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Playground Entertainment
Playground Entertainment is a television, film and theatre production company with offices in New York and London, founded in 2012 by Sir Colin Callender, former President of HBO Films. Television The company has produced over 90 hours of television since inception. Series include the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated miniseries '' Dancing On The Edge'' for BBC and Starz, the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated miniseries '' The White Queen'' for BBC and Starz and its sequel ''The White Princess'' for Starz, the Golden Globe nominated anthology series '' The Missing'' for BBC and Starz, ''Dracula'' for NBC, ''Wolf Hall'', a Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning six-part miniseries adaptation for BBC and Masterpiece of Hilary Mantel’s Booker prize winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and ''The Dresser'', a television adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s classic play starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins for BBC and Starz. In 2017 Playground produced Kenneth Lonergan’s adaptatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Callender
Sir Colin Nigel Callender (born May 1952) is a British television, film and theater producer. He is the CEO at Playground Entertainment, a production company with offices in New York and London. Early life and education Callender was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in London, the son of Lydia and Martin Callender. He has a brother, Neeman, and a sister, Claire. Callender holds a BA with Honors in Philosophy and Politics from the University of East Anglia. Career Early career Callender started in the entertainment industry as a member of Britain's National Youth Theatre and began his production career in 1974 at the Royal Court Theatre in London as stage manager working with directors such as Mike Leigh, David Hare and Sam Shepard. Later he joined Granada Television as a graduate trainee where he worked on ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' the Granada co-production with NBC starring Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner and Laurence Olivier. Primetime Television In 1978 Callender founded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dresser (2015 Film)
''The Dresser'' is a 2015 British television drama film directed by Richard Eyre and based on the 1980 play by Ronald Harwood. It stars Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Watson, Vanessa Kirby, Sarah Lancashire and Edward Fox. The story examines the relationship between an aging Shakespearean actor and his theatrical dresser, as well as the other members of his theatrical company, as he grapples with the approach of senility and irrelevance. Like the play which serves as its basis, the film's central relationship draws inspiration from Shakespeare's ''King Lear''. The film premiered on BBC Two on 31 October 2015. Plot The film centres on the relationship between an ageing Shakespearean actor, named only as "Sir", and his theatrical dresser, Norman. It is set entirely in the backstage area (and briefly, the main stage) of a London playhouse during the Blitz. It opens with a meeting between Norman and Sir's (apparent) wife, "Her Ladyship", in Sir's dressing room following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucy Kirkwood
Lucy Ann Kirkwood (born October 1983) is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is writer in residence at Clean Break. In June 2018 Kirkwood was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. Early life Kirkwood was born in Leytonstone and raised in east London. She has a degree in English literature from the University of Edinburgh where she performed as part of improvisational comedy troupe, the Improverts and wrote for the Edinburgh University Theatre Company. In 2005, she wrote and starred in her first play, ''Grady Hot Potato'', at the Bedlam Theatre. It was also selected for the National Student Drama Festival. Career Plays The following year she took two productions of her second play, ''Geronimo'' to the Edinburgh Fringe, under the title ''The Umbilical Project''. The two productions, ''Cut'' and ''Uncut'', were an experiment in cutting the cord between writer and production. ''Uncut'' was directed by Kirkwood herself and ''Cut' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed through theaters and Amazon Prime Video, Amazon's digital video streaming service, whose competitors include Netflix and Hulu, among others. Overview Scripts for television and films used to be submitted online to Amazon and read by staff; however, the website states they no longer accept submissions. Amazon aimed to review submitted scripts within 90 days (although the process may be longer). If a project was chosen for development, the writer was paid $10,000. If a developed script was selected for distribution as a full-budget movie, the creator was paid $200,000; if it was selected for distribution as a full-budget series, the creator was paid $55,000 as well as "up to 5 percent of Amazon's net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emma Thompson
Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globes, a British Academy Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in London to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe, and appeared in the comedy sketch series ''Alfresco'' (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in the West End revival of the musical '' Me and My Girl'', which was a breakthrough in her career. In 1987, she came to prominence for her performances in two BBC TV series, ''Tutti Frutti'' and '' Fortunes of War'', winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work on both series. In the early 1990s, she often collaborated with then-husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Lear (2018 Film)
''King Lear'' is a 2018 British-American television film directed by Richard Eyre. An adaptation of the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, cut to just 115 minutes, was broadcast on BBC Two on 28 May 2018. Starring Anthony Hopkins as the title character, the adaptation is set in an alternative universe, 21st-century, highly militarised London and depicts the tragedy that follows when the sovereign King Lear announces the end of his reign and the division of his kingdom among his three daughters. The adaptation was met with positive reviews, which commended its acting and many singled out Hopkins for his performance in the title role. Plot Set in an alternative universe, 21st-century, highly militarised London, the sovereign King Lear calls his family together one evening in order for him to announce the division of his kingdom among his three daughters. The two elder daughters, Regan and Goneril, make open statements about their allegiance to and love for their father a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mary Jessica Royds. He was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in northwest Dorset in southwest England, followed by Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge. Eyre became the first president of Rose Bruford College in July 2010. He gives "President's Lectures" at this prestigious drama school; his 2012 talk was entitled "Directing Shakespeare for BBC Television". He lives in Brook Green, West London. Theatre and opera Eyre was Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 1967 to 1972. He won STV Awards for the Best Production in Scotland in 1969, 1970 and 1971. He was artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse from 1973–78 where he commissioned and directed many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Women (2017 TV Series)
''Little Women'' is a British 2017 BBC television historical drama adaptation of the 1868-69 two-volume novel by Louisa May Alcott. Adapted by Heidi Thomas, the miniseries was directed by Vanessa Caswill. The three one-hour episodes were first broadcast on BBC One on Boxing Day 2017 and the following two days. The cast includes Emily Watson, Michael Gambon and Angela Lansbury. Production was supported by PBS and the miniseries was shown as part of its ''Masterpiece'' anthology. Cast Production ''Little Women'' was commissioned by BBC Drama in May 2017, along with 10 other television dramas. The three-part series was adapted by Heidi Thomas, who created ''Call the Midwife'', and directed by Vanessa Caswill. It was produced by Playground Television UK with PBS Masterpiece. ''Little Women'' is set in Concord, Massachusetts, but was filmed in County Wicklow, Ireland. Filming took place in the coastal town of Bray and at the Ardmore Studios from July 2017. Irish costume desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heidi Thomas
Heidi Thomas (born 13 August 1962) is an English screenwriter and playwright. Career After reading English at Liverpool University, Thomas gained national attention when her play, ''Shamrocks And Crocodiles'', won the John Whiting Award in 1985. Her play ''Indigo'' was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in their 1987/88 season. Other theatrical work includes ''Some Singing Blood'' at London's Royal Court Theatre, and an adaptation of Ibsen's ''The Lady from the Sea'', presented in London and at the National Theatre of Norway in Oslo. Her play ''The House of Special Purpose'' was staged at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2010. Her screen adaptations include feature film ''I Capture the Castle'' (2003) and the screenplay for a BBC television adaptation of ''Madame Bovary'' (2000). In 2007 she was the creator, writer and executive producer of BBC period drama ''Lilies''. She wrote the screenplays for two major BBC adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell's '' Cranford'', and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howards End (miniseries)
''Howards End'' is a British-American television drama based on the 1910 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster. The series was adapted by Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Hettie MacDonald, and stars Hayley Atwell. The four-part series is a co-production between British network BBC One and American network Starz. It premiered on 12 November 2017 in the United Kingdom and 8 April 2018 in the United States. Premise ''Howards End'' examines "the changing landscape of social and class divisions in turn-of-the-century England through the prism of three families: the intellectual and idealistic Schlegels, the wealthy Wilcoxes from the world of business and the working-class Basts." Cast and characters Main * Hayley Atwell as Margaret Schlegel * Matthew Macfadyen as Henry Wilcox * Philippa Coulthard as Helen Schlegel * Joseph Quinn as Leonard Bast * Joe Bannister as Charles Wilcox * Rosalind Eleazar as Jacky Bast * Alex Lawther as Tibby Schlegel * Bessie Carter as Evie Wilcox * J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and '' Manchester by the Sea'' (2016). Lonergan is also known for his work as a playwright. His most noted plays include ''This Is Our Youth'', ''Lobby Hero'' and ''The Waverly Gallery''. Each also had a successful revival engagement on Broadway, which resulted in each play receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Lonergan won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for ''Manchester by the Sea'', for which he was also nominated for Best Director; he also earned Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for ''You Can Count on Me'' and ''Gangs of New York.'' He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for ''Manchester by the Sea'' at the 70th British Academy Film Awards. Early life and educati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based in Los Angeles, to cover the motion-picture industry. ''Variety.com'' features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, cover stories, videos, photo galleries and features, plus a credits database, production charts and calendar, with archive content dating back to 1905. History Foundation ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. As a result, he decided to start his own publication "that ouldnot be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his father- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
