post, as they don't wish for him to be deployed on the front lines.
Albert Schweitzer (2009)
A movie about the "jungle doctor" Albert Schweitzer (Jeroen Krabbé) tells the story of a philosopher and physician who promoted peace during the Cold War, built a hospital in what is now Gabon and proved stronger than the CIA. "Avoiding the pitfalls of the biopic genre, the film refrains from squeezing all aspects of the life of the German-French philosopher, musicologist, organist, theologian and physician Albert Schweitzer into a cinematic puzzle.
British director Gavin Millar focuses instead on a few crucial years of Schweitzer’s life: the period from 1949 to 1954, the year in which he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of the "reverence for life."
The film also includes a flashback to the time before World War I, when Schweitzer built a hospital in Gabon at a time when there was a lack of everything – beds, nurses, medicines and bandages. His young wife Hele
n helped her husband selflessly and to the point of exhaustion."(Read more here)
for her role as Schweitzer's wife
The King's Speech - my experience!
Christmas came early for me this year! I've been waiting with anticipation to see The King's Speech and out of the blue, I was graciously sent courtesy tickets from Alliance Films, the Canadian distributor for the film. (Thank you Julia!) As I stood in line at the theatre, I could hear the person behind me suggest that the audience was made up of either historians, monarchists or speech pathologists, and as it turned out -members of the British High Commission as well!
Considering that I've been tracking this film since the cast was first announced and gobbling up all the information that I could find along the way, I worried that it just might not meet my expectations. After all, I'd seen so many clips, I worried that all the "best bits" were shown already (as has happened with some films in the past). Well, I needn't have worried. As I write this, I still have a feeling of breathlessness after just returning from an absolutely wonderful cinematic experience! I think I held my breath through much of the film since I was so captivated.
I've always had a fascination with the British monarchy and especially for film adaptations about royalty, being a period drama fanatic. I'm not certain how audiences will respond to this film if they're not already familiar with King Edward's abdication and that period in history but I'd like to think that above all, this film will be enjoyed for its inspiring tale of the friendship forged between the two men. Although they are considered unequals by society, Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) contradicts convention to conquer the brave facade and the deep-seated insecurities of "Bertie", the Duke of York (Colin Firth).
Through his unorthodox approach, Logue not only helps Bertie in a way that previous speech therapists had failed him but the king-to-be learns that "he has a voice" that matches his inner strength. The insecure prince who was content to have his brother rule Great Britain, has to grapple with his worst fears in order to step into the role of the head of the British monarchy when his brother abdicates the throne. It was wonderful to learn the lesser known details of that historic time and how an Australian 'quack' would turn out to be one of his greatest advocates and eventually his lifelong friend.
Besides the serious moments depicted of this pivotal time in history (King Edward's abdication and Britain's impending war against Hitler), the movie is filled with humour and wit! The banter between Firth and Rush was every bit as fun to watch as I'd hoped it would be.
Helena Bonham Carter is delightful as Queen Elizabeth, the ever-supportive wife of Bertie and appearances by Jennifer Ehle and David Bamber (both in 1995's Pride & Prejudice) are an added bonus!
The scenes with Bertie and his daughters Margaret and Elizabeth (the current reigning monarch) were also highlights for me. I'm curious to find out if the scene with Bertie's 'penguin' bedtime story occurred in real life but regardless, it gives us an idea of the doting father that he was believed to be.
The King's Speech is a film that truly inspires and speaks to our human condition no matter who we are - prince or pauper (or in this case - an unexpected king and his Australian speech therapist).
I love this tagline:It takes leadership to confront a nation's fear.
Read more about King George VI and Queen Elizabeth-> More links on THE KING'S SPEECH
Latest Posts
