Filmmakers Anthony Maras and Danny Boyle topped and tailed Studiocanal’s slate presentation at this year’s CineEurope, respectively introducing their new films Pressure and Ink.
Both are adapted from stage plays — the former, David Haig’s 2014 drama about how accurate meteorology saved the D-Day invasion of Normandy from stormy disaster in June 1944, and the latter, James Graham’s 2017 play about how in 1969 publisher Rupert Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb changed the face of journalism forever with revolutionary tabloid The Sun.
Pressure, which stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser, has already been released in North America, and hits home market the UK in September. Ink, which stars Guy Pearce as Murdoch and Jack O’Connell as Lamb, has yet to be dated on the release calendar.
Boyle listed numerous events from 1969, as a way of explaining his interest in Ink. For the director, the year’s most consequential event of all — the purchase and reinvention of The Sun — triggered a change in the media landscape that continues to reverberate, from clickbait to Truth Social.
In her introductory remarks, Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh celebrated the company as “the number one European film studio” and “the largest producer of English‑language feature films outside the US”.
“The ability to operate at scale and stay deeply connected to local markets is one of our greatest strengths,” she added.
On the development slate, Marsh trumpeted two strong family IP titles, building on the success of Studiocanal’s Paddington franchise, and both in partnership with David Heyman (and others): Pippi Longstocking and Mr Men/ Little Miss.
Also headed to production are adaptations of The Divorce from The Housemaid writer Frieda McFadden, and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library.
Among titles with footage screened, in addition to Pressure and Ink were another pair of British films: Elsinore and Everybody Wants To F*ck Me. One is a true story; the other, decidedly not.
Directed by Simon Stone (The Dig) and scripted by Stephen Beresford (Pride), Elsinore tells the true story of Chariots Of Fire actor Ian Charleston (Andrew Scott) as he faced a personal and professional dilemma: take on the treasured role of Hamlet in a National Theatre production, or devote his remaining energies into extending his life after an Aids diagnosis. Olivia Colman also stars, and Studiocanal is buoyed by strong test screening reactions.
Jonathan Schey (TV’s Ladhood) makes his feature writing-directing debut with Everybody Wants To F*ck Me, starring Taron Egerton as a serial seducer who has mastered the disguise of being the perfect man, and then gets his comeuppance. The Film4-backed dark comedy thriller boasts Lucky Chap among its producer partners, making Promising Young Woman a potential comparison point. Jessica Henwick and Mia McKenna-Bruce also star.
Not every Studiocanal title produced in local markets sees wide international release, but two French titles will likely achieve exactly that: Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Violette and Fred Cavaye’s Les Miserables.
Studiocanal showed a teaser trailer for Violette, which is based on Valérie Perrin’s novel Fresh Water For Flowers, and extended first-look footage for Victor Hugo adaptation Les Miserables. The latter boasts a cast including Tahar Rahim, Camille Cottin, Vincent Lindon, Noemie Merlant, Vassili Schneider, Benjamin Lavernhe and Marie Colomb.
For families, Studiocanal has Mexico-set animation Wings Of Freedom and Aardman’s Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom, with the opening scene and new trailer revealed for the latter.
Spanning the film genres, the studio also presented footage for action thriller Cliffhanger and slasher Ice Cream Man. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the former takes inspiration from Renny Harlin’s 1993 Cliffhanger, while the latter from Eli Roth is not connected to Paul Norman’s 1995 cult classic Ice Cream Man, and is a wholly original story.
Lily James leads the cast of Cliffhanger, alongside Nell Tiger Free, Franz Rogowski and Pierce Brosnan.
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