Hamnet star Emily Watson has signed on to lead Dominic Cooke’s true story-inspired drama John Daniel, with Cornerstone launching sales at the American Film Market (AFM).
UK theatre director Cooke, who last helmed a feature in 2020 with spy thriller The Courier, returns to film with the story of a friendship between a woman and a baby gorilla in the aftermath of First World War England, after the woman’s nephew impulsively rescues the animal from the window of a London department store, bringing both joy and suspicion into a grieving community.
The film is currently in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to begin in the UK in mid-2027. It is based on original home movie footage and photographs recorded by locals in Uley, Gloucestershire, between 1918 and 1922.
Debbie Gray produces for her Good Luck To You Leo Grande UK outfit Genesius Pictures. The screenplay was written by Alexi Kaye Campbell.
The film will combine motion capture with VFX to deliver a photoreal performance. Visual effects are by Axio World, led by Loris Mantello and Maoris Creantor, who both worked on 2019’s The Lion King.
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